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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
CNN Producer Released; Washington State Worries About Mt. St. Helens; Earthquake Rattles California
Aired September 28, 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. First day of freedom. Welcome news for several abducted in the Middle East including one of our own.
Also seismic jitters. Washington state worries if Mount St. Helens will have an encore eruption.
While an earthquake, yes, an earthquake rattles California.
And with just two days until the first presidential debate, a former president and the current president's brother are in a face- off.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): Mixed message. Why is Iraq's own president at odds with U.S. military airstrikes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This looks more like a selective punishment.
BLITZER: Bush's pre-war advice. Lehrer's post-war battle.
(AUDIO GAP)
ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, September 28, 2004.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: They're safe and sound. A number of hostages in a troubled region regain their freedom. Two Italian women kidnapped in Baghdad three weeks ago were handed over to the International Committee for the Red Cross earlier today.
An Egyptian company says four of its employees seized last week in Iraq have also been freed and a French negotiator says he's met with two French journalists being held in Iraq, adding that an agreement has been reached to free them soon. But we begin with the release of a CNN employee, our producer, Riad Ali, who was abducted by gunmen yesterday in Gaza. CNN's Ben Wedeman shared part of that ordeal. He's joining us now live from Jerusalem. Fill our viewers in what has happened over these dramatic 24 hours, Ben. BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it was just a little more than 24 hours ago that we were driving down a street in the evening in downtown Gaza City when we were stopped by armed gunmen who came up to the car waving weapons and took Riad out and drove away. It all happened so quickly, only about 40 seconds. Basically, throughout the night and through all of this day, we were working the phones in Gaza. Our colleagues here in Jerusalem and elsewhere were making every possible contact to find out who was holding him, what they wanted. And finally, basically around midday Gaza time, we started getting indications from Palestinian security sources and others that he would be released at some point during the day and we finally got word that he was at the Palestinian police headquarters.
We rushed over there, along with a very large crowd of other journalists very anxious to find out how Riad was and we finally saw him coming down the stairs with the head of the police in Gaza and, shortly after that, Riad made a statement to the press where he thanked everyone who played a role in winning his release. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIAD ALI, CNN PRODUCER: All I would like to say is to thank all of those people who were involved in my release. I would like to thank President Arafat, the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) prime minister, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and of course, CNN. CNN had made a lot of efforts to ensure my release. I would like to thank all of these people. The only thing that I am awaiting for now is to see my family, to see my kids, to see my wife. They are awaiting for me up in the north in my village. So, thanks, all of you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WEDEMAN: And we're told, Wolf, that Riad will just in the next few minutes, be arriving home. Obviously, it's been a very, very difficult 24 hours for his family. And we are all very happy and relieved he's free and going home.
BLITZER: We are very relieved. We're very happy as well. Ben Wedeman, thank you for all of this.
Italy's prime minister calls the release of the Italian hostages and I'm quoting now, "a moment of joy." Our Rome bureau chief Alessio Vinci is joining us now live with details of that release -- Alessio.
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Wolf. The two Italian hostages, former hostages, the two aid workers and their two colleagues have been freed in Iraq earlier today, handed over to an Italian Red Cross official and they are now on their way here to Rome, to Italy, where we expect them to land any time at the Rome Ciampino Airport. The Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi confirmed the release on national television saying, as you said, that this was a moment of joy for the whole nation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SILVIO BERLUSCONI, ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The two girls are well and tonight will be able to embrace their loved ones. Through all this I'm extremely grateful to all those who have helped. I believe that our behavior has been beyond reproach. We've always been able to reserve the expectation for the solution to this problem. And if I may say, we have been dedicated day and night to it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VINCI: Meanwhile, the Arabic news channel Al Jazeera showed some video that was filmed presumably only minutes after the two -- the four people were released. It shows the Two Simonas, as they are known in Italy, wearing first, a black veil, then they lifted it up their veils and they look in pretty good spirits considering that they have been in captivity for more than three weeks. They were saying thank you, thank you in Arabic, obviously relieved to be away, out of that ordeal. Back to you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Alessio Vinci in Rome. Thank God for the release of these women as well.
Conflicting messages in Iraq coming today and interviews with CNN. Iraqi president Ghazi al-Yawar criticizing the conduct of the war specifically U.S. air strikes while a top U.S. military commander delivers an upbeat assessment. General John Abizaid, the head of the central command says the situation on the ground is better than many people think.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, CENTCOM COMMANDER: I do think that there's a general lack of understanding in the United States of how things are going. The images that are on the screens are almost always negative images as opposed to the important and positive steps that are taken. For example, today, we met with the governor of the Ala (ph) province here and we met with the police chief of the province. Violence is down. They're moving forward economically. They are very optimistic about being able to conduct elections and very optimistic about the future.
SHEIKH GHAZI AL-YAWAR, IRAQI INTERIM PRESIDENT: The picture of having air strikes especially when jet fighter strikes congested areas it looks more like a collective punishment than hitting a limited target. This is very bad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: While the release of the hostages certainly good news in anybody's book, the violence continuing in Iraq without letup. Should President Bush have seen it all coming? There is word today of a pre-war warning. For information on that, let's turn to our national security correspondent David Ensor -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATL. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, that's right. The warning came in the form of two intelligence estimates that predicted big trouble in the U.S.-occupied Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR (voice-over): Classified reports prepared for President Bush two months before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, reports warned sources say of an insurgency that would unite ex-Baathists and Islamist terrorists. The reports in January 2003 from the National Intelligence Council warned that an invasion would increase support for radical Islam and result in a divided Iraqi society prone to conflict.
JAMES BAMFORD, AUTHOR, "A PRETEXT FOR WAR": The United States was warned. But you won't hear that from the White House. I think that's why the CIA is quietly trying to leak this information out.
ENSOR: Word of the intelligence reports was seized upon by Democrats, vice presidential candidate Senator John Edwards saying, quote, "ignoring the truth has been the hallmark of George Bush's presidency."
But in Crawford, Texas, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the administration has always talked about how it is hard to transition from a brutal dictatorship to democracy. But what we're working to achieve, he said, will make America more secure.
The reports were prepared under the direction of Paul Pillar, a senior official at the National Intelligence Council, a quasi- independent think tank based at the CIA. Word of their warnings before the war comes after news of a gloomy intelligence estimate done in July this year about the future prospects for Iraq, an estimate at first disparaged by the president.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They were just guessing as to what the conditions might be like. I used an unfortunate word, guess. I should have used estimate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: U.S. officials say suggestions of a battle between the CIA and the White House over Iraq policy are way off the mark but clearly information about warnings given to the White House before the invasion is coming out at an inconvenient time for the administration -- Wolf.
