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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Afghanistan Helicopter Crash; Bush Speech Preview; Allawi Interview; Durbin Interview

Aired June 28, 2005 - 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, the Associated Press reporting a Taliban claim it shot down a U.S. military helicopter over the rugged border area of Afghanistan, an area where the U.S. has been searching for Usama bin Laden, approximately 16 Americans on board.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER (voice-over): Violence is up. Polls are down. A year after the handover in Iraq, President Bush makes his case for the mission to an increasingly skeptical nation. A primetime address tonight.

Last stand in Gaza? They've stockpiled food, water, and weapons. Israeli versus Israeli. Die-hard settlers oppose the pullout. How far will they go?

ITAMAR BEN-GVIR, PROTESTOR (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): If the army and the police will make problems, we'll also make problems.

BLITZER: Caught on tape: a hero cop in a doughnut shop.

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (R), NEW YORK CITY: This young officer, out of uniform and without a partner, didn't hesitate to put himself in harm's way to protect a fellow New Yorker.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, June 28, 2005.

BLITZER: Thanks very much for joining us. We begin with a developing story out of Afghanistan. A U.S. military helicopter carrying troops to the frontlines has crashed in a rugged mountain area along the border with Pakistan. Let's go straight to our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr -- Barbara Starr?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it is now dark, of course, the middle of the night in the rugged area of eastern Afghanistan where this helicopter went down earlier today. U.S. military search-and-rescue forces are on the scene making their way there, looking for any survivors from the crash.

We are initially told this was a CH-47 Chinook helicopter carrying approximately 16 troops, according to first reports, when it crashed. But we are learning now that it was a particular variant of the CH-47, an MH-47, an indicator that there was special operations forces involved in this mission.

What we are told is the troops were on their way to this area. They were reinforcing troops on the ground. So what we do not know at this hour, Wolf, is whether any additional U.S. forces on the ground were injured or killed, perhaps, when this helicopter went down.

We do not have any confirmation of how it went down. There is a Taliban claim of responsibility, but no confirmation of that. We are told there was an emergency beacon that went off when the helicopter went down, and that is partially how search-and-rescue forces were able to so quickly locate the site.

Let's be very clear. This is in some of the most rugged terrain in the world. This is near Asadabad, in eastern Afghanistan, the Hindu-Kush Mountains, 7,000-foot mountain peaks, snow on the top of those mountains year-round. Very, very rough terrain, Wolf.

BLITZER: And the speculation -- and it is speculation at this point -- this is an area where the search for Usama bin Laden, other Al Qaeda operatives, has been underway now for the past few years.

STARR: Well, to be clear, this is area, as you say, where there are almost constant counterinsurgency operations over the last many weeks and months. What U.S. forces are doing is moving through this area looking for remnants of the Taliban and Al Qaeda that they believe have come across the border from Pakistan where, by all accounts, everyone believes Usama bin Laden is hiding. That is what these troops were doing on the ground, these very tough counterinsurgency operations, Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Barbara, thank you very much. We'll continue to follow this developing story for our viewers.

Sovereignty but no security. A year after the handover of power, Iraqis have self-rule but no self-reliance. U.S. troops are still leading the fight against a bloody insurgency. As the casualties rise in Iraq and confidence sinks at home, President Bush planning a primetime address to lay out a strategy going forward. We'll get to that shortly.

First, let's go to on the ground in Iraq, where, once again, it was another day of bombings and shootings. CNN's Jennifer Eccleston is in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Despite today's anniversary, or perhaps because of it, the violence continues. A prominent Shiite tribal leader, a member of the Iraqi National Assembly, was killed in a suicide car bomb attack Tuesday morning in northern Baghdad. Dhari Ali al-Fayadh, his son, and three bodyguards died when a suicide car bomber slammed into his convoy.

But today marks the one-year anniversary of the handing over of sovereignty to Iraqis, one step in many political landmarks, including the historic January election of the transitional assembly, the adoption of a government in April, and this summer and fall, the writing and adoption of a constitution and elections of a five-year government, which is scheduled for later this year in December.

But clouding the political process is a spike in violence over the last year. A surge in insurgent attacks across the country, a surge in car bombs and suicide bombers, the most effective means now to kill large numbers of Iraqi people.

