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American Morning
Israeli Warplanes Target Northern Beirut; Israel Targets Al- Manar TV; Target: Gibson
Aired August 04, 2006 - 06:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening this morning, a pro- Hezbollah rally in Iraq. Take a look at some live pictures from Iraqi TV. Tens of thousands of Shiite Muslims are gathering in Baghdad's Sadr City last night.
And another story, the voting in the U.S. Senate, the voting on a bill that could have raised the minimum wage. It didn't happen, though. It was voted down. It would have raised it by more than $2. The proposal included a tax cut for the wealthy.
And you might want to turn down that AC a little bit today. The sizzling heat wave finally breaking in the eastern half of the country. Expected relief from Boston to Atlanta.
So good news weather-wise.
Welcome back, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rick Sanchez, filling in for Miles O'Brien.
So good to be here again.
O'BRIEN: And it's nice to have you. Thank you very much.
Let's talk a little bit about this expanded bombing campaign by Israel in southern Lebanon. Israeli warplanes are now targeting parts of northern Beirut, taking out several bridges.
Brent Sadler has done a tour of parts of that area. He's live in Beirut for us this morning.
Talk a little bit, Brent, about what you saw when you did that tour.
BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Soledad.
Yes, the Israeli air force bombed several bridges connecting Beirut to the northern Lebanese border with Syria. I just got back to the capital after surveying the damage, and I can tell you, seeing from these pictures the level of destruction of the main bridge, about a 200-yard span, was quite devastating.
The attacks happened, Soledad, in the Christian heartland of Lebanon, north of the Lebanese capital, and they haven't seen this sort of infrastructure damage since the start of this conflict more than three weeks ago. And it really has had the effect of galvanizing Christians who have split over the issue of Hezbollah's arms and Hezbollah's role as a resistant movement within this country, now unifying Christians, according to some politicians there, because they have to stand as one as Israel continues to pound away at Lebanese infrastructure in this fashion.
Officials here warning that the country, already under a state of siege, is now being dragged to its knees day by day -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Brent, can you give us sort of a lay of the land, especially in the north now? About how many bridges are we talking about would link, you know, basically Syria and the northern suburbs there? And are you seeing devastation on all those bridges?
SADLER: No, the main bridge, the one that I was just describing that we've seen the pictures of, this multi-highway bridge, that has been completely cut, flattened. There's concern that there is somebody caught under that rubble, presumably dead, really given the level of devastation, according to eyewitnesses on the ground. But there's still a rescue effort going on right now.
There were three other bridges that were hit. They are still passable. But, in effect, this is an attempt by Israel, militarily speaking, to cut once and for all the main supply routes from Syria, from the north and from the east, through the Bekaa Valley, into Lebanon, possibly a supply line, the Israeli military would argue. But for the Lebanese as a whole, this deals another devastating blow to their psyche as they see day by day more of their infrastructure damaged.
Already, the bill for this attack on the infrastructure runs at over $2 billion, and it's rising every single day -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Brent Sadler for us this morning.
Brent, thank you.
He's in Beirut today.
Israel's assault into southern Lebanon had some deadly consequences. Arab networks are now reporting that at least three Israeli soldiers were killed in the fighting with Hezbollah guerrillas.
CNN's Matthew Chance joins us from northern Israel.
Matthew, what is the latest from the border where you are?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Well, the fighting is still as ferocious as it has been over the past several days, with Israeli soldiers really battling with Hezbollah fighters in about 20 villages now, according to the Israeli military officials that we've spoken to, in southern Lebanon. They have really been pouring ground troops into that part of the country, possibly as many as 10,000 ground troops in southern Lebanon right now, fighting from village to village, from town to town, to try and establish what Israel wants to call it buffer zone in southern Lebanon, north of the Israeli border.
A broad strip of territory, which, what's emerged out of then (INAUDIBLE) that have been coming from the Israeli government would be held on to by the Israeli forces, or at least controlled by them, until such times as a multinational force is decided upon at the United Nations Security Council. Watching very closely developments there in the negotiations, and until it is actually deployed on the ground, as well.
As you know, Soledad, that could take many weeks, indeed, for some kind of force to actually arrive there. And so we could see Israeli boots on the ground in southern Lebanon for some time to come, and that will undoubtedly mean clashes with Hezbollah, fighters and casualties that are mounting on both sides -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Matthew Chance for us with an update on what is happening in northern Israel.
