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Lou Dobbs Tonight
Top U.S. Commander For Persian Gulf Region Says Plan To Cut American Forces in Iraq Now On Hold; Bush Addresses U.N. General Assembly; Two Chinese Naval Ships In Port of San Diego; Bill Frist Says It's Time to Secure Nation's Border With Mexico; Bill Gertz Discusses New Book
Aired September 19, 2006 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you.
Tonight President Bush tells Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons program. Iran's president will deliver his response within this next hour. We'll have that for you.
Also, Communist Chinese spies stealing our most sensitive military technology. The author of a disturbing new book about foreign espionage is among my guests. The title of the book, "Enemies".
And democracy at risk, millions of illegal aliens could be breaking our laws and they could be voting in the upcoming midterm elections. All of that and a great deal more straight ahead here, tonight.
ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT, news, debate and opinion for Tuesday September 19. Live in New York, Lou Dobbs.
DOBBS: Good evening, everybody.
The general in charge of fighting the war in Iraq today said, U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq are unlikely before next spring. General John Abizaid, commander of U.S. Central Command, said troop levels in Iraq will remain at about 147,000 troops. The general's comments put an end to speculation that the military could reduce the number of our troops in Iraq this year to 100,000.
President Bush today told the United Nations the United States will not abandon Iraq. President Bush also blasted the Iranian and Syrian governments and called upon their people to demand freedom.
Jamie McIntyre tonight reports from the Pentagon on General Abizaid's blunt admission about the progress of the war in Iraq, and troop levels. Suzanne Malveaux is traveling with the president. Here tonight with a report on the president's speech to the United Nations. And Aneesh Raman reports from the United Nations on what the Iranian president is likely to tell the U.N. General Assembly in the next hour. We turn first to Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Lou, this time last year, U.N. commanders were saying substantial numbers of U.S. troops would be back home about now. Now they're saying, wait till next year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE (voice-over): The top U.S. commander for the Persian Gulf Region says the plan to make big cuts in American forces in Iraq is now on hold until spring, the earliest. In fact, the general tells CNN, troop levels may increase in the months ahead.
GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, CMDR., U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: We don't see a need to ask for more under the present circumstances. On the other hand, the notion that troop levels are static is not true, never has been, never will be.
MCINTYRE: Under the plan, never discussed publicly, American commanders hoped to cut the number of U.S. troops by 30,000 by year's end, reducing overall force strength to around 100,000 troops.
That turned out to be wishful thinking. The reality is at the moment, for actually 20,000 more U.S. troops in Iraq; 147,000 up from only 127,000 back in June. The temporary spike is due in part to overlapping rotations and because one Army brigade had its tour extended four months to help secure Baghdad. The plan to draw down U.S. troops in Iraq was always conditioned on things getting better. But every day brings fresh evidence like this car bomb attack on a Baghdad factory, things are not getting better.
In Washington a newly formed bipartisan Iraq study group, co- chaired by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Congressman Lee Hamilton, warned the next three months will be critical.
LEE HAMILTON, CO-CHAIR, IRAQ STUDY GROUP: Time is short. The level of violence is great. The margins for error are narrow. The government of Iraq must act.
MCINTYRE: While the U.S. strategy remains to stand down as Iraqi forces improve, some military thinkers say the shifting nature of the violence from insurgency to civil war only makes it harder to pull American troops out.
PROF. STEPHENS BIDDLE, U.S. ARMY WAR COLLEGE: The American forces are serving the role of keeping the lid on the violence. It would be much, much higher than it is now if we weren't there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: Lou, meanwhile, that U.S. Army brigade that had its tour extended to serve in Baghdad has suffered its third combat death. Sergeant David Davis was killed Sunday when his Stryker armored vehicle was hit by a powerful roadside bomb in the dangerous Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City. He was wearing a full set of body armor, but it was not enough to save his life -- Lou.
DOBBS: Thank you, Jamie. Jamie McIntyre, from the Pentagon.
The Stryker Brigade soldier that Jamie just reported on among three American troops killed in the latest combat in Iraq, 2,686 of our troops have been killed in this war; 20,322 wounded; of those, 9,230 seriously wounded.
Insurgents today also launched a series of bomb and gun attacks against Iraqi civilians, troops and police. A car bomb in an Iraqi army base, north of the city of Tikrit, reportedly killed at least 10 people. Another attack near Mosul, killed 18 others. And a bomb explosion in Baghdad killed at least two people, 24 other Iraqis were wounded in the attack. The insurgents were apparently targeting a nearby police station.
President Bush today told the United Nations that the United States will never abandon the Iraqi people. President Bush also said Iran must stop developing nuclear weapons. The president said Iran's leaders have denied the Iranian people liberty so Iran can fund terrorism, fuel extremism, and pursue nuclear weapons. Suzanne Malveaux reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It was billed as a heavyweight match. In one corner, the man representing what Iran calls the Great Satan. In the other corner, a leader of what the U.S. calls the Axis of Evil.
