CNN - Situation Room and Lou Dobbs Tonight - 2006-11-29

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Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:01] within the Bush White House itself. Also

[0:04] this hour, a protest of the Bush Maliki

[0:07] summit could make matters worse in Iraq.

[0:09] Lawmakers loyal to the powerful

[0:12] anti-American Shiite cleric suspend

[0:14] their role in the government. It's

[0:16] midnight in Baghdad, the center of

[0:18] political upheaval and unending violence

[0:21] right now. And two Democrats are

[0:23] publicly venting their anger at

[0:25] President Bush. Senator elect Jim Webb

[0:28] of Virginia has a very personal bone to

[0:30] pick with Mr. Bush over Iraq. And Al

[0:33] Gore just may be setting the stage for a

[0:36] presidential campaign comeback.

[0:39] >> I'm Will Blitzer. You're in the

[0:40] situation room.

[0:51] [music]

[0:57] This was supposed to be a promising day

[0:59] for US and Iraqi officials searching for

[1:02] a way out of a bloody and politically

[1:03] damaging war. But several major new

[1:06] developments are dashing hopes and

[1:08] complicating diplomacy. Right now, the

[1:11] Iraqi Prime Minister Nuriel al- Maliki

[1:13] was a no-show at a dinner with President

[1:14] Bush and Jordan's King Abdullah in in

[1:17] Aman, Jordan tonight. The administration

[1:19] says Mr. Bush and El Maliki will meet

[1:22] tomorrow. It's not clear if the delayed

[1:24] talks are connected to a bombshell back

[1:27] here in the United States. That would be

[1:28] the disclosure of a classified memo from

[1:31] National Security Adviser Steven Hadley

[1:33] to President Bush. It raises serious

[1:36] questions about whether El Malik can

[1:38] reign in sectarian violence and rise

[1:41] above the Sunni Shia divide. Those

[1:44] divisions on very vivid display today

[1:47] when lawmakers loyal to the Shiite

[1:49] cleric Mktata al-Sadder suspended their

[1:51] involvement in the Iraqi government. And

[1:54] amid the disappointments, a possible

[1:56] turning point on the horizon. President

[1:59] Bush is only days away from getting

[2:01] recommendations on Iraq from that

[2:03] bipartisan panel now assessing US policy

[2:06] there. A source telling CNN the Iraq

[2:09] study group will issue its report next

[2:12] Wednesday. Jamie McIntyre is standing by

[2:15] at the Pentagon with the latest on US

[2:17] troop movements. Nick Robertson is in

[2:19] Baghdad. Ben Weedman in Aman. But let's

[2:22] start with CNN's Brian Todd. He has more

[2:24] on this stunning memo leaked to the New

[2:26] York Times earlier today. Brian Wolf.

[2:29] Just this morning, top White House

[2:30] officials said the president has

[2:32] confidence in Nuri Aliki. Privately,

[2:34] this document shows there are very

[2:36] different signals.

[2:39] A startling inside look, grave doubts

[2:41] among top White House officials about

[2:43] Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki

[2:46] and his ability to control spiraling

[2:48] violence. A classified memo from

[2:50] National Security Adviser Steven Hadley

[2:53] obtained by the New York Times. Maliki

[2:55] is either ignorant of what is going on,

[2:57] misrepresenting his intentions, or that

[3:00] his capabilities are not yet sufficient

[3:02] to turn his good intentions into action.

[3:04] If that was Hadley's position a few

[3:06] weeks ago, why does President Bush now

[3:08] signal he'll lean on Maliki for answers

[3:11] when they meet in Jordan?

[3:12] >> My questions to him will be, "What do we

[3:15] need to do to succeed? What is your

[3:18] strategy in dealing with the sectarian

[3:21] violence?" Was the release of this memo

[3:23] a signal to Malake? Senior White House

[3:25] officials deny leaking Hadley's

[3:27] document. One official saying this is

[3:29] not helpful. One columnist agrees.

[3:32] >> It's hard to imagine something that

[3:33] would be more disruptive to a

[3:35] presidential summit meeting than a

[3:37] document like this. But it does state

[3:38] clearly this strategy premised on Prime

[3:41] Minister Maliki isn't working.

[3:43] >> CNN's efforts to reach Maliki's office

[3:45] and members of Iraq's parliament for

[3:47] reaction were unsuccessful. Maliki,

[3:50] who's Shia, has been accused of being

[3:52] too tough on Sunnis and overlooking

[3:54] abuses committed by Shia militants like

[3:56] those led by radical cleric Mktata

[3:59] al-Sader. The document suggests ways he

[4:02] can turn that around. One of them,

[4:04] quote, bring his political strategy with

[4:06] Mktata al-Sader to closure. But can he

[4:09] do it?

[4:09] >> I think it is beyond the control of Mr.

[4:11] Maliki. Mktad Sad is a real player uh in

[4:15] terms of militias on the ground as well

[4:18] as his supporters who make the coalition

[4:21] that puts Maliki on top of the

[4:23] government. A top White House official

[4:26] tells us, quote, "This is not the

[4:28] president dictating terms." And the memo

[4:30] doesn't leave Maliki hanging. It lists

[4:32] several ways the US can help him

[4:34] stabilize Iraq if he's unable to do it

[4:35] himself, like helping him broaden his

[4:37] political base from his tight circle of

[4:39] Shia allies and possibly moving

[4:42] additional US forces into Baghdad. Wolf.

[4:44] >> All right, Brian, stand by. Ben Weedman

[4:46] is our man in Aman, Jordan right now.

[4:48] Ben, the president of the United States

[4:50] was supposed to have dinner with uh Nuri

[4:52] al- Maliki tonight. There were these

[4:54] threats coming in from Mktat Alsad and

[4:56] his political block back in Baghdad.

[4:59] Guess what? The dinner not happening.

[5:00] They're supposed to meet tomorrow.

[5:02] What's the latest you can share with our

[5:04] viewers?

[5:05] >> Well, Wolf, there seems to be a lot of

[5:07] confusion about this. The official White

[5:09] House program uh for the v visit did not

[5:12] actually mentioned that there would be

[5:14] any meeting between President Bush and

[5:16] Prime Minister Maliki this evening. The

[5:19] only scheduled event was a is a

[5:20] breakfast tomorrow morning and a meeting

[5:22] and a press conference uh afterwards.

[5:25] But certainly there were expectations

[5:27] that there would be a photo op a photo

[5:30] opportunity involving Jordan's King

[5:32] Abdullah, President Bush and al- Maliki.

[5:34] That did not happen and that was a lot

[5:36] of surprise uh for many people here. Uh

[5:40] there are many ways to read things into

[5:42] it. Some people here suggesting this is

[5:45] part and parcel of a general

[5:47] discrediting of El Maliki which uh came

[5:50] also from this leaked White House memo.

[5:53] Jordanian and American officials

[5:55] insisting that's simply not the case. It

[5:57] was just a question of trying to make or

[6:00] find the time. Wolf,

[6:01] >> you've spent a lot of time in the Arab

[6:03] world. Ben, you speak Arabic. This was

[6:05] pretty humiliating for an Arab leader to

[6:08] wake up this morning and to see what

[6:09] Steven Hadley, the president's national

[6:12] security adviser, is saying about him.

[6:14] Either he's a wimp or he's just a bad

[6:16] guy. But it it was not very flattering

[6:19] to this Iraqi prime minister.

[6:22] No, certainly the symbolism if you add

[6:24] all these things up is not good. It is

[6:27] not good at all. And certainly uh it

[6:29] spoils many expectations or hopes uh

[6:32] that President Bush's visit to Jordan,

[6:34] his meetings uh with Iraq and Jordanian

[6:37] officials would actually lead to

[6:39] something positive. They haven't even

[6:41] met yet. And already it seems that any

[6:43] expectations uh that were high are going

[6:46] to be significantly lowered at this

[6:48] point. Wolf. All right, Ben, stand by

[6:50] over there in Jordan uh because there's

[6:52] a lot more to report from there. Let's

[6:54] go to the Pentagon. Jamie McIntyre is

[6:56] our man there. Jamie, uh all of this is

[6:58] taking place as you're getting word that

[7:00] the United States is about to deploy

[7:02] thousands of additional troops in

[7:05] Baghdad. Move them from relatively

[7:07] secure areas, relatively stable areas to

[7:09] the to the firefight that's going on in

[7:12] the Baghdad area. Once again, Wolf, the

[7:14] failure of Iraqi forces to stand up has

[7:17] forced the US to stand in. Top commander

[7:21] General George Casey has ordered several

[7:24] battalions to be moved into the Baghdad

[7:26] area. Some of them coming from Mosul,

[7:28] but significantly these troops are not

[7:31] coming from the Alar province where the

[7:33] US Marines are locked in combat with

[7:35] insurgents in an insurgent stronghold.

[7:38] The chairman of the joint chiefs today

[7:40] poured cold water on a report suggesting

[7:42] the US was considering abandoning Alamar

[7:45] province and moving those troops to

[7:47] Baghdad. General Peter Pace said that is

[7:49] not on the table. Wolf

[7:52] >> Jamie, the notion of sending what, three

[7:54] battalions? That's about 15,000 American

[7:56] troops, mostly US Army soldiers. Is that

[7:59] right?

[7:59] >> Uh they're all Army soldiers. It's not

[8:01] 15,000. It's somewhere between uh 1500

[8:05] 2,000 perhaps a little bit more. It

[8:07] could be as many as 5,000 when you add

[8:09] everything up. But uh it is basically to

[8:11] plug the gap they have in Baghdad from

[8:14] the failure of Iraqi brigades to report

[8:16] for duty. Many of them refuse to leave

[8:18] their home areas. Wolf because the the

[8:20] the fear is certainly the families who

[8:23] are hearing this, let's say 5,000 troops

[8:25] going from relatively secure areas in

[8:27] Kurdistan in the north where it's been

[8:29] quiet relatively speaking and moving

[8:31] them into Baghdad. They're going to be

[8:33] they're going to be worried that uh this

[8:35] is not necessarily going to make a

[8:36] difference, but it's going to increase

[8:38] the potential for US casualties.

[8:40] >> Well, certainly not an unfounded worry.

[8:42] There's no doubt about it. These days,

[8:43] Baghdad is dirty and dangerous duty.

[8:46] >> Jamie, thanks very much. We'll get back

[8:48] to you as well. Uh the killing and the

[8:50] chaos in Iraq continuing. Police say six

[8:53] Iraqis died in car bombings and

[8:55] shootings in Baghdad today and another

[8:58] 52 bullet ridd bodies were found strewn

[9:01] across the capital. It's a very deadly

[9:03] backdrop for a new political turmoil.

[9:07] Joining us now in Baghdad, our

[9:08] correspondent Nick Robertson. And Nick,

[9:10] if Mktata al-Sadder, this radical Shiite

[9:13] cleric, if he if he really lives up to

[9:16] this threat and bolts his forces from

[9:19] the government of the prime minister, is

[9:21] Nuriel Maliki's government going to

[9:23] collapse?

[9:25] If he was really to do that, Wolf, yes,

[9:27] it would have a very serious impact on

[9:29] it. Would these ministers be replaced?

[9:30] Would other parliamentarians uh fill

[9:32] those spots? It seems unlikely. But what

[9:34] really seems to be happening right now

[9:36] is they're pulling out Muttar Assad's

[9:38] block is pulling out its participation

[9:40] for the government. The language that

[9:41] they're using really gives them the

[9:43] space to get back into the government as

[9:45] well. And MTA also is being very careful

[9:47] here. Is using his spokesman to get his

[9:50] message out. So he's not putting his

[9:52] name specifically on some of these

[9:55] threats and issues. So there there's a

[9:56] political space for this government to

[9:58] continue. And that perhaps is is the

[10:00] direction it may go in. But of course,

[10:02] we just don't know that right now. Wolf.

[10:03] And to underscore the fragility, the the

[10:06] uh the insecurity where you are in

[10:08] Baghdad right now, we're getting word

[10:11] from our Pentagon correspondents that

[10:13] the US is about to deploy at least three

[10:15] more brigades of American troops, maybe

[10:18] 15,000 additional US soldiers and

[10:21] Marines in Baghdad, move them in from

[10:23] some more secure areas perhaps in the

[10:26] north. Uh is this likely though based on

[10:29] what you see on the ground to make a

[10:30] real difference?

[10:33] It will make a difference. Certainly

[10:36] whenever we've seen in Iraq when more

[10:37] troops are moved in to combat

[10:39] insurgents, to combat these militias,

[10:42] they bring a level of security. How long

[10:44] can they hold it? What happens in the

[10:46] areas that they move out of? Those are

[10:48] those will be concerns of the military

[10:50] as they make this deployment. But will

[10:52] it solve the issue here? Look, if you

[10:54] don't solve the uh insurgency and the

[10:57] militias in Baghdad, then Baghdad just

[10:59] acts as a pump feeding out to other

[11:01] areas, Bakuba, Brits just north of

[11:03] Baghdad, other places to the south where

[11:05] the where the insurgency and the

[11:07] militias operate. So to control and stop

[11:09] the insurgency and militias here is

[11:12] militarily critical and that that seems

[11:14] to be why uh the Pentagon is taking this

[11:17] approach. But you move, what we've seen

[11:20] in the past is as you concentrate

[11:22] troops, you move the insurgents, the

[11:24] militias out of that area, they pick up

[11:26] somewhere else. Wolf, that's what we've

[11:28] seen happen in the past.

[11:29] >> Nick Robertson's our man in Baghdad.

[11:31] Nick, be careful over there. And just

[11:33] want to correct, closer to 5,000 troops

[11:36] would be redeployed from other areas of

[11:38] Iraq to the Baghdad area, not 15,000.

[11:42] Meanwhile, the former Secretary of State

[11:44] Coen Powell now weighing in on the

[11:46] debate over whether the violence in Iraq

[11:48] amounts to a civil war. Powell says if

[11:50] he were heading the State Department

[11:51] right now, he'd recommend that the Bush

[11:53] administration use that term to describe

[11:56] the carnage. Powell's comments coming in

[11:58] Dubai, the latest example of his break

[12:00] with the administration's Iraq policy

[12:02] after publicly backing the 2003 invasion

[12:05] when he was America's top diplomat.

[12:08] We're going to have much more on Coen

[12:09] Powell's words today in Dubai. That's

[12:12] coming up here in the situation room in

[12:14] the next hour. You're going to be

[12:15] surprised what else he had to say in the

[12:18] United Arab Emirates. Jack Caert is

[12:20] joining us in New York with the Caerty

[12:22] file. Jack,

[12:23] >> so much for that awkward small talk at

[12:26] the dinner table. Prime Minister Nuriel

[12:28] al- Maliki of Iraq has decided to sit

[12:30] out a meal tonight with President Bush

[12:32] and Jordan's King Abdullah. This was of

[12:34] course after a White House memo was

[12:36] leaked questioning Al- Maliki's ability

[12:39] to govern what's left of Iraq. The

[12:41] administration has little confidence in

[12:43] Al Maliki. National Security Adviser

[12:45] Steven Hadley calling him a strong

[12:47] leader, but said he's having trouble

[12:49] figuring out how to do his job. His job,

[12:53] he has no job. He doesn't govern

[12:56] anything. Iraq is in the throws of an

[12:58] escalating civil war and the elected

[13:01] government there is powerless to do

[13:03] anything about it. The power in Iraq's

[13:06] in the hands of the militias. Shiite

[13:08] cleric Mktata al-Sadada runs the

[13:10] powerful Medi militia. He's threatened

[13:12] to pull his people out of the government

[13:14] if al Maliki goes ahead with a meeting

[13:16] with President Bush. So here's the

[13:18] question. Ponder this. If the Bush

[13:21] administration has no confidence in Nuri

[13:23] al- Maliki, where do we go from here?

[13:26] Email your thoughts to Caertifile at

[13:28] CNN.com or go to cnn.com/cafertyfile.

[13:33] Wolf

[13:33] >> Jack, thank you. Uh, see you soon.

[13:35] Coming up, Al Gore making the most of

[13:38] his celebrity status. Is he also laying

[13:40] the groundwork right now for another

[13:42] presidential bid? The speculation keeps

[13:44] on coming and there are new developments

[13:46] today. A tangled and angry web. Virginia

[13:50] Senator elect confirms a bitter and

[13:52] personal exchange with President Bush

[13:54] over Iraq. And up next, a radioactive

[13:57] twist in the death of a former KGB spy.

[14:00] We're going to have a live report from

[14:01] London. There are new developments in

[14:03] this story as well. Stay with us. You're

[14:06] in the Situation Room.

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[15:51] Tonight on 360, we're live from Aman,

[15:53] Jordan, where President Bush and Iraq's

[15:55] prime minister are holding talks. We'll

[15:56] have full coverage of their meetings on

[15:58] 360 tonight, 10 p.m. Eastern.

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[17:02] Let's get to the truth. It's time for

[17:04] answers. Lou Doss [music] tonight, CNN 6

[17:07] Eastern.

[17:10] British Airways says traces of radiation

[17:12] have been found now aboard two jets

[17:14] tested as part of the investigation into

[17:16] the death of a former KGB spy seen as

[17:18] Matthew Chance is joining us now from

[17:21] London. Uh this is a new development.

[17:22] What's the latest, Matthew?

[17:25] It is a very new and worrying

[17:26] development, Wolf, in this police

[17:28] investigation into the poisoning of the

[17:30] former Russian agent Alexander Lidenko.

[17:32] British Airways, the British Airline, as

[17:34] well as the British government have

[17:35] confirmed that three BA planes have now

[17:38] been grounded uh to be tested for traces

[17:42] of radiation. Apparently, on two of

[17:44] those aircraft, as you mentioned,

[17:45] already traces of a very toxic

[17:48] radioactive substance have been detected

[17:51] by the forensic teams working on them.

[17:53] There are some quite staggering

[17:55] statistics involved in all this. We've

[17:57] spoken to Willie Walsh, the CEO of

[17:59] British Airways, and he said that these

[18:01] three planes over the past several weeks

[18:04] since the poisoning of Alexander Litenko

[18:06] took place have taken 221

[18:09] flights. That means that some 33,000

[18:13] passengers would have traveled on board

[18:14] of them and that all of those people now

[18:16] have to be contacted and possibly tested

[18:19] for the symptoms of radiation sickness

[18:21] as well, W. So, very serious indeed. And

[18:23] what do we know what the initial

[18:24] symptoms might be that some of these

[18:26] passengers might be worried about right

[18:28] now?

[18:30] >> Well, certainly uh the uh the people who

[18:32] have been tested so far and more than a

[18:34] thousand have been have been interviewed

[18:36] and and tested for the symptoms of

[18:38] radiation poisoning after this are being

[18:40] told to look out for the kind of things

[18:41] that started Alexander Linti's descent

[18:44] into eventual death. Uh cold sweats, uh

[18:47] severe vomiting, it feels like an

[18:49] intestinal complaint. uh but it's very

[18:52] difficult to diagnose and obviously

[18:53] impossible uh to stop. At the moment in

[18:56] Britain so far eight people in total in

[18:59] addition to Alexander Lvienko have been

[19:01] referred to a specialist clinic in the

[19:03] British capital for further radiological

[19:06] tests but the British government is

[19:07] stressing that this is purely for

[19:09] precautionary measures. They haven't

[19:11] confirmed at this point whether anybody

[19:13] else apart from Alexander Litfenko has

[19:16] been actually contaminated.

[19:18] >> All right, let's hope it stays like

[19:19] that. Uh, thanks Matthew very much.

[19:21] We're going to stay on top of this

[19:22] story. Very worrisome story for a lot of

[19:24] passengers right now. For the tens of

[19:27] thousands of British Airways travelers

[19:29] who may have flown on the affected

[19:31] aircraft, the airline is posting new

[19:34] details online. This is important

[19:35] information. Abby Tatton standing by

[19:37] with details. Abby?