Matthew, thanks -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Some weather information that has turned into a serious story for many people around the country, and there is finally, we understand, some relief from this wave of heat in parts of the Northeast.
Chad Myers is at the CNN Center to bring us up to date.
What's going on, Chad?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you picked a good week to go to New York, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Thanks, my friend.
(WEATHER REPORT)
SANCHEZ: Thanks, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
SANCHEZ: Well, happening this morning, researchers at Colorado State University are saying that this hurricane season won't be as bad as earlier predicted, and it probably won't include a monster storm like Katrina either. But they say there is a good chance of at least one intense hurricane making landfall in the U.S. this year.
More problems today for the flooded city of El Paso. Up to 2,000 people being asked to leave their homes because a major dam in Mexico is on the verge of breaking, they say. The mayor says that if it happens, up to six million gallons of water could rush into the city.
A 16-year-old Indiana girl got the surprise of her life when she crashed her SUV into a tree. More than 80,000 angry honey bees suddenly came swarming off. Firefighters used water and foam to fight the bees, but it wasn't enough. Two people had to be hospitalized.
Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who is considering a run for the presidency in 2008, is already sounding like a candidate. At a speech in South Carolina yesterday, Huckabee spoke in favor of a ban on gay marriage. South Carolina voters will decide on a proposed amendment to the state's constitution. That comes up in November.
"American Idol" winner Ruben Studdard doesn't need a huge audience to sing. No. In fact, just one person will do it.
Studdard serenaded a 6-year-old Alabama girl with throat cancer yesterday. Erica Garrett (ph) met her idol through the Magic Moments organization. Her requested song, appropriate enough, "I Need an Angel."
Hundreds of people in Minnesota flipped, twisted and jumped, hoping to make their way into the record books. Nearly 1,000 taking part in the event. The results still have to be certified for the largest number of simultaneous cartwheel records.
There you go. You've done cartwheels, I'm sure, right?
O'BRIEN: Oh, each and every day with joy. On Fridays, usually, just about 10:01 a.m.
SANCHEZ: It's the right question on the right day. It's all about timing.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, why Microsoft says it wants hackers to try to crack into its newest Windows operating system. Andy's going to mind your business with that just ahead.
SANCHEZ: Also, a look at the growing Hollywood backlash against Mel Gibson. One actor is even pledging to never work with Gibson again. We'll tell you who it is.
We'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
As the barrage from Hezbollah continues into Israel and Israeli aircraft launch dozens of airstrikes overnight, we continue to update on what's happening in the Middle East. In fact, one of the first targets on Israel's hit list was Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV. Israel says it's a propaganda tool for Hezbollah.
Ibrahim Moussawi is the chief editor for foreign news for the Hezbollah station.
Nice to see you, sir. Thanks for talking with us.
Let's begin with some of the numbers, if we can. The numbers we have, roughly 644 Lebanese civilians and soldiers have died, well over 2,000 have been injured.
Oh, I'm sorry. Are you having trouble hearing me, sir? IBRAHIM MOUSSAWI, HEZBOLLAH MEDIA EXECUTIVE: They're asking me here to count to five.
She's talking to me.
O'BRIEN: OK. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to ask whoever is talking to you, sir, to stop talking to you. And if you can hear me, then we'll just continue on, OK?
Can you hear me?
MOUSSAWI: Yes. Yes, I'm sorry.
O'BRIEN: Fantastic. Wonderful. Let's begin again, then. I'll repeat my question.
I want to start with the numbers -- 644, more or less, Lebanese civilians and soldiers have been killed. Well over 2,000 have been injured. Israel would say those numbers are so high because Hezbollah is basically putting troops and its fighters in the residential areas, hospitals, schools, homes.
How do you respond to those charges?
MOUSSAWI: Absolutely wrong. Hezbollah is not launching any attacks against the northern towns of occupied Palestine from residential areas, from hospitals or schools. Actually, this has been proved even by the military experts.
They say the kind of rockets that Hezbollah is launching can never be in any way launched from residential areas because those people who are launching them would be killed. So it needs open fields, it needs valleys and orchards, and you have many of them in the south of Lebanon. This is one thing Hezbollah is fighting on the border line and the bordering villages with occupied Palestine, inflicting damage on the Israeli soldiers and personnel and the military personnel in the first place.
O'BRIEN: So you're saying that those 2,000 rockets that have already been fired into Israel, those have all come from basically barren areas nowhere near residential areas, as Israel would claim?
