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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Interview with Author of "Imperial Hubris"

Aired July 23, 2004 - 17:00   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.


(AUDIO GAP)
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: ... the city of Boston into an armed camp. But there are new concerns about a challenge to all the security, a possible attack against the news media during the Democratic Convention. Standby for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

Convention threat, unknown and homegrown. Is a domestic group planning attacks next week in Boston?

Dead heat. Kerry counts on a convention bounce while Bush says, don't count your chickens.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know plenty of politicians assume they have your vote, but did they earn it and do they deserve it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: We're still not safe, that's the warning from the 9/11 panel. What will the government do about it? I'll ask the veteran CIA official and author known as "Anonymous."

Phishing scams. They are targeting your computer and your bank accounts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you know if you have gotten one of these e-mails?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: We'll tell you how to stay off their hook.

ANNOUNCER: This a special edition of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, live from the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

BLITZER: Hello, we're live from Boston on the floor of the FleetCenter here in Boston. After the gavel drops Monday this will be the floor of the Democratic National Convention. We have a new angle. We're going to be anchoring from right here. Clearly inside they are stepping up the pace, getting ready for this convention and they are also stepping up the already tight security in light of a possible new security threat here in Boston. For that, let's turn right away to our national correspondent, Bob Franken.

Bob, what's going on?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you can hear, Wolf, from the audio checks there's a lot of noise as they get ready for the extreme large amount of noise that's going to come as the convention begins.

What they are hoping that the biggest amount of noise is inside and not outside.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (voice-over): The fondest hope for Democrats is that their message from inside the FleetCenter is not overwhelmed by what happens outside. And there is massive security to make sure that the big story is the political one.

On occasion, it gets real strict. Thousands of police, local, state and federal, visible and invisible, are turning Boston into "Fortress Boston." Much of Boston will simply be shut down. The major highway that has become the cities in and out artery will be closed to traffic around and during convention hours because it passes right by the FleetCenter. In fact, workers are being asked to stay home for the duration and a lot of business people are not happy about that at all.

The various protest groups are infuriated over what they call their holding pen, a fenced-in area across the street from the FleetCenter. The subway station at the site will be closed. Fences are going up around critical buildings and officials are working feverishly to identify threats before they become attacks. One of the latest, says the FBI, is unconfirmed intelligence that someone may be planning to attack the large camp of media trailers with incendiary devices.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: And they have already begun random searches of bags on the subway system in the city. As a matter of fact, Wolf, a law firm -- a legal team has gone to court to try and stop that. And officials -- security officials say that they hope that the biggest controversies are that kind of controversy.

BLITZER: All right. Let's hope for that. Thanks very much, Bob Franken.

Security very tight here in Boston. And as Bob just mentioned, along with convention delegates and the news media, protestors are converging on the city as well. Authorities say they are trying to balance the free speech rights of the demonstrators with security concerns heightened by the threat of terrorism.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): When you talk about political protests, the conversation almost always turns to the Democratic National Convention of 1968 when anti-war activists converged on Chicago. Some were spoiling for a fight and they got it.

In what a government study later characterized as a police riot, Chicago police went after activists and even reporters with billy- clubs and tear gas. Protesters chanted: "The whole world is watching." And it was on television. It would be 28 years before the city hosted another presidential nominating convention and by that time things had changed.

PAUL MCMASTERS, FIRST AMENDMENT CENTER: The conventions over the last few years have become fairly staid and predictable. It is sort of a lovefest in the sense that a lot of the key decisions are made about who to support and what issues to take up.

BLITZER: Convention protests are still with us, of course. Hundreds were arrested at the Republican Convention in Philadelphia and the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles four years ago. But these days, demonstrators often are confined to remote so-called free speech areas.

In Boston it's a 28,000 square foot lot surrounded by concrete barriers, steel fencing and razor wire. The ACLU is suing the city.

MCMASTERS: Well, the idea of a free speech zone is one of the most ironic names for a device that you can think of because it's really anathema to free speech because speech without an audience really doesn't mean much.

BLIZTER: Officials say the restrictions are necessary, especially in the post-9/11 era when terrorist threats are an everyday concern.

TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Credible, trustworthy sources, not terribly specific in terms of who, what, when and where; the targeting in an attempt to undermine the democratic process. Clearly part of that is the two conventions.

BLITZER: Political conventions no longer play a decisive role in the candidate selection process and even the tradition of fighting over platform planks appears to be fading into history. But as long as protesters continue to show up, the conventions will continue to be a venue for public debate. Free speech advocates say that's a tradition that should be cherished.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety provides planning and guidance to agencies across the state. Its secretary is Ed Flynn. He is joining us now to talk a little bit about convention security.

Thanks, Mr. Flynn, once again, for joining us. What can you tell us about this latest FBI warning that news media organizations potentially could be a target here? EDWARD FLYNN, EXEC. OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY: I think it's important to understand that we're working closely with our federal partners and following up in the investigation. But our information so far indicates that it's fairly limited to a small number of people. We've got an idea of whom we're looking for and we're not looking at a widespread threat perpetrated by truly dangerous individuals.

BLITZER: Are you looking at domestic American troublemakers, if you will, or are you looking at foreigners?

FLYNN: Yes. We're looking at people that are coming from the fringes of our protest groups who seem to have thought that it might be a good idea to target media vehicles and things of that nature.

BLITZER: I know there's a limit to what you can say, but based on what you can tell us, what are they thinking? What is their grievance?

FLYNN: Well, it's hard to really get to the nub of that quite frankly. And let's face it, it's counterintuitive, if you're a demonstrator you would want plenty of media coverage and plenty of media presence. So I wouldn't say it's from the more well-thought out wing of the protest movement.

BLITZER: So how concerned should we be?

FLYNN: I don't think you should be frightened. I think you should take logical and prudent precautions with your equipment. Make sure that you lock your vehicles and somebody is paying attention to them. But we're not looking at physical threats to correspondents.

BLITZER: There is some notion that because you are keeping the protesters, they say, penned into one area with barbed wire around it and all of that, that that is a source of their grievance and they want to make a statement.

FLYNN: Well, I think the most important statements will be made in places like Boston Common where it is easier to mobilize hundreds if not thousands of protesters. The media is going to fully cover every demonstrator that takes place. And I think free speech rights are going to be given full opportunity to be expressed. Our challenge here close to the site is to protect that site. And that means protecting the protestors as well. And that's lead to these limitations.

BLITZER: All right. So beyond the new threat to the news media from some fringe element, a domestic threat, is there any other credible information of other more serious threats?

FLYNN: Not at this time. But obviously it's a fluid environment, were monitoring it constantly. We have spent 18 months trying to plan for as many contingencies as we can. If new threats emerge we feel we are well-prepared to meet them.

BLITZER: Have you ever seen security this tight for a major gathering in the United States? FLYNN: No, it's unprecedented. It's certainly in the context of the post-9/11 world. This is the first nominating convention since 9/11. We understand we're functioning on a couple levels of security here. The First Amendment versus, you know, fringe group issue regarding protestors, and more importantly, the potential for international terrorism; certainly that's created the environment that you see before you.

BLITZER: First national nominating convention since 9/11.

FLYNN: That's correct.

BLITZER: It's a whole new world for all of us.

FLYNN: Absolutely.

BLITZER: Thanks very much.

FLYNN: Thank you.

BLITZER: Ed Flynn, the secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

To our viewers here is your chance to weigh in on the story. Our Web question of the day is this: "Is Boston prepared to handle security threats during the Democratic National Convention? You can vote right now. Go to cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results for you later in this broadcast.

Before John Kerry arrives here in Boston next week he's taking part in a campaign swing through four key battleground states. First stop Colorado, a state of personal significance to the senator. Our national correspondent Frank Buckley standing by live in Denver -- Frank.

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Wolf, significant to John Kerry because he was born here in Colorado, just outside of Denver in Aurora, Colorado, at Fitzsimmons Hospital.

John Kerry saying that he was actually born in the west wing in the west wing of Fitzsimmons. This is an important period, the preconvention period, for John Kerry in which he wants to introduce himself, especially to those undecided voters, those voters who haven't been paying particular attention to the campaign, John Kerry hoping that he can reach them on his own terms. Talk about himself in his own terms.

And as his campaign does their best, to ignite a passion about John Kerry, John Kerry is also talking about an issue that is already ignited passion among Democrats, to drive them out to the polls, and that is the war in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY, (D-MA) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'll tell you what else we value, we value strong military and strong alliances, so that no young American is ever put in harm's way, because we insisted on going it alone. In our...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BUCKLEY: Now as you said, Wolf, John Kerry hitting a number of battleground states on his way to the convention. From here John Kerry going to Iowa, then to Ohio, Florida after that, to Virginia, Norfolk, Virginia, a Navy town where John Kerry will talk about his war-time experience to emphasize his ability to lead. And then it's off to Pennsylvania before arriving in Boston -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Like almost everything else, the road to Boston for John Kerry so very carefully choreographed. Frank Buckley reporting for us in Denver. Thanks, Frank, very much.

