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Lou Dobbs Tonight
Jordanians Protest After Hotel Attacks; At Least 34 Dead in Baghdad Attack
Aired November 10, 2005 - 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: Wolf, thank you.
In the meantime, good evening, everybody.
Tonight, thousands of Jordanians in street demonstration against al Qaeda after al Qaeda's deadly suicide bomb attacks against western hotels in Jordan. We'll have a live report for you.
As well, the hunt for al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al- Zarqawi. Our military so far seems incapable of capturing him. General David Grange joins us to tell us why we fail.
And where is Vice President Cheney? He has all but disappeared from public view. And the White House won't tell us where he is. We'll have a special report.
And tonight, a troubling new threat to our sovereignty and our diminishing national identity, and what it means to be an American citizen in 2005. That special report as well.
And Congress could raise the cost of a college education for millions of Americans, making college unaffordable for many middle class families in this country.
Tonight, defiance and protests in Jordan against al Qaeda. Thousands of people today took part in a spontaneous protest after deadly terrorist attacks against three international hotels. Fifty- six people confirmed to have been killed in those attacks, including two Americans.
CNN has learned that two of the suicide bombers were Iraqis. Authorities say al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, organized these attacks.
Guy Raz reports from Amman, Jordan -- Guy.
GUY RAZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Lou, after a day of somber silence here in the Jordanian capital, a night of noise. The initial shock of these triple bombings has made way for defiance, and makeshift memorials and demonstrations have cropped up throughout this city.
Now, just behind us here is the Radisson hotel. This was the scene of that wedding hall blast that left dozens of people maimed and injured. People have been coming to this site throughout the evening to light candles, to chant, to protest against terror organizations like al Qaeda and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's organization in Iraq.
Also, cars honking their horns, processions of cars driving throughout the country, waving their flags, showing and voicing support for their monarch, King Abdullah. There really is a sense now that the people of this country are mobilizing in a show of support for their government, and in a show of force and defiance against terror organizations that committed what's now being described as the worst terrorist attack in Jordanian history -- Lou.
DOBBS: Guy, thank you. Guy Raz from Amman.
President Bush today strongly condemned those attacks in Jordan, saying the radical Islamist terrorists have no heart and no conscience. President Bush made those remarks after signing a book of condolences at the Jordanian embassy in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It struck me, Mr. Ambassador, that once again that we face an enemy that has no heart, an enemy that is defiling a great religion of Islam.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOBBS: The president said the United States will do everything possible to help bring the organizers of those attacks to justice.
Al Qaeda terrorists in Iraq launched a deadly suicide bomb attack today against Iraqi police officers. At least 34 people were killed in a Baghdad restaurant popular with Iraqi policemen. It was the worst attack in the city in nearly two months.
Aneesh Raman reports now from Baghdad -- Aneesh.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, good evening.
The worst attack in months and the deadliest of three suicide attacks ravaged Iraq today. It happened around 9:00 a.m. local, when a suicide bomber wearing an explosives vest walked into a restaurant on Abu Nawah Street (ph). It's the main commercial thoroughfare that runs through the Iraqi capital.
He then blew himself up. At least 34 people were killed in the ensuing explosion, 25 others wounded.
This is a restaurant that is frequented by Iraqi police officials. That, it seems, was the target.
Within hours, Al Qaeda in Iraq, the group headed by Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for the attack on a Web site, once again showing they are the front face of the insurgency here, one of many elements. But the element that carries out the deadliest attacks, the most severe attacks, these suicide bombings, these suicide car bombs.
Today, the coalition in this press briefing spoke to the sustained capabilities of Abu Musab al- Zarqawi.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He still has the capability of recruiting suicide bombers, training those suicide bombers and giving them the munitions. And that's what happened in Baghdad today, and that's what happened in Jordan yesterday. And that will continue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAMAN: And so as they hunt for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Lou, throughout the country, he continually moves around. Operations ongoing in the western part of the country. Operation Steel Curtain that we've been telling you about all week, now having secured the city of Husaybah, is moving east to the town of Karabala. There, again, they hope to root out the insurgency.
The big factor is, of course, that border across which foreign fighters' weapons and cache continue to flow into and out of Iraq. And that can only happen when Iraqi security forces step up and are able on their own in a permanent basis to secure that area -- Lou.
DOBBS: Aneesh, today, al-Assad, the president of Syria, said that he should not -- his country should not be held anymore accountable for its border with Iraq than the United States in its failures to provide security along our border with Mexico. What is the sense of this operation along the Syrian border and how long it will operate?
RAMAN: Well, it's the beginning of an incredibly long process. And for Iraqis, especially the Iraqi government, they say every border has two sides, and that the Syrians are not nearly doing enough on their end to stop the flow of these weapons, of these fighters into the country.
