Two Suicide Bomb Attacks Rock Israel
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight: Five foreign pilots who may be connected to terrorist groups are barred from U.S. airspace. Jeanne Meserve reports. America continues to export jobs and capital to China. Some lawmakers are now saying, enough. Lisa Sylvester reports. Tonight, we begin a series of special reports in conjunction with "The Economist" magazine. "Islam and Democracy," can they coexist? And "A Changed Nation." Casey Wian reports on the impact of September 11 on travel and tourism in America.</s>ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT for Tuesday, September 9. Here now, Lou Dobbs.</s>DOBBS: Good evening. We begin in the Middle East tonight. Two suicide bomb attacks in Israel killed at least 11 people today and wounded dozens of others, a powerful explosion tonight in west Jerusalem. At least five people are dead. Earlier, another bomb killed six people outside an army base near Tel Aviv. CNN's Samson Desta at the scene of tonight's explosion in west Jerusalem. And he is on the phone -- Samson.</s>SAMSON DESTA, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, Lou. We have now been able to make our way closer to the scene. I'm standing literally 20 meters away from this cafe. And Jerusalem police spokesman Gil Kleiman just held a press conference. And he told us that a suicide bomber made his way into this cafe in west Jerusalem in a neighborhood called the German Colony. And he made his way in a few meters. He was approached by two security guards, but he was able to detonate his bomb. As a result of this, now we have been told now there are six dead, six, plus the suicide bomber. Now, this city had been on high alert this morning. In fact, when we made our way from the hotel to the office, we actually had to go through three checkpoints, but police spokesman Gil Kleiman again saying that that alert and that chase this morning is unrelated to this event today, which means that they believe at least one or two more suicide bombers that may have infiltrated into Israel are still in Israel -- Lou.</s>DOBBS: Samson, thank you very much -- Samson Desta reporting from west Jerusalem. Tonight, one of the clearer signs yet that the U.S. Army is facing severe problems in maintaining force levels in Iraq. The Army now says about 20,000 National Guard and Reserve troops will have to serve a full year in the region. That is up to six months longer than previously expected. The United States is also asking other countries to send their troops, but only 20,000 have arrived in Iraq so far. Senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre reports.</s>JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While Guard and Reserve soldiers knew the Army could keep them in Iraq a full year, with civilian jobs back home, many hoped they wouldn't have to.</s>SGT. NORTON WILLIAMS, NATIONAL GUARD: A lot of guys were thinking we'd be back in six months. But another six months, we got a job to do. We've got to finish it.</s>MCINTYRE: And with transition time, their service could total a year and a half. The soldiers may be disappointed, but some of their families are irate.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How can they treat people like this? I have friends in other services who were there in February and they're already home.</s>MCINTYRE: The problem, according to the Pentagon, is that the Army is out of whack. Too many of the vital combat support functions are only in the reserves. Until that's fixed, the Pentagon has no good options.</s>GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: We are a nation of war. And we have do what it takes in this case to win. So that is what -- that is what's happening. We need that combat support, combat service support, to be with our active forces as long as they're in Iraq.</s>MCINTYRE: But many in Congress believe the real problem is, the U.S. military is too small, the force in Iraq is inadequate, and the Pentagon is in denial.</s>SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: When we have to extend Guard and reservists on active duty, when we have to ask for international forces, when we have to do the things that we are doing, it's clear to me that we need additional troops.</s>MYERS: We could put every sailor, soldier, airman, Marine, Coast Guardsman we have in Iraq and it would not make this problem better. In fact, it could work just to the opposite. The more Americans in Iraq, the less Iraqis might feel prompted to come forward and furnish us that intelligence, which is what we need so badly to deal with this threat.</s>MCINTYRE: The Pentagon insists this is a spike, a short-term problem that will require some temporary sacrifice. But officials here also acknowledge, they have to do something to relieve the burden on citizen soldiers in the Guard and Reserve or risk the possibility that they'll end up with too few volunteers to fill that vital role in the future -- Lou.