[19:38] >> Yes. Well, three aircraft taken out of

[19:40] service. Over 200 flights and they're

[19:43] posted online at ba.com. The airline is

[19:46] in the process of contacting 33,000

[19:49] people that might have been passengers

[19:51] on those flights. Important to note

[19:53] here, they all are to or from London.

[19:55] None of them to or from cities in the

[19:58] United States. This is mostly short hall

[20:00] destinations around Europe, in Spain,

[20:03] Germany, Greece, to and from London.

[20:05] Interestingly, by our count, about a

[20:07] third of these flights listed from

[20:10] London to Moscow or the other way round.

[20:13] Uh so go to ba.com if you're interested

[20:15] in this information. The airline is

[20:17] contacting passengers right now. Wolf,

[20:20] >> thanks very much for that, Abby. Uh

[20:21] we're going to stay, as I said, on top

[20:23] of that story. Meanwhile, right now, US

[20:25] forces are on the hunt for al-Qaeda all

[20:27] across the world, from Iraq to

[20:29] Afghanistan to Africa. Our Pentagon

[20:32] correspondent Barbara Star has an

[20:34] exclusive report on the terror hunt in

[20:37] Somalia. Barbara

[20:39] >> Wolf, the 1,800 US troops here in the

[20:41] Horn of Africa are mainly conducting

[20:44] humanitarian relief missions, but they

[20:46] are also training militaries out here in

[20:49] Africa. They are conducting

[20:50] anti-terrorism operations. They are

[20:53] looking for piracy and smuggling. They

[20:55] are worried about al-Qaeda.

[20:58] Heavily armed US troops brought CNN to

[21:01] Somalia's northern border region for a

[21:03] firstirhand look at the latest flash

[21:05] point in Africa and the country. the US

[21:08] military says is a growing safe haven

[21:10] for al-Qaeda. Even in this no man's

[21:13] land, security is essential. There is

[21:15] also a tense border dispute here between

[21:18] Somalia and Ethiopia. There is a threat

[21:21] of war. Rear Admiral Richard Hunt

[21:23] commands 1,800 US troops here in the

[21:26] Horn of Africa.

[21:27] >> I think the biggest terrorist threat

[21:29] that we have in this area centers on on

[21:31] Somalia. Uh, and a lot of that has to do

[21:35] with the known al-Qaeda operatives that

[21:36] we've had there in the past. It goes

[21:38] back to the 98 bombings in Nairobi, Dar

[21:41] Salam.

[21:42] >> Hunt's comments are remarkable because

[21:44] the US has had no relations with Somalia

[21:47] since the military pulled out of

[21:48] Mogadishu after the Blackhawk Down

[21:50] incident more than a decade ago. The US

[21:54] troops now in this region are working

[21:56] mainly on humanitarian relief efforts.

[21:59] But there is increasing concern that the

[22:01] radical Islamic militia that rules much

[22:04] of southern Somalia will use its

[22:06] al-Qaeda connections to launch new

[22:08] attacks. This week in Moadishu,

[22:11] thousands of Somalis gathered in support

[22:13] of the Islamic courts union militia,

[22:16] which is calling for a new jihad.

[22:19] >> We are very concerned with the amount of

[22:21] extremism uh that is starting to be

[22:23] exhibited. Hunt has little doubt that

[22:25] the Islamic militia in Somalia is a

[22:28] threat.

[22:29] >> They again expose uh global jihad. Uh

[22:34] they have we think uh we are are getting

[22:38] indications that there is direct

[22:40] al-Qaeda relationship uh with them

[22:42] providing some of the training and and

[22:44] background and resource support.

[22:46] >> Back at the border, it's easy to see

[22:48] there really is no border. This region

[22:51] is why the US military worries so much

[22:54] that al-Qaeda terrorists can readily

[22:57] move and plan their next attacks. The

[23:00] pile of rocks you see behind me is the

[23:02] border marking Ethiopia. Somalia lies

[23:05] just beyond. When you look around here

[23:07] and you see how remote and rugged it is,

[23:09] you begin to understand why the US is so

[23:12] concerned that terrorists could readily

[23:14] move through this area. Wolf

[23:16] >> Barbara, thanks very much. Barbara doing

[23:18] some incredibly excellent uh exclusive

[23:21] reporting for us in the Horn of Africa.

[23:23] Still ahead, the president's choice to

[23:25] be Pentagon chief apparently isn't in

[23:27] lock step with Mr. Bush. We're going to

[23:29] tell you about some new evidence that

[23:30] they don't necessarily see eye to eye

[23:32] when it comes to Iraq. A top Bush aids

[23:36] doubts about the Iraqi prime minister

[23:37] now made very, very public. How does the

[23:40] Steven Adley memo figure into the

[23:42] president's desperate new search for a

[23:44] solution in Iraq? All that coming up in

[23:46] our strategy session.

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[26:23] >> Welcome back to the situation room. I'm

[26:25] Wolf Blitzer in Washington. And while

[26:27] President Bush is in Jordan for Iraq

[26:29] crisis talks, there's new evidence back

[26:30] here in Washington that he and his

[26:32] defense secretary nominee are not

[26:34] necessarily on the same page. At issue,

[26:37] Robert Gates's views on enlisting Iran

[26:40] and Syria in the mission to try to

[26:42] stabilize Iraq. Let's get some more on

[26:44] that. We'll turn to our congressional

[26:45] correspondent, Andrea Cppel. Andrea,

[26:47] what's the latest? Well, Wolf, even as

[26:50] President Bush's plane was touching down

[26:52] in Aman, Jordan today for his summit

[26:55] with Iraq's prime minister, back here in

[26:57] Washington, Robert Gates, the former

[27:00] head of the CIA, was signaling that he

[27:03] and Mr. Bush do not necessarily see eye

[27:05] to eye on Iraq.

[27:09] Robert Gates says he believes the US

[27:11] needs to talk to Iraq's other neighbors

[27:14] like Iran and Syria. that would be at

[27:17] odds with current US policy. Gates laid

[27:20] out his position in written testimony

[27:22] obtained by CNN to the Senate Armed

[27:25] Services Committee, which begins his

[27:27] confirmation hearing next week. On Iran,

[27:30] Gates likens the situation to the Cold

[27:32] War era when even during the worst days,

[27:35] he said the US maintained a dialogue

[27:38] with the Soviet Union and China. In the

[27:41] case of Iran, Gates says, "I believe no

[27:43] option that could potentially benefit US

[27:46] policy should be off the table." He goes

[27:49] on to suggest that dialogue could be as

[27:51] part of an international conference. An

[27:54] approach Gates believes should also be

[27:56] considered with Syria. [snorts] Gates

[27:59] says he agreed with President Bush's

[28:01] decision to invade Iraq in 2003. And

[28:04] while he didn't tip his hand on whether

[28:06] or when to withdraw US troops, Gates

[28:09] warns that leaving Iraq in chaos would

[28:12] have dangerous consequences both in the

[28:14] region and globally for many years to

[28:17] come. An answer that did not seem to

[28:19] satisfy Democrat Carl Leven, the

[28:22] incoming chairman of the Senate Armed

[28:24] Services Committee.

[28:26] >> Everyone agrees that we don't want to

[28:27] leave Iraq in chaos. Iraq is in chaos.

[28:30] That's where the difference comes. The

[28:32] question is, how do we increase the

[28:34] chances of ending the chaos that now

[28:37] exists in Iraq? That's the issue, and I

[28:39] hope that Gates would uh uh be

[28:42] open-minded on that issue.

[28:44] >> Now, Levan and Rhode Island's Jack Reed,

[28:47] who's also on the Armed Services

[28:49] Committee, are pushing to begin

[28:50] redeploying US troops in the next four

[28:53] to six months. But both men are saying

[28:55] that the US and Gates, if he's

[28:57] confirmed, Wolf, will need to move even

[29:00] faster to prevent Iraq from spiraling

[29:02] out of control. Wol.

[29:04] >> All right, Andrea, thank you. In our

[29:06] strategy session, uh, new undercutting

[29:08] of the president's new and urgent Iraq

[29:10] diplomacy, a leaked memo showing his

[29:12] national security adviser has very

[29:14] serious doubts about the Iraqi prime

[29:16] minister. And the former Secretary of

[29:19] State Coen Powell now saying if it were

[29:20] up to him, the violence in Iraq would be

[29:23] called a civil war. Joining us now, CNN

[29:26] political analyst and Democratic

[29:27] strategist Paul Begala and Republican

[29:30] strategist Mike Murphy. Thanks guys for

[29:32] coming in. Uh, does this leak of the

[29:34] Steven Hadley memo, the front page of

[29:36] the New York Times, we've confirmed a

[29:38] very detailed, very specific, have the

[29:41] feeling to you as a deliberate

[29:43] administration leak designed to help the

[29:45] president right now or was this a leak

[29:48] by someone who was not necessarily

[29:49] trying to help the president?

[29:50] >> Yeah, you know, I have flip-flopped on

[29:52] that over the day. Well, you know, when

[29:53] I when I read it at 6:00 in the morning

[29:55] with my Cheerios, I thought it was a

[29:57] strategy. I thought you I always want to

[29:58] believe that my country, my president,

[30:00] especially when he's overseas and we all

[30:01] pray for him and support him, that they

[30:03] have a strategy and that this was a

[30:04] strategy to really push Maliki. I mean,

[30:06] I remember the last time Condisa Rice,

[30:08] the secretary of state, was in Iraq, she

[30:10] pushed Maliki harder. I thought, well,

[30:12] good. This looks, you watch it play out

[30:14] today and you realize know that it was

[30:16] uh an act of deep disloyalty by the

[30:17] leaker, I will say. Uh but also, it

[30:20] makes the administration look dishonest

[30:21] and incompetent. Uh now that the we

[30:24] remember when the president went to

[30:25] Baghdad in June after Zarqawi was

[30:27] killed. He said this of Maliki. I'm

[30:28] impressed by the strength of your

[30:29] character and your desire to succeed and

[30:31] I'm impressed by your strategy. Now we

[30:34] know that that wasn't true. The White

[30:35] House who was there a few weeks ago came

[30:38] back. He wasn't very impressed. He's

[30:39] very nervous. What What kind of feeling

[30:41] does it have to you Mike?

[30:42] >> Well I thought the same thing this

[30:44] morning. I thought maybe this is some

[30:45] sort of way to put a little pressure on

[30:46] Malake because Malake is caught in a

[30:48] tough situation. he doesn't really have

[30:50] any power and so he has the title, the

[30:52] responsibility, but he doesn't have the

[30:53] power to do much. He's controlled by the

[30:55] Shia warlords who have the population.

[30:57] So in the new Iraqi democracy, they have

[30:59] political power, but they're not acting

[31:00] in a way to combine the whole country.

[31:02] So I thought the White House put a

[31:03] little heat on him. But watching the

[31:04] kind of the speed bumps in the diplomacy

[31:07] today with the canceled meeting and

[31:08] everything, I think it probably was not

[31:10] a deliberate leak. I think somebody did

[31:12] a disservice to the president. But the

[31:13] bottom line is not the tactic of

[31:15] leaking. What does the memo say? It says

[31:17] the truth. It says there's a real

[31:18] problem between Shia and Sunni and the

[31:21] Shia majority government is not

[31:22] addressing that and the the prime

[31:24] minister doesn't have the power to

[31:25] address the security situation. It

[31:26] >> was a pretty well written pretty

[31:27] thoughtful memo that Steven put

[31:29] together. Uh let's talk a little bit

[31:31] about another this was not a leak but it

[31:33] was Coen Powell the former secretary of

[31:34] state in Dubai today saying among other

[31:37] things I would call it a civil war. I

[31:39] have been using it because I like to

[31:41] face the reality. He's recommending you

[31:44] know what feels like a civil war and

[31:46] smells like a civil war. It's a civil

[31:47] war. The administration should

[31:48] acknowledge that,

[31:49] >> right? General Pal, Secretary Pal has a

[31:51] grasp of the obvious. He was one of the

[31:53] first in our government to say the

[31:54] situation in Darur was a genocide. There

[31:56] was a great member of semantic debate

[31:57] about whether the genocide in Darur was

[31:59] in fact to be called a genocide.

[32:01] Secretary Powell spoke out then and he

[32:02] spoke the truth. Uh it is another

[32:05] example of where our government's

[32:07] communication strategy is perhaps at

[32:08] odds with its real strategy and this

[32:10] creates a credibility gap. If the

[32:12] president was to simply give a speech

[32:14] and read Steven Hadley's memo, I think

[32:16] people might not like it, but they would

[32:18] respect it. They would say, "Well, at

[32:19] least he's dealing with reality."

[32:21] Instead, he keeps giving us this happy

[32:23] horsemanure in his public performances,

[32:25] and later we find out that he's not

[32:26] telling the truth. That's what's killing

[32:27] this president with the public right

[32:28] now.

[32:29] >> You know, I'm kind of I'm kind of grumpy

[32:30] about this civil war thing because I

[32:31] think it's a silly issue. It's a

[32:33] semantic question of whether or not a

[32:34] big uh sectarian war has now crossed the

[32:37] line of a civil war. It's very close.

[32:39] You can argue either side of that, but I

[32:40] think it's kind of wasted energy to

[32:41] fight over terms. The problem is the

[32:43] election is now over. So I think

[32:45] partisanship ought to be over,

[32:46] especially in foreign policy. And if

[32:48] there's no way to fight a partisan war,

[32:50] so I think the president now has to seed

[32:51] a little bit of power to the Democrats,

[32:53] which will be very hard for him to do.

[32:54] And the Democrats have to switch from

[32:56] campaign mode of little fights like this

[32:58] over terminology, into a big solution

[33:00] where we can unify the country because

[33:02] our national interest is national.

[33:03] >> Let's talk a little real hard politics.

[33:05] You guys are good at that. the best in

[33:07] the business. Al Gore, you remember him,

[33:09] the former vice president of the United

[33:10] States, has a new interview in GQ

[33:12] magazine. Among other things, he says

[33:14] this. He says, "This administration has

[33:16] been by far the most incompetent, inept,

[33:18] and with more moral cowardice and

[33:20] obsequiousness to their wealthy

[33:22] contributors and obliviousness to the

[33:24] public interest of any administration in

[33:26] modern history and probably in the

[33:29] entire history of the country." the uh

[33:31] this comes as you know people close to

[33:33] Al Gore are suggesting to me you know

[33:35] what he is seriously thinking of running

[33:38] again. I don't know if he will or he

[33:39] won't but what do you think it it sounds

[33:41] like he's setting the stage for it.

[33:42] >> Yeah. I mean I we should get out the

[33:45] breaking news banner and run it across

[33:46] the bottom of the screen. Breaking news

[33:47] Gore doesn't like Bush. Uh but that is

[33:50] music to the ears of core Democrats. The

[33:52] kind of people who are going to

[33:52] determine who the nominee of my party

[33:54] will be. Uh and so I can only say God

[33:56] bless Al Gore whether he runs or not.

[33:58] Who knows if he does run. I think

[34:00] there's a there is an opening for

[34:01] someone who's anti-W Washington and

[34:03] anti-war. Most of the major Democrats

[34:05] who are thinking about running supported

[34:07] the war. Al Gore did not. Neither did

[34:09] Barack Obama. Those are the two major

[34:11] Democrats who are thinking about running

[34:12] for president who didn't support the

[34:13] war. So yeah, I think there's a there's

[34:14] a real option. I I'm also wondering

[34:15] though what Barack Obama was in GQ and

[34:18] and now Al Gore and they talked to my

[34:20] friend Rahm Emanuel. He's going to be in

[34:22] there. Murphy and I are never in GQ. Why

[34:24] get the call? If you wait long enough,

[34:26] both of you go, "What do you think guys?

[34:28] What do you think's latest maneuvering?"

[34:31] >> I read it today and read all those

[34:32] adjectives packed into that punch and I

[34:34] thought, "Boy, I have to put him down as

[34:35] undecided." You know, I'm shocked.

[34:36] Shocked. There's attacking in the

[34:38] Democratic party. I think I don't know

[34:40] if he's going to run or not. That feels

[34:41] like he's going to run. And I'll make

[34:42] the irresponsible prediction because I'm

[34:44] a Republican and I don't know anything

[34:45] about Democrats. If he runs, he's the

[34:46] nominee. I think he is the one guy in

[34:48] their field who's big enough in a

[34:49] Democratic primary to take Hillary

[34:51] Clinton. He's the other heavyweight. And

[34:53] if he runs, I think he's serious in the

[34:55] primaries is a heart attack. And this

[34:57] sure looks like campaign talk to me.

[34:59] Last word.

[35:00] >> You think if he runs, he's got it.

[35:02] >> He doesn't have it. They don't give

[35:02] these things away. But you know, Hillary

[35:04] doesn't have it either, and Obama

[35:05] doesn't have it, and Tom Vilsac, the

[35:06] governor, I wouldn't have it. I I want

[35:08] lots of people out there. Good for us.

[35:10] >> Guess what? You're going to get a lot of

[35:11] people running.

[35:11] >> If he keeps talking like this, he's

[35:13] going to have a huge national following.

[35:14] >> We'll leave it right there, guys. Thanks

[35:15] very much for coming in.

[35:16] >> Thank you.

[35:17] >> Uh we're going to have a lot more on Al

[35:18] Gore. That's coming up. Is he

[35:20] campaigning for an Oscar or another shot

[35:22] at the White House? We're going to look

[35:24] into the former vice president's uh

[35:26] interview in GQ and what's going on

[35:28] right now. Plus, a war of words over

[35:31] Iraq pitting a Democratic senator elect

[35:33] against the president. It's getting

[35:35] bitter and it's getting personal. We'll

[35:37] share the details with you. Stay with

[35:38] us. You're in the situation.

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[38:26] [music] Wednesday, December 20th.

[38:32] A Democratic senator-ele makes no bones

[38:34] about his anger at President Bush over

[38:36] the war in Iraq. It's a very personal

[38:38] thing for Virginia's Jim Webb. His son

[38:41] is serving in the war and that

[38:43] contributed to an ice cold exchange

[38:45] between Webb and Mr. Bush and that's now

[38:47] being made public. Let's turn to our

[38:49] senior political analyst, Bill

[38:51] Schneider. Bill Wolf, former House

[38:53] Speaker Sam Raburn used to tell new

[38:56] members of Congress, quote, "Around

[38:58] here, you've got to go along to get

[39:00] along." Well, try telling that to

[39:02] Virginia's new senator.

[39:06] >> Jim Webb became a Democrat and ran for

[39:08] the Senate for one big reason, Iraq.

[39:10] >> I was an early voice warning against the

[39:13] implications of invading and occupying

[39:15] Iraq.

[39:16] >> Webb has special credibility on Iraq. He

[39:18] was a military officer who served in

[39:20] Vietnam, a former Secretary of the Navy

[39:23] under President Reagan, and he has a son

[39:26] serving in Iraq.

[39:28] He wore his son's old combat boots

[39:31] during the campaign.

[39:32] >> I have tremendous admiration for my son

[39:34] and for everyone else who was serving

[39:36] there, but they need to be led properly.

[39:38] >> Webb took on President Bush directly,

[39:40] >> but the key word is leadership, which

[39:42] has been a scarce commodity among this

[39:44] administration and its followers.

[39:46] President Bush saw Web at a White House

[39:49] reception for new members of Congress

[39:51] this month. The freshman senator had

[39:53] this exchange with the president, which

[39:55] he confirmed to the Washington Post.

[39:57] "How's your boy?" Bush asked. "I'd like

[39:59] to get them out of Iraq, Mr. President,"

[40:01] Webb replied. "That's not what I asked

[40:04] you," Bush said. "How's your boy?"

[40:06] "That's between me and my boy, Mr.

