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Muslim Radicalization Hearing; Wisconsin Senate Passes Labor Reform; Libyan Rebels May Be Losing Ground; White House Bullying Summit Today

Aired March 10, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, you guys. Have a great day. We're going to have a great one here. And we'll take it away. Thank you.

It's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. on the West. I'm Kate Bolduan sitting in for Kyra Phillips today.

Here's some of the stories we're watching this hour.

In Libya, Moammar Gadhafi's forces are pounding the rebel held town of Ras Lanuf. It's a vital hub of Libya's oil industry and both sides desperately want to control it.

And the number of homeowners filing for foreclosure has hit its lowest point in three years. But some of last month's falloff may be due to new banking rules slowing the flow of paperwork.

This morning the White House is hosting the first ever conference on bullying. Prevention and cyberbullying will be discussed at the White House. President Obama will meet with students and parents. And he is due to speak next hour.

So we're just about 30 minutes away from hearings on radical Islam in America. The House Homeland Security Committee will listen to testimony. Congressman Peter King will lead the way. He wants to know more about how Muslims in the U.S. are being turned into dangerous radicals.

Critics say he is unfairly singling out an entire community.

We're covering the angles. You can believe it.

Senior -- you will definitely believe it. Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash has talked with King about why he thinks these hearings are needed and why he won't cave into his critics. That's one thing you'll definitely hear.

And, Dana, this isn't the first time hearings on radicalized American Muslims or homegrown terror have happened since 9/11. So explain why this hearing has gotten so much -- sort of so much controversy this time around.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're exactly right, Kate. In fact on the Senate side of the Capitol, Joe Lieberman who chairs the Homeland Security Committee there, he held half a dozen at least hearings. But he approached it in a different way.

He called them things like looking at violent Islamist extremism. Different tone, different tenor that Pete King is setting in calling his hearings, looking at radicalism of Muslims in America.

Those words are important when it comes to the message that Pete King is sending from the perspective of many Muslims in this country, and also some national security officials who worry that this could actually stir exactly what he is trying to look at.

Now in terms of Pete King, he is going to give his opening statement in about a half an hour. And he is going to say that he is not going to back down, that he thinks that these are important.

Let me just read to you part of what he is going to say. He is going to say, quote, "To back down would be a craven surrender to political correctness and an abdication of what I believe to be the main responsibility of this committee, to protect America from a terrorist attack."

Now part of the issue here also may be not necessarily the message but the messenger. Peter King is somebody who has said controversial things in the past. He has in the past talked about the fact that 80 to 85 percent of mosques in this country are controlled by Islamic fundamentalists.

But what he has said to me and has said to others, Kate, is that he is going to prove the critics wrong, that this hearing where he is going to have some -- what he calls representatives of the Muslim community, relatives of those who have been radicalized in this country, and that he is going to set a tone and tenor that is going to defy his critics and their worries about the fact that he is stoking Islamaphobia.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Well, we'll be watching. We know you will be and you'll be helping us with your our coverage over the next couple of hours. So we'll check back in with you quite a bit.

Thanks, Dana. Talk to you in a bit.

BASH: OK.

BOLDUAN: And we'll put you on the front row. As soon as this hearing begins less than 30 minutes from now, we'll also talk to our chief political correspondent Candy Crowley.

Congressman King and the Congressman Ellison were both her guests on "STATE OF THE UNION" this past Sunday so she has a unique perspective on that.

Pro-union demonstrators are heading back to the Wisconsin capitol this morning after the state Senate passed a bill restricting collective bargaining for most public workers. A GOP maneuver ended the -- I don't know, I can't even count how many weeks long impasse we've been watching over this bill. And its passage ignited outrage outside the state capitol.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You suck!

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Protesters also vented their anger inside the capitol building as well.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Madison.

Ed, this was quite interesting to watch this unfold. I know you were right there in the middle of it as it did. Explain how the Republicans got this budget repair bill as they call it passed because when I was in Madison a couple of weeks ago this was not one of the options on the table.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, essentially what you have is the reason the 14 Democrats had left town is it didn't give the Senate a quorum to handle fiscal issues. You need a full quorum to be able to handle those fiscal bills.

