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CNN Live At Daybreak

Rockets Hit Red Sea Ports, One Misses U.S. Ship; Gaza Pullout

Aired August 19, 2005 - 05:00   ET

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


KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: This is DAYBREAK, for Friday August 19. I'm Kelly Wallace, in today for Carol Costello.
We are following breaking news in the Middle East this hour. Two incidents are reported. We want to tell you about the first incident, and that one is in Jordan.

We understand the U.S. military saying that a mortar or a rocket was actually fired at U.S. ship in the Red Sea port, Aqaba Port, there in Jordan. Israeli defense ministers and other officials also saying about another incident, and that one a rocket targeting the Red Sea -- Eilat. That is the area in southern Israel.

For the latest, we want to go now to Navy Commander Jeff Breslau. He is talking to us on the phone from Bahrain.

Mr. Breslau, thanks for joining us. What can you tell us first about this first incident involving a U.S. military ship?

COMMANDER JEFF BRESLAU, U.S. NAVY: It occurred approximately 8:45 local time this morning. And no U.S. personnel, no sailors or Marines were injured in what appears to be a rocket attack that came into the direction of USS Ashland while it was in Port Aqaba. The rocket impacted a warehouse nearby the ship.

WALLACE: Can you -- can you tell us anything else also about the other incident, and this one involving the Israeli city of Eilat? Anything you know about that?

BRESLAU: No. Unfortunately, I'm not focused on that -- that incident.

WALLACE: OK. Let's go back to the other one, though. Tell us a little bit about what this U.S. Navy ship was doing in the Aqaba Port there in Jordan.

BRESLAU: Well, throughout the region, our sailors and Marines train with regional partners. And that was part of what they were doing in that -- that part of the world. They were there, along with the USS Kearsarge. And they were just import there as part of that process.

WALLACE: And so it missed the ship, obviously. Can you tell us anything about the extent of the damage? And any injuries at all?

BRESLAU: Other than no U.S. sailors or Marines being injured, I don't have any details on whether any Jordanians were injured in the attack.

WALLACE: How unusual is this, Commander Breslau?

BRESLAU: Well, it's -- it's very unusual for U.S. ships to be under attack in this part of the region. I only know of two in about the last five years. I mean, we had an attack up on the Iraqi oil platforms April 24, 2004, when some dows (ph) were making their way over there and three -- or two U.S. sailors and one Coast Guard man were killed defending the oil platform. But that's the only attack that I'm aware of recently, other than USS Cole as well.

WALLACE: Well, our viewers right now, Commander, are looking at a Web site, a picture of the USS Ashland. Is that the ship we're talking about?

BRESLAU: Yes, the USS Ashland. That's correct.

WALLACE: OK. They're looking at it now from the Web site.

Let me ask you this: was there any extra alert issued for the U.S. Navy and for this ship currently in the Aqaba port there in Jordan?

BRESLAU: I would have to look into that to see if there was any indication of this specific attack. I'm not aware of any. But, in general, when our ships pull into port, extensive force protection measures are taken everywhere we go. It's obviously the prudent thing to do currently.

WALLACE: And you have no sense of any sort of increased threat level that was issued or increased concern about any potential attack?

BRESLAU: No, I do not, not on a potential attack. But again, we -- before we pull into any port, extensive force protection assessments are made and implemented when the ships pull in.

WALLACE: And let's go back. Have you been able to talk to folks on the ship? Any more that they have given you? Any more information that they have passed along to you?

BRESLAU: No, that's it. That's all we have right now.

WALLACE: OK. Well, Commander, we appreciate you talking with us.

Navy Commander Jeff Breslau talking with us on the phone there.

We want to now go to Jerusalem. Our Paula Hancocks is there gathering information. These incidents just happening, so information is coming in very quickly.

Paula, what can you tell us right now?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kelly.

Well, yes, two U.S. vessels, we're actually hearing now, have actually left that area immediately after the attack. We're just being told that they have set sail to leave the area. We don't know where they're actually heading at the moment. But this -- more information on the second attack we're hearing about.

Two rocket attacks, one hitting Aqaba in Jordan, and then this second one just a little afterwards. A rocket hitting in Eilat.

