[Carol Lin:] Hello. I'm Carol Lin at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Kyra Phillips is on assignment. Side by side, do they see eye to eye? The presidents of the United States and Pakistan. New questions about their alliance in the war on terror. And protesting the pope. New threats, new demonstrations. Can Pope Benedict repair relations with Muslims around world? And severe weather threats. Possible tornadoes damaging winds. Major cities on alert. Live coverage, all this and more from the CNN NEWSROOM. Up first this hour, if the United States and Pakistan and the war on terror. President Bush and Pakistani President Musharraf say they are in this war together, amid growing signs of stress and in an often conflicted relationship. We're going to start at the White House with CNN's Elaine Quijano.
[Elaine Quijano, Cnn Correspondent:] Good afternoon to you, Carol. That's right. President Bush and President Musharraf really wanted to present a united front, showing that they are working together in the war on terrorism. But of course, five years after the September 11 attacks, after that U.S.-Pakistan alliance was forged, Osama bin Laden remains on the loose. Well, today President Bush expressed confidence in Pakistan's commitment to tracking down bin Laden.
[George W. Bush, President Of The United States:] We're on a hunt together. It's in the president's interests that al Qaeda be brought to justice, and it's in our interests. And we collaborate and we strategize, and we talk a lot about how best to do this. All I can tell you is that when Osama bin Laden is found he will be brought to justice.
[Quijano:] And President Bush was also asked today about a report, purported U.S. threat that the United States, allegedly, in those days after September 11, threatened to bomb Pakistan if it did not cooperate in the war on terrorism. The president said today that he read about it in the newspaper, that he was taken aback by it, and in essence, he didn't know of any such conversations. Now, also we should mention this meeting today was really also to lay the groundwork for an important meeting that's set to take place next week. President Bush will be sitting down, not only with President Musharraf but also the leader of Pakistan, President Hamid Karzai, another important U.S. of president of Afghanistan, pardon me. Another important U.S. ally in the war on terrorism. The two leaders will sit down in the Oval Office with President Bush. There, of course, have been tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan over the issue of the resurgence of Taliban activity, both sides essentially pointing the finger of blame at each other. President Bush will try to convince the two sides that it is in their mutual interest to tackle the problem of extremism together Carol.
[Lin:] But Elaine, there's clearly a difference of position. If Osama bin Laden is in the troubled territories in Pakistan, the president of the United States says that the United States could unilaterally just go after him. So were there specific discussions between these two presidents about rules of engagement if there is actionable intelligence?
[Quijano:] Well, what we heard from the two leaders today, Carol, is that, essentially, they are cooperating, that on many, many levels, on the intelligence levels, on the operational levels, they are, in fact, working together. What's interesting is that there was also a discussion about this peace treaty made by Pakistan's president along with some tribal leaders in that area where perhaps Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding. And President Musharraf wanted to make it clear, and he did try to make clear that, in fact, that is an agreement, he said, that is going to help might the Taliban, that it is not an agreement made with the Taliban. President Bush said he was satisfied with that. He believes, after hearing from the Pakistani president today that, in fact, that is the case so that they can move forward in a war on terrorism together Carol.
[Lin:] Thanks very much, Elaine. In fact, later on I'm going to be talking with the man who wrote a book about the hunt for Osama bin Laden. We'll see what he has to say about these discussions at the White House. In the meantime, let's hear more about that alleged threat against Pakistan. The man accused of threatening to bomb Pakistan back to the Stone Age denies he said it. CNN caught up with former deputy secretary of state, Richard Armitage, outside his home in suburban Washington this morning. Here's a bit of that exclusive interview.
[Richard Armitage, Former Deputy Secretary Of State:] Well, I did have a long and interesting conversation with Lieutenant General Mahmoud, the head of Pakistani intelligence. And it was quite strong. And I wanted to make sure he understood the depth of our feeling about what had happened. I also saw this as an opportunity to move forward with Pakistan in a new direction. So we had a very straightforward conversation. I told him that that this for Americans this was black or white, that Pakistan was either with us fully or not. It wasn't a matter of being able to negotiate it. He started to tell me about the history of Pakistan-Afghan relations. And I must say I'm a little embarrassed, I cut him off and said, "History starts today, General."
[Lin:] All right. Maybe something got lost in the translation. Now it wasn't long ago that commanders were talking about cutting troops in Iraq. But not anymore, not with the ever-surging violence. So the question today is, can the U.S. military keep this up, especially with us straying from Afghanistan? Joining us live from the Pentagon, CNN's Barbara Starr. Barbara, Afghanistan is now is looking like there's going to be a need for more U.S. troops on the ground there.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, at least, Carol, no withdrawal. And on this Friday in Washington, perhaps the two most important pieces of information for the U.S. military overseas this week, commanders in Iraq, commanders in Afghanistan, both saying no quick withdrawal of U.S. troops. And the question is, what happens now?