But they said the Republicans decided to strip away the fiscal issues of that bill and just vote on the collective bargaining changes as well as the changes to the pension and the health insurance fund and contributions that public sector employees would have to make.

And because of that they were able to go ahead with that vote without the full presence of the Senate and those 14 Democrats that are still in Illinois.

That ignited an eruption as news spread, all of this unfolded in less than two hours. Several thousand people descended on the capitol and they'll return again today.

You can already see the line outside the capitol building which is about to reopen here this morning. That line. And there's already about nearly 200 people who slept inside the capitol last night so you'll see another scene like this.

In about three hours, the assembly will take up this vote and then it's expected to pass out of there. The assembly has never really been the issue there. They will then move on to the governor's desk. So another intense day expected here as protesters are once again filing back inside the capitol here in Madison, Wisconsin -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right. We'll be watching it as it seems like it is moving pretty quickly now after a couple of weeks being quite a stalemate.

Thanks so much, Ed. We'll check back in with you.

Turning to weather now. Meteorologist Rob Marciano is in the CNN Severe Weather Center with an eye on the northeast today -- Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, bad weather yesterday all associated with the slow moving storm, Kate, that's rolling across the northeast.

Let's go to the video and show you what the storm has done so far and then what it's going to do exacerbating the flooding across the northeast.

First off, down south across Louisiana. These are pictures from Alabama. Just south of Mobile. And then crossing Mobile Bay was this storm that did a tremendous amount of damage. One injury. Luckily, no fatalities. But as you can see a rough storm that made its way all the way towards the western parts of the Florida Panhandle.

The other issue that we've been dealing with from an earlier storm is flooding across parts of the northeast, including New Jersey when is going to see its fair share of rainfall today and with that that's going to mean rivers will be rising. So they're battling back the (INAUDIBLE) especially there just west of New York City and they're going to have a tough go on their hands, I can tell you that today.

(WEATHER REPORT)

BOLDUAN: Yes. And we're not near the end yet this week.

MARCIANO: No. It's a slow moving storm and that's the unfortunate part of it.

BOLDUAN: No kidding. All right, we'll watch it. Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: Sounds good.

BOLDUAN: So in Libya, rebel losses add up and Moammar Gadhafi's troops bear down. We'll have the latest on the intensifying fight. And the desperate calls for the international community to step in.

And we're about 20 minutes away from a controversial hearing on radical Islam in America. We've been talking quite a bit about this and we just got some new video.

You see right there of Congressman Peter King, he is the chairman of the committee, he'll be leading the way, walking into that committee room or near it right there.

Your front row seat is right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: In Libya, it appears that Moammar Gadhafi troops are beating back rebel forces. Today government war planes are pounding Ras Lanuf, a vital hub of Libya's oil industry. More on that in just a moment.

But, meanwhile, the Gadhafi regime has posted $400,000 reward for a key opposition leader.

This is the interesting part. Up until a few weeks ago, Mustafa Abdul Jalil served as Gadhafi's justice minister. An interesting twist. Right now the NATO military alliance is discussing a possible no-fly zone over Libya. Supporters say grounding Gadhafi's war planes could prevent a slaughter of civilians. U.S. military officials warned, though, that such a move carries some very high risks.

And the intensifying violence in Libya has made communications very spotty as we well know.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is near Ras Lanuf and filed this report just last hour.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're a couple of kilometers to the east of Ras Lanuf. We've been hearing fairly steady bombardment coming from that area. It's the second sort of mass bombardment of the town this morning.

There was another one about an hour and a half ago. We saw what we believe were mortar rounds inside the town itself. One of those rounds hit a hospital, another hit a mosque where people were praying inside. The hospital staff has fled and basically all the civilians are now out of the town.

It appears that -- that the government forces are moving on to the city. I spoke to one witness who said he saw Libyan government tanks heading toward Ras Lanuf. There seems to be an intense gun battle going on there at the moment.

Many of the opposition forces have pulled out to a checkpoint to the east of the city, but what is clear is that their control of Ras Lanuf is tenuous, at best.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Tenuous at best. Ben also says this could be a turning point in Libya's civil war. The government superior fire power has seemed to completely stop the rebels' march toward the capital and now threatens to push them back.

