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.
ANNOUNCER: They're packing up, gearing up and saying their good- byes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not too happy about leaving my family behind, but I joined before I joined the military to do.
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ANNOUNCER: As the U.S. military deployment gets off the ground, President Bush prepares to speak to Congress and the American people about the new war against terrorism. A battle as he'll describe it, between fear and freedom.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Good afternoon. I'm Judy Woodruff in Washington.
JOIE CHEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Joie Chen at CNN Center in Atlanta.
This hour we're here to tell you that the war against terrorism is intensifying on the military and the diplomatic fronts, Judy.
WOODRUFF: But Joie, as we have most days now, we want to begin with a live picture from the first battlefield, the smoky wreckage of the World Trade Center. After more than a week of search and recovery operations, New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani now estimating at least another 180 days of what he calls very intense clean-up.
CHEN: Let's bring you up now on some of the other developments today in the response against the terror attacks against the United States.
President Bush preparing now to address Congress tonight, indeed address us all. He is rejecting a recommendation, meantime, by Afghanistan's Islamic clerics on the fate of suspected terrorist ringleader Osama Bin Laden. After a meeting in Kabul, the clerics are urging the Taliban government to ask Bin Laden to voluntarily leave the country.
The White House though says it wants action, not just words. Clerics say they are prepared to call for a holy war against the United States if U.S. troops attack. In what some are describing as a major break now in the investigation, federal agents have arrested a man outside Chicago believed to be linked to an associate of Osama Bin Laden. He is Nabil Al-Marabh, a name that appears on a terrorism watch list compiled by the FBI since last week's attacks.
40 members of the U.S. Senate meantime got a first hand look at the devastation in New York City today. It was one of the largest groups of senators ever to travel together outside Washington.
Senate majority leader Tom Daschle says the members wanted to show their support and their sympathy for the victims of last week's terror.
The House of Representatives could take up an airline-bailout bill as soon as tomorrow. President Bush is asking Congress to approve $5 billion in immediate cash aid, and another $3 billion for aviation security, as well as provisions to limit airlines' liability from the terror attacks.
Also today, U.S. troops are getting their marching orders for their role in the war against terrorism.
CNN's Bob Franken joins us now from the Pentagon -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Joie, there is some late- breaking news. The first list of reserve units that have been called up has just been released by the Pentagon. This is only a partial list that only involves the international guard and Air Force reserve units.
As you know, there are 35 reservists across the service spectrum that are expected to be called up. This is, as I said, is just the first wave. It actually includes just a little over 5,000 reservists. Air Force, National Guard, as I said, and Air Force Reserve. 25 states involved in all.
Three of the units come from the state of Oregon. There are two each from Georgia and Louisiana. And there is one unit from the Texas International Guard, which as you recall, was the home for quite a while of now President George W. Bush.
As I said, a little over 5,000 of the reservists all from the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve. We have still not heard from the other services, including of course the Army, the Navy, and the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard.
Those announcements will come out later. All of these units have been notified and are beginning their mobilization. And that, of course, is just part of the continuing story of the military buildup in the United States.
The latest word today came from the Army, which said that deployment orders had gone out to active duty units, deployment orders which are now being followed and the units are getting ready. And while they weren't specific about which units, it became very clear that they were talking in large part about commando units, the special ops units. They're going to have a very primary role here. We're talking about special forces units, the Rangers, units like that, who because of the peculiarities of this particular situation, could be expected to have a primary role, a role that was defined by the Army Secretary.
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THOMAS WHITE, SECRETARY OF THE ARMY: I think the Rangers and the special operating forces will play a prominent role in any campaign that we conduct going forward, as they have in past campaigns. That's why in the 1970s and '80s and '90s, we put an enormous effort into the buildup of their capabilities post-Vietnam. And the value of those forces, I think, has been displayed a number of times. And they'll be critical to this campaign going forward.
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FRANKEN: Now that's the Army there, of course. There's a large Navy buildup going on, to say nothing of the military aircraft buildup. But you can see that there are three antiaircraft carriers with huge flotillas of support ships, all three in this particular area, including the Enterprise, which supposed to have come back a little over a week ago, but was told to stay in the area. That's in the Arabian Sea, the last we heard.
The U.S.S. Carl Vinson is in the Arabian Sea. And now the U.S.S. Teddy Roosevelt and its group of 14 ships is heading toward the Mediterranean at last word, although of course, the Pentagon goes into its mantra, it does not give out operational details.
But it has certainly let the world know, Joie, that there is big military buildup going on. Part of that, of course, is to try and impress the various countries of the world that the United States definitely means business -- Joie.
