The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer

JUDY WOODRUFF: Good evening. I`m Judy Woodruff.

On the NewsHour tonight: the news of this Wednesday; then, two Iraq updates, the view from Baghdad with Iraq`s national security adviser; and from Capitol Hill, with Senators Olympia Snowe and Evan Bayh, sponsors of a new Iraq war funding bill; a NewsHour report about Oregon`s move to give gay couples legal rights; and immigration charges dropped in the case of an alleged Cuban bomber, as reported by Jay Weaver of the Miami Herald.

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JUDY WOODRUFF: White House officials warned today President Bush would veto the latest war funding bill. The proposal by House Democrats runs only through July. After that, Congress would have the option to cut off money if conditions have not improved. A White House spokesman said the president would not accept the restrictions.

The continued funding fight came after U.S. commanders said the surge of U.S. troops might go through the beginning of next year. But Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today the military has the capacity to do it, not an actual plan.

ROBERT GATES, Secretary of Defense: I think that there`s a little confusion in terms of what our capacity is and in terms of what will actually be needed. In my own view, and I think the view of General Petraeus, and General Pace, and I suspect of General Odierno, as well, is that the evaluation in September will be an important moment in terms of deciding whether to take advantage of the capacity that we have.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Gates also said, if there is progress in Iraq later this year, the military could start thinking about bringing troops home.

Vice President Cheney made a surprise visit to Baghdad today, beginning a trip to the Middle East. He urged Iraqi leaders to make more progress on political and security issues.

A loud explosion erupted near the Green Zone while Mr. Cheney was there. A spokeswoman said it did not affect his visit.

To the north, in Irbil, a suicide truck bomber killed 15 Iraqis and wounded more than 100 today. And the U.S. military announced another U.S. soldier was killed yesterday; that makes 30 so far this month.

And late today, the Iraqi national security adviser told the NewsHour a key legislative body will not take two months off this summer. U.S. officials had criticized the plan. We`ll have more on all of this right after the news summary.

In Afghanistan, the national senate voted today to open a dialogue with Taliban fighters. The bill also called for international forces to end military operations unless they`re attacked first. A NATO spokesman in Kabul had this response.

NICHOLAS LUNT, NATO Spokesman: I do not consider this at the moment to be a decisive vote on our status here. And I think it would be wrong to interpret it like that. But I think it is definitely a warning shot across NATO`s bows.

JUDY WOODRUFF: The bill still needs the approval of the lower house of parliament and President Karzai. He warned last week that his people can no longer accept so many civilian casualties. Today, the governor in Helmand province reported 21 civilians were killed by U.S. air strikes during a battle with Taliban fighters.

Here in the United States, flooding in parts of the central plains approached near-record levels today. Missouri was under a state of emergency, along with 19 counties in Kansas. As they struggled to cope with the water, President Bush traveled to Kansas to view tornado damage.

NewsHour correspondent Spencer Michels narrates our report on the region`s day.

SPENCER MICHELS, NewsHour Correspondent: From the air, the vast scope of the flooding was evident. Islands of tall trees and the tops of barns dotted the water all along the banks of the Missouri River.

Rising water breached as many as 20 levees. By this morning, the small town of big lake was submerged, about 100 miles northwest of Kansas City. Most of the residents had already been evacuated.

Further down river, those who were still left in Levasy, Missouri, packed up their things to leave.

MISSOURI RESIDENT: You don`t get over things like this. You get through them, and that`s the major thing. This community has seen four floods at least this big, if not bigger.

SPENCER MICHELS: In Kansas, a steady rain fell today, threatening even worse flooding to come. The rain greeted President Bush, who was there to tour what was left of the town of Greensburg. It was all but wiped off the map Friday night by the most powerful tornado to hit the U.S. in years. At least 11 people were killed.

GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States: A lot of us have seen the pictures about what happened here. And the pictures don`t do it justice.

There is a lot of destruction. Fortunately, a lot of folks have basements here in this part of world and lived to see another day. Unfortunately, too many died. And we offer our prayers and condolences to those who died.

SPENCER MICHELS: Mr. Bush was also briefed on recovery efforts. He has already declared a state of emergency, making the area eligible for federal assistance.

JUDY WOODRUFF: In the southern U.S. today, fire crews struggled against two major wildfires along the Georgia-Florida state line. One had burned over 100,000 acres in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, said to be the largest fire in Georgia history. Another threatened several hundred homes in northern Florida.

And in California, 600 firefighters in Los Angeles had nearly contained a fire in Griffith Park. It is the nation`s largest urban park and home to the popular Griffith Observatory.

The first named storm of the year formed today in the Atlantic Ocean. The sub-tropical storm Andrea took shape three weeks before hurricane season officially begins. It was centered southeast of Savannah, Georgia, with top winds of 45 miles an hour. Forecasters said it did not pose a serious threat.

A federal investigation has concluded lightning was a root cause of the Sago mine explosion in West Virginia. Twelve miners were killed in the accident in January 2006.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration said today that two lightning bolts reached a buried cable. That set off a methane blast in a closed section of the mine.