[40:08] President," Webb said. The White House

[40:11] incident is causing a lot of tutting in

[40:14] Washington. A Democratic Senate staffer

[40:16] told the Post, "I think Webb is going to

[40:19] be a total pain. He's going to do things

[40:21] his own way." Shock, horror. Webb

[40:24] reassures his colleagues.

[40:26] >> I've spent four years as a committee

[40:28] council in the Congress. I know how the

[40:29] process works.

[40:30] >> Webb's confrontation is a striking

[40:32] contrast to the pictures of Democrats

[40:34] meeting with President Bush and pledging

[40:36] cooperation and bipartisanship. It's

[40:39] also not the way things usually get done

[40:41] in Washington, but it is what a lot of

[40:44] people voted for.

[40:46] >> Webb did not run as a typical

[40:48] politician, and it doesn't look like

[40:50] he's about to change now that he's

[40:52] gotten elected, Wolf.

[40:53] >> All right, thanks very much. No one

[40:55] should be surprised about that. That's

[40:56] clearly his MMO. And as we've been

[41:00] reporting, a leaked memo shows that top

[41:02] Bush administration officials are

[41:03] questioning whether Iraq's prime

[41:06] minister can actually run the country.

[41:08] Now, Jack Caerty is asking you for ideas

[41:10] on where we go from here. Then,

[41:13] potential candidates are gearing up for

[41:15] the 2008 presidential race. The

[41:17] Republican field, though, just got a

[41:19] little bit smaller. We're going to tell

[41:20] you who just announced that he won't be

[41:22] running. Stay with us. You're in the

[41:24] situation room. [music]

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[44:29] On our political radar this Wednesday,

[44:31] count Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist

[44:33] out of the 2008 race for the White

[44:35] House. The Republican announced today

[44:37] he'll pass on a presidential campaign

[44:39] because he wants to take what he calls a

[44:41] sbatical from public life. The move

[44:43] effectively ends his political career

[44:46] career at least for the time being since

[44:47] Fris uh is retiring from the US Senate

[44:51] as well. Another top Democrat on the

[44:53] House Intelligence Committee is getting

[44:55] passed over for the chairmanship.

[44:57] Democratic staff aids say California

[44:59] Congresswoman Jane Harmon has been

[45:01] dropped from consideration for the post

[45:03] by the incoming House Speaker Nancy

[45:05] Pelosi. Pelosi also nicks Congressman

[45:08] Alcie Hastings for the job. She now

[45:10] reportedly is searching for a compromise

[45:13] among various candidates including

[45:15] Congressman Sylvester Reyes of Texas.

[45:18] And remember, for all the latest

[45:20] political news at any time, check out

[45:22] our political ticker, cnn.com/ticker.

[45:27] Fears of widespread midterm election

[45:29] problems didn't come to fruition. But a

[45:31] a new report is giving us some insight

[45:33] into what did go wrong and what needs to

[45:35] be done to make sure every vote counts

[45:37] in the 2008 presidential election. Our

[45:40] internet reporter Abby Tat standing by

[45:42] with details. Abby.

[45:43] >> Wolf. The nonpartisan site

[45:46] electionline.org or established after

[45:48] the problems in 2000 reports that voters

[45:51] around the country experience

[45:53] difficulties on election day from voter

[45:56] ID issues in Missouri, long lines in

[45:58] Colorado to problems vote with voting

[46:01] machines in Indiana. But there is good

[46:03] news as well in this report that few

[46:06] close races in there were few close

[46:08] races in which problems affected the

[46:10] outcome. Although the report spends time

[46:13] on one notable exception, Florida's 13th

[46:16] congressional district district, the

[46:18] seat vacated by Katherine Harris, when

[46:20] more than 18,000 Sarasota County

[46:23] citizens had no vote registered. Why?

[46:26] That's not known at this point. The

[46:28] touchscreen machines that we used don't

[46:30] produce a paper trail. State officials

[46:33] are currently conducting an audit. Now,

[46:35] the Republican Vern Buchanan has been

[46:37] certified the winner. Democrat Christine

[46:40] Jennings is contesting and asking for a

[46:43] revote. All of this is being followed

[46:44] closely by the watchdog group Common

[46:47] Cause. They're warning of a meltdown in

[46:49] elections ahead and they've started a

[46:51] website get itstraight by 2008.org.

[46:54] Wolf,

[46:54] >> I still don't understand. If you get a

[46:56] paper trail every time you use a a

[46:58] credit card, you can't get a paper trail

[47:00] when you're voting. They'll continue to

[47:02] stay on top of this story. Thank you,

[47:03] Abby, for that. Up next, Iran's

[47:06] president [music] writes to the American

[47:07] people saying they should seek truth and

[47:09] justice. We're going to tell you what he

[47:11] wants Americans to do. Plus, is he in?

[47:14] Is he out? Is he somewhere in between?

[47:16] We're going to tell you what's happening

[47:18] right now in the Al Gore presidential

[47:20] campaign guessing game. Stay with us.

[47:22] We'll be right back.

[47:26] >> Turn left.

[47:27] >> What's a left up here?

[47:28] >> Is that the new Blackberry from Sprint?

[47:30] >> Yeah. Fast downloads, GPS, my calendar.

[47:32] I'd be lost without it. That's cool.

[47:35] >> BlackBerry devices powered by Sprint now

[47:37] with realtime [music] GPS capability.

[47:40] >> So, he's really

[47:41] >> Yeah.

[47:44] >> It's a left up here.

[47:47] >> Get new BlackBerry devices at Sprint or

[47:49] Nexttel stores or call 18 Sprint Biz and

[47:51] get on the nation's largest mobile

[47:52] broadband network. Sprint, power up.

[47:56] >> Tonight on 360, we're live from Aman,

[47:58] Jordan, where President Bush and Iraq's

[48:00] prime minister are holding talks. will

[48:02] have full coverage of their meetings on

[48:03] 360 tonight, 10 p.m. Eastern.

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[50:07] >> Dog the bounty hunter and prisoner.

[50:09] Plus, Senator John Carrey, Larry King.

[50:11] Tonight, 9 Eastern.

[50:15] >> There she is, Carol Costello. She's

[50:16] joining us with some other important

[50:18] stories making news. Hi, Carol.

[50:20] >> Hello. Wolf, hello to all of you. Iran's

[50:22] president is heaping praise on the

[50:24] American people. In what's being called

[50:26] a letter to the American people, Makmu

[50:28] Amed Jad calls Americans truthloving and

[50:31] justice seeking and says they share many

[50:33] values with Iranians. He urges citizens

[50:35] of the US to reverse what he says are

[50:38] the many foreign policy mistakes of the

[50:40] Bush administration. Zayn Verie will

[50:42] have a full report on the five-page

[50:44] statement in our next hour. A new draft

[50:46] report from the European Union says

[50:48] European countries obstructed an

[50:50] investigation into a US program to

[50:53] transport terrorist suspects to secret

[50:55] prisons. The probes were launched after

[50:57] media reports claimed the CIA had set up

[50:59] such prisons in Poland and Romania. The

[51:02] lawmaker who wrote the report now says

[51:04] all EU nations knew about the prisons

[51:06] and the so-called rendition program. The

[51:09] Justice Department will apologize and

[51:11] pay $2 million to an Oregon lawyer

[51:14] wrongly accused of being involved in the

[51:16] Madrid train bombings two and a half

[51:18] years ago. Brandon Mayfield was arrested

[51:20] after an FBI fingerprint analysis

[51:23] wrongly concluded that his prince had

[51:25] been found in a van used by the bombers.

[51:27] Mayfield, a Muslim convert, charged that

[51:29] he was the victim of religious

[51:31] profiling. That's a look at the

[51:33] headlines right now, Wolf.

[51:34] >> All right, Carol, thanks very much.

[51:35] Let's check back with Jack with the

[51:37] Caffery file. Back. Question this hour

[51:39] is, if the Bush administration has lost

[51:42] confidence in Iraqi Prime Minister

[51:44] Nuriel Maliki, where do we go from here?

[51:47] John writes from Philadelphia. There's

[51:48] only one direction to go in, and that's

[51:50] out. Without an Iraqi government willing

[51:53] to take control of the security

[51:54] situation and reign in the militias, the

[51:57] US mission of stabilizing that country

[51:59] will be impossible no matter how long we

[52:01] stay there. Phil, in Providence,

[52:03] Florida, find a way to have the Iraq

[52:05] elected government ask the US to leave

[52:09] and then honor that request. Bill in

[52:12] Michigan, the Bush administration's

[52:13] finally starting to recognize failure,

[52:15] but they're going to blame everyone but

[52:17] themselves. Just watch the finger and

[52:20] stay tuned. Sam and Nebraska, forget Al

[52:23] Malake. He's history. The real problem

[52:25] is the unintended consequence of

[52:28] providing a blueprint for how easy it is

[52:30] to defeat a modern army and bring down

[52:33] an established state to the billions who

[52:35] have witnessed this debacle on satellite

[52:37] TV and the internet. John writes from

[52:40] San Francisco, "Well, let's just stay

[52:42] the course. That's worked pretty well

[52:43] these last three years." And Anthony in

[52:46] New York, you're doing a heck of a job,

[52:48] Mie Wolf. [laughter]

[52:52] >> It's funny. if it weren't so serious.

[52:54] Jack, thanks very much. See you in a few

[52:56] minutes. Still to come, a delicate and

[52:58] deadly diplomatic dance in Iraq

[53:00] happening right now. Can President Bush

[53:02] find a way out despite new setbacks?

[53:05] I'll ask a top adviser to the Secretary

[53:07] of State, Condela Rice. That's coming up

[53:09] in our next hour. Also, Congressman

[53:11] Charlie Wrangler. And an inconvenient

[53:14] truth. Democrats aren't quite sure

[53:16] whether Al Gore still has presidential

[53:18] ambitions, but they do know he's getting

[53:20] an awful lot of attention. We'll tell

[53:23] you what the latest is. Stay stay with

[53:24] us.

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[56:30] >> Americans have been seeing an awful lot

[56:32] of Al Gore lately on the big screen, the

[56:34] small screen, and on magazine covers,

[56:36] but will they see him on the campaign

[56:39] trail in 2008? CNN's Alan Turnoff is

[56:42] following the Gore guessing game for us.

[56:44] What's the latest, Alan? Well, Wolf Al

[56:47] Gore is scheduled to be in Los Angeles

[56:49] this evening, appearing on the Tonight

[56:50] Show and being honored at a dinner as

[56:53] one of GQ magazine's men of the year.

[56:55] The former vice president wants this to

[56:57] be an Al Gore Christmas. He's promoting

[57:00] the DVD release of his movie and an

[57:02] inconvenient truth, but there is

[57:04] speculation that Mr. Gore has much more

[57:06] than merely holiday stocking stuffing in

[57:09] mind that in the back of his mind,

[57:11] perhaps he would like to make another

[57:12] run for the White House.

[57:15] >> [snorts]

[57:16] >> A very hip Al Gore posing on GQ

[57:18] magazine's website across from Lindseay

[57:21] Lohan. Gore, one of GQ's men of the

[57:24] year, bashes President Bush in the

[57:26] magazine with some of his harshest

[57:28] criticism. Damn it, whatever happened to

[57:31] the concept of accountability for

[57:33] catastrophic failure. This

[57:35] administration has been by far the most

[57:37] incompetent, inept, and with more moral

[57:40] cowardice and obsequiousness to their

[57:43] wealthy contributors and obliviousness

[57:45] to the public interest of any

[57:47] administration in modern history and

[57:50] probably in the entire history of the

[57:52] country. Gore friends and former

[57:54] advisers say the tough tone does not

[57:56] indicate he is preparing to run for

[57:58] president.

[57:59] >> He's not running for president. I think

[58:01] he would love to have an Academy Award

[58:04] for the best documentary, but I don't

[58:07] think that's the same as running for

[58:08] president.

[58:09] >> Gore denied plans to run on CNN's

[58:11] Showbiz tonight.

[58:13] >> I have no intention of being a candidate

[58:15] uh again.

[58:16] >> And he repeated that denial in the GQ

[58:19] interview. I don't plan to run and I

[58:22] don't expect to run. I appreciate that

[58:24] people think enough of me still to ask

[58:26] that question. It's true that I haven't

[58:29] uh gotten to the point where I'm willing

[58:31] to completely rule it out for all time.

[58:34] Gore's spokesperson told CNN the former

[58:37] vice president had made it clear that he

[58:39] has no intention of running and that his

[58:42] focus is on global warming, not the

[58:44] presidency. But a key player in

[58:46] Democratic presidential politics points

[58:48] out that Al Gore can actually do far

[58:50] better right now in gaining popularity

[58:53] by staying away from politics and merely

[58:56] focusing on being a movie star. Wol

[58:58] >> Alan, thanks very much. Meanwhile, other

[59:00] people close to Al Gore have told CNN

[59:02] there is an increased likelihood that he

[59:04] will throw his hat in the ring, but no

[59:06] decisions, no decisions have yet been

[59:08] made. And to our viewers, you're in the

[59:10] situation room where new pictures and

[59:12] information are arriving all the time.

[59:14] Standing by, CNN reporters across the

[59:17] United States and around the world to

[59:19] bring you today's top stories. Happening

[59:21] now, discord, diplomacy, and [music]

[59:24] disclosures. All of it on display

[59:27] regarding the crisis in Iraq. It's

[59:29] midnight in Jordan where President Bush

[59:31] will discuss ways to resolve Iraq. But a

[59:33] former member of his cabinet says it's

[59:35] time to face facts. That's what's really

[59:38] happening in Iraq right now is in fact a

[59:40] civil war. Also, a letter to you from

[59:43] the president of Iran. It's 1:30 a.m. in

[59:46] Tehran where Mahmud Akmad pens a letter

[59:50] praising you as a truthloving noble

[59:52] American but slams the US government as

[59:54] engaging in illegal and immoral

[59:57] behavior. And why would a movie called

[60:00] Happy Feet be infuriating some

[60:02] conservatives and be described by one

[60:05] critic as a quote view of hell? I'm Wolf

[60:09] Blitzer. You're on the situation room.

[60:16] [music]

[60:27] Right now, furious political protest, an

[60:29] embarrassing public disclosure, a

[60:31] surprising assessment, an allimp

[60:34] important meeting put off for a day.

[60:36] We're following several major

[60:38] developments in Iraq right now. Source

[60:40] tells CNN the Iraq study group will

[60:43] issue its report on Iraq next Wednesday.

[60:45] is expected to advise President Bush on

[60:47] how to try to fix the situation over

[60:50] there. And that's also the focus of

[60:52] crisis talks in Jordan. But President

[60:54] Bush's allimportant meeting with the

[60:56] Iraqi prime minister has now been put

[60:58] off until tomorrow. Nuriel Maliki

[61:01] skipped a dinner with President Bush and

[61:03] Jordan's King Abdullah. White House

[61:05] officials say it was not related to an

[61:07] embarrassing new memo questioning Al

[61:10] Maliki's ability to run Iraq. That memo

[61:13] first revealed by the New York Times

[61:15] questions if if El Maliki is ignorant of

[61:18] what's happening in his own country is

[61:20] misrepresenting his intentions or if his

[61:22] capabilities are simply compromised.

[61:25] Meanwhile, the man who was Secretary of

[61:27] State when the war began says Iraq's

[61:29] raging violence now meets the standard

[61:32] of a civil war. And Coen Powell says he

[61:35] might advise the administration to use

[61:37] that term if he were still over at the

[61:40] State Department. Some people partly

[61:42] responsible for Nuriel Maliki's rise are

[61:45] now protesting the Iraqi government. A

[61:48] key political block loyal to the radical

[61:50] Shiad cleric Mktata al-Sadder have now

[61:53] made a move that further fractures an

[61:56] already delicate coalition. CNN's Arwood

[61:59] Damon has details from Baghdad.

[62:03] >> Wolf, the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuriel

[62:06] Maliki's ability to hold his government

[62:08] together is in question.

[62:13] An army of followers. Radical Shia

[62:16] cleric Muktada al-Sader's public

[62:18] speeches rally the masses.

[62:23] The anti-Americans political block threw

[62:26] its clout behind Nuri al- Maliki, giving

[62:28] him the prime ministership by a single

[62:31] vote. But prime minister Maliki's base

[62:34] is crumbling because he has not

[62:36] cancelled plans to meet with President

[62:38] Bush in Jordan.

[62:42] The Solder Block in the House of

[62:44] Representatives and the Solder movement

[62:46] and ministers are suspending their

[62:48] membership of Parliament and the

[62:49] government. The Sutter Block holds at

[62:52] least 30 seats in parliament controls

[62:55] six ministries.

[62:57] And if their demands, number one being a

[62:59] timetable for the withdrawal of US

[63:01] troops are not met, they threaten to

[63:04] fully withdraw from the government. In

[63:07] the struggle to control power, this is

[63:09] Alsad's biggest political move. A

[63:13] reminder to Nori al- Maliki and the

[63:15] United States of the power he wields.

[63:18] Power that is bolstered by the Mahi

[63:20] militia. Thousands of well-armed

[63:22] fighters believed to be behind much of

[63:24] the sectarian violence here. As the

[63:27] strength of the government is publicly

[63:29] being tested, not much is changing in

[63:32] the streets of Iraq. In Baghdad, at

[63:34] least three car bombs exploded in a

[63:37] single afternoon. Iraqi police found 52

[63:40] bodies in 24 hours. And many Iraqis

[63:44] question why they ever went to the polls

[63:46] to vote for this.

[63:49] Few Iraqis think he's the man for the

[63:51] prime minister's job. Now Nuriel Maliki

[63:54] has to prove to the United States that

[63:56] he can hold it together. Another ally

[63:59] whose confidence in him is shaky. Wolf

[64:02] >> Ara, thanks very much. are with Damon in

[64:04] Baghdad. This political protest comes

[64:06] amid a very embarrassing new revelation.

[64:09] A White House memo questioning the Iraqi

[64:12] prime minister's capabilities and

[64:14] intentions in leading Iraq. Let's get

[64:16] some more details from CNN's Brian Todd.

[64:18] Brian Wolf, we're getting a very

[64:20] surprising inside look tonight at the

[64:22] concerns by some top White House

[64:23] officials about the Iraqi prime

[64:25] minister. that come out in a classified

[64:27] memo from national security adviser

[64:29] Steven Hadley written after his meeting

[64:31] in Iraq with Nuri Al- Maliki a few weeks

[64:33] ago addressing whether Al Maliki has the

[64:36] ability to bring sectarian violence

[64:37] under control. Hadley writes, quote,

[64:39] "Maliki is either ignorant of what is

[64:41] going on, misrepresenting his

[64:43] intentions, or that his capabilities are

[64:45] not yet sufficient to turn his good

[64:47] intentions into action." Was the release

[64:49] of this document a signal to Nuriel

[64:51] Maliki ahead of his meeting with

[64:53] President Bush a few hours from now in

[64:55] Jordan? Senior White House officials

[64:57] deny leaking Hadley's memo which was

[64:59] first obtained by the New York Times.

[65:01] One official says this release is quote

[65:03] not helpful. A prominent columnist here

[65:05] in Washington agrees with that.

[65:08] It's hard to imagine something that

[65:10] would be more disruptive to a

[65:11] presidential summit meeting than a

[65:13] document like this, but it does state

[65:15] clearly this strategy premised on Prime

[65:18] Minister Maliki isn't working. CNN's

[65:21] efforts to reach Al Maliki's office and

[65:23] members of Iraq's parliament for

[65:24] reaction were unsuccessful today. The

[65:26] memo does not leave Al Maliki hanging.

[65:28] It suggests ways he can turn the

[65:30] security situation around in Iraq and

[65:32] ways the US can help him, including

[65:34] possibly moving additional forces into

[65:36] Baghdad. Also important to note, just

[65:39] this morning, top White House officials

[65:40] told us President Bush does have full

[65:42] confidence in the Iraqi prime minister.

[65:44] Wolf.