CHEN: Yes, Bob, listening to Secretary Rumsfeld speaking earlier and I think over all that eventually, he did acknowledge signing off on orders. You know, to all of our viewers who have heard so much about Afghanistan in the course of the recent days, they might assume that the buildup of any forces in there would be geared toward action against Afghanistan, but there is a broader picture in place as well?
FRANKEN: Well, there is a broader picture, but also one is left with the impression, in fact it's more than an impression, that the emphasis for instance on the special operations unit, those commando units are the kind of units that you expect to be involved in Afghanistan operation with its very, very difficult terrain, and its guerrillas from the various wars that have been fought there.
You would expect an emphasis. And of course, officials will tell you that sure, that's why we can expect there will be special operations units. But the Defense Secretary has pointed out that there are so many countries. We hear numbers like 50, that are suspected in one way or another, helping terrorists over a period of time. And what the United States says over and over is that the countries will be required to stop. And they'll be made to stop, they say, one way or the other.
CHEN: CNN's Bob Franken for us at the Pentagon this afternoon.
Meantime, in North Carolina today, about 2,200 Marines loaded up three ships bound for the Mediterranean. It is a long scheduled deployment for troops from Camp Lejeune, but one commander says if Marines are called on to fight the war against terrorism, his unit would be among the first.
Also mobilizing today, U.S. forces and fighter planes at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
CNN's Ed Lavandera is there -- Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Joie, Bob Franken was talking about the Air Force reserve units that have been called into action. We're here at Barksdale Air Force Base, just outside of Shreveport, Louisiana. And this is where 373 Air Force reservists have been called up.
And we also understand that 9, B-52 bombers have been called into action. You can see some of the fleet of 60 that are stationed here at this base, just in the field. We're at the edge of the airfield right over here.
There are 60 B-52 bombers stationed here at Barksdale Air Force Base. The B-52s carry a 5 person crew. And it's a $30 million aircraft that can carry 70,000 pounds of weaponry, including air launch missiles and precision bombing. They can drop their bombs from 50,000 feet in the air.
Throughout the day, we have seen several B-52 bombers take off, but we haven't seen any of those return. But military officials here are keeping tight lips. They're not saying where those aircraft were off to. And so, all we can say is they haven't returned here since the time we've been here.
Also, a nice, heavy storm is starting to blow through this area. And so, in the last couple of hours, we really haven't seen a lot of activity here at Barksdale Air Force Base. So that's the story from here. 373 Air Force reserves called into duty and 9, B-52 bombers also called into action.
Joie back to you.
CHEN: CNN's Ed Lavendera at Barksdale Air Force base in Louisiana. Thanks very much -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: Well, Joie, as we know, the person who will be making the decisions that affect where our military forces go is the man in the White House, President Bush. Right now preparing for an important speech to the Congress, to the American people.
Our correspondent, White House correspondent John King there -- John.
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Judy, we're told it runs 3,000 words and will last about 30 minutes. The main goal of the President tonight, to offer an explanation to the American people about why he is deploying so many U.S. military troops and forces overseas.
Mr. Bush, we are also told, will have a very "direct message to Afghanistan's ruling Taliban."
Remember, the Taliban in a debate about whether to ask Osama Bin Laden to leave the country. Mr. Bush, his senior administration official telling CNN just a short time ago, will make clear that he's not interested in debate over time tables, that the terrorists chose the timetable to strike here in the United States, and that he will choose the timetable to respond.
At the same time, however, we are told Mr. Bush will not lay out specific timetables for military action. He will, though, we are told, offer a detailed explanation of Mr. Bin Laden's Al-Qaeda terrorist network, stretching its ties around the world, outlining the cooperation he has asked for from foreign governments, as well as saluting the Congress, we are told, for coming together to help him in this time of unity.
The President will say it is a moment of national unity. He will also ask the American people for patience. This official saying the President realizes there is a righteous sense of anger in the country in this official's words, but the President will say he wants to do this right. And he will appeal for patience -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: John, problems also at home with the airline industry. Struggling, other industries very much struggling, what will the President say about the American economy?
KING: It is in that portion of the speech, Judy, we are told where the President is most complimentary of the cooperation he has received from the Congress. Mr. Bush will outline his views on an airline industry bailout. We know those negotiations ongoing on Capitol Hill today. At least $5 billion in direct aid expected for the airline industry in just a matter of days.
Mr. Bush will also promise that he and the Congress will work together in a bipartisan way on an economic stimulus package, if necessary. And almost everyone believes it will be to prime the economy even more. But Mr. Bush will also, even as he calls this an emergency, even as he says the government is determined to respond, we're also told he sounds a bit of an upbeat note, saying over time, he is very confident the American economy, the American worker will rebound from this.
