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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Poll Shows Kerry Leading; Dozens Dead and Missing in Sinai; Kidnappers Kill British Hostage; Martha Stewart Goes to Jail

Aired October 08, 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, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: a political alert. A shift in the lead with just four hours until the next debate between President Bush and Senator Kerry here in St. Louis. There's a new Associated Press poll just out showing Kerry with 50 percent, Bush with 46 percent. Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Slaughter in Sinai. A paradise turned into hell. Dozens dead and missing. Has al Qaeda opened a new front?

Shared fate. Kidnappers butcher a British hostage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been praying for Ken, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

BLITZER: Round two just hours away. The gloves are already off, and with polls showing a dead heat, they're certain to come out swinging.

BLITZER: Martha Stewart is in the slammer. They call it "Camp Cupcake." There are no bars, but it's no party. We'll hear from a former inmate.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Friday, October 8, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Hello from the campus of Washington University here in St. Louis, the scene of tonight's presidential debate. The candidates are ready to take the spotlight, but bloody events abroad are casting a serious shadow.

In Egypt, the death toll has now reached 29, but others are unaccounted for after bombings at resorts near the Israeli border. Most of the dead are Israelis. Security sources suspect al Qaeda.

In Iraq, kidnappers have beheaded British hostage Kenneth Bigley. He was abducted three weeks ago along with two Americans who were killed earlier.

Here in the Show Me State, a crucial showdown. Neck and neck in the polls, President Bush and Senator Kerry will go face to face in a town hall debate. That's coming up tonight. A lot, of course, is riding on tonight's debate. We'll go live to CNN correspondents John King with the Bush campaign, Candy Crowley covering the Kerry campaign.

But we begin with terrorism. CNN's Ben Wedeman reports from the Egyptian resort of Taba.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CAIRO BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Once a hotel lobby, now a jumble of shattered concrete, dangling wires and smashed furniture. A holiday vacation for hundreds of mostly Israeli tourists transformed in an instant into a nightmare.

(on camera): This is the carcass of the car, a Ford, according to Israeli investigators, that contained the bomb, more according to investigators, more than 100 kilograms, or 220 pounds of high explosives.

(voice-over): The blast, right outside the lobby, tore off the hotel's facade. In the ensuing panic, guests tied sheets together in an attempt to escape and threw mattresses down to break their fall.

Israeli and Egyptian rescue workers struggle to find the living, but only found the dead, among them, children. Until Thursday's bombings, tourism, Egypt's main source of income, was thriving.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's finished.

WEDEMAN (on camera): Why?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why? Why I come here, for what?

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Thousands of Israeli tourists fled the Sinai as news of the attacks spread. The Israeli government recently renewed an advisory to Israeli against traveling to Sinai, fearing they would be the target of attacks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think maybe 30,000 people celebrate this fest in Sinai resorts. So they didn't let these alerts to disturb their holy days.

WEDEMAN: Israeli officials say they believe al Qaeda may be behind the attacks, which targeted not only the Taba Hotel but also two other holiday spots in the Sinai popular with Israelis. Many of the dead were believed to be Israelis, but among them were Egyptians and other nationalities.

Egypt, which spent most of the '90s fighting an Islamist insurgency, has vowed to crush those behind the bombings. The first attacks against tourists in Eqypt in almost eight years, but now, some fear, not the last.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Taba, Egypt.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: They made the terror last for three agonizing weeks, now kidnappers in Iraq have beheaded a British hostage. Let's go to our senior international correspondent, Brent Sadler. He's in Baghdad -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Wolf. The 62-year-old British hostage, Kenneth Bigley, was beheaded by supporters of the top terror suspect and suspected al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Not known where the execution took place.

But video was released to an Arabic news channel that decided not to broadcast the latest gruesome images of a Western hostage being kidnapped.

Now Mr. Bigley was kept 17 cruel and agonizing days by the Zarqawi network. His two coworkers, all three men were kidnapped at the same time, Americans Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley were kidnapped within a week of being abducted from their home in Baghdad.

Seventeen days after Jack Hensley was killed, Kenneth Bigley was killed. That had followed a tremendous campaign on the international level to try and secure Kenneth Bigley's release. There had also been an exchange of messages between the British government and the kidnappers, not negotiations, messages. But to no avail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK STRAW, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: It's hard to image what it must be like to go through so terrible an ordeal, but it is even harder to imagine how anyone could inflict such suffering. To kidnap a man, to subject him and his family to the agony of prolonged uncertainty and then to murder him and in this way is inhuman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SADLER: Now news of Kenneth Bigley's beheading comes amid continuing and sustained U.S. air strikes against the rebel stronghold of Fallujah, where a terror network of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is located.

Now these air strikes, it's not being suggested, have anything to do with the beheading of Mr. Bigley. But certainly, they have to be seen in the context of ongoing military pressure against the Zarqawi network -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brent Sadler in Baghdad, thank you very much. The killing of Kenneth Bigley is a setback for the British prime minister, Tony Blair, who has been under serious pressure to try to bring an end to the hostage crisis somehow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I feel desperately sorry for Ken Bigley, for his family who behaved with extraordinary dignity and courage. I feel utter revulsion at the people that did this, not just at the barbaric nature of the killing, but the way, frankly, they've played with the situation over the past few weeks. And I feel a strong sense, as I hope others do, that the actions of these people, whether in Iraq or elsewhere, should not prevail over people like Ken Bigley who, after all, only wanted to make Iraq and the world a better place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: As President Bush and Senator Kerry get ready for their second presidential debate here in St. Louis, new polls show them in a very, very tight race. A poll conducted by the AP shows Kerry leading Bush among likely voters, 50 percent to 46 percent, with a sampling error of 3 percent. A "TIME" magazine poll shows Kerry and Bush in a dead heat, each with a 45 percent vote and 3 percent going for Ralph Nader. We have two reports. We'll start with our senior White House correspondent, John King, covering President Bush -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, both of those polls would indicate that Mr. Bush lost momentum and lost the narrow lead he had after last week's debate. His aides concede that the stakes enormous for the president of the United States tonight.

He did take a walk-through of the debate hall earlier tonight. It is a town hall format, he is very comfortable with and efficient at. Aides say he was relaxed, he was joking about the facial expressions from last week's debate that was so roundly criticized.

Mr. Bush enters tonight with a key challenge. We talked to Democratic pollster Peter Hart earlier today and he said, it's not just how the president looked in last week's debate that turned off the voters, it's what he said, too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER HART, DEMOCRATIC POLLSTER: When you ask about changes, it's on the economic front. It's on the health care front and it is also with the war in Iraq. It has gone from feeling the war was worth it to a feeling by a majority of Americans the war has not been worth it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: So aides say the challenge for Mr. Bush tonight is to do a much better job than he did in the first debate of explaining why he went to war, explaining why he rejected suggestions that he send more troops, explaining how now he plans to end the insurgency, get Iraq on the road to democracy and ultimately bring the troops home.

And Wolf, a town hall format, so we can't predict the questions, but certainy some will be about the economy as well. A relatively anemic report showing 96,000 jobs created last month, that was below expectations.

The president knows Senator Kerry will criticize that. Look for Mr. Bush tonight to say the trend line is heading in the right direction, 1.7 million jobs since last August. And also then try to pivot and make the case that a Kerry administration would mean higher taxes and that that would hurt the economy. The stakes enormous for the president tonight. Wolf, he knows, he's a very competitive man. He knows that he did not do so well in last week's debate and he must try to regain that lost momentum.

BLITZER: John King reporting for us. Thank you, John, very much. And as John reported, look for both sides tonight to spin these latest jobs report numbers. The Labor Department reported earlier today 96,000 jobs were added in September that leaves the unemployment rate at 5.4 percent.