[65:44] >> All right, Brian. Thank you. Brian Todd

[65:46] reporting. Uh let's get some more now on

[65:48] the allimportant meeting scheduled for

[65:50] President Bush and the Iraqi prime

[65:52] minister. A meeting that has now been

[65:54] postponed until tomorrow. CNN's Ben

[65:56] Weedman is in Aman, Jordan. Uh and he's

[65:59] got I guess the latest information,

[66:01] whatever it is, Ben, on why this

[66:03] happened. Nuri al- Maliki warned by

[66:05] Mktata al-Sader and his political

[66:07] allies, don't meet with the president.

[66:09] He's supposed to meet with him and King

[66:11] Abdullah tonight. And guess what? He

[66:13] doesn't meet tonight with the president

[66:15] of the United States who's flown all the

[66:17] way over to Jordan to meet with him.

[66:20] Yes, Wolf. Well, White House officials

[66:22] insist it was not a stub, a snub. They

[66:25] say that basically what happened was the

[66:28] Jordanians and the Iraqis met earlier in

[66:30] the day. they felt there was no need to

[66:32] have um Prime Minister Mali part of this

[66:35] meeting this evening. Uh so that is the

[66:38] case as as far as the White House

[66:40] officials go. I spoke to a senior

[66:42] Jordanian official who told me his

[66:44] nonpresence at the palace, King

[66:47] Abdullah's palace is quote no big deal.

[66:50] They will be meeting tomorrow as

[66:52] scheduled. first over breakfast and then

[66:54] a meeting and then there will be a joint

[66:57] press conference between uh the prime

[66:59] minister and the president. So even

[67:02] though the signals coming out or rather

[67:04] the messages are dubious certainly when

[67:06] you take into account uh this leaked

[67:08] White House memo but officials Jordanian

[67:11] and American are insisting it's still

[67:14] full speed ahead.

[67:16] >> All right, we'll check back with you

[67:17] Ben. Thanks very much. And uh later this

[67:19] hour we're going to speak to Congressman

[67:21] Charlie Wrangler of New York. He has

[67:22] some very strong views on what the

[67:25] president is up to right now in Iraq.

[67:27] Charlie Wrangle standing by to join us

[67:28] live. Meantime, let's check in with

[67:30] Jack. He's got the Caerty file. Jack,

[67:32] >> amazing how they can look you right in

[67:34] the eye and say this stuff with a

[67:35] straight face. Uh this was not a snub

[67:38] according to the White House. Uh and the

[67:40] president has confidence in Nuriel

[67:42] Maliki and and they expect us to just

[67:44] go, "Oh, okay. I guess we got it wrong."

[67:47] Things got real nasty at a recent White

[67:49] House reception for freshman Congress

[67:50] members. Newly elected Senator James

[67:53] Webb of Virginia sat out the

[67:55] presidential receiving line. You're

[67:57] supposed to go in those and shake his

[67:59] hand. He also refused to have his

[68:00] picture taken with the president. Webb

[68:03] is a former secretary of the Navy under

[68:05] President Reagan and his son is in the

[68:07] Marine Corps. He's serving in Iraq. The

[68:10] Washington Post reported what happened

[68:13] this way. President Bush approached Webb

[68:15] and said, "How's your boy?" Webb

[68:18] answered, "I'd like to get him out of

[68:20] Iraq, Mr. President. President Bush

[68:22] responded, "That's not what I asked you.

[68:24] How's your boy?" And Webb then said,

[68:27] "That's between me and my boy, Mr.

[68:29] President." And that brought an

[68:31] immediate and chilly end to the

[68:33] conversation. 2007 ought to be great fun

[68:36] to watch. It's just getting started. The

[68:39] question is this: will the division over

[68:40] the war in Iraq prevent any kind of

[68:43] bipartisanship when the new Congress uh

[68:46] new Congress convenes in January? Email

[68:48] your thoughts to CaffertyFile at CNN.com

[68:51] or go to cnn.com/cafertyfile.

[68:54] Wolf.

[68:54] >> All right, Jack. Thank you. Jack Caferty

[68:56] will be back shortly. Up ahead, the

[68:58] former Secretary of State Coen Powell

[69:00] now weighing in on a growing debate. Is

[69:02] Iraq now caught up in a full-scale civil

[69:05] war? We're going to have details of what

[69:07] Coen Powell has said today, plus what

[69:09] he's recommending to his old boss. That

[69:12] would be the president of the United

[69:13] States. Also, Iran's president makes his

[69:16] case directly to the American people in

[69:18] an open letter. He's slamming President

[69:20] Bush, praising Americans, and

[69:22] surprisingly making a prediction about

[69:25] the 2008 election [music] here in the

[69:27] United States. Plus, politically correct

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[69:33] some people are very unhappy with the

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[72:27] arthritis in stores now. Iranian

[72:30] President Mahmud Ahmed Jad is making his

[72:32] case directly to the American people. He

[72:34] has now written an open letter calling

[72:37] on Americans to help change what he

[72:38] characterized as the mistakes of the

[72:41] Bush administration. Our State

[72:43] Department correspondent Zay Verie

[72:44] joining us live from the State

[72:46] Department with details. Quite an

[72:47] extraordinary development, Zane.

[72:50] >> Absolutely, Wolf. President Bush has

[72:52] addressed the Iranian people directly

[72:54] before. Today, Iran's president decided

[72:57] it was his turn.

[73:01] >> A letter delivered straight from Iran's

[73:03] hardline president to the American

[73:05] people. Mahmud Ahmedad slams the US-led

[73:09] war in Iraq, which he says has left the

[73:11] country in ruins and fueled terrorism.

[73:15] >> [screaming]

[73:15] >> The cost, he says, has been high to

[73:17] Iraqis, but for Americans, too, in blood

[73:20] and money. I consider it extremely

[73:23] unlikely that you, the American people,

[73:25] consent to the billions of dollars of

[73:27] annual expenditure from your treasury

[73:29] for this military misadventure. He adds,

[73:32] "America could spend its own dollars on

[73:34] its own people, like victims of

[73:36] Hurricane Katrina and Americans living

[73:38] in poverty."

[73:40] Ahmed Nhad once again condemns US

[73:43] support for Israel and says US treatment

[73:45] of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and the

[73:48] prisoner abuse at Abu Gur has added to

[73:50] America's poor image around the world.

[73:54] He appears to capitalize on the

[73:56] dramatically different political

[73:58] landscape in the US, saying, "I hope

[74:00] that in the wake of the midterm

[74:02] elections, the administration of

[74:04] President Bush will have heard and will

[74:06] heed the message of the American

[74:08] people." He warns Democrats if they

[74:11] don't change the US approach, they too

[74:13] will lose power. And I think it is

[74:16] coming at a time when there is has has

[74:17] been a general consensus reached in

[74:19] Washington that the US has to talk to

[74:21] Iran about Iraq's future.

[74:23] >> Most US officials were dismissive of the

[74:25] letter. A similar response to a previous

[74:28] letter Ahmedad wrote to President Bush

[74:30] earlier this year.

[74:32] >> Although I understand it's only five

[74:33] pages and not 18 pages like the last

[74:35] one. So that's a step ahead.

[74:37] >> There's really not a lot new here. Um

[74:40] and uh certainly um it uh is something

[74:46] of a public public affairs or public

[74:48] relations effort.

[74:51] >> And we asked the State Department Wolf

[74:53] if they had a problem at all with

[74:54] President Ahmedad writing a letter

[74:56] directly to the American people. They

[74:58] said no, not at all. He's free to talk

[75:00] to whoever he wants. Wolf.

[75:02] >> All right, Zayn. Thank you. this note to

[75:04] our viewers. Zayn's going to have a lot

[75:05] more on this story coming up later

[75:07] tonight, 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Paula.

[75:10] Now, Zayn Vie, our new State Department

[75:12] correspondent. And for more now, let's

[75:14] uh go to our chief international

[75:16] correspondent, Cristian Amanpur. She's

[75:18] joining us in London. Cristian, what do

[75:20] you make of this development? Uh the

[75:22] president of Iran writing this open

[75:24] letter to the American people.

[75:27] >> Well, a couple of things. I'm told that,

[75:29] you know, when he came to the United

[75:30] States for the UN General Assembly in

[75:33] September, he held a press conference.

[75:35] He did several television interviews. He

[75:37] talked to members of the Council on

[75:39] Foreign Relations. And we're told that

[75:41] at those at some of those uh occasions,

[75:43] he was um it was suggested to him that

[75:46] he talk directly to the American people.

[75:48] Now, perhaps people envisioned it

[75:50] somewhat differently, maybe an

[75:51] interview, maybe a a speech or

[75:53] something, but he has chosen it to do in

[75:55] letter form. Uh, as Zayn mentioned, he's

[75:57] done that before to President Bush. He's

[75:59] also done it to the German Chancellor,

[76:01] Angela Merkel. In terms of of what's on

[76:04] the the the cards there, so to speak.

[76:06] Nothing hugely new in terms of any

[76:08] policy or proposals, very uh similar

[76:11] things that he said before on the key

[76:13] issues. For instance, on Palestine, he

[76:15] called for a Palestinian state and a

[76:17] referendum in all of Israel and the

[76:19] Palestinian territories, which, as you

[76:21] know, is a non-starter. It's something

[76:22] that's very very much on the minds of

[76:24] everybody in the in the Muslim world. On

[76:26] Iraq, he called for the US to pull its

[76:28] troops out, which he said before, and

[76:30] which is uh Iran's position. No hint of

[76:33] any movement on negotiation or talks

[76:36] with the US about how to resolve that

[76:38] situation there. But clearly Iran

[76:40] feeling uh itself a regional power, the

[76:42] rise of Shiism and he going directly to

[76:45] the American people over the head of the

[76:48] American administration. the

[76:50] speculation, Christian, that if uh the

[76:52] United States starts talking directly

[76:54] not only with Iran but Syria, that that

[76:56] potentially could improve the situation

[76:58] in Iraq. Is that uh is that wishful

[77:01] thinking or is there something there?

[77:05] >> Well, you know that James Baker, who is

[77:07] being deputed by the president to try to

[77:09] figure things out in that region, has

[77:11] said the same thing. He's had talks

[77:13] already with certainly Iranian officials

[77:15] and and potentially perhaps Syrian

[77:17] officials, but it's unclear as to where

[77:19] that's going because the talks from what

[77:21] I'm told with Iran center only on Iraq

[77:24] and with Syria, of course, with this

[77:26] latest issue of the assassination in uh

[77:28] in in Lebanon and with the US being very

[77:30] very angry about that and again talking

[77:32] to Syria about its responsibilities in

[77:34] that region. It's a little difficult to

[77:36] see where that's going right now. But

[77:38] Iran, from what I'm being told, has

[77:40] concluded pretty much that there is no

[77:43] more business to be done with the Bush

[77:45] administration. That they are going to

[77:47] have to wait it out and see what happens

[77:49] under a new administration.

[77:51] >> Cristiano Amanur is our chief

[77:53] international correspondent. Cristian,

[77:54] thank you for that. Coming up, Colon

[77:56] Powell on the war in Iraq and what he'd

[77:59] recommend right now to the White House.

[78:01] Surprising remarks by the former top

[78:03] general and former Secretary of State.

[78:05] We're going to have details. Plus,

[78:07] thousands of airline passengers possibly

[78:09] exposed to radiation. It's the latest

[78:12] fallout from a spy mystery full of

[78:14] international intrigue. Stay with us.

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[79:51] up. Tonight on 360, we're live from

[79:54] Aman, Jordan, where President Bush and

[79:55] Iraq's prime minister are holding talks.

[79:57] We'll have full coverage of their

[79:58] meetings on 360 tonight, 10 p.m.

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[81:13] >> This just coming into CNN, word of

[81:14] important developments regarding the

[81:16] planned report from the bipartisan group

[81:18] studying ways to try to fix the

[81:20] situation in Iraq. Our White House

[81:22] correspondent Ed Henry standing by. He's

[81:24] got some new details. Ed, what are you

[81:26] picking up? Wolf, we do know that the

[81:27] Iraq Study Group will be releasing their

[81:29] report next Wednesday, December 6th. CNN

[81:31] has now learned that the co-chairs of

[81:33] that group, James Baker and Lee

[81:34] Hamilton, are planning to pay a courtesy

[81:36] call to President Bush Wednesday morning

[81:38] before they publicly release this

[81:40] report. Two officials saying that what

[81:42] they'll do is basically go brief the

[81:44] president on their findings in this

[81:46] final report, then go and brief

[81:47] bipartisan congressional leaders on

[81:49] Capitol Hill, then have a press

[81:50] conference somewhere late morning, early

[81:52] afternoon on Wednesday to release all

[81:54] this. Uh the White House though being

[81:56] very careful in how they're responding

[81:57] to the upcoming release of this report.

[81:59] We're now getting the first response

[82:01] from the White House spokeswoman Dana

[82:02] Pino saying quote as the president often

[82:04] has said he looks forward to receiving

[82:05] the Iraq study group's recommendations

[82:07] and is appreciative of their hard work.

[82:10] The White House treading carefully there

[82:11] because as you know the president has

[82:12] ordered up his own review of Iraq policy

[82:15] being coordinated by the National

[82:16] Security Council. So the big question is

[82:18] really whether or not the White House

[82:20] what they'll do with these

[82:21] recommendations. will they implement any

[82:22] of the recommendations uh that come in

[82:24] next week? But I'm being told by one

[82:26] person who was recently interviewed by

[82:27] the Iraq study group uh that in private,

[82:30] contrary to some of the published

[82:31] reports, there's been a lot of consensus

[82:33] emerging and that the Democrats and the

[82:35] Republicans seem to be having a real

[82:36] bipartisan spirit behind closed doors.

[82:38] If there is some sort of a consensus

[82:40] that emerges, uh that is going to give

[82:42] this commission a lot more credibility.

[82:44] If there's a lot of bipartisanship,

[82:46] it'll make it harder for the White House

[82:47] to ignore their recommendations. I think

[82:49] that's a good point because if you get

[82:50] all 10 members of this commission, five

[82:53] Democrats, five Republicans, all of them

[82:55] highly respected in their own right, and

[82:57] if they come together and issue a

[83:00] unanimous set of recommendations, it's

[83:02] going to be very powerful. It's going to

[83:04] be hard for the president and his team,

[83:05] the vice president, the Secretary of

[83:07] State, the incoming Secretary of Defense

[83:09] to simply dismiss it. They're going to

[83:11] be under enormous political pressure to

[83:13] respond. I I suspect

[83:15] >> you're absolutely right. And James Baker

[83:16] obviously is a former Secretary of

[83:18] State, has a lot of clout in the

[83:19] Republican party and on the

[83:20] international stage. And I'm also told

[83:22] by various officials who have been in

[83:23] the room with Mr. Baker and Mr.

[83:24] Hamilton, James Baker in particular has

[83:26] been very active uh in these

[83:28] negotiations, in these talks, asking

[83:30] witnesses a lot of questions. This is

[83:31] someone who's very, very engaged and

[83:33] once this report is released is going to

[83:35] go very public with his views on this,

[83:37] as will Lee Hamilton. So there'll be

[83:38] even more pressure on the White House

[83:40] once this report comes out. Wolf.

[83:41] >> Next, next Wednesday, December 6th.

[83:43] That's right. Right.

[83:44] >> That's right.

[83:44] >> All right. We'll be all over that report

[83:46] next Wednesday right here in the

[83:48] situation room. Thanks very much. Coming

[83:50] up, civil war and his own regrets.

[83:52] Former Secretary of State Coen Powell

[83:54] weighing in today on the deteriorating

[83:56] situation in Iraq. We're going to have

[83:58] details of what he's saying. You're

[83:59] going to want to hear this and more on

[84:01] that leaked memo raising serious

[84:03] questions about US confidence in Iraq's

[84:06] prime minister. I'll talk about that and

[84:08] more with the State Department

[84:10] coordinator for Iraq, David Satderfield.

[84:12] He's standing by live. Stay with us.

[84:14] You're in the situation room. [music]

[84:19] >> So that's the last slide, right?

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[87:01] CNN.

[87:05] >> You're in the situation room where new

[87:06] pictures and information are arriving

[87:08] all the time. Happening now. Meeting

[87:11] postponed and scanned explanation.

[87:13] President Bush's high-profile huddle

[87:15] with Iraq's prime minister is put off

[87:17] until tomorrow. And back in Baghdad,

[87:20] power broker and anti-American cleric

[87:22] Mufata al-Sadder temporarily pulling his

[87:25] supporters from parliament in protest of

[87:28] that meeting. Meanwhile, the violence is

[87:30] spiraling out of control. 52 murdered

[87:33] people were found in the streets of

[87:34] Baghdad today alone. The Pentagon now

[87:37] planning to move thousands of US troops

[87:39] from other parts of Iraq into the

[87:41] capital to try to control the chaos. And

[87:44] in Britain, disturbing new developments

[87:46] in the case of that former Russian spy

[87:49] killed with radioactive poison. British

[87:52] Airways now says traces of that

[87:54] radiation have been found on at least

[87:56] two of its planes. The airline is

[87:58] working to contact some 33,000

[88:01] passengers who may have been exposed

[88:03] over the past few weeks. I'm Wolf

[88:06] Blitzer. You're in the situation room.

[88:13] >> [music]

[88:20] [music]

[88:23] >> As President Bush plans talks on the

[88:25] crisis in Iraq, one person who supported

[88:27] the Iraq invasion is now out with a

[88:29] sobering and surprising assessment of

[88:32] what's happening on the ground right

[88:34] now. Let's turn to our Carol Costello.

[88:36] She's joining us with more with this

[88:38] latest twist in a story that has so many

[88:40] of them. Carol.

[88:41] >> Oh, you're not kidding, Wolf. It is time

[88:43] for the name game again, but this time

[88:45] the label Civil War is coming from none

[88:47] other than Colon Powell. And he said it

[88:50] to an audience in the Middle East,

[88:51] contradicting his old boss at the very

[88:54] same time President Bush is set to

[88:55] convene a summit in Jordan.

[88:58] Crank up the heat and get ready for a

[89:00] possible Republican civil war. Courtesy

[89:03] of one of the most popular statesmen

[89:05] today, Coen Powell. At a leadership

[89:08] conference held in Dubai, chalk full of

[89:10] influential Arabs. Powell told the

[89:12] crowd, "Iraq is in a quote civil war."

[89:15] There were no TV cameras inside the

[89:17] conference, but CNN's Haigari was there

[89:19] and says Pal added,

[89:21] >> "If he were still heading the State

[89:22] Department, he would probably recommend

[89:25] to the Bush administration that those

[89:27] terms should be used."

[89:29] >> This is the same man who led the march

[89:31] to war in Iraq at the United Nations in

[89:33] 2003.

[89:34] >> The facts and Iraq's behavior show that

[89:36] Sodom Hussein and his regime are

[89:39] concealing their efforts to produce more

[89:41] weapons of mass destruction. But what a

[89:44] difference a few years make. What pal

[89:46] said today is politically important

[89:48] because it could snowball among

[89:49] Republicans starting a different kind of

[89:52] civil war on Capitol Hill.

[89:54] >> Many Republicans who will now see that

[89:56] Coen Pal has declared this a civil war

[89:58] and they will feel that now gives them

[90:00] the political cover to speak of it in

[90:01] the same terms.

[90:02] >> After all, General Pal has credibility.

[90:05] He led the first Gulf War and he served

[90:07] as Secretary of State until he left,

[90:10] partly over disagreements over how the

[90:12] war was being waged. As for what his

[90:14] replacement says about Powell's

[90:16] definition of the war now, it isn't

[90:19] likely Condisa Rice will recommend her

[90:21] boss call the violence in Iraq a civil

[90:24] war.

