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American Morning
Yasser Arafat Dies; Battle of Falluja Continues
Aired November 11, 2004 - 07:00 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: For the second day in a row, a bombshell in the Scott Peterson trial. Why is yet another juror out? On this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: 7:00 here in New York City. Good morning. It is Veteran's Day here in the U.S.
And if you're just getting up with us today, the big story today is the death of Yasser Arafat.
O'BRIEN: That's right. The news came late last night, almost two weeks after his illness was first reported. He was 75 years old. Arafat's body will now be flown from Paris later this morning to Cairo for a military funeral.
Fionnula Sweeney is live for us at Christie (ph) Military Hospital in Paris with more on that.
Fionnula, good morning.
FIONNULA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, indeed, Soledad.
About eight hours ago, the announcement coming here from General Christian Istrapo (ph). He is the French military spokesman from the hospital, and he announced that Yasser Arafat had passed away at 3:30 local time in the morning.
Now we've seen some comings and goings here at the hospital this morning. French President Jacques Chirac arriving within the past hour, paying his respects to Yasser Arafat and visiting with his wife Suha, and making a short statement afterwards, praising his courage and conviction, and saying that the work for the Palestinian state would continue after his death. Also, saying that there should be peace in the Middle East with respect to all the peoples in the region.
So the plan as of now is that in about three hours from now, the body will be taken by military helicopter to a military airport just outside Paris. There it will be joined by Nabil Shaath, the foreign minister. There will be a ceremony in about four hours time at that airport, heavily represented by the French government there, the French foreign minister, the French defense minister and the French prime minister there. And then Suha Arafat and close members of Yasser Arafat's family, and the Palestinian foreign minister, who as I speak, is on route now from Ramallah to join up with the family here in Paris, will get in the plane, go to Cairo for the first of those burial ceremonies -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Fionnula Sweeney, reporting for us from Paris this morning. Thank you for that update -- Bill.
HEMMER: For days there was some tense negotiations between Palestinian and Israeli officials, as well as Arafat's wife over a burial location. This morning, a special resting place is being prepared outside Arafat's West Bank compound, and that's where Michael Holmes is today with more from there.
Michael, good afternoon.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Bill.
Yes, that preparation going ahead just basically over my right shoulder there. We can see the burial site from here. It is a mere 100 or 150 feet, I suppose, from Yasser Arafat's own office building and his living quarters, where he spent the last three years living under siege in some pretty dire situations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES (voice-over): Yasser Arafat, a man who would proudly, forcefully tell you spent his life trying to free his people was a prisoner in the West Bank town of Ramallah for the last three years of his life.
In April 2002, he was even further confined, this time to his headquarters, when Israeli troops moved into the West Bank en masse. Within days, the Palestinian Authority headquarters, the Muqata (ph), was being reduced to rubble. One building containing Arafat's own office and living quarters remained standing, battered by bullets and shells, but standing.
We visited Arafat back then. Israeli troops not happy about it, firing warning shots. Inside, Arafat, as always, defiant, proclaiming his willingness to die. His life, he said, unimportant compared to those of his people.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YASSER ARAFAT: They want to kill me, or to arrest me, or to kick me outside of this. I said no one can do it. I am won of the martyrs of my people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Since then, his life, never flamboyant, became more spartan, a man accused by Israel of wholesale corruption, living essentially in two room -- his bedroom, and this conference room.
I met with him several times over the months following, often for a modest and healthy lunch, dominated by steamed vegetables. He would insist his guests eat with him, often forcing food upon them. He was sometimes frail, a lack of sunlight making his skin almost translucent. His mood on the day determined where he would be conversational, even jocular, or quiet, reflective, sometimes angry.
We spoke of his exercise, consisting of walking around the table in this room, and of his chronic insomnia. He got into a routine of dividing his workday into two long blocks, sleeping for a couple of hours after midnight, a couple more in the afternoon. A few hours a day at most. He spoke repeatedly of his conviction that he would die here, believing Israel would try to kidnap him or expel him, something he said he'd die resisting.
His resistance never waned, the place, time and manner of his death, however, not what he imagined.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And the place of his burial, too, Bill, not of his choosing. Yasser Arafat wanted to be buried in Jerusalem. Israel said a definitive no to that, and what you see there on your screen right now is the construction of a monument to Yasser Arafat. This is where he will be laid to rest. He'll be interred in, as I say, a monument. One Palestinian official called it a tomb. It is being hastily constructed now. We're told it will be made of marble. And there he will rest, although many Palestinians say that if their dream, their aspiration of an independent state with as east Jerusalem as its capital ever comes to fruition, that is Where Yasser Arafat will be moved to. For now, it'll be right here in the place where he has been under siege for the last three years -- Bill.