As it turned out, the two were never in the same ring. They did not even bump into each other in the busy hallways. Anticipating President Bush would single out Iran during his address to the U.N. General Assembly, Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was a no-show for the public scolding.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Iran must abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions.
MALVEAUX: But the tone of Mr. Bush's address to the international body, and specifically to Iran, was noticeably more measured compared to years before. Four years ago, the president warned the General Assembly the U.S. would go to war with Iraq with or without the U.N.'s approval. Now he highlighted the diplomatic track he's taking with Iran.
BUSH: We look to the day when you can live in freedom. And America and Iran could be good friends and partners in the cause of peace.
MALVEAUX: The president's address was the culmination of a series of speeches a PR campaign, aimed at taking the focus off the unpopular Iraq war and on to the broader war on terror. Mr. Bush's speech on spreading democracy was targeted directly to the people of the Middle East.
BUSH: We must support the dreams of good and decent people who are working to transform a trouble region.
MALVEAUX: Mr. Bush specifically called on the international community to support the fledgling democracies in Iraq, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Authority.
But is the president's audience still listening? Some political analysts believe the Bush administration's foreign policy, particularly the war in Iraq, has contributed to the chaos in the Middle East. And the president has little credibility on the world stage.
FREDERICK BARTON, CSIS: One of the dangers for President Bush is that he has not really established an international audience. And he does not have a group of people who really find him credible. And globally ...
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: The idea that the president is standing before the United Nations actually giving great relevance to the United Nations, institution as you reported, that they were dismissing at the outset of the Iraqi war, is this politics or is it a serious transformation of policy?
MALVEAUX: Well, certainly they're going to stick with their policy. But they realize they've been largely ineffective with this large world body. Condoleezza Rice is going to be meeting with her European counterparts on how to deal with Iran, the next steps here.
But truth be told, the Europeans have been discussing quietly, talking with Iranian officials, trying to coax them back to the negotiating table. They have been downplaying what President Bush has been pushing, which is economic sanctions.
DOBBS: Suzanne, thank you very much. Suzanne Malveaux, here in New York, traveling with the president. Good to have you.
MALVEAUX: Thanks, Lou.
DOBBS: Iran's president, Ahmadinejad is scheduled to deliver his speech to the United Nations within the hour. We will be covering that when and if it does occur. Iran has refused to suspend its uranium enrichment program before any nuclear talks. The Iranian government insists its nuclear program is simply to produce electricity. Aneesh Raman reports now from the United Nations. Aneesh, what is the Iranian president likely to say here within the next hour?
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, good evening.
Well, this is a man who has called for Israel to be wiped off the map, called the Holocaust a myth, says the U.S. should get out of the Middle East, but don't expect any of those controversial statements tonight when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks behind me, to the U.N. General Assembly.
When I was in Iran a few weeks ago, as that U.N. deadline grew closer, the rhetoric from Iran's president grew softer. The reason? Iran sees itself as in a great position right now. It is growing clout within the Muslim world, growing relevance on the international stage, and in the nuclear dispute, it has already defied the U.N. deadline. What's happened? Nothing.
Instead it has created divisions within the world company, European countries agreeing with Iran that more dialogue should take place. There's a stalemate in some sense. The U.S. says it won't talk to Iran unless it suspends it's nuclear program. Iran says it will not suspend its program as a precondition for any talks.
But for the moment, the Iranians are quite confident in their position, in their defiance. So what we will hear from the president is a reiteration that Iran is no threat to the world. Perhaps even a mention specifically of Israel, which he rarely does, that Iran is no threat to them. That Iran is pursuing a peaceful nuclear program. The only defiance we might here is Iran's president maintaining that it is its right to have a nuclear program and that it simply will not stop, Lou.
DOBBS: Aneesh, thank you very much. Aneesh Raman reporting from the United Nations.
One of the leaders attending the U.N. meeting is out of a job tonight after a military coup in his country. The Thai army today deposed the country's prime minister without firing a shot. Troops took over key positions in the capitol city of Bangkok. This is the first coup in Thailand in nearly 15 years.
The military immediately declared its continuing loyalty to the Thailand's king. Coup leaders promised a quick return to democracy after a political reform.
Still ahead, here tonight, Communist Chinese spies stealing our latest military technology. We'll examine the huge threat from foreign spies against this country's private innovation and its military secrets.
Also tonight, millions of illegal aliens may have the opportunity to break the law and to vote in upcoming midterm elections. We'll tell you about that in our special report. And Senator Bill Frist faces charges he's flip of flopped over our illegal alien and border security crisis. Some, however, are cheering the flip-flop. Stay with us for that and a great deal more straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: This nation tonight continues a policy of what some call appeasement toward the Communist Chinese government. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is headed to Beijing tonight for what he says will be tough talks with Chinese government officials. It's likely, some, think to be anything but.