Pope Benedict arrived in Brazil today, saying he hopes to win back Catholics across Latin America. He said the church`s biggest worry is the loss of members to evangelical Protestant churches. The pope also criticized Mexico City officials for voting to legalize abortion. He said they should no longer receive communion.

The Federal Reserve announced today a key short-term interest rate will stay the same. The federal funds rate remains at 5.25 percent. Banks use it to set their prime lending rates.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than 53 points to close above 13,362. The Nasdaq rose four points to close at 2,576.

That`s it for the news summary tonight. Now: the war, as seen by Iraq`s national security adviser; an attempt to break the war funding impasse from Senators Snowe and Bayh; Oregon`s new law for gay couples; and immigration charges dismissed against an alleged terrorist.

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JUDY WOODRUFF: The Iraq story in two capitals. We begin with a report from NewsHour congressional correspondent Kwame Holman.

KWAME HOLMAN: The message from the White House today was unequivocal: House Democrats again are pursuing a war funding bill that the president will not accept.

At a congressional hearing, Defense Secretary Robert Gates explained why, telling members of the Senate Appropriations Committee that partially funding the war through July, as House Democrats are proposing, is not the way to finish a war.

ROBERT GATES, Secretary of Defense: The impact on the Department of Defense, in terms of disruption and canceled contracts and programs, would be huge if we had to do that.

KWAME HOLMAN: The biggest problem, he said, was the plan to have Congress vote again in mid-summer to release the remaining money, but only if conditions on the ground in Iraq have improved.

ROBERT GATES: We will have forward-spent so much money to keep the troops in the field by that time that the truth is, if that vote were to be a no, I would have to shut down significant elements of the Department of Defense in August and September, because I wouldn`t have the money to pay salaries. So a no vote in July would have dramatic consequences.

In essence, the bill asks me to run the Department of Defense like a skiff, and I`m trying to drive the biggest supertanker in the world. And we just don`t have the agility to be able to manage a two-month appropriation very well.

KWAME HOLMAN: Senators from both parties agreed that a short-term funding plan was not an ideal solution, but there also was little tolerance on the panel for funding the war beyond this fall. Pennsylvania Republican Arlen Specter.

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R), Pennsylvania: There`s a sense here, certainly by the Democrats and growing among Republicans, that there has to be some progress, significant progress to sustain it beyond September.

KWAME HOLMAN: Gates acknowledged that a critical reevaluation of the war will take place in September, when General David Petraeus gives a much- anticipated progress report to President Bush. But the secretary also issued a stern warning against leaving Iraq too early, regardless of the progress.

ROBERT GATES: If we were to withdraw, leaving Iraq in chaos, al-Qaida almost certainly would use Anbar province as a place -- as another base from which to plan operations, not only inside Iraq, but first of all in the neighborhood, and then potentially against the United States.

Al-Qaida has actually expanded, I would say, its organization and its capabilities. So I think that, if we don`t leave Iraq with some sense of stability, regardless of ongoing internal difficulties, then I think the problem we face will be significantly worse.

KWAME HOLMAN: Still, committee Democrats and Republicans made it clear that the Iraqi government`s inability to get its own house in order ultimately may mean that U.S. troops are forced to leave behind a messy situation. Gates also was asked about reports earlier this week that the Iraqi Council of Representatives, a major governing body, might take off the entire months of July and August.

ROBERT GATES: I`ll be blunt. I told some of the Iraqis with whom I met that we are buying them time for political reconciliation and that every day we buy them, we buy it with American blood, and that for this group to go out for two months, it would, in my opinion, be unacceptable.

KWAME HOLMAN: Meanwhile, during Vice President Dick Cheney`s surprise visit to Baghdad today, he urged Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki`s government to meet their lagging commitments, including dividing oil revenues, rolling back de-Baathification, and revising the constitution to help reconcile Sunnis and Shiites.

DICK CHENEY, Vice President of the United States: I did make it clear that we believe it`s very important to move on the issues before us in a timely fashion, and that any undue delay would be difficult to explain, and that we`d hope they`d approach these issues with all deliberate dispatch, if I could put it in those terms. I think they`re somewhat sympathetic to our concerns.

KWAME HOLMAN: Cheney spoke to reporters at the U.S. embassy just 30 minutes after an explosion just outside the Green Zone rattled windows and forced the traveling press corps into a secured area. Still, the vice president said conversations he had with various government officials convinced him security in Baghdad was improving.

DICK CHENEY: The impression I got from talking with them -- and this includes their military, as well as political leadership -- is that they do believe we are making progress.

KWAME HOLMAN: Stability in Iraq will remain the vice president`s focus as he continues a five-nation tour of the region.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Now we get an Iraqi view of the congressional debate in Washington and of the political and security situation in Baghdad. Margaret Warner spoke earlier this evening with Iraq`s national security adviser.

MARGARET WARNER: Mowaffak al-Rubaie has spent the past week in the U.S. meeting with President Bush, top administration officials, and members of Congress who both support and oppose prolonged U.S. military engagement in Iraq. National Security Adviser al-Rubaie joins us now.