Now, this is a holiday town, a Red Sea resort in Israel. It's very popular with Israelis. It's on the southern coast of Israel.

We understand at the moment that this rocket did not explode. It did not explode. So it just made a crater in the road.

We understand that there are no casualties. That's according to police and witnesses in that particular area.

And it was -- it looked like it was heading for the airport. It just fell about 15 meters away from the perimeter fence from the airport in Eilat itself. And the commander down there said that that rocket, as well as the one that was targeted at the U.S. Navy ship, was fired from Jordan as well.

Now, Israel's airspace hasn't been closed, we're hearing, even though that rocket hit very close to the airport itself -- Kelly.

WALLACE: Paula, how unusual is this, looking at Eilat, to have a rocket attack on that southern Israeli city, that resort community of Eilat?

HANCOCKS: Well, there has been trouble in that area before just across the Israeli border, which is very close. You can just walk across from Eilat to Egypt, where Taba is a very popular resort as well. There have been attacks in the past in Taba.

Just last October, November, there was an attack on a hotel there. There were many casualties, which is just across the border. It's literally walking distance from Eilat itself.

Now, there is very tight security in Eilat. Obviously, it's an Israeli city. There's very tight security. And there are a tremendous amount of hotels down there. It's a very bustling area, and especially at this time of the year.

It's the school holiday. There would be a tremendous amount of families down there on their holidays.

But the rocket itself hit the actual perimeter of the airport. So a little way out of where the actual hotels and the restaurants and the bars would actually be focused on the sea front -- Kelly.

WALLACE: Paula, one more question. And again, I know it's so early and really impossible to say. But in terms of the calls you and your colleagues are making, any indication at all at this early, early stage that these incidents could be related?

HANCOCKS: We have absolutely no indication whatsoever at the moment that they're related. No one's even discussing the fact that they could be related. They're not asking those questions.

The defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, the Israeli defense minister, was just giving a press conference as this was going on a few moments ago. So obviously he was asked about this.

He didn't draw any conclusions whatsoever. He said it's far too soon to say. But he did say that the Israelis and the Jordanians were working very closely.

There was a lot of cooperation, a lot of coordination between the two to try and find out exactly where these rockets came from, to find out exactly what the targets were. It doesn't appear as though there were any casualties at the moment, but obviously that's initial information that we're hearing. But he -- he couldn't be drawn on whether or not there was any relationship between the two.

They were very close time-wise. And they're also very close geographically. As you're sitting on the beach in Eilat, you can look across to your left and you can probably just about see Aqaba. They are extremely close.

The Red Sea resort in those areas, you can see Egypt, you can see Jordan, you can see Israel. They are all very close geographically.

WALLACE: And also, Paula, give us a sense -- I mean, the security situation, how high has the alert been inside Israel, especially with the disengagement from the Gaza Strip currently under way?

HANCOCKS: Well, on the Sunday before the disengagement actually happened, the alert was in Jerusalem, certainly. I'm not sure if it's for the whole of Israel. But certainly in Jerusalem, was raised to the highest level it could be, because there were worries that there would be protests, there would be attacks because of the evacuation, ahead of the evacuation in Gaza and parts of the West Bank. And security really has been very tight, but security always is tight in Israel.

It's one place that you really do -- you can see on the street corners, you can see the police, you can see the military. When you go into restaurants and bars, there is usually a security guard sitting outside who will check your bag as you're walking in.

So whether or not the security level in the whole of Israel had been increased, security over here is incredibly tight at any time.

WALLACE: OK, Paula. We're going to be checking in with you, no doubt, throughout the -- this hour here on DAYBREAK.

Paula Hancocks, reporting from Jerusalem.

Again, the breaking news this morning, two rocket attacks. One missing a U.S. Navy ship in Aqaba. That is the port city there in Jordan. The second one is -- targeted the Israeli port city of Eilat, the Red Sea tourist city of Eilat.

No reports right now of any injuries. And we do know that two U.S. vessels in Aqaba left the port after this missile strike.

More information on DAYBREAK as we get it.

Other stories now making news this Friday morning here on DAYBREAK.

