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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Critical Moment in Najaf Standoff Between Coatlition Troops and al Sadr; Rumsfeld and others at odds about National Intelligence Director's Creation

Aired August 17, 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. After a two-week standoff, a critical moment in a life and death struggle in Najaf with enormous long-term ramifications for the United States and Iraq.
Who will blink first? The radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Al Sadr or the interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Spy chief. President Bush wants a national intelligence boss. But the brass isn't so sure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There cannot be a czar that just starts pointing (UNINTELLIGIBLE). There is no wizard of Oz here that's going to solve this in my opinion.

BLITZER: Street fight. A peace mission tries to end the bloodshed in Najaf. But is Baghdad backing down?

Weather woes. As Florida struggles to recover, others are struggling with mud and floods. We'll show you extraordinary images.

A beer with John Kerry. The senator talks with "G.Q." about his bachelor days, his relationship with Marlon Brando and his battle with cancer.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, August 17, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: They had vowed to defeat Muqtada Al Sadr. Now Iraqi leaders have sent peace envoys to the Shiite city of Najaf in a desperate bid to halt the fighting which has pitted U.S. and Iraqi forces against the rebel cleric's militia. CNN's Zain Verjee is standing by with a closer look at that militia. But we begin our coverage with CNN's John Vause. He's live in Baghdad -- John.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Wolf. Some late developments in this peace mission to Najaf. There are some things we know, there's a lot which is unclear at this hour. But let's start with what we know. We know this eight-person delegation was flown to Najaf early today to try and convince Muqtada Al Sadr to lay down his weapons, to leave the Imam Ali Mosque. What we know at this state, this delegation has not met with Muqtada Al Sadr. We have heard from a spokesperson from Muqtada Al Sadr, blaming this on a deteriorating security situation in Najaf, saying the ongoing fighting in Najaf has made it too difficult for the Shiite cleric to meet with this eight- person delegation.

We know from our people on the ground that there have in fact been heavy clashes in Najaf throughout the day concentrated on that cemetery, that huge cemetery right next to the Imam Ali Mosque. What we know at this stage is that the governor of Najaf is saying that there were no security reasons why Muqtada Al Sadr could not meet with that delegation from Baghdad.

We know that Muqtada Al Sadr is inside the Imam Ali Mosque. It is a sprawling complex. Apparently the delegation was kept in one room, Muqtada Al Sadr stayed in another.

Right now we understand that the delegation is still in Najaf. We do not know if they plan to return to Baghdad within the next few hours. There is some talk that they may stay down in Najaf tonight. There are some reports that they may try again tomorrow to meet with Muqtada Al Sadr.

We are also hearing that they -- the talks which they held with Muqtada Al Sadr's aides are being described as positive but we're also hearing another conflicting report of frustration amongst the ranks of the delegation because they did not get to meet with the Shiite cleric.

This is a last-ditch effort, these eight delegates sent from the Iraqi National Conference which is being held here in Baghdad. It's been going for three days now. The issue of Najaf has dominated that conference. They put everything else to one side. This delegation was sent down there to try and convince Al Sadr to dissolve his Mehdi militia, join the political process. Many others have tried to do that. Many others have failed. This was really the last-ditch attempt.

It now remains to be seen what happens, how this plays out in the next couple of hours. Will this delegation try again or will they return to Baghdad, address the National Conference and say we tried but we failed? We have to wait and see what will be said. The story is still unfolding. A lot of uncertainties yet to be resolved -- Wolf.

BLITZER: With enormous stakes involved. Thank you, John Vause. We'll continue to follow this story in Iraq.

Is Iraq's interim government led by the Prime Minister Iyad Allawi backing down in the face of the challenge from these Shiite radicals? Earlier I put that question to the former CIA director, James Woolsey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES WOOLSEY, FMR. CIA DIRECTOR: It looks like maybe they're starting to blink and it's a real shame because we blinked earlier in Fallujah against the Baathist and Sunni Islamist radicals, the marines didn't blink but I think their civilian overseers did and that has left the Sunni Triangle...

BLITZER: That's when Ambassador Bremer was still in charge.

WOOLSEY: Yes. I think that was a bad decision frankly. Now in the Shiite area, we're having a similar phenomenon. Muqtada Al Sadr, I think, is clearly bought and paid for by the bullies in Tehran. He's sort of like the head of Hezbollah for Iraq. And it's a very difficult situation. We really need an Iraqi government that is going to establish its authority country-wide with our help. And if Muqtada Al Sadr gets away with this, we could be on the verge of something like a civil war.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: So what are the American troops and the allies up against right now? CNN's Zain Verjee joining us with a closer look at Muqtada Al Sadr's Mehdi militia -- Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the al-Mehdi militia gets its name from Imam al-Mehdi, a revered figure Shias believe is in hiding and will one day return. Its name may be religiously inspired but the al-Mehdi militia poses a practical threat to U.S. forces in Najaf as well as to the government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE (voice-over): The sprawling valley of Peace (ph) Cemetery is one place where it wages war. The ancient and sacred Imam Ali Shrine has become its operational headquarters. Muqtada Al Sadr's al- Mehdi army may be a ragtag renegade militia force, but it's dangerous. It's armed to the teeth, say U.S. generals with rifles, mortars, hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenades.

The Mehdi army's military tactics have been described as both ruthless and clever.

WILLIAM COHEN, FMR. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Basically hit and run and very effective in doing that because they are basically wrapping themselves around the holy shrine.

VERJEE: And that's the real risk for U.S. marines in Najaf.

WOOLSEY: If American troops were right around this or we were firing into it, and it were destroyed in some substantial way, we would get the blame even if it had been done by Muqtada Al Sadr and his Mehdi army on purpose.

VERJEE: And the wrath of the entire Shia Muslim world.

COHEN: And it's a big group of a street gang or something like that.

VERJEE: U.S. experts say many members of the Mehdi army are young, unemployed men from Baghdad's Sadr City, considered home to the poorest of the poor Shias. John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org has studied the al-Mehdi army.

JOHN PIKE, GLOBALSECURITY.ORG: I think that it's a combination here of young men who otherwise face no employment opportunities, who are inspired by Al Sadr's religious message and who individually and their families are receiving financial compensation for the services that they're providing.

VERJEE: It's not clear how many men make up the Mehdi army. Estimates run from 3,000 to 20,000.

PIKE: It's organized informally and probably consists of a number of small units that are organized around kinship ties.

VERJEE: Most Shias in Iraq do not support Al Sadr, his militia or his message. Instead, many Iraqis see the Mehdi army as merely a movement of extremists, willing to die defending Al Sadr and the very shrine they are putting in the line of fire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE (on camera): And the standoff with Al Sadr and his Mehdi militia is a delicate and difficult situation as you all know, Wolf. U.S. military experts say, if there's any fighting to be done near the shrine of Imam Ali, it should be done by Iraqi forces and not by U.S. forces -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Zain Verjee reporting, thanks.

Terror-related charges filed against eight men arrested this month in England. Among them, according to U.S. officials, here in Washington, a man described as a senior al Qaeda figure. Our senior international correspondent Walter Rodgers, he's live in London with the latest -- Walt.

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this is a huge case in Britain. Eight men held in custody for two weeks without charges under Britain's anti-terrorism act without charges, that is, until today. Then suddenly, the police have charged these men with conspiracy to murder. That's all eight indictments against them. Additionally, there is a conspiracy allegation to use radioactive materials, toxic gases, explosives, and other chemicals.

Again this case is going to go into the courts for six to nine months. Among the evidence against these men, the police allege that they had conducted reconnaissance against some of the major financial institutions in the United States, the New York Stock Exchange, Citigroup in New York, the Prudential Center in New Jersey and the IMF in Washington -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Walter Rodgers reporting with us. Thanks very much. Here in Washington, up on Capitol Hill there were hearings today on the reform sought by the 9/11 commission. But when it comes to an intelligence overhaul, the Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon brass are calling for some serious caution. Let's go live to our congressional correspondent Ed Henry -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Wolf.

That's right, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld was speaking out for the first time publicly since President Bush came out and endorsed this concept of a national intelligence director. As you know, Rumsfeld has been very public in the past about his opposition to the so-called mid. He's not eager to give up his control over 85 percent of the intelligence budget. And Democrats like, Carl Levin, at this hearing today were eager to try to exploit this apparent split within the Bush administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: Mr. Secretary, we've got specific recommendations from the 9/11 commission.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I understand.