HEMMER: Thank you, Michael, Michael Holmes in Ramallah.
President Bush meanwhile calling Yasser Arafat's death a significant moment in Palestinian history, offering hope that the stalled peace process could be renewed. In a statement the president said -- I'm quoting now -- "We express our condolences to the Palestinian people. For the Palestinian people, we hope that the future will bring peace and the fulfillment of their aspirations for an independent, Democratic Palestine that is at peace with its neighbors," end quote.
Former President Bill Clinton offering this statement -- I'm quoting again -- "I regret that in 2000 he missed the opportunity to bring that nation into being, and pray for the days when the dreams of the Palestinian people and a state and a better life will be realized in a just and lasting peace," end quote.
O'BRIEN: Let's turn now to Iraq, where the battle of Falluja continues. This morning, we talked to Jane Arraf. She is CNN's Baghdad bureau chief. She is embedded with the army near Falluja, and she has word after terrible grisly discovery this morning.
Jane, good morning to you.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Soledad. We've just spoken to the commanding general of the First Marine Division, who tells us he has just come from a house that they are treating as a crime scene, a suspected hostage slaughterhouse in the north (INAUDIBLE) of Falluja. Now he said this was a nondescriptive building, and as the Marines approached in a neighborhood where there were dead bodies around, they found inside some grisly discoveries, including blood stains from the courtyard, blood stains on the floor. They've taken away those blood samples to be tested, to see if they can match them to know known hostages who have been beheaded or killed.
Now these are the first details we have that there may be something there that might provide concrete proof that hostages were killed there. This first came up when Iraqi officials said that they had discovered this house and seized CDs, recordings, videos and lists of names. The general tells us that some of those videos appear to have been shot, appear to have been filmed, inside the house. He said there was no one in the house, except for an Iraqi believed to be an informant, who was shackled and had been beaten. Everyone else had run away very quickly. There was evidence of a very hurried departure, food left there and even ice melting -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Jane, can you elaborate for us on what that Marine commander told you about the circumstances that brought his troops into what you've described as a nondescript area?
ARRAF: They have been clearing street by street, Soledad. It's very dangerous, and obviously dangerous, and time-consuming work.
I'm not sure if you can hear these explosions around me. We're in another side of the city where these operations are ongoing. It's a two-pronged operation, essentially. The Army unit that we're with has been going in and clearing major sectors. They have the heavy armor. They are using things like J-Dams, dropped on targets, artillery fire -- A lot of artillery, by the way -- and tank rounds.
The Marines are mostly infantry, and they are going in by foot, neighborhood by neighborhood, clearing buildings, and stumbling upon these grisly discoveries.
There's a tank going by right now.
The neighborhood that this was founded was the Jolan (ph) district, about two blocks from the river, and it was a district known to have been a stronghold of (INAUDIBLE) from the Zarqawi network -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jane Arraf, our Baghdad bureau chief. She's embedded with the First ID, reporting to us near Falluja on a grisly discovery. We're going to have more on that as soon as we get it.
Thank you, Jane.
Let's turn back now to the death of Yasser Arafat. His death no doubt affects the path toward peace in the Mideast. Earlier this morning, I spoke with former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: In 1994, you shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Yasser Arafat and also the Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin. To the dismay of many, the process stalled with after that. With the death of Yasser Arafat, do you think that that opening that you mentioned is much better, that this now leads the way to peace?
SHIMON PERES, FMR. ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I think that without this opening, we wouldn't have any other continuation opening. That laid the foundation for the future, because in Oslo, we agreed about the two most important major issues, about a partner, the Palestinian partner, and about a map, a map that all can accept. Without a partner and without a map, we couldn't have negotiated.
Then there were ups and downs. There were great moments. There were terrible failures. The story is not a simple one because, the situation wasn't simple.
Arafat didn't have neither a state nor an army. He came from a clandestine organization. He often used terror. He thought that terror would lead him to somewhere. Terror was a mistake, a failure, a costly one, for the Palestinians and for us.
I'm sure with Arafat from the very beginning start negotiating in a diplomatic manner, the Palestinians would have already a state.
But this is the past. In Oslo, there was a new beginning that exists to this very day. I don't know anything which is great that doesn't carry with it great difficulties and great obstacles. So I'm not surprised by the obstacles, but I am pleased by the greatness of the choice.
O'BRIEN: Many have described Yasser Arafat as a man who truly embraced -- was essentially a contradiction. Israelis obviously considered him a terrorist, Palestinians looked at him as sometimes their only hope. In the end, in retrospect, how do you look back and how would you describe Yasser Arafat?
