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Lou Dobbs Tonight
Israel Takes Aim at Hezbollah Stronghold; More Rockets Falling Down on Northern Israel Today; Serious About Security?
Aired July 24, 2006 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LOU DOBBS, HOST: Tonight, Israel is bombarding Lebanon around the clock. Israeli troops pushing deeper into southern Lebanon. But Hezbollah rockets continue to strike northern Israel. We'll be live on the Israeli-Lebanese borders.
Also tonight, the ABA has accused President Bush of violating the U.S. Constitution. We'll have that report and analysis.
Also tonight, state and local law enforcement agencies have the power to enforce our immigration laws, but the federal government refuses to help elected officials and law enforcement enforce immigration laws. We'll have that special report here as well tonight.
ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT, news, debate and opinion for Monday, July 24th.
Live in New York, Lou Dobbs.
DOBBS: Good evening, everybody.
Israeli troops tonight are fighting pitched battles in southern Lebanon, and Israeli aircraft are striking suspected terrorist positions in southern Lebanon. Israel says it has destroyed more than 2,000 Hezbollah rockets, but the ground and air assault has failed to prevent Hezbollah from firing more rockets into Israel. Nearly 100 Hezbollah rockets struck northern Israel today, wounding at least nine people.
Thirty-nine Israelis have been killed in this conflict, 17 civilians, 22 Israeli troops. Nearly 400 people have been killed in Lebanon.
Christiane Amanpour reports from the Israeli-Lebanese border on the intensifying Israeli ground attacks against Hezbollah's strong points.
Nic Robertson reports from Beirut on new diplomatic efforts to try to end this conflict.
And Jamie McIntyre reports from the Pentagon on our military's new mission in Lebanon after the evacuation of thousands of American citizens.
We turn first to Christiane Amanpour -- Christiane. CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lou, the Israeli army is saying that it is now going after the strategic town of Bint Jubail inside Lebanon. It's about four kilometers from the border with Israel, and they call it the capital of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. They say they're pushing back the Hezbollah forces.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMANPOUR (voice over): Putting on the war paint, preparing to go in. These Israeli infantry soldiers have been bused up to the front and await orders to move on and support battalions of ground troops already across the border in southern Lebanon.
From this vantage point, their commanding general points out the hill on the other side and says finally they have Maroun al-Ras and are pushing on to the next strategic town of Bint Jubail.
BRIG. GEN. ALON FRIEDMAN, DEPUTY COMMANDER, NORTHERN COMMAND (through translator): We're taking them out of their positions. And this causes the fire to be less accurate. He has to move north and fires less deep into Israel. Slowly, we are moving them to where we want them.
AMANPOUR: He says his forces are taking casualties, but Hezbollah's are much higher. He says he needs at least another week to finish the job.
(on camera): After several days of the ground war as Israel tries to gain a foothold in southern Lebanon, and after nearly two weeks of the air war, the first round of diplomacy is also getting under way.
(voice over): As the war continues, and the U.S. secretary of state comes to drum up a solution, some Israeli observers like former minister Yossi Sarid question the wisdom of America's green light and wonder about Israel's real aims.
YOSSI SARID, FMR. ISRAELI GOVERNMENT MINISTER: Hezbollah is an integral part of the Lebanese society. So whether I like it or not, it is impossible to approach Hezbollah out of the Lebanese society.
AMANPOUR: Israeli military commanders say they are making headway faster than they expected, laying the groundwork for a political solution.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AMANPOUR: And they say also that there is fierce face-to-face fighting for Bint Jubail and they are taking casualties. They say two Israeli soldiers have been killed in this battle and several more wounded -- Lou.
DOBBS: Christiane, the Hezbollah rockets continue to rain down on Israel. This fight is proving to be far tougher than many had expected in southern Lebanon for the IDF. What is their strategy here? Is it, in fact, working?
AMANPOUR: Well, they say it is. It is true that the rockets keep coming. And we keep asking them about that. But they say and today the general is saying that what they're doing is forcing them back slowly, and so it makes them less accurate and less able to fight deeper in.
They also say that their strategy is to clear and dislodge Hezbollah from the border. That's what they have to do in order to generally weaken and disarm Hezbollah around the rest of Lebanon. So the border is crucial to that.
DOBBS: Absolutely. Thank you.
Christiane Amanpour from the Israeli-Lebanese border.
Dozens of Hezbollah rockets today, as I said, rained down on towns and cities in northern Israel. Israel's third largest city, Haifa, remains one of Hezbollah's main targets.
Fionnuala Sweeney reports now from Haifa -- Fionnuala.
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, more Hezbollah rockets falling down across the band of northern Israel on Monday. Nine people lightly injured, 64 people treated for shock.
Many of northern Israel's communities are now underground in bunkers 24/7. One rocket fell near Haifa today. A de-escalation of the attacks we've seen over the last few days, but Haifa remaining very tense.
