CBS Evening News (A block) - 2006-11-15

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:03] I'm Katie Kurrick. In a contentious

[0:05] faceoff on Capitol Hill, the top US

[0:07] commander in Iraq says this is no time

[0:10] to pull out American troops. Does the

[0:12] future chairman of the Senate Armed

[0:13] Services Committee agree? We'll talk to

[0:16] Senator Carl Lean. US Airways makes a

[0:18] hostile bid to take over bankrupt Delta

[0:21] Airlines. Will that mean fewer seats and

[0:23] higher fairs? And a biological clock

[0:26] ticking for men. What father time does

[0:29] to older dads.

[0:35] >> This is the CBS Evening News with Katie

[0:38] Kurrick.

[0:41] >> Hi everyone. They won control of

[0:43] Congress with calls to start pulling US

[0:45] troops out of Iraq. But one week later,

[0:47] the Democrats have run into their first

[0:50] big roadblock. A roadblock with a green

[0:52] uniform and four stars. General John

[0:55] Abvisade, the top US commander in Iraq,

[0:58] told Congress he opposes a timetable for

[1:00] withdrawing American troops. And he said

[1:03] the US and Iraqi governments have at

[1:05] most 6 months to reduce the violence in

[1:08] Baghdad before it spins out of control.

[1:11] Here's our national security

[1:13] correspondent, David Martin.

[1:16] Although he is sending another 2,000

[1:18] Marines into Iraq to try to keep the lid

[1:20] on violence in the country's Wild West,

[1:23] General John Abzade told the Senate

[1:25] Armed Services Committee he is against

[1:27] either a substantial buildup or a

[1:30] cutback in US troops.

[1:32] >> Then he made this stunning admission.

[1:34] The US military does not have enough

[1:36] troops for a big buildup, even if he

[1:38] wanted one. We can put in 20,000 more

[1:41] Americans tomorrow and achieve a

[1:43] temporary effect. But when you look at

[1:45] the overall American force pool that's

[1:47] available out there, the ability to sta

[1:50] sustain that commitment is simply not

[1:52] something that we have right now with

[1:54] the size of the army and the Marine

[1:56] Corps.

[1:56] >> Which raises this question, is the

[1:58] current strategy the best strategy or

[2:00] simply the best the US can do under the

[2:02] circumstances?

[2:03] >> According to Abisade, past strategy had

[2:06] significant flaws. specifically not

[2:08] enough troops in the months after the

[2:10] fall of Baghdad.

[2:11] >> I think you can look back and say that

[2:13] more American troops would have been

[2:14] advisable in the early uh stages of May,

[2:17] o May, uh uh June, July.

[2:20] >> That's May, June, and July of 2003. As

[2:24] for the current strategy, the head of

[2:25] the Defense Intelligence Agency said one

[2:28] very important trend is moving in the

[2:30] wrong direction.

[2:31] >> Violence in Iraq continues to increase

[2:33] in scope, complexity, and lethality.

[2:36] Although Abisade said he plans to

[2:38] increase the number of American trainers

[2:40] assigned to Iraqi units, senators

[2:42] looking for a major change in strategy

[2:44] were disappointed.

[2:45] >> That basically you're advocating the

[2:47] status quo here today, which I think the

[2:49] American people in the last election

[2:51] said that is not an acceptable

[2:53] condition.

[2:54] >> That from a potential Republican

[2:56] candidate for president who advocates

[2:57] sending more troops. This from a

[3:00] potential Democratic candidate who wants

[3:02] a draw down.

[3:03] >> Hope is not a strategy. Hordatory talk

[3:06] about what the Iraqi government must do

[3:09] is getting old. Brutal fact is it is not

[3:13] happening.

[3:13] >> Avisade had a response worthy of a

[3:15] presidential debates

[3:16] >> and I would also say that despair is not

[3:19] a method and and when I come to

[3:21] Washington I feel despair.

[3:24] >> Debating aside says he's optimistic Iraq

[3:28] can still be saved but acknowledges

[3:30] violence remains unacceptably high.

[3:32] Katie

[3:33] >> David Martin at the Pentagon tonight.

[3:35] Senator Carl Leven of Michigan is the

[3:37] ranking Democrat on the Armed Services

[3:39] Committee, soon to be its chairman.

[3:41] Senator, were you as frustrated with

[3:43] General Abisade's position today as John

[3:46] McCain and Hillary Clinton?

[3:48] >> Uh I was somewhat frustrated because I

[3:50] thought basically he was saying that uh

[3:52] we should uh stay the course, which is I

[3:55] think clearly a position that's been

[3:57] rejected by the American people

[3:59] overwhelmingly. staying the course in

[4:01] Iraq is not a strategy for success. The

[4:04] uh horrible violence on the ground, it

[4:07] seems to me, is proving that every day.

