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Glenn Beck

Former CIA Specialist Discusses Middle East Crisis; Men Walk Cross Country to Draw Attention to Troops

Aired July 21, 2006 - 19:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: Tonight`s episode of Glenn Beck is brought to you by Hezbollah Barney, the suicide bombing dinosaur that`s fun for the whole family. Hezbollah Barney, he puts the "dino" in dynamite.
GLENN BECK, HOST: Well, it really has been quite a week in the Middle East, hasn`t it? World War III pretty much in full swing, and got to tell you, it`s like really throwing a wrench into my summer plans, you know? I was all set to take my family to Club Med in Beirut when things started happening.

And, anyway, this week, we spent a lot of time talking about World War III and some of the things that are coming our way. And I got to tell you, it is some spooky stuff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: I told you yesterday you can`t negotiate with nut job people. Even if you do try to negotiate with them, they`re not going to stop.

Right before World War II began, I remember this story today of Winston Churchill. That in the beginning Germany was building war planes, and Churchill was in parliament. And he kept coming to parliament, saying hey, guys, we need to stop Germany, and they made fun of him. Everybody thought he was crazy. Everybody thought he was a warmonger, hate monger. Sound familiar?

As a result they ostracized him from parliament, told him, "You`re an older statesman. Why don`t you go retire?"

Germany, in the meantime, was allowed to grow and gather strength. We almost lost World War II for two reasons. One, nobody listened to Churchill. Nobody was listening to the warnings, so they didn`t prepare. They didn`t want to. And nobody in the United States wanted to go to war for the same reasons. They had already been through one. They were tired. They didn`t want to think about war.

Look, I don`t want war either. I think it`s horrible, but we`re already in the middle of one, whether you like it or not, and I`m not talking about the Iraq war. It is time to prepare mentally and physically prepare.

You know, since 9/11 people have been saying this is not a holy war. I`ve heard it from the president: "It`s not a holy war." Bull crap it`s not a holy war. It`s not on our side, but it is to radical Muslims. It`s radical Muslims versus the rest of us. They started it, and we need to finish it.

Let me give you this analogy. Let`s say your house was on fire, and you call up 911 and say, "I need the firemen." The firemen come. Would you be cool with, if they came and they just got rid of a little bit of the fire?

Because that`s what we`re talking about do with Hezbollah. Let`s just get rid of a little bit of Hezbollah. Of course not. You`d look at the firemen like they were out of their mind. You`d say, "No, I think you need to put out the entire fire, make sure every ember is out. And that`s what needs to be done with Hezbollah."

Now, tonight here`s what I do know. I read an article yesterday that made fun of me for talking about World War III. I`m a warmonger. You know what? Make fun of me all you want as long as you write about what`s coming.

There are always people who just don`t get it. They`re the ones, I think, who you know, always think that America will always be in this position. She`ll always be strong. Our Founding Fathers thought this experiment would last 25 years. We`re due for an earthquake.

I also know that some people don`t want to get it. I kind of fall into that category, honestly. It`s scary to think about what could be on the horizon. I`d rather watch "American Idol". But I also know that some people don`t get it, because they think we deserve it.

Well, let me tell you something: one thing I know absolutely sure, above anything else, is that we don`t deserve it. These people are dead wrong. Here`s also what I don`t know tonight. I don`t know what the straw is that`s going to be -- that will break the camel`s back. What will be the Archduke Ferdinand moment for World War III?

I also -- my wife and I talked about it last year, and I know this makes me a freak. But I don`t know how to prepare for World War III. I`ve been preparing mentally. I`ve got a backpack in my -- in the back of my car, you know, in case the power is taken down. But I haven`t prepared or even thought about World War III and what it looks like. Is that underground bunker time? What is that exactly?

And finally, I don`t know who our friends are. Who`s going to have the spine to stand up and say, "Evil stops here"? I don`t see a lot of people with spines. I`d like to do a fund-raiser for spines, grab some out of some other people and send them to down to Washington and send them to leaders all around the world.

Bob Baer has spent 20 years with the CIA. He specializes in the Middle East.

Bob, World War III -- by the way, hi, Bob, how are you?

BOB BAER, FORMER CIA AGENT: Hi. How`s it going?

BECK: Very good. World War III breaks out. Who is actually going to have the spine to stand with us?

BAER: Right now the only country that we`re allied with in this whole equation is Israel. And everybody else is standing by the sidelines.

BECK: Well, hang on just a second. And I would say back to you what about Great Britain? What about India? What about Pakistan?

BAER: We`ve got Great Britain. We`ve got India, and we`ve got General Musharraf, the president of Pakistan. But they`re not sending forces in. The British do not want to touch this war in Lebanon.