Over 800 U.S. forces have been killed and thousands of Iraqis. And despite the number of major U.S. operations to rid the country of its insurgency, it still remains effective. And Iraqis and the U.S. military says the political process, getting all Iraqis involved, getting all Iraqis to take ownership of their country, is key to stemming the insurgency here in Iraq.

And one year later, many Iraqis still live under substandard living conditions, not enough power, not enough water, not enough clean drinking water, and sub-par sanitation and sewage. These day- to-day hardships, on top of the grinding violence, especially here in the capital, limits the Iraqis' abilities to believe their government and American assertations that life is indeed improving in Baghdad and across the country one year after the handover of sovereignty.

Jennifer Eccleston, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Is Iraq on the right course? When Iraq regained sovereignty last year, Ayad Allawi was the interim prime minister. He'll join me for a look at the year gone by and a look at what may lie ahead. That's coming up later this hour.

Two more American troops died today in Iraq bringing the total to 1,741. With the support for the war and his poll numbers plummeting, President Bush will make a primetime address urging the nation to stay the course. He's at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, and so is our White House correspondent Dana Bash, who already has some excerpts from the president's speech -- Dana?

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf.

Well, the president's aides are well aware of the criticism, mounting criticism, even from Republicans that perhaps the picture that the White House has been painting of what's going on in Iraq has been too rosy. And so what we are going to hear from the president is perhaps a chance to try to correct that, talk about the fact that he understands the images that people are seeing, that U.S. troops are dying. In fact, 89 soldiers from Ft. Bragg have died in Iraq alone.

And I will read you the first excerpt on that. He said, "The work in Iraq" -- he will say, "The work in Iraq is difficult and dangerous. Like most Americans, I see the images of violence and bloodshed. Every picture is horrifying, and the suffering is real. "Amid all this violence, I know Americans can ask the question, is the sacrifice worth it? It is worth it, and it is vital to the future security of our country. And tonight, I will explain the reasons why."

Now, he will go on from there, White House aides say, to paint the picture of progress, he says, has been made and what he says will happen in the future.

Now, interesting to note, Wolf, our latest polls, CNN-"USA Today's" latest polls shows that most Americans now see Iraq and September 11th and the global war on terrorism as two different issues. The White House knows they have to turn that around. They have to make Americans understand or think that Iraq is part of the global war on terrorism.

And so the president will say, quote, "The only way our enemies can succeed is if we forget the lessons of September 11th, if we abandon the Iraqi people to men like Zarqawi, and if we yield the future of the Middle East to men like bin Laden."

Now, certainly this will very likely open the White House up to criticism that they have heard in the past, that they are trying to link, perhaps, Iraq, perhaps Saddam Hussein, and bin Laden. That is something that no one has ever found any link between.

But White House counselor Dan Bartlett said that the president will actually quote bin Laden, quote bin Laden, saying that it is like World War III what is going on in Iraq, talking about the city of two rivers. And that the White House says is evidence that, they say, that Iraq is the central front in the war on terrorism and that the terrorists, namely bin Laden, agree -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Dana Bash is working for us over at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, right now. We'll get back to you throughout the night here as part of our coverage.

And please stay with CNN for the president's address to the nation. Our special coverage starts at 7:00 p.m. Eastern with Anderson Cooper. The president's speech begins an hour later at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Please be sure to join Paula Zahn and me for that coverage. "LARRY KING LIVE" follows at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

Controversial remarks and then an apology. Coming up, I'll speak with the Democratic senator who recently compared interrogation techniques at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp to the methods of Nazis. My interview with Senator Dick Durbin, that's coming up next.

Israeli extremists vowing to fight until the end rather than going along with the proposed government Gaza pullout. We'll take you to a hotel that's now being called, and I'm quoting, "The Fortress by the Sea."

And later, a hero cop risks it all to save a doughnut shop clerk. We'll show you what happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Democratic Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois recently found himself blasted by critics for comments he made about the treatment of detainees at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, in Cuba.

Within days, Durbin found himself at the center of a swirling controversy. He wound up making an emotional apology a week after his initial remarks. Here are excerpts from both statements.

