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Lou Dobbs Tonight

Rocket Attack on U.S. Base Kills 26; Violence Increasing in Iraq

Aired December 21, 2004 - 18:00   ET

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

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


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KITTY PILGRIM, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, massacre in Mosul. Nineteen American soldiers are killed in a rocket attack.

BRIG. GEN. CARTER HAM, U.S. ARMY: It's a sad day in Mosul. But as they always do, soldiers will come back from that.

PILGRIM: An astonishing security breakdown at our borders. Dozens of foreigners with stolen passports have entered this country unchallenged.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anytime someone would try to attempt to use any sort of fraudulent document or stolen passport. So it's of concern, great concern to us.

PILGRIM: President Bush searches for a new director of national intelligence. Senator Bob Graham, former chairman of the intelligence committee, says the president must choose a visionary leader. Senator Graham is my guest.

And holiday home front, the remarkable story of a yellow-ribbon guy, the man behind the "Support Our Troops" magnets. He's now fighting a battle against cheap foreign imports.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT for Tuesday, December 21. Here now for an hour of news, debate and opinion, sitting in for Lou Dobbs, who is on vacation, Kitty Pilgrim.

PILGRIM: Good evening.

In Iraq today, insurgents launched a devastating rocket attack on a U.S. base. It happened in the northern city of Mosul. Twenty-six people were killed, 19 of them American soldiers. About 60 other people were wounded.

The insurgents targeted a mess hall, packed with hundreds of U.S. and Iraqi troops, civilians and foreign contractors.

Chris Lawrence reports from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A photographer took these pictures Tuesday at Camp Marez, an America military base in Mosul. They show a chow hall covered in a cloud of smoke, a hole ripped in the tent's soft top, soldiers dragging away the wounded.

Witnesses say an explosion knocked soldiers out of their seats and sprayed shrapnel everywhere. Survivors slung their rifles and manned stretchers, carrying soldiers and civilians, Americans and Iraqis alike.

HAM: They were all brothers in arms, taking care of one another.

LAWRENCE: The pictures show how soldiers can support one another without firing a shot. One minute, Corporal Nathan Homquist (ph) was alone, standing over the body of a fellow soldier. Then another member of his unit did the only thing she could think of.

HAM: Our hearts go out to the families, the friends and the fellow soldiers who lost comrades in arms today.

LAWRENCE: Husbands, fathers and brothers, both American and Iraqi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: Now, what these pictures don't show is that insurgents have targeted this chow hall before. And just a few weeks ago, one soldier told us it was just a matter of time before they got hit -- Kitty.

PILGRIM: Chris, are they doing anything right now to beef up security on this mess hall in this -- in this compound?

LAWRENCE: Well, apparently the military already knew before this happened that having that soft-cloth tent was a weak spot, because even before this incident, they had already started building a new chow hall just down the road that is made of steel and concrete.

PILGRIM: All right. Thanks very much, Chris Lawrence. Thank you, Chris.

President Bush today expressed his condolences to the families of the soldiers killed and wounded in Mosul. Earlier, the White House declared that the enemies of freedom will be defeated.

Senior White House correspondent John king reports -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Kitty, the president delivering those condolences, a statement to reporters on what had been, from the White House perspective, a day when he hoped to spread some holiday cheer.

He went to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He was visiting there with wounded troops back from Iraq, some of their family members brought in to spend some time around the holidays with them.

But after you see the president, he came out with the first lady, Laura Bush. Mr. Bush saying, "Any death of a U.S. soldier overseas is painful and sorrowful, all the more so," he said, because these deaths come in the Christmas holiday season.

But Mr. Bush, as he has done so many times in the past, also defending the mission in Iraq, tying the attacks to anti-democratic forces in Iraq. Mr. Bush saying the mission must go on and that those who died would not die in vain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We pray for them. We send our heartfelt condolences to the loved ones who suffered today. I just want them to know that the mission is a vital mission for peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now, this comes at a time, of course, many have already been critical of administration policy in Iraq. Some saying there are not enough troops to provide security for the upcoming elections.

Of late, there's been a controversy, as well, about the shortage of armored vehicles in Iraq.

Administration officials saying this, though, Kitty tonight. They say that security is adjusted and as more troops go in, a modest number before the elections and more armored vehicles are rushed to Iraq, the one thing the White House says must not happen is any delay in those elections. That, the White House says, Kitty, would be a victory for the terrorists.

PILGRIM: All right. Thanks very much. John King reporting tonight.

Mosul was relatively peaceful immediately after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime. But the insurgents' attacks have increased sharply, particularly after the U.S.-led offensive against Falluja.

Elaine Quijano reports from the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tuesday's attack in Mosul marks a continued surge in violence in the northern Iraqi city. Once a peaceful region after the invasion, it has seen a rise in attacks in recent weeks.

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Now, Mosul's been pretty safe up until the last couple, three months. And the action up there appears to be related to Falluja, that some of the insurgents left Falluja, and now they're starting up in Mosul, although that's a supposition.

QUIJANO: A senior Pentagon official says since the Falluja offensive a month ago to clear out insurgents in that city, there's been an uptick in violence, not just in Mosul, but in numerous parts of the country, as well. The official says the attacks have also shifted, mainly targeting Iraqi security forces. What's not clear is whether insurgent leaders are trying to reposition themselves in Mosul.

SHEPPERD: It also could be that just the passage of time enables these people to get more organized in many places across the country, and now they're coming out in the Mosul area.

QUIJANO: Right now, the man in charge of coalition forces in Iraq says he doesn't consider Mosul a terrorist safe haven.

GEN. GEORGE CASEY, COMMANDER, MULTINATIONAL FORCE: It is certainly an area where they are operating and attempting to disrupt the election process and coalition and Iraqi security forces operations. But not a safe haven.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO: And at that news conference here at the Pentagon last week, General Casey said that U.S. troops, along with Iraqi security forces, had restored the status quo, he said, in Mosul.

But he also acknowledged at that time that more needs to be done to improve the security situation ahead of the January 30 elections -- Kitty.

PILGRIM: All right. Thanks very much, Elaine Quijano.

The Mosul attack came on the same day that British Prime Minister Tony Blair made his first visit to Baghdad. Prime Minister Blair met with Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi in the heavily guarded Green Zone.

Blair said Iraqi voters have a choice between terror and democracy in the upcoming elections.

Now, Britain is America's closest ally in Iraq. There are 8,000 British troops in southern Iraq.

Well, joining me now for more on this is General David Grange.

And thank you very much for joining us, General Grange. We rely on your expertise.

General Casey just now saying that Mosul is not a safe haven. And yet we're seeing some pretty intense attacks in the area. What's your view on the situation?

BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I don't think it's a safe haven, but they definitely have some pretty good freedom of movement. It's a big city. Very big city. And it's very hard for the size force up there and the number of Iraqis that are trained to do a lot about it.

I mean, the coalition's on the offensive. But the enemy have picked up the pace there, and so the -- the coalition must do the same.

PILGRIM: Do you see the offensive shifting to Mosul, and why would it?

GRANGE: Well, Mosul's a key city. And again, in urban warfare, the terrain is advantageous to an insurgent. And so they'll conduct operations there to the best of their ability.

If they have local populace that supports their movements, they can recruit from that area, as well. And so you may be seeing a little bit of that.

PILGRIM: There are very few facts, but in your estimation, do you believe that there was inside enemy intelligence on this -- on this compound?

GRANGE: I think that's a good chance. And it wouldn't be that difficult to get because, for a mortar rocket attack, you needed distance, a direction, and a location of the target.

And if they know there was a mess hall in this part of the Mosul operational area, and that troops ate at certain times of the day in certain numbers, then it would be a very good target for the bad guys. And so they would take advantage of that if they could.

PILGRIM: How close could they have been?

GRANGE: Well, they don't have to be close, you know. With indirect fire, a rocket or mortar attack in this case, they could have been a few miles away.

And it's what they call -- they can shoot and scoot. In other words, they can take a firing device out of a back of a vehicle, out of a trunk of a car. It could be on an old donkey cart. It could be hidden in a cellar behind a garden of a house. It's very hard to find these things.

Once they're fired, there's -- there's ways that the coalition force can pick up the projectile. But you don't have a lot of time to react to that.

PILGRIM: We had a very large concentration of troops in one area. Is this normal, and is this advisable, or is this part of normal procedure?

GRANGE: Well, a lot of it depends on the threat assessment. In other words, if the threat is that we're in an area that's relatively safe, we can move more people into a certain area and do logistics or administrative-type tasks.

But it's always a risk you take. And really, irregular times and dispersion of the force is much more advisable.

PILGRIM: Is this the likely response of the coalition forces now, to disperse the force or to do other things? What's your view? GRANGE: Well, there will be -- there will be defensive actions taken and offensive actions taken. Defensive are -- are means to negate the enemy's capabilities, like move at times that are not routine, to harden the sites, to eat at irregular -- irregular times or at different locations.

Offensively, they'll go after these -- this area very hard, especially now.

PILGRIM: All right. Thanks very much.