The focus now shifting to Jerusalem, to the diplomatic front, where Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. secretary of sate, is here to have meetings with the prime minister, Ehud Olmert, the foreign minister, and the defense minister. She will travel to Ramallah in the West Bank later on Tuesday for a meeting with the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas. The situation in Gaza somewhat overshadowed at the moment by events on the Israel-Lebanese border -- Lou.
DOBBS: Fionnuala Sweeney from Haifa.
Before arriving in Israel, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made an unannounced visit to Beirut. The secretary reportedly told Lebanese officials that Hezbollah must be disarmed. She also said an international peacekeeping force must be deployed to Lebanon. One Lebanese official close to Hezbollah said Rice's comments were, in his judgment, not encouraging.
Nic Robertson reports from Beirut -- Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lou, it was just about 11 hours ago that Condoleezza Rice swept up this road here amid very, very tight security in to meet with the prime minister here, Fouad Siniora. That meeting lasted about an hour and a half or so. Then she went on to meet with Nabih Berri, the speaker in the parliament here, but also a key ally of Hezbollah.
In that meeting, the meeting didn't go well, we are told. Mr. Berri's office later briefing that what Condoleezza Rice is proposing, which is an all-in-one package, a cease-fire with everything else, a cease-fire with Hezbollah, a pullback, and an international force going in, in the buffer ground between Israel and the sort of 20 miles into Lebanon, according to Hezbollah, according to Nabih Berri, this is not on. They say they want a cease-fire first, then they'll negotiate other terms.
Condoleezza Rice also met with a coalition of Sunni Muslims here, of Christians, and of Druze. This is a so-called Cedar group, an anti-Syrian group here.
Here she heard views expressed to her similar to that that I heard in Christian communities today. Hezbollah part of the political makeup of the country, but they're very happy to see Hezbollah disarmed at this time. But they do need to stay part of the political picture.
One politician I talked to who came out of that meeting told me from everything that he heard from Condoleezza Rice, in his opinion, he expects the fighting to continue for perhaps another couple of weeks -- Lou.
DOBBS: Nic, thank you. Nic, the conflict in Beirut, have the airstrikes slowed at all?
ROBERTSON: Interesting, Lou, they did today. We haven't heard any -- and perhaps I shouldn't say that -- here so far, but so far today it has been very quiet.
I think one of the images that has interested me, or the aspects of a story that's caught my attention today, Lou, we hear about the Israeli forces needing to penetrate deep enough into Israel to push back -- into Lebanon to push back the Hezbollah, stop them firing missiles. Today, images of Hezbollah firing their missiles out from the port city of Tyre. So that gives you an indication of how far the Israeli forces will have to come to get all of Hezbollah's firing positions right next to a major port facility, a major area of habitation in the south of Lebanon -- Lou.
DOBBS: Nic, thank you very much.
Nic Robertson from Beirut.
The secretary of state reportedly did not -- pointedly, rather, did not go to Syria today, even though the Syrians had sought her presence in the capital. The United States, in fact, says Syria, along with Iran, is one of Hezbollah's principal supporters, but that did not prevent Syria again from demanding a cease-fire in the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict and an Israeli withdrawal, so goes the demand, from the Golan Heights.
Aneesh Raman has the story now from the Syrian capital of Damascus -- Aneesh. ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, good evening.
As Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tries to find a diplomatic out to this crisis, the U.S. now faces a dilemma. How far should it go to engage Syria, a key player in the region, one with a long history with Hezbollah? Secretary Rice, en route to the region, said that the U.S.' poor relationship with Syria has been exaggerated, that despite the fact that there's no U.S. ambassador in Damascus, there are back channels for communications.
But Syrian officials we spoke to today dismiss those remarks and say if the U.S. wants to talk to Syria, it should do so explicitly and directly. They also said Secretary Rice is visiting all the wrong places, that she should be here in Damascus. As well, communicating with the Iranians.
So, as they try to come up with a deal, the Syrians keen to stay out of any military conflict, are keen as well to be part of any deal that is brokered. That disputed area in the Golan Heights, they would like that back. They want any deal to be a regional deal, but here's the dilemma: the U.S. is not calling for a cease-fire and says Syria must act first before it will talk to Syria, using its influence over Hezbollah.
The Syrians are saying the U.S. is the one who should act first, using its influence over Israel. They are calling for an immediate cease-fire, and then negotiations for a prisoner swap. The U.N. secretary-general has said Iran and Syria essentially must be part of any solution, but at the moment it's unclear how that will all come about -- Lou.
DOBBS: Aneesh, thank you very much.
Aneesh Raman tonight reporting from Damascus, the capital of Syria.
We'll have, of course, throughout this hour updates on the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Live reports from Lebanon and Israel.
Also tonight, a new mission for U.S. troops off the coast of Lebanon. After the evacuation of thousands of Americans has been completed, we'll be going live to the Pentagon.
Also tonight, state and local law enforcement agencies in this country have the power and the will to help enforce U.S. immigration laws, but the federal government is refusing to support law enforcement efforts. We'll have that special report.
And outrage tonight after the federal government rejects calls to investigate communist China's unfair trade practices.
And the American Bar Association says President Bush is violating the U.S. Constitution.