And I agree with you, this is -- could be the trigger for World War III, and it`s not going to look like World War II at all.

BECK: OK. All right. Well, then help me out and tell me who my friends are and tell me why, more importantly, these people are our friends or our enemies or they`re just going to stand on the sidelines and stab us in the back, because they`re spineless worms? Let`s go through -- let`s go through Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia, there`s no way these people are our friends. Are they our -- are they our allies, axis or are they spineless?

BAER: They`re spineless. They do despise us at all levels of that country, the royal family included. They would like us to go away, but right now they`re terrified of Iran. And they know that if things go badly in Iraq or much worse or go badly in Lebanon, the only people that can protect them is the United States, and this is why they came out against Hezbollah.

BECK: OK. Now Egypt is also coming out against Hezbollah, which it looked like a hopeful sign. Are they allied, axis? When the crap hits the fan -- I`m talking -- I`m projecting out here and saying OK, we`ve had our Archduke Ferdinand moment. Are they allied, axis or spineless?

BAER: Spineless. They will support a Palestinian insurrection in the West Bank and Gaza.

BECK: Egypt. I`m sorry, China?

BAER: China is a major culprit, and this missile that hit the Israeli boat on Friday was made in China. It`s based on the Silkworm. It`s a missile that`s very hard to defeat. It was sold from China to Iran, to Tehran. The Chinese knew what they were doing.

BECK: It went from China -- it went from China to Iran to Hezbollah?

BAER: To Hezbollah. That`s the route. And we know -- we`ve been watching this for years. The weapons are either coming through Syria or Turkey, going directly to Hezbollah, and no one has stood up and say stop this.

BECK: OK. So wait a minute. So what do you put them at? They`re axis or are they spineless, China?

BAER: I think they`re part of the axis. They want to see us go down.

BECK: OK. Because I`m having a hard time -- I`m having a hard time deciding what`s the difference between axis and spineless, because you just said Egypt was spineless but yet they`re going to support. I mean, that`s not -- that`s not, you know, Switzerland. I`m looking for Switzerland. Spineless. The people that you have talked about are going to support our enemies.

BAER: Absolutely they`re going to -- they`re supporting them. Russia is today. It`s simple. The Russians are saying, "Listen, if we can humiliate the United States in the Middle East, close off the oil taps, that leaves us and our oil." They continue to send weapons to the bad guys and so do the Chinese.

BECK: Let me try to find -- I`m going to try to move through some of these quickly. England, are they spineless in the end, or do they send troops when the crap hits the fan?

BAER: They send -- they send troops, but they can only -- they`re limited in the help. We`re basically alone there.

BECK: What happens to -- what happens to countries like England if the crap hits the fan with their Muslim population? I mean, these guys are in real trouble, aren`t they?

BAER: They`re in real trouble. I was just in England talking to these people, and they were less open than Hezbollah was with me, Hamas and all the other Palestinians. They were deeply hostile to the United States and to the British government. They cannot count on the loyalty to these people, because they`re Muslims first with their Muslims dying.

BECK: So wait a minute, Bob. We have more countries. We`re just going to have to pick it up some other time, because I`m sensing a real problem here. We`re alone. I mean, we`re alone. How do you possibly win that?

BAER: I don`t know. I`m pessimistic, because remember, Hezbollah has not even started -- no kidding. Hezbollah has not even started terrorism. They can start kidnapping Americans in Lebanon. They have the capability of bringing down commercial airlines, and they will with their back to the wall.

BECK: Holy cow. We`re going to have to take a break, Bob. Thanks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: You know what happens when it`s 100 degrees outside and you have a pool? The water is hot! It`s like -- you`re basically, you get into the pool and you`re like, I`m freaking ravioli in a boiling pot of water, that`s what it is. I`m floating around in the pool like I`m ravioli.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Here`s a story about Adam Goodrich and Christopher Taft. They`re two guys that are walking across the country to raise awareness and show appreciation for the men and women of the armed forces.

They`ve teamed up with a group called Operation Troop Appreciation, and their cross-country trek started June 3 in Seattle, Washington.

Now, I did this interview and I really took some heat for joking that they were hitchhiking across the country, but that was me being a tool. I mean, does it look like I`ve ever walked anywhere in my life?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: Adam Goodrich and Christopher Taft left Seattle, Washington, on the 3rd of June, teaming up with a group called Operation Troop Appreciation to raise awareness and support for our troops. Tonight, they`ve made it to someplace in Colorado.

Adam Goodrich, where exactly are you tonight?

ADAM GOODRICH, WALKING CROSS COUNTRY: Right now, we`re in Denver, Colorado, actually.