General David Grange.

Thank you.

GRANGE: My pleasure.

PILGRIM: Still to come, Senator Bob Graham says the hardest part of intelligence reform is still to come, and Senator Graham is my guest.

And shocking new concerns about the ability of our border protection agents to keep criminals and terrorists out of this country.

And the new Democratic leader in the Senate, Harry Reid, talks tough as he tries to rebuild his party. We'll have a special report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PILGRIM: Tonight, grave new concerns about who is trying to sneak into this country illegally and how they are doing it. The Homeland Security Department says that stolen passports are far too often making it past immigration agents.

At the same time, new technology used by border guards has caught 23,000 suspected criminals trying to sneak through our borders in the last three months.

Christine Romans reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even when the government is on the lookout for a known stolen passport, there's a good chance its holder will still get into this country.

A government review of five years of immigration and customs data found 136 entries with stolen passports. Seventy-nine were with passports that were not yet flagged as stolen, but 57 were with passports the government knew were stolen.

And, unbelievably, after September 11, 33 people used stolen passports that this government was looking for and still made it into the country. This review covered only passports from six European countries. There's no telling how many more passports from other countries made it through.

The inspector general's review suggested that Customs and Border Patrol better scrutinize foreigners whose passports are flagged as stolen and keep better records. Officials say they are making progress.

WILLIAM HEFFELFINGER, CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION: We're doing a great deal of work to identify everyone who comes in and out of this country. So, if there's some way that someone might attempt to get in using stolen passports, we want to address that, and we have.

ROMANS: A separate Border Patrol initiative shows reason to fear many of those people illegally crossing our borders. New technology used by the Border Patrol detected an astonishing 23,000 dangerous criminals trying to sneak into this country, and that's just from September to November this year.

Using a high-tech fingerprint database, border guards identified 84 foreigners suspected of murder, 37 for kidnapping, 151 wanted for rape, 212 for robbery, 1,200 for other assaults and 2,600 for dangerous drug crimes.

All these suspected criminals tried to enter this country through our porous land borders, mainly the border we share with Mexico, but also Canada, 23,502 criminals in just 91 days this ball. Border Patrol agents arrested all of them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: It's impossible, Kitty, to know how many more slipped through the cracks.

PILGRIM: It's shocking about the passports. What are they doing to try to stop this?

ROMANS: A couple of things, technology, trying to automate more of this, but also an awful lot of common sense. Some of these immigration customs agents are simply asking questions, saying you're on a lookout list, I have a list here that says this is a stolen passport and then letting them through if the person has a good enough explanation. That's not going to be allowed anymore.

PILGRIM: Talking their way through. That's pretty...

ROMAN: Talking their way through in many cases.

PILGRIM: Thanks very much. Christine Romans.

We'll have much more ahead on protecting our borders and national security. Senator Bob Graham, the former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, will be my guest.

Another Democratic senator, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, is set to replace outgoing minority leader Tom Daschle in the new Senate, and many Democrats have voiced concern that Reid is too conservative and not tough enough to take the Republicans on in Congress. But, tonight, Senator Reid is trying to crush those concerns. Congressional Correspondent Ed Henry is in Washington with the report -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Kitty.

Harry Reid has been saying that he would prefer to dance with the president rather than fight with him, and he still says he wants to dance with the president sometimes. But this former amateur fighter is taking off the dancing shoes and slipping on his boxing gloves.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY (voice-over): Even before Tuesday's bombing in Mosul, Senator Reid took aim at the president's claim that life in Iraq has gotten better in the year since Saddam Hussein was captured.

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: I think the president's looking at it through a different pair of glasses than I am.

HENRY: Reid asserted that Republican attacks on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld reflect deeper concern within the president's party.

REID: I think it's their way of enunciating how poorly they feel things are going in Iraq. We have 1,300 dead American soldiers. We have thousands who have been injured, many of whom very badly injured. We have elections coming. We have polling places that are -- you can't walk into.

HENRY: On the domestic front, Reid charged the president's assertion that Social Security is in crisis is simply not true, and Democrats will block any move to private accounts.

REID: We will not let this administration destroy the most successful social program in the history of the world, Social Security. We will not let that happen.

HENRY: Reid's tough talk comes as he tries to ease Democratic concerns he might be a pushover.

Liberals were alarmed by Reid's recent comments about potential Supreme Court vacancies. On NBC's "Meet the Press," Reid called conservative Justice Antonin Scalia one smart guy and suggested he may support Scalia's possible elevation to chief justice if William Rehnquist steps down. Reid told CNN he has respect for Scalia, but is not endorsing him.

REID: He has a record. That record will have to be reviewed by the Judiciary Committee.

HENRY: On the political front, Reid has expressed concern John Kerry avoided red states and is vowing to campaign everywhere for Senate candidates.

REID: I'm going to travel where I'm asked to go, and I'm going to travel some places where I'm not asked to go.

HENRY: While some Democrats are privately saying they want Kerry to move off the stage, Reid expects his colleague will be a player.

REID: He is one of the leaders in the United States Senate. I'm going to call on him often for his expertise. No one knows more about America this past year than he does.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: Senator Reid says if the president reaches across the aisle, they can accomplish plenty and share the credit. Otherwise, Reid says, the blame will go to Republicans who run the entire government -- Kitty.

PILGRIM: All right. Thanks very much.

Ed Henry.

And you can see Ed Henry's full interview with Senator Reid this weekend when Ed hosts "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY." That's at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, 7:00 Pacific right here on CNN.

Well, still ahead here tonight, Senator Bob Graham will tell us what he says President Bush must look for in the new director of national intelligence.

And then, the North Carolina man behind the wave of yellow car magnets supporting our troops overseas. We'll have a special report on the men and women doing their part to send holiday cheer to American troops.

And then, American convoys supplying troops in Iraq are frequently attacked by insurgents. We'll have an exclusive report about one of these dangerous and critical missions.

That and a great deal more still ahead tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PILGRIM: All this week, we are honoring the many Americans doing extraordinary things to support our troops overseas and, tonight, a North Carolina man who started what is now a popular tribute to American troops stationed around the world.

Lisa Sylvester reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You see them everywhere, on cars and trucks, those yellow "Support Our Troops" ribbons. The original yellow magnets are from King, North Carolina, where about 70,000 are made a month. The owner of Magnet America is motivated not by money, but a mission.

DWAIN GULLION, MAGNET AMERICA: I thought it was a really neat symbol, a neat way for somebody that maybe had a loved one over there to be able to express that without -- by just putting something on their car.

SYLVESTER: The idea to make the yellow magnets came from a local screen printer.

CHRIS SMITH, KING INTERNATIONAL CORP.: April of last year, I read an article in the local paper about a shortage of yellow ribbon that was being manufactured up north and kind of put the idea with what we were already doing, which was car magnets.

SYLVESTER: Dwain Gullion wanted to market and distribute the ribbon magnets as a way to raise money to help support military families.

(on camera): True to its word, magnet America has been supporting the troops. The company donated $42,000 to Freedom Calls, a nonprofit that helps soldiers communicate with their families back at home.

(voice-over): But knockoffs from overseas are undercutting the company's business. The ribbons on the right are from Magnet America. The copycats on the left, made in Taiwan. Magnet America has let go about half of its staff.

DEREK LONG, MAGNET AMERICA: It upsets you to see that, you know, we were out here trying to -- you know, a good cause, not just to make a fast dollar, but to actually help the community, help our country, help the troops.

SYLVESTER: To stay ahead of the competition, Magnet America has branched out, making ribbons in various colors, sizes, shapes and for different causes. But one thing will remain the same: The magnets will continue to be made in America.

Lisa Sylvester, CNN, High Point, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PILGRIM: Still ahead, "Critical Mission." An exclusive look at one of the most dangerous jobs in the military, driving a supply convoy into Iraq. We'll have a special report.

And "Securing America." Senator Bob Graham is an outspoken critic of U.S. intelligence. He says the hardest part of overhauling the intelligence system lies ahead. He is my guest when we continue.

ANNOUNCER: LOU DOBBS TONIGHT continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: LOU DOBBS TONIGHT continues. Sitting in for Lou Dobbs, Kitty Pilgrim.

PILGRIM: In a moment, I'll be joined by Senator Bob Graham, who has laid out some very specific guidelines for a new director of national intelligence.

But, first, a look at some of the top stories tonight.

The Federal Aviation Administration today said it plans to hire more than 12,000 new air traffic controllers over the next decade. The move will offset a wave of upcoming retirements. When the hiring is complete, the FAA will have more than 1,500 more air traffic controllers than it does now.

Residents in the East are warming up today after a blast of arctic cold, but forecasters say more winter weather is on its way, chilling much of the country for Christmas. A storm forming over Texas tonight could bring snow to parts of the Midwest, South and East.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Six, five, four, three, two, one, zero. Plus one. Liftoff.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Liftoff of the first flight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PILGRIM: And Boeing's new Delta IV rocket headed into orbit for the first time tonight. The rocket is the country's most powerful unmanned launched vehicle. The Delta IV is carrying two small satellites into orbit, but its main goal tonight is to demonstrate its capabilities to the U.S. Air Force.

