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Lou Dobbs Tonight
Report Says Iraq Conflict Has Become "Cause Celebre" for Jihadists; Intelligence Officials Say Radical Islamist Terrorists Are Operating Out Of Bases In Pakistan; Cold-Blooded Killing Of Houston Police Officer Allegedly By Illegal Alien From Mexico; America's Debt Problem; Thomas Ricks Interview; Hotly Contested Congressional Race Focuses on Illegal Immigration
Aired September 26, 2006 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: In the meantime, let's go to Lou Dobbs. He's here in New York -- Lou.
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Wolf.
Tonight, President Bush blasts his critics in the increasingly partisan debate over his conduct of the war on terror and releases part of a highly classified report about the progress of this war. We'll have the live report from the White House.
And new developments tonight in the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Reports of sudden and suspicious activity in the mountains of Pakistan, that special report tonight, from the Pentagon.
All of that, and a great deal more straight ahead here, tonight.
ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT, news, debate and opinion for Tuesday, September 26. Live in New York, Lou Dobbs.
DOBBS: Good evening everybody.
The Bush administration tonight released key parts of a highly classified intelligence report about global terrorism. The report says the war in Iraq has become a cause celebre for jihadists and the war is shaping a new generation of terrorists leaders and operatives. President Bush decided to release parts of this report in an effort to blunt criticism of his conduct of the war.
Meanwhile, the United States is stepping up the hunt for Osama bin Laden. U.S. intelligence sources say there have been new and unusual signs of activity in the areas of Pakistan where bin Laden is believed to be hiding.
Elaine Quijano reports tonight from the White House on the president's strong defense of his conduct of the war on terror. Andrea Koppel reports from Capitol Hill on the Democrats determination to keep hammering the bush administration on the issue of national security. Barbara Starr tonight reporting from the Pentagon on the latest developments in the hunt for Osama bin Laden.
We turn first to Elaine Quijano, at the White House -- Elaine. ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Lou, before today, the White House had argued that the leaked portions of that classified National Intelligence Estimate did not give the complete picture. Today we are getting a look at a declassified version, and among the key judgments that the global jihadist movement, including al Qaeda is spreading and adapting to counterterrorism efforts.
Also, the Iraq conflict has become, quote, "the cause celebre" for jihadists breading a deep resentment of U.S. involvement in the Muslim world, and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement.
Now, Democrats have tried to use this NIE against the administration and against Republicans arguing that they have mishandled the Iraq war, and the larger war on terror. Today, President Bush was clearly on the defensive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO (voice-over): President Bush used the formal setting of the White House East Room to launch a full throated political defense. Attacking what he called the politically motivated leaking of a classified National Intelligence Estimate dealing partly with Iraq.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We'll stop all the speculation, all the politics about somebody saying something about the Iraq. John Negroponte, the DNI, is going to declassified the document as quickly as possible. We declassified the key judgments.
QUIJANO: The report made headlines over the weekend and provided ammunition for Democrats who argue the war in Iraq has made the U.S. less safe.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NAT'L. SECURITY ANALYST: A leak like this, to me, is an example of a bad trend. And that is the use of intelligence for political purposes.
QUIJANO: President Bush noted the NIE was completed in April and leaked just weeks before congressional midterms. But he dismissed the notion he was declassifying it for political purposes.
BUSH: Because I want you to read the document, so you don't speculate about what it says.
QUIJANO: The president was asked about comments by former President Clinton, critical of his pre-9/11 efforts to find Osama bin Laden. Mr. Bush side stepped the question, saying he didn't have time for finger pointing, but took the time to define his opponent's views.
BUSH: But there's a difference of opinion. It will come clear during this campaign. People will say, get out, leave before the job is done. And those are good, decent patriotic people who believe that way. I just happen to believe they're absolutely wrong.
QUIJANO: Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a crucial U.S. ally in the war on terror, stood shoulder to shoulder with President Bush.
HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN: Terrorism was hurting us way before Iraq , or September 11. And how do we fight them? How do we get rid of them, other than going after them? Should we wait for them to come kill us again?
QUIJANO: Today's meeting with that President Karzai, comes ahead of another critical meeting tomorrow. President Bush will sit down not just with President Karzai, but with another crucial U.S. ally in the terrorism fight, Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf -- Lou.
DOBBS: Elaine, thank you. Elaine Quijano from the White House.
On Capitol Hill today, Democrats tried to call the House into a highly unusual secret session to discuss the National Intelligence Estimate on the war on terror. But Democrats failed to win enough support for their proposal, losing the vote by 217 to 171. Andrea Koppel reports from Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An act of civil disobedience. As dozens of anti-war protestors refused to leave a Senate office building, while on the house on floor, I offer a privileged motion calling for a secret session --
NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: I offer privileged motion calling for a secret session ...
