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Glenn Beck

Iran Makes Its Move; Joe Lieberman Sounds Off on Hot Topics; Public Opinion on Terror War Could Affect Elections

Aired August 22, 2006 - 19:00   ET

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

GLENN BECK, HOST: August 22, Iran has made its move. Has World War III begun?
Plus, Senator Joe Lieberman and I bury the hatchet in an exclusive interview. Don`t miss it.

ANNOUNCER: Tonight`s episode of Glenn Beck has brought to you by August 22. Some day you`ll tell your grandkids where you were when absolutely nothing happened.

BECK: This is the day some people said might be the day when Iran tries to fulfill its end of days prophecy, bringing about global Armageddon. So far, nothing`s really happened. The only side of the apocalypse today that I`m seeing -- really, look it up in the Bible -- Paris Hilton released her new CD.

Actually, Iran did make a move. Its top nuclear negotiator said that Tehran is ready to enter serious negotiations over its nuclear program, but they really kind of left out the part whether they were going to suspend uranium enrichment, which is our key demand.

But yesterday Iran`s supreme leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khameini, said that his country will pursue its nuclear technology. It will experience, quote, "the sweet fruits of that move," as well. Thanks for the cryptic message, nut job.

Let me just tell you that I have been throwing a lot of scarier scenarios your way lately, and some of them may or may not come to fruition. But if they do we are in for just -- we are going to be experiencing the joys of vaporization.

There are a few things, however, that need to happen for doomsday to unfold. It ain`t going happen today. This morning on my radio program I laid out what I call the perfect storm. Let me go through some of it. It`s a five-point plan.

First up, the Kurds. Things we need to watch. Iran has started shelling the Kurdish areas of northern Iraq five days ago. Plus, Iran is reportedly amassing troops on the Iraqi border. An Iranian-Kurdish conflict would create even more instability in the region. I believe we have to watch for a border crossing by Iran into Iraq.

Second, Lebanon. Lebanon is in serious trouble. Hezbollah is coming off their victory against Israel, and it`s building strength and legitimacy. They will capitalize on this. I believe it`s only a matter of time before they take control of the Lebanese government, and when they do, watch out.

And speaking of Hezbollah, they are the third on the perfect storm checklist. Not only are they going after Lebanon, but the people who are really afraid, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the leaders of those countries, they know this is going to be a fight to the death, and Hezbollah is actually Iran.

Next up is Venezuela. I mean, you look at Venezuela, how does this fit? To me, they represent one of the smaller pieces in this scenario. People like Venezuela will see the tide start to turn against the U.S. And they`ll want a part of the action, but they won`t want to be in a direct conflict with us. Venezuela, I believe, will shut down the oil pipelines when the time is right, but they`ll do it in a way where they`ll say, gee, we found a lot of rust in these pipes. And we`re just going to have to close them down for a while, sorry.

Remember, the stated goal of Iran and bin Laden stated is to collapse the west through the economy. Venezuela will play a role.

And, finally, No. 5, on the perfect storm checklist. Our own borders, from the north and the south, it is still the easiest way for terrorists to come in and mess with us. It`s also a way for us to lose our American identity by those who want to come here not to become Americans, but just to make money. There you have it.

So tonight, here`s what I know. I know that while it`s unlikely that all of these things will happen. If even some of them do the real fun begins. All the governments that are mildly friendly to us, that are on the edge, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, they will all be vulnerable to extremists, potentially get toppled and then you`ve got a whole block of crazies from India to the Mediterranean.

I also know that if we don`t start to face our greatest fears without fear and continue to pretend that none of this is each a possibility then we can`t complain when the whole world is on fire and you have no gas to run your car.

Now here`s what I don`t know. I don`t know how you fight this war, no matter what you hear from either side of the aisle, the Republicans or the Democrats, the reason we`re in Iraq was to plant the democracy in the region and crush Iran. And it doesn`t seem to be working, at least not yet.

Plus, it doesn`t seem to me like we`re fighting with everything we`ve got. We`re the United States of America, man.

I also don`t know how to prepare for this perfect storm. It`s not like preparing for a hurricane, where you can just evacuate in time. But it doesn`t seem to me that we have anyone even talking about the big picture. We have time to prepare, but nobody`s recognizing it. And I fear we`re all going turn into Ray Nagin and our busses are going to be sitting in a parking lot full of water.

Ilan Berman is a consultant to both the CIA and the Defense Department, now a Mideast expert at the American Foreign Policy Center. Let me ask you this, Ilan, constitutionally, Iran is bound to take over the Middle East, are they not?

ILAN BERMAN, AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY CENTER: That`s right. The Iranians think that they`re destined to inherit the Middle East. The Iranian constitution in 1979 wasn`t just a secular constitution the way you and I know it. It was also a vision of a country that`s also a movement. A movement to expand the Islamic revolution throughout the region, and I think they`re moving along that path very nicely.