[Starr:] New fears that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may stretch the force more than anybody expected. In Iraq, the military now plans to keep about 145,000 U.S. troops in place until spring at least.
[Gen. Peter Pace, Joint Chiefs Chairman:] We're not comfortable right now with the reduction in the size of our force.
[Starr:] In Afghanistan, there are now no plans to bring home any of the 20,000 U.S. troops in the foreseeable future. With simultaneous wars and no immediate prospect of cutting force levels, how long can the military keep it up?
[Thomas Donnelly, Center For Strategic And International Studies:] These guys are running as hard as they can on the conveyer belt simply to keep up the pace of operations.
[Starr:] the Pentagon had hoped to bring 30,000 troops home from Iraq by the end of the year. On Capitol Hill, concern about the new reality.
[Rep. Diane Watson , California:] We need to be sure that we have a game plan for Afghanistan, as we need an end game plan for Iraq. Our military needs further support.
[Starr:] The key problem: Army active duty and National Guard forces already are being sent back to the combat zone, sometimes within months of coming home. The solution: either increase the size of the Army or call up the National Guard more often, or send troops back to the front line with even less time at home to rest and train for the next round of combat. But even if more troops are sent, usable equipment is in short supply; thousands of vehicles and weapons are worn out. The Army and National Guard say they urgently need $38 billion to fix or replace vehicles, weapons and gear. The Marine Corps says it needs $12 billion.
[Gen. Peter Schoomaker, U.s. Army Chief Of Staff:] A lot a lot of pressure they are placing on both the equipment and units and on the force.
[Starr:] Carol, Pentagon sources tell CNN that everyone should expect to see another troop rotation announcement, another significant announcement of forces going to Iraq and Afghanistan on rotation, but that announcement probably won't come until after the November election Carol.
[Lin:] All right, thanks very much. Barbara Starr, live at the Pentagon. Late yesterday we were talking about a compromise on the interrogation and treatment of terror suspects, a compromise reached between the Bush administration and the White House. Here is the House Armed Services Committee chairman, Duncan Hunter, talking about perhaps even more ideas when it comes to treating detainees.
[Rep. Duncan Hunter , California:] ... and American agents and American troops that those provisions are excellent; I like them. And we think that we can get this bill, get the rest of the bill worked with the Senate. We've been working with their respective staffs, with Senator McCain's and Senator Graham's and Senator Warner's staffs this last night. We're going to continue to work over the weekend. We think we can put together a good package, and hopefully, the leaders of the respective bodies can can set up the necessary parliamentary system to get this important structure for the prosecution of terrorists up on the floors of both the Senate and the House before we break and to the president's desk very soon. So the important part that we looked at first, which is classified the use of classified evidence and the protection of American agents and American military personnel, the new provisions are excellent. The head of the CIA, Mike Hayden, feels that they're very protective of his people. We've looked them over. And I can tell you frankly, I like them. And in some respects, they actually have more protections than what the than what came out of the House House Armed Services Committee, our own provisions. And as you know we were we were criticized for being too forward-leaning in terms of protecting agents and not enough defendants' rights. And yet, the new provisions are very, very protective, very, very good. So having said that, we're going to continue to work. And we'll try to wrap this wrap up a bill as soon as possible.
[Hunter:] Well, if you have an American agent who is who has the key testimony to the conviction of a terrorist, what I had in my bill to keep him from being identified and as you may know, and we've had two cases now, in court case where's information did go ultimately to Osama bin Laden, that went through the lawyers. So the idea of protecting our agents and our classified information is very important. If you have an American agent who has who has key testimony what we we do not want to have, in the armed services committee bill, we did not want to have a lawyer, no matter how high the stack of Bibles that he swore on that he wouldn't let the information out, we did not want to have a lawyer having access to that information. We think some of the information went to Osama bin Laden earlier, went through counsel. We did not want to give him that information, that identity of that American agent. What we provided for in my bill was the was the appointment of an American JAG officer, uniformed officer with a high security clearance, for the purpose of cross-examine that American agent so that there would be a cross-examination. In the language that is the new language, that was inserted by the White House, the judge and, of course, the judge would be part of that proceeding. The judge will be able to make that examination to to make a decision as to whether the basic information that is going to be transmitted to the court is reliable. And so he will be the one who will know the identity of the American agent, who will be able to talk about the background, the circumstances by which he may have come come up with the information, that could be used to convict a terrorist.
