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Lou Dobbs Tonight

Attacks on U.S. Troops on Rise; New York Mayor Defends Threat Warning

Aired October 07, 2005 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LOU DOBBS, HOST: Thanks, Wolf. Good evening, everybody.
Tonight, one day after President Bush declared Iraq is the central front in the war on terror, radical Islamist terrorists intensify their attacks against American troops in Iraq.

Six U.S. Marines were killed in western Iraq. As military officials announced a sharp increase in the number of attacks against our troops.

At the same time, the threat of a new radical Islamist terrorist attack in New York City sparked a huge security alert in a major railroad station today. There were also bomb alerts in Philadelphia and Washington.

We have three reports, Barbara Starr at the Pentagon on the escalating war in Iraq. Deborah Feyerick here in New York on the city's increased security measures. And Brian Todd in Washington on the sharp split between New York City and federal officials over the radical Islamist terrorist threat.

We begin tonight with Barbara Starr at the Pentagon -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lou, an expected September spike in violence in Iraq by insurgents trying to detail the upcoming election, but still it was deadly for U.S. troops.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): Just days now from Iraq's October 15 referendum vote on its new constitution, and the predicted upturn in violence is underway.

U.S. and Iraqi forces are continuing their offensive in western Iraq, trying to stamp out as much of the insurgency as possible before the vote, but statistics show questionable progress against the insurgents. Attacks against U.S. troops and Iraqis are on the rise.

BRIG. GEN. CARTER HAM, DEP. DIR. FOR REGIONAL OPERATIONS: It shouldn't be too terribly surprising. As we've looked towards the political events that are about to occur, we expected that there would be some increase.

STARR: Last month, there were 2,500 insurgent attacks, up from 1,500 in March, the end of the post election period. And as for those improvised explosive devices, IEDs, and suicide car bombs, last month there were 1,000 incidents; at the same time last year, 750.

The lethality is clear: 42 troops killed last month, 31 in March. Sixteen in the first six days of October.

HAM: Overall casualties, which is not -- which is not only fatalities but wounded in action, as well, it is clear that IEDs, mines, and vehicle born IEDs, that category is where the preponderance of casualties -- of coalition casualties are coming from.

STARR: In fact, a senior U.S. commander tells CNN that IEDs account for 45 percent of attacks but 75 percent of casualties.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: And, Lou, there are now 152,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. That's an increase of about 14,000 to deal with this upcoming election period. Still, U.S. commanders say it's less than they might have had to ask for, because Iraqi security forces are taking on increased responsibility -- Lou.

And, Barbara, what you're reporting is very important, the spiking in attacks against U.S. troops, the coalition. But in point of fact, we are seeing this coalition becoming increasingly the targets of the insurgency. These attacks have been sustained, in point of fact, as best I can determine, looking at the data from the defense intelligence service for the past year.

STARR: Well, Lou, what happens is there's been some periods where the attacks do spike, in fact: the offensive in Fallujah, the January election period. Then it tends to go down. The -- they go up, they go down, but they do remain relatively same in terms of the floor. It's never really decreased way below a certain level, and that certainly is of concern to commanders, Lou.

DOBBS: There is, it seems, absolutely no room for argument, despite the fact there seems to be a very public argument about the fact that this insurgency is strong enough to continue these sustained attack against well-armed, well-equipped U.S. military targets.

STARR: Lou, remember, it was the outgoing chairman of the joint chiefs of staffs, General Richard Myers, who in fact just a couple of weeks ago before left office said several times the insurgency retains the same capacity, his words, that it's had pretty much all along the way.

DOBBS: Barbara Starr, thank you very much, reporting from the Pentagon tonight.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg today strongly defended his decision to raise security in the subway system. The mayor dismissed reports that some federal officials believe the threat is not credible, saying it's very different being an analyst in Washington.

Deborah Feyerick is here with the report -- Deborah.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lou, the timing of the attack is one reason why New York City's mayor went public. And CNN has now learned that today, October 7, was talked about as a date for a possible attack. Sunday, October 9, is another date being mentioned. The mayor standing by his decision to warn New Yorkers, despite some opposition from homeland security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK CITY: A lot of our information comes from the FBI and what you see in Washington is different intelligence agencies looking at either different information or evaluating it differently.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Now, an official close to the investigation tells CNN that the information about the attack came from a source who had provided accurate information in the past.

And the official tells CNN that the source was questioned in Iraq and even passed a polygraph test concerning the proposed New York City subway attack. That source, we've learned, trained at a terror camp in Afghanistan.

Now, based on the information the U.S. launched a joint operation and as CNN Pentagon reporter Jamie McIntyre reported yesterday, three men were taken into custody. An official tells CNN that they are of different nationalities, some of them Middle Eastern.

The FBI chief in New York says there's no reason to believe that any terror suspects are in the city, however the source originally did name an individual who was reported to be in New York. That has not panned out.