BECK: They are. They`re really frightening. Have you noticed how aggressive they`ve become? They took over an oil rig off of their coast, and they just went in and took the war ship and took it over. They`re shelling Northern Iraq, and they`re also so linked with Hezbollah. What does that tell you? Their boldness?

BERMAN: Well, I think a rising tide lifts all boats, and the Iranians are really feeling their weight in the region. They really see that the nuclear program is bringing them all sorts of dividends. And not only Iran, but all of the Shiite militias that are on support, Hezbollah, the almighty army in Iraq. These guys are beginning to feel emboldened, as well, and it`s very bad news.

BECK: So they`re stalling today. They -- they, you know, said we`d like to talk to you and negotiate a little bit. What are they stalling for? Because they have no intention of giving up their nuclear desire. What are they stalling for?

BERMAN: That`s exactly right. Well, the Iranian strategy has been consistent for the last two and a half years. They`re playing rope-a-dope with us. They`re trying to run out the clock and buy time to build their nuclear bomb. That`s all they`re doing.

And this new offer of a multi-facetted response, which leads to new negotiations, is more of the same line and no bottle (ph) and I hope that the administration really doesn`t fall for this.

BECK: So what do we do? What do you do? Because I mean, really, the only thing is you use military action, isn`t it? I mean, that doesn`t seem like a good idea right now.

BERMAN: Well, it`s not a good idea and there`s actually a lot of things that you can do short of military option. The problem is we`re not doing it.

A good example is economic sanctions. The economic sanctions we`re pursuing at the U.N., they`re predestined to fail, because we have to appease the Russians or we have to appease the Chinese or they`re going to veto them. You have lots of things you can do economically.

You can cut off the gasoline supply. They still get a lot of gasoline from abroad, about 40 percent of their annual consumption. We can do travel bans, asset freezes, but you need a coalition of the willing to do that. And it`s not going to come about as a result of...

BECK: Nobody`s going to do that. You know it and I know it. Nobody`s going do that. So let`s just say that we all wuss out, and we pretend all, you know, pretend we`re Chamberlain in 1938 again. And we let this gathering storm gather steam and this time get a nuclear weapon. What does that mean Iran with a nuclear weapon?

BERMAN: Well, I think that the real big element in all this is the Arab street, the Muslim street and the Arab street. Right now, there are a lot of undecided voters in the Arab and Muslim streets that aren`t convinced by the al Qaeda rhetoric.

After all, you kill three dozen Americans and you lose a country. That`s not a winning record. But as Iran begins to position itself you have this gigantic clash of civilizations with the west, and Iran is within striking distance of having the weaponry to make that possible. You`re going to see less and less undecided voters on the Muslin streets that are going to make our jobs much harder.

BECK: And am I wrong when I just pointed out a minute ago that Egypt and Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, they`re all freaked out, man. They know that Hezbollah, we have no army, but Hezbollah being chanted in the streets of Egypt, spells certain doom for their regime.

BERMAN: No. I think that`s right. Look, all these governments are not friends of Israel by any stretch of the imagination, but they were squarely behind Israel in the opening stages of the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict. It wasn`t because they liked the Israelis. It was because they were worried about the wave of Shia empowerment that`s sweeping the region and what it means for them.

BECK: Ilan, thank you. We`ll continue to watch the situation.

As I mentioned earlier today, the world just might end, you know, but if you had the right attitude you could make it fun. We produced a little jingle for the day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): The world ends and we all know why. It`s August 22 and we`re all going die. The end of the world and we all know why. It`s August 22, and we`re all going to die.

We`re all going to die. We`re all going die. It`s August 22, and we`re all going die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right. Senator Joe Lieberman and I have a very long history. We`ve been very good friend. We`ve had a falling out. Actually, we haven`t spoken in eight years until this morning.

Joe Lieberman was on the radio program earlier today, and we talked about everything, from the war in the Middle East to the future of the Democratic Party.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: I remember you coming down to my fund-raisers, and you would bring a bag of groceries and you. And you and I would talk, and we would always end the conversation with the same thing: "Joe, you`re in the wrong party."

And you would say, "No, Glenn, you`re in the wrong party."

It appears as though a lot of people in your party say you`re in the wrong party.

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: Yes.

BECK: Do you feel betrayed at all? I mean, they just filed paperwork to kick you out as a senator.

LIEBERMAN: Yes.

BECK: How do you feel about that?

LIEBERMAN: I think it`s nutty. And I mean, you know, I`ve accused Ned Lamont of representing the old politics of partisanship and polarization. But this -- this group of his supporters represents an older politics that sounds more like the Soviet Union, where they would love to purge people from the official list of party members, because they weren`t thought to be 100 percent.