BECK: OK. Great town. Did you -- you crossed the Rocky mountains by foot? What`s that like?

GOODRICH: Yes, well, actually, once we got into Idaho, we had a tough time with interstate. Well, out of Idaho, I should say, into Wyoming.

BECK: Yes.

GOODRICH: And we`ve had a tough time with interstates. We booked a few rides. We got to the Rockies mostly that way. Coming down to Denver was actually, we drove down because we were walking from Cheyenne into Nebraska...

BECK: This isn`t a walk across the country. This is a hitchhike across the country. It`s really starting to lose its luster here.

GOODRICH: No, no, not at all. What it was is some places you can and some places you cannot walk. And Wyoming is where Chris` family`s from, and so we`ve walked about -- it`s true, we did take a couple of rides, but a bridge here...

BECK: I will tell you that if I -- because I often think of the people who cross this country and they were pioneers and everything else. And I think to myself, I would have hit the first hill and I would have been like, "Yes, you guys go on without me."

GOODRICH: We spent some time climbing hills. The air gets thin.

BECK: Joining me now from Pittsburgh is a woman`s who`s been helping Adam and Chris make all of this happen. Her name is Monica Orluk. She`s from Operation Troop Appreciation. Monica, what exactly is this?

MONICA ORLUK, OPERATION TROOP APPRECIATION: Well, this is what walk for appreciation.

BECK: I mean your organization.

ORLUK: Oh, we grant wishes to soldiers.

BECK: Like what?

ORLUK: We send any item that a soldier requests of us. It could be Under Armor brand clothing, or musical instruments or sports equipment, DVD players, Xbox machines, PlayStation units.

Basically, we get a request from a unit that`s been deployed. It could be Afghanistan or Iraq or anywhere else in the world, for that matter, and then we hold fund-raising efforts and do our best to fulfill that wish and get those items to our troops as quickly as possible.

BECK: Monica, I have to tell you, I did some homework on Operation Troop Appreciation. You affected 12,000 troops all around the world in the Middle East and everywhere else, and I just think it`s tremendous. You must hear all kinds of things from the troops.

ORLUK: We do. The most gratifying part of my job or my role with Operation Troop Appreciation is hearing a soldier say, "You`re why I`m doing this. It`s people like you and it`s the American people out there who are so giving that spur me on from day to day to keep doing what I`m doing."

BECK: So, Adam, why are you doing -- why did you decide to do this? What drew you to this?

GOODRICH: Well, the first thing that came to mind is when we decided to do this walk for troops, the men and women fighting. We just thought this was the best thing...

BECK: You`re from Seattle. Don`t get me wrong. I grew up in Seattle and there`s just -- I mean, you try to get all the water out of your head after a while. I mean, there`s not a lot of support for what`s happening in the Middle East in Seattle.

GOODRICH: No, actually, we`re not from Seattle, actually. I`m originally from Boston. We`re living from Florida. We`re walking home right now.

BECK: Oh, you`re from Florida. That`s full of hate mongers right there.

GOODRICH: That`s the point of the walk. Hate mongers. That`s the point of the walk. We`re trying to raise some more morale.

BECK: Good.

GOODRICH: We`re trying to raise much awareness for the men and women fighting over there. We do take a lot of things from day to day.

BECK: Have you met any troops along the way? Have you seen any of the armed forces?

GOODRICH: Just this in the morning we met with three of them from Fort Carson just south of here. Amazing.

BECK: What was their reaction?

GOODRICH: Their reaction was -- we had questions for them. They had questions for us. It was just an utmost pleasure to meet these folks. And it`s really fulfilling to know that they, you know, appreciate what we`re doing. And we obviously appreciate everything they do, the sacrifices they make day to day. It`s amazing.

BECK: Monica, a lot of people, I don`t think they really think about this, but a lot of these members of our military, they`re, you know, they`re not the rich among us.

You know, I had a guy on the show, I don`t know, a couple of weeks ago, who, you know, went and enlisted. And he`s serving his country. He`s a multimillionaire.

But most of the time, there are people that are just on the edge and the fringe financially of our society, and they don`t have a lot of money to be able to get anything. I mean, just being able to get, you know, a musical instrument would be a big deal. You`re almost -- I mean, the Operation Troop Appreciation really is kind of like a foster parent in a way.

ORLUK: Well, that`s the first time I`ve heard it put that way, but it really does fit. You know, we realize that deployment can be a burden, not only on the troops that are serving, but on their families.

And while families make every attempt to send care packages and needed items to the troops every day, we try to go one step above and really send wish list items. Just as you said, a musical instrument.

BECK: Right.