Now, as for the New York-Washington split, a high level city hall source tells CNN that Mayor Bloomberg did speak with the DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff before Thursday's press conference, and that Chertoff did not ask the mayor to withhold the information or to stand down. The source also saying that New York's FBI chief, Mark Mershon, got permission from the FBI director, Robert Mueller himself -- Lou.

DOBBS: And was publicly supportive of the mayor's decision.

FEYERICK: Very public.

DOBBS: Deborah Feyerick, thank you.

One day after New York City raised security on the subway system, there were terrorist alerts in cities all around the country.

The Washington Monument closed for two hours after police received a bomb threat that turned out to be a hoax. Police in Philadelphia closed a major subway station after they stopped a man with a suspicious backpack. It turned out to be a false alarm. In San Francisco, police stepped up patrols there on the city's mass transit system and increased the number of random security checks.

The security alert in New York has exposed sharp differences between the intelligence agencies responsible for protecting this country four years after the September 11 attacks. The Department of Homeland Security appears to be disagreeing not only with the New York City Police Department but also the FBI.

Brian Todd reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is this an overreaction? An important question floating in important circles between Washington and New York and forcing New York's mayor to address the issue.

BLOOMBERG: If I've got to make a mistake it's going to be on the side of protecting the people of the city.

TODD: But Mayor Bloomberg and his police commissioner insist it was not a mistake to announce a specific threat against New York's subway system and to step up security, even though federal officials question the credibility of the information.

Publicly, officials from the Department of Homeland Security say they support the mayor's decision. But CNN security analyst Richard Falkenrath, a former deputy homeland security adviser to the president, believes that privately, federal officials are, in his words, pulling their hair out.

RICHARD FALKENRATH, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Well, this is definitely a disconnect. This is not the way things are supposed to go. Clearly, the information was shared with the New York City government. That's an appropriate thing to do.

But the federal government was not prepared for New York City to release the information and give a public advisory about the threat. And that created a real problem of mixed messages, in my view.

TODD: But Mayor Bloomberg and former top FBI official Pat D'Amuro say information on the threat had already begun trickling out when the announcement was made.

PAT D'AMURO, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Enough information got out through homeland security and other agencies and the police department that I think the mayor and the police commissioner felt they needed to make a public statement.

TODD: Adding to the public and private confusion, one law enforcement source expressed, quote, "mystification that federal officials are downplaying the information," saying the person who provided it has been credible in the past.

But Falkenrath says New York officials likely do not know all the details federal officials do, specifically details about intelligence operations in Iraq that provided the threat information, which federal officials, he says, have to hold very tightly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Former law enforcement and intelligence officials say those operations overseas could possibly be compromised now that the threat information is out.

Another risk they say, the overall loss of confidence when the public hears different interpretations from different figures of authority of one piece of information and comes away with a perception of a government not coordinated -- Lou.

DOBBS: A government not coordinated, but that would be the federal government. In point of fact, Michael Bloomberg and New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who has the most outstanding reputation of -- not only in New York City but around the country in law enforcement, their decision, it looks like bureaucratic squabbling on the part of federal bureaucrats at homeland security and justice.

TODD: It does look like that. But we need to point out the divide here between -- this is really a divide of interpretation. They all have the same information.

Federal officials did share that information with New York officials and they simply differed on how it should be reacted to. The New York officials believe that the threat was significant enough, the source was credible enough to call that alert. Federal officials within, you know, the Department of Homeland Security, other agencies are saying that source, not quite so credible.

DOBBS: Indeed, a matter of interpretation but in terms of governance it's a matter of proximity, and that of key difference amongst others.

Brian Todd, thank you.

The Pentagon tonight says it has new intelligence about the al Qaeda terrorist network in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Officials say that intelligence reveals al Qaeda could be on the brink of defeat in Afghanistan, and there are sharp disagreements about tactics between radical Islamist leaders.

Jamie McIntyre reports from the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pentagon officials say shortly after the July 7 bombings in London, Osama bin Laden's No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahiri, sent an urgent dispatch to the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

According to one U.S. official who requested anonymity, al Zawahiri claims in the 6,000 word letter Iraq has become, quote, "the place for the greatest battle of Islam in this era."

President Bush seemed to be reading off the same page in his Thursday speech on fighting terrorism.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The terrorists regard Iraq as the central front in their war against humanity, and we must recognize Iraq as the central front in our war on terror.

MCINTYRE: But the Pentagon insisted the Zawahiri letter was disclosed only after some news organizations found out about it.

Still U.S. government officials touted it as providing fresh insight into al Qaeda's current problems and future strategy, including spreading the war in Iraq to neighboring countries.

In one of the few direct quotes provided by a U.S. official, Zawahiri writes, "The Mujahideen must not have their mission end with the expulsion of the Americans from Iraq, and lay down their weapons, and silence the fighting zeal."

The letter also is said to reveal a dispute over tactics, with Zawahiri admonishing al-Zarqawi that beheading hostages and attacks on mosques may cause many Muslims to turn against the cause.

But U.S. commanders aren't putting too much stock on that.