I mean, I think that`s going fade away. But it`s a sign of the times.

And, you know, my answer to those discussions we used to have was that I am fighting to make sure that there is, in each of our two great parties, a strong national security wing, because otherwise America loses.

BECK: Do the people in Washington not sense that the majority of Americans could give a flying crap if you`re a Democrat or a Republican? We want answers, and we are screaming for answers on the border? We are screaming for answers on Iraq.

LIEBERMAN: You know, they act as if they don`t hear it, but what I hear out here is exactly what you hear. And I keep meeting people since the primary who say, you know, I`m a Republican, I`m a Democrat. I`m unaffiliated, but hey, I don`t vote the party. I just vote for who I think can do the best job.

And that`s what I expect you to do as my senator. Just do what you think is right, and most of all, get something done for us. I think I have a mission here, and I`m going go at it with full force, and I thank you for your support.

BECK: Thank you very much.

LIEBERMAN: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: All right. In his editorial piece in Sunday`s "New York Times", Frank Rich, who just makes my eyes bleed every time I read him, made the argument that the war on terror doesn`t scare the American public anymore. He says Republicans won`t be able to use terrorism to scare people in order to get elected. And that the poll numbers will reflect this.

I said on the radio on Monday I actually hoped for the first time in my life that Frank Rich was right. I don`t want people to be scared by the war on terror. I want them to not just vote for a Republican or Democrat because they`re afraid. I want you to understand what`s going on. That way people like Frank Rich won`t be able to call me a fear monger anymore when I talk about what could be coming.

What Frank doesn`t understand, though, is that I think most Americans are genuinely afraid of being vaporized by Islamic terrorists. We`re not afraid of Democrats taking control of the government or Republicans losing.

Well, Frank Rich and his sterling record of being absolutely wrong every single time, is still intact today. President Bush`s approval ratings have risen substantially in the past week. Why? Because the American people know in their gut something`s coming. And while it is connected to Iraq, it isn`t Iraq.

Stuart Rothenberg is the editor and publisher of the non-partisan report the "Rothenberg Political Report".

Stuart, what is it going to take for people in our country to talk about the global scope of terror without tying it to Republicans or Democrats?

STUART ROTHENBERG, "ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT": Well that`s a tough question, Glenn. I think what is going to have to happen is politicians, probably Republican politicians, probably the president, are going to have to go back to the wealth of the American public and put the war in Iraq in the broader context.

Right now the public is being hammered every day with stories about Iraq, the reaction of Iraq. When you get a bigger picture then people will respond to it.

BECK: But you know what? This is the problem. Before we went into Iraqi, I said we`re not going in for weapons of mass destruction. We`re not going in for, you know, humanitarian reasons. Otherwise, we would have been in Somalia. We`re going in to crush the head of the snake of Iran.

And I`m telling you, the president only outlined that in one speech before we went in. I think it was a critical error. How do you reframe it now without looking like you`re insane?

ROTHENBERG: It`s really difficult, because people react to the daily news on television, in the newspapers, and the daily news is what happened yesterday or the day before, the day before, and it has to do with the decapitations and car bombings and the like. Only when you get an event that puts Iraq into the broader war does the public start to focus on that.

So I think it`s very difficult. Really, it`s going to be news-driven, and the media right now is focused on Iraq.

BECK: So how do you -- how do you sell? I don`t understand this. How do you sell the fear of terror and that we are going protect you, when that really isn`t even in the news? I guess, is it just -- is it just that nothing has happened? Is that the good news that they`re hearing or not hearing? Do you hear my question, Stuart?

ROTHENBERG: I do. And it`s really difficult. And it`s really difficult now for the president for this reason.

Glenn, the president has been in office now for almost six years. And opinion about him has gelled. People have become depressed, soured, disappointed about some of the performance, certainly in Iraq, with Katrina and the like. And so they don`t want to listen to White House. So I don`t think there`s an easy answer.

You would think that events that have occurred, whether in Britain or Canada or the like, would get people to refocus on the war against terror, but so far they haven`t.

BECK: This isn`t really historically -- I don`t know if you`re the right guy to answer this. Historically, this isn`t that different. I mean, if you look at it -- you know, I know it was before polls, but I mean, if you looked at the public`s reaction to people like Abraham Lincoln when we were in the throes of war, it really wasn`t so good for Abraham Lincoln.

ROTHENBERG: Well, I think half the problem is when you look at the president`s performance. And you talked about the uptick and it is up by a couple points in a recent CNN poll. But still, people don`t give the president the credit they once did...

BECK: Right.

ROTHENBERG: ... for integrity, for being forthright, for being honest. He doesn`t have this reservoir of goodwill. I think Lincoln was able to mobilize public opinion about a big -- about a big idea. This president now did the little things.