ORLUK: There are a lot of musicians who are also soldiers. But you can`t take your equipment over when you get deployed, so if we can ship some of that equipment and a unit has the benefit and the joy of music while they`re deployed, when they come home, they leave those instruments there for the next unit that comes.

BECK: That`s great.

ORLUK: So they pay it forward, and there`s no better way to touch people than to pay it forward.

BECK: Right.

ORLUK: So these are people we`re trying to help, and they`re going out of their way to help the guys that come in and replace them.

BECK: I want to say one other thing. There`s a lot of people who are deployed and the businesses struggle when they`re gone. And I appreciate all of those businesses that hold things together.

I know that Adam, you, your employer is actually helping you on this. I see your T-shirt is Best Western, and good job, Best Western. They`re actually putting the guys up as they travel across the country.

We also want to update you tonight on Operation Helmet. This is a campaign to raise money to provide life-saving protective liners for the helmets of our troops that they use in Iraq.

Since our story earlier this month, your response has been absolutely overwhelming. At $70 a pledge, Operation Helmet has shipped another 5,000 kits to Iraq and Afghanistan. That`s 16,000 and counting.

But we also have a lot of e-mails like this one. A drill sergeant in Fort Knox who wanted us to know, quote, "The army now issues a helmet replacing the one you had on your show that has padding like the upgrade kits. The new helmet is called the ACH, advanced combat helmet. Thanks for looking out for the troops."

You bet. It is good to hear that Operation Helmet is still shipping kits to the Marines and anyone else who needs them.

Here`s the web address if you`d like some more information, you want to help. It`s OperationHelmet.org.

By the way, the man who started Operation Helmet, Bob Medders, his grandson Justin in Iraq. Two weeks ago, Justin was injured by an IED. Good news, he`s recovering at the hospital at Al Asad Air Base. He`s going to be fine. Bob told us that Justin suffered no head injuries thanks to the upgrade kit that somebody, maybe you, sent out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, in today`s world, radio means several different things. Not just terrestrial radio but satellite radio, as well. And from Sirius, this is Jay Thomas to give us a quick hit of what -- what he`s hearing from people. I understand you have a problem, actually, with CNN, Jay.

JAY THOMAS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, you know, the president used an expletive. And we talked about it today on my show on Sirius Stars 102. And it was -- it`s like how much is CNN going to get fined, Glenn, for running this horrible word? And then you know, the president is the needle of the moral compass, and he used this word and, apparently, it must be injurious, because people get fined for it. So I found that odd that...

BECK: Well, we`re like satellite. You can say whatever you want on satellite. We`re cable. You can say whatever you want on cable. The FCC doesn`t apply. We`re not using public airwaves.

THOMAS: So good thing the president knew that it was probably only going to be on cable.

BECK: Yes, exactly right. I mean, everybody else bleeped it out. But I got to tell you. I mean, I`m not a swearing guy myself. But...

THOMAS: I swear when I watch you all the time.

BECK: I bet you do.

THOMAS: I call you some horrible names.

BECK: I bet you do. But I actually -- I thought it fit in the context of what he was talking about. I was more offended -- he was talking with his mouth open. I mean, what was that?

THOMAS: The food was flying out. Somebody was talking. He should have been listening.

BECK: Sure.

THOMAS: But he`s a regular guy and these are words that we use. And I look at it and think, what is the big deal?

You know, recently they asked for all the tapes of all sporting events. They`re going to listen to them and see if they hear any offensive words by coaches or players, and they`re going to fine people.

And here is -- I think Bush ought to be fined. I think CNN should be fined just so they go, "Gee, this is kind of stupid. And we should stop it."

BECK: Right.

THOMAS: Now at Sirius, we can say anything we want to. And the thing that we found is, if you do it too much, it`s really -- it becomes offensive. But if something slips out or...

BECK: Well, I mean, if it`s in normal speech pattern...

THOMAS: Yes.

BECK: ... if it`s a normal speech pattern. And I -- you know, the thing with him is, I got to tell you, I don`t know about you, Jay, but if I were over with the G-8, and they were talking about all the crap that they wanted to talk about and nobody was really -- nobody was really putting it out, whether you`re for or against, whatever, just say what you mean and mean what you say. Oh, you know, bad words would be coming to my head like crazy.

THOMAS: Well, he was, you know, talking to Tony Blair, they`re in a normal conversation. And I thought OK, well, that`s the way people talk, and if it slips out you shouldn`t be fined.

And that`s the point. That`s an everyday word used by the president of the United States.

BECK: Right.

THOMAS: And if NBC had run it they would have been fined for that, and they would have -- and George Bush may have been fined, also. And I think if you`re really over the top with this moral nonsense sometimes, it bites you in the ass. You said "crap" and I said "ass". I feel great. How about you?

