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Distribution Problems Frustrate Aid Workers in Lebanon; Israeli Family Grieves for Lost Reservist
Aired August 09, 2006 - 12:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We've been listening in to U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, as he stepped up to the microphone there. The efforts go on trying to get this cease-fire resolution moved up to a vote, in its efforts at this point.
We're going to continue coverage of that. And, in fact, we're going to join YOUR WORLD TODAY in progress.
I'm Daryn Kagan.
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: John Vause, reporting from Jerusalem. And Matthew Chance, our thanks to you, along the Israeli-Lebanese border -- Hala, in Beirut.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, in Beirut, Fionnuala, planes with much-needed aid have landed in the Lebanese capital, but the heavy fighting means that actually getting aid to those who need it is an almost impossible task in some cases.
Our Beirut bureau chief, Brent Sadler, has more from the Lebanese capital.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF (voice over): On a main road from Beirut to south Lebanon there are very few signs of life. The shop owners are long gone. Unknown numbers of businesses have been abandoned, locked and shuttered.
More than 70 bridges are in ruins across the country. Power lines are damaged. Water pipes are fractured. Israel's campaign to neutralize Hezbollah's rockets ignites more fires and smoke.
About a third of the population in Lebanon once lived in these rolling hills. But after four weeks of war, the conflict has uprooted as many as a million people.
Israel seems to be accelerating the airstrikes and may be preparing to push its army deeper into south Lebanon, attempting military moves that could overwhelm Hezbollah by forcing everyone out. Much of the south is now a no-go area. Emergency aid is blocked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been given to understand that there's no point in our even applying for clearance for concurrence to travel down to Tyre the next couple of days. SADLER: Israel drops repeated messages to the embattled Lebanese. "When we caught them," says this young refugees, "they were very warm, very hot, like fire."
The leaflets target Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's chief. "Hassan is playing with fire, and here is Lebanon burning," it reads. "Hassan gambled on your future and you are paying the price."
(on camera): It's becoming evermore difficult and dangerous to reach towns and villages here in south Lebanon. And Israel warns it will blast any vehicle moving south of the Litani River, cutting off the port city of Tyre. And here around the market town of Nabatiya (ph), I can hear Israeli warplanes dropping tons of bombs.
(voice over): Diplomatic haggling to end the month-long war brought a speedy return to Beirut of U.S. Middle East envoy David Welsh. He consulted with key officials as the Lebanese capital came under attack for the fourth straight day.
Hezbollah escorted journalists to what they described as civilian areas destroyed by recent strikes. This man says he moved his family out to safety, but chose to remain alone.
"There is no more southern suburbs," he explains. "It's been turned into a football field. But I'm staying, no matter what."
More than a selfless act of defiance, say Hezbollah officials, but a strongly-held conviction felt by many here to resist what they call Israeli aggression.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SADLER: Well, the southern suburbs of Beirut came under renewed Israeli fire just hours ago. This on a day when officials here confirm that the number of people killed in an Israeli attack in the district of Chiah (ph)in the southern suburbs was 41 dead and 65 injured.
Also, United Nations relief officials are warning of massive delays in bringing emergency help to Lebanon, humanitarian help as a result of Israel's continuing military offensive -- Hala.
GORANI: Brent, a quick question on the politics.
Fouad Siniora, the Lebanese prime minister, meeting the U.S. under secretary of state, David Welsh, here in Beirut. What came out of that?
SADLER: Not much coming out of that meeting at all, Hala. No statements from David Welsh or Siniora at this stage. But you can be sure, according to my political sources here, that some of the most important aspects of Lebanon's attempt to change that draft resolution will have been discussed. And we'll have to wait and see what happens in New York as to whether or not the United States and France are listening and able to act on what Lebanon says -- Hala.
GORANI: All right. Brent Sadler, our Beirut bureau chief.
And as Brent mentioned, there it is happening in New York at U.N. headquarters. We will be following developments there as the Arab League delegation continues to enter into discussions with some of the co-sponsors of the draft resolution, trying to get some language altered there.
We'll be following that throughout the hour -- Fionnuala, in Haifa.
SWEENEY: Well, Hala, Israelis are taking many casualties of their own, both civilian and military. One of the dozens of rockets that hit northern Israel over the weekend killed 12 army reservists. One of those soldiers had left the army years ago but was recalled only days before he died.
Paula Hancocks met his grieving family.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EILAN SHIMONI, FRIEND OF SHLOMI BUCHRIS: Shlomi was the sweetest (ph) person on earth. He was funny. He laughed a lot. He likes to travel. A huge quantity of friends,
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Eilan Shimoni shows me pictures of his best friends since the age of 3. Shlomi Buchris was one of 12 reserve soldiers killed on Sunday by a Hezbollah rocket, just days after being called up for duty.
