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Glenn Beck

Terrorist Tactics Changing?; Hugo Chavez Granted New Powers

Aired January 31, 2007 - 19:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST, "NANCY GRACE": You think you`ve got issues? Wait until you see what Glenn Beck is dealing with tonight. Here he comes.

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GLENN BECK, HOST: Oh, yes, I do have a few issues tonight. The attempt to behead a British soldier. What does it mean to you?

And new information that shows Iran may have been behind the hit on those five soldiers in Iraq. Do not miss tonight`s show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Tonight`s episode is brought to you by the law firm of Leffler, Leffler, Leffler, Lefkowitz and Leffler. If you`ve been hurt in an accident, or fail to pay the rental fee on your storage unit and now some guy is charging $39.97 for people to look at all your crap, then call us, because the only one who should be exploiting you is you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: All right. Let me paint the disturbing scene for you. It`s 10:45. It`s at a Wal-Mart in Wichita, Kansas. Soldier walks out and looks through his pockets for his keys. Just then, as he`s facing his car, behind him a van pulls out, door slides open, three men pull the soldier inside and they speed away. The soldier`s car keys are later found next to his car on the pavement.

Two days later, a video appears on the Internet of that soldier begging for his life, only to have a machete taken and cut his head off.

What happens next? Three men from the van, they pick up the American soldier`s head by the hair and say he was a Muslim and his head is only the first.

Now, the story didn`t happen. But one darn close to it almost did.

Here is the point tonight. America, it is time to wake up. The terror tactics have changed, and they happened while you were asleep last night. Muslims, they are coming for you, as well.

Here`s how I got there. British police arrested nine people today after uncovering an alleged plot to kidnap, torture and behead a British soldier. Then they were going to post that video on the Internet.

This was not planned in the caves of Afghanistan or the battlefields of Iraq. It was planned in Birmingham, England. And it was a soldier who was targeted, and he was a Muslim.

You know, I`d really like to say to you, mark the date. They`ve moved from just killing ours to killing their own. But the truth is they`ve been killing their own for years, under the ruthless reign of the Taliban. They were beheading people left and right.

This is not about the U.S. It`s not about our policies. It`s not about Israel. It never has been. It is about the Islamic extremists controlling the world and killing anyone that gets in their way, even, or especially if it`s their own people.

This thing is so darn clear to me, I can`t figure out why the whole world is still in denial. These dangerous extremists are sending a message. If you join with the United States, they are coming after you. And if you`re a Muslim but not the kind of Muslim that they happen to agree with, off with your head.

Moderate Muslims, where are you? What is it going to take? When will you finally get it? These radicals obviously hate you as much as they hate us.

Look, I`m going to a Muslim-American conference in Florida in a few weeks. And I`ve got to tell you, I cannot wait to be surrounded by those voices screaming about this. I also want to hear what the moderates have to say about why these conferences aren`t happening in every town all across America.

If you don`t shout out tonight, "These murderers degrade true Islam. They don`t speak for us or anybody in our faith," then what in the name of God will make you shout that out?

I have offered it before over and over again on this program. If you`re a Muslim, if you`re a Muslim organization and you are as outraged by these murderous thugs as I am, this is your forum. Join your voice with mine.

You know, I know it`s hard. I can`t -- well, I can`t. I guess I can try to imagine what you`re going through. I`m a German, German descent. I don`t know how I would have behaved during World War II. Would I have been brave enough to stand up and protect the Jewish family that lived two doors down? Would I be strong enough to stand up and say, "Hey, this is wrong. This isn`t my country. This isn`t the way it should be"?

Or would I have been so afraid for my own life or for my family`s life that I would have let the Jewish family be put on the train while I watched?

This is different. This is different. There`s strength in numbers. It`s the millions of you that have them surrounded. You are the silent majority.

If you`re a Muslim that disagrees with these psychos but you remain silent, then, my friend, you are part of the problem. Get in the game. Save not only our lives but save your own life.

Tonight, here`s what I know. If you think this war has been hell so far, you ain`t seen nothing yet, Jack. This is just the beginning. There are no more flight schools or elaborate plots to kill thousands. Oh, they may happen, as well, but they`re also coming after us one by one. And all it will take is a van, three guys and a machete. Oh, and a video camera.

