[Jonathan Karl, Cnn Congressional Correspondent:] I'm Jonathan Karl on Capitol Hill. I'll tell you why some lawmakers are being asked if they would take lie detector tests and why some of them are refusing.
[Mark Potter, Cnn Correspondent:] I'm Mark Potter in Miami. Democrats are having a field day with an election rule slip-up by Katherine Harris, a key figure in the year 2000 presidential standoff.
[William Schneider, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] I'm Bill Schneider in Los Angeles where raising a hue and cry can lead to the political "Play of the Week."
[King:] Thanks for joining us. Judy is off today. The memo from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is classified and blunt. It orders U.S. Special Forces to do more, quote, "to capture or kill the top leadership of al Qaeda." The Pentagon and the Bush administration may be feeling some pressure from the public. Our polling last month showed only 39 percent of Americans believe the United States is winning the war on terrorism, down from 66 percent in January. Half of them surveyed say the war will only be successful if Osama bin Laden is captured. Our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has more now on the new call to action against al Qaeda Jamie.
[Jamie Mcintyre, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Well, John, Pentagon officials are down playing any suggestion that Defense Secretary Rumsfeld isn't happy with the progress of the war in Afghanistan or the war on terrorism overall. Nevertheless, Pentagon sources confirm he sent what's known here in the Pentagon as a snowflake. A snowflake is a short, to the point memo from the secretary of defense to get something done or to do something. That went to the commander of U.S. Special Operations forces in Tampa, Florida, Air Force General Charles Holland. Holland was up at the Pentagon today in response to that memo, meeting with Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, briefing him on his ideas for how to use special operations troops to go after remnants of al Qaeda and other terrorists around the world in more than 60 countries around the world, how that could be done with Special Operations troops. Pentagon officials say there have been no orders to carry out any missions, just a discussion of what to do next, as Defense Secretary Rumsfeld wants to continue to keep the pressure on and try to refocus the effort to try to capture the top al Qaeda leaders who are still at large, which of course include the very top one, Osama bin Laden.
[King:] Well, Jamie, you say it is called a snowflake. Sounds more like a rocket. Can it be interpreted in any way but some dissatisfaction with the progress so far and perhaps some dissatisfaction with the aggressiveness of the plan of the Commander Tommy Franks?
[Mcintyre:] Well, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld has taken every opportunity to praise Tommy Franks and officials close to him say this in no way reflects any dissatisfaction with Franks or the way he is running the war. However, they do portray Rumsfeld as somebody who is a little bit impatient, who wants to energize the people who work for him, who is very concerned about the prospect of another attack on the United States. And so, if you are the recipient of one of these snowflakes, it really usually means get to work, I want to see some results. And that's what the meeting was about today at the Pentagon. But again, Pentagon officials portray this as sort of the routine process of just trying to figure out what to do next as they press the war against terrorists.
[King:] All right, Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. Thank you very much. The FBI is investigating a leak to CNN about classified information related to the September 11 attacks. That is creating a stir on Capitol Hill because some lawmakers are being asked if they'd be willing to take lie detector tests. Here's our congressional correspondent, Jonathan Karl Jonathan.
[Karl:] Well, John, the FBI has not made any demands yet, but several members of the intelligence committees have told CNN that they have been asked by FBI if they would be willing to take lie detector tests, and as you say, that is creating quite a stir up here. The top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee told the FBI that he would refuse to take such a test, because it would set a bad precedent, and besides, Richard Shelby says polygraph tests are unreliable. And that is a view that is shared by many here in Congress, including the top Democrat in the Senate, Tom Daschle, who put out a statement saying, that he is, quote, "gravely concerned about the separation of powers issues that such tests raise." But John, not everybody up here is against the polygraph test. As a matter of fact, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Democrat Bob Graham, said that he personally wouldn't mind taking such a test. And then Republican leader Trent Lott said that although he's not sure the tests are a good idea, that members of the intelligence committees should stop whining about the FBI's investigation.