This operation is just routing out the insurgency that had a stronghold here. That's just the beginning.
Now we will have a permanent security presence, the Iraqi security forces. Whether they're up to the task is yet to be seen. But even if they are, it is just the beginning of a long process. Huge borders in Iraq, most of which remains insecure -- Lou.
DOBBS: Aneesh Raman from Baghdad. Thank you, Aneesh.
New fears in this country tonight about a possible terrorist attack against commercial aircraft. Two naturalized U.S. citizens were indicted yesterday in a scheme to smuggle surface-to-air missiles into this country. We've learned that the smugglers planned to acquire those missiles in China and presumably then smuggle them to a third country.
Casey Wian has the report from Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is the Chinese- made QW-2 surface-to-air missile. It can be shoulder launched and bring down a low-flying fighter jet or commercial airliner.
These are shipping containers at the port of Long Beach, California. One of them was destined to carry a load of QW-2 missiles from China, smuggled into the United States.
A federal grand jury in Los Angeles alleges Chao Tung Wu and Yi Qing Chen, Chinese-born U.S. citizens, conspired to import the missiles and planned to sell them to a third country.
THOM MROZEK, SPOKESMAN, U.S. ATTORNEY: There were numerous discussions between the undercover agents and the smugglers about these weapons. At some point there was a discussion of as many as 200 of these coming in. The final negotiations involved just a few of them.
It appears that the smugglers in fact had access from one or possibly other countries to surface-to-air missiles and perhaps other weapons that would be prohibited to be brought into the United States.
WIAN: They were first arrested and charged in August as part of a major smuggling bust involving a virtual superstore of contraband, including so-called supernote (ph) counterfeit $100 bills, counterfeit cigarettes and Viagra, plus illegal drugs and weapons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Silenced pistols, silenced sub-machineguns, assault rifles and other weapons, including rocket launchers.
WIAN: The new indictment alleges the missile scheme continued even while Wu and Chen were in custody. A man in China known as "The General" tried to complete the sale for $3 million to an undercover law enforcement agent. Though the indictment alleges no link to a specific terrorist plot in the United States or anywhere else, the threat from shoulder-launched missiles is all too real.
JACK PLEDGER, NORTHROP GRUMMAN: It's a weapon that is easily adaptable to the terrorist threat. There have been about 500,000 or more produced, and we know that some of them are currently in the hands of about 27 different terrorist organizations.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN: If convicted, Wu and Chen now face a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole. They're the first people charged under a new federal anti- terrorism law passed late last year -- Lou.
DOBBS: Casey, thank you for that report, a report of success in dealing with the contraband and the smugglers in the weaponry for global terrorism.
Casey Wian from Los Angeles. Thank you.
Federal prosecutors are stepping up their investigation into what could be one of the most damaging spy cases in decades. Four people in federal custody tonight in California for allegedly trying to steal top-secret information about the U.S. Navy's latest submarine technology.
This case is just one example of what is a huge communist Chinese spying operation in this country involving as many as 3,000 front companies and an untold number of spies.
In China, a local communist party official has been jailed and sentenced to life after denouncing corruption by senior government figures. "The Washington Post" reporting that two sources have confirmed the prison sentence of the official, Wang Jin Gao (ph) in southern China. Wang (ph) had accused communist party members of confiscating land from peasants and selling that land in exchange for bribes. Now sentenced to life in prison.
China is cracking down as well on a new target in its effort to repress any mention of democracy within the country, cell phone text messages. An announcement from the so-called Ministry of Public Security warned that text messaging can "have a massive influence."
The government promised to take action against anyone caught sending text messages that violate Chinese laws it. It comes as the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom this week issued a scathing report on China's lack of press, Internet and religious freedom. The commission noted that when its delegation visited China this fall, they could not even log onto their own Web site.
Turning now to the riots in France, French President Jacques Chirac today called for a swift government response to the social problems in Muslim and Arab areas after two weeks of unrest and outright rioting. Last night there was more rioting in towns and cities across France, but the scale and intensity of the violence diminished.
In the southern city of Toulouse, rioters set fire to cars and a bus. Rioters crashed a burning car into an elementary school, setting that building on fire.
Still ahead here tonight, possible trouble for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito.
Then, plugging the leak. Republicans' unity all but collapsed over a new GOP embarrassment. We'll have that story.
And this is Thursday, November 10. Do you know where your vice president is? Our special report on why Dick Cheney is rarely, these days, in the public eye.