What I don`t know is, could this be only the first act of desperation? This is a huge change of strategy and tactics, and they are more barbaric than ever. Where could they possibly go from here?

Peter Neumann, he`s a director of the Center for Defense Studies in Great Britain.

Peter, this aggression was towards an individual, not a group. What does this suggest to you over in England?

PETER NEUMANN, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR DEFENSE STUDIES: Well, I think you`re absolutely right, Glenn, that they are changing tactics. It`s become a lot harder in Britain, for example, to organize sophisticated mass casualty attacks, because the security forces are paying a lot more attention to these people.

And that means that they are resorting to tactics that shock and frighten and terrorize people but that require a lot less in terms of resources.

It`s very easy to pull off a kidnapping. You don`t need a lot of skills, expertise, resources and so on. You just need two or three determined men who go out there, find the right person, take him off the street and behead him. And you can still shock and frighten people.

BECK: There are -- there are two things in the story that I read from the "London Telegraph" earlier this morning that shocked me.

First was that this was a Muslim soldier, and when I saw that, my jaw dropped, because it -- to me at least, it says they are sending not only a message to me. They are sending a message to the Muslim community: you back up, you sit down, you shut your mouth or we will kill you. Am I wrong on that?

NEUMANN: I think you`re absolutely right. I think the attention has always been with all these extremists movements the people that they hate most are the people that they consider their brethren but that turn against them.

And it is to intimidate, frighten and to shut up these people that they are carrying out acts of terrorism like this. The people they hate most in the Middle East are the moderates, the moderate Muslims. They don`t really like them, because they believe that they should be on their side. And if they`re not shutting up, they believe, they have to make them shut up. And so that`s why...

BECK: So are you seeing -- are you seeing the moderate Muslims in England take a stand and march in the street and say, we`re not afraid of you? Do you see that?

NEUMANN: I think the sad thing is that, you know, yes, we are seeing that. We`re seeing not enough of that. I think after July 7, the bombings in 2005 in London, you had a groundswell of support for moderation. Imams, Muslim preachers signed up to declarations condemning these bombings.

But there is a degree of ambivalence when it comes to terrorist attacks abroad, when it comes to terrorist acts, for example, in Israel or terrorist acts in Iraq. And we would all hope that these moderate voices are becoming much more articulate and much louder and that their voices are heard much more.

BECK: You know, I saw a disturbing report. It was a survey that was just done with Muslims in -- well, you obviously know about it -- where it shows that the majority of 16- to 25-year-old Muslims in England now want to live under Sharia law. That`s frightening. That is the extreme of the extreme. What`s happening?

NEUMANN: Absolutely. And the really shocking thing is this second or third generation, people who were born in this country, who have British passports, who went to school here, are actually more radical than their parents or grandparents, who were coming from Islamic, from Muslim countries.

And quite honestly, I think something went seriously wrong in European countries with integrating these minorities. You have the second, third generation, and they still feel they`re not part of British, or French, or German society, and that has caused a huge debate in Europe.

BECK: You know, the other thing that I read in the story that was disturbing to me was that the details at the time when I read it earlier this morning were still very sketchy. And then it said, two big paragraph part that said but don`t take any action against Muslims. This is from the "London Telegraph" early this morning.

Is this P.C., or are you having a problem with people taking up arms against Muslims in England?

NEUMANN: Well, not really yet. I think there`s a fear that if there`s another major terrorist attack, then obviously terrorism divides communities.

BECK: Sure.

NEUMANN: And that there will be a backlash against the Muslim community and they will feel they`re pushed into a corner and then, you know, feel like they have to do something. That is a danger.

BECK: OK. Peter, thank you very much.

You know, one of the things that I`ve been hammering about for months is that these extremists are using the media to broadcast their message of hate to people in the Middle East. Unfortunately, this goes completely unreported, or largely unreported here in the United States.

We have an ongoing series. We wanted to pick up today, "Missed by the Media". We try to expose it, shine a light on it so you know exactly what we`re up against.