Let's get some perspective now from inside the Kerry camp. For that we'll go to our senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley -- Candy.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Unless the economy added 1 million jobs last month, the Kerry campaign and Democrats all over were already prepared to jump all over this numbers saying, look, no matter how you add it up, George Bush has lost jobs in the four years of his campaign -- his administration. Now as John Kerry came this afternoon to check out the debate site here in St. Louis, kind of get an idea of what the stage is looking like, he also paused to make an argument about jobs to a group of reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The president is now officially the first president in 72 years to lose jobs on his watch. Tonight, I look forward to talking to America about how we can have a better plan to put Americans back to work and to create better jobs for our country. That's what America deserves and that's what it's going to get.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: The truth is the Kerry campaign feels pretty good about tonight's debate for one thing, the president's widely panned performance in the first debate has taken a lot of pressure off John Kerry in this one. For another thing, they have always believed that domestic issues -- and they do expect there will be domestic questions tonight -- they have always believed that those issues, a trend Democratic, that that is where John Kerry's strength is. So they look forward to this debate tonight with a great deal of optimism and a little bit of steam behind them in the polls -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Candy. CNN's coverage of this second presidential debate will continue. Our Carlos Watson will be here with the inside edge, as will Jeff Greenfield, to preview what both candidates have to gain and lose tonight.

From high society to inmate. Martha Stewart begins her new life in prison inside the prison known as Camp Cupcake. I'll speak with a woman who spent 10 months there who says Martha Stewart will come out a different woman.

U.S. forces freed them from the Taliban. Now Afghans facing their biggest test yet. CNN's Christiane Amanpour will take us inside the country on the eve of a major event. Much more coming up here from the campus of Washington University in St. Louis. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Three years after U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan to drive out al Qaeda and topple the Taliban, the country is set for its first direct democratic election. Just hours from now, voters will go to the polls to pick their president. Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour has been taking the pulse in Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the village of Charajiab (ph) police guard the room that holds the ballot box.

Out on the farm Haji Gulam (ph) and his son sort tomatoes and listen for the latest election news.

I get information about voting from the radio, he says. Radio is how Afghanistan's mostly illiterate people have learned about their first ever election. Even these nomadic shepherds tell us they've registered and are eager to vote.

But I don't know all the candidates says Jana Goul (ph). More than 70 percent of Afghans live in rural areas and democracy lessons have been basic at best.

At the teahouse Lala (ph) and Abdul Goul (ph) mime how they'll vote. One thing they do know they say, drinking tea is better than fighting, peace is better than war, and that's the future they'll be voting for.

Before, we didn't have elections and everybody took power by force, says Lala. Now, it's the people's choice and that will be whoever cares about us and our country.

This group says that's Hamid Karzai, the transitional president.

From the countryside to the big cities this election is shaping up as a referendum on Karzai and on the United States and the rest of the international community that backed him and has promised so much to the Afghan people.

Karzai is guarded by U.S. security and ferried around on U.S. helicopters. The U.S. has stepped up funding for reconstruction ahead of these elections, which has bolstered Karzai. And both opposition candidates like his closest rival Eunice Kanuli (ph) as well as some of the people say the U.S. is trying to engineer a Karzai victory. The American ambassador denies that.

ZALMAY KHALILZAD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO AFGHANISTAN: And I tell all of them that the decision is theirs, but they ought to think about a few things. They ought to think who has identified the problem of the country well, who has the right strategy, who can generate the resources that are needed to implement reasonable strategy for the future of this country.

AMANPOUR: Karzai perhaps? He thinks so.

HAMID KARZAI, INTERIM PRESIDENT, AFGHANISTAN: With economic activities, with some reconstruction, with some law making and the making of the institutions, all that, I believe, I am better to be elected by the Afghan people, and I hope they will.

AMANPOUR: Even in Karzai's strongholds, though, these men warn the president and the United States that they expect more than just promises after this election.

I want peace and jobs for our country, says Abdul Rafour (ph). Millions of our young people don't have jobs and that's why they have taken up guns. If our president gives us jobs, there won't be any fighting. Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: She wanted to start putting her nightmare behind her. This morning, Martha Stewart got what she wanted. What is life likely to be like for her? I'll speak with a woman who spent 10 months in the very same prison.

Simultaneous attacks, familiar targets. Experts send serious warnings about the patterns emerging from the attacks in Egypt and what they mean in the broader war on terror.

Also, this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALES: That's how we talk in easy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take note.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go vote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Or we'll choose who goes to D.C.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: No major politician is spared in this latest parody on the web. We'll show you how it plays out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to the campus of Washington University in St. Louis, where we're only a few hours away from the second presidential debate. We'll have much more coverage coming up shortly. But there's other news we're following right now including this. She's inmate number 55170-054 better known as Martha Stewart. She slipped past reporters and into a federal prison in Alderson, West Virginia early this morning to begin serving a five-month sentence. CNN's Allan Chernoff is there -- Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Last month Martha Stewart announced to the world that she would be heading off to prison, but when she arrived here this morning, she didn't want to talk to anybody.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Before dawn, as prison employees were arriving for work, Martha Stewart was already checking in for her five-month term. Local police say they coordinated with U.S. Marshals and the FBI because Stewart didn't want to get swamped by the media. But inside Alderson, prison officials say there will be no special treatment.

Martha Stewart's first day included a strip search, trading her clothing for the prison uniform of loose-fitting T-shirts and pants and a bunk bed assignment. She'll share a cubicle like this. Orientation is not entirely demeaning, says former inmate Lynn Hartz.

LYNN HARTZ, FMR. ALDERSON INMATE: The medical staff people are usually very cordial, very kind and the only really big humiliating thing is the search.

CHERNOFF: Groundskeeping is a potential job for Stewart. She may also work in the kitchen and do cleaning. Starting pay is 12 cents an hour. Recent inmates say many prisoners were looking forward to meeting Stewart.

JUDITH KELLY, FMR. ALDERSON INMATE: A lot of women who have long sentences were so excited that she was going to be coming or they hoped she'd be coming.

CHERNOFF: Though Stewart's attorneys are appealing her conviction of lying about a stock trade she decided to begin serving the five-month sentence.

STEWART: The best word to use for this very harsh and difficult decision is finality and my intense desire and need to put this nightmare behind me, both personally and professionally.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF: Locals are having some fun with Martha Stewart's arrival. A nearby nightclub is holding a Martha Stewart look-alike contest. The grand prize is a $250 gift certificate to Kmart, where Martha Stewart sells her Everyday brand of household products.

BLITZER: Allan Chernoff reporting for us. Thank you very much. The prison at Alderson by the way is nicknamed Camp Cupcake, but some say serving a sentence there is no cake walk.

Jean Marlowe served 10 months at Alderson. She joins us live from Charlotte, North Carolina. Jean, thanks for joining us. What is it like there now that Martha Stewart is in there, what can she expect? JEAN MARLOWE, FMR. ALDERSON INMATE: It's no cake walk in there, that's for sure. Martha will have to have a rigid schedule. She gets up early in the morning. They'll have to hurry through their bathroom, getting ready and everything, because the maintenance crew wants them out so they can start cleaning. She'll have to be on time everywhere. At 4:00 every afternoon, they ring the bell and she has to go stand beside her bunk and be counted along with everyone else. She's going to have to stand in line to use the phone, stand in line to use the shower, stand in line to even get a sink. So it's going to be quite different from what she's used to.

BLITZER: Well, when she's in the shower or when she goes to the bathroom, is there some privacy there or is it pretty much open?

MARLOWE: There's no such thing as brushing your teeth in private. That does not happen at Alderson. There is no way for it to happen. There's too many people in too small of an area. You do shower with a little curtain. You know, there's a curtain over the shower. So, you do have privacy when you shower. But other than that, there is no privacy.

BLITZER: Now, she will work during the day, some sort of job that she will get, but at night, what do the women there do, do they watch television, do they play cards? What do they do?