[Lin:] All right, we're listening in to U.S. Representative Duncan Hunter, who is chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, talking about legislation that would define the evidence rules in court when a terror suspect is on trial. Andrea Koppel, she's our congressional correspondent. She is standing by with more on this. So Andrea, for people who have been trying to follow the negotiations on the war tribunals and the treatment of terror suspects, what actually has been accomplished? And what is Duncan Hunter adding to that dialogue?
[Andrea Koppel, Cnn Correspondent:] Carol, I think the headline out of this press conference is the fact that now that Duncan Hunter has given the thumbs up to this deal that was worked out yesterday between those three renegade Senate Republicans in the White House, the path is now clear to expect its passage, both in the Senate and the House next week. And then President Bush will get a bill. I think there's very little doubt that he will get a bill for new detainee legislation on his desk such that now six, seven weeks out from the November midterms, the Republican Party will be able to say with no doubt that they are united on this issue, that the divide that existed for the last number of months between those three top Republicans and the White House has been resolved, and that the Republican Party is tough on fighting terror. If they had not resolved this dispute between John McCain, John Warner and Lindsey Graham and the White House, there really was a question mark, and this was becoming a political liability for the Republican Party, Carol.
[Lin:] Thanks for getting straight to the headline, Andrea. Because it's been a long road over the last week, talking about so many different issues about terror suspects and tribunals that you pretty much summed it up. Appreciate it. Andrea Koppel on Capitol Hill. In the meantime, we were waiting to see if we would see Hezbollah Hezbollah's leader make any kind of an appearance at a big rally today in Beirut. You might call it divine, historically, even strategic. Certainly no mistaking how the leader of Hezbollah feels about his group's short war with Israel or who he thinks actually won. He got rock star treatment today in Beirut. CNN's Beirut bureau chief, Brent Sadler, was there, and he joins me on the telephone. So Brent, this morning you were talking about on "AMERICAN MORNING", you know, whether he would even make a public appearance, given that, you know, he is considered a terror suspect in Israel. So there he was.
[Brent Sadler, Cnn Correspondent:] That's right, Carol. No doubt here that Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader, is, indeed, on a list of possible Israeli target assassinations. And, in fact, Nasrallah told a crowd that even up to 30 minutes before he arrived, he was still arguing with his security advisers about whether or not he should appear. The fact that he showed up and spoke for almost an hour surprised many, although the fact that he did attend the gathering in the southern suburbs of Beirut was, in the end, expected because of the moment, the moment that Hezbollah claimed that his fighters had delivered a divine victory over Israel in the JulyAugust war. Hezbollah claims, in fact, that it's now stronger than ever. Nasrallah says that his group has recovered all of its organizational and ability capabilities, Nasrallah declaring that the group has some 20,000 rockets still in its possession. And that's some five times the number of missiles Hezbollah fired into Israel during the 34 days of combat. Also, Nasrallah said that there was no army in the world that could force Hezbollah to drop its weapons Carol.
[Lin:] Brent, what happened to the Israeli soldiers who were kidnapped? Did Nasrallah say anything about that? I mean, that was part of the peace deal, that Hezbollah would would give them back to Israel. What happened?
[Sadler:] Well, that simply slid off the agenda. As things stand now, Hezbollah has made it clear that those two Israeli troops who were captured July 12 would not be going back home unless there was a prisoner swap, an exchange of the two Israelis for Lebanese prisoners who had been held for many, many years in Israeli jails. That has been put on the side. In effect, so, too, has Hezbollah's weapons. And Nasrallah said in an interview before appearing today that fighters were still close to the border with Israel, although their although their weapons have been hidden. They are virtually now invisible. This even as international forces continue to deploy, backing up the Lebanese army in South Lebanon. But this really was Nasrallah seizing what many in the crowds saw as an historic occasion for the militant extremist group to claim a victory of sorts over Israel by the very fact that Hezbollah is still armed with Katyushas and that those two Israeli soldiers are still in Hezbollah's hands Carol.
[Lin:] Brent, you've got to wonder what that war was all about, really. What was accomplished? Not much. Brent Sadler on the telephone from Beirut. Well, an international who's who of terror.
[Kelli Arena, Cnn Correspondent:] Behind the barbed wire at Guantanamo Bay, in isolation, sit 14 men the U.S. government considers the most notorious terrorists ever captured.
[Lin:] That's CNN's Kelli Arena. She's investigating. Just ahead in the NEWSROOM. Plus, it's a new day but not a new story in Baghdad. The Iraqi capital still brims with bloodshed. So how do ordinary people cope? A live report straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.