BECK: Republicans, they were calling for huge losses this fall. Do you think that`s still accurate? We`re just too far away, aren`t we?

ROTHENBERG: No, this is going to be a bad year for Republicans, for the House and the Senate. Voters want change. At least that`s what they`re telling the pollsters.

BECK: Right.

ROTHENBERG: It`s up to the Republicans to change that.

BECK: Do you think people are smart enough? Because you know, I want to throw all of them out, quite honestly. Do you think people are start enough to just -- are they just looking at "D`s" and "R`s", or are they smart enough to say, this person -- will it become a local thing?

ROTHENBERG: Yes. That`s two questions, really. Voters don`t like any politicians and any incumbents, but the Republicans are perceived to control everything, so they will be hurt.

BECK: Right.

ROTHENBERG: And the question is on local, can the Republicans localize between now and November? Can they rip the hide off individual Democratic candidates in Connecticut and Pennsylvania and Montana? And if they can, the Republicans can hold the House and the Senate. If they can`t, the House is probably going to turn.

The Senate is tougher for the Democrats. The Republicans have a better chance to hold it.

BECK: Stuart, thanks a lot.

ROTHENBERG: Sure.

BECK: I will tell you as a viewer, I jut want you to know, we`re not going talk a lot about politics, because it is so much bigger than Republicans and Democrats.

By the way, more on my interview with Senator Lieberman coming up. I asked him if he was as concerned with this global war on terror, and I talked to him about the end of the west. Wait until you hear his answer, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Every day you can hear my radio program on stations all across the country, including 1190 WOWO in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and 560 WVLC in Columbia, South Carolina.

Let`s go to Chicago now and the guy who does the afternoon show on WLS 890 AM, Roe Conn.

What`s happening in Chicago, Roe?

ROE CONN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Glenn, we talked about this a couple of times in the past. They just enacted in Chicago this foie gras ban.

BECK: No.

CONN: Yes. Now, I know what you`re wondering. You`re wondering what is foie gras? This, my friend is foie gras, right there. You see this?

BECK: That`s disgusting.

CONN: You see this? Get a little closer to you.

BECK: Yes. I get it.

CONN: Oh, my God.

BECK: It`s diseased goose liver. That`s what it is.

CONN: Yes. It`s fatty liver.

BECK: Yes.

CONN: They take a metal pipe, and they stick it down the throat of the goose. And they fatten up the liver, and then some French guy cuts it out of the goose and then they fry it up. And we eat it and people go, "Oh, so wonderful."

Well, in Chicago, they banned it. Today is the official day the ban takes place, and they are threatening to actually arrest people, starting tomorrow here, who consume foie gras.

BECK: I`m -- I`m an animal lover, but I`m not a PETA nut. And I`ve got to tell you, I won`t eat veal. I prefer -- I like a good steak, but I prefer my food not to be tortured to be, you know, a little tastier, a little more tender. Call me crazy.

CONN: I`ve got to tell you something, I really don`t care, because we`re eating it anyway. So it`s not like it was going college and it`s going to enjoy itself.

BECK: OK. All right.

Did you see the -- did you see the new survey out on the party schools?

CONN: Yes. Yes. "The Princeton Review". Actually some shockers, I think this year. The top five doesn`t include Indiana University, which is always there. You`ve got University of Texas at Austin at No. 1. Now this is interesting. Jenna Bush has been out of that school for what? Three years now, I think.

BECK: I don`t think this is necessary. You know what? You`ve got a kid starting college, what? Tomorrow?

CONN: Tomorrow. I`m taking her to school.

BECK: Labor Day. I have a daughter that is starting college myself and I`m telling you, I can`t sleep at night. I am so -- you feel that way?

CONN: Yes. You know what? Don`t read that Charlotte Simmons book. I think that`s the most important thing you can do for yourself. The Tom Wolfe book about what life is like in college now.

And actually, my daughter is going to go to school where I went to school, which is where that "Million Little Pieces" book took place.

BECK: Oh, perfect.

CONN: Yes.

BECK: Oh, perfect.

I`ve got to tell you, I just -- I write a blog on the web site, and I just wrote a deal. I think I`m going to lock my daughter in the basement. I do. Because I love her so much I`m locking her in the basement and never letting her out.

CONN: Glenn, can you home school college? I don`t know if that`s possible, Glenn.

BECK: I`m willing to try. I`m willing to try.

And finally, our last story is Paris Hilton`s new CD is out and I`m...

CONN: It comes out today. I mean, how exciting is this? Her first - - you know, she was so good in "Simple Life", I thought.

BECK: Yes.

CONN: And so excellent in "House of Wax".

BECK: Yes.

CONN: I think the most natural thing now is to, you know -- to have her own album.