First, the one in which he quotes an FBI memo describing detainees chained to the floor without food and water. Durbin offered this assessment about how that information would come across to anyone who didn't know it was an FBI agent's witness account.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: You would most certainly believe this must have happened by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime, Pol Pot or others, that had no concern for human beings.

Some may believe that my remarks crossed the line. To them, I extend my heartfelt apologies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Senator Durbin spoke with me about that controversy and much more this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Senator Durbin, thanks very much for joining us. We'll talk about the president's speech shortly. But let's review the uproar following those controversial comments you made.

What were you thinking when you made that comparison to Nazi Germany, to Pol Pot, to the Soviet gulag? What was going through your mind?

DURBIN: I just read an FBI agent's report on some of the activities, alleged activities, at Guantanamo Bay. The interrogators who were involved in that report did some things that were horrible to one of the detainees, or even more.

And I was drawing the historical analogy that turned out to be very, very bad. It opened me up to criticism that I was somehow going after our soldiers. That was never my intention. It was all about the White House policy on interrogation.

And sadly, it led to a lot of comparisons that didn't apply at all. After four or five days of people questioning those words and my judgment, I took to the Senate floor and apologized.

BLITZER: It took about a week, to be precise. Why did it take so long? DURBIN: Well, at first I couldn't believe that people drew that conclusion. Even if they thought my words were improper -- and they were -- there was no comparison between those regimes and our soldiers, but merely raising questions about why the United States at this point in our history would abandon the Geneva Conventions, why we would reach a point, under the Bush administration, where we would have new interrogation policies and some of the terrible things that have resulted.

BLITZER: In your eventually apology, you wound up saying this -- I'll read to you what you said -- "Some may believe that my remarks crossed the line. To them, I extend my heartfelt apologies." You clearly believe that your remarks crossed the line, I suppose, right?

DURBIN: Well, let me tell you, when you reach the point of an apology, you're clearly apologizing to anyone who was offended. I apologized particularly to our troops.

I think that's what touched me the most. I've been out to Walter Reed on unannounced visits. I've seen these soldiers. I've met their families. I've attended the funerals at home. I just did not want anyone to think that my critics were right, that I was somehow criticizing our soldiers and their families. I was not.

BLITZER: But looking back, you clearly believe your remarks did cross the line?

DURBIN: Well, now I understand it. At the time, I thought it was just an historical analogy to others that had used torture. But it brought up so many negative images, I clearly went too far. It was a poor choice of words.

BLITZER: Let me read to you what the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, said in reacting to your controversial remarks. He said this. He said, "Some people always in their lives say something they wish they hadn't said. We just watched Jane Fonda run around trying to recover from the things she did and said during the Vietnam War. And I just think that that's about all I have to say about him, is that he said some things, and he's going to have to live with them."

And others have made the point that your remarks were widely reported on Al Jazeera throughout the Middle East, the Arab world. I wonder how you feel about that?

DURBIN: Well, I think there were a lot of my critics who's tried to blow these remarks up as much as they could and to run them in some aspects of our press over, and over, and over again. I think they bear some responsibility, too. That speech might never have been noticed but for that activity on that side of the media.

But having said that, I apologized. I stand by my apology. I'm sure Secretary Rumsfeld wished there were words that he had said, even before our invasion of Iraq, that he could have back.

BLITZER: Are you calling on him to apologize for something? DURBIN: I'm not in the apology business this week. I really want to get down to business for the people of Illinois and for the soldiers and veterans that are counting on me.

BLITZER: Let's talk about the president's speech tonight. Would you like to hear him announce some sort of exit strategy, a timetable for a U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq?

DURBIN: That's not going to happen. It's not likely. And I'm not sure it's the right thing at this moment.

But let's be honest. If things are going according to plan, if the president tells us they're going to plan in Iraq, it's time for a better plan. We've lost 1,734 soldiers. Over 13,000 have been seriously wounded. It has cost us hundreds of billions of dollars. There is no end in sight.

Our soldiers deserve better. They need a plan for success. They need an administration that is honest about the costs of war, human and otherwise, and they need full accountability and oversight on Capitol Hill. Sadly, that's not happening.

BLITZER: So what specifically do you want to hear from the president tonight? What should he be doing differently, if you don't want him to simply cut-and-run and pull out U.S. troops from Iraq?