MAJ. GEN. STEPHEN JOHNSON, 2ND MARINE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE: I hear you've got two guys arguing over something. Both of them are liars and terrorists and killers, and they're arguing over something like this. I don't think we can -- I don't know whether would he can draw any conclusions about a rift between them.

MCINTYRE: Among other things, Zawahiri reportedly asked for money from his operative in Iraq, conceding al Qaeda's funding is drying up. He admits al Qaeda leadership is isolated because lines of communication are seriously disrupted and many of its key leaders have been lost.

And officials say Zawahiri appears resigned to defeat in Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: Sources say the letter was found by U.S. forces in Iraq. But Pentagon officials refuse to disclose how or when the letter was obtained. Still, a Pentagon spokesman insisted that they believe the letter is genuine, saying that he wouldn't be sharing details from the communication unless he had a high degree of confidence in its authenticity -- Lou.

DOBBS: And does this letter and its sentiments correlate with the number of attacks against American forces in Afghanistan?

MCINTYRE: Well, we don't know everything that's in the letter. It's quite lengthy. And the part that's been shared with us doesn't refer to the number of attacks specifically.

But what it does suggest is they believe that Iraq might be the last stand. And he's calling on Zarqawi, Zawahiri is, to employ the tactics that are going to help them win. And not so many suicide attacks but ones that will, again, try to win the public opinion.

The letter does reflect that they realize a great part of this battle is being fought in the media, and that is a test of wills as much as a test of strength on the battlefield.

DOBBS: And that test on the battlefield today has resulted in the loss of 1,953 American lives.

Coming up next, Karl Rove heading back before a federal grand jury. Our newsmaker panelists on the White House CIA leak case and the week's news development.

Avian flu has arrived in central Europe. A new development for a rising health threat around the world.

And the United States, drug dependent on the rest of the world as the bird flu threat intensifies. We'll have that special report and a great deal more, coming right up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOBBS: Tonight new concern that the world community is in a race against time to fight a bird flu pandemic that could kill millions of people. For the first time birds in central Europe, in Rumania, have tested positive for avian flu. Tests are being conducted to see whether those birds were infected with the most serious strain of the disease that's killed more than 60 people in Asia.

As of tonight, 12 countries have reported cases of avian flu. And four countries, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, all in Asia, have reported avian flu cases in humans.

All at the State Department today, an urgent global summit is underway on the bird flu threat. Representatives from 80 countries are discussing their emergency plans for what they fear will be a crisis. Experts at the summit say this disease is mutating rapidly and could soon have the ability to pass easily from person to person.

President Bush today met with the heads of major vaccine corporations and urged them to step up work on a bird flu vaccine for humans. But our nation's troubled vaccine flu industry has so far failed to take the lead in developing a vaccine. Critics say that our nation is now virtually totally dependent on foreign drug makers on an issue of extreme importance for our nation's security.

Kitty Pilgrim reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If bird flu is so lethal it could potentially kill millions of Americans, why aren't American manufacturers making a vaccine? There's no profit in it.

DR. PASCHAL JAMES IMPERATO, FORMER NYC HEALTH COMMISSIONER: The vaccine is only valid for one year. And at the end of the flu season they're left with surpluses and financial losses. And, therefore, they have been hesitant to produce this vaccine year in and year out. That is why the president is trying to convince them to get into the business of producing a vaccine against the avian flu.

PILGRIM: President Bush met today with the heads of both U.S. and European drug companies, including Merck, Wyatt, Medimmune, Chiron, GlaxoSmithKline and Aventis, to talk about expanding production of vaccines and antiviral drugs.

But right now, the chief medications that are believed to be effective in treating the disease are produced by European countries, Tamiflu by Roche and Relenza by GlaxoSmithKline.

The United States has ordered more supplies, but at these levels U.S. stockpiles would treat less than two percent of the population.

Senator Pat Roberts introduced legislation that would financially help U.S. companies get into the business.

SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R-KS), CHAIR, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: We've even had some very grim estimates of, say, one-third of the country being affected by a flu like this. We have no vaccine.

PILGRIM: Alabama based CioCryst gave up on its flu medication, taken as a pill, years ago but is now testing a new flu shot and hopes to get it rapidly in the approval pipeline.

CHARLES BUGG, CEO, BIOCRYST PHARMACEUTICALS: The National Institutes of Health recognizes the urgency of this and is helping us move it very rapidly into clinical studies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PILGRIM: Now anti-viral drugs are in such high demand, supplies for 2005-2006 already committed to orders placed by various governments to protect their populations. The United States is putting in its order also but has to get in line for its supplies.

The U.S. health secretary, Mike Leavitt, has warned a group of international health officials that the world is not prepared for a global pandemic and neither is the United States -- Lou.

DOBBS: And to be somewhat parochial about it, the fact the United States is not prepared; it simply does not have the capacity among American pharmaceutical companies to create this vaccine.

PILGRIM: We spoke to senators today who said it's a national security crisis.

DOBBS: And one of our, as usual, own making.

Thank you very much, Kitty Pilgrim.