PERES: Both. Wasn't a simple person. He tried different ways in different periods. I wish he would be more constant for his own memory. On the other hand, one must admit he kept the Palestinian issue 40 years on the world's agenda. He was very jealous in his later days about his authority, and he kept it jealously, but he didn't use it.
You see, I'm not sure he gave orders to initiate terror, but I'm convinced that he didn't take steps to stop it. And by the contradiction in what he has said and what he has done, he lost a great deal of credibility, particularly in the eyes of the United States, in the eyes of the Israelis and many others. You negotiate with words of value. You lose leadership when you misuse the value of the words.
O'BRIEN: Under the law, there is 60 days to hold elections. There is a militant wing, several militant areas of the PLO, Hamas for example. Give me a sense of what you think the PLO looks like now with the death of Yasser Arafat, maybe not tomorrow but in the next month and years?
PERES: First of all, what is important, there are successors, almost natural successors. Both I know quite well; both Abu Alaa and Abu Mazen, I worked with them. They worked with Arafat for 40 years. They weren't born yesterday. They are experienced people. They are intelligent. They are serious. Contrary to Arafat, they don't think that terror can help them anymore. In my judgment, they are totally divorced from terror as a means of achieving their goals.
On the other hand, they are not easy customers. We shouldn't take them for granted. They will negotiate seriously. But they feel as we do, that there is a new beginning, that we shouldn't miss in spite of all the difficulties.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: That was the former Israeli prime minister talking with us a little bit earlier this morning.
HEMMER: Yes, we welcome Jack now, Question of the Day.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Plans call currently for Yasser Arafat to be buried in his compound in Ramallah, which will eventually be turned into some kind of shrine. Maybe they'll will put a sign out front for the Palestinian people, that reads "here lies the body of the thief who robbed you blind." While the Palestinian people eat rocks for dinner, they have nothing, they are among the poorest people on the planet, authorities are trying to figure out what Arafat did with billions, billions of dollars that are unaccounted for. The $100,000 a month he reportedly spent to support his wife's lavish lifestyle in Paris, France, where else, is chump change compared to Arafat's total holding. One estimate puts it in the neighborhood of $5 billion, but nobody knows. Nobody knows how much. Nobody knows where it all is.
In the end, he was just another politician who took advantage of the people he reported to serve by stealing from him. How will Yasser Arafat's death affect the Middle East is the question this morning? You can e-mail your thoughts at am@CNN.com.
O'BRIEN: Good question today. Thank you, Jack.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
Top stories now. Back to Heidi Collins with us again today.
Good morning, Heidi. How are you?
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to the two of you. Doing well today. And good morning to you, everybody.
Now in the news this morning, more changes for the jury in the Scott Peterson trial. Deliberations will resume again tomorrow in California with a new member. The jury foreman, Gregory Jackson, was let go yesterday. He was the second juror to be dismissed from the panel this week. Jackson will be replaced by a man whose son-in-law once worked for the Petersons, but the new juror has said he never met Scott Peterson.
President Bush urging the Senate to move quickly to confirm his pick for attorney general. Yesterday, the president officially nominated White House legal counsel Alberto Gonzales for the position vacated by John Ashcroft. Gonzales is expected to be confirmed, and he would become the first Hispanic U.S. attorney general.
And more legal trouble for Liza Minnelli. A former bodyguard is accusing the singer of sexual harassment. He's seeking more than $100 million in damages. There's been no comment from Minnelli. She is already facing a $10 million lawsuit from her estranged husband David Gest, who claims Minnelli beat him during drunken rages. Not good times for Liza Minnelli.
O'BRIEN: Having a little bit after rough road, I think, that's fair to say.
All right, Heidi, thanks.
HEMMER: In a moment here, much more on the death of Yasser Arafat, including how the dynamics in the Arab world might change. We'll get to that.
Also, looking to what led the decision to lower the specific threat level to financial institutions, especially in New York City. Why it's unlikely to see a change in security. We'll get to that, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Plus the Peterson jury might be in a state of chaos now, even though the judge has put down a possible revolt. We'll explain what's going on there, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: For the past three months, certainly financial centers have been on high alert for possible terror attacks. Well, now the government is standing down.
More from homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Security around financial institutions in New York, New Jersey and Washington has permanently tightened to such a degree, the Department of Homeland Security says, it is lowering their threat level from orange the yellow.
It was raised August 1st after computer disks were recovered in Pakistan, containing detailed surveillance information and photographs. The backdrop was the concern that Al Qaeda might try to disrupt the Democratic process. TOM RIDGE, SECY. OF HOMELAND SECURITY: One of the hallmarks of that process will take place here in less than two weeks in Boston as you, mayor, and your great city host the Democrat National Convention.