BECK: And can I tell you something? When you watch this video, you`re thinking music.

CONN: yes.

BECK: You`re thinking music. You`re not thinking about anything else but what she`s singing.

You know this video, in my house, if I were, you know -- if I were the natural man, I wouldn`t recognize this video unless it had mute down on the corner. Then, I`d be like, "Oh, yes, I`ve seen that video before."

CONN: Her middle name is Whitney, you know.

BECK: Yes. It`s just me. Paris Hilton, if that song becomes a hit, it`s appropriate it came out on August 22, man, because that is the end of the days.

Thanks a lot, Roe. We`ll talk to you soon.

CONN: Thanks, Glenn.

BECK: All right.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right. Welcome to "The Real Story." This is where we bring you the stories that the media has either overlooked or is reporting for all the wrong reasons. And I want to start today with an update on John Mark Karr, the guy accused of killing JonBenet Ramsey.

The big news today is that he agreed to be extradited in Colorado and that he may have confessed to the crime five years ago. But the real story on John Mark Karr, at least for me, is that I think this guy may just be looking for fame. And I am done giving it to him.

So from now on, this psycho`s real name will never be used by me on this show. If you have ideas on what I can call him, because he`s going to be news in the while, please e-mail them to me at GlennBeck@CNN.com.

You also will never see a picture or video of him again on this show without his face being blacked out. Now, I may be -- in fact, no, I know I`m just one very small show in the TV universe, but I refuse to look back from this, you know, a couple of months from now if what`s his name is found not guilty and realize that I gave this nut job exactly what he was looking for: 15 minutes of fame.

Your 15 minutes of fame are up on this show.

Next, you may have heard that Spike Lee has a new documentary about Hurricane Katrina called "When the Levees Broke." This, of course, was released to coincide with the upcoming one-year anniversary of the storm later this week.

But to me the real story here is that this is a Spike Lee film. Let me say that again: This is a Spike Lee film. This is the guy who brought us fair and balanced movies like "She Hate Me," "Get on the Bus," and, of course, everyone`s favorite, "Malcolm X."

In one part of the movie, Spike tries to bring attention to the ridiculous belief that some in New Orleans believe that the levees were intentionally blown up. Damn this Bush administration! After first explaining that he`s completely unbiased, Spike chimes in with his obviously neutral statement, and I quote, "Given the history of African- Americans in this country, from slavery to the Tuskegee experiment, it`s not really that farfetched." Well, there`s fair and balanced for you, Spike.

Then he goes on to lambaste Condoleezza Rice using Al Sharpton as the mouthpiece, and he later tries to explain that Mayor Nagin was just in a really tough spot. Uh-huh, and apparently in that spot is where he left the keys to the busses. Glad to see you`re not taking sides on this one, Spike.

And finally, President Bush, he gave an hour-long press conference yesterday in where he took questions from everything, from Lebanon to gas prices, but the real story here is the president finally confirmed some things about Iraq and the Middle East that we`ve been saying for years. Listen to a few of his comments that we`ve pieced together and see if you hear a recurring theme.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The idea is to try to help change the Middle East.

The cornerstone of our policy in that part of the world is to help democracies.

The terrorists attacked us and killed 3,000 of our citizens before we started the freedom agenda in the Middle East.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: The freedom agenda in the Middle East, new phrase. Change the Middle East, help democracies in the Middle East. He is acknowledging, I think possibly for the first time, that we went there mainly because the whole region needs to be transformed.

Now, weapons of mass destruction, human atrocities, they were important? Sure, when we originally went in. But those same things are happening in Africa. Are we there? No. Somehow or another we weren`t as concerned about them as we were with Iraq.

The bottom line: Iraq was perfectly situated, both in time and geography, for us to begin the process of revolutionizing the entire region. And now the president is trying to tell us that we`ve got to finish the job, that the consequences of leaving are much more greater than just chaos in a region of the world thousands of miles away, that the enemy will follow us and the war will come here.

Listen again to his words yesterday as he explains the connections between our success in Iraq and our safety here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Do we understand that a failed -- failed states in the Middle East are a direct threat to our country`s security...

And if you believe that the job of the federal government is to secure this country, it`s really important for you to understand that success in Iraq is part of securing the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: OK. The president here is putting together into words what I wish he would have done a long time ago, and it`s what many of us are feeling, that our fight in Iraq isn`t just about putting a distant country back together. That seems almost like a worthless goal, doesn`t it, in some ways? The fight there is for our very existence here.

Now one guy who is going to make my eyes bleed and couldn`t disagree with me more is Christopher Preble. He`s a director of foreign policy studies at the CATO Institute. He is also a Gulf War veteran.

Sir, first of all, let me thank you very much for your service. I appreciate everything you`ve done for the country.