American troops in Iraq are fighting a new type of war. It's a war where supply troops face many of the same risks as front-line soldiers. Every day, hundreds of U.S. trucks head north from Kuwait in convoys that are frequently attacked by insurgents.

Barbara Starr has this exclusive report on one convoy making this dangerous journey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just before sunrise, these soldiers quietly gather to pray for a safe journey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amen.

STARR: This is the 227th Transportation Company, an Army Reserve unit from North Carolina. They call themselves the Road Dogs. On this cold morning in the Kuwaiti desert, they are about to do one of the most dangerous jobs in the military, drive a supply convoy north into Iraq.

CNN had an exclusive look this morning at what is known here as the Iraqi express. It gets underway every morning at dawn, driving fast to avoid attacks. Today, the convoy has more than 30 military and civilian trucks with armor protection plates, and its own heavily armed humvee escorts with 50-caliber machine guns. It is just five minutes to the Iraqi border, and the shooting can start the minute they cross the line. Scores of U.S. troops have already been killed or injured driving convoys into Iraq. Many were in armored vehicles. These young soldiers, and they are very young, all have their own way of coping with the threat of insurgent attacks, the instant when a normal day can become a disaster. Specialist Gabrielle Curtis is just 19 years old. Today, she is smiling. How many times have you driven convoys into Iraq so far?

SPEC. GABRIELLE CURTIS, U.S. ARMY: This will be the first time.

STARR: She says she is ready.

CURTIS: Pray. Ask God for strength.

STARR: Specialist Anna Galbraith drives a supply truck. She is 20 years old.

SPEC. ANNA GALBRAITH, U.S. ARMY: You just kind of drive and hope nothing happens. That's really basically all I do. Just drive and hope nothing happens.

STARR: But she knows the worst is possible. One buddy was hurt recently.

GALBRAITH: Oh, I'm afraid every time I go out, every time. I mean, it's exciting, but it's scary because you never know if you're going to come back.

STARR: Staff Sergeant Gregory Duncan says presenting a tough face to the Iraqis is essential, and his weapon is always ready.

STAFF SGT. GREGORY DUNCAN, U.S. ARMY: You're always afraid. Always afraid. It's a job, you've got to do it and you do it.

STARR: A final briefing, and then the convoy moves out as the sun begins to rise. On this day, soldiers of the 227th include heavy weapons, armored vehicles, and prayers in their arsenal. The Iraqi express has now pulled out and is on its way north to its destination, Falluja. It will be a two-day drive. Already, another convoy is getting ready to go. Barbara Starr, CNN, on the Kuwait/Iraqi border.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PILGRIM: Turning now to the biggest overhaul of our nation's intelligence system in the last half century, my next guest says the president must choose a visionary leader to become the new director of national intelligence. Senator Bob Graham, the former chairman of the intelligence committee is retiring after serving three terms in the Senate, and he's also the author of "Intelligence Matters" a new book, and he joins me tonight from Miami. Thank you very much for joining us, Senator.

You know, you've said that effective intelligence is more important than ever before because we face an entirely different adversary than we've ever had. What should be the number one priority of this country?

SEN. BOB GRAHAM (D-FL), FINANCE COMMITTEE: Well, what you've just seen is an example, the importance of good intelligence. It is critical that on the battlefield in Iraq, that we know everything possible about the capabilities and intentions of our adversary so that we can attack first and not have the kind of loss of life that we suffered today in Mosul. What we need in the new director of the national intelligence is going to be someone who understands the intelligence community and has the respect of the community, who's able to look over the horizon at the kind of threats that are coming at us and who has the full confidence of the president. Because he's going to need the full support of the president to be effective.

PILGRIM: Domestically, we've seen chilling reports of our porous borders. In fact, earlier in this program we had a report about fake passports that really was very difficult to watch, with any degree of security. How do you assess our borders and our domestic security?

GRAHAM: Well, they are very porous. The example that you cited of stolen passports being used to gain entry has largely been framed not by a United States agency, but by Interpol, the international law enforcement agency, which is now keeping track of stolen passports for the countries around the world. The United States needs to not only be strong at home, but we need to be a significant part of the international effort to win the war on terror because it is a war we cannot win alone.

PILGRIM: Are you satisfied with the intelligence reform bill as it stands now? Critics say it was rushed. It adds a layer of bureaucracy. There are no end of criticisms. How do you feel about it?

GRAHAM: I think it's a very bold, effective step. It follows the recommendations made by the joint Senate/House inquiry as well as the 9/11 commission. It calls for a strong director of national intelligence. But then to decentralize into intelligence centers such as one on counterterrorism and counterproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which will focus the full talents of the intelligence community on a specific threat, I am pleased that almost all of the proposals that are in this reform were proposals that were made by the joint House/Senate committee and are recommended in the book "Intelligence Matters."

PILGRIM: Do you think that the -- well, the director has to have an almost superhuman task set out before him. Do you think they'll find someone with a broad enough range to be able to handle this job? It is a big job, you must admit.

GRAHAM: Absolutely, it is a big job, but America's a great country. This legislation was the product of bipartisan and bicameral cooperation between Republicans, Democrats, House and Senate. And I think in that spirit, we will get someone to lead this new reformed intelligence community that will achieve the objective of making Americans and America safer. PILGRIM: You say that the director should control the budget. Does this, in any way, handicap the defense department? There has been much discussion of this.

GRAHAM: No. The intelligence director will handle the budget except for those that serve the tactical needs of the specific military services. This was a controversial issue throughout the debate. But I think it was finally understood that this would have no impact on the fighting men and women, that the president is going to have, as the commander in chief, ultimate responsibility. And I believe that one of his first acts should be to call the new director of national intelligence and the secretary of defense, Mr. Rumsfeld, into the same room and lay out his, the president's, vision of how this is going to work and ask both of them to cooperate. And if they feel they cannot do that, ask for their resignation. The president has got to be the driving force to assure that the objectives of this legislation are achieved.

PILGRIM: Um-hm. But and not running operations. Does this handicap the director?

GRAHAM: Well, he will be running operations because these intelligence centers such as the counterterrorism center are going to be directly under the director of national intelligence. He will decide which mix of people from the various intelligence agencies will come together jointly within the centers to defend America against specific threats. And as he finds new threats emerging, which may be threats from the Caspian Sea, threats from Asia, he will have the power to create additional intelligence centers.

PILGRIM: All right. Thank you very much. And we do want to point out that your book, "Intelligence Matters" is quite a tome and very much worth reading on this subject. Senator, we also wanted to add, as you retire from the Senate, we want to wish you the best of luck, and thank you for your service to this country. Thank you, Senator.

GRAHAM: Well, that's very kind. I appreciate the opportunity to serve, and I extend my best holiday wishes to you and to all of the viewers.

PILGRIM: Thanks very much.

GRAHAM: Thank you.

PILGRIM: Turning now to the subject of tonight's poll. What do you believe should be the president's top priority in his second term? Should it be the war on terror, the economy, health care or moral values? Cast your vote at loudobbs.com. We will bring you the results later in the show.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today found himself at a loss for words in English, at least. Now, Annan used the Latin words annus horribilis meaning "horrible year" to describe the past 12 months. And during that period, Annan has been struggling to contain the fallout from the Oil for Food scandal. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: Our global mission has advanced on many fronts, but the allegations over the Oil for Food program have cast a shadow over the operation that brought relief to millions of Iraqis. We must find out the truth as quickly as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PILGRIM: Annan also, again, insisted he has no intention of resigning over the scandal.

Well, when we return, we'll have your thoughts on the controversy surrounding Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

And then, massacre in Mosul. A brazen attack on American troops in Iraq. We'll talk with Iraq expert Edwin Black next.

And, how will the new violence in Iraq's first elections impact President Bush's second-term agenda? Three of the country's best journalists will join us. That and a great deal more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PILGRIM: My next guest has just written a new book that chronicles the last 7,000 years of Iraqi history. Edwin Black is the author of "Banking on Baghdad." And he says understanding Iraq's past is the key to solving the problems of the present and the future. And Edwin Black joins me now from Washington. Thanks very much for being here.

EDWIN BLACK, AUTHOR: Hello, Kitty.

PILGRIM: Great book, lots of history in it. But sort of boiling it all down, it really comes to oil, doesn't it?

BLACK: Yes, it does. Over the past 100 years or so, there's only been one attraction for the western world in Iraq, and that has been a fatal attraction, the attraction has been oil. And since the first World War when the British went in and said our army's come not as conquerors, but as liberators, we've been using our best militaries and our best diplomats and corporate surrogates and much of the same language to continue to get the oil that the western world and the industrialized world is dependent upon.

PILGRIM: You point out about the colonial bickering that has gone on over Iraq and also you point out that many people have used this line that we'll come as liberators. Yet, in some cases it does apply and other times it's really an ulterior motive that brought people to Iraq.

Is there a way to distinguish between the different attempts?

