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Lou Dobbs Tonight
Congress Approves Iraq Aid; Four U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq; Urban Sprawl Impacting American Life?
Aired October 17, 2003 - 18:00 ET
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: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT for Friday, October 17. Here now, Lou Dobbs.
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening.
More evidence tonight that the Bush administration's mission in Iraq is far from accomplished. In Iraq today, gunmen killed four U.S. military police and wounded nine others in two separate attacks. The casualties came as Congress voted to approve most of the president's request for $87 billion of spending in Iraq and Afghanistan.
We have two reports tonight: Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr on the continuing war in Iraq; congressional correspondent Jonathan Karl on the spending debate on Capitol Hill.
We go first to Barbara Starr at the Pentagon -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lou, it was indeed another violent day in Iraq for U.S. troops.
Three members of the 101st Airborne Division were killed and seven wounded in a firefight in the city of Karbala in southern Iraq. This happened in a firefight near the Imam Abbas Mosque in Karbala late last night. Two Iraqis were killed and five wounded, part of Iraqi security force. This firefight broke out as an exchange between U.S. and opposition forces, small-arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades exchanged.
Security forces were investigating reports of armed men near the mosque. Now, Karbala, of course, is an increasingly tense area, partially due to anti-coalition statements being made by a radical Shiite leader, Moqtada Al-Sadr. And the belief is, his sympathizers may have been involved in last night's incident.
Now, in a separate attack in Baghdad, one soldier killed and two wounded, again, in an incident involving an explosive device. And so far now, Lou, the toll stands at 101 U.S. military personnel killed in action in Iraq since President Bush declared major combat over on May 1 -- Lou.
DOBBS: Barbara, thank you -- Barbara Starr reporting from the Pentagon.
The Senate and the House today voted to support nearly all of the president's request for $87 billion of additional spending for Iraq and Afghanistan. But there is a critical difference between the Senate and the House versions of the bill. The Senate defied the White House and converted some of that money into a loan.
Jonathan Karl reports from Capitol Hill -- Jonathan.
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the vote -- I'm sorry -- Lou, the votes in both the House and the Senate were overwhelmingly in favor of the president's request. Over in the House, the vote was 303-125.
Here in the Senate, it was 88-12, only 12 senators voting no on this. But there is that critical difference. The White House was adamantly opposed to the idea of turning any money into a loan. But in the Senate version, $10 billion of the reconstruction money will be a loan or would be a loan. The two sides have are going to have to get together next week to try to iron out the differences. The White House is saying that they will work, when the two sides get together, to strip the loan provision entirely.
But even with that setback, Republican leaders here in the Senate declared today's votes a clear and decisive victory for the president's policy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), MAJORITY LEADER: When this $87 billion supplemental request was first presented, a lot of people had sticker shock. A lot of people said it was impossible, that it could not be done. And yet, here we are today at the conclusion of a strong, strong, powerful bipartisan show of support for the president of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARL: Just minutes before the final vote, there were some fireworks on the Senate floor when a top Republican pointed out that this bill is not only about reconstruction in Iraq, but most of the money is going to support and protect the troops.
That led to this exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED STEVENS (R), ALASKA: Those who vote against this bill will be voting against supporting our men and women in the field. They're still in harm's way.
SEN. ROBERT BYRD (D), WEST VIRGINIA: I defy that statement. And I hurl it back into the teeth of the senator from Alaska.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARL: One final note, Lou. What they did right before the final vote is, they took out $1.85 billion worth of projects that were seen as controversial, some said frivolous, things like the $9 million to develop a new system of zip codes in Iraq. That was taken out.
So the final number, the final dollar amount on the Senate version is actually $85.1 billion, not $87 billion -- still, though, Lou, a lot of money.
DOBBS: Indeed, Jonathan. And next week, they will begin resolving this in reconciliation between the two houses.
KARL: Yes.
DOBBS: Jonathan Karl from Capitol Hill, thank you.
President Bush today spent most of the day in Japan. He immediately ran into a storm of criticism in Tokyo over remarks by his national security adviser. Condoleezza Rice described the president's stop in Japan as a mere layover between visits between California and the Philippines. At the same time, the White House is trying to downplay remarks the president made about another important ally and friend, Australia.
Senior White House correspondent John King reports from Tokyo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): First stop, Tokyo. The first mission, trying to make amends for offending his host.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's a good friend, a very strong leader.
KING: All smiles after dinner with Prime Minister Koizumi, but there were some ruffled feathers because of how the president's national security adviser described the visit a few days ago.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: During had layover, the president will meet and dine with Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi, before departing Saturday morning for the Philippines.
KING: The Tokyo stop was just 17 hours, a good deal of that sleeping, but the Japanese would prefer to call it a thank-you visit, not a layover.
Japan is pledging an immediate $1.5 billion for Iraq's reconstruction and perhaps $5 billion over the next several years. The prime minister also is considering sending Japanese troops to Iraq, something that doesn't sit well with these demonstrators.
So, on Air Force One en route to Tokyo, a senior administration official tried to clarify things, saying: "When you go to Japan, it is never a layover. This is one of our best friends, one of our best allies." Mr. Bush himself put another close ally on the spot this week. Asked if he considered Australian Prime Minister John Howard his deputy sheriff in the war on terrorism, Mr. Bush said he considered Australia the sheriff in Southeast Asia.
(on camera): The White House says the president simply meant he considers Australia an equal partner, not in any way a deputy or second fiddle to the United States. But the remark didn't sit well with others in the region, who take offense at times to what they consider the Bush administration's cowboy rhetoric.
John King, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Condoleezza Rice's comments about a layover in Japan will give her critics another reason to question her management of the National Security Council. Those critics say Rice has consistently failed to coordinate foreign policy among government agencies, agencies that often appear to be in competition.
Bill Tucker is here now and has the report -- Bill.
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, by anyone's measure, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice is having a challenging year. And it is giving her critics the opportunity to have a field day. And they're being less than kind.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCKER (voice-over): The latest misstep from the national security adviser was hardly her worst, but it was no doubt a painful moment for Dr. Rice, who's traveling with the president. And it came on the heels of a an apparent dust-up between Dr. Rice's office and Secretary Rumsfeld's Department of Defense about exactly who's in charge of the rebuilding of Iraq.
RICE: I want to be very clear. I'm the national security adviser. What I do is coordinate policy. I don't operate. I don't implement. I coordinate policy. It is the secretary of defense who will continue to run the postwar reconstruction, as he has done and as he has done well.
TUCKER: But what do you expect went your year starts with these simple words?
BUSH: The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.
TUCKER: The trouble is, it wasn't true.
RICE: Let me just start by saying, it is 16 words and it has become an enormously overblown issue.
TUCKER: Administration critics disagree.
MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: That was the No. 1 foreign policy issue of the day. She had no right not to be informed.
TUCKER: And what is appropriate in the eyes of her critics is that the national security adviser learn and practice diplomacy with her peers.
ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Dr. Rice needs to move beyond academia. She's got to get along and got to act like the boys at times. She's got play their games. She's got to go into places where she doesn't normally go to be among the boys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCKER: Now, Rice's critics graciously call this a tough learning curve. But it should be remembered, she is the national security adviser and this is a road that sometimes can have some dangerous curves -- Lou.
DOBBS: Bill, thank you very much -- Bill Tucker.
Tonight, an airport security bungle means every commercial aircraft in this country is being searched for suspicious items. The search follows the discovery of a few box cutters, bleach and clay on two Southwest Airlines planes. Authorities say there is no link to terrorism. But, nonetheless, they're searching.
Ed Lavandera reports from the headquarters of Southwest Airlines at Dallas Love Field -- Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Lou.
Well, Southwest Airlines says that they started doing that search of all of its aircraft, 385 total aircraft, after the incidents were discovered yesterday evening, One in New Orleans, one in Houston. Southwest Airlines says that it has completed its top-to-bottom check of the aircraft. Now it's up to the rest of the airline industry to also do the same. They have 24 hours to complete that search.
Southwest says that they didn't find anything else after its two incidents last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GINGER HARDAGE, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES SPOKESPERSON: We dedicated ourselves throughout the evening to looking at every, every one of our aircraft and making sure that they were absolutely safe, not only for our customers, but for our employees who are on those aircraft every day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: Let's talk a little bit about what was found specifically on those two aircraft, one in New Orleans, one in Houston, as we mentioned.
Each contained a plastic bag containing clay that was in Play-Doh containers. Also, there was bleach being held in the suntan lotion bottle, as well as box cutters. And there were also notes that were found inside these plastic bags, apparently officials saying that those notes were targeting the Transportation Security Administration, challenging the way it does its security checkpoints at airports across the country.
Sources also tell CNN that the notes also mentioned that this person thought the TSA was doing a good job, but, nonetheless, these two packages were able to make it on board these aircraft. Despite all of this, federal investigators who are following this case, which includes the FBI, the Homeland Security Department, as well as the Transportation Security Administration, say that this kind of thing is also typical.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: Screeners at airports pick up items periodically that we don't want on planes. So this happens frequently.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: Now, of course, the search is on for who was responsible for this, Southwest Airlines officials saying that they believe the same person was involved in both incidents. We did ask officials here with the airline if they believe it was an inside job, one of their own employees who was responsible, Southwest Airlines only saying that they will not speculate as to who might be responsible -- Lou.
DOBBS: Ed, thank you very much -- Ed Lavandera report from Dallas, Texas.
Coming up next here: "Exporting America." Tonight, Peter Viles reports on the companies who belong in the hall of shame; and Kitty Pilgrim on the global brain drain, foreign students flocking into American universities.
And our special report "A Crowded Nation" -- tonight, urban sprawl threatening the American landscape and the American way of life. Lisa Sylvester reports.