BECK: I`m offended. And I`m thinking about personally fining you.

THOMAS: By the way, it`s so hot, it`s so hot that Bill Clinton...

BECK: All right.

THOMAS: ... you know, got together with Hillary just so he`d get the cold shoulder.

BECK: Do I need this?

THOMAS: Hold it a minute.

BECK: No, no, no. I want to talk about your son.

THOMAS: It`s so hot -- hold on. It`s so hot that Ken Lay is glad he`s burning in hell.

BECK: You can have both of those. He`s not dead. You know it and I know it. Now we`ve only got 30 seconds. Tell me about your son. He just came back from Afghanistan.

THOMAS: He was entertaining the troops in Afghanistan. And he went over to do that and came back and reported. I`ll come back and tell you about it. But a lot of entertainers aren`t doing it, and I`m here to tell you that they should do it. I`m going to go over as soon as I can. Garrison East (ph) was there. And that`s what our kids need, no matter what you feel on either side.

BECK: Good for you.

THOMAS: Thank you.

BECK: Thank you, Jay.

THOMAS: OK, buddy.

BECK: See you again.

THOMAS: Thank you, Glenn.

BECK: You bet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: We`re going to tell you a little bit about kids and Hezbollah in a second but let me start here first. The United Nations might send peacekeeping troops to the Middle East in order to help stop the crisis over there. Yes, this is going to work.

You know what that means? The metric system and Crystal Pepsi now have company atop the world`s worst ideas of all-time list. This is bull crap that the U.N. can do anything. It can`t and won`t be able to do a thing, and you know that. I know that.

A couple of years ago, when I went to Israel just to try to get a handle, find out what`s going on, try to understand the people that are there, I made my way up to the Israel-Lebanese border, and what I saw there was sand. It was combed for footprints. There was razor wire. Then there was a mine field, more razor wire and sand on the other side of the border that was combed for footprints.

Then just beyond that, behind me on the Israeli side, some soldiers on an outpost on that side was -- the Lebanese side was a pillbox. And then a giant billboard and a couple of flagpoles. There it was.

On a huge billboard, and I`ll warn you, Hezbollah, I`m going to show you this, it is very graphic. If you have your kids, don`t have them look at the TV. This is the photo of the billboard.

If you look down at the left-hand corner, you will see a Hezbollah soldier holding a Israeli head with the blood dripping down. There in Hebrew it says "Sharon, your pigs die here."

This, believe it or not, was not the most shocking part of the scene. The most shocking part of the scene was what was next to the billboard. Two flag poles. One was flying the Hezbollah flag. The other pole? Was flying the flag of the United Nations.

You tell me how the U.N. is going to be able to help this. What kind of society promotes a culture of beheading? The society that starts breeding hate at an extremely young age.

Look at these pictures. These are so disturbing in a way that I just -- can we bring them up? There. In a way I don`t even begin to understand. I mean, our kids go hunting, but this isn`t hunting, this is people hunting. That`s what this is.

So today here`s what I -- here`s what really know. The schools are run by Hezbollah. The kids are taught to hate by Hezbollah in their textbooks. Remember, Hezbollah connected directly to Syria and Iran. That`s one of the reasons that Hezbollah, Iran, and Syria have so much influence.

I also know that over in the Middle East many moms and dads are sitting around a dinner table teaching their kids that Jews and Zionists are dogs, that they`re drinking blood of little Arab children. That`s why this is so frustrating. I can`t relate to parents who teach their kids this kind of nonsense. Do the parents actually believe this?

I also know that this will take at length a generation, if that, to reverse. It will take an awakening to all of the horrors and the lies that these people have been spreading, and I`ve only seen this in Germany, but yet even in Germany there are people in Germany and all over Europe that think that the Jews deserved it, or worst yet, that it never even happened.

I also know that what I want for my kids, all I want in their whole life, is just for them to be happy, and happiness does not come from blowing yourself up.

Here`s what I don`t know. I don`t know how people can hate each other just based solely on their base or their religion. I mean, trust me. Get to know a few people. There are plenty of reasons to hate people, not just because of their race.

Another thing that I don`t know, I don`t know how a group of people can convince others to sacrifice themselves, or worse yet, their children, when they`re not willing to do it themselves. How does that happen? Osama bin Laden, how do you convince other people to blow themselves up and yet you`re still hanging out in the cave?

Ahmed Younis, the national director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

Ahmed, how do you get somebody to blow themselves up?

AHMED YOUNIS, NATIONAL DIRECTOR, MUSLIM PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL: Well, you convince them that what they`re doing is legitimate within the paradigm of what they believe is holy or they believe is important.