So let's take a look. This is a live picture we're showing you from Capitol Hill where now just about 15 minutes away from the controversial hearing on radical Islam in America and we will be covering it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Time, now, to travel Cross Country for a check of the stories our affiliates are covering today. In Vermont, a high school girl is breaking gender barriers as a member of the boys' basketball team. Hannah McNulty petitioned state official to play with the boys after the girls' team disbanded because they didn't have enough players. Good for her.

A bungling criminal is caught on tape in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The suspect is seen struggling several times to put on his ski mask, but he can't because of the .09 millimeter pistol in his hand. How many times have we said, "I don't have enough arms"? The so-called robber left with nothing.

And surveillance cameras were also rolling in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, with an angry customer -- when an angry customer jumped across a Burger King counter to confront workers. Police say the woman was upset because she thought someone had spit in her sandwich.

Bullying in schools, bullying in neighborhoods and online. About one in three students say it's happened to them and, now, the White House wants it to stop. We're getting an early look at the president's conference on bullying.

And we're also just minutes away, about ten minutes away from a congressional hearing on radical Islam in America. Critics call it a witch hunt. Supporters say it's necessary, and it will all unfold right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: President Obama says bullying doesn't have to be part of growing up and, today, he's hosting a White House summit on this, meeting with students, parents, and teachers to talk about solutions.

Kirk Smalley will be there helping lead the charge. His 11-year-old son, Ty, committed suicide last year, and his father blames years of schoolyard teasing and abuse. He says it's time to break the cycle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIRK SMALLEY, SON COMMITTED SUICIDE AFTER BEING BULLIED: The kids are the ones that can stop the bullying, and that's what we teach them in our programs that we go to. They are the only ones that can stop it, but we adults have to support them, our lawmakers have to give the schools the backing, give our kids the backing that they're reaching out for and that they're screaming for and that they're needing so desperately.

Our world is ready for a change. And our babies are dying for it. Mine and Laura's did, you know? We've got to help them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Wow. Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry is joining me live. And Ed, the president himself is a father, and he clearly understands. For him, I'm sure this is personal, as well as part of his job as being the leader of the country. But what can the president actually do about bullying?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're right, Kate. Obviously, it's heartbreaking when you hear all of these stories. And what the president is trying to do is back up some of the rhetoric we're going to see today at this summit with some money, even in these lean budget times, trying to make it a priority. In his new budget, he has about $132 million that would be given out in grants across the country to individual schools to combat bullying. But of course, we've got to note, that budget right now is caught up into some big negotiations with House Republicans, Senate Democrats. It's unclear whether the president's budget is going to move forward at all and, so, this could be one of many priorities that get caught up in some of this fighting here in Washington.

I think the second big thing to watch is that a new bipartisan bill was introduced this week. Democratic senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Mark Kirk, a Republican of Illinois, that would basically put out specific guidelines for schools who get federal funds, they would have to adopt a code of conduct that prevented harassment, bullying, violence, et cetera, and also would require states, for the first time, to actually keep some statistics on bullying and provide that to the federal government so they can get their arms around how big this problem really is.

The president and first lady have taken a personal interest. They've taped this public service announcement, there, that's been on Facebook, other social media.

And so, I think the bottom line is, the point of this summit for the White House today is to try to bring some much-need attention to the issue today. But the key is going to be, as you pointed out, what happens tomorrow and the day after? Does Congress, does this White House actually follow-up with some money in the budget that helps prevent bullying? Kate?

BOLDUAN: But when you consider how many different interests are trying to get on the president's agenda all at once, it does mean that the president is serious, that he is choosing this bullying summit, if you will, to shine the spotlight that he has on it.

HENRY: Right.

BOLDUAN: So it shows that it is a priority.

HENRY: And he's put $132 million on the table but, as we noted and, as you know full well, there are these big budget fights going on, and that could be one line item that gets caught in the cross-fire.

BOLDUAN: We'll have to watch it. All right. Thanks so much, Ed. We'll talk to you later.

HENRY: Good to see you.

BOLDUAN: Good to see you, too.