Those stories coming right up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: As we've been reporting, Israeli forces tonight are pushing deeper into southern Lebanon. Israeli troops are now fighting fierce battles with Hezbollah terrorists in a strategic Hezbollah stronghold. Israel is reporting tonight Hezbollah casualties and says it has captured two Hezbollah terrorists. Fours Israeli troops killed in action, two in fighting, two in a helicopter crash.
Nearly 100 Hezbollah rockets were fired into northern Israel today. Nine people were wounded. Israel says Hezbollah has fired some 1,000 rockets into Israel since the beginning of this conflict 13 days ago.
We'll be taking you live to the Israeli-Lebanese border. John Roberts will have that report on today's intense fighting in southern Lebanon.
And we'll be going to the Pentagon, where there is a new mission for our troops off the coast of Lebanon.
First, however, disturbing new video obtained exclusively by this broadcast is proving once again that our government is failing to secure our nation's borders.
Tonight, Casey Wian reports from Los Angeles on the striking new video, what it means, and a new commitment from House leaders to push for border security first.
Lisa Sylvester will report from Washington as local law enforcement officials are trying to join the fight to enforce federal immigration laws that federal authorities have all but refused to enforce. The federal government is not supporting local law enforcement in their efforts.
We begin first with Casey Wian -- Casey.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, lawmakers say they're finally getting serious about border security. If the effort is sincere, it can't come soon enough, because we have new video showing just how wide open our southern border remains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN (voice over): House Speaker Dennis Hastert and other congressmen toured the Mexican border this weekend trying to win support for the House's border security first approach to immigration reform.
REP. DENNIS HASTERT (R-IL), HOUSE SPEAKER: I believe and I think most of our members believe that the -- protecting the border is the number one thing that we have to do. And in any bill that we pass -- you know, the Senate bill doesn't talk about the border at all. And so any bill we pass has to protect the border.
WIAN: There's no evidence of that critical need. LOU DOBBS TONIGHT has obtained this exclusive video shot by a private border surveillance group east of San Diego. Here is a smuggler on the Mexican side signaling to a group of border crossers that the coast is clear, it's time to head north.
Look carefully at these illegal aliens. Their feet padded to disguise footprints as they cross slowly, carefully, without interference. Then another man sweeps away what's left of their footprints and waves the group on. Incredibly, these illegal crossings occurred after the much ballyhooed deployment of the National Guard.
Two senators say they're ready to get serious about border security. They're trying to spark negotiations with the House by asking President Bush to request nearly $4 billion in emergency border security and work site enforcement funding.
SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R), TEXAS: It's the enforcement mechanisms that we believe are necessary as a credibility building measure to deal with the deep skepticism that the American people seem to have about the federal government's sincerity when it comes to actually enforcing our immigration laws.
WIAN: Skepticism because of continuing scenes like these. The border watch group U.S. Evolutions says it reported all of these illegal aliens to the Border Patrol, and all were either captured or fled back to Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN: But if the volunteers had not been there, it is likely illegal aliens would have made it across very easily. The reality is, Lou, at places all along the southern border, hundreds of places, crossings like these are happening every day -- Lou.
DOBBS: And Casey, one can't help but be struck by Senator Cornyn's seeming reference to seeming American skepticism about their government's willingness to enforce either the borders or immigration law. There's nothing seeming about it. Most Americans have absolutely no confidence in anything that the U.S. Senate is saying about either immigration reform or its tepid suggestions about the direction of border security.
WIAN: And the senators say they're hearing from their constituents every single day about this issue, and it appears they're at least going to talk tough about the issue. They did talk again about comprehensive immigration reform. These two senators at least say they want border security first -- Lou.
DOBBS: Casey, thank you very much.
Casey Wian reporting from Los Angeles.
Tonight, local law enforcement officials are fed up with Washington's inaction on illegal immigration. And they're discovering that they have the power to enforce federal immigration laws themselves. But Washington is refusing to support the battle against illegal immigration on the local level and refusing to support local law enforcement.
Lisa Sylvester has the report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Alabama state troopers are among the few local law officers in the country who are able to enforce federal immigration laws. They can detain illegal aliens and even start deportation proceedings.
MAJ. CHARLES ANDREWS, ALABAMA DEPT. OF PUBLIC SAFETY: We have encountered individuals since we initiated this program that have been caught smuggling drugs, involved in illegal trafficking of people. We've also encountered individuals who were wanted from other countries.
SYLVESTER: A 1996 law authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to delegate immigration enforcement authority to local police. The training costs $520 per officer, paid by the federal government.
Yet, few jurisdictions are participating. Watchdog group Judicial Watch obtained more than 100 pages of DHS documents through the Freedom of Information Act. They show localities in only four states. Florida, Alabama, Arizona and California have signed up. North Carolina's correction officers are in the process of being trained, and New Hampshire and Texas are awaiting approval.
CHRIS FARRELL, JUDICIAL WATCH: The politicians who address this issue now either need to lead, follow or get out of the way. There's an opportunity for them under the -- under the federal law to partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
SYLVESTER: The Federation for American Immigration Reform says the political will is lacking.