Now we`ve got a frightening clip. It is from Iran. The president, Ahmadinejad, in Iran was giving a speech. It was broadcast on Iranian Channel 1. But in this country you will only see it here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRANIAN PRESIDENT: (speaking foreign language)

GRAPHIC: (The Americans) should leave our region. All the countries in the region should be vigilant and should know that, with the help of God, America`s strength is fading. America`s straw-like strength and satanic rule over the world is about to be annihilated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is GLENN BECK.

BECK: Coming up, Venezuela votes to allow Hugo Chavez to rule by decree. Oh, don`t worry about it. He can only make -- get all he wants for the next 18 months. I mean, unless he decrees it`s for life. Not a big deal.

Iran, on defense. They are -- they`ve got new information now that is suggesting that they`re behind the murders of five soldiers in Iraq. They were carried out with Iranian operatives. It is shocking information you cannot miss tonight.

Plus, we`ll take a break from the bad news and talk about the truly idiotic and bizarre news: Paula Abdul, Paris Hilton and Miss USA all have something in common. Gee, I wonder what it is. I`ll tell you in a minute.

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BECK: Sally Lever, she`s a Democrat from California. She`s proposing a law that would say basically you can`t spank a kid for any reason that`s younger than 4 years old. And she says no reason whatsoever to even pat your kids on the butt, you know, to give them a swat on the back. You go to jail for a year.

So I asked her, I said, "So what`s the deal with it? What made you think that this would be a good idea?"

"Oh, well, I talked to a social scientist."

You talked to a social scientist, and that`s why you`re proposing a bill?

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BECK: All right. While trouble is brewing in Europe, in the Middle East, Latin America has its own share of worries, as well. Our dear, dear friend, Hugo Chavez, is approaching dictatorship faster than Castro is jogging. And that`s pretty fast.

Today Venezuela`s Congress gave Chavez powers to rule by decree for 18 months. Oh, good. That worked out so well for Hitler.

He`s prepping the country for what he calls socialism for the 21st Century. I don`t know. Is it better than socialism for the 20th Century?

He plans to nationalize the gas and oil industries. Considering the U.S. depends on Venezuela for -- as the fourth largest foreign crude supplier, probably not all sunshine and lollipops for us.

Hugo Chavez not somebody to take lightly. He is sitting atop of a ton of oil. He`s buddy-buddy with almost all of the leaders in the anti-U.S. gang: Ahmadinejad, Assad, Castro, just to name a couple of them. And he`s also been called a threat to democracy by U.S. intelligence chief Negroponte just yesterday. Congratulations on that one, Hugo.

Not to mention he also may be around for a while, a long, long while. He`s pushing for a change in the constitution which would allow him to run for reelection indefinitely. Uh-huh.

Joining me now is Shannon O`Neil. She`s on the Council for Foreign Relations.

Shannon, Hugo Chavez, the world`s newest dictator today?

SHANNON O`NEIL, COUNCIL FOR FOREIGN RELATIONS: Well, this really is the icing on the cake. He`s really consulted an enormous political power over the last few years.

But we have to remember, just two short months ago he was elected with 60 percent of the vote. And these were elections where international observers came in and called it free and fair.

So what`s really interesting is that political institutions in Venezuela that are so weak that are really allowing him to rule by decree, really within the rules of the game there in Venezuela.

BECK: Yes. And now, he is -- I mean, he really kind of had to pick the pace up on this. Because with the price of oil now, he`s made all kinds of promises to the people. Not really working out so well for him. The economy can`t be doing well with the price of crude oil.

O`NEIL: Well, right. He has huge promises both domestically and internationally to other countries in Latin America, around the world. But you know what? Crude oil is falling, and that`s going to hurt him. It`s still not too low. He`s getting a lot of money, and he has a huge reserve. He has over $35 billion in reserves. So he can continue spending, at least for a while.

BECK: So how long before the economy -- because socialism, it always works. No, it does. How long before it becomes Cuba and they`re driving 1958 Chevys?

O`NEIL: Well, I don`t think he`s going to go as far as Cuba has with real communism there.

BECK: Right.

O`NEIL: He has nationalized a few companies. But even with the oil companies, he`s talking about keeping a public-private partnership. But the public side will be a majority.

