March 2009

LKL: "According to the mayor of Juarez itself...'We can't beat them. All we can hope is that they pack up and move somewhere else.' "



Larry King asks Michael what the battle is all about -- turf, power, and drug routes.

Length: 2:26

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

CB: "...there's a huge difference between a holy war and a drug war."



Michael is still in New York and in the studio with Campbell Brown. She asks about the comparisons being made between the wars in Iraq/Afghanistan and the cartel war.

(At the end of the clip, as Campbell is describing what will be on
AC360, you can hear Michael talking to the crew. Oh, those live mics...)

Length: 3:20

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

AC: "Essentially, this war is akin to an insurgency."



Anderson discusses the cartel situation with Michael in preparation for two days of live broadcasts from the Mexican border later this week.

Length: 4:55

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

TSR: "We need new strategies on both sides of the border."



Michael talks to Wolf about the current plans to help Mexico fight the cartels. The need for a counterinsurgency-style rethinking of the situation makes a lot of sense -- but how do we cut the demand for illegal drugs here in the US? Sure, there are renewed discussions about legalizing marijuana, but cocaine? I don't see that idea forming a sentence, let alone a dialogue. (Hey, we could always nationalize the Afghan poppy fields; that way we could undercut the cartel sales AND fund the wars all at once!)

Also, not sure what Michael is talking about at the end of the piece when he cracks that something Wolf says is libelous -- as a former lawyer, he would certainly know that libel is written defamation, not spoken. I suspect it is some sort of inside joke; he even seems to be imitating someone else's voice as he says it.

Length: 6:12

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

AAM: "This war has been going on for at least two years and it's only now that American people are waking up to that."



Michael was on from New York this morning, discussing the reality of the situation in Mexico. He also confirmed that he will soon be moving there to cover the story. He asks during the piece how we are going to stem the demand for illegal drugs ... talk about an unsolvable problem!

Length: 4:33

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

NR: "We see Osama touching upon one of the key tenets of his classic, old-school brand of al Qaeda fighting philosophy."



Two hours after the "Breaking News" of the OBL tape, Michael is back to discuss it again with Don Lemon, and although they mostly cover the same issues, this time Michael is able to make the salient points.

Length: 2:22

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

NR: "...a reflection of part of the great debate at the very heart of al Qaeda's theology."



Don Lemon talks to Michael about the latest audiotape from Osama bin Laden (although he seems to forget that anchors ask the questions and the guest/expert answers them... no fair reading the notes!)

Length: 2:40

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

NR: "So, America, get serious or stop complaining."



In a special hour of NewsRoom, Fredericka Whitfield hosts a sort of revolving panel discussion on the Mexican drug cartels and how the US is affecting them and vice versa. Michael is part of the first segment and the final one. (Not sure whether the point he wanted to make at the end of the first segment is something he covered at the end of the program.)

Length: 9:22

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

NR: "...the government forces are simply not winning."



Michael speaks with Fredericka Whitfield about the cartel wars as a prelude to an hour-long discussion on the subject.

Length: 3:04

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

AAM: "I couldn't shake the feeling that I was in the middle of an insurgency."



Following a report about concerns that terrorist groups such as Hezbollah might make opportune use of the drug cartel wars in Mexico to set up a base south of our border, Michael talks to John Roberts and Kiran Chetry about the likelihood of such a scenario as well as a general rundown of the situation.

Length: 2:52

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

CNN/I: BackStory



Filmed Friday while he was still in New York, this BackStory piece has Michael comparing the situations in Baghdad and Juarez.

(Before the piece rolls, Michael Holmes reads an e-mail from "Delphine in Paris," who is none other than our Délie, who supplies me with all the International clips.)

Length: 9:03

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

AAM: "This is literally on America's doorstep."



Michael is back in Mexico and talks with John Roberts about the cartel war. A slightly shortened version of his piece from last week airs again, and he updates the situation with some new details.

Length: 6:11

Watch the clip, read the transcript...