</s>DOBBS: Jamie, the continued insistence on the part of the secretary of defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, that no further forces are needed, the nine divisions not to be raised to 11, 12, or perhaps even more, the suggestion that more troops would not be helpful, all of this is contradictory on its face. What is going on?</s>MCINTYRE: Well, they make these arguments. They say, if you were to add two divisions to the Army, it would take a couple of years. It would cost billions of dollars, and that, by the time they were ready, the problem might be over with. They insist that, if they can continue on the path they're going and get more Iraqis involved into defense, it's going to be much cheaper and much better for Iraq in the long run. That's their argument. They're sticking to it.</s>DOBBS: Jamie McIntyre, our senior Pentagon correspondent -- thank you, Jamie. There were more attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq today, five members of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment wounded in two separate attacks towns west of Baghdad, two other soldiers injured when terrorists attacked a supply convoy in Baghdad. High-ranking government officials went to Capitol Hill today, there to defend the president's request for another $87 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said the money is a small price to pay to prevent future terrorist attacks. Senators from both parties said Americans must focus on the future, not the past.</s>SEN. JOHN WARNER (R), VIRGINIA: Now is not the time, in my judgment, to try and assess what went right and what went wrong and who may be at fault for faulty vision.</s>SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: Before priding reconstruction funds, partly to assure that those funds can be effectively spent in an effort that will be successful, we must assure ourselves that the administration is willing to give more than lip service to enlisting the support of key additional nations in providing troops and resources for the long struggle that lies ahead in Iraq.</s>DOBBS: Still a war in Iraq and the trade war brewing with China. Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, a bipartisan group of senators is taking on China for a currency policy it says leads to unfairly cheap wages and goods in China. Those senators today proposed an import tariff on all Chinese goods. Lisa Sylvester reports.</s>LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): China has been on the winning side of an unbalanced trade picture. But lawmakers on Capitol Hill say the Chinese have not been playing fair.</s>SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: What we're simply seeking to do is level the playing field, so that Chinese goods compete on their true price, as international agreements state they should.</s>SYLVESTER: A bipartisan group in Congress is threatening to slap a 27 percent across-the-board tariff on all goods from China, if the Chinese government continues to keep its currency artificially low. China's currency has been pegged to the U.S. dollar since 1994, keeping their prices low and fueling Chinese exports. In 1997, China's exports to the U.S. were value at $62 billion. By 2002, exports jumped to $125 billion. When Treasury Secretary John Snow visited China last month, Chinese officials said they would maintain the peg to the dollar, at least for now. American manufacturers say the problem impacts not only their industry. White- collar jobs are also disappearing.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Many of our major corporations are adopting a new business model of, pay Chinese wages, charge U.S. prices, and the heck with the consequences. And that just can't fly.</s>SYLVESTER: But critics say Congress should not have a knee-jerk reaction, arguing, many household goods will jump in price if the proposed legislation goes through.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You could call this bill the Grinch tax. If it comes in time for Christmas, it's going to be a tax on toys and shoes and baby clothes and all sorts of things that are important to American families.</s>SYLVESTER: The Bush administration is walking a very fine line here, on one hand favoring free trade. But, at the same time, the White House is very aware of the sensitivities of the loss of manufacturing jobs. The other factor is that the White House is -- needs China's help, particularly when it comes to diffusing the North Korean situation -- Lou.</s>DOBBS: And, meanwhile, Lisa, this is certainly to be a major issue in the upcoming presidential campaign, the issue of exporting American jobs. Lisa Sylvester, thank you very much, reporting from Washington. And coming up next: "A Changed Nation," how the attacks of September 11 changed the way that we travel. Casey Wian will report. And daily attacks on American troops in Iraq. And our next guest says we are, nonetheless, winning the war on the ground. Max Boot has just returned from Iraq. He's our guest. Stay with us.