BECK: I remember when I was naive like you. Look at you. You`re so cute. Come on. You think somebody who`s this hungry for power is like, "Nah, I`m going to let some other people run some stuff, too"? Come on.

O`NEIL: What`s interesting here, what is different than what we saw with Castro in Cuba, is that Venezuela is fully integrated into the world economy. And that`s through oil. His power and his money depend on global capital market. So this is really different.

BECK: So what do you think about -- I mean, Castro, they were -- He was just with Castro again. They were having -- I swear to you I think we should run love story music behind them. They`re gazing into each other`s eyes like, "I love you, Fidel."

And is there anything to be said that he`ll make a power play for Cuba or he`ll play any role in Cuba after Castro bites it?

O`NEIL: Well, Chavez is trying to associate himself with Castro`s legacy and with the respect that Castro has in some areas of the world. But in terms of what`s going to happen in Cuba over the next few years, I don`t think Chavez will play a big role there.

BECK: What do you think is going to happen? I saw that they were -- they were saying they were going to have a party in Miami when Castro dies. What do you think the future of Cuba is?

O`NEIL: Well, obviously, it depends. You know, we keep predicting Castro`s demise, and he keeps showing back up. But what has happened since Castro passed power to his brother Raul just last summer, Raul has consolidated a lot of power. So I don`t think we`re going to see any huge change any time soon.

BECK: And -- finally, you know, Chavez is buddy-buddy with Iran. Is Iran playing the USSR to Cuba, you know, kind of how Cuba was working with the USSR? Is that kind of the relationship with Iran?

O`NEIL: Well, they have a tie, which is basically their anti- Americanism. But in terms of economic policy, there`s really no middle ground. Iran is not moving towards what Chavez calls 21st Century socialism. That`s not where they`re going at all.

BECK: No, it`s even worse. All right. Shannon, thanks a lot. Appreciate it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: You know, I read something earlier this weekend that really disturbed me. It was this anti-war rally in Washington, D.C. A protester reportedly spit on an Iraq war veteran. This is a guy who risked his life. He lost a limb in the name of his country.

Let me be clear. Have we learned nothing from Vietnam? You know, before the Iraq war started, I organized a tour around the country called "The Rally for America". Liberal media marked it as a war rally. It wasn`t. It was a rally for our troops. It was a time for us to get together and promise each other something.

Tens of thousands of people came from all around the country. We were there to make a promise to ourselves and to our troops. And it is a promise that I stand by today, and I believe you do, as well.

It was a promise that we learned our lesson well in Vietnam, that no matter what, we would stand by our troops. We would support them through this war, you know, that we would be there as they fought with everything that they`ve got and we`ve got. And we wouldn`t handcuff them, that we would get the job done quickly, and we would bring our men and women home.

You know, I want you to really think about this tonight. What would you do if somebody handed you a gun and told you to put another human being in the cross-hairs and squeeze the trigger? That is what we ask our soldiers to do in our name every day.

We ask them to go against everything that they were taught as children, to go against everything that they stand for, as we stand for, as human beings, all in the name of this country and our security.

And in exchange, we tell them that they have our support and what they`re doing is OK.

You know what? I can`t imagine what it`s like to have to kill another human being. Not just one but many. And I refuse to allow anyone to put these men through any more hell than war because of politics. Like it or not, we asked them as a nation to go and do this. And guess what? We`re in it. So let`s stand by their side.

This weekend, thousands of Americans marched on Capitol Hill to protest the war in Iraq. You know what? Antiwar protesters, you have a right to speak out. This is America. Speak out.

But a young veteran, who was at that rally, there to support our troops, says that someone spit on him.

Whatever the claims, the details of the story, it`s not really about this incident. This incident is a reminder. It is a reminder to all of us about a promise we made to ourselves, or should have.

Listen and listen well. You can disagree with this war. You can -- you can support the war or not support. You can yell from the highest mountaintop that you don`t want this to turn into another Vietnam. Well, you know what? None of us do. I don`t, you don`t. None of us. Why would we want to turn a war into another national nightmare?

I`ll support your right to speak out, but I will not support your right to spit on our soldiers or in any other way hurt their morale. You start taking apart our soldiers, and you`ve got to come through me and millions like me.

