Washington Week Show - # 4445
Washington Week Show - WW 4445 - "Open"
Washington Week Show # 4445 - Segments: "The Impact of War...Up Close" (Bombings in Iraq, Tony Blair re-elected), "Gauging Economic Indications," "Borderline Squabble." Hosted by Gwen Ifill, with guests Martha Raddatz, Barbara Slavin, Jeffrey Birnbaum, Gebe Martinez. Composite footage (unclean) with Washington Week title and text: car bombing aftermath in Iraq; Iraqi government; British Prime Minister Tony Blair saying, "It's a tremendous honor and privilege to be elected for a third term." British polling station; Tony Blair and wife Cherie; workers building wooden deck; CU gas pump (pumping gas); CU credit card being run through register; cars inside car dealership; Capitol Dome; illegal alien running across border; Nancy Pelosi; man having drivers license photo taken (DMV).
Washington Week Show - WW 4445 - "War in Iraq"
Gwen Ifill opens show with grim news from Iraq on mounting casualties. Iraqi security forces are taking the brunt of the losses, with insurgents emboldened by the existence of the new Iraqi government. Joint Staff General James Conway says, "We don't think that it can be sustained, because of the increase in what we have seen recently, but again is a premiere question for our intelligence officers and their working the issue hard." Martha Raddatz of ABC News does not believe intelligence officers can know with any certainty how long the insurgency can sustain violence throughout Iraq. In fact, the numbers of suicide bombers is staggering to many military officials and there is no concrete evidence of a drop-off occurring. Ifill wonders if there is any connection with the recent rise in violence to formation of the new Iraqi government. Raddatz states that military officials believe there is and the violence is meant to prevent the government from coming together, which is why the sooner the new government stops in-fighting and fills cabinet positions with permanent members, the better for the military and the country as a whole. Another unknown is if the insurgents are coming from a central location, but the evidence definitely points to coordination between groups of insurgents.
Washington Week Show - WW 4445 - "War in Iraq"
Gebe Martinez of the Houston Chronicle asks Martha Raddatz of ABC News about the rise in war casualties does to U.S. troop withdrawal plans. Raddatz says that one of the U.S. commanders in Baghdad anticipated having 50,000 fewer soldiers by next year, with the void being filled by Iraqi security forces. However, with the toll the insurgency is having on the country, there is no certainty when it will be a good time to pull out. Barbara Slavin of USA Today wonders about the political vacuum in Iraq and whether more Sunnis could be a part of the new government. Raddatz agrees more Sunnis would be beneficial, but high-ranking positions are not being offered to them in Shiite-dominated government, thus Sunnis feel excluded. Gwen Ifill asks if there is a connection between Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and a recently arrested terrorist (Abu Faraj Al-Libbi). Split screen of Ifill /Raddatz and Abu. Raddatz believes the extent of similarities is both are chief of terrorist operations in their respective regions. The United States is after both of them, but the arrest of one won't likely lead to the arrest of the other.
Washington Week Show - WW 4445 - "British Politics"
Gwen Ifill turns to recent election victory of British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Blair says, "I know that Iraq has been a deeply divisive issue in this country. That's been very, very clear. But I also know and believe that after this election, people want to move on. They want to focus on the future, in Iraq, and here." Barbara Slavin of USA Today believes Blair is already a lame duck, as he has said this will be his last term. She explains why this win felt like a loss. While the Labor Party still has majority control, they lost a significant number of seats in Parliament. Additionally, the bulwark support for the war in Iraq has come back to bite him: many know without the British support, Bush would likely not have gone to war. Martha Raddatz of ABC News asks who would succeed him. Slavin believes his successor will likely be Gordon Brown, a centrist who almost became Prime Minister in 1997.