MARLOWE: Sometimes they watch TV. In the cottages they're allowed to watch TV. If she gets transferred to the range, she'll have to do like everybody else and buy a set of head phones so she can hear what the TV is saying. They play cards. A lot of them go to the library and read. I worked at the library while I was there. And a lot of the girls read or go to the library and do research or watch movies.

BLITZER: Were the other women, the other female prisoners basically nice to you? What kind of relationship can she expect from the other prisoners?

MARLOWE: Well, as long as she treats everyone nicely and you treat everybody the same, they pretty well treat you the same. These are a bunch of -- most of these women are non-violent women. They're mostly mothers. They're not mean women. Most of them don't deserve to be there. As long as they don't feel that she's given preferential treatment, everything will be OK, but it will be kind of rough.

BLITZER: Are most of the guards there women? I take it there are some men guards there as well. What kind of contact do they have with the women prisoners?

MARLOWE: Well, for instance, when you go to have a visit, there are male officers that do what they call a hand search. They're supposed to go down the middle of your body and spread like this, but I was routinely abused by a male guard that, you know, in the visiting room before I had a visit. He would, you know, put his hands on me where he wasn't supposed to and tell me if I told I couldn't have a visit the next time, but I doubt they would do...

BLITZER: What you're saying is female guards didn't do that? Normally a female guard would do that?

MARLOWE: Normally, but there's not enough female guards. I had a male guard as much as I had a woman guard doing the searches.

BLITZER: What about the visitation? I understand when kids come there, it can be a very, very sad moment when they have to say goodbye to their mothers.

MARLOWE: That was the hardest time that we ever had. No matter who was in the visiting room or how good a time you was having, when a little child went out that room screaming for their mother, it was hard on everybody.

BLITZER: And how did the women take it? Obviously, they want to see their kids, but it must be painful to have to say goodbye.

MARLOWE: Oh, there's women like me. I mean, after you're there a little while, you avoid that visiting area when you don't have a visit. You stay away from there, because you just -- those children screaming for their mothers, it just rips your heart out. There's children that lose...

BLITZER: Jean Marlowe. Yes, go ahead.

MARLOWE: There's children that lose permanent touch with their mother.

BLITZER: Jean Marlowe, what were you convicted of? What were you doing there?

MARLOWE: I received a package of medical marijuana in the mail from Switzerland. I accepted it and was charged by the federal government.

BLITZER: Jean Marlowe served at Alderson Prison in West Virginia. Thanks very much.

And to our viewers, by the way, we asked federal prison officials about Jean Marlowe's allegations, specifically on the issue that men guards would touch women inappropriately during various checks.

This is a statement that one prison spokeswoman gave us. She said this: "Although I don't have any information about this particular inmate," referring to Jean Marlowe, "to the extent that female inmates are required to undergo a visual search, this is not done in the presence of male staff. Searches of this type are conducted by female staff. The staff at Alderson are highly professional and treat inmates in a fair and consistent manner." The statement goes on to say, "Any allegations of misconduct are taken very seriously and are thoroughly investigated."

More than ever at stake tonight for the presidential candidates, a lot at stake, in fact. Our top analysts are here with a preview. Carlos Watson, Jeff Greenfield, they will join us live.

Also, terror in Taba. A pattern emerges in the aftermath of deadly attacks.

The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize is announced -- why this laureate is making history.

Plus, the lighter side of the election, political parody with something to offend everyone. We'll show you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to the campus of Washington University in Saint Louis. We're only less than three and a half hours away from tonight's second presidential debate. We'll get more on that. That is coming up.

Terror patterns as well, what investigators are learning from the attacks and carnage in Egypt.

All that. First, though, a quick check of some other stories now in the news.

Widespread power outages are being reported in the Philippines, where a strong earthquake rumbled through the capital, Manila, earlier today. Panicked residents and hotel guests ran into the streets and high-rise buildings swayed. There are no immediate reports of serious injuries or damage from the 6.4 preliminary magnitude quake.

A man arrested for videotaping skyscrapers and transportation systems in North Carolina and other states has agreed to plead guilty to immigration charges. In a plea bargain deal, Kamran Akhtar will spend up to six months in prison before being deported to his native Pakistan. his attorney says federal authorities found no evidence of terrorism-related activity. But the deal allows prosecutors to bring additional charges later.

An environmentalist from Kenya is the winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt movement almost three decades ago. The group, mainly women, says it planted 30 million trees around Africa to fight illegal logging or government-sponsored deforestation programs. She is the first African woman to win a Nobel Prize in any category.

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

Back now to our top story. The grim search for victims continues in the Egyptian resort town of Taba, one of three sites near the Israeli border bombed about 24 hours ago by terrorists. Officials suspect an al Qaeda connection.

Let's go live to Washington, CNN's Brian Todd standing by -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, al Qaeda is under heavy suspicion here, but a larger story looms about pattern and long-term strategy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TODD (voice-over): The sheared-off building, twisted metal and high body count aren't the only familiar characteristics here. When terrorism experts see the carnage in Taba, Egypt, the immediate pattern of attack is telltale, simultaneous bombings, maximum casualties and a broader intent.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: This is a way of attacking Egypt's economy, Egypt's government, attacking Israel and also, parenthetically, attacking an American-owned company, the Hilton Hotel, where this happened. Al Qaeda has been attacking American hotels around the world.

TODD: Three obscure groups claim responsibility for the bombings in Egypt. And Israeli officials link the attacks to al Qaeda. Experts say look beyond the claims.

KEN ROBINSON, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: The name is meaningless to me. Osama bin Laden is not the world's mastermind terrorist. Osama bin Laden lit a fuse. And those groups, this Islamic brotherhood of groups with an ideology are going after one thing and that's instability.

TODD: Has it worked? The attack in Taba closely resembles at least two others, October 2002, nearly simultaneous bombings of two nightclubs in the resort of Bali, Indonesia, kill more than 200 people, many of them Australian vacationers.

About six weeks later, suicide bombers blow up an Israeli-owned hotel at another resort in Mombasa, Kenya, 12 people killed. A nearly simultaneous missile attack on an Israeli charter plane fails. But listen to how experts describe the lasting impact in that region of Kenya.

ROBINSON: Since the attacks occurred there, their economy is on the verge of disaster right now. And, simultaneously, there is a strong building going on of minarets. You see new mosques popping up in a lot of places. And you see a lot of the gaps being filled from what the country can provide to these Islamic organizations that are helping.

TODD: And each expert we spoke to says look for more of the same, soft targets, resorts with famous Western influences in countries desperate for tourists, but unable to take care of all the needs of their own citizens.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Another pattern put very bluntly to me by a noted terrorism expert, look at all three attacks, in Indonesia, Kenya and now Egypt. He says the targets, in the minds of the fundamentalists, half-naked infidels frolicking on the shores of Muslim-influenced countries. They're appalled at that, he says, and they're trying to wipe it out -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian Todd in Washington for us -- thank you, Brian, very much. Could tonight provide an October surprise? We're just a few hours away from the second presidential debate. Will President Bush be able to make up some points lost in the last match? Carlos Watson, Jeff Greenfield, they are standing by. They have "The Inside Edge." They'll join me live. That's coming up.

Plus, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): It's good to be in D.C.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm gay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm gay!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): We tossed our medals, burned our bras.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: JibJab, you probably don't know what it is. Maybe some of you do. But it's back with a lot of laughs and all sides are fair game. (

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: There's a developing story we're following and some dramatic new twists tied to the death in Iraq of the British hostage Kenneth Bigley.

Let's go to live to our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we can now report to you that U.S. officials believe that British hostage Kenneth Bigley was, indeed, beheaded by his captors after an unsuccessful escape attempt, this according to a number of U.S. and Western diplomatic sources CNN has spoken to throughout the day.

We want to emphasize, this is the belief that these officials have come to. They come to this belief that there was an unsuccessful escape attempt by Mr. Bigley based on intelligence that they have, but they will not characterize the source of that intelligence. They also believe, Wolf, that other people may have been killed, possibly some of the captors who may have been trying to help Mr. Bigley or other hostages being held by the same group.