DURBIN: Well, there was a bipartisan letter sent to the president today by Senator Carl Levin, a Democrat, Senator Susan Collins, a Republican. And I think they hit the nail on the head.

They said the president has to tell the Iraqi government in formation that they have to live by their own deadlines. And if they fail to meet those deadlines, we need to re-evaluate our commitment in Iraq. It's time for them to bear a major share of the responsibility for the future of their own country.

When Secretary Rumsfeld tells us it could be five, six, eight, 10 or 12 years before this insurgency ends, a lot of Americans shake their heads and say, "We never dreamed that this war would lead to this point."

BLITZER: The whole nature of the number-two role -- you're the number-two Democrat in the Senate -- do you feel your effectiveness as a spokesman for the Democratic senators, the minority -- you're the minority whip -- has been diminished because of this controversy?

DURBIN: No, and I can tell you that my colleagues from both sides of the aisle have come forward -- particularly the Democrats -- to encourage me, and they stand behind me, and they understand what happened. Even some Republicans in private have apologized to me for some of the things they said during the course of this flap. Some have come to me, and said, "Boy, I've said a lot of things myself I wish I hadn't said."

We understand that's one of the perils of public life. We all make mistakes. But I'm lucky. Being from Illinois and from the Midwest, we believe in pretty basic fairness. Once you've made a mistake, get up, dust yourself off, and go to work.

BLITZER: Senator Durbin, thanks very much for joining us. We'll continue this conversation down the road.

DURBIN: Thanks, Wolf.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: His passion became his downfall. What claimed the life of the seventh-richest American, John Walton, the son of the Wal-Mart founder, Sam Walton?

Married to Al Qaeda? A New York musician accused of plotting to help the enemy. Our Mary Snow has an exclusive interview with the suspect's wife.

And shark bite: An update on that teenager attacked yesterday in Florida.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: One of the richest men in the world has died in a plane crash. You may not recognize his name right away, but you certainly know where his fortune came from. CNN's Susan Lisovicz is standing by in New York with more on the death of Wal-Mart heir John Walton -- Susan?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. John Walton was a billionaire because he was one of four children by Wal- Mart founder Sam Walton. He was called a renaissance man because of his many talents and passions. One of them was flying.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISOVICZ (voice-over): John Walton shared many traits with his legendary father, Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. One of them was piloting his own plane. After earning a Silver Star for his heroic service as a medic during the Vietnam War, John Walton joined the family business, but on his own terms.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He loved to fly. He was the first pilot for Wal-Mart many years ago, the first person to fly a Wal-Mart plane, in addition to his father.

LISOVICZ: Even after he left Wal-Mart, Walton continued to fly. He started his own crop-dusting business and later started building experimental aircraft. Like Oracle's Larry Ellison who pilots fighter jets, Virgin's Richard Branson who flies hot air balloons, and rocket scientist Dennis Tito who bankrolled his own mission into space, John Walton pushed his personal boundaries.

JAMES CLASH, "FORBES": I think they want a real experience or something that they can do where they have some effect on the outcome. When you take a risk in business, it's one thing. You're risking your money. You're risking your capital. But when you take a risk with adventure, you're risking part of your life, maybe your life. LISOVICZ: Walton is not the first prominent amateur pilot to lose his life. Others include John F. Kennedy, Jr., and singer John Denver. John Walton's home-built plane crashed just moments after takeoff in clear weather from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and came to rest in a beautiful meadow inside Grand Teton National Park. John Walton died doing something that he loved.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LISOVICZ: Wolf, investigators today say they still have no idea what caused Walton's plane to crash. A spokeswoman for Grand Teton National Park told me today that John Walton was well-known in the area and much loved. And she said that this down-to-earth heir to the Wal-Mart fortune was considered just another local -- Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, very sad indeed. Susan Lisovicz, thanks very much.

There was more surgery today for that 16-year-old boy who lost a leg after a shark attack. It happened yesterday off Cape San Blas on Florida's panhandle where the boy and his brother were fishing on a sandbar. Officials say the shark bit the boy's right thigh, almost severing the leg, which surgeons were unable to save. That attack came just two days after a shark killed a 14-year-old girl near Destin, Florida, less than 100 miles away.

