RAY SUAREZ: It was another violent day in Iraq. A relative of the new
presiding judge in Saddam Hussein's genocide trial was killed. The judge's
brother-in-law was gunned down in his car in Baghdad, and the judge's nephew was also
wounded. It was unclear if the killing was targeted.
Also today, police found 14 more bodies dumped in Baghdad; all had been
tortured. Since Sunday, nearly 150 bodies have been found scattered around the
capital.
On the subject of the insurgency in Iraq, a U.S.
commander today predicted it would ultimately be defeated, but not until after U.S.
forces have left the country. U.S. Army Colonel Sean MacFarland briefed
Pentagon reporters from Iraq
today. His brigade is stationed in Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's volatile Anbar province.
COL. SEAN MACFARLAND, U.S. Army: Who knows how long this is
going to actually last? But if we get the level of violence down to a point
where the Iraqi security forces are more than capable of dealing with it, the
insurgency's days will eventually come to an end. And they'll come to an end at
the hands of the Iraqis who, by definition, will always be perceived as more
legitimate than an external force like our own.
RAY SUAREZ: We'll have more on Iraq right after this news summary.
A Canadian soldier fighting with NATO forces in southern Afghanistan was killed today; he died in a
roadside bombing while patrolling in Kandahar
Province.
Yesterday, NATO agreed to take command of peacekeeping
across the country. That decision came after the U.S. pledged to transfer 12,000
extra troops.
In a speech in Washington
today, President Bush acknowledged setbacks in Afghanistan, but he defended his
policies in the war on terror.
GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States: You do not create
terrorism by fighting terrorism.
If that ever becomes the mindset of the policymakers in Washington, it means
we'll go back to the old days of waiting to be attacked and then respond. Our
most important duty is to protect the American people from a future attack, and
the way to do so is to stay on the offense.
RAY SUAREZ: In Washington,
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi criticized the president's speech as too
little, too late.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), House Minority Leader: It was yet
another example of how he is in denial over what is happening in the war on
terror. It was an interesting speech about Afghanistan and one that should
have been accomplished several years ago.
The president took his eye off the ball in Afghanistan. We
had a presence there over the past few years, but not to the extent that we
needed to get the job done.
RAY SUAREZ: Some 8,000 NATO troops are currently stationed
in southern Afghanistan.
But NATO commanders have warned they'll need another 2,500 -- plus more air
support -- to successfully fight the Taliban.
A new videotape of al-Qaida's number two was released today.
In it, Ayman al-Zawahiri called President Bush a "deceitful charlatan"
and a failure. He also made reference to Pope Benedict XVI, indicating the tape
could have been made after the pope's controversial remarks on Islam in
mid-September.
Congress moved to adopt two spending bills today before its
election recess begins this weekend. And the Senate unanimously approved a
record $448 billion budget for the Department of Defense. It includes $70
billion for military operations in Iraq
and Afghanistan;
another $86 billion goes toward personnel costs for soldiers and Marines.
The House, meanwhile, moved toward passage of a $35 billion
bill to fund the Homeland Security Department. We'll have more on the effort to
wrap-up work in Congress later in the program.
Convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff had hundreds of contacts
with White House officials, but with mixed results. A draft report by the House
Government Reform Committee was released today. It detailed 485 contacts by
Abramoff and his associates over three years. They were successful in getting
appropriations for some of their American-Indian clients, but they had little
luck at influencing presidential appointments and nominations.
Democrat Henry Waxman of California spoke after his committee
released the report.
REP. HENRY WAXMAN (D), California: It looks to me like there was
very active involvement from the Abramoff team at the White House. He was no
stranger to them, as they suggested. He had very specific requests, which were
granted by the White House. He was offering meals, and concert tickets, and
favors for people at the White House, and the people at the White House
accepted those favors.
RAY SUAREZ: At the White House today, Press Secretary Tony
Snow cast doubt on Abramoff's story.
TONY SNOW, White House Press Secretary: I'll tell you what
it accurately portrays is the fact that Jack Abramoff was an exuberant
practitioner of sleaze to the point where it's very difficult within the report
itself to figure out how many actual contacts there are.
There's a great deal of bewilderment about what's true and
what's false. And I think it's -- you know, we're going to take a look at it. We're
going to take a serious look at it.
RAY SUAREZ: Abramoff has already been sentenced to nearly
six years in prison. He has yet to begin serving the term, as he's cooperating
in the continuing Justice Department investigation.
Republican Congressman Mark Foley of Florida resigned today amid questions over
e-mails he sent a former male page. Foley wrote to him five times last year
when the boy was 16 years old. In a statement, Foley said he was "deeply
sorry" and apologized to his family and the people of Florida. He didn't mention the e-mails.
A recall of laptop batteries made by Sony grew today. Toshiba
and Fujitsu joined other computer manufacturers in recalling the battery packs.
They can short-circuit and, in rare cases, catch fire. Dell also expanded its
earlier recall by 100,000. In all, some 7 million laptops worldwide have been
affected.
On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost
39 points to close at 11,679. The Nasdaq fell 11 points to close at 2,258. Today
was the last trading day of the third quarter. Over that time, the Dow gained
4.7 percent and the Nasdaq rose 4 percent.