CHRISTOPHER PREBLE, FOREIGN POLICY STUDIES, CATO INSTITUTE: Thank you.

BECK: Tell me...

(LAUGHTER)

... tell me what it`s like to live in a world of sunshine and lollipops where you can pull out of the Iraq war, leave a power vacuum, and Iran doesn`t swoop in?

PREBLE: Well, of course, Iran has already swooped into Iraq and was planning to do that for some time. We made Iran a lot stronger by removing its primary strategic competitor in the region, Saddam Hussein.

BECK: Great.

PREBLE: And...

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: Hang on. May I say -- wait, wait, may I -- I`m going to let you speak, but I want to interrupt here, because I don`t want to waste time on -- I don`t really want to re-fight, should we have gone or why we were there or anything else.

PREBLE: OK.

BECK: I agree with you, and this is why the first George Bush didn`t go in. The first George Bush knew. We leave a power vacuum, and it`s going to leave Iran. The question should be: What do we do today?

PREBLE: Well, I think it`s unrealistic to believe that the United States can make this all come out well at a reasonable cost. And I think what we`re really seeing in the past few weeks and months is a recognition on the part of the American public that the president of the United States is prepared to spend anything and to remain in Iraq indefinitely to achieve what to many Americans appears to be an impossible goal, that is the creation of a stable, democratic Iraq at peace with its neighbors and able to defend itself.

And the president reiterated yesterday, he will not leave Iraq before his presidency is over. And the American public therefore recognizes they have more than two years at least of these great expenditures, $8 to $10 billion a month, hundreds of American casualties every month, and, of course, thousands of Iraqi casualties every month. So that`s what`s taking place right now.

BECK: OK, all right. Let`s be honest. You have a PhD; I had one semester at Yale. And I`m a recovering alcoholic, former drug addict. You`re smarter than I am.

PREBLE: OK.

BECK: But I`ve got to tell you, I can`t even begin to see the rose- colored glasses that you are writing on when you say that it`s not worth spending whatever treasure we have to spend or whatever blood, if you recognize that the power vacuum is there and Iran will occupy that space.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, they are all freaked out of their mind by Hezbollah and Iran because they know it is Iran`s goal to suck up all the power in that region, which would give them total control of the oil. And where would we be without oil or oil controlled only by Iran?

PREBLE: The rose-colored glasses is in believing that -- or actually what`s the opposite of rose-colored glasses? It`s assuming that the worst possible scenario will transpire in the event of a American military withdrawal from Iraq.

The neighbors of Iraq, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia, which you mentioned -- are not inclined to sit back idly while the Iranians resume or take over full control of Iraq, but neither are the Kurds, who already have full control in their part of Iraq. The Iraqi army is not even allowed in the Kurdish regions of Iraq. They`re not going to allow the Iranians to take over.

And, of course, you still have the Sunnis. Remember, these are the people who we threw out of power and who initially we expected to be our greatest enemies in Iraq, the Saddamists and the Baathists, et cetera. They also are not going sit idly by and allow Iran to completely dominate the country.

BECK: Christopher, I thank you very much for your time. I will tell you that I think you`re so misguided on the fact that you think that the Kurds could hold back the Iranian armies and, beyond that, that somehow or another the people who are in Egypt and Saudi Arabia that are chanting, "There is no army but Hezbollah," are actually going to fight for the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Thanks for your time.

Let`s go "Straight to Hill" now, Erica Hill, the anchor of "PRIME NEWS" on Headline News.

Hello, Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Hey there, Glenn.

BECK: How are you?

HILL: I`m doing well. You`re a little fired up today, huh?

BECK: I am a little fired up. Well, it`s doomsday. And you know what? I`m having cake at end of the program. I refuse to go out on a diet.

HILL: What kind of cake?

BECK: Doomsday cake.

HILL: But what flavor?

BECK: Does it matter? It`s doomsday.

HILL: Well, yes, it`s going to be your last piece of cake. I mean, don`t you want it to be one that you really want?

BECK: I have something -- a very good friend of mine made a pie that I like to call a "Sweet Jesus" pie, because you have a bite of it and you go, "Sweet Jesus, this is good!"

HILL: Sweet Jesus, it`s good pie!

BECK: Exactly right. She made that. I`m having that and I believe chocolate doomsday cake, as well.

HILL: Sounds like a fine piece to me. Enjoy. Bon appetite!

BECK: Thank you.

HILL: In other news -- actually, some sad news coming to us out of Russia. A Russian airplane carrying at least 170 people crashed in eastern Ukraine. Everyone onboard was killed. Emergency officials say the pilot sent a distress signal reporting a fire onboard, as well as heavy turbulence. That signal came shortly before the airplane disappeared from the radar screens.