And our feature series "Heroes" -- this week, the story of a remarkable man with poise under fire. One soldier's sacrifice saves his life and the life of his friend. Casey Wian will have the report.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: "Exporting America" -- tonight, two special reports.
First, those companies that have taken so-called offshoring to a whole new level, not only do they export jobs out of this country, but they scoff at corporate tax laws by moving their headquarters overseas.
Peter Viles is here now and has the report for us -- Pete.
PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, this is the ultimate form of offshoring. You take the company to Bermuda. Temperatures are high there. Taxes are low. And, in Bermuda, everybody's inducted into what we call the offshoring hall of shame.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) VILES (voice-over): Tyco, despite the legal troubles, still a member in good standing. Enron never made it, but it certainly tried awful hard. Ingersoll-Rand inducted itself New Year's Eve 2001. Accenture ineligible due to a technicality, because it was born in Bermuda, so it never moved there, the offshoring hall of shame. All you need to do to get in is reincorporate in Bermuda. You still pay U.S. taxes on whatever you earn in the United States, but you avoid paying the IRS on your foreign profits.
By one congressional estimate, these and other offshore tax havens cost the government $70 billion a year.
THEA LEE, ECONOMIST, AFL-CIO: If some companies move their headquarters offshore and avoid paying their fair share of taxes, other companies have to pay more. Certainly, we have to pay more in terms of income tax and property tax and other forms of taxation to run the government. So it's really a question of fairness, maybe even a question of patriotism.
VILES: The case in defense of offshoring is that U.S. corporate taxes are so high, they're driving some businesses to seek shelter and generally making America a bad place to set up headquarters.
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE: Foreign companies are taking over U.S. companies. And the greatest example of this was the DaimlerChrysler merger a few years ago. The world headquarters of that company is not in Michigan. It's in Frankfurt. And the reason is because Germany is now a better place to locate the headquarters of a multinational company than United States.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VILES: The truth is, though, that corporate income taxes in this country have been declining sharply as a source of federal revenue, now roughly 8 percent of federal revenue, Lou. That is down from 26 percent 50 years ago.
DOBBS: We should think about putting the names of all of those companies that have chosen this subterfuge -- what do you think?
VILES: I think we could put them right on the Web site.
DOBBS: I think let's do that. All right, Pete, appreciate it. Thank you -- Peter Viles.
While American companies continue to export jobs, American universities are seeing an enormous influx in foreign students. The result is simply a global brain drain on American resources, some of our most precious resources, the exportation, in effect, of our intellectual capital. For example, more than half of the doctoral and master's degrees in engineering in this country are now being granted to foreign students.
Kitty Pilgrim has the report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The American college campus is the promised land for foreign math and science students at all levels of education, undergraduate, master's and doctorate. Industry studies find about half the master's students and doctoral students studying engineering are foreign nationals.
The most students came from India, up 22 percent last year. That was the first time it beat China, previously the lead country sending students to the United States. Korea is the third, followed by Japan. Many of those students stay in the states and take jobs here. The National Science Board found, in 1999, half the computer scientists with Ph.Ds were foreign born. Among engineers, it was more than half.
Some worry that work visas to foreign nationals will discourage American students.
MICHAEL TEITELBAUM, SLOAN FOUNDATION: My fear that is we are turning off a lot of aspiring young I.T. professionals who are in the pipeline and are saying: "Well, look what's happening in that industry. I think I'll go in some other direction." That would be a very sad outcome.
PILGRIM: Another issue is that foreign nationals go back home, taking with them skills and insights, it could be a reverse brain drain, a worry to the National Science Board. They propose the federal government should offer funding, scholarships and incentives to American students.
JOE MILLER, NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD: We think it's very important for government intervention here that policy be established to train the future coterie of scientists and engineers that will be necessary to meet the nation's needs that the Department of Labor says that, in 10 years, will require a 50 percent increase in the number of people with science and technology backgrounds to meet the need.
PILGRIM: Many schools acknowledge the trend, but refuse to comment on it. That could be because of the money. Foreign students contributed $12 billion to the U.S. economy in terms of tuition and living expenses last year.
Kitty Pilgrim, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: And coming up next: "A Crowded Nation." Tonight, we focus on urban sprawl, overpopulation, a massive influx of illegal aliens, exhausting millions of acres of farmland in this country. Lisa Sylvester will report from Washington.
And we'll be joined by the mayors of two of this country's fastest-growing cities next.
Please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) DOBBS: Tonight, our special report "A Crowded Nation." The Agriculture Department says this country loses more than two million acres of farmland and natural habitat each and every year. Most of that land is developed into urban sprawl to accommodate our rapidly growing population. This loss of land is having a lasting impact on our quality of life in this country.
Lisa Sylvester reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Loudoun County, Virginia, it's one of the fastest growing counties in the country. In the last decade, it's turned from a sleeping farming community to a booming suburb with double the population. And the new subdivisions keep on sprouting. It's a perfect example of sprawl, people moving out the cities in search of affordable housing and more space.
Commuting to Washington, D.C. can take an hour and a half.
SHEILA CROWLEY, LOW INCOME HOUSING COALITION: There are huge commutes that people make to come to the city in order to be able to work. But they can't afford to live in the immediate area. And so they are living further and further out.
SYLVESTER: The increase in sprawl has a far-reaching impact on the quality of life for Americans: crowded roads, hospitals and schools. And as the U.S. population grows, the problem will only get worse. Every year, the American population increases by about 3.5 million people. More than half of that growth is due to the arrival of legal immigrants and illegal aliens.
ROY BECK, NUMBERSUSA.COM: We cannot stop sprawl. We cannot even slow it down appreciably, unless we change our immigration policy.
SYLVESTER: But wait a minute? Isn't this a big country, with lots of land to sustain the growing population? That land is not sitting idle. It's growing food, used for waste storage and providing the resources to maintain the American standard of living.
MICHELLE FEHLER, POPULATION ENVIRONMENT BALANCE: It's not an issue of, where will we put people? It's, how will we feed them? How will we bring them water? That's the issue. All those things we need to survive are in doubt, they're in jeopardy, because of not only how we live, but how many of us there are.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SYLVESTER: If the population growth stays on pace, in the next 50 years, the United States will 110 million acres of farmland and natural habitat. In essence, the United States is building over land at the precise time it needs more land -- Lou.
DOBBS: Lisa, thank you very much -- Lisa Sylvester reporting from Washington. Joining me now are two mayors at the forefront of concerns about population growth and urban sprawl. Steve Berman is the mayor of Gilbert, Arizona. Gilbert, Arizona, has the distinction of being the fastest growing city in America. Its population has grown from fewer than 6,000 in 1980 to just about 150,000 today. Also joining us tonight is Oscar Goodman. He's mayor of this country's fastest growing big city. And that is Las Vegas.
Thank you both for being with is.
OSCAR GOODMAN, MAYOR OF LAS VEGAS: Hi, Lou, how are you in.
STEVE BERMAN, MAYOR OF GILBERT, ARIZONA: Thanks for inviting us, Lou.
DOBBS: My pleasure. We're delighted to have you here.
Let me, if I may, turn to you first, Mayor Goodman. The picture that most Americans have in their minds of Las Vegas is a city of bright lights in the evening that sprawls across an otherwise uninhabitable desert that is raging out of control. Straighten us out.
GOODMAN: Well, it's a wonderful community.
It's a community where we have like two separate lives here. We have the strip in downtown Las Vegas on Fremont Street, which, that's the entertainment capital of the world, great restaurants, great shopping, great gambling. That's terrific. But we also have a wonderful community with a terrific quality of life, which is very affordable here.
I got here in 1964 and there were 70,000 folks who lived in the city of Las Vegas. Now we have 550,000 living in Las Vegas. And in our valley here, which is surrounded by mountains, we have 1.6 million. And we're ahead of the curve as far as growth is concerned. And it's very affordable. The weather's great. And it's a marvelous place to raise kids.
DOBBS: You'd like another 500,000 in Las Vegas, Mayor?
GOODMAN: As far as I'm concerned, I'd like another 1.5 million here, and then we'll be able to have these Major League teams that I'm looking for.
DOBBS: Mayor, we're going to get back to that growth and the dangers sometimes of getting what you ask for in just a moment.
If I can turn to you, Mayor Berman, you have watched this community of yours grow from a patch to now a true city. But you're somewhat unique in Gilbert, Arizona. Your water supplies are as scarce as they are in many places, but you're not importing tons of water. Tell our viewers how you're managing to make due in Gilbert with an explosion like this.
BERMAN: Well, we recycle 100 percent of our water in Gilbert. The fact is, the water, we recycle all of it. We have a number of things we do. But up until last year, the water table in Gilbert was actually rising, because we do recycle our water. We understand we live in a desert. And water loss is a critical issue for all of us. So we very carefully manage our water in Gilbert.
DOBBS: And the rapid growth -- certainly, you cannot, even as recycling 100 percent of water, let me first ask you, Mayor, how long are you going to be able to continue, to what population level, to even recycle all of your water?
BERMAN: Well, in Gilbert, we have 76 square miles we've annexed. And that's all good -- it's going to be 76,000 square miles. It's also master-planned at this point. We're going to build out at 300,000. And we will continue to recycle all of our water forever. We're not going to stop.
DOBBS: And Gilbert is surround by what has been, and much of which is still currently, agriculture. Is that correct?
BERMAN: Yes.
DOBBS: And that land, even though you are recycling and as you're growing, what was agricultural land will be lost and pushed to other areas.
Let me turn to Mayor Goodman.
You talked about 1.5 million. And we understand the boosterism. Oscar Goodman is famous for many qualities and certainly being no shrinking violet when it comes to promoting your great city.
GOODMAN: Oh, I love Las Vegas. I do. I really love it. I can't get enough of my city.
DOBBS: The fact is, there are issues of water.
GOODMAN: Yes.