And thanks for being with us.

MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE, Iraq`s National Security Adviser: Thank you for having me.

MARGARET WARNER: As you know, Vice President Cheney was in Baghdad today urging your government to produce concrete results on these benchmarks that the White House and Congress keep talking about. Does your government accept these benchmarks as legitimate measures against which should be judged continued U.S. military engagement in Iraq?

MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE: I think Vice President Cheney is rallying support in the region and in some of the Arab countries, rallying support for Iraq. And we are very grateful for this tour.

Of course, he`s going to get serious discussion with the prime minister, Maliki. And these benchmarks, we have adopted and co-opted these benchmarks several months ago, and we are working on these benchmarks. Whether we get all of them in the right time for Washington`s requirement, if you like, that remains to be seen.

But we are working. We understand very, very well the requirement, the political requirement for these benchmarks to be met. But we`re very determined. We`re committed to -- strongly committed. Prime Minister Maliki wanted this to happen.

But we need our -- we need time and space. We can`t fit this strategic shift from the old order of Iraq to the new order in a very short timescale of four years or three years or we cannot fit this in the election cycle of Washington. This is a huge strategic shift, and the whole understanding in the culture of the whole region, what happened in Iraq, wasn`t something transitional and a coup d`etat. It`s a huge, major transformation from old order to the new order.

MARGARET WARNER: But are there any of these benchmarks that you are confident now you can meet, say, by September when General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker give their report?

MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE: We very much hope we will have the provincial election law in place and hope that we get a date for next year for the provincial election. We will get the budget spent in place, as well. We will get other benchmarks fulfilled on the way from now until September.

MARGARET WARNER: But the big ones that everyone is focused on are the division of the oil revenues, let`s say, the de-Baathification.

MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE: I can rest assure you that the hydrocarbon law will be by September or even before September will be ratified and approved by the council of representatives. It needs just the dotting of the i`s and crossing the t`s.

MARGARET WARNER: An issue that has raised its head in the Cheney visit, and Secretary Gates talked about it today, is this business about the parliament going on two months vacation this summer. And Secretary Gates said that that was unacceptable while Americans were dying. What is your reaction to that? Is parliament going to take vacation or stay and work on these issues?

MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE: I can disclose to your station that we have managed to convince the council of representatives, the parliament, to cancel July vacation and even look into seriously considering canceling or reducing August vacation to have probably one week during -- so we`re reducing it from two months probably to a month or even to a week.

MARGARET WARNER: Now, you said that you cannot do what needs to be done in Iraq on Washington`s timetable. Tell us about your meetings on Capitol Hill. Was that your basic message to them? And, if so, what kind of reaction did you get?

MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE: My message was to all people in Capitol Hill that, look, we are walking the last mile in here. And this is a marathon. We have reached to the end. And we can see the success. And we can feel it. Don`t pull the rug from underneath us.

Don`t let us -- we need your helping hand. We need the U.S. support for Iraq to get there to the finishing line. And we`re almost there. Don`t abort. You can`t have a baby in three months` time. You need that full nine months to get a mature baby. And so we need your continued support and help to get to the finishing line.

MARGARET WARNER: So the American public and members of Congress would say, how long? Early last year, I think you predicted, or you said you hoped, you thought, that American troops could begin withdrawing this year. What is now your best assessment of when that process could begin?

MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE: See, we are fighting an amorphous, amoebic enemy. That`s al-Qaida and its affiliates. And they keep on changing the nature of the fight. And we have to develop this even further.

And this is the central front of fighting al-Qaida globally. And this is the forefront. What we have in Iraq is the forefront of fighting al- Qaida globally, to contain it, and to constrain it, and to keep or confine it within this fight so that it will not spill over to the region, or to Europe, or to America.

MARGARET WARNER: But 60 percent of the Americans now want Congress to set a timetable. What is your best sense of what a time frame would be like?

MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE: I don`t want to interfere in the internal politics, but the public opinion leads the leaders or the leaders lead the public opinion and change it. I believe the Senate and the Congress and the public opinion maker need to tell the American public opinion and the American people that the Iraqis are grateful, and we appreciate everything America has done for Iraq.

And we know that you`ve invested treasure, blood, sweat, and you`ve invested a lot in this country. Don`t lose this investment by pulling the plug in the last minute.

MARGARET WARNER: And what reaction did you get on the Hill? Did you persuade anybody?

MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE: I think I managed to convey a very clear message from the ground, from reality, not from reading the report, and picking that, and reading the sensational, spectacular attack of the car bombings of al-Qaida and detecting and trying to stain everything with blood in the Western media.

I gave them what huge progress we have made in Iraq over the last three years, in politics and politically, in security, in economy. And I think we are proud of what we have achieved. What we need -- we are in the last mile and near or very close to the finishing line.

MARGARET WARNER: National Security Adviser al-Rubaie, thank you for being with us.

MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE: Thank you for having me, madam.

