Face the Nation's 2012 predictions
In an annual Face the Nation year-end tradition, CBS News correspondents make fearless predictions on the year ahead. This year, Bob Schieffer was joined by a panel of correspondents covering Washington, the economy and the world for a review of 2011 and a look at what's to come in 2012. The predictions spanned from the economy, to the Middle East and what will happen after next year's election. Check out the predictions below:
Correspondent Elizabeth Palmer: "One, maybe two civil wars in the Arab world and continuing enormous instability."
Justice and Homeland Security Correspondent Bob Orr: "I think maybe for the first time cyber security catches terrorism -- maybe even passes terrorism -- as our top domestic security concern. And I think we're about due for the first true cyber-attack on a piece of critical infrastructure, so we should watch for that."
Senior Business Correspondent Anthony Mason: "I think the economy struggles along. I think we get a little improvement in the unemployment rate but not much, maybe, as I said, eight and a half percent. Jobs is still the biggest lingering problem in the economy."
National Security Correspondent David Martin: "If Iran doesn't blink Israel will strike... Go after its nuclear facilities, if Iran doesn't blink... [The U.S. will] have no choice but to support Israel. And depending on what the evidence is at that time they might even want to take part in that raid, it depends on what kind of intelligence they have about that decision that Iran has to make about whether to really build a bomb and go beyond putting all the pieces in place, which is what it's doing now."
Congressional Correspondent Nancy Cordes: "I predict Republicans will gain seats in the Senate, maybe even take control in the Senate. They will lose some seats in the House but they'll keep their majority. And I think a day of reckoning is coming between House Speaker John Boehner and his number two man Eric Cantor because they have been on opposites sides of almost every major fight this year. The less charitable view by Boehner's allies is that Cantor keeps cutting him off at the knees and that has put Republicans in some very sticky positions this year."
Chief White House Correspondent Norah O'Donnell: "I'm hearing that there have been a lot of really secretive talks going on behind the scenes of the Gang of 6 on deficit reduction. They continue to meet regularly. I'm told they are very close to a deal that's four to five trillion dollars. And that they are working to get new sign off on that. And I think that's going to be part of the debate again next year is a significant deficit reduction plan that also includes major tax reform."
Political Director John Dickerson: "I think that we're actually are going to see on the Super Committee that failed to make its $1.2 trillion in cuts, those automatic cuts are going to happen January 1, 2013 -- nobody wants that to happen. They won't be able to come up with an agreement until after the election. In the lame duck period, when everybody is done with their politicking, there will be a little moment of opportunity there where they actually will come to some kind of a deal on those ugly cuts which really hit the Defense Department, or that many people are concerned hit the Defense Department too much... they'll come up with some kind of agreement."
Chief Washington Correspondent and "Face the Nation" anchor Bob Schieffer: "I think we'll see a wholesale turnover in the Congress. I think we'll see more incumbents turned out of office, both Republicans and Democrats, than in any time since I've been in Washington, and that's been a long time."