And the American national identity in decline. Are some of our newest citizens taking the privilege for granted, are some of our other citizens simply ignoring the responsibilities of citizenship? A special report here next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) DOBBS: Tonight, the confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court appears to have encountered its first negative. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are now asking Judge Alito to explain his decision to hear a case before the federal appellate court two years ago. That case involved the Vanguard Mutual Fund company in which Judge Alito had invested between nearly $500,000 and $1 million.
Senator Ted Kennedy claims Judge Alito had promised senators in his 1990 confirmation hearings he would recuse himself in any cases involving Vanguard. Judge Alito was asked about that case today when he talked with Democratic Senator Herb Kohl.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Kohl, Senator Specter said that the Vanguard recusal thing may threaten to spiral out of control today. Will that come up with your talks with the judge.
SEN. HERB KOHL (D), WISCONSIN: We'll see.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Judge, did you have (INAUDIBLE) on that?
JUDGE SAMUEL ALITO, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: No. I'm just looking forward to talking with Senator Kohl.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOBBS: Now, Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter today unexpectedly gave Democrats something to talk about in their opposition to Alito. Specter urging Alito to speak publicly on this issue. And at issue, of course, is the fact that there may have been a computer glitch in which Judge Alito was not notified of the potential conflict of interest. And secondly, the role of mutual funds as an investment that would bar a federal appellate court judge from hearing a case.
Also in Washington today, Republican leaders had been unified in saying they need a joint House-Senate investigation of "The Washington Post" leak story. But now Senate Republicans have suspended their side of the investigation. But House Republicans say they're forging ahead without those Senate Republicans.
This probe is simply the latest embarrassment for an embattled Republican leadership on Capitol Hill.
Ed Henry reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. PETE HOEKSTRA (R), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: The depth of leaks that we have seen in the intelligence community over the last 12 to 18 months have done irreparable harm to our ability to effectively conduct the war on terror.
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The move caps three days of fits and starts from Republican leaders. On Tuesday afternoon, Speaker Dennis Hastert and Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist circulated a letter calling on the House and Senate intelligence panels to launch a joint investigation, because the leak may have caused major damage to national security. But Frist waited a few hours before signing the letter, in part because of comments by Republican Senator Trent Lott.
Lott said Republicans might be embarrassed because the leak may have come from a closed-door meeting Vice President Cheney had with Republicans. Lott called CNN Wednesday to clarify he meant to say sensitive information about detainee treatment, not secret prisons leaked out of the Cheney meeting.
But later Wednesday morning, the Republican chairman of the Senate intelligence panel said Frist had still not made clear his intentions for the probe.
SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: I have not been formally asked. I am not in receipt of any signed letter by the leadership.
HENRY: Roberts and Frist later said they're suspending the Senate probe altogether because they do not want to interfere with the Justice Department's possible criminal investigation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: Now, Democrats say Senate Majority Leader Frist has egg on his face because he made such a big deal about launching this joint probe a couple of days ago. Now he's had to pull out. But Frist aides say, to the contrary, the only reason why they pulled out is the fact that it leaked out after Frist had made this announcement that in fact the Justice Department may be launching a criminal investigation and Frist did not want to interfere with that -- Lou.
DOBBS: Well, that is quite a convoluted causal relationship that you've reported on as articulated by the leadership. So, in other words, the Senate would not go forward with the investigation because that investigation of a leak was leaked?
HENRY: Yes. And the other thing is that the House Republicans don't seem to have the same concern about interfering with the criminal investigation.
DOBBS: Right.
HENRY: As you saw there, the House Republicans were moving ahead anyway. So it's curious that one side wants to move ahead, the other doesn't. It also comes on a day today, as you know, Lou, that the House Republicans didn't have the votes to pass their budget today.
Another embarrassment for them, the first test of their vote counter in the wake of Tom DeLay, their best vote counter leaving as majority leader, at least temporarily. They now have had to kick this budget vote to next week because they can't get their folks in line -- Lou. DOBBS: I know that you and I want to be clear, the Justice Department has not started a criminal investigation.
HENRY: Right.
DOBBS: It is looking into whether one would be appropriate.
HENRY: The CIA has referred it to them to look at it, exactly.
DOBBS: And Judge Samuel Alito, Arlen Specter, if you will, I'm sure, not pleasing the Republican leadership in the Senate, today really throwing -- throwing things into a bit of a chaos around the nomination of Judge Alito, saying that this could be a major problem, calling on him to speak out. And we have just heard from Judge Alito.
What's his response?
HENRY: That's right. In fact, CNN has just obtained this letter that Judge Alito has sent back to Senator Specter in the last half- hour. And basically, he's responding.
The quick thing here is that for the first time, Judge Alito goes on the record and says, "I am committed to carrying out my duties as a judge in accordance with both the letter and spirit of all rules of ethics and conduct."