Making his case to stay the course, President Bush preparing to address the nation about the war in Iraq. We'll take a closer look at where things stand today.

Battling the insurgency. Can U.S. and Iraqi troops get control of enemy fighters? I'll ask the former Iraqi interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi.

And a Harlem jazz musician charged with helping Al Qaeda. Our Mary Snow sits down with his wife for an exclusive interview. Hear what she says about the accusations against her husband.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

Should the United States' military negotiate with insurgents in Iraq? I'll ask the former Iraqi interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi. First, though, let's get a quick check of some other stories now in the news.

President Bush addresses the nation tonight from Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. The speech marks the one-year anniversary of the U.S. handover of sovereignty to Iraq, and it comes as public support for the ongoing war continues to slide. CNN will carry his speech live. Join me and my colleagues, Anderson Cooper and Paula Zahn. That begins 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

We're waiting for word on the fate of an estimated 16 U.S. troops on board a Chinook helicopter that crashed in Afghanistan. U.S. military officials tell CNN it happened in a rugged area along the border with Pakistan. Wire services are reporting that the Taliban are claiming responsibility. CNN has not been able to confirm that.

A federal jury in Birmingham, Alabama, has acquitted the former head of HealthSouth after six weeks of deliberations. Richard Scrushy faced three dozen counts, including fraud, money-laundering, and conspiracy, stemming from billions of dollars of overstated earnings. Fifteen former co-workers pleaded guilty in the scandal.

You can check out CNN's most popular video of the day at CNN.com. Just click on the video link at our Web site. Watch it as many times as you want whenever you want. It's a whole new way to experience the power of CNN video, and it's free.

Iraq may have its sovereignty, but a year after the handover, security still rests mainly in the hands of U.S. military forces. For a look at how the military has developed its role, let's turn once again to our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr -- Barbara?

STARR: Well, Wolf, one year after sovereignty was turned over to the Iraqis, the U.S. military is sticking to its game plan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): U.S. troops still very much on the offensive one year after sovereignty was transferred to the new government of Iraq. The year mainly punctuated by the argument of whether things are getting better or worse.

There are now about 500 attacks a week. That's lower than the 900 or so six months ago. There are about 138,000 U.S. troops in Iraq now, down from the peak of 153,000 around the January elections.

But it has been a deadly year. In the last 12 months, 883 troops have died in Iraq, most of them in combat. More than 1,000 Iraqi civilians killed in attacks in just the last three months.

GEN. GEORGE CASEY, IRAQ MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE: The most significant thing that I need to see in the next year is the progress of this political process in Iraq, all right? That will do more than anything we will do militarily to draw people away from the insurgency.

STARR: As President Bush makes his case to stay the course, to have Iraqis write a constitution and rely more on their own security forces, American support is shaken. The latest CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll shows 53 percent of those questioned say it was a mistake to have gone to war in Iraq. Fifty-one percent say the U.S. should set a timetable for withdrawal.

And what of the insurgency?

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: In terms of comparison from six months ago, in terms of foreign fighters, I believe there are more foreign fighters coming into Iraq than there were six months ago. In terms of the overall strength of the insurgency, I'd say it's about the same as it was.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: So while the U.S. military is saying no change in its strategy in the last year, Iraqis certainly hoping that the coming year will bring them a better life -- Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Barbara Starr, once again for us at the Pentagon, thank you, Barbara.

When the U.S. formally reinstated Iraqi sovereignty a year ago today, Ayad Allawi became Iraq's interim prime minister. He served in that post until this past April. He's in Beirut, Lebanon, today. And I spoke with him just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Dr. Allawi, thanks very much for joining us. Let's get right to this first anniversary of the handover of sovereignty. In your opinion, is the insurgency more dangerous today than it was one year ago?

AYAD ALLAWI, FORMER IRAQI PRIME MINISTER: Well, it has -- it had been dangerous. It is still posing a great danger. I think the insurgency remains to be checked with resolve -- first with resolve.

I think the firmness and the military solution is not the only answer here. We ought to resort to dialogue and, indeed, with economic recovery. Those are the three areas that I think will make us very able to face the insurgency.

BLITZER: Let me -- let me...

ALLAWI: Let me also...

BLITZER: ... rephrase the question this way.