Still ahead here, Karl Rove is just days away from appearing once again before a federal grand jury. What's at stake for the president's closest political adviser? And New York subway alert: why are the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department arguing with the city of New York about what is best for New Yorkers? That story and a great deal more still ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOBBS: Tonight New York City officials are defending their decision to alert the public on an alleged plot to bomb the New York City subways, but some say the threat did not contain enough specific credible information to merit that public alert.

Security in the New York City subway system remains extremely tight tonight. Authorities slowed down parts of New York's Penn Station earlier today.

And joining me now with a closer look at the seriousness of this threat and our nation's preparedness and specifically the New York response is CNN security analyst Pat D'Amuro.

Good to have you with us, Pat.

D'AMURO: Good to be here.

DOBBS: Did Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly make the right decision?

D'AMURO: They made the decision that they felt they needed to tell the people of the city of the threat that was going on. The information, remember, was leaking out about a potential threat. I think they felt that they wanted to get out in front of this and let the public know about it.

DOBBS: And why in the world is the Homeland Security Department and the Justice Department reacting as if they have done something irresponsible? It's an amazing bureaucratic infighting on very serious terms.

D'AMURO: You know, Lou, when I was down in Washington I actually worked on the memorandum of understanding about how information was going to be shared with state and local authorities and how that information was going to be disseminated. And it still appears that they haven't found the right mechanism to get that information out there.

DOBBS: Well, meanwhile, these serious threats, lives at stake, Mayor Bloomberg responsible for those lives, ultimately, in the case of New York City. I have -- just as I assume a lot of people are around the country wondering why in the world there should not be some coordination, because basically that's what those agencies do at homeland security is they coordinate. Why are they just fouled up?

D'AMURO: Lou, the mechanism is there. The Terrorism Threat Integration Center was something created by the federal government to analyze all of the intelligence on a particular topic from all of the agencies as part of the intelligence community. It's the one stop shopping where that analytical product is supposed to be provided and provided to the entire country that's needed. So that you don't have other questionable analytical documents prepared.

DOBBS: We have -- we have the image of mayor Bloomberg and the head of the New York Police Department and the FBI's head man in New York City talking about this threat, and the Justice Department, a part of which -- well, with relationships with the FBI, all of it coming under now the FBI under homeland security, how can you have one official siding with a mayor and another part of the organization in dispute?

D'AMURO: Well, I think what's in question here is that Washington doesn't want to tell the mayor what to do. They want to provide the intelligence and let them make their decision.

I believe what was told was that they thought this information was not corroborated and may not be credible. The mayor made his decision, and he has the right to make the decision. And nobody should criticize him for that.

DOBBS: All right. Least of all, one would think, but not in this case, the Department of Homeland Security.

Pat D'Amuro, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

That brings us to our poll question: would you rather follow warnings from your local and state officials or federal government officials? Cast your vote at LouDobbs.com. We'll have the results here in just a little while.

Coming up next, Karl Rove and the White House CIA leak. Federal charges in that case may be near. Predictions from our panelists of newsmakers coming up next.

And from subway terror threats to fears of a dirty bomb, is our nation really prepared for a terrorist attack? We'll have that special report on the threat of a chemical or biological attack next.

And two officials committed to border security, two differing approaches, a provocative debate, coming up next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOBBS: Tonight as New York City responds to a terrorist threat, critics say our nation is completely unprepared for the serious credible threat of a radioactive dirty bomb attack on its soil. Security experts say that our nation has hardly begun preparations for a response to a radioactive terrorist attack that could render large portions of major cities unlivable for decades.

Christine Romans reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Terrorism experts say it's not if but when. When will terrorists manage to smuggle a small nuclear or biological device into the country?

LEONARD MARCUS, MARYLAND UNIVERSITY: Is there a possibility that someone could bring in a device that could cause significant harm to a significant portion of the population? The answer is yes. We don't know exactly when, where or how. However, the chances of it happening are high enough that we certainly should be on guard.

ROMANS: Heading the list, a dirty bomb, crude but likely to kill thousands and poison even more. Or radioactive material released into the water, air conditioning systems or food supply. Or a direct attack on a nuclear power plant. Most frightening, but experts say unlikely, is the use of a nuclear weapon.

Medical experts fear there are not enough hospital beds, that radiation sickness could initially be misdiagnosed. Worst, a suitable kit to diagnosis and treat an attack could be decades away.

BOB MARSELLA, HOLLIS-EDEN: You'll have anywhere from 200,000 to a million people exposed to radiation sickness from a dirty bomb or a nuclear bomb, a significant event in a city. And the problem with that is, is that you won't have infrastructure. You won't have hospitals, you won't have hospital beds. You won't have platelets, antibiotics. So, you really need to develop next generation counter measures that people can stockpile locally.

ROMANS: Project Bioshield announced two and a half years ago is supposed to do that. The government plans to spend $5.6 billion through 2013 but critics say it's going painfully slowly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Very slowly. The National Institutes of Health is developing second generation vaccines for smallpox and anthrax, but whether and when that is actually manufactured and available remains to be seen. Potassium iodide can protect against thyroid cancer, it's been around for years, it's in the national stockpile.

