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Portion of U.S. Report on Terror Risk Declassified; Spy Row Fuels Tension Between Russia, West

Aired July 17, 2007 - 12:00   ET

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

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: "Persistent and revolving." Those troubling words from a report addressing the terror threat in the United States.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Next move. Russia prepares to respond to Britain's expulsion of its diplomats in an increasingly bitter feud over the murder of a former spy.

CLANCY: Milestone. The Dow industrials go atop 14,000 for the first time.

CHURCH: And politics for the YouTube generation. Supporters of two leading presidential candidates have a face-off of sorts in cyberspace.

It's noon on Wall Street, in New York, 8:00 p.m. in Moscow.

Hello and welcome to our report broadcast all around the globe.

I'm Rosemary Church.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.

From New York to Nairobi, Moscow to Mumbai, wherever you're watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

All right. We want to begin by bringing you up to date with that deadly blast that we've been following as details have emerged in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

CHURCH: Now, what we know so far, police are telling CNN at least four people have been killed. That was when a powerful explosion rocked Islamabad.

CLANCY: The country has seen a surge in violence since government forces stormed a hard-line mosque in Islamabad. Unclear if these events are connected. This blast apparently takes place at a rally, or at least an address that was to be given by the supreme court justice who was removed and charged with corruption by President Musharraf's government.

CHURCH: That's right. And we're actually looking at pictures now.

These are -- these just came in a very short time ago, actually. Not long after that blast took place. So what we're knowing, very sketchy details at this point, Jim, aren't they?

We know that four people have died. It took place at that rally. But we don't really know the nature of this explosion. But we'll certainly keep an eye on this story as it evolves and bring the details to you.

All right. Now to the U.S. terror report.

A small portion of it was declassified just a sort time ago. And the assessment, al Qaeda is resurgent and poses a renewed threat to the United States.

CLANCY: That's right. Though the report states that the terror group is not as strong as it was before the September 11th attacks, we should note the report specifically notes Al Qaeda in Iraq, separate from Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda that was originally in Afghanistan, now believed to be on the border with Pakistan. But also considers Iraq a potential threat.

CHURCH: That's right. And we're covering this story across the globe.

Kelli Arena is standing by in Washington with the details of the report. And Michael Ware is in Baghdad.

First to Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're right. You know, Jim used the words before. It is a persistent and evolving threat against the United States, and al Qaeda, of course, being the biggest factor there, according to intelligence officials, who say that al Qaeda does remain intent on hitting the United States and hitting it big, trying to get its hands on chemical, biological, radiological weapons, and trying to get operatives inside the United States to carry out those attacks.

We just heard from the homeland security adviser to the White House, Fran Townsend. Here's how she sums it up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRAN TOWNSEND, PRESIDENTIAL ASSISTANT FOR HOMELAND SECURITY: We are facing a persistent terrorist enemy led by al Qaeda that remains driven and intent on attacking the homeland and that continues to adapt and improve its capabilities. Our greatly increased worldwide counterterrorism efforts since September the 11th have constrained the ability of al Qaeda to attack the U.S. again and have led terrorist groups to view the homeland as a harder target to strike than it was on 9/11.

Our worldwide counterterrorism efforts over the past five years have helped disrupt a number of plots against the U.S.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARENA: But coming off of that, though, it's very important to note that intelligence officials say that over the past 18 to 24 months, they've seen a significant change for al Qaeda, and that is its establishment of a very safe haven along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, where it's been able to reconstitute itself, where senior leadership, including Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, have opened up lines of communication with the field once again.

They do believe that both of those men are in that area. They're not sure exactly how many times they cross over the border or move at all, but it is the general consensus that that is the part of the world where they are.

And you did mention Iraq and that did come up in a big way. And basically, the report says that al Qaeda central, we'll call it, will try to leverage its relationship with Al Qaeda in Iraq, in terms of the contacts that it's made, the capabilities that it's establishing because it's had a lot of practice in Iraq, the fundraising mechanisms that it's been able to set. And there is a concern that when it does leverage that relationship, it could use that to attack in the United States.

CHURCH: All right. Kelli Arena with that report -- Jim.