The bombing of the United Nations office in Baghdad two years ago today is being commemorated. After the bombing, the U.N. withdrew its staff, though a smaller staff returned later. Twenty-two people were killed in the attack.

Some frightening moment for passengers aboard a 747 landing today on the island of Guam. The landing gear failed, forcing more than 300 passengers to quickly evacuate. Three people were injured.

And in Wisconsin, one person was killed and at least eight others hurt after a tornado hit the city. Take a look at that. At least 15 homes there were destroyed. Thirty-five others were damaged.

Incredible pictures. To Chad Myers now in Atlanta -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Ugly color sky, wasn't it? You could see the green.

WALLACE: Yes.

MYERS: And sometimes in a really severe thunderstorm you can see the green in the sky. That's actually the reflection and the refraction of the hail in the cloud. That's why some severe storms turn green. But you can see the damage caused by that tornado.

Difficult to see what that was. But if that was, in fact, a house, that is an F3 or F4 damage right there. F3 means that most of the roof is gone, some of the walls were actually gone. F4 means that you probably lose all the walls. And an F5 means you can't even find the walls, they're completely gone, and so all you see left is the slab or the foundation.

So it didn't look that bad. But certainly some strong weather there in Wisconsin yesterday, all to the west of Milwaukee, and then moving through Milwaukee.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WALLACE: All right. Chad, thanks so much.

MYERS: You're welcome.

WALLACE: Busy morning here. We'll talk to you in a few minutes.

MYERS: OK.

WALLACE: And we are staying in the Middle East now. Another Jewish settlement is fast being emptied. Israel's pullout from Gaza is proceeding better than Israeli officials originally expected.

Our John Vause is in the settlement of Gadid, where an agreement was reached earlier today to end a protest there.

John, good to see you. I know that there were some tense moments, but it seems as if a settlement has been reached?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, Kelly. In fact, "tense" is probably even a little bit too strong to describe what happened here. This is very relaxed, especially compared to the events of Kfar Darom last night.

It's all pretty much over. We still have three protesters on the roof of this community building. It is a library.

You can see now these three men waving Israeli flags, hugging each other. Earlier, they were yelling at police, "We are good men. Look at us. We are good men." They are probably the last holdouts here in the settlement of Gadid.

Now, earlier in this building over here, which is a synagogue, just over here to my left, to your right, is the synagogue. Now, inside the synagogue earlier today, there were about 85 protesters. Now, those protesters, most of them came from outside of Gadid. There were very few people who were actually residents of Gadid inside the synagogue. And, in fact, they reached a deal ultimately with the police that they would leave quietly, that they would be carried out one by one, that the would be carried out one at a time from the synagogue.

And many went kicking and -- well, some went kicking and screaming. Some were crying. But in the most part, it was all pretty quiet in the end. They were all carried out by the police.

And then, the only real tense moments, I guess, Kelly, were this morning, when the police first arrived. The gates of the settlement were locked, and so they used an army front-end loader to smash open those gates. And there were some burning roadblocks as they came in. Some tires had been soaked in oil and had been set on fire, and there was some other debris on the road.

Now, if we could just come back to our live camera position here, what we have is the bus. This is where all the protesters have now been boarded onto the bus. There'll be a number of buses.

These protesters will now be taken away to Besheva (ph), a town not far from here. Now, as far as the protesters go, they will be dropped off at the town. The police effectively saying, well, you made your way here illegally, you can now find your own way home.

It will be a different situation, though, for the residents of this settlement of Gadid. The government is trying to find them temporary accommodations. Some of them will be put up in housing, others will be put up in these temporary demountable homes.

They're calling them cara (ph) villas. They're meant to be these luxury-style of temporary housing. And that is where they will stay until they can make more permanent arrangements -- Kelly. WALLACE: John, you've been doing incredible reporting today and yesterday. As we were mentioning, the situation in Kfar Darom incredible to watch from our vantage point. I wonder if you had a chance to talk to any of the -- of the Israeli defense forces, the soldiers themselves, to ask what it was like for them personally to have to go in and kind of forcibly pull people out of that synagogue and carry them away.