WOODRUFF: And John, it's become typical when a President addresses the Congress for there to be special guests. What are the plans in that direction tonight?
KING: We are told by several senior officials the President indeed will salute two men he views as heroes of the crisis, the New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and New York Governor George Pataki will be up in his box.
Also plans are being made for a show of international solidarity. The British Prime Minister Tony Blair will be here for discussions with the President in just a short time about the military options and about Great Britain's pledge to cooperate. He also is making plans to attend that speech.
And in addition to the special guests, Judy, we're told the President wants to make a special point. He will once again take time in this speech to a joint meeting to Congress and to the American people to say what this official called terrorism is a real "perversion of the Islam faith." The President once again urging Americans to be tolerant, not allow any backlash against Arab- Americans -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right, John King, our senior White House correspondent. We'll, of course, be talking to you as the night wears on, John.
In the White House photo of Mr. Bush preparing for his speech to Congress, presidential counselor Karen Hughes is featured prominently. I talked with her about an hour ago. And I asked her what the President's main message will be tonight.
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KAREN HUGHES, PRESIDENTIAL COUNSELOR: Well, Judy, I think he's going to try to answer the many questions the American people have. He's going to say that tonight, we're a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom. And he's going to try to outline for the American people who this new enemy is, who this global terror network is, how they operate and how he believes that we should fight against them and how we should rally the world to direct the resources of the entire civilized world to fight against this network of terror.
WOODRUFF: Will he give us new information tonight, Karen, about these people and these organizations?
HUGHES: Judy, I think he'll paint a very vivid picture of what motivates them of why they dislike America so much, about why they feel compelled to kill Christians and Jews, to kill Americans, to make no distinction between civilians and military personnel.
Really, these are people who despise everything we stand for. They despise our freedoms. They despise the fact you and I are able to work outside the home. They despise the fact that we have freedom of religion and freedom to disagree with each other, that the President will be speaking tonight in a freely elected Congress. They self-appoint their leaders.
And so, the President will talk about the fact that these are people who cannot stand us because they stand against everything we stand for and that we will not stand for this. WOODRUFF: The one concern I've heard expressed, Karen Hughes, even on the part of those who are very supportive of the President is that he not over promise. After all, the goal of ending terrorism is a very ambitious one.
HUGHES: Well, Judy, he has also said, however, that you know, we will -- we can improve our homeland security and we will. We can take additional measures and we will work with Congress to improve airport safety.
But ultimately, the defense against those who want to commit acts of terrorism is to find them and stop them before they commit those acts. And so, he has told those of us who work for him this is now the cause of his administration. This is now the focus of his administration. And tonight, he is going to tell the world very clearly that the world has to take sides. They're either with us or they're with the terrorists.
WOODRUFF: Karen Hughes, how is the President dealing with what's reported to be a split among the President's top advisers? Some arguing that we need to move quickly and in a sweeping way, include countries like Iraq in our mission. Others we're told like Secretary of State Powell saying no, we've got to take more time, consult with the allies before we did anything?
HUGHES: Well Judy, the President is someone who encourages everyone. He wants to listen to all points of view. He is the commander-in-chief. He will listen to all points of view. And he will make his decisions.
And this administration is united behind the goal of -- we have been attacked. And we've been attacked by a network bent on not just attacking America, but attacking the civilized world, attacking our way of life. And this administration is unified behind the goal that we've now been called to defend freedom, just as our fathers were back in World War II. We've now been called to take action to defend freedom not only here at home, but throughout the world. And we're unified behind that goal.
WOODRUFF: Speaking of that, is the President going back and looking at the speeches Franklin Roosevelt after Pearl Harbor? His own father, the speech that he gave after the Gulf War?
HUGHES: Judy, usually, I would say, the speechwriters probably did, but this time I don't think there was even time for the speechwriters to do that. I mean, of course, all of us are aware there are many famous lines that have been delivered in the speeches.
I don't really think -- we did pull this speech together in a very short period of time. Our speechwriting team did a fabulous job of pulling this all together in a very short period of time. And so, I doubt they had a lot of time for reading. They were busy writing.
WOODRUFF: Finally Karen Hughes, the White House has changed since all this happened? HUGHES: Well, I think America has changed since all this happened. And we can't deny that. But I told the people who work for me that every day each of us in a small way can take a stand against terrorism by trying to live a normal life, by coming to work, by hugging our children, by being calm and resolute in the face of something we've never seen before. And I think that's the way Americans feel. And we've been very encouraged by the great outpouring of support from our fellow Americans.
WOODRUFF: All right, Karen Hughes, counselor to President Bush. And we want to thank you very much for joining us.
