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CNN Live Sunday

Beirut Comes Under Daylight Attack; Connecticut Senate Race Heats Up

Aired August 06, 2006 - 19:00   ET

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

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Haifa, Israel, hit again and hit hard. Hezbollah ramps up the attack as rockets rain down across the region. Beirut, Lebanon, battered by missiles in a rare daylight raid as both sides aim for maximum devastation.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: We are urging all states of the Security Council now to back this resolution.

VAUSE: But will a resolution work?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This draft resolution is a recipe for the continuation of the war.

VAUSE: Or is time running out? This is a special edition of CNN LIVE SUNDAY: CRISIS IN THE MIDDLE EAST.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: It's 7:00 p.m. in the eastern U.S., where we have been watching major developments out of Israel and Lebanon. From CNN's global headquarters, I'm Carol Lin.

VAUSE: Hello, I'm John Vause in Jerusalem. It is 2:00 a.m. Monday morning here. It has been a day when both Israel and Hezbollah seemed determined to inflict as much damage as possible before the U.N. votes on a resolution calling for a cease-fire.

LIN: John, and as always, CNN is going to bring you the most complete and up-to-date coverage. We have correspondents all across the region and on the front lines of this unfolding crisis.

Right now, we want to catch everybody up with our war bulletin. At least 15 Israelis were killed today in Hezbollah rocket attacks. Three people died in Haifa, when rockets rained down on a neighborhood just before dark. And earlier, 12 Israeli reservists were killed and 14 wounded in a rocket strike on a kibbutz. It was the deadliest attack on the Jewish state in 26 days of fighting.

Also today, Israeli air attacks on Lebanon killed at least 14 people; the targets included Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut's southern suburbs.

Now, nearly four weeks into the Middle East conflict, Israel has suffered its bloodiest day yet. It is early Monday morning in the Middle East now. Coming to us live from Jerusalem, CNN's John Vause.

John, a busy day. VAUSE: Indeed, Carol. What is not known at this stage: Is this a major escalation in this conflict or the last all-out offensive by both sides ahead of that vote by the U.N. for a cessation of hostilities?

Earlier this evening, the Israeli port city of Haifa was hit by a barrage of rockets, leaving at least three people dead and more than 100 wounded. Two residential buildings in an Arab neighborhood partially collapsed after taking direct hits. Many of the dead and injured were trapped beneath the rubble.

The Israeli military says the rockets were Syrian-made. They carried a warhead with 100 pounds of explosives and were fired from the southern Lebanese town of Qana. Those rocket launchers have since been destroyed by an Israeli air strike.

All up today, Israel says more than 180 rockets have fallen in the north of this country, and one single rocket killed more Israelis than any other, 12 reservist soldiers, civilians called up to do their national service, waiting outside a makeshift headquarters in the small farming village of Kfar Giladi. They're reporting to duty, many after weekend leave.

It was a sustained attack. Witnesses say it lasted for 15 minutes, possibly more. The rockets landed during the first hour of the Israeli cabinet meeting here in Jerusalem. The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, has instructed his government ministers not to publicly comment on their draft U.N. resolution calling for a cessation of fighting, but sources say Israel is pleased with the wording, but the Lebanese government and Hezbollah say it is inadequate, mostly because it would leave Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon.

Also today, Israel says it captured one Hezbollah militant responsible for the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers back on July 12th, a cross-border raid which sparked this conflict. Israel says he has confessed and is providing valuable information about the whereabouts and condition of the two missing soldiers.

Israeli air strikes, too, continued to pound southern Lebanon, in particular around the city of Tyre, killing at least 14 people. Israel claims to have killed almost 400 Hezbollah militants in the fighting to date.

And for the first time, the Lebanese capital of Beirut has come under daylight attack. Lebanese sources say two air strikes hit in the southern part of Beirut, not far from Hezbollah headquarters.

CNN's Jim Clancy is in Beirut tonight. He joins us now with more from the Lebanese capital.

Jim, you have been out and about; you have seen the damage. Tell us, what is your assessment?

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, the assessment has to be measured in the raw numbers: More than 700 Lebanese dead, most of them civilians; about 90 Hezbollah fighters estimated to have been killed in this conflict thus far; more than 2,700 other people have been wounded. So the stakes are very high now.

We're hearing the U.N. Security Council is not going to be voting on Monday on this draft resolution calling for a cease-fire because of demands coming from right here in Beirut, demands to incorporate some of the Lebanese demands into that resolution. So the debate there goes on. Meantime, when you look across Lebanon, the fires of conflict are still burning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY (voice-over): Thick, gray smoke rose above Beirut's skyline as a daylight bombing raid again targeted the southern suburbs. Beirut's fire brigade has been dodging the falling bombs, responding to smoldering ruins to douse flames and search for survivors.