President Bush's first stop today was a battleground state himself. He lost that state four years ago, namely Michigan. And he did what John Kerry did yesterday, addressed the Urban League Convention in Detroit. From there he traveled to his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

For more on the president's activities, we're joined now by our White House correspondent, Dana Bash -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, all eyes were on the speech, because the president just last week snubbed the NAACP. His aides saying they were simply too hostile toward him, too partisan. But this president has the worst showing among African- American voters since Barry Goldwater ran for president in 1964.

So, when he went before the National Urban League in Detroit today, he acknowledged that Republicans do have a lot of work to do, but he appealed to them to think outside the box.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm going to ask African-American voters to consider some questions. Does the Democrat party take African-American voters for granted? That's a fair question. I know plenty of politicians assume they have your vote. But do they earn it? And do they deserve it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, there have been some complaints in the African- American community that Senator Kerry has not done enough to reach out to them. And the Bush campaign is hoping to try to seize on that. They are also hoping that the president's policies, fiscal policies, some of them, and some of his stances on social issues, those are things he talked about today that will help him make inroads into the African-American community.

Now, the Kerry campaign notes John Kerry did speak both to the Urban League and the NAACP last week. And they call all this a blatant attempt to try to have some damage control, because of the NAACP flap. And they insist that the president's policies will not make African-Americans go towards him, instead, they insist they will turn African-American votes away from Mr. Bush -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Dana Bash at the White House. Thanks very much.

So, will it be a nail biter again? New polls from key battleground states show an extremely tight race. Will we see a repeat of the 2000 contest? We'll have the latest numbers for you.

Big bounce: The convention was key for Bill Clinton back in '92. Now John Kerry looks to the party's last success for some guidance.

An inside view: I'll take you on a first personal live tour of the Fleet Center here in Boston where all the convention action is about to take place.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: With his party's presidential nomination locked in, you might think next week's convention here in Boston is just a formality for John Kerry. But recent history shows the convention can help make or break a candidacy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM CLINTON, FRM. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I end tonight where it all began for me, I still believe in a place called hope.

BLITZER (voice-over): And with that, Bill Clinton emerged from the 1992 Democratic Party Convention at Madison Square Garden in New York with a ton of political momentum, enough to propel him to the White House and defeat an incumbent president named George Bush.

Now, another Democratic challenger wants to do exactly the same thing. And John Kerry is looking to Bill Clinton's 1992 convention playbook for guidance.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Bill Clinton's 1992 convention is the most successful convention on record. Until that convention, Bill Clinton was running behind, not only was he running behind. Not only was he running behind, he was running third going into the Democratic convention in '92. Ross Perot was first, George Bush was second. Clinton seemed hopeless. The convention turned everything around.

BLITZER: Kerry advisers recognize the carefully choreographed Clinton convention, helped introduce the then former Arkansas governor to a then still large chunk of the American public that didn't like President Bush, but was not yet ready to commit to Clinton.

Everything was scripted, including his walk to the convention from Macy's Department Store and his biographical film produced by his Hollywood friends, Harry Thomason and Linda Bloodworth Thomason. James Carville was Clinton's campaign manager.

JAMES CARVILLE, CNN CROSSFIRE: They had to connect Clinton's plan to his bio we knew people didn't know a lot about him and we also knew that if we connected the kind of man from hope and what his life experiences was we thought it would work pretty good and it did.

BLITZER: The Kerry team has been working for months preparing for this convention and, yes, there will be a slick Hollywood produced film that will tell his life story.

MICHAEL DUKAKIS, (D) FRM. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The race to the finish line begins.

BLITZER: The Kerry team is also studying the failed 1988 presidential campaign of another Massachusetts politician, Michael Dukakis. But for another reason: Dukakis emerged from his convention in Atlanta with a big bounce in the polls only to see it disappear in the subsequent weeks after George Bush's convention in New Orleans.

SCHNEIDER: A George Bush the I moved into the lead at the convention. Took it away from Dukakis and never lost it. How did he do it, by reminding voters that things were pretty good under Ronald Reagan. Why would you ever want to change?

BLITZER: The latest public opinion poll show this is race is still very much neck and neck well within the margin of error.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Let's take a look at the latest numbers showing just how tight this race is right now in a three-way contest among John Kerry, George W. Bush and Ralph Nader. The CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll of likely voters shows Kerry out in front by a single point.

The "Los Angeles Times" poll of registered voters in the battleground state of Florida finds Kerry and Bush at 45 percent each. With Nader added Bush has a one-point lead over Kerry with Nader the pick of only 2 percent of those questions.

The results are quite different in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. The "Los Angeles Times" poll shows Kerry with a 12- point lead over Bush. When Nader is added Kerry's lead drops two points.

Joining us now with his take on all of this our senior analyst Jeff Greenfield. When you take a look at this convention, the significance for it, the primetime speakers who have been lined up, I sense there's a difference that you see between what is going to happen here and what is going to happen in New York at the Republican convention.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: It is striking. The Republican key speakers are all moderates. Most of them pro-choice, pro-gay rights. Governor Pataki, Mayor Giuliani, Governor Schwarzenegger of California, John McCain is pro-life but clearly is not seen as a Bushie. He ran against him in 2000.

The speakers here are going to be Ted Kennedy, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House leader...

BLITZER: Jimmy Carter. GREENFIELD: Jimmy Carter. So there seems to be at the Democrats much less of an interest in reaching across to undecided voters than the Republicans. The most conservative speaker at the Republican convention is Zell Miller who happens to be a Democratic senator who has endorsed Bush. In fact, some conservatives in the Republican party are saying, hey, why don't we get Henry Hyde and some pro- lifers.

So it's a striking contrast.

BLITZER: Is it a sense that the Democrats want to energize their base and make sure they get out and vote and organize and don't just sit on their hands?

GREENFIELD: You know what? I think it may be more mundane than that. There are certain obligations. You have to have the former president. And Hillary is somebody who is going to introduce him.

You kind of have to have your last presidential candidate who did after all get a plurality of the popular vote. They are kind of boxed in on who they can present. But it does strike me -- maybe it's a sign either of misplaced or well placed confidence that they don't think they have to put more centrist Democrats in prime time.

BLITZER: You heard my little set-up piece. How much is at stake a good convention for John Kerry next week?

GREENFIELD: No, I think the parallel to Clinton is really telling in that you got another President Bush who the public doesn't seem overly in love with or considering replacing but they don't really know much about this guy. A third of the people for all that we have been covering this campaign really don't know much about Kerry. And there are some things that the Republicans have said and they actually stuck. Mostly the flip flop.

So this is why it matters. We're not going to be counting third ballot switches like our fathers and grandfathers and grandmothers might have done. But it really matters whether he is, particularly in the acceptance speech, whether he sets the tone that says maybe you won't fall in love with me but you will fall in like with me. You'll be confident.

BLITZER: I have been asked repeatedly, is Kerry worried? Is John Edwards worried that Bill Clinton speaks on the first night of this convention is going to upstage both of them?

GREENFIELD: I think the most damaging Monday night speech I can remember in convention history was Pat Buchanan's in '92 in Houston. Bush had been challenged by him in the primary. They had to give him a primetime speaking roll. He pushed former President Reagan out of prime time. It was a very polarizing speech.

Do they want Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton to get the spotlight? They had no choice. It's Monday. It's 72 hours before Kerry accepts the nomination. I don't think that's as big a concern as it might have been. Their real concern would have been if he did a fractious primary and there was somebody appealing to a whole different base. That didn't happen.

BLITZER: Our senior analyst Jeff Greenfield. You and I are going to be sitting out here with Judy Woodruff for hours and hours and hours.

GREENFIELD: Yes, we'll give free subscriptions to magazines. This looks like the old "TIME" magazine ads.

BLITZER: We are going to explain this new technology to our viewers when we come back. We'll take a quick break.

The site is set. All eyes focused on Boston right now. Up next, I'll take you on an inside tour of the Fleet Center, live, where all the action happens.

The countdown to the convention, continues.

Plus, is the U.S. losing the war on terror? One anonymous CIA official thinks so. Find out what he says is the greatest danger facing Americans right now. A live interview with him.