And the Chinese military has been allowed to pay a port of call visit to this country even as it continues to challenge military power throughout Asia. Casey Wian reports tonight on the arrival of the two Chinese naval ships in the Port of San Diego. Christine Romans reports on Henry Paulson's so-called free trade talks in Beijing. We begin with Casey Wian -- Casey CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, two Chinese warships are docked here in San Diego tonight. It's part of an effort to build closer ties with the United States' main military rival.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN (voice-over): A U.S. Navy band welcomes a destroyer arriving at the San Diego Naval Base. But look closely, and there something different about this ship. It's flying the flag of Communist China. And it's manned by sailors of the awkwardly named People's Liberation Army Navy.
Even the civilians greeting the destroyer and it's companion ship, are from the local Chinese community. Admiral William Thalan (ph), the Navy's senior commander in the Pacific encouraged the Chinese visit, saying it will improve relations between the two militaries. They conducted joint search and rescue operations off the California coast.
DAN BLUMENTHAL, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INST.: I think what our Department of Defense is trying to do, is try to say, look, if there is a crisis in the future, we need to be able to communicate and we need to be able to ensure that your troops are operating safely.
WIAN: While U.S. Naval ships have made a handful of visits to China, this is the first Chinese visit to U.S. port since 2001. That's when a U.S. surveillance plane collided with a Chinese fighter pilot, off the coast of China, killing the Chinese pilot. The American crew was forced to land and held prisoner for 11 days.
Earlier this year, the Pentagon delivered an alarming report to Congress warning about China's massive military buildup and the growing threat it poses to Taiwan and other U.S. allies in Asia. Even so, both Chinese and U.S. military commanders say they'll encourage more of these port calls in the future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN: It's clear the Navy is bending over backwards to show the Chinese sailors a good time. They're visiting the pandas at the San Diego Zoo, shopping at the Navy Exchange. And this afternoon, they played a soccer game against U.S. sailors. And Lou, perhaps appropriately, I'm told the score ended up as a one to one tie -- Lou.
DOBBS: Thank you very much. Casey Wian reporting from the port of San Diego.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson flies to Beijing for so-called free trade talks with the Communist government. Paulson spent years working with the Chinese officials while he was chairman of one of the country's leading financial firms. Critics say there is little chance that he will talk tough enough to achieve anything with the Chinese now. Christine Romans reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, LOU DOBBS TONIGHT (voice- over): U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson over the weekend, representing the American people at the G7 Finance Ministers Summit in Singapore. From here to China, where Paulson's message to the Chinese, we want you to succeed and become a responsible member of the international community.
Translation.
LLOYD WOOD, AMER. MFG. TRADE ACTION COALITION: He's not going to push very hard. And if Paulson's not going to push very hard I don't expect that the Chinese are going to concede too much.
ROMANS: Indeed, nearly two decades of photo ops, some grandiose, some in the same room with the same pose, under the same picture, all yielding the same results, the most lopsided economic relationship in history.
A bilateral trade deficit, worsening dramatically from the Tiananmen Square to China's entry to the World Trade Organization, to its negligible adjustment of an otherwise manipulated currency, a whopping $200 billion trade imbalance. Thanks to subsidized manufacturing, a currency peg that artificially boosts its exports and rampant intellectual property theft.
So far, U.S. policy has been quiet diplomacy. A tact that enrages American manufacturers competing with China's unfair trade practices.
ALAN TONELSON, U.S. BUSINESS & INDUSTRY COUNCIL: It's high time that the United States begins using the enormous leverage it has with China by virtue of being China's biggest customer, and the engine of growth that China has to rely on for job creation, and its own growth.
ROMANS: But others think the U.S./China relationship has simply become too complicated to press China too strongly now.
BATES GILL, CTR. FOR STRATEGIC & INT'L. STUDIES: We're becoming increasingly interdependent with China, even dependent on China, and it makes it difficult for us to go over there and try to force terms upon them.
ROMANS: Paulson speaking to reporters in Singapore says progress requires time and patience.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Two things, Lou, time and patience that are running out.
DOBBS: It apparently is running out at least in some quarters. The Schumer/Graham legislation that would raise duties on Chinese products up to 27 percent, schedule -- I'm told -- for a vote next week. One can't imagine Congress and certainly this Senate having the guts to do anything that straight forward and significant.
The idea this administration, as you so well reported, administration after administration, destroying American jobs with their so-called free trade, with the current account deficit reaching toward a trillion dollars, it is a laughable parade of Treasury secretaries, who I think history will account on the issue of free trade, as a litany of buffoons.