LEVIN: I'm quoting them. I just want to ask your personal agreement or disagreement. If you can't give us that, that's OK. But just say you can't give us a personal yes or no, from your prospective.

RUMSFELD: I can't do it with yes or no, that's for sure.

LEVIN: Thank you. Thank you.

RUMSFELD: It's a vastly more complex question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Rumsfeld kept saying the devil would be in the details on this national intelligence director proposal, but it's clear, that he is not eager to give up that ground, as I mentioned that turf. And that pits him against people like Tom Kean, and Lee Hamilton, the 9/11 Commission co-chairs. They were testifying today at a House hearing. They have testified over and over that they think this NID needs budget power, strong authority to take some turf away from the defense secretary.

Also at a Senate hearing today some 9/11 families also came out, very hard behind a national intelligence director who will be powerful. That, again, at odds with where the defense officials are right now, Wolf. And I tell you also, there is not a consensus among some powerful Republican senators. People like intelligence chairman Pat Roberts saying, he believes in a strong national intelligence director. But just a few moments ago I spoke to Arm Services chairman John Warner, he's saying it might be better to skip that, and instead just elevate the current CIA director, make that post a cabinet-level position. So, clearly no consensus yet on the Republican side, Wolf.

BLITZER: Lots of debate. Lots of turf wars. Lots of bureaucracy under way right now. We'll continue to monitor this story for our viewers.

Ed Henry, thanks very much.

And to our viewers, here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our "Web Question of the Day," would a national intelligence director make the United States safer?

You can vote, go cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results for you later in this broadcast.

Adopted, then abandoned. Coming up an incredible story, children left in an unbelievable location and the way they were discovered, perhaps even more remarkable. It's a story you don't want to miss.

The New Jersey governor and his affair, now the other man speaking out.

And later -- a revealing side of John Kerry made over a couple of beers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The former aide at the center of the scandal that led New Jersey's governor to resign has left the country. Golan Cipel is back in his native Israel while fallout swirls about him and Governor James McGreevey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOLAN CIPEL, FORMER N.J. GOVERNOR AIDE (through translator): I have had a very difficult time. I have come to Israel to be with my family at this time. I cannot expand on anything, for legal reasons.

BLITZER (voice-over): Golan Cipel, speaking in Hebrew, as he visit his parents in a Tel Aviv suburb. Although he didn't offer any new details on camera, he talked at length about his experience with New Jersey Governor James McGreevey to the Israeli newspaper, Yediot Ahmad. It quotes him as saying, "At first it didn't occur to me that he was homosexual. The man looked happily married.

He has children. And his wife was very active in the campaign and election." Cipel goes on to portray himself as a victim. Saying, "He hit on me over and over. Think about how scary it is when we are talking about a powerful man like the governor of the state of New Jersey." CNN contacted McGreevey's office about Cipel's claims. Officials would not comment, except to say McGreevey stands by last week's statement which portrayed the relationship differently.

GOV. JAMES MCGREEVEY, NEW JERSEY: I engaged in adult consensual affair with another man. BLITZER: McGreevey made Cipel a homeland security adviser in 2002. But his Israeli citizenship and questions about qualifications quickly forced him out of the six-figure job. Cipel's lawyer says, while there were talks with MCEDWARDS: staff of some kind of settlement, he deny any blackmail threats, saying Cipel is interested in justice, not money.

ALLEN LOWY, GOLAN CIPEL's ATTORNEY: When the governor resigned, I think my client in some way felt vindicated, that the governor did own up to what he had done. Because politicians don't resign because they're gay or if they in fact had a consensual affair. And there was no affair here, because my client is heterosexual. There was a -- there was no relationship. It was assault and harassment.

BLITZER: Meanwhile, New Jersey Republicans are mounting pressure on McGreevey to resign immediately, which would prompt a special election. McGreevey, is opting to wait until November 15th, when under New Jersey law the state Senate president, a fellow Democrat, takes over to serve out McGreevey's term. McGreevey defends hi decision in an article in "USA Today," saying the fact that I have chosen to leave office before the end of my term only heightens my responsibilities to the citizens of New Jersey, not only to complete the initiatives we have started, but also to oversee an orderly transition of power.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: A new poll in New Jersey shows the public split, 48 percent saying McGreevey should resign immediately, 41 percent are OK waiting until November 15th.

You're about to see what happens when a bad weather day meets up with cars. Coming up, ferocious flooding turning roadways into waterways, and it's all caught on camera.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How was it possible for U.S. citizens, children, to be abandoned in a foreign country?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: How far did a mother go to get rid of her children?

According to a youth pastor, pretty far.

And has the former chess champion Bobby Fischer, outplayed the United States government?

Wait until you hear his latest move.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Authorities in Houston are deciding whether to file charges against a local woman who is believed to have abandoned her adoptive children in Nigeria. The woman later headed to Iraq for work while the seven kids wound up in a Nigerian orphanage. Jeremy Desel from CNN affiliate KHOU in Houston picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DESEL, KHOU CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twice a year folks from the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio visit Nigeria. This trip, a stop at this home for abandoned children.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the beds they were sleeping in. The smell of urine was so awful.

DESEL: Other beds with no mattresses, kids sleeping on springs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the boys' section of the room.

DESEL: But the biggest surprise waited on the porch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This young lady right here that was sitting up, playing cards right there actually, we noticed she had an American accent. We just asked her, where are you from? And she said, Houston.

DESEL: What comes next is a horrible story. Seven children in all adopted in Houston and allegedly left in Ibadan, Nigeria by their adoptive mother in October of last year. But the family they were left with then sent the children to the orphanage.

When Pastor John Hagee got the phone call from his youth minister, the story just didn't seem true.

PASTOR JOHN HAGEE, CORNERSTONE CHURCH: How was it possible for U.S. citizens' children to be abandoned in a foreign country and especially a foreign country that is as dangerous for a child to live in?

DESEL: The youth pastor asked the children for proof of citizenship. Even with no I.D.s, passing that test was no trouble.

HAGEE: The oldest girl gave me her Social Security number. She told me the school she has attended and they all lined up and sang the national anthem and didn't miss a word. So they were bonafide American citizens.

DESEL: Pastor Hagee contacted the Texas Senator John Cornyn's office which got right to work. Linda Bazaco contacted the state department and embassy in Nigeria, worried.

LINDA BAZACO, SEN. JOHN CORNYN'S OFFICE: They were totally unprotected and everyone's concern was that they could be sold into slavery, prostitution ring, or anything like that.

HAGEE: I can't think of a more cruel, more cold, more vicious, more heartless act against people that you had taken in and adopted and then abandoned them in such a fashion. DESEL: Jeremy Desel, 11 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: All seven children have been placed in two separate foster homes. The three boys and four teenage girls range in age from 8 to 16 years old. Their adoptive mother was at the hearing yesterday. That's where a judge ordered the children to be returned to child protective service's custody. Charges have not been filed yet. The mother is scheduled to appear in court again August 26.

Washed way in Washington state. Dozens are trapped as mudslides wash out a major road. Crews scrambling to dig them out right now.

And the waters came fast and furious down the river bed in southern England. A quaint fishing village now copes with disaster.

And an old newspaper man decides he's done with the regular beat. Walter Cronkite says he's written his last newspaper column.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Natural disaster, flash floods sweeping away cars and trapping people. Incredible pictures coming up of nature's fury. First a quick check of stories now in the news.

Palestinian sources say an explosion at a house in Gaza City has killed at least five people. 16 others were reportedly wounded. It is not immediately known what caused the blast. The house reportedly belonged to a Hamas activist.

A delegation from a conference of Iraqi leaders traveled to Najaf in an effort to broker an end to fighting there, but was unable to meet with the militant leader Muqtada Al Sadr. A spokesman for the radical cleric says ongoing combat between militia fighters and U.S. troops prevented the meeting.

Search engine Google could set the price for its initial public offering within hours. It would clear the way for its shares to start trading tomorrow. In a filing yesterday the company asked the Securities And Exchange Commission to approve the company's registration paperwork.

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey is spending the week in court. She's not accused of breaking any laws and she's not being sued. Instead, she's been chosen to serve on a jury in a murder trial on Chicago's south side. She'll be paid $17.20 a day.

Keeping you informed. CNN, the most trusted name in news.