DOBBS: There are issues of scarcity of resources. There's an issue of quality of life. As you spread across that desert, how concerned are you about being able to maintain that?
GOODMAN: I think that we have to educate our constituency, that we are living in a desert, there is no question about that. And with the proper usage of water, we're never going to run out of water. We have the Colorado River available to us. We bank water, as a matter of fact.
In Arizona, we have agreements that -- one of which was just signed yesterday by Secretary Norton as far as the distribution of water with California. So if we learn how to use water properly, water's not going to be a problem. The main thing is to make sure that folks use xeriscaping, desert landscaping. And the loss of the water that you have is in the outside. The water that we use on the inside, as the other -- as Mayor Berman said, that is all recirculated and we get credits for that. So that's not a problem.
As far as air quality is concerned, when I came on board -- and I'm not taking credit for this -- we were not in attainment with the EPA. But now we are, as far as carbon monoxide and particular dust matter. So we're in good shape as far as these things are concerned. And with our roads, we're ahead of the curve. The travel actually, for all intents and purposes, flows beautifully here.
And I honestly believe that we know we're growing. We built a new home ever 32 minutes, believe it or not. A new school -- when I was first elected a little more than four years ago, I told people that we built a school a month. Now I tell them we build 17 schools a year. We had 10 fire stations four years ago. Now we have 15. It's remarkable growth. There's no question.
We have 6,000 people coming in here on a net basis a month. So we are a very dynamic community. But I equate the dynamism with growth, with intellect, with energy, all the things that make a city a great place.
DOBBS: A great place. And, as it gets bigger, the issues you believe you have under control for the foreseeable future?
GOODMAN: I really believe that.
DOBBS: Mayor, we thank you.
Mayor Berman, let's turn to you, your vision of the future for Gilbert, Arizona. How many people do you believe your city can suitably, intelligently, rationally and responsibly accommodate over the course of the next decade?
BERMAN: We'll have buildup. We'll be at 300,000 people. And they will be in nice homes in nice neighborhoods. And it's planned out exactly to match the needs at that 300,000.
DOBBS: Mayor Berman, Mayor Goodman, we thank you both for being with us as we explore the issues of a nation that is certainly crowded and, in the case of Las Vegas, crowded with open arms.
Is that a fair statement, Mayor Goodman?
GOODMAN: I love that, Lou.
DOBBS: Oscar Goodman, Mayor Berman, we thank you both.
BERMAN: Thank you.
DOBBS: That brings us to the topic of tonight's poll question. How concerned are you about overpopulation in your community, very, somewhat, or not at all? Please cast your vote at CNN.com/Lou. We'll have the results coming up for you later in the show.
The population surge in the arid Southwest has, for decades, caused furious disagreements over the water supply in the region. The Interior Department hopes it has solved that problem with a new historic agreement among seven states that draw their water from the Colorado River. The 35-year plan calls for California to gradually reduce its dependency on the Colorado River.
Instead, California will redistribute water from some of its farms to its growing cities in Southern California. Concerns of overpopulation and the water supply come as new evidence emerges that global temperatures are rising after five years of drought in the Southwest.
Now, the National Climate Data Center says last month was the warmest September on record. The average worldwide temperature, 60 degrees Fahrenheit, one degree Fahrenheit warmer than any September on record since 1880.
Tonight's thought is on the value of our land: "The nation that destroys its soils destroys itself" that from the 32nd president of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Coming up next: bravery on the front lines, one American hero whose quick thinking saved two young lives. Casey Wian will have this hero's remarkable story for us next.
Please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: In just the last few minutes, CNN has confirmed that a person is in custody after the discovery of suspicious items on two Southwest Airlines planes. The entire national fleet has been searched and is being searched after this discovery.
Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve has the story for us now -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Lou, this information coming in from CNN's justice correspondent Kelli Arena.
Law enforcement sources tell her that there is an individual in custody in Baltimore, that this individual is cooperating and the FBI has been told to stand down in its investigation -- this discovery of this individual, this questioning of this individual, only about 24 hours after these items were found on two Southwest airlines planes. The items included box cutters, also bleach that had been put in suntan location containers, and clay that resembled plastic explosives.
The items were found in the bathrooms of two Southwest Airlines jets, the first found during a routine maintenance inspection. There had been an FBI investigation launched immediately into this. Sources had told us that the FBI was paying particular attention to people who might have had easy access to the airplane, no idea at this point who this individual is who is apparently in custody in Baltimore, Maryland -- Lou, back to you.
DOBBS: Jeanne, thank you -- Jeanne Meserve reporting from Washington. Turning now to our feature series "Heroes," tonight, the remarkable story of Army Specialist Robert Acosta. This summer, he was in Iraq helping guard the Baghdad Airport when an off-duty trip when horribly wrong. Acosta managed to save his friend's life and he almost lost his own. Despite his crippling wounds, this hero wants back in the fight.
Casey Wian reports from Santa Ana, California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SPC. ROBERT ACOSTA, U.S. ARMY: I remember clearly. That's the bad thing. I remember perfectly what happened.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Army Specialist Robert Acosta was going to get soda and ice on his day off. But, in Baghdad, there's really no such thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A hand grenade was tossed into the Humvee which Acosta was riding in.
ACOSTA: The grenade flew into my window, hit the windshield, landed on the radio between me and my buddy. Smoke was coming out of it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rather than jump out of the vehicle, he risked his own life to save the life of the soldier who was driving next to him.
ACOSTA: I grabbed it with my right hand and tried to throw it out. But, as I grabbed it, I had it in my hand. I guess my heart was beating so fast, the adrenaline pumping. I dropped it between my legs. I thought in my mind, please, let this be a dud. So I reached down again to grab it. As soon as I had it in my hand, I started picking it up.
And as soon as it got to about my ankles, it went off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Acosta lost his hand and part of his right arm. He took shrapnel to his leg. The tibia portion broke in half at his heel bone, which was shattered.
ACOSTA: I couldn't breathe because of the smoke from the grenade. Blowing off my hand, it made like a mist of blood. It was all over my face. I looked at my arm. And this scar that's right here was open, completely open. And the skin was peeled back and it was hanging down, like just hanging. And it was black. And the bone was just sticking out.
I told my buddy, "My hand's gone." He said, "What?" And I said: "My hand's gone. Are you OK?" And he said: "Yes, I'm fine." I'm all, "Well, let's get the hell out of here."
So we got some resistance. We had some Iraqis try to jump in front of our vehicle. And he took them out, just running them over. And he got me out of there. And I owe him my life. WIAN: Now Acosta's hometown celebrates with signs, medals and proclamations from friends and family, dignitaries and soldiers.
ACOSTA: Thank you.
WIAN: Despite the loss of his hand and an uncertain prognosis for his foot:
ACOSTA: I wish I was still there. I'd go back right now, if I could. I don't have any regrets at all. I'm going to overcome this, no matter up. Some days, I want to give up. Some days, I don't want to do it. But I'm still going to do it.
WIAN: His goal, to stay in the Army.
Casey Wian, CNN, Santa Ana, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Army Specialist Robert Acosta.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: "News Makers": The editors of this country's top business magazines join us each week to give us an assessment of all that is happening to all of us.
And this week, I'm joined by Paul Maidment. He's executive editor of "Forbes." Bill Powell, senior international editor of "Fortune." Mark Morrison, manager editor of "BusinessWeek."
Good to talk with you.
(CROSSTALK)
DOBBS: Some good news: consumer confidence rising, housing starts. This economy is driving forward. At the same time, the president's approval rating is moving sky high. It's up three or four points, I believe. Paul, is this a turnaround both politically and economically?
PAUL MAIDMENT, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "FORBES": Well, economically, I think it's just a continuation of the slow pickup in momentum of growth you've actually been seeing for the last 18 months.
The economy is clearly accelerating. But it's accelerating from a very slow pace. So the feeling of growth has been, up to this point, sort of more real than apparent. I think we're now starting to get a sense that the economy really is moving forward. And we're starting to see jobs coming back. And we're so I think getting to a palpable sense that things are getting better.
MARK MORRISON, MANAGER EDITOR, "BUSINESSWEEK": Yes, the market's seen this coming for a while and has been moving up for almost a year now very strong. And now we had 6 percent growth in the third quarter. We have a very strong fourth-quarter coming on. Inventories are very lean. So all the pieces are in place for the economy to keep going. And that is helping, I think, the administration.
Politically, they still got Iraq to worry about, though.
DOBBS: And that's quite an issue; $87 billion, almost 87, just over $85 billion was approved by Congress. The issue, should it be a loan, should it be a grant?
Bill, your take?
BILL POWELL, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR, "FORTUNE": The reason why the administration feels that it needs to be a grant and not a loan is -- among the reasons is that Iraq has an enormous amount of foreign debt, which the U.S. is going to -- under the Saddam regime -- which the U.S. is going to ask for substantial forgiveness on.
So they don't want, on the one hand, to be saying to the Russians and others, who have loaned Iraq in the past billions of dollars, saying, you guys forget about that debt, but, on the other hand, we're going to stick you with another $10 billion loan. And you can use the oil revenues for that.
MORRISON: Yes, this is big money, too, Germany, Japan, France; $100 billion is the estimate that I've heard of.
(CROSSTALK)
DOBBS: In contract obligations.
MORRISON: Yes. Yes.
DOBBS: At the same time, those countries didn't lose a single life in overthrowing Saddam Hussein. At the same time, they did not expend a dime to put their military into Iraq. And that should be considered in the equation as well, should it not, Paul?
MAIDMENT: Well, they didn't agree with the war in the first place. So
(CROSSTALK)
DOBBS: Well, I quite remember that.
(LAUGHTER)
MAIDMENT: Indeed. So that's why there were no boots on the grounds or monies in the coffer.