KOPPEL: The top Democrat tried, yet failed, to force the House into a highly unusual secret session to discuss a classified intelligence report on terrorism and Iraq. Both events staged examples of the highly charged political current surging from one end of the capitol to the other on the same day Iraq's president paid a visit.
In press conference, after press conference, Democrats worked to keep the focus on what they called the Bush administration's failed policy in Iraq, using recently leaked intelligence report, called an NIE, to bolster their case.
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL), MINORITY WHIP: We want to make certain that we're doing in Iraq , and around the world, contains and destroys the threat of terrorism. This National Intelligence Estimate suggests just the opposite, that our strategy in Iraq is adding to the problem and not diminishing the problem.
KOPPEL: Even after the president said he would declassify key findings, Democrats said, it still wasn't enough.
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: We call for all of it -- we Democrats. You can't release it piecemeal. It's another attempt by this administration to hide the truth from the American people.
KOPPEL: By refusing to declassify the entire report, Senator Hillary Clinton said, Republicans are trying to shift the focus away from the unpopular war in Iraq.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: They may not have a plan to complete successfully the mission in Iraq, but they do have a plan to win elections here at home. The stakes are too high to let them take such a low road.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: Now, in the hours since this -- the key judgments have been declassified, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Jay Rockefeller, who wrote a letter to John Negroponte yesterday, urging him to move forward with declassification, has not changed his tune.
In a statement circulated to reporters, he said, quote, "As I've been saying for sometime, the war in Iraq has made us less safe."
Lou, considering where we are in the political calendar, with only three days left before Congress adjourns to hit the campaign trail, it is highly unlikely Democrats are going to stop their attack -- Lou.
DOBBS: And the Democratic plan for Afghanistan, the Democratic plan for Iraq?
KOPPEL: You want me to tell you? OK. The Democratic plan, as they say, on Iraq and Afghanistan is to put forward more -- basically to begin the withdrawal at the end of this year, to convene an international conference, on Iraq , in particular. And to also insist that the Iraqi political system -- that the political institutions, the government get its act together. Not wait a year, as the president of Iraq indicated today, but to do so immediately, Lou.
DOBBS: Andrea Koppel, thank you very much, from Capitol Hill.
In Afghanistan, radical Islamist terrorists today killed at least 17 people in the southern province of Helmad (ph). A suicide bomber blew himself up outside the governor's office in the capitol, six Afghan police officers, 11 civilians, were among those killed.
Separately, a roadside bomb killed an Italian soldier and an Afghan child near Kabul. Five other Italian soldiers, five Afghan civilians wounded in that attack.
Intelligence officials say radical Islamist terrorists responsible for the attacks in Afghanistan are operating out of bases in Pakistan. Those officials also believe Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan, in a remote area controlled by tribes supporting the Taliban and al Qaeda. Barbara Starr reports on the hunt for the Osama bin Laden.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. intelligence sources tell CNN that two months ago there were signs of sudden activity in the remote regions of Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden is thought to be hiding.
Analysts describe signs of people and movement in an area where the pace of activity is normally predictable. Part of the movement may have been Arab fighters or Taliban trying to avoid the Pakistani military. But according to one official, there was a source in the region who saw someone, possibly bin Laden, himself.
There have been tips before. But this time, it was all enough to persuade the U.S. intelligence community to once again order reconnaissance assets into a particular area of the tribal border region. The high-tech hunt, using spy planes and sensors, essentially is aimed at putting an electronic fence around an area where bin Laden might be. Spy satellites are used to look for changes in the landscape below.
For example, fresh tire tracks on a mountain pass could mean medical aid is being brought to bin Laden.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: Now, Lou, intelligence analysts say there is a new generation of high-tech classified sensors that are able to track some of these signs, even the smallest signs of communications and transmissions. But the challenge remains. How to put up that electronic fence faster than bin Laden can evaporate into those mountains. So far it's very clear, it hasn't worked, Lou.
DOBBS: Indeed. Thank you, Barbara Starr, from the Pentagon.
Five years after September 11, voters in this country are much less supportive of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan than in previous years. A new poll conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation says exactly 50 percent of voters support the conflict. At the beginning of the war 90 percent of voters supported the conflict in Afghanistan. In 2003, that had dropped to 60 percent.
In the war in Iraq, insurgents have killed another of our troops. He died of wounds he received in the bomb attack last week. Two other soldiers have died in what the military calls a non-combat incident in Baghdad. So, 2,703 of our troops have now been killed in Iraq; 20,648 of our troops wounded. Of those, 9,286 seriously wounded.
Meanwhile insurgents and terrorists today killed at least 18 people in Iraq in a series of bomb and gun attacks. Police also found the bodies of more than 20 people in Baghdad, all apparent victims of sectarian killings.