And scamming, your security. They get your data. You get duped. How to avoid becoming their next victim. Information you need to know. All that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Boston's Fleet Center hosts some 200 events each year ranging from supporting events to concerts. But right now it's politics and the Democrats' turn to show their stuff. Let's take a look around and see what is going on here right now. I'll take you on a little tour of this Fleet Center.

This is where we're going to be broadcasting from over the next several days. We're on the floor. This is really the first time that anchors are going to be allowed to broadcast right from the floor from the midst of the action. If you take a look in front of us. There's the podium. It's turned off right now but there's a huge plasma screen that's above the podium where the speakers are going to be making their presentation Thursday night.

John Kerry, Thursday night -- John Kerry will accept the Democratic nomination from that podium up there.

All the delegates are right here on the floor. Oregon right here in front of me. Michigan will be here. Delaware, Arizona, New Jersey. We're right in the middle. West Virginia is right behind us as is Arkansas.

Normally when you would see this kind of coverage you would see us anchoring from up there in the so-called sky booth, the boxes atop -- high atop these convention centers. In this particular case the Fleet Center. We still have our sky booth up there. Those are normally (UNINTELLIGIBLE) sealed soundproof studios that we all build up there. This time we have those, but we're going to be broadcasting from right down here from the floor. We have some new technology that we worked out. You can see these ear pieces that we have that really we can hear what is going on even in the midst of huge noise that will be coming from the floor. The decibel level will get intense. We'll be able to hear what is going on. We'll also be able to focus in and broadcast what is going on. We have these tiny little microphones.

The miniaturization of this technology is incredible. It will allow us to just stay here on the floor from this platform and bring to you all the latest news from this convention in the midst of even, even some incredibly loud noise that you will be sure will take place here at the convention. It's an experiment for all of us. We've tried to work out all the technical problems. I think we're moving in the right direction and we'll have a good convention coverage for you.

The politics certainly intense. It's a dead heat. As all the polls show a very, very tight race. Right now just a few days shy of this convention. Will the senator get a spike or will a bump go to Bush? Carlos Watson, our political analyst, he'll join me for the inside edge.

Not safe and not set. There's news that the word -- that we're following elsewhere from the convention, word that the 9/11 Commission would want to add a new intelligence agency to the U.S. government. I'll ask a veteran CIA officer and the author so-called Anonymous about what is going on.

And it's an odd attraction that made history 18 years ago. Now find out why this power plant is the newest must-see. We'll show you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

He's an active United States intelligence analyst. And he's critical of the U.S. war on terror. The author, his name Anonymous, at least for now, joins me live with his reaction to the 9/11 report. We can't show you his identity, but we'll speak with him live.

First, a quick check of stories now in the news.

Egyptian officials confirm a militant group is holding an Egyptian diplomat hostage in Iraq. Al-Jazeera television broadcast a videotape showing a man seated in front of six masked kidnappers. The group calls itself the Lion of Allah Brigade. It claims to have seized the man because of Egypt's offer to help Iraq in security matters.

Al-Jazeera also broadcast a videotape with new demands from kidnappers of seven foreign truck drivers in Iraq. A group called the Black Banners now says Kuwait and the employer of the drivers pay families of those killed in Fallujah within 48 hours and that all those held in American prisons be released.

The Pentagon today released payroll records from President Bush's service in the Texas National Guard in 1972. Earlier this month, the Pentagon had said the records had been inadvertently destroyed. They could clear up questions over whether the president fulfilled his service requirements during the Vietnam War. They do not appear to show any payments to Mr. Bush for the third quarter of 1972, while he was in Alabama.

But the White House had already said that Bush did not perform service in that time period. The White House says the newly found records confirm the president completed his military service.

Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

Officials say the intelligence community has fairly specific information that al Qaeda is planning something, something against the United States. They say the threat is just as serious now as it was in the weeks before 9/11.

Joining us now from Washington is a top CIA counterterrorism expert. His latest book, entitled "Imperial Hubris," argues that the U.S. is losing the war against al Qaeda. At the CIA's insistence, this official is known only as Anonymous. We can't show you his face. That's why you're not seeing it.

Thanks very much, Anonymous, for joining us.

What do you make of the recommendations, at least the recommendation to restructure the U.S. intelligence community put forward by the 9/11 Commission?

ANONYMOUS, AUTHOR, "IMPERIAL HUBRIS": Mr. Blitzer, that will have to be decided by certainly more senior people than I am.

But I have never known a dysfunctional bureaucracy to be made much better by making it bigger. So I'm kind of from Missouri on that one until I see what the specific proposals are.

BLITZER: Well, they have some specific proposals, namely creating this intelligence czar, a super director that would oversee all 15 intelligence gathering agencies of the U.S. government right now. Is that a good idea?

ANONYMOUS: My own opinion is, it would just make it easier for the various component chiefs of the intelligence community to wait out that person in office and wait for his successor to arrive. The senior leadership of the intelligence community is pretty expert at that at the moment.

BLITZER: What do you think is the major threat right now to the United States from Islamist terrorists?

ANONYMOUS: I think the major threat is our failure to realize their motivation or to accept at face value what they say they are fighting against.

We continue, as we have over the past 10 or 12 years, to argue that they are out to destroy our society, our democracy, our freedoms. And while they don't like any of those things, the genius of Osama bin Laden has been to focus the Muslim world on specific U.S. policies and policies which are interpreted across much of the Islamic world as being anti-Muslim.

BLITZER: Well, they started, al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, because U.S. troops were based on Saudi soil. That was the original grievance that they had. Is that right?

ANONYMOUS: Well, al Qaeda really started a few years before that in 1987 and in '88 in Afghanistan. It was meant to export -- exert trained insurgents to wherever Muslims were resisting governments around the world.

But you are absolutely correct. The break point for bin Laden came with occupation of Saudi Arabia, at least from his point of view, by U.S. and other Western forces.

BLITZER: Well, now that the U.S. is basically out of Saudi Arabia, the bases there have effectively -- at least the U.S. involvement effectively been shut down, by and large, is there another grievance that is driving them, in your analysis?

ANONYMOUS: Well, part of the problem with that particular claim by our government is that Muslims don't look really at the Arabian Peninsula state by state. The prophet's homeland was the Arabian Peninsula.

And so by moving from Saudi Arabia to Qatar, it really doesn't change the fact. We kind of pulled the wool over our own eyes by that movement. For most Muslims, the Americans continue to occupy the Arabian Peninsula.

BLITZER: A lot of analysts have suggested that al Qaeda, specifically Osama bin Laden, jumped on the Israeli-Palestinian issue rather late in the game and they have only come eventually to that, that that really hasn't been over the many years their main grievance with the West. But you tend to disagree with that.

ANONYMOUS: Yes, in terms of his own rhetoric on al Qaeda's intentions over the years, there's no water to be held by that concept. Bin Laden has been outspoken in terms of supporting Israel over the past -- or, I'm sorry -- opposing Israel and opposing U.S. policy toward Israel since at least 1979.

His writings and speeches and letters are replete with references to the Palestinian cause. The one problem bin Laden has had in terms of attacking the Palestinians is that there's no contiguous land to operate from. In essence, there is no Pakistan next to Israel. So there's no safe haven.

And the other point I make on that is, bin Laden really views Israel as kind of an outpost of the crusaders. And he's attempted to move the focus of the Islamic resistance groups away from Israel, away from individual Arab states and to attack the United States instead. He believes that if he drives the Americans out of that region, that the Arab countries and the governments of the Arab countries and Israel will just collapse of their own weight.

BLITZER: Did the war against Saddam Hussein in Iraq help or hurt the overall war against terror?

ANONYMOUS: In terms of Osama bin Laden, I wrote in the book it was a Christmas gift of really epic proportions, something that you would always ask your parents for, but you would never really expect to get.

Our invasion of Iraq really went a long way toward validating many of the claims he has made over the past decade. For example, he's always claimed that we intend to occupy any country that has oil in it in the Muslim world. And, of course, Iraq has the second largest reserves. He's also said that we were ready and able and willing to smash any Muslim government that tried to defy the United States, and certainly we took Saddam apart.

And he's always claimed that we would smash any entity that threatened Israel or blocked the expansion of Israel. And so in many ways the invasion of Iraq was made to order as validation for his rhetoric, not validation from the Western point of view. But to his listeners in the Muslim world, the claims he made were largely validated by that action.

BLITZER: We only have 10 seconds. Another news organization has published your name. I wonder if you want to react to that?

ANONYMOUS: I wish it hadn't happened, sir. I asked to publish the book in my true name. I was denied that permission. But I have given my word on that. And so I will remain anonymous, though it is becoming a bit on the farcical side.

BLITZER: Anonymous, thanks very much for joining us.

ANONYMOUS: A pleasure, sir. Thank you.