It is time to draw a line in the sand. We need to win this war, bring our troops home. When they come home, we need to celebrate them, throw parades in their honors and welcome them as heroes. We will not humiliate them. We will not mistreat our soldiers again.

Back in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right. Welcome to "The Real Story."

You know, one of the things I love about this job is how everybody just looks at this show with their mouth open. What? What did he just say? Every time I mention that we`re in World War III, people always say the same thing, "Oh, he`s just such a warmonger. It`s only a couple of countries." Wrong. Just because you only hear about Iran and Iraq every day doesn`t mean there aren`t plenty of other countries ready to be set on fire.

I`ve been trying to think of a good analogy for how I see the world, for how fragile I think this peace really is, and I think I finally have one. It`s going to sound a little weird, but picture the world as one of these Jenga games. Imagine that each country is a different wooden block. Every time a block is poked out of the tower, the whole structure gets just a little weaker. Eventually somebody, usually me, is going to push out the most innocuous of the blocks, and the whole thing suddenly collapses. And it almost always seems to happen when you least expect it.

When it comes to World War III, I truly believe that we are just waiting to figure out which country is going to be that final Jenga block. Which one will cause the whole tower to come tumbling down? Just today, we saw how the U.K. and really all of Europe is in huge, huge trouble. But the real story is, we`ve got to keep our eye on seemingly stable Arab countries, like Egypt.

There are three things happening right now that, I mean, nobody in the mainstream media is ever going to tell you. First, Egypt`s president recently hinted that they may not only pursue their own nuclear program, but they may also have to develop nuclear weapons to defend themselves from others in the region.

Second, just this week, Egyptian state newspaper ran a front-page editorial -- front page -- claiming that Iran is trying to spread their breed of Islam to other Arab countries and create a Middle Eastern Iranian empire. Gee, where have you heard that one before?

And, third, Egypt is suffering from internal culture wars, between the extremists and the moderate Muslims, and it is ripping that country apart. You put all of that together, and you have a society that is literally teetering on the edge, a country that is fighting over itself over the future that it wants.

And when that last Jenga piece causes the whole tower to collapse, you keep your eye on Egypt, because they just might end up being right in the middle of all of it.

Next, no matter where it finally starts or what causes it, there is one thing I know for sure: Iran will play a major player. It`s going to be in the center of it. That Egyptian newspaper was right. They are trying to build an empire in the Middle East, the final empire, with its capital in ancient Babylon. And, unfortunately, those aren`t just my words or, you know, crazy ideas. They`re theirs! They have said it clearly time and time again.

For years now, I`ve been saying that the real reason we went into Iraq was the regime change in Iran. The president could have never said that. He had a hard enough time making a case for Iraq. But every day now, it becomes more and more clear that his vision was dead on.

Today, Iraq`s prime minister told CNN that he is absolutely convinced that the Iranians are attacking American troops inside Iraq. The news comes as the Pentagon is now apparently investigating whether a sophisticated attack that killed five U.S. soldiers last week was carried out by Iranian operatives. Some analysts are even speculating that the attack was in retaliation for the U.S. capturing five Iranian Revolutionary Guard members earlier this month.

Real story? Real story is Iran is already at war with us. The fact that it`s taking place inside of Iraq makes it only even more important that we face the reality.

You know, I know it`s easy to forget just how much we have learned. If you watched this program about Iran over the last year, let me remind you of some of these things.

We now know that Iran is funding Hezbollah and has used them to fight a proxy war against Israel last summer. We know that Iran has already drawn up plans to fill the power vacuum in Iraq, if we leave early. We know that Iran refuses to halt their nuclear program, a fact that is even more terrifying given that the Russians are selling weapons-grade uranium in vending machines.

We also know that Iran`s supreme leader met with Russia`s national security adviser. That happened last weekend. That`s something that hardly ever happens.

We know that Iran believes the end of America and Israel is coming soon. They couldn`t be more clear on that. And we now know that Iran is fighting and killing our troops inside of Iraq. Now, these aren`t just the outlandish allegations of a fearmongering, warmongering, hatemongering, bigoted, racist, evil conservative television talk show host. I`m not the only guy saying this anymore. These are now facts.