Still ahead here tonight, a brutal murder of a Houston, Texas police officer, new evidence of the gaping holes in our border security. We'll have that special report.
And the fight over e-voting and the threat to our democracy. It's all going to the Supreme Court. We'll have that story.
And Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice takes on President Clinton in the conduct of the battle of the conduct of the war on terror, or at least its history. We'll have the latest. All of that and more, straight ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: There is fierce debate across this country tonight over whether state and local law enforcement have the power to fight illegal immigration, and do the job that our federal government won't do.
Houston, Texas officials have aggressively fought efforts to expand their powers to fight illegal immigration. Tonight the cold blooded killing of a Houston police officer, allegedly by an illegal alien from Mexico, has reignited the debate. Bill Tucker reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Officer Rodney Johnson will be buried on Wednesday. He was murdered, shot four times in the back of the head last Thursday, allegedly by this man. Juan Leonardo Quintero.
Quintero is an illegal alien. He was deported two years ago after being convicted of sex crimes with a child. Quintero illegally returned and was living in Houston, in part protected by the city's policy of not checking immigration status of individuals.
Houston's Police Chief Harold Hurt publicly blaming the federal government for Quintero's illegal presence in Houston. His critics think he's shirking responsibility.
MARY WILLIAMS, PROTECT OUR CITIZENS: There's a brave officer that's dead. Instead of owning up and facing their responsibility and making this thing right, they're turning it on the federal government.
I agree the federal government should have done their responsibility of securing our borders. But so should our local, so should our state.
TUCKER: Houston officials deny they have sanctuary policy, but general order 500-05 states, quote, "Officers shall not make inquiries as to the citizenship status of any person..." In June of this year, a group of police chiefs from the United States and Canada headed by Houston's current police chief issued a paper saying quote, "Immigration enforcement undermines the trust and cooperation with immigrant communities."
The statement making no distinction between legal and illegal immigrants. An opponents of sanctuary policy say there is another disturbing signal also being sent.
HEATHER MACDONALD, MANHATTAN INSTITUTE: The sanctuary laws are sending a message to police that they do not -- may not -- use every tool in their tool chest against illegal alien criminals, and that is allowing people to stay on the streets.
TUCKER: Ironically while many major cities have similar policies, such policies were outlawed by federal law in 1996. (END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCKER: Now, there were a number of factors that resulted in the fatal shooting of Officer Johnson; lax in enforcement of immigration laws being one of them. Which begs the question, at what price are we willing to pay before we take these laws seriously?
And, Lou, we got a call from the mayor's office, just moments ago, saying they want to clarify, that that sanctuary policy, that order issued in 1992 has been rescinded, but that raises more questions, frankly. Why did the mayor fight a ballot initiative that would have been on the ballot in November, which would have required police to check immigration status on the people they arrested.
DOBBS: Right.
TUCKER: And it differs with the police chief's statement in June of 2006 saying local police shouldn't have immigration enforcement responsibility.
DOBBS: And this is the same police chief, right now, who is putting the blame for this officer's death at the feet of federal border security and immigration officials, our law makers, and our president.
TUCKER: Yes.
DOBBS: This is, I think, a period of awakening in this country. The idea that cities all across the country, many cities, have passed so-called sanctuary laws, enforce them, in point of fact. Which is in direct contravention of federal -- they're unlawful ordinances.
And secondly, that we are paying such a price in this country and have been hide bound by this orthodoxy, this political correct orthodoxy suggesting that we simply cannot and should not enforce immigration laws, and what war on terror, leave the borders wide open. We're paying very, very heavy prices in the way of consequences.
Bill Tucker, thank you very much.
Officer Rodney Johnson, a 12-year veteran of the Houston police force will be buried tomorrow morning. He leaves behind a wife, three daughters, and two sons.
Representatives from the Mexican government have quickly jumped to the defense of Juan Leonardo Quintaro. He is the suspect in the murder of Officer Johnson. The governor of Mexico says it will do all it can to offer Quintaro legal assistance, representatives from the Mexican consulate, in Houston, attended Quintaro's court hearing.
The Mexican counsel general says, quote, "We have been involved from day one. If the lawyers think there is grounds for appeal, which is almost always the case, then we assist further until the very end."
For the record, the Mexican consulate in Houston is just one of some 46 Mexican consulate facilities across the United States. Mexico has more consulates in the United States than any other foreign country; and to help defend and win key rights for Mexican illegal aliens.
There's new evidence tonight that the United States, Mexico and Canada are trying to move forward with the proposal that critics call the United States of North America. Public interest group, Judicial Watch, today released newly uncovered Commerce Department documents that prove the United States, Mexico and Canada are moving ahead with a, quote, "security and prosperity partnership of North America."