[90:24] >> It's not what our commanders on the

[90:26] ground say it is, and we frankly are

[90:28] relying on the assessment of those

[90:30] experts that are sitting there in

[90:31] Baghdad. But if more Republicans start

[90:34] uttering the term civil war, political

[90:36] watchers say things might become so hot

[90:38] for President Bush, he may be forced to

[90:41] stray the course.

[90:44] Something else uh he told our hologani,

[90:48] uh Mr. Pal continues to regret his

[90:49] statements to the United Nations in

[90:51] 2003. Unless you think his public

[90:54] definition of the war is now setting up

[90:56] a possible presidential run, Colon Pal

[90:58] says no. He has no interest in that.

[91:00] Wolf

[91:01] >> Carol, thanks very much for that story.

[91:04] Let's get some more now in our top

[91:05] story. New concerns about the Iraqi

[91:07] government, its ability and willingness

[91:09] to stop the spiraling violence, and

[91:11] serious questions about its stability.

[91:13] Joining us now to talk about all of

[91:15] that, Ambassador David Satderfield. He's

[91:17] a senior adviser to the Secretary of

[91:19] State uh Conda Rice. Uh the coordinator

[91:23] for Iraq. Spent a lot of time in Baghdad

[91:25] before coming back here to Washington.

[91:27] Ambassador, thanks very much for joining

[91:29] us. It feels given all these

[91:31] developments like the bottom could be

[91:33] falling out right now. Why did Nuriel

[91:36] Maliki refuse to meet with the president

[91:39] of the United States and the king of

[91:41] Jordan tonight as previously scheduled?

[91:44] >> Well, this meeting tonight was

[91:45] originally set to be a courtesy call uh

[91:48] between the three leaders. The prime

[91:49] minister had had a good session earlier

[91:51] in the day uh with King Abdullah of

[91:53] Jordan. He's looking forward to a good

[91:55] meeting, a long meeting tomorrow morning

[91:57] with the president. They all decided it

[91:59] was not necessary to have the call

[92:01] tonight. I wouldn't wouldn't read

[92:02] anything more into it than that

[92:03] >> because as you know ambassador, a lot of

[92:05] people are hearing the threats coming

[92:07] from Mktata also

[92:12] shouldn't be meeting with the president.

[92:14] And you know what? I was stunned when I

[92:16] heard that he boycotted this photo

[92:18] opportunity. The three of them

[92:19] supposedly showing that there was some

[92:21] solidarity there. And all of a sudden,

[92:23] Uriel Maliki uh boycotting this meeting.

[92:26] Well, he's not boycotting the meeting.

[92:28] It was agreed that the meeting would not

[92:29] take place. The meeting wasn't

[92:31] necessary. And with respect to Mukta

[92:33] Solder, his threats or the action taken

[92:35] by his parliamentarians, they haven't

[92:37] had any impact on the prime minister's

[92:38] willingness to come to Jordan in the

[92:40] first instance or to meet with the

[92:41] president in the second. It's going

[92:43] ahead regardless.

[92:44] >> It looks like he and you spent a lot of

[92:45] time in Baghdad risking your life there.

[92:48] It looks like this guy, Mktara Als, who

[92:50] hates the United States, who has

[92:52] American blood on his hands, according

[92:54] to Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez,

[92:57] the first US military commander there.

[92:59] It looks like he's calling the shots of

[93:01] Nuriel Maliki's government.

[93:03] >> But he's not. If he were calling the

[93:05] shots, the prime minister wouldn't be in

[93:06] Jordan. He wouldn't be seeing the

[93:08] president. He's there. He's had a good

[93:09] meeting with the king, and he's going to

[93:10] have a good meeting with the president

[93:11] in the morning.

[93:12] >> All right, we'll see if he shows up for

[93:13] that meeting in the morning. Here's what

[93:14] Steven Hadley, the president's national

[93:16] security adviser, wrote in this November

[93:19] 8th memo to the president about Nuriel

[93:21] Maliki. The reality on the streets of

[93:24] Baghdad suggests Maliki is either

[93:26] ignorant of what is going on,

[93:28] misrepresenting his intentions or that

[93:30] his capabilities are not yet sufficient

[93:32] to turn his good intentions into action.

[93:35] Those are strong words about a guy who

[93:38] apparently doesn't have a whole lot of

[93:39] power in Iraq right now.

[93:42] The president supports the prime

[93:43] minister. The president's affirmed that

[93:46] in many meetings, in many conferences

[93:48] that they've had. He's going to do it

[93:50] tomorrow. The president knows the prime

[93:52] minister wants greater control over the

[93:53] Iraqi security forces. He wants to see a

[93:56] transition to an Iraqi lead on the

[93:57] political as well as on the military

[93:59] front. And that's something we've been

[94:01] discussing, will continue to discuss.

[94:02] President wants to hear from the prime

[94:04] minister. Where's the prime minister

[94:05] going on national reconciliation, on

[94:07] governance issues, on the political

[94:09] track? This is going to be a very

[94:11] thorough review, but it's done in the

[94:13] capacity of a sovereign leader whom we

[94:15] respect, whom we want to help succeed.

[94:17] >> It sounds though that Stephen Hadley,

[94:18] and I carefully read that memo not once,

[94:21] not twice, but three times. It sounds

[94:23] like he's not so sure that Nurieli al-

[94:25] Maliki really wants a democracy

[94:28] embracing the Shia, the Sunni, the

[94:30] Kurds, all of the groups of Iraq, or he

[94:33] simply is trying to stack the deck and

[94:35] create a Shiiteled theocracy aligned

[94:38] with Iran. If we had concluded that

[94:40] Prime Minister Maliki was following a

[94:42] sectarian agenda, the president would

[94:43] not have traveled to Iman. He would not

[94:45] be meeting with him. We see him as a

[94:47] national leader, but we see him as a

[94:49] national leader who has capacity issues.

[94:51] That's what we are trying to help on.

[94:53] That's what we're discussing.

[94:55] >> What does that mean, capacity issues?

[94:57] >> On the security side and on the

[94:58] political side, the prime minister needs

[95:00] help. General Casey, Ambassador Khalil

[95:02] Zad, their senior leaders, senior

[95:04] leaders on the Iraqi side have been

[95:05] talking about how to help build capable,

[95:08] effective Iraqi forces, how to do it

[95:10] quickly, how to get them into the fight.

[95:12] On the political side, the prime

[95:13] minister needs help and support. We're

[95:15] trying to work with him. We're trying to

[95:17] work with other Iraqi leaders to provide

[95:18] the kind of help he needs, the kind of

[95:20] capabilities he needs.

[95:21] >> We saw the Iraqi president Jalal

[95:23] Talibani show up in Tehran for meetings

[95:26] with the Supreme Ayatollah as well as

[95:28] with President Ahmad. He himself wrote a

[95:30] letter to the American people today

[95:33] basically denouncing the US government.

[95:35] Uh what's your message to the Iranian

[95:38] people in response?

[95:40] >> The message to the Iranian government to

[95:41] the Iranian people is this. Uh Iraq

[95:44] needs good neighbors and that includes

[95:46] Iran. Iraq and we both understand the

[95:48] important role that Iran historically

[95:50] has had with respect to Iraq. But it's a

[95:53] role that needs to be respectful of

[95:54] Iraqi sovereignty and independence. It

[95:57] needs to refrain from meddling in Iraqi

[95:59] internal affairs. And above all, it

[96:01] needs to stop, Iran needs to stop the

[96:04] provision of lethal training and

[96:05] assistance to elements engaged in

[96:07] violence in Iraq.

[96:08] >> We got to leave it there. Unfortunately,

[96:09] Ambassador David Satderfield's got one

[96:11] of the toughest jobs in the US

[96:12] government. Appreciate you coming on the

[96:14] program, sir.

[96:15] >> Thank you. Still to come, Iran's

[96:18] president saying the money the United

[96:19] States is spending on the Iraq war would

[96:21] be better off spent at home. I'll talk

[96:23] about that with Congressman Charlie

[96:25] Wrangler. He'll soon have a very

[96:26] powerful say on spending when he takes

[96:29] over as chairman of the House Ways and

[96:30] Means Committee. Plus, most audience

[96:33] love it. Uh, but some critics say the

[96:34] new hit animated movie Happy Feet is

[96:37] liberal propaganda. CNN's Genie Mos

[96:40] standing by to show us why. Stay with

[96:42] us.

[96:42] >> You're in the situation room.

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[100:03] >> Welcome back. Talks delayed, troops

[100:05] redeployed, the government in crisis and

[100:08] violence seemingly without end in Iraq.

[100:10] The crisis in Iraq appearing to reach a

[100:13] new level today. Joining us now to talk

[100:15] about that, Democratic Congressman

[100:17] Charlie Wrangler of New York. He's in

[100:18] line to become chairman of the powerful

[100:20] House Ways and Means Committee when the

[100:22] next Congress convenes in January. Uh

[100:25] Congressman, thanks very much for call

[100:27] for for coming in. I'm not going to call

[100:28] you Mr. chairman yet, but pretty soon

[100:30] that will be the way we will uh refer to

[100:32] you. Uh Jimmy Carter was here in the

[100:35] situation room yesterday, the former

[100:37] president of the United States, and I

[100:39] asked them about uh how big a blunder

[100:41] the president made in going into Iraq.

[100:43] Listen to this exchange.

[100:46] >> It's going to prove, I believe, to be

[100:48] the one of the greatest blunders that

[100:49] American presidents have ever made.

[100:51] >> Bigger than Vietnam. Uh, I think it's

[100:54] going to be a close call, but perhaps

[100:56] much more vividly known by the rest of

[100:57] the world than Vietnam was.

[101:00] >> What do you think? Do you agree with the

[101:02] former president?

[101:03] >> I could not agree with him more. As a

[101:05] matter of fact, I was hoping that uh in

[101:08] the interview with Coen Powell, he might

[101:10] share with us. What information did they

[101:13] give to him to allow him with all of the

[101:15] credibility that he used to have to go

[101:18] into Iraq? Every reason that the

[101:21] president gave to Congress and the

[101:23] American people have fallen through and

[101:25] the suspicion is that he and others may

[101:28] have known that the facts were not true.

[101:30] >> Well, wait a minute. Wait a minute.

[101:31] You're not accusing Coen Powell of

[101:32] deliberately lying to the American

[101:34] public. Uh I I assume knowing him as I

[101:37] do for so many years that he honestly

[101:40] believed when he was told at the CIA

[101:42] that there were weapons of mass

[101:43] destruction stockpiles and he said that

[101:45] before the UN Security Council. I have

[101:47] to assume he honestly believed it.

[101:50] >> I'm not going to argue with that. But

[101:51] his chief of staff said publicly and has

[101:54] written in a book that that was his

[101:56] worst day sitting with his true at the

[101:58] UN. But don't you believe that Colon

[102:01] Powell is a man of integrity that

[102:02] believed what he said?

[102:04] >> Yes, of course I do. But if somebody did

[102:07] that to me with whatever little

[102:09] integrity I had and my chief of staff

[102:12] was there obviously telling me that that

[102:14] was not factual, I would be outraged.

[102:18] And so I'm not challenging the honesty

[102:21] of Coen Powell. But I question why there

[102:24] hasn't been more outrage, especially

[102:27] that now he's describing as a civil war.

[102:30] The question is, as former President

[102:32] Carter has said, how could one man and

[102:35] his cabinet bring this great country

[102:38] into this disaster, this cesspool? You

[102:41] can call it a civil war, but it

[102:43] certainly is not a liberation force.

[102:45] >> So, let me [snorts] ask, you're going to

[102:46] be in the majority now in the United

[102:48] States House of Representatives. If this

[102:50] situation continues to deteriorate and

[102:53] and emerge as a Vietnam where

[102:55] helicopters will be going into the US

[102:56] embassy to to try to whisk uh remaining

[102:59] American troops out, what are you going

[103:01] to do about that as as the majority in

[103:04] the US Congress?

[103:05] >> Let me make it clear. Uh Democrats may

[103:08] be in the majority in the Congress, but

[103:10] we are not a part of the executive

[103:12] branch. The president has heard the

[103:14] American people loud and clear. They're

[103:17] against the war. I hope this Iraqi study

[103:19] group reflects that type of feeling. I'm

[103:22] certain it will. But I'm optimistic

[103:24] that, you know, I'm a little skeptical

[103:27] that the president is over there talking

[103:29] Malaki and going to Jordan. He ought to

[103:31] stay at the White House and let the

[103:33] diplomats try to work this out. We have

[103:35] a heck of a wonderful opportunity with

[103:38] peace being negotiated between the

[103:40] Palestinians and Israel to get the

[103:42] Jordanians, the Saudi Arabians, and the

[103:45] Egyptians. But Congressman, you know, a

[103:46] lot of Americans are going to say,

[103:48] "Look, we elected these Democrats to be

[103:50] the majority in the House and the Senate

[103:52] in large part, and I think you'll agree,

[103:54] because of the war in Iraq, the

[103:56] unhappiness, the anger here in the

[103:57] United States, and they're going to rely

[103:59] on you to try to do something if the

[104:01] policies don't change. Here's one option

[104:04] that's on the table, the power of the

[104:06] purse, something that you can control as

[104:08] the majority in the House of

[104:10] Representatives. Is that something

[104:11] you're going to tamper with?"

[104:13] >> Of course not. We would never do

[104:15] anything that would jeopardize the

[104:17] safety of our brave young and women over

[104:19] there. The biggest tool that we have at

[104:22] this point in time is not the power of

[104:24] the purse, but the power of the

[104:26] subpoena. You know, we have never had

[104:28] oversight of any of these things that's

[104:30] been said and done to get us into this

[104:33] uh this this dilemma that we find

[104:35] ourselves in. And so when people come

[104:38] down under oath, you won't have to worry

[104:40] about where we got this bad information.

[104:43] Who do you want? Who do you want to

[104:44] subpoena?

[104:46] >> Anybody that's telling us things that

[104:48] just doesn't make any truth. But I don't

[104:50] think we have to go there. They're

[104:52] falling apart. The president's falling

[104:54] apart. He's calling upon his father's

[104:57] friends. And we may get some sanity out

[104:59] of this if the president stays at home

[105:02] and let Conn Lisa Rice and maybe bring

[105:05] back Coen Powell and and use uh uh uh

[105:08] Jim Baker. You know, it's time that we

[105:11] bring in these mo these moderate Arab

[105:14] country leaders and at least we're

[105:16] talking to them. This is their struggle,

[105:18] too. It's not just the United States and

[105:20] Israel.

[105:21] >> Let me pick uh your brain on this

[105:22] extraordinary letter that the president

[105:24] of Iran, Mahmud Ahmedad, has now written

[105:27] to the American people. That would be

[105:29] you and me among them. He writes this

[105:32] among other things. Now that Iraq has a

[105:34] constitution and an independent assembly

[105:36] and government, would it not be more

[105:38] beneficial to bring the US officers and

[105:40] soldiers home and to spend the

[105:42] astronomical US military expenditures in

[105:44] Iraq for the welfare and prosperity of

[105:47] the American people? It's interesting

[105:49] that he's now weighing in on this debate

[105:51] here in the United States.

[105:53] >> Well, he couldn't be more right. You

[105:54] know, we've lost 3,000 men over there.

[105:57] Uh 20,000 wounded American men and

[106:00] women. uh hundreds of thousands of

[106:03] Iraqis. I'm not saying just close it

[106:05] down and come home, but it's really time

[106:08] to bring in those people from the region

[106:10] who understands the culture and the

[106:12] difference that these people have and to

[106:14] let them stop holding out coats, but to

[106:16] get involved in trying to find some

[106:18] peace there. I'm anxiously waiting for

[106:21] this uh Iraqi study report because I

[106:24] know it's not saying what the president

[106:26] is saying. We cannot stay there until

[106:29] victory is won and we have no clue as to

[106:31] what the victory is and we cannot afford

[106:34] to stay the course.

[106:35] >> Next Wednesday it's coming out. Lee

[106:36] Hamilton, a man you know well. You

[106:38] served in the House with him for a long

[106:40] time and James Baker. Five Democrats,

[106:42] five Republicans, and we're we're told

[106:44] they're getting close to a unanimous set

[106:46] of recommendations, but we'll find out

[106:48] next Wednesday. Charlie Wrangler, always

[106:50] good of you to come into the situation

[106:51] room.

[106:52] >> Thank you, Wolf.

[106:53] >> See you soon. And just ahead, it's made

[106:55] [music] for kids, but some parents

[106:57] simply don't like what they're seeing.

[106:59] Our Jeannie Mo shows us why they're so

[107:01] unhappy with the hit movie Happy Feet.

[107:04] And Jack Caferty is wondering, will the

[107:06] division over the war prevent any sort

[107:08] of bipartisanship with the new Congress?

[107:10] Jack standing by with the Caerty file.

[107:12] We'll be right back. [music]

[107:20] [music]

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[107:51] >> Lou Dobson tonight. CNN coming up next.

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[109:27] The Rose Garden comes alive once again

[109:29] for this year's Pap.

[109:31] It's the Pack 10 against the Big 12 as

[109:33] the Oregon Ducks take on the Nebraska

[109:35] Corn Huskers, followed by the Oregon

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[109:39] starts at noon on December 9th at the

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[109:52] Oregon Ducks and the Pape Jam, a

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[109:57] >> Dog, the bounty hunter, and prisoner,

[109:59] plus Senator John Carrey, Larry King

[110:01] tonight, 9 Eastern.

[110:04] Check back with Jack Caerty for the

[110:06] Cafferty. Follow Jack. Democratic

[110:08] Senator-elect Jim Webb from Virginia and

[110:10] President Bush had a tense exchange

[110:12] during a recent White House reception.

[110:14] It was not pretty. Webb's son is a

[110:16] Marine serving in Iraq. The question

[110:18] this hour is, will the division in this

[110:19] country over the war prevent any sort of

[110:21] bipartisanship with the new Congress?

[110:23] George in New Hampshire writes, "I don't

[110:25] want bipartisanship. I, like many other

[110:28] people who voted, want Bush's head on a

[110:30] platter. The GOP proved that you can

[110:32] impeach a president for stepping on a

[110:34] crack in a sidewalk on a Tuesday in a

[110:37] snowstorm in July in Florida as long as

[110:40] you have the majority. My Republican

[110:42] friends laugh then. They're not laughing

[110:43] now. This is the most criminal president

[110:46] in history. Investigate, prove, and off

[110:48] to Guantanamo Bay for all the Bushies.

[110:52] Sally in Virginia, thank you, Senator

[110:53] Webb, for not legitimizing this

[110:55] illegitimate president. I'm glad you got

[110:58] my vote. I don't hope for bipartisanship

[111:00] in the next Congress. I hope for

[111:02] progress in getting the Republicans

[111:04] under control so something good can come

[111:06] out of our government for a change. What

[111:08] better way to start than to take away

[111:09] the respect Bush does not deserve. More

[111:12] Congress members should do likewise. Amy

[111:15] writes from Virginia, "The new voice in

[111:16] Congress isn't left or right. It's

[111:18] military. Jim Webb is just one example,

[111:21] and I'm proud to have him as my senator.

[111:23] Both parties have people in Congress

[111:25] with actual experience in the military

[111:27] and personal connections to the human

[111:29] beings that Bush administration is

[111:30] treating as cannon fodder. NA writes

[111:33] people want civility in government.

[111:35] While Web has every right to oppose the

[111:37] president on any issue, how hard is it

[111:39] to be civil? If he doesn't want his son

[111:41] in Iraq, why did he volunteer? What's

[111:43] the point in such a political dialogue?

[111:45] Who does it help? It only confirms how

[111:48] ugly and petty politics can be at the

[111:50] highest levels. Vicki in Illinois, I

[111:52] don't know about bipartisanship, but I

[111:54] hope whatever Jim Webb has is

[111:56] contagious. Gary in New York,

[111:58] bipartisanship, cooperation. I'm sure

[112:00] you're kidding. It's going to be a

[112:02] bloodbath. And not since the reign of

[112:04] Louis the 16th has any group in power

[112:06] deserved it more. If you didn't see your

[112:08] email here, you can go to

[112:09] cnn.com/caffertyfile

[112:11] and read some more of them there. Wolf,

[112:13] >> a lot of our viewers do exactly that,

[112:15] Jack. See you back here in an hour.