ROMANS: And we continue the strategy and the hole gets deeper and deeper.
DOBBS: Absolutely. Christine, thank you very much. Christine Romans.
For more on the Communist Chinese challenge to the United States, I'll be joined here later by Bill Gertz, the highly respected investigative reporter and defense reporter for "The Washington Times", author of an important new book, "Enemies: How America's Foes Steal Our Vital Secrets and How We Let It Happen".
Coming right up, Congress is finally concerned about the integrity of our nation's voting system. With only a month and a half to go before Election Day, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist now says it's finally time to get tough on border security. Now that so-called comprehensive immigration reform, that he and the president just loved, is dead.
Muslim leaders demanding a new apology from the pope, as they validate the pope's charges. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: In the state of Georgia tonight, a judge has thrown out a law that requires voters there to show photo ID, saying that law violates the constitutional rights of Georgia's residents. This is only the latest example of how voter identification laws are being challenged all across the country, because there is no federal standard for elections. Katie Pilgrim reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If some in Congress get their way, all voters in the United States will have to show government issued photo ID to vote. The Federal Election Integrity Act calls for government issued photo ID to vote by 2008, and proof of citizenship to vote by 2010 for every state across the country.
REP. CANDICE MILLER (R), MICHIGAN: I actually believe by having photo identification, people are going to be assured, not only that their vote is being counted, but there's not fraud going on. I do believe this is a way to increase voter participation, particularly for our younger people.
PILGRIM: Right now it's, no photo necessary, in most states. Each state has a hodgepodge of ID requirements to vote. Everything from bank statements to hunting licenses can suffice. That goes back to the 1965 Voting Rights Act, a civil rights measure to help minorities gain access to the polls, by allowing a wide variety of documents.
And the 2002 Help America Vote Act expanded documents accepted as voter identification. But now, the worry is non U.S. citizens, even illegal aliens can register to vote. One border state, Arizona, already cracked down. In 2004, proposition 200 required Arizona voters to prove U.S. citizenship, although that is being challenged in Arizona courts.
REP. VERNON EHLERS, (R) MICHIGAN: Contrary to what the naysayers are saying, it will suppress registration and voting, the registration in Arizona increased 15 percent over what it was before. And perhaps because people know now it's going to count, there aren't going to be illegal registrations.
PILGRIM: Not every state is on board. States like Georgia and Michigan challenged the constitutionally of similar measures.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: The Federal Election Integrity Act is coming up for a vote in the House possibly as soon as tomorrow -- Lou.
DOBBS: Why in the world would there be any objection, and how could anyone construe any constitution to suggest that a requirement for citizenship is not appropriate to vote?
PILGRIM: It's a tough argument. The rationale is that it excludes people who can't come up with appropriate ID. However, there is funding in this measure to pay for appropriate ID.
DOBBS: I believe that view is about as paternal and condescending as one could expect, and I would hope that every American, regardless of circumstance, would just reject the dickens out of it. That's sort of an ACLU bleeding idiot kind of view of the world.
PILGRIM: And the example in Arizona is that it actually boosted registration after it went through.
DOBBS: Thank you very much, Kitty. Kitty Pilgrim.
And that brings us to the subject of our poll tonight. Do you believe it is discriminatory to require all voters in this country to offer proof of citizenship in order to register and to vote?
We'd like to hear your views. Yes or no. Cast your votes at LouDobbs.com. Time now for some of your thoughts.
Cindy in New Jersey saying, "Dear Lou: Let's not worry about the Mexican drug lords in California. They're only doing work Americans won't do. Also, the money will go back to the Mexican economy. How could they ask for anything more?"
I don't know. But I suspect they will.
Dave: "Hey, Lou, Does this mean the illegals growing pot in our national forests will be given amnesty for crop damage if they testify against the FBI?"
And Joe in California: "Lou, how many more 'amnesties' before I have to learn Spanish?"
Send us your thoughts at LouDobbs.com. We'll have more of your thoughts here later in the broadcast.
Next, the Senate majority leader has a turn of heart. A bill to fix our broken borders will be taken up by the U.S. Senate, just in time for the midterm elections.
And are Communist Chinese spies stealing our most vital secrets to use against us? My guest, the author of an important new book, "Enemies", says that is exactly what happening. And our government, guess what, is doing absolutely nothing about it.
And backlash from the pope's remarks continues in the Middle East. Muslim leaders calling for a full, further apology. All of that and more still ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Rising demands tonight for Pope Benedict to apologize for his remarks about Islam that have sparked violent protests around the world. Riots erupted throughout the Muslim world after the pope's comments were seeming to portray Islam as a violence religion. Al Qaeda groups issuing threats against the pontiff and vowing war against, quote, "worshipers of the cross."