HUGHES: Thank you, Judy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: Stay with CNN for President Bush's address to Congress tonight. CNN's Aaron Brown and our senior analyst Jeff Greenfield will join me for our live coverage. That's at 9:00 p.m. Eastern -- Joie.
CHEN: Judy, we'll get more from the scene of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan in just a moment, including the latest on the recovery efforts there.
Also ahead here, the arrival of British prime minister Tony Blair and his growing role as the key U.S. ally in Europe.
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CHEN: Up in New York today, the weather is adding to the already tremendous challenges facing workers at the World Trade Center site. Still, it has not stopped a number of high-profile visitors.
CNN's Gary Tuchman is in lower Manhattan again for us today -- Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Joie.
And heavy rains are creating many problems at ground zero just three blocks behind me. The rescue effort does continue, as workers on the scene try to find survivors, despite the fact that nobody has been found alive since Wednesday.
However, the effort is still officially under way. But what's happening because of all this heavy rain, the rubble is much heavier, much harder to lift, and that hampers the effort. You're looking at a shot right from 35 stories up at the site right next to the World Trade Center. This rain also makes it much more hazardous for the 2,000 workers who are on the scene right now. Just minutes ago, we talked with a structural engineer from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who is on the scene.
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KELLEY AASEN, ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: This is terrible, terrible. The conditions don't help our rescue operation. I'm sure it is dampening the spirits of the people that are out there, just working on the ground. They've been out there 8 days now. I'm sure it hampers the operation. The mud's going to get worse. All the concrete, dust is now going to become mud and harden, and turn, you know, tighten everything up.
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TUCHMAN: Kelley Aasen, the structural engineer also tells us, they are very concerned about two buildings near the World Trade Center complex.
One of them is the One Liberty Plaza building. You may remember that the day afterwards, there was fear it would collapse and everyone on site evacuated. Kelley says that building is structurally deficient. And there is potential, and we emphasize the word potential, it's not necessarily going to happen, but potential for collapse.
Earlier today, 38 U.S. senators came to New York City. They traveled by Amtrak train to New York's Pennsylvania Station, the Amtrak terminal here in the city. And they came to meet up with New York's two senators, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer.
40 U.S. senators were in New York City today. 40 percent of the entire senate to tour the area. They said that when they saw it in person they couldn't believe what they were seeing. That's what many people have said. You see it on television, it looks terrible. You see it in person, it looks much worse. And they pledged their support for New York City during this very difficult time.
Another dignitary in the city right now, the prime minister of Great Britain, Tony Blair. He will be visiting a fire station and a police station. Great Britain is one of over 60 countries that lost citizens in this catastrophe.
Joie, back to you.
CHEN: CNN's Gary Tuchman for us back in lower Manhattan.
And Judy, to follow up now on below Mr. Blair's visit -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: That's right, Joie.
The British prime minister is here in the United States now. During his flight this morning, Mr. Blair had a rare telephone conversation with Iranian President Mohammed Khatami. Tehran radio reports the two men discussed efforts to stop terrorists in what is described as the first high-level contact between Iran and a major Western power in many years.
Mr. Blair later joined U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former President Clinton at a memorial service for British citizens believed to have died in the World Trade Center attacks. The prime minister now heading to Washington to meet with President Bush and to attend tonight's speech to Congress. Since last week's attacks, Prime Minister Blair has had a very busy schedule.
CNN's Robin Oakley brings us up to date on Tony Blair's emerging role as diplomat.
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ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lunchtime Wednesday, Tony Blair held talks in London with Ireland's prime minister Bertie Ahern. Dinner that night was in Germany with Chancellor Schroeder. By breakfast Thursday, he was in Paris with President Chirac, before flying on see the devastation in New York and join President Bush for dinner in Washington.
Friday, he'll be back at the meeting of 15 European heads of government in Brussels. In Germany, Mr. Blair made it clear that it isn't just sympathy for the U.S. which motivates him.
TONY BLAIR, BRITAIN PRIME MINISTER: In all likelihood, 200 or more, possibly many more, British people were killed, which makes it the worst terrorist incident for us in Britain since the war.
OAKLEY: At his meeting in France, he underlined the theme of his 7,000-mile diplomatic whirl.
BLAIR: That we must take action against the people responsible is also plain and certain, so all the way through, we proceed calmly, we proceed in a considered way, but with a total determination that the people responsible for this act of terrorism are brought to justice.
OAKLEY: But if the U.S. sees him as the man who's helping to put backbone into the European end of the coalition, Europeans reckon Blair's access to the White House, courtesy of Britain's record as a military ally, is helping them to put across a crucial thought.
CHARLES GRANT, CENTER FOR EUROPEAN REFORM: Blair's message in private to the Bush people is, you know, "please be cautious, please be prudent, please don't act rashly. Do not lash out when you don't know what you're lashing out against."