BECK: OK.

YOUNIS: And that`s why the only way for us to combat those who are making those arguments is from within Islam...

BECK: Right.

YOUNIS: ... from within the jurisprudence of Islam, and tradition of the prophet and the words of the Koran.

BECK: OK. Convince me that this isn`t a Muslim thing, because I don`t see...

YOUNIS: The majority of the suicide bombs that have taken place in the last 20 years have been by the Tamil Tigers, who are attempting to create a separatist movement in Sri Lanka.

BECK: OK.

YOUNIS: The kamikaze fighters that flew into Pearl Harbor, the Columbine massacres that were carried out by American children who were confused about...

BECK: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute, Ahmed, don`t -- please don`t go down the Columbine. There are screwed up people. But there is a culture of screwed up people.

You have people in the Middle East, and not all people in the Middle East are like this, but you have people in the Middle East that are teaching their kids that you can -- that Jews and Americans drink the blood of little Arab children. This is a culture -- what I`m seeing on the screen right now, that is a culture of hatred.

YOUNIS: Well, I`ve just given you an example of a culture of hatred that does not exist in the Middle East and does not exist amongst Muslims. And the proposition that suicide bombing or violence against civilians or innocence by killing oneself is within the domain of Islam is a fallacy. And it`s a fallacy that will lead us down a wrong path and not the path of fighting terrorism and fighting suicide bombing.

BECK: Then help me out here. I don`t speak Arabic. I barely speak English. But one of the young ladies that works on our staff, she does. And I said to her, I said tell me the difference between what you`re seeing in Arabic today in all of the Arabic papers over in the Middle East, and what I`m reading over here.

And she said the biggest difference is use the word -- instead of suicide bomber they use the word shahid, which the literal translation -- correct me if we`re wrong here -- is witness or martyr.

So when you`re seeing on television a report from the news channel that, you know, another bombing happened, it`s not framed as suicide bomber, it`s another witness of Allah, another martyr has gone to heaven. How is this not systemic in the whole population over there?

YOUNIS: I mean, these are political ideologies. Even if we look in the situation of Israel, Palestine, all of the suicide bombers are not Muslims. The word shahid is not a Muslim word. It`s an Arabic word.

BECK: Right.

YOUNIS: And people of other religions have used the word who speak Arabic. It`s very similar to the word Allah.

If we look in the Koran, jihad is in fact a war on terrorism. It is a war on injustice, a war against those who are attacking innocents and attacking civilians. The word for terrorism in the Koran, one more Arabic word, is hiraba -- H-I-R-A-B-A. So when we refer to a terrorist as a mujahid or a jihadist, we are bolstering their Islamic identity, their Islamic legitimacy in a world where Islam and religion is the only identifier in the public square.

BECK: All right. Let me go to Mia Bloom. She`s an expert herself on this stuff. And, Mia, tell me about the role of women in the society. I mean, now women are starting to blow themselves up.

I find it interesting that, as a woman in Islamic extremist communities, you can`t walk out without a man, but God bless you, you can blow yourself up.

MIA BLOOM, AUTHOR, "DYING TO KILL": Well, it`s a little bit more complicated. I think Mr. Younis has actually pointed to something that`s very important, that in fact suicide bombing is not something that`s exclusive to Islam.

And in fact the most vehement of the religious ideologies, the type that you`re describing, where the woman can`t go outside, are not the kinds of organizations that would ever use a woman.

The kinds of organizations that use women initially were the secular groups in Palestine, the nationalist groups in Chechnya, that used Islam strategically but themselves were not very devout Muslims.

But Osama bin Laden has been opposed to the use of women. And in fact, it was one of the points that he and Zarqawi disagreed with. And in fact, Zarqawi wanted to use women and did use women last November, but Osama bin Laden has been opposed to the use of women.

So it`s a lot more complicated. We shouldn`t be reifying all these groups as the same. They are many shades of gray, and they fall along a spectrum.

BECK: Then let me -- look, I`m not a Muslim, clearly. I`m not an expert on the Middle East, clearly. I am the average Joe. And I`m watching television, and I know that you`re going to say, "Well, Muslims are speaking out all the time."

I offer you a challenge. When you see the big rally happening with the Muslims marching in the streets saying they`re hijacking my religion, you call me. I`ll give you my private home number. We will set up satellite trucks to cover it.

YOUNIS: Let me respond to that, Glenn.

BECK: Yes.

YOUNIS: What you`re doing, and I know it`s not intentional, is taking out the knees of those who we need most throughout the Muslim world.

BECK: OK. Then who is that?

YOUNIS: Let me just real quick.

BECK: Yes.