And as a reminder, we're just a few minutes away from the hearing on radical Islam in America. The head of the House Homeland Security Committee says it is needed. A Muslim congressman, though, says it's just a show, not a solution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. KEITH ELLISON (D), MINNESOTA: Al Qaeda -- we do need to study their -- really, etiology and counter their etiology, but that takes real wisdom, not just anecdotal emotional stories.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Maybe a little window in what Congressman Keith Ellison will likely say, because he will be testifying at this hearing this morning that we'll be taking live, and we'll take you live to Capitol Hill in a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: It is just about 9:30 in Washington, and that means hearings on radical Islam in America are going to be beginning any minute, now, on Capitol Hill. We are covering the hearings with our Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley.

Thanks for coming in, Candy, I really appreciate it. You've actually had the chance to speak with both Congressman King and Congressman Ellison on your show, on "State of the Union." What's your sense of, I guess, the politics at play? Because we are talking about Capitol Hill. And also, what are you looking for today?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I have to tell you that one of the things between Congressman Ellison, who's a Muslim-American but is also a Democrat, and Congressman King, who's a Republican and holding these hearings, is that the enmity that we're seeing and that -- all the strum and drag around this hearing was not evident between those two men.

In fact, I asked Congressman Ellison about it, and he said, "Look, I don't think that Congressman King is Islamaphobic. I don't think that he is prejudiced against Islam. But I think this is the wrong way to go about it."

So, there's just been a far more civil relationship, and it's -- he's going to be one of the lead-off witnesses, as you know, Congressman Ellison. So, that's a whole different dynamic that's going on there. The two have had lots of time to talk to each other, both privately and on the airwaves. So that was interesting.

What am I looking for? I think tone. The tone will be really interesting. The long-term politics of this, I'm not sure at this point there are long-term politics. This is, right now, become such a flash point that I think that what matters here is the tone just sort of coming out of the gate.

BOLDUAN: And you've been covering Washington, you know, in politics for a long time. What do you think? Do you think it's more politics, or do you think this is a serious issue that they're trying to take on? Because this is not the first time this issue has come before a hearing on Capitol Hill. Why so controversial now?

CROWLEY: Well, indeed, that's something Congressman King asked. But I think because of the times we're in. I think that the combination of partisanship interlaced with some fear.

There was a really interesting Pew poll out recently that we talked about yesterday. And the question to respondents was, "Do you think Islam is any more likely to cause violence than any other religion?"

And 40 percent of Americans said, "Yes, I actually think it is more likely to produce violence." Which is really interesting. That's not something Congressman King is saying, but it shows you the kind of fear that's out there. And I think you mix fear and politics and you get explosions.

BOLDUAN: Very well said. As you always have the best one-liners of anyone I know. All right. So, you're taking a live look at the hearing room right now. That's actually Congressman Keith Ellison sitting down. He's a congressman that Candy and I were just talking about.

But let's also bring in our correspondents. Our Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash, she is covering the hearings for us. And our Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve, she is here, as well, covering all of the issues of just that, Homeland Security.

Dana, let's start with you on this. You've talked with Congressman King, you've spent a lot of time with him in the last week, and you've gotten a look, also, at some of what we can expect to hear from him in his opening statements. So, what are you expecting, and what are you looking for, to hear today?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's very interesting. He is well aware that -- the fact of the matter is, as you mentioned, these -- hearings like this have been held before. On the Senate side, for example, Joe Lieberman, the Homeland Security chairman there, he's held 14 hearings on this subject, but he is a different messenger than Peter King.

Peter King has made some explosive comments and he is unapologetic for that. He really is. He insists that he has friends in the Muslim community, but the bottom line is he says that it is his job, it is his role as chairman of this committee to examine this issue, radicalization, he calls it, in the Muslim community.

So he is going to talk about the fact that he says to back down to political correctness would be craven. But he also told me he understands what a microscope he is under and just this whole issue is under. Because if he is going to achieve what he says he wants to do, which is to start a dialogue on this very important issue that even administration officials say it's critical, a critical concern, which is radicalization within the U.S. Muslim community, then it has to be done with a dialogue that is not explosive.