He also says that 1990 questionnaire in which he promised to the Senate that he would avoid such conflicts, he says that when you look at the questionnaire it only says that he would disqualify himself in his initial service on the bench. In the first few years after 1990, the case involving Vanguard, as you noted, popped up in 2002, 2003.
And also, Alito points out in this letter to Specter that basically it was a mistake, a computer glitch, it appears, that allowed this case involving Vanguard to slip through the recusal screen, and that basically after it was pointed out that it had slipped through, Alito says he voluntarily recused himself.
Republicans hope this ends this issue finally. We're waiting for reaction from the Democrats. I hope to have it later in the hour or next hour -- Lou.
DOBBS: Well, let's get it during this hour.
HENRY: All right. Let's get it. Well have it later this hour -- Lou.
DOBBS: And we should point out, too, the appellate court in the Vanguard decision, a three-judge panel was unanimous in its position.
Thank you very much.
HENRY: Thank you.
DOBBS: Ed Henry from Capitol Hill. The president's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, today blasted Democratic critics of the war in Iraq and the administration's use of prewar intelligence. Hadley's remarks are part of a more aggressive White House response to weeks of criticism by congressional Democrats.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN HADLEY, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I point out that some of the critics today believed themselves in 2002 that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. They stated that belief, and they voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq because they believed Saddam Hussein posed a dangerous threat to the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOBBS: Hadley said those critics are exposing the hollowness, as he put it, of their attacks by ignoring their own past statements on prewar intelligence and weapons of mass destruction.
Coming up ahead here, a new assault on our nation's middle class. The target this time, college students and their middle class families. We'll tell you why Congress is moving to cut the student loan program.
And then one state's plan to teach Spanish to its youngest students has sparked a heated debate.
And why is Pat Robertson telling one Pennsylvania town to fear the wrath of god for a very secular vote? We'll have the story and a lot more next.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Tonight, a debate, a controversy in Florida over a proposed law that would mandatorily force the state's 600,000 school children to learn Spanish. The law would mandate children from kindergarten to second grade be taught Spanish at the same time they're learning English.
Bill Tucker has the report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): There are early 600,000 kids in Florida's K through second grade, almost 100,000 of those are not proficient in English. Yet at least one state senator wants to introduce another language into the mix.
SEN. LESLEY MILLER (D), FLORIDA STATE HOUSE: At that formative age of children, now is the time to get them interested and open their minds to a foreign language. And Spanish being a heavily-spoken language in Florida, we felt that Spanish was the language. TUCKER: Critics decry the move as political correctness gone wild. They note that less than a quarter of the students are Hispanic, while 51 percent are considered minority.
MAURO MUJICA, U.S. ENGLISH: Why Spanish? You know, you have 134 languages spoken in Florida. What about the Russian parents and the Turkish parents and the French parents? Shouldn't it be up to the parents to select the second language for their children?
TUCKER: Local school board members in Charlotte County are left scratching their heads, wondering how they will fit the class into an already full day. And to pay for the program would mean other classes would have to be discontinued.
MIKE RILEY, CHARLOTTE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT: The options would be the specials, the arts, the music, the PEs. But in Charlotte County those are valuable programs to us.
TUCKER: State education officials say the bill is out of line with their priorities.
JOHN WYNN, COMM., FLORIDA DEPT. OF EDUCATION: It's very important to make sure students whose English is not their native English learn to speak and read in English, because living in Florida and the United States, they're going to have to conduct business in English and throughout their school careers.
TUCKER: In the wake of the uproar over his proposal, Senator Miller says he is changing his bill to eliminate making it mandatory.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCKER: And it is interesting to note that this controversy is happening in Florida, because this is the state, Lou, that passed a bill in 1988 making English the official language. And it passed the Senate and the legislature down there by a vote of 81 percent.
DOBBS: Bill Tucker, thank you very much.
Still ahead here, our nation's newest citizens, are 100 percent of them really proud to be American? Our special report on this country's increasingly devalued citizenship.
Also, where's the veep? A special report on Vice President Cheney's absence from the public eye.
And our nation's college students the target of massive budget cuts by Washington. The Congress that said OK to a $400 million bridge to nowhere now wants to cut the funding for the future of our middle class college students.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: There's at least one well-kept secret in Washington, D.C., these days that hasn't been leaked, Vice President Cheney's top secret schedule and location. We asked the White House where the vice president is. The White House wouldn't tell us.
Bill Schneider has the report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice over): Vice presidents are supposed to go funerals and fund-raisers, and become the butt of jokes. Remember Dan Quayle and the potato?
DAN QUAYLE, FMR. VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There you go. All right.
SCHNEIDER: Dick Cheney is different. He doesn't get out much.