VAUSE: Yes, I didn't talk to -- didn't talk to the soldiers, because it was effectively a police operation. The soldiers were on the sidelines.

I spoke with a couple of the police, the riot police who were involved in that confrontation with the protesters. They said it was very, very difficult, especially in a synagogue, a holy place, a symbol of Israel, for them to go in there to face women and children who were kicking and screaming, to be pelted and to be involved in these violent confrontations with fellow Israelis, with fellow Jews. They said it was a very, very difficult day.

But they did say that they were ready for it, that they had been counseled about it. They were told what to expect.

It all played out pretty much how they expected it to happen, and they say they're dealing with it now. It is over. The worst, they believe, as far as the resistance to this disengagement plan, is now over -- Kelly.

WALLACE: And of course, John, what is going to happen as we enter the Sabbath, the Jewish Sabbath Friday night, into Saturday? Operations will cease probably for the 24-hour period, is that right?

VAUSE: Yes, that's right. I'm just checking my watch now. It's a quarter past 12:00 here local time. The police hoping to have this wrapped up by 2:00. So an hour and 45 minutes away from now.

That's definitely going to happen. This settlement's almost completely done, which will now mean 17 settlements cleared out, just four to go. They will take place on Sunday -- those evacuations will take place on Sunday and Monday.

But as you say, over the Jewish Sabbath, all operations will cease. Everything should be wrapped up by the end of Monday, possibly Tuesday morning -- Kelly.

WALLACE: John, we thank you so much. You're doing incredible work over there.

John Vause, reporting from Gadid, Gaza, the Jewish settlement there that's being evacuated on this day.

Still to come this morning on this Friday edition of DAYBREAK, are more African nations facing the same famine devastating Niger? We'll hear from our Africa correspondent Jeff Koinange at 33 past the hour.

At 40 past the hour, a hot summer item is becoming a hard sell. We'll see how gas prices are melting the summer ice cream market.

And at 50 past the hour, how to help prevent the deadliest form of cancer.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: And we are continuing to follow breaking news in the Middle East this hour. Two incidents are reported.

Israel's defense minister says rockets have been fired into the Israeli tourist city of Eilat on the Red Sea from Jordan. No casualties are reported.

The other incident reports of a mortar or rocket being fired at a U.S. Navy vessel docked in the Jordanian Red Sea port city of Aqaba. The explosives missed the ship and reportedly hit a warehouse.

Aqaba is in the Gulf of Aqaba, just across from Eilat, Israel. We do not know if these two incidents are related, but we will bring you more information on both of these stories as we get in here on DAYBREAK.

Turning now to a story here in the United States, the BTK sentencing. Dennis Rader, the once anonymous man who terrorized a Kansas community with killing after killing begins serving a life sentence today for the BTK murders. Relatives of the 10 people he killed faced him down in court, giving gut-wrenching testimonials of the anguish they endured.

CNN's Chris Lawrence reports from Wichita, Kansas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would ask that you stand, Mr. Rader.

CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two days of grisly testimony, seemingly right out of a horror movie, culminated in the sentencing of Wichita's BTK killer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd just like for him to suffer for the rest of his life.

LAWRENCE: Victims of Dennis Rader, daughters, husbands, sons, and mothers, given their moment to confront the man they call a monster.

CARMEN OTERO MONTOYA, JULIE OTERO'S DAUGHTER: Although we have never met, you have you seen my face before. It is the same face you murdered over 30 years ago, the face of my mother, Julie Otero.

I will not address you as "Mr. Rader," because "mister" is a word of respect, as in "Mister can you help me?" Not "Mister, are you going to kill me?" UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have some afterlife scenarios for him on the day he dies. Nancy and all of his victims will be waiting with God and watching him as he burns in Hell.

STEPHANIE KLINE, VICKI WEGERLE'S DAUGHTER: My mother begged for her life; yet he showed no remorse. He saw that she had a family and a little boy, right there in the house with her, yet he continued with his sick plan. I ask you today, Your Honor, to show no remorse for him.