[4:08] >> So, as the future chairman of the Senate

[4:10] Armed Services Committee, where does

[4:12] that leave you, Senator Levan? I mean,

[4:14] what are your options? You have long

[4:16] advocated a phase withdrawal, but how

[4:19] are you going to make that happen? It

[4:21] seems almost impossible right now. What

[4:23] I'm hoping to do is now that the

[4:25] election's over is to see if there

[4:27] aren't some Republicans, and I believe

[4:28] there are, who also believe we've got to

[4:30] change the course in Iraq and that only

[4:32] the Iraqis can change that course

[4:35] because only they can work out the

[4:38] political settlement, which is so

[4:40] essential to ending the violence.

[4:42] >> Senator Leven, I don't mean to see the

[4:43] glass as half empty, but what if the

[4:45] Iraqis and the Iraqi government, what if

[4:48] they're not up to the job? We cannot

[4:50] save them from themselves, Katie. Uh

[4:53] we've done everything that any country

[4:56] could to give them an opportunity. The

[4:58] only people who can reach a positive

[5:01] outcome here are the Iraqis and their

[5:03] political leadership. If they're going

[5:05] to have a civil war, that's got to be

[5:06] their choice.

[5:07] >> Senator Carl 11. Senator, thank you.

[5:10] >> Katie, great being with you. Meanwhile,

[5:12] in Baghdad tonight, officials are still

[5:14] trying to sort out the details of that

[5:16] mass kidnapping at an education office.

[5:19] It's still not clear exactly how many

[5:21] people were kidnapped yesterday.

[5:23] Estimates range from 40 to 150 or how

[5:26] many people are still being held. The

[5:29] Iraqi government says more than 70

[5:31] hostages were freed after troops raided

[5:33] the kidnappers hideouts. A different

[5:35] kind of hostility, this one closer to

[5:38] home. US Airways said today it wants to

[5:40] buy Delta Airlines for eight billion

[5:42] dollars, but Delta says in effect, buzz

[5:45] off not interested. It's just the

[5:47] beginning of the battle. A battle that

[5:48] could end with higher fairs for air

[5:51] travelers. Here's Bob our

[5:54] >> if US Airways hostile bid for Delta

[5:56] flies, the new joint airline will be a

[5:58] monster, the largest in America,

[6:01] carrying 150 million US passengers a

[6:04] year, about one in every five. I really

[6:07] believe that the consumers will will end

[6:09] up well served from this merger.

[6:12] >> The merger would be a corporate triumph

[6:14] of David over a wounded Goliath. Last

[6:17] year, struggling America West Airlines

[6:19] swallowed the financially strapped US

[6:20] Airways and took its name. Now that new

[6:23] US Airways is trying to swallow bankrupt

[6:26] giant Delta and grab its name. Creditors

[6:29] left high and dry in Delta's bankruptcy

[6:31] have been offered $8 billion in cash and

[6:33] stock. It's a potentially lucrative

[6:36] deal. But critics say it stinks for

[6:38] travelers who will find fewer cheap

[6:40] seats, fewer flights, and more crowded

[6:42] planes. They're going to see higher

[6:44] fairs. They're going to see less

[6:45] competition. They're going to see fewer

[6:47] options. And going forward, some markets

[6:49] are going to be dominated now by one

[6:51] carrier or only have one carrier. So for

[6:53] the consumer, despite the hype, this is

[6:55] a really bad deal.

[6:56] >> Delta doesn't really like it either. It

[6:59] rebuffed a friendly merger proposal last

[7:01] year and in a statement today said it

[7:03] still plans to emerge from bankruptcy in

[7:05] the first half of 2007 as a strong

[7:08] standalone carrier. The hostile takeover

[7:11] faces big hurdles. The government has

[7:13] antirust questions and US Airways

[7:16] already burned by its own bankruptcy

[7:18] still has to sell the idea to its

[7:20] stockholders. But if the deal goes

[7:22] through, aviation analyst Daryl Jenkins

[7:24] says look for others. This could be uh

[7:26] the first of a series of a lot of

[7:28] mergers in the airline industry between

[7:30] big airlines and between small airlines

[7:32] as well

[7:33] >> and that could really hit passengers

[7:35] hard as an enemy of competition.

[7:37] Consolidation could bring an end to the

[7:40] era of the bargain airfare. Bob or CBS

[7:43] News Washington.

