[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Was Saddam Hussein willing to leave Iraq on the eve of the U.S.- led invasion? Was there a lost opportunity to head off the conflict which has cost so many lives? CNN's Aneesh Raman is standing by in Baghdad. Our senior Arab affairs editor, Octavia Nasr, is at the CNN Center in Atlanta. But let's begin with our Brian Todd. He's here in Washington with some new information on this story. Brian?
[Brian Todd, Cnn Correspondent:] Wolf, we have a startling new claim by leaders of one Arab nation that on the eve of war their late president was close to brokering an extraordinary deal with Saddam Hussein.
[Todd:] March 2003, dramatic days before war that included a very public ultimatum.
[George W. Bush, President Of The United States:] Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict.
[Todd:] But at the time there were also some private maneuverings among some Arab leaders to try to forestall the U.S. invasion. Now CNN is told that roughly three weeks before the first U.S. strike, Saddam Hussein agreed in principle to accept an offer of exile. The offer came from the United Arab Emirates and was presented to other Arab leaders during a summit of the Arab League in Egypt. The proposal, we are told, was never acted upon. CNN obtained the information about Saddam's alleged agreement with the UAE from two sources who attended the Arab League summit, and it was confirmed by a senior UAE government official. Separately, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, which is part of the United Arab Emirates, recently spoke to the Al-Arabiya network about the initiative, which was spearheaded by his late father, UAE's president at the time.
[Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan:] During those days, the circumstances that we used to work under needed a very swift decision, an immediate response. We have security approval of the main players, everyone who was involved. And the main concern, Saddam Hussein in 24 hours.
[Todd:] The crown prince was otherwise vague on details. But a senior UAE official tells CNN Saddam wanted certain guarantees, including an Arab League resolution approving the exile. We caught up with the Arab League ambassador to the U.S., Hussein Hassouna. He says leaders at that summit were surprised by the proposal because it had not been on the pre-approved agenda. We asked him why the Arab leaders failed to even discuss the matter.
[Hussein Hassouna, Arab League Ambassador To U.s:] In my own view, there was not enough consultations prior to seizing the summits with this very sensitive issue. After all, you have to realize, this was in fact putting an item whereby the Arab League would ask the head of state, of a member state, to go into exile.
[Todd:] Senior State Department officials tell CNN they knew about the UAE proposal at the time, but they say it wasn't seriously considered, in part because the Arab League never acted on it. And they didn't believe Saddam would really step down. Middle East scholar Shibley Telhami has long-standing contacts in the United Arab Emirates and met with the late president. He believes the accounts from UAE officials of this deal are credible.
[Shibley Telhami, University Of Maryland:] The former president of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed, who was an incredible and influential man, we know had a great deal of interest in preserving Iraq as a unified and strong state.
[Todd:] But Telhami and the Arab League ambassador tell us there is no guarantee Saddam's exile would ever have come to pass, even if the Arab League had approved it. They say at that point it was very late in the game before the war, and there was mistrust between many nations, including the U.S. and Iraq, that could have scuttled any agreement. Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Brian Todd reporting. Very important story. Thanks, Brian, very much. Let's get some more perspective now on this story. CNN's Aneesh Raman is standing by live in Baghdad. What are you picking up there, Aneesh?
[Aneesh Raman, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Wolf, the essential question is, of course, did Saddam Hussein himself sign on to this deal? You'll recall in the weeks leading up to the war there were any number of proposals for Saddam to go into exile to avert conflict. Those sources in the UAE mention specifically Adnan Pachachi. You know he is a prominent Sunni here. He was in exile at the time. He attended the summit. The UAE sources said he was aware of all the details of this deal. But we spoke to Mr. Pachachi a short time ago. He is in London right now. He says he was aware generally of a deal, but was not aware of any of the specifics that are now being reported, not the least of which, one can presume, is whether Saddam himself had signed on. So the big question, of course, did Saddam sign on the dotted line? Only Saddam himself, it seems, will know the answer to that. Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Very briefly, Aneesh, remind our viewers now what Saddam Hussein's status is as far as his trial is concerned.