Turkish workers have petitioned for the pope to be arrested when he's scheduled to visit that country in November. One of the Palestinians top religious leaders said the pope must make a clear apology to the one and a half billion Muslims around the world. That cleric also called however for an end to these violent protests.
NASA has delayed tomorrow's scheduled landing of the space shuttle Atlantis for at least another day. Astronauts have spotted an unidentified object floating in space near the subject. NASA is investigating whether it is a vital piece of the shuttle that fell off the spacecraft perhaps from its bay. There is also concern that the object may have hit and possibly damaged the shuttle. Sensors reported an impact. NASA is considering whether to use the shuttle's robotic arm to check its heat shields for damage.
Firefighters in southern California tonight are trying to contain a large blaze before it threatens homes. The two-week old fire near Los Angeles has already scorched more than 80,000 acres, doubling in size just over the weekend. The fire has been only been 15 percent contained as of tonight. Winds are pushing that blaze toward a rural community near a national forest. Voluntary evacuations are already under way.
Tonight, Colorado has become the 22nd state in this nation to report a case of food poisoning as a result of e. Coli contaminated spinach. Health officials have ruled out tampering as the cause of this nationwide outbreak. They still don't know how the e. Coli infected the spinach.
They don't know whether it was contaminated as a result of contact with fertilizer, tainted water or other means. Nonetheless, they have ruled out tampering. Precisely how they've done that is unclear. Officials are still warning all consumers not to eat any fresh spinach until this investigation can be completed.
Gasoline prices continuing to fall sharply around the country. The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline fell 12 cents. The average $2.50 a gallon last week. Gas prices have fallen 50 cents a gallon over the past month as the price of crude oil has fallen. Crude oil prices are in the midst of the steepest decline since the first Gulf War.
The man who broke through Capitol Hill security and ran through the U.S. Capitol with a loaded handgun was arraigned in court today. A federal judge ordered detention for Carlos Greene and charged him with felony possession of a firearm. Greene is 20-years-old. He has a prior arrest record and that prohibits him from legally possessing a firearm. He will be detained at a treatment facility. Greene was tackled by Capitol Hill security officers after he crashed his SUV on the Capitol Hill grounds.
A new opinion poll shows President Bush's approval rating is rising but a majority of voters still disapprove of his performance. The new "USA Today/Gallup" poll shows the president's approval rating has risen to 44 percent. One reason for the president's improved numbers may be that voters don't believe Democrats have offered a credible alternative to the president's policies. Separately, the poll says Democrats and Republicans are neck in neck in the race to win seats in Congress. Both parties rated in the survey by 48 percent.
Tonight, critics of Senate majority leader Bill Frist says he's flip-flopping on the issue of border security, national security and so-called comprehensive immigration reform. Senator Frist was once a strong supporter of the president's so-called comprehensive immigration reform plan. Now that the plan is absolutely dead in Congress, the Senate majority leader says it's time to secure the nation's border with Mexico. Lisa Sylvester reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist cleared the way for a Wednesday vote on the 700-mile border fence. Frist, up until now, had insisted on lumping border security with proposals for citizenship for illegal aliens, known as the comprehensive approach. The Republican leader insists his new position is not a flip-flop.
SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), MAJORITY LEADER: It doesn't mean that those of us who believe that we have to have comprehensive reform in any way are backing away from that. It is that we need to start where there is general agreement and that is on tightening and securing our borders. SYLVESTER: With the election in sight, Republicans are being hit with the political reality, they need to give the public, which overwhelmingly supports border security, something on immigration reform if they hope to stay in control of Congress.
REP. TOM PRICE (R), GEORGIA: The American people are extremely concerned about the fact that we are not passing the kind of legislation that we need to make certain that we're controlling our border, that we know who's coming into the United States.
SYLVESTER: The House approved border fence legislation last week. House members are moving ahead on additional border security initiatives Thursday. The proposals call for the detention and deportation of illegal alien gang members, close loopholes in the catch and release policy and reaffirm the ability of local and state police to enforce immigration laws. But these measures are likely to hit a brick wall with Senate Democrats who oppose piecemealing.
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: We have proven in the votes we've taken on the floor that we are for border security. It's very important. But it should be part of a comprehensive bill.
SYLVESTER: Senate Democrats hope to tie their own amendments to the border fence security bill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SYLVESTER: Then there's the question of funding. It's one thing for Congress to approve building a fence, another thing to adequately fund it. The Senate has approved $1.8 billion that will pay for about half of the 700 miles of fencing and vehicle barriers -- Lou?
DOBBS: Piecemealing, what does that mean?
SYLVESTER: Well essentially what the House approach is, because they can't get this comprehensive bill through, what they've essentially done is by taking apart the border security elements, they want to try to pass the border fence, they want to give more local authorities the right to enforce immigration law. So they're trying to separate it out because they know that they won't be able to pass the whole thing before the election, Lou.