MOUSSAWI: Absolutely. I mean, they have to produce and prove all that. They said something about during the Qana massacre, the famous Qana that they committed -- the massacre that Hezbollah launched rockets from that area. And then after one day they said, no, there has never been any kind of launching rockets.
They don't need -- I mean, after all, Hezbollah is not going to launch these kinds of rockets from residential areas for one simple and clear reason. They are fighting to defend their people. Their families are there, their fathers, mothers, sons and daughters. How can they possibly do something to kill their own families?
O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about the civilian casualties, frankly, on both sides of this conflict. This is what the Israeli prime minister, Olmert, had to say.
Take a listen, if you will.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EHUD OLMERT, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Every time a civilian is killed by an Israeli, we consider it as a failure. And we regret it very much, because it's never been our strategy, and we don't want to achieve it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Would Hezbollah say the same thing about the civilians who have been killed in this conflict, the 27 Israeli civilians, many of them children, who have been killed?
MOUSSAWI: Absolutely. I mean, Hezbollah, from the beginning, they're not targeting civilian targets. They're fighting military for military. It is the Israelis who has started this.
Ever since Hezbollah made this operation and captured two Israeli soldiers, they said we need indirect negotiations. And, as well, the Israelis responded by targeting the infrastructure, destroying the infrastructure, bridges, seaports, ports, imposing a total blockade on the country and killing more than 1,000 civilians so far.
I mean, if you take the portion, this is disproportionate, of course.
O'BRIEN: So, when Olmert says, "We regret killing civilians," Hezbollah would not say, "We also regret killing Israeli civilians"?
MOUSSAWI: You have to address this to Hezbollah. I don't speak on behalf of Hezbollah. But I can tell you very well that Sheik Nasrallah himself said, "We don't want to target the civilians. This is collateral damage that is taking place, and we are sorry for anything that happened." He even apologized for things that happened.
Everybody knows that. It's in the tape. I don't know whether it reached you or not.
O'BRIEN: Yesterday, in fact, Nasrallah said a threat, to hit Tel Aviv, in fact. Is Hezbollah capable, do you know, of hitting Tel Aviv with rockets? Was that a threat of something else, not necessarily rockets? Can you elaborate on that for me?
MOUSSAWI: Absolutely. Of course, absolutely.
Actually, when Hezbollah says something, when Sheik Nasrallah says something, I believe the Israeli audience, they believe him more than they believe their leaders. He has every credit to be believed.
We believe him, everybody believes him because he's a serious, straightforward, honest leader. This is one thing. And the other thing is that Hezbollah, when they are threatening, they are saying it is a kind of reaction to an Israeli action. If they bombard Beirut proper, the center of Beirut, Tel Aviv is going to be bombarded. It's not that Hezbollah is going to start this. Hezbollah will respond to any attack by a retaliatory deterrent attack, not an avenged one.
O'BRIEN: Ibrahim Moussawi is the chief editor for foreign news at Al-Manar television in Lebanon, a target of Israeli airstrikes.
Thanks for talking with us, sir. Appreciate it.
A sharp turn now. We're going to talk a little bit about the allergy report.
Here's Chad.
MYERS: Good morning, Soledad.
Ragweed pollen now beginning to show up across parts of the Great Lakes and the Midwest. That is the one that has all those little fuzzy pieces coming out and affects your nose the most. We do have moderate pollen across parts of the Southeast, the Midwest, and parts of the West, as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Well, Mel Gibson still the talk of all the radio shows, around the water coolers. You know, no, it's not stopping yet. In fact, many Hollywood stars have actually been reluctant to comment about Mel, but there are some exceptions.
CNN's Brooke Anderson has our report this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Mel Gibson, actor, director, producer, anti-Semite." Strong words from one of Gibson's fellow actors, Rob Schneider, who placed an open letter to the entertainment community in the Hollywood trade paper, "Daily Variety."
In it, he responds to the statements Gibson made during his DUI arrest by saying, "I, Rob Schneider, a half-Jew, pledge from this day forth to never work with Mel Gibson even if Mr. Gibson offered me the lead role in "Passion of the Christ 2."
While shrouded in a veil of sarcasm, Schneider's sentiments, like others from the world of entertainment, represent a growing Hollywood backlash against Gibson.
BARBARA WALTERS, "THE VIEW": I don't think I want to see any more Mel Gibson movies.
JOY BEHAR, "THE VIEW": He needs to be welcomed into the Jewish community by a public circumcision.