SHIMONI: Shlomi loved the country very much. For him to serve in the army, usually in this time of crisis, you know, since this war, it was a privilege.
HANCOCKS: Shlomi was a reservist for the parachute unit. His day job was his life's ambition.
SHIMONI: This was Shlomi's project, the project of his life.
HANCOCKS: He was learning to breed exotic fish. His first major export was meant to be next month.
SHIMONI: He will know every fish by the name, by the color, by the age. The small fish born here, he called them his daughters and sons.
HANCOCKS: Shlomi never married. Instead, he lived and worked on the family farm with his father and two older brothers. His father tells us he was watching the news when they announced reservists had been killed. He says he saw a body wearing the shoes of his son's parachute unit. When Shlomi didn't answer his mobile, he knew.
Shlomi's father and brother had been in the same unit, and Shlomi had been named after his uncle who died in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
(on camera): More than 100 families live in this one village. Shlomi's family says that everybody knew him. He reported for duty the time same time as his close friend from a neighboring town. They died in the same attack and they were buried the same day.
(voice over): For Shlomi, at the age of 36, this would likely have been his last call-up for duty.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Now, let's get you more details on the diplomatic angle of this story.
The Security Council is anticipating a vote on a draft resolution on Thursday, although that's not what we're hearing from the Lebanese prime minister in the last few hours. Differences linger over an Arab demand for an immediate Israeli withdrawal.
The French president, Jacques Chirac, says abandoning efforts to secure an immediate cease-fire would be the "most immoral possible response." Washington has expressed reservations about an immediate truce. And during an announced visit to Beirut, the U.S. assistant secretary of state, David Welsh, met Lebanon's prime minister -- Fionnuala.
SWEENEY: Later in the program, we'll talk to a member of the Israeli security cabinet about its decision to expand the offensive and why it's taking so long to defeat Hezbollah.
GORANI: Up next, though, a political casualty of the Iraq war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: I'm looking forward to be called Connecticut's comeback kid!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Joe Lieberman loses a key Senate race, but vows to fight his way back on the political stage.
You are with YOUR WORLD TODAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SWEENEY: Welcome back to this special edition of YOUR WORLD TODAY.
I'm Fionnuala Sweeney, reporting from Haifa, Israel.
GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani in Beirut.
Well, there have been a stagger numbers of deaths in the Iraqi capital over the last month. Listen to this number.
A manager at the Baghdad morgue tells Reuters news agency that it received nearly 2,000 bodies last month alone. That's the highest tally in five months of rising sectarian violence in that country. The morgue says about 90 percent of the bodies suffered violent deaths, most of them with gunshot wounds to the head. The violence has forced U.S. commanders to send thousands more troops into the city to try to help take control of the streets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, SPOKESMAN, MULTINATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: What we do know is that these death squads, the anti-Iraqi elements, the terrorists out there, continue to try to embed themselves right in with the civilian population. That's a tactic they've been using.
They want to get in close to the civilian population. They want to make it extremely difficult to get to them without inflicting casualties on civilians. They know exactly what they're doing by where they're placing themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right. That was Williams Caldwell, the spokesman for the multinational force in Iraq.
Much of the violence is blamed on sectarian fighting that has risen since the bombing of that shrine in Samarra a few months ago -- Fionnuala.
SWEENEY: Well, growing American sentiment against the war played a big part in the defeat of a longtime senator from Connecticut as he sought his party's nomination for another term. Joseph Lieberman, a national figure as a former vice presidential candidate, says he'll now run as an Independent, although many Democrats are urging him not to do so.
As our Candy Crowley reports, he was bested by a relative unknown in a race watched across the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Call it a concession speech with asterisks. Joe Lieberman admitted defeat and went on with the race.
LIEBERMAN: For the sake of our state, our country, and my party, I cannot and will not let that result stand.
(APPLAUSE)
CROWLEY: To the great discomfort of his Democratic friends, Lieberman will run as an Independent. He thinks his Democratic supporters will forgive him for ignoring the primary results and that Independents and moderate Republicans will join in to give him the victory his own party did not. The asterisk was expected, but still stunning enough to outshine the star.
Ned Lamont, an obscure multimillionaire businessman, accepted his party's nomination the same way he got it, riding a huge wave of antiwar sentiment.
NED LAMONT (D), SENATE NOMINEE: We have 132,000 of our bravest troops stuck in the middle of a bloody civil war in Iraq, and I'd say it's high time we bring them home to the heroes' welcome.