BLITZER: David Ensor with that report. David, thank you very much. The British prime minister, Tony Blair, is taking heat for his support of the war on Iraq. He got an uneven reception today during a keynote speech before his own party. CNN European political editor Robin Oakley has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Outside the hall, noisy and hairy protests against his governments decision to ban fox hunting. But for some in his party lately, Mr. Blair himself has been the target of the hunt. Many Labour activists didn't like the invasion of Iraq. They want British troops brought home and wanted Mr. Blair to apologize for the war. He didn't use the sorry word, but he did go further than ever before, acknowledging the intelligence on which he went to war was faulty.
TONY BLAIR, PRIME MINISTER OF ENGLAND: The evidence about Saddam having actual biological and chemical weapons as opposed to the capability of development has turned out to be wrong. I acknowledge that. I accept it.
OAKLEY: That pleased some, but it wasn't enough for others.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All he did was apologize that the information was wrong. The envelopes wasn't wrong. It was him. His exaggeration that was wrong.
OAKLEY: Mr. Blair, who was twice interrupted by protesters who penetrated the conference was candid about the political pain his stance had brought him.
BLAIR: I know, too, people see me struggling with it. They think he stopped caring about us or worse, he's pandering to George Bush and what's more a cause that irrelevant to us.
OAKLEY: But he insisted domestic achievements were nothing if the threat of terrorism wasn't removed. And Britain would stay in Iraq as long as the battle against global terrorists had to be fought there.
BLAIR: They have chosen this battleground because they know success for us in Iraq is not success for America or Britain or even Iraq itself, but for the values and the way of life that democracy represents.
OAKLEY: With polls saying two-thirds reckon Mr. Blair out of test, analysts reckon he struck the right balance. But the Iraq issue is bitting into his personal support and it still dominates the headlines.
Robin Oakley, CNN, Brighton, England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: California earthquake, a sizable shaker felt up and down the coast. There's late word coming in just now from damage. We'll get a live up date.
Is a sleeping giant slowly awakening?
Why some fear a possible eruption by Mount St. Helens.
And a major late night change. But is there more there than meets the eye.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Rumblings all along the coast, the west coast of the United States. Up in the north in Washington State there's some concern of another possible eruption by Washington's Mount Saint Helens. Take a look. Your looking at live pictures now of the volcano. That's the scene of a spectacular 1980 eruption that killed 57 people.
Bruce Sussman of CNN affiliate KGW is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUCE SUSSMAN, KGW (voice-over): Since the swarm of quakes started here on Mount St. Helens, more than 4,500 quakes have been recorded. Almost all of them have been exclusively in the crater, right around the lava dome, which if we zoom in here is that little bulge of rock in the center of this crater.
It's about 900 feet high, that lava dome is. And underneath there is where all the quakes have been taking place. Yesterday, we had a record 1,400 quakes in a single day. The quake activities continued to increase overnight. We've seen an increase in the amount of dust blowing around in and around the crater. Scientists say that's probably from rocks rolling down the slops of the crater, as the quakes shake things loose.
So at this point on Mount St. Helens the cause of these quakes still a complete mystery. Geologists not sure what it is. They say it's possible it could magma or some sort of volcanic gases shaking things loose and creating a lot of pressure inside the mountain. And they also say there's still a possibility of a small eruption here on Mount St. Helen at any time inside the crater.
Reporting from Mount St. Helens, Bruce Sussman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: California got a jolt this morning, a magnitude 6 earthquake in the center of the state, that was felt all they way from Southern California, up the to bay area.
CNN's Rusty Dornin joining us from now from San Francisco with more -- Rusty.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, I'll tell you there's nothing like feeling an earthquake in downtown San Francisco. And we're 218 miles from the epicenter of this quake. We definitely felt it this morning. It was a 6.0 in magnitude, centered in Parkfield, California. There were 90 aftershocks following this quake, on of the measured 5 point. There were four other ones higher than four. So far, no reports of any injuries. Now there's been some damage near Parkfield, which has population of 37. Apparently, a bridge was damaged and there was some damage to a fire station. This was along the San Andreas Fault. It is known as earthquake country. Since 1857, there have been six other quakes measuring 6 points or higher. If fact, this is where the scientists like to put all their instruments to try to predict quakes. They call it the Parkfield instruments. Now, last December, 21 miles away in Paso Robles, there was earthquake there, 6.5, that did kill two people. They are saying there is a five to 10 percent chance there could be a similar quake or of larger magnitude in the next week somewhere in southern California -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Rusty Dornin in, San Francisco, we'll watch together with all of you out of the west coast. Thanks very much.
An allegation leveled against President Bush in a new television commercial.
Is he too close to Saudi Arabia?
I'll ask the Saudi foreign affairs advisor, Adel Al Jubeir. He'll join me here in the studio. That's coming up.
Also, a remarkable admission about al Qaeda. Wait until you hear what Iran is saying about the terror group. I'll go one on one with Iran's foreign minister in a rare television interview.
Plus, Jimmy Carter vs. Jeb Bush, the former president and the current president's brother. They disagree strongly. We'll tell you why.
And behind the scenes of late night talk. Why is Jay Leno talking about retirement? Pat O'Brien has the inside story. He'll join us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: With the price of oil now brushing a record $50 a barrel, Saudi Arabia has pledged to raise production capacity, which could ease all of our pain at the pump, but also could that be seen as a favor to the Bush campaign? Democratic so-called 527 ads are targeting ties between the Saudi royal family and the Bush family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE ACTOR: The Saudi royal family, wealthy, powerful, corrupt, and close Bush family friends. The Saudis have invested tens of millions of dollars in Bush business ventures.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Joining us now, Adel Al-Jubeir, the former policy adviser to Crown Prince Abdullah, spokesman for the Saudi government.
Adel, thanks very much for joining us.
ADEL AL-JUBEIR, SAUDI FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER: A pleasure.
BLITZER: What about this, Saudi Arabia, the close ties between the royal family, the Bush family, now being one of the political issues in this campaign, what do you say about that?
AL-JUBEIR: I think it's interesting, it's disappointing and it's funny that people would make it an issue. We have very strong ties with the Bush family as we have with the Clinton family, as we have with every president going back to Franklin Roosevelt. These ties are a function of the strong alliance between our two countries and the strong cooperation that exists between them in various fields.
Currently we are cooperating on the war on terrorism. We cannot win this war unless we work very closely together. We're working to bring stability to Iraq and bring peace to the Middle East...
BLITZER: But you must be in support -- you must be quietly in favor of Bush given what John Kerry has said about Saudi Arabia including at the Democratic Convention.
AL-JUBEIR: Well, not everything that you see is actually what it is. This is, after all, the political funny season in the United States and things are said that really have no long-term...
BLITZER: So John Kerry's condemnation of some of the actions of Saudi Arabia mean nothing?
AL-JUBEIR: If he knew better I think he wouldn't say them. He's saying them for political purposes in order to rally a crowd or whatever. But we don't take these things personal. We're very thick- skinned. We know that what is said in campaigns does not translate into action on somebody in the White House.
BLITZER: When you say, if he knew better, that sounds like he's an idiot.
