JIM LEHRER: U.S.
casualties in Iraq
surged again in the last 24 hours. The military announced 11 more deaths, one
today, 10 on Tuesday. Seven of them died in roadside bombings and shootings in
and around Baghdad.
Four others were killed in Diyala Province in the east and Anbar Province
in the west.
That made 70 American killed this month, nearly as many as
in all of September. In Washington,
a White House spokesman said President Bush grieves for the lost troops, but
will not change his strategy.
British Prime Minister Blair today mounted a strong defense
of his policies in Iraq.
He faced sharp criticism from opposition lawmakers in the House of Commons. But
Blair said it would be a gross dereliction of duty to pull out quickly.
TONY BLAIR, Prime Minister of Britain: We have already reduced
our forces significantly over the past few years. But what we are doing, for
example, in Basra at the moment, where we're working with the Iraqi forces to
go through part by part of Basra, making sure that we clean out the militia,
put in place proper Iraqi security forces, do the reconstruction.
That is vital work. And I do not want to either dismay our
allies or hearten our enemies by suggesting we will do anything else other than
stay until the job is done.
JIM LEHRER: Last week, Britain's
army chief, General Sir Richard Dannatt, warned the British presence in Iraq is making
things worse. The government said his statements were taken out of context.
Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki again confronted the problem
of sectarian violence today. In Najaf, he met with radical cleric Muqtada
al-Sadr and separately with Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani. Maliki hopes to enlist
their support in building political consensus.
The Maliki government also announced a national
reconciliation conference will start in Baghdad
on November 4th. We'll have a report from Iraq right after this news summary.
Secretary of State Rice promised today the United States will defend Japan against any threat from North Korea. She
spoke in Tokyo on the first leg of a four-nation
trip to Asia. It came amid fears that North Korea's
nuclear test could trigger a new arms race in the region.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, U.S. Secretary of State: I reaffirm the
president's statement of October 9th that the United
States has the will and the capability to meet the full
range -- and I underscore full range -- of its deterrent and security
commitments to Japan.
JIM LEHRER: Japanese officials sent mixed signals today on
whether they'll try to develop nuclear weapons. At one point, the foreign
minister said, "It is important to discuss the issue." But later,
Prime Minister Abe ruled out any such move. He said, "That debate is
finished."
The prime minister of India
warned today North Korea's
nuclear test disrupted the balance of power in Asia.
Prime Minister Singh said it also threatens areas beyond the continent. India has
conducted its own nuclear tests, most recently in 1998.
A Louisiana
congressman urged others today to tell all they know in the House page scandal.
A former page of Republican Rodney Alexander received overly friendly e-mails
last fall from then-Congressman Mark Foley. His aides then asked the office of
House Speaker Hastert for advice.
Today, Alexander went before the House Ethics Committee. He
said some people know more than they've told.
REP. RODNEY ALEXANDER (R), Louisiana: I'm just saying that, from the
reports that have already been out there, there were many people that knew
about the e- mails and the "I-mails" from in the past. And I'm
hopeful that the committee will address that.
They asked a number of questions with pages from the past
that have come forth now with testimony. You know, I'd like to know who their
member of Congress was. Who sponsored them? What did they know? Why didn't they
reveal if they knew anything?
JIM LEHRER: In other news related to the midterm elections,
the president's top political aide, Karl Rove, dismissed Democrats' chances of
winning control of Congress. He told the Washington Times Republicans may lose
seats in both the House and Senate, but they will keep their majorities.
In economic news, the Labor Department reported consumer
prices fell half a percentage point in September, the most in 10 months. And
the Social Security Administration said Social Security benefits will rise 3.3
percent next year. That is to keep pace with inflation. The change will average
an extra $33 a month.
On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
traded above the 12,000 mark for the first time ever. It fell back later, but
still ended the day with a gain of more than 42 points, to close above 11,992. The
Nasdaq fell more than seven points to close at 2,337.