It was only last Friday that Hurricane Charley blew through Florida and left severe property damage and 19 deaths in its wake. Emergency supplies are streaming into the area. But the lack of power in the area is one of the biggest obstacles to rebuilding.

Even so thousands of tons of supplies are beginning to find their way to the people who need them most.

Take a look now at a set of before and after satellite pictures taken of North Captiva Island. If you ever have any doubt about the power riding in the wind and waves of Hurricane Charley, here's the proof. Charley took one large barrier island and cut it into two, all in the space of only a couple of hours.

Dozens of firefighters and travelers were trapped by mud and debris along a highway in Washington State's rural area. Gary Horcher of CNN affiliate KIRO has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY HORCHER, KIRO-TV, (voice-over): This is one of the more major mudslides you will ever see in your life. Behind me is representative of what Highway 20 was just before a major rainstorm sent tons of what I'm holding here, sand, mud, rock and trees just cascading down over the highway. About four feet under me is the pavement, and this isn't all the workers have to deal with. There are three more mudslides down the road.

DAN GATES, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: There was a surprise.

HORCHER: Even seasoned veterans of the DOT could hardly believe their eyes when they saw this, four separate mudslides stretching over 35 miles of the North Cascades Highway. Some of the massive piles of sand and mud are so deep, you can barely see the loader working there on the other side. We're told it took only minutes for the mountain to heave this wet, heavy mass over the road. Now even a water fall is flowing right across where the busy road used to be.

GATES: I'm thankful there's nobody in it, that they were all caught in between the slides.

HORCHER: The DOT estimates 120 people inside their cars were suddenly blocked in by the mudslides. They were all rescued. But when you see these enormous rocks that tumbled down, it's a miracle that no one was hurt. Now crews are working as fast as they can with heavy equipment to move all of this stuff off the pavement.

And drivers are going to have be very patient for this to get cleaned up. Because we are talking about literally millions of tons of rock and sand and all kinds of other debris. Loaders like that one behind me are working feverishly to clean this up. But it could take days before this highway reopens.

Reporting from the mudslide on top of Highway 20, Gary Horcher, KIRO 7, Eyewitness News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And the natural disasters don't stop there. In England, there were remarkably powerful flash floods in the southwestern part of the country. The violence done to the old fishing village of Boscastle was both fast and furious. It left local residents in shock and their once peaceful village a wreck. ITN's Lawrence McGinty has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE MCGINTY, ITN, (voice-over): This is a village being ripped apart by the force of nature. Boscastle, late yesterday afternoon as the floodwaters rose to levels ten feet higher than ever before. These remarkable pictures were filmed by a local resident. He watched powerless as the rising waters swept cars from the village car park down the main street and out towards the harbor and the sea. In a matter of minutes, the heart of the village of Boscastle had been ripped apart, the helicopters and all the modern technology futile in the face of nature. The car park had been almost emptied by the force of the swollen river.

As morning broke, ITV News's cameras followed the first search team into the village ruined by the ferocious flash flood. Their immediate task: To find any survivors still trapped in their homes. Miraculously, everyone seems to have got out safe and sound. From the air, the extent of the destruction of this holiday village is clear. Mud and debris are the footprints of the floodwaters of the river Valency. Looking at these pictures, it's almost impossible to believe that there was no loss of life or even serious injuries.

MARIA WALLIS, CHIEF CONSTABLE, DEVON AND CORNWALL POLICE: It's absolutely amaze, isn't it, when you see this devastation to realize that so far, as far as we're aware, nobody has died. There have been a few very minor injuries. I hope it stays that way.

MCGINTY: It will never be the same again. But the emergency services had to begin the clear-up, struggling first to identify cars that had been swept into the dense mud of the harbor.

So powerful was the torrent of water ripping through Boscastle that it carried cars not only into the mud of the harbor, but past the harbor walls, out into the estuary here. One fireman held by a safety rope waded up to his chest to read a car registration number and to check no one was inside. That was the priority, the search for survivors and the thankfully fruitless search for bodies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: That report from ITN's Lawrence McGinty. An amazing story. Thank God everyone was okay there, as well as in Washington State.

You've seen them on the trail. Now a glimpse of John Kerry unplugged. The Democratic candidate reveals his admiration for a certain Hollywood actress, and details of his former life as a bachelor.

A new move by a former chess champion to avoid deportation. Find out whom Bobby Fischer is appealing to right now.

Plus, Olympic action. Did the U.S. women's gymnastics team live up to all the hype? We'll have the complete wrap of all today's competition. That's coming up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: He can be a couch potato. He thinks Charlize Theron is hot. Who doesn't? And if the Democrats had their way, he'd be the next president of the United States. That's some of what "GQ" Magazine discovered when its writer sat down for a beer or two with John Kerry. CNN's Brian Todd picking up the story here -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, these types of interviews can sometimes blow up in candidates' faces. I don't think this one will. But it is another attempt to get inside the soul of the Democratic nominee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): We've come through his legislative, military and personal history, his political philosophies we know up and down. The wrap has always been that it's the personal side of John Kerry we can't get at.

U.S. SENATOR JOHN KERRY (D-MA): In the event of emergency, my hair can be used as a flotation device.

TODD: The candidate attempts to reveal part of himself in the September issue of "GQ" Magazine. Over a few beers at a sports bar in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Kerry told interviewer Michael Hainey about his love of playing sports, but said, quote, "I can sit and watch football like anybody else. If you want me to be one, I'm a great veg, a couch potato."

In different ways, Kerry expressed his love and profound admiration for his wife Teresa. But when asked who is the sexiest film actress of all time, quote, "I think Charlize Theron is pretty extraordinary, Catherine Zeta Jones, Marilyn Monroe. I thought she was funny, complicated and obviously very attractive, very beautiful."

The subject of film stars brought out perhaps the most revealing item, quote, "You know Brando used to call me." Hainey: "What?" Kerry: "I had a telephone relationship with Marlon Brando back in '86, '85 when I was doing the Contras. He took a huge interest in it and he would call me. He was always asking questions and he'd give me advice." Haney later asked if he used any of Brando's questions in hearings. Kerry replied, quote, "I took his advice on a couple of angles, a couple of points." We called the Kerry campaign to get more specifics on those points. They would only say the article speaks for itself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Some other notable comments from the interview of his days as a bachelor on Capitol Hill. Kerry said, quote, "Those were not good days," and that it's no fun being single on Capitol Hill. He said likes the current president, Bush, but, quote, "I like the senior Bush enormously," end quote -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. So we did we did learn something. Brian Todd, thanks very much for that.

The Kerry interview is featured in the upcoming issue of "GQ" Magazine. It's out on the newsstands August 24th. Michael Hainey, as Brian pointed out, is the deputy editor of "GQ." He's joining us now from New York.

Michael, what was it like having a beer or two? How many beers did you actually have with John Kerry?

MICHAEL HAINEY, "GQ" MAGAZINE DEPUTY EDITOR: Well, we had two. I ordered the first one, which was Budweiser, and then, Kerry showing his Boston roots, ordered Guinness and he was very happy with that.

BLITZER: So was it fun? Because a lot of people asked the question, would you rather go out and have a beer with George W. Bush or John Kerry? Until now most people, I suspect, most men would have thought George W. Bush. But what did you think?

HAINEY: Well, you can't have a beer with Bush. So there's your problem there. But I would -- I felt enormously lucky to have a beer with Kerry. He's a terrific drinking partner, and it truly shocked me. I mean at "GQ," that was part of our test was this guy is seen as so stiff and, you know, sort of awkward. And I got to tell you, that sort of going elbow-to-elbow with him over a table, over a couple beers, was a real treat for me.

BLITZER: You could have a nonalcoholic beer with the president couldn't you?

HAINEY: Yes, you can have apple juice or something like that, probably, yes.

BLITZER: Did you get a sense that he's the kind of guy you want to watch a football game with or you want to do something man-to-man?

HAINEY: Absolutely. I mean, you know, you got the sense that he's encyclopedic in his knowledge of sports. I mean, the guy loves hockey. He's not just active in sports, but he really can sort of rattle off his love of, like, especially the old Boston Bruins like Bobby Orr and Esposito, really loves to, sort of, to watch downhill skiing. But I think he's a tremendous sort of fan of all sports. You know, he seemed most distressed by the changes that have happened in the NHL over the last few years.

BLITZER: He also showed some knowledge of music, especially the Rolling Stones and the Beatles.