One of the interesting things about this in many ways is that this question of the debt was being talked about privately to a great extent before the military action took place. And it was just never resolved as an issue. And perhaps, looking back, it's one of the things that should have been resolved as an issue. MORRISON: And regardless of how you felt about the war, it's in everybody's interests for Iraq to come out of this with a strong financial situation, so that it can have some chance of rebuilding and establishing a society that works.
DOBBS: A society that works; $85 billion should establish quite a lot. This was an economy, prewar, that had reached about a $55 billion GDP. We're talking about compounding that for infrastructure, for all of the help that we're going to provide. That's a hefty price tag, by anybody's standard.
MAIDMENT: A lot of that is going to just on the U.S. military, though.
DOBBS: Of course.
MAIDMENT: A relatively small proportion of it is going into reconstruction.
I think the other thing that has to be remembered is that just the state of the Iraqi economy is in a really bad way. I mean, it was devastated. And the oil industry was devastated after the first Gulf War, let alone the second Gulf War. And it's going to take billions and billions and billions of dollars to get that back into any sort of place where it can act as a real driver for
(CROSSTALK)
POWELL: And one of the shocks, among the many shocks -- Paul's exactly right -- is that everyone involved with the U.S. occupation force there has been stunned at just how much work needs to be done, much more than we had anticipated.
DOBBS: Here's a vote no one anticipated that I know: 248-179 in the House, a vote for a Democratic amendment that essentially slaps the White House for giving Halliburton a no-bid deal, a lot of Republican support.
What do you make of that, Mark?
MORRISON: Well, there are strings attached to a lot of things in Washington. And the president got his money. It looks like he's going to get his money out of conference.
But this is the big -- this is going to be a big restriction in the future on trying to do these no-compete deals, like with Halliburton. They're not going to be able to go out and turn over a huge cell phone contract, for example, to a favorite contractor. They're going to have to put it out for bids. And that's the way it should be.
POWELL: The administration would argue that the goal here was to get things up and running relatively quickly. Halliburton is one of the few global firms that can do this and, let's just do it. And that's what they're going to be arguing against this amendment. DOBBS: I guess, Paul, what do you think of this? To me, if it's one of the few global firms that can do it, why not put it out for bid, if it's that few?
MAIDMENT: Well, I think the thing is, this particular incident is not going to change anyone's mind who thinks, here's an example of an administration cronying up to its big business contributors or the minds of anyone else who thinks that they're the world-class company who were the automatic choice for the job.
DOBBS: Absolutely.
All right, well, I'm glad to hear you all so positive on both the economy and the political economy. It is always great to have you here. Thank you very much.
POWELL: Thanks, Lou.
(CROSSTALK)
DOBBS: Tonight's quote is from a senator who today made comments about the role of France and Germany in rebuilding Iraq: "They didn't lose a single life. All we're asking them to do is to forgive significantly less money than what we're going to be owed" -- that from Senator Saxby Chambliss.
A reminder to vote in our poll tonight. How concerned are you about overpopulation in your community, very, somewhat, or not at all? Cast your vote at CNN.com/Lou. We'll have the results in just a few minutes.
Coming up, we'll have your thoughts on illegal aliens, our series "Exporting America," a great deal more.
Also, the chairman of the board plays to a packed house at Radio City Music Hall five years after his death, Frank Sinatra doing it his way. Jeanne Moos has the story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Now the results of tonight's poll.
The question: How concerned are you about overpopulation in your community? Seventy-one percent of you saying very, 11 percent somewhat, 17 percent not at all.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial scored a third straight winning week, but the major averages fell on the day, the Dow down 70 points today, the Nasdaq down almost 38, the S&P down nearly 11.
Christine Romans with the market -- Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, did you know that we're on track for the best profit growth quarter since the second quarter of 2000, if this pace keeps up?
DOBBS: Terrific.
ROMANS: A third of the S&P 500 companies have reported and they're showing profit growth now of 16.3 percent, revenue gains of 6.5 percent.
Now, this would be the sixth straight quarter of profit growth. Factor in the forecast for the rest of the S&P and the forecast now stands above 18 percent this quarter, even better for the fourth quarter. It's just this kind of strong profit growth that stocks have anticipated in the rally.
Now, it was a rough week for specialists. The publicly traded specialists, LaBranche and Van Der Moolen, all tumbled to multiyear lows this year. Tuesday, Fidelity called for an end to the specialist system and advocated all-electronic trade. And Thursday, the stoke exchange told LaBranche; and Van Der Moolen; Spear, Leeds; Fleet; and Bear they had improperly handled orders, costing investors millions. The stock exchange said those firms will be heavily fined.
Meanwhile, the mutual fund scandal simmers. Massachusetts regulators are investigating whether employees of Fidelity, Morgan Stanley and Franklin Templeton coached Prudential broke to hide improper trading. All the firms involved, Lou, say that they are cooperating with authorities.
DOBBS: Well, they're learning what happens when you don't cooperate. What's the impact so far of this investigation?
ROMANS: In the month of September, the four funds named by the New York attorney general, Nations, Bank One, Janus, and Strong, they saw outflows of $7.9 billion. So investors are saying, we don't want any part of this.
DOBBS: OK, Christine Romans, thank you.
Taking a look now at some of your thoughts.
From Buellton, California: "Thank you, thank you, for finally telling it like it is. Overpopulation is the single largest factor in the majority of problems that face this country and the world. To hear you just mention the O-word on television was a huge relief. Maybe now politicians will realize that we must face facts" -- that from Melissa Sanchez.
From Tacoma, Washington: "What will it take to get our government to focus on the growing problem of illegal immigration? Would the government respond if Americans refuse to pay taxes? It's illegal, but so is crossing our borders, smuggling drugs, obtaining employment, and using our welfare system" -- Jo Anne Miller.
From Wilmington, Delaware: "One day, I stopped at a busy four- lane traffic light with 20-some other cars. Looking around, I was the only one driving an American car. Thereafter, I went to a local mall and noted that most items there, from shoes to small tools, are made in China. If we consumers keep U.S. goods from being produced, we consumers have no one but ourselves to blame for the exodus of American jobs" -- that from Luks Shay.
From Edinburgh, Indiana: "Mr. Dobbs, your segment on the Indiana Department of Workforce Development was outstanding. I can guarantee you that Governor Kernan or any other elected official that allows the head of the agency to keep his job will be joining the 160,000 other Hoosiers in the unemployment line" -- that from James Gullett.
From Valencia, California: "Lou, you justly challenge corporations and the government to work in our best interests, while they are busy selling our future to countries that may one day be strong enough to challenge us militarily and win" -- that from Bob Reed.
We love hearing from you. Please e-mail us with your thoughts, LouDobbs@CNN.com.
And finally tonight, Old Blue Eyes is back. At New York City's Radio City Music Hall, Frank Sinatra is back on stage performing, thanks to technology, a live orchestra and some very enthusiastic fans.
Jeanne Moos has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If Frank Sinatra died five years ago...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM RADIO CITY CONCERT)
FRANK SINATRA, SINGER (singing): I'll always think of you...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Why are his fans thinking about him this way?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's as if he were alive. Honest to goodness.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really thought he was there with us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wanted to grab and hug him and kiss him.
MOOS: Necrophilia it's not. But it was sort of the night of the living dead at Radio City Music Hall, with old blue eyes in concert on a 35 foot high screen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM RADIO CITY CONCERT)
SINATRA (singing): I've got the world on a string...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Accompanied by a live orchestra, not to mention the Rockettes. MICHAEL MUSTO, VILLAGE VOICE COLUMNIST: There's something eerie about bringing back dead pop legends, but here I am. It's better than watching a live Britney Spears.
MOOS: Frank is just the latest legend to be resurrected, from Fred Astaire to Elvis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM RADIO CITY CONCERT)
ELVIS PRESLEY: I will comfort you...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: From Hank Williams singing with his son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM WARNER BROTHERS RECORDS)
HANK WILLIAMS AND HANK WILLIAMS, JR. : You were on my lonely mind...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: To Nat King Cole singing with his daughter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM ELEKTRA)
NAT KING COLE AND NATALIE COLE: That's why darling, it's incredible...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: As for Sinatra's daughter Tina, we asked what would dad think?
TINA SINATRA, DAUGHTER: Oh, I think he would be -- he is thrilled.
MOOS: Most of the footage of Sinatra came from the family's archives of his TV show from the late '50s.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM RADIO CITY CONCERT)
SINATRA: Every time it rains, it rains...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: The backgrounds were wiped out in a painstaking process called rotoscoping.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM RADIO CITY CONCERT)
SINATRA: Pennies from heaven...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Out on the red carpet, we wondered if other stars would like being roto-scoped.
(on camera): Now, Regis, imagine, you've passed away and you're up on the big screen. Would you like that idea?
REGIS PHILBIN, TALK SHOW HOST: Haven't I done that yet? Yes, I think I'd like to do that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM RADIO CITY CONCERT)
SINATRA: You and I dear...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was so excited just sitting there and...
MOOS: You're practically crying.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am practically crying. I started to cry during the show.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I die tomorrow, I don't care.
MOOS (voice-over): Sure, there were complaints.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How could they end a Frank Sinatra show without "I did it my way?"
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And "Summer Wind," where was "Summer Wind?"
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And now, the end is near.
MOOS (voice-over): How can the end be near when they keep bringing back the dead celebs?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM RADIO CITY CONCERT)
SINATRA: Don't you know little fool...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: And that's our show for tonight. Thanks for being with us.
Monday night, we begin special reports on America's bright future, the people who will be lighting up our lives in the years ahead. We'll be profiling child prodigies in this country who are talented well beyond their years in academics, sports, medicine, music. Monday night, we bring you the story of the youngest student ever to attend medical school. Also, Minority Leader Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi joins us. Congressman Billy Tauzin joins us talk about energy.
Please join us Monday.