DOBBS: Won't be able to pass...
SYLVESTER: ... The comprehensive bill.
DOBBS: Yes, the rather idiotic comprehensive immigration reform legislation that the Senate with Republican leadership, the Democratic Party decided to pass but with the House showed sufficient intellect and courage to stop. Is that the one?
SYLVESTER: That is indeed the one. And Lou, in fact, you could see that Frist is beginning at least to see the light, that if he wants to keep Republicans in control in Congress, he's going to have to focus on border security. So now he is singing a different tune, Lou. DOBBS: This president and the Senate majority leader were kind enough to their colleagues and fellow Republicans in the House, they shove these House Republicans out over the transit with their votes on comprehensive immigration reform as they love to put it, or amnesty. Lisa Sylvester, thank you very much, appreciate it.
Still ahead here, three of the country's very best talk radio hosts join us to give us their assessment of the week's political developments. And Bill Gertz, author of "Enemies" says communist China, North Korea and other countries stealing some of our most sensitive military secrets and the U.S. government not doing a think about it. He's among our guests here. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Communist Chinese warships tonight are at the Port of San Diego for the first time in five years in those country, those warships carrying the latest military technology, some of which may have originated in this country.
Bill Gertz is the highly-regarded defense and national security correspondent for the "Washington Times." He says communist Chinese spies have stolen many of our military secrets. He is the author of the new book, "Enemies: How America's Foes Steal Our Vital Secrets and How We Let it Happen."
Bill Gertz joins us today on this, the publication of your new book. Delighted to have you here.
BILL GERTZ, AUTHOR, "ENEMIES": Good to be here.
DOBBS: I'm not delighted about what you've had to report here, the idea that these warships are making ports of call as we reciprocate in mainland China. We're just about five years away from the incident in which for 11 days our crew was held captive by the Chinese. It's been quite a ride, hasn't it?
GERTZ: I'll tell you, Lou, from an intelligence standpoint, the Chinese are killing us. They're stealing our secrets, stealing our technology and, importantly, they're also influencing our policies so that we led our guard down while they're building up their forces.
DOBBS: As we've reported here, the trade deficit continues to rise with China, $212 billion last year. It's going to be far more than that this year. We have one moronic Treasury secretary after another go to Beijing and say, please let your currency float. Please.
It's a pathetic display in terms of international relations and it's gone on for a number of administrations, certainly the last two. But the idea that the federal government, the United States military, the United States intelligence, as you document, is not doing anything about this, I mean, that's mind-boggling.
GERTZ: It's unbelievable. Like this ship visit, you know, the idea is that this is supposed to foster goodwill between the Chinese military and the U.S. military. Well, that's not happening. The Chinese, when they send people here, they're intelligence personnel, and they're here for one mission: to find weaknesses in the U.S. military and to steal war fighting technology and secrets.
DOBBS: Let's take one of your paragraphs because it's very revealing, if we could show that to our viewers. "They have also enabled Beijing to execute extensive disinformation and perception- management operations, which are critical to a communist regime intent on hidings its extensive military buildup, its repressive nature, its territorial ambitions, and its targeting of the United States." I mean, that is chilling.
GERTZ: It's absolutely true. They do not wish us well. They have a secret strategy which is to undermine the United States while publicly showing a face of wanting to be friendly and wanting to trade.
Now, the Pentagon is trying to pick up on this. They've developed what they call the head strategy which says that, look, we've got to keep our powder dry because we don't know where China is going in the future.
Unfortunately, within our intelligence community -- and I'm talking about the most senior analysts in the intelligence community -- they have a totally benign view of China. They think that China has to be helped.
DOBBS: China has to be helped, and at the same time, as Christine Romans reported here tonight, we have so-called geopolitical thinkers saying we can't disturb the communist Chinese because first, we're dependent upon them for their capital, we're dependent upon them for their goods.
And at the same time, we have technology companies in this country aiding and abetting the diminishment -- not the establishment of liberties and individual freedom in China. It is unbelievable.
GERTZ: Yes, well the Chinese, they are getting what they need for their military built-up. And this is an unbelievable buildup that's all targeted against the United States. Technically, we have an embargo.
DOBBS: Which we're paying for.
GERTZ: Yes. Technically, we have an embargo on arms sales and military technology transfers. China has been able to totally defeat that. As you so in those destroyers pulling into San Diego, a lot of them are full of U.S. weapons technology.
DOBBS: The -- and it is, of course, not simply communist China, as you pointed out in this book. It is 140 nations, in point of fact, with some sort of effort underway. We're talking specifically about North Korea and Russia.
GERTZ: Cuba.
DOBBS: This is -- why is there no approach on the part of this administration, no reaction to deal with it?