MESERVE: Ridge listed the political conventions, the election, but also the inaugural, still more than two months away. And recently, a Osama Bin Laden tape surfaced. So is the decision to lower the threat level eight days after the election a political one? Deputy DHS Secretary James Lloyd (ph) says we don't do politics here at this department, adding it would not have been prudent to reduce the alert level before the election.
(on camera): The drop in the threat level should not be construed as a drop in the danger. Officials say the threat from Al Qaeda is ongoing.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Rocco Malanga is Newark, New Jersey's director of homeland security. Newark was directly affected by the heightened terror alert.
Nice to see you. Thanks for coming in to talk to us about this.
What was the rational for dropping the terror alert level in Newark?
ROCCO MALANGA, NEWARK N.J. DIR. OF HOMELAND SECURITY: From my understanding, after talking to Washington's homeland security, there's been no new credible information that's come in on the terror alert, specifically with the Prudential building in Newark and the other target areas in New York and Washington D.C. So there has been no further information since the August 1st alert.
O'BRIEN: How much of this do you think is political?
MALANGA: I really don't think it's political, to be honest with you. We talked all along after August 1st at to what time we would go back to yellow, you know, to bring it back down to yellow. And all along there were certain benchmarks that we were looking for. No. 1, we wanted to ensure that the private sector had target-hardened their own locations, and that we were prepared to step it back down. No. 2, we were interested in the conventions, Republican and national convention, Republican convention in particular because of its location in New York City.
And No. 3, Election Day itself, because remember, there were generalized threats that they wanted to disrupt the elections. So I really don't think it was a political decision; I think it was a wise decision. It was one that was not made yesterday; it was made over a period of time.
O'BRIEN: As much as you mentioned, surrounded the conventions and then really ended with the election. What has changed? I mean, you talk about target hardening. What does that mean? What's changed since August 1st?
MALANGA: Well, in cooperation with, in particular, Prudential, in the city of Newark, a lot of infrastructure security has gone on. When I say target hardening, there are some things you would see, there are some you would not see. Surveillance equipment, increased security, in and around surveillance cameras, some you would see and some you would not see. So we feel a lot better today than we did on August 1st that the facility is secure.
O'BRIEN: So the Prudential is better protected, or you don't think it's a target for terrorist anymore?
MALANGA: It is better protected, and I do not believe that it is a direct target at this time.
O'BRIEN: All right, Rocco, it's nice to have you. Thank you very much for coming in to talk to us.
MALANGA: It's my pleasure.
O'BRIEN: We certainly appreciate it -- Bill.
HEMMER: Soledad, 22 minutes past the hour now. U.S. forces confront the most entrenched insurgents in Falluja, while not all Iraqi politicians agree this operation will help Iraq achieve democracy. We'll cover that in a moment, as we continue on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: The battle for Falluja now entering its fourth day, as U.S. and Iraqi forces tighten their grip on the insurgent stronghold. Here is what we know today: Military officials say forces control about 70 percent of that city. They have found slaughterhouses believed to have been used by kidnappers to hold and kill hostages. More than 500 insurgents have been killed since the offensive began. That's according to a senior Pentagon official. Also the Iraqi government saying it is willing to offer amnesty to insurgent groups who are willing to surrender.
Also Adnan Pachachi, you might remember the name, a former Iraqi Governing Council member, who was instrumental in getting the U.S. to back down from its April attack on Falluja last spring. Pachaci is a Sunni Muslim, and I talked to him earlier today about what's happening in Falluja.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Back in April, you opposed the offensive. Do you oppose it now, sir?
ADNAN PACHACHI, FMR. IRAQI GOVERNING COUNCIL MEMBER: Yes, I think they should have been more time for negotiations, and a last effort should have been made before launching this offensive.
But I don't want to second guess the people on the ground. But I believe that experience has shown us that the best way to deal with these problems is by dialogue and patience. And they seem to be some possibility of agreement, but unfortunately, this was not so. And I'm (INAUDIBLE) worried about the scale of the attack and the accepted use of force, which I think may be counterproductive, considering that it would create a great deal of resentment and discontent.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Adnan Pachachi. We spoke for several minutes earlier today. You'll hear the full interview later this morning. He's a in Abu Dhabi now. Again, he's a Sunni Muslim, heading up a party called Iraqi Independent Democrats. More later this morning on that -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, the future of the Palestinian people and their cause without Yasser Arafat.