LAWRENCE: Rader's detached facade appeared to crack while listening to some of the testimony; at times wiping away tears. Many family members left the courtroom before Rader could address the court. In his rambling testimony, he compared the lives of some of his victims to that of his own.

DENNIS RADER, BTK KILLER: She would have been a lot like my daughter at that age. Play with her Barbie dolls. She liked to write poetry; I like to write poetry. She liked to draw; I like to draw.

LAWRENCE: The confessed BTK killer issued many thanks during his statement, even to the police. But he also pointed out details he felt were inconsistent during the hearing.

RADER: Everybody knows Rader has to complain a little bit. So I would like to do minor ones, not because I want to complain today, but I want to set the record. This is my last time...

LAWRENCE: Rader said he would face up to the man himself.

RADER: Now that I've confessed, put myself out to let everyone know what's going on, I expect to heal and to have life. And, hopefully someday, God will accept me.

LAWRENCE: In his final statement, Rader apologized to the victims' families, saying there is no way he could ever repay them.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Wichita, Kansas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: More news "Across America" this morning.

Take a look at this landing by an American Airlines jet in Las Vegas. You see it there. A person riding by captured the rough landing on videotape. Wow.

The jet's right wing tips scraped the runway during the landing on Sunday, but the pilot quickly corrected things and landed without further incident. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

A tragedy at a tiger sanctuary in Kansas. Seventeen-year-old high school senior Halle Hindebrand (ph) was having her picture taken with one of the tigers when it broke free from its handler and killed her.

These are other tigers at the sanctuary. The one that attacked the teen was killed by handlers.

And the family of Coretta Scott King says she will be going through extensive rehabilitation. A cardiologist at Piedmont Hospital says the widow of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. suffered a mild heart attack and a major stroke. King entered the Atlanta hospital Tuesday. The doctor says she is unable to move much of the right side of her body and cannot speak.

Well, here is a story for all of you with any kids in school. Almost half -- almost half of American students say they feel unsafe in their schools. This is according to a new survey of high school students. Kids in city schools are more likely to feel unsafe than kids in suburban or rural schools.

In Red Lake, Minnesota, the school board has decided to close the high school campus there. That is in response to security concerns following the school shootings which took place. Also, middle and high school students will no longer be allowed to bring backpacks to school. The board will also increase the number of armed officers at the school.

You'll recall last March a 16-year-old student killed seven people at the school and two others before shooting himself.

Chad, this is all very grim news, I think. And if you're talking about more than half of the kids feel unsafe, how much can they focus on their studies?

MYERS: You know, and I went to school 20-something years ago. So I don't remember ever feeling that.

You know, I never felt that I was unsafe in school. And we had no guards, we had -- but we want to know what you think now this morning, because this is actually our DAYBREAK question of the day.

School safety: what's the answer? More armed guards, metal detectors? Oh, my gosh. Where are we going here?

Give us your ideas. DAYBREAK@CNN.com -- Kelly.

WALLACE: And Chad, as you know, a busy news day here on DAYBREAK.

Following two incidents in the Middle East. Separate rocket attacks. We are going to go live to our Paula Hancocks in Jerusalem right after this break.

This is DAYBREAK for Friday. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: And good morning to you. From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK for Friday.

I'm Kelly Wallace, in today for Carol Costello. Thanks for waking up with us. Right now, here are the stories in the news.

A rocket was fired at a U.S. Navy ship in the Jordanian Red Sea port city of Aqaba today. A U.S. military official tells CNN the rocket missed. No American sailors or Marines were hurt. The ships, the Kearsarge and the Ashland, sailed out of the port after the incident.

Also in that area, Israeli officials say two rockets were fired at the airport in the Red Sea resort of Eilat. Those rockets coming from Jordan. The rockets did not detonate, but made a crater upon impact on a nearby road. No injuries there either. It is not known right now if the two incidents are related.

Pope Benedict XVI plans to speak and pray at a synagogue in Germany about 30 minutes from now. He will be the second Roman Catholic pope to visit a synagogue. The pontiff is in Cologne, Germany, for World Youth Day ceremonies.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is in Peru today. He is trying to strengthen U.S. ties with Latin America and gauge the influence of Cuba and Venezuela in the region.

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