BLACK: Well, there never was a nation Iraq. Iraq, of course, was fashioned out of three provinces on July 24th of 1920 by the British and the League of Nations for the purpose not of creating a cohesive country as much as creating an oil state and installing a ruler who could sign on the dotted line and approve the oil concessions that France and England had divided between themselves.

And then the United States joined in as well. And the three of them created a massive, the world's greatest monopoly, oil monopoly, within Iraq. And to do this, we wanted to create democracy to allow the oil to flow in a productive fashion. So we can say democracy from morning until night. But when the people of Iraq hear the word "Democracy," they hear a code word for we want your oil.

PILGRIM: Let's call upon your expertise in a historical sense to fast forward now to the future about 40 days forward to the Iraqi elections. What, in your opinion, is the chance that these will come off well and that we will have a coherent government formed?

BLACK: Well, the elections are coming up, if they do come off at the end of January, are a lose-lose situation. A lose-lose proposition. Either they're going to be completely invalidated by what is know as the Arab street and what we see as the Arab insurgency. Or even before that, they are going to become the new target du jour.

Instead of blowing up police stations, we're going to see polling stations become the new target in just a few days ago, we were horrified to see an election commissioner and two bodyguards pulled from their car in broad daylight by men who didn't even bother to put masks on Haifa Street in Baghdad. Made -- kneeled down on the street and just shot them in the head. These elections are identified with the west, with the invaders, with the infidels. And although there are forward people in Iraq who want this to happen, the Arab street and the forces of history that will reassert themselves are going to turn this into the new devil of the west that the people will rise up against.

PILGRIM: You're not very optimistic.

Is there any sort of hope we can take from the current situation?

BLACK: No hope. Basically, there will be no success in Iraq. We can survive, but there will be no military disengagement. There will only be an energy disengagement. When we no longer have a need for the oil that we get from Iraq and, from indeed, from the larger Middle East, we will no longer have a reason to be in that part of the world. Remember, it's not our policies that the Iraqi people revile, it's our presence. It doesn't matter how many bridges we rebuild or schools we repaint, it's our very presence. And as for elections, elections don't make democracies. Democracies make elections.

And if you compare the hundreds of thousands of people standing in the rain and the snow in the Ukraine and the people of Afghanistan that stood for eight hours for their moment at the polls is and compare that to what you see in Iraq, you understand that really we are imposing this election. And it really doesn't matter whether it happens or not. Will the people validate that election? Elections have been tried in the past in Iraq. They have always failed. There has been no democracy there. And the people don't want democracy because they've got a 7,000-year head start on the United States. And if they wanted democracy, especially western-style democracy, they don't need a permission slip from New York and London.

PILGRIM: Well, let's hope the Iraqi people find the will, the collective will, to move forward. Thank you very much.

Edwin Black, thank you.

A reminder now to vote in "Tonight's Poll." What do you believe should be President Bush's top priority in his second term, the war on terror, the economy, health care or moral values?

Cast your vote at loudobbs.com, and we'll bring you the results a little bit later in the show.

Still ahead, the next four years. We'll discuss President Bush's bold second-term agenda with three of the nation's leading journalists.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PILGRIM: Joining me now are three of the nation's top journalists. Now, from Washington, we are joined by Karen Tumulty of "Time" magazine. And here in New York, we are with the excellent company of Marcus Mabry of "Newsweek" and Mark Morrison of "Businessweek." Thanks very much for joining us.

MARCUS MABRY, NEWSWEEK: Hi, Kitty.

PILGRIM: Let's start with, on a serious note, the Mosul attack today, a deep shock. And I'll go to Karen, who is farthest away. Karen, we see, as we move towards elections, this is getting absolutely grim. What's your assessment of the situation now, and do you think that elections will be able to be held?

KAREN TUMULTY, TIME MAGAZINE: Well, at this point, the administration is absolutely determined that these elections take place on time. But it is, you know, given the security situation in the country, it is going to be very hard to see, particularly in the Sunni areas of the country, how people are going to feel, you know, that they can actually have the safety and security that it takes to get out and vote.

And as your previous guest, Edwin Black, said, these polling places are going to become the next targets. And so we had the spectacle today where it really seems like our own troops are sitting ducks. And so it's going to be even harder to assure the security of civilians.

MARK MORRISON, BUSINESSWEEK: Also, it seems to me, you know, even if you assume that you get the elections off OK, then what happens? I mean, the insurgents are not going to suddenly go away at that point. You still have a security issue, still have questions about how many troops does America need there? And furthermore, can this country be governed without a certain amount of brutality of the type it used to have to take to govern it? So it's a lot of questions out there that this raises.

PILGRIM: I don't mean to be a Pollyanna, but we did hear some of these questions about Afghanistan, and yet some of that did not occur. We saw relatively peaceful election, and then post-election, we did see some of the insurgents fade away. I don't know if it's directly analogous, but it is worth noting.

MABRY: You make a good point, Kitty, and that's what the administration is saying, that we've heard this before, this naysaying, this handwringing. The difference is, though, now that the administration itself is actually doing a very uncelebrated job of tamping down expectations. The president's news conference yesterday, while he said we've had progress, he said we've only had mixed results with Iraqi forces sometimes running away from combat. His underlying message was, things may well get worse before they get better. And in fact, after the elections, we can't expect the men and women of the U.S. forces to come home. And that's really sobering news. And I think this is kind of prelude to 2005. It's probably very appropriate. 2005 will probably be a year where we'll see lots and lots more of these kinds of attacks.

PILGRIM: We saw -- go ahead, Karen.

TUMULTY: Although there does seem to be some expectation built into even the president's very grave comments yesterday, that after the elections, things, in fact, will get better. And I think that if that doesn't happen, you could see an erosion of political support for this war, which is already eroded in the latest polls.

PILGRIM: Let me point out this poll that we have here, "Washington Post"/ABC poll today shows 56 percent of Americans feel the Iraq mission was, quote, "not worth fighting." That's a bit shocking. It's a very high percentage.

MORRISON: Yeah, and, you know, the president came in talking about the political capital he had, and he came out with this very aggressive agenda. He wants to do Social Security reform, tax reform, cut spending. All of this stuff that he is going to use as political capital. But I think his political capital is somewhat eroding away. Certainly there's the risk of that with the way Iraq is going.

PILGRIM: Might we see, with the deterioration of the international situation, and a more -- a stronger focus on the domestic and shoring up the domestic politics and domestic agenda?

MABRY: Well, I think that's the plan all along. The second Bush administration was supposed to be all about getting fundamental reforms to the way America operates. Everything from our economy to our Social Security system to our social welfare systems that have been in place since World War II. This president is a guy with big plans. The reason "Time" put him on their cover this week is because of his leadership style, and the fact that he's a guy who wants to remake America in its placement role -- his role in the world.

The problem is, however, as Mark said, I don't think he's going to have the political capital to do that. I don't think Iraq is going to recede into the background anymore than it did during the election campaign.

TUMULTY: And the problem, of course, with plans -- there clearly is the plan to switch to a domestic focus, but the problem with plans is that reality has a habit of intruding. And we saw November be the highest casualty count month yet. With this attack today, December could even top November. And as long as it is that unstable in Iraq, it is going to be very, very difficult for the president to get the kind of focus and attention that he needs on his domestic agenda, whatever the plan is.

PILGRIM: Let me change subjects drastically. I wanted to get in on the FDA warning on naproxen and the fact that four painkillers have now had some questions raised. Many Americans are facing a painful future because they cannot take the pain medication that they want to. Let's go to Karen first. Do you think we're in a crisis here, a medical crisis?

TUMULTY: Oh, it certainly does feel that way with, you know, it feels like every day brings a new drug in the headlines. They're even saying that aspirin at this point may be under some question. So yes, I think there is going to be a lot of pressure on the FDA and on these drugmakers.

PILGRIM: There's a certain -- very harsh spotlight being put on the FDA right now. Do you think it's justified?

MORRISON: Yes, I think it is. I think that the FDA has bowed into the industry's interest of moving these drugs through quite quickly, getting approvals. And maybe it should be paced in a way, because of the explosive way these drugs are marketed, with heavy advertising direct to the consumer and so forth, that, you know, the whole thing should be just slowed down, particularly with non-crucial drugs.

Now, these painkillers are good drugs for some people, good alternatives, but they're not life-saving drugs in most cases.

PILGRIM: We have to call it there. But thank you very much. Mark Morrison, Marcus Mabry and Karen Tumulty, thank you very much.

Still ahead, the results of tonight's poll, and a preview of what's ahead tomorrow. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PILGRIM: Now, the results of tonight's poll: 16 percent of you believe the war on terror should be President Bush's top priority in his second term; 55 percent, the economy; 26 percent, health care; 2 percent, moral values.

Thanks for being with us tonight. Please join us tomorrow. We'll continue our series of special reports, "Holiday Homefront," and tomorrow a group of quilters working to keep our troops warm.