There are some chemotherapy drugs that might work, but that's not an easy thing to administer to 300,000 people who could be affected and some kind of a radiological attack. So at this point, you are stil decades away from preparedness for all the things that Bioshield is supposed to do.

DOBBS: And, what is the reaction of Congress, this administration? Five billion -- more than $5 billion appropriated, you're reporting that little of it has been spent. What is the excuse?

ROMANS: There are people in Congress who are starting to say they are concerned about this but there are all those people in Washington who say it takes time for research and development, it's complicated, it's the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, the HHS ... DOBBS: I think that goes as blah, blah, blah.

ROMANS: There you go.

DOBBS: That's the way we would button that up.

ROMANS: You're right.

DOBBS: Christine Romans, thank you.

DOBBS: Tonight there is speculation that the special prosecutor in the White House CIA leak case may be in the final stages of his investigation and may be close to filing charges in this case. White House Political Advisor Karl Rove has been called back to testify before a federal grand jury for a fourth time in this probe.

"The Washington Post" reporting that Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is warning Rove's attorneys that he cannot assure Rove that he will not be indicted. Bob Franken reports on Fitzgerald's career and whether it reveals any clues as to the direction and outcome of this case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Karl Rove, one of the central figures in this investigation and a central figure in the political career of George W. Bush, will be testifying for at least the fourth time before this grand jury. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, according to sources, has not given Rove any assurance that he will not face indictment as this probe continues into the public disclosure of Valerie Plame's identity.

Plame, who was an undercover cooperative for the CIA, is the wife of Joseph Wilson, who had become a harsh critic of the administration's claim about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction. After an uproar following the disclosure of Plame's identity in 2003, Fitzgerald began his investigation. Under pressure including in one celebrated case, jail time, several reporters testified.

Some including, "Time" magazine's Matthew Cooper, said they had discussed the matter with Rove. Rove's lawyer has repeatedly insisted that his client did not identify Plame as a secret agent, did not know she was one. He also contends Rove is appearing voluntarily, that he's not received a so-called target letter which would identify him as a person the grand jury was likely to indict.

Also named as a source for reporters is the vice president's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby. As Fitzgerald's prolonged investigation seems to be entering it's final phases, the president continues to dodge questions about whether he will remove anyone from his administration who might be indicted.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not going to talk about it until the investigation is complete. And it's important that the investigation run its course. FRANKEN (on camera): According to Rove's lawyer, he has been assured by the prosecutor that no decision has been made about charges, who or whether. Bob Franken, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOBBS: And Fitzgerald also wants to have further conversations with "New York Times" reporter, Judith miller, who has discovered additional notes that pertain to her conversations with Vice Presidential Chief of Staff Scooter Libby.

Miller's attorneys confirm to CNN that she has been called back to Fitzgerald's office for a meeting Tuesday. Miller testified before a federal grand jury last week in this case. She spent 85 days in jail protecting her confidential source in the White House CIA leak investigation.

And now coming up here, a new poll out tonight suggesting serious new political problems for President Bush. An AP-IPSOS poll says only 28 percent of Americans say this country is on the right track. Sixty-eight percent say it is moving in the wrong direction.

President Bush's standing with his conservative base has also been damaged this week by his choice of Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court. Today, there are new conservative calls for the president to simply withdraw her nomination. Dana Bash reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An Oval Office moment to remember. Just four days after tapping Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court, the president is asked if he'll give in to scathing criticism and withdraw her nomination.

BUSH: She'll be confirmed and when she is on the bench, people will see a fantastic woman who is honest, open, humble, and capable of being a great Supreme Court judge.

BASH: What is jaw-dropping, calls for withdrawals are not coming from Democrats but some furious fellow conservatives writing columns calling her nomination an insult to the institution, even scandalous.

BILL KRISTOL, THE WEEKLY STANDARD: It's a mistake that can be rectified by Miss Miers deciding that it might be for the good of her president if she stepped aside.

BASH: Privately Bush aides are stunned, saying Republicans should trust the president who in two campaigns rallied conservatives with this promise.

BUSH: We stand for judges, who strictly and faithfully interpret the law instead of legislating from the bench.

BASH: But, many rank and file say Miers isn't what they bargained for, that they have been burned by presidents who said trust me with justices like David Souter and Anthony Kennedy, who turned out to be too moderate.

JESSICA ECHARD, EAGLE FORUM: This is a letdown for the conservative base. Most of the folks who voted for President Bush are not energized by this nomination.

BASH: One key conservative senator is openly concerned about Miers unknown record on issues like abortion.

SEN. SAM BROWNBACK (R), KANSAS: We're left to try to gather little pieces and shreds of evidence and do almost a CSI type of operation to try to conjecture out of that where a person will be.

BASH: An urgent week-long White House effort to stop the blaze of anger has had some success. After calls from Karl Rove and Miers confidants, the influential Focus on the Families, James Dobson told supporters he was reluctantly taking the president's word for it.

