[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] How bin Laden got away, the 911 commission hears new details. Could 911 have been prevented? A new Hamas leader is chosen. Palestinians vow revenge. Is the U.S. on the target list? Fed up with filling up, why have gas prices reached an all time high and is there any relief in sight? Americans traveling to Asia for sex, the government cracks down on alleged sex tour operators. Just released dramatic 911 calls, onlookers watched in horror as a gorilla attacked a little boy. And confused about carbs, Dr. Sanjay Gupta breaks down the good, the bad and the tasty.
[Announcer:] Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
[Cooper:] Welcome to 360. The 911 commission tops our broadcast. Just 90 minutes ago on Capitol Hill testimony wrapped up in day one of a two-day hearing by the independent commission. Heavy hitters, as you can see, from two administrations testifying under oath and on the defensive over decisions and indecisions. In Washington for us tonight, CNN National Security Correspondent David Ensor and CNN Senior White House Correspondent John King, we begin with David Ensor, David, a very busy day on Capitol Hill.
[David Ensor, Cnn National Security Correspondent:] That's right, Anderson, some tough questions and some revelations too.
[Ensor:] The commission staff director told of three different times the CIA thought it had Osama bin Laden in its sights, once in particular at a desert camp in Afghanistan in February of '99 where bin Laden stayed for a week but there was a problem.
[Phillip Zelikow, Exec. Dir., 9/11 Commission:] According to CIA officials, policymakers were concerned about the danger that a strike might kill an Emirati prince or other senior officials who might be with bin Laden or close by.
[Ensor:] The Clinton administration hesitated, Zelikow says, because near bin Laden were senior men from the United Arab Emirates at a hunting camp and, before long, the opportunity was lost. Then Defense Secretary William Cohen insists there never was a clear shot at bin Laden.
[William Cohen, Fmr. Defense Secretary:] If the director of Central Intelligence says we don't have it then you have to rely upon that.
[Ensor:] The commissioners grilled both Clinton administration and Bush administration officials about why they didn't strike al Qaeda earlier.
[Slade Gorton , Commission Member:] What made you think even when you took over and got these first briefings given the history of al Qaeda and its successful attacks on Americans that we had the luxury even of seven months before we could make any kind of response much less three years?
[Ensor:] Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld said time for planning was needed that just firing off cruise missiles, as the Clinton administration did once, seemed pointless.
[Donald Rumsfeld, Defense Secretary:] You can hit their terrorist training camps over and over and over and expend millions of dollars in U.S. weapons against targets that are dirt and tents and accomplish next to nothing.
[Ensor:] Officials from both Clinton and Bush administration said one problem was that there was never enough actionable intelligence. Wednesday the commission will get a chance to ask why not of George Tenet, Director of Central Intelligence Anderson.
[Cooper:] All right. David Ensor thanks from Washington. At the White House today, President Bush spoke out about his actions before and after September 11. As David Ensor noted, the president's comments come just one day before Richard Clarke, his former adviser and now chief critic, is set to testify before the commission along with Tenet. Senior White House Correspondent John King has the latest.
[King:] The president says there should be no doubt.
[George W. Bush, President Of The United States:] Had my administration had any information that terrorists were going to attack New York City on September 11, we would have acted.
[King:] Mr. Bush also rebutted any suggestion he ignored or underestimated the terror threat.
[Bush:] Whether it be a Hamas threat or an al Qaeda threat we take them very seriously in this administration.
[King:] The president's early commitment to confronting al Qaeda is called into question in this new book by former White House counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke and is a major focus of the commission investigating the September 11 attacks. Secretary of State Powell says the president compared the Clinton administration approach to al Qaeda as swatting flies and wanted more.
[Colin Powell, Secretary Of State:] He decided early on that we needed to be more aggressive in going after terrorists and especially al Qaeda.
[King:] That more aggressive plan was ordered soon after Mr. Bush took office on his desk when the Twin Towers fell, too long in the making to some.
[Bob Kerrey , Commission Member:] Why in God's name I got to wait eight months to get a plan?
[King:] The hearings are in part a credibility test for the Bush White House as Clarke and others suggest the administration put al Qaeda on the back burner early on because it was obsessed with Iraq.
[Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary Of Defense:] I've never been dismissive of al Qaeda and I think precisely because I think terrorism is such a serious problem.
[King:] So, the Bush White House is insisting that from day one it viewed al Qaeda as a serious threat. It also says that it did what it could based on the intelligence it had but, Anderson, more questions about this White House's credibility, as you noted, Richard Clarke in the witness chair tomorrow.
[Cooper:] And a big day on the witness stand that will be. All right, John King thanks. Key administration officials are still refusing to testify and there is lots of controversy still swirling around that. I'll ask a member of the 911 commission if the White House is doing enough in his opinion to cooperate. That interview just ahead here on 360. Happening right now in the Middle East, Israeli tanks have entered a Palestinian refugee camp in the southern Gaza. Earlier, tens of thousands of Palestinians filled the streets of the West Bank and clashed with Israeli soldiers, as you can see, heated exchanges over the assassination of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Also today, Hamas picked an interim leader. He's Abdel Aziz al- Rantisi, seen here. Israelis warn every Hamas leader is a marked man, as is Yasser Arafat but the questions remain will Hamas strike back even at the U.S.? CNN's Ben Wedeman reports.
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Correspondent:] Is the United States responsible for these women's grief? Israel fired the shots that killed the founder of Hamas but Palestinians say the U.S. by backing Israel shares the blame.
[Unidentified Female:] If we not kill America and Israel they will kill us today, tomorrow, after tomorrow.