Unavailable, his official schedule says. The biggest joke about Cheney is that he can usually be found in his secure and undisclosed location. But Cheney is often called the most powerful vice president ever. The real president, some call him.
He even jokes about that.
RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: By the way, I do miss those stories you used to do about my running the White House and being the power behind the scenes.
(LAUGHTER)
CHENEY: Those were the best, most accurate stories you people ever did.
SCHNEIDER: Cheney is a publicly elected office holder, but the public does not have much access to him. He's a behind-the-scenes player.
BUSH: Vice President Cheney has been that steady adviser, the solid rock.
SCHNEIDER: Lately, Cheney has been embroiled in controversy over his role in making the case for war with Iraq.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.
SCHNEIDER: And over his role in the effort to discredit an Iraq war critic.
Most Americans believe Vice President Cheney was aware of the actions taken by his chief of staff, Lewis Libby, who has been indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice. Is that a problem for Cheney?
Unlike nearly every vice president for the past 70 years, Cheney says he is not running for president. But it is a problem for President Bush. Rumors are flying around Washington that Cheney may be losing influence with the president.
THOMAS DEFRANK, THE DAILY NEWS: This distance is the word that -- the phrase I keep hearing, this distance seems to be accelerating in the wake of the CIA leak investigation.
SCHNEIDER: The vice president is certainly losing influence with the American public. Last month, for the first time, most Americans expressed an unfavorable opinion of Vice President Cheney.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER: When the president is losing support, as he is right now, he's probably unhappy with everybody in the White House, starting with the guy in the mirror -- Lou.
DOBBS: Bill Schneider, thank you very much.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger may be having some trouble with the fellow in the mirror as well. The governor tonight said he's learned his lesson after his humiliating defeat in the polls. Schwarzenegger talked at length for the first time today about the defeat of all four of his ballot initiatives. They were on that ballot Tuesday. He says he needs to learn patience in seeking government reform, and he says the buck does stop with him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: I take full responsibility for everything, because it's -- you know, it's, again, I go back to the movie business, that if your movie goes down, you know, people are going to blame you for it, and if it goes up and if it makes it, then you get, you know, all the praise, and the star gets all the credit for it.
As a matter of fact, you know, if I will do another "Terminator" movie, I would have Terminator travel back in time to tell Arnold not to have a special election.
But I mean, that's always easy to say all this stuff, you know, so believe me, I should have also listened to my wife, who said to me, don't do this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOBBS: Governor Schwarzenegger also pledged to put aside his differences with the Democratic legislators who opposed his reforms. He pledged to work closer with his political foes in the future. There was no reciprocal pledge on the part of Democrats in the state of California.
U.S. citizenship is a precious honor coveted by countless millions of people all around the world today. But many of our nation's newest citizens are taking the privilege of citizenship for granted, and devaluing what it means to be an American, as are many of us who have lived all our lives in this country. Christine Romans reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For years, immigrants came to this country to fulfill the dream of American citizenship.
CROWD: ... I will support and defend...
ROMANS: Half a million immigrants pledge their allegiance to the United States each year. Now, many fear we are chipping away at what it means to be an American, devaluing the citizenship those millions work so hard to obtain. We don't enforce our own laws. We give American rights and freedoms without requiring any responsibility, and bestow automatic citizenship to the children born here to parents in the country illegally.
REP. DANIEL LUNGREN (R), CALIFORNIA: It is the question of what kind of a society we want to have. It is a question ultimately of whether or not we value citizenship. There are some people who don't believe citizenship means much these days, that we're all part of the international community.
ROMANS: Professor Stanley Renshon says we no longer require Americans to have an attachment to this country.
STANLEY RENSHON, AUTHOR, "50 PERCENT AMERICAN": There have been two broad cultural movements which have really put a dent in American national identity. One of those is multiculturalism, and that is basically the idea that ethnic or racial identities ought to trump any other identity, including an American identity.
ROMANS: He says the other danger to the meaning of citizenship is the idea that we should be citizens of the world, that multiculturalism and globalism are driving a surge in dual citizenship. Even though to be an American citizen, one must renounce foreign powers. But more and more people believe the oath of allegiance to America is anachronistic.
PETER SPIRO, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA LAW SCHOOL: I don't see any necessary conflict between being a British citizen and an American citizen, or an Italian citizen or an American citizen, or indeed a Mexican citizen and an American citizen. We're not talking about a world in which we have starkly contrasted political systems any longer.
ROMANS: But it is a world with starkly contrasting values, culture and language.
(on camera): And American democracy stands in stark contrast with the rest of the world. Ours is a nation of immigrants, but a nation of integrated, assimilated immigrants.
Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) DOBBS: Well, joining me now to discuss our nation's growing immigration and assimilation issues, the growing problem of dual citizenship, author Stanley Renshon. His new book is called "50 Percent American: Immigration and National Identity in the Age of Terror." It is good to have you with us.
RENSHON: Thank you for having me.
DOBBS: The idea that there is a diminishing national identity, to hear Peter Spiro say that, I mean, that just slams into your ear?
RENSHON: Well, he is one of those people who believes that it's rather easy to be a citizen of this country and a citizen of another country, and there is no inherent conflict between the idea. But it's really a wrong premise. Some kinds of identities are really incompatible.
DOBBS: For example?
RENSHON: Well, for example, it's very hard to be an observant Jew and an observant Muslim. You have to be one or the other. It's very hard to be a person who is attached to the American national culture, and at same level be attached to a different culture.
DOBBS: But you know, one of the things that screams at me, every St. Patrick's day, every Columbus Day -- and I'm going to get lots of e-mails and letters for saying this -- but I see people celebrating a distant history and their lineage, presumably, that has nothing to do with celebrating America, and I find that astonishing. Frankly, I resent those kinds of holidays.
RENSHON: Well, I don't. I think it's perfectly all right for people to have connections to their ancestors and to their own countries. We have attachments, and it doesn't bother me at all if someone remembers back when they were Irish and so forth.
But most of that ethnicity is really symbolic ethnicity. It's really about wearing a shamrock or having a glass of green beer.
DOBBS: Well, let me explain to you why I don't like it, and I have just a visceral reaction to it, and that is that this is a country that is so focused on the differences among our 300 million citizens, we don't celebrate enough our commonality, our similarities, our bond. And I become very sensitive to this.
RENSHON: You should be, and I think that is an absolutely correct observation. We make a lot of room for ethnic holidays, but we don't make room for America.
DOBBS: Let me ask you this, Professor, the idea of dual citizenship, was it always possible for an American to hold dual citizenship?
RENSHON: It was not always possible. At one time, you took the risk of having your citizenship lifted. But the Supreme Court ruled that you couldn't do that, and since that time, we've been in a state of limbo with regard to the law.
But what really has changed is that a lot of the countries that send immigrants to us have woken up and discovered, it's very good to have a lot of immigrants here from the home country, who are attached back to the home country.
DOBBS: For example?
RENSHON: Well, for example, Mexico. For example, China. There was one incident where a country in South America had a number of people here in the United States who had been given temporary refuge. And the president got a hold of the telephone company in his home country, and he got the names and listings of every single immigrant from that country, and placed a call to them, asking them to write to Congress, to their local committeemen, to get them, their countrymen, to stay.
DOBBS: The fact is, the issue that is concerning, frankly, to me is we struggle with the assimilation of our legal immigrants. The difficulty is illegal immigration. It is the focus of what we do. We welcome immigrants in this country. We always have, always will. But this is a country now in which there are more illegal immigrants than legal immigrants. What is that doing in your judgment to our national identity?
RENSHON: Well, it's corroding it, and it's very corrosive to attachments to the American national identity. When you have a government that either cannot or will not protect the integrity of the community, you've really got a very serious problem.
DOBBS: You got a serious problem. We refer to it frankly as a crisis, our lack of border security in this country, our immigration, illegal immigration crisis. But what does it say about a people that does not demand that its government enforce laws and represent the will of the majority of the people in this country?
RENSHON: Well, if you look at the surveys, the people are demanding it. The question is, who's listening.
DOBBS: My question was, what does it say about the people who are not demanding it, in point of fact? Because we continue to allow our government not to enforce laws, and to permit our border to be absolutely insecure?
RENSHON: I think our government continues not to respond to what is the overwhelming sentiment of most Americans that I've seen, which is they want something done at the borders, and they want something done about the problem of illegality.
DOBBS: Stanley Renshon, thank you very much for being with us.
RENSHON: Pleasure.
DOBBS: Tonight, our nation's staggering trade deficit has hit another new record high. Our trade deficit surged in September to more than $66 billion. Our trade deficit is now on track to top an astonishing $700 billion this year, our trade deficit with China alone hitting a record $20 billion in September.
Congressman Sherrod Brown of Ohio quickly called the U.S. trade deficit shameful. Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota called it devastating. Those reaction somewhat different than those of the president, who earlier this week declared our deficit with china is, quote, "bothersome."
That brings us to the topic of our poll tonight. Who do you think most accurately described our staggering new record trade deficit? Congressman Brown with shameful, Senator Dorgan with devastating, or President Bush, bothersome. Please cast your vote at loudobbs.com. We'll have the results coming up here later in the broadcast.
Taking a look now at some of your thoughts, we've received a very strong response for our poll question, would you consider membership in a third political party?