Now, this comes as the British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, was asked earlier about today about rumors swirling around that there had either been an escape attempt by Mr. Bigley or a rescue attempt, a failed rescue attempt. When asked about this, the British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, would only respond, "I'm afraid I can't." He refused to discuss the matter, but it is the belief of several officials that it was an unsuccessful escape attempt by Mr. Bigley, he was brought back in by his captors and then executed -- Wolf. BLITZER: What a horrible story.

Barbara Starr, thanks very much for that report.

With the second presidential debate just now over three hours away, the stakes very high for both candidates. Our CNN political analyst Carlos Watson is joined by our CNN senior analyst, Jeff Greenfield, for a special edition of "The Inside Edge."

Thanks to both of you for joining us.

Carlos, I'll start with you this time. The AP reporting 50-46 Kerry ahead of Bush. "TIME" magazine has it in a dead heat right now. Certainly, there's been a shift since that first presidential debate.

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: There has been. And a couple of shifts are significant, not only in the polls, not only in terms of the momentum.

But one of the unspoken-about stories, I think, is the shift in the Kerry team's management, Joe Lockhart, Mike McCurry, two guys who have come in and have played a major role. One of the other people you don't hear a lot about, but who has also helped to steady the ship over the last three or four weeks and probably helped the debate performance and the numbers is Joe Biden, the senator from Delaware, who has been extraordinarily helpful on the question on Iraq.

BLITZER: Two other Clinton officials, Joel Johnson, Doug Sosnik, they are both deeply involved as well.

Do you agree that the Clinton addition has helped this Kerry campaign?

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: Well, what I agree is that Mary Beth Cahill and Bob Shrum aren't going to be happy to give that much credit.

It may well be. But I really think that it was the combination of Kerry's focus and the president's really inattentiveness, almost that he felt put out to have to be there debating Kerry that really pushed that debate. And what really surprised me, frankly, was the extent to which the numbers shifted. I would not have thought that many voters would have changed.

And it demonstrates that fact that this myth of -- that everybody has made up their minds is wrong. The real question about whether or not those advisers or anybody else can have a real impact is tonight, because the format of a town hall debate, which was Clinton's favorite kind of forum, that's a forum that you might not think John Kerry would be that strong in, except for the fact that he has had so much more practice at it this year, dealing with potentially hostile questions, than the president.

BLITZER: And if you think they were nasty and tough with each other the last time, they're going to be even more aggressive this time, I suspect, Carlos. WATSON: I think for a couple of reasons, one, because of the example that was set, frankly, on Tuesday at the vice presidential debate, much more aggressive debate as they got closer and closer.

And the other thing, I think, that the questions will be more personal. And the questions, frankly, will not reflect not abstract theories, but, frankly, someone's own life, whether it's the mother of a troop remembering a troop or whether it's someone who has lost a job. So I think some of that will add to the spiciness, if you will, of the questions.

BLITZER: Talk a little bit about this format, this town hall meeting. Jeff, some of our viewers are going to be surprised to see what they see tonight.

GREENFIELD: Well, basically, Charles Gibson, the moderator, the ABC anchor, is sifting through questions submitted by some 140 semi- committed voters, soft Kerry, soft Bush.

He will pick about 20 questions reflecting evenly from each side, some foreign, some domestic. Now, what is different from previous town meetings is that the candidates are not supposed to engage the questioners in this kind of psychotherapy: Tell me more about your life, so I can show you how much I empathize with you.

Whether they can resist that temptation or not, I don't know. The one thing that makes Carlos' point arguable is, can you really be that tough on your opponent in front of the American family that is sitting there in person or do you have to behave yourself a little more circumspectly? I really don't know the answer to that question.

BLITZER: It's a tough line to walk. What do you think?

WATSON: Well, I think one of the interesting things is, can you be tough and do it with humor? I think, frankly, the president is one of the best politicians we've seen in a long time at going after someone with a wink and with a smile.

And so the question is, can John Kerry, in that maybe more intimate setting, also be tough, but maybe do it with a little bit of humor?

BLITZER: Tucker Eskew of the Bush campaign told us earlier the president has reviewed the videotape from the first debate with his aides and they've studied it. If he has done that, what do you think he should learn from that?

GREENFIELD: Probably, he should learn that the camera is always on him and probably a good idea not to look like you're about to undergo root canal. That's a thing I think we should have learned from Richard Nixon in 1960.

The other thing about tonight that is really intriguing is, you have got all these news reports about Iraq, which put the president on the defensive, because they seem to suggest -- Paul Bremer, the former man in charge of the occupation, wanted more troops, he said. The Iraq Survey Group said, you know, there never were any weapons of mass destruction. Now, they have got an argument to rebut that.

But it's pressure on the president to take that bad news for his argument, turn it around, make the argument that the decision to go to war was right, the execution was OK, it's part of the war on terror, and my opponent is an unreliable commander in chief. That's a very interesting pivot to have to make tonight.

BLITZER: In other words, the Bush people will make Kerry the issue.

GREENFIELD: They want to.

WATSON: Both will try.

I think one the other things, besides handling difficult questions with a bit of aplomb, I think the president also -- this is going to sound simplistic -- but he has got to come across as articulate. He can't be repetitive. He can't say the same things over and over again. The pauses we saw last time I think would be a problem. The other thing is, he has got to come across as specific and informed when he's talking about a variety of issues.

BLITZER: Carlos Watson and Jeff Greenfield will be with me tonight throughout the night. Much more coming up. Thanks to both of you.

WATSON: Good to see you.

BLITZER: To our viewers, here is your chance to weigh in on this story. Our Web question of the day is this: Who do you think will benefit most from the town hall format of tonight's debate, President George W. Bush or Senator John Kerry? You can vote. Go to CNN.com/Wolf right now and we'll have the results a little bit later in this program.

Poking fun at both parties, it's the newest craze. The JibJab guys, famous for their animated political humor, are back at it. And we'll show you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The people at JibJab are at it again, adding some much needed humor to one of the most bitterly divisive campaigns in recent memory. Like their widely popular first effort, their latest offering is funny, raunchy and taking jabs at both sides.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): This land is your land. This land is my land. I'm a Texas tiger. You're a liberal wiener.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER (voice-over): It was an Internet phenomenon viewed tens of millions of times. And the animated campaign parody "This land" thrust brothers Greg and Evan Spiridellis and their Jab Media Enterprise into the spotlight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): You can't say nuclear. That really scares me. Sometimes a brain can come in quite handy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've heard from both sides in the press. We've seen quotes from Chris Heinz and also from the head of the RNC. And the great thing about "This land" is that both sides seem to be able to laugh at themselves.

BLITZER: That success set the stage for the sequel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were guests on "The Tonight Show." And when we were there, Jay Leno asked if we would do a follow-up for the show. So that's the kind of opportunity that doesn't come around every day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Oh, I wish our winning were a bit more certain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Better call my friends at Halliburton

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The result is called "Good to be in D.C." And like its predecessor, it's an equal opportunity offender.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): I'm sensitive. I cannot lie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): I love to hug and kiss this guy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Are they gay?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): We won't say

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: JibJab is not about our personal political views or one side or the other. It's about making people laugh.

BLITZER: Did they succeed?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Take note. Go vote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Or we'll choose who goes to D.C.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You be the judge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Take note. Go vote that you want me in D.C.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Unlike its predecessor, the new JibJab video will cost you $2.99 to download, but you can watch it for free on their Web site.

And we'll have the results of our Web question of the day. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our Web question of the day. Take a look at this. Remember, though, this is not a scientific poll.

I'll be back later tonight, along with my colleagues Anderson Cooper, Paula Zahn, the entire CNN election team, for complete coverage of the second presidential debate.