YOUNIS: Rallying on the streets is not going to lead a young person away from suicide bombing. It`s preaching in the mosques that`s going to lead a young person away from suicide bombing.

And so if you were to check the majority of Muslim nations around the world, the majority of Muslim scholars around the world, every single Muslim institution in America`s Web site has clearly condemned terrorism and clearly condemned the killing of...

BECK: No, I -- I understand that. But see this...

YOUNIS: One more point.

BECK: Real quick.

YOUNIS: By far and away the majority of people that have died at the hands of suicide bombers that are Muslims are Muslims, and therefore we have the greatest...

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: I know that. You know, I know that and I`ve been saying that for a while. Unless Muslims stand up, good Muslims are surrounded on both sides because the Muslims -- you`re not Muslim enough for these nut jobs.

And you know what? Regular Americans that are not Muslim are going to look at you and say, "Well, wait a minute are you just like that?" Nobody understands this.

So we`ve got to run. Mia and Ahmed, I thank you very much. Best of luck to you both.

ANNOUNCER: What does this man have to do with these people? The answer only on Glenn`s video podcast. "Ask Glenn," download it from iTunes or at CNN.com/podcast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: I`m trying desperately to hold it together, and my producers -- I said to them, "Your conversation in the soundproof room is louder than my tie. And, please, and I`m trying to concentrate." And I could see them in the other room just discussing the tie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you expect us not to comment and -- you look like Mr. Potato Head, Glenn.

BECK: How do I look like Mr. Potato Head?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The glasses, and it`s like you have all these different, crazy, little pieces that we can just move around and...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Maybe it`s just me, but one job I`m totally unsuited for would be, you know, assassin for hire. Although you would never see me coming. That`s the role Oscar-winning Cuba Gooding takes in his new thriller, "Shadowboxer." It opens this weekend. Fair warning: This one`s rated-R for language and nudity and violence. Wait a minute, a contract killer and it has violence in it?

It turns out his character is the contract killer with a conscience. Joining me now from Los Angeles is Cuba Gooding, Jr. Probably not the movie, Cuba -- by the way, it`s weird -- first of all, I`m a fan, man. What an honor to talk to you.

CUBA GOODING, JR., ACTOR: Oh, stop it, Glenn. Thank you, man. Good to be here.

BECK: No, no. Thank you. And I feel bad, because I have always called you Cuba, and I have been told -- and we had this argument. There were like 30 people around this big table today and we were arguing back and forth, "No, it`s Cuba. No, it`s not, it`s Cuba." Now we can now.

GOODING, JR.: Like a hard "q," brother. A hard "q."

BECK: A hard "q." Tell me about the movie.

GOODING, JR.: Well, yes, like you said very well I play an assassin for hire who`s an ex-boxer. And I think that`s the only connection it has to boxing. He uses his boxing workouts as an emotional release, and my character is very introverted emotionally. And it`s his relationship he has with Helen Mirren`s character, who kind of rescued me from an abusive father when I was young around seven, and raised me, and now to have, well, a sexual relationship. So there`s a few twists and turns with the movie.

BECK: I mean, I can`t help but ask you, because I`m a freak. I`m sorry, but I`m a freak. I`m more interested in people`s stories, honestly, because it`s just -- you kind of -- when you know a person`s pivot point in their life, just a whole new story opens up.

Movies about redemption, where do stand on that? Have you had a turning point in your life? Have you said, "Whoa, did I screw this up and I really need a turn"?

GOODING, JR.: Oh, absolutely, absolutely. You know, I can go from childhood, to schooling, to my professional career as an actor. I mean, there`s always been certain epiphanies I`ve had about the direction I should go in.

I remember, you know, to take it light, I can say I was into football and I thought I`d go off to college, and maybe one day become a professional football player, and had to make the decision that that`s not going to happen. So, you know, I like performing, and I won`t sign up for, you know, the pro-team, you know, the senior team that year in high school, and then I just took drama classes and went that way.

Then there was after winning the Academy Award, it was like I thought I wanted one thing out of my career and went after that, and finally had to come to terms with what I felt as an artist, the decisions I wanted to make, and who I wanted to be, and what my voice was as an actor.

BECK: Have you found your voice? I have to tell you, your voice spoke to me so clearly. One of my favorite movies -- and actually, after I saw one of your movies, I bought an airplane ticket and I flew to another state to meet Radio because of you.

GOODING, JR.: Wow.

BECK: I was so impressed. I have a daughter who has cerebral palsy, and I was so impressed. And I know you spent time with a coach and at the school. That is the most amazing school I think I`ve ever seen. What a great spirit there.

