You've been a strong critic of the Bush administration's war in Iraq. Saddam Hussein has now been captured. How does that affect your view of what the United States should be doing in Iraq?

This is the moment we need to seize and go to the world community in the cause of international cooperation. [We should] take to the U.N. a new resolution, where the United States would give up control of the oil, hand over to the U.N. the contracting process and the responsibility for developing a new constitution and governance in Iraq. That would enable us to get U.N. peacekeepers in and get the United States out. We must end the occupation and bring our troops home.

But Kofi Annan, the secretary general of the U.N., has said that the U.N. is not going to go back in. If the U.N. and other nations will not send peacekeeping troops to Iraq, do you still believe the U.S. should pull out?

We have to ask why the U.N. has no interest in going back in. [It's] because the United States is still trying to hold control of the oil, is trying to privatize the Iraq economy, is engaged in a contracting process that is less than honorable, and is trying to set up a government in Iraq which they can run by remote control from Washington. So, what I'm suggesting is we take a new approach, which embraces the world community.

With Bush having captured Saddam, doesn't that strengthen his hand in such a way that he won't likely do that?

I think it would be a folly to proceed with that assumption. The fact is, the insurgency still remains a major challenge, elements that have promoted the insurgency are not necessarily connected to Saddam Hussein, there's a whole range of reasons why our troops are still under attack in Iraq and why the violence will not be quelled.

You've criticized President Bush on the war, accused him of lying about Saddam's weapons of mass destruction, his ties to al-Qaida. You've called for Defense Secretary Rumsfeld's removal. Do you believe that President Bush should be impeached for lying about a war that has now killed hundreds of Americans and untold numbers of Iraqis?

I don't think an impeachment at this point would be productive for this country. First of all, as a matter of practical politics, there's not going to be the votes in the House to be able to deliver any articles. Secondly, there won't be the votes in the Senate to deliver a conviction. And third, why go through the exercise when we're right at the verge of a presidential election? Let the people of this country decide, not 535 members of the Congress of the United States.

Caller question [from Jon Gold, chemistry professor, Pennsylvania]: When I was young, President Kennedy committed the country to sending a man to the moon by the decade's end, which at that time was a seemingly impossible task. But our country committed enormous resources, both human and financial, and was successful. Would you be willing to make a similar commitment of the country's resources and end our dependence on petroleum?

You're right, President Kennedy showed what positive leadership can do in setting goals and an expanded vision for America. I intend to do the same thing with respect to achieving energy independence. The path we take must be towards a 20 percent renewal energy portfolio by the year 2010. We have to incentivize the development of renewable technologies and provide disincentives for development of coal, oil and nuclear energy.

U.S. corporations are supposed to pay 35 percent tax to the federal government on any profits they make. Yet in recent years, about 250 of our largest and most profitable corporations have actually paid only 20 percent. Among the biggest tax evaders have been companies like General Motors, Texaco, Pepsi, J.P. Morgan. You have said that any corporation that shifts profits offshore so they don't have to pay taxes should not be allowed to operate in the United States. As president, could you really shut down companies like Pepsi and General Motors?

Could you shut them down?

Or not allow them to operate in the United States?

You can sign an executive order that would make it very difficult for them to get government contracts. You can make it very difficult for them to get government approval for all kind of things they need with respect to trade agreements. I think it's important for us to enter into a new era of corporate accountability. Corporations must be accountable to the public interest.

Caller question [from Rosa Garza of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Arlington, Va.]: As a first-generation Filipino American, I would like to know what your stance is on having state and local police enforce federal immigration laws. I'm concerned about this because I feel that it criminalizes immigrants and excludes them from police protection, which they should be guaranteed.

I agree with you. It's not an appropriate role for state and local police to be enforcing immigration laws. But we have a larger question here: Why has America now been less receptive to immigrants? I think it's because of fear. This administration is promoting fear. It's so important for this nation to remember where we've come from. We are, in fact, a nation of immigrants. We cannot let America become less free because we fear those who come to this country in search of freedom.

Where do you draw the balance, though? The terrorists who struck on Sept. 11 did come in through our borders. How do you make sure you keep the bad guys out and invite the good people in?

Well, you know, it's going to be interesting to see what the [official] investigation of 9/11 reveals. There is an assumption that the government didn't know anything about the fact that there were people trying to come into this country or planning to attack this country. That's why we need this report released, because then we can make a determination as to whether the concerns we have are well-founded.

Do you believe President Bush has told the truth about Sept. 11?

I think it's a mistake to assert that the president knew 9/11 was going to happen and did nothing. Because that's a stretch. But I think it's important for the information to be brought forward to the public ... just so America can put this behind us. We had a great tragedy in our national family. When you have a death in the family, you bring the family together to talk about it. You try to see if there's any reason or rhyme to it, and try to find a way to have some closure. But you can only do that by getting to the truth of the matter. This isn't about blame. This is about [our nation] not being stuck, not being so traumatized by 9/11 that we can't get off of it and we're forced to start attacking other nations and thinking that somehow that's going to be the solution.

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