NBC Nightly News open - 2004-11-20

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] failure. A deal on the 9/11 intelligence

[0:02] reform bill collapses on Capitol Hill.

[0:05] What's next for the war on terror?

[0:08] Battleground Iraq. Urgents launch

[0:11] multiple attacks throughout Baghdad and

[0:13] the country.

[0:16] Nuclear dangers. The president calls for

[0:19] world support

[0:22] expands as the holiday shopping season

[0:24] begins.

[0:33] NBC Nightly News with John Seanthaler.

[0:36] >> Good evening everyone. It was supposed

[0:37] to be a measure that would address the

[0:39] recommendations of the 9/11 Commission

[0:41] and it would have been the most sweeping

[0:43] overhaul of the nation's intelligence

[0:45] agency since its creation. But today,

[0:48] the deal collapsed on Capitol Hill,

[0:49] leaving questions about whether Congress

[0:51] can ever find a way to address the

[0:53] concerns about the war on terror. NBC's

[0:56] Chip Reed is on the Hill tonight with

[0:57] that story. Good evening, Chip.

[0:59] >> Good evening, John. Congress was so

[1:01] close to clinching a deal on the 9/11

[1:03] legislation that one key senator asked

[1:05] for a cigar so he could celebrate, but

[1:08] then it all came crashing down and that

[1:10] 9/11 legislation is dead, at least for

[1:13] now.

[1:14] >> Move forward. So, it is with a sense of

[1:17] of disappointment and frustration that I

[1:21] announced to you today that apparently

[1:23] we will not be able to complete our

[1:27] work.

[1:27] >> After months of deadlock, House and

[1:29] Senate negotiators thought they had a

[1:31] deal on reorganizing the intelligence

[1:33] community, a package that tracked the

[1:35] recommendations of the 911 commission.

[1:37] And

[1:37] >> that commission said

[1:40] that 9/11 might not have happened if we

[1:42] had had somebody in charge of our

[1:44] intelligence community. The two key

[1:45] provisions of the agreement had

[1:47] addressed that deficiency. Creation of a

[1:49] director of national intelligence to

[1:51] oversee all 15 intelligence agencies and

[1:55] a national counterterrorism center to

[1:57] coordinate their activities. But the

[1:59] deal was turned upside down late this

[2:01] afternoon when conservative Republicans

[2:03] in the House erupted in anger.

[2:06] >> This bill does not do what's necessary

[2:08] to protect this country against another

[2:09] 9/11 attack. And if anyone says that's

[2:11] the case, they're lying through their

[2:13] teeth.

[2:15] Critics say that under the bill, the

[2:16] Pentagon would lose control over

[2:18] battlefield intelligence, putting

[2:20] American troops at risk. Supporters say

[2:22] that's not true, and note that the

[2:24] provision was written by the White

[2:26] House.

[2:26] >> I think this bill would have produced

[2:29] better intelligence to protect the war

[2:31] fighter.

[2:31] >> Critics also say not enough was done to

[2:33] tighten immigration. For example, a

[2:35] provision that would have kept illegal

[2:37] immigrants from getting driver's

[2:39] licenses was dropped. It's like we've

[2:41] bent over backwards to protect illegal

[2:43] immigrants in this legislation. I mean,

[2:45] who are we protecting? The citizens of

[2:47] America or an illegal immigrant who

[2:49] sneaks across the border in Mexico?

[2:50] President Bush, though, had urged

[2:52] Congress to approve the 9/11 package,

[2:54] even making calls from South America to

[2:56] conservative Republican opponents, who

[2:58] are usually his biggest supporters.

[3:00] Congressional leaders now say they may

[3:02] call another lame duck session in

[3:04] December to try again. But some members

[3:06] said today chances of success then will

[3:09] be slim. Now Congress is having better

[3:11] luck today with the reason they came

[3:13] back for this lame duck session in the

[3:15] first place. A $388 billion spending

[3:18] bill that covers almost every domestic

[3:20] agency. The House passed it later today.

[3:22] The Senate is expected to pass it later

[3:24] tonight. John

[3:25] >> NBC's Chip Reed. Chip, thanks. Now to

[3:28] Iraq and one of the most difficult days

[3:30] for that country since the fall of

[3:32] Saddam Hussein. Today, insurgents

[3:34] attacked several cities in Iraq with

[3:36] roadside bombs, suicide attacks,

[3:38] shootings, and beheadings. NBC's Charles

[3:41] Sabine reports from Baghdad.

[3:45] A burning US Humvee, the result of a

[3:48] three-hour battle today with insurgents

[3:50] in Azamir, a Sunni district of Baghdad.

[3:54] One American soldier was killed and nine

[3:56] injured. The ambush took place near the

[3:58] Abu Henifa mosque where Friday an armed

[4:01] raid by coalition forces left four

[4:03] people dead.

[4:06] The attack was just one of a barrage to

[4:09] hit the capital today. A list that even

[4:11] by Iraqi standards was long.

[4:14] A US convoy struck by a roadside

[4:17] explosive near Baghdad airport. Five

[4:19] soldiers wounded. A suicide bomb

[4:21] downtown killing one civilian. A gun

[4:24] attack on Iraqi government employees,

[4:26] leaving four dead. And elsewhere in the

[4:28] country, assaults on Iraqi police

[4:30] stations in Bakuba and Beiji. At least

[4:33] four officers left dead, dozens injured.

[4:36] Nine more Iraqis dead in Raman.