Washington Week Show - WW 4445 - "British/U.S. Relations"
Jeffrey Birnbaum asks if there has been a change in relationship between Tony Blair and George Bush since the Iraq War has begun. Barbara Slavin of USA Today can't speak to the personal relationship, but politically Blair has turned his attention to other issues. In any case, the shine is off Blair since the beginning of the Iraq War. His own press called him, even before the war in Iraq began, "Bush's poodle." Gebe Martinez of the Houston Chronicle asks what has happened to other major leaders who have supported the President's call for war in Iraq. Slavin points out the leader of Spain has been ousted in their elections, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is having his troubles at home, and the only leader unscathed is Australia's Prime Minister John Howard. Gwen Ifill asks if the U.S. - British relationship will stay "special" no matter who is in power. Slavin believes it will but was particularly special during Blair's tenure, especially as he transitioned from Presidents Clinton to Bush without skipping a beat. She wonders if his exceptional political skills are his downfall, as people have grown "sick" of those skills.
Washington Week Show - WW 4445 - "U.S. Economy"
Gwen Ifill transitions to domestic issues, primarily gas prices. Short clip of gas prices, gas pumps. Washington Week - State of Economy graphic 33% Good and 67% Poor. U.S. President George W. Bush speaking at news conference: "I'm an optimistic fella, based not upon my own economic forecast-- I'm not an economist-- but based upon the experts that I listen to." Jeffrey Birnbaum of the Washington Post provides Labor Department statistics supporting Bush's optimism. He would not, however, call this a trend. While job numbers have growth, there has been a dip in consumer spending. The Federal Reserve Board has said it wants to keep inching up the interest rate, and the economic community seems to be split whether this is a positive trend and job growth will continue at this rate.
Washington Week Show - WW 4445 - "U.S. Economy"
Barbara Slavin of USA Today asks Jeffery Birnbaum of the Washington Post how important the price of gas and oil is. Birnbaum says both are important to the U.S. consumer. He knows the prices are very high, but both have fallen recently and should continue to fall up until summer when peak demand will likely cause prices to rise again. Globally, there is not a lot of inventory, China is increasing consumption, and the United States has not expanded its oil refining capacities. Gebe Martinez of the Houston Chronicle notes that while job growth has risen, manufacturing jobs have declined. Birnbaum adds there are other factors hampering the Bush's economic approval ratings: inflation outpacing wage growth, high gas prices. Gwen Ifill asks if there's anything to be read into the raising of interest rates. Birnbaum mentions rise in interest rates is tied to rise of oil prices and the good news of job growth.
Washington Week Show - WW 4445 - "Immigration"
Gwen Ifill notes that Congress soon may pass a law requiring four pieces of identification to obtain a driver's license. The same law would make it harder to obtain asylum in the United States, and fund a border wall between California and Mexico. Gebe Martinez of the Houston Chronicle explains how these potential laws coming from a 82 billion dollar spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan became the leading edge of immigration reform. She explains this is the result of sheer political will coming from the most conservative, anti-illegal immigration faction of the House of Representatives. House Republicans attached these laws to a must-pass spending bill to ensure that it would go through. However, Senate Republicans do not like these provisions and did not include them in their version of the spending bill. Gwen Ifill notes the same thing happened on the 9/11 bill. This shows how split Republicans are over illegal immigration. She mentions separate bills Senate Republicans are working on to try and fix the issues of illegal immigration as a stand alone issue, but none have the ability to get out of Judiciary Committee and are non-starters with House conservatives.
Washington Week Show - WW 4445 - "Immigration"
Barbara Slavin of USA Today remarks upon the absurdity of the four pieces of identification to obtain a driver's license, what it will do to tourism and relations with Mexico. Gwen Ifill quips that the trip to the DMV will be that much more unbearable. Gebe Martinez of the Houston Chronicle mentions that states do not want this law passed, as it will cost them hundreds of millions of dollars to implement. Jeffery Birnbaum of the Washington Post wonders if this will have any impact in stopping a terrorist from crossing the border. Martinez notes terrorists don't get into the country with driver's licenses, which are documents you get when you are already in. The bill only succeeds in tying in terrorists with immigrants/immigration, which should be the context of the debate. The bill will only force more immigrants to drive without licenses or insurance. The need to find work will outweigh anything that this bill does to try and drive them back to their country of origin.
Washington Week Show - WW 4445 - "Close"
Show host Gwen Ifill thanks her guests, concludes program.