GERTZ: Well, that's a good question. This book is really kind of an expose of our counterintelligence failures, China being one of them, Russia being others. Cuba, for example, ran a mole inside the Defense Intelligence Agency for two decades, stole some of the most important technological spying secrets that we have.
DOBBS: The book is an eye-opener and it is one I hope that every one of our elected officials in Washington is reading. It is an important eye-opener for all of us. It's "Enemies." The author is Bill Gertz. We thank you for being here, Bill, and we wish you a lot of luck.
GERTZ: Thank you.
DOBBS: Thank you.
A reminder to vote in our poll. The question is, do you believe it's discriminatory to require all voters in this country to offer proof of citizenship in order to register and to vote? Yes or no. Cast your vote at LouDobbs.com. The results coming up here in just a few minutes.
At the top of the hour, "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer here in New York tonight -- Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Lou.
The president of Iran about to take the stage at the United Nations. Will he blast the United States or make an offer for peace? We're going to bring you his remarks live, plus I'll speak with the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton.
Also nuclear intelligence, what proof does the White House have that Iran is trying to build a bomb? We're going to take a closer look at the hard facts.
Plus, concerns about the space shuttle, flying debris creating a dangerous situation in space.
And out of the closet, the former governor of New Jersey, talks about sex, corruption and dirty politics.
All that, Lou, coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
DOBBS: Sex, corruption and dirty politics. That's quite a list, even for New Jersey.
BLITZER: Even for New Jersey.
DOBBS: Thank you very much, Wolf. We're looking forward to it.
Coming up next here, your thoughts on Muslim outrage over the pope's comments and President Bush's poll numbers, they're rising. Three of the country's most popular radio talk show hosts join me next. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Joining me now, three of my favorite radio talk show hosts here in New York. Mark Simone of WABC, good to have you here.
MARK SIMONE, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Good to be here.
DOBBS: Mark Riley of Air American Radio, in Chicago. Steve Cochran, WGEN. Gentlemen, thanks for being here.
Let's talk about the president and this wonderful opportunity to evaluate his speech. Here we go. Here's what he said and if we could just roll that and we'll all be on the same page.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Determine your own future. You deserve an economy that rewards your intelligence and your talents and a society that allows you to fulfill your tremendous potential. The greatest obstacle to this future is that your rulers have chosen to deny you liberty and to use your nation's resources to fund terrorism and fuel extremism and pursue nuclear weapons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOBBS: And pursue nuclear weapons. Mark, let's start with you. What do you think. Anything new there?
MARK RILEY, AIR AMERICA RADIO: No, I don't think there's anything particularly new. I do think however that this really wasn't for the world stage. I think Bush did this for the American people.
I think he was really speaking in a relatively less strident tone than he has been recently. And I think that he knows he has no credibility on the world stage. I think what he was saying was specifically tailored -- as have much of his other speeches recently been -- for the American people, for the November elections.
DOBBS: Steve Cochran.
STEVE COCHRAN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Yes, I wouldn't disagree with that at all. I think the B.S. detector of voters in this country is pretty good and I think at this point his legacy is pretty much set. But with the numbers going up, the real beneficiary of that could be House Republicans and people running now because, again, the Democrats have not set up any sort of alternative agenda that jumps out, that says, OK, I'm picking you and not the guy that's already got the job.
DOBBS: Mark and Steve just pointed out, 44 percent, the numbers are rising. Things are worsening in Iraq, not improving. The economy is just about the same. There's a great deal of insecurity about jobs, all the -- many of the issues confronting us with the exception of gasoline prices dropping, which is a huge benefit.
(CROSSTALK) DOBBS: Why are they rising?
MARK SIMONE, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, you know, there's a lot of good news out there, believe it or not. And I know you're going to disagree with me on the economy, but we've had tremendous deficit reduction in the last year, 14 percent. You know, on Friday we set an all-time record, the single biggest day of revenue in the history of the ...
DOBBS: You're not going to do that $85 billion thing.
SIMONE: Eighty-five ...
(CROSSTALK)
DOBBS: You're thrilled about that.
SIMONE: Well, it's up 20 percent from last year.
(CROSSTALK)
DOBBS: OK. That's wonderful news. We owe $5 trillion in trade debt. We have $10 trillion -- I mean, all approaching $10 trillion ...
SIMONE: That's all correct, but ...
DOBBS: ...in debt. My God, we've got an estate tax on the middle class and working men and women in this country for eons because we have cut taxes to the point that we can't sustain our own government.
RILEY: That's because bush has never cut spending.
SIMONE: Exactly. It's not the tax cuts.
RILEY: The issue is not just -- no, it is partly about the tax cuts because if you cut taxes and you don't cut spending, sooner or later you're going to run out of money.
DOBBS: You mean spending, Steve Cochran, $469 billion in Iraq and Afghanistan is adding to the deficit?