DR. JAMES DOBSON, FOCUS ON THE FAMILIES: If I have made a mistake here, I will never forget it. The blood of those babies that will die will be on my hands to some degree.

BASH: Even nervous support like that allows the White House to charge Miers' GOP opponents are mostly Washington elitists.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: And frustrated Bush aides insist Miers is qualified. And they complain that she is being held to a, quote, "different standard," but officials do take solid in what they say really matters here now, that is confirmation. And so far, some senators have said they have reservations but no one has said they would vote against her -- Lou.

DOBBS: Dana, that's interesting. That standard, different standard seems reasonable to say that she is being held against the standard and that, of course, Judge John Roberts who is now the chief justice of the Supreme Court, setting a very high bar and set of expectations. Dana Bash, thank you very much.

BASH: Thank you.

DOBBS: Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay tonight has filed suit to quash a grand jury indictment against him, charging him with conspiracy in a campaign finance case. DeLay's lawsuit also accuses the Texas District Attorney Ronnie Earle of prosecutorial misconduct.

DeLay's attorneys say that the district attorney engaged in, quote, "an extraordinarily irregular and desperate attempt to bring charges against the former house majority leader." No comment from District Attorney Earle.

Coming up next here, the president's closest advisor going back to the grand jury investigating the White House CIA leak. Three top political and legal analysts join me next in giving sheriffs along our border, money and jurisdiction, to patrolling. Two opinions on the controversial proposal coming up next, stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOBBS: A Senate committee today approved the controversial White House nominee to lead our nation's immigration and customs enforcement. She's Julie Myers. Myers has little management experience. She was a federal prosecutor for two years in New York, worked under homeland security chief Michael Chertoff at the Justice Department. Myers is the niece of the former chairman of the Joint Chief of Staffs, General Richard Myers, who retired last week.

Our nation's border crisis is the focus of legislation introduced today in Congress. The measure would help sheriffs departments along our southern border hire more deputies, buy more equipment to protect the border.

Congressman John Culberson is co-author of the bill, joining us from Washington.

T.J. Bonner says Congressman Culberson's new bill is, in his words, just a Band-Aid. He's the president of the National Border Patrol Council, joining us tonight from San Diego.

Thank you both for being here.

Congressman, let me start with you.

Instead of using homeland security money to hire and train sheriff's deputies, why not put this money toward hiring more Border Patrol agents where they're needed most?

REP. JOHN CULBERSON (R), TEXAS: Well, in fact, Lou, the Congress tried that. In January, we passed legislation requiring the administration to hire 10,000 new Border Patrol agents. Unfortunately, the White House ignored that new law and only asked us for 200 new agents. That's unacceptable.

We've got full-scale war going on our southern border. You don't need to go to Iraq to see a war; it's right here on the southern border. We've got widespread lawlessness. They're even setting up training camps for criminals right across the river from Brownsville.

We need boots on the ground and beds ASAP. And the quickest way to do that is to fund the hiring of additional sheriff deputies. The sheriffs along the border are ready to do it. The Coalition of Border Sheriffs is ready.

And I have filed -- got that bill ready to file with Congressman Silvestre Reyes of El Paso. So I've got broad Democrat and Republican support for hiring more sheriffs using homeland security money to work alongside the Border Patrol to stop this flood.

DOBBS: Congressman Reyes obviously not only a terrific congressman, but a former Border Patrol agent.

CULBERSON: He is.

DOBBS: Let me ask you this, T.J. Bonner, why not support this?

Those first responders, in this case sheriffs along the border, you know very well they need help.

T.J. BONNER, NATL. BORDER PATROL COUNCIL: Well, they need help, they need help desperately, but so does the Border Patrol and I don't see help coming to the Border Patrol from this Congress. So I'm very skeptical that they will fund this for the sheriffs.

More importantly, no one seems to be talking about the real cause of why people come across the borders? It's all about the jobs.

Until we turn off the employment magnet, people will continue to come by the millions.

CULBERSON: Well, our goal is we must first protect the border.

We will never win the war on terror until we secure our borders. And Congress has done its job, T.J.

We passed a law in January requiring the administration to hire 10,000 new border agents -- they have ignored it.

We have given up on trying to get the administration to protect the border and hire Border Patrol agents. We now need law enforcement on the ground, and the best way to do that is let the sheriffs do it. They are ready, willing and able. And they can have sheriff deputies on the ground within 90 days after we pass this bill.

DOBBS: Let me ask you this.

Do you both agree with one thing? This administration is basically telling everyone when it comes to immigration law, enforcing the borders and installing real security at our borders, to jump in a lake.

BONNER: Absolutely.

CULBERSON: Well, it's sad but true.

We've had zero enforcement against employers for hiring illegals over the last 12 months. We simply cannot get the administration to employ agents on the border.

I don't know what's wrong.

DOBBS: Well, it's your party. This president is part of your party.

CULBERSON: Well, the Congress is acting.