Also this morning, was the Peterson jury ready to mutiny? And the outrage of the eerie display that Scott Peterson's lawyer has left in a parking lot. Those stories all ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired November 11, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: For the second day in a row, a bombshell in the Scott Peterson trial. Why is yet another juror out? On this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: 7:00 here in New York City. Good morning. It is Veteran's Day here in the U.S.
And if you're just getting up with us today, the big story today is the death of Yasser Arafat.
O'BRIEN: That's right. The news came late last night, almost two weeks after his illness was first reported. He was 75 years old. Arafat's body will now be flown from Paris later this morning to Cairo for a military funeral.
Fionnula Sweeney is live for us at Christie (ph) Military Hospital in Paris with more on that.
Fionnula, good morning.
FIONNULA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, indeed, Soledad.
About eight hours ago, the announcement coming here from General Christian Istrapo (ph). He is the French military spokesman from the hospital, and he announced that Yasser Arafat had passed away at 3:30 local time in the morning.
Now we've seen some comings and goings here at the hospital this morning. French President Jacques Chirac arriving within the past hour, paying his respects to Yasser Arafat and visiting with his wife Suha, and making a short statement afterwards, praising his courage and conviction, and saying that the work for the Palestinian state would continue after his death. Also, saying that there should be peace in the Middle East with respect to all the peoples in the region.
So the plan as of now is that in about three hours from now, the body will be taken by military helicopter to a military airport just outside Paris. There it will be joined by Nabil Shaath, the foreign minister. There will be a ceremony in about four hours time at that airport, heavily represented by the French government there, the French foreign minister, the French defense minister and the French prime minister there. And then Suha Arafat and close members of Yasser Arafat's family, and the Palestinian foreign minister, who as I speak, is on route now from Ramallah to join up with the family here in Paris, will get in the plane, go to Cairo for the first of those burial ceremonies -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Fionnula Sweeney, reporting for us from Paris this morning. Thank you for that update -- Bill.
HEMMER: For days there was some tense negotiations between Palestinian and Israeli officials, as well as Arafat's wife over a burial location. This morning, a special resting place is being prepared outside Arafat's West Bank compound, and that's where Michael Holmes is today with more from there.
Michael, good afternoon.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Bill.
Yes, that preparation going ahead just basically over my right shoulder there. We can see the burial site from here. It is a mere 100 or 150 feet, I suppose, from Yasser Arafat's own office building and his living quarters, where he spent the last three years living under siege in some pretty dire situations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES (voice-over): Yasser Arafat, a man who would proudly, forcefully tell you spent his life trying to free his people was a prisoner in the West Bank town of Ramallah for the last three years of his life.
In April 2002, he was even further confined, this time to his headquarters, when Israeli troops moved into the West Bank en masse. Within days, the Palestinian Authority headquarters, the Muqata (ph), was being reduced to rubble. One building containing Arafat's own office and living quarters remained standing, battered by bullets and shells, but standing.
We visited Arafat back then. Israeli troops not happy about it, firing warning shots. Inside, Arafat, as always, defiant, proclaiming his willingness to die. His life, he said, unimportant compared to those of his people.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YASSER ARAFAT: They want to kill me, or to arrest me, or to kick me outside of this. I said no one can do it. I am won of the martyrs of my people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Since then, his life, never flamboyant, became more spartan, a man accused by Israel of wholesale corruption, living essentially in two room -- his bedroom, and this conference room.
I met with him several times over the months following, often for a modest and healthy lunch, dominated by steamed vegetables. He would insist his guests eat with him, often forcing food upon them. He was sometimes frail, a lack of sunlight making his skin almost translucent. His mood on the day determined where he would be conversational, even jocular, or quiet, reflective, sometimes angry.
We spoke of his exercise, consisting of walking around the table in this room, and of his chronic insomnia. He got into a routine of dividing his workday into two long blocks, sleeping for a couple of hours after midnight, a couple more in the afternoon. A few hours a day at most. He spoke repeatedly of his conviction that he would die here, believing Israel would try to kidnap him or expel him, something he said he'd die resisting.
His resistance never waned, the place, time and manner of his death, however, not what he imagined.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And the place of his burial, too, Bill, not of his choosing. Yasser Arafat wanted to be buried in Jerusalem. Israel said a definitive no to that, and what you see there on your screen right now is the construction of a monument to Yasser Arafat. This is where he will be laid to rest. He'll be interred in, as I say, a monument. One Palestinian official called it a tomb. It is being hastily constructed now. We're told it will be made of marble. And there he will rest, although many Palestinians say that if their dream, their aspiration of an independent state with as east Jerusalem as its capital ever comes to fruition, that is Where Yasser Arafat will be moved to. For now, it'll be right here in the place where he has been under siege for the last three years -- Bill.