BLITZER: An extremely tight presidential race. Will the Democratic Convention give Senator Kerry a boost? Carlos Watson, he joins us live with "The Inside Edge."

And security breech, a scam disguised as an e-mail from your bank. Could you be the next victim?

Plus, homeporting for the first time. The USS Ronald Reagan sails into San Diego Bay with Nancy Reagan on board. We'll show you that.

First, though, a look at some other news, headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): The Turkish government says excessive speed caused yesterday's deadly train derailment. However, critics say the government has ignored warnings that old train tracks were not designed to handle the new express train. Authorities now say the crash killed 36 people and injured 81 others.

Deadly floods. Officials in China say almost 400 people have been killed and 200,000 homes destroyed in widespread flooding in the southern part of the country. Stayed media report that torrential rains are expected to shift to the north, which has suffered from drought conditions for years.

Hot tourists site. Ukraine is pushing the Chernobyl nuclear power plant as a must-see tourist attraction. Because of high radioactivity, visitors aren't allowed inside the plant grounds. Site of the world's worst nuclear accident, the plant was closed four years ago.

Christmas in July. Santas from around the world gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark, for 41st World Santa Congress. The event kicked off with a snowshoe race and a down-the-chimney competition.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: John Kerry has the Democratic presidential nomination all sewn up, but he'll still have a lot at stake at the convention here in Boston next week.

Joining us now to talk about that, our political analyst Carlos Watson.

What does he need to do, Carlos, to emerge from this convention successfully?

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: A couple big things, Wolf.

Remember, about out of three voters still say they don't know enough about John Kerry. And so for them, I think John Kerry showing himself in a much broader light, not just Vietnam vet and senator, but college athlete, father of two daughters, prosecutor, former Iran- Contra investigator, I think that is very important. Maybe even he adds an Al Gore-like touch and there's a kiss.

Also important here I think is to offer a very clear theme and a compelling agenda. Remember, Bill Clinton's was a new covenant or a new Democrat. George W. Bush talked about being a compassionate conservative. And a number of years ago, we heard about a New Deal from FDR. I think it's very important that not just political junkies, like you and me, but everyday people who aren't paying attention to this election know what he stands for.

And, ultimately, when all is said and done, what John Kerry needs out of this race -- or out of this convention, rather, is an eight- to 10-point lead, when all is said and done. Today, as you know, the race is very close, probably the closest race going into a presidential convention in half a century. And if he were able to open up an eight- to 10-point lead, that would be his biggest lead in the race since March, put him in a very good position going into the fall.

BLITZER: Do you think there will be some surprises here or will it be ho-hum?

WATSON: Well, I don't think you will the kind of Ross Perot drops out of the race or in this case Ralph Nader drops out of the race kind of major surprise.

And, certainly, everyone hopes that there won't be the kind of terrorist worries that we have. But I think a couple things could happen. One, I think Al Sharpton could steal the show, so not Bill Clinton, not John Kerry, not even John Edwards. But the speech that people may be talking about a week or two from now may be Al Sharpton's speech on Wednesday.

No. 2, I think don't be surprised if John Kerry comes in here and makes a much stronger, much more combative speech on national security and terrorism issues than we've heard so far. So far, what many voters, particularly swing voters, know about him suggest that he's a guy who wants to cooperate with our international partners.

But don't be surprised if he takes a harder JFK-like stance, going back to 1960, and tries to establish himself as more of a hawk.

BLITZER: President Bush is going to be in Crawford, I guess, taking it easy over these coming days, giving the stage to the Democrats. Smart or not so smart?

WATSON: Well, taking it easy only on the surface. You know, the Republicans have moved their war room, meaning their rapid-response team, up to Boston and will be there and ready to respond in many ways.

And as soon as this convention is over, remember that Republicans are going to do several things. One, they will continue some very serious attacks on John Kerry, both through television and other means. No. 2, the president is going to begin to lay out his agenda in a major way. Remember, several weeks ago, we said on this program that -- expect a major health care announcement.

And sure enough, it looks like that is ultimately going to emerge. And then last but not least, one of the things I expect in the next month is, during the Olympics, while there's a lot of national pride, expect President Bush to use this to rally the American people and to show that in fact we can cooperate with our partners and to use that international stage, if you will, to help him here in the national polls.

So all of those things I think will happen as this convention comes to an end.

BLITZER: Carlos Watson of course will be a key player during all of CNN's coverage of this convention.

Carlos, thanks very much. We'll look forward to seeing you here in Boston. WATSON: Good to see you.

BLITZER: Emotional confrontation. A family reacts to rumors surrounding the husband of a missing pregnant woman.

Plus, how and you your computer may unknowingly help criminals clean out your bank account. This is information you need to know.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The father-in-law of a missing pregnant Utah woman confronts his son. That story tops our "Justice Report."

Mark Hacking's father told reporters he asked his son if he had anything to do with his wife's disappearance. He says Hacking looked him in the eye and said no. Lori Hacking vanished Monday. Her husband checked into a psychiatric hospital the next day.

Sentencing for the star witness against Martha Stewart. Her broker's assistant, Douglas Faneuil, was fined $2,000 for his role in the stock trade that led to Stewart's obstruction of justice conviction.

They're on a phishing expedition. Criminals from around the world may just pop up in your computer, your home computer and threaten your financial security.

CNN's Brian Todd takes a look into this growing problem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You are at your home computer. You open up a benign looking e-mail apparently from the bank, looks like a typical form with a letterhead or logo. It asks you to update some personal information, give your Social Security number, confirm your account number or a password, sometimes with a warning that someone is trying to hack into your account. You cooperate. And you have been had.

IRA WINKLER, INTERNET SECURITY EXPERT: When you supply that data, then, unfortunately, it's been compromised.

TODD: The danger is often that e-mail is not your bank. It's a so-called phishing scam, phishing with a P-H, as they often spell in cyberworld, but in the traditional sense, criminals are phishing for your most vital information.

WINKLER: They can go ahead and make charges against your credit card information or commit identity theft since they have your Social Security number and just about everything else concerning your bank account information.

TODD: Ira Winkler, an Internet security expert who says he once worked with the National Security Agency, says tens of thousands of people have been victimized. (on camera): How do you know if you have gotten one of these e- mails? Well, two things to look out for are bad spelling and bad grammar.

Here's an example: "We recently noticed one or more attempts to log into your account from a foreign I.P. address. And we have reasons to believe that there was attempts to compromise it with brute forcing your pin number."

(voice-over): Who is sending them? Phishing scammers are all over the world, but many of the most damaging recent thefts are coming from Europe and Asia. The U.S. Secret Service is the lead agency investigating I.D. theft and, working with local authorities, recently arrested six suspects in Rumania. We got access to the Secret Service's Cybercrime Coordinating Center and spoke to Bruce Townsend, deputy assistant director of investigations.

BRUCE TOWNSEND, U.S. SECRET SERVICE: We're seeing traditional organized crime begin to have relationships with the hacker community and with a more technically savvy criminal element. We're beginning to see what some describe as the death of distance. These transnational crimes really challenge us to work around the world.

TODD: As for your bank, Townsend says several major American financial institutions have been breached. He wouldn't name them, but officials at Bank of America, Citibank, J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank One and the online auction service eBay all acknowledge to CNN they have had account holders who have been scammed by e-mails pretending to represent them. They all say they offer tips on their Web sites on how to protect yourself from scammers.

And the Secret Service adds this advice.

TOWNSEND: I would contact them and ask them how -- what type of authentication protocols? How should we communicate on line?

TODD: If you are victimized, officials say the first thing to do is notify your bank, but also file a report with your local police just to get it on record. As one law enforcement official told us, information is the world's new currency. Protect it and you're protecting your money.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Thanks very much, Brian. This is information you need to know.

The results of our Web question of the day, that's just ahead.

Plus, Nancy Reagan welcomes home the ship that carries her husband's name.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our Web question of the day. Take a look at these numbers. Remember, though, it's not a scientific poll.

A bittersweet homecoming for the USS Ronald Reagan, it's our picture of the day. Former first lady Nancy Reagan visited the new aircraft carrier as it pulled into home port in San Diego following its inaugural cruise. In her first appearance since the late president's funeral, she said -- and I'm quoting now -- "In my heart, I know he's looking down on us today and smiling."

Please stay with CNN for continuing live coverage of the Democratic National Convention here in Boston next week. Among my guests at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Senator Richard Durbin and former Senator Max Cleland. And please tune in Sunday for "LATE EDITION," the last word in Sunday talk. Among my guests then, I'll speak with the 9/11 Commission chairman, Thomas Kean, and the vice chairman, Lee Hamilton. Also, I'll speak with Chris Heinz as well. That's Sunday at noon Eastern.