DAN STEIN, FED. FOR AMERICAN IMMIGRATION REFORM: It's now been 10 years since Congress explicitly said states can help enforce immigration law. Very little has been done, because we haven't had leadership at the executive level and we haven't had the funding needed to train these folks at the local level.
SYLVESTER: Local law officers have the manpower that the federal government does not have. In Alabama, there are more than 650 state troopers, only seven Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SYLVESTER: Jurisdictions in 11 states inquired about the federal program. And that list includes Herndon, Virginia, the site of a day laborer center that received national attention. Critics there say that center is being used by illegal aliens -- Lou.
DOBBS: Seven ICE agents, and the federal government, as Casey Wian reporting, Senator Cornyn saying that Americans are skeptical about our government's willingness, ability and motivation to enforce immigration laws or border security.
I wonder where any American would get that idea.
SYLVESTER: That is indeed correct. And this is a perfect example where people are fed up and local law enforcement is stepping in. But again, they have a problem with lack of funding from the federal government. And many people, many localities don't even know that this program exists because the federal government has not done a lot to promote this program -- Lou.
DOBBS: And later in this broadcast, we're going to introduce you to a sheriff's -- a county sheriff who is doing a great deal to stop illegal immigration in his community. And he has run head long into the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureaucracy that will not support him or his community.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio coming up here later in the broadcast.
As we have been reporting throughout the evening, Israeli troops killed in combat with Hezbollah today. Israeli forces are expanding that offensive tonight in southern Lebanon. We'll be going live to the Israeli-Lebanese border. We'll have the very latest for you. Our correspondent John Roberts is there.
The Bush administration is refusing to investigate communist China's labor practices. The White House dismissing a request that could cut China's labor advantage because of the way in which it treats its labor, which is in direct competition with the American middle class.
We'll have that special report.
And in "Broken Borders," as I said, Sheriff Joe Arpaio is fighting and fighting hard, making progress against illegal immigration. But Washington -- Washington is trying to derail him. He'll join us here.
And the American Bar Association says President Bush is violating the U.S. Constitution. We will report that and the rising controversy over the president's use of so-called signing statements with analysis by our Jeffrey Toobin and more.
A great deal more still ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: New evidence tonight of the war on the middle class reaching out across the country.
The Bush administration is rejecting the opportunity to investigate communist China's labor practices, practices that undermine and assault American competitiveness, and unfairly. The administration has refused a request to measure China's compliance with internationally recognized labor standards. The outrage has Washington buzzing tonight.
Kitty Pilgrim reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Chinese workers are paid 15 to 50 cents an hour, according to the AFL-CIO. And that undercuts American workers and displaces more than a million U.S. factory jobs. But the United States Trade Representative's Office rejected a petition calling for an investigation into the matter.
THEA LEE, AFL-CIO: We're outraged by this response. We think it's the least the U.S. government can do, is enforce the laws that are on the books on behalf of American workers and American businesses.
PILGRIM: It was the second petition the administration turned down. The first was filed in 2004 and was rejected.
Some in Congress, like Representative Chris Smith, who joined in the petition, say the president can't see past the billions in dollars of trade the U.S. has with China.
REP. CHRISTOPHER SMITH (R), NEW JERSEY: Sadly, we have yet to pierce, you know, this naivete on the part of many members, Democrats and Republicans, who believe that if you just trade with China, somehow they will matriculate into a -- into a -- you know, a human rights respecting society. Nothing could be further from the truth.
PILGRIM: Under current trade laws, the president has the power to impose sanctions on any country that violates World Trade Organization standards for workers' rights. The petition also calls for American companies in China to obey the rules.
REP. BENJAMIN CARDIN (D), MARYLAND: It's clear that the administration is not going to take action against China. They haven't done it with this case that we asked them to. They haven't done it with currency manipulation. We know what the facts are. So I think it's now incumbent upon Congress to take action in order to enforce our trade rules.
PILGRIM: Cardin says it's up to Congress to act now before more middle class jobs disappear.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Now, the petition lists unfair trade practices, theft of intellectual property rights, currency manipulation, failure to obey international labor standards. The AFL-CIO insists that if the administration will not use its powers to enforce trade loss, then it's high time that Congress did -- Lou.
DOBBS: Thank you very much, Kitty.
Kitty Pilgrim.
Time now to take a look at some of your thoughts. Judy in California, "I believe that a Jewish state and a Palestinian state can live in peace side by side, provided they give each other the respect every human being deserves."
Joanne in New York, "Hezbollah is hurling rockets at Israel, Mexico is hurling illegals into our country."
And Michael in Pennsylvania, "Lou, just like Iran is hoping to divert the world's attention away from their nuclear program, the president and Congress are hoping we will be too distracted to notice them handing away our country."
Send us your thoughts at loudobbs.com. More of your thoughts coming up here later.