ALLAWI: Yes.

BLITZER: Are you more frightened, are you more scared to walk the streets of Baghdad today than you were a year ago?

ALLAWI: Well, I think the same realities do prevail, the same circumstances, the same conditions, to some extent. The insurgency, the terrorists who are now trying to damage Iraq, have been taken, in recent past, the problems that we have in building our institutions.

I think that the government, the current government, should expedite building our security institutions, our military, our intelligence, and resort to dialogue. I think, once we achieve those two areas, we should be able, really, to re-control the whole of Iraq.

BLITZER: Do you support -- do you support...

ALLAWI: This is what we achieve. BLITZER: ... Dr. Allawi, discussions or talks, negotiations, whatever you want to call it, between the Iraqi government and the U.S. government, on the one hand, and the insurgents on the other?

ALLAWI: I am all for dialogue. When I was the prime minister, we faced a lot of problems throughout the country. We did not then have the means, the Iraqi capability, to fight the insurgency. But yet, we faced them with firmness.

And I personally embarked on a course of dialogue with the fringes of the insurgents and with those who do have influence on the insurgents. And part of the dialogue really worked and it's working today.

So I guess what I would recommend is that the current government, together with the multinational forces, should bear in mind that firmness is important, but what is equally important is dialogue.

BLITZER: What do you say to those critics, though, who insist that dialogue, in effect, would be negotiating with terrorists?

ALLAWI: No. We ought to make a clear distinction. There are terrorists with their hands bloodstained. Those are out of the question. I don't think there should be any negotiations here. They should be led -- they should be brought to justice as soon as possible.

There are other people who have been fooled, who have been betrayed, who have been -- things have been painted to them in the wrong way. I think we ought to make our mark by ensuring that dialogue prevails, that they should come to be part of the political process, that they should -- the case should be stated to them very clearly. And they should be assured and their fears also addressed. I think national dialogue would only cement our cause in fighting the insurgency.

Terrorism is a different fighter altogether. Terrorism is something that we, all of us, ought to face and fight and defeat.

BLITZER: The vice president of the United States, Dick Cheney, has said in recent weeks the insurgency was in its "last throes." He repeated that when I interviewed him last week. The defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, on the other hand, over the weekend suggested the insurgency could continue perhaps even for another 12 years. Who's right?

ALLAWI: Well, in a way -- I don't know what their statements were based on. But definitely, I see Secretary Rumsfeld have been involved in discussions on what's going on in Iraq. I believe time is not the issue here. What is at stake is really, how are we going to approach the problem of insurgency?

You know, this is not a classical war. These are problems in cities and towns. These are problems which are fed by various causes and reasons, including the economical stagnation in the country. And I believe that we really ought to use the three areas which I mentioned: force, dialogue, economic recovery. Now, to achieve this...

BLITZER: We're almost out of time, Dr. Allawi. Let me ask you about the president's speech tonight. In the most recent CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll, 53 percent of the American people said it was a mistake to send troops to Iraq. How concerned are you that American public attitude toward Iraq might be slipping away in the face of the daily carnage that goes on there?

ALLAWI: I am very, very concerned. And I do appreciate that a lot of American -- brave American women and men, their lives are being lost. It is not in vain, really. It is all for a very good cause.

President Bush has taken the right decisions. He is a leader. And a leader have to face tough, very tough decisions. And I think the world is passing through a very turbulent period. All of us need to shoulder our responsibility and to be brave and really to work together to defeat terrorism.

Polls are polls. They are up and down. The paths remain what they are, that we have to defend our people, both in New York, as well as in Baghdad, and Washington as well as in Basra and in London. We ought to work together to defeat terrorism and to make this world a much safer place.

BLITZER: All right.

ALLAWI: But I hope the American people will be steadfast. They have shown a great resolve in defending and helping Iraq and helping the Iraqi people. I am very sure and I assure you that, with the right policies, we will get to the shores of safety and civility.

BLITZER: All right. Dr. Ayad Allawi, appreciate your joining us on this historic day, one year exactly after the transfer of sovereignty back to Iraqis.

ALLAWI: Thank you. Yes.

BLITZER: Thanks very much. Good luck to you. Good luck to all the people of Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Married to a terrorist? The wife of the man accused of plotting to help Al Qaeda, speaking out in an exclusive interview. That's coming up.