You know, whether or not the witnesses that he has today are going to actually shed real light on the problem, that is an open question. He has somebody who, two members -- family members of people who were radicalized in the United States. One is not Muslim, one is. And he also has another Muslim-American who, in talking to people who are very well informed on this issue, they say that he really doesn't necessarily have a constituency in the Muslim community.

So, we'll see how much light is shed with these witnesses that he has.

BOLDUAN: Very good point.

Well, let's turn to Jeanne and talk about the witnesses and just that. Jeanne, Congressman Keith Ellison says that the hearings are really all about emotion, not about practical -- maybe -- solutions and that they don't get to the heart of the problem because there's no real top law enforcement, FBI, CIA, no one there to testify.

What's your take on that? What are you hearing on that?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think to some degree, law enforcement wants to keep at arm's length from what's going on here because there's real question about what the implications, what the effect of this is going to be.

There's no dispute within the law enforcement and counterterrorism communities that radicalization in the Muslim community in America is an issue. They're worried about al Qaeda actively recruiting people here. They're worried about people self-radicalizing by use of the internet.

But I'll tell you, the attorney general was asked yesterday about Congressman King's assertion that Muslim -Americans simply are not cooperating are law enforcement. He rejected that. He said they have given tips that have been critical to disrupting plots. But he also talked a little bit about the ongoing efforts of law enforcement to reach out to the Muslim community, to try and build bridges and get even more cooperation, which everybody thinks is key to disrupting terrorist plots that might be ongoing.

And this is what the attorney general had to say when he was asked about the impact of these hearings. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: My focus is on individuals as opposed to communities. And I think that is what we need to be focused on. What is it that drives individuals to do certain things? We don't want to stigmatize, we don't want to alienate entire communities. We need to focus on individuals or groups of individuals who might band together and who would try to harm American interests or American citizens. That is what this Justice Department is doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: I've talked to people in law enforcement who believe there could be a positive outcome here, that very positive things could come out of this in terms of understanding the problem and building relationships and understanding.

On the other side of the coin, there are people who are worried that the tone is going to be too hostile, that this could alienate and further isolate the Muslim community. They also fear that it has the potential to play into the jihadist narrative, that the west is at war with Islam and that it could, in fact, perhaps increase radicalization amongst Muslims in the United States.

Back to you.

BOLDUAN: All right. So we'll continue this conversation. And, of course, we're going to continue this coverage of the hearing. It should be starting any second. We're going to get in a quick break beforehand.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to our coverage of a hearing that has been stirring up quite a bit of controversy.

I'm here with my friend, my colleague, chief political correspondent Candy Crowley. We've been talking about the committee -- the House Homeland Security Committee hearing and it's just about to begin.

But Candy, I wanted to get your thoughts on it and see if you any questions for Dana and Jeanne, as well, as we're waiting to hear what is about to happen.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Dana, one of the things -- you got an advanced copy of Congressman King's opening statements. It struck me as one of the more defensive statements, opening statements I've seen from a chairman conducting a hearing.

Did it hit you that way?

BASH: Absolutely. I mean, there's no way around it. He is man on the defense. He knows that full well. And, not only that, you can say it this way. He's on the defense but he's also taking it and running with it as on offensive thing. Because just to give you a little background, I just got an e-mail from his campaign. He's sending out e-mails from his, again, from his political campaign saying, watch my radicalization hearings, I won't back down.

So he thinks that also this is clearly playing to an important political constituency as well as him actually taking on the role that he has as chairman to deal with this very important issue.

BOLDUAN: And did you -- also both of you get the sense that King in his prepared remarks was trying to make kind of a methodical argument of why this is important and why -- oh, you know what, let's stop. Let's just take a little listen.

The hearing is beginning right now.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

REP. PETER KING (R), CHAIRMAN, HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: The committee is meeting today to hear testimony on the extent of radicalization in the American Muslim community and to investigate that community's response.

The chair wishes to remind our guests today that demonstrations from the audience, including the use of signs and placards, as well as verbal outbursts are a violation of the rules of the House. And the chair wishes to thank our guests for their cooperation in maintaining order and proper decorum.