OAKLEY: Tony Blair has long argued that a special relationship with the United States, and enthusiastic membership of the European Union aren't mutually exclusive, and that he can be a bridge builder. Now he's getting the chance to prove that boast.
Robin Oakley, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: For a snapshot of where the British people stand on the prospect of military action, a daily telegraph and Gallup poll finds 70 percent of respondents say the U.S. and its allies should be prepared to take military action against countries that aided the terrorists. Twenty percent were against taking action, and 10 percent had no opinion.
The latest on Congressional efforts to shield the airlines from massive losses in just a minute. Plus, House minority leader Dick Gephardt joins me from Capitol Hill.
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WOODRUFF: In just about four-and-a-half hours from now, President Bush will address the Congress and the nation in the aftermath of last week's terror attacks. We want to go right now to the White House, our senior correspondent, John King.
John, you've picked up some information about what the president will be saying.
KING: That's right, Judy. We've just been given some advanced excerpts of the president's prepared text tonight, some remarkably blunt language in the speech the president will give to a joint address in Congress. First and foremost in his message to the American people, the president will frame things this way -- quote -- "We are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom."
Mr. Bush, as Karen Hughes told you a few moments ago, will outline why he believes the United States came under attack, and he will promise this -- quote -- "We will direct every resource at our command, every means of diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence and every necessary weapon of war, to the disruption and defeat of the global terror network."
Mr. Bush will also work in a message of tolerance, we are told, saying -- quote -- "The enemy of America is not our many Muslim friends. It is not our many Arab friends. Our enemy is a radical network of terrorist and every government that supports them." On that front, very blunt language. Many times in speeches that a president knows are being watched around the world, he will choose diplomatic language. Not in this speech.
The president will say in this speech that governments need to choose -- quote -- "Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists." And, Judy, this, obviously, a very important speech for this president, the defining moment for the young Bush presidency. He frames the debate this way: Freedom and fear, he will say, are at war -- Judy?
WOODRUFF: All right, our John King getting some advance word on what the president will be saying tonight. Thank you, John.
And now to Atlanta and Joie.
JOIE CHEN, CNN ANCHOR: Judy, meantime from the Bush administration, Attorney General John Ashcroft traveled to Pennsylvania today to see for himself the devastation caused by the crash of United Flight 93. Ashcroft and the FBI director, Robert Mueller, toured the crash scene and met with investigators. You will recall, many believe that this flight went down when passengers tried to overpower the hijackers. The FBI director praised the passengers for their efforts.
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ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: Every FBI agent, every FBI employee, acknowledges, respects and has the utmost admiration for the heroic efforts of the passengers on flight 93. And I think our admiration and our respect for those passengers are shared by just about everybody in the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHEN: Director Mueller said the data and voice recorders from flight 93 are still being analyzed. He also said that some translation would be needed for the conversations on the tapes, suggesting that the hijackers were not speaking English -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: Well, Joie, here in Washington, the financial health of the nation's airlines was again the topic on Capitol Hill. Today the Bush administration added its voice to the discussion. CNN's Kate Snow is standing by outside the Capitol with the latest -- Kate?
KATE SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Judy, Congress and the White House are working on a bailout package for the airlines, the details still very much being worked out. But we can tell you a little bit now from Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta, who's here on Capitol Hill today testifying before the Senate. He talked about a package that the White House would like to see for the airlines.
The first element of that, a $5 billion cash payment, cash assistance for the airlines. That has almost universal agreement, we're told, by Congressional sources now. The House expects to take up that piece tomorrow, along with loan guarantees for the airlines as well.
The White House also asking for more controversial provisions. The Bush administration wants to help the airlines keep their insurance and they want to limit the airlines' liabilities. Again, those more controversial issues, and the Congressional aides we're talking to say it's unlikely the House will deal with those issues right now.
The White House also, fourthly, asking for $3 billion to go toward airport and airplane security. Now, two hearings today on Capitol Hill among senators, where they've been hearing from Norm Mineta, the transportation secretary, and from the FAA and its administrator, Jane Garvey. The senators, pressuring the transportation secretary to do something about security. They are asking over and over again: Could he make that a federal role? Should the screeners at airports, perhaps, be a federal position? The senators, saying the focus has to change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. PATTY MURRAY (D), WASHINGTON: For too long we have focused on how to do security inexpensively. From now on, we have to focus on how to do it well. In truth, these workers are just part of our transportation system. From the airport parking garage to the terminal, from the gate to the cockpit, and from the tower to the cabin, thousands of people are responsible for our safety when we step on an airplane.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: At least two senators at these two hearings, Judy, have mentioned the idea of potentially arming the pilots on planes. That's been raised by a couple of senators -- could we, perhaps, give stun guns to the pilots of the planes to service as some sort of air marshals, if you will.