And if you`ve watched this show, you`ve known about these for months. Well, guess what? The world is finally catching up with us. And while they do, let me tell you what`s coming next.

Lately, my head and gut have been disagreeing about where we are in the timeline. My gut`s been telling me there`s still time. My head has been saying the clock is ticking faster, and faster, and faster. Well, this morning, those two things fell in sync. My head was right: The clock is moving much more rapidly!

A few days ago, I read a report that some experts believe that we will attack Iran before Tony Blair leaves office, which is supposed to be later this year. Now, I don`t know if that`s true or not. But I do believe one thing: Iran will be confronted before George Bush leaves office, and that`s a million years away compared to how fast I think this clock is actually ticking.

But mark my words: This guy is not going to leave this mess for the next president. He is not going to take a chance that the next president after him will be too worried about polls or politics to start the job. He`ll start the job; he`ll take the inevitable hit. "Oh, look what he`s done now," and then he`s going to let somebody else finish his war.

Say what you want about President Bush. But President Bush has had a vision for the Middle East since the first day he took office. It may have started with Afghanistan, spread to Iraq, but it ends in Iran. The only question left is: When?

Peter Brookes, senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, Peter, why are some people saying that last week`s hit on the five U.S. soldiers was Iran`s way of paying us back?

PETER BROOKES, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Well, I think they`re tying it in, just as you said on the CNN reporting, that these diplomats that are supposed diplomats that we grabbed in Erbil and arrested and detained, that this was a tit for tat on the part of the Iranians, that they went in there, got a hold of American uniforms, kidnapped Americans, and ultimately tragically killed American soldiers.

It was a sophisticated plot. And I think that`s one of the reasons that they think it was the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps, who are a sophisticated group of terrorists/paramilitaries.

BECK: You know, this really bothered me today, Peter. There`s another comment from the prime minister of Iraq. He said, quote, "We have told the Iranians and the Americans we know that you have a problem with each other, but we`re asking you, please, solve your problems outside of Iraq." I mean, how insulting is that?

BROOKES: Yes, that`s very disappointing that he would say something like that. The Iranians are behind a great deal of the violence we`re seeing in Iraq. They`re supporting the Shia militias that are involved in the sectarian, this terrible sectarian violence between the Shia and the Sunni. So, I mean, trying to point a finger at us and saying we`re causing problems, yes, well, the Iranians are the real problem. They`re supplying weapons, money, all sorts of stuff, Glenn.

BECK: And what they need to understand and what the world needs to understand, what Americans need to understand, is these people, it doesn`t have anything to do with us. It has everything to do with them controlling the entire Middle East and setting up a global Islamic superstate. Am I wrong?

BROOKES: That`s right. No, you`re absolutely right! Glenn, the war that Iran has waged on the United States goes back to 1979 when they held 52 Americans for 444 days hostage. Then, and don`t forget, there`s Iranian blood on their hands, along with Hezbollah, who they support, of the 241 Marines and sailors who were killed in 1983 when they attacked the Marine barracks in Beirut while they were on a peacekeeping mission in that country. I mean, this country is a major problem. It`s got to be contained. We`ve got to deal with it.

BECK: OK. So, Peter, what I`ve been -- my gut and my head have been arguing with each other about the time line. And this is why my head has been saying, "Oh, it`s moving much more rapidly now." And that`s because I`ve been saying to Bush for I don`t know how many years, "Start talking about Iran. Start admitting these things. Start showing the American people what`s going on." Why is he doing it now? What has happened? There seems to be a shift...

BROOKES: Right.

BECK: ... in American -- I don`t know if I can say -- honesty about what`s really going on. Why?

BROOKES: You know, as a former Pentagon official, Glenn, I think what was behind it is that we were hoping we could talk the Iranians out of their nuclear program. I think we have lost faith in the diplomatic track, and we just decided to expose Iran to the rest of the world for what it really is.

BECK: So when people -- you know, the one thing that I have been amazed by is nobody is paying attention to what`s going on in Lebanon right now.

BROOKES: Right, yes.

BECK: And it is so remarkable to me that America, American policy, Israel has been touted as this great Satan, but yet they`re killing their own people in Lebanon, and they`re doing it with funds and coordination from Iran. How do you get people to pay attention to that, Peter?