CLANCY: And as Kelli was talking about there, Al Qaeda in Iraq gaining new significance. Let's get some more on that threat, that part of it, at least.

Let's turn now to CNN's Michael Ware, joining us live from Baghdad.

What do you make of that analysis there? Some people would say that it's a definite grasp for the obvious.

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, from what I've seen of the national intelligence estimate, the thrust of it is right in the sense that, is al Qaeda stronger globally and particularly here in Iraq, as a direct result of the American war? Yes, absolutely.

Is al Qaeda the blooding ground, the training ground for the next generation of al Qaeda? Bolder, more brutal, more determined than the generation that we saw come out of Afghanistan after the Soviet war and the generation that actually attacked U.S. soil? Yes, again, absolutely. This is the blooding ground.

But drawing that direct link between Al Qaeda in Iraq right now and attacks on the U.S. homeland is the thing that raises one's cynicism. I mean, we saw President Bush in his most recent address on Iraq try to shift the focuses of war or the public attention of the war back to al Qaeda, repeatedly referring to Al Qaeda in Iraq as "those who attacked America."

He was clearly making an appeal to America's most familiar and tangible fear, that being al Qaeda and the strife in New York and D.C. But Al Qaeda in Iraq lacks the capability to launch that direct attack. So you have to be weary of people using spin to re-craft the body of this report. But, is it true that should there be another 9/11, should such a terrible day comes, is there a greater chance now that there will be an Iraqi among the 19? That part of the plot will be hatched in Iraq? Absolutely.

But what's most dangerous is the idea of Iraq. The bombers in London have no connection to Iraq, but cited it as one of their primary justifications for launching their attacks. There's the real threat of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

CLANCY: Well, and the real threat of the whole Iraq experience for a lot of the jihadists that are there, what kind of training, what kind of experience have they had that they could carry outside of the country and pose a threat not only in the United States, but elsewhere?

WARE: We've already seen the export of their expertise and experience within this region, Jim. I mean, we saw the attacks, the bombings at hotels in neighboring Jordan which were conducted by Zarqawi's organization, his brand of al Qaeda, the late al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Now, there's generally two types of foreign fighters in broad terms that come. One group are the cannon fodder, these ideologically, religiously-inspired young men who come to die. Now, they're they ones who strap themselves to the wheels of a car bomb and plunge it into a U.S. patrol.

But there's an older, more seasoned guard. These are the guys who come in and command the operations who are here to fight.

Are they ready to die? Absolutely. But they'll finish a six- month tour, a 12-month tour of Iraq just like an American soldier and return to their home bases.

There, they have a whole new cache. They have a whole new magnetism. And they use their experiences of saying, I was there, I fought America, I killed Americans to recruit, to gain money and to extend their operations.

CLANCY: All right. Some important words coming -- and perspective there coming from our own correspondent there in Baghdad, Michael Ware.

Michael, as always, thanks you very much.

It adds a lot really to the national intelligence estimate that you have. You see -- as they express it, words -- and Michael puts it into perspective there -- just how all of this is working and how the threat is developing.

CHURCH: That's right.

We've been covering that story, but another important story we've been monitoring, we want to go to the festering dispute between Russia and Britain that's fraying diplomatic ties more and more every day. Some call it their worst relations since the Cold War.

CLANCY: Well, Russia taking another step in the back-and-forth feud now, saying it's preparing "targeted" and "appropriate" -- its words -- a targeted and appropriate response to Britain's decision to expel four Russian diplomats.

CHURCH: That's right. Britain took that step to protest Moscow's refusal to extradite Andrei Lugovoi, the main suspect in the poisoning death in a former KGB agent.

CLANCY: Now, officials in Russia say Britain is effectively punishing the country for observing its own laws.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDER GRUSHKO, RUSSIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): In accordance with the Russian constitution, it is forbidden to deport Russian citizens, and we are not obliged to deliver up any of our citizens to any foreign authorities. We unfortunately cannot change this legal reality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: All right. The murder mystery full of so many twists and turns, it actually began unfolding right before our eyes, right here in our newscast late last year.