COCHRAN: You know, I've got to tell you, I think it goes in a different direction. I think those numbers are going up at this point as we get closer to the election because even though I said -- and I mean it -- the B.S. detectors of the voters in this country are pretty good, the other truth is people like what they know.
They don't necessarily know what they like. And as we get a little closer to things, and as it becomes about security and you have what's going on at the U.N. today, a lot of that runs in favor of the president until he shoves his foot in his mouth again.
RILEY: I've got to tell you something. The Democrats have turned George Bush into the Wizard of Oz. COCHRAN: Absolutely. Absolutely.
RILEY: Because what they have needed to do is come up with a program before he does and they seem completely unable to do so.
SIMONE: Well, the important point is, you don't have to be a genius to get elected. You just have to be better than the other guy, and the Democrats are a mess. Nobody know what they're for, and if you're worried about cutting spending, you wouldn't turn to Democrats for that.
RILEY: Well, I don't know if you wouldn't turn to Democrats for that.
DOBBS: I'll be honest with you ...
RILEY: The fact of the matter is that we didn't have a deficit under Bill Clinton after awhile, did we?
SIMONE: Well, we had a huge crash in 2000. We had a huge crash in 2000.
DOBBS: You know, I still believe we give presidents far too much credit and blame on the economy. But the truth of the matter is that we have got great issues facing the working people in this country and their families. And neither party, neither party is doing much to help.
RILEY: Oh, you're absolutely right.
DOBBS: And we're going to take a quick break. We're going to be back with all three of these guys and figure out exactly what their audiences are telling them, and we'll be right back. We beg you, stay with us on that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: We're back with Mark Simone of WABC, Mark Riley of Air America and Steve Cochran, WGEN.
Steve, let's start with you. This Muslim rage, burning of effigy, a nun apparently killed in Somalia in retaliation for what the pope said about the Muslim religion, that is focusing on the violence of that religion. What's your reaction?
COCHRAN: Well, you know, we have more Catholics in Chicago than anywhere. So it's a big story here. Actually, you know, there's two things that didn't surprise me this week. One that radical Muslims would overreact to the pope's comments and, two, that pot would allegedly be found on Willie Nelson's tour bus.
DOBBS: And a few other things as well.
COCHRAN: And at this point, I don't understand how radical Muslims can expect any credibility when your compliant is that the pope said your religion is violent and your reaction is to burn the pope in effigy. Those two things just don't connect, Lou.
DOBBS: Mark?
RILEY: I would hope that these are not folks that represent Islam, OK? They are radicals, they are extremists that are doing this sort of things. Moderate Muslims, and I've talked to a few of them, have essentially taken the pope's apology at his word and moved on from this thing already. And I don't think it's fair to focus just on the most extreme elements on any religion. And you know to put it on radical Islam is where it should be. To put it on all Islam is not where it should be.
SIMONE: But the silence is deafening from the Muslim community in general. And I'll admit, this pope's apology wasn't as -- I mean, he's kind of Dick Cheneyish with that apology.
DOBBS: You know, I apologize for your reaction to what I said. It's artful.
RILEY: Well he said that it wasn't his view. He said he was quoting a medieval text and that text was...
DOBBS: ... Well that begs the question as to why in the world was he quoting it if he didn't believe it?
RILEY: That's a very good question. But you don't kill anybody in the name of getting even for that.
DOBBS: You don't? I don't. But apparently quite a few radical Islamists do and that's the issue that we're all dealing with in this world.
Let's turn to the issue of suddenly Bill Frist wants to move through on border security.
SIMONE: It's making me nervous when I agree with Bill Frist on anything. But you know, remember the mad cow disease? They tracked that cow down, they knew where it crossed the border, where it came from, what stall the e. Coli, they tracked that bag of spinach. Thirteen million people come into this country. They don't know how they got here, where they are.
RILEY: This is also blatantly political, it is ridiculous. As soon as they thought it wasn't going to help them politically, they dropped immigration like third period French.
DOBBS: Steve, you get the last word.
COCHRAN: You know what though, I don't care -- and Lou and guys, I don't care that he flip-flopped, I don't care that it's political because the American people want these guys to just do something. Frankly, Frist, today, it's a step in the right direction.
DOBBS: Amen, brother, as long as they fund it and actually do it.
COCHRAN: That's exactly right.
DOBBS: Then we'll have something. Mark, thank you very much. Thank you very much. And Steve, thanks a lot. All the best to you guys.
COCHRAN: Thank you my friend.
DOBBS: That's for being here. The results of our poll tonight, 93 percent of you responded saying it is not discriminatory to require all voters to offer proof of citizenship in order to register and vote.
Thanks for being with us. Please join us here tomorrow. Good night from New York, "THE SITUATION ROOM" begins now with Wolf Blitzer here in New York -- Wolf.
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