Coming right up, the very latest developments out of the Mideast conflict, including a live report from our John Roberts on the Israeli-Lebanese border. Fighting intensifying there tonight. He'll have the latest for us.
Also, is President Bush violating the U.S. Constitution? The American Bar Association says he is. Our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, joins me.
And he gained international attention for his fight against illegal immigration. Now he has a new fight, the federal government. Sheriff Joe Arpaio joins us tonight from Phoenix, Arizona.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Tonight, Israel is trying to destroy key Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon. And there is fierce fighting between Israeli troops and Hezbollah terrorists tonight. Israel is reporting Hezbollah casualties and says it's captured two Hezbollah terrorists. Four Israeli troops have been killed, two in fighting, two in a helicopter crash today.
And in Gaza today, Palestinian officials say four civilians were killed when Israeli artillery shells hit residential areas. Israeli artillery fired into Gaza after rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel.
In just a moment, we'll be going live to the Israeli/Lebanese border. We'll have the very latest from John Roberts there. And Jamie McIntyre will report from the Pentagon tonight. But first, these important stories this evening.
It will now cost you more than $3 a gallon to fill up your car. The average price for gasoline now stands at $3.01 a gallon. That's the highest level in 26 years and a rising burden for our middle class in this country.
The scorching heat wave in California is continuing, temperatures again topping 100 degrees in many parts of the state. Thousands of people there have been without power for days. California today declared a power emergency and said rolling blackouts may be ordered if customers are unable to conserve electricity.
In Queens, New York, a similar story. Thousands of residents there have been without power since last week's heat wave in the Northeast. Yes, we're talking about the world's only superpower.
And on the Israeli/Lebanese border tonight, Israeli artillery units are maintaining a constant barrage of fire against suspected Hezbollah positions. At the same time, Israeli troops inside Lebanon are engaged in close quarter battles with Hezbollah terrorists.
John Roberts reports now from the Israeli-Lebanese border -- John.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening to you, Lou. It's 1:30 in the morning here in Israel, and there is no let-up in the bombardment of the Lebanese side of the border. Artillery units continue to send shell after shell after shell across the border through the air, landing on the ground to keep those Hezbollah positions tied up. The Israeli Defense Forces are on the ground on the other side of the border, and those artillery units are trying to keep Hezbollah pinned down, trying to make sure that the Israeli Defense Forces can hold whatever ground they have already gained.
Now, it was the scene of intense fighting across the border today, across the ridgeline past Maroun al Ras, which is the town upon the Lebanese/Israeli border that the Israeli Defense Forces took in the last couple of days.
They have moved about two miles beyond that now, to a town called Bint Jubail, which is taken to be the southern stronghold of Hezbollah. The Israeli Defense Forces believe that if they can take and hold that town, they may be able to put a dent in Hezbollah's command-and-control capabilities.
But I have to tell you, Lou, they still don't have complete control of Maroun al Ras. So getting control of Bint Jubail is certainly going to be difficult.
They're taking casualties as well. A number of soldiers injured today. Two of them were killed on the ground in that fighting, and they lost two airmen as well. A pilot and a gunner of an Apache helicopter died when that helicopter made a forced landing, an incredibly hard landing unfortunately. The helicopter went up in flames when it hit the ground.
Israeli Defense Forces say it was a mechanical malfunction that caused that forced landing. Hezbollah says, no, it wasn't that; we shot down that helicopter.
It also didn't stop the barrage of Katyusha rockets from coming into northern Israel today. The IDF reports 83 flew across the border between Lebanon and northern Israel. None hit the city of Haifa today, though a couple did land harmlessly to the north.
Nahariya took the brunt of the pounding today. A home received a direct hit.
There were 24 injuries, one of them seriously, but almost miraculously again today, as yesterday, there was no one killed. On Saturday, we saw a couple of people killed, but even though the number of rockets now have decreased, about half of what they were late last week, they do continue to come across the border, Lou.
So a very difficult fight over there in the southern area of Lebanon as Israeli Defense Forces try to degrade Hezbollah's capabilities, still having a very tough time of it -- Lou.
DOBBS: John, thank you for that excellent report. Outstanding job that you and your crew are doing, all of our CNN team there. Thank you very much, John Roberts.
President Bush today authorized $30 million of humanitarian aid for Lebanon. The Pentagon says U.S. troops off the coast of Lebanon will help deliver the relief supplies, but those troops will not distribute those supplies to the Lebanese people, nor will they fly aid into dangerous areas within Lebanon. Jamie McIntyre has the report from the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Pentagon says the armada of U.S. warships off the Lebanese coast is no longer needed to assist in the evacuation of U.S. citizens from Lebanon, now that more than 12,000 Americans have been ferried out in the past 10 days. Further evacuations will be by charter ship, such as the luxury liner Orient Queen, which took another 1,200 Americans out Monday.
Now, the U.S. military will shift from taking Americans out to bringing humanitarian aid in, beginning with a shipment of two kits of critically needed medical supplies that should leave Cyprus by boat Tuesday.
