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Original Source: THE SITUATION ROOM
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN, ANCHOR: ...Show their solidarity with Barack Obama. The are adopting his middle name.
Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm John Roberts and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
A deadly shift in the war on terror, for the second month in a row more U.S. and coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan than in Iraq. 40 compared to 30. And those 40 deaths make June the deadliest month ever since Operation Enduring Freedom began in Afghanistan more than seven years ago.
At the same time there are disturbing reports that the hunt for Osama Bin Laden is being crippled by bureaucratic infighting in Washington. CNN's Brian Todd is investigating. Brian, what are you finding?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, in three different briefings in Washington today, U.S. officials denied reports that squabbling between agencies is hindering efforts on the ground but you are seeing signs of frustration among military commanders that in some cases they cannot go after their main targets.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): U.S. intelligence officials tell CNN a number of factors lead them to believe Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders remain somewhere along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. But there's frustration on the part of U.S. military commanders that they can't get the green light to launch some operations in that area. That's according to an official at U.S. central command. How effective has the U.S. been in cracking down against al-Qaeda in that sensitive region?
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Osama bin Laden is still free seven years after 9/11, Ayman Al-Zawahiri his number two is still free. Al Qaeda has reground by the government's own estimation. So I think those results speak for themselves.
TODD: CIA and Pentagon officials won't report on a report on the "New York Times" that a secret plan drawn up last year to make it easier for special operation forces to go after Al Qaeda in Pakistan is still caught up in red tape. The report says officials at the White House and State Department are concerned that tensions with Pakistan will blow up. The White House denies bureaucracy is getting in the way.
DANA PERINO, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The President has been looking for Osama bin Laden since September 12th. That effort has never let up.
TODD: Former officials who were inside U.S. intelligence after 9/11 tell us it has been difficult since then to coordinate operations between the Pentagon, intelligence, the state Department and the White House, especially when it comes to going after al-Qaeda in Pakistan.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The fundamental problem here is that we're dealing with an adversary who has taken up refuge on the territory of a sovereign state with whom we're not at war. That's a very unusual circumstance. That then presents a whole series of difficult decisions for people in government, people in intelligence, people in the military.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: But John McLaughlin does not believe that Washington bureaucracy is holding up special operations inside Pakistan. He said the reason the U.S. hasn't gotten Bin Laden is that so far officials haven't had high enough confidence in the intelligence they received to commit Special Ops forces -- John.
ROBERTS: Well, Brian, what degree of confidence does he say they have to have?
TODD: Well, he says if they've got 80 percent confidence in the intelligence about any target, they'll launch. But he says something that does say something about how cold this trail has gotten for Bin Laden, if they haven't gotten to the 80 percent level on him, the trail's gotten pretty cold at this point, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Brian Todd for us this afternoon. Brian, thanks so much.
Barack Obama may soon get a firsthand look at Iraq and Afghanistan. He's heading to the Middle East and Europe soon. Republican rival John McCain is also getting his passport stamped. Let's go to our Mary Snow now. Mary, what do the candidates hope to accomplish by going overseas, or in John McCain's case, south of the border?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, John, it may seem counter intuitive, but the presidential candidates are hoping to gain support here at home by going overseas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): John McCain flies his new "Straight Talk Express" jet south of the border to Mexico and Colombia this week. Barack Obama will head to the Middle East and Europe this summer, and he told a radio interviewer he plans on visiting Iraq and Afghanistan.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In Iraq, my goal is to talk to the Iraqi leadership about making political progress so that we can start phasing down our troops in Iraq. And obviously I also want to congratulate the troops for the extraordinary work they've done in reducing violence there.
SNOW: Political observers say traveling overseas can give the candidates a chance to boost foreign policy credentials.
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: John McCain I think has used his trips to Iraq to considerable effect and have been helpful. I'm not sure if any more foreign travel especially in Columbia and Mexico right now help his very much. But a foreign policy trip for Barack Obama is essential.
SNOW: A poll in early June asking voters who would better handle foreign policy puts McCain ahead of Obama by 11 points, and McCain's playing up what he sees as his advantage and has been pushing for a joint trip to Iraq.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I still offer to go with Senator Obama. I hope that I could not only add to some of his knowledge of the region, because he's only been there once, as we all know.
SNOW: Obama has turned down McCain's offer calling it a political stunt. He is expected instead to go to Iraq as part of a congressional delegation. One former diplomat says these overseas trips that also include the Middle East and Europe are necessary considering America's bruised image.
CARLOS PASCUAL, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: A part of what these leaders are doing, these candidates are doing, is demonstrating that they're able to restore American leadership and partnership with others, and that's an issue that resonates and plays back to the electorate in the United States.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: So, while the candidates are trying to shore up their credibility, their trips overseas can be seen as a test of how well they do on the world stage -- John?
ROBERTS: Trips could provide some sort of an advantage, but could the time spent overseas also hurt these candidates because there are so many pressing domestic issues that require attention?
SNOW: Besides that, John, there's also a down side, you know, the former diplomat we spoke to said that while Americans want to be liked around the world, they also don't want other countries to set the agenda. And if they feel that another country is pulling the strings, that could be a down side for these candidates.
ROBERTS: All right. Mary Snow for us today. Mary, thanks very much.
Jack Cafferty back now in New York here with me with "The Cafferty File." JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: It occurs to me that if we want to be liked around the world, maybe we shouldn't inflict our political campaigns on these foreign governments and people.
ROBERTS: We need to have a robust foreign policy.
CAFFERTY: No. Maybe they'll go and not come back. Just stay over there. John McCain's military service doesn't automatically qualify him to be president. That's according to Retired General Wesley Clark. Clark is a former NATO commander. He backed Hillary Clinton but now he supports Barack Obama. He says performing that heroic military acts is not a substitute for command experience. Clark says he honors McCain's service as a P.O.W. and calls him a hero. He credits McCain's time on the Senate Armed Services Committee and has traveled worldwide but he points out that John McCain has not held executive responsibility. General Clark says, "I don't think riding...
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