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CNN Live At Daybreak
Crisis in the Middle East: Urging Restraint
Aired October 06, 2003 - 05:05 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: In the troubled Middle East, fear this morning of the violence spreading. Israel strikes what it calls a training camp for terrorists in Syria in reaction to the latest suicide bombing. Now Syria wants the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israel. The White House is urging restraint.
CNN's Kathleen Koch explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUESTION: Do you have any reaction to Israel's strike inside Syria today?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush Sunday declined to criticize Israel. A spokesman says that in a previously scheduled phone call to Prime Minister Arial Sharon, both men agreed on the need to keep fighting terrorism while avoiding heightening tensions in the region. The U.S. did not fault the Israelis for striking what was called a terrorist training camp, seen on this tape, provided by the Israeli government.
Instead, an administration official said Syria remains -- quote -- "on the wrong side in the war on terror and must stop harboring terrorists." U.S. lawmakers echoed those sentiments.
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SEN. ARLEN SPECTER, (R) PENNSYLVANIA: Self-defense is recognized under Article 51 of the United Nations charter. And I believe that where Israel has just cause, and I'm sure they had adequate evidence before going into Syria, I think it's entirely appropriate.
KOCH: But not say some experts entirely effective.
JON ALTERMAN, STRATEGIC INTL. STUDIES CTR.: It sort of highlights the fact that there aren't very many good targets to attack. You can attack one of these terrorist bases, but do you stop the terrorism?
KOCH: The Bush administration has been increasingly critical of Syria for supporting groups like Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad and for allowing weapons and militant fighters to flow across its border into Iraq. But some believe it will take U.S. diplomatic action across the region to prevent the bloodshed from spreading.
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R), NEBRASKA: Certainly the United States is going to have to do everything it can to try to ratchet down this violence, because it could very quickly explode in a combustible way that could bring all the Middle East into a conflagration (ph) of a -- of a real Middle East war.
KOCH (on camera): President Bush is urging Syria and Israel to refrain from any actions that could lead to further violence in the region. Calming tensions a critical goal with tens of thousands of U.S. forces deployed in the Middle East.
Kathleen Koch, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 6, 2003 - 05:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: In the troubled Middle East, fear this morning of the violence spreading. Israel strikes what it calls a training camp for terrorists in Syria in reaction to the latest suicide bombing. Now Syria wants the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israel. The White House is urging restraint.
CNN's Kathleen Koch explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUESTION: Do you have any reaction to Israel's strike inside Syria today?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush Sunday declined to criticize Israel. A spokesman says that in a previously scheduled phone call to Prime Minister Arial Sharon, both men agreed on the need to keep fighting terrorism while avoiding heightening tensions in the region. The U.S. did not fault the Israelis for striking what was called a terrorist training camp, seen on this tape, provided by the Israeli government.
Instead, an administration official said Syria remains -- quote -- "on the wrong side in the war on terror and must stop harboring terrorists." U.S. lawmakers echoed those sentiments.
100512CN.V36
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER, (R) PENNSYLVANIA: Self-defense is recognized under Article 51 of the United Nations charter. And I believe that where Israel has just cause, and I'm sure they had adequate evidence before going into Syria, I think it's entirely appropriate.
KOCH: But not say some experts entirely effective.
JON ALTERMAN, STRATEGIC INTL. STUDIES CTR.: It sort of highlights the fact that there aren't very many good targets to attack. You can attack one of these terrorist bases, but do you stop the terrorism?
KOCH: The Bush administration has been increasingly critical of Syria for supporting groups like Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad and for allowing weapons and militant fighters to flow across its border into Iraq. But some believe it will take U.S. diplomatic action across the region to prevent the bloodshed from spreading.
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R), NEBRASKA: Certainly the United States is going to have to do everything it can to try to ratchet down this violence, because it could very quickly explode in a combustible way that could bring all the Middle East into a conflagration (ph) of a -- of a real Middle East war.
KOCH (on camera): President Bush is urging Syria and Israel to refrain from any actions that could lead to further violence in the region. Calming tensions a critical goal with tens of thousands of U.S. forces deployed in the Middle East.
Kathleen Koch, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