HAINEY: Well, yeah, and I think this will give ammunition to, you know, the people who consider him a flopper or waffler, because I engaged in that great bar question which many guys at, and at "GQ" we always ask people, which is, who is the better band, the Stones and Beatles? And the senator said, well, you know, I think they're both great. You know, I love this about the Beatles, Abbey Road, I love "Jumping Jack Flash" and a lot of the early Stones. And I said, but, Senator, you really have to pick one. And he said, no, you don't understand, I don't have to pick one. And I think it's just -- some people might say he's trying to have it both ways, but he truly is just a fan of both. And he also loves Dylan, a lot, too. I think -- he mentioned he loves the song "Lay Lady Lay," which I asked him if that was perhaps -- came into play when he was a single man. And he didn't answer that question.

BLITZER: He went way out on a limb when he said he loves the Beatles, the old White Album. What a shocking statement that is. Your bottom line, why have we not really seen this side of John Kerry?

HAINEY: I don't know. You know, I mean, I think he's a guy, who, you know, if you look at his campaign, he always seems to have to his feet held to the fire before the real John Kerry comes out. And I think he's been, you know, a guy who is a senator who has been a politician his whole life. My reaction to him also was this is a guy who, since the time he's been 15, has been in the debate club. So when he sees a microphone or a podium, he starts lecturing. And I don't think he sort of learned that Clintonian ability to sort of speak off-the-cuff. But I think he's getting there. And I think the longer he's on the trial, he'll certainly loosen up a little more.

BLITZER: Michael Hainey, he's the deputy editor of "GQ" Magazine. He's got a good interview there in the next issue, September issue. We'll have you back. Thanks very much. You planning on doing the sail thing with the president?

HAINEY: Well, we've got a request in. We're waiting to hear. So we hope to take the challenge with him. Yes, absolutely.

BLITZER: All right. Let's see if the president makes it into "GQ" as well. Michael Hainey, thanks very much.

A new appeal by the former chess champion, Bobby Fischer. Will he remain in Japan?

And going for the gold, the U.S. men's basketball team tries to reverse its luck.

Plus Walter Cronkite quits again. Why the veteran journalist says this week's newspaper column that he writes is his last.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The one-time boy wonder of the chess world, Bobby Fischer, is trying some new maneuvers in his long-running battle with the U.S. government. Let's go live to our State Department correspondent, Andrea Koppel -- Andrea?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, as I'm sure many of your viewers will remember, it was a little over 30 years ago that Bobby Fischer was a household name in this country when he became the first U.S. chess champion in over a century. Well, these days Fischer is again in the headlines over his blatant criticism of the U.S. and his efforts to do everything he can to keep from return to this country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL, (voice-over): The latest moves by the former chess champion, a personal appeal to Secretary of State Colin Powell and a sudden announcement. He's engaged to marry.

MIYOKO WATAI, FISCHER'S FIANCEE: Our feelings are genuine and they're based on our years of cross companionship.

KOPPEL: Miyoko Watai, the acting president of Japan's chess association, met Fischer in 1973. And, in a stunning admission, said the two had been romantically involved for the last four years.

WATAI: We have taken the very serious decision to marry in the middle of this crisis in the hope that disclosing the reality that we have been living together as man and wife might help the two of us to return to that happy life we have been sharing before Bobby's illegally detention.

KOPPEL: Fischer was detained by Japanese officials last month after he tried to leave Tokyo on an invalid American passport. And while marriage to a Japanese woman could earn him sympathy with the Japanese public, it's unlikely to help him avoid deportation to the United States. Fischer's been a wanted man in the U.S. since 1992, when he violated economic sanctions against then-Yugoslavia in order to play his old rival, Russian great Boris Spassky.

Now Fischer is fighting efforts to send him back to the United States. He's written a letter to Powell in the hopes of renouncing his U.S. citizenship as soon as possible and has applied for asylum in Japan. But the State Department says, even then Fischer's legal woes won't be over.

ADAM ERELI, STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: Renunciation does not allow a person to escape possible prosecution for crimes that they may have committed in the United States or repayment of financial obligations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL: Ever the strategist plotting his next move against his opponent, Fischer is already considering applying for refugee status with the U.N. high commissioner for refugees. Wolf, he's looking for any country that might accept him as a refugee if he doesn't get asylum in Japan -- Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Andrea Koppel at the State Department. Thanks, Andrea, very much.

In Athens today, it's day four of Olympic competition. We're going to show you some of the latest results right now. So if you want to wait for tonight's televised coverage, you might want to hit the mute button right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Make it two more for Michael Phelps. The young American swimming set an Olympic record in winning the 200-meter butterfly and then helped his teammates take gold in the 800-meter freestyle relay. American Amanda Beard made a late charge to seize a silver in the women's 200-meter individual medley, the fifth Olympic medal in her career. The U.S. now has its first fencing medals in 20 years and its first-ever in women's fencing. Mariel Zagunis took gold in the women's saber. And Sada Jacobson won the bronze.

The U.S. softball team made it four in a row, beating China 4-0. It's also the fourth straight shutout. The defending gold medalists now have a 74-game win streak.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And these late results just in. It was a nail-biter, but the U.S. men's basketball team, which was beaten badly earlier by Puerto Rico, managed a narrow victory over the Olympic host, beating Greece 77-71.

And they may have been favorites, but the U.S. women took a silver medal in the gymnastics team competition. They were edged out by a Romanian team with an average age of just 17 years old.

Results of our Web question of the day, that's coming up. Plus, veteran journalist Walter Cronkite calling it quits, again. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: In the aftermath of Hurricane Charley, it's understandable some people are getting frustrated by what's going on. Let's go back to Florida. CNN's Bob Franken picking up the story in Punta Gorda -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And that frustration, Wolf, is sometimes turning into anger, with the long lines, and the intense heat, and the bleak future with thousands upon thousands of homes without electricity, those homes that weren't destroyed. It erupted into a full-scale confrontation with police in Fort Myers beach. A man shot home video as another man with his three children in the car was pulled from the car after police tasered him. The sheriff of Lee County says that they were doing the right thing, they he had tried to run them over with his minivan when they would not let him into his neighborhood.

It is a significant frustration for so many here that they have not been able to return to their houses for safety reasons. The man was briefly jailed, charged with resisting arrest without violence, also charged with disobeying a lawful order. And people are worried here that the anger is going to continue to grow -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Bob Franken with that part of the story. Thanks, Bob, very much.

More than two decades after he left the anchor chair, Walter Cronkite is retiring again. But Howard Kurtz of CNN's RELIABLE SOURCES and The Washington Post explains the legendary journalist is not leaving quietly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOWARD KURTZ, CNN'S RELIABLE SOURCES: The last time Walter Cronkite retired, it was a major media event.

WALTER CRONKITE, JOURNALIST: And that's the way it is.

KURTZ: Cronkite surrendered his CBS anchor chair to Dan Rather back in 1981 after two decades at the helm. He had covered the Kennedy assassination.

CRONKITE: President Kennedy died at 1 p.m. central standard time, 2 o'clock eastern standard time.

KURTZ: Cronkite chronicled the space program. He interviewed presidents, lots of them, and moderated presidential debates. He chatted up world leaders. And his lengthy and critical report on the Vietnam War famously prompted Lyndon Johnson to say, "If we've lost Cronkite, we've lost America."

Now Cronkite is stepping down again, this time from his job as a newspaper columnist. He used that role to come out of the liberal closet, declaring his ideology and often criticizing President Bush over the war in Iraq.

CRONKITE: I think we've got some feeling for those people who are less fortunate than we are and if that's liberalism, then that's what I am.

KURTZ: Cronkite also went sailing with Bill Clinton and recently ripped Fox News as far right in the liberal movie "Outfoxed." But now the one-time wire service reporter is pulling the plug on the year-old column for an old-fashioned reason, which he first complained about late last year.

CRONKITE: Well, it's a lot more work than I thought it was going to be. But in my broadcast career, of course, and in the United Press, I had a back stop of a lot of research material available. Now I've got to do it on my own.

KURTZ: He's still making waves. In last week's column, he endorsed Dennis Kucinich's idea for creating a department of peace. And in his final column appearing tomorrow, Cronkite takes a slap at network news, saying it's patently impossible to cover the world in a half-hour newscast.