TOM CASEY, ACTING STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: Each of those kits contains medicine, intravenous fluid, some reusable medical equipment, and supplies for approximately 10,000 people for three months. And they were specifically designed to meet emergency medical needs in crisis situations.
MCINTYRE: While some humanitarian aid will be flown by helicopter into the U.S. embassy compound, which has not been evacuated and is still up and running, most will be put on fast ships, such as the U.S. Navy's high speed catamaran Swift or similar charter ships for the short hop from Cyprus to Lebanon. U.S. officials say the supplies will then be handed over to non-governmental aid organizations in Beirut, and that U.S. troops will not be distributing aid in dangerous parts of the war zone.
TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: You have to find out ways in which you safely can transport it. We've been working on developing what they refer to as humanitarian corridors.
(END VIDEOTAPE) MCINTYRE: U.S. warships won't be going anyplace any time soon. Along with their special operations equipped Marines, they'll be just over the horizon in the event that there is a need to evacuate Americans using military force -- Lou.
DOBBS: Jamie, thank you very much. Jamie McIntyre from the Pentagon.
Turning to Iraq, four more of our troops have been killed in Iraq. Insurgents killed three of our soldiers in Al Anbar Province, and a soldier in a military police brigade died of a non-combat related injury.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has now gone on 13 days. Iraq, that war has been going for 1,223 days, just to keep things in some perspective, if we may. 2,566 of our troops have been killed in this conflict, 18,988 of our troops have been wounded; 8,661 of them seriously wounded.
In London today, the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki today said more than 100 Iraqis are being killed each and every day. That means more than 2,400 Iraqis have already been killed this month. Al- Maliki will meet with President Bush at the White House tomorrow. They're expected to discuss new security measures to try to prevent violence escalating even more.
That brings us to the subject of our poll tonight. In your judgment, has the sectarian violence in Iraq now become a full-scale civil war? Yes or no. Please cast your vote at loudobbs.com. We'll have the results later here in the broadcast.
President Bush is violating the Constitution that he has sworn to uphold, according to the American Bar Association task force. At issue is the president's assertion that he is in power to disobey statutes that Congress passes. The ABA says the president has done so more than 800 times.
CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin joins me now. Jeffrey, good to have you here.
These signing statements that the president is making energetic use of, straightforwardly, this task force says, that's a violation.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: It's really a fairly simple constitutional issue, as the Constitution goes.
President gets a bill from Congress, and historically, he's got two choices. He signs it, or he vetoes it.
But since President Reagan, presidents have tried to find a third option. Basically, what they've done is they've signed the bills, but issued what's called a signing statement, giving their interpretation of what the bill really means. But President Bush has done in it a different way and on a different scale from any previous president.
DOBBS: This president is facing some of the most onerous onslaughts of circumstances, many of which are of his own making. But to put this in some context, how many signing statements have presidents used since the founding of the republic?
TOOBIN: Since the founding of the republic until 2001 when George Bush became president, there were about 600 used. Since then, there have been 800 by President Bush.
And it is not just the number of what they're doing, it's what they're saying. Because what the president is saying is certain parts of the law he does not intend to enforce.
For example, with John McCain's well-known bill about torture, outlawing the use of torture by government, President Bush's signing statement said, well, I reserve the right to use torture if it will prevent a terrorist attack.
DOBBS: In effect, as the American Bar Association points out, what the president is doing is exercising a line-item veto on the legislation that he is signing.
TOOBIN: That's right. And just a couple of years ago, the United States Supreme Court said a line-item veto is unconstitutional.
But this is a way apparently around that. And what's also interesting is that these were not widely publicized until "The Boston Globe" revealed it earlier this year.
DOBBS: And what can be done about it?
TOOBIN: Well it's interesting, not much directly, because unless you can identify what has been violated, it is hard to bring a lawsuit. There has not yet been a lawsuit challenging a signing statement because it is hard to see how it acts out in the real world.
DOBBS: Will the ABA, is it capable of filing such a lawsuit? It certainly has the lawyers to do it.
TOOBIN: They've certainly got the lawyers. I think after all this attention, a lawsuit will certainly be fired. And as the Supreme Court has done before, just last month, the Bush administration is likely to lose.
DOBBS: And the ABA -- this is a straightforward statement that this is an outrage being perpetrated against the constitution of the United States.
TOOBIN: And you know, the ABA used to be more conservative than it is, but it's still not a very liberal organization. We're not talking about the ACLU here. The fact that the ABA did this is really pretty extraordinary.
DOBBS: The ABA, which has given the two most recent appointments to the Supreme Court, nominations to the Supreme Court in new justices their highest rating, to put that in some context. Thank you very much, Jeffrey Toobin. Still ahead here, why is the federal government undermining state efforts to stop the immigration -- the illegal immigration efforts of so many? I'll be talking with Arizona's sheriff Joe Arpaio. Also tonight, a U.S. senator who says corporate greed and brain dead politics are selling out America. My conversation with Senator Byron Dorgan, he is the author of an important new book and I mean important, "Take This Job and Ship It." We'll be talking next, stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: In Mexico tonight, Mexican government officials have introduced a bill that would eliminate jail terms for illegal immigration into Mexico. The new bill says illegal aliens coming into Mexico should be fined, not jailed as current law requires.