AL-JUBEIR: No, no, no, no, no. I meant, he knows better and he does this for political expediency, I would assume, I'm not a mind reader. To say that Saudi Arabia is not helpful to the U.S. or not cooperating with the U.S. in the war on terrorism is just not true. To say that Saudi Arabia favors one president over another is also not true. We favor whoever the American people elect and we look forward to working with whoever the American people elect.
BLITZER: Can Saudi Arabia help reduce the price per barrel right now?
AL-JUBEIR: We are trying -- we have been trying for the past six or seven months very diligently. We have increased production. We have worked within OPEC to increase the quotas within OPEC. We have tapped into our spare capacity to make sure that there are adequate supplies of crude oil. We don't see a shortage, Wolf, of physical supplies of crude oil. We have informed our customers that should they need more, we can pump more oil. And it has been two months, we have not seen an increase in demand by our customers for crude.
BLITZER: So why is oil now $50 a barrel? You and I can remember it wasn't that long ago, $25 a barrel, $15 a barrel. Fifty dollars a barrel.
AL-JUBEIR: Fifty dollars a barrel is clearly too high. It hurts consumers and it also hurts us as producers, because it reduces future demand growth. What we see is concern about the political situation, a fear factor, if I may, concern about instability in Iraq, concern about terrorism in Saudi Arabia, concern about instability in other parts of the world. We think that that's vastly exaggerated. That accounts for a large portion of this. Another concern that people have is a lack of refining capacity in the United States, which drives the price products, gasoline up and hopefully it will not drive the price of...
BLITZER: And there's a demand in India and China and there are problems in Nigeria and Venezuela, other countries as well.
AL-JUBEIR: Correct.
BLITZER: All right. Let's move beyond oil. A couple of other questions before I let you go. Yaser Hamdi, born in the United States, a Saudi citizen being released now from Guantanamo Bay, he has been in South Carolina, actually. He's going to head back to Saudi Arabia, giving up his U.S. citizenship. What are you going to do with him?
AL-JUBEIR: Well, we are working with the U.S. government as we speak in terms of -- to facilitate this matter. It depends on what it is that he is guilty of. We have asked the United States to provide us with whatever information they have on him. And we will deal with the situation as we see it at the time that it occurs.
BLITZER: Will he be held in custody upon his return to Saudi Arabia?
AL-JUBEIR: Well, Wolf, I don't believe the United States would have released him if he were guilty of anything. So we will have to look at the evidence. We will have to talk to him to see where he may have violated our laws and we will deal with him accordingly. But as we speak, we have nothing -- no charges against him.
BLITZER: So he will basically get off the plane in Riyadh or Jeddah or whatever and go to his family and be free and clear?
AL-JUBEIR: Assuming that there is nothing in his record or there is no evidence that surfaces that implicates him, yes. Isn't that what people do when somebody is not charged?
BLITZER: So the three years he effectively served as an enemy combatant, whether at Guantanamo Bay or at a brig in South Carolina, as far as you're concerned, unless the United States government gives you hard evidence of some criminal wrongdoing, he's going to be free to walk around and do whatever he wants?
AL-JUBEIR: Yes, because I don't believe the United States government would have released him if there had been any evidence implicating him criminally.
BLITZER: Do you know what he was doing in Afghanistan to begin with, why he was picked up on the battlefield?
AL-JUBEIR: We need to sit down and talk to him and find out, but initial reactions are that he claims to have gone there to do charitable work and that as a consequence he was apprehended. But I don't know the details because we don't have any direct evidence to that effect. But we will investigate this matter.
BLITZER: Adel Al-Jubeir of Saudi Arabia, thanks for joining us, welcome back to Washington.
AL-JUBEIR: You're welcome, always my pleasure.
BLITZER: Thank you, Adel.
Florida, now a new kind of battleground state. It's the subject of a war of words, a bitter war of words between the governor, Jeb Bush, and the former president of the United States, Jimmy Carter. We'll have details.
Also, if Israel attacks Iran, how would Iran respond? Tough talk in a rare interview I conducted today with the Iranian foreign minister. You'll see it here on CNN.
And insight into "The Tonight Show" handover. What's going on between host Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno? I'll ask Hollywood insider Pat O'Brien. He'll join me live.
All that coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We're getting these pictures in. Take a look at this.
This is Simona Torretta and Simona Pari, the two Italian women who were held hostage, held captive in Iraq for three weeks. They're now back on the ground in Italy, a joyous country celebrating the return of these two women. Aid workers, they went over there to try to help Iraqis. They were taken hostage. They were kidnapped. Three weeks later, today, they're free. They're back in their homeland, thank God.
Welcome back to our continuing coverage of all the news. Let's have a quick check on some other stories now in the news.
President Bush is off the campaign trail, at least today. He's trying to sharpen up his debating skills while he spends some time at his Crawford, Texas, ranch. Bush and Senator John Kerry face off Thursday night in their first debate of the election season. Kerry is also polishing up his debating skills at a resort in Wisconsin. Thursday's debate will focus on foreign policy and homeland security.
Florida Governor Jeb Bush is lashing out at former President Carter over comments Carter made about the battle of the White House in the state of Florida. Carter warned that the presidential election in that state is likely to be as problematic this time as it was four years ago. He told "The Washington Post" -- in fact, he wrote an article in "The Washington Post" saying some basic international requirements for a fair election are missing in Florida. Today, Governor Bush fired right back at the former president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: To think about this, it appears to me -- if I see a conspiracy, it is an organized effort by varying different groups, including MoveOn.org, you know, that has said that the hurricanes happened because of global warming or something like that -- there's this constant haranguing of nonsense, including President Carter, which is a huge surprise to me, because I've admired his compassionate actions in his post-presidency period.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Carter's foundation monitors elections around the world, maybe be monitoring the election in Florida this time around as well.
Where are all those foreign fighters in Iraq exactly coming from? Is neighboring Syria holding open the back door for insurgents?
CNN's Brian Todd has been investigating. He is joining us now live with more -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, as they battle a deadly insurgency on the ground in Iraq, U.S. officials are taking a harder line with Syria at the diplomatic table. And we're getting new information on some significant pressure being applied to this key Middle East power.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): At a recent meeting in Damascus, several top U.S. commanders and diplomats confronted Syria President Bashar Assad with evidence that they said showed Syria was supporting militants crossing the Syrian border to fight against U.S.-led forces in Iraq.
CNN military intelligence analyst Ken Robinson met with senior U.S. government officials with direct knowledge of the Damascus meeting.
KEN ROBINSON, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: The government officials wanted to stress and wanted to make clear that this is not a solved problem. This is the beginning of a journey.
TODD: Today, I spoke with Syria's ambassador to the U.S., who was at the meeting in Damascus. I pressed him what his government is now doing to stop so-called jihadists from crossing into Iraq.
IMAD MOUSTAPHA, SYRIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: We've tried to secure our borders. We have patrols going through our border. We are trying our best. If the Americans think they can help us improve what we are doing, we will welcome their assistance.