CHURCH: That's right. Let's look at that timeline.

On November 1st, former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko met Andrei Lugovoi at London's Millennium Hotel. Now, that's where British prosecutors say Lugovoi spiked his tea with radioactive polonium 210.

Later that day, Litvinenko is hospitalized.

CLANCY: All right. Then you move ahead a little bit.

November 11th, Litvinenko tells the BBC's Russian service that he's been poisoned. He also reveals he had been investigating the murder of another Kremlin critic, Anna Politkovskaya.

CHURCH: Now, then on November 21st, a toxicologist suggests Litvinenko is suffering from radiation poisoning.

CLANCY: And then on the 22nd of November, Litvinenko's condition deteriorates sharply. Russian intelligence services say it's not involved in his poisoning, but then the next day, November 23rd, Litvinenko dies.

CHURCH: Well, as a result, diplomatic bickering over the death of Alexander Litvinenko is only part of the tension brewing between Russia and the West. Disputes over military forces in Europe, as well as a proposed missile defense system, have put Russia's relationship with Western powers in a deep freeze.

Matthew Chance has more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The agonizing death of a Russian agent now poisoning diplomatic relations, too. The killing of Alexander Litvinenko and Moscow's refusal to extradite the prime suspect has plunged Britain and Russia into their worst crisis since the Cold War, underlining stark differences between them.

YEVGENY VOIK, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: There is a certain civilization gap between, you know, how Britain understands its rule of law and the security of its citizens and how Russia understands the security of other nations. And I believe in this situation, we could recall the Cold War, despite all of the people say no Cold War is feasible and there are no reasons.

CHANCE: Russia's standoff with Britain comes at a time of heightened tensions with the United States as well. A recent informal summit between the countries' leaders failing to smooth differences, particularly over U.S. plans to deploy elements of its missile defense system in Eastern Europe.

Last weekend, Russia pulled out of a key U.N. security pact meant to limit military forces on the continent. It was read as a strong protest.

In this age of a resurgent Russia, boosted by its oil wealth and led by Vladimir Putin, it seems frosty exchanges over Kosovo, over Iran, over anything else with the West are increasingly common. The Litvinenko standoff is just another example.

JONATHAN EYAL, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY STUDIES: It is not merely the disputes of American plans for missile defense in Europe. It is not about disputes about NATO enlargement (ph) to former communist countries, although these are very serious. But it is actually increasing evidence of Russian spying activities in various places.

The German intelligence services are complaining about this. And an increasingly obstructive attitude from President Putin himself. This does not come in isolation. It is part of a landscape of a considerable cooling in the relationship.

CHANCE: A landscape that for Russia and for the West promises a difficult and bumpy ride.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Hello, everyone. And welcome back CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY. CHURCH: We're covering the news that the world wants to know and giving you some perspective that goes a little deeper into the stories of the day.

Well, media mogul Rupert Murdoch is another step closer to taking over "The Wall Street Journal". The Journal reports Murdoch's News Corp. has reached an agreement to buy the newspaper's parent company, Dow Jones, for the original asking price of $5 billion. But the deal must still be approved by Dow Jones controlling shareholders, the Bancroft family. They're said to be sharply divided over the sale. A final decision could come next week.

CLANCY: Well, between the pending takeover there and the Dow hitting 14,000, it has been a very busy day in financial news.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

CLANCY: You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN.

Just ahead...

CHURCH: An inspected look at Iran as a public opinion survey shows that not everyone is marching in lockstep with the country's hard-line leader.

CLANCY: And then a bit later, in the wake of a U.S. outcry over tainted Chinese products, Beijing is forbidding some products from the United States.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Hello, everyone. Welcome back to all of you joining us from more than 200 countries and territories right around the globe, including here in the United States. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy.

CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. And here are some of the top stories we've been following: The death toll is rising for an explosion in Islamabad. Hospital sources say at least 10 people have now been killed and dozens more injured. It's unclear, though, what caused that blast. Police say it's happened at the site of an upcoming rally where the country's suspended chief justice was due to speak. He had not yet arrived, though.