[Sen. Trent Lott , Minority Leader:] My counsel would be, keep your mouth shut if you are on the intelligence committee and then don't complain if the FBI asks questions. The FBI was asked to do the job. Now they are complaining. I'm not directly involved in that, but I can't help but be amused that there has been misconduct and then there's a complaint when the investigation begins.
[Karl:] Keep in mind, John, this is an investigation that was requested by Congress, specifically by the top Democrats and Republicans on those intelligence committees. Now many members of those committees wish simply that this investigation would go away because after all, their special committee was set up to investigate the FBI and other intelligence agencies not the other way around John.
[King:] What is it they say? Sometimes you get what you ask for. Thank you, Jonathan Karl on Capitol Hill. Now to California where law enforcement officials credit team work and the states' new Amber alert system for saving the lives of two kidnapped teenagers. Police shot and killed 37-year-old Roy Ratliff and rescued two girls yesterday from a stolen Bronco in the desert about 100 miles from where they had been abducted. Ratliff was already wanted on rape charges in Kern County. Kern County Sheriff Carl Sparks says Ratliff, who had raped the girls, was probably about to kill them when the police arrived. CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider has more now from Los Angeles Bill.
[Schneider:] John, there is an ancient common law principle called hue and cry. When you see someone commit a crime, you are supposed to raise a hue and cry. Stop, thief, so bystanders will pursue the wrongdoer. Well, this week a modern version of the old hue and cry turned into the political play of the week. The modern way to raise a hue and cry when a child has been abducted is called the Amber alert, named for Amber Haggerman, 9-year-old girl who was kidnapped and brutally murdered in Texas in 1996. In the 14 states that have adopted the system, emergency bulletins go out immediately, over TV and radio describing the victim, the suspect and the vehicle. The information appears instantly on freeway message signs all over the state. For months, California Governor Gray Davis resisted pressure to set up a statewide Amber alert. Then last month, 5-year-old Samantha Runnion was tragically kidnapped and murdered. Davis acted, too late, said his opponent.
[Bill Simon , Calif. Gov. Candidate:] Though Gray Davis now apparently has finally taken my advice of last week and issued the executive order, his delay here as it has been in so many other areas like the energy crisis and the budget crisis is absolutely shameful and intolerable.
[Schneider:] A few days later, two teenage girls were kidnapped. It was the first test of California's week-old Amber alert system. It worked. The girls had been assaulted but were rescued alive. Their abductor was killed.
[Herb Marris, Victim's Father:] I couldn't believe it. This Amber system that you guys put out actually put in place to help these victims, such as mine.
[Schneider:] Authorities cheered.
[Asst. Sheriff Larry Waldie, La Co Sheriffs Dept:] It was a really effective system, just incredible. You go down there, you see the cheering down there of all the people that are working on this, the hundreds of people in law enforcement.
[Schneider:] Mission accomplished, said the governor.
[Gov. Gray Davis , California:] We had one goal, which is to find these children. I'm pleased that the state responded as massively and comprehensively as it did.
[Schneider:] Never mind how or why it got done. It worked. For the victims and their families, it was a miracle. For Governor Davis, it was the political play of the week. How did the Amber alert system get done here in California? Well, one reason is, it became an issue in the campaign for governor. Now, think about that whenever you are tempted to say, political campaigns are just the waste of time John.
[King:] Bill Schneider in Los Angeles. Have a good weekend, Bill. Thank you. White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett joins me next on INSIDE POLITICS with his first TV interview since he took over many of Karen Hughes' duties. Also ahead, is there new proof that the fictional "West Wing" has a partisan bias? Plus...
[Bill Clinton, Former President Of The United States:] I would personally grab a rifle, get in the ditch and fight and die.
[King:] What would Bill Clinton die for? The answer in our "daily debate." And later, it's party time for volunteers in plaid. Lamar Alexander is taking on Bob Clement in the Tennessee Senate race. We'll talk to both nominees.