And please tune in Sunday for "LATE EDITION," the last word in Sunday talk. Among my guests, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, John Edwards.

"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 October 8, 2004 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: a political alert. A shift in the lead with just four hours until the next debate between President Bush and Senator Kerry here in St. Louis. There's a new Associated Press poll just out showing Kerry with 50 percent, Bush with 46 percent. Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Slaughter in Sinai. A paradise turned into hell. Dozens dead and missing. Has al Qaeda opened a new front?

Shared fate. Kidnappers butcher a British hostage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been praying for Ken, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

BLITZER: Round two just hours away. The gloves are already off, and with polls showing a dead heat, they're certain to come out swinging.

BLITZER: Martha Stewart is in the slammer. They call it "Camp Cupcake." There are no bars, but it's no party. We'll hear from a former inmate.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Friday, October 8, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Hello from the campus of Washington University here in St. Louis, the scene of tonight's presidential debate. The candidates are ready to take the spotlight, but bloody events abroad are casting a serious shadow.

In Egypt, the death toll has now reached 29, but others are unaccounted for after bombings at resorts near the Israeli border. Most of the dead are Israelis. Security sources suspect al Qaeda.

In Iraq, kidnappers have beheaded British hostage Kenneth Bigley. He was abducted three weeks ago along with two Americans who were killed earlier.

Here in the Show Me State, a crucial showdown. Neck and neck in the polls, President Bush and Senator Kerry will go face to face in a town hall debate. That's coming up tonight. A lot, of course, is riding on tonight's debate. We'll go live to CNN correspondents John King with the Bush campaign, Candy Crowley covering the Kerry campaign.

But we begin with terrorism. CNN's Ben Wedeman reports from the Egyptian resort of Taba.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CAIRO BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Once a hotel lobby, now a jumble of shattered concrete, dangling wires and smashed furniture. A holiday vacation for hundreds of mostly Israeli tourists transformed in an instant into a nightmare.

(on camera): This is the carcass of the car, a Ford, according to Israeli investigators, that contained the bomb, more according to investigators, more than 100 kilograms, or 220 pounds of high explosives.

(voice-over): The blast, right outside the lobby, tore off the hotel's facade. In the ensuing panic, guests tied sheets together in an attempt to escape and threw mattresses down to break their fall.

Israeli and Egyptian rescue workers struggle to find the living, but only found the dead, among them, children. Until Thursday's bombings, tourism, Egypt's main source of income, was thriving.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's finished.

WEDEMAN (on camera): Why?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why? Why I come here, for what?

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Thousands of Israeli tourists fled the Sinai as news of the attacks spread. The Israeli government recently renewed an advisory to Israeli against traveling to Sinai, fearing they would be the target of attacks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think maybe 30,000 people celebrate this fest in Sinai resorts. So they didn't let these alerts to disturb their holy days.

WEDEMAN: Israeli officials say they believe al Qaeda may be behind the attacks, which targeted not only the Taba Hotel but also two other holiday spots in the Sinai popular with Israelis. Many of the dead were believed to be Israelis, but among them were Egyptians and other nationalities.

Egypt, which spent most of the '90s fighting an Islamist insurgency, has vowed to crush those behind the bombings. The first attacks against tourists in Eqypt in almost eight years, but now, some fear, not the last.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Taba, Egypt.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: They made the terror last for three agonizing weeks, now kidnappers in Iraq have beheaded a British hostage. Let's go to our senior international correspondent, Brent Sadler. He's in Baghdad -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Wolf. The 62-year-old British hostage, Kenneth Bigley, was beheaded by supporters of the top terror suspect and suspected al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Not known where the execution took place.

But video was released to an Arabic news channel that decided not to broadcast the latest gruesome images of a Western hostage being kidnapped.

Now Mr. Bigley was kept 17 cruel and agonizing days by the Zarqawi network. His two coworkers, all three men were kidnapped at the same time, Americans Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley were kidnapped within a week of being abducted from their home in Baghdad.

Seventeen days after Jack Hensley was killed, Kenneth Bigley was killed. That had followed a tremendous campaign on the international level to try and secure Kenneth Bigley's release. There had also been an exchange of messages between the British government and the kidnappers, not negotiations, messages. But to no avail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK STRAW, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: It's hard to image what it must be like to go through so terrible an ordeal, but it is even harder to imagine how anyone could inflict such suffering. To kidnap a man, to subject him and his family to the agony of prolonged uncertainty and then to murder him and in this way is inhuman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SADLER: Now news of Kenneth Bigley's beheading comes amid continuing and sustained U.S. air strikes against the rebel stronghold of Fallujah, where a terror network of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is located.

Now these air strikes, it's not being suggested, have anything to do with the beheading of Mr. Bigley. But certainly, they have to be seen in the context of ongoing military pressure against the Zarqawi network -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brent Sadler in Baghdad, thank you very much. The killing of Kenneth Bigley is a setback for the British prime minister, Tony Blair, who has been under serious pressure to try to bring an end to the hostage crisis somehow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I feel desperately sorry for Ken Bigley, for his family who behaved with extraordinary dignity and courage. I feel utter revulsion at the people that did this, not just at the barbaric nature of the killing, but the way, frankly, they've played with the situation over the past few weeks. And I feel a strong sense, as I hope others do, that the actions of these people, whether in Iraq or elsewhere, should not prevail over people like Ken Bigley who, after all, only wanted to make Iraq and the world a better place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: As President Bush and Senator Kerry get ready for their second presidential debate here in St. Louis, new polls show them in a very, very tight race. A poll conducted by the AP shows Kerry leading Bush among likely voters, 50 percent to 46 percent, with a sampling error of 3 percent. A "TIME" magazine poll shows Kerry and Bush in a dead heat, each with a 45 percent vote and 3 percent going for Ralph Nader. We have two reports. We'll start with our senior White House correspondent, John King, covering President Bush -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, both of those polls would indicate that Mr. Bush lost momentum and lost the narrow lead he had after last week's debate. His aides concede that the stakes enormous for the president of the United States tonight.

He did take a walk-through of the debate hall earlier tonight. It is a town hall format, he is very comfortable with and efficient at. Aides say he was relaxed, he was joking about the facial expressions from last week's debate that was so roundly criticized.

Mr. Bush enters tonight with a key challenge. We talked to Democratic pollster Peter Hart earlier today and he said, it's not just how the president looked in last week's debate that turned off the voters, it's what he said, too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER HART, DEMOCRATIC POLLSTER: When you ask about changes, it's on the economic front. It's on the health care front and it is also with the war in Iraq. It has gone from feeling the war was worth it to a feeling by a majority of Americans the war has not been worth it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: So aides say the challenge for Mr. Bush tonight is to do a much better job than he did in the first debate of explaining why he went to war, explaining why he rejected suggestions that he send more troops, explaining how now he plans to end the insurgency, get Iraq on the road to democracy and ultimately bring the troops home.

And Wolf, a town hall format, so we can't predict the questions, but certainy some will be about the economy as well. A relatively anemic report showing 96,000 jobs created last month, that was below expectations.

The president knows Senator Kerry will criticize that. Look for Mr. Bush tonight to say the trend line is heading in the right direction, 1.7 million jobs since last August. And also then try to pivot and make the case that a Kerry administration would mean higher taxes and that that would hurt the economy. The stakes enormous for the president tonight. Wolf, he knows, he's a very competitive man. He knows that he did not do so well in last week's debate and he must try to regain that lost momentum.

BLITZER: John King reporting for us. Thank you, John, very much. And as John reported, look for both sides tonight to spin these latest jobs report numbers. The Labor Department reported earlier today 96,000 jobs were added in September that leaves the unemployment rate at 5.4 percent.