CLANCY: A declassified report concludes that terrorist threat to the United States is persistent and evolving. The national intelligence estimate says Al Qaeda has rejuvenated itself somewhat, and is working to get operatives inside of the U.S. to stage an attack. The report says Al Qaeda also has a established a safe haven inside Pakistan, but has not reached operational levels that it enjoyed prior to the September 11 attacks.

CHURCH: Russia says it will take targeted and appropriate steps in response to Britain's expulsion of four Russian diplomats. The statement is part of a brewing diplomatic tussle over the poisoning death of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko.

Britain wants another former agent, Andrei Lugavoi (ph) extradited to face charges in that case.

CLANCY: We've been talking a lot about how this feud is straining diplomatic ties, but there could be some financial fallout as well. Russia and Britain have strong business links with investments between the two countries running into the billions. Jim Boulden explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BOULDEN, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When political relations fail between countries, economic sanctions often follow. But in these days of globalization, Russia and Britain depend on each other for critical business.

STEFAN WAGSTYL, "FINANCIAL TIMES": Many of the British business people traveling to Russia and offering business services of all kinds, work for and with these powerful Russians. So at some point, interfering with the activities of British companies, particularly those involved with business services in the broadest sense, will be harming and making life difficult for Russian groups also.

BOULDEN: British business was the top foreign investor into Russia last year, much of that money coming from deals announced earlier in the decade by BP and Shell for massive oil and gas projects. Shell's is the largest ever foreign investment into Russia, though both deals have seen overall control wrestled away by the Kremlin.

In 2005, total U.K. exports to Russia amounted to $3.8 billion. Beyond energy, British miners, banks, and brewers all are investing there. And British-made autos sell well. Russian exports to Britain totaled more than $10 billion, much in the critical natural gas market. And many Russian companies are now listing on the London stock market.

NICHOLAS REDMAN, ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT: All of these Russian companies have listed in London. There's a bunch more desperate to do so. This relationship will proceed and a deepening will proceed.

BOULDEN: And export figures don't tell the whole story, beyond the influx of Russian tourists, just walk around London, and you'll see Russia's elite buying up hotel's, pricey homes, and in 2003, the capitol's top football team.

There is also Russia's growing exile community. The billionaire Boris Barizofsky (ph) and the late Alexander Litvinenko, part of that.

(On camera): Some Russian experts are calling this city London- grad, because so many Russians are investing here. So even if there is some tit-for-tat, experts say that the business links are just too strong for any diplomatic row to break. Jim Boulden, CNN London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: An Iranian company has unveiled the country's first ever homegrown computer game. "Special Operation" was three years in the making, its creators say it aims to promote values like courage and loyalty. The game is based on the story of four Iranian diplomats kidnapped, who are kidnapped by Israelis forces back in 1982. Players must try to free them and two other Iranian characters.

CLANCY: Well, speaking of Iran, an Iranians, they're unhappy with the current leadership and they want to live in a free and open democracy. Aneesh Ramen has the results of a poll from a nation whose people want normal relations with the West, despite all the rhetoric of their leaders.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): If this is the image that comes to mind when you think of Iran, think again. There is another more moderate Iran, whose numbers outweigh those of the fundamentalist, saber-rattling crowds so often seen the streets.

In the first public opinion survey taken since President Ahmadinejad took office, more than two-thirds of Iranians polled say they favor normal relations with the United States. Four of every five Iranian polled favored allowing full inspections of their country's nuclear program in return for more international aid. And 61 percent of those polled oppose the current system of government. With 79 percent saying they support a democratic system. The poll was conducted in Farsi by telephone from outside of Iran by a bipartisan study group based in Washington.

KENNETH BALLEN, PRESIDENT, TERROR FREE TOMORROW: There's a lot of discontent. There's a lot of dissatisfaction. They want change. They want an opening to the West. They want a new life. And I've got to tell you I think they were brave in how they responded to us, which was give us -- we're telling you over the phone, we're very dissatisfied.

RAMAN: In a country rife with high unemployment and rising inflation, almost 90 percent of Iranian's polled said the economy is a very important priority for their government.