TODD: Ambassador Moustapha confirmed that, since the Damascus meeting, there have been key contacts between Syrian, Iraqi and U.S. military officials to tighten up the border region. Secretary of State Colin Powell says the Assad government could still do more, but has gotten the message. COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: I think they're beginning to understand that it is in their interest to not see their border as a porous feature that can be used for terrorists to get into Iraq.
TODD: The U.S. delegation also told President Assad he needed to cooperate more in shutting down charities and financial institutions accused of supporting terrorists. The ambassador told us Syria invited a team from the U.S. Treasury Department to investigate charges that a prominent Syrian bank supported terrorists.
MOUSTAPHA: We were able to convince our American counterparts that the initial accusations were not based on solid information.
TODD: A Treasury Department official tells CNN the department did have a team in Syria, they had what they called productive meetings with the Syrians, and they are assessing the information they gathered.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: At that very crucial meeting in Damascus, the U.S. delegation also pressed Bashar Assad to comply with a U.N. resolution calling for Syria to pull its troops out of Lebanon. Today, the ambassador told me, Syria has ordered a fifth redeployment of its forces in Lebanon back toward the border with Syria -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Brian Todd, thanks very much for that report.
Iran is another critical piece of the Middle East puzzle. There are deep worries here in Washington, indeed, elsewhere around the world, that Iran's hard-line Islamic government wants to develop nuclear weapons.
Kamal Kharrazi is Iran's foreign minister. I spoke with him earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Let's talk about Iran and a nuclear bomb. Is your government, is Iran trying to build a nuclear bomb right now?
KAMAL KHARRAZI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Not at all. We are not for nuclear bomb. We are against nuclear bomb. And it's not part of our defensive strategy. And we do not believe that it would add to the security of the country.
But contrary to that, we have been promoting the idea of establishment of free zone in the whole Middle East. And, therefore, as we are a member of NPT, we are signatory to safeguard. And also additional protocol and inspectors of IAEA are moving around in Iran to inspect everywhere and have found no evidence that Iran is pursuing any nuclear making weapon. To be sure we don't have such a program.
BLITZER: As you know, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, DR. Mohamed ElBaradei, has been saying quite openly that there are still suspicions that you might be developing a nuclear bomb because of your reluctance to let inspectors so what they want to do.
As you know, they have a deadline scheduled for the end of November. Otherwise this could be addressed to the United Nations Security Council. Sanctions would be imposed.
If you have nothing to hide, why don't you let the inspectors go about doing the job of inspecting anywhere they want?
KHARRAZI: Inspections have been free to move anywhere they wish. And so far, they have done 800 person a day inspection, which is a lot. And that is why they have come up with this position that they have found no evidence in Iran that Iran is pursuing for weapon.
There are allegations, especially by the United States, which is looking for its own interest and has got its own political motivation, but in fact, Iran is quite transparent. All the sites are under inspection of IAEA.
BLITZER: What would you do if there were -- if this issue was referred to the Security Council and sanctions were imposed against Iran?
KHARRAZI: There is no reason why Iran, why it should be referred to the Security Council. Because we are committed to our international commitments, and we are doing very cooperation -- good cooperation with IAEA. And as long as these in the able hands of IAEA, it should not be referred to the Security Council, because there has not been any violation.
BLITZER: But you will confirm, I suppose, that Iran is developing a long-range, medium-range missiles that have the potential of hitting throughout the Middle East, maybe even into Europe, including Israel -- the Israelis being very, very concerned about that missile.
What can you tell us about that?
KHARRAZI: Oh, it is defensive. It's not for pursuits. And certainly we have to be able to defend ourselves. And you see, there is threats these days against Iran. And therefore, we have to be able to defend ourselves and we are able to defend ourselves.
BLITZER: If the Israelis were to do to the nuclear reactor or other nuclear facilities in Iran what they did to the Iraqi nuclear reactor in Osirak in 1981, namely launch an air strike to try to destroy it, what would you do?
KHARRAZI: Oh, certainly we are able to react, and we are able to defend, also. But we don't use our capabilities as first user. But it is defensive, and we would react to it.
BLITZER: And when you say you will react, what does that mean.
KHARRAZI: Oh, you have to wait and see that how do we react. I cannot tell you that how do we react here.
BLITZER: Is Iran hiding suspected al Qaeda terrorists?
KHARRAZI: In fact, we have arrested several al Qaeda members, and that has been a service to fighting with terrorism. Because if they were free in Iran or outside of Iran and they had their connections so they could lead many operations. Therefore, we have to be rewarded, because we have arrested them, put them in jail, and caught their connections with outside.
BLITZER: Why not hand them over to the United States or other parties?
KHARRAZI: There's no reason why we should hand them over to the United States. They have been arrested in the jurisdiction of Iran, and it's up to us how to deal with them. And certainly, they have to be judged and tried in Iranian courts in respective time.
BLITZER: How many al Qaeda terrorists are being held in Iran, approximately?
KHARRAZI: I don't have their numbers, but there are dozens of them. And also, they have been arresting new elements associated with al Qaeda. Forty of them were recently arrested, and they are in jail, as well.
BLITZER: How high ranking within the al Qaeda network are these terrorists that you're holding?
KHARRAZI: I cannot tell you, but there are different people with different capacities. The good thing is that now they cannot lead others, and they are in jail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Kamal Kharrazi, the foreign minister of Iran, speaking with me here in the United States earlier today.
To our viewers, here is your chance to weigh in on the story. Our Web question of the day is this.: Do you think Iran's nuclear program poses a threat to the United States? You can vote. Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results a little bit later in this broadcast.
What's so bad about talking loudly on your cell phone? One Washington woman found out the hard way. And the consequence she's facing right now, she's receiving national attention for what she's done.
Also ahead, a TV shocker. Why is the king of late-night talk giving up his throne in five years?
And a change in store for what you may be carrying in your wallet. We'll explain.
First, though, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): New floods have hit Bangladesh. At least nine people are dead in the most recent disaster, after earlier floods killed more than 1,000 victims and drove millions out of their homes.
Angry anniversary. Palestinians are marking the fourth anniversary of the intifada. The uprising took root after Ariel Sharon, then an opposition politician and now Israeli prime minister, enraged many Arabs very visiting a disputed Jerusalem holy site.
Beastly ballet. Thousands of whale watchers turned out for a South African whale festival in a small coastal community about one hour from Cape Town. The festival coincides with the peak of whale season. And festival-goers were treated to spectacular views of southern right whales leaping out of the water.
And that's our look around the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: What started as a simple cell phone conversation has now become the talk of the town here in the Washington, D.C., area and it has sparked heated debate over everything from chivalry to civility.
CNN's Kathleen Koch is here with this very strange story -- Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, police officers say that this is a case of someone misbehaving, loudly disturbing the peace. But the woman says, no, it is the officer at the metro stop who was out of line.