Until then, thanks very much for joining us.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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 July 23, 2004 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(AUDIO GAP)
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: ... the city of Boston into an armed camp. But there are new concerns about a challenge to all the security, a possible attack against the news media during the Democratic Convention. Standby for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

Convention threat, unknown and homegrown. Is a domestic group planning attacks next week in Boston?

Dead heat. Kerry counts on a convention bounce while Bush says, don't count your chickens.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know plenty of politicians assume they have your vote, but did they earn it and do they deserve it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: We're still not safe, that's the warning from the 9/11 panel. What will the government do about it? I'll ask the veteran CIA official and author known as "Anonymous."

Phishing scams. They are targeting your computer and your bank accounts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you know if you have gotten one of these e-mails?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: We'll tell you how to stay off their hook.

ANNOUNCER: This a special edition of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, live from the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

BLITZER: Hello, we're live from Boston on the floor of the FleetCenter here in Boston. After the gavel drops Monday this will be the floor of the Democratic National Convention. We have a new angle. We're going to be anchoring from right here. Clearly inside they are stepping up the pace, getting ready for this convention and they are also stepping up the already tight security in light of a possible new security threat here in Boston. For that, let's turn right away to our national correspondent, Bob Franken.

Bob, what's going on?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you can hear, Wolf, from the audio checks there's a lot of noise as they get ready for the extreme large amount of noise that's going to come as the convention begins.

What they are hoping that the biggest amount of noise is inside and not outside.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (voice-over): The fondest hope for Democrats is that their message from inside the FleetCenter is not overwhelmed by what happens outside. And there is massive security to make sure that the big story is the political one.

On occasion, it gets real strict. Thousands of police, local, state and federal, visible and invisible, are turning Boston into "Fortress Boston." Much of Boston will simply be shut down. The major highway that has become the cities in and out artery will be closed to traffic around and during convention hours because it passes right by the FleetCenter. In fact, workers are being asked to stay home for the duration and a lot of business people are not happy about that at all.

The various protest groups are infuriated over what they call their holding pen, a fenced-in area across the street from the FleetCenter. The subway station at the site will be closed. Fences are going up around critical buildings and officials are working feverishly to identify threats before they become attacks. One of the latest, says the FBI, is unconfirmed intelligence that someone may be planning to attack the large camp of media trailers with incendiary devices.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: And they have already begun random searches of bags on the subway system in the city. As a matter of fact, Wolf, a law firm -- a legal team has gone to court to try and stop that. And officials -- security officials say that they hope that the biggest controversies are that kind of controversy.

BLITZER: All right. Let's hope for that. Thanks very much, Bob Franken.

Security very tight here in Boston. And as Bob just mentioned, along with convention delegates and the news media, protestors are converging on the city as well. Authorities say they are trying to balance the free speech rights of the demonstrators with security concerns heightened by the threat of terrorism.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): When you talk about political protests, the conversation almost always turns to the Democratic National Convention of 1968 when anti-war activists converged on Chicago. Some were spoiling for a fight and they got it.

In what a government study later characterized as a police riot, Chicago police went after activists and even reporters with billy- clubs and tear gas. Protesters chanted: "The whole world is watching." And it was on television. It would be 28 years before the city hosted another presidential nominating convention and by that time things had changed.

PAUL MCMASTERS, FIRST AMENDMENT CENTER: The conventions over the last few years have become fairly staid and predictable. It is sort of a lovefest in the sense that a lot of the key decisions are made about who to support and what issues to take up.

BLITZER: Convention protests are still with us, of course. Hundreds were arrested at the Republican Convention in Philadelphia and the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles four years ago. But these days, demonstrators often are confined to remote so-called free speech areas.

In Boston it's a 28,000 square foot lot surrounded by concrete barriers, steel fencing and razor wire. The ACLU is suing the city.

MCMASTERS: Well, the idea of a free speech zone is one of the most ironic names for a device that you can think of because it's really anathema to free speech because speech without an audience really doesn't mean much.

BLIZTER: Officials say the restrictions are necessary, especially in the post-9/11 era when terrorist threats are an everyday concern.

TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Credible, trustworthy sources, not terribly specific in terms of who, what, when and where; the targeting in an attempt to undermine the democratic process. Clearly part of that is the two conventions.

BLITZER: Political conventions no longer play a decisive role in the candidate selection process and even the tradition of fighting over platform planks appears to be fading into history. But as long as protesters continue to show up, the conventions will continue to be a venue for public debate. Free speech advocates say that's a tradition that should be cherished.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety provides planning and guidance to agencies across the state. Its secretary is Ed Flynn. He is joining us now to talk a little bit about convention security.

Thanks, Mr. Flynn, once again, for joining us. What can you tell us about this latest FBI warning that news media organizations potentially could be a target here? EDWARD FLYNN, EXEC. OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY: I think it's important to understand that we're working closely with our federal partners and following up in the investigation. But our information so far indicates that it's fairly limited to a small number of people. We've got an idea of whom we're looking for and we're not looking at a widespread threat perpetrated by truly dangerous individuals.

BLITZER: Are you looking at domestic American troublemakers, if you will, or are you looking at foreigners?

FLYNN: Yes. We're looking at people that are coming from the fringes of our protest groups who seem to have thought that it might be a good idea to target media vehicles and things of that nature.

BLITZER: I know there's a limit to what you can say, but based on what you can tell us, what are they thinking? What is their grievance?

FLYNN: Well, it's hard to really get to the nub of that quite frankly. And let's face it, it's counterintuitive, if you're a demonstrator you would want plenty of media coverage and plenty of media presence. So I wouldn't say it's from the more well-thought out wing of the protest movement.

BLITZER: So how concerned should we be?

FLYNN: I don't think you should be frightened. I think you should take logical and prudent precautions with your equipment. Make sure that you lock your vehicles and somebody is paying attention to them. But we're not looking at physical threats to correspondents.

BLITZER: There is some notion that because you are keeping the protesters, they say, penned into one area with barbed wire around it and all of that, that that is a source of their grievance and they want to make a statement.

FLYNN: Well, I think the most important statements will be made in places like Boston Common where it is easier to mobilize hundreds if not thousands of protesters. The media is going to fully cover every demonstrator that takes place. And I think free speech rights are going to be given full opportunity to be expressed. Our challenge here close to the site is to protect that site. And that means protecting the protestors as well. And that's lead to these limitations.

BLITZER: All right. So beyond the new threat to the news media from some fringe element, a domestic threat, is there any other credible information of other more serious threats?

FLYNN: Not at this time. But obviously it's a fluid environment, were monitoring it constantly. We have spent 18 months trying to plan for as many contingencies as we can. If new threats emerge we feel we are well-prepared to meet them.

BLITZER: Have you ever seen security this tight for a major gathering in the United States? FLYNN: No, it's unprecedented. It's certainly in the context of the post-9/11 world. This is the first nominating convention since 9/11. We understand we're functioning on a couple levels of security here. The First Amendment versus, you know, fringe group issue regarding protestors, and more importantly, the potential for international terrorism; certainly that's created the environment that you see before you.

BLITZER: First national nominating convention since 9/11.

FLYNN: That's correct.

BLITZER: It's a whole new world for all of us.

FLYNN: Absolutely.

BLITZER: Thanks very much.

FLYNN: Thank you.

BLITZER: Ed Flynn, the secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

To our viewers here is your chance to weigh in on the story. Our Web question of the day is this: "Is Boston prepared to handle security threats during the Democratic National Convention? You can vote right now. Go to cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results for you later in this broadcast.

Before John Kerry arrives here in Boston next week he's taking part in a campaign swing through four key battleground states. First stop Colorado, a state of personal significance to the senator. Our national correspondent Frank Buckley standing by live in Denver -- Frank.

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Wolf, significant to John Kerry because he was born here in Colorado, just outside of Denver in Aurora, Colorado, at Fitzsimmons Hospital.

John Kerry saying that he was actually born in the west wing in the west wing of Fitzsimmons. This is an important period, the preconvention period, for John Kerry in which he wants to introduce himself, especially to those undecided voters, those voters who haven't been paying particular attention to the campaign, John Kerry hoping that he can reach them on his own terms. Talk about himself in his own terms.

And as his campaign does their best, to ignite a passion about John Kerry, John Kerry is also talking about an issue that is already ignited passion among Democrats, to drive them out to the polls, and that is the war in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY, (D-MA) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'll tell you what else we value, we value strong military and strong alliances, so that no young American is ever put in harm's way, because we insisted on going it alone. In our...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BUCKLEY: Now as you said, Wolf, John Kerry hitting a number of battleground states on his way to the convention. From here John Kerry going to Iowa, then to Ohio, Florida after that, to Virginia, Norfolk, Virginia, a Navy town where John Kerry will talk about his war-time experience to emphasize his ability to lead. And then it's off to Pennsylvania before arriving in Boston -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Like almost everything else, the road to Boston for John Kerry so very carefully choreographed. Frank Buckley reporting for us in Denver. Thanks, Frank, very much.