Also, hard-liners vowing to fight to the end over Gaza where many settlers oppose the pullout.

And later, caught on tape. The heroism of one cop helping save the life of a fellow citizen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: For the first time, a New York woman is speaking publicly about the arrest of her husband, a jazz musician, now a suspect in the war on terror. She told her story exclusively to CNN's Mary Snow, and Mary is joining us now live from New York -- Mary?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Zakkyyah Shah says she doesn't believe a federal charge accusing her husband of conspiring to provide material support to Al Qaeda. Just hours before her husband was due to be arraigned in court, I sat down with her as she spoke publicly for the first time about the case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: Are you married to an Al Qaeda supporter?

ZAKKYYAH ANITA SHAH, SUSPECT'S WIFE: No.

SNOW: The FBI alleges that he was very interested in Osama bin Laden, had listened to his speeches, and had pledged loyalty to the jihad. What do you say to that?

SHAH: Never heard it, never heard him say that. And that's an alleged comment, yes.

SNOW: Did he ever talk about Osama bin Laden?

SHAH: Who can't talk about Osama bin Laden? He's on the news. He's in the newspapers. He's in "Newsweek." He's in "Time".

SNOW (voice-over): One month going, Tarik Shah was arrested. The indictment says he was planning to train Al Qaeda supporters in martial arts, which he practiced.

(on-screen): What was your reaction to that?

SHAH: I was surprised, startled. I couldn't believe it. I was confused because I really did not understand what they were saying and what evidence they could possibly have that could connect him to any of these things that they were alleging.

SNOW: Your husband is a jazz musician.

SHAH: Yes, he is.

SNOW: Law enforcement officials say he was using that as a cover.

SHAH: Not true. One thing about Tarik Shah, my husband, is that he is one that will show you one face all the time. He's not two- faced. He does not have the ability to be two-faced.

SNOW (voice-over): Zakkyyah Shah married her husband 13 years ago and says he inspired her to convert to Islam.

SHAH: He had a tremendous light the first time I saw him. He was just glowing. And the first time I saw him, he was playing his bass.

SNOW: She currently has a job inspecting boilers, a trade she learned while serving four years in the Navy. SNOW (on-screen): You spent four years of your life devoting your life to the government, the very same government that's put your husband in jail. Are you angry about that?

SHAH: Very concerned about the amount of power that's being wielded. The government has a lot of power, and they are flexing, if you will.

SNOW (voice-over): She says a man posing as a music student turned out to be the government informant who betrayed her husband. She believes that Muslims have become a magnet for terror probes.

SHAH: We are all inflicted with trials and tribulations. And whatever is meant for us to happen here, we have to accept what's meant for us to happen here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SHAH: At an arraignment just a short time ago, a federal court here in New York, Tarik Shah and his friend and co-defendant, Dr. Rafiq Sabir, both pled not guilty to charges of conspiring to provide support for Al Qaeda. Both are being held without bail, but have the right to apply for bail. They're scheduled to be back in court September 6th -- Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Mary Snow in New York. Good work. Thanks very much for that.

Coming up at the top of the hour, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT." Lou's standing by in New York with a preview -- Lou?

LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, Wolf. At 6:00 p.m. Eastern, just about 12 minutes from now, a U.S. Chinook helicopter has crashed in Afghanistan. We'll be reporting on the possible deaths of as many as 16 American troops aboard that aircraft. We'll have the very latest for you.

And President Bush tonight will try to convince amidst just plummeting approval ratings an increasingly skeptical American public that he now has a strategy for victory in Iraq. We'll have a preview and special reports.

Red star rising: An alarming and secret military buildup by China. Has the Pentagon missed the warning signs? We'll have a special report for you and a great deal more at the top of the hour. Please join us.

Now back to you, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, we'll be joining you. Thanks very much, Lou. That's coming up at the top of the hour.

When we come back, last stand in Israel. Extremists vowing to oppose the planned pullout from Gaza.

And later, an off-duty police officer's heroics stop a doughnut shop robber. And it's all caught on videotape.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: An American-born Israeli soldier today was jailed for 56 days for refusing to take part in the evacuation of Jewish settlements in Gaza. And Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned opponents of his pull-out plan that violence during the withdrawal would threaten Israel's very existence.