Walter Cronkite is 87. And while he's giving up the weekly byline, he shows no sign of retiring from the public debate. And that's the way it is. Howard Kurtz, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And here's how you're weighing in on our Web question of the day. Take a look at these numbers. Remember, it's not a scientific poll. 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 August 17, 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. After a two-week standoff, a critical moment in a life and death struggle in Najaf with enormous long-term ramifications for the United States and Iraq.
Who will blink first? The radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Al Sadr or the interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Spy chief. President Bush wants a national intelligence boss. But the brass isn't so sure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There cannot be a czar that just starts pointing (UNINTELLIGIBLE). There is no wizard of Oz here that's going to solve this in my opinion.

BLITZER: Street fight. A peace mission tries to end the bloodshed in Najaf. But is Baghdad backing down?

Weather woes. As Florida struggles to recover, others are struggling with mud and floods. We'll show you extraordinary images.

A beer with John Kerry. The senator talks with "G.Q." about his bachelor days, his relationship with Marlon Brando and his battle with cancer.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, August 17, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: They had vowed to defeat Muqtada Al Sadr. Now Iraqi leaders have sent peace envoys to the Shiite city of Najaf in a desperate bid to halt the fighting which has pitted U.S. and Iraqi forces against the rebel cleric's militia. CNN's Zain Verjee is standing by with a closer look at that militia. But we begin our coverage with CNN's John Vause. He's live in Baghdad -- John.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Wolf. Some late developments in this peace mission to Najaf. There are some things we know, there's a lot which is unclear at this hour. But let's start with what we know. We know this eight-person delegation was flown to Najaf early today to try and convince Muqtada Al Sadr to lay down his weapons, to leave the Imam Ali Mosque. What we know at this state, this delegation has not met with Muqtada Al Sadr. We have heard from a spokesperson from Muqtada Al Sadr, blaming this on a deteriorating security situation in Najaf, saying the ongoing fighting in Najaf has made it too difficult for the Shiite cleric to meet with this eight- person delegation.

We know from our people on the ground that there have in fact been heavy clashes in Najaf throughout the day concentrated on that cemetery, that huge cemetery right next to the Imam Ali Mosque. What we know at this stage is that the governor of Najaf is saying that there were no security reasons why Muqtada Al Sadr could not meet with that delegation from Baghdad.

We know that Muqtada Al Sadr is inside the Imam Ali Mosque. It is a sprawling complex. Apparently the delegation was kept in one room, Muqtada Al Sadr stayed in another.

Right now we understand that the delegation is still in Najaf. We do not know if they plan to return to Baghdad within the next few hours. There is some talk that they may stay down in Najaf tonight. There are some reports that they may try again tomorrow to meet with Muqtada Al Sadr.

We are also hearing that they -- the talks which they held with Muqtada Al Sadr's aides are being described as positive but we're also hearing another conflicting report of frustration amongst the ranks of the delegation because they did not get to meet with the Shiite cleric.

This is a last-ditch effort, these eight delegates sent from the Iraqi National Conference which is being held here in Baghdad. It's been going for three days now. The issue of Najaf has dominated that conference. They put everything else to one side. This delegation was sent down there to try and convince Al Sadr to dissolve his Mehdi militia, join the political process. Many others have tried to do that. Many others have failed. This was really the last-ditch attempt.

It now remains to be seen what happens, how this plays out in the next couple of hours. Will this delegation try again or will they return to Baghdad, address the National Conference and say we tried but we failed? We have to wait and see what will be said. The story is still unfolding. A lot of uncertainties yet to be resolved -- Wolf.

BLITZER: With enormous stakes involved. Thank you, John Vause. We'll continue to follow this story in Iraq.

Is Iraq's interim government led by the Prime Minister Iyad Allawi backing down in the face of the challenge from these Shiite radicals? Earlier I put that question to the former CIA director, James Woolsey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES WOOLSEY, FMR. CIA DIRECTOR: It looks like maybe they're starting to blink and it's a real shame because we blinked earlier in Fallujah against the Baathist and Sunni Islamist radicals, the marines didn't blink but I think their civilian overseers did and that has left the Sunni Triangle...

BLITZER: That's when Ambassador Bremer was still in charge.

WOOLSEY: Yes. I think that was a bad decision frankly. Now in the Shiite area, we're having a similar phenomenon. Muqtada Al Sadr, I think, is clearly bought and paid for by the bullies in Tehran. He's sort of like the head of Hezbollah for Iraq. And it's a very difficult situation. We really need an Iraqi government that is going to establish its authority country-wide with our help. And if Muqtada Al Sadr gets away with this, we could be on the verge of something like a civil war.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: So what are the American troops and the allies up against right now? CNN's Zain Verjee joining us with a closer look at Muqtada Al Sadr's Mehdi militia -- Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the al-Mehdi militia gets its name from Imam al-Mehdi, a revered figure Shias believe is in hiding and will one day return. Its name may be religiously inspired but the al-Mehdi militia poses a practical threat to U.S. forces in Najaf as well as to the government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE (voice-over): The sprawling valley of Peace (ph) Cemetery is one place where it wages war. The ancient and sacred Imam Ali Shrine has become its operational headquarters. Muqtada Al Sadr's al- Mehdi army may be a ragtag renegade militia force, but it's dangerous. It's armed to the teeth, say U.S. generals with rifles, mortars, hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenades.

The Mehdi army's military tactics have been described as both ruthless and clever.

WILLIAM COHEN, FMR. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Basically hit and run and very effective in doing that because they are basically wrapping themselves around the holy shrine.

VERJEE: And that's the real risk for U.S. marines in Najaf.

WOOLSEY: If American troops were right around this or we were firing into it, and it were destroyed in some substantial way, we would get the blame even if it had been done by Muqtada Al Sadr and his Mehdi army on purpose.

VERJEE: And the wrath of the entire Shia Muslim world.

COHEN: And it's a big group of a street gang or something like that.

VERJEE: U.S. experts say many members of the Mehdi army are young, unemployed men from Baghdad's Sadr City, considered home to the poorest of the poor Shias. John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org has studied the al-Mehdi army.

JOHN PIKE, GLOBALSECURITY.ORG: I think that it's a combination here of young men who otherwise face no employment opportunities, who are inspired by Al Sadr's religious message and who individually and their families are receiving financial compensation for the services that they're providing.

VERJEE: It's not clear how many men make up the Mehdi army. Estimates run from 3,000 to 20,000.

PIKE: It's organized informally and probably consists of a number of small units that are organized around kinship ties.

VERJEE: Most Shias in Iraq do not support Al Sadr, his militia or his message. Instead, many Iraqis see the Mehdi army as merely a movement of extremists, willing to die defending Al Sadr and the very shrine they are putting in the line of fire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE (on camera): And the standoff with Al Sadr and his Mehdi militia is a delicate and difficult situation as you all know, Wolf. U.S. military experts say, if there's any fighting to be done near the shrine of Imam Ali, it should be done by Iraqi forces and not by U.S. forces -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Zain Verjee reporting, thanks.

Terror-related charges filed against eight men arrested this month in England. Among them, according to U.S. officials, here in Washington, a man described as a senior al Qaeda figure. Our senior international correspondent Walter Rodgers, he's live in London with the latest -- Walt.

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this is a huge case in Britain. Eight men held in custody for two weeks without charges under Britain's anti-terrorism act without charges, that is, until today. Then suddenly, the police have charged these men with conspiracy to murder. That's all eight indictments against them. Additionally, there is a conspiracy allegation to use radioactive materials, toxic gases, explosives, and other chemicals.

Again this case is going to go into the courts for six to nine months. Among the evidence against these men, the police allege that they had conducted reconnaissance against some of the major financial institutions in the United States, the New York Stock Exchange, Citigroup in New York, the Prudential Center in New Jersey and the IMF in Washington -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Walter Rodgers reporting with us. Thanks very much. Here in Washington, up on Capitol Hill there were hearings today on the reform sought by the 9/11 commission. But when it comes to an intelligence overhaul, the Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon brass are calling for some serious caution. Let's go live to our congressional correspondent Ed Henry -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Wolf.

That's right, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld was speaking out for the first time publicly since President Bush came out and endorsed this concept of a national intelligence director. As you know, Rumsfeld has been very public in the past about his opposition to the so-called mid. He's not eager to give up his control over 85 percent of the intelligence budget. And Democrats like, Carl Levin, at this hearing today were eager to try to exploit this apparent split within the Bush administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: Mr. Secretary, we've got specific recommendations from the 9/11 commission.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I understand.