President Bush's first stop today was a battleground state himself. He lost that state four years ago, namely Michigan. And he did what John Kerry did yesterday, addressed the Urban League Convention in Detroit. From there he traveled to his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

For more on the president's activities, we're joined now by our White House correspondent, Dana Bash -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, all eyes were on the speech, because the president just last week snubbed the NAACP. His aides saying they were simply too hostile toward him, too partisan. But this president has the worst showing among African- American voters since Barry Goldwater ran for president in 1964.

So, when he went before the National Urban League in Detroit today, he acknowledged that Republicans do have a lot of work to do, but he appealed to them to think outside the box.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm going to ask African-American voters to consider some questions. Does the Democrat party take African-American voters for granted? That's a fair question. I know plenty of politicians assume they have your vote. But do they earn it? And do they deserve it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, there have been some complaints in the African- American community that Senator Kerry has not done enough to reach out to them. And the Bush campaign is hoping to try to seize on that. They are also hoping that the president's policies, fiscal policies, some of them, and some of his stances on social issues, those are things he talked about today that will help him make inroads into the African-American community.

Now, the Kerry campaign notes John Kerry did speak both to the Urban League and the NAACP last week. And they call all this a blatant attempt to try to have some damage control, because of the NAACP flap. And they insist that the president's policies will not make African-Americans go towards him, instead, they insist they will turn African-American votes away from Mr. Bush -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Dana Bash at the White House. Thanks very much.

So, will it be a nail biter again? New polls from key battleground states show an extremely tight race. Will we see a repeat of the 2000 contest? We'll have the latest numbers for you.

Big bounce: The convention was key for Bill Clinton back in '92. Now John Kerry looks to the party's last success for some guidance.

An inside view: I'll take you on a first personal live tour of the Fleet Center here in Boston where all the convention action is about to take place.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: With his party's presidential nomination locked in, you might think next week's convention here in Boston is just a formality for John Kerry. But recent history shows the convention can help make or break a candidacy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM CLINTON, FRM. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I end tonight where it all began for me, I still believe in a place called hope.

BLITZER (voice-over): And with that, Bill Clinton emerged from the 1992 Democratic Party Convention at Madison Square Garden in New York with a ton of political momentum, enough to propel him to the White House and defeat an incumbent president named George Bush.

Now, another Democratic challenger wants to do exactly the same thing. And John Kerry is looking to Bill Clinton's 1992 convention playbook for guidance.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Bill Clinton's 1992 convention is the most successful convention on record. Until that convention, Bill Clinton was running behind, not only was he running behind. Not only was he running behind, he was running third going into the Democratic convention in '92. Ross Perot was first, George Bush was second. Clinton seemed hopeless. The convention turned everything around.

BLITZER: Kerry advisers recognize the carefully choreographed Clinton convention, helped introduce the then former Arkansas governor to a then still large chunk of the American public that didn't like President Bush, but was not yet ready to commit to Clinton.

Everything was scripted, including his walk to the convention from Macy's Department Store and his biographical film produced by his Hollywood friends, Harry Thomason and Linda Bloodworth Thomason. James Carville was Clinton's campaign manager.

JAMES CARVILLE, CNN CROSSFIRE: They had to connect Clinton's plan to his bio we knew people didn't know a lot about him and we also knew that if we connected the kind of man from hope and what his life experiences was we thought it would work pretty good and it did.

BLITZER: The Kerry team has been working for months preparing for this convention and, yes, there will be a slick Hollywood produced film that will tell his life story.

MICHAEL DUKAKIS, (D) FRM. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The race to the finish line begins.

BLITZER: The Kerry team is also studying the failed 1988 presidential campaign of another Massachusetts politician, Michael Dukakis. But for another reason: Dukakis emerged from his convention in Atlanta with a big bounce in the polls only to see it disappear in the subsequent weeks after George Bush's convention in New Orleans.

SCHNEIDER: A George Bush the I moved into the lead at the convention. Took it away from Dukakis and never lost it. How did he do it, by reminding voters that things were pretty good under Ronald Reagan. Why would you ever want to change?

BLITZER: The latest public opinion poll show this is race is still very much neck and neck well within the margin of error.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Let's take a look at the latest numbers showing just how tight this race is right now in a three-way contest among John Kerry, George W. Bush and Ralph Nader. The CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll of likely voters shows Kerry out in front by a single point.

The "Los Angeles Times" poll of registered voters in the battleground state of Florida finds Kerry and Bush at 45 percent each. With Nader added Bush has a one-point lead over Kerry with Nader the pick of only 2 percent of those questions.

The results are quite different in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. The "Los Angeles Times" poll shows Kerry with a 12- point lead over Bush. When Nader is added Kerry's lead drops two points.

Joining us now with his take on all of this our senior analyst Jeff Greenfield. When you take a look at this convention, the significance for it, the primetime speakers who have been lined up, I sense there's a difference that you see between what is going to happen here and what is going to happen in New York at the Republican convention.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: It is striking. The Republican key speakers are all moderates. Most of them pro-choice, pro-gay rights. Governor Pataki, Mayor Giuliani, Governor Schwarzenegger of California, John McCain is pro-life but clearly is not seen as a Bushie. He ran against him in 2000.

The speakers here are going to be Ted Kennedy, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House leader...

BLITZER: Jimmy Carter. GREENFIELD: Jimmy Carter. So there seems to be at the Democrats much less of an interest in reaching across to undecided voters than the Republicans. The most conservative speaker at the Republican convention is Zell Miller who happens to be a Democratic senator who has endorsed Bush. In fact, some conservatives in the Republican party are saying, hey, why don't we get Henry Hyde and some pro- lifers.

So it's a striking contrast.

BLITZER: Is it a sense that the Democrats want to energize their base and make sure they get out and vote and organize and don't just sit on their hands?

GREENFIELD: You know what? I think it may be more mundane than that. There are certain obligations. You have to have the former president. And Hillary is somebody who is going to introduce him.

You kind of have to have your last presidential candidate who did after all get a plurality of the popular vote. They are kind of boxed in on who they can present. But it does strike me -- maybe it's a sign either of misplaced or well placed confidence that they don't think they have to put more centrist Democrats in prime time.

BLITZER: You heard my little set-up piece. How much is at stake a good convention for John Kerry next week?

GREENFIELD: No, I think the parallel to Clinton is really telling in that you got another President Bush who the public doesn't seem overly in love with or considering replacing but they don't really know much about this guy. A third of the people for all that we have been covering this campaign really don't know much about Kerry. And there are some things that the Republicans have said and they actually stuck. Mostly the flip flop.

So this is why it matters. We're not going to be counting third ballot switches like our fathers and grandfathers and grandmothers might have done. But it really matters whether he is, particularly in the acceptance speech, whether he sets the tone that says maybe you won't fall in love with me but you will fall in like with me. You'll be confident.

BLITZER: I have been asked repeatedly, is Kerry worried? Is John Edwards worried that Bill Clinton speaks on the first night of this convention is going to upstage both of them?

GREENFIELD: I think the most damaging Monday night speech I can remember in convention history was Pat Buchanan's in '92 in Houston. Bush had been challenged by him in the primary. They had to give him a primetime speaking roll. He pushed former President Reagan out of prime time. It was a very polarizing speech.

Do they want Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton to get the spotlight? They had no choice. It's Monday. It's 72 hours before Kerry accepts the nomination. I don't think that's as big a concern as it might have been. Their real concern would have been if he did a fractious primary and there was somebody appealing to a whole different base. That didn't happen.

BLITZER: Our senior analyst Jeff Greenfield. You and I are going to be sitting out here with Judy Woodruff for hours and hours and hours.

GREENFIELD: Yes, we'll give free subscriptions to magazines. This looks like the old "TIME" magazine ads.

BLITZER: We are going to explain this new technology to our viewers when we come back. We'll take a quick break.

The site is set. All eyes focused on Boston right now. Up next, I'll take you on an inside tour of the Fleet Center, live, where all the action happens.

The countdown to the convention, continues.

Plus, is the U.S. losing the war on terror? One anonymous CIA official thinks so. Find out what he says is the greatest danger facing Americans right now. A live interview with him.

And scamming, your security. They get your data. You get duped. How to avoid becoming their next victim. Information you need to know. All that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Boston's Fleet Center hosts some 200 events each year ranging from supporting events to concerts. But right now it's politics and the Democrats' turn to show their stuff. Let's take a look around and see what is going on here right now. I'll take you on a little tour of this Fleet Center.