And over half faulted President Ahmadinejad for failing to keep a promise to put more money in people's pockets, but with parliamentary elections not slated until early 2008, and presidential elections two years away, there's little today that the moderate majority in Iran can do, beyond waiting with the rest of us to see what their government does next. Aneesh Raman, CNN, Cairo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, China is reacting to a number of cases of tainted products on several fronts. It's cracking down domestically, while at the same time accusing the foreign media of hyping the problem. And China is now suspending pork and poultry imports from some U.S. suppliers. John Vause reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The import ban by Chinese authorities has hit some of the biggest food producers in the U.S; pork and chicken from Tysons, Chicken feed from Sanderson Farms and Intervision Foods, spear ribs exported by Cargill meats, pig ears from Van Luin (ph) Foods, pork from AJC International and Triumph Sausages, all allegedly failed to pass inspection, according to officials, because of high levels of bacteria, pesticide residue, growth agents or unnecessary additives.

A month ago, nuts from California were impounded and health supplements and raisins from the U.S. turned away. All of this comes after a U.S. ban on Chinese products. Everything from tainted toothpaste to fish and shrimp contaminated by high levels of cancer- caution antibiotics.

WILLIAM HESS, CHINA ANALYST: China wants to appear to be equally powerful as the U.S. government here. But, again, this is really a case of, if you politicize what are small events, they turn into big events.

VAUSE: Big events like a possible big trade is dispute. Some analysts warn that food safety standards could be used as trade barriers, especially with the U.S. on track to smash last year's record-breaking trade deficit with China.

And officials here are talking tough. In the strongest language yet, the head of China's main food regulator has blamed media coverage for the crisis. "Some foreign media," he told the "China Daily", "especially those based in the u.s., wantonly reported on so called unsafe Chinese products. They are turning white to black."

While an editorial in the "People's Daily", mouth-piece of the Communist Party blamed foreign forces for, quote, "treating isolated cases as the whole, and maliciously attacking "Made in China.' "

RUSS MOSES, CHINA POLITICAL ANALYST: I think what you're seeing here is China being very concerned with its international image, to be sure. It's also very concerned that it doesn't appear weak.

VAUSE (on camera): On paper, legal experts say China is notorious for some of the toughest rules and regulations in the world. But enforcement can often be lax, but not now it seems. At least, not when it comes to exports from the United States. John Vause, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And a story from China also tops the check of other stories making news around the world.

CLANCY: That's right. And there is more controversy where a foreman from a kiln -- a brick factory in Chaunzi (ph) province was sentenced to life in prison on charges of intentional injury and unlawful detention. The slave labor scandal began last month after parents complained to authorities their children were working 18-hour days.

Another man was sentenced to death for the beating death of a mentally handicapped laborer. Some of the laborers were shown here, many of them looking emaciated and claiming to be very underpaid.

CHURCH: Well, officials are investigating possible radioactive leaks after an earthquake tipped over barrels of nuclear waste at a Japanese power plant. Fifty cases of malfunctions were reported at the plant after Monday's 6.6 magnitude quake, including fires, water and oil leaks, and damaged pipes.

CLANCY: The Australian rugby player kept complaining about a headache for more than three months, ever since a clash with an opponent that gave him a head wound that had to be stitched up. A visit to his doctor last week revealed a tooth still embedded to in his head. The player says he's wanting to give the tooth back if the owner still wants it.

CHURCH: Wow.

CLANCY: Ouch.

(LAUGHTER)

CHURCH: There's a surprise for you.

All right, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: And ahead this half hour, a long night ahead in the U.S. Senate, that's for sure. They're even rolling out the cots we understand, all in preparation for a planned filibuster over legislation involving U.S. troops in Iraq.

CHURCH: Then the latest in a barrage of humorous videos for the 2008 presidential campaign. This one features a bevy of beauties. And a pillow fight. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Hello, everyone. Welcome back. You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.

CHURCH: You certainly are. And we are seen live in more than 200 countries and territories right across the globe.