[7:45] >> In other news tonight, the South was hit

[7:47] hard today by a huge wave of rain, wind,

[7:49] and hail and maybe even tornadoes in

[7:52] Montgomery, Alabama. One storm ripped

[7:54] apart a skating rink that doubles as a

[7:57] daycare center. 31 preschoolers and four

[7:59] adults took cover in the only part of

[8:02] the building that wasn't destroyed. Two

[8:04] children suffered minor injuries, but

[8:06] everyone else is okay. A former

[8:09] Washington insider has a new roof over

[8:11] his head. Lobbyist Jack Abramoff

[8:14] reported today to the Federal Pen in

[8:15] Cumberland, Maryland. He'll serve six

[8:18] years for business fraud. Abramoff is

[8:20] still cooperating with a corruption

[8:22] investigation allegedly involving

[8:23] members of Congress and White House

[8:26] officials. Meanwhile, another ex power

[8:28] broker is making a big comeback.

[8:30] Republican senators today elected Trent

[8:32] L of Mississippi as minority whip,

[8:35] second in command to the new minority

[8:37] leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Lot

[8:39] was forced to give up the Republican

[8:41] majority leader post four years ago

[8:44] after making remarks considered racially

[8:46] insensitive. All week long, we're

[8:49] looking at some of the big issues the

[8:50] new 110th Congress will be facing.

[8:53] Immigration reform is a sensitive one,

[8:55] right at the top of the list. Congress

[8:57] will once again debate whether to start

[8:59] a guest worker program, which would

[9:01] allow more immigrants to work here

[9:03] temporarily. President Bush and House

[9:05] Speaker and waiting Nancy Pelosi both

[9:08] say it's urgently needed. But as Bill

[9:10] Whitaker reports, finding the votes

[9:13] won't be easy.

[9:15] In the fertile valleys of Santa Barbara

[9:17] County, when it comes to immigration,

[9:19] president of the local growers

[9:21] association, Richard Quant, voices a

[9:23] common complaint.

[9:24] >> We didn't have enough workers this year.

[9:26] >> In Los Angeles, restaurant owner Blair

[9:28] Salisbury has the same lament.

[9:30] >> People ask me a question, why don't you

[9:32] hire more non-Hispanics?

[9:34] Trust me, they're not there. They're

[9:36] not.

[9:36] >> Two different businesses, one common

[9:38] problem. Now, these two Republicans

[9:41] share something else in common. Both are

[9:43] pinning their hopes on the new

[9:45] Democratically controlled Congress to

[9:47] help them get the immigrant labor they

[9:49] say they need.

[9:50] >> Do you expect things to change now?

[9:52] >> I really do. We're going to have to go

[9:54] with some type of uh guest worker

[9:56] program.

[9:57] >> That's exactly what President Bush has

[9:59] been pushing. A guest worker program

[10:00] where people can come on a temporary

[10:02] basis to do jobs Americans are not

[10:04] doing. But even with some 12 million

[10:06] immigrants in the US illegally, all the

[10:09] outgoing Republican controlled Congress

[10:11] could agree on was a 700-mile fence

[10:13] along the Mexican border. And here in

[10:16] California, where immigrants are slicing

[10:18] the celery Americans will be dicing for

[10:20] Thanksgiving stuffing, many employers

[10:22] want a more sweeping solution.

[10:24] >> We can do better as a country, but the

[10:27] Congress needs to move forward with

[10:29] comprehensive immigration reform. It

[10:32] would be a mistake to assume that just

[10:34] because Congress is changing that there

[10:35] will be significant change in

[10:36] immigration policy. The Democrats might

[10:39] find it just as thorny a problem to

[10:41] solve as the Republicans did. Gene

[10:44] Butterfield is an expert on immigration

[10:46] law.

[10:46] >> Well, we still have uh deep divisions in

[10:49] both the Democratic and Republican

[10:50] party. We have Democrats who will not

[10:52] vote for anything that has a new

[10:54] temporary worker program in it. We have

[10:56] Republicans who will not vote for

[10:58] anything that has a broad-ranging

[10:59] legalization program in it. But now with

[11:02] the president and presumed House Leader

[11:03] Nancy Pelosi both wanting a guest worker

[11:06] program and both parties eager to win

[11:08] alienated Latino voters.

[11:14] >> The time might just be right for

[11:16] immigration reform. Bill Whitaker, CBS

[11:19] News, Santa Maria, California.

[11:22] And we'll continue our reports on the

[11:24] agenda facing the 110th Congress

[11:26] tomorrow and Friday when we take a

[11:28] closer look at the debate over the

[11:30] minimum wage and prescription drug

[11:32] prices. There is much more CBS News

[11:35] straight ahead. And still to come, we

[11:38] all knew women had one. Now it turns out

[11:40] men have one, too. The biological clock.

[11:44] What makes it tick next?