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JUDY WOODRUFF: And now to the efforts in Congress to come up with a war funding bill the president will sign. Today, a new bipartisan plan was added to the mix. Gwen Ifill has that.

GWEN IFILL: When it comes to congressional debate over spending for the war in Iraq, presidential veto threats are becoming common. As Kwame just reported, today`s came as House Democrats proposed a two-step funding plan.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Capitol Hill, two senators floated a bipartisan idea to pull troops out unless Iraqis meet certain benchmarks. The co-sponsors are Democrat Evan Bayh of Indiana, a member of the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, and Republican Olympia Snowe of Maine, also a member of the Intelligence Committee. She has just returned from Baghdad. And they join us now.

Senator Snowe, we just heard National Security Adviser al-Rubaie say that, give them a chance, give Iraqis a chance to walk the last mile, but they`re in the last mile. You`ve just returned back from Baghdad. You just listened to his words. Do you think that that is realistic?

SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE (R), Maine: Well, the fact is, we are giving them the chance to walk that last mile for success by having the military surge in which more than 21,000 troops have been deployed. It`s not been fully implemented. There will be more to be completed in July.

And the purpose of the surge is to give the Iraqi government the latitude and the flexibility to achieve the political solutions and compromises that`s so necessary to effect national reconciliation.

The fact is, Prime Minister Maliki promised last September that he would pursue an ambitious national reconciliation plan and, in fact, that many of these initiatives, including the de-Baathification, the oil revenue sharing, provincial elections, would be completed by the end of December of `06 or early in January of `07. And that simply hasn`t happened.

They haven`t demonstrated the sense of urgency that`s so essential. And, in fact, you know, the protracted and prolonged, you know, debate over the questions of political benchmarks only encourages the insurgencies and the militias. And that`s the problem. The government has to unite and demonstrate to all the Iraqi people that they represent a national agenda and not a sectarian agenda.

GWEN IFILL: Senator Bayh, we also heard the national security adviser say that they are working on the benchmarks. They just don`t know if they can meet Washington`s timetable. Tell us about the benchmarks in your proposal and whether they comport in any way, fit with what the national security adviser just said they are going to be able to accomplish.

SEN. EVAN BAYH (D), Indiana: Well, first, Gwen, a fair amount of skepticism is in order when they say these things. As Senator Snowe just pointed out, we`ve heard this before. And yet there has not been adequate progress, so we have to focus on what they do, not what they say.

Many of the benchmarks included in our approach, a hydrocarbon law, revisiting de-Baathification, looking at the relationship between the central government and the provinces, are also on their agenda.

But I have to say, I was pleased to hear him say they`re not going on a two-month vacation. But the fact that they had even planned that shows that there`s not the sense of urgency, the immediacy. People are dying in the streets.

Their country is in risk of devolving into a full-fledged civil war, and they just don`t seem to be focused on the kind of progress that is necessary. So the bottom line in all this is, we do share the same objectives. We have many of the same benchmarks, but they`ve got to get on with it, because we can`t do this for them.

GWEN IFILL: Well, Senator Snowe, what is it in the legislation you are proposing that would guarantee that they would be able to get those benchmarks met? Why not support something that would cut the funding? Why not support an idea to revoke the war authority, like Senator Clinton and Senator Byrd have suggested?

SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE: Well, I think that this is an important point. I think it`s critical to make sure that we can achieve success in Iraq, if at all possible.

Central to that success is a political resolution to the question. There wasn`t one military commander or leader that indicated during my visit that a military solution was the only solution to the problem. The military surge really will affect the political surge.

And it`s up to the Iraqis to determine whether or not they`re going to pursue the political consensus that`s going to be so critical to unifying the country, and that`s what it`s all about. And we haven`t a sense from within the Iraqis themselves as to whether or not they`re aiming, you know, to achieve the kind of solution that`s so important to put us on the path towards national reconciliation. And that`s what this is all about at this point.

GWEN IFILL: Senator Bayh, Senator Snowe just mentioned a political consensus, speaking in terms of what the Iraqis have to achieve. How about you? Is it possible that this approach is going to be able to get any kind of political consensus? In short, is this able to pass the Senate?

SEN. EVAN BAYH: Well, Gwen, I hope so. And the fact that Olympia and I are working on it together is a good sign. And I think there are a fair number of other like-minded Democrats and Republicans who realize that things are not going well. We need a different approach. And we have to find some common ground.

You know, there are some people on one side who want to stay indefinitely. That won`t work. There are some people on another side who want to leave tomorrow, irrespective of the consequences. That won`t work either. So we`re trying to find that sensible center ground that will head us in a different direction, that will put the pressure on the Iraqis where it belongs, and bring something to this effort that has not been there all along, which is accountability for results and real consequences if those results aren`t there.

So I`m hopeful that this may be the seeds of that kind of consensus- building, but it`s difficult, as you know, in a polarized political setting.

GWEN IFILL: You mentioned earlier this week that you thought that polarized political setting, that is to say the presidential campaign, might be working against efforts to find compromise. Why is that?