HEMMER: Thank you, Michael, Michael Holmes in Ramallah.
President Bush meanwhile calling Yasser Arafat's death a significant moment in Palestinian history, offering hope that the stalled peace process could be renewed. In a statement the president said -- I'm quoting now -- "We express our condolences to the Palestinian people. For the Palestinian people, we hope that the future will bring peace and the fulfillment of their aspirations for an independent, Democratic Palestine that is at peace with its neighbors," end quote.
Former President Bill Clinton offering this statement -- I'm quoting again -- "I regret that in 2000 he missed the opportunity to bring that nation into being, and pray for the days when the dreams of the Palestinian people and a state and a better life will be realized in a just and lasting peace," end quote.
O'BRIEN: Let's turn now to Iraq, where the battle of Falluja continues. This morning, we talked to Jane Arraf. She is CNN's Baghdad bureau chief. She is embedded with the army near Falluja, and she has word after terrible grisly discovery this morning.
Jane, good morning to you.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Soledad. We've just spoken to the commanding general of the First Marine Division, who tells us he has just come from a house that they are treating as a crime scene, a suspected hostage slaughterhouse in the north (INAUDIBLE) of Falluja. Now he said this was a nondescriptive building, and as the Marines approached in a neighborhood where there were dead bodies around, they found inside some grisly discoveries, including blood stains from the courtyard, blood stains on the floor. They've taken away those blood samples to be tested, to see if they can match them to know known hostages who have been beheaded or killed.
Now these are the first details we have that there may be something there that might provide concrete proof that hostages were killed there. This first came up when Iraqi officials said that they had discovered this house and seized CDs, recordings, videos and lists of names. The general tells us that some of those videos appear to have been shot, appear to have been filmed, inside the house. He said there was no one in the house, except for an Iraqi believed to be an informant, who was shackled and had been beaten. Everyone else had run away very quickly. There was evidence of a very hurried departure, food left there and even ice melting -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Jane, can you elaborate for us on what that Marine commander told you about the circumstances that brought his troops into what you've described as a nondescript area?
ARRAF: They have been clearing street by street, Soledad. It's very dangerous, and obviously dangerous, and time-consuming work.
I'm not sure if you can hear these explosions around me. We're in another side of the city where these operations are ongoing. It's a two-pronged operation, essentially. The Army unit that we're with has been going in and clearing major sectors. They have the heavy armor. They are using things like J-Dams, dropped on targets, artillery fire -- A lot of artillery, by the way -- and tank rounds.
The Marines are mostly infantry, and they are going in by foot, neighborhood by neighborhood, clearing buildings, and stumbling upon these grisly discoveries.
There's a tank going by right now.
The neighborhood that this was founded was the Jolan (ph) district, about two blocks from the river, and it was a district known to have been a stronghold of (INAUDIBLE) from the Zarqawi network -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jane Arraf, our Baghdad bureau chief. She's embedded with the First ID, reporting to us near Falluja on a grisly discovery. We're going to have more on that as soon as we get it.
Thank you, Jane.
Let's turn back now to the death of Yasser Arafat. His death no doubt affects the path toward peace in the Mideast. Earlier this morning, I spoke with former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: In 1994, you shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Yasser Arafat and also the Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin. To the dismay of many, the process stalled with after that. With the death of Yasser Arafat, do you think that that opening that you mentioned is much better, that this now leads the way to peace?
SHIMON PERES, FMR. ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I think that without this opening, we wouldn't have any other continuation opening. That laid the foundation for the future, because in Oslo, we agreed about the two most important major issues, about a partner, the Palestinian partner, and about a map, a map that all can accept. Without a partner and without a map, we couldn't have negotiated.
Then there were ups and downs. There were great moments. There were terrible failures. The story is not a simple one because, the situation wasn't simple.
Arafat didn't have neither a state nor an army. He came from a clandestine organization. He often used terror. He thought that terror would lead him to somewhere. Terror was a mistake, a failure, a costly one, for the Palestinians and for us.
I'm sure with Arafat from the very beginning start negotiating in a diplomatic manner, the Palestinians would have already a state.
But this is the past. In Oslo, there was a new beginning that exists to this very day. I don't know anything which is great that doesn't carry with it great difficulties and great obstacles. So I'm not surprised by the obstacles, but I am pleased by the greatness of the choice.
O'BRIEN: Many have described Yasser Arafat as a man who truly embraced -- was essentially a contradiction. Israelis obviously considered him a terrorist, Palestinians looked at him as sometimes their only hope. In the end, in retrospect, how do you look back and how would you describe Yasser Arafat?