But some diehard settlers and their supporters are warning of just that, as they prepare for what they describe as a last stand in Gaza. CNN's John Vause reports from the Gush Katif settlement block in southern Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the battle over disengagement, the rundown Palm Hotel on a Gaza beach, with spectacular views of the Mediterranean, could well be a flashpoint. For months now, hard-core protestors, along with families with young children, have been stockpiling food and water, fuel and other supplies. There are also weapons, M-16s, handguns, possibly more.

(on-screen): Are there any weapons here?

DATYA YITZHAKI, PROTEST ORGANIZER: Unfortunately, not enough.

VAUSE: The weapons, according to Datya Yitzhaki, are for protection against Palestinian militants. But when Israeli soldiers and police come to evacuate the hotel, she won't promise everyone will go quietly.

YITZHAKI: Can I guarantee there won't be an earthquake? What am I, the prophet?

VAUSE: Itamar Ben-Gvir has long been associated with the outlawed Jewish group Kach, listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.

ITAMAR BEN-GVIR, PROTESTOR (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): If the army and the police will make problems, we'll also make problems.

VAUSE (on-screen): A big concern for Israeli security forces, suicide settlers. A small group of extremists willing to barricade themselves inside this hotel, threatening to take their lives as the ultimate protest against the disengagement.

(on-screen): It's a tactic used before when Israel evacuated the Yamit settlement in the Sinai, part of a peace deal with Egypt. A handful of settlers barricaded inside a bomb shelter threatening suicide. A rabbi convinced them to leave quietly.

YITZHAKI: I'm not intending to die. I think that everybody that's healthy and young is not intending to put an end to their life.

VAUSE: CNN was refused access inside the hotel and was told none of the protestors were willing to talk to the media. Many settlers in Gaza, though, who've insisted on peaceful demonstrations for more than a year are now worried by the more militant protestors on their doorsteps.

LAURENCE BEZIZ, GAZA SETTLER: This is not the way we believe that we have to lead the struggle for this place.

VAUSE: The 140-room hotel was abandoned more than four years ago, shortly after the start of the Palestinian uprising. Most of the renovations are being paid for by Jewish groups in the United States, Great Britain, and Canada. And a sign of what might still to come, the hotel has a new name. The people here are calling it "The Fortress by the Sea."

John Vause, CNN, Bush Katif, Gaza.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The Israeli army says its troops shot at Palestinian gunmen who approached a Jewish settlement in Gaza, hitting one and thwarting an infiltration. Palestinian witnesses say they heard a blast and then gunfire in the area. That would be in southern Gaza, as well.

When we come back, hero cop. An off-duty police officer springs into action, risking his life to stop a knife-wielding robber. The dramatic story and the videotape, all that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A man who tried to rob a New York doughnut shop should have paid more attention to the patron waiting in line behind him. The patron turned out to be a New York City cop who took quick action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (R), MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: What makes the Officer Schiavarelli's actions so exceptional is that he was off-duty at the time.

BLITZER (voice-over): Office Vincent Schiavarelli wasn't expecting to find trouble when he walked into this doughnut shop in Brooklyn. He was waiting in line when the man in front of him made a grab for the cash box. The officer reacted instantly.

COMM. RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE: Officer Schiavarelli grabbed the assailant from behind. As the two struggled, Police Officer Schiavarelli was slashed by the assailant on his left side. The assailant fled the store with the officer in close pursuit.

BLITZER: The officer didn't realize he'd been stabbed until he got outside. The would-be robber escaped, but without any money. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg calls the officer a hero.

BLOOMBERG: This young officer, out of uniform and without a partner, didn't hesitate to put himself in harm's way to protect a fellow New Yorker.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Good work. Police have identified the robbery suspect. They say he's 21-years-old. They're still looking for him. Officer Schiavarelli was treated at a hospital and released this morning.

Remember, you can always catch WOLF BLITZER REPORTS 5:00 p.m. Eastern. I'll be back tonight for complete coverage of the president's address. Our special coverage begins 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

Until then, thanks very much for joining us. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now. Lou's standing by in New York -- Lou?

LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Wolf.

END

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