Supporters of that legislation saying their bill is in response to the, quote, "new reality of immigration." They say Mexico cannot demand that the U.S. grant amnesty to its illegal aliens while still making illegal immigration a crime punishable by two years in prison in Mexico as they have been doing.
Tonight, Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio is fighting an escalating battle with federal immigration officials as he fights against illegal immigration. Sheriff Arpaio has filed charges against some 250 illegal immigrants and their smugglers under Arizona's human smuggling law. The sheriff has been forced to free some of those illegal aliens because federal immigration officials refuse to recognize the state law. Sheriff Joe Arpaio joins us from Phoenix. Sheriff, good to have you here.
JOE ARPAIO, SHERIFF, MARICOPA COUNTY: Well, I'll tell you one thing not anymore, because I have my officers transporting these people all the way to the Mexican border, 150 miles, turning them over to border patrol who is nice enough to deport these convicted felons under that new state law.
DOBBS: Well, I know that would have had to have your blood boiling. Can I read you the immigration customs enforcement statement we just received? If we want to watch your blood boil. You ready?
ARPAIO: Go ahead.
DOBBS: Immigration and customs enforcement has refused to deport illegal aliens prosecuted under Arizona's human smuggling statute, quote, this is what you said, "for ICE to refuse to place holds on these inmates and deport them is inconsistent with the president's public statements that border security is a top priority for his administration."
Now how do you square that up with the people at ICE? And then I'll get to the ICE statement here in just two seconds.
ARPAIO: Well first of all, no matter what the charges, they've already put holes on 800 of my other criminals in jail, illegals. What's wrong with 258 that we arrested under this new law? They're still illegal, they went through the court system, they've been released. I'm not going to let them out on the streets of Phoenix because they won't pick them up and bring them to the border so I'm doing it.
DOBBS: And ICE is doing this across the country, we should point out, sheriff, to our audience, not just in Maricopa County or Phoenix, Arizona.
Here's the statement from ICE that we've just received. Quote, "ICE will not take custody of persons who are the subject of unauthorized state placed immigration detainees. Currently Maricopa County sheriff's personnel do not have the legal authority and training needed to lodge immigration holds. They could gain that authority by entering into an agreement with ICE to participate in the 287-G initiative. Yet they've declined to participate in the 287-G program."
Sheriff, how do you plead, guilty or not guilty?
ARPAIO: First of all, they want us to do their job. No. 2, all they have to come to the jail and interview them. However, all these convicted people have come through the court system for being illegal. What better proof do you need that they're illegal by going to trial for being illegal?
DOBBS: You're now taking care of deportation yourself with the cooperation the help, we should point out, of the border patrol. Where does this end? I mean, this looks like the federal government saying straightforwardly to Sheriff Joe Arpaio or whether it is mayor or elected official in this country not only are we not going to enforce immigration laws, you're not going to.
ARPAIO: I've got news for them. This is a state law, it's not a federal law. I will continue to enforce this state law until they change it. And the feds can lock these people up anyway, there is a law for being illegal. They never enforce that law. You can get six months in jail.
Why don't they enforce their own law? But you know, Lou, I come to the conclusion, nobody wants to lock up these illegals, whether here in Arizona, except me, or it's the federal government.
I think that's the bottom line, very sad.
DOBBS: It is sad. It is sad also because, as you know, from your community and as we know from receiving word from our audience all over this country, people have had a belly full of this.
And the fact that the U.S. Senate does not even have the courage to talk about border security on a national security basis five years after 9/11, and to contend with illegal immigration because they don't want to be anything other than lackeys to their corporate masters. It's a sick and sad shame.
ARPAIO: Well you know, I was a director in Mexico and Texas and Arizona for the U.S. drug enforcement years ago. Sad that this is occurring in our country today where the feds do not enforce the law. If you don't like it, take it off the books.
DOBBS: Sheriff Joe Arpaio, good to have you with us, good to talk with you.
ARPAIO: Thank you.
DOBBS: Coming up at the top of the hour, "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer reporting tonight from Jerusalem. Wolf?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Lou. We're following the new developments in the crisis in the Middle East happening right now. Shuttle diplomacy from Beirut to here in Jerusalem. Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, involved. Can she broker a deal that will lead to a lasting peace? Also, on the front lines, we're going to take to you the edge of the fighting where Israeli tanks continue to pound positions of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Also, I'll speak with the former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And anger and desperation in Beirut. We'll take you live to the heart of the Lebanese capital. All that, Lou, coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
DOBBS: Be looking forward to it, wolf. Thank you very much. A reminder now to vote in our poll tonight. The question, in your judgment, has the sectarian violence in Iraq now become a full scale civil war? Yes or no. Please cast your vote at LouDobbs.com. We'll have the results coming up here in just a few moments. Coming right up, another look at e-mails including your thoughts about the escalating conflict in the Middle East and a provocative important new book takes a hard look at the exporting of American jobs and what it is doing to America's middle class. Senator Byron Dorgan has written the book "Take This Job and Ship It." You don't want to miss this. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: My next guest says the exporting of American jobs is mortgaging our country's fortune, our principles, our way of life. Senator Byron Dorgan has written a critically important new book "Take This Job and Ship It," how corporate greed and brain dead politics are selling out America. The senator tells it like it is. The senator today told me that our brain dead politicians will not wake up to the reality of what they're doing to the American people.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. BYRON DORGAN (D), NORTH DAKOTA: A $700 billion-a-year trade deficit, $2 billion a day, that's the amount that we import over that which we export. We're selling part of our country every single day. Attendant to that is the shipping of American jobs over seas, which will shrink the middle class, stripping away health insurance and pensions and reducing salaries.