Let's get some perspective now from inside the Kerry camp. For that we'll go to our senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley -- Candy.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Unless the economy added 1 million jobs last month, the Kerry campaign and Democrats all over were already prepared to jump all over this numbers saying, look, no matter how you add it up, George Bush has lost jobs in the four years of his campaign -- his administration. Now as John Kerry came this afternoon to check out the debate site here in St. Louis, kind of get an idea of what the stage is looking like, he also paused to make an argument about jobs to a group of reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The president is now officially the first president in 72 years to lose jobs on his watch. Tonight, I look forward to talking to America about how we can have a better plan to put Americans back to work and to create better jobs for our country. That's what America deserves and that's what it's going to get.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: The truth is the Kerry campaign feels pretty good about tonight's debate for one thing, the president's widely panned performance in the first debate has taken a lot of pressure off John Kerry in this one. For another thing, they have always believed that domestic issues -- and they do expect there will be domestic questions tonight -- they have always believed that those issues, a trend Democratic, that that is where John Kerry's strength is. So they look forward to this debate tonight with a great deal of optimism and a little bit of steam behind them in the polls -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Candy. CNN's coverage of this second presidential debate will continue. Our Carlos Watson will be here with the inside edge, as will Jeff Greenfield, to preview what both candidates have to gain and lose tonight.

From high society to inmate. Martha Stewart begins her new life in prison inside the prison known as Camp Cupcake. I'll speak with a woman who spent 10 months there who says Martha Stewart will come out a different woman.

U.S. forces freed them from the Taliban. Now Afghans facing their biggest test yet. CNN's Christiane Amanpour will take us inside the country on the eve of a major event. Much more coming up here from the campus of Washington University in St. Louis. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Three years after U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan to drive out al Qaeda and topple the Taliban, the country is set for its first direct democratic election. Just hours from now, voters will go to the polls to pick their president. Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour has been taking the pulse in Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the village of Charajiab (ph) police guard the room that holds the ballot box.

Out on the farm Haji Gulam (ph) and his son sort tomatoes and listen for the latest election news.

I get information about voting from the radio, he says. Radio is how Afghanistan's mostly illiterate people have learned about their first ever election. Even these nomadic shepherds tell us they've registered and are eager to vote.

But I don't know all the candidates says Jana Goul (ph). More than 70 percent of Afghans live in rural areas and democracy lessons have been basic at best.

At the teahouse Lala (ph) and Abdul Goul (ph) mime how they'll vote. One thing they do know they say, drinking tea is better than fighting, peace is better than war, and that's the future they'll be voting for.

Before, we didn't have elections and everybody took power by force, says Lala. Now, it's the people's choice and that will be whoever cares about us and our country.

This group says that's Hamid Karzai, the transitional president.

From the countryside to the big cities this election is shaping up as a referendum on Karzai and on the United States and the rest of the international community that backed him and has promised so much to the Afghan people.

Karzai is guarded by U.S. security and ferried around on U.S. helicopters. The U.S. has stepped up funding for reconstruction ahead of these elections, which has bolstered Karzai. And both opposition candidates like his closest rival Eunice Kanuli (ph) as well as some of the people say the U.S. is trying to engineer a Karzai victory. The American ambassador denies that.

ZALMAY KHALILZAD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO AFGHANISTAN: And I tell all of them that the decision is theirs, but they ought to think about a few things. They ought to think who has identified the problem of the country well, who has the right strategy, who can generate the resources that are needed to implement reasonable strategy for the future of this country.

AMANPOUR: Karzai perhaps? He thinks so.

HAMID KARZAI, INTERIM PRESIDENT, AFGHANISTAN: With economic activities, with some reconstruction, with some law making and the making of the institutions, all that, I believe, I am better to be elected by the Afghan people, and I hope they will.

AMANPOUR: Even in Karzai's strongholds, though, these men warn the president and the United States that they expect more than just promises after this election.

I want peace and jobs for our country, says Abdul Rafour (ph). Millions of our young people don't have jobs and that's why they have taken up guns. If our president gives us jobs, there won't be any fighting. Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: She wanted to start putting her nightmare behind her. This morning, Martha Stewart got what she wanted. What is life likely to be like for her? I'll speak with a woman who spent 10 months in the very same prison.

Simultaneous attacks, familiar targets. Experts send serious warnings about the patterns emerging from the attacks in Egypt and what they mean in the broader war on terror.

Also, this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALES: That's how we talk in easy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take note.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go vote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Or we'll choose who goes to D.C.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: No major politician is spared in this latest parody on the web. We'll show you how it plays out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to the campus of Washington University in St. Louis, where we're only a few hours away from the second presidential debate. We'll have much more coverage coming up shortly. But there's other news we're following right now including this. She's inmate number 55170-054 better known as Martha Stewart. She slipped past reporters and into a federal prison in Alderson, West Virginia early this morning to begin serving a five-month sentence. CNN's Allan Chernoff is there -- Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Last month Martha Stewart announced to the world that she would be heading off to prison, but when she arrived here this morning, she didn't want to talk to anybody.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Before dawn, as prison employees were arriving for work, Martha Stewart was already checking in for her five-month term. Local police say they coordinated with U.S. Marshals and the FBI because Stewart didn't want to get swamped by the media. But inside Alderson, prison officials say there will be no special treatment.

Martha Stewart's first day included a strip search, trading her clothing for the prison uniform of loose-fitting T-shirts and pants and a bunk bed assignment. She'll share a cubicle like this. Orientation is not entirely demeaning, says former inmate Lynn Hartz.

LYNN HARTZ, FMR. ALDERSON INMATE: The medical staff people are usually very cordial, very kind and the only really big humiliating thing is the search.

CHERNOFF: Groundskeeping is a potential job for Stewart. She may also work in the kitchen and do cleaning. Starting pay is 12 cents an hour. Recent inmates say many prisoners were looking forward to meeting Stewart.

JUDITH KELLY, FMR. ALDERSON INMATE: A lot of women who have long sentences were so excited that she was going to be coming or they hoped she'd be coming.

CHERNOFF: Though Stewart's attorneys are appealing her conviction of lying about a stock trade she decided to begin serving the five-month sentence.

STEWART: The best word to use for this very harsh and difficult decision is finality and my intense desire and need to put this nightmare behind me, both personally and professionally.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF: Locals are having some fun with Martha Stewart's arrival. A nearby nightclub is holding a Martha Stewart look-alike contest. The grand prize is a $250 gift certificate to Kmart, where Martha Stewart sells her Everyday brand of household products.

BLITZER: Allan Chernoff reporting for us. Thank you very much. The prison at Alderson by the way is nicknamed Camp Cupcake, but some say serving a sentence there is no cake walk.

Jean Marlowe served 10 months at Alderson. She joins us live from Charlotte, North Carolina. Jean, thanks for joining us. What is it like there now that Martha Stewart is in there, what can she expect? JEAN MARLOWE, FMR. ALDERSON INMATE: It's no cake walk in there, that's for sure. Martha will have to have a rigid schedule. She gets up early in the morning. They'll have to hurry through their bathroom, getting ready and everything, because the maintenance crew wants them out so they can start cleaning. She'll have to be on time everywhere. At 4:00 every afternoon, they ring the bell and she has to go stand beside her bunk and be counted along with everyone else. She's going to have to stand in line to use the phone, stand in line to use the shower, stand in line to even get a sink. So it's going to be quite different from what she's used to.

BLITZER: Well, when she's in the shower or when she goes to the bathroom, is there some privacy there or is it pretty much open?

MARLOWE: There's no such thing as brushing your teeth in private. That does not happen at Alderson. There is no way for it to happen. There's too many people in too small of an area. You do shower with a little curtain. You know, there's a curtain over the shower. So, you do have privacy when you shower. But other than that, there is no privacy.

BLITZER: Now, she will work during the day, some sort of job that she will get, but at night, what do the women there do, do they watch television, do they play cards? What do they do?

MARLOWE: Sometimes they watch TV. In the cottages they're allowed to watch TV. If she gets transferred to the range, she'll have to do like everybody else and buy a set of head phones so she can hear what the TV is saying. They play cards. A lot of them go to the library and read. I worked at the library while I was there. And a lot of the girls read or go to the library and do research or watch movies.