PERES: Both. Wasn't a simple person. He tried different ways in different periods. I wish he would be more constant for his own memory. On the other hand, one must admit he kept the Palestinian issue 40 years on the world's agenda. He was very jealous in his later days about his authority, and he kept it jealously, but he didn't use it.
You see, I'm not sure he gave orders to initiate terror, but I'm convinced that he didn't take steps to stop it. And by the contradiction in what he has said and what he has done, he lost a great deal of credibility, particularly in the eyes of the United States, in the eyes of the Israelis and many others. You negotiate with words of value. You lose leadership when you misuse the value of the words.
O'BRIEN: Under the law, there is 60 days to hold elections. There is a militant wing, several militant areas of the PLO, Hamas for example. Give me a sense of what you think the PLO looks like now with the death of Yasser Arafat, maybe not tomorrow but in the next month and years?
PERES: First of all, what is important, there are successors, almost natural successors. Both I know quite well; both Abu Alaa and Abu Mazen, I worked with them. They worked with Arafat for 40 years. They weren't born yesterday. They are experienced people. They are intelligent. They are serious. Contrary to Arafat, they don't think that terror can help them anymore. In my judgment, they are totally divorced from terror as a means of achieving their goals.
On the other hand, they are not easy customers. We shouldn't take them for granted. They will negotiate seriously. But they feel as we do, that there is a new beginning, that we shouldn't miss in spite of all the difficulties.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: That was the former Israeli prime minister talking with us a little bit earlier this morning.
HEMMER: Yes, we welcome Jack now, Question of the Day.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Plans call currently for Yasser Arafat to be buried in his compound in Ramallah, which will eventually be turned into some kind of shrine. Maybe they'll will put a sign out front for the Palestinian people, that reads "here lies the body of the thief who robbed you blind." While the Palestinian people eat rocks for dinner, they have nothing, they are among the poorest people on the planet, authorities are trying to figure out what Arafat did with billions, billions of dollars that are unaccounted for. The $100,000 a month he reportedly spent to support his wife's lavish lifestyle in Paris, France, where else, is chump change compared to Arafat's total holding. One estimate puts it in the neighborhood of $5 billion, but nobody knows. Nobody knows how much. Nobody knows where it all is.
In the end, he was just another politician who took advantage of the people he reported to serve by stealing from him. How will Yasser Arafat's death affect the Middle East is the question this morning? You can e-mail your thoughts at am@CNN.com.
O'BRIEN: Good question today. Thank you, Jack.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
Top stories now. Back to Heidi Collins with us again today.
Good morning, Heidi. How are you?
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to the two of you. Doing well today. And good morning to you, everybody.
Now in the news this morning, more changes for the jury in the Scott Peterson trial. Deliberations will resume again tomorrow in California with a new member. The jury foreman, Gregory Jackson, was let go yesterday. He was the second juror to be dismissed from the panel this week. Jackson will be replaced by a man whose son-in-law once worked for the Petersons, but the new juror has said he never met Scott Peterson.
President Bush urging the Senate to move quickly to confirm his pick for attorney general. Yesterday, the president officially nominated White House legal counsel Alberto Gonzales for the position vacated by John Ashcroft. Gonzales is expected to be confirmed, and he would become the first Hispanic U.S. attorney general.
And more legal trouble for Liza Minnelli. A former bodyguard is accusing the singer of sexual harassment. He's seeking more than $100 million in damages. There's been no comment from Minnelli. She is already facing a $10 million lawsuit from her estranged husband David Gest, who claims Minnelli beat him during drunken rages. Not good times for Liza Minnelli.
O'BRIEN: Having a little bit after rough road, I think, that's fair to say.
All right, Heidi, thanks.
HEMMER: In a moment here, much more on the death of Yasser Arafat, including how the dynamics in the Arab world might change. We'll get to that.
Also, looking to what led the decision to lower the specific threat level to financial institutions, especially in New York City. Why it's unlikely to see a change in security. We'll get to that, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Plus the Peterson jury might be in a state of chaos now, even though the judge has put down a possible revolt. We'll explain what's going on there, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: For the past three months, certainly financial centers have been on high alert for possible terror attacks. Well, now the government is standing down.
More from homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Security around financial institutions in New York, New Jersey and Washington has permanently tightened to such a degree, the Department of Homeland Security says, it is lowering their threat level from orange the yellow.
It was raised August 1st after computer disks were recovered in Pakistan, containing detailed surveillance information and photographs. The backdrop was the concern that Al Qaeda might try to disrupt the Democratic process. TOM RIDGE, SECY. OF HOMELAND SECURITY: One of the hallmarks of that process will take place here in less than two weeks in Boston as you, mayor, and your great city host the Democrat National Convention.