SEN. EVAN BAYH: Well, you know, there are several members of the Senate who are running for president. As a matter of fact, Olympia and I may be two rare people here, senators who aren`t.

But the problem, Gwen, is that the bases of the two parties are -- there`s just a canyon separating them. And I respect the emotions that are involved there, but if we`re going to actually not just argue across the canyon but begin to bridge it and move in a better direction, we`ve got to find some common ground.

And I hope that our effort will be the beginning of that. And I think that there is a desire on the part of a majority of the Senate to accomplish that. And we`re going to try.

GWEN IFILL: Senator Snowe, there also seems to be a pretty big canyon between what any member of Congress has proposed about this and the White House. We started this segment by talking about the latest presidential veto threat. Do you have any reason to believe or have you gotten any communication from the White House which makes you believe that perhaps this bill would not draw a veto threat, as well?

SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE: Well, you know, I`ve encouraged the White House in my conversations to understand, as Senator Bayh indicated, that there is a willingness on the part of individuals on both sides of the political aisle who really do want to effect change and to work this through, to ensure the funding for the troops and then, secondly, an overall resolution to this monumental question, and the people of this country deserve that.

And so I`ve encouraged them to work, you know, in the conversations with the bipartisan leadership and to understand that, you know, we reflect the will of the American people, with respect to the fact that we have not seen the kind of results that should be accomplished in Iraq, and that really is up to the Iraqi government. They have to make a decision as to whether or not they`re prepared to seize their own destiny to achieve the results that are so essential to unifying Iraq. It has to come from within.

GWEN IFILL: Pardon me. So, Senator, in this piece of legislation that you have co-sponsored, where is the carrot and where is the stick to make this happen?

SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE: Well, may I say that the carrot has been the military surge. And that`s what I indicated to al-Hakim, who is the leader of the Shia party that has the predominant number of seats in the council of representatives.

The fact is, the whole goal and purpose of the surge was to give the Iraqi government time to breathe, give them the space to work through the political challenges, to reach a resolution that puts them on the pathway towards national reconciliation.

The biggest challenge within Iraq, Gwen, is the fact that people aren`t sure whom they can trust. And so they need to know that their political leadership is willing to stand up and to represent all of the Iraqis, not just perpetuate a sectarian agenda.

And I did notice that the national security adviser never indicated anything about the sectarian violence that has enmeshed even our troops in Baghdad. I mean, you know, here we have this military surge, more than 21,000 troops, more coming to up to 30,000 in total, enmeshed in a sectarian clash because they have been unwilling to disarm their militias and they`ve been unwilling to advance a national agenda that is representative of all the people.

GWEN IFILL: Well, then, Senator Bayh, if you are skeptical of the ability of the Iraqi government to meet the benchmarks that have been set, if you are worried about the rise in sectarian violence and the degree to which U.S. troops are being enmeshed in it, why not support legislation that would simply say, "Let`s get out now. There`s nothing we can do or expect of your partners in Iraq which will make the situation better"?

SEN. EVAN BAYH: Well, Gwen, what our approach calls for are them not just saying but actually doing the things that are necessary for there being some kind of stability in that country so we can begin the process of leaving, within an acceptable condition.

But ours also says -- our legislation also says that, if they don`t do that by mid-September, when General Petraeus has indicated we ought to have an idea about whether this is working or not, that then he has to come before us and put forward a plan for beginning to, you know, reorient the troops to a different mission.

And so what we`re basically saying here is you`ve got one last bite at the apple, but words alone aren`t going to be enough. We want to see real progress. If we don`t see it, then there are be consequences, and that consequence is beginning to move in a different direction that is more likely to be successful.

GWEN IFILL: And, Senator Snowe, the same question to you. Why not pull out now? And as you know, there have been a lot of loud voices on either extreme of this debate. We heard them on this program last night. Why do you think that anyone is listening to the moderate voices such as yours and Senator Bayh`s?

SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE: Well, you know, I think they should, because I think it`s in the interest of America, it`s in the interest of Iraq, the Middle East, and in the global community to have it succeed in Iraq. And that is now the purpose of the deployed troops for the surge, to give them room to maneuver and to achieve the political benchmarks that they themselves have indicated are essential to national reconciliation.

So I think that, obviously, it would be premature to be withdrawing when we haven`t even completed the surge and to have the political surge be in tandem with the military surge. That`s what this is all about.

So we want to encourage the Iraqi government to understand that time is of the essence and they really have to make a determination and also to muster the resolve to get the job done here and now. It`s in their interest to do it. The longer they prolong it, the more they give openings to the insurgency and to the militias.

GWEN IFILL: And, Senator Bayh, what about your answer to the question about whether anyone is listening to moderate voices in this day?

SEN. EVAN BAYH: Well, the country is awfully polarized right now, Gwen. There`s no question about that. But if we`re going to, as I said before, not just not argue across the canyon but actually begin to head in a better direction, it`s going to be by finding some common ground, taking the best ideas on both sides, implementing them, and, you know, putting the pressure on the Iraqis.