In the interests of time, the ranking member and I have agreed we'll have three member witnesses testify on panel one. And after prior consultation with my friend, the ranking member from Mississippi, Mr. Thompson, I ask unanimous consent that Congressman Dingell, Congressman Ellison and Congressman Wolf, as member witnesses, not be subject to questions from committee members.

(CROSSTALK)

KING: No, they're going to be testifying as one panel. They're testifying as one panel.

(CROSSTALK)

KING: Without objection, so ordered.

I believe the ranking member has a unanimous consent request to make.

THOMPSON: Yes. I'd like to ask unanimous consent that Congressmen Carson, Pascrell and Green, when he comes in, be allowed to sit on the panel.

KING: Without objection, so ordered.

At this time I will now recognize myself for an opening statement.

At the very outset let me thank all the witnesses, the member panel and the witnesses who have traveled to be with us here today. Thank you very much for giving the time in this what I believe to be a very valuable and important hearing.

Today's hearing will be the first in a series of hearings dealing with the critical issue of the radicalization of Muslim Americans. I am well aware that the announcement of these hearings has generated considerable controversy and opposition.

Some of this opposition, such as from my colleague and friend Mr. Ellison and Mr. Pascrell, has been measured and thoughtful. Other opposition both from special interest groups and the media has ranged from disbelief to paroxysms of rage and hysteria.

Let me make it clear today that I remain convinced that these hearings must go forward -- and they will. To back down would be a craven surrender to political correctness and an abdication of what I believe to be the main responsibility of this committee to protect America from a terrorist attack.

Despite what passes for conventional wisdom in certain circles, there is nothing radical or un-American in holding these hearings. Indeed, congressional investigation of Muslim American radicalization is the logical response to the repeated and urgent warnings which the Obama administration has been making in recent months. Just this past Sunday, for instance, Denis McDonough, the deputy national security adviser to President Obama, made a major speech on radicalization, stating that, quote, "Al Qaeda and its adherents have increasingly turned to another troubling tactic, attempting to recruit and radicalize people to terrorism here in the United States.

"For a long time, many in the U.S. thought that we were immune from this threat. That was false hope and false comfort. This threat is real and it is serious."

Mr. McDonough went on to say, "Al Qaeda does this for the express purpose of trying to convince Muslim Americans to reject their country and attack their fellow Americans," end of quote.

I should also add my own personal conversations with McDonough, Mr. McDonough, prior to the speech, he told me to go forward with the hearing and that the administration welcomed congressional involvement.

Similarly, in late December, Attorney General Holder said the growing number of young Americans being radicalized and willing to take up arms against our country, quote, "keeps him awake at night," unquote.

And two weeks before that, the attorney general defended the FBI's sting operation against Mohamed Osman Mohamud who attempted a terror attack during Christmas tree lighting celebration in Portland, Oregon, saying -- the attorney general said he made no apologies for this operation.

Quote, said the attorney general, "Those who characterize the FBI's activities as entrapment simply do not have their facts straight," end of quote.

One month ago, sitting right there, Secretary Napolitano testified before this committee and said the threat level today is as high as it has been since September 11th because of increased radicalization in our country.

And I would ask the audience and the committee just notice this chart over here. Just in the last two years alone, these are terror plots which were blocked by our government.

Virtually every part of the United States is affected by this. It affects the entire nation. Those of us in the Northeast perhaps have more threats, but the fact is that we've found out no one is immune from these type threats, these type attacks.

This committee cannot live in denial, which is what some of us would do when they suggest that this hearing dilute its focus by investigating threats unrelated to al Qaeda.

The Department of Homeland Security and this committee were formed in response to the al Qaeda attacks of September 11. There is no equivalency of threat between al Qaeda and neo-Nazis, environmental extremists or other isolated madmen. Only al Qaeda, and its Islamist affiliates in this country are part of an international threat to our nation.

Indeed by the Justice Department's own record, not one terror- related case in the last two years involved neo-Nazis, environmental extremists, militias or anti-war groups.

I have repeatedly said that the overwhelming majority of Muslim Americans are outstanding Americans and make enormous contributions to our country. But there are realities we can't ignore. For instance, the Pew poll, which said that 15 percent of Muslim American men between the age of 18 and 29 could support suicide bombings. This is the segment of the community al Qaeda is attempting to recruit.