LEVIN: I'm quoting them. I just want to ask your personal agreement or disagreement. If you can't give us that, that's OK. But just say you can't give us a personal yes or no, from your prospective.

RUMSFELD: I can't do it with yes or no, that's for sure.

LEVIN: Thank you. Thank you.

RUMSFELD: It's a vastly more complex question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Rumsfeld kept saying the devil would be in the details on this national intelligence director proposal, but it's clear, that he is not eager to give up that ground, as I mentioned that turf. And that pits him against people like Tom Kean, and Lee Hamilton, the 9/11 Commission co-chairs. They were testifying today at a House hearing. They have testified over and over that they think this NID needs budget power, strong authority to take some turf away from the defense secretary.

Also at a Senate hearing today some 9/11 families also came out, very hard behind a national intelligence director who will be powerful. That, again, at odds with where the defense officials are right now, Wolf. And I tell you also, there is not a consensus among some powerful Republican senators. People like intelligence chairman Pat Roberts saying, he believes in a strong national intelligence director. But just a few moments ago I spoke to Arm Services chairman John Warner, he's saying it might be better to skip that, and instead just elevate the current CIA director, make that post a cabinet-level position. So, clearly no consensus yet on the Republican side, Wolf.

BLITZER: Lots of debate. Lots of turf wars. Lots of bureaucracy under way right now. We'll continue to monitor this story for our viewers.

Ed Henry, thanks very much.

And to our viewers, here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our "Web Question of the Day," would a national intelligence director make the United States safer?

You can vote, go cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results for you later in this broadcast.

Adopted, then abandoned. Coming up an incredible story, children left in an unbelievable location and the way they were discovered, perhaps even more remarkable. It's a story you don't want to miss.

The New Jersey governor and his affair, now the other man speaking out.

And later -- a revealing side of John Kerry made over a couple of beers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The former aide at the center of the scandal that led New Jersey's governor to resign has left the country. Golan Cipel is back in his native Israel while fallout swirls about him and Governor James McGreevey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOLAN CIPEL, FORMER N.J. GOVERNOR AIDE (through translator): I have had a very difficult time. I have come to Israel to be with my family at this time. I cannot expand on anything, for legal reasons.

BLITZER (voice-over): Golan Cipel, speaking in Hebrew, as he visit his parents in a Tel Aviv suburb. Although he didn't offer any new details on camera, he talked at length about his experience with New Jersey Governor James McGreevey to the Israeli newspaper, Yediot Ahmad. It quotes him as saying, "At first it didn't occur to me that he was homosexual. The man looked happily married.

He has children. And his wife was very active in the campaign and election." Cipel goes on to portray himself as a victim. Saying, "He hit on me over and over. Think about how scary it is when we are talking about a powerful man like the governor of the state of New Jersey." CNN contacted McGreevey's office about Cipel's claims. Officials would not comment, except to say McGreevey stands by last week's statement which portrayed the relationship differently.

GOV. JAMES MCGREEVEY, NEW JERSEY: I engaged in adult consensual affair with another man. BLITZER: McGreevey made Cipel a homeland security adviser in 2002. But his Israeli citizenship and questions about qualifications quickly forced him out of the six-figure job. Cipel's lawyer says, while there were talks with MCEDWARDS: staff of some kind of settlement, he deny any blackmail threats, saying Cipel is interested in justice, not money.

ALLEN LOWY, GOLAN CIPEL's ATTORNEY: When the governor resigned, I think my client in some way felt vindicated, that the governor did own up to what he had done. Because politicians don't resign because they're gay or if they in fact had a consensual affair. And there was no affair here, because my client is heterosexual. There was a -- there was no relationship. It was assault and harassment.

BLITZER: Meanwhile, New Jersey Republicans are mounting pressure on McGreevey to resign immediately, which would prompt a special election. McGreevey, is opting to wait until November 15th, when under New Jersey law the state Senate president, a fellow Democrat, takes over to serve out McGreevey's term. McGreevey defends hi decision in an article in "USA Today," saying the fact that I have chosen to leave office before the end of my term only heightens my responsibilities to the citizens of New Jersey, not only to complete the initiatives we have started, but also to oversee an orderly transition of power.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: A new poll in New Jersey shows the public split, 48 percent saying McGreevey should resign immediately, 41 percent are OK waiting until November 15th.

You're about to see what happens when a bad weather day meets up with cars. Coming up, ferocious flooding turning roadways into waterways, and it's all caught on camera.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How was it possible for U.S. citizens, children, to be abandoned in a foreign country?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: How far did a mother go to get rid of her children?

According to a youth pastor, pretty far.

And has the former chess champion Bobby Fischer, outplayed the United States government?

Wait until you hear his latest move.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Authorities in Houston are deciding whether to file charges against a local woman who is believed to have abandoned her adoptive children in Nigeria. The woman later headed to Iraq for work while the seven kids wound up in a Nigerian orphanage. Jeremy Desel from CNN affiliate KHOU in Houston picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DESEL, KHOU CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twice a year folks from the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio visit Nigeria. This trip, a stop at this home for abandoned children.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the beds they were sleeping in. The smell of urine was so awful.

DESEL: Other beds with no mattresses, kids sleeping on springs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the boys' section of the room.

DESEL: But the biggest surprise waited on the porch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This young lady right here that was sitting up, playing cards right there actually, we noticed she had an American accent. We just asked her, where are you from? And she said, Houston.

DESEL: What comes next is a horrible story. Seven children in all adopted in Houston and allegedly left in Ibadan, Nigeria by their adoptive mother in October of last year. But the family they were left with then sent the children to the orphanage.

When Pastor John Hagee got the phone call from his youth minister, the story just didn't seem true.

PASTOR JOHN HAGEE, CORNERSTONE CHURCH: How was it possible for U.S. citizens' children to be abandoned in a foreign country and especially a foreign country that is as dangerous for a child to live in?

DESEL: The youth pastor asked the children for proof of citizenship. Even with no I.D.s, passing that test was no trouble.

HAGEE: The oldest girl gave me her Social Security number. She told me the school she has attended and they all lined up and sang the national anthem and didn't miss a word. So they were bonafide American citizens.

DESEL: Pastor Hagee contacted the Texas Senator John Cornyn's office which got right to work. Linda Bazaco contacted the state department and embassy in Nigeria, worried.

LINDA BAZACO, SEN. JOHN CORNYN'S OFFICE: They were totally unprotected and everyone's concern was that they could be sold into slavery, prostitution ring, or anything like that.

HAGEE: I can't think of a more cruel, more cold, more vicious, more heartless act against people that you had taken in and adopted and then abandoned them in such a fashion. DESEL: Jeremy Desel, 11 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: All seven children have been placed in two separate foster homes. The three boys and four teenage girls range in age from 8 to 16 years old. Their adoptive mother was at the hearing yesterday. That's where a judge ordered the children to be returned to child protective service's custody. Charges have not been filed yet. The mother is scheduled to appear in court again August 26.

Washed way in Washington state. Dozens are trapped as mudslides wash out a major road. Crews scrambling to dig them out right now.

And the waters came fast and furious down the river bed in southern England. A quaint fishing village now copes with disaster.

And an old newspaper man decides he's done with the regular beat. Walter Cronkite says he's written his last newspaper column.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Natural disaster, flash floods sweeping away cars and trapping people. Incredible pictures coming up of nature's fury. First a quick check of stories now in the news.

Palestinian sources say an explosion at a house in Gaza City has killed at least five people. 16 others were reportedly wounded. It is not immediately known what caused the blast. The house reportedly belonged to a Hamas activist.

A delegation from a conference of Iraqi leaders traveled to Najaf in an effort to broker an end to fighting there, but was unable to meet with the militant leader Muqtada Al Sadr. A spokesman for the radical cleric says ongoing combat between militia fighters and U.S. troops prevented the meeting.

Search engine Google could set the price for its initial public offering within hours. It would clear the way for its shares to start trading tomorrow. In a filing yesterday the company asked the Securities And Exchange Commission to approve the company's registration paperwork.

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey is spending the week in court. She's not accused of breaking any laws and she's not being sued. Instead, she's been chosen to serve on a jury in a murder trial on Chicago's south side. She'll be paid $17.20 a day.

Keeping you informed. CNN, the most trusted name in news.

It was only last Friday that Hurricane Charley blew through Florida and left severe property damage and 19 deaths in its wake. Emergency supplies are streaming into the area. But the lack of power in the area is one of the biggest obstacles to rebuilding.