[Wedeman:] Bush administration officials initially expressed understanding for Israel's reasons for the attack then back pedaled calling the killing deeply troubling. That the American position took several hours to solidify did not escape notice here. Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei, local officials, security forces and ordinary Palestinians all lined up under the banners of Hamas to pay their respects. Hamas leaders insist the U.S. will not be targeted but is partially to blame.
[Mahmoud Al-zahar, Hamas Leader:] Everybody here from the [unintelligible] including Hamas considering American administration as a partner in the crimes committed against the Palestinian people.
[Wedeman:] Among war weary Palestinians little enthusiasm to broaden the conflict beyond the narrow confines of this crowded land. "If we attack America the whole world will be against us," says this mourner. "We already have enough trouble with Israel." Trouble aplenty and on both sides agreement, more trouble to come. And a hint of that trouble this evening when Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, the man who's been appointed temporarily to run the organization in the West Bank and Gaza said Hamas is going to target Israelis everywhere Anderson.
[Cooper:] All right, Ben Wedeman live in Gaza thanks Ben. In Ramadi, Iraq today rage in the streets over Israel's killing of Sheikh Yassin. About 1,000 Iraqis, some throwing rocks, took out their anger on U.S. troops. The Iraqi Police moved in to break up the crowd after two of their trucks were set on fire and someone tried to fire a rocket-propelled grenade. At least two police officers and three protesters were wounded. Another eight Iraqi police officers were shot dead when gunmen opened fire on this van in the southern city of Hilla. Meanwhile, two other officers were killed in an attack in the northern city of Kirkuk and two Iraqi civilians were killed by mortars in Mosul. We're about to show you some pictures, just horrific pictures here, British troops on fire in Basra. Yesterday, at least 14 Brits were hit by explosives fired by a crowd angry after not getting jobs with the local customs police. Back here in the United States, if you're feeling pain at the gas pump you are not alone. The AAA says the average cost of gasoline hit an all time record in the U.S. today and the price is still climbing. Jen Rogers explains exactly what is driving the cost of gas.
[Jen Rogers, Cnn Correspondent:] It's a record few Americans will cheer, gasoline prices peaking at a new all time high Tuesday, the nationwide average nearly $1.74 per gallon.
[Unidentified Male:] There's nothing you can do, really. You just got to pay.
[Rogers:] And paying can be painful from coast to coast. AAA reports the highest prices are in California, coming in at $2.14 a gallon. Move east and it doesn't get much better, Arizona $1.91, New York $1.86, Florida $1.77.
[Robert Sinclair, Aaa:] Usually at this time of year record low prices and we usually don't see higher prices until the Memorial Day weekend which signals the beginning of the summer driving season. The fact that this is happening now is a big deal because really prices should be much lower.
[Rogers:] In fact, the government isn't predicting relief around the corner, forecasting gas prices will jump another ten cents a gallon this spring. The problem a lesson in Economics 101, high demand here in the U.S. and booming China facing off against tight supply thanks to OPEC and older refineries struggling with capacity. Add to the costly mix a seasonal slowdown from refiners shifting to special blends of cleaner burning gas that doesn't cause as much air pollution during the hot summer months.
[Unidentified Male:] It's a real big hassle, really big hassle.
[Rogers:] Even with pump prices at an all time high, on relative terms adjusted for inflation $1.74 is cheap. In 1980, gas cost more than $2.50 in 2004 dollars. Now continued record highs are fast turning pump prices into a political issue, one you may be hearing much more about during this presidential election year Anderson.
[Cooper:] All right, Jen Rogers in L.A., thanks Jen. The U.S. has had its share of headaches at the gas pump, of course. Jen Rogers mentioned 1980. Let's flash back now to the most memorable one perhaps in 1973, remember, gas lines stretched for miles as a result of an oil embargo that year? OPEC nations led the embargo because of western countries' support for Israeli in the Yom Kippur War. The price of gas skyrocketed going from 30 cents a gallon to $1.20 at the height of the crisis. The embargo ended in March, 1974. That was a quick flashback. We're following several developing stories right now cross country. Let's take a look. Washington going broke, Medicare's hospital benefits fund will run out of money in 2019, seven years sooner than expected. In a report issued today by the trustees of the Social Security and Medicare programs says that Social Security itself will go broke in 2042 unless the programs are changed? Pasadena, California, Martian Beach, NASA says there was once flowing water on the red planet briny saltwater at least two inches deep that could have supported life. Miami, Florida now going to pot, today police, a school and a state's attorney are trying to figure out why a 5-year-old had a bag of marijuana on him at school, elementary school. The Kindergartner was caught sprinkling it on a classmate's lasagna in the cafeteria, not a good idea. New York now, Queen of Soul suffering, Aretha Franklin is spending her 62nd birthday in a hospital. Her New York publicist says the singer went in over the weekend with an undisclosed illness. The location of the hospital is also undisclosed. We hope she gets well soon, as well as Wendy, a long-time viewer of 360. She's in the hospital. It's her birthday today. I want to send her birthday wishes as well. Jacksonville, Florida now, a tangled web, government agencies are trying to free a Northern White Whale that's been caught in a fishing net since last week off a Florida coast. Rescuers have been trying to get close enough to cut the net away. We'll see what happens. That's a look at stories cross country for you tonight. Americans touring for sex, did a New York travel agency arrange exploitation of the worst kind? Find out why the feds moved in to make a bust. Plus, faking happiness while fighting depression the dark secret that is keeping millions of us from getting help. And are you tired of all the carb confusion, do high calories really even matter anymore? I have no idea. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to come in and help sort it all out for us. First, let's take a look inside the box for top stories on tonight's network newscasts.