The goal of the partnership is to, quote, "harmonize" relations between all three countries -- or among all three countries, if you prefer. According to these documents, North American political leaders have heard recommendations from business leaders of the so- called North American Competitivist (sic) Council, and among their recommendations, integrating the Mexican and United States power grids, and allowing citizens from all North American countries to move freely across North America, even if they lack documentation. One presumes legal and lawful documentation.
The council says anyone showing up on the border without proper documentation should merely be, quote "educated bout their options and be allowed to pass", end quote.
Among the companies with representatives on this North American Competitivist (sic) Council, Wal-Mart, UPS, FedEx, Chevron, Lockheed and that's just naming a few of them.
By the way, Congress has not passed any initiative or law that would make such a combination or integration, even contemplated, let alone lawful.
Mexican President-elect Felipe Calderon is now slamming U.S. plans to build that 700-mile fence on the U.S./Mexican border. Calderon says the fence proposal, now under debate and with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist calling for its passage, he says it won't solve the United States illegal immigration crisis.
Calderon said, quote, "We are worried about the actions that the United States is discussing concerning building a boarder wall and tightening restrictions on migrants." I repeat, migrants.
The president-elect isn't the only Mexican government official to meddle in this nation's border fence debate, or its illegal immigration debate. Mexico's current president, Vicente Fox, has called the border fence proposal, quote, "shameful."
That brings us to the subject of our poll tonight. We would really like to know what you think of the government of Mexico and the issue of border security and illegal immigration. The question is simple, is it time to tell the Mexican government, both President Fox and President-elect Calderon to quit trying to interfere in U.S. affairs and instead to focus on improving the quality of life for the citizens of Mexico? Yes or no cast your vote at LouDobbs.com. We'll have the results later in the broadcast. By the way, no one in the Bush administration, certainly not the president himself, has responded in any way to the comments by president-elect Calderon or Vicente Fox.
Coming up next here, a U.S. congressman so concerned about the e- voting threat to this nation, he's taking his fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme court.
Also, tonight, the Bush administration is on the attack against former President Clinton. The grudge match continues, the politics in full swell. We'll have the latest. And President Bush rejected claims that the war in Iraq is making this nation less safe. I'll be talking with military correspondent for "The Washington Post," Thomas Ricks, the author of the best-selling book, "Fiasco". All of that, and more, still ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Tonight, a congressman is so alarmed at the lack of a paper trail in electronic voting machines that he's taking his case all the way to the Supreme Court. Congressman Robert Wexler says voters who cast their ballots on touch screen voting machines that do not issue a paper receipt are being denied their constitutional rights. Kitty Pilgrim reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Florida desperately wants to get beyond the spectacles of hanging chads in the botched elections of 2000. But Florida may be at risk again; 52 counties in Florida use optical scan voting machines, that can have a manual recount. But 15 other counties, representing half of voters, use touch screen electronic voting systems, without a paper trail. Systems that cannot be recounted if there is a close election.
Congressman Robert Wexler, of Florida, has filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, using 2000 as the reason they should hear the case. He's arguing that because there is no paper trail in some counties, all voters are not given equal rights.
REP. ROBERT WEXLER (D), FLORIDA: The right to have one's vote counted on equal terms with other voters is an essential part of the constitutional right to vote. And in Florida now, we have a state law which requires a manual recount in close elections. Just based on where you vote, or the machine that your county uses, shouldn't determine the likelihood of whether or not your vote gets counted.
PILGRIM: Wexler's case was dismissed by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in June. But he argues that because different opinions have been issued by different federal circuit courts on this same issue, his lawsuit should be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, to reconcile the different rulings.
Wexler points to other states, such as Maryland's Governor Robert Ehrlich, who have challenged the accuracy of touch screen voting machines and demanded a paper trail. Florida Fair Elections Coalition supports Wexler's appeal to the U.S. Supreme court. Telling LOU DOBBS TONIGHT, "We believe the paperless system is a threat to democracy due to the secret software, and the lack of accountability there is not way to assure votes are recorded as the machines say they are."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Congressman Wexler filed this case last week. He's hoping the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case in the upcoming term, Lou.
DOBBS: Kitty, thank you very much. Kitty Pilgrim.
Time now for some of your thoughts.
Albert in Florida wrote about his choice on primary day: "Lou, my wife and I voted absentee ballot and we did not vote for any incumbents, they've had their chance and failed."
From Wanda in Maine, "Since President Bush thinks the war, in which our courageous soldiers and their families sacrifice so much, will be merely a comma in history, then let me suggest that his entire presidency should be recorded as a question mark."
Scott, in New York: "There are issues of far grater magnitude than how close Clinton came to catching bin Laden. This serves no significance to the current problems that America is facing. The bottom line is bin Laden was not captured or killed. Who the hell cares about close?"
