joining us, ronald kessler. if d.b. coop sir not the most compelling story, is there clearly another that is that story? >> the most astonishing thing in the book is, how the fbi breaks into homes and offices apds even embassies to plant bugging devices without getting caught and shot as burglar and equally astonishing, the fbi actually gave that to me, although the fbi director approved giving me that material, it's about 20% of the book and it's just so unbelievable. you wouldn't put it in a movie, because it's not believable. before they go into an embassy let's say or an office, they, or a mafia home, that's another example, they will do surveillance for weeks to find out who goes in, who goes out. on the night of the break-in, they have agents who watch anybody who might return. let's say they work in an office and are at home. they want to make sure they don't go back. if they do go back, they will divert them. they will stage a phony traffic accident. dress as police officers and stop them. open a fire hydrant in

outlines republican proposals for economic growth and a series on the fbi begins with author ronald kessler on the work of the tactical operations unit. "washington journal" is next. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] host: the president head out on a three-state bus tour this morning. it includes four town hall style meetings and a forum bang on -- forum on economic issues. today is monday, august 15. for the first 45 minutes of the program we will be talking about the president's bus tour and whether or not this puts him on the road to economic or political recovery. the numbers if you want to get involved in the conversation -- if you have called us and the last 30 days, put down the phone today and pick up the keyboard and send us a message. you can reach us on email. the addresses -- in "usa today" this morning, one of the headlines emblematic of this day for the president. richard wolf writes -- to tell us more about the president's trip, jeff mason from reuters joins us on the phone, the white house corresp

so, really, unprecedented that these secrets would come out. >> ronald kessler, thank you very much.king the time this morning. >> thank you. >> up next, congress hard at work. we'll have a behind-the-scenes look at the final push to pass the debt deal on capitol hill. this is "the early show" here on cbs. [ female announcer ] o is for olive, who lacked self-control. she took mommy's temptations... ♪ ...now she's polishing coal. ♪ temptations, it's the first jell-o that's just for adults. kraft singles. we're rich in calcium to help build 'em up strong. ooh, watch out, bad guys. kraft singles. the american cheese. kraft singles. i just transferred a prescription to cvs because they have care 1on1. it's where the pharmacist stops and talks to me about safety and saving money with generic prescriptions. laura, let's talk about possible side effects. it's all about me. love that. get care 1on1 and talk savings, safety, and side effects when you transfer or fill a new, ongoing prescription. i'm laura, and this is my cvs. it's all mine. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ introducing purina one beyond introducing pu

we are talking to "the new york times" best-selling author ronald kessler. without the fans, there'd be no nascar. just like if it weren't for customers, there'd be no nationwide. that's why they serve their customers' needs, not shareholder profits. because as a mutual, nationwide doesn't report to wall street, they report to their customers. and that's just one more reason why the earnhardt family has trusted nationwide for more than 30 years. nationwide is on your side. ♪ >>> it might be dysfunctional but it sure is beautiful. good morning, washington, d.c. partly cloudy now. 78 degrees. you're headed for a high of 90. >>> from movie stars to the most wanted. a new look at the fbi's most closely guarded secrets. joining us is ronald kessler. author of the book "the secrets of the fbi." i cannot wait to read this whole book. fascinating things are included. oh, by the way, welcome to "american morning." >> thank you. >> it's been almost ten years since 9/11. we have had no major attacks since then. a lot of people are wondering why. in your book, you sort

today we begin the series with ronald kessler, author of the new book "the secrets of the fbi." the first chapter is about the tactical operations unit. what is that? guest: it is a euphemism for bugging and wire-tapping. about 20% of the book is devoted to this. i could not believe the fbi would give me this. in my first interview on the subject with the person in charge, and wondered if he the one of us would be arrested -- i wondered if either one of us would be arrested. someone questioned whether the third-ranking fbi agents should be giving me this. i am still amazed. when someone asks me how i get them to talk, i usually say that i would water board them and that worked well. host: has this unit been around for a long time? guest: in terms of the sophistication and size and this particular name, it has been in recent years. they break into homes, offices, and even indices -- embassies to plant bugging devices without getting caught and shot as burglars. in an embassy, they could be thought of as burglars. they do go in with weapons drawn. no one has been shot so far. ther