Even so thousands of tons of supplies are beginning to find their way to the people who need them most.

Take a look now at a set of before and after satellite pictures taken of North Captiva Island. If you ever have any doubt about the power riding in the wind and waves of Hurricane Charley, here's the proof. Charley took one large barrier island and cut it into two, all in the space of only a couple of hours.

Dozens of firefighters and travelers were trapped by mud and debris along a highway in Washington State's rural area. Gary Horcher of CNN affiliate KIRO has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY HORCHER, KIRO-TV, (voice-over): This is one of the more major mudslides you will ever see in your life. Behind me is representative of what Highway 20 was just before a major rainstorm sent tons of what I'm holding here, sand, mud, rock and trees just cascading down over the highway. About four feet under me is the pavement, and this isn't all the workers have to deal with. There are three more mudslides down the road.

DAN GATES, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: There was a surprise.

HORCHER: Even seasoned veterans of the DOT could hardly believe their eyes when they saw this, four separate mudslides stretching over 35 miles of the North Cascades Highway. Some of the massive piles of sand and mud are so deep, you can barely see the loader working there on the other side. We're told it took only minutes for the mountain to heave this wet, heavy mass over the road. Now even a water fall is flowing right across where the busy road used to be.

GATES: I'm thankful there's nobody in it, that they were all caught in between the slides.

HORCHER: The DOT estimates 120 people inside their cars were suddenly blocked in by the mudslides. They were all rescued. But when you see these enormous rocks that tumbled down, it's a miracle that no one was hurt. Now crews are working as fast as they can with heavy equipment to move all of this stuff off the pavement.

And drivers are going to have be very patient for this to get cleaned up. Because we are talking about literally millions of tons of rock and sand and all kinds of other debris. Loaders like that one behind me are working feverishly to clean this up. But it could take days before this highway reopens.

Reporting from the mudslide on top of Highway 20, Gary Horcher, KIRO 7, Eyewitness News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And the natural disasters don't stop there. In England, there were remarkably powerful flash floods in the southwestern part of the country. The violence done to the old fishing village of Boscastle was both fast and furious. It left local residents in shock and their once peaceful village a wreck. ITN's Lawrence McGinty has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE MCGINTY, ITN, (voice-over): This is a village being ripped apart by the force of nature. Boscastle, late yesterday afternoon as the floodwaters rose to levels ten feet higher than ever before. These remarkable pictures were filmed by a local resident. He watched powerless as the rising waters swept cars from the village car park down the main street and out towards the harbor and the sea. In a matter of minutes, the heart of the village of Boscastle had been ripped apart, the helicopters and all the modern technology futile in the face of nature. The car park had been almost emptied by the force of the swollen river.

As morning broke, ITV News's cameras followed the first search team into the village ruined by the ferocious flash flood. Their immediate task: To find any survivors still trapped in their homes. Miraculously, everyone seems to have got out safe and sound. From the air, the extent of the destruction of this holiday village is clear. Mud and debris are the footprints of the floodwaters of the river Valency. Looking at these pictures, it's almost impossible to believe that there was no loss of life or even serious injuries.

MARIA WALLIS, CHIEF CONSTABLE, DEVON AND CORNWALL POLICE: It's absolutely amaze, isn't it, when you see this devastation to realize that so far, as far as we're aware, nobody has died. There have been a few very minor injuries. I hope it stays that way.

MCGINTY: It will never be the same again. But the emergency services had to begin the clear-up, struggling first to identify cars that had been swept into the dense mud of the harbor.

So powerful was the torrent of water ripping through Boscastle that it carried cars not only into the mud of the harbor, but past the harbor walls, out into the estuary here. One fireman held by a safety rope waded up to his chest to read a car registration number and to check no one was inside. That was the priority, the search for survivors and the thankfully fruitless search for bodies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: That report from ITN's Lawrence McGinty. An amazing story. Thank God everyone was okay there, as well as in Washington State.

You've seen them on the trail. Now a glimpse of John Kerry unplugged. The Democratic candidate reveals his admiration for a certain Hollywood actress, and details of his former life as a bachelor.

A new move by a former chess champion to avoid deportation. Find out whom Bobby Fischer is appealing to right now.

Plus, Olympic action. Did the U.S. women's gymnastics team live up to all the hype? We'll have the complete wrap of all today's competition. That's coming up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: He can be a couch potato. He thinks Charlize Theron is hot. Who doesn't? And if the Democrats had their way, he'd be the next president of the United States. That's some of what "GQ" Magazine discovered when its writer sat down for a beer or two with John Kerry. CNN's Brian Todd picking up the story here -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, these types of interviews can sometimes blow up in candidates' faces. I don't think this one will. But it is another attempt to get inside the soul of the Democratic nominee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): We've come through his legislative, military and personal history, his political philosophies we know up and down. The wrap has always been that it's the personal side of John Kerry we can't get at.

U.S. SENATOR JOHN KERRY (D-MA): In the event of emergency, my hair can be used as a flotation device.

TODD: The candidate attempts to reveal part of himself in the September issue of "GQ" Magazine. Over a few beers at a sports bar in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Kerry told interviewer Michael Hainey about his love of playing sports, but said, quote, "I can sit and watch football like anybody else. If you want me to be one, I'm a great veg, a couch potato."

In different ways, Kerry expressed his love and profound admiration for his wife Teresa. But when asked who is the sexiest film actress of all time, quote, "I think Charlize Theron is pretty extraordinary, Catherine Zeta Jones, Marilyn Monroe. I thought she was funny, complicated and obviously very attractive, very beautiful."

The subject of film stars brought out perhaps the most revealing item, quote, "You know Brando used to call me." Hainey: "What?" Kerry: "I had a telephone relationship with Marlon Brando back in '86, '85 when I was doing the Contras. He took a huge interest in it and he would call me. He was always asking questions and he'd give me advice." Haney later asked if he used any of Brando's questions in hearings. Kerry replied, quote, "I took his advice on a couple of angles, a couple of points." We called the Kerry campaign to get more specifics on those points. They would only say the article speaks for itself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Some other notable comments from the interview of his days as a bachelor on Capitol Hill. Kerry said, quote, "Those were not good days," and that it's no fun being single on Capitol Hill. He said likes the current president, Bush, but, quote, "I like the senior Bush enormously," end quote -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. So we did we did learn something. Brian Todd, thanks very much for that.

The Kerry interview is featured in the upcoming issue of "GQ" Magazine. It's out on the newsstands August 24th. Michael Hainey, as Brian pointed out, is the deputy editor of "GQ." He's joining us now from New York.

Michael, what was it like having a beer or two? How many beers did you actually have with John Kerry?

MICHAEL HAINEY, "GQ" MAGAZINE DEPUTY EDITOR: Well, we had two. I ordered the first one, which was Budweiser, and then, Kerry showing his Boston roots, ordered Guinness and he was very happy with that.

BLITZER: So was it fun? Because a lot of people asked the question, would you rather go out and have a beer with George W. Bush or John Kerry? Until now most people, I suspect, most men would have thought George W. Bush. But what did you think?

HAINEY: Well, you can't have a beer with Bush. So there's your problem there. But I would -- I felt enormously lucky to have a beer with Kerry. He's a terrific drinking partner, and it truly shocked me. I mean at "GQ," that was part of our test was this guy is seen as so stiff and, you know, sort of awkward. And I got to tell you, that sort of going elbow-to-elbow with him over a table, over a couple beers, was a real treat for me.

BLITZER: You could have a nonalcoholic beer with the president couldn't you?

HAINEY: Yes, you can have apple juice or something like that, probably, yes.

BLITZER: Did you get a sense that he's the kind of guy you want to watch a football game with or you want to do something man-to-man?

HAINEY: Absolutely. I mean, you know, you got the sense that he's encyclopedic in his knowledge of sports. I mean, the guy loves hockey. He's not just active in sports, but he really can sort of rattle off his love of, like, especially the old Boston Bruins like Bobby Orr and Esposito, really loves to, sort of, to watch downhill skiing. But I think he's a tremendous sort of fan of all sports. You know, he seemed most distressed by the changes that have happened in the NHL over the last few years.

BLITZER: He also showed some knowledge of music, especially the Rolling Stones and the Beatles.