We're moving in the wrong direction, in my judgment.
DOBBS: Well, the title of your book is, "Take This Job and Ship It." You take it far beyond that, explaining in detail some history of what has happened to the country and what you think will happen. But here's what you said, "But because their main offices" -- referring to the corporations -- "remain in the United States, they know they would receive American protection if a rogue interest were to try to expropriate their assets overseas. I personally think that if they run into trouble, they should call the Bermudan Navy." How likely is that?
DORGAN: Well, my point is, if they want to, what they call "do an inversion" -- renounce their American citizenship so they can not pay taxes, become Bermudan countries (SIC), let them call the Bermudan navy. They now -- I should mention to you, in the book I have a picture -- this picture is of a five-story building, white building on Church Street --
DOBBS: If we could see this, this is...
DORGAN: -- in the Cayman Islands, OK? This picture is a picture of the Ugland (ph) House -- five stories. It is -- Dave Evans (ph), an enterprising reporter for Bloomberg, did the research -- it is home to 12, 748 corporations. Now, they're not all there; that's just their address. They use that address to avoid paying U.S. taxes. They ship jobs overseas, run the income through the Cayman Islands, sell the product in America.
I mean, I'm just saying, this doesn't work for our country's long-term economic growth.
DOBBS: And we might point out, too, the Cayman Islands doesn't have a navy either.
DORGAN: That's true.
DOBBS: This is a remarkable story, as you point out, the fact that corporate America just doesn't care. Is there anything that you can do, your colleagues in Congress, Washington can do to change our direction?
DORGAN: I use the term "brain dead" in the title, and I mean that. "Brain dead" -- you know, we actually, Lou, say, if you fire your American workers, close your American manufacturing plant, move the jobs to China -- tell you what, we'll give you a tax cut. We'll give you a tax break. That pernicious tax cut -- I've tried to abolish that four times in the Senate -- can't get it done. I mean, the fact is, these big corporations that benefit from all of this have a lot of friends.
And the American people know, however, that what's going on is wrong. It's going to injure this country, it's going to shrink the middle class, it's going to hurt our future. And so -- I mean, I decided to write a book about it because it's something this country has to sink its teeth into and deal with.
I'm not suggesting building walls around America, I'm just saying that, as this global economy moves forward, there has to be some rules. You have to have thoughtful rules in how to protect the standard of living that we've created in the last century. DOBBS: And to be clear, this important book will make clear, as you read it -- and I urge you to do so -- Senator Byron Dorgan is no protectionist. In point of fact, he is calling for expanded markets for U.S. exports. It is also a critical examination of what this country is doing to itself, in what we're permitting our political establishment, our business establishment, to do to us.
DORGAN: So I've tried to tell the truth here in this book. Jim Hightower said, "Tell the truth and ride a fast horse." I don't have a fast horse, but I've tried to tell it like it is. And I think what is happening in this country is wrong, and it's going to hurt this country's economic future.
DOBBS: And the fact you don't have a fast horse, that you stand firm and tall in Washington, and everybody knows where to find you, is even a greater testament to your courage and the importance of this book.
We thank you for writing it. Appreciate it. Good to --
DORGAN: Lou, thanks very much.
DOBBS: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: The book is "Take This Job and Ship It." The author is Senator Byron Dorgan.
Coming next, one last look at your thoughts, including your continued outrage over the selling out of America. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: The results of our poll tonight, 89 percent of you say the sectarian violence, in your judgment, in Iraq has now become a full scale civil war. More of your thoughts now.
Arthur in New York saying, "Lou, if the Lebanese army is, as they say, ready to intercept an invading Israeli force, why doesn't the Lebanese army take out Hezbollah terrorists on their own land instead?"
Bob in Florida, "Lou, let's not forget about the issues that effect most Americans. The Middle East has been in turmoil for thousands of years and the turmoil is likely to continue for another thousand years. Let's talk about our troops or what is happening to our families in America." That's what we've tried to do here this evening.
Send us your thoughts at LouDobbs.com. Thanks for being with us tonight, please join us here tomorrow. For all of us, thanks for watching, good night from New York. "THE SITUATION ROOM" begins now with Wolf Blitzer reporting live from Jerusalem, Wolf.
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