CNN Newsnight with Aaron Brown

CNN

SHOW: CNN NEWSNIGHT AARON BROWN 22:00

June 23, 2004 Wednesday

Transcript # 062300CN.V84

SECTION: News; International

LENGTH: 7197 words

HEADLINE: Saudi Government Offers Deal To al Qaeda; Anonymous CIA Official Writes Book, Criticizes Administration's Handling Of War On Terror;

GUESTS: Daniel Benjamin, Julian Barnes

BYLINE: Aaron Brown, David Ensor, Christiane Amanpour, Nic Robertson, Jamie McIntyre, Elizabeth Cohen, Joe Johns

HIGHLIGHT:
CIA official's book says U.S. underestimates bin Laden; War against terror brings targets and terrorists together; Problems getting equipment and uniforms for U.S.-trained Iraqi police; Saudi offers deal to al Qaeda; Further questions on prisoner abuse

BODY:
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again everyone.

A short page tonight for the program is very full. Our lead tonight deals in a fundamental way with the nature of terrorism itself and the conflicting views on why it exists.

The president says often that the enemy here hates us because we love freedom and, while that is simple and easy to understand, we suspect even he knows it is far more complicated than that. There are reasons they hate us, and hate us they do, and it is almost certainly true we have spent too little time trying to understand that.

Our lead tonight deals with that fundamental question and it is also where we begin the whip. The whip begins with a CIA officer, a book, and theories about what the country has done wrong in the days since 9/11, David Ensor working on that, so David start us with a headline.

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BROWN: Ron Reagan on religion, Iraq and more earlier on "LARRY KING LIVE."

Still to come on NEWSNIGHT, did the Reverend Moon put one over on Congress? Also, Hollywood's search for true grit and the former gangsters who provide it.

Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.

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BROWN: The circle in New York looking out on Central Park South.

There are moments that best play straight. So here goes. Lawmakers welcome a guy to Congress and the messiah shows up.

Here's CNN's Joe Johns.

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JOE JOHNS, CNN CAPITOL HILL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The ornate reception was held by a group called the Interreligious and International Federation For World Peace. It took place in March in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, a giant Capitol dome in the background.

As this video once posted on the group's Web site and now circulating on the Internet shows, several members of Congress attended. The head of the Unification Church, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, speaking Korean, declared himself the messiah and said Hitler and Stalin have found strength in his teachings and mended their ways.

REP. DANNY DAVIS (D), ILLINOIS: I will give you the crown of glory.

JOHNS: Democratic Congressman Danny Davis of Illinois, seen reading a poem and then wearing white gloves, carries a crown of peace on a pillow to Moon and his wife. Davis says he thought it was all part of an interfaith peace ceremony.

DAVIS: He certainly didn't ask my permission to call himself the messiah. And I certainly had no awareness that he would be calling himself the messiah.

JOHNS: Republican Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland was there, too, and got a peace award, but says he didn't know the full program. Democrat Elijah Cummings of Maryland said he was there to support a constituent being honored and was caught by surprise by the involvement of Moon, who was convicted of tax evasion and is highly controversial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I didn't even know he was there. If I had known this was his program, I would not have been there.

JOHNS: Archbishop George Stallings, one of the organizers, said members of Congress were not misled.

ARCHBISHOP GEORGE STALLINGS, IMANI TEMPLE: It was stated very clearly the purpose and nature of the event, who would be honored at the event, that the members of Congress were all invited to participate in this event, and that Reverend Moon and Mrs. Moon would be present and honored at that same event.

JOHNS: Confusion or not, the speaker of the House cautioned his colleagues.

REP. DENNIS HASTERT (R-IL), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Yes, that's up to every member to make up his decision, his or her decision on what type of events they're going to participate in and what the consequences of those events are.

JOHNS (on camera): Reverend Moon and his Unification Church promote world peace and have millions of followers. The signature of a senator is required to reserve rooms for such event, but Senate officials refuse to say who signed off.

Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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