SHOW: FOX SPECIAL REPORT WITH BRIT HUME 6:00 PM EST November 19, 2004
Political Headlines
By Brian Wilson, Wendell Goler, Megyn Kendall, Bret Baier, Carl Cameron
BRIAN WILSON, GUEST HOST: Next on SPECIAL REPORT, Colin Powell accuses Iran of continuing to develop nuclear weapons technology despite its claims to the contrary.
The Pentagon says that bin Laden and al Zarqawi are attempting to communicate with one another.
John Kerry says that the bin Laden tape released three days before the election was the difference in the race.
And Tom DeLay comes out swinging against Democrats who have accused him of ethics violations.
All this after other headlines from Fox headquarters in New York.
(NEWSBREAK)
WILSON: Welcome to Washington. I'm Brian Wilson in for Brit Hume.
As President Bush headed to Chile for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, it was his outgoing secretary of state who was making news. Colin Powell has told reporters he suspects Iran is planning to build both a nuclear warhead and missile that could carry it.
Fox News White House correspondent Wendell Goler reports.
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WENDELL GOLER, FOX NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was North Korea's nuclear program on the president's mind as he left Texas for the summit in Santiago. But it was Iran his aides were warning about in advance of Mr. Bush's arrival here. Secretary of state Powell told reporters on the flight from Washington that intelligence indicates Iran is trying to arm a missile with a nuclear warhead. And he later told Chilean television he'd expected as much.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: This shouldn't surprise anybody. If they had been working on a nuclear weapon and design a warhead; certainly they were also trying to figure out how they would deliver such a warhead.
GOLER: Powell based his claim on information from Iranian dissidents and U.S. intelligence. And while his aides quickly denied a report he'd revealed classified information, they weren't willing to offer more details to substantiate it.
ADAM ERELI, SPOKESMAN, STATE DEPARTMENT: I'm not getting into a public debate about the nature and quality of information. I'm just not.
GOLER: Skeptical reporters recall Powell's U.N. speech warning the world of Iraq's chemical and biological weapons based on faulty intelligence. But his Iran claim coincided with reports the country has launched a program to prepare as much uranium for enrichment as possible, just after days of signing on to a European agreement to end its uranium enrichment Monday. The reports are based on conflicting European sources and Iran denies them. But the U.S. feels they show Iran has no intention of living up to the European deal.
ERELI: These allegations only heighten our concerns that Iran is continues to pursue nuclear activities and does not honor its commitments.
GOLER: Experts say Iran's missile program is using technology developed by Pakistan and North Korea.
JOHN PIKE, GLOBALSECURITY.ORG: This is the way that Pakistan and North Korea have chosen to deliver their atomic bombs. It simply stands to reason that Iran is doing exactly the same thing.
GOLER: President Bush says Pakistan's proliferation has been curbed but North Korea is at the top of his agenda for one-on-one talks with Russian President Putin and China's Hu Jintao. Japan's Junichiro Koizumi leader and South Korea's Roh Moohyun, along with China's president has called for increased U.S. flexibility in dealing with the North. Chile's President Ricardo Lagos has endorsed the South Korean position.
And bitter protests by the Chilean people made clear Mr. Bush will have a tougher time selling a hard line position to this country's people than to its leaders. The Iraq war remains unpopular. The prevailing sentiment is that the U.S. defied the will of the rest of the world.
(on camera): The president showed in Iraq he can get world leaders to support politically unpopular efforts. And part of the cost of the war, may be that it's more difficult to get those leaders to support a tough stance on the other two legs of his axis of evil -- Brian.
WILSON: Wendell Goler, thank you.
Meantime in Washington, an Iranian resistance group rallied today in protest of a State Department report that labels one of its leaders a terrorist. That group accuses Iran of planning to develop a nuclear bomb and hiding the true extent of its nuclear program from international inspectors. And claims its members are freedom fighters seeking democracy.
Fox News correspondent Megyn Kendall has more.
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MEGYN KENDALL, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They call themselves a parliament in exile. Their goal, regime change in a country they say oppresses freedom. Their moniker is NCRI or National Council for Resistance in Iran, identified by the State Department as a terrorist organization.
(CHANTING)
KENDALL: Thousands of NCRI supporters marched on Capitol Hill Friday urging removal of the terror label; a stigma, they say is unfair.
ALI SAFAVI, NEAR EAST POLICY RSRCH: If one wants to deny the rights of a nation that has risen against tyranny, then you can say well, the terrorist label is justified. But if we believe that every nation has a right to fight for their freedom, then the Mujahideen have every right to do that.
KENDALL: Among other misdeeds, the NCRI and its affiliate The People's Mujahideen of Iran or MEK, are accused of attacks on civilians and of ties to Saddam Hussein, charges they adamantly deny. But experts say the opposition group is sugarcoating its history.
HALEH VAZIRI, IRAN SPECIALIST: They emerged in the '60s. They were using terrorist attacks or guerrilla tactics against the Shah during that period. They actually killed Americans in the 1970s. And they have continued using terrorist tactics throughout their history.
KENDALL: NCRI is quick to point out as of late they've worked to expose Iran's covert nuclear program. Fox News foreign affairs analyst Ali Reza Jafarzadeh was part of the group in 2002, when it revealed a secret uranium enrichment facility. This week, the group displayed satellite photos it claim proves Iran is hiding enrichment equipment, alleging Iran is determined to have a nuclear bomb by next year.
NCRI has garnered some political support. In 2002, members of Congress pushed to have the terror label removed but nothing came of the effort. Still others continue the fight.
REP. BOB FILNER (D), CALIFORNIA: Your resistance is just and we must support it.
REP. TOM TANCREDO (R), COLORADO: They want freedom for their land. They want freedom for the people of Iran. Is that a reason to be on the terrorist watch list because you can't to have freedom for people, your own countrymen? I don't think so.
KENDALL: Experts say the NCRI looks appealing because it is well organized and knows what to say to appease the international community. Questions remain however, about how much support it has with the Iranian people. As for its quest to come off the U.S. terrorist list, the State Department refuses to comment.
In Washington, Megyn Kendall, Fox News.
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