This is the remains of a 10-story apartment block hit more than 24 hours earlier; completely flattened, it was a death trap for a family of three unable to flee along with other residents. A bicycle and teddy bear lie in the rubble along with bedding, furniture and other belongings.

Nearby, another apartment block, another bomb site. The fire is out, but anger still burns.

"Let Israel, America and Britain know they can't drive us away," declared this resident. "We are stronger than that. We are not afraid. If a bomb drops on us, we either die or keep standing. We don't run away."

There is uncommon conviction among residents of the southern suburbs, conviction Israel alone is not to blame, that the U.S. provided the bombs and together with Britain let Israel play a deadly military card in their neighborhoods for weeks, a conviction that Hezbollah deserves all of their support.

Many believe it is this sentiment on the street that is driving Arab diplomats to take a tougher stand in the conflict. Ahead of a major meeting Monday, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa arrived in the Lebanese capital, even as it shook from Israel's daylight strike.

His criticism of the draft U.N. cease-fire paled in comparison to government speaker Nabih Berri who said the draft resolution paid attention to Israel's demands but ignored Lebanon's needs. Berri, who is Lebanon's negotiator, said the draft was the result of dictation, not negotiation, and said he wanted no part of it.

"I thank them," Berri said sarcastically. "I was supposed to negotiate. They've relieved me of that responsibility, and I no longer have anything to do with it. Before it even comes up with a vote, I say, 'Merci. Au revoir,'" thanks and goodbye.

The Lebanese are concerned with more than the fate of two captured Israeli soldiers: They want their own prisoners freed and all Israeli troops off Lebanese territory. It's a tough stand. Like the fires that still smolder in Beirut, putting out the flames of this conflict is going to be tough, much tougher than anyone imagined that the outset.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saying this day that no one should expect a full, complete and immediate end to the hostilities, even if the Security Council votes on this draft resolution in the coming days. At the same time, a lot of people here in Lebanon, and probably in Israel as well, tonight are wondering whether this resolution is going to work at all -- John?

VAUSE: Jim, the Israelis have been maintaining for a number of days now that this military offensive of theirs has essentially broken the infrastructure of Hezbollah, that these rocket attacks are, in effect, a final flurry. Is there any way that you can assess if those claims are true?

CLANCY: Well, very difficult. You know, there was an assessment done some years back, in the year 2000, 2002, saying that Hezbollah had more than 10,000 rockets. How many have been hit, how many have been used up, it's hard to really estimate. There are some who insist here in the southern suburbs that Hezbollah has more and longer range rockets that they can bring in should this conflict drag on.

At the same time, in Lebanon, a lot of people are wondering, with all the sophisticated technology, why Israel hasn't even been able to take the Hezbollah television station, Al-Manar, off the air -- John?

VAUSE: Jim, thank you. CNN's Jim Clancy live for us tonight in Beirut.

Let's go back to CNN's headquarters and Carol Lin.

LIN: John, we're offering the audience the opportunity to take a fascinating inside look at Hezbollah, its weapons, and its warriors, and its mission. A special "CNN PRESENTS," hosted by Anderson Cooper, that's tonight at 8:00 Eastern.

Coming up, Joe Lieberman running for his political life. The Senate race that is all the buzz and the two men at battle.

Plus, the newest targets of war: children used as shields and caught in the crosshairs.

Also, they've lost limbs but not hope. We're going to show you why these Iraq war veterans are running in New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: All right. Before we go into other news, we want to bring you up to speed in our war bulletin.

At least 15 Israelis were killed today in Hezbollah rocket attacks. Three people died at Haifa when rockets rained down on a neighborhood around dusk. And earlier, 12 Israeli reservists were killed in a rocket strike in a kibbutz.

Also today, Israeli air attacks on Lebanon killed at least 14 people. The targets included Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut's southern suburbs.

And it is all the buzz on the blogs right now. We're going to turn you to political news. We're not leaving the Middle East for long, but this has really been a huge story, especially on the Internet: Lieberman versus Lamont. The two men are battling to see who's going to become Connecticut's Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate.

The race took a surprising turn last week when the "New York Times" endorsed the challenger, Ned Lamont. But Joe Lieberman got some good news today after four Connecticut newspapers endorsed him.

Now, in case you missed it, both candidates appeared separately today in taped interviews on ABC's "This Week." Lieberman and Lamont are making final campaign pushes before Tuesday's Democratic primary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: I know that I've taken a position on one issue, Iraq, which is not shared by a lot of other Democrats. My opponent is essentially saying to them, "Use this primary to vote against George Bush," but I'm not George Bush. I've been against Bush on most things, and I'm saying to people: This is about your future and which one of us can produce for you, protect your jobs, clean your environment, give you affordable health insurance and energy.