Send us your thoughts to LouDobbs.com. We'll have more of your thoughts here later.
Next, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice letting loose with an angry attack tonight against the former president. Senator Hillary Clinton joining the battle, she's supporting her husband. We'll have that story, the very latest.
The economic future of the nation is in jeopardy, as we Americans are falling further into debt. We'll have a special report on this nation's growing debt emergency and dependence on foreign producers, not just of oil.
And it was sentencing day for two of the nation's most infamous corporate crooks. Andrew Fastow and Bernie Ebbers. Their story, and a great deal more, straight ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Firefighters in Southern California tonight say a huge wildfire is once again threatening homes. The flames jumped a fire line and headed for ranches in a remote mountain area. Fire officials have recommended evacuation of about 500 people. Crews took advantage of cooler weather to set backfires, trying to protect people and property. That fire has now burned almost 150,000 acres since Labor Day. It is not yet even half contained. Former Enron CFO Andrew Fastow sentenced today to six years in prison. Fastow had agreed to a 10-year sentence in a plea agreement with the government on charges of conspiracy. The judge in the case reduced the sentence, saying Fastow has suffered enough. The collapse of Enron, of course, wiped out the pensions of thousands of Americans.
Meanwhile, the man who built WorldCom, then bankrupted it, went to federal prison today. Former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers fought charges of conspiracy and accounting fraud. A jury convicted him. The judge sentenced him to 25 years in prison. The collapse of WorldCom cost investors billions upon billions of dollars, regarded as the largest corporate fraud in history.
In Miami today, two Colombian drug lords pleaded guilty to conspiring to import cocaine into this country. Brothers Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela led the Cali drug cartel. They imported at least 200 tons of cocaine. Some went by ship or plane to Mexico then entered our southern border. They were each sentenced to 30 years in prison. A D.A. official says this means the brothers will be treated, quote, "like the common criminals they are."
Another former U.S. border inspector has pleaded guilty to taking bribes from human smuggler, allowing hundreds of illegal aliens into this country. Sixteen year Customs and Border Protection veteran Michael Anthony Gilliland admitted to looking the other way as cars loaded with illegal aliens crossed his San Diego checkpoint. He is the fifth person to plead guilty in this case, facing up to 35 years in prison.
More evidence tonight of the problems faced by our overburdened middle class in this country. Two new reports show healthcare premiums have climbed twice as fast as wages and inflation this year, nearly double their cost in 2000.
The average family premium rose nearly eight percent. The cost for family coverage under an employer health plan is now $11,680, well over the annual salary of a full-time minimum wage worker, beyond what many companies and their workers can afford.
Rising healthcare costs are just one of the many serious problems facing American middle class families. America's addiction to debt, on both an individual and federal level, is threatening the very future of this nation's middle class.
Christine Romans reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): America has a debt problem. Households are strapped. Washington keeps spending, and we are borrowing record amounts from foreign lenders. For the American family, higher interest rates mean their mortgage payments are rising. Millions have tapped their home equity dry, and they're turning to charge cards. Credit card debt up more than 10 percent in the second quarter. DEAN BAKER, CTR. FOR ECON. & POLICY RESEARCH: Wages have not been keeping pace with the cost of living so people have been responding by borrowing, primarily borrowing against their house.
ROMANS: Now as home prices are falling ...
BAKER: People have no more equity that they can borrow against in their homes. So people are really strapped and they're pretty much at the end of the line.
ROMANS: And the percentage of their homes that people actually own is at an all-time low. Congressman Jim Cooper has been warning about America's fiscal mess for sometime.
REP. JIM COOPER (D), TENNESSEE: It is shocking how deeply in debt not only our government is, but every single American citizen. Our savings rate has gone to zero or negative. That hasn't happened since the Great Depression. So something crazy is going on here.
ROMANS: He says this nation's budget deficit could be up to 10 times worse than we think, if Washington used proper accounting. And he points to America's gargantuan international trade bill. For the first time in almost a century, the U.S. is paying more to its foreign creditors than it receives from foreign investments.
Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week, but eventually, we'll have to work harder to maintain the middle class life, cut back dramatically to pay our debts or sell America's strategic assets to foreigners.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: The polite word economists use to describe our debt habit is unsustainable. But there is no doubt at this pace, a greater share of America's future prosperity will go to paying our debts, not growing our economy -- Lou.
DOBBS: Not growing our economy -- the fact is our deficit is $3 trillion since 2000, our trade debt has risen to $2.5 trillion in the course of the last five years, and it's interesting. We've been talking about this very issue on this broadcast, reporting on this issue for five years, and people are now in certain quarters, the Business Council, the Business Roundtable, the Chamber of Commerce are awakening to some of the impacts and consequences of so-called free trade. Thank you very much, Christine Romans.