And making Christmas a politically correct holiday. Two experts face off on this highly controversial issue. For all of us here, good night from New York. "ANDERSON COOPER 360" is next.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired December 21, 2004 - 18:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KITTY PILGRIM, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, massacre in Mosul. Nineteen American soldiers are killed in a rocket attack.

BRIG. GEN. CARTER HAM, U.S. ARMY: It's a sad day in Mosul. But as they always do, soldiers will come back from that.

PILGRIM: An astonishing security breakdown at our borders. Dozens of foreigners with stolen passports have entered this country unchallenged.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anytime someone would try to attempt to use any sort of fraudulent document or stolen passport. So it's of concern, great concern to us.

PILGRIM: President Bush searches for a new director of national intelligence. Senator Bob Graham, former chairman of the intelligence committee, says the president must choose a visionary leader. Senator Graham is my guest.

And holiday home front, the remarkable story of a yellow-ribbon guy, the man behind the "Support Our Troops" magnets. He's now fighting a battle against cheap foreign imports.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT for Tuesday, December 21. Here now for an hour of news, debate and opinion, sitting in for Lou Dobbs, who is on vacation, Kitty Pilgrim.

PILGRIM: Good evening.

In Iraq today, insurgents launched a devastating rocket attack on a U.S. base. It happened in the northern city of Mosul. Twenty-six people were killed, 19 of them American soldiers. About 60 other people were wounded.

The insurgents targeted a mess hall, packed with hundreds of U.S. and Iraqi troops, civilians and foreign contractors.

Chris Lawrence reports from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A photographer took these pictures Tuesday at Camp Marez, an America military base in Mosul. They show a chow hall covered in a cloud of smoke, a hole ripped in the tent's soft top, soldiers dragging away the wounded.

Witnesses say an explosion knocked soldiers out of their seats and sprayed shrapnel everywhere. Survivors slung their rifles and manned stretchers, carrying soldiers and civilians, Americans and Iraqis alike.

HAM: They were all brothers in arms, taking care of one another.

LAWRENCE: The pictures show how soldiers can support one another without firing a shot. One minute, Corporal Nathan Homquist (ph) was alone, standing over the body of a fellow soldier. Then another member of his unit did the only thing she could think of.

HAM: Our hearts go out to the families, the friends and the fellow soldiers who lost comrades in arms today.

LAWRENCE: Husbands, fathers and brothers, both American and Iraqi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: Now, what these pictures don't show is that insurgents have targeted this chow hall before. And just a few weeks ago, one soldier told us it was just a matter of time before they got hit -- Kitty.

PILGRIM: Chris, are they doing anything right now to beef up security on this mess hall in this -- in this compound?

LAWRENCE: Well, apparently the military already knew before this happened that having that soft-cloth tent was a weak spot, because even before this incident, they had already started building a new chow hall just down the road that is made of steel and concrete.

PILGRIM: All right. Thanks very much, Chris Lawrence. Thank you, Chris.

President Bush today expressed his condolences to the families of the soldiers killed and wounded in Mosul. Earlier, the White House declared that the enemies of freedom will be defeated.

Senior White House correspondent John king reports -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Kitty, the president delivering those condolences, a statement to reporters on what had been, from the White House perspective, a day when he hoped to spread some holiday cheer.

He went to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He was visiting there with wounded troops back from Iraq, some of their family members brought in to spend some time around the holidays with them.

But after you see the president, he came out with the first lady, Laura Bush. Mr. Bush saying, "Any death of a U.S. soldier overseas is painful and sorrowful, all the more so," he said, because these deaths come in the Christmas holiday season.

But Mr. Bush, as he has done so many times in the past, also defending the mission in Iraq, tying the attacks to anti-democratic forces in Iraq. Mr. Bush saying the mission must go on and that those who died would not die in vain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We pray for them. We send our heartfelt condolences to the loved ones who suffered today. I just want them to know that the mission is a vital mission for peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now, this comes at a time, of course, many have already been critical of administration policy in Iraq. Some saying there are not enough troops to provide security for the upcoming elections.

Of late, there's been a controversy, as well, about the shortage of armored vehicles in Iraq.

Administration officials saying this, though, Kitty tonight. They say that security is adjusted and as more troops go in, a modest number before the elections and more armored vehicles are rushed to Iraq, the one thing the White House says must not happen is any delay in those elections. That, the White House says, Kitty, would be a victory for the terrorists.

PILGRIM: All right. Thanks very much. John King reporting tonight.

Mosul was relatively peaceful immediately after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime. But the insurgents' attacks have increased sharply, particularly after the U.S.-led offensive against Falluja.

Elaine Quijano reports from the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tuesday's attack in Mosul marks a continued surge in violence in the northern Iraqi city. Once a peaceful region after the invasion, it has seen a rise in attacks in recent weeks.

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Now, Mosul's been pretty safe up until the last couple, three months. And the action up there appears to be related to Falluja, that some of the insurgents left Falluja, and now they're starting up in Mosul, although that's a supposition.

QUIJANO: A senior Pentagon official says since the Falluja offensive a month ago to clear out insurgents in that city, there's been an uptick in violence, not just in Mosul, but in numerous parts of the country, as well. The official says the attacks have also shifted, mainly targeting Iraqi security forces. What's not clear is whether insurgent leaders are trying to reposition themselves in Mosul.

SHEPPERD: It also could be that just the passage of time enables these people to get more organized in many places across the country, and now they're coming out in the Mosul area.

QUIJANO: Right now, the man in charge of coalition forces in Iraq says he doesn't consider Mosul a terrorist safe haven.

GEN. GEORGE CASEY, COMMANDER, MULTINATIONAL FORCE: It is certainly an area where they are operating and attempting to disrupt the election process and coalition and Iraqi security forces operations. But not a safe haven.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO: And at that news conference here at the Pentagon last week, General Casey said that U.S. troops, along with Iraqi security forces, had restored the status quo, he said, in Mosul.

But he also acknowledged at that time that more needs to be done to improve the security situation ahead of the January 30 elections -- Kitty.

PILGRIM: All right. Thanks very much, Elaine Quijano.

The Mosul attack came on the same day that British Prime Minister Tony Blair made his first visit to Baghdad. Prime Minister Blair met with Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi in the heavily guarded Green Zone.

Blair said Iraqi voters have a choice between terror and democracy in the upcoming elections.

Now, Britain is America's closest ally in Iraq. There are 8,000 British troops in southern Iraq.

Well, joining me now for more on this is General David Grange.

And thank you very much for joining us, General Grange. We rely on your expertise.

General Casey just now saying that Mosul is not a safe haven. And yet we're seeing some pretty intense attacks in the area. What's your view on the situation?

BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I don't think it's a safe haven, but they definitely have some pretty good freedom of movement. It's a big city. Very big city. And it's very hard for the size force up there and the number of Iraqis that are trained to do a lot about it.

I mean, the coalition's on the offensive. But the enemy have picked up the pace there, and so the -- the coalition must do the same.

PILGRIM: Do you see the offensive shifting to Mosul, and why would it?

GRANGE: Well, Mosul's a key city. And again, in urban warfare, the terrain is advantageous to an insurgent. And so they'll conduct operations there to the best of their ability.

If they have local populace that supports their movements, they can recruit from that area, as well. And so you may be seeing a little bit of that.

PILGRIM: There are very few facts, but in your estimation, do you believe that there was inside enemy intelligence on this -- on this compound?

GRANGE: I think that's a good chance. And it wouldn't be that difficult to get because, for a mortar rocket attack, you needed distance, a direction, and a location of the target.

And if they know there was a mess hall in this part of the Mosul operational area, and that troops ate at certain times of the day in certain numbers, then it would be a very good target for the bad guys. And so they would take advantage of that if they could.

PILGRIM: How close could they have been?

GRANGE: Well, they don't have to be close, you know. With indirect fire, a rocket or mortar attack in this case, they could have been a few miles away.

And it's what they call -- they can shoot and scoot. In other words, they can take a firing device out of a back of a vehicle, out of a trunk of a car. It could be on an old donkey cart. It could be hidden in a cellar behind a garden of a house. It's very hard to find these things.

Once they're fired, there's -- there's ways that the coalition force can pick up the projectile. But you don't have a lot of time to react to that.

PILGRIM: We had a very large concentration of troops in one area. Is this normal, and is this advisable, or is this part of normal procedure?

GRANGE: Well, a lot of it depends on the threat assessment. In other words, if the threat is that we're in an area that's relatively safe, we can move more people into a certain area and do logistics or administrative-type tasks.

But it's always a risk you take. And really, irregular times and dispersion of the force is much more advisable.

PILGRIM: Is this the likely response of the coalition forces now, to disperse the force or to do other things? What's your view? GRANGE: Well, there will be -- there will be defensive actions taken and offensive actions taken. Defensive are -- are means to negate the enemy's capabilities, like move at times that are not routine, to harden the sites, to eat at irregular -- irregular times or at different locations.

Offensively, they'll go after these -- this area very hard, especially now.

PILGRIM: All right. Thanks very much.

General David Grange.

Thank you.

GRANGE: My pleasure.

