New Wave of Violence in Iraq Under Way; Split Between Bush and NAACP
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, insurgents challenge U.S. policy and military power in Iraq with deadly attacks in two Iraqi cities. A new wave of violence against the Iraqi government is underway.</s>IYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER: This is a kind of a global war against terrorists, and we have to win this war.</s>DOBBS: As the violence in Iraq escalates, more coalition countries are considering pulling their troops out or cutting the number of troops. We'll have a special report. In our Campaign Journal tonight, Senator Kerry tries to exploit a split between President Bush and the NAACP. Senator Kerry says he will never divide America by race or riches. Republicans and Democrats are stepping up their efforts to win the votes of 40 million Hispanic-Americans. I'll talk with Jorge Ramos, author of "The Latino Wave." He says Hispanics will determine the outcome of this presidential election. And federal agents launch a crackdown against smuggling kingpins who bring hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens into this country. Tonight, our special report, Broken Borders.</s>ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT for Thursday, July 15. Here now for an hour of news, debate and opinion is Lou Dobbs.</s>DOBBS: Good evening. Insurgents today launched a new wave of attacks in the latest challenge to the Iraqi government and U.S. political and military strategy in Iraq. Today's attacks killed 17 people. Yesterday, a bomb attack in Baghdad killed 10. This new wave of violence comes as the Philippines prepares to withdraw its troops from Iraq. It is the fifth coalition country to pull its troops out. Kitty Pilgrim reports.</s>KITTY PILGRIM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A burst of violence. A car bomb in a western town exploded near the main police station, killing 10 Iraqis, wounding 30 others. A mortar attack in Kirkuk also targeting a police station hit a house instead, killing five residents and wounding two. After a brief lull in recent weeks, the last two days have brought a flurry of attacks. Today, Al Jazeera network read a statement from militants holding a Filipino hostage, saying they will free him at the end of the month when the Philippines withdraw its 51 troops from Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi urged the Philippines to "reconsider withdrawing forces because we cannot give up to terrorism." Hostages of other coalition partners were also held. Coalition attrition is well underway. Of the 32-nation coalition, five members are already gone.</s>STEVEN COOK, CFR FELLOW: This is indicative of the fact that political support for Operation Iraqi Freedom was thin to begin with, and now that at least in name sovereignty has been transferred to an interim Iraqi government, our coalition partners, such as they are, can make the argument that, well, sovereignty's been transferred, there's really no point in us being here any longer.</s>PILGRIM: Insurgent attacks and the pressure on coalition partners to drop out are expected to continue, and many think now is exactly the time when the coalition should stay committed.</s>GEN. GEORGE JOULWAN, FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Between now and the election, whether it's in January, February next year, is a very difficult time. We must realize that, and I think we need to get as much cooperation as possible between the new Iraqi government, the United States and the coalition and alliances around the world.</s>PILGRIM: Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said today he's planning a series of visits in the Arab world to establish more of an intelligence network to root out the insurgents, but it's clear insurgents will continue to pressure the coalition partners who have troops on the ground in Iraq -- Lou.</s>DOBBS: Kitty, thank you very much. Considerable mystery surrounds a U.S. Marine who disappeared in Iraq and turned up in Lebanon. Tonight, he's back in the United States. Corporal Wassef Hassoun arrived at the Quantico Marine base in Virginia after medical exams at a U.S. military hospital in Germany. Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre has the report -- Jamie.</s>JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lou, Corporal Hassoun arrived at the Quantico Marine base looking rested, smiling, not looking at all like somebody who could face possible criminal penalties for desertion. The Marine Corps said privately that they had indications that when Hassoun left his base in Iraq, he did not intend to go back but was trying to meet up with relatives in Lebanon. But publicly they're playing it very straight and not making any indication that Corporal Hassoun could possibly be guilty of any wrongdoing. Today, a Marine spokesman simply said that this repatriation process which brought him to Quantico was the normal process that would be used for anyone who had been held hostage.</s>LT. COL. DAVID LAPAN, U.S. MARINE CORPS SPOKESMAN: Corporal Hassoun will remain at Quantico until the repatriation team decides that he is able to return to full duty. Repatriation is the process of decompression, debriefing and integration of individuals who have been captured or detained. The length of this process can vary from weeks to months, depending on the circumstances of the individual case.</s>MCINTYRE: All that spokesman said today was that Hassoun arrived healthy, in good spirits. Otherwise, the Marine Corps is saying very little publicly about the explanation that Hassoun has offered for his disappearance in Iraq June 19 and in his subsequent reappearance in Lebanon July 7 when he turned himself into U.S. embassy officials. Sources say Hassoun insists he was abducted, but he didn't make any mention of that in the brief public statement he issued in Germany before coming to the United States. One thing, though, the Pentagon and the Marine Corps both are making clear is at this point Hassoun has not been accused of any wrongdoing, nor has he been charged with anything, nor has he been provided with a military attorney, which would be a first step if the military was considering any sort of punishment or reprimand -- Lou.