(AUDIO/VIDEO GAP)
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 September 28, 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. First day of freedom. Welcome news for several abducted in the Middle East including one of our own.
Also seismic jitters. Washington state worries if Mount St. Helens will have an encore eruption.
While an earthquake, yes, an earthquake rattles California.
And with just two days until the first presidential debate, a former president and the current president's brother are in a face- off.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): Mixed message. Why is Iraq's own president at odds with U.S. military airstrikes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This looks more like a selective punishment.
BLITZER: Bush's pre-war advice. Lehrer's post-war battle.
(AUDIO GAP)
ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, September 28, 2004.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: They're safe and sound. A number of hostages in a troubled region regain their freedom. Two Italian women kidnapped in Baghdad three weeks ago were handed over to the International Committee for the Red Cross earlier today.
An Egyptian company says four of its employees seized last week in Iraq have also been freed and a French negotiator says he's met with two French journalists being held in Iraq, adding that an agreement has been reached to free them soon. But we begin with the release of a CNN employee, our producer, Riad Ali, who was abducted by gunmen yesterday in Gaza. CNN's Ben Wedeman shared part of that ordeal. He's joining us now live from Jerusalem. Fill our viewers in what has happened over these dramatic 24 hours, Ben. BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it was just a little more than 24 hours ago that we were driving down a street in the evening in downtown Gaza City when we were stopped by armed gunmen who came up to the car waving weapons and took Riad out and drove away. It all happened so quickly, only about 40 seconds. Basically, throughout the night and through all of this day, we were working the phones in Gaza. Our colleagues here in Jerusalem and elsewhere were making every possible contact to find out who was holding him, what they wanted. And finally, basically around midday Gaza time, we started getting indications from Palestinian security sources and others that he would be released at some point during the day and we finally got word that he was at the Palestinian police headquarters.
We rushed over there, along with a very large crowd of other journalists very anxious to find out how Riad was and we finally saw him coming down the stairs with the head of the police in Gaza and, shortly after that, Riad made a statement to the press where he thanked everyone who played a role in winning his release. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIAD ALI, CNN PRODUCER: All I would like to say is to thank all of those people who were involved in my release. I would like to thank President Arafat, the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) prime minister, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and of course, CNN. CNN had made a lot of efforts to ensure my release. I would like to thank all of these people. The only thing that I am awaiting for now is to see my family, to see my kids, to see my wife. They are awaiting for me up in the north in my village. So, thanks, all of you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WEDEMAN: And we're told, Wolf, that Riad will just in the next few minutes, be arriving home. Obviously, it's been a very, very difficult 24 hours for his family. And we are all very happy and relieved he's free and going home.
BLITZER: We are very relieved. We're very happy as well. Ben Wedeman, thank you for all of this.
Italy's prime minister calls the release of the Italian hostages and I'm quoting now, "a moment of joy." Our Rome bureau chief Alessio Vinci is joining us now live with details of that release -- Alessio.
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Wolf. The two Italian hostages, former hostages, the two aid workers and their two colleagues have been freed in Iraq earlier today, handed over to an Italian Red Cross official and they are now on their way here to Rome, to Italy, where we expect them to land any time at the Rome Ciampino Airport. The Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi confirmed the release on national television saying, as you said, that this was a moment of joy for the whole nation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SILVIO BERLUSCONI, ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The two girls are well and tonight will be able to embrace their loved ones. Through all this I'm extremely grateful to all those who have helped. I believe that our behavior has been beyond reproach. We've always been able to reserve the expectation for the solution to this problem. And if I may say, we have been dedicated day and night to it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VINCI: Meanwhile, the Arabic news channel Al Jazeera showed some video that was filmed presumably only minutes after the two -- the four people were released. It shows the Two Simonas, as they are known in Italy, wearing first, a black veil, then they lifted it up their veils and they look in pretty good spirits considering that they have been in captivity for more than three weeks. They were saying thank you, thank you in Arabic, obviously relieved to be away, out of that ordeal. Back to you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Alessio Vinci in Rome. Thank God for the release of these women as well.
Conflicting messages in Iraq coming today and interviews with CNN. Iraqi president Ghazi al-Yawar criticizing the conduct of the war specifically U.S. air strikes while a top U.S. military commander delivers an upbeat assessment. General John Abizaid, the head of the central command says the situation on the ground is better than many people think.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, CENTCOM COMMANDER: I do think that there's a general lack of understanding in the United States of how things are going. The images that are on the screens are almost always negative images as opposed to the important and positive steps that are taken. For example, today, we met with the governor of the Ala (ph) province here and we met with the police chief of the province. Violence is down. They're moving forward economically. They are very optimistic about being able to conduct elections and very optimistic about the future.
SHEIKH GHAZI AL-YAWAR, IRAQI INTERIM PRESIDENT: The picture of having air strikes especially when jet fighter strikes congested areas it looks more like a collective punishment than hitting a limited target. This is very bad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: While the release of the hostages certainly good news in anybody's book, the violence continuing in Iraq without letup. Should President Bush have seen it all coming? There is word today of a pre-war warning. For information on that, let's turn to our national security correspondent David Ensor -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATL. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, that's right. The warning came in the form of two intelligence estimates that predicted big trouble in the U.S.-occupied Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR (voice-over): Classified reports prepared for President Bush two months before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, reports warned sources say of an insurgency that would unite ex-Baathists and Islamist terrorists. The reports in January 2003 from the National Intelligence Council warned that an invasion would increase support for radical Islam and result in a divided Iraqi society prone to conflict.
JAMES BAMFORD, AUTHOR, "A PRETEXT FOR WAR": The United States was warned. But you won't hear that from the White House. I think that's why the CIA is quietly trying to leak this information out.
ENSOR: Word of the intelligence reports was seized upon by Democrats, vice presidential candidate Senator John Edwards saying, quote, "ignoring the truth has been the hallmark of George Bush's presidency."
But in Crawford, Texas, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the administration has always talked about how it is hard to transition from a brutal dictatorship to democracy. But what we're working to achieve, he said, will make America more secure.
The reports were prepared under the direction of Paul Pillar, a senior official at the National Intelligence Council, a quasi- independent think tank based at the CIA. Word of their warnings before the war comes after news of a gloomy intelligence estimate done in July this year about the future prospects for Iraq, an estimate at first disparaged by the president.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They were just guessing as to what the conditions might be like. I used an unfortunate word, guess. I should have used estimate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: U.S. officials say suggestions of a battle between the CIA and the White House over Iraq policy are way off the mark but clearly information about warnings given to the White House before the invasion is coming out at an inconvenient time for the administration -- Wolf.