DOBBS: One Florida couple is giving their house a change of address. George and Nancy Corbett couldn't bear to see the developers tear down their 100-year-old home in Palmetto. So they bought that house. They paid $1 for it rather than have it destroyed, called the movers and today, the couple moved the whole house.
The 220-ton home lifted and was placed on a barge in Palmetto. It was floated 25 miles a Manatee River and into Tampa Bay. It will be placed on the Corbett's waterfront property in Ruskin. The home is on the National Registry for Historic Places and will be used as a missionary retreat. The estimated cost to move that house -- and what a beautiful house it is -- $175,000.
Still ahead, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice blasts President Clinton's conduct of the war on terror. Senator Hillary Clinton defends her husband. Meanwhile, where is Osama bin Laden? We'll have the special report.
And is the war in Iraq making this country less safe from a terrorist attack? I'll be joined by the author of "Fiasco," "Washington Post" military correspondent Thomas Ricks here next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Secretary of State Rice today blasted President Clinton for criticizing the Bush administration's conduct of the war on terror. Secretary Rice said the Bush administration did at least as much to fight terrorism in the first eight months in office as the Clinton administration did in the years before. Brian Todd sorts it all out in this report -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, this was an extraordinary brushback from a sitting secretary of state to a former president, prompted by a combative remark Bill Clinton made to Fox News when he asked if he did enough to pursue al Qaeda.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I tried and failed. When I failed, I left a comprehensive anti-terrorist strategy, and the best guy in the country, Dick Clarke, who got demoted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Now, Condoleezza Rice fired right back, telling the editorial board of "The New York Post," quote, "we were not left with a comprehensive strategy to fight al Qaeda." She stopped short of calling President Clinton a liar, but Secretary Rice clearly rankled Mr. Clinton's wife.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: I'm certain that if my husband and his national security team had been shown a classified report entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States," he would have taken it more security than history suggests it was taken by our current president and his national security team.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: So what does the record show? The 9/11 Commission report mentions a plan called Delenda, launched by then counter-terror czar Richard Clarke after the 1998 embassy bombings in Africa. Under that plan, the U.S. would go after al Qaeda's financial network, train and arm its enemies, and take out its leaders. The 9/11 report says Clarke presented the plan to Condoleezza Rice in early 2001. Here's what the State Department now says about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: They took a look at this plan and decided that they needed -- there were missing components.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Components like a detailed plan for dealing with Pakistan. A Clinton administration official admitted to me, they had difficulty engaging with Pakistan at that time because it had recently tested nuclear weapons and Pervez Musharraf had taken power in a coup.
So was there a comprehensive anti-terror plan left for the Bush administration? That depends on who you ask and, of course, your definition of comprehensive, Lou.
DOBBS: Well, how do we define Osama bin Laden, captured or killed?
TODD: Defining that, I guess, you can define it any way you want as a failure on both administrations, because he hasn't been captured or killed yet by either one.
DOBBS: Absolutely. And this is, in some ways, at the highest level of partisan politics, an absurd piece of theater, because the fact is, we're engaged in a war in which neither president distinguished himself, in the case of Clinton, or is distinguishing himself in the case of President Bush, in getting the job done.
Brian Todd, thank you very much for that illuminating report.
TODD: Thank you, Lou.
DOBBS: Senator Clinton and other Democratic senators today declared the Bush administration's policies in the war on terror are failing. However, those same Democrats have failed to offer any credible strategies of their own to defeat the radical Islamist terrorists.
Joining me now is Thomas Ricks. He is the highly respected military correspondent of "The Washington Post," author of the best- selling book, "Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq." Tom, good to have you here.
THOMAS RICKS, AUTHOR: Thank you.
DOBBS: Let's start with the war in Iraq. We're hearing more generals coming out saying this is unsustainable, that it is an absolutely skewered approach. What are your thoughts?
RICKS: My sense is, the U.S. military's patience with the Bush administration's approach is running out, and that they're saying, look, let's try a different approach in Iraq.
DOBBS: That different approach in Iraq, we are watching a spectacle of a former president taking on a sitting president on the issue of Osama bin Laden. What is your take on that particular, what is obviously a partisan divide?
RICKS: Well, politics is how you argue out these issues. And right now, we're on the eve of a midterm election that looks like it's going to turn on these great issues of foreign policy, Iraq and the war on terror. And I would expect the parties to come at each other as hard as they can and to make their cases to the American people.
And I think that's part of what you're seeing happening right now.