</s>DOBBS: Jamie, thank you. Turning to election politics in this country, the White House today tried to end growing speculation that President Bush may drop Vice President Dick Cheney as his running mate. White House spokesman Scott McClellan dismissed the speculation as simply a part of what he called the beltway rumor mill. Elaine Quijano reports from the White House.</s>ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The White House says there's no doubt Vice President Dick Cheney is on the Republican presidential ticket to stay, despite rumors to the contrary published on the front page of "The New York Times."</s>SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: And, look, there's -- this is a campaign season. There's going to be a lot of inside-the- beltway rumormongering going on, and that's all this is.</s>QUIJANO: Fueling the rumor mill in part, public opinion. A recent Gallup poll found the vice president's favorable rating trailed the Democratic VP pick, John Edwards, by 9 percentage points. And, in a separate survey looking at swing voters, the gap was wider.</s>ED SARPOLUS, MICHIGAN POLLSTER: Some 60 percent of those voters really like John Edwards. Amongst that same group, only 25 percent to 28 percent like Dick Cheney.</s>QUIJANO: Given the tight race, those numbers worry some Republicans, with some wishing out loud options others would only whisper.</s>ALFONSE D'AMATO, FORMER REPUBLICAN SENATOR: And I think that Secretary Powell would be one of those, and my good friend, John McCain, would be another.</s>QUIJANO: But, at every campaign stop, President Bush has made clear he's happy with his choice.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm running with a great American in Dick Cheney. He's a solid, solid citizen. We've got a fabulous vice president in Dick Cheney.</s>QUIJANO: As for the concerns about how Mr. Cheney stacks up against his competition, even he poked fun at the issue.</s>RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Somebody said to me the other day that Senator Edwards got picked for his good looks and charm, and I said, "How do you think I got this job?"</s>QUIJANO (on camera): Now the Bush-Cheney campaign says the vice president is a strong fund-raiser, well liked by supporters. They also point to Mr. Cheney's experience in Washington as an asset and a strong advantage, they say, over John Edwards -- Lou.</s>DOBBS: Elaine, thank you. Senator John Kerry today told the NAACP that he will never seek to divide this country by race or riches. The NAACP also asked President Bush to address the group, but the White House declined that invitation. Today, White House officials said the NAACP has crossed the line in partisanship and civility. Candy Crowley reports.</s>CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush declined an invitation from the NAACP, teeing up John Kerry nicely.</s>SEN. JOHN F. KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And you know something? The president may be too busy to speak to you now, but I've got news for you. He's going to have plenty of time after November 2.</s>CROWLEY: He hit all the usual notes of his middle-class pitch, promising more jobs, better jobs, less crime, improved education, a safer America. Nine of 10 African-Americans who voted in 2000 voted for Al Gore. So Kerry's challenge is not so much winning the black vote as getting blacks who don't vote to go to the polls.</s>KERRY: Don't tell us the strongest democracy on earth, that a million disenfranchised African-Americans and the most tainted election in American history is the best that we can do.</s>CROWLEY: Kerry's speech came as his campaign unveiled a $2 million ad buy targeted at the minority community.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can he really make a difference for me and my family?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Learn about John Kerry's plan to expand access to health care to nearly all Americans, especially our children.</s>CROWLEY: The Congressional Black Caucus was greatly under underwhelmed and said so.</s>REP. JOHN CONYERS (D), MICHIGAN: We're going to revise the ad itself, which was not -- didn't turn on any of my colleagues in the caucus at all.</s>CROWLEY: It is the latest in a series of private grumbling and public complaints about the Kerry campaign's minority outreach. Early on, it was about the lack of color in the upper echelons of the campaign. More were added. Yesterday, Illinois Democratic Senate candidate Barack Obama was put on the primetime convention lineup after criticism that the roster was too white.</s>REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS CHAIRMAN: Kerry cannot win without the African-American vote. We know that, and he knows that.</s>CROWLEY: Candy Crowley, CNN, Capitol Hill.</s>DOBBS: Despite the rift with the NAACP, the White House tonight says President Bush will continue to reach out to members of the NAACP and all African-Americans. President Bush is scheduled to speak with another civil rights group, the urban league, next week. That brings us to the subject of tonight's poll. The question: Do you believe either presidential candidate has articulated a clear vision of a bright American future? Yes or no. Cast your vote at cnn.com/lou. We'll have the results for you later in the broadcast. Coming up next here, a new twist tonight in the Democratic presidential campaign. I'll be talking about this and other developments on the campaign trail with three of the country's top political journalists. In our special report, Broken Borders, federal agents have launched an offensive against gangsters who make millions of dollars smuggling illegal aliens into this country. That special report coming right up. And a leading congressman takes on American companies that set up their headquarters in overseas tax havens and then demand U.S. government loan guarantees and subsidies.