BLITZER: David Ensor with that report. David, thank you very much. The British prime minister, Tony Blair, is taking heat for his support of the war on Iraq. He got an uneven reception today during a keynote speech before his own party. CNN European political editor Robin Oakley has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Outside the hall, noisy and hairy protests against his governments decision to ban fox hunting. But for some in his party lately, Mr. Blair himself has been the target of the hunt. Many Labour activists didn't like the invasion of Iraq. They want British troops brought home and wanted Mr. Blair to apologize for the war. He didn't use the sorry word, but he did go further than ever before, acknowledging the intelligence on which he went to war was faulty.
TONY BLAIR, PRIME MINISTER OF ENGLAND: The evidence about Saddam having actual biological and chemical weapons as opposed to the capability of development has turned out to be wrong. I acknowledge that. I accept it.
OAKLEY: That pleased some, but it wasn't enough for others.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All he did was apologize that the information was wrong. The envelopes wasn't wrong. It was him. His exaggeration that was wrong.
OAKLEY: Mr. Blair, who was twice interrupted by protesters who penetrated the conference was candid about the political pain his stance had brought him.
BLAIR: I know, too, people see me struggling with it. They think he stopped caring about us or worse, he's pandering to George Bush and what's more a cause that irrelevant to us.
OAKLEY: But he insisted domestic achievements were nothing if the threat of terrorism wasn't removed. And Britain would stay in Iraq as long as the battle against global terrorists had to be fought there.
BLAIR: They have chosen this battleground because they know success for us in Iraq is not success for America or Britain or even Iraq itself, but for the values and the way of life that democracy represents.
OAKLEY: With polls saying two-thirds reckon Mr. Blair out of test, analysts reckon he struck the right balance. But the Iraq issue is bitting into his personal support and it still dominates the headlines.
Robin Oakley, CNN, Brighton, England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: California earthquake, a sizable shaker felt up and down the coast. There's late word coming in just now from damage. We'll get a live up date.
Is a sleeping giant slowly awakening?
Why some fear a possible eruption by Mount St. Helens.
And a major late night change. But is there more there than meets the eye.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Rumblings all along the coast, the west coast of the United States. Up in the north in Washington State there's some concern of another possible eruption by Washington's Mount Saint Helens. Take a look. Your looking at live pictures now of the volcano. That's the scene of a spectacular 1980 eruption that killed 57 people.
Bruce Sussman of CNN affiliate KGW is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUCE SUSSMAN, KGW (voice-over): Since the swarm of quakes started here on Mount St. Helens, more than 4,500 quakes have been recorded. Almost all of them have been exclusively in the crater, right around the lava dome, which if we zoom in here is that little bulge of rock in the center of this crater.
It's about 900 feet high, that lava dome is. And underneath there is where all the quakes have been taking place. Yesterday, we had a record 1,400 quakes in a single day. The quake activities continued to increase overnight. We've seen an increase in the amount of dust blowing around in and around the crater. Scientists say that's probably from rocks rolling down the slops of the crater, as the quakes shake things loose.
So at this point on Mount St. Helens the cause of these quakes still a complete mystery. Geologists not sure what it is. They say it's possible it could magma or some sort of volcanic gases shaking things loose and creating a lot of pressure inside the mountain. And they also say there's still a possibility of a small eruption here on Mount St. Helen at any time inside the crater.
Reporting from Mount St. Helens, Bruce Sussman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: California got a jolt this morning, a magnitude 6 earthquake in the center of the state, that was felt all they way from Southern California, up the to bay area.
CNN's Rusty Dornin joining us from now from San Francisco with more -- Rusty.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, I'll tell you there's nothing like feeling an earthquake in downtown San Francisco. And we're 218 miles from the epicenter of this quake. We definitely felt it this morning. It was a 6.0 in magnitude, centered in Parkfield, California. There were 90 aftershocks following this quake, on of the measured 5 point. There were four other ones higher than four. So far, no reports of any injuries. Now there's been some damage near Parkfield, which has population of 37. Apparently, a bridge was damaged and there was some damage to a fire station. This was along the San Andreas Fault. It is known as earthquake country. Since 1857, there have been six other quakes measuring 6 points or higher. If fact, this is where the scientists like to put all their instruments to try to predict quakes. They call it the Parkfield instruments. Now, last December, 21 miles away in Paso Robles, there was earthquake there, 6.5, that did kill two people. They are saying there is a five to 10 percent chance there could be a similar quake or of larger magnitude in the next week somewhere in southern California -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Rusty Dornin in, San Francisco, we'll watch together with all of you out of the west coast. Thanks very much.
An allegation leveled against President Bush in a new television commercial.
Is he too close to Saudi Arabia?
I'll ask the Saudi foreign affairs advisor, Adel Al Jubeir. He'll join me here in the studio. That's coming up.
Also, a remarkable admission about al Qaeda. Wait until you hear what Iran is saying about the terror group. I'll go one on one with Iran's foreign minister in a rare television interview.
Plus, Jimmy Carter vs. Jeb Bush, the former president and the current president's brother. They disagree strongly. We'll tell you why.
And behind the scenes of late night talk. Why is Jay Leno talking about retirement? Pat O'Brien has the inside story. He'll join us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: With the price of oil now brushing a record $50 a barrel, Saudi Arabia has pledged to raise production capacity, which could ease all of our pain at the pump, but also could that be seen as a favor to the Bush campaign? Democratic so-called 527 ads are targeting ties between the Saudi royal family and the Bush family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE ACTOR: The Saudi royal family, wealthy, powerful, corrupt, and close Bush family friends. The Saudis have invested tens of millions of dollars in Bush business ventures.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Joining us now, Adel Al-Jubeir, the former policy adviser to Crown Prince Abdullah, spokesman for the Saudi government.
Adel, thanks very much for joining us.
ADEL AL-JUBEIR, SAUDI FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER: A pleasure.
BLITZER: What about this, Saudi Arabia, the close ties between the royal family, the Bush family, now being one of the political issues in this campaign, what do you say about that?
AL-JUBEIR: I think it's interesting, it's disappointing and it's funny that people would make it an issue. We have very strong ties with the Bush family as we have with the Clinton family, as we have with every president going back to Franklin Roosevelt. These ties are a function of the strong alliance between our two countries and the strong cooperation that exists between them in various fields.
Currently we are cooperating on the war on terrorism. We cannot win this war unless we work very closely together. We're working to bring stability to Iraq and bring peace to the Middle East...
BLITZER: But you must be in support -- you must be quietly in favor of Bush given what John Kerry has said about Saudi Arabia including at the Democratic Convention.
AL-JUBEIR: Well, not everything that you see is actually what it is. This is, after all, the political funny season in the United States and things are said that really have no long-term...
BLITZER: So John Kerry's condemnation of some of the actions of Saudi Arabia mean nothing?
AL-JUBEIR: If he knew better I think he wouldn't say them. He's saying them for political purposes in order to rally a crowd or whatever. But we don't take these things personal. We're very thick- skinned. We know that what is said in campaigns does not translate into action on somebody in the White House.
BLITZER: When you say, if he knew better, that sounds like he's an idiot.