For all of us here, have a very pleasant weekend. Good night from New York.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Iraq; Urban Sprawl Impacting American Life?>
Aired October 17, 2003 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT for Friday, October 17. Here now, Lou Dobbs.
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening.
More evidence tonight that the Bush administration's mission in Iraq is far from accomplished. In Iraq today, gunmen killed four U.S. military police and wounded nine others in two separate attacks. The casualties came as Congress voted to approve most of the president's request for $87 billion of spending in Iraq and Afghanistan.
We have two reports tonight: Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr on the continuing war in Iraq; congressional correspondent Jonathan Karl on the spending debate on Capitol Hill.
We go first to Barbara Starr at the Pentagon -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lou, it was indeed another violent day in Iraq for U.S. troops.
Three members of the 101st Airborne Division were killed and seven wounded in a firefight in the city of Karbala in southern Iraq. This happened in a firefight near the Imam Abbas Mosque in Karbala late last night. Two Iraqis were killed and five wounded, part of Iraqi security force. This firefight broke out as an exchange between U.S. and opposition forces, small-arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades exchanged.
Security forces were investigating reports of armed men near the mosque. Now, Karbala, of course, is an increasingly tense area, partially due to anti-coalition statements being made by a radical Shiite leader, Moqtada Al-Sadr. And the belief is, his sympathizers may have been involved in last night's incident.
Now, in a separate attack in Baghdad, one soldier killed and two wounded, again, in an incident involving an explosive device. And so far now, Lou, the toll stands at 101 U.S. military personnel killed in action in Iraq since President Bush declared major combat over on May 1 -- Lou.
DOBBS: Barbara, thank you -- Barbara Starr reporting from the Pentagon.
The Senate and the House today voted to support nearly all of the president's request for $87 billion of additional spending for Iraq and Afghanistan. But there is a critical difference between the Senate and the House versions of the bill. The Senate defied the White House and converted some of that money into a loan.
Jonathan Karl reports from Capitol Hill -- Jonathan.
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the vote -- I'm sorry -- Lou, the votes in both the House and the Senate were overwhelmingly in favor of the president's request. Over in the House, the vote was 303-125.
Here in the Senate, it was 88-12, only 12 senators voting no on this. But there is that critical difference. The White House was adamantly opposed to the idea of turning any money into a loan. But in the Senate version, $10 billion of the reconstruction money will be a loan or would be a loan. The two sides have are going to have to get together next week to try to iron out the differences. The White House is saying that they will work, when the two sides get together, to strip the loan provision entirely.
But even with that setback, Republican leaders here in the Senate declared today's votes a clear and decisive victory for the president's policy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), MAJORITY LEADER: When this $87 billion supplemental request was first presented, a lot of people had sticker shock. A lot of people said it was impossible, that it could not be done. And yet, here we are today at the conclusion of a strong, strong, powerful bipartisan show of support for the president of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARL: Just minutes before the final vote, there were some fireworks on the Senate floor when a top Republican pointed out that this bill is not only about reconstruction in Iraq, but most of the money is going to support and protect the troops.
That led to this exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED STEVENS (R), ALASKA: Those who vote against this bill will be voting against supporting our men and women in the field. They're still in harm's way.
SEN. ROBERT BYRD (D), WEST VIRGINIA: I defy that statement. And I hurl it back into the teeth of the senator from Alaska.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARL: One final note, Lou. What they did right before the final vote is, they took out $1.85 billion worth of projects that were seen as controversial, some said frivolous, things like the $9 million to develop a new system of zip codes in Iraq. That was taken out.
So the final number, the final dollar amount on the Senate version is actually $85.1 billion, not $87 billion -- still, though, Lou, a lot of money.
DOBBS: Indeed, Jonathan. And next week, they will begin resolving this in reconciliation between the two houses.
KARL: Yes.
DOBBS: Jonathan Karl from Capitol Hill, thank you.
President Bush today spent most of the day in Japan. He immediately ran into a storm of criticism in Tokyo over remarks by his national security adviser. Condoleezza Rice described the president's stop in Japan as a mere layover between visits between California and the Philippines. At the same time, the White House is trying to downplay remarks the president made about another important ally and friend, Australia.
Senior White House correspondent John King reports from Tokyo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): First stop, Tokyo. The first mission, trying to make amends for offending his host.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's a good friend, a very strong leader.
KING: All smiles after dinner with Prime Minister Koizumi, but there were some ruffled feathers because of how the president's national security adviser described the visit a few days ago.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: During had layover, the president will meet and dine with Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi, before departing Saturday morning for the Philippines.
KING: The Tokyo stop was just 17 hours, a good deal of that sleeping, but the Japanese would prefer to call it a thank-you visit, not a layover.
Japan is pledging an immediate $1.5 billion for Iraq's reconstruction and perhaps $5 billion over the next several years. The prime minister also is considering sending Japanese troops to Iraq, something that doesn't sit well with these demonstrators.
So, on Air Force One en route to Tokyo, a senior administration official tried to clarify things, saying: "When you go to Japan, it is never a layover. This is one of our best friends, one of our best allies." Mr. Bush himself put another close ally on the spot this week. Asked if he considered Australian Prime Minister John Howard his deputy sheriff in the war on terrorism, Mr. Bush said he considered Australia the sheriff in Southeast Asia.
(on camera): The White House says the president simply meant he considers Australia an equal partner, not in any way a deputy or second fiddle to the United States. But the remark didn't sit well with others in the region, who take offense at times to what they consider the Bush administration's cowboy rhetoric.
John King, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Condoleezza Rice's comments about a layover in Japan will give her critics another reason to question her management of the National Security Council. Those critics say Rice has consistently failed to coordinate foreign policy among government agencies, agencies that often appear to be in competition.
Bill Tucker is here now and has the report -- Bill.
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, by anyone's measure, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice is having a challenging year. And it is giving her critics the opportunity to have a field day. And they're being less than kind.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCKER (voice-over): The latest misstep from the national security adviser was hardly her worst, but it was no doubt a painful moment for Dr. Rice, who's traveling with the president. And it came on the heels of a an apparent dust-up between Dr. Rice's office and Secretary Rumsfeld's Department of Defense about exactly who's in charge of the rebuilding of Iraq.
RICE: I want to be very clear. I'm the national security adviser. What I do is coordinate policy. I don't operate. I don't implement. I coordinate policy. It is the secretary of defense who will continue to run the postwar reconstruction, as he has done and as he has done well.
TUCKER: But what do you expect went your year starts with these simple words?
BUSH: The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.
TUCKER: The trouble is, it wasn't true.
RICE: Let me just start by saying, it is 16 words and it has become an enormously overblown issue.
TUCKER: Administration critics disagree.
MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: That was the No. 1 foreign policy issue of the day. She had no right not to be informed.
TUCKER: And what is appropriate in the eyes of her critics is that the national security adviser learn and practice diplomacy with her peers.
ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Dr. Rice needs to move beyond academia. She's got to get along and got to act like the boys at times. She's got play their games. She's got to go into places where she doesn't normally go to be among the boys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCKER: Now, Rice's critics graciously call this a tough learning curve. But it should be remembered, she is the national security adviser and this is a road that sometimes can have some dangerous curves -- Lou.
DOBBS: Bill, thank you very much -- Bill Tucker.
Tonight, an airport security bungle means every commercial aircraft in this country is being searched for suspicious items. The search follows the discovery of a few box cutters, bleach and clay on two Southwest Airlines planes. Authorities say there is no link to terrorism. But, nonetheless, they're searching.
Ed Lavandera reports from the headquarters of Southwest Airlines at Dallas Love Field -- Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Lou.
Well, Southwest Airlines says that they started doing that search of all of its aircraft, 385 total aircraft, after the incidents were discovered yesterday evening, One in New Orleans, one in Houston. Southwest Airlines says that it has completed its top-to-bottom check of the aircraft. Now it's up to the rest of the airline industry to also do the same. They have 24 hours to complete that search.
Southwest says that they didn't find anything else after its two incidents last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GINGER HARDAGE, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES SPOKESPERSON: We dedicated ourselves throughout the evening to looking at every, every one of our aircraft and making sure that they were absolutely safe, not only for our customers, but for our employees who are on those aircraft every day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: Let's talk a little bit about what was found specifically on those two aircraft, one in New Orleans, one in Houston, as we mentioned.
Each contained a plastic bag containing clay that was in Play-Doh containers. Also, there was bleach being held in the suntan lotion bottle, as well as box cutters. And there were also notes that were found inside these plastic bags, apparently officials saying that those notes were targeting the Transportation Security Administration, challenging the way it does its security checkpoints at airports across the country.
Sources also tell CNN that the notes also mentioned that this person thought the TSA was doing a good job, but, nonetheless, these two packages were able to make it on board these aircraft. Despite all of this, federal investigators who are following this case, which includes the FBI, the Homeland Security Department, as well as the Transportation Security Administration, say that this kind of thing is also typical.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: Screeners at airports pick up items periodically that we don't want on planes. So this happens frequently.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: Now, of course, the search is on for who was responsible for this, Southwest Airlines officials saying that they believe the same person was involved in both incidents. We did ask officials here with the airline if they believe it was an inside job, one of their own employees who was responsible, Southwest Airlines only saying that they will not speculate as to who might be responsible -- Lou.
DOBBS: Ed, thank you very much -- Ed Lavandera report from Dallas, Texas.
Coming up next here: "Exporting America." Tonight, Peter Viles reports on the companies who belong in the hall of shame; and Kitty Pilgrim on the global brain drain, foreign students flocking into American universities.
And our special report "A Crowded Nation" -- tonight, urban sprawl threatening the American landscape and the American way of life. Lisa Sylvester reports.
And our feature series "Heroes" -- this week, the story of a remarkable man with poise under fire. One soldier's sacrifice saves his life and the life of his friend. Casey Wian will have the report.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: "Exporting America" -- tonight, two special reports.