(APPLAUSE)
CROWLEY: The results will be seen as a victory for the left side of the blogosphere, which discovered and fueled Lamont's antiwar campaign. And the results will be read through the prism of war, a simple for the war, against the war story line.
DAVID LIGHTMAN, "HARTFORD COURANT": It's going to be that Democrats are fervently opposed to this war, and if you support it, we don't want you.
CROWLEY: But it's more complicated than that in ways that may dilute the national implications. Lieberman is not just a politician supportive of a war gone sour. He's a one-time defender of George Bush in a party that detests him, a centrist in sharply partisan times, and, grumblers say, a senator so interested in the national scene, he forgot the people who gave him the platform.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was my opportunity to voice that. I don't really think Joe Lieberman has really listened to me or listened to many voters.
CROWLEY: Lamont said he hoped Lieberman would reconsider his decision to keep running and unite behind Democrats. Lieberman said Lamont was a polarizing partisan.
Nobody is quite sure where this is going, but they're on their way.
LAMONT: I'm proud to carry the banner as the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate.
(APPLAUSE)
LIEBERMAN: Tomorrow is a brand-new day. And tomorrow, we launch a new campaign to unite the people of Connecticut.
CROWLEY: Candy Crowley, CNN, Hartford, Connecticut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, that primary in Connecticut is just one measure of the widening opposition in America against the war in Iraq. According to a new CNN poll, 60 percent of Americans oppose the U.S. war in Iraq. That's the highest number ever really since the war began. Only 36 percent said they were in favor of the war.
Among Democrats polled, that number changes dramatically. Only 13 percent are in favor of the war, 86 percent are opposed -- Fionnuala.
SWEENEY: Well, still ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY, we'll have much more coming up.
As U.N. diplomats plan a vote to help end this war, Israel's security cabinet votes to expand it.
GORANI: And we will hear from a security cabinet member on how this decision might change chances for a cease-fire and a resolution.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta.
More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a few minutes.
First, though, let's check on stories making headlines here in the U.S.
We're following a developing story out of Washington, where the U.S. Navy says it's charged a sailor with espionage. Ariel Wineman (ph) has been held since March on desertion charges. Sources close to the case say the 21-year-old was apparently working for Russia. He served on the submarine the USS Albuquerque, and Navy sources say he likely had access to technical manuals and other material on the sub's weapons systems.
Some in Congress are demanding answers from oil giant BP. Much of the Alaskan pipeline is clogged. It needs to be replaced.
The company is already facing a criminal investigation for a March oil spill. And now blistering criticism of neglect of the pipeline system for years. Lawmakers in Washington are calling for hearings to look into the BP's maintenance of its pipelines.
The pipeline shutdown is unwelcome news for motorists already dealing with those sky-high gas prices, but the latest nationwide survey may reveal a surprise. AAA Motor Club says the national average for regular unleaded was about $3.03. That was per gallon yesterday. That is down a penny from the previous day and two cents shy of the AAA record recorded right after Hurricane Katrina. The storm devastated oil production along the Gulf of Mexico.
To Phoenix now. Two suspected serial killers are brought up on dozens of criminal charges. Dale Hausner and Samuel Dieteman were arrested on Thursday. They're accused of a year-long string of shootings that left seven people dead and many more people wounded. Police think the men took turns targeting people from Hausner's car.
Maurice Clarett, he became a teenage football star on the national stage, but the 2002 Fiesta Bowl has faded, and, boy, do his troubles just keep coming. The latest incident this morning in Columbus, Ohio.
The former Ohio State star was arrested after a highway chase. Police said he had four loaded guns and was wearing a bullet-proof vest. Officers used mace to subdue him. The stun gun they tried to use wouldn't penetrate the vest. Clarett is already awaiting trial on several robbery and weapons charges.
Let's see what the weather looks like today across the country. And actually, even outside the country there's interest.
Jacqui Jeras is looking at that.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: There certainly is. Hey, Daryn.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: "Bent, but not broken." Defiant words from Cynthia McKinney, the congresswoman from here in Georgia, even after her big defeat. She was soundly beaten in a Democratic primary runoff, losing to a former county commissioner. Despite that, McKinney delivered a fiery concession speech, blaming the media, also taking a swipe at electronic voting machines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CYNTHIA MCKINNEY (D), GEORGIA: Electronic voting machines are a threat to our democracy.
(APPLAUSE)
MCKINNEY: So let the word go out. We aren't going to tolerate any more stolen elections.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: No word yet on McKinney's plans after she leaves office.
There are these pictures, jaw-dropping brutality in a Texas liquor store. Watch what happens as the man comes to the counter with a liquor bottle.
It looks like he's going to walk away. Instead, he takes the bottle and slams the woman over the head.
Now, let me tell you first that the clerk is OK, but