If they`re not willing to take these steps to help themselves, we can`t do it for them. And so I think, once the shouting dies down, people are going to realize that something has to get done. That`s where they`re going to look to those of us in the Senate to lead the way. And I`m pleased that Olympia has stepped up. And we`re going to try and do just that.

GWEN IFILL: Senator Evan Bayh, the Democrat, Senator Olympia Snowe, the Republican, thank you both very much.

SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE: Thank you.

SEN. EVAN BAYH: Thank you.

(BREAK)

JUDY WOODRUFF: Now, Oregon`s new law on domestic partnerships. Today, Governor Ted Kulongoski signed legislation making Oregon the latest state on the West Coast -- along with California and Washington -- to provide some legal rights for gay and lesbian partners.

The West Coast now mirrors New England, where all of the states recognize civil unions or domestic partnerships or, in the case of Massachusetts, same-sex marriage.

Civil unions provide some of the legal benefits of marriage, but not all of the same rights. And those rights are limited to just the given state. NewsHour correspondent Lee Hochberg of Oregon Public Broadcasting looks at how the debate played out there.

LEE HOCHBERG, NewsHour Correspondent: The bill the governor signed today legalizing domestic partnerships for Oregon`s 11,000 same-sex couples marks a profound shift for Oregon and for couples like Dolores Doyle and Kelly Burke.

KELLY BURKE, Oregon Resident: The representatives of my community and my state stood up for us and finally said that we were -- you know, we were valid citizens of this state as much as anyone else.

LEE HOCHBERG: Oregon seemed an unlikely choice to pass domestic partnerships. Between 1988 and 2000, ballot measures in the state sought to strip gays of job protections. One tried to amend the state constitution to, quote, "stigmatize homosexuality as abnormal, wrong, unnatural, and perverse."

Only one of the measures passed statewide, and it was declared unconstitutional, but some counties later voted for similar, local ordinances.

WEDDING MINISTER: Those whom God has so joined together, let no one separate.

LEE HOCHBERG: But in 2004, same-sex marriages were allowed in the state`s largest county, which includes the city of Portland. The attorney general there said it was illegal to refuse gay and lesbian couples that right.

Burke and Doyle, who`d been together for 16 years, joined the highly public rush to get married. A major reason was to finally get Burke covered on Doyle`s health plan.

KELLY BURKE: It`s not real romantic. Yes, it was not romantic, I think, in any way. It was not about the fantasy people have about marriage or about a wedding. You know, for us, it was about the ability to take care of each other and knowing that our kids would be safe, that they`d have an extra layer of protection, that their family was going to be recognized.

LEE HOCHBERG: But that recognition was short-lived. There was a backlash. Voters passed a ballot measure to constitutionally prohibit gay marriage, and the State Supreme Court invalidated the licenses of all 3,000 same-sex couples who had wed.

So what changed this year to allow domestic partnerships to pass? First of all, the state government changed. For the first time since 1989, both houses of the legislature and the governor are Democrats. Two years ago, a Republican-controlled legislature rejected civil unions.

Republican State Representative Dennis Richardson was one of 26 in the 60-member legislature who voted against the measure again this time. He blamed the shift in power for the bill`s victory.

DENNIS RICHARDSON (R), State Representative: There`s been this substantial earthquake shift to the left in Oregon. Because the majority has shifted in the House, this bill was like a freight train that was going straight through.

LEE HOCHBERG: And he wasn`t happy about it.

DENNIS RICHARDSON: The move that society has taken away from family, away from morality, away from virtue, and honor, and chastity to the shift of tolerance and cultural competency is a mistake and that it`s going to have a negative effect for generations to come.

LEE HOCHBERG: Most observers also credit for the new law the impact of gay leadership in the legislature. Senate Majority Leader Kate Brown is bisexual.

KATE BROWN (D), State Senator: I know that we changed hearts and minds and votes by the testimony that we gave on the Senate floor. I do believe that us sharing our personal stories really helps people understand, helps people connect, and helps people become supportive of the issues that we feel so strongly about.

LEE HOCHBERG: New tactics also helped. Gay rights advocates say the backlash in Oregon against gay marriage taught them to respect voter sensitivity about words like "marriage." When a survey showed 41 percent of Oregonians might vote to repeal a civil union law versus only 23 percent for domestic partners, strategists stopped using the term "civil union."

BRAD AVAKIAN (D), State Senator: I think that some folks view the term "union" as being very closely related to the term "marriage." The term "union" is used in churches, you know, quite often. The term "partnership," "domestic partnership" is something that is very distinct from traditional marriage and the terminology that`s used there.

LEE HOCHBERG: But it`s the same thing as a union, right?

BRAD AVAKIAN: It`s the same thing as a union.

LEE HOCHBERG: And supporters made it clear they were not talking about marriage.

KATE BROWN: Please be aware that both domestic partnerships -- that domestic partnerships are both fundamentally and legally different than the institute of marriage.