PILGRIM: Still to come, Senator Bob Graham says the hardest part of intelligence reform is still to come, and Senator Graham is my guest.

And shocking new concerns about the ability of our border protection agents to keep criminals and terrorists out of this country.

And the new Democratic leader in the Senate, Harry Reid, talks tough as he tries to rebuild his party. We'll have a special report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PILGRIM: Tonight, grave new concerns about who is trying to sneak into this country illegally and how they are doing it. The Homeland Security Department says that stolen passports are far too often making it past immigration agents.

At the same time, new technology used by border guards has caught 23,000 suspected criminals trying to sneak through our borders in the last three months.

Christine Romans reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even when the government is on the lookout for a known stolen passport, there's a good chance its holder will still get into this country.

A government review of five years of immigration and customs data found 136 entries with stolen passports. Seventy-nine were with passports that were not yet flagged as stolen, but 57 were with passports the government knew were stolen.

And, unbelievably, after September 11, 33 people used stolen passports that this government was looking for and still made it into the country. This review covered only passports from six European countries. There's no telling how many more passports from other countries made it through.

The inspector general's review suggested that Customs and Border Patrol better scrutinize foreigners whose passports are flagged as stolen and keep better records. Officials say they are making progress.

WILLIAM HEFFELFINGER, CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION: We're doing a great deal of work to identify everyone who comes in and out of this country. So, if there's some way that someone might attempt to get in using stolen passports, we want to address that, and we have.

ROMANS: A separate Border Patrol initiative shows reason to fear many of those people illegally crossing our borders. New technology used by the Border Patrol detected an astonishing 23,000 dangerous criminals trying to sneak into this country, and that's just from September to November this year.

Using a high-tech fingerprint database, border guards identified 84 foreigners suspected of murder, 37 for kidnapping, 151 wanted for rape, 212 for robbery, 1,200 for other assaults and 2,600 for dangerous drug crimes.

All these suspected criminals tried to enter this country through our porous land borders, mainly the border we share with Mexico, but also Canada, 23,502 criminals in just 91 days this ball. Border Patrol agents arrested all of them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: It's impossible, Kitty, to know how many more slipped through the cracks.

PILGRIM: It's shocking about the passports. What are they doing to try to stop this?

ROMANS: A couple of things, technology, trying to automate more of this, but also an awful lot of common sense. Some of these immigration customs agents are simply asking questions, saying you're on a lookout list, I have a list here that says this is a stolen passport and then letting them through if the person has a good enough explanation. That's not going to be allowed anymore.

PILGRIM: Talking their way through. That's pretty...

ROMAN: Talking their way through in many cases.

PILGRIM: Thanks very much. Christine Romans.

We'll have much more ahead on protecting our borders and national security. Senator Bob Graham, the former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, will be my guest.

Another Democratic senator, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, is set to replace outgoing minority leader Tom Daschle in the new Senate, and many Democrats have voiced concern that Reid is too conservative and not tough enough to take the Republicans on in Congress. But, tonight, Senator Reid is trying to crush those concerns. Congressional Correspondent Ed Henry is in Washington with the report -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Kitty.

Harry Reid has been saying that he would prefer to dance with the president rather than fight with him, and he still says he wants to dance with the president sometimes. But this former amateur fighter is taking off the dancing shoes and slipping on his boxing gloves.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY (voice-over): Even before Tuesday's bombing in Mosul, Senator Reid took aim at the president's claim that life in Iraq has gotten better in the year since Saddam Hussein was captured.

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: I think the president's looking at it through a different pair of glasses than I am.

HENRY: Reid asserted that Republican attacks on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld reflect deeper concern within the president's party.

REID: I think it's their way of enunciating how poorly they feel things are going in Iraq. We have 1,300 dead American soldiers. We have thousands who have been injured, many of whom very badly injured. We have elections coming. We have polling places that are -- you can't walk into.

HENRY: On the domestic front, Reid charged the president's assertion that Social Security is in crisis is simply not true, and Democrats will block any move to private accounts.

REID: We will not let this administration destroy the most successful social program in the history of the world, Social Security. We will not let that happen.

HENRY: Reid's tough talk comes as he tries to ease Democratic concerns he might be a pushover.

Liberals were alarmed by Reid's recent comments about potential Supreme Court vacancies. On NBC's "Meet the Press," Reid called conservative Justice Antonin Scalia one smart guy and suggested he may support Scalia's possible elevation to chief justice if William Rehnquist steps down. Reid told CNN he has respect for Scalia, but is not endorsing him.

REID: He has a record. That record will have to be reviewed by the Judiciary Committee.

HENRY: On the political front, Reid has expressed concern John Kerry avoided red states and is vowing to campaign everywhere for Senate candidates.

REID: I'm going to travel where I'm asked to go, and I'm going to travel some places where I'm not asked to go.

HENRY: While some Democrats are privately saying they want Kerry to move off the stage, Reid expects his colleague will be a player.

REID: He is one of the leaders in the United States Senate. I'm going to call on him often for his expertise. No one knows more about America this past year than he does.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: Senator Reid says if the president reaches across the aisle, they can accomplish plenty and share the credit. Otherwise, Reid says, the blame will go to Republicans who run the entire government -- Kitty.

PILGRIM: All right. Thanks very much.

Ed Henry.

And you can see Ed Henry's full interview with Senator Reid this weekend when Ed hosts "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY." That's at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, 7:00 Pacific right here on CNN.

Well, still ahead here tonight, Senator Bob Graham will tell us what he says President Bush must look for in the new director of national intelligence.

And then, the North Carolina man behind the wave of yellow car magnets supporting our troops overseas. We'll have a special report on the men and women doing their part to send holiday cheer to American troops.

And then, American convoys supplying troops in Iraq are frequently attacked by insurgents. We'll have an exclusive report about one of these dangerous and critical missions.

That and a great deal more still ahead tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PILGRIM: All this week, we are honoring the many Americans doing extraordinary things to support our troops overseas and, tonight, a North Carolina man who started what is now a popular tribute to American troops stationed around the world.

Lisa Sylvester reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You see them everywhere, on cars and trucks, those yellow "Support Our Troops" ribbons. The original yellow magnets are from King, North Carolina, where about 70,000 are made a month. The owner of Magnet America is motivated not by money, but a mission.

DWAIN GULLION, MAGNET AMERICA: I thought it was a really neat symbol, a neat way for somebody that maybe had a loved one over there to be able to express that without -- by just putting something on their car.

SYLVESTER: The idea to make the yellow magnets came from a local screen printer.

CHRIS SMITH, KING INTERNATIONAL CORP.: April of last year, I read an article in the local paper about a shortage of yellow ribbon that was being manufactured up north and kind of put the idea with what we were already doing, which was car magnets.

SYLVESTER: Dwain Gullion wanted to market and distribute the ribbon magnets as a way to raise money to help support military families.

(on camera): True to its word, magnet America has been supporting the troops. The company donated $42,000 to Freedom Calls, a nonprofit that helps soldiers communicate with their families back at home.

(voice-over): But knockoffs from overseas are undercutting the company's business. The ribbons on the right are from Magnet America. The copycats on the left, made in Taiwan. Magnet America has let go about half of its staff.

DEREK LONG, MAGNET AMERICA: It upsets you to see that, you know, we were out here trying to -- you know, a good cause, not just to make a fast dollar, but to actually help the community, help our country, help the troops.

SYLVESTER: To stay ahead of the competition, Magnet America has branched out, making ribbons in various colors, sizes, shapes and for different causes. But one thing will remain the same: The magnets will continue to be made in America.

Lisa Sylvester, CNN, High Point, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PILGRIM: Still ahead, "Critical Mission." An exclusive look at one of the most dangerous jobs in the military, driving a supply convoy into Iraq. We'll have a special report.

And "Securing America." Senator Bob Graham is an outspoken critic of U.S. intelligence. He says the hardest part of overhauling the intelligence system lies ahead. He is my guest when we continue.

ANNOUNCER: LOU DOBBS TONIGHT continues.

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ANNOUNCER: LOU DOBBS TONIGHT continues. Sitting in for Lou Dobbs, Kitty Pilgrim.

PILGRIM: In a moment, I'll be joined by Senator Bob Graham, who has laid out some very specific guidelines for a new director of national intelligence.

But, first, a look at some of the top stories tonight.

The Federal Aviation Administration today said it plans to hire more than 12,000 new air traffic controllers over the next decade. The move will offset a wave of upcoming retirements. When the hiring is complete, the FAA will have more than 1,500 more air traffic controllers than it does now.

Residents in the East are warming up today after a blast of arctic cold, but forecasters say more winter weather is on its way, chilling much of the country for Christmas. A storm forming over Texas tonight could bring snow to parts of the Midwest, South and East.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Six, five, four, three, two, one, zero. Plus one. Liftoff.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Liftoff of the first flight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PILGRIM: And Boeing's new Delta IV rocket headed into orbit for the first time tonight. The rocket is the country's most powerful unmanned launched vehicle. The Delta IV is carrying two small satellites into orbit, but its main goal tonight is to demonstrate its capabilities to the U.S. Air Force.