This is where we're going to be broadcasting from over the next several days. We're on the floor. This is really the first time that anchors are going to be allowed to broadcast right from the floor from the midst of the action. If you take a look in front of us. There's the podium. It's turned off right now but there's a huge plasma screen that's above the podium where the speakers are going to be making their presentation Thursday night.

John Kerry, Thursday night -- John Kerry will accept the Democratic nomination from that podium up there.

All the delegates are right here on the floor. Oregon right here in front of me. Michigan will be here. Delaware, Arizona, New Jersey. We're right in the middle. West Virginia is right behind us as is Arkansas.

Normally when you would see this kind of coverage you would see us anchoring from up there in the so-called sky booth, the boxes atop -- high atop these convention centers. In this particular case the Fleet Center. We still have our sky booth up there. Those are normally (UNINTELLIGIBLE) sealed soundproof studios that we all build up there. This time we have those, but we're going to be broadcasting from right down here from the floor. We have some new technology that we worked out. You can see these ear pieces that we have that really we can hear what is going on even in the midst of huge noise that will be coming from the floor. The decibel level will get intense. We'll be able to hear what is going on. We'll also be able to focus in and broadcast what is going on. We have these tiny little microphones.

The miniaturization of this technology is incredible. It will allow us to just stay here on the floor from this platform and bring to you all the latest news from this convention in the midst of even, even some incredibly loud noise that you will be sure will take place here at the convention. It's an experiment for all of us. We've tried to work out all the technical problems. I think we're moving in the right direction and we'll have a good convention coverage for you.

The politics certainly intense. It's a dead heat. As all the polls show a very, very tight race. Right now just a few days shy of this convention. Will the senator get a spike or will a bump go to Bush? Carlos Watson, our political analyst, he'll join me for the inside edge.

Not safe and not set. There's news that the word -- that we're following elsewhere from the convention, word that the 9/11 Commission would want to add a new intelligence agency to the U.S. government. I'll ask a veteran CIA officer and the author so-called Anonymous about what is going on.

And it's an odd attraction that made history 18 years ago. Now find out why this power plant is the newest must-see. We'll show you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

He's an active United States intelligence analyst. And he's critical of the U.S. war on terror. The author, his name Anonymous, at least for now, joins me live with his reaction to the 9/11 report. We can't show you his identity, but we'll speak with him live.

First, a quick check of stories now in the news.

Egyptian officials confirm a militant group is holding an Egyptian diplomat hostage in Iraq. Al-Jazeera television broadcast a videotape showing a man seated in front of six masked kidnappers. The group calls itself the Lion of Allah Brigade. It claims to have seized the man because of Egypt's offer to help Iraq in security matters.

Al-Jazeera also broadcast a videotape with new demands from kidnappers of seven foreign truck drivers in Iraq. A group called the Black Banners now says Kuwait and the employer of the drivers pay families of those killed in Fallujah within 48 hours and that all those held in American prisons be released.

The Pentagon today released payroll records from President Bush's service in the Texas National Guard in 1972. Earlier this month, the Pentagon had said the records had been inadvertently destroyed. They could clear up questions over whether the president fulfilled his service requirements during the Vietnam War. They do not appear to show any payments to Mr. Bush for the third quarter of 1972, while he was in Alabama.

But the White House had already said that Bush did not perform service in that time period. The White House says the newly found records confirm the president completed his military service.

Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

Officials say the intelligence community has fairly specific information that al Qaeda is planning something, something against the United States. They say the threat is just as serious now as it was in the weeks before 9/11.

Joining us now from Washington is a top CIA counterterrorism expert. His latest book, entitled "Imperial Hubris," argues that the U.S. is losing the war against al Qaeda. At the CIA's insistence, this official is known only as Anonymous. We can't show you his face. That's why you're not seeing it.

Thanks very much, Anonymous, for joining us.

What do you make of the recommendations, at least the recommendation to restructure the U.S. intelligence community put forward by the 9/11 Commission?

ANONYMOUS, AUTHOR, "IMPERIAL HUBRIS": Mr. Blitzer, that will have to be decided by certainly more senior people than I am.

But I have never known a dysfunctional bureaucracy to be made much better by making it bigger. So I'm kind of from Missouri on that one until I see what the specific proposals are.

BLITZER: Well, they have some specific proposals, namely creating this intelligence czar, a super director that would oversee all 15 intelligence gathering agencies of the U.S. government right now. Is that a good idea?

ANONYMOUS: My own opinion is, it would just make it easier for the various component chiefs of the intelligence community to wait out that person in office and wait for his successor to arrive. The senior leadership of the intelligence community is pretty expert at that at the moment.

BLITZER: What do you think is the major threat right now to the United States from Islamist terrorists?

ANONYMOUS: I think the major threat is our failure to realize their motivation or to accept at face value what they say they are fighting against.

We continue, as we have over the past 10 or 12 years, to argue that they are out to destroy our society, our democracy, our freedoms. And while they don't like any of those things, the genius of Osama bin Laden has been to focus the Muslim world on specific U.S. policies and policies which are interpreted across much of the Islamic world as being anti-Muslim.

BLITZER: Well, they started, al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, because U.S. troops were based on Saudi soil. That was the original grievance that they had. Is that right?

ANONYMOUS: Well, al Qaeda really started a few years before that in 1987 and in '88 in Afghanistan. It was meant to export -- exert trained insurgents to wherever Muslims were resisting governments around the world.

But you are absolutely correct. The break point for bin Laden came with occupation of Saudi Arabia, at least from his point of view, by U.S. and other Western forces.

BLITZER: Well, now that the U.S. is basically out of Saudi Arabia, the bases there have effectively -- at least the U.S. involvement effectively been shut down, by and large, is there another grievance that is driving them, in your analysis?

ANONYMOUS: Well, part of the problem with that particular claim by our government is that Muslims don't look really at the Arabian Peninsula state by state. The prophet's homeland was the Arabian Peninsula.

And so by moving from Saudi Arabia to Qatar, it really doesn't change the fact. We kind of pulled the wool over our own eyes by that movement. For most Muslims, the Americans continue to occupy the Arabian Peninsula.

BLITZER: A lot of analysts have suggested that al Qaeda, specifically Osama bin Laden, jumped on the Israeli-Palestinian issue rather late in the game and they have only come eventually to that, that that really hasn't been over the many years their main grievance with the West. But you tend to disagree with that.

ANONYMOUS: Yes, in terms of his own rhetoric on al Qaeda's intentions over the years, there's no water to be held by that concept. Bin Laden has been outspoken in terms of supporting Israel over the past -- or, I'm sorry -- opposing Israel and opposing U.S. policy toward Israel since at least 1979.

His writings and speeches and letters are replete with references to the Palestinian cause. The one problem bin Laden has had in terms of attacking the Palestinians is that there's no contiguous land to operate from. In essence, there is no Pakistan next to Israel. So there's no safe haven.

And the other point I make on that is, bin Laden really views Israel as kind of an outpost of the crusaders. And he's attempted to move the focus of the Islamic resistance groups away from Israel, away from individual Arab states and to attack the United States instead. He believes that if he drives the Americans out of that region, that the Arab countries and the governments of the Arab countries and Israel will just collapse of their own weight.

BLITZER: Did the war against Saddam Hussein in Iraq help or hurt the overall war against terror?

ANONYMOUS: In terms of Osama bin Laden, I wrote in the book it was a Christmas gift of really epic proportions, something that you would always ask your parents for, but you would never really expect to get.

Our invasion of Iraq really went a long way toward validating many of the claims he has made over the past decade. For example, he's always claimed that we intend to occupy any country that has oil in it in the Muslim world. And, of course, Iraq has the second largest reserves. He's also said that we were ready and able and willing to smash any Muslim government that tried to defy the United States, and certainly we took Saddam apart.

And he's always claimed that we would smash any entity that threatened Israel or blocked the expansion of Israel. And so in many ways the invasion of Iraq was made to order as validation for his rhetoric, not validation from the Western point of view. But to his listeners in the Muslim world, the claims he made were largely validated by that action.

BLITZER: We only have 10 seconds. Another news organization has published your name. I wonder if you want to react to that?

ANONYMOUS: I wish it hadn't happened, sir. I asked to publish the book in my true name. I was denied that permission. But I have given my word on that. And so I will remain anonymous, though it is becoming a bit on the farcical side.

BLITZER: Anonymous, thanks very much for joining us.

ANONYMOUS: A pleasure, sir. Thank you.

BLITZER: An extremely tight presidential race. Will the Democratic Convention give Senator Kerry a boost? Carlos Watson, he joins us live with "The Inside Edge."