GOODING, JR.: It really is. And it`s like you think of this guy who has all of these imparities and lack of communication verbally, but yet he communicates to people on such a universal level that his story has affected everybody who comes into contact with him.

And it was funny, when we were shooting that movie, there was a little bar in Charleston that I go hang out in. And there was a couple of college kids. They said, "Hey, Cuba, what are you doing in town?" I said I`m doing this movie about this guy, Radio.

"I went to school with him!" And then, before you knew it, the whole bar was talking about Radio. And I can`t tell you how many times that would happen, just during filming. You know, we didn`t shoot in Charleston. We shot, you know, two hours south of Charleston. So it was weird to run into people, you know, that he had affected.

And then there would be older people that said they went to high school with him and younger people that went to high school with him. That was weird, because he`s been in high school for what -- I don`t remember the statistics, but it was like 30-something years or something.

BECK: How do you stay normal? I mean, here you are, here you`re a guy, you`re an Oscar winner. No, I mean, I`m just being -- you`re an Oscar winner. You`re a superstar. You`re, you know, a good-looking guy. You`ve got more money than I believe the holy family, maybe not God, but the holy family. How do you stay grounded?

GOODING, JR.: Matter of opinion. See, I think I`m grounded, but you talk to my wife, you talk to some of my buddies, it`s like, "He`s nuts. The kid`s nuts. Grab him."

BECK: So you`re really not going down there? You`re really not sure you`re grounded or not?

GOODING, JR.: No, I don`t. You know, and you have to be insane in this business, man. I mean, one day I`m, you know, a soldier in a battlefield with airplanes flying by shooting at them or whatever, and the next day I`m picking up dog poop.

BECK: Yes, it`s...

GOODING, JR.: So, I mean, you know, it`s like my reality is a little twisted.

BECK: Did your life change at all when you won the Oscar?

GOODING, JR.: Oh, yes, sure. You know, the money got a little better, and, you know, that pedigree affords you certain privileges in the acting community.

But there was also a really high expectation to the work, and then the judgment that was put on where I feel now I`m 10 times the actor I was when I won the Academy Award, but that comes through learning through experience and life and stuff. So it was interesting. It was like the flame was turned up real quick, and then I was still young and making decisions...

BECK: You got another win in you, you think?

GOODING, JR.: We`ll see, you know.

BECK: So great to talk to you, sir. Best of luck. And the movie comes out this weekend. It`s "Shadowboxer."

GOODING, JR.: "Shadowboxer." Lee Daniels` directorial debut.

BECK: Bye-bye.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: You know, there was a time that I thought there could be some scare tactics involved in the global warming debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BROKAW, FORMER HOST, "NBC NIGHTLY NEWS" (voice-over): This may be the future of our planet. The skyscrapers of downtown New York City stand in 80 feet of water. Its famous subway system, submerged.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: You know, it`s really good to see cooler heads prevailing here, isn`t it? Now, every time I talk about global warming, I get lots of fun hate mail, like this one.

David writes in, "Glenn, global warming is real. Open up your eyes. Talk to scientists from all over the world. The proof is there. Turn off your television and read."

Panic! Actually, I do agree that global warming is real. I`m just not sure how much man has to do with it. You know, the global temperature has risen about 0.6 degrees Celsius in the last hundred years or so.

But despite all of the media attention, global warming isn`t exactly on the tip of everybody`s tongue, I mean, at least not to the level that Al Gore should be on the cover of "Entertainment Weekly," being called a "movie star."

When asked to prioritize 19 of the most pressing issues facing us in a new Pew Research poll, global warming was rated 19th out of 19 by Republicans. Well, that`s because they`re all hatemongers. Yes, yes. Even Democrats ranked it 14th out of 19. A collection of U.N. ambassadors did a similar thing, prioritizing climate change at number 27 out of 40.

But here`s the definitive global warming statistic that comes from the July 3rd issue of "Forbes" magazine that you got to remember to be able to tell your friends: "China burned 1.9 billion metric tons of coal in 2004. By 2020, predicts the China Coal Industry Development Research Center, it will burn 2.9 billion tons a year. That increment alone will send as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as three billion Ford Expeditions, each driven 15,000 miles a year."

Let me restate that, just in case you missed it. Just the increase of one country`s burning of one fuel emits as much CO-2 as three billion Ford Expeditions. What does that tell you? That despite our good intentions, our cute little hybrids aren`t really going to make that much difference in the big picture.

It`s important strategically to get out of the oil business so we don`t have to deal with the nut bags like the leaders of Iran, but only a worldwide marriage of science and capitalism will truly change things. Well, either that or more hot pictures of Al Gore like this. I mean, that`s -- oh, yes, baby. Oh.

See you tomorrow, you sick freak.

END