DOBBS: I think you're right in terms of the expectation. But I am having a very difficult time to tell you, straightforwardly, Tom, and I am delighted to turn to you for your expertise and your insight -- I have the darndest time even after reading your wonderful book of discerning what is the strategy on the part of this government, these generals in Iraq, and I'm having a devil of a time understanding what the Democrats are saying is the appropriate strategy. Help me out.
RICKS: Well, I don't think the fault lies with you. I think the fault lies in the parties not really wanting to talk about the tough questions. I think it's a bipartisan problem. I think the Congress has not really held the type of hearings that would have injected more information into the American system, and probably would have made the war effort more effective in Iraq, if generals were being pushed a little bit to answer some tough questions.
But you're right, I think both parties are having some trouble talking about this because Iraq is really at this point a tragedy. And in a tragedy, there are no good answers, and that's a very hard thing for politicians to get up and say to people.
DOBBS: Tom Ricks, we thank you for being here. We appreciate your insight, as always. Tom Ricks, the military correspondent for "The Washington Post," author of the best-selling book, "Fiasco."
Coming up shortly here on CNN, "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer. Wolf is right here, right next to me in New York for a change. Tell us all about it, Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, SITUATION ROOM: We're going to have this interview that I've done with the president of Pakistan, Lou, Pervez Musharraf. He is always, as you well know, outspoken, especially outspoken on the eve of his dinner tomorrow night at the White House with the president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, the president of the United States. And he makes it abundantly clear he disagrees with both of them. There's a little tension, a lot of tension going on right now. I wish I were at that dinner tomorrow night at the White House to observe what's going to happen there.
DOBBS: Well, I'll pass on that dinner. It's really very unlikely that I would be invited, as you know, Wolf. But I would like to know, you do talk to him about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, and arguably -- and by most people's account, in his country? BLITZER: Yes, and he says he's doing everything he can to find Osama bin Laden. He's putting a lot of the blame on Hamid Karzai, almost suggesting he's oblivious, Karzai, to what's happening in Afghanistan. So there's tension there.
DOBBS: Tension and still no results. We thank you very much. Look forward to it, Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks, Lou.
DOBBS: Wolf Blitzer. Good to see you here in New York.
A major governmental contract scandal is unfolding tonight within the Department of Education, of all places. A new report says education officials may have violated federal law in the award of lucrative contracts to their cronies. Critics call it just another example of the best government money can buy. Lisa Sylvester reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nearly 2 million K-third grade students have participated in the federal reading program called Reading First. The Education Department's inspector- general has sharply criticized how the $1 billion reading program has been managed.
A scathing report says Bush administration officials improperly pressured states to use specific curricula that would benefit certain publishers, a possible violation of federal law. Review panels were stacked with people who had a bias toward certain companies, and funds were often withheld to school districts that refused to use the preferred publishers' materials.
The nonprofit Success for All Foundation was not on the exclusive list and asked the IG's office to investigate.
ROBERT SLAVIN, SUCCESS FOR ALL FOUNDATION: I think that there was an intention in the Department of Education to favor certain kinds of reading programs and certain approaches to reading in preference to others, and not to do this based on the evidence, as was intended, but to do it based on connections and really cronyism.
SYLVESTER: Among the favorite vendors was the publishing firm the McGraw-Hill Companies. The McGraw family has contributed at least $23,000 to the Republican National Committee and President Bush's campaigns. In a statement, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said, quote, "I am concerned about these actions and committed to addressing and resolving them."
McGraw-Hill denied its curriculum was approved based on favoritism, and referred to their decades-long record of success in the education field.
But Capitol Hill Democrats point to a pattern. A separate report from the Housing and Urban Development inspector general's office found HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson urged staffers to make contracting decisions based on political affiliations. The contract with a Massachusetts company Abt Associates was held up, according to high-level HUD staffers, because Jackson did not like the company's executives' political ties.
REP. HENRY WAXMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: The line in the law is that you're not supposed to give a contract based on politics. It's not supposed to be a consideration. After all, this is taxpayers' dollars. And we're not just rewarding people, we want to make sure that the people doing the work know what they're doing, they're going to do it honestly, and that we're getting the fair price for it. And politics just should not be involved.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SYLVESTER: The housing inspector-general found that while Secretary Alphonso Jackson tried to influence the contracting progress, there is no evidence that contracts were canceled or awarded based on political affiliation. Secretary Jackson declined an interview request.
And as for the Department of Education investigation, the director of the Reading First program has since resigned, and the education secretary promised to swiftly adopt the inspector-general's recommendations -- Lou.
DOBBS: Lisa, thank you very much -- Lisa Sylvester from Washington.
Still ahead here, your thoughts and I'll be talking with a political candidate and a closely watched congressional race in Colorado. It's a race that could be determined on the issue of illegal immigration and border security. All of that and more still ahead. Stay with us.
