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Original Source: LOU DOBBS TONIGHT
Osborn, Mike Boettcher, Matthew Chance, Dana Bash, Bill Tucker, Peter Viles, Christine Romans, Barbara Starr, Casey Wian] [Guest: ] [High: ] [Spec: Business; Stock Markets; Economy; Technology; World Affairs; SIC: 7375] [Time: 18:00:00]
JOHN KING, , CNNfn ANCHOR, LOU DOBBS TONIGHT: Tonight: Millions of Americans go to the mall, as retailers launch the holiday shopping season. But will the buying frenzy last? Kitty Pilgrim will report.
In Europe, police hunting radical Islamists arrest six people in three countries. One of the suspects may have been planning suicide bomb attacks in Britain.
In "Heroes" tonight, the Army reservist whose duties as a military policeman in Iraq collided with his responsibilities as a new father. Casey Wian will report.
And "Reel World." The big studios open the holiday movie season with a barrage of new films. "Hollywood Reporter" columnist Martin Grove will tell us the likely winners and losers.
ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT for Friday, November 28. Sitting in for Lou Dobbs, John King.
KING: Good evening from the nation`s capital. Lou is off tonight.
One day after President Bush`s dramatic visit to Baghdad, a reminder today that the war goes on in Iraq and American troops are being killed almost every day. Insurgents today killed a U.S. soldier in a mortar attack in Mosul. The president visited Iraq, despite the persistent attacks on U.S. troops and on Iraqis. The continuing violence is one of the biggest potential threats to the president`s reelection prospects.
White House correspondent Dana Bash reports tonight from near the president`s ranch in Crawford, Texas, on the president`s dramatic trip and the day-after reaction -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the White House is still basking in the glow of what they were able to pull off, the stealth mission, to Iraq, the images it provided, and the buzz surrounding it over the past 24 hours.
But they know all too well, John, from experience, that positive news, positive images are a single event, could not necessarily have staying power. And it is the violence and the president`s policies in Iraq that they are most concerned about for the long term.
And Condoleezza Rice, the president`s national security adviser, defended the transition plan that they have in place to get Iraqis back into power and for the United States to pull out. That plan has been challenged by some Iraqi leaders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I`m quite certain that, in the end, this plan is going to be implemented in a way that really does give to the Iraqi people the kind of voice that they need, recognizing that this is an interim step, that, eventually, they will need to have a permanent constitution and nationwide elections.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: But, of course, this is, John, an election year. And anything that the president does, whether they say it is -- was for political reasons or not is seen through that prism.
And the White House did focus on the images with the president and the troops. That made it hard for Democrats to criticize. The candidates out on the campaign trail were very careful in saying that they understand it is important for a commander in chief to visit troops abroad, but they also were very careful to quickly try to turn it back to the president`s policy in Iraq, Howard Dean saying that the men and women shouldn`t be there in the first place, and John Kerry saying that it is a shooting gallery there and that is the issue. It is the president`s policy. That`s what John Kerry and Howard Dean both said today -- John.
KING: And, Dana, the White House is saying this trip was first conceived when?
BASH: They`re saying that this was -- had been kicked around for a while, but this specific trip, to do it on Thanksgiving, they say was conceived in mid-October, that Andy Card, the White House chief of staff, broached it with the president when they were in Asia. And then they started the ball rolling.
His deputy, Joe Hagin, starting getting all the details in place. But they said it wasn`t finalized until just a few hours before the president left during a video conference with President Bush at his ranch here, talking to the vice president and other senior advisers. And they all said, go ahead.
KING: Dana Bash, live for us from near the president`s ranch in Crawford, Texas, where we assume where the president is, where they say he is, tonight -- thank you, Dana.
And during his visit to Baghdad, the president met with troops from three Army units heavily engaged in the war against insurgents and terrorists. Those units were the 1st Armored Division, the 82nd Airborne Division, and the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. All those units are scheduled to be replaced in the spring, after a year of combat duty.
The president`s visit also lifted the morale of troops elsewhere in Iraq, including members of the 4th Infantry Division in Tikrit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPEC. JAMES HILL, 4TH INFANTRY DIVISION: I think that it`s good that President Bush came down and showed support for all the troops that are over here fighting.
SPEC. QUINCY FORDE, 4TH INFANTRY DIVISION: I think he showed great support, knowing that we`re away from our families. And for him to come over here and be with us during this time shows great support.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Suicide bombers are one of the biggest threats to U.S. troops and Iraqis. Today, German police arrested an Algerian suspected of recruiting Islamic extremists to carry out suicide attacks in Iraq.
Several other suspect are under arrest in Italy. Separately, British police have arrested a Muslim man who may have been planing a suicide bomb attack in Great Britain.
Matthew Chance reports from Western England.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): British security officials say this could be a major breakthrough in their counterterrorism efforts. Already a small, but significant quantity of high explosives has been seized, enough, say police, for a suicide bomber. Security forces and forensic teams have raided other properties in the search for more.
DAVID BLUNKETT, BRITISH INTERIOR MINISTER: The ongoing investigation will reveal the extent of the nature of the activity of the individual and individuals that have been picked up now. But, obviously, the use of the Terrorism Act 2000 indicates the extent of the concern for the security and counterterrorism branch of the Metropolitan Police.
CHANCE: The 24-year-old terrorism suspect arrested at his family home is said to be British, of Asian origin. Neighbors describe him as an intelligent man who takes his religion seriously. He`s believed to have trained in Pakistan as a Muslim cleric.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`ve known them for quite a long time and got on really well with them. They`re lovely people.
CHANCE: Britain has proved a haven for a number of militants in the past, most notoriously, Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, sentenced to three life sentences earlier this year for trying to blow up a U.S. airliner. Police say links between suspected British terrorists are under constant scrutiny, but not every terrorist plot can be foiled.
(on camera): The bombing of the British Consulate and a London-based bank in Istanbul earlier this month has heightened fears that Britain itself may be an imminent al Qaeda target. Even police here in Gloucester say their operations are not ended. Nationwide, there could be more raids and more arrests in the days ahead.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Gloucester, in Western England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: Authorities in Turkey today said they have identified the suicide bomber who detonated a truck bomb outside the London-based HSBC Bank in Istanbul last week. That suspect is a Turkish citizen with a history of ties to radical Islamists. Groups linked to al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the HSBC bombing and three other attacks. Those...
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