AL-JUBEIR: No, no, no, no, no. I meant, he knows better and he does this for political expediency, I would assume, I'm not a mind reader. To say that Saudi Arabia is not helpful to the U.S. or not cooperating with the U.S. in the war on terrorism is just not true. To say that Saudi Arabia favors one president over another is also not true. We favor whoever the American people elect and we look forward to working with whoever the American people elect.
BLITZER: Can Saudi Arabia help reduce the price per barrel right now?
AL-JUBEIR: We are trying -- we have been trying for the past six or seven months very diligently. We have increased production. We have worked within OPEC to increase the quotas within OPEC. We have tapped into our spare capacity to make sure that there are adequate supplies of crude oil. We don't see a shortage, Wolf, of physical supplies of crude oil. We have informed our customers that should they need more, we can pump more oil. And it has been two months, we have not seen an increase in demand by our customers for crude.
BLITZER: So why is oil now $50 a barrel? You and I can remember it wasn't that long ago, $25 a barrel, $15 a barrel. Fifty dollars a barrel.
AL-JUBEIR: Fifty dollars a barrel is clearly too high. It hurts consumers and it also hurts us as producers, because it reduces future demand growth. What we see is concern about the political situation, a fear factor, if I may, concern about instability in Iraq, concern about terrorism in Saudi Arabia, concern about instability in other parts of the world. We think that that's vastly exaggerated. That accounts for a large portion of this. Another concern that people have is a lack of refining capacity in the United States, which drives the price products, gasoline up and hopefully it will not drive the price of...
BLITZER: And there's a demand in India and China and there are problems in Nigeria and Venezuela, other countries as well.
AL-JUBEIR: Correct.
BLITZER: All right. Let's move beyond oil. A couple of other questions before I let you go. Yaser Hamdi, born in the United States, a Saudi citizen being released now from Guantanamo Bay, he has been in South Carolina, actually. He's going to head back to Saudi Arabia, giving up his U.S. citizenship. What are you going to do with him?
AL-JUBEIR: Well, we are working with the U.S. government as we speak in terms of -- to facilitate this matter. It depends on what it is that he is guilty of. We have asked the United States to provide us with whatever information they have on him. And we will deal with the situation as we see it at the time that it occurs.
BLITZER: Will he be held in custody upon his return to Saudi Arabia?
AL-JUBEIR: Well, Wolf, I don't believe the United States would have released him if he were guilty of anything. So we will have to look at the evidence. We will have to talk to him to see where he may have violated our laws and we will deal with him accordingly. But as we speak, we have nothing -- no charges against him.
BLITZER: So he will basically get off the plane in Riyadh or Jeddah or whatever and go to his family and be free and clear?
AL-JUBEIR: Assuming that there is nothing in his record or there is no evidence that surfaces that implicates him, yes. Isn't that what people do when somebody is not charged?
BLITZER: So the three years he effectively served as an enemy combatant, whether at Guantanamo Bay or at a brig in South Carolina, as far as you're concerned, unless the United States government gives you hard evidence of some criminal wrongdoing, he's going to be free to walk around and do whatever he wants?
AL-JUBEIR: Yes, because I don't believe the United States government would have released him if there had been any evidence implicating him criminally.
BLITZER: Do you know what he was doing in Afghanistan to begin with, why he was picked up on the battlefield?
AL-JUBEIR: We need to sit down and talk to him and find out, but initial reactions are that he claims to have gone there to do charitable work and that as a consequence he was apprehended. But I don't know the details because we don't have any direct evidence to that effect. But we will investigate this matter.
BLITZER: Adel Al-Jubeir of Saudi Arabia, thanks for joining us, welcome back to Washington.
AL-JUBEIR: You're welcome, always my pleasure.
BLITZER: Thank you, Adel.
Florida, now a new kind of battleground state. It's the subject of a war of words, a bitter war of words between the governor, Jeb Bush, and the former president of the United States, Jimmy Carter. We'll have details.
Also, if Israel attacks Iran, how would Iran respond? Tough talk in a rare interview I conducted today with the Iranian foreign minister. You'll see it here on CNN.
And insight into "The Tonight Show" handover. What's going on between host Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno? I'll ask Hollywood insider Pat O'Brien. He'll join me live.
All that coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We're getting these pictures in. Take a look at this.
This is Simona Torretta and Simona Pari, the two Italian women who were held hostage, held captive in Iraq for three weeks. They're now back on the ground in Italy, a joyous country celebrating the return of these two women. Aid workers, they went over there to try to help Iraqis. They were taken hostage. They were kidnapped. Three weeks later, today, they're free. They're back in their homeland, thank God.
Welcome back to our continuing coverage of all the news. Let's have a quick check on some other stories now in the news.
President Bush is off the campaign trail, at least today. He's trying to sharpen up his debating skills while he spends some time at his Crawford, Texas, ranch. Bush and Senator John Kerry face off Thursday night in their first debate of the election season. Kerry is also polishing up his debating skills at a resort in Wisconsin. Thursday's debate will focus on foreign policy and homeland security.
Florida Governor Jeb Bush is lashing out at former President Carter over comments Carter made about the battle of the White House in the state of Florida. Carter warned that the presidential election in that state is likely to be as problematic this time as it was four years ago. He told "The Washington Post" -- in fact, he wrote an article in "The Washington Post" saying some basic international requirements for a fair election are missing in Florida. Today, Governor Bush fired right back at the former president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: To think about this, it appears to me -- if I see a conspiracy, it is an organized effort by varying different groups, including MoveOn.org, you know, that has said that the hurricanes happened because of global warming or something like that -- there's this constant haranguing of nonsense, including President Carter, which is a huge surprise to me, because I've admired his compassionate actions in his post-presidency period.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Carter's foundation monitors elections around the world, maybe be monitoring the election in Florida this time around as well.
Where are all those foreign fighters in Iraq exactly coming from? Is neighboring Syria holding open the back door for insurgents?
CNN's Brian Todd has been investigating. He is joining us now live with more -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, as they battle a deadly insurgency on the ground in Iraq, U.S. officials are taking a harder line with Syria at the diplomatic table. And we're getting new information on some significant pressure being applied to this key Middle East power.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): At a recent meeting in Damascus, several top U.S. commanders and diplomats confronted Syria President Bashar Assad with evidence that they said showed Syria was supporting militants crossing the Syrian border to fight against U.S.-led forces in Iraq.
CNN military intelligence analyst Ken Robinson met with senior U.S. government officials with direct knowledge of the Damascus meeting.
KEN ROBINSON, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: The government officials wanted to stress and wanted to make clear that this is not a solved problem. This is the beginning of a journey.
TODD: Today, I spoke with Syria's ambassador to the U.S., who was at the meeting in Damascus. I pressed him what his government is now doing to stop so-called jihadists from crossing into Iraq.
IMAD MOUSTAPHA, SYRIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: We've tried to secure our borders. We have patrols going through our border. We are trying our best. If the Americans think they can help us improve what we are doing, we will welcome their assistance.