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DOBBS: In Colorado tonight, a hotly contested congressional race could be decided on the issue of illegal immigration and border security. Both the Democratic and Republican congressional candidates running in Colorado's seventh district are breaking with the respective party's position on this crisis. This race is being called one of the nation's most important midterm contests, a must-win for Democrats.
Joining me tonight is Rick O'Donnell. He's the Republican candidate in this race. He charges the Bush administration with refusing to enforce our immigration laws. We want to make it clear that we invited his opponent, Mr. Pearl Medder (ph) to join us as well and they declined. We're going to be focusing on every tight congressional race in this country in the next -- about 47 -- 40 days of campaigning. And we're going to kick off Rick O'Donnell with you here tonight. Thanks for being here.
RICK O'DONNELL (R), CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Lou, it's my pleasure. Thank you for having me. DOBBS: I'm going to tell you, just like I'm going to say to every other candidate we talk to. I don't care about gay marriage, gun control, abortion, the pledge of allegiance or any other wedge issue. So all I want to talk to you about, if I may, is what counts for the folks in your district. And let's start out with illegal immigration. Where do you stand?
O'DONNELL: Lou, when I go door to door, that is the only issue the voters want to talk to me about, is illegal immigration. And they want to secure the borders. The voters remember 1986 when we had a grand bar in this country, gave amnesty to three million immigrants. And we were told we were going to secure the borders, but that didn't happen.
DOBBS: So you're a Republican and you're ready to tell the president, the Senate majority leader, that you want border security first and that you reject absolutely the amnesty program, the comprehensive immigration reform?
O'DONNELL: We do need comprehensive reform, but it's got to be done step -- Lou, it's got to be done step by step. You have to secure the borders first and stop illegal immigration. Then we need to create a system of legal immigration that works because our legal immigration system is broke in two. But you can't even begin to address the other issues until we first show the American people that we're serious about securing the borders and stopping all illegal immigration.
DOBBS: OK, so you want to see -- I've said it on this broadcast as you know for about a year. You can't reform immigration if you can't control immigration and you cannot control immigration in this country if we can't control our border and our ports. Do you agree with that logic?
O'DONNELL: I agree wholeheartedly with that logic.
DOBBS: And you would resist any effort for amnesty, you would resists any idea of comprehensive immigration until those borders and ports were secure.
O'DONNELL: Absolutely. I'll always resist amnesty. My opponent favors the Senate approach. He favors giving welfare benefits to people who are here illegally. That's wrong.
DOBBS: All right. Now I want to hear what you're going to do for the middle class workers in your district. I've talked about this with various congressional and senatorial folks. I haven't been able to get a single straight answer back on it. What are you doing to do for the people working for a living and their families in your district?
O'DONNELL: You know, the most important issue they bring up to me is the cost of health insurance. And we've got to take dramatic steps in this country to make health insurance more affordable, deregulate it, make it legal to sell affordable policies and then help those people who still can't afford it after we've made it less expensive, help them purchase private sector health insurance. That will do more to help small businesses who are creating jobs who are struggling to provide their workers with health insurance.
DOBBS: Rick O'Donnell, we thank you for being here. We wish your opponent could have joined us so I'll just be left by saying, we wish you both luck in this upcoming election. But we wish your constituents in that district all the very best of luck in their choice. Thank you very much.
O'DONNELL: Thank you.
DOBBS: Still ahead, we'll have more of your thoughts and the results of our poll tonight. Stay with us.
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DOBBS: The results of our poll tonight, overwhelming. Listen up, Mexico City -- 98 percent of this audience says it's time to tell the Mexican government, both President Fox and President-Elect Calderon to quit trying to interfere in U.S. affairs and focus instead of improving the quality of life of the citizens of Mexico.
Also listen up, Washington D.C., 98 percent -- pretty persuasive. Let's take a look at some of your thoughts.
From Rich in California: "Lou, since illegal aliens are breaking the law by just being here, it doesn't beg the question too much that the people who hire them might also be breaking the law. There should be enough punishment to go around. The cost of border security could be in part financed by the confiscation of the business and property of those who violate the law."
From Bob in Louisiana: "Again, I stand amazed at the inability of our government to identify 20 million illegals in this country, but they can locate a single mad cow and trace it to its herd and possible trace its ancestors farther back than we can trace our own. Now I hear they have traced spinach that Popeye wouldn't eat to the processing plant and the shift and date it was processed."
We love hearing your thoughts. Send them to us at LouDobbs.com. Each of you whose e-mail is read here receives a copy of Senator Byron Dorgan's important new book, "Take This Job and Ship It." We thank you for being with us tonight. Please join us here tomorrow. For all of us, thanks for watching. Good night from New York. "THE SITUATION ROOM" begins right now with Wolf Blitzer -- Wolf?
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