To combat this threat, moderate leadership must emerge from the Muslim community.

As the majority and minority staff of the Senate Homeland Security Committee concluded in its report which, ironically enough, was entitled "Violent Islamist Extremism and the Home Grown Terrorist Threat. This report concluded Muslim community leaders and religious leaders must play a more visible role in discrediting and providing alternatives through violence Islamist ideology," end of quote.

This means that responsible Muslim American leaders must -- reject discredited groups such as CAIR, the committee on American -- the Committee on Islamic American Relations. CAIR, was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the terror financing case involving the Holy Land Foundation. And to lead up to this hearing I found it shocking and sad that the mainstream media accepted CAIR's accusations as if it were a legitimate organization.

Thankfully, FBI -- FBI Director Mueller has order the FBI to cease all dealings and contact with CAIR. Possibly and probably because of this type of placard and poster which is posted by San Francisco CAIR. I would hope that all law enforcement officials would follow the lead of the FBI director.

Al Qaeda realizes that the measures we have put in place over the past nine and a half years make it very difficult to launch a large-scale attack against our homeland from outside the country which is why they have altered their strategy and are using people living legally in the United States. These include New York City subway bomber and Najibullah Zazi; Fort Hood terrorist, U.S. Army Major, Nidal Hassan; Colleen LaRose known as "Jihad Jane"; and Time Square bomber Faisal Shahzad; Little Rock Recruiting Center shooter Carlos Bledsoe. His father is a witness here today.

And dozens of individuals in Minneapolis associated with the Somali terrorist organization al Shabab. And one of those young man was radicalized in Minneapolis Center Somalia and eventually killed and is also with us here today and then also the Mumbai plotter, David Headley.

Let me thank all of the witnesses for giving up their valuable time to be with us here today. I want to express special thanks however to Melvin Bledsoe and Abdirizak Bihi. These brave men have endured suffering no father or uncle should ever have to go through. Their courage and spirit will put a human face on the horror which Islamist radicalization has inflicted and will continue to inflict on good families especially those in the Muslim community. Unless we put aside political correctness and define who our enemy truly is.

As we approach the ten-year anniversary of the September 11th attacks, we cannot allow the memory of that tragic day to fade away. We must remember that in the days following the attack we were all united in our dedication to fight back against al Qaeda and its ideology.

Today we must be fully aware that home-grown radicalization is part of al Qaeda's strategy to -- to continue attacking the United States. Al Qaeda is actively targeting the American Muslim community for recruitment.

Today's hearing will address this dangerous trend.

And now it's my privilege to recommend to -- recognize the distinguished ranking member of the committee, the gentleman from Mississippi, Mr. Thompson.

REP. BENNIE THOMPSON (D), RANKING MEMBER, HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

(END PROGRESS)

BOLDUAN: We're going to break in right now. Some very powerful opening remarks from the Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Congressman Peter King. We're going to get it in a quick break but I promise we have much more coverage on this hearing, when we get back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Welcome back.

I'm joined by chief political correspondent Candy Crowley. We've been watching one of the more interesting hearings on Capitol Hill that we've seen in a while. This is the hearing at the House Homeland Security Committee.

We just heard from the Chairman, Candy. And I'll -- I'll tell you, after all of the lead-up to this hearing, I was pretty surprised at how powerful it was, it almost seemed like Chairman King was on the offense as well as defense.

CROWLEY: Yes. Yes, I mean, it was a very powerful look, I -- it get that these have been controversial. But let me tell you why I think some of these critics have their own agendas and then you know, a map that show, look here is where things that were tied Muslim Americans or those who have been, you know, recruited as he says.

So, certainly that opening statement tried to encompass both those things, saying there is a need for these hearings. Here is the need for these hearings. So you're right, he sort of combined them both. And it's -- it was I thought probably as good an opening statement for as much furor as there has been over these hearings. Certainly he walked a middle line. And you know and he said all along when he was leading up to these hearings, "Judge me by what goes on, don't judge me by what you think is going to happen."

BOLDUAN: Right, he absolutely did say that thing that even -- even on your show. Well, let's dip back into this.