[112:17] Honeybees trained to sniff out suicide

[112:20] bombers. It sounds like the stuff of

[112:21] sci-fi, but scientists may be closer uh

[112:24] than you think. Our internet reporter

[112:26] Jackie Shener standing by with details.

[112:28] Jackie.

[112:28] >> Well, if honey bees have an

[112:30] extraordinary sense of smell, and

[112:31] there's a small British company called

[112:33] Insentinel that is training honeybees to

[112:36] sniff out explosives. Here's how their

[112:38] prototype works. The trained bees are

[112:40] tucked safely into this cartridge here.

[112:43] There's three of them. And then this

[112:44] cartridge is put right here into the

[112:46] box. On the left hand side, there is a

[112:48] vacuum. And this is where the scent

[112:50] comes in. Now, the honeybees that are

[112:51] trained to smell explosives, if they

[112:53] sniff out something, will basically

[112:55] extend what's like their tongues, and

[112:57] that's what you see here. The box is

[112:58] hooked up to a computer, and that

[113:00] records all of the information. Now, the

[113:02] Department of Defense here in the US is

[113:04] putting money into this project, and the

[113:06] Los Alamos National Laboratory is doing

[113:08] all of the research. They say that these

[113:11] uh bees are very reliable. This works

[113:12] very well, and they're actually very uh

[113:14] resilient. only takes a couple of hours

[113:16] to train them and they can go on working

[113:17] for a couple of days. Now, the British

[113:19] company in Sentinel says if the military

[113:21] signs on for this project, it would be

[113:22] commercially available in about a year.

[113:25] And the Biologists say that this kind of

[113:27] stuff could be used in Iraq to sniff out

[113:29] suicide bombers, car bombs. It could

[113:30] even be used in airports here in the

[113:32] United States. Wolf,

[113:34] >> thanks very much, Jackie, for that. Up

[113:35] next, penguins and politics colliding in

[113:38] a hit animated movie. CNN's Jeannie Mos

[113:40] shows us why happy feet has some people

[113:43] very unhappy. Stay with us. You're in

[113:45] the situation room.

[113:51] [music]

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[116:21] >> Controversy is growing over the number

[116:23] one movie in the country. CNN's Junior

[116:25] Most explains why some people are so

[116:27] unhappy with Happy Feet. feed his

[116:30] suffering heart.

[116:31] >> You know, things are going downhill.

[116:35] >> The dancing penguin

[116:37] causes a political flap.

[116:39] >> They're foisting this on my kids. Tell

[116:41] me about it first. Okay. So, I know I'm

[116:43] walking in to propaganda.

[116:45] >> Not everyone's happy with the

[116:46] blockbuster happy feet. Crappy feet, one

[116:50] critic called it. [laughter]

[116:52] Some conservatives say it's dark,

[116:54] disturbing environmental propaganda

[116:56] pitting cute penguins against big bad

[116:59] humans in the fishing industry.

[117:01] >> An animated version of an inconvenient

[117:03] truth.

[117:04] >> But can you really compare Al Gore's

[117:06] global warming documentary

[117:10] to Happy Feet?

[117:11] >> I half expected to see an animated

[117:13] version of Al Gore pop up. In Al Gore's

[117:16] film, Glaciers crack,

[117:19] >> but the only cracking in Happy Feet is

[117:21] caused by bad vocals.

[117:25] [screaming]

[117:26] >> Yeah, I heard an animal once do that,

[117:28] but then they rolled him over. He was

[117:29] dead.

[117:30] >> There is no global warming in Happy

[117:32] Feet, where the director readily admits

[117:34] to amplifying environmental themes. The

[117:37] penguins are starving because of over

[117:39] fishing. Humans are called aliens.

[117:41] >> Have you ever been abducted by aliens?

[117:43] Check out the six-pack holder around his

[117:46] neck.

[117:46] >> It is my sacred talisman.

[117:48] >> It ends up almost choking him to death.

[117:50] Even the New York Times describes the

[117:52] movie as a view of hell as seen through

[117:55] the eyes and ears of creatures we

[117:57] foolishly tragically call dumb.

[118:00] >> You're penguino. I'm the genius we're

[118:02] born.

[118:03] >> That's the voice of Robin Williams

[118:05] portraying one of the lead penguins. The

[118:07] movie's gotten rave reviews. I just

[118:10] think conservatives are, you know, still

[118:12] cranky from the election when they pick

[118:13] a fight with this animated penguin. It

[118:16] doesn't make any sense.

[118:17] >> One critic even suggested there's a gay

[118:19] subtext. Mumbles is an outcast because

[118:22] he dances but can't sing.

[118:24] >> But it just ain't Penguin. Okay,

[118:26] >> don't ask me to change, Paul. Cuz I

[118:28] can't.

[118:29] >> They gone.

[118:30] >> But don't expect Mumbles to join the

[118:32] ranks of actual gay penguin couples.

[118:35] Happy Feet Defenders say he's no

[118:37] different than Rudolph the Red-Nosed

[118:39] Reindeer.

[118:39] >> Of the 50,000 things affecting America's

[118:42] youth in negative ways today. I

[118:45] >> I I don't think the Penguin movie is

[118:48] probably on that 50,000.

[118:49] >> As for kids who have seen the movie,

[118:51] >> what was the movie about?

[118:53] >> Happy Feet.

[118:54] >> I love you. I love you.

[118:56] >> Happy Feet seems to have gone to their

[118:58] heads.

[118:59] >> Show me what the penguins do. But those

[119:02] happy feet are stepping on conservative

[119:06] toes.

[119:07] >> Genie Mo, CNN, New York.

[119:10] >> Okay,

[119:12] >> thank you, Genie Mos, for that.

[119:13] Remember, we're here in the situation

[119:15] room weekday afternoons from 4 to 6:00

[119:17] p.m. Eastern. Back in 1 hour at 700 p.m.

[119:20] Eastern. Until then, thanks very much

[119:22] for joining us. I'm Will Wolf Blitzer in

[119:24] Washington. Lou Dos getting ready to

[119:26] start his program. Lou, well, thank you.

[119:29] Tonight, President Bush and the Iraqi

[119:31] Prime Minister are preparing for talks

[119:32] in Jordan that could determine whether

[119:35] the United States succeeds [music] or

[119:36] fails in Iraq. We'll have reports

[119:38] tonight from Aman, Baghdad, and the

[119:40] Pentagon. The president is also

[119:43] determined [music] to push his quiet

[119:45] agenda to create a North American Union

[119:47] of the United States, [music] Mexico,

[119:49] and Canada without the approval of the

[119:51] people or the Congress. We'll have that

[119:53] special report and a great deal more

[119:55] straight ahead here tonight.

[119:59] >> [music]

[120:02] >> This is New Dobs Tonight. News, debate,

[120:05] and opinion for Wednesday, November

[120:08] 29th, live in New York. Lou Dobs.

[120:11] >> Good evening, everybody. President Bush

[120:13] and the Iraqi prime minister tomorrow

[120:15] will hold talks in Jordan that could

[120:18] determine whether Iraq slides into an

[120:20] all-out civil war. Their talks come amid

[120:22] increasing signs that the Iraqi prime

[120:24] minister has lost control of his country

[120:27] to radical Islamists, insurgents, and

[120:29] terrorists. US officials say the outcome

[120:31] of this war depends on whether the

[120:33] United States can win the battle for

[120:35] Baghdad. The US military today announced

[120:38] it's sending at least three more

[120:39] battalions to Baghdad. Ben Weedman

[120:42] reports tonight from Aman, Jordan on the

[120:44] high stakes in tomorrow's meeting

[120:46] between President Bush and the Iraqi

[120:48] prime minister. Arwa Damon tonight

[120:50] reports in Baghdad on a new revolt that

[120:52] threatens the future of the entire Iraqi

[120:55] government. And Jamie McIntyre reporting

[120:57] from the Pentagon tonight on the

[120:59] military's decision to send thousands

[121:01] more troops to Baghdad. We turn first to

[121:04] Ben Weedman with the president tonight

[121:06] in Jordan. Ben?

[121:08] >> Yes, Lou. Well, President Bush was

[121:10] supposed to meet with Iraqi Prime

[121:11] Minister Nuriel Maliki, but the meeting

[121:14] was cancelled. American and Jordanian

[121:17] officials say it was not a snub, just a

[121:19] question of scheduling. Whether you

[121:22] believe that or not, it is not an

[121:24] auspicious start to a M East mission

[121:26] that was from the beginning a tall

[121:28] order.

[121:30] It would hardly seem like the best time

[121:32] to visit the region. President Bush's

[121:35] grand ambitions for the Middle East lie

[121:37] in disarray. In Iraq, what was supposed

[121:40] to be a beacon of democracy has become a

[121:43] black hole of sectarian violence and

[121:46] anarchy. The administration still

[121:48] insists it's not civil war, though what

[121:50] Iraqi officials describe sounds almost

[121:53] as bad. This is a war between the

[121:56] extremist and the moderate in the whole

[121:58] region. And that's what's concentrating

[122:02] its effort in Iraq. If they lose, they

[122:05] lose in the whole region. If they win,

[122:07] God forbid, they will disrupt the whole

[122:09] region again.

[122:10] >> The man President Bush has come to meet,

[122:12] Iraqi Prime Minister Nuril Maliki, rests

[122:15] uneasy in the seat of power. Ministers

[122:18] loyal to radical Shiite cleric Miktada

[122:20] Sadar have suspended their involvement

[122:22] in Maliki's government to protest his

[122:24] meeting with President Bush. And adding

[122:27] insult to injury, a leaked White House

[122:29] memo by National Security Adviser Steven

[122:32] Hadley questions Maliki's ability to

[122:34] rule. In the memo, Hadley writes,

[122:37] "Maliki is either ignorant of what is

[122:39] going on, misrepresenting his

[122:41] intentions, or his capabilities are not

[122:44] yet sufficient to turn his good

[122:45] intentions into action." Perhaps

[122:50] glimpsing postpullout reality, Iraqi

[122:53] President Jalal Talibani is now rubbing

[122:55] shoulders with the leaders of Iran who

[122:58] seem as determined as ever, threats of

[123:00] sanctions notwithstanding, to pursue a

[123:03] nuclear option, flushed with growing

[123:06] regional clout. In Lebanon, the USbacked

[123:09] government is under siege. And that

[123:12] government is being undermined in my

[123:14] opinion by uh by extremist forces

[123:18] encouraged out of Syria and Iran. Why?

[123:22] Because a democracy will be a major

[123:25] defeat for those who articulate

[123:27] extremist points of view. Across the

[123:29] region, hopes for a blossoming of

[123:31] democracy have been dashed as almost

[123:34] every experiment in political

[123:35] liberalization in Egypt, in Iraq, in the

[123:39] Palestinian territories has empowered or

[123:41] emboldened Islamic hardliners.

[123:45] Lou, there will be a meeting of course

[123:46] tomorrow morning between Maliki and

[123:48] President Bush. First, they'll have

[123:50] breakfast, then they'll have a closed

[123:52] meeting, and then a press conference.

[123:54] Interestingly enough, the Iraqi prime

[123:56] minister has announced that as soon as

[123:58] he gets back to Baghdad, he'll hold

[124:00] another press conference. It'll be

[124:02] interesting to hear what he has to say.

[124:04] Luke Ben, thank you very much. Ben

[124:06] Weedman, as Ben just reported today, a

[124:09] clear demonstration of the Iraqi prime

[124:11] minister's political weakness and his

[124:13] opposition. Radical Islamist lawmakers

[124:16] in Baghdad today suspended their support

[124:18] for Al Maliki's government to protest

[124:20] his meeting with the president now

[124:22] scheduled for tomorrow. The Iraqi

[124:24] Parliament has a total of 275 seats,

[124:28] including Shia, Sunnis, and Kurds. The

[124:30] most powerful block among the Shia is

[124:33] the United Iraqi Alliance. It's led by

[124:35] Prime Minister Almiki and has 128 of

[124:38] those seats. 30 members of that block

[124:41] walked out today. All of them controlled

[124:43] by and supporters of the anti-American

[124:46] cleric Mutta al-Sadder. Also controls

[124:50] six of the 32 government ministries

[124:53] including health and transportation.

[124:55] They also walked out today. Arwa Damon

[124:57] has our report from Baghdad. Arwa

[125:02] Lou. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuriel

[125:04] Maliki's ability to hold his government

[125:07] together is in question.

[125:11] An army of followers. Radical Shia

[125:14] cleric Mktada als

[125:17] rally the masses.

[125:21] The anti-Americans political block threw

[125:24] its clout behind Nori al- Maliki, giving

[125:26] him the prime ministership by a single

[125:29] vote. But Prime Minister Maliki's base

[125:32] is crumbling because he has not

[125:34] cancelled plans to meet with President

[125:36] Bush in Jordan.

[125:40] >> The Solder Block in the House of

[125:42] Representatives and the Solder movement

[125:44] and ministers are suspending their

[125:46] membership of Parliament and the

[125:47] government. The Sutter block holds at

[125:50] least 30 seats in parliament, controls

[125:53] six ministries,

[125:55] and if their demands, number one being a

[125:57] timetable for the withdrawal of US

[125:59] troops, are not met, they threaten to

[126:02] fully withdraw from the government. In

[126:05] the struggle to control power, this is

[126:07] Alsad's biggest political move. A

[126:11] reminder to Nori al- Maliki and the

[126:13] United States of the power he wields.

[126:16] Power that is bolstered by the Mahi

[126:18] militia. Thousands of well-armed

[126:20] fighters believed to be behind much of

[126:22] the sectarian violence here. As the

[126:25] strength of the government is publicly

[126:27] being tested, not much is changing in

[126:30] the streets of Iraq. In Baghdad, at

[126:32] least three car bombs exploded in a

[126:35] single afternoon. Iraqi police found 52

[126:38] bodies in 24 hours. And many Iraqis

[126:42] question why they ever went to the polls

[126:44] to vote for this.

[126:47] Few Iraqis think he's the man for the

[126:49] prime minister's job. Now Nuriel Maliki

[126:52] has to prove to the United States that

[126:54] he can pull it together. Another ally

[126:56] whose confidence in him is shaky. Lou

[127:00] >> Harwood Damon from Baghdad. The US

[127:03] military now sending as many as 20,000

[127:06] more of our troops to the Iraqi capital.

[127:08] The reinforcements are the latest sign

[127:10] the Iraqi government is unable to secure

[127:12] its own capital without US support.

[127:15] Jamie McIntyre reports from the

[127:17] Pentagon. Jamie. Well, Lou, as Iraqi

[127:20] forces have failed to step up, once

[127:22] again, US forces have to step in. US

[127:25] commanders tired of waiting for Iraqi

[127:28] battalions to show up in Baghdad have

[127:31] instead decided to order additional US

[127:33] troops into the Iraqi capital. Pentagon

[127:36] sources say that three battalions of US

[127:40] Army troops will be moving into the

[127:41] Iraqi capital. That is about 1600

[127:45] troops. Even with more than 300,000

[127:48] Iraqi troops in uniform, uh the Pentagon

[127:52] says many are unwilling to leave their

[127:54] home areas and others are just

[127:56] unsuitable for work in Baghdad.

[128:01] There are some units around Iraq that if

[128:04] moved into uh Baghdad would not be

[128:08] helpful uh for if it a Sunni unit

[128:10] somewhere else in Iraq moved into a Shia

[128:13] neighborhood or a Shia unit someplace

[128:15] else in Iraq moved into a Sunni

[128:16] neighborhood is not going to help the

[128:18] problem.

[128:19] Chairman [snorts] of the Joint Chiefs

[128:20] also dismissed a report from ABC News

[128:23] suggesting that he was considering

[128:24] turning over the insurgent stronghold of

[128:27] Alanbar province to Iraqi security

[128:29] forces and the moving the Marines there

[128:31] to Baghdad. General Pace says he's been

[128:34] meeting with colonels and captains uh

[128:36] just back from Iraq. And while they're

[128:38] considering almost everything, he said

[128:40] abandoning Anbar province is not on the

[128:43] table. Lou,

[128:45] >> thank you very much. Jamie McIntyre from

[128:47] the Pentagon. Well, in Iraq, two more of

[128:49] our troops have been killed. One soldier

[128:51] killed in Alanbar Province. Another

[128:54] soldier killed north of Baghdad. 64 of

[128:56] our troops have been killed so far this

[128:58] month. 2,884 of our troops have been

[129:01] killed since the war began. 21,921

[129:04] of our troops wounded. 9,847

[129:08] of them so seriously they could not

[129:10] return to duty. Our troops still have

[129:12] not found a missing US pilot whose F-16

[129:15] fighter jet crashed northwest of Baghdad

[129:17] Monday. The Air Force today said the

[129:19] pilot was operating out of Balad Air

[129:22] Base north of the Iraqi capital.

[129:24] Officials believe the pilot was probably

[129:27] killed in that crash.

[129:29] Large numbers of Iraqis are also being

[129:31] killed in this war. Of course, as many

[129:33] as 3,700 killed last month alone. Former

[129:37] Secretary of State Coen Powell today

[129:39] said, "Iraq's violence has now escalated

[129:41] to the level of civil war." Pal, of

[129:44] course, a prominent supporter of the

[129:46] president's decision to go to war. Pal

[129:48] went to the United Nations in February

[129:50] of 2003 to argue that Saddam Hussein

[129:53] possessed weapons of mass destruction,

[129:56] an assertion that of course later turned

[129:58] out to be wrong. The Iraq Study Group

[130:02] will issue its report on the future

[130:03] direction of American strategy in Iraq

[130:05] one week from today. The bipartisan

[130:08] group is led by former Secretary of

[130:09] State James Baker. The leading Democrat

[130:12] on the group, Lee Hamilton, spoke just a

[130:14] short time ago.

[130:16] >> Let me say two things about the Iraq

[130:17] Study Group. Uh number one, uh early

[130:21] this afternoon, we reached a consensus.

[130:25] Uh and number two, we will announce that

[130:28] on December 6th. That's all I can say.

[130:32] >> Again, that report will be released next

[130:34] Wednesday, one week from today. Iranian

[130:38] President Ahmed today offered his

[130:40] opinion of what the United States should

[130:41] do in Iraq. Ahmed Jad wrote a letter as

[130:45] he styled it to the American people,

[130:47] saying the United States should withdraw

[130:49] from Iraq. Ahmed also tried to play the

[130:52] role of political analysts for the

[130:54] United States, telling congressional

[130:56] Democrats that they will quote be held

[130:59] to account by the people and by history

[131:01] in quote if they do not change US

[131:04] policy, the responsibility for which

[131:06] they now have a share. The US ambassador

[131:09] to the United Nations, John Bolton, was

[131:11] not impressed at all. [snorts]

[131:14] With respect to President Ahmadi Nhad's

[131:16] letter, which I understand from press

[131:18] reports is addressed to the American

[131:20] people, this American person hasn't seen

[131:22] it yet. And I know you and the press

[131:24] have it. So maybe that's who he's really

[131:26] addressing the letter to. But uh but I

[131:28] won't comment on it till I see it.

[131:30] Although I understand it's only five

[131:31] pages and not 18 pages like the last

[131:34] one. So that's a step ahead.

[131:36] And unlike that last letter, a very

[131:39] important issue was missing from the

[131:41] Iranian president's letter, making no

[131:43] mention at all of Iran's nuclear weapons

[131:45] program or proposed sanctions against

[131:48] Iran if they continue to proceed with

[131:52] their nuclear weapons program. Still

[131:55] ahead here, the illegal alien lobby is

[131:57] now threatening the US Congress [music]

[131:58] and the American people with massive new

[132:01] street demonstrations and protests.