A gruesome story now out of Iraq. An Iraq military spokesman says 29 villagers were massacred in Diyala Province Monday. They were gunned down near the mainly Shiite city of Baqubah by men dressed in Iraqi military uniforms. The spokesman says 10 of the victims were mutilated so badly they can't even be identified. Officials believe the gunmen are Al Qaeda militants that escaped a recent security sweep.

CLANCY: The war takes many tolls, physical, emotional, financial, just ask some of Iraq's white collar unemployed. They had good jobs before the U.S. invasion, many of them, but as Frederik Pleitgen tells us, many now face a daily struggle just to make ends meet.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): "A few Iraqi dinars here, and there. The money is never enough," Mohammed Al-Temini says. An engineer by training, he now sells incense and rosewater for burial ceremonies in the holy city Shiite city, Najaf, because he has no other option.

MOHAMMED AL-TEMINI, UNEMPLOYED IRAQI: I now really have between $3 and $5 only. $5. All -- only $3. I am engineer.

PLEITGEN: A trained engineer with a wife and seven children to feed. Al-Temini can't find a better job because there are no jobs in Najaf, a situation so tragic and yet, so common in war-torn Iraq, where the ongoing violence is crippling the economy while economic despair fuels the insurgency.

The vicious cycle even officials at Iraq's labor ministry says it won't be broken soon.

"It is essential to defeat terrorism, there can never be any economic growth in this country if we can't defeat terrorism," this official says.

Iraq's estimated unemployment rate stands at a devastating 60 percent. And almost all professions are affected. And with no effective welfare system in place, many here try to get by any way they can.

For Al-Temini, that means walking the streets for more than 10 hours a day. When he comes home his economic hardship is ever present. Al-Temini says he's tired of having to fight for survival constantly.

TEMINI: My family also very tired. My family don't work. And have high price because no safety in Iraq. And all of the people of Iraq very, very tired now.

PLEITGEN: A tired man in a tired country. With no choice but to go on and hope to get by another day. Frederick Pleitgen, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, in the United States, the stage is set for a political showdown on Capitol Hill. Democrats are planning to keep the Senate up all night discussing the U.S. strategy in Iraq. But is it serious debate or political theater?

For more on the situation, we turn to Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider. And Bill, is this serious or how significant it is?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Oh, it's serious. Because the Democratic majority, which has a majority, but not enough to break a filibuster, that requires 60 votes. They're determined to embarrass the Republicans and put public pressure on them by exposing them for blocking a vote that would change the course of the war in Iraq.

That's what Democrats feel that they were elected to do. But the Republicans have a large enough minority to block that from happening. So Democrats are going to expose the Republican obstructionism, in their view, by holding an all-night filibuster.

CHURCH: What's going to be achieved, though, after this? And can we expect long-term effects from this debate?

SCHNEIDER: Well, what will be achieved is, they hope, some embarrassment on the part of the Republicans. Some public pressure. The Majority Leader Harry Reid said if the Republicans insist on blocking a change of course in Iraq, Democrats will give them an opportunity to explain this. Lots of opportunity to explain this. The idea is, they're going to force the Republicans to defend their position of blocking a change of course in Iraq.

Will it have an immediate impact? Probably not. I wouldn't expect it. But it can ratchet up the public pressure that much more.

CHURCH: Who then, is likely to come out of this looking good? We would think the Democrats, would that be the case?

SCHNEIDER: Well, it's not clear. Because people are going to look at this; they're going to think of this as shenanigans, as spectacle. If it doesn't result in any real change, if the issue cannot come to a vote, they'll say, Well, look at Congress, they can't get anything done.

That's why Democrats sorry frustrated. Democrats are taking the blame, public approval of the Congress is very slow. Why can't congress get anything done? And the Democrats are trying to use this to explain because the minority is blocking any action. But in the end, I think, Congress is going to look bad as a whole.

CHURCH: What's the Republican strategy going to be? Will they turn up?

SCHNEIDER: I think they'll turn up. And some will eloquently defend their position, as much as they can. But they are also going to use their time on the floor, this evening, all night long, to try to say that this is nothing but a stunt.