Cynthia Lynn Hijazi of Costa Mesa, Louisiana: My husband is a Republican. I'm a Democrat. But we're both just so darn fed up that we both decided to change our political party affiliation to none."
Mary Crowson saying that "I believe that I would prefer no political parties, period."
And Bradley Genzel, of Novi, Michigan: "This country needs a third party because the parties we have are no different than a one party country. They just use a different word while heading in the same direction with the same results."
And Don Thoren wrote, "No, hell no. We can't even handle two parties."
And Dale Kuen in Wabena, Wisconsin: "Letting our congressman grill the big oil executives, by the way, is like asking the fox who killed the chickens."
We love hearing from you. Sends your thoughts at loudobbs.com. And each of you who's e-mail is read here receives a copy of my book, "Exporting America." And if you would like our e-mail newsletter, sign up on the Web site, loudobbs.com again.
Televangelist Pat Robertson telling one small town in Pennsylvania to fear the wrath of God. This time it's in the debate over intelligent design. Robertson says Dover, Pennsylvania residents who voted against the teaching of intelligent design in their schools this week were, quote, "rejecting God." And he is telling Dover resident quote, "if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God," end quote.
Dover residents voted out of office eight school board members this week who had pushed for the teaching of intelligent design along evolutionary theory in their schools. We'll keep you posted.
Coming up next here, hunting down radical Islamist terrorists while al Qaeda's brutal masterminds are still free. General David Grange will join me next. Stay with us.
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DOBBS: New developments tonight in the campaign for a criminal investigation into what some are calling a massive Pentagon cover-up. Congressman Curt Weldon says an army intelligence unit, Able Danger, identified the ringleaders of the 9/11 attacks more than a year before September 11th. But the warnings were ignored by the Pentagon.
Yesterday, Congressman Weldon told us he had already secured 100 signatures from both Republicans and Democrats calling for that investigation. Tonight, we're being told his petition continues to make progress, a number of signatures added to those.
The prime suspect in the Jordan hotel bombings that killed 56 people Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Zarqawi, and his radical Islamist supporters have carried out many of the worst terrorist attacks in Iraq. Our troops in Iraq have so far failed to capture Zarqawi despite repeated offenses in insurgent-controlled area. Joining me now, General David Grange. General, why are we unable to catch Zarqawi?
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RT.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, first of all, Lou, to catch Zarqawi is like catching any criminal, it's very difficult to do that type of task, obviously. I can assure you this: a full court effort is after him.
He's a primary target of the Americans and the Iraqis. So I think all the effort you can you imagine put in place to go after him with the exception of one thing, and I think we can do information operations a little better to catch this guy.
DOBBS: In terms of intelligence, the fact, General, that we've not been able to apprehend him or kill him says rather clearly that our intelligence is not what anyone wants it to be more than four years after September 11.
GRANGE: Again, human intelligence is the key. This guy has layers of cutouts, human messenger-type networks. Not using high- technology to communicate that can be picked up by our forces, but he'll make a mistake and it's no doubt in my mind that they'll get him.
What I would like to see though, is this guy thrives on his ego, on international exposure on television, very similar to the terrorist Carlos in 1972 in the Munich Olympics and elsewhere in North Africa and the Middle East. And I think that this guy can be trapped through his ego with information operations.
DOBBS: Well, General Grange, tomorrow, November 11th, a very important day. What are you going to do to celebrate Veterans Day?
GRANGE: Well, tomorrow, Lou, at Can'tini (ph) named after the battlefield in France, at the Foundations Park in Wheaton, Illinois, we're going to celebrate veterans day. And what's so powerful about this day, is it goes back to your earlier segment. This is about commonality in the United States of America. It's where all citizens and some not citizens from all countries, all races come together, wearing the same uniform of the United States of America. If that's not common purpose or commonality, I don't know what is. And that's one thing that will keep America safe forever.
DOBBS: Absolutely, and common, noble purpose, General Grange. We'll celebrate and you all who served this country from time and memorial. Thank you very much.
GRANGE: Thank you, Lou.
DOBBS: Tonight, new avian flu scares in both the Mideast and Western Europe. Birds in Italy and Kuwait have tested positive for the disease. Italy says its case does not involve the most dangerous strain of the bird flu. Tests continue in Kuwait. The deadliest bird flu strain has now been discovered in 17 countries. More than 60 people in Asia have died in the disease.
A reminder to vote in our poll. Who do you think most accurately described our staggering new record trade deficit? Congressman Brown with shameful, Senator Dorgan with devastating, or President Bush with bothersome. Cast your vote at loudobbs.com. We'll have the results coming right up.