Mr. Mineta saying that he has formed a committee to look into all of these issues -- what needs to be done to enhance security an American airlines -- and that they will report back to him by October 1st -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: And Kate, as you've been doing your report, I just learned that our Major Garrett at the White House has been told that a deal has now been struck between the White House and the airline industry. Now, we don't know what the Congressional role in all of this is, and of course, that's where you are. But the White House evidently agreeing to that $5 billion in immediate aid.
SNOW: Yes, I can add to that, Judy. I was just on the phone right before I came on the air as well, and it sounds like what the -- what I mentioned just a moment ago, what the House is going to do tomorrow is take up that $5 billion in direct cash assistance. As I said, that's something that all sides say they can agree needs to be done. This is money the airlines need right now. This is money that will help for the lost business that they had last week, and the projected losses through the end of September. The airlines, essentially, opening up their books and saying we need this 5 billion to continue operations.
The rest of it may have to wait until later on. I do understand the House, also tomorrow, will take up an issue of loan guarantees, helping the airlines to get loans. That's also going to be up before the House tomorrow -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right, Kate Snow. And I'm learning again, while you're talking, being told that part of this agreement between the White House and the airline industry, in addition to the 5 billion immediately, would be a separate 10 billion in loans or loan guarantees, as you've just been describing. We'll try not to confuse -- I've already confused myself, and I'll try not to confuse the audience.
Now, as we are still at the Capitol, we have joining us the Democrat leader of the House of Representatives, House minority leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri.
Mr. Leader, what does the president need to say tonight?
REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT (D-MO), MINORITY LEADER: Well, I think he's going to really fill in information for the American people about what happened, why it happened, who is likely to have made it happen, what motivates them, and the kind of challenge we face as a people, as a country, in the days and years ahead, in fighting this terrible challenge that we need to fight, in terms of terrorism.
So it's a time for the president, in a longer presentation than he has had up until now, to really lay all the facts out and create a vision for the country of where we need to go together to fight this thing.
WOODRUFF: Does he need bring more people behind him, supporting him? I ask that because the sense one gets from news coverage, from the polls, is that he has an extraordinary majority of the American people already behind him.
GEPHARDT: Well, look, polls are slices of what is happening from day to day. This is going to be a long fight. I think this is a tough challenge, a complicated challenge. After Pearl Harbor, we knew exactly what had happened. We knew who did it and we knew how to fight it. And it wasn't easy to fight, but we carried on a five-year battle to win that war.
This is much more complicated, much more subtle and difficult to deal with. And six months from now, just like now, we need real cohesion, real solidarity among the American people to fight this battle. And that's why laying out a vision early that people can understand and adhere to is really important.
WOODRUFF: I asked Karen Hughes this question a little bit earlier: I am hearing some concern, even among those who are very supportive of the president, that he not overpromise. The notion of ending terrorism is a very ambitious goal.
GEPHARDT: Well, I think we can't overstate what we are likely to be able to do. We have got to be realistic about what this is and realistic in what we can do about it. But I think it's important to state a strong goal. The truth is, we live in a very dangerous world today. Terrorism is with us, and with us all across the world. And we do have to fight it and try to eradicate it.
It may be hard to do. It may take a long time to do it, but I don't think we can put up with a little bit of terrorism, or bide having these things happen again. We've got to do everything we can to try to eradicate this problem, and go at the root causes of it, as well as trying to deal with the people that perpetrated this horror in New York and here.
WOODRUFF: You are the leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives. Are we seeing the end of partisanship, at least for the time being, in this country?
GEPHARDT: Well, whenever there is an attack on the American people, we need to solidify. We need to unite, and we need to do it with resolve. The country certainly did that in World War II. This is an attack of that proportion, and we need altogether to work together, to be solid together, to be bipartisan and do everything that we can do together to fight this. Now, look, Congress is a place where we resolve conflicts in a peaceful way. We know there are big disagreements out there on all kinds of issues that still exist: Social Security, the budget, the tax bill -- even national defense, we'll have disagreements about. But we have go to put those to the side for the moment, deal with what is in front of us together and as effectively as we can. There will be time enough to get back to those disagreements that are always going to be there, and legitimately should be there within the Congress, because those disagreements exist between the people of the United States that we represent.
WOODRUFF: House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, thank you very much. It's good to see you.
GEPHARDT: Thank you.