BLITZER: Were the other women, the other female prisoners basically nice to you? What kind of relationship can she expect from the other prisoners?

MARLOWE: Well, as long as she treats everyone nicely and you treat everybody the same, they pretty well treat you the same. These are a bunch of -- most of these women are non-violent women. They're mostly mothers. They're not mean women. Most of them don't deserve to be there. As long as they don't feel that she's given preferential treatment, everything will be OK, but it will be kind of rough.

BLITZER: Are most of the guards there women? I take it there are some men guards there as well. What kind of contact do they have with the women prisoners?

MARLOWE: Well, for instance, when you go to have a visit, there are male officers that do what they call a hand search. They're supposed to go down the middle of your body and spread like this, but I was routinely abused by a male guard that, you know, in the visiting room before I had a visit. He would, you know, put his hands on me where he wasn't supposed to and tell me if I told I couldn't have a visit the next time, but I doubt they would do...

BLITZER: What you're saying is female guards didn't do that? Normally a female guard would do that?

MARLOWE: Normally, but there's not enough female guards. I had a male guard as much as I had a woman guard doing the searches.

BLITZER: What about the visitation? I understand when kids come there, it can be a very, very sad moment when they have to say goodbye to their mothers.

MARLOWE: That was the hardest time that we ever had. No matter who was in the visiting room or how good a time you was having, when a little child went out that room screaming for their mother, it was hard on everybody.

BLITZER: And how did the women take it? Obviously, they want to see their kids, but it must be painful to have to say goodbye.

MARLOWE: Oh, there's women like me. I mean, after you're there a little while, you avoid that visiting area when you don't have a visit. You stay away from there, because you just -- those children screaming for their mothers, it just rips your heart out. There's children that lose...

BLITZER: Jean Marlowe. Yes, go ahead.

MARLOWE: There's children that lose permanent touch with their mother.

BLITZER: Jean Marlowe, what were you convicted of? What were you doing there?

MARLOWE: I received a package of medical marijuana in the mail from Switzerland. I accepted it and was charged by the federal government.

BLITZER: Jean Marlowe served at Alderson Prison in West Virginia. Thanks very much.

And to our viewers, by the way, we asked federal prison officials about Jean Marlowe's allegations, specifically on the issue that men guards would touch women inappropriately during various checks.

This is a statement that one prison spokeswoman gave us. She said this: "Although I don't have any information about this particular inmate," referring to Jean Marlowe, "to the extent that female inmates are required to undergo a visual search, this is not done in the presence of male staff. Searches of this type are conducted by female staff. The staff at Alderson are highly professional and treat inmates in a fair and consistent manner." The statement goes on to say, "Any allegations of misconduct are taken very seriously and are thoroughly investigated."

More than ever at stake tonight for the presidential candidates, a lot at stake, in fact. Our top analysts are here with a preview. Carlos Watson, Jeff Greenfield, they will join us live.

Also, terror in Taba. A pattern emerges in the aftermath of deadly attacks.

The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize is announced -- why this laureate is making history.

Plus, the lighter side of the election, political parody with something to offend everyone. We'll show you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to the campus of Washington University in Saint Louis. We're only less than three and a half hours away from tonight's second presidential debate. We'll get more on that. That is coming up.

Terror patterns as well, what investigators are learning from the attacks and carnage in Egypt.

All that. First, though, a quick check of some other stories now in the news.

Widespread power outages are being reported in the Philippines, where a strong earthquake rumbled through the capital, Manila, earlier today. Panicked residents and hotel guests ran into the streets and high-rise buildings swayed. There are no immediate reports of serious injuries or damage from the 6.4 preliminary magnitude quake.

A man arrested for videotaping skyscrapers and transportation systems in North Carolina and other states has agreed to plead guilty to immigration charges. In a plea bargain deal, Kamran Akhtar will spend up to six months in prison before being deported to his native Pakistan. his attorney says federal authorities found no evidence of terrorism-related activity. But the deal allows prosecutors to bring additional charges later.

An environmentalist from Kenya is the winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt movement almost three decades ago. The group, mainly women, says it planted 30 million trees around Africa to fight illegal logging or government-sponsored deforestation programs. She is the first African woman to win a Nobel Prize in any category.

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

Back now to our top story. The grim search for victims continues in the Egyptian resort town of Taba, one of three sites near the Israeli border bombed about 24 hours ago by terrorists. Officials suspect an al Qaeda connection.

Let's go live to Washington, CNN's Brian Todd standing by -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, al Qaeda is under heavy suspicion here, but a larger story looms about pattern and long-term strategy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TODD (voice-over): The sheared-off building, twisted metal and high body count aren't the only familiar characteristics here. When terrorism experts see the carnage in Taba, Egypt, the immediate pattern of attack is telltale, simultaneous bombings, maximum casualties and a broader intent.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: This is a way of attacking Egypt's economy, Egypt's government, attacking Israel and also, parenthetically, attacking an American-owned company, the Hilton Hotel, where this happened. Al Qaeda has been attacking American hotels around the world.

TODD: Three obscure groups claim responsibility for the bombings in Egypt. And Israeli officials link the attacks to al Qaeda. Experts say look beyond the claims.

KEN ROBINSON, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: The name is meaningless to me. Osama bin Laden is not the world's mastermind terrorist. Osama bin Laden lit a fuse. And those groups, this Islamic brotherhood of groups with an ideology are going after one thing and that's instability.

TODD: Has it worked? The attack in Taba closely resembles at least two others, October 2002, nearly simultaneous bombings of two nightclubs in the resort of Bali, Indonesia, kill more than 200 people, many of them Australian vacationers.

About six weeks later, suicide bombers blow up an Israeli-owned hotel at another resort in Mombasa, Kenya, 12 people killed. A nearly simultaneous missile attack on an Israeli charter plane fails. But listen to how experts describe the lasting impact in that region of Kenya.

ROBINSON: Since the attacks occurred there, their economy is on the verge of disaster right now. And, simultaneously, there is a strong building going on of minarets. You see new mosques popping up in a lot of places. And you see a lot of the gaps being filled from what the country can provide to these Islamic organizations that are helping.

TODD: And each expert we spoke to says look for more of the same, soft targets, resorts with famous Western influences in countries desperate for tourists, but unable to take care of all the needs of their own citizens.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Another pattern put very bluntly to me by a noted terrorism expert, look at all three attacks, in Indonesia, Kenya and now Egypt. He says the targets, in the minds of the fundamentalists, half-naked infidels frolicking on the shores of Muslim-influenced countries. They're appalled at that, he says, and they're trying to wipe it out -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian Todd in Washington for us -- thank you, Brian, very much. Could tonight provide an October surprise? We're just a few hours away from the second presidential debate. Will President Bush be able to make up some points lost in the last match? Carlos Watson, Jeff Greenfield, they are standing by. They have "The Inside Edge." They'll join me live. That's coming up.

Plus, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): It's good to be in D.C.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm gay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm gay!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): We tossed our medals, burned our bras.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: JibJab, you probably don't know what it is. Maybe some of you do. But it's back with a lot of laughs and all sides are fair game. (

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: There's a developing story we're following and some dramatic new twists tied to the death in Iraq of the British hostage Kenneth Bigley.

Let's go to live to our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we can now report to you that U.S. officials believe that British hostage Kenneth Bigley was, indeed, beheaded by his captors after an unsuccessful escape attempt, this according to a number of U.S. and Western diplomatic sources CNN has spoken to throughout the day.

We want to emphasize, this is the belief that these officials have come to. They come to this belief that there was an unsuccessful escape attempt by Mr. Bigley based on intelligence that they have, but they will not characterize the source of that intelligence. They also believe, Wolf, that other people may have been killed, possibly some of the captors who may have been trying to help Mr. Bigley or other hostages being held by the same group.