I should add, this is something -- when the Republicans were in the majority, they did this, too. They did this about three and a half years ago, when they accused the Democratic minority of obstructionism for blocking votes on some of President Bush's judicial nominees.

So, it's been done by both sides but it isn't done very often these days.

CHURCH: Bill, you say it's serious, but there is an element of theater here, isn't there?

SCHNEIDER: Well, there is, but theater is real in politics. Because the fact is the public is intensely frustrated and Democrats are trying to ratchet the pressure up on the Republican minority by staging this event, so people will see exactly what's going on in Congress.

CHURCH: All right, our Bill Schneider. Thanks so much for that. I appreciate it.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

CLANCY: All right, shaming them, publicly. Some say in politics all publicity is good publicity.

CHURCH: That's right. But a few of the U.S. presidential candidates have shied away from some of their more, should we say, provocative supporters?

CLANCY: That's right. We've got to show you this one. Ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY political video vixens, they're making a big slash online by standing by their man, or woman. You're watching CNN. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Now, you might recall, we first met the "Obama Girl" when she sang her support for the U.S. presidential candidate.

CLANCY: Then, we introduced you to another young lady, singing her praise for Hillary, remember that?

CHURCH: We did.

CHURCH: Well, now the "Obama Girl" is back and she's got more competition.

CLANCY: Jeanne Moos brings us an Internet phenomenon involving singing girls, a pillow fight.

CHURCH: And men from both political parties. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The first one sure clicked with the public.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got a crush on Obama.

MOOS: So now Obama booty shorts butt-heads with Rudy's booty in a sequel.

CHORUS: You're from the GOP --

CHORUS: Obama --

CHORUS: Take it to the streets.

CHORUS: Obama. CHORUS: Shake it to the street.

MOOS: Hey, if there been a Spider Man 3, why not an Obama Girl 2?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (SINGING): Everybody get up on the floor, if it's Giuliani you adore, I'm gonna be wife number four. He warms my globe just like Al Gore --

MOOS: Cute but still cheesy wrote one critiquer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, I think we're going for cute and cheesy, yeah.

AMBER LEE ETTINGER, MUSIC VIDEO PERFORMER: Cute and cheesy, that's the look.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sounds about right.

MOOS: Ben Morales helped create both videos and Amber Lee Ettinger co-stars in them.

(on camera): You didn't bring your booty shorts, but the next best thing.

ETTINGER: Yes, next best thing, my business suit.

MOOS: Business was so good on their website, Barelypolitical.com that it temporarily crashed just after the new video debuted.

SINGER: Obama can't rep the American flag --

SINGER: Nothing is worse than Giuliani in drag.

MOOS: The Giuliani Girl is played by a model they found on a website for models.

SINGER: Giuliani --

SINGER: Obama --

SINGER: Giuliani --

SINGER: Obama, oooh! --

MOOS: Eventually Obama Girl and Giuliani Girl end up in a pillow fight.

ETTINGER: Actually, the Giuliani girl was like, Amber, stop it, you're hitting me too hard.

MOOS: The Giuliani campaign had no comment on the new video. Just as the Obama campaign had no comment on the original video. Just as the Hillary Clinton campaign wouldn't comment on "Hot for Hill. A girl-likes-girl video unrelated to the other team.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Help me, I think I want you --

MOOS: The creators of the Obama versus Giuliani girl video say they were aiming for balance. Sure seems like Obama girl gets off most of the zingers.

SINGER: Giuliani is like a Ronald Reagan.

SINGER: I knew Reagan and you're no Reagan.

SINGER: Obama should be out like Tony Blair

SINGER: Rudy has less a chance than hair.

MOOS: Some who take their politics seriously were unamused. Calling the video shallow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think so. I don't think it trivializes it any more than "The Daily Show" or "Saturday Night Live".

SINGER: Giuliani Girl just stop your fussin', at least Obama didn't marry his cousin.

MOOS: Actually it was his second cousin, once removed, who is counting cousins amid the battle of the booties. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: I love it.

CLANCY: Yeah. Presented all in the interest of fairness and balance.

CHURCH: That's what we're all about. Well, that's it for this hour. I'm Rosemary Church.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. This is CNN.

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