TODD: Ambassador Moustapha confirmed that, since the Damascus meeting, there have been key contacts between Syrian, Iraqi and U.S. military officials to tighten up the border region. Secretary of State Colin Powell says the Assad government could still do more, but has gotten the message. COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: I think they're beginning to understand that it is in their interest to not see their border as a porous feature that can be used for terrorists to get into Iraq.
TODD: The U.S. delegation also told President Assad he needed to cooperate more in shutting down charities and financial institutions accused of supporting terrorists. The ambassador told us Syria invited a team from the U.S. Treasury Department to investigate charges that a prominent Syrian bank supported terrorists.
MOUSTAPHA: We were able to convince our American counterparts that the initial accusations were not based on solid information.
TODD: A Treasury Department official tells CNN the department did have a team in Syria, they had what they called productive meetings with the Syrians, and they are assessing the information they gathered.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: At that very crucial meeting in Damascus, the U.S. delegation also pressed Bashar Assad to comply with a U.N. resolution calling for Syria to pull its troops out of Lebanon. Today, the ambassador told me, Syria has ordered a fifth redeployment of its forces in Lebanon back toward the border with Syria -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Brian Todd, thanks very much for that report.
Iran is another critical piece of the Middle East puzzle. There are deep worries here in Washington, indeed, elsewhere around the world, that Iran's hard-line Islamic government wants to develop nuclear weapons.
Kamal Kharrazi is Iran's foreign minister. I spoke with him earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Let's talk about Iran and a nuclear bomb. Is your government, is Iran trying to build a nuclear bomb right now?
KAMAL KHARRAZI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Not at all. We are not for nuclear bomb. We are against nuclear bomb. And it's not part of our defensive strategy. And we do not believe that it would add to the security of the country.
But contrary to that, we have been promoting the idea of establishment of free zone in the whole Middle East. And, therefore, as we are a member of NPT, we are signatory to safeguard. And also additional protocol and inspectors of IAEA are moving around in Iran to inspect everywhere and have found no evidence that Iran is pursuing any nuclear making weapon. To be sure we don't have such a program.
BLITZER: As you know, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, DR. Mohamed ElBaradei, has been saying quite openly that there are still suspicions that you might be developing a nuclear bomb because of your reluctance to let inspectors so what they want to do.
As you know, they have a deadline scheduled for the end of November. Otherwise this could be addressed to the United Nations Security Council. Sanctions would be imposed.
If you have nothing to hide, why don't you let the inspectors go about doing the job of inspecting anywhere they want?
KHARRAZI: Inspections have been free to move anywhere they wish. And so far, they have done 800 person a day inspection, which is a lot. And that is why they have come up with this position that they have found no evidence in Iran that Iran is pursuing for weapon.
There are allegations, especially by the United States, which is looking for its own interest and has got its own political motivation, but in fact, Iran is quite transparent. All the sites are under inspection of IAEA.
BLITZER: What would you do if there were -- if this issue was referred to the Security Council and sanctions were imposed against Iran?
KHARRAZI: There is no reason why Iran, why it should be referred to the Security Council. Because we are committed to our international commitments, and we are doing very cooperation -- good cooperation with IAEA. And as long as these in the able hands of IAEA, it should not be referred to the Security Council, because there has not been any violation.
BLITZER: But you will confirm, I suppose, that Iran is developing a long-range, medium-range missiles that have the potential of hitting throughout the Middle East, maybe even into Europe, including Israel -- the Israelis being very, very concerned about that missile.
What can you tell us about that?
KHARRAZI: Oh, it is defensive. It's not for pursuits. And certainly we have to be able to defend ourselves. And you see, there is threats these days against Iran. And therefore, we have to be able to defend ourselves and we are able to defend ourselves.
BLITZER: If the Israelis were to do to the nuclear reactor or other nuclear facilities in Iran what they did to the Iraqi nuclear reactor in Osirak in 1981, namely launch an air strike to try to destroy it, what would you do?
KHARRAZI: Oh, certainly we are able to react, and we are able to defend, also. But we don't use our capabilities as first user. But it is defensive, and we would react to it.
BLITZER: And when you say you will react, what does that mean.
KHARRAZI: Oh, you have to wait and see that how do we react. I cannot tell you that how do we react here.
BLITZER: Is Iran hiding suspected al Qaeda terrorists?
KHARRAZI: In fact, we have arrested several al Qaeda members, and that has been a service to fighting with terrorism. Because if they were free in Iran or outside of Iran and they had their connections so they could lead many operations. Therefore, we have to be rewarded, because we have arrested them, put them in jail, and caught their connections with outside.
BLITZER: Why not hand them over to the United States or other parties?
KHARRAZI: There's no reason why we should hand them over to the United States. They have been arrested in the jurisdiction of Iran, and it's up to us how to deal with them. And certainly, they have to be judged and tried in Iranian courts in respective time.
BLITZER: How many al Qaeda terrorists are being held in Iran, approximately?
KHARRAZI: I don't have their numbers, but there are dozens of them. And also, they have been arresting new elements associated with al Qaeda. Forty of them were recently arrested, and they are in jail, as well.
BLITZER: How high ranking within the al Qaeda network are these terrorists that you're holding?
KHARRAZI: I cannot tell you, but there are different people with different capacities. The good thing is that now they cannot lead others, and they are in jail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Kamal Kharrazi, the foreign minister of Iran, speaking with me here in the United States earlier today.
To our viewers, here is your chance to weigh in on the story. Our Web question of the day is this.: Do you think Iran's nuclear program poses a threat to the United States? You can vote. Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results a little bit later in this broadcast.
What's so bad about talking loudly on your cell phone? One Washington woman found out the hard way. And the consequence she's facing right now, she's receiving national attention for what she's done.
Also ahead, a TV shocker. Why is the king of late-night talk giving up his throne in five years?
And a change in store for what you may be carrying in your wallet. We'll explain.
First, though, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): New floods have hit Bangladesh. At least nine people are dead in the most recent disaster, after earlier floods killed more than 1,000 victims and drove millions out of their homes.
Angry anniversary. Palestinians are marking the fourth anniversary of the intifada. The uprising took root after Ariel Sharon, then an opposition politician and now Israeli prime minister, enraged many Arabs very visiting a disputed Jerusalem holy site.
Beastly ballet. Thousands of whale watchers turned out for a South African whale festival in a small coastal community about one hour from Cape Town. The festival coincides with the peak of whale season. And festival-goers were treated to spectacular views of southern right whales leaping out of the water.
And that's our look around the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: What started as a simple cell phone conversation has now become the talk of the town here in the Washington, D.C., area and it has sparked heated debate over everything from chivalry to civility.
CNN's Kathleen Koch is here with this very strange story -- Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, police officers say that this is a case of someone misbehaving, loudly disturbing the peace. But the woman says, no, it is the officer at the metro stop who was out of line.
(AUDIO/VIDEO GAP)
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