An emergency situations ministry spokesman says 30 bodies have been found so far. The Pulkovo Airlines commuter plane was en route from the Black Sea resort town of Anapa to St. Petersburg.

BECK: You know, Erica, and I mean this as a compliment, you`re, like, what, 12? Do you remember the time...

HILL: Just a few...

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: Do you remember the days when something like this would have happened, and it would have been weeks before we heard about any kind of crash or -- they would have been on TV going, "What crash? No our airplanes never crash."

HILL: "There is no crash."

BECK: Yes, remember that?

(LAUGHTER)

Boy, how the world has changed.

HILL: How times have changed. Now you`re eating doomsday pie. Who knew?

BECK: No, no, doomsday cake, "Sweet Jesus" pie.

HILL: Sorry, "Sweet Jesus" pie.

BECK: Thank you very much, Erica. We`ll talk to you tomorrow.

HILL: See you tomorrow.

BECK: Bye.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Why is it there aren`t more politicians saying, "Guys, this is World War III, we are in deep trouble"?

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: You know, you`ve got to look at what happened in Lebanon as another battlefield in what is a global war, in which Islamist extremists have attacked us, and they are in it for the long haul. You got to look at the question of how we end our involvement in Iraq in the same way. If we walk away, then the Iranians will, as sure as I`m talking to you, surge into Iraq, certainly take over the south and all the oil that`s there.

BECK: Look, we will have $200 barrel of oil overnight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: You know, I told him that I really thought that, if we lose this war, it would be the end of the West. And he agreed with me. If you want to hear this interview, we`ve made it free audio at glennbeck.com.

Now, if you watch the show a lot, you probably know that -- you know, nobody is ever really going to accuse me of not talking enough about Iran or World War III or the massive fight we`re undertaking against terror and extreme Islam. But even somebody like me -- I mean, somebody who gets up every morning and gets on that paranoia express to go to work can`t quite go as far as our next guest is willing to go.

So before we get to him, let me give you a quick test to see how far down Apocalypse Avenue you`re willing to drive tonight. One, do you think Iran has nuclear ambitions? Do you believe that the U.N. won`t aggressively stand up to them? And, three, do you believe that Iran and Russia will come together to invade Israel, resulting in a world war of biblical proportions, an eventual peace treaty, and the beginning of the seven-year tribulation period, and the eventual revoking of the peace treaty by a leader who turns out to be the anti-Christ, and a campaign of Armageddon, and the second coming of Christ?

If you`re still shaking your head, "Yes," you are going to love Mark Hitchcock. He is the author of "Iran: The Coming Crisis," and the stage being set for the end times.

Mark, I`ve got to tell you, I believe in the second coming of Christ. Is this it? Do you think this is it?

MARK HITCHCOCK, AUTHOR, "IRAN: THE COMING CRISIS": Well, no, I don`t think that what we see happening right now is it. You know, this is the -- no one knows when the end is going come. But my thesis is just that a lot of the things we see happening in the world today appear to be setting the stage for the end times. We don`t know how long this stage-setting might take or what it might look like, but...

BECK: All right. So this is not it now?

HITCHCOCK: No, this is not it right now, no.

BECK: Do you believe that Iran is going to play a role in this?

HITCHCOCK: Well, I do. The Bible in Ezekiel 38, verse 5 mentions Persia as one of the nations. It mentions a whole bunch of nations, a group of them that will invade Israel in the latter years, in the last days, when Israel has been re-gathered to her land. And Persia became Iran in 1935 and became the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, so the Bible lists the specific nations there in Ezekiel 38, and one of them is Persia.

So I think they`ll be involved in this invasion of Israel. And it doesn`t look too farfetched right now.

BECK: OK, so you`re up on Iran. I mean, these guys really do have an apocalyptic view of what`s going on. What kind of a role? What kind of a role right now? Why are you coming out and saying, you know, "end times"? What kind of role right now are they playing?

HITCHCOCK: Well, I mean, first of all, 1948 was key. Israel became a nation. They`ve been re-gathered. We see Europe reuniting, the reuniting of the Roman Empire. But we see these nations like Iran, that are mentioned in Ezekiel 38, also forming alliances with Russia, who is mentioned there, as well. And with Iran right now, their leader is of fanatical, end-of-days, messianic view, that he thinks he can actually hasten the coming of the end times.

BECK: Do you think that the anti-Christ is alive today?

HITCHCOCK: Well, no one knows for sure. You know, we can say this: If the end times are going to begin in the next 30, to 40, to 50 years, it`s very possible that he is, because obviously he`s going to have to be an adult. I wouldn`t...

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: So you think that he is possibly alive today?

HITCHCOCK: He possibly is, yes.

BECK: OK. And, I mean, for us homeowners, should we go for the 30- year fixed or the seven-year ARM? Is that...