Right now we are looking at and we will be listening to this as the ranking member a Democrat Congressman, Bennie Thompson.

Let's listen to his opening remarks.

(BEGIN COVERAGE)

THOMPSON: Do you ask as accused of engaging in a modern day crusade against Islam. We cannot give this lie a place to rest. I cannot help but wonder how propaganda about this hearing focuses on American Muslim community will be used by those who seek to inspire a new generation of suicide bombers. I yield back.

KING: I thank the gentleman from Mississippi. Thank you, Ranking Member, Thompson. And just remind other members of the committee that opening statements may be submitted for the record.

And now I would like to welcome our first panel, the gentleman from Michigan, the Dean of the House, Congressman John Dingell.

(END COVERAGE)

BOLDUAN: You just heard Bennie Thompson he's the Ranking Democrat on the committee saying what quite a few critics of this hearing have said, that they fear that -- that the jihadists themselves will use this hearing as fuel to their narrative and they -- that they think that the West is attacking Islam.

We'll have much more on this as they're probably working through some of the procedural stuff that they have to go through in these hearings.

We'll have much more right after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: I want to get you a quick check of the markets as you see there right now, the Dow down some 175, 76, 77 points. Keeping a -- definitely keeping an eye on that. And we'll bring more to you on the markets as they continue to change.

The college basketball spotlight is shining on the small schools. Two more advanced to the big dance. I love that name. Jeff Fischel from HLN Sports is here. What are you talking about, man?

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes Kate, 13 teams are in now, but that still leaves a lot of room; 55 spots still available for the tournament. Let's start with the Northeast Conference, Long Island taking on Robert Morris. Late in the second half, Long Island Jamal Olasewere (ph) baseline and the score. He had a career high 31 points, Long Island wins. There is the celebration, 85-82.

Blackbirds have won 13 straight. That's the longest current winning streak in Division I. It's their first time back in the tournament since 1997.

Let's go to the big sky conference final. Northern Colorado versus Montana. Northern Colorado's Devin Bisel (ph) on fire, he's the league MVP, put up 27 points last night, half of them in the final five minutes. Yes, firing away at threes. The school goes nuts. They were playing on their home court. It's their first time ever in the tournament. They were only a Division 2 school for years ago and now they are dancing heading to the field of 68.

NBA, two buzzer beaters, first the Knicks and their new go-to guy, Carmelo Anthony. The final five seconds, drains it with 0.5 left, hits the winner. Melo finished with 31 points and the Knicks win at home.

Now, also more crunch time heroics, Utah Jazz, Al Jefferson, Devin Harris (ph) driving and at the buzzer Jefferson tips it up and in. Did he beat the buzzer? Yes, he did. Jefferson, 34 points, the Jazz rally from 14 down for the win.

NHL, give-and-go, it's so nice, two guys sharing the puck back and forth. Who will shoot it? Shoot the puck. Oh, there it is, Alex Ovechkin, the star, puts it in, beating Edmondton, not a good idea to leave these two guys alone. The Caps win it thanks to number 8, the great 8, Alex Ovechkin, and in fact the Caps closing in on the Eastern Conference League.

Ok now, we know this, the deadline for the NFL agreement is Friday, already seeing possible lock-out fallout. We're hearing this from "The New York Times," New York Jets guard Matt Shlossen (ph) he and his wife and their baby have moved in with his parents to save money. He has a four-year $1.8 million contract, but it's not guaranteed, he has to make the team every year. So he's trying to find ways to save money.

And check this out, the NFL Players Association has a lock-out handbook, 64 pages tips for players, including important tips like, don't buy motorized toys or expensive jewelry, don't pay friends for work you can easily do, and Kate get this one, my favorite, cut down on the size of your entourage, it's a good way to save money during a lock-out.

Now, it does raise the question they assume you have an entourage, as if you should not even question whether you have an entourage the first place.

BOLDUAN: Good advice for all of us, I guess, right.

FISCHEL: I've cut down on mine.

BOLDUAN: Well, that's kind of you. Trying to be fiscally responsible, perfect. Thank you Jeff Fischel, we'll talk to you soon.

FISCHEL: Ok.