And next here at the top of the hour, THE SITUATION ROOM and Wolf Blitzer. Wolf, what have you got for us?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Lou. Tonight in THE SITUATION ROOM, Karl Rove, the president's top political adviser is speaking out publicly for the first time since the CIA leak indictment. We'll bring you his remarks live. That's coming up at the top of the hour.
Plus Howard Dean one on one. We'll find out why he thinks he now has Republicans on the ropes.
Also, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Is his political career over? Jack Cafferty's asking the people.
And new developments in the hotel bombings in Jordan. Two Americans dead. We have the story. All that, lots more, coming up right at the top of the hour, Lou?
Looking forward to it. Thank you, Wolf.
As average Americans find it more difficult to afford a tank full of gas, other Americans have more than enough money to burn on contemporary art, if you can call it art. Last night at Sotheby's, a Manhattan art dealer paid nearly $24 million for this massive nine foot high stainless steel sculpture called QB-28. QB-28 set the record for the most expensive work of contemporary art ever sold at auction. But a few questions remain, after paying so much for this massive work of art just where i the world do you put it?
Coming up next here, the assault on middle class our continues. Congress wants to make it more difficult for middle class students to afford a college education. We'll have that incredible report for you next. Stay with us.
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DOBBS: The House of Representatives is nearing a vote on massive budget cuts aimed at the very heart of this country's future: our students. The House of Representatives could cut almost $14.5 billion from the Federal Student Loan Program even as our middle class students fall further behind the rest of the world in educational excellence. Lisa Sylvester has the report.
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LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Darnell Holloway is a senior at UC Davis. He wants to go to law school, but a budget reduction bill in Congress could derail that dream. It would cut $14 billion from federal student aid programs.
DARNELL HOLLOWAY, UC DAVIS STUDENT: It's almost a slap in the face that because of this, I will potentially have to change my whole life. I'll never be able to realize that dream if this goes through. And I know that there is millions of students that are in the same situation as I am.
SYLVESTER: The bill would tack on $5.5 billion new charges to students when they consolidate college loans. It would raise the maximum cap on student loan interest rates to 8.25 percent and it would add nearly $2 billion in new taxes on loans for students and their parents.
The cuts further squeeze families faced with rising tuition costs.
SARAH FLANAGAN, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT COLLEGES: There's very few families out there, whether they're lower income or moderate income or upper income that can afford to pay -- just write a check for college tuitions.
SYLVESTER: Lawmakers led by Representative Ron Kind don't dispute that the budget gap needs to be closed, but argue it should not be on the backs of students.
REP. RON KIND, (D) WISCONSIN: This is at a time when China and India are ramping up their education investment in a major way. They're calling for a huge cut in the student loan program, making it more difficult rather than easier for low and middle income students to go on to school.
SYLVESTER: At the same time, the congressional leadership is pushing to slash tuition aid that will impact students like Darnell Holloway, it's looking to extend tax cuts on dividends and capital gains that will benefit the richest Americans.
(END VIDEOTAPE) SYLVESTER: The budget bill was scheduled for a vote in the House, but it's been put off until next week. As of now, the Republican leadership has not been able to drum up enough votes to get it through -- Lou.
DOBBS: Well, that is a hopeful sign. I mean, what in the world is this Republican leadership thinking about at a time when the president is talking about the importance of education, in being competitive when we have approaching a $700 billion trade deficit. For many, many students whether their middle class or aspire to be in the middle class who are desperate for that money?
SYLVESTER: It's a great question. This all comes down to a matter of priorities. Is education important in this country? And that's what Congress recall needs to answer, Lou?
DOBBS: And we hope they will answer in the affirmative in talking about the nation's future. It's less an assault on our middle class, it looks like war has been declared.
Lisa Sylvester, thank you very much.
Next how you voted in our poll -- and vice president's office has responded to our earlier report asking where is he? We'll tell you next. Stay with us.
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DOBBS: In just the past few minutes, Vice President Dick Cheney's office has responded to our report, our special report on the vice president's extremely low profile in recent days. He's in fact been all but invisible of late making hardly any public appearances. The vice president's office begs to differ, if you will. The vice president's deputy press secretary saying quote, "the vice president maintains an active schedule promoting the president's initiatives that are important to the American people."
And now, also important to this audience, the results of our poll. Thirty -- 22 percent of you say Congressman Sherrod Brown most accurately describes the staggering new record trade deficit as shameful, 73 percent of you say Sen. Byron Dorgan is the winner -- devastating.
That's our broadcast for this evening. Thanks for being with us. Please join us here tomorrow for Veteran's Day. For all of us here, happy birthday, marines. Good night from New York. "THE SITUATION ROOM" starts right now with Wolf Blitzer -- Wolf.
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