The House of Representatives is about to pass a very strong border enforcement bill, immigration laws. We've got them on the books. We're going to enforce them. We're going to pass that bill on the House. Congressman Reyes and I have this legislation ready to go. We have broad support for it. And we're going to put it in that package of...

(CROSSTALK)

DOBBS: Let me ask T.J. Bonner, Congressman, a question here.

As you know, a number of proposals for volunteer Border Patrol, the Minutemen, other organizations, proposals to federalize even the effort. Do you both support such a thing?

BONNER: Well, Lou, I think that proposals like this miss the whole point of the Minuteman movement, which is to get the federal government up on its feet and doing its job, securing the borders.

These aren't people who want to go out and be Border Patrol agents in their spare time.

DOBBS: OK. So you -- I've got 30 seconds. And I apologize for being rushed here, T.J.

Congressman?

CULBERSON: Congress has already passed a law requiring the administration to hire the agents; they won't do it.

We need boots on the ground. The best way to do it, let's trust the county sheriffs on the border. We give them the money, they will hire the sheriffs deputies. We need trained, equipped uniformed officers on the border.

DOBBS: Gentlemen, it sounds like we need a volunteer administration to help out the current one to enforce the laws.

CULBERSON: Congress is going to take care of this.

DOBBS: All right.

Congressman Culberson, T.J. Bonner, thank you both for being here.

BONNER: Thank you, Lou.

CULBERSON: Thank you.

DOBBS: Coming up next, a rising backlash against President Bush's latest choice for the Supreme Court. We'll be talking with three leading political and legal analysts right here next.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOBBS: This week began with the president nominating Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court. Criticism of her nomination has become more vocal, more intense.

Joining me now for more on the implications for Harriet Miers, the Supreme Court, three of our very best. In New York, Jeff Greenfield, senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. In Washington, Bill Schneider.

Gentlemen, thank you for being here.

Let me turn to you, Jeff.

The idea that Harriet Miers is under attack by the conservative base unthinkable two weeks ago.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: I spent last night at William F. Buckley's 50th anniversary party -- a black-tie, glittering event in Washington. Six months ago, this would have been a celebration of their rise to power. It was one big fetch (ph) session, as we say in the heartland.

They wanted a fight, not in an (inaudible) way -- they wanted a clarion call to changing the Supreme Court, to changing the culture of law. They thought they had all these candidates, male and female. And they got somebody who they didn't know, who they don't think measured up to John Roberts, and they are genuinely angry.

DOBBS: Well, does anyone think that Harriet Miers measures up to John Roberts?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: I had an interesting experience Monday morning.

Monday morning at 8:00 I was on the air as the president introduced Harriet Miers. Then at 9:15 I went to the Supreme Court to see John Roberts' first day as chief justice. And to see Roberts in action, in a role that he seemed born to be compared to Harriet Miers, who frankly, looked like a deer in the headlights. It was quite a juxtaposition in just an hour.

DOBBS: Bill Schneider, we've heard Ed Gillespie, the president's resident consultant. Sherpa (ph) from RNC had basically accused everyone who is opposed to Harriet Miers of being sexist, elitist and now the White House suggesting people are applying a different standard whatever that means. But as Jeffrey Toobin just said, the standard is Judge John Roberts.

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: The standard is eminence. And as Senator Brownback said today, her problem is she followed a rock star. Nobody doubted Judge Roberts qualifications. Half of the Democrats supported him. Even if they disagreed with him, or thought they disagreed with him, they said there's no question about his qualifications.

DOBBS: Does she make ...

SCHNEIDER: Everyone, even those inclined to support Harriet Miers have serious questions about her eminence, her qualifications, her stature.

DOBBS: Does anybody -- does she make it?

TOOBIN: I think she is still very likely to be confirmed. Remember, this hallmark of this administration and the Congress over the last five years has been party unity. There are 55 Republican senators. There are no Democrats at this point who have said they are definitely going to vote against her. I think the odds are very much stacked in her favor unless she pulls out for some reason.

DOBBS: Party unity being pursued by the Republican Party, the leader of both the Senate and the House are both being investigated, Tom DeLay firing back today. What is going on?

GREENFIELD: Trouble on two fronts. There are a lot of conservatives who have held their tongue for the better part of two years. They haven't liked the way the Bush administration has spent money, a lot of them -- there's a big division on Iraq. And they -- all of them held their tongues last year because they didn't want John Kerry to win.

And I was told by Newt Gingrich before the election, as soon as this is over we're going to start saying what we really think. The collapse of the public opinion polls, the trouble in Iraq, DeLay's trouble, the 2006 elections, which while a year away, is on the mind of a lot of Congress people and senators. It is caused a fracturing in the ranks that's totally different from the mood of the first term when it was stand behind this president, whatever.

SCHNEIDER: Well, yes, Lou, you know what happens when a president's ratings go down is everybody goes after him. He literally loses clout. I always described the president's job approval as the Dow Jones Industrial Index of Washington. If a president's ratings go as low as this president have, to 40 percent -- some show even lower than that -- then he becomes vulnerable even to aggressive forces within his own party.

