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CNN Live At Daybreak

Anthony Zinni To Return To Mideast Next Week

Aired March 08, 2002 - 05:06   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. Middle East peace envoy Anthony Zinni is expected to leave for the region next week in a new attempt to help the Israelis and Palestinians forge a truce.

As CNN White House correspondent Major Garrett reports, Zinni's mission comes amidst escalating violence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAJOR GARRETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The symbolism may have meant more than the substance. The president and his top Middle East policy players together stepping in with a new effort to reduce violence in the Middle East.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I once again call upon Chairman Arafat to make a maximum effort to end terrorism against Israel, which undermines the prospects for peace. And as we move forward, I'm counting on all parties in the region, Prime Minister Sharon included, to do everything they can to make these efforts a success.

GARRETT: In a shift, the president will send his envoy, retired Marine General Anthony Zinni, to the region next week to renew security talks with the Palestinians and Israelis. Previously, the administration said it would only send Zinni if the fighting stopped. But the administration has become so alarmed by the escalating violence that it saw no other option but to reengage.

Even as Mr. Bush demanded more from Mr. Arafat, he also appealed to Mr. Sharon to rethink aggressive military raids in the occupied territories.

BUSH: I think he recognizes that you can't achieve peace by allowing violence to escalate or causing violence to escalate.

GARRETT: Administration officials say the Israelis and Palestinians will welcome Zinni's return and have pledged cooperation.

BUSH: There are no assurances. That's not going to prevent our government from trying.

GARRETT: Vice President Cheney will also tour the region next week. A trip once expected to be dominated by discussions about Iraq will now be heavily devoted to Middle East peace. (on camera): And that's because moderate Arab leaders like Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who visited the president here at the White House earlier this week, have made it clear that moderate Arab support for any move against Iraq is linked to real progress toward ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Major Garrett, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And we'll have a live report from Jerusalem in the next hour.

Right now, though, it's time for this story. The announcement of a new U.S. diplomatic initiative is having no immediate effect on the violence in the Middle East. In fact, it seems to be intensifying.

CNN Senior International Correspondent Sheila MacVicar is in Jerusalem right now and she brings us this report -- Sheila, good morning.

SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Well, General Zinni will certainly have his hands full when he gets here and this region is certainly in need of someone who can be a peace maker.

Overnight, and I'm just talking about the last few hours, we have now got a total of at least 26 Palestinians dead, the latest being a 10-year-old boy killed in the West Bank town of Tulkarem, apparently as a result of an Israeli tank shell being fired. We also have five Israelis dead, all young men, all studying at a religious school in a settlement in the Gaza Strip.

Now, last night Israeli forces went into the Gaza refugee camp of Khan Younis. Now, this camp is a camp in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. There was a fierce gun battle there and in the midst of this gun battle the Israelis killed one of the senior security commanders for the region. They say that that was an accident. They had not intended to kill him.

Later this morning, as people there were preparing for his funeral, just a few hours ago, as a matter of fact, Israeli helicopter gunships rocketed his headquarters there.

There is still action in that part of the Gaza Strip.

In the West Bank we obviously have an ongoing military action in the West Bank town of Tulkarem. Israeli forces went in there yesterday. And we have an ongoing Israeli military action around Bethlehem.

Now, about those five young Israelis killed, they were studying at a religious school that combines both religious studies and preparation to go to do military service in the army when a lone Palestinian gunman got into the settlement and opened fire. He killed five of them and wounded at least 20 others.

All in all, Carol, a truly dreadful night.

COSTELLO: With that in mind, Sheila, is there any sense that Anthony Zinni can really make a difference then?

MACVICAR: This is, indeed, the question. You know, the Bush administration hadn't really wanted to send General Zinni here at this time. They felt that the conditions simply were not right. But obviously we are in a situation where the violence is escalating, where Prime Minister Sharon has made very clear that this is his policy, that he will pursue it unless there is something else that comes along.

Now, the Bush administration is also under pressure from its regional allies, as you hear Major Garrett say there. There is pressure where the Americans are being told look, you must do something. You must at least be seen to be trying to do something.

There is a possibility that General Zinni may be able to come here with one or maybe two new ideas that may provide some kind of a breakthrough. But if that doesn't happen, Carol, the concern here is that Prime Minister Sharon, having committed himself to a campaign of violence and military action in order to get to the Palestinians to where he wants them at the negotiating table, if this does not work at this level of violence, the fear is is that he will increase the level of military offensive -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, we'll talk to you next hour. Thank you.

Sheila MacVicar reporting live for us from Jerusalem this morning.

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