LEE HOCHBERG: In floor debate, supporters explained what domestic partnerships do: They allow gays and lesbians to visit a partner in the hospital; have joint health insurance; take family medical leave to care for a partner; inherit a partner`s estate.

But they also emphasized the benefits of marriage that partnerships don`t provide: certain tax benefits; retirement benefits; portability across state lines. They were presented as a basic civil right. Senator Ben Westlund.

BEN WESTLUND (R), State Senator: It is time to provide the simple but profound dignity to human beings who simply ask to be.

LEE HOCHBERG: Reframing the debate neutralized powerful organized opposition to gay rights. The Oregon Family Council, a Christian group, led the effort three years ago to ban same-sex marriage. This time, while it fought the domestic partner bill, its leaders say it has no plans to force a public referendum. Pastor Ray Young says that`s because it isn`t about marriage.

REV. RAY YOUNG, Pastor: We know the line in the sand is marriage. I mean, when they say, "We want to be married," that`s a no-no. When they say, "We want a bundle of rights that allow us to go visit our mate in the hospital, we want to have inheritance rights, we want to help make medical decisions and raise children," you know, that`s something on the other end that`s kind of like, "Fine, go ahead." You know, we`re not going to put our energy into fighting that because we`ve got more important battles to fight.

LEE HOCHBERG: Gay rights advocates also cultivated support from Oregon`s largest company. Nike, the state`s only Fortune 500 company, has publicly supported gay and lesbian athletes, like Cheryl Swoopes at this Coming Out Day event earlier this year.

Nike lobbied companies to sign this letter in support of benefits for same-sex couples. Director of global issues Vada Manager says the company has offered such benefits to its employees for years, and 136 same-sex couples take advantage of them in the U.S. He says it`s simply good business.

VADA MANAGER, Nike Corp.: If you`ve got a bright, really talented employee in another country thinking about coming to Oregon and coming to the state, and looking at not only just their work they have to perform, but also what social environment they`ll be in, that can be the slight measurement between you attracting the best and brightest at your company and not getting that individual and having them go to your competitor.

LEE HOCHBERG: David Sarasohn, who`s been covering the issue for the Oregonian newspaper, says Nike`s support helped ease some concerns statewide.

DAVID SARASOHN, Columnist, Oregonian Newspaper: It makes the whole idea seem more mainstream, makes the whole idea seem more acceptable. Right now, we`re in a position where the idea of legal protections for gay relationships is no longer politically toxic. It`s no longer unthinkable. The word "marriage" is still a very fraught word, but the idea that you can protect the people in a gay relationship and the children in a gay relationship is becoming acceptable.

LEE HOCHBERG: Sarasohn doesn`t think Oregonians are any more ready for same-sex marriages than they were in 2004. And State Senator Brown agrees.

KATE BROWN: Is it the final step? No, but I think the final step, true marriage equality, will take changing a lot of hearts and a lot of minds, and it will take some time.

LEE HOCHBERG: So, for right now, civil unions is as far as...

KATE BROWN: This is the best we can do right now.

LEE HOCHBERG: Burke and Doyle are grateful for the change. Five states now are either debating civil unions or domestic partnerships in their legislatures or preparing ballot measures.

(BREAK)

JUDY WOODRUFF: Now, Ray Suarez has the story of an anti-Castro Cuban accused of terrorism and his journey through the American court system.

RAY SUAREZ: Thousands gathered in Havana in October 1976 to mourn 73 dead, all victims of the Cubana airline bombing.

Cuban President Fidel Castro blamed the United States and accused Cuban-born Luis Posada Carriles of masterminding the attack. Castro also alleges Posada, a former CIA operative and fierce Castro opponent, was behind a string of Havana hotel bombings in 1997 that killed an Italian tourist.

The 79-year old Posada is also wanted in Venezuela. He escaped from prison there while awaiting a second trial for the airliner bombing. He`s a naturalized Venezuelan citizen.

Posada has repeatedly denied any connections with the 1976 bombing.

LUIS POSADA CARRILES, Former CIA Operative (through translator): The act of the downing of that airplane is an act in which I did not have any participation. I want to repeat again that I condemn that act as an abominable act, and I had nothing to do with it.

RAY SUAREZ: He was arrested in May 2005 after sneaking into the United States from Mexico, after he completed a prison sentence in Panama for a plot to kill Castro. Posada was charged with immigration fraud, not acts of terrorism, and that sparked protests across Cuba.

Last month, he was released on bail. Yesterday, a federal judge in Texas threw out the immigration charges against him.

For weeks, Cubans protested against Posada`s release. His picture is plastered on billboards alongside President Bush, labeling him an assassin. Posada was also attacked in the Cuban media, for example, on this TV talk show by the editor of a Cuban newspaper.

ROGELIO POLANCO FUENTES, "Juventud Rebelde" (through translator): ... the government of the United States, the Bush administration and its cronies, have not prosecuted Posada Carriles as what he is: a terrorist.

RAY SUAREZ: Posada is now on his way to Miami, where his wife lives.