WOODRUFF: CNN's Bill Schneider joins me in just a moment with his thoughts on the president's speech later tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHEN: You'll see it live here on CNN, where just over four hours from now, President Bush will speak to Congress and the American people about what lies ahead for all of us. Our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, joining us this hour with his thoughts about the challenges now facing the president as he prepares for the speech tonight.
Bill, I suppose it's inevitable that people will make comparisons -- Bush the 41st, Bush the 43rd, the Persian Gulf war and now this war against terrorism. But you think that in making this statement, he has a really different mission than the first president did when he was explaining the reasons for the Persian Gulf war.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, that's right. This president, this George Bush, I think, has both in some ways easier, in some ways harder. It's easier because we were attacked, and he doesn't have to rally the American people. The American public is pre-rallied -- they're ready to go to war. In the Gulf war, nobody attacked us.
But it's harder because he has to describe a plan of action. There, the enemy was clear. It was Saddam Hussein and it was Iraq, a country. This time, is it a man, Osama bin Laden, is it a country, Afghanistan, Iraq, other terrorist-supporting countries? Or is it terrorism, a concept? That's going to be a lot tougher.
CHEN: So what does the public, indeed, the pollsters, have to tell Mr. Bush about the message they want to hear from him now?
SCHNEIDER: They want to know that Mr. Bush has a plan of action. They want to see a president who is in charge and knows what his objectives are, and can spell them out clearly. Because frankly, Americans were a little bit confused. We asked people last week, just after the terrible attack, should the United States go to war? And 62 percent said yes. Then we said, against whom? And 2/3 said they didn't know.
Well, the president has got to define both who our enemy is in this war and what our objectives will be.
CHEN: Our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, a few quick comments on the address tonight from the president. I'm sure we'll hear from you again later. Thanks very much, Bill.
And the sounds of healing, the note from New York, when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOODRUFF: Over the past nine days, so many Americans have wondered: "what can I do to help?" after the attacks on the United States. Well, this evening, the New York Philharmonic will do its part by doing what it does best. CNN's Beth Nissen reports on a form of music therapy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like so many New Yorkers, the 106 musicians of the New York Philharmonic are back at work -- back in the U.S. The orchestra was performing in Germany last week, and only made it home this past weekend, to a city partially destroyed and a world greatly changed.
The orchestra was supposed to be rehearsing for the opening night gala of their new season this week. Instead, they are preparing a memorial concert to be broadcast nationwide on PBS Thursday evening.
CARTER BREY, PRINCIPAL CELLIST: This is our contribution. We can't grab shovels and help dig out the rubble. For us to come back and be together and play together, is a very healing thing for all of us.
NISSEN: The New York Philharmonic will play a single work at the memorial concert: Brahm's "Requiem." Every member of the orchestra knows why the work was chosen.
BREY: It's a piece that deals with loss and death, and the very human resistance against those things. But it also offers a very, very radiant vision of redemption and hope at the end.
NISSEN: Johannes Brahms used as his text passages from the Old and New Testament of the Bible, powerful reassurances...
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHEN: We have to break away from Beth Nissen's piece to listen to the leader of efforts to heal New York City, Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaking at an emergency center there.
MAYOR RUDY GIULIANI (R), NEW YORK: All of the hospitals in New York City are open, and are not over capacity in any sense at all. The hospitals have taken care of about 6,200 people over the course of the last nine days, but at this point, they're not in any way over capacity. So there's a -- some of the hospitals have the sense that people are not coming in for their normal treatments and they're not coming, and if that's what people think, that the hospitals are overcrowded, that's not the case. They are in a normal situation.
It may also be that people are upset, watching their televisions or listening to their radios and absorbed in this war, or beginnings of war, or the reaction to what happened on the attack on the World Trade Center, and therefore not concentrating on taking care of their health, and they should concentrate on taking care of their health. That's enormously important, that people figure out how to move toward going ahead with the normal things they have to do for themselves in life, eat, take care of their children, do their job.
And things do appear to be much better today. We had a lot of traffic. Our schools had about 85 percent attendance -- we're usually at 90 or 91 -- so we're very close to normal, with regard to attendance in schools. Our businesses are, if not at full attendance, pretty close to it, except in the area affected by the attack.
We have a very important announcement to make. This is something that we've been working on for several days, and I want to thank the controller, I want to thank all of the unions, and Randy Weingarten (ph), and Adam Barsky, the O&B director, who helped to develop this. But another controller can describe it in more detail. But we are going to -- we're going to make available about half a billion dollars to invest in securities, and actually, altogether, about $800 million, out of two different pension funds -- half a billion out of one and 300 million out of another.
We're not going to be selling any securities. We're going to remain confident in the recovery of the U.S. economy which, I think, is probably the best investment anybody could have made over the last couple hundred years. So we will use some of our pension funds to see what we can do to help assist in making certain that the United States economy recovers as quickly as possible.