First, those companies that have taken so-called offshoring to a whole new level, not only do they export jobs out of this country, but they scoff at corporate tax laws by moving their headquarters overseas.
Peter Viles is here now and has the report for us -- Pete.
PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, this is the ultimate form of offshoring. You take the company to Bermuda. Temperatures are high there. Taxes are low. And, in Bermuda, everybody's inducted into what we call the offshoring hall of shame.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) VILES (voice-over): Tyco, despite the legal troubles, still a member in good standing. Enron never made it, but it certainly tried awful hard. Ingersoll-Rand inducted itself New Year's Eve 2001. Accenture ineligible due to a technicality, because it was born in Bermuda, so it never moved there, the offshoring hall of shame. All you need to do to get in is reincorporate in Bermuda. You still pay U.S. taxes on whatever you earn in the United States, but you avoid paying the IRS on your foreign profits.
By one congressional estimate, these and other offshore tax havens cost the government $70 billion a year.
THEA LEE, ECONOMIST, AFL-CIO: If some companies move their headquarters offshore and avoid paying their fair share of taxes, other companies have to pay more. Certainly, we have to pay more in terms of income tax and property tax and other forms of taxation to run the government. So it's really a question of fairness, maybe even a question of patriotism.
VILES: The case in defense of offshoring is that U.S. corporate taxes are so high, they're driving some businesses to seek shelter and generally making America a bad place to set up headquarters.
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE: Foreign companies are taking over U.S. companies. And the greatest example of this was the DaimlerChrysler merger a few years ago. The world headquarters of that company is not in Michigan. It's in Frankfurt. And the reason is because Germany is now a better place to locate the headquarters of a multinational company than United States.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VILES: The truth is, though, that corporate income taxes in this country have been declining sharply as a source of federal revenue, now roughly 8 percent of federal revenue, Lou. That is down from 26 percent 50 years ago.
DOBBS: We should think about putting the names of all of those companies that have chosen this subterfuge -- what do you think?
VILES: I think we could put them right on the Web site.
DOBBS: I think let's do that. All right, Pete, appreciate it. Thank you -- Peter Viles.
While American companies continue to export jobs, American universities are seeing an enormous influx in foreign students. The result is simply a global brain drain on American resources, some of our most precious resources, the exportation, in effect, of our intellectual capital. For example, more than half of the doctoral and master's degrees in engineering in this country are now being granted to foreign students.
Kitty Pilgrim has the report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The American college campus is the promised land for foreign math and science students at all levels of education, undergraduate, master's and doctorate. Industry studies find about half the master's students and doctoral students studying engineering are foreign nationals.
The most students came from India, up 22 percent last year. That was the first time it beat China, previously the lead country sending students to the United States. Korea is the third, followed by Japan. Many of those students stay in the states and take jobs here. The National Science Board found, in 1999, half the computer scientists with Ph.Ds were foreign born. Among engineers, it was more than half.
Some worry that work visas to foreign nationals will discourage American students.
MICHAEL TEITELBAUM, SLOAN FOUNDATION: My fear that is we are turning off a lot of aspiring young I.T. professionals who are in the pipeline and are saying: "Well, look what's happening in that industry. I think I'll go in some other direction." That would be a very sad outcome.
PILGRIM: Another issue is that foreign nationals go back home, taking with them skills and insights, it could be a reverse brain drain, a worry to the National Science Board. They propose the federal government should offer funding, scholarships and incentives to American students.
JOE MILLER, NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD: We think it's very important for government intervention here that policy be established to train the future coterie of scientists and engineers that will be necessary to meet the nation's needs that the Department of Labor says that, in 10 years, will require a 50 percent increase in the number of people with science and technology backgrounds to meet the need.
PILGRIM: Many schools acknowledge the trend, but refuse to comment on it. That could be because of the money. Foreign students contributed $12 billion to the U.S. economy in terms of tuition and living expenses last year.
Kitty Pilgrim, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: And coming up next: "A Crowded Nation." Tonight, we focus on urban sprawl, overpopulation, a massive influx of illegal aliens, exhausting millions of acres of farmland in this country. Lisa Sylvester will report from Washington.
And we'll be joined by the mayors of two of this country's fastest-growing cities next.
Please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) DOBBS: Tonight, our special report "A Crowded Nation." The Agriculture Department says this country loses more than two million acres of farmland and natural habitat each and every year. Most of that land is developed into urban sprawl to accommodate our rapidly growing population. This loss of land is having a lasting impact on our quality of life in this country.
Lisa Sylvester reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Loudoun County, Virginia, it's one of the fastest growing counties in the country. In the last decade, it's turned from a sleeping farming community to a booming suburb with double the population. And the new subdivisions keep on sprouting. It's a perfect example of sprawl, people moving out the cities in search of affordable housing and more space.
Commuting to Washington, D.C. can take an hour and a half.
SHEILA CROWLEY, LOW INCOME HOUSING COALITION: There are huge commutes that people make to come to the city in order to be able to work. But they can't afford to live in the immediate area. And so they are living further and further out.
SYLVESTER: The increase in sprawl has a far-reaching impact on the quality of life for Americans: crowded roads, hospitals and schools. And as the U.S. population grows, the problem will only get worse. Every year, the American population increases by about 3.5 million people. More than half of that growth is due to the arrival of legal immigrants and illegal aliens.
ROY BECK, NUMBERSUSA.COM: We cannot stop sprawl. We cannot even slow it down appreciably, unless we change our immigration policy.
SYLVESTER: But wait a minute? Isn't this a big country, with lots of land to sustain the growing population? That land is not sitting idle. It's growing food, used for waste storage and providing the resources to maintain the American standard of living.
MICHELLE FEHLER, POPULATION ENVIRONMENT BALANCE: It's not an issue of, where will we put people? It's, how will we feed them? How will we bring them water? That's the issue. All those things we need to survive are in doubt, they're in jeopardy, because of not only how we live, but how many of us there are.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SYLVESTER: If the population growth stays on pace, in the next 50 years, the United States will 110 million acres of farmland and natural habitat. In essence, the United States is building over land at the precise time it needs more land -- Lou.
DOBBS: Lisa, thank you very much -- Lisa Sylvester reporting from Washington. Joining me now are two mayors at the forefront of concerns about population growth and urban sprawl. Steve Berman is the mayor of Gilbert, Arizona. Gilbert, Arizona, has the distinction of being the fastest growing city in America. Its population has grown from fewer than 6,000 in 1980 to just about 150,000 today. Also joining us tonight is Oscar Goodman. He's mayor of this country's fastest growing big city. And that is Las Vegas.
Thank you both for being with is.
OSCAR GOODMAN, MAYOR OF LAS VEGAS: Hi, Lou, how are you in.
STEVE BERMAN, MAYOR OF GILBERT, ARIZONA: Thanks for inviting us, Lou.
DOBBS: My pleasure. We're delighted to have you here.
Let me, if I may, turn to you first, Mayor Goodman. The picture that most Americans have in their minds of Las Vegas is a city of bright lights in the evening that sprawls across an otherwise uninhabitable desert that is raging out of control. Straighten us out.
GOODMAN: Well, it's a wonderful community.
It's a community where we have like two separate lives here. We have the strip in downtown Las Vegas on Fremont Street, which, that's the entertainment capital of the world, great restaurants, great shopping, great gambling. That's terrific. But we also have a wonderful community with a terrific quality of life, which is very affordable here.
I got here in 1964 and there were 70,000 folks who lived in the city of Las Vegas. Now we have 550,000 living in Las Vegas. And in our valley here, which is surrounded by mountains, we have 1.6 million. And we're ahead of the curve as far as growth is concerned. And it's very affordable. The weather's great. And it's a marvelous place to raise kids.
DOBBS: You'd like another 500,000 in Las Vegas, Mayor?
GOODMAN: As far as I'm concerned, I'd like another 1.5 million here, and then we'll be able to have these Major League teams that I'm looking for.
DOBBS: Mayor, we're going to get back to that growth and the dangers sometimes of getting what you ask for in just a moment.
If I can turn to you, Mayor Berman, you have watched this community of yours grow from a patch to now a true city. But you're somewhat unique in Gilbert, Arizona. Your water supplies are as scarce as they are in many places, but you're not importing tons of water. Tell our viewers how you're managing to make due in Gilbert with an explosion like this.
BERMAN: Well, we recycle 100 percent of our water in Gilbert. The fact is, the water, we recycle all of it. We have a number of things we do. But up until last year, the water table in Gilbert was actually rising, because we do recycle our water. We understand we live in a desert. And water loss is a critical issue for all of us. So we very carefully manage our water in Gilbert.
DOBBS: And the rapid growth -- certainly, you cannot, even as recycling 100 percent of water, let me first ask you, Mayor, how long are you going to be able to continue, to what population level, to even recycle all of your water?
BERMAN: Well, in Gilbert, we have 76 square miles we've annexed. And that's all good -- it's going to be 76,000 square miles. It's also master-planned at this point. We're going to build out at 300,000. And we will continue to recycle all of our water forever. We're not going to stop.
DOBBS: And Gilbert is surround by what has been, and much of which is still currently, agriculture. Is that correct?
BERMAN: Yes.
DOBBS: And that land, even though you are recycling and as you're growing, what was agricultural land will be lost and pushed to other areas.
Let me turn to Mayor Goodman.
You talked about 1.5 million. And we understand the boosterism. Oscar Goodman is famous for many qualities and certainly being no shrinking violet when it comes to promoting your great city.
GOODMAN: Oh, I love Las Vegas. I do. I really love it. I can't get enough of my city.
DOBBS: The fact is, there are issues of water.
GOODMAN: Yes.