NED LAMONT (D), CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SENATE: I think we have a government that's not dealing with real issues. So, yes, I'm a liberal and I'm a progressive. I see health care as a problem, and I think it's time to solve it. I see have an energy dependence that's increasing. I see an energy Bill that was, I thought, a sellout to an awful lot of, you know, corporate interests.

And, frankly, I see a foreign policy that I think is in shambles, making our country less safe, destabilizing the Middle East, doing nothing for Israel's security, wasting an awful lot of money and lives over there that we ought to be investing in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Now, the reason why people are talking about this race is because there was a time when Senator Lieberman was considered bullet- proof. I mean, this veteran senator ran for vice president. Well, tonight he delivered his final campaign speech in New Haven, Connecticut. The topic: the war in Iraq.

Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley in New Haven, she joins us with reaction to the senator's speech.

Candy, I understand it ended a short time ago. How did it come across?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Actually, Carol, he's just now wrapping it up. They called this the "Come Home" speech. It was aimed at those Democrats that the campaign finds would like to support Joe Lieberman but are so angry about his support of the president over Iraq that they want to, quote, "send a message."

So this was a time for Joe Lieberman to say to those people from Connecticut, listen, let me try and explain what he believes are distortions. He went through a long litany of things with which he disagrees with George Bush, another long list of those things that he has done for the state of Connecticut.

And then he took on what has probably hurt him most of all, which was a statement he made late last year, when he warned Democrats that, when they criticized the president, we undermine his credibility at our peril. And Lieberman took that on tonight and said, listen, I did not ever mean to suggest that there is no room for dissent, because Democrats took that very personally and Ned Lamont, his opponent, has brought that up.

Lieberman said, "I don't need lessons on dissent in democracy and the place of dissent from Ned Lamont. I was part of the antiwar movement in the 1960s." Lieberman said what he was trying to say was, "Listen, if we use the war for partisan political purposes, we undermine the president and we undermine America's position in the world and the war in Iraq."

So this was a very pointed speech aimed at trying to address those questions that have come up about Senator Lieberman. He has tried, as you know, mightily -- and you heard in that sound bite from the morning show -- that he's tried to talk about the economy, and health care.

But this race has come down to the war. And one of the reasons it is so important is that many people believe that, if Joe Lieberman loses this primary, it will send shockwaves throughout the Democratic Party and shape the Democratic Party in the next years to come in the lead-up to the presidential race -- Carol?

LIN: Candy, is this really just about Lieberman's position on the war, or is there something else about Ned Lamont that is capturing the voters' attention?

CROWLEY: It's really in the -- well, what they see in the polling and what we've seen in the public polling has been that, when you talk to the Lamont supporters or when they poll them, some 60-plus percent say this is about a vote against Joe Lieberman. So it's been very much about Joe Lieberman, less about Ned Lamont.

There were other things that factor into this that concern Lieberman aides, the sense that he hasn't been attentive to the state of Connecticut. That is just death for a politician, if you are not paying attention to your constituents and what they need. So Lieberman has tried to address that. But this is very definitely not so much a pro-Lamont race as an anti-Lieberman race, and he is at this point trying very hard to push back and say, "Try to remember the things that I've done for you. Try to remember all the times I have opposed this president."

Carol, they are running around -- he had Senator Dodd with him. He had former Senator Max Cleland from Georgia with him tonight, saying this is a good Democrat. This is a good democrat. So you're really -- it's a very unusual primary for a Democrat of 18 years, the man who was the vice presidential candidate six years ago, having to say he's a Democrat.

LIN: You bet. Yes, well, Candy, you gave us the perspective we needed on that race. Thank you so much. Candy Crowley, part of the best political team on television.

Now, coming up, unthinkable cruelty, charges of rape, murder and cover-up. What happened inside this house in Iraq? Only a few American soldiers know for sure.

Plus, sectarian slaying. Many say Iraq is in the midst of an all-out civil war. But is it also on the brink of ethnic cleansing? We're going to explore a terrifying prospect.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: It was a shocking crime that drew the anger of millions of Iraqis, the allegations of rape, murder and conspiracy. The suspects are U.S. soldiers. And now the legal wheels are turning, and the eyes of Iraqis and Americans are watching. CNN's Harris Whitbeck has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The case revolves around what happened in this house in the town of Mahmoudiya one night early last march, accusations of rape, premeditated murder, destruction of evidence allegedly by five U.S. soldiers who manned a nearby checkpoint, Private First Class Bryan Howard, Sergeant Paul Cortez, Specialist James Barker, and Private First Class Jesse Spielman. Sergeant Anthony Yribe is not charged with participating in the rape and killings, but is charged with dereliction duty for having failed to report the incident to his superiors.