[Raman:] Well, the trial has been adjourned until November 28. He, along with seven other defendants, are facing crimes among humanity. They met for one session where the defense put in a motion for a delay. Also, though, we were told by the sitting judge that witnesses did not show up out of fear of their own lives. So the court dealing with a number of specifics right now, witness transport, as well as those defense petitions for a delay. They're set to resume November 28. It could be a very lengthy process. Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Aneesh Raman in Baghdad. Thank you, Aneesh, very much. Why is this information coming out right now, more than two-and- a-half years after the invasion? Let's turn to our senior Arab affairs editor, Octavia Nasr. She's joining us from the CNN Center. What about the timing of this report, Octavia?
[Octavia Nasr, Cnn Sr. Editor, Arab Affairs:] Well, that's a question that's on many minds, especially in the Arab world. When this documentary aired last weekend, it didn't get much attention in the Arab media, because go back to the beginning, you know, right before the invasion of Iraq, the tense moments prior to that, and that offer for asylum many people thought that Sheik Zayed at the time was using this opportunity to leave a legacy behind. He was an aging leader, and many observers thought that this was his attempt to leave a legacy behind. No not many people believed that this was going to work, especially countries like Egypt were very skeptical about it. Even the president of Egypt in that same documentary that was mentioned, he says that Saddam Hussein is a difficult man and no one knew what he was thinking. Basically, a lot of doubt around the offer and what Saddam Hussein was going to do with it.
[Blitzer:] All right, Octavia. Thank you very much. Octavia Nasr helping us understand this important story. Meanwhile, in Iraq today, as candidates campaign for next month's parliamentary elections, insurgents are stepping up their campaign of violence the worst of it today was in the town of Musayyib in an area south of Baghdad known as the Triangle of Death. There at least 20 people were killed and dozens wounded when a suicide bomber struck a Shiite neighborhood crowded with people shopping for the end of the Ramadan holiday. In the northern city of Kirkuk, a car bombing killed two people and wounded seven others in the central business district. And in another development, two U.S. Marines were killed today when their helicopter gunship went down near Ramadi. Marine officials say they don't know what caused the crash, but hours later a fighter jet stuck a reported insurgent command center that's nearby. More death and destruction in Iraq. Let's go to Jack Cafferty in New York. He's got a new question, a new one for this hour. Hi, Jack.
[Jack Cafferty, Cnn Anchor:] Hi, Wolf. President Bush was recently interviewed by a reporter from an Argentine newspaper. And the reporter was curious. He asked the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth what he had in his pockets. The president fished around and came up with nothing except a handkerchief. Of course presidents don't have to carry things like the rest of us mere mortals do, stuff like money or keys or a cell phone. They have people that do that for them, an entourage. But still, we thought we'd have a little fun with this. Here's the question this hour. What should the president of the United States carry in his pockets? You can email your answers to CaffertyFile@CNN.com. And in case you're wondering, Wolf, the president does wear a wristwatch, a Timex.
[Blitzer:] A Timex? How do you know that?
[Cafferty:] Well, apparently he told this reporter from this newspaper in Argentina.
[Blitzer:] Oh, that's...
[Cafferty:] But that was the reporter said something about, you know, do you have a watch? And he said, yes, I wear a Timex.
[Blitzer:] Very good information. All right.
[Cafferty:] I read all the Argentine newspapers every day.
[Blitzer:] I didn't know that. It's a side of you that I'm not familiar with, Jack. Thank you very much.
[Cafferty:] Sure.
[Blitzer:] Up ahead, anti-terror tactics at a football game? It's the competing interest of security versus liberty. Three Muslim men say they were unfairly targeted because they were praying. And Hurricane Katrina whipped out large chunks of New Orleans, forcing many residents to flee. But how many left permanently, and how many just for the time being? We'll have the new numbers tracked zip code by zip code. And a royal charm offensive. The prince and a duchess here in Washington, how are they being received? You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.