American troops in Iraq are fighting a new type of war. It's a war where supply troops face many of the same risks as front-line soldiers. Every day, hundreds of U.S. trucks head north from Kuwait in convoys that are frequently attacked by insurgents.

Barbara Starr has this exclusive report on one convoy making this dangerous journey.

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BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just before sunrise, these soldiers quietly gather to pray for a safe journey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amen.

STARR: This is the 227th Transportation Company, an Army Reserve unit from North Carolina. They call themselves the Road Dogs. On this cold morning in the Kuwaiti desert, they are about to do one of the most dangerous jobs in the military, drive a supply convoy north into Iraq.

CNN had an exclusive look this morning at what is known here as the Iraqi express. It gets underway every morning at dawn, driving fast to avoid attacks. Today, the convoy has more than 30 military and civilian trucks with armor protection plates, and its own heavily armed humvee escorts with 50-caliber machine guns. It is just five minutes to the Iraqi border, and the shooting can start the minute they cross the line. Scores of U.S. troops have already been killed or injured driving convoys into Iraq. Many were in armored vehicles. These young soldiers, and they are very young, all have their own way of coping with the threat of insurgent attacks, the instant when a normal day can become a disaster. Specialist Gabrielle Curtis is just 19 years old. Today, she is smiling. How many times have you driven convoys into Iraq so far?

SPEC. GABRIELLE CURTIS, U.S. ARMY: This will be the first time.

STARR: She says she is ready.

CURTIS: Pray. Ask God for strength.

STARR: Specialist Anna Galbraith drives a supply truck. She is 20 years old.

SPEC. ANNA GALBRAITH, U.S. ARMY: You just kind of drive and hope nothing happens. That's really basically all I do. Just drive and hope nothing happens.

STARR: But she knows the worst is possible. One buddy was hurt recently.

GALBRAITH: Oh, I'm afraid every time I go out, every time. I mean, it's exciting, but it's scary because you never know if you're going to come back.

STARR: Staff Sergeant Gregory Duncan says presenting a tough face to the Iraqis is essential, and his weapon is always ready.

STAFF SGT. GREGORY DUNCAN, U.S. ARMY: You're always afraid. Always afraid. It's a job, you've got to do it and you do it.

STARR: A final briefing, and then the convoy moves out as the sun begins to rise. On this day, soldiers of the 227th include heavy weapons, armored vehicles, and prayers in their arsenal. The Iraqi express has now pulled out and is on its way north to its destination, Falluja. It will be a two-day drive. Already, another convoy is getting ready to go. Barbara Starr, CNN, on the Kuwait/Iraqi border.

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PILGRIM: Turning now to the biggest overhaul of our nation's intelligence system in the last half century, my next guest says the president must choose a visionary leader to become the new director of national intelligence. Senator Bob Graham, the former chairman of the intelligence committee is retiring after serving three terms in the Senate, and he's also the author of "Intelligence Matters" a new book, and he joins me tonight from Miami. Thank you very much for joining us, Senator.

You know, you've said that effective intelligence is more important than ever before because we face an entirely different adversary than we've ever had. What should be the number one priority of this country?

SEN. BOB GRAHAM (D-FL), FINANCE COMMITTEE: Well, what you've just seen is an example, the importance of good intelligence. It is critical that on the battlefield in Iraq, that we know everything possible about the capabilities and intentions of our adversary so that we can attack first and not have the kind of loss of life that we suffered today in Mosul. What we need in the new director of the national intelligence is going to be someone who understands the intelligence community and has the respect of the community, who's able to look over the horizon at the kind of threats that are coming at us and who has the full confidence of the president. Because he's going to need the full support of the president to be effective.

PILGRIM: Domestically, we've seen chilling reports of our porous borders. In fact, earlier in this program we had a report about fake passports that really was very difficult to watch, with any degree of security. How do you assess our borders and our domestic security?

GRAHAM: Well, they are very porous. The example that you cited of stolen passports being used to gain entry has largely been framed not by a United States agency, but by Interpol, the international law enforcement agency, which is now keeping track of stolen passports for the countries around the world. The United States needs to not only be strong at home, but we need to be a significant part of the international effort to win the war on terror because it is a war we cannot win alone.

PILGRIM: Are you satisfied with the intelligence reform bill as it stands now? Critics say it was rushed. It adds a layer of bureaucracy. There are no end of criticisms. How do you feel about it?

GRAHAM: I think it's a very bold, effective step. It follows the recommendations made by the joint Senate/House inquiry as well as the 9/11 commission. It calls for a strong director of national intelligence. But then to decentralize into intelligence centers such as one on counterterrorism and counterproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which will focus the full talents of the intelligence community on a specific threat, I am pleased that almost all of the proposals that are in this reform were proposals that were made by the joint House/Senate committee and are recommended in the book "Intelligence Matters."

PILGRIM: Do you think that the -- well, the director has to have an almost superhuman task set out before him. Do you think they'll find someone with a broad enough range to be able to handle this job? It is a big job, you must admit.

GRAHAM: Absolutely, it is a big job, but America's a great country. This legislation was the product of bipartisan and bicameral cooperation between Republicans, Democrats, House and Senate. And I think in that spirit, we will get someone to lead this new reformed intelligence community that will achieve the objective of making Americans and America safer. PILGRIM: You say that the director should control the budget. Does this, in any way, handicap the defense department? There has been much discussion of this.

GRAHAM: No. The intelligence director will handle the budget except for those that serve the tactical needs of the specific military services. This was a controversial issue throughout the debate. But I think it was finally understood that this would have no impact on the fighting men and women, that the president is going to have, as the commander in chief, ultimate responsibility. And I believe that one of his first acts should be to call the new director of national intelligence and the secretary of defense, Mr. Rumsfeld, into the same room and lay out his, the president's, vision of how this is going to work and ask both of them to cooperate. And if they feel they cannot do that, ask for their resignation. The president has got to be the driving force to assure that the objectives of this legislation are achieved.

PILGRIM: Um-hm. But and not running operations. Does this handicap the director?

GRAHAM: Well, he will be running operations because these intelligence centers such as the counterterrorism center are going to be directly under the director of national intelligence. He will decide which mix of people from the various intelligence agencies will come together jointly within the centers to defend America against specific threats. And as he finds new threats emerging, which may be threats from the Caspian Sea, threats from Asia, he will have the power to create additional intelligence centers.

PILGRIM: All right. Thank you very much. And we do want to point out that your book, "Intelligence Matters" is quite a tome and very much worth reading on this subject. Senator, we also wanted to add, as you retire from the Senate, we want to wish you the best of luck, and thank you for your service to this country. Thank you, Senator.

GRAHAM: Well, that's very kind. I appreciate the opportunity to serve, and I extend my best holiday wishes to you and to all of the viewers.

PILGRIM: Thanks very much.

GRAHAM: Thank you.

PILGRIM: Turning now to the subject of tonight's poll. What do you believe should be the president's top priority in his second term? Should it be the war on terror, the economy, health care or moral values? Cast your vote at loudobbs.com. We will bring you the results later in the show.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today found himself at a loss for words in English, at least. Now, Annan used the Latin words annus horribilis meaning "horrible year" to describe the past 12 months. And during that period, Annan has been struggling to contain the fallout from the Oil for Food scandal. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: Our global mission has advanced on many fronts, but the allegations over the Oil for Food program have cast a shadow over the operation that brought relief to millions of Iraqis. We must find out the truth as quickly as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PILGRIM: Annan also, again, insisted he has no intention of resigning over the scandal.

Well, when we return, we'll have your thoughts on the controversy surrounding Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

And then, massacre in Mosul. A brazen attack on American troops in Iraq. We'll talk with Iraq expert Edwin Black next.

And, how will the new violence in Iraq's first elections impact President Bush's second-term agenda? Three of the country's best journalists will join us. That and a great deal more ahead.

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PILGRIM: My next guest has just written a new book that chronicles the last 7,000 years of Iraqi history. Edwin Black is the author of "Banking on Baghdad." And he says understanding Iraq's past is the key to solving the problems of the present and the future. And Edwin Black joins me now from Washington. Thanks very much for being here.

EDWIN BLACK, AUTHOR: Hello, Kitty.

PILGRIM: Great book, lots of history in it. But sort of boiling it all down, it really comes to oil, doesn't it?

BLACK: Yes, it does. Over the past 100 years or so, there's only been one attraction for the western world in Iraq, and that has been a fatal attraction, the attraction has been oil. And since the first World War when the British went in and said our army's come not as conquerors, but as liberators, we've been using our best militaries and our best diplomats and corporate surrogates and much of the same language to continue to get the oil that the western world and the industrialized world is dependent upon.

PILGRIM: You point out about the colonial bickering that has gone on over Iraq and also you point out that many people have used this line that we'll come as liberators. Yet, in some cases it does apply and other times it's really an ulterior motive that brought people to Iraq.

Is there a way to distinguish between the different attempts?