And security breech, a scam disguised as an e-mail from your bank. Could you be the next victim?

Plus, homeporting for the first time. The USS Ronald Reagan sails into San Diego Bay with Nancy Reagan on board. We'll show you that.

First, though, a look at some other news, headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): The Turkish government says excessive speed caused yesterday's deadly train derailment. However, critics say the government has ignored warnings that old train tracks were not designed to handle the new express train. Authorities now say the crash killed 36 people and injured 81 others.

Deadly floods. Officials in China say almost 400 people have been killed and 200,000 homes destroyed in widespread flooding in the southern part of the country. Stayed media report that torrential rains are expected to shift to the north, which has suffered from drought conditions for years.

Hot tourists site. Ukraine is pushing the Chernobyl nuclear power plant as a must-see tourist attraction. Because of high radioactivity, visitors aren't allowed inside the plant grounds. Site of the world's worst nuclear accident, the plant was closed four years ago.

Christmas in July. Santas from around the world gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark, for 41st World Santa Congress. The event kicked off with a snowshoe race and a down-the-chimney competition.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: John Kerry has the Democratic presidential nomination all sewn up, but he'll still have a lot at stake at the convention here in Boston next week.

Joining us now to talk about that, our political analyst Carlos Watson.

What does he need to do, Carlos, to emerge from this convention successfully?

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: A couple big things, Wolf.

Remember, about out of three voters still say they don't know enough about John Kerry. And so for them, I think John Kerry showing himself in a much broader light, not just Vietnam vet and senator, but college athlete, father of two daughters, prosecutor, former Iran- Contra investigator, I think that is very important. Maybe even he adds an Al Gore-like touch and there's a kiss.

Also important here I think is to offer a very clear theme and a compelling agenda. Remember, Bill Clinton's was a new covenant or a new Democrat. George W. Bush talked about being a compassionate conservative. And a number of years ago, we heard about a New Deal from FDR. I think it's very important that not just political junkies, like you and me, but everyday people who aren't paying attention to this election know what he stands for.

And, ultimately, when all is said and done, what John Kerry needs out of this race -- or out of this convention, rather, is an eight- to 10-point lead, when all is said and done. Today, as you know, the race is very close, probably the closest race going into a presidential convention in half a century. And if he were able to open up an eight- to 10-point lead, that would be his biggest lead in the race since March, put him in a very good position going into the fall.

BLITZER: Do you think there will be some surprises here or will it be ho-hum?

WATSON: Well, I don't think you will the kind of Ross Perot drops out of the race or in this case Ralph Nader drops out of the race kind of major surprise.

And, certainly, everyone hopes that there won't be the kind of terrorist worries that we have. But I think a couple things could happen. One, I think Al Sharpton could steal the show, so not Bill Clinton, not John Kerry, not even John Edwards. But the speech that people may be talking about a week or two from now may be Al Sharpton's speech on Wednesday.

No. 2, I think don't be surprised if John Kerry comes in here and makes a much stronger, much more combative speech on national security and terrorism issues than we've heard so far. So far, what many voters, particularly swing voters, know about him suggest that he's a guy who wants to cooperate with our international partners.

But don't be surprised if he takes a harder JFK-like stance, going back to 1960, and tries to establish himself as more of a hawk.

BLITZER: President Bush is going to be in Crawford, I guess, taking it easy over these coming days, giving the stage to the Democrats. Smart or not so smart?

WATSON: Well, taking it easy only on the surface. You know, the Republicans have moved their war room, meaning their rapid-response team, up to Boston and will be there and ready to respond in many ways.

And as soon as this convention is over, remember that Republicans are going to do several things. One, they will continue some very serious attacks on John Kerry, both through television and other means. No. 2, the president is going to begin to lay out his agenda in a major way. Remember, several weeks ago, we said on this program that -- expect a major health care announcement.

And sure enough, it looks like that is ultimately going to emerge. And then last but not least, one of the things I expect in the next month is, during the Olympics, while there's a lot of national pride, expect President Bush to use this to rally the American people and to show that in fact we can cooperate with our partners and to use that international stage, if you will, to help him here in the national polls.

So all of those things I think will happen as this convention comes to an end.

BLITZER: Carlos Watson of course will be a key player during all of CNN's coverage of this convention.

Carlos, thanks very much. We'll look forward to seeing you here in Boston. WATSON: Good to see you.

BLITZER: Emotional confrontation. A family reacts to rumors surrounding the husband of a missing pregnant woman.

Plus, how and you your computer may unknowingly help criminals clean out your bank account. This is information you need to know.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The father-in-law of a missing pregnant Utah woman confronts his son. That story tops our "Justice Report."

Mark Hacking's father told reporters he asked his son if he had anything to do with his wife's disappearance. He says Hacking looked him in the eye and said no. Lori Hacking vanished Monday. Her husband checked into a psychiatric hospital the next day.

Sentencing for the star witness against Martha Stewart. Her broker's assistant, Douglas Faneuil, was fined $2,000 for his role in the stock trade that led to Stewart's obstruction of justice conviction.

They're on a phishing expedition. Criminals from around the world may just pop up in your computer, your home computer and threaten your financial security.

CNN's Brian Todd takes a look into this growing problem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You are at your home computer. You open up a benign looking e-mail apparently from the bank, looks like a typical form with a letterhead or logo. It asks you to update some personal information, give your Social Security number, confirm your account number or a password, sometimes with a warning that someone is trying to hack into your account. You cooperate. And you have been had.

IRA WINKLER, INTERNET SECURITY EXPERT: When you supply that data, then, unfortunately, it's been compromised.

TODD: The danger is often that e-mail is not your bank. It's a so-called phishing scam, phishing with a P-H, as they often spell in cyberworld, but in the traditional sense, criminals are phishing for your most vital information.

WINKLER: They can go ahead and make charges against your credit card information or commit identity theft since they have your Social Security number and just about everything else concerning your bank account information.

TODD: Ira Winkler, an Internet security expert who says he once worked with the National Security Agency, says tens of thousands of people have been victimized. (on camera): How do you know if you have gotten one of these e- mails? Well, two things to look out for are bad spelling and bad grammar.

Here's an example: "We recently noticed one or more attempts to log into your account from a foreign I.P. address. And we have reasons to believe that there was attempts to compromise it with brute forcing your pin number."

(voice-over): Who is sending them? Phishing scammers are all over the world, but many of the most damaging recent thefts are coming from Europe and Asia. The U.S. Secret Service is the lead agency investigating I.D. theft and, working with local authorities, recently arrested six suspects in Rumania. We got access to the Secret Service's Cybercrime Coordinating Center and spoke to Bruce Townsend, deputy assistant director of investigations.

BRUCE TOWNSEND, U.S. SECRET SERVICE: We're seeing traditional organized crime begin to have relationships with the hacker community and with a more technically savvy criminal element. We're beginning to see what some describe as the death of distance. These transnational crimes really challenge us to work around the world.

TODD: As for your bank, Townsend says several major American financial institutions have been breached. He wouldn't name them, but officials at Bank of America, Citibank, J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank One and the online auction service eBay all acknowledge to CNN they have had account holders who have been scammed by e-mails pretending to represent them. They all say they offer tips on their Web sites on how to protect yourself from scammers.

And the Secret Service adds this advice.

TOWNSEND: I would contact them and ask them how -- what type of authentication protocols? How should we communicate on line?

TODD: If you are victimized, officials say the first thing to do is notify your bank, but also file a report with your local police just to get it on record. As one law enforcement official told us, information is the world's new currency. Protect it and you're protecting your money.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Thanks very much, Brian. This is information you need to know.

The results of our Web question of the day, that's just ahead.

Plus, Nancy Reagan welcomes home the ship that carries her husband's name.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our Web question of the day. Take a look at these numbers. Remember, though, it's not a scientific poll.

A bittersweet homecoming for the USS Ronald Reagan, it's our picture of the day. Former first lady Nancy Reagan visited the new aircraft carrier as it pulled into home port in San Diego following its inaugural cruise. In her first appearance since the late president's funeral, she said -- and I'm quoting now -- "In my heart, I know he's looking down on us today and smiling."

Please stay with CNN for continuing live coverage of the Democratic National Convention here in Boston next week. Among my guests at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Senator Richard Durbin and former Senator Max Cleland. And please tune in Sunday for "LATE EDITION," the last word in Sunday talk. Among my guests then, I'll speak with the 9/11 Commission chairman, Thomas Kean, and the vice chairman, Lee Hamilton. Also, I'll speak with Chris Heinz as well. That's Sunday at noon Eastern.

Until then, thanks very much for joining us.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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