ANDERSON: The creator of "MASH" and "Tootsie," Larry Gelbart, had this wounding message for Gibson posted on columnist Army Archerd's Web site: "You managed to con everyone, sir, including those of your own faith." He goes on to call Gibson "a man who so stokes the bonfires of bigotry."
(on camera): While a handful of Hollywood power players have spoken out about Gibson's actions, there are others who still remain silent.
RICHARD SHICKEL, "TIME" MAGAZINE CRITIC: They may have to do business with him, so nobody's going to openly criticize him, which I think is really cowardly.
ANDERSON (voice-over): But others are wondering, where are Gibson's famous friends in his time of need? That's a question William Donohue, president of the Catholic League, wants answered.
WILLIAM DONOHUE, PRESIDENT, CATHOLIC LEAGUE: When people have fallen, they need -- they need their friends at that moment. Not when he's apologized successfully to the Jewish community, not two months out. They need it now. So where the hell are these people?
ANDERSON: CNN has reached out to numerous Hollywood actors and directors who have worked closely with Gibson. The resounding response, "No comment."
SHICKEL: You don't see any of his former co-stars rushing to defend him.
ANDERSON: So, while this tarnished Hollywood A-lister struggles with a public shunning by the people he works with, the world waits to see who will stand by him.
Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: And, of course, it doesn't seem that everyone is raising their hands at once.
Andy is "Minding Your Business," knows a little bit about what happens in the business world when something like this happens.
Usually it's product-related, though, right?
ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE": Yes. I thought it was a very good move by Rob Schneider's publicist, right? Get him out there.
O'BRIEN: I didn't realize he was up for "Passion of the Christ 2," actually, Rob Schneider.
SERWER: Yes, right.
O'BRIEN: He does more of those gigolo movies, doesn't he?
SERWER: Yes, he does. SANCHEZ: Now, obviously, that was very tongue in cheek on his part.
SERWER: I think so. You know, it was funny. Maybe. I thought it was a good move by his publicist. That's where -- we'll leave it at that.
Some business news coming up to talk about. An insurance company the Fed says scammed thousands of soldiers pays a heavy price.
Plus, Microsoft cozies up to its harshest critics.
We'll tell you about that coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back.
An insurance company accused of taking advantage of thousands of U.S. military members settles up.
Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business." He's good enough to join us now with this.
Good morning.
SERWER: Good morning, Rick.
I mean, this is a story that really can tee you off when you hear about this. This is a major insurance settlement by a company that federal authorities say scammed U.S. servicemen and women out of thousands and thousands of dollars.
They're going to be paying $70 million to settle this suit; $10 million goes directly to 57,000 service members. The balance will go to 35,000 others over the course of these insurance products.
These were poor-performing, and the Fed say scam-like products by the American Amicable Life Insurance Company. Don't you just love that name?
And get this -- this company is banned for five years from operating on military bases, really taking advantage of young service members. And it's just the kind of thing that, again, really just burns me up.
And another story I want to tell you about this morning concerns Microsoft. And this really is a situation where Microsoft is inviting all the foxes in the forest to come and check out their new hen house. And I'll explain.
Microsoft has a new operating system called Vista, and the company has invited 3,000 security experts and hackers to test out the new software.
SANCHEZ: Interesting. O'BRIEN: They always encourage -- I mean, I think that, you know, obviously, you want to know before rather than later that your software is vulnerable.
SERWER: Right.
O'BRIEN: Makes sense to me.
SERWER: And they faced a lot of criticism, Soledad, about problems with security in their software. So this is the kind of thing that they really need to do, according to experts.
So we will be watching that.
Next hour coming up, we'll be talk about Apple Computer and its problems with stock options.
In fact, the next hour of AMERICAN MORNING begins right now.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, Andy.
Beirut battered by bombs again. The new round of airstrikes now hitting outside the usual Hezbollah strongholds.
SANCHEZ: War crime allegations from an AWOL Iraqi war vet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know people that killed prisoners. I know people that killed innocent people. I was ordered to kill innocent people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Now he's come back to the United States, hoping his stories of what went on in Iraq can make a difference and can keep him, he says, from going to jail.
Also, where is Raul? Fidel Castro's brother may be in charge, but so far he's been a no-show.
O'BRIEN: And the airlines are struggling to fill their seats, we're told. So why is everybody getting bumped from their flights?
And there's this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you wanted to eat foie gras, you have to go to places like Evanston, just north of the city.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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