DOBBS: And as we look at those aggressive forces within his own party, they are basically saying hell no, we're not taking it anymore, whether it's coming -- revolving around Iraq and the huge deficit that has been built up, whether it's Harriet Miers, but they ...

TOOBIN: But it is a problem born of prosperity. I mean, it is worth having the problems that the Republicans have because they're a governing party and it's hard to govern. Democrats don't have any power, don't have any agenda, so, yes, the Republicans ...

DOBBS: Are they devoid of ideas and bankrupt morally, as well?

TOOBIN: Well, but, I mean -- so the Republicans, you know, they got problems but frankly I think they have better problems than the Democrats have.

GREENFIELD: Just a few hours before this "National Review" event, I was at a presentation by two very smart Democratic strategists, Elaine Kamarck and Bill Galston. DOBBS: You are ecumenical, aren't you?

GREENFIELD: Yes, well, I get around. And this was a -- these were the people that helped shape Bill Clinton's move to the center. And that they are arguing is hey, you know what, you Democrats liberals? If you think you can win on mobilization, forget it. Here are the numbers. You can't. If you think you can win by just talking about the economy and neglecting you weakness on value and foreign policy, you can't. So Jeffrey is right.

DOBBS: And Bill Schneider, just -- we know what the Democrats can't win on. What is it going to take at this point for the Democrats to assert themselves? The Republicans seem to be doing a lot of their work for them.

SCHNEIDER: Look, what the country is longing for right now is someone who can bring the country together. Maybe -- and the interesting thing is the candidates who seem to be able to do that all are Republicans. Rudy Giuliani this week said he may be interested in going back into politics. He's a Republican who appeals to Democrats.

John McCain had a very signal victory when he got the Republican Senate to pass an amendment that would ban the mistreatment of detainees. The administration opposes that. He appeals across party lines. The Democrats are going to have to find someone who can present himself or herself as a unifier.

DOBBS: And we're going to continue in our conversation with these gentlemen and find out exactly who the unifier is, the visionary for the Democratic party, next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOBBS: A fourth appearance, Bill Schneider, for Karl Rove before the grand jury. What does this mean for the White House?

SCHNEIDER: Worry -- they are very worried, they're very scared. Look, Karl Rove doesn't want to testify. It's very risky for him to testify. The bigger risk is for him to get indicted. Can you imagine?

Look what is happening right now in the Republican Party. Tom DeLay, Bill Frist under investigation, Jack Abramoff -- that has already touched the White House -- the CIA leak investigation -- all of these scandals are beginning to surface. It looks like the second term blues have set in.

TOOBIN: Just today the nominee for deputy attorney general, Tim Flanagan, withdrew because he was tied to Jack Abramoff. I mean, there really are a lot of people in this administration under investigation, but no one is as important as Rove. And if he's indicted, he's gone. There is no way that the chief adviser to the president is going to be someone out on bail.

DOBBS: Let's turn to the question that we left unanswered. Who is the principle beneficiary among the Democrats here? How do they leverage this situation? It's a calamity of a lower order, but a calamity, nonetheless, for the Republican Party here. The Democrats seem to be flailing without direction or purpose.

GREENFIELD: I actually think it is easier who this benefits for the potential Republican wannabes. I think the idea that Bill alluded to a Giuliani, a McCain, even a Chuck Hagel, somebody who is out of the king of mainstream conservative in the sense of being a loyal Bush-ite, but seems to be tough and seems to have something of the warrior in him.

As far as the Democrats go, first of all, you know, if you were asking me this question in 1989, I don't know that many of us would have come up with Bill Clinton. It's too damn early for me to speculate.

TOOBIN: But also you can say, there are a lot of congressional candidates who may benefit, Democrats in 2006. Senate candidates in Ohio and Pennsylvania and Tennessee and Minnesota -- those are races that a lot of people they didn't think they were going to win. Democrats may have a chance now.

DOBBS: An excellent point. Bill Schneider?

SCHNEIDER: It will be, you know, Hillary is -- that's the h word nobody talks about. She is trying to move to the center herself. My guess is it's likely to come down Hillary verses an alternative to Hillary, because a lot of liberals who like Hillary don't think she can win. And they are desperate to win. The question is what is the alternative? Democrats have to come up with one.

GREENFIELD: It's too damn early. You'll hear that for the next two years from me.

DOBBS: For the next two years. It won't be appropriate at some point in there. But I think ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.

DOBBS: I think you've got unanimity and support ...

GREENFIELD: Another year or so, year and a half on this one.

DOBBS: Jeff Greenfield, Bill Schneider, Jeffrey Toobin. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.

Now the results of our poll tonight. Eighty-nine percent of you say would you would rather follow warnings from your local and state officials in the matter of terrorist alerts. Only 11 percent would rather follow the lead of the federal government. Thanks for being with us tonight. Please join us here next week. We wish you a very pleasant weekend. For all of us here, good night from New York. ANDERSON COOPER 360 starts right now -- Anderson.

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