The hearing, run by a military investigating officer, is taking place on a U.S. base in Baghdad, Camp Victory. It is first step towards a possible court-martial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's ultimately tasked to determine whether there is a reasonable basis to believe that those crimes were committed. And then he simply advises the convening authority of his opinion, what he's been able to find.

WHITBECK: A sixth soldier, Private First Class Steven Green, is no longer in the service, having been discharged for a personality disorder in May. He is facing similar charges in a civilian court in the United States. Military prosecutors say the soldiers had been drinking the night of the crime that they went into the house, raped a woman whose age has not been determined, but according to the mayor of Mahmoudiya was only 14, and then killed her, her parents, and her 5-year-old sister before setting fire to their bodies.

Iraqi public opinion about the case revolves around jurisdiction and the immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts U.S. soldiers enjoy.

NOURI AL-MALIKI, PRIME MINISTER, IRAQ: We believe that the immunity given to international forces is what emboldened them to commit such crimes in cold blood. This requires that such immunity should be reconsidered. We affirm that we should participate in investigating crimes committed against the Iraqi people.

WHITBECK: But U.S. legal experts say the proceedings, which are being closely followed in Baghdad, will serve to assure confidence in the U.S. military justice system.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They will watch this process unfold. They will watch what a fair trial looks like, in accordance with due process and the presumption of innocence, and they will make their own judgments.

WHITBECK: Some have already made a judgment. Last month, an Islamic Web site posted video of two kidnapped U.S. soldiers who were beheaded and disemboweled in, quote, "revenge for our sister who was dishonored by one of the soldiers."

(on camera): The Article 32 hearing will determine whether there is enough evidence for courts martial to proceed. It is being described by some as a case that could be as potentially damaging to the U.S. military's image in Iraq as the Abu Ghraib prison cases were a few years ago.

Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Here's another shocking statistic. Some 14,000 civilians were killed in the first six months of this year in Iraq in the strife between Shiites and Sunnis. The United Nations says Iraqi civilian deaths hit 100 a day in June. Can you imagine if that happened in any city right here in the United States?

The days of rosy scenarios may be over. I talked with Vali Nasr of the Council on Foreign Relations, author of the book "The Shia Revival," and I asked him whether Iraq has gone beyond sectarian violence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALI NASR, "THE SHIA REVIVAL": I think so. I think it can be characterized as a low-level civil war or the early stages of a civil war, where each side is essentially using violence to intimidate civilians, to push them out of territory, and to establish control of territory in preparation for either a separation or an outright battle that might be coming.

LIN: And when you see the fighting between the Sunnis and the Shia, for example, the verbiage that we use is "sectarian violence." If that were to be replaced with "ethnic cleansing," would you agree with that? Is that what's happening on the ground?

NASR: For at least over a year now, this has been happening. It's just only become much more recently where one community uses violence, assassinations, killings, intimidation to push the other community out of that area completely.

It began in other cities in Iraq, but now it's really become a battle for Baghdad because that's the big price in Iraq. That's where there's the most amount of coexistence. And Shiites and Sunnis are busy essentially cleaning neighborhoods of the other community, in some ways dividing up the city among them.

LIN: So you would agree that ethnic cleansing is going on in Iraq as we speak?

NASR: Yes, ethnic cleansing by a different name. We can call it sectarian cleansing, but the Shiites are pushing Sunnis out of some neighborhoods, and Sunnis are pushing Shiites out of other neighborhoods. And they are using killing and assassination to get the job done.

LIN: So if the world were to call it ethnic cleansing, do you think the response to the problem would be different?

NASR: I think so. I think, in fact, many Iraqis would prefer that we used words like "civil war" and "ethnic conflict," because there is an experience in the West with what these terms mean, and therefore they might be much more an effective international response, resources be brought to bear on the problem in Iraq, and to prevent it from becoming much more.

LIN: But what are the consequences of using -- for the international community if it were to be described as ethnic cleansing if, in fact, people declared, "Yes, there is a civil war going on"?

NASR: Well, the first admission would be that the forces on the ground, that being the central Iraqi government, is incapable of handling a potential humanitarian and a genocidal conflict and that the international community, through the United Nations and other agencies, would have to bring humanitarian and security forces to prevent such a catastrophe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: That was Vali Nasr from the Council on Foreign Relations on the situation in Iraq and the words we use to describe it. We want to tell the truth.

Now, day 26 of the fighting, and the death and destruction in the Middle East is only getting worse. Up next, why both sides are ratcheting up for maximum impact. We're going to go back to CNN's John Vause in Jerusalem.

Plus, the most innocent victims of war. Why children are specific targets in battle now. CNN LIVE SUNDAY returns right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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