HAINEY: Well, yeah, and I think this will give ammunition to, you know, the people who consider him a flopper or waffler, because I engaged in that great bar question which many guys at, and at "GQ" we always ask people, which is, who is the better band, the Stones and Beatles? And the senator said, well, you know, I think they're both great. You know, I love this about the Beatles, Abbey Road, I love "Jumping Jack Flash" and a lot of the early Stones. And I said, but, Senator, you really have to pick one. And he said, no, you don't understand, I don't have to pick one. And I think it's just -- some people might say he's trying to have it both ways, but he truly is just a fan of both. And he also loves Dylan, a lot, too. I think -- he mentioned he loves the song "Lay Lady Lay," which I asked him if that was perhaps -- came into play when he was a single man. And he didn't answer that question.

BLITZER: He went way out on a limb when he said he loves the Beatles, the old White Album. What a shocking statement that is. Your bottom line, why have we not really seen this side of John Kerry?

HAINEY: I don't know. You know, I mean, I think he's a guy, who, you know, if you look at his campaign, he always seems to have to his feet held to the fire before the real John Kerry comes out. And I think he's been, you know, a guy who is a senator who has been a politician his whole life. My reaction to him also was this is a guy who, since the time he's been 15, has been in the debate club. So when he sees a microphone or a podium, he starts lecturing. And I don't think he sort of learned that Clintonian ability to sort of speak off-the-cuff. But I think he's getting there. And I think the longer he's on the trial, he'll certainly loosen up a little more.

BLITZER: Michael Hainey, he's the deputy editor of "GQ" Magazine. He's got a good interview there in the next issue, September issue. We'll have you back. Thanks very much. You planning on doing the sail thing with the president?

HAINEY: Well, we've got a request in. We're waiting to hear. So we hope to take the challenge with him. Yes, absolutely.

BLITZER: All right. Let's see if the president makes it into "GQ" as well. Michael Hainey, thanks very much.

A new appeal by the former chess champion, Bobby Fischer. Will he remain in Japan?

And going for the gold, the U.S. men's basketball team tries to reverse its luck.

Plus Walter Cronkite quits again. Why the veteran journalist says this week's newspaper column that he writes is his last.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The one-time boy wonder of the chess world, Bobby Fischer, is trying some new maneuvers in his long-running battle with the U.S. government. Let's go live to our State Department correspondent, Andrea Koppel -- Andrea?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, as I'm sure many of your viewers will remember, it was a little over 30 years ago that Bobby Fischer was a household name in this country when he became the first U.S. chess champion in over a century. Well, these days Fischer is again in the headlines over his blatant criticism of the U.S. and his efforts to do everything he can to keep from return to this country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL, (voice-over): The latest moves by the former chess champion, a personal appeal to Secretary of State Colin Powell and a sudden announcement. He's engaged to marry.

MIYOKO WATAI, FISCHER'S FIANCEE: Our feelings are genuine and they're based on our years of cross companionship.

KOPPEL: Miyoko Watai, the acting president of Japan's chess association, met Fischer in 1973. And, in a stunning admission, said the two had been romantically involved for the last four years.

WATAI: We have taken the very serious decision to marry in the middle of this crisis in the hope that disclosing the reality that we have been living together as man and wife might help the two of us to return to that happy life we have been sharing before Bobby's illegally detention.

KOPPEL: Fischer was detained by Japanese officials last month after he tried to leave Tokyo on an invalid American passport. And while marriage to a Japanese woman could earn him sympathy with the Japanese public, it's unlikely to help him avoid deportation to the United States. Fischer's been a wanted man in the U.S. since 1992, when he violated economic sanctions against then-Yugoslavia in order to play his old rival, Russian great Boris Spassky.

Now Fischer is fighting efforts to send him back to the United States. He's written a letter to Powell in the hopes of renouncing his U.S. citizenship as soon as possible and has applied for asylum in Japan. But the State Department says, even then Fischer's legal woes won't be over.

ADAM ERELI, STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: Renunciation does not allow a person to escape possible prosecution for crimes that they may have committed in the United States or repayment of financial obligations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL: Ever the strategist plotting his next move against his opponent, Fischer is already considering applying for refugee status with the U.N. high commissioner for refugees. Wolf, he's looking for any country that might accept him as a refugee if he doesn't get asylum in Japan -- Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Andrea Koppel at the State Department. Thanks, Andrea, very much.

In Athens today, it's day four of Olympic competition. We're going to show you some of the latest results right now. So if you want to wait for tonight's televised coverage, you might want to hit the mute button right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Make it two more for Michael Phelps. The young American swimming set an Olympic record in winning the 200-meter butterfly and then helped his teammates take gold in the 800-meter freestyle relay. American Amanda Beard made a late charge to seize a silver in the women's 200-meter individual medley, the fifth Olympic medal in her career. The U.S. now has its first fencing medals in 20 years and its first-ever in women's fencing. Mariel Zagunis took gold in the women's saber. And Sada Jacobson won the bronze.

The U.S. softball team made it four in a row, beating China 4-0. It's also the fourth straight shutout. The defending gold medalists now have a 74-game win streak.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And these late results just in. It was a nail-biter, but the U.S. men's basketball team, which was beaten badly earlier by Puerto Rico, managed a narrow victory over the Olympic host, beating Greece 77-71.

And they may have been favorites, but the U.S. women took a silver medal in the gymnastics team competition. They were edged out by a Romanian team with an average age of just 17 years old.

Results of our Web question of the day, that's coming up. Plus, veteran journalist Walter Cronkite calling it quits, again. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: In the aftermath of Hurricane Charley, it's understandable some people are getting frustrated by what's going on. Let's go back to Florida. CNN's Bob Franken picking up the story in Punta Gorda -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And that frustration, Wolf, is sometimes turning into anger, with the long lines, and the intense heat, and the bleak future with thousands upon thousands of homes without electricity, those homes that weren't destroyed. It erupted into a full-scale confrontation with police in Fort Myers beach. A man shot home video as another man with his three children in the car was pulled from the car after police tasered him. The sheriff of Lee County says that they were doing the right thing, they he had tried to run them over with his minivan when they would not let him into his neighborhood.

It is a significant frustration for so many here that they have not been able to return to their houses for safety reasons. The man was briefly jailed, charged with resisting arrest without violence, also charged with disobeying a lawful order. And people are worried here that the anger is going to continue to grow -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Bob Franken with that part of the story. Thanks, Bob, very much.

More than two decades after he left the anchor chair, Walter Cronkite is retiring again. But Howard Kurtz of CNN's RELIABLE SOURCES and The Washington Post explains the legendary journalist is not leaving quietly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOWARD KURTZ, CNN'S RELIABLE SOURCES: The last time Walter Cronkite retired, it was a major media event.

WALTER CRONKITE, JOURNALIST: And that's the way it is.

KURTZ: Cronkite surrendered his CBS anchor chair to Dan Rather back in 1981 after two decades at the helm. He had covered the Kennedy assassination.

CRONKITE: President Kennedy died at 1 p.m. central standard time, 2 o'clock eastern standard time.

KURTZ: Cronkite chronicled the space program. He interviewed presidents, lots of them, and moderated presidential debates. He chatted up world leaders. And his lengthy and critical report on the Vietnam War famously prompted Lyndon Johnson to say, "If we've lost Cronkite, we've lost America."

Now Cronkite is stepping down again, this time from his job as a newspaper columnist. He used that role to come out of the liberal closet, declaring his ideology and often criticizing President Bush over the war in Iraq.

CRONKITE: I think we've got some feeling for those people who are less fortunate than we are and if that's liberalism, then that's what I am.

KURTZ: Cronkite also went sailing with Bill Clinton and recently ripped Fox News as far right in the liberal movie "Outfoxed." But now the one-time wire service reporter is pulling the plug on the year-old column for an old-fashioned reason, which he first complained about late last year.

CRONKITE: Well, it's a lot more work than I thought it was going to be. But in my broadcast career, of course, and in the United Press, I had a back stop of a lot of research material available. Now I've got to do it on my own.

KURTZ: He's still making waves. In last week's column, he endorsed Dennis Kucinich's idea for creating a department of peace. And in his final column appearing tomorrow, Cronkite takes a slap at network news, saying it's patently impossible to cover the world in a half-hour newscast.

Walter Cronkite is 87. And while he's giving up the weekly byline, he shows no sign of retiring from the public debate. And that's the way it is. Howard Kurtz, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And here's how you're weighing in on our Web question of the day. Take a look at these numbers. Remember, it's not a scientific poll. 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