The numbers on -- the numbers have changed a little bit. We now are at 6,333 reported missing. The main reason for that is, getting numbers from foreign nationals. For example, British nationals have about 250 alone. Now, that number may go up or down, depending on our checking it against possible duplication from other sources. We may have gotten reports of missing people from businesses, and might have gotten it individually from their families. So we haven't had a chance to completely go through that number. But the official number right now is up to 6,333. We have recovered 241 bodies, and there are officially now 6,291 injuries.
We have removed 5,035 trucks and 68,943 tons of debris, structure and massive removal effort. Travel is normally crowded. The roads are crowded. Traffic conditions are pretty tight, and therefore I really do urge people as we go through this -- and we are going to go through this for some time -- to use public transportation.
A lot of people are. The Staten Island Ferry is up 8 percent. The new Brooklyn Ferry went up to 1100 one way. The other ferry services are at capacity and doing very well. The subways are not quite at normal ridership. So there's plenty of room on the subway if you want to take the subway rather than take your car, which means you probably going to be delayed.
The Port Authority facilities are all open and operating. Air travel obviously is down, not only in New York, but we had Governor Engler of Michigan with us and he reported they are experiencing the same issues in Detroit as we are in New York, which is about 35, 40 percent for flights that are leaving. That's seems to be a nationwide issue, which I believe will return to normal as we move further and further out from this event.
We have gotten the northern part of Battery Park City North open. We are working now for residence, and they are able to go back into their apartments. And we are now working on the southern part of Battery Park City, to see if we can get that open tomorrow, and maybe that won't be until Saturday. But we are trying very hard to get that open so people can go back to their homes.
That covers most of the critical issues. I want to thank Senator Daschle and Senator Lott for coming to New York with 40 other senators. I want to thank Senators Schumer and Clinton for helping to organize it. It was a very -- a very, I think, difficult experience for that many United States senators, 40 of them, to be standing there and watching the aftermath of the most massive attack on the United States of America, whose civilian population -- they were very much affected by it, and I think very much resolved to do everything that needs to be done to help us recover and to help the country recover and respond properly.
I will take two or three questions and then I have to leave.
QUESTION: ... to New Jersey or Connecticut. Are you going to be offering some financial incentives to these businesses to come back...
GIULIANI: We have tried -- the city and state have joined our economic development efforts together. We have tried as best we can to go through the lists of businesses that have been affected by this, call them, see what they need in the interim, and what they need long term.
I'm sure we haven't reached every single one, but if any business wants to reach us, Joe will give you the number. We have two different city numbers and a state number, but we are all working together. So if you reach any one of them, you have reached all of us. And we will give you any help that we can to make certain that you get through this period of time. We find temporary space for you and then give you some sense of when you get back into your permanent space.
QUESTION: The governor implied in a radio interview that the state may not be ready to hold the primary election next week. Do you know anything about that?
GIULIANI: I do not.
QUESTION: Mr. Mayor, what can you tell us about further plans for Sunday's memorial service? Can we get an update?
GIULIANI: Again, Rudy Washington will give you the details of it. It's on Sunday, it's at 3:00. It's at Yankee Stadium, Keyspan Stadium, Richmond County Ball Park in Staten Island. And I believe it's also going to be in the Ballpark in Newark, New Jersey, so we include everyone in New Jersey in this effort. And so they can also pray. I will take one...
QUESTION: ... president speaking.
GIULIANI: I'm headed to Washington, D.C. We'll get a chance to meet with the president, pass along to him some of the concerns that we have, and also pass along to him the extremely strong united support of all New Yorkers for his efforts to do what's necessary to defend our country and to engage in the effort of trying to end the threat of terrorism.
I can't tell you -- and I'll tell it to the president as best I'm capable of -- how many thousands of people have come up to me to say that to me. That we shouldn't be afraid we shouldn't be at all cowered by this in any way, and that in the right way and with the right response and a very well-planned response, we should respond in a way that makes the possibility of an attack like this less likely in the future. Also recognizing that when we do respond, we are going to be taking a risk that there may be another attack.
The reality is that risk exists right now anyway. We are not buying anything by just saying, "We are not going to do anything about this." So the president understands that. He is resolute. I know they are doing everything they can to figure out the right response to it. And all New Yorkers, just like all members of the Senate that I talked to, support him and we want him to know that. Thank you very much.
QUESTION: Mr. Mayor.
CHEN: Mayor Giuliani of the city of New York, talking about trying to bring his city back to normal, whatever that is, and emphasizing what the city is doing to bring that about now. Now stay tuned for CNN's extensive coverage of America's new war.
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