Now, this comes as the British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, was asked earlier about today about rumors swirling around that there had either been an escape attempt by Mr. Bigley or a rescue attempt, a failed rescue attempt. When asked about this, the British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, would only respond, "I'm afraid I can't." He refused to discuss the matter, but it is the belief of several officials that it was an unsuccessful escape attempt by Mr. Bigley, he was brought back in by his captors and then executed -- Wolf. BLITZER: What a horrible story.

Barbara Starr, thanks very much for that report.

With the second presidential debate just now over three hours away, the stakes very high for both candidates. Our CNN political analyst Carlos Watson is joined by our CNN senior analyst, Jeff Greenfield, for a special edition of "The Inside Edge."

Thanks to both of you for joining us.

Carlos, I'll start with you this time. The AP reporting 50-46 Kerry ahead of Bush. "TIME" magazine has it in a dead heat right now. Certainly, there's been a shift since that first presidential debate.

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: There has been. And a couple of shifts are significant, not only in the polls, not only in terms of the momentum.

But one of the unspoken-about stories, I think, is the shift in the Kerry team's management, Joe Lockhart, Mike McCurry, two guys who have come in and have played a major role. One of the other people you don't hear a lot about, but who has also helped to steady the ship over the last three or four weeks and probably helped the debate performance and the numbers is Joe Biden, the senator from Delaware, who has been extraordinarily helpful on the question on Iraq.

BLITZER: Two other Clinton officials, Joel Johnson, Doug Sosnik, they are both deeply involved as well.

Do you agree that the Clinton addition has helped this Kerry campaign?

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: Well, what I agree is that Mary Beth Cahill and Bob Shrum aren't going to be happy to give that much credit.

It may well be. But I really think that it was the combination of Kerry's focus and the president's really inattentiveness, almost that he felt put out to have to be there debating Kerry that really pushed that debate. And what really surprised me, frankly, was the extent to which the numbers shifted. I would not have thought that many voters would have changed.

And it demonstrates that fact that this myth of -- that everybody has made up their minds is wrong. The real question about whether or not those advisers or anybody else can have a real impact is tonight, because the format of a town hall debate, which was Clinton's favorite kind of forum, that's a forum that you might not think John Kerry would be that strong in, except for the fact that he has had so much more practice at it this year, dealing with potentially hostile questions, than the president.

BLITZER: And if you think they were nasty and tough with each other the last time, they're going to be even more aggressive this time, I suspect, Carlos. WATSON: I think for a couple of reasons, one, because of the example that was set, frankly, on Tuesday at the vice presidential debate, much more aggressive debate as they got closer and closer.

And the other thing, I think, that the questions will be more personal. And the questions, frankly, will not reflect not abstract theories, but, frankly, someone's own life, whether it's the mother of a troop remembering a troop or whether it's someone who has lost a job. So I think some of that will add to the spiciness, if you will, of the questions.

BLITZER: Talk a little bit about this format, this town hall meeting. Jeff, some of our viewers are going to be surprised to see what they see tonight.

GREENFIELD: Well, basically, Charles Gibson, the moderator, the ABC anchor, is sifting through questions submitted by some 140 semi- committed voters, soft Kerry, soft Bush.

He will pick about 20 questions reflecting evenly from each side, some foreign, some domestic. Now, what is different from previous town meetings is that the candidates are not supposed to engage the questioners in this kind of psychotherapy: Tell me more about your life, so I can show you how much I empathize with you.

Whether they can resist that temptation or not, I don't know. The one thing that makes Carlos' point arguable is, can you really be that tough on your opponent in front of the American family that is sitting there in person or do you have to behave yourself a little more circumspectly? I really don't know the answer to that question.

BLITZER: It's a tough line to walk. What do you think?

WATSON: Well, I think one of the interesting things is, can you be tough and do it with humor? I think, frankly, the president is one of the best politicians we've seen in a long time at going after someone with a wink and with a smile.

And so the question is, can John Kerry, in that maybe more intimate setting, also be tough, but maybe do it with a little bit of humor?

BLITZER: Tucker Eskew of the Bush campaign told us earlier the president has reviewed the videotape from the first debate with his aides and they've studied it. If he has done that, what do you think he should learn from that?

GREENFIELD: Probably, he should learn that the camera is always on him and probably a good idea not to look like you're about to undergo root canal. That's a thing I think we should have learned from Richard Nixon in 1960.

The other thing about tonight that is really intriguing is, you have got all these news reports about Iraq, which put the president on the defensive, because they seem to suggest -- Paul Bremer, the former man in charge of the occupation, wanted more troops, he said. The Iraq Survey Group said, you know, there never were any weapons of mass destruction. Now, they have got an argument to rebut that.

But it's pressure on the president to take that bad news for his argument, turn it around, make the argument that the decision to go to war was right, the execution was OK, it's part of the war on terror, and my opponent is an unreliable commander in chief. That's a very interesting pivot to have to make tonight.

BLITZER: In other words, the Bush people will make Kerry the issue.

GREENFIELD: They want to.

WATSON: Both will try.

I think one the other things, besides handling difficult questions with a bit of aplomb, I think the president also -- this is going to sound simplistic -- but he has got to come across as articulate. He can't be repetitive. He can't say the same things over and over again. The pauses we saw last time I think would be a problem. The other thing is, he has got to come across as specific and informed when he's talking about a variety of issues.

BLITZER: Carlos Watson and Jeff Greenfield will be with me tonight throughout the night. Much more coming up. Thanks to both of you.

WATSON: Good to see you.

BLITZER: To our viewers, here is your chance to weigh in on this story. Our Web question of the day is this: Who do you think will benefit most from the town hall format of tonight's debate, President George W. Bush or Senator John Kerry? You can vote. Go to CNN.com/Wolf right now and we'll have the results a little bit later in this program.

Poking fun at both parties, it's the newest craze. The JibJab guys, famous for their animated political humor, are back at it. And we'll show you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The people at JibJab are at it again, adding some much needed humor to one of the most bitterly divisive campaigns in recent memory. Like their widely popular first effort, their latest offering is funny, raunchy and taking jabs at both sides.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): This land is your land. This land is my land. I'm a Texas tiger. You're a liberal wiener.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER (voice-over): It was an Internet phenomenon viewed tens of millions of times. And the animated campaign parody "This land" thrust brothers Greg and Evan Spiridellis and their Jab Media Enterprise into the spotlight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): You can't say nuclear. That really scares me. Sometimes a brain can come in quite handy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've heard from both sides in the press. We've seen quotes from Chris Heinz and also from the head of the RNC. And the great thing about "This land" is that both sides seem to be able to laugh at themselves.

BLITZER: That success set the stage for the sequel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were guests on "The Tonight Show." And when we were there, Jay Leno asked if we would do a follow-up for the show. So that's the kind of opportunity that doesn't come around every day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Oh, I wish our winning were a bit more certain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Better call my friends at Halliburton

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The result is called "Good to be in D.C." And like its predecessor, it's an equal opportunity offender.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): I'm sensitive. I cannot lie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): I love to hug and kiss this guy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Are they gay?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): We won't say

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: JibJab is not about our personal political views or one side or the other. It's about making people laugh.

BLITZER: Did they succeed?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Take note. Go vote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Or we'll choose who goes to D.C.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You be the judge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Take note. Go vote that you want me in D.C.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Unlike its predecessor, the new JibJab video will cost you $2.99 to download, but you can watch it for free on their Web site.

And we'll have the results of our Web question of the day. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our Web question of the day. Take a look at this. Remember, though, this is not a scientific poll.

I'll be back later tonight, along with my colleagues Anderson Cooper, Paula Zahn, the entire CNN election team, for complete coverage of the second presidential debate.

And please tune in Sunday for "LATE EDITION," the last word in Sunday talk. Among my guests, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, John Edwards.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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