DOBBS: There are issues of scarcity of resources. There's an issue of quality of life. As you spread across that desert, how concerned are you about being able to maintain that?
GOODMAN: I think that we have to educate our constituency, that we are living in a desert, there is no question about that. And with the proper usage of water, we're never going to run out of water. We have the Colorado River available to us. We bank water, as a matter of fact.
In Arizona, we have agreements that -- one of which was just signed yesterday by Secretary Norton as far as the distribution of water with California. So if we learn how to use water properly, water's not going to be a problem. The main thing is to make sure that folks use xeriscaping, desert landscaping. And the loss of the water that you have is in the outside. The water that we use on the inside, as the other -- as Mayor Berman said, that is all recirculated and we get credits for that. So that's not a problem.
As far as air quality is concerned, when I came on board -- and I'm not taking credit for this -- we were not in attainment with the EPA. But now we are, as far as carbon monoxide and particular dust matter. So we're in good shape as far as these things are concerned. And with our roads, we're ahead of the curve. The travel actually, for all intents and purposes, flows beautifully here.
And I honestly believe that we know we're growing. We built a new home ever 32 minutes, believe it or not. A new school -- when I was first elected a little more than four years ago, I told people that we built a school a month. Now I tell them we build 17 schools a year. We had 10 fire stations four years ago. Now we have 15. It's remarkable growth. There's no question.
We have 6,000 people coming in here on a net basis a month. So we are a very dynamic community. But I equate the dynamism with growth, with intellect, with energy, all the things that make a city a great place.
DOBBS: A great place. And, as it gets bigger, the issues you believe you have under control for the foreseeable future?
GOODMAN: I really believe that.
DOBBS: Mayor, we thank you.
Mayor Berman, let's turn to you, your vision of the future for Gilbert, Arizona. How many people do you believe your city can suitably, intelligently, rationally and responsibly accommodate over the course of the next decade?
BERMAN: We'll have buildup. We'll be at 300,000 people. And they will be in nice homes in nice neighborhoods. And it's planned out exactly to match the needs at that 300,000.
DOBBS: Mayor Berman, Mayor Goodman, we thank you both for being with us as we explore the issues of a nation that is certainly crowded and, in the case of Las Vegas, crowded with open arms.
Is that a fair statement, Mayor Goodman?
GOODMAN: I love that, Lou.
DOBBS: Oscar Goodman, Mayor Berman, we thank you both.
BERMAN: Thank you.
DOBBS: That brings us to the topic of tonight's poll question. How concerned are you about overpopulation in your community, very, somewhat, or not at all? Please cast your vote at CNN.com/Lou. We'll have the results coming up for you later in the show.
The population surge in the arid Southwest has, for decades, caused furious disagreements over the water supply in the region. The Interior Department hopes it has solved that problem with a new historic agreement among seven states that draw their water from the Colorado River. The 35-year plan calls for California to gradually reduce its dependency on the Colorado River.
Instead, California will redistribute water from some of its farms to its growing cities in Southern California. Concerns of overpopulation and the water supply come as new evidence emerges that global temperatures are rising after five years of drought in the Southwest.
Now, the National Climate Data Center says last month was the warmest September on record. The average worldwide temperature, 60 degrees Fahrenheit, one degree Fahrenheit warmer than any September on record since 1880.
Tonight's thought is on the value of our land: "The nation that destroys its soils destroys itself" that from the 32nd president of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Coming up next: bravery on the front lines, one American hero whose quick thinking saved two young lives. Casey Wian will have this hero's remarkable story for us next.
Please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: In just the last few minutes, CNN has confirmed that a person is in custody after the discovery of suspicious items on two Southwest Airlines planes. The entire national fleet has been searched and is being searched after this discovery.
Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve has the story for us now -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Lou, this information coming in from CNN's justice correspondent Kelli Arena.
Law enforcement sources tell her that there is an individual in custody in Baltimore, that this individual is cooperating and the FBI has been told to stand down in its investigation -- this discovery of this individual, this questioning of this individual, only about 24 hours after these items were found on two Southwest airlines planes. The items included box cutters, also bleach that had been put in suntan location containers, and clay that resembled plastic explosives.
The items were found in the bathrooms of two Southwest Airlines jets, the first found during a routine maintenance inspection. There had been an FBI investigation launched immediately into this. Sources had told us that the FBI was paying particular attention to people who might have had easy access to the airplane, no idea at this point who this individual is who is apparently in custody in Baltimore, Maryland -- Lou, back to you.
DOBBS: Jeanne, thank you -- Jeanne Meserve reporting from Washington. Turning now to our feature series "Heroes," tonight, the remarkable story of Army Specialist Robert Acosta. This summer, he was in Iraq helping guard the Baghdad Airport when an off-duty trip when horribly wrong. Acosta managed to save his friend's life and he almost lost his own. Despite his crippling wounds, this hero wants back in the fight.
Casey Wian reports from Santa Ana, California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SPC. ROBERT ACOSTA, U.S. ARMY: I remember clearly. That's the bad thing. I remember perfectly what happened.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Army Specialist Robert Acosta was going to get soda and ice on his day off. But, in Baghdad, there's really no such thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A hand grenade was tossed into the Humvee which Acosta was riding in.
ACOSTA: The grenade flew into my window, hit the windshield, landed on the radio between me and my buddy. Smoke was coming out of it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rather than jump out of the vehicle, he risked his own life to save the life of the soldier who was driving next to him.
ACOSTA: I grabbed it with my right hand and tried to throw it out. But, as I grabbed it, I had it in my hand. I guess my heart was beating so fast, the adrenaline pumping. I dropped it between my legs. I thought in my mind, please, let this be a dud. So I reached down again to grab it. As soon as I had it in my hand, I started picking it up.
And as soon as it got to about my ankles, it went off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Acosta lost his hand and part of his right arm. He took shrapnel to his leg. The tibia portion broke in half at his heel bone, which was shattered.
ACOSTA: I couldn't breathe because of the smoke from the grenade. Blowing off my hand, it made like a mist of blood. It was all over my face. I looked at my arm. And this scar that's right here was open, completely open. And the skin was peeled back and it was hanging down, like just hanging. And it was black. And the bone was just sticking out.
I told my buddy, "My hand's gone." He said, "What?" And I said: "My hand's gone. Are you OK?" And he said: "Yes, I'm fine." I'm all, "Well, let's get the hell out of here."
So we got some resistance. We had some Iraqis try to jump in front of our vehicle. And he took them out, just running them over. And he got me out of there. And I owe him my life. WIAN: Now Acosta's hometown celebrates with signs, medals and proclamations from friends and family, dignitaries and soldiers.
ACOSTA: Thank you.
WIAN: Despite the loss of his hand and an uncertain prognosis for his foot:
ACOSTA: I wish I was still there. I'd go back right now, if I could. I don't have any regrets at all. I'm going to overcome this, no matter up. Some days, I want to give up. Some days, I don't want to do it. But I'm still going to do it.
WIAN: His goal, to stay in the Army.
Casey Wian, CNN, Santa Ana, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Army Specialist Robert Acosta.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: "News Makers": The editors of this country's top business magazines join us each week to give us an assessment of all that is happening to all of us.
And this week, I'm joined by Paul Maidment. He's executive editor of "Forbes." Bill Powell, senior international editor of "Fortune." Mark Morrison, manager editor of "BusinessWeek."
Good to talk with you.
(CROSSTALK)
DOBBS: Some good news: consumer confidence rising, housing starts. This economy is driving forward. At the same time, the president's approval rating is moving sky high. It's up three or four points, I believe. Paul, is this a turnaround both politically and economically?
PAUL MAIDMENT, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "FORBES": Well, economically, I think it's just a continuation of the slow pickup in momentum of growth you've actually been seeing for the last 18 months.
The economy is clearly accelerating. But it's accelerating from a very slow pace. So the feeling of growth has been, up to this point, sort of more real than apparent. I think we're now starting to get a sense that the economy really is moving forward. And we're starting to see jobs coming back. And we're so I think getting to a palpable sense that things are getting better.
MARK MORRISON, MANAGER EDITOR, "BUSINESSWEEK": Yes, the market's seen this coming for a while and has been moving up for almost a year now very strong. And now we had 6 percent growth in the third quarter. We have a very strong fourth-quarter coming on. Inventories are very lean. So all the pieces are in place for the economy to keep going. And that is helping, I think, the administration.
Politically, they still got Iraq to worry about, though.
DOBBS: And that's quite an issue; $87 billion, almost 87, just over $85 billion was approved by Congress. The issue, should it be a loan, should it be a grant?
Bill, your take?
BILL POWELL, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR, "FORTUNE": The reason why the administration feels that it needs to be a grant and not a loan is -- among the reasons is that Iraq has an enormous amount of foreign debt, which the U.S. is going to -- under the Saddam regime -- which the U.S. is going to ask for substantial forgiveness on.
So they don't want, on the one hand, to be saying to the Russians and others, who have loaned Iraq in the past billions of dollars, saying, you guys forget about that debt, but, on the other hand, we're going to stick you with another $10 billion loan. And you can use the oil revenues for that.
MORRISON: Yes, this is big money, too, Germany, Japan, France; $100 billion is the estimate that I've heard of.
(CROSSTALK)
DOBBS: In contract obligations.
MORRISON: Yes. Yes.
DOBBS: At the same time, those countries didn't lose a single life in overthrowing Saddam Hussein. At the same time, they did not expend a dime to put their military into Iraq. And that should be considered in the equation as well, should it not, Paul?
MAIDMENT: Well, they didn't agree with the war in the first place. So
(CROSSTALK)
DOBBS: Well, I quite remember that.
(LAUGHTER)
MAIDMENT: Indeed. So that's why there were no boots on the grounds or monies in the coffer.