BROOKES: They have to. I mean, this is -- the brave, democratically elected government of Lebanon has held fast in a terrific fashion. Hezbollah, backed by Syria and Iran, is trying to bring down the democratically elected government, after what they did last year in Israel. I mean, we have to stand by this government in Lebanon and Beirut today.

BECK: Chances of success, Peter?

BROOKES: I think it`s good. I think it`s good. You know, we`ve got to keep our fingers crossed. And every day brings a new challenge, Glenn.

BECK: Peter, thanks a lot. That`s the real story tonight. And if you`d like to read more about this, if you`ve found a real story of your own, tell us about it, please. Visit glennbeck.com and click on the "Real Story" button. Back in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Girls beating up girls. Did you see this? You know the scariest part of this story? Police investigated, arrested, you know, came in, talked to them, did all the police stuff. No remorse. None. No remorse.

There`s a lot of great kids. A lot of really bad kids. Gee, it`s almost like the good guys can`t understand the bad guys and the bad guys don`t understand the good guys. Isn`t that weird? It`s like everything is upside-down. Hey, welcome to the parallel universe.

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BECK: You know what really tugs at my heart strings? Oh, nothing. I forgot. I`m a conservative. I don`t have a heart. How about this? The fact that we really do care about our fellow man. No, it`s true. And nothing says we care more than plastering somebody else`s business all over the Internet. It`s great, it`s great.

You know, now, I can`t imagine what Paris Hilton has her non-existent panties all in a twist about, because we care about Paris. We do. She`s the first casualty of what I like to call "When Bad Girls Fall on Hard Times." It seems Paris couldn`t fork up the $200 bucks to pay a storage bill, so now all of her personal information, including nude photos of her, are everywhere. What a surprise that is. Diary entries are all over creation again.

And then, of course, there`s the Trump pardon, Miss USA Tara Conner. She was in her first post-rehab interview. And she`s coming clean, coming clean and cleaner, really. She told Matt Lauer that she has, in fact, done cocaine. Oh, my goodness. And you know what, Tara? Admitting you have a problem, only 11 more steps to go.

But that`s one better than poor Paula Abdul. She says she`s not on drugs, which then just makes her nuts, I guess? But despite that, rumors are flying that she`s been replaced by Courtney Love, which makes perfect sense. That`s like putting fire out with gasoline. Seriously, that would work.

Ken Baker is the editorial director of USmagazine.com. And, actually, Ken, Courtney Love is the loser in this situation, not Paula. Is that the latest on this story?

KEN BAKER, USMAGAZINE.COM: Yes. Well, what you said appropriately was Courtney Love was rumored to be replacing Paula Abdul. The rumor started with Courtney Love. She told USmagazine.com yesterday that she had received a call from Nigel Lythgoe, who is the producer of "American Idol," inquiring about whether she would be interested in taking over Paula`s slot. Now, this call apparently took place about a week ago.

Then, a day goes by, and earlier this afternoon Nigel Lythgoe released a statement to USmagazine.com saying, "I never made the call. I think it was an imposter." We called Courtney Love, and she said, "Oh, it was probably a prank." So as it turns out, all of you people afraid that Paula Abdul was going to be replaced, it was a prank call. We`re a prank society. We have prank bombs, and now we have prank calls on "American Idol." What`s this world coming to?

BECK: Here is the biggest deal that I couldn`t figure out. You`re saying that Courtney Love didn`t have the mental clarity to figure out that that might have been a prank? Wow.

BAKER: You know, it`s hard to believe, but sometimes you just have to, you know, suspend disbelief.

BECK: Yes, OK. ParisExposed.com has been shut down as a Web site now. Is this story -- did she -- I mean, come on. She clearly could have paid $200 to have, you know, her storage kept. Is this something she has orchestrated for more publicity?

BAKER: No, actually, if you know Paris, and I know her fairly well, you would know that she does forget things. She doesn`t check her mail. So it`s very realistic that she was told by the storage company, "Take your stuff out or we`re going to auction it." And they did. And this guy got his hands on it. He sold it for $10 million to a pornographer.