BLACK: Well, there never was a nation Iraq. Iraq, of course, was fashioned out of three provinces on July 24th of 1920 by the British and the League of Nations for the purpose not of creating a cohesive country as much as creating an oil state and installing a ruler who could sign on the dotted line and approve the oil concessions that France and England had divided between themselves.

And then the United States joined in as well. And the three of them created a massive, the world's greatest monopoly, oil monopoly, within Iraq. And to do this, we wanted to create democracy to allow the oil to flow in a productive fashion. So we can say democracy from morning until night. But when the people of Iraq hear the word "Democracy," they hear a code word for we want your oil.

PILGRIM: Let's call upon your expertise in a historical sense to fast forward now to the future about 40 days forward to the Iraqi elections. What, in your opinion, is the chance that these will come off well and that we will have a coherent government formed?

BLACK: Well, the elections are coming up, if they do come off at the end of January, are a lose-lose situation. A lose-lose proposition. Either they're going to be completely invalidated by what is know as the Arab street and what we see as the Arab insurgency. Or even before that, they are going to become the new target du jour.

Instead of blowing up police stations, we're going to see polling stations become the new target in just a few days ago, we were horrified to see an election commissioner and two bodyguards pulled from their car in broad daylight by men who didn't even bother to put masks on Haifa Street in Baghdad. Made -- kneeled down on the street and just shot them in the head. These elections are identified with the west, with the invaders, with the infidels. And although there are forward people in Iraq who want this to happen, the Arab street and the forces of history that will reassert themselves are going to turn this into the new devil of the west that the people will rise up against.

PILGRIM: You're not very optimistic.

Is there any sort of hope we can take from the current situation?

BLACK: No hope. Basically, there will be no success in Iraq. We can survive, but there will be no military disengagement. There will only be an energy disengagement. When we no longer have a need for the oil that we get from Iraq and, from indeed, from the larger Middle East, we will no longer have a reason to be in that part of the world. Remember, it's not our policies that the Iraqi people revile, it's our presence. It doesn't matter how many bridges we rebuild or schools we repaint, it's our very presence. And as for elections, elections don't make democracies. Democracies make elections.

And if you compare the hundreds of thousands of people standing in the rain and the snow in the Ukraine and the people of Afghanistan that stood for eight hours for their moment at the polls is and compare that to what you see in Iraq, you understand that really we are imposing this election. And it really doesn't matter whether it happens or not. Will the people validate that election? Elections have been tried in the past in Iraq. They have always failed. There has been no democracy there. And the people don't want democracy because they've got a 7,000-year head start on the United States. And if they wanted democracy, especially western-style democracy, they don't need a permission slip from New York and London.

PILGRIM: Well, let's hope the Iraqi people find the will, the collective will, to move forward. Thank you very much.

Edwin Black, thank you.

A reminder now to vote in "Tonight's Poll." What do you believe should be President Bush's top priority in his second term, the war on terror, the economy, health care or moral values?

Cast your vote at loudobbs.com, and we'll bring you the results a little bit later in the show.

Still ahead, the next four years. We'll discuss President Bush's bold second-term agenda with three of the nation's leading journalists.

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PILGRIM: Joining me now are three of the nation's top journalists. Now, from Washington, we are joined by Karen Tumulty of "Time" magazine. And here in New York, we are with the excellent company of Marcus Mabry of "Newsweek" and Mark Morrison of "Businessweek." Thanks very much for joining us.

MARCUS MABRY, NEWSWEEK: Hi, Kitty.

PILGRIM: Let's start with, on a serious note, the Mosul attack today, a deep shock. And I'll go to Karen, who is farthest away. Karen, we see, as we move towards elections, this is getting absolutely grim. What's your assessment of the situation now, and do you think that elections will be able to be held?

KAREN TUMULTY, TIME MAGAZINE: Well, at this point, the administration is absolutely determined that these elections take place on time. But it is, you know, given the security situation in the country, it is going to be very hard to see, particularly in the Sunni areas of the country, how people are going to feel, you know, that they can actually have the safety and security that it takes to get out and vote.

And as your previous guest, Edwin Black, said, these polling places are going to become the next targets. And so we had the spectacle today where it really seems like our own troops are sitting ducks. And so it's going to be even harder to assure the security of civilians.

MARK MORRISON, BUSINESSWEEK: Also, it seems to me, you know, even if you assume that you get the elections off OK, then what happens? I mean, the insurgents are not going to suddenly go away at that point. You still have a security issue, still have questions about how many troops does America need there? And furthermore, can this country be governed without a certain amount of brutality of the type it used to have to take to govern it? So it's a lot of questions out there that this raises.

PILGRIM: I don't mean to be a Pollyanna, but we did hear some of these questions about Afghanistan, and yet some of that did not occur. We saw relatively peaceful election, and then post-election, we did see some of the insurgents fade away. I don't know if it's directly analogous, but it is worth noting.

MABRY: You make a good point, Kitty, and that's what the administration is saying, that we've heard this before, this naysaying, this handwringing. The difference is, though, now that the administration itself is actually doing a very uncelebrated job of tamping down expectations. The president's news conference yesterday, while he said we've had progress, he said we've only had mixed results with Iraqi forces sometimes running away from combat. His underlying message was, things may well get worse before they get better. And in fact, after the elections, we can't expect the men and women of the U.S. forces to come home. And that's really sobering news. And I think this is kind of prelude to 2005. It's probably very appropriate. 2005 will probably be a year where we'll see lots and lots more of these kinds of attacks.

PILGRIM: We saw -- go ahead, Karen.

TUMULTY: Although there does seem to be some expectation built into even the president's very grave comments yesterday, that after the elections, things, in fact, will get better. And I think that if that doesn't happen, you could see an erosion of political support for this war, which is already eroded in the latest polls.

PILGRIM: Let me point out this poll that we have here, "Washington Post"/ABC poll today shows 56 percent of Americans feel the Iraq mission was, quote, "not worth fighting." That's a bit shocking. It's a very high percentage.

MORRISON: Yeah, and, you know, the president came in talking about the political capital he had, and he came out with this very aggressive agenda. He wants to do Social Security reform, tax reform, cut spending. All of this stuff that he is going to use as political capital. But I think his political capital is somewhat eroding away. Certainly there's the risk of that with the way Iraq is going.

PILGRIM: Might we see, with the deterioration of the international situation, and a more -- a stronger focus on the domestic and shoring up the domestic politics and domestic agenda?

MABRY: Well, I think that's the plan all along. The second Bush administration was supposed to be all about getting fundamental reforms to the way America operates. Everything from our economy to our Social Security system to our social welfare systems that have been in place since World War II. This president is a guy with big plans. The reason "Time" put him on their cover this week is because of his leadership style, and the fact that he's a guy who wants to remake America in its placement role -- his role in the world.

The problem is, however, as Mark said, I don't think he's going to have the political capital to do that. I don't think Iraq is going to recede into the background anymore than it did during the election campaign.

TUMULTY: And the problem, of course, with plans -- there clearly is the plan to switch to a domestic focus, but the problem with plans is that reality has a habit of intruding. And we saw November be the highest casualty count month yet. With this attack today, December could even top November. And as long as it is that unstable in Iraq, it is going to be very, very difficult for the president to get the kind of focus and attention that he needs on his domestic agenda, whatever the plan is.

PILGRIM: Let me change subjects drastically. I wanted to get in on the FDA warning on naproxen and the fact that four painkillers have now had some questions raised. Many Americans are facing a painful future because they cannot take the pain medication that they want to. Let's go to Karen first. Do you think we're in a crisis here, a medical crisis?

TUMULTY: Oh, it certainly does feel that way with, you know, it feels like every day brings a new drug in the headlines. They're even saying that aspirin at this point may be under some question. So yes, I think there is going to be a lot of pressure on the FDA and on these drugmakers.

PILGRIM: There's a certain -- very harsh spotlight being put on the FDA right now. Do you think it's justified?

MORRISON: Yes, I think it is. I think that the FDA has bowed into the industry's interest of moving these drugs through quite quickly, getting approvals. And maybe it should be paced in a way, because of the explosive way these drugs are marketed, with heavy advertising direct to the consumer and so forth, that, you know, the whole thing should be just slowed down, particularly with non-crucial drugs.

Now, these painkillers are good drugs for some people, good alternatives, but they're not life-saving drugs in most cases.

PILGRIM: We have to call it there. But thank you very much. Mark Morrison, Marcus Mabry and Karen Tumulty, thank you very much.

Still ahead, the results of tonight's poll, and a preview of what's ahead tomorrow. Stay with us.

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PILGRIM: Now, the results of tonight's poll: 16 percent of you believe the war on terror should be President Bush's top priority in his second term; 55 percent, the economy; 26 percent, health care; 2 percent, moral values.

Thanks for being with us tonight. Please join us tomorrow. We'll continue our series of special reports, "Holiday Homefront," and tomorrow a group of quilters working to keep our troops warm.

And making Christmas a politically correct holiday. Two experts face off on this highly controversial issue. For all of us here, good night from New York. "ANDERSON COOPER 360" is next.

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