For more, we go to Jay Weaver, a reporter for the Miami Herald, who has been covering the Luis Posada Carriles story since 2005.

Jay, welcome. On what grounds did the federal judge throw out the action against Posada?

JAY WEAVER, The Miami Herald: Well, a federal judge in El Paso, Texas, found that Mr. Posada`s naturalization application was flawed, and the reason why it was flawed, she determined, is because an interpreter had botched a lot of the questions and answers during the interview process last year with U.S. authorities.

Why is that relevant? Well, it became relevant because the entire immigration fraud case against Mr. Posada was based on the fact that he had lied to immigration authorities about how he sneaked into the country in 2005 from Mexico.

RAY SUAREZ: So is he now a completely free man?

JAY WEAVER: Well, that`s the $64,000 question. He is. He is a free man for now, but the Justice Department could appeal the decision by the judge, or there also could be a detainer put on him by immigration authorities. They could continue to hold him.

He could fight that through a habeas corpus petition, which he has done before, but which was never resolved. And at the same time, the Justice Department could designate him as a terrorist.

Lastly, there`s another legal front that could be more problematic than all of the above, and that is that a Newark, New Jersey, grand jury is investigating whether or not he was the mastermind of a bombing campaign in Havana of tourist hotels in 1997 where an Italian was killed.

RAY SUAREZ: Has he over the years changed his stories or are there multiple stories about his involvement or knowledge of those `90s attacks in Havana?

JAY WEAVER: Well, he has changed his story. He originally, after the attacks, gave an interview to the New York Times in which he pretty much confirmed that, you know, he was responsible for those attacks at the hotel sites in Havana in 1997.

But then later during, you know, his immigration questioning in an immigration court, you know, he indicated to a judge that he had been misunderstood and that he had not understood the questions well or conveyed his answers well, and that he indeed, you know, wasn`t responsible for them. So there`s been some equivocation on his part in later years.

RAY SUAREZ: Has the United States been assisting the Cubans in investigating those bombings?

JAY WEAVER: Well, it`s sort of a combination of factors. In the fall of last year, the FBI in Miami sent a team of agents to Havana. And, of course, they did so with the permission of the Cuban government. And it was not unprecedented, though uncommon.

And in doing so, they were able to gather information from defense witnesses and defendants, forensic evidence, bombing remnants, evidence they`d never been able to gather before since 2000, when the Cuban government had pretty much shut them down, in terms of pursuing that investigation.

Now, that information, coupled with a pretty strong paper trail linking Posada to Newark, New Jersey, and some money wire transfers to finance recruits for the bombing campaign in Havana, you know, could eventually spell a bona fide indictment in the Newark grand jury.

RAY SUAREZ: Has the case of this man in the United States since 2005 put the Bush administration, put the United States government in something of an awkward position while it`s talking about a global war on terror?

JAY WEAVER: That`s an understatement. It`s a problem because Posada was once considered our freedom fighter. I mean, he was a former CIA operative trained in explosives, had always sort of been on the right side of a lot of Cold Warrior activities in Venezuela, and in Cuba, and in Panama, in a variety of locations.

He was even involved in the Iran-Contra matter doing re-supply efforts for the Contras out of Central America, you know, working with Ollie North. So he was always perceived as our freedom fighter. And the exile community in the Miami, at least the hard-liners, the old-timers, the anti-Castro types, have been very supportive of him.

But the problem is, the United States government has to appear consistent. And so he enters the United States, and there is this specter hanging over him of having not only masterminded the Havana bombings in 1997, but also the bombing of a Cuban airliner in 1976 that killed 73 people on board, mostly Cubans.

So we have a double standard we have to face. And there has been a lot of attacks from Venezuela and Cuba that we`re coddling him. But I would say that the Justice Department has actually been pretty aggressive in going after him, in two fronts, one, the El Paso immigration fraud case, and then, of course, the Newark grand jury.

So I think that it`s pretty clear that the Bush administration is faced with a dilemma, but at least the Justice Department appears to be taking a pretty hard line against him.

RAY SUAREZ: Short of sending him back to Cuba or Venezuela, has there been an effort to send him to other countries where he`s lived in the past?

JAY WEAVER: Well, there have been. An immigration judge determined that he could not be sent back to Cuba or Venezuela because he would face torture there or could face torture there, so there`s a question of whether a third country would take him.

And that has been problematic because there haven`t been any takers. I mean, Mexico, Canada, and other countries, I believe there are a half dozen of them, have said no, because, you know, he is a hot potato. And they don`t necessarily want him.

RAY SUAREZ: Jay Weaver of the Miami Herald, thanks for joining us.

JAY WEAVER: You`re welcome.

(BREAK)

JUDY WOODRUFF: Again, the major developments of the day.

White House officials warned President Bush would veto House Democrats` latest war funding bill. It runs only through July.

And Vice President Cheney made a surprise visit to Baghdad and urged Iraqi leaders to make more progress.

And flooding in Missouri and Kansas approached near-record levels.

We`ll see you online and again here tomorrow evening. I`m Judy Woodruff. Thank you, and good night.