They put it on the Internet, at ParisExposed.com, like you said, videos, photographs, diaries, everything you can imagine. Now, you might think, well, isn`t she famous for this? Why is this bad? Why is she suing? She`s now suing to get this stuff -- in federal court, by the way - - to get this stuff off the Internet and get her materials back.

Now, you might say, "Wait, doesn`t she love this? Isn`t this why she`s Paris Hilton, because of all the sex video stuff?" But what`s happening is that Paris Hilton is trying to get away from that image. And so this just brings her right back to three or four years ago when the original sex tape came out that made her famous in the first place. So it`s just a big mess, and she can`t control it now.

BECK: Hold it. Hold it just a second. First, I got to go back to the fact that I`m shocked Paris Hilton is a little scatterbrained. What? Who would have seen that coming?

Second of all, she wants to get away from this image? We couldn`t have NASA get her far away enough with another moon shot. And that`s an unfortunate twist of words. How does she expect to now change her image?

BAKER: Well, here`s the thing. There`s two things going on here, OK? There is a legal case. Now, the legal case is actually on pretty shady ground. I think it`s pretty sketchy. They did take down the Web site. But from all the legal experts I talked to, they say, look, it is their legal right to publish that material, and they`re going to have to work out some sort of settlement, it seems like.

So those images are going to be back out there. You`re going to be able to enjoy those. Now, the P.R. side of this whole thing, Glenn...

(CROSSTALK)

BAKER: ... is that she wants to get big endorsements. She wants to be a movie star. She wants to do all these things to get her beyond the reality star...

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. You know what she should do? In the next Bond movie, do you know what she should do? She should play a nuclear scientist, because it worked well for Denise Richards. I believed her in that role. And, Paris, I`ll believe her in that role, too. Come on. Is anybody going to take her seriously in a film unless it`s in green vision?

BAKER: Well, I think there`s a role for everyone. And Paris has tried...

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: Yes. It`s in night vision. That`s the role she cut for herself. All right, Ken. Thanks a lot. I appreciate it. Back in a second with your e-mail.

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BECK: All right. Time for your e-mail.

The first one is about an e-mail that we did yesterday, which, if my math is right, makes an e-mail about a response to an e-mail that was a response to something I said. Got it? It starts, "I`m a Muslim, and I was offended by the comments from a viewer that Islam is evil. Glenn, you do an excellent job of pointing that out, that it is not bad. Please keep doing so. I`d also like to point out that, in the Koran, it specifically states not to discriminate by race or sex, but extremists say a man is equal to two women. Obviously, these people do not follow the true beliefs of Islam."

I appreciate the e-mail. I do. I`m glad to see that somebody actually watches and listens to what I say about Islam on occasion. But I do have to call you out on one thing. Why were you anonymous? It`s not like you forgot to enter your name. You actually took the time to type out the word "Anonymous." A Muslim who says that extremists are making a mockery of his religious is the last thing we need to have him write anonymous, at least right now. This country needs you, needs you to be seen and heard.

David writes in, "With everything going on in this sick, twisted world, the last thing that we should be discussing is Tyra Banks` current weight. Wars, famine, disease, corruption, Tyra Banks` weight, insurgencies, crime, gee, one of these things not like the others. It doesn`t take a rocket scientist to figure out which is the subject that doesn`t belong. Besides, it doesn`t matter how much Tyra Banks weighs. She`s a world-class hottie."

Yes, world class hottie. Sure, probably the reason she made about a trillion dollars as a supermodel. Whoever defined her as "fat" obviously had never walked through an American mall in the summer and witnessed the constant parade of sweaty rolls of flab that hang over skin-tight spandex shorts.

With that being said, to take a couple of your favorite topic selections, I mean, we could talk about famine and disease every day. But I don`t know. Personally, you know, I`d have a hard time doing non-stop stories on starving Ebola victims. I need a little spoonful of sugar, you know, to help the medicine go down.

Don`t worry, though. An update tomorrow on genocidal, baby-eating killer serpents is coming up on the program, and you certainly don`t want to miss that. You can e-mail me your famine and disease stories to GlennBeck@CNN.com. From New York, good night. We`ll see you tomorrow, you sick, twisted freak.

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