MESERVE: Ridge listed the political conventions, the election, but also the inaugural, still more than two months away. And recently, a Osama Bin Laden tape surfaced. So is the decision to lower the threat level eight days after the election a political one? Deputy DHS Secretary James Lloyd (ph) says we don't do politics here at this department, adding it would not have been prudent to reduce the alert level before the election.
(on camera): The drop in the threat level should not be construed as a drop in the danger. Officials say the threat from Al Qaeda is ongoing.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Rocco Malanga is Newark, New Jersey's director of homeland security. Newark was directly affected by the heightened terror alert.
Nice to see you. Thanks for coming in to talk to us about this.
What was the rational for dropping the terror alert level in Newark?
ROCCO MALANGA, NEWARK N.J. DIR. OF HOMELAND SECURITY: From my understanding, after talking to Washington's homeland security, there's been no new credible information that's come in on the terror alert, specifically with the Prudential building in Newark and the other target areas in New York and Washington D.C. So there has been no further information since the August 1st alert.
O'BRIEN: How much of this do you think is political?
MALANGA: I really don't think it's political, to be honest with you. We talked all along after August 1st at to what time we would go back to yellow, you know, to bring it back down to yellow. And all along there were certain benchmarks that we were looking for. No. 1, we wanted to ensure that the private sector had target-hardened their own locations, and that we were prepared to step it back down. No. 2, we were interested in the conventions, Republican and national convention, Republican convention in particular because of its location in New York City.
And No. 3, Election Day itself, because remember, there were generalized threats that they wanted to disrupt the elections. So I really don't think it was a political decision; I think it was a wise decision. It was one that was not made yesterday; it was made over a period of time.
O'BRIEN: As much as you mentioned, surrounded the conventions and then really ended with the election. What has changed? I mean, you talk about target hardening. What does that mean? What's changed since August 1st?
MALANGA: Well, in cooperation with, in particular, Prudential, in the city of Newark, a lot of infrastructure security has gone on. When I say target hardening, there are some things you would see, there are some you would not see. Surveillance equipment, increased security, in and around surveillance cameras, some you would see and some you would not see. So we feel a lot better today than we did on August 1st that the facility is secure.
O'BRIEN: So the Prudential is better protected, or you don't think it's a target for terrorist anymore?
MALANGA: It is better protected, and I do not believe that it is a direct target at this time.
O'BRIEN: All right, Rocco, it's nice to have you. Thank you very much for coming in to talk to us.
MALANGA: It's my pleasure.
O'BRIEN: We certainly appreciate it -- Bill.
HEMMER: Soledad, 22 minutes past the hour now. U.S. forces confront the most entrenched insurgents in Falluja, while not all Iraqi politicians agree this operation will help Iraq achieve democracy. We'll cover that in a moment, as we continue on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: The battle for Falluja now entering its fourth day, as U.S. and Iraqi forces tighten their grip on the insurgent stronghold. Here is what we know today: Military officials say forces control about 70 percent of that city. They have found slaughterhouses believed to have been used by kidnappers to hold and kill hostages. More than 500 insurgents have been killed since the offensive began. That's according to a senior Pentagon official. Also the Iraqi government saying it is willing to offer amnesty to insurgent groups who are willing to surrender.
Also Adnan Pachachi, you might remember the name, a former Iraqi Governing Council member, who was instrumental in getting the U.S. to back down from its April attack on Falluja last spring. Pachaci is a Sunni Muslim, and I talked to him earlier today about what's happening in Falluja.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Back in April, you opposed the offensive. Do you oppose it now, sir?
ADNAN PACHACHI, FMR. IRAQI GOVERNING COUNCIL MEMBER: Yes, I think they should have been more time for negotiations, and a last effort should have been made before launching this offensive.
But I don't want to second guess the people on the ground. But I believe that experience has shown us that the best way to deal with these problems is by dialogue and patience. And they seem to be some possibility of agreement, but unfortunately, this was not so. And I'm (INAUDIBLE) worried about the scale of the attack and the accepted use of force, which I think may be counterproductive, considering that it would create a great deal of resentment and discontent.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Adnan Pachachi. We spoke for several minutes earlier today. You'll hear the full interview later this morning. He's a in Abu Dhabi now. Again, he's a Sunni Muslim, heading up a party called Iraqi Independent Democrats. More later this morning on that -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, the future of the Palestinian people and their cause without Yasser Arafat.
Also this morning, was the Peterson jury ready to mutiny? And the outrage of the eerie display that Scott Peterson's lawyer has left in a parking lot. Those stories all ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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