HITCHCOCK: Well, you know, I think, when it comes to living our daily lives, I mean, I live my life every day. I get up every day and just try to serve the Lord and do what God called me to do, but I can`t look around in our world today, and read the Bible, and not see that many of the things we see happening in the world today seem to correspond or remarkably correspond with what the Bible is says.

BECK: Yes, you know, Mark, I`m having laugh and levity at your expense.

HITCHCOCK: Oh, sure, I`m not...

BECK: I will tell you that you seem like a reasonable guy. I mean, I do believe that we are in real deep, deep trouble, and you`re right. A lot of the things that are happening today, you know, are spelled out clearly in scriptures.

I just -- you know, I wonder -- I mean, I like your attitude of just, you know, live your life. I just -- I wonder if you`re going to see -- do you believe you`re going to see Jesus in the next 10 years?

HITCHCOCK: Well, the way I look at it is I think Jesus could come back at any time. He could come back any day, so I don`t...

BECK: That`s a wussy answer.

HITCHCOCK: Well, I don`t put time frames on it, because...

BECK: That`s a wussy -- I know, I know.

HITCHCOCK: ... the Lord just says, you know, to be ready at any time, so...

BECK: See, now you`re -- stop hedging. Stop hedging.

HITCHCOCK: Every day I just get up and say, you know, "Perhaps today." You know what`s interesting though? A "Newsweek" poll recently said that 17 percent of the people in America -- not Christians, just all Americans -- believe the world is going to end in their lifetime.

BECK: Yes.

HITCHCOCK: That`s almost one in five people. So even just among secular people there`s a real sense that we might be getting near closing time.

BECK: Right. Mark, thanks a lot.

And on that note, let`s move to Nancy Grace. Nancy, what is coming up?

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Thanks, Glenn.

Breaking news tonight in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. Next stop for the confessed killer: Boulder, Colorado, after he waives extradition. As you know, he`s suspected in the 10-year-old murder case. At his hearing today, he showed up in an orange prison jumpsuit, a far cry from the snazzy outfit he wore business class, Thailand to the U.S. There are holes in his story that place him at the scene of the crime, but tonight we take a hard look at the evidence. Does it hold up?

BECK: Don`t forget, you can check out Nancy tonight, 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Each week, tens of thousands of you download Glenn`s podcast. Some of you have been critiquing his performance. Well, this week, Glenn has a few words he wants to say back.

BECK: Jay, we clicked on your name to find out what other podcasts you watch.

ANNOUNCER: "Ask Glenn." Download it on iTunes or at CNN.com/Glenn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right. Looks like the world is coming to an end, but, hey, you know, we`ve had a good run. But since this might be our last show together, I thought we`d take a look back and look at all our best moments here on Headline News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Yes, that`s really it, too. Not a lot of good highlights.

Our first e-mail comes in from Mike in New York. He writes, "It`s Armageddon today. Yes, stop it, Glenn. Stop damaging weak people`s psyches and terrorizing our nation with media panic. You`re a total tool."

Well, I mean, I suppose I could point out for the 13,000th time that I wasn`t predicting Armageddon today, even though I did order a cake. We talked about the predictions of renowned Middle East scholar Bernard Lewis. But even he didn`t really predict the Apocalypse. He said, quote, "It`s far from certain that Mr. Ahmadinejad planned any such cataclysmic events precisely for August 22nd, but it would be wise to bear in mind the possibility."

It is amazing to me to be called a nut job for quoting a scholar who thinks we might expect aggressive behavior from a man who wants to wipe Israel off the map. I know. Sounds crazy! But, hey, who has time to actually listen? Apparently not you, Mike. Thanks.

Ken writes in, "Glenn, you brought to light the prediction that the world would end" -- again not listening -- "on August 22nd. I marked your words. I marked my calendar. This morning, 8:22, I wake up to find not just one, but two flat tires on my car."

Disturbing sign, Ken. In fact, can we bring up the elements of the perfect storm that I talked about earlier? Towards the end of that monologue we had -- no, not that one. No, the other one. Nope, not that one, either. There it is. There it is. Remember, I never said they would happen in order.

Deborah writes to my bosses here at Headline News, "Give Glenn Beck his mushroom cloud cake. Don`t be a cheapskate." Well, I am happy to report that I did get my mushroom cloud cake, and my apologies to my dad and mom who are bakers. And this cake, it has no art in it at all.

But I figure if I`m going to go out on -- you know, we`re going burst into flames, you might as well go out eating cake. And I want you to know, I`m taking this war in the Middle East and this cake very seriously. I am.

But before we leave, I have a special idea for Armageddon, our Armageddon exit sign. Project it in the sky. This is when, when everything melts down, you`ll at least know which direction to run in. There it is. I say we get one over the skies of every city in America.

END