One of the interesting things about this in many ways is that this question of the debt was being talked about privately to a great extent before the military action took place. And it was just never resolved as an issue. And perhaps, looking back, it's one of the things that should have been resolved as an issue. MORRISON: And regardless of how you felt about the war, it's in everybody's interests for Iraq to come out of this with a strong financial situation, so that it can have some chance of rebuilding and establishing a society that works.
DOBBS: A society that works; $85 billion should establish quite a lot. This was an economy, prewar, that had reached about a $55 billion GDP. We're talking about compounding that for infrastructure, for all of the help that we're going to provide. That's a hefty price tag, by anybody's standard.
MAIDMENT: A lot of that is going to just on the U.S. military, though.
DOBBS: Of course.
MAIDMENT: A relatively small proportion of it is going into reconstruction.
I think the other thing that has to be remembered is that just the state of the Iraqi economy is in a really bad way. I mean, it was devastated. And the oil industry was devastated after the first Gulf War, let alone the second Gulf War. And it's going to take billions and billions and billions of dollars to get that back into any sort of place where it can act as a real driver for
(CROSSTALK)
POWELL: And one of the shocks, among the many shocks -- Paul's exactly right -- is that everyone involved with the U.S. occupation force there has been stunned at just how much work needs to be done, much more than we had anticipated.
DOBBS: Here's a vote no one anticipated that I know: 248-179 in the House, a vote for a Democratic amendment that essentially slaps the White House for giving Halliburton a no-bid deal, a lot of Republican support.
What do you make of that, Mark?
MORRISON: Well, there are strings attached to a lot of things in Washington. And the president got his money. It looks like he's going to get his money out of conference.
But this is the big -- this is going to be a big restriction in the future on trying to do these no-compete deals, like with Halliburton. They're not going to be able to go out and turn over a huge cell phone contract, for example, to a favorite contractor. They're going to have to put it out for bids. And that's the way it should be.
POWELL: The administration would argue that the goal here was to get things up and running relatively quickly. Halliburton is one of the few global firms that can do this and, let's just do it. And that's what they're going to be arguing against this amendment. DOBBS: I guess, Paul, what do you think of this? To me, if it's one of the few global firms that can do it, why not put it out for bid, if it's that few?
MAIDMENT: Well, I think the thing is, this particular incident is not going to change anyone's mind who thinks, here's an example of an administration cronying up to its big business contributors or the minds of anyone else who thinks that they're the world-class company who were the automatic choice for the job.
DOBBS: Absolutely.
All right, well, I'm glad to hear you all so positive on both the economy and the political economy. It is always great to have you here. Thank you very much.
POWELL: Thanks, Lou.
(CROSSTALK)
DOBBS: Tonight's quote is from a senator who today made comments about the role of France and Germany in rebuilding Iraq: "They didn't lose a single life. All we're asking them to do is to forgive significantly less money than what we're going to be owed" -- that from Senator Saxby Chambliss.
A reminder to vote in our poll tonight. How concerned are you about overpopulation in your community, very, somewhat, or not at all? Cast your vote at CNN.com/Lou. We'll have the results in just a few minutes.
Coming up, we'll have your thoughts on illegal aliens, our series "Exporting America," a great deal more.
Also, the chairman of the board plays to a packed house at Radio City Music Hall five years after his death, Frank Sinatra doing it his way. Jeanne Moos has the story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Now the results of tonight's poll.
The question: How concerned are you about overpopulation in your community? Seventy-one percent of you saying very, 11 percent somewhat, 17 percent not at all.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial scored a third straight winning week, but the major averages fell on the day, the Dow down 70 points today, the Nasdaq down almost 38, the S&P down nearly 11.
Christine Romans with the market -- Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, did you know that we're on track for the best profit growth quarter since the second quarter of 2000, if this pace keeps up?
DOBBS: Terrific.
ROMANS: A third of the S&P 500 companies have reported and they're showing profit growth now of 16.3 percent, revenue gains of 6.5 percent.
Now, this would be the sixth straight quarter of profit growth. Factor in the forecast for the rest of the S&P and the forecast now stands above 18 percent this quarter, even better for the fourth quarter. It's just this kind of strong profit growth that stocks have anticipated in the rally.
Now, it was a rough week for specialists. The publicly traded specialists, LaBranche and Van Der Moolen, all tumbled to multiyear lows this year. Tuesday, Fidelity called for an end to the specialist system and advocated all-electronic trade. And Thursday, the stoke exchange told LaBranche; and Van Der Moolen; Spear, Leeds; Fleet; and Bear they had improperly handled orders, costing investors millions. The stock exchange said those firms will be heavily fined.
Meanwhile, the mutual fund scandal simmers. Massachusetts regulators are investigating whether employees of Fidelity, Morgan Stanley and Franklin Templeton coached Prudential broke to hide improper trading. All the firms involved, Lou, say that they are cooperating with authorities.
DOBBS: Well, they're learning what happens when you don't cooperate. What's the impact so far of this investigation?
ROMANS: In the month of September, the four funds named by the New York attorney general, Nations, Bank One, Janus, and Strong, they saw outflows of $7.9 billion. So investors are saying, we don't want any part of this.
DOBBS: OK, Christine Romans, thank you.
Taking a look now at some of your thoughts.
From Buellton, California: "Thank you, thank you, for finally telling it like it is. Overpopulation is the single largest factor in the majority of problems that face this country and the world. To hear you just mention the O-word on television was a huge relief. Maybe now politicians will realize that we must face facts" -- that from Melissa Sanchez.
From Tacoma, Washington: "What will it take to get our government to focus on the growing problem of illegal immigration? Would the government respond if Americans refuse to pay taxes? It's illegal, but so is crossing our borders, smuggling drugs, obtaining employment, and using our welfare system" -- Jo Anne Miller.
From Wilmington, Delaware: "One day, I stopped at a busy four- lane traffic light with 20-some other cars. Looking around, I was the only one driving an American car. Thereafter, I went to a local mall and noted that most items there, from shoes to small tools, are made in China. If we consumers keep U.S. goods from being produced, we consumers have no one but ourselves to blame for the exodus of American jobs" -- that from Luks Shay.
From Edinburgh, Indiana: "Mr. Dobbs, your segment on the Indiana Department of Workforce Development was outstanding. I can guarantee you that Governor Kernan or any other elected official that allows the head of the agency to keep his job will be joining the 160,000 other Hoosiers in the unemployment line" -- that from James Gullett.
From Valencia, California: "Lou, you justly challenge corporations and the government to work in our best interests, while they are busy selling our future to countries that may one day be strong enough to challenge us militarily and win" -- that from Bob Reed.
We love hearing from you. Please e-mail us with your thoughts, LouDobbs@CNN.com.
And finally tonight, Old Blue Eyes is back. At New York City's Radio City Music Hall, Frank Sinatra is back on stage performing, thanks to technology, a live orchestra and some very enthusiastic fans.
Jeanne Moos has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If Frank Sinatra died five years ago...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM RADIO CITY CONCERT)
FRANK SINATRA, SINGER (singing): I'll always think of you...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Why are his fans thinking about him this way?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's as if he were alive. Honest to goodness.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really thought he was there with us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wanted to grab and hug him and kiss him.
MOOS: Necrophilia it's not. But it was sort of the night of the living dead at Radio City Music Hall, with old blue eyes in concert on a 35 foot high screen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM RADIO CITY CONCERT)
SINATRA (singing): I've got the world on a string...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Accompanied by a live orchestra, not to mention the Rockettes. MICHAEL MUSTO, VILLAGE VOICE COLUMNIST: There's something eerie about bringing back dead pop legends, but here I am. It's better than watching a live Britney Spears.
MOOS: Frank is just the latest legend to be resurrected, from Fred Astaire to Elvis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM RADIO CITY CONCERT)
ELVIS PRESLEY: I will comfort you...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: From Hank Williams singing with his son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM WARNER BROTHERS RECORDS)
HANK WILLIAMS AND HANK WILLIAMS, JR. : You were on my lonely mind...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: To Nat King Cole singing with his daughter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM ELEKTRA)
NAT KING COLE AND NATALIE COLE: That's why darling, it's incredible...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: As for Sinatra's daughter Tina, we asked what would dad think?
TINA SINATRA, DAUGHTER: Oh, I think he would be -- he is thrilled.
MOOS: Most of the footage of Sinatra came from the family's archives of his TV show from the late '50s.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM RADIO CITY CONCERT)
SINATRA: Every time it rains, it rains...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: The backgrounds were wiped out in a painstaking process called rotoscoping.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM RADIO CITY CONCERT)
SINATRA: Pennies from heaven...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Out on the red carpet, we wondered if other stars would like being roto-scoped.
(on camera): Now, Regis, imagine, you've passed away and you're up on the big screen. Would you like that idea?
REGIS PHILBIN, TALK SHOW HOST: Haven't I done that yet? Yes, I think I'd like to do that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM RADIO CITY CONCERT)
SINATRA: You and I dear...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was so excited just sitting there and...
MOOS: You're practically crying.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am practically crying. I started to cry during the show.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I die tomorrow, I don't care.
MOOS (voice-over): Sure, there were complaints.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How could they end a Frank Sinatra show without "I did it my way?"
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And "Summer Wind," where was "Summer Wind?"
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And now, the end is near.
MOOS (voice-over): How can the end be near when they keep bringing back the dead celebs?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM RADIO CITY CONCERT)
SINATRA: Don't you know little fool...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: And that's our show for tonight. Thanks for being with us.
Monday night, we begin special reports on America's bright future, the people who will be lighting up our lives in the years ahead. We'll be profiling child prodigies in this country who are talented well beyond their years in academics, sports, medicine, music. Monday night, we bring you the story of the youngest student ever to attend medical school. Also, Minority Leader Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi joins us. Congressman Billy Tauzin joins us talk about energy.
Please join us Monday.
For all of us here, have a very pleasant weekend. Good night from New York.
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