[132:03] Tonight, we'll have a special report on

[132:05] the illegal alien movement's challenge

[132:07] to the new democratically elected

[132:09] Congress. Also, the Bush administration

[132:12] is determined to create a North American

[132:14] Union without consultation or approval

[132:17] of the people of this country or our

[132:20] Congress. We'll have that story [music]

[132:22] and the risk to our democracy from e

[132:24] voting. The looming threat to the next

[132:26] presidential election from paperless

[132:28] voting, the subject of our [music] next

[132:30] special report. Stay with us.

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[134:37] When belief is worth dying for. When

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[134:46] A special CNN presents After Jesus.

[134:49] [music] Wednesday, December 20th.

[134:53] >> A new push tonight to grant amnesty to

[134:55] millions of illegal aliens in this

[134:57] country. And new leadership in Mexico

[135:00] going to office later this week. Plans

[135:02] for a North American Union expected to

[135:04] move ahead without congressional or of

[135:07] course the approval of the American

[135:09] people. Casey Wine tonight reports on

[135:12] amnesty advocates pressuring the new

[135:14] Congress to quickly pass so-called

[135:16] comprehensive immigration reform. That's

[135:18] right. Here we go again and Christine

[135:20] [music] Romans reports on the effort to

[135:22] create the security and prosperity

[135:24] partnership that many call a North

[135:26] American union. We begin with Casey

[135:29] Wyatt in Los Angeles tonight. Casey Lou,

[135:32] the streets of Los Angeles and other US

[135:34] cities could soon be filled with

[135:36] demonstrators demanding amnesty for

[135:38] illegal aliens.

[135:42] Some organizers of this spring's

[135:44] protests in favor of illegal alien

[135:46] amnesty say they may take to the streets

[135:48] again if the new democratic controlled

[135:50] Congress does not pass an immigration

[135:52] reform bill that includes amnesty within

[135:54] its first 100 days in power. I certainly

[135:57] believe that 100 days are plenty to have

[136:00] Congress act on the immigration issue.

[136:03] The first amendment gives the right to

[136:05] petition the government and I think that

[136:06] civic participation is very important

[136:09] and I think that people will be poised

[136:11] to go back and again uh ask for action.

[136:14] >> Soloro says the perfect storm now exists

[136:17] with President Bush, Republican party

[136:19] chair Mel Martinez and top Democratic

[136:22] lawmakers all favoring a path to

[136:24] citizenship for millions of illegal

[136:26] aliens. However, the House Democratic

[136:28] leadership has failed to include illegal

[136:30] immigration or border security among its

[136:32] top legislative priorities. New Senate

[136:34] leader Harry Reid says an immigration

[136:36] bill will be among the first 10

[136:38] introduced in the Senate.

[136:40] >> It was tremendously heartwarming to see

[136:42] how the Hispanic community throughout

[136:44] America responded to what we tried to

[136:47] do. We Democrats tried to do. We won big

[136:50] time with Hispanics.

[136:52] We won because they accepted what we

[136:55] were trying to do, comprehensive

[136:57] immigration reform.

[136:58] >> Reed says he wants a guest worker

[137:00] program and a path to legalization for

[137:03] illegal aliens. And he has no problem

[137:05] with threats of new demonstrations.

[137:07] >> I've always said that those marches were

[137:11] good. They didn't hurt a thing. They

[137:13] were peaceful and they were powerful.

[137:16] That's what America is all about. He

[137:18] also says there will be no additional

[137:20] funding for the border fence bill signed

[137:22] by President Bush. Ironically, that bill

[137:25] was passed in part because of

[137:26] frustration with previous prom.

[137:30] Other spring protest organizers we spoke

[137:32] with say they are in no hurry to return

[137:35] to the streets. They say they are

[137:37] pursuing a strategy of unity with the

[137:39] new Democratic leadership. low.

[137:41] >> Uh Harry Reid sounded uh just uh

[137:45] enthralled by the fact that the

[137:47] Democratic uh vote among Hispanic voters

[137:50] that did go to the polls rose from 60 to

[137:52] 69%.

[137:54] Uh such euphoria on that move.

[137:57] Yeah, it was certainly surprising that

[137:59] he was so euphoric about that and

[138:01] especially his comments about uh amnesty

[138:04] and the border fence from a senator who,

[138:07] as you well know, Lou, was not too many

[138:08] years ago a strong advocate of border

[138:10] security.

[138:11] >> Right. And I think it's I think it's uh

[138:14] illuminating uh that Senator Reid

[138:16] attaches the fact that a person of

[138:19] Hispanic origin in this country voted

[138:21] for a Democrat in his jud uh in his

[138:24] judgment uh simply on the basis of

[138:26] comprehensive immigration reform in the

[138:28] Senate. as if Hispanic Americans would

[138:31] not be uh as uh unhappy and dissatisfied

[138:34] with the Bush administration and the

[138:36] Republican Congress as uh any other

[138:39] American irrespective of their uh

[138:41] ethnicity.

[138:42] >> He seems to be buying into the argument

[138:44] that many of the amnesty advocates make.

[138:47] They're linking race with uh the issue

[138:50] of border security, which we know from

[138:52] election results in Arizona and other

[138:53] places is not true. Lou,

[138:55] >> not true. But uh it looks like we uh if

[138:58] uh that performance is any uh indication

[139:01] in my opinion it looks like we may be

[139:03] back to the same obiscatory tactics on

[139:06] the part of the Democratic leadership uh

[139:08] in the Senate as we saw on the part of

[139:10] the Republican leadership. Casey, thank

[139:13] you very much. Casey Wine, when Mexican

[139:15] President Vicente Fox leaves office this

[139:17] week and Phipe Calderon takes his place,

[139:20] President Bush will be the last of the

[139:22] so-called three amigos. Bush, Fox, and

[139:25] of course, Canadian Prime Minister Paul

[139:26] Martin were the originators of the

[139:29] so-called Security and Prosperity

[139:31] Partnership, which critics call nothing

[139:33] more than a North American Union. It

[139:36] means open borders, commerce at all

[139:38] cost, and by the way, without the

[139:41] approval of either American voters or

[139:44] the US Congress. Christine Romans

[139:46] reports.

[139:49] >> Waco, Texas, 2005. Under these three

[139:52] men, the Security and Prosperity

[139:54] Partnership was born. An effort, the

[139:56] governments say, to harmonize

[139:57] regulations and increase cooperation

[140:00] between three very different countries.

[140:02] The Mexican president in Cancun this

[140:04] spring.

[140:06] >> We need to elevate the competitiveness

[140:08] of our economies. and a new Canadian

[140:11] prime minister joining the discussions

[140:13] as this North American partnership

[140:15] barrels ahead with departments and

[140:17] ministries of all three governments

[140:19] working quickly to integrate North

[140:20] America by 2010. The official progress

[140:23] report boasting quote implementation is

[140:26] on track and now Mexico's new president

[140:29] Felipe Calderon widely expected to keep

[140:31] the progress moving. Critics though say

[140:34] there's too little transparency and no

[140:36] congressional oversight. There's nothing

[140:38] wrong with neighboring governments

[140:40] talking to each other, synchronizing

[140:42] their watches to make sure they're all

[140:43] on the same page in the cases of

[140:45] emergency or on trade issues or or even

[140:48] on the flows of uh goods and people. Uh

[140:52] but if policies are being made that the

[140:54] American people might oppose or that are

[140:56] contrary to the uh to the law,

[140:59] especially as it relates to immigration,

[141:01] uh you know, they're doing something a

[141:03] bit more nefarious. He points to SP

[141:06] documents urging the free flow of goods

[141:08] and people across borders and a wish

[141:10] list from business interests that

[141:12] borders remain open during a flu

[141:14] pandemic. Worse, critics say foreign

[141:16] policy elites are promoting a European

[141:19] style union, erasing borders between the

[141:21] three countries and eventually moving to

[141:23] a single North American currency called

[141:25] the Amoro. A Commerce Department

[141:27] spokesman, however, denies this. quote,

[141:29] "There is absolutely no plan for a

[141:32] common currency."

[141:34] Speculation about that erupted again

[141:36] this week after some in the Canadian

[141:38] business contingent included it on a

[141:40] list of their long-term goals for the

[141:41] SP. But people involved with the

[141:44] partnership between the three countries

[141:45] are very quick to distance themselves,

[141:48] Lou, from that very, very unpopular

[141:50] idea. The fact is and everyone watching

[141:54] you and that report tonight uh for any

[141:57] American to think that it is acceptable

[142:01] for the president of the United States

[142:02] and this executive department of his

[142:04] government uh his administration, our

[142:07] government to proceed without the

[142:09] approval of Congress or a dialogue and a

[142:13] debate and a and a public voice from the

[142:16] people of this country is absolutely

[142:19] unconscionable. The defense of those

[142:21] folks who are saying that they're

[142:22] involved with the SP is that they're not

[142:24] doing anything that would require

[142:25] congressional approval or voter

[142:26] approval. They're just harmonizing the

[142:29] regulations between the three countries.

[142:30] >> What they're doing is creating a brave

[142:32] new world uh in Orwellian world in which

[142:36] uh the will of the people is absolutely

[142:38] irrelevant. And I think we've had a

[142:40] sampling of what's going to happen to

[142:42] people who do that in the future. Uh, I

[142:45] I can't imagine this standing, but then

[142:47] again, I couldn't imagine its beginning,

[142:49] nor the fact that it's gotten this far.

[142:51] Christine, thank you. Christine Romans,

[142:53] that brings us to the subject of our

[142:54] poll tonight. A North American Union,

[142:57] Mexico, the United States, and Canada. A

[142:59] really good idea or a really bad idea?

[143:03] Past your vote, please, at blueives.com.

[143:05] We'll have the results [music] here

[143:06] later. And just ahead, long lines,

[143:09] missing votes, and voter machine

[143:10] breakdowns. The election of 2006 not

[143:13] error-free. We'll tell you what some

[143:15] lawmakers want to do to prepare prepare

[143:17] for our presidential election in 2

[143:19] years. And a new study shows the

[143:21] American dream is just a dream for many

[143:24] Americans. College tuition costs are

[143:26] spiraling out of control. We'll have

[143:29] that special report in the selling of

[143:30] our skies and our national security.

[143:33] Shocking new evidence tonight that the

[143:35] United States government wants to give

[143:38] control of our airlines to foreign

[143:39] investors.

[143:41] or is it the US government or [music] is

[143:42] it the Bush administration? We'll have

[143:44] the answers here next. Stay with us.

[143:48] Tonight, 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Could a

[143:50] meeting between President Bush [music]

[143:51] and the Iraqi prime minister cause

[143:53] Iraq's government to fall? Tonight in

[143:56] the situation room.

[144:01] [music]

[144:04] Larry King tonight. Dog the [music]

[144:06] bounty hunter. Will he be jailed in

[144:08] Mexico? Plus, Senator John Kerry, Larry

[144:11] King Live, tonight 9 Eastern, only on

[144:13] CN.

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[146:37] From California to Kentucky, electronic

[146:39] voting machines prove to be anything but

[146:41] failure proof during the midterm

[146:43] elections. Now, some lawmakers are

[146:45] trying to make certain that missing

[146:47] votes and machine breakdowns and

[146:50] possibly machine manipulations are at

[146:53] least not part of our next presidential

[146:56] election. Kenny Pilgrim reports.

[147:00] >> It wasn't a meltdown, but it was far

[147:01] from trouble-free.

[147:03] >> And while you can point to results and

[147:05] say, well, the the results were were

[147:07] clean, there's enough doubt about the

[147:10] process in individual voters's eyes that

[147:12] we've got work to do to uh to increase

[147:15] voter confidence in the system in08 and

[147:17] beyond.

[147:18] >> In Denver, long lines lasted hours when

[147:20] the electronic voting registration

[147:22] failed. In Florida's 13th congressional

[147:24] district, the 18,000 votes didn't

[147:26] register. Did voters abstain or did the

[147:29] machines drop them? No answer yet. The

[147:31] recount complicated because there is no

[147:33] paper trail. In Georgia, Illinois,

[147:36] Texas, New Jersey, and Ohio, charges of

[147:38] vote flipping, the machine showing the

[147:40] wrong candidate on the screen.

[147:42] >> Because activists were so vocal before

[147:44] the election, some of the problems may

[147:46] have been headed off. For example, in

[147:48] Maryland, a disastrous primary turned

[147:50] into a smooth election day. In troubled

[147:53] Kyhoga County, Ohio, election day was

[147:55] relatively smooth, but expensive because

[147:57] of lastminute precautions. The county is

[148:00] talking about dropping the current

[148:01] voting system. Lawmakers are looking

[148:03] ahead to 2008 with tough new legislation

[148:06] requiring voter verified paper trail and

[148:09] random audits.

[148:10] >> The legislation also would require that

[148:12] the software be made available for

[148:13] inspection. It would require uh that

[148:16] there be no uh wireless connections or

[148:18] internet connections uh to the voting

[148:21] machines and uh I think those would go a

[148:24] long way toward restoring confidence.

[148:27] >> Hol believes that legislation because it

[148:29] has so many co-sponsors will pass easily

[148:31] in the new year. In Sarasota County, the

[148:34] home of the missing 18,000 votes, an

[148:37] audit found several discrepancies in a

[148:40] retest of the equipment. Now, the voting

[148:42] machines had miscounts. That race is

[148:44] still contested and the state-run audit

[148:46] is not complete even now, Lou.

[148:49] >> And uh it's almost irresistible

[148:52] Congressman Holtz legislation to and

[148:55] it's certainly not a complete uh uh

[148:57] panacea for this uh this issue. But his

[149:00] legislation, it seems straightforwardly

[149:03] it should be enacted in order to at

[149:05] least reduce that level of possible

[149:08] problems.

[149:08] >> It certainly seems like common sense.

[149:10] Kitty Pilgrim, thank you very much. Time

[149:13] now for some of your thoughts. Elaine in

[149:14] Michigan, how do we expect our children

[149:17] to follow the law when they see illegal

[149:18] immigrants breaking uh breaking them

[149:20] constantly and our government doing uh

[149:22] going along with it? And Bill in New

[149:24] Jersey, dear Louu, it is instructive

[149:26] that the Chinese government, one of the

[149:28] most rep repressive on earth, selects

[149:31] the Justice Department of the United

[149:32] States for lessons in the suppression of

[149:35] disscent. What do the Chinese know about

[149:37] the Justice Department that we can only

[149:39] surmise? and Debbie in Tennessee. What

[149:42] happened to the American in the American

[149:44] Civil Liberties Union? Why is the

[149:46] American Civil Liberties Union fighting

[149:48] for non-Americans? American taxpayers

[149:51] and American towns are drowning in debt

[149:54] from the illegal aliens. Why aren't the

[149:56] ACLU groupies fighting for these

[149:58] Americans? Send us your thoughts to

[150:00] ludobs.com. More of your thoughts

[150:02] upcoming. Each of you whose email is

[150:04] read here receives a copy of my new

[150:06] book, War on the Middle Class. And for

[150:09] more on this country's war on the middle

[150:10] class and the faith-based trade policies

[150:13] that are contributing to it, uh my

[150:15] column is on the CNN.com website or

[150:18] ludobs.com.

[150:20] Coming up next, the war on our middle

[150:22] class. A new study highlights the crisis

[150:24] in American higher education and the

[150:27] crisis for American middle class

[150:29] families. Also, if the port's deal with

[150:32] Dubai wasn't enough, we now have a new

[150:34] national security giveaway to concern

[150:36] ourselves with. the Bush administration

[150:38] preparing to give foreign investors

[150:40] control of American airlines. We'll have

[150:44] that special report and [music] we'll

[150:45] also update you on what's going on with

[150:47] those Dubai portal deals. President Bush

[150:50] and the Iraqi prime minister preparing

[150:51] for talks in Jordan. I'll be joined by

[150:53] three of the country's best political

[150:55] analysts here next. Stay with us

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[152:16] >> Tonight on 360, we're live from Roman,

[152:18] Jordan, where President Bush and Iraq's

[152:20] prime minister are holding talks. will

[152:22] have full coverage of their meetings.

[152:23] Plus, saving Iraq from allout civil war.

[152:26] There are many options on the table.

[152:28] We'll sort through all of them through

[152:29] 60 tonight, 10 p.m. Eastern.

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[153:02] >> The rare type of radioactive material

[153:05] linked to the death of a former Russian

[153:07] spy has now been discovered on two

[153:09] British airliners. British Airways is

[153:12] asking tens of thousands of passengers

[153:15] who may have flown on those jetliners to

[153:17] contact health authorities. Two Boeing

[153:20] 767s at London's Heathrow Airport tested

[153:23] positive and a third was grounded. The

[153:26] airline says the health risk is low, but

[153:29] it's trying to reach people who may have

[153:31] been aboard those jets since October

[153:33] 25th and have come into contact with

[153:36] palonium 210, the deadly substance. A

[153:40] deal that drew outrage and condemnation

[153:42] all across the nation in part because of

[153:45] our reporting here may be finally coming

[153:48] to a resolution.

[153:50] DP World, a Dubai owned company says it

[153:52] is expecting what it calls final bids or

[153:55] its US port operations within the next

[153:57] two weeks. The biders who were not

[153:59] identified by Dubai Ports World. They do

[154:02] however say all of the biders are

[154:04] American. The original deal that allowed

[154:07] the Dubai Company to take over

[154:08] operations at six US ports was first

[154:12] highlighted back in February on this

[154:14] broadcast. Following the uproar, DP

[154:16] World said it would sell all of its 21

[154:19] port operations to an American-owned

[154:21] company. Apparently, the Bush

[154:23] administration didn't learn much from

[154:25] its Dubai port fiasco. Incredibly, it

[154:29] now appears the Bush administration is

[154:31] going ahead with a plan to give control

[154:33] of our airlines to foreign investors,

[154:35] despite the fact that the United States

[154:38] Congress has expressly disapproved that

[154:42] idea. Bill Tucker has the report.

[154:48] Domestic control of our airlines appears

[154:50] to be coming to an end. that despite

[154:52] overwhelming bipartisan opposition in

[154:54] Congress to a rule change that would

[154:56] give day-to-day operational control to

[154:58] foreign investors. Aviation is a very

[155:01] critical component of homeland security

[155:04] and our of our economy. And I don't

[155:06] think we can afford to do anything which

[155:09] even brings into question that Homeland

[155:12] Security would not be under complete

[155:14] control of the United States and the

[155:16] United States interest. Rumors of the

[155:18] imminent change prompted members of the

[155:19] House Committee on Transportation and

[155:21] Infrastructure to remind the White House

[155:23] of their opposition in a letter. Quote,

[155:26] "Congress has taken a strong position

[155:28] that a major change to the current law

[155:31] regarding foreign ownership of US

[155:32] airlines should be accomplished only by

[155:35] congressional action, not unilaterally

[155:38] imposed by the executive branch. Making

[155:41] the rule final in the face of bipartisan

[155:43] congressional opposition would be a very

[155:46] poor start to the 110th Congress. The

[155:49] administration says it not only has the

[155:51] right to make the rule change, Congress

[155:54] is making a big deal out of nothing. Yet

[155:56] back in February, a representative of

[155:58] the Department of Transportation

[156:00] conceded the obvious. they would be able

[156:02] to uh make the commercial decisions that

[156:05] that define the the shape of the

[156:07] product, the quality of the product, the

[156:09] routes that were flown,

[156:10] >> as well as what planes to buy, where

[156:13] they're maintained.

[156:14] >> I mean, the national security

[156:15] implications of losing control of the

[156:17] civilian reserve, air force fleet, the

[156:19] massive job losses uh for American

[156:21] pilots, flight attendants, and others

[156:22] associated with the airlines, and in all

[156:24] probability, dramatic cutbacks in

[156:26] domestic service. If DOT makes the

[156:28] change, DeFazio and Lobondo say Congress

[156:31] will override it. Now, we repeatedly

[156:34] called the Transportation Department

[156:36] asking for comment, asking if a rule

[156:38] change will in fact be announced soon.

[156:39] The department had no comment. Lou, this

[156:41] is all being done as so so often it is

[156:44] in the name of free trade. United States

[156:46] seeking to gain landing rights in Europe

[156:49] and in London. Amazingly, those European

[156:52] airlines already have landing rights

[156:53] here. We're not denying those rights.

[156:55] We're just giving away the airlines to

[156:57] land in Europe.

[156:58] >> Well, we is a big word. The Bush

[157:00] administration, right, with its manifest

[157:03] uh what what does George Bush I mean

[157:06] straightforwardly this administration,

[157:09] do they understand this is an American

[157:11] government, a democracy, a

[157:13] representative government? I mean, it is

[157:15] absolutely

[157:17] insufferable to tolerate this kind of

[157:19] arrogance. I I it it thank goodness that

[157:22] the Congress is standing up uh and thank

[157:26] goodness we're going to have some

[157:27] oversight and some checks and balances

[157:30] we hope in this new government. Bill

[157:33] Tucker, thank you very much. A

[157:35] disturbing that's what we need here is

[157:37] another disturbing report illustrating

[157:39] the higher education crisis in this

[157:42] country. While college costs are

[157:44] skyrocketing, financial aid is uh

[157:46] dwindling and middle class Americans of

[157:49] course paying an ever higher price. Lisa

[157:52] Sylvester reports.

[157:55] There is a crisis in American higher

[157:57] education that is largely being ignored

[157:59] by the nation. That's a new stark

[158:02] warning from the National Conference of

[158:03] State Legislatures. It's pretty clear

[158:06] that access to a higher education is

[158:08] shrinking and that that has tremendous

[158:10] consequences for the country because

[158:12] other countries are starting to catch

[158:14] up. In plain terms, the bipartisan group

[158:17] of legislators spells out the American

[158:19] higher education system no longer is the

[158:22] best in the world. For every 100 nth

[158:25] graders who enter high school, only 18

[158:28] finish college within six years. The

[158:31] report highlighting the gap between the

[158:32] halves and have nots warns the poorest

[158:35] individuals have only an 8% chance of

[158:38] obtaining a college degree compared to a

[158:40] 70% chance for the wealthiest

[158:42] individuals.

[158:43] >> When you take into account the rising

[158:46] cost of college that college is becoming

[158:48] more inaccessible, especially for

[158:51] students who are in the low income

[158:53] ranges and backgrounds.

[158:54] >> College tuition rates have increased 35%

[158:58] in the last 5 years. more than double

[159:00] the rate of inflation, according to the

[159:02] College Board. Pell grants used to cover

[159:04] the cost of a public education. Now,

[159:07] students are lucky if it covers a third.

[159:09] That means more middle class families

[159:11] are going into debt.

[159:12] >> I had financial aid my first two years

[159:14] [music] of college, and once it went

[159:16] away, that's thousands of more dollars

[159:18] that I have to put in.

[159:19] >> Cost is not the only reason students are

[159:21] failing to earn a college diploma. Some

[159:24] drop out because of shortcomings at the

[159:26] high school level. they start college

[159:28] inadequately prepared.

[159:30] >> The legislative group recommends that

[159:32] states and the federal government rather

[159:34] than continuing to shift the cost to

[159:36] students and their parents need to

[159:38] increase public funding for higher

[159:39] education. Also, more emphasis needs to

[159:42] be placed on making sure high schoolers

[159:43] are taking college preparatory classes.

[159:45] Lou,

[159:46] >> Lisa, the idea that only 18 out of a

[159:49] 100red students entering high school uh

[159:53] make it through college over a six-year

[159:54] period, that's just that's so

[159:57] astounding. The very idea that uh that

[160:00] with all of these great state funded uh

[160:03] and taxpayer funded universities and

[160:05] colleges across this country that we

[160:07] can't do better than that is shameful.

[160:09] >> It's pathetic. It's sad. And it is a

[160:11] real problem that people need to know

[160:13] and be aware of and that really our

[160:15] lawmakers need to do something about it

[160:18] because it is a crisis as this report

[160:20] has outlined. Bloom

[160:21] >> and and as I say here and I've said in

[160:23] every other quarter that I can our

[160:26] public education system is a great

[160:27] equalizer in this society.

[160:29] >> Uh but when you look at numbers that say

[160:31] that 8% of the poor in this country,

[160:34] that's the probability that their kids

[160:36] will be going through college and 70%

[160:38] for the wealthy. Uh that speaks volumes

[160:41] about what we can look at as the bridge

[160:44] the the gap rather uh between the halves

[160:47] and the have nots for the next

[160:48] generation. It's got we've got to do

[160:51] something. Lisa, thank you very much.

[160:53] Lisa Sylvester from Washington. James

[160:56] Baker's Iraq Study Group may recommend

[160:58] talks with both Iran and [music] Syria.

[161:01] I'll be talking with Syria's ambassador

[161:03] to the United Nations about what his

[161:05] government's position is in helping the

[161:08] United States in the Middle East and a

[161:10] heated exchange between [music]

[161:11] President Bush and the newly elected

[161:13] senator from Virginia, Jim Webb. We'll

[161:16] tell you what the showdown was all

[161:18] about. Stay with us.

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[163:24] The Iraq study group may push both Syria

[163:26] and Iran to the forefront in the Iraq

[163:28] war. Joining me now, the Syrian

[163:31] ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar

[163:34] Jafari. Good to have you with us.

[163:36] >> Thank you very much for being with you

[163:37] again. the this Iraq study group before

[163:41] it has uh published uh its documents and

[163:43] its recommendations has been uh has

[163:46] elevated both Syria and Iran as a

[163:50] possible a possible u change agent and

[163:54] uh and perhaps a major player in

[163:57] resolving Iraq. Is your government ready

[163:59] to help?

[164:00] >> We welcome the study elaborated by Mr.

[164:03] Baker and Hamilton and I think that we

[164:06] know very well Mr. Baker because we

[164:08] worked with him

[164:10] >> long time ago and we know his skills and

[164:13] as diplomat and his capacities in

[164:17] building confidence measure uh

[164:19] confidence building building measures in

[164:21] the area. So we are we have been

[164:24] actually uh turned towards any overure

[164:27] on the side of the American

[164:28] administration for quite some long time.

[164:31] The problem is that uh you know we are

[164:34] waiting for the other side I mean the

[164:35] American administration to take any step

[164:37] any positive step

[164:39] >> any positive step uh and what would that

[164:41] positive step be simply picking up the

[164:43] call uh the phone and and calling and

[164:45] saying let's talk or uh uh the question

[164:48] I have really is to what degree can

[164:51] Syria since it you and I have discussed

[164:54] this before you say Syria has played no

[164:56] role in Iraq what positive role can they

[165:00] There is uh l a broad agreement all over

[165:04] the world either among what you qualify

[165:07] as pro-Syrians or among those who you

[165:09] qualify as anti-syrians

[165:11] >> that the regional role of Syria should

[165:14] not be neglected or ignored.

[165:16] >> Well, the United States classifies your

[165:20] country, your nation as a sponsor of

[165:22] terrorism uh and makes no there is no

[165:26] equivocation about it. Uh, is there a

[165:29] possibility in what would be your

[165:31] interest in helping the United States

[165:33] uh, first resolve the situation in Iraq

[165:36] and extricate itself from what uh, is

[165:40] near at least if not worse a civil war.

[165:45] Any help uh, from Syria should be based

[165:49] on the rule of reciprocity.

[165:52] >> A help should not be unilateral. We too

[165:55] we are waiting for uh gestures from

[165:57] coming from the American administration

[165:59] at many levels in Iraq, in Lebanon and

[166:02] in Palestine. We are we are a regional

[166:05] player in the area and uh the American

[166:08] administration should discuss with us uh

[166:11] in this uh this title. As you know,

[166:14] there is some concern amongst a number

[166:17] of analysts that if this war in Iraq is

[166:20] not resolved that not only will uh Iraq

[166:23] remain uh in a what is near or some

[166:27] suggest now a civil war uh but also

[166:31] Lebanon will be further destabilized,

[166:34] Jordan uh and certainly possibly Syria

[166:37] as well. You talk about reciprocity.

[166:40] What would you have the United States uh

[166:42] reciprocate with?

[166:45] >> We need peace in the area. We need to

[166:47] solve the Arab-Israeli conflict and the

[166:49] Palestinian question. We need to see a

[166:51] Palestinian state established in

[166:53] Palestine.

[166:54] >> Right?

[166:54] >> This is what we need. We need to see the

[166:56] American troops withdrawing from Iraq

[166:58] and we want to see Lebanon stabilized

[167:00] once again.

[167:01] >> Ambassador Ambassador Jafari, we thank

[167:03] you for being here.

[167:04] >> Thank you very much.

[167:04] >> Good to see you again.

[167:05] >> I appreciate it. Just ahead, President

[167:07] Bush and Virginia's uh newest

[167:10] Democratically elected Jim Webb. Well,

[167:12] he was democratically elected, but he's

[167:14] a Democrat. They're going head-to-head

[167:16] over Iraq of all things. We'll have that

[167:18] story. And the president and the Iraqi

[167:20] prime minister meet tomorrow in Jordan.

[167:23] And I'll be joined by three of the

[167:24] country's best political minds next.

[167:26] Stay with us.

[167:29] [music]

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[169:49] >> Well, something of a brush up at the

[169:51] White House between President Bush and

[169:53] the newly elected senator from Virginia,

[169:55] Jim Webb. It's the talk of Washington.

[169:57] We are told tonight Jim Webb, a highly

[169:59] decorated Vietnam veteran, his son

[170:02] serving in Iraq with the Marine Corps.

[170:04] The president and Jim Webb met at the

[170:05] White House. Jim Webb says he tried to

[170:07] avoid it. Here's the exchange as it

[170:09] went, we're told. Bush, how's your boy?

[170:12] I'd like to get them out of Iraq, Mr.

[170:14] President. That's not what I asked you,

[170:16] Mr. Bush said. How's your boy, Senator

[170:19] Elect Web? That's between me and my boy,

[170:21] Mr. President. Senator says he wasn't uh

[170:24] looking for a confrontation. Uh but Jim

[170:27] Webb uh is not exactly a fellow to back

[170:30] away from one either. Uh joining me now

[170:33] is Mark Halper. He's the political

[170:34] director at ABC News, co-author of The

[170:37] Scary Book, The Way to Win, Taking the

[170:39] White House in 2008. Good to have you

[170:41] here. here.

[170:42] >> And Democratic strategist, Democratic

[170:44] National Committee member, Robert

[170:45] Zimmerman, an all-around good guy. And

[170:48] Errol Lewis, columnist at the New York

[170:49] Daily News, member of the editorial

[170:51] board, also a pretty good fellow. Good

[170:54] to have you here. [clears throat] What

[170:55] do you make of uh the Senator Alex uh

[170:57] conduct?

[170:58] >> Well, you know, he he's saying, "Oh,

[170:59] gee, I went out of my way." He tried to

[171:01] walk away from the president, says he

[171:03] didn't want the confrontation, but he

[171:04] didn't have to be there. You know, he

[171:05] didn't have to sort of uh ratchet it up

[171:07] in the way that he did. And so I think

[171:09] he's kind of still on the campaign trail

[171:12] a little bit. I mean, he got elected by

[171:13] people who were pretty angry at the

[171:15] president and apparently that that has

[171:17] uh clung to him a little bit.

[171:18] >> Well, we can't blame him in my opinion

[171:20] too much, Mark, because there are a lot

[171:22] of folks who are governing as if they

[171:23] were still on the campaign trail. I'm

[171:25] not naming any names.

[171:27] >> Well, look, Washington's going to be

[171:28] different in January. I think this is a

[171:29] preview. Jim Webb is one of eight new

[171:31] senators in the Democratic side. A lot

[171:33] of these people are iconoclastic. They

[171:35] don't give a rip as Bill Clinton would

[171:36] say about the normal about the normal

[171:40] religion into politics. Hallelujah.

[171:41] >> A little pass the plate to these

[171:42] candidates because they're going to be

[171:44] senators come January. And I think

[171:45] you're going to see more of this not

[171:46] just at the White House but all over all

[171:48] over Capital Hill.

[171:49] >> I think Jim Webb is not on the campaign

[171:50] trail. I think this is this is who he

[171:52] is. He's the real deal. And I give him

[171:55] credit for his cander. And I think what

[171:56] you're also seeing and is an emerging

[171:59] coalition amongst Republicans and

[172:01] Democratic moderates in the House and

[172:02] Senate to get things done and to hold

[172:05] this administration accountable on Iraq.

[172:06] >> Robert Zimmerman, we're going to have

[172:08] every word you utter up there ready to

[172:11] to hold before youth Congress takes uh

[172:13] takes hold. And we all of course hope

[172:16] you're right. The New York Times

[172:17] publishing the classified memo uh from

[172:20] Steven Handley, the national security

[172:21] adviser uh saying, quote, "The reality

[172:24] on the streets of Baghdad suggests uh

[172:27] that Maliki Amaliki is either ignorant

[172:29] of what is going on, misrepresenting his

[172:31] intentions, or that his capabilities are

[172:34] not yet sufficient to turn his good

[172:36] intentions into action." Um, Harl,

[172:39] >> well, you know, look, it it will over

[172:42] time probably be seen as one of the

[172:43] factors that helped destabilize that

[172:45] government, but as we've seen from the

[172:47] the Maktata al-Sader faction walking

[172:49] out, that pretty much everything in that

[172:51] memo was was true. I don't know if you

[172:53] had to go much further than the casualty

[172:56] reports, the the the

[172:58] unfolding civil war that everyone's

[173:00] watching, the open talk, the reality,

[173:02] >> the open talk of partition of the

[173:03] country, it's all falling apart and that

[173:05] that prime minister has got to take that

[173:08] responsibility at some point.

[173:09] >> Lata Assad pulled uh 30 from the block

[173:12] of 128 uh in the parliament. Uh six

[173:16] ministers of the 32 uh in the Iraqi

[173:19] government. Mark,

[173:20] >> look. The Bush administration said,

[173:21] "Look, military progress slow, economic

[173:23] progress, slow, but what they've always

[173:25] pointed to is political progress. This

[173:26] is a real threat to the unraveling of

[173:29] political progress in Iraq." Whatever

[173:30] the American military commitment in Iraq

[173:32] is, the president would like to leave

[173:34] behind a strong government. This

[173:35] suggests that they have doubts that the

[173:36] current government, which is in office

[173:38] for a while, unless something dramatic

[173:39] happens, is not necessarily going to be

[173:41] able to hold hold the center the extent

[173:43] there is one in Iraq. It's a big what

[173:45] there 101 theories about why the thing

[173:47] was written but there's all of them are

[173:48] bad for for progress

[173:50] >> and uh as Mark is suggesting finding uh

[173:53] holding the center in Iraq finding the

[173:55] center in the United States is

[173:57] critically important because as

[173:59] president

[174:01] of Iran points out the Democrats now

[174:04] will share with the new Congress policy

[174:08] uh responsibility for what happens

[174:10] >> we don't need to be lectured by the

[174:11] president of Iran about policy

[174:12] responsibility or about history or for

[174:14] that matter about integrity, the man has

[174:16] truly uh disgraced himself in the

[174:18] civilized world by his conduct. But the

[174:21] point here is you do see in the Congress

[174:23] now emerging. In fact, even from the uh

[174:25] a coalition that's going to hold this

[174:27] administration accountable for its Iraq

[174:29] policy. And I'm even encouraged by the

[174:31] comments by the by the nominee by Bob

[174:33] Gates, the secretary of defense nominee

[174:36] uh designate uh in terms of his the way

[174:38] he's responded to inquiries from uh

[174:40] during his confirmation process,

[174:41] pointing out that the administration in

[174:43] fact made mistakes. There has to be a

[174:45] different approach to addressing this

[174:47] issue. And clearly the bottom line I

[174:49] think that's emerging is this is the

[174:51] Iraq government's civil war to win or to

[174:53] lose. And it is not going to be it's not

[174:56] going to help America and the war in

[174:57] terror to be refereeing a civil war.

[174:59] >> So you're saying that the uh uh the

[175:01] Democrats in 2008 wouldn't be holding

[175:03] the Republican administration

[175:05] accountable for the conduct of the war

[175:06] in Iraq and put it squarely on the

[175:08] Iraqis.

[175:09] >> I'm I'm saying to you that we're going

[175:10] to we're going to always hold the

[175:12] administration accountable for bringing

[175:14] this into this war, but we're also going

[175:15] to work collectively to try to resolve

[175:17] it. Does that work for you?

[175:18] >> Well, it's it's it's the only path

[175:19] forward. I mean, you've got new regional

[175:21] players. You just had one of them on the

[175:23] show with you. Syria, Iran, they are

[175:25] regional players. They are saying so.

[175:27] They are announcing it. That letter that

[175:28] that that letter wasn't wasn't aimed, it

[175:30] was addressed to Americans. It wasn't

[175:31] for Americans. It was for the whole rest

[175:33] of the world to say that we are on the

[175:34] world stage. We are a regional player

[175:36] and we will not move forward without

[175:38] talking to the travesty of the Bush

[175:40] administration's policies in Iraq is

[175:42] that they have done for Iran what Iran

[175:45] could not do on their own. Iran fought

[175:46] Iraq for eight years to try to be a

[175:49] central player in the Middle East. Our

[175:51] incursion there and the tragically

[175:53] inexcusable way we executed it resulted

[175:55] in making Iran a major player.

[175:57] Robert Zimmerman, Mark Halpin, thank you

[175:59] very much. Thank you very much. Uh give

[176:03] us a lot to chew on here. I'm going to

[176:05] And that book about winning is still I

[176:06] think it ought to be Do you think we

[176:08] should ban that book?

[176:09] >> I think Democrats will deny it to

[176:10] Democrats and Republicans.

[176:11] >> Ban it or buy it.

[176:12] >> Ban it or buy it. Way to win.

[176:14] >> You got it. Thanks for being here,

[176:15] gentlemen. Still ahead, the results of

[176:17] our poll tonight. We'll have more of

[176:18] your thoughts. Stay with us.

[176:22] [music]

[176:30] Tonight, 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Could a

[176:32] meeting between President [music] Bush

[176:33] and the Iraqi prime minister cause

[176:35] Iraq's government to fall? Tonight in

[176:37] the situation room.

[176:48] It's the time

[176:50] of the season.

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[178:47] The results of our poll, 94% of you

[178:50] saying you believe a North American

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[178:56] now for more of your thoughts uh

[178:58] quickly. Gina in New York. Dear all

[179:00] Americans that drive cars and use oil

[179:02] heat support terrorism and that other

[179:05] wacko Chavez tunnel vision politicians

[179:08] who don't want us to use our own energy

[179:09] resources are also supporting

[179:11] terrorists. Jod and Maryland. Hi ironic.

[179:14] American corporations can legally do

[179:17] business with terrorist countries, but

[179:18] it's illegal to bring Cuban cigars into

[179:21] the USA. What's going on here? Have we

[179:23] totally lost our marbles? Thanks for

[179:26] watching tonight. Good night from New

[179:27] York. Situation room begins now with

[179:28] Wolf Blitzer. Wol,

[179:30] >> thanks very much, Lou. And to our

[179:32] viewers, you're in the situation room

[179:33] where new pictures and information are

[179:35] arriving all the time. Standing by, CNN

[179:38] reporters across the United States and

[179:40] around the world to bring you [music]

[179:42] tonight's top stories. Happening now,

[179:44] President Bush stood up by Iraq's prime

[179:47] minister. Is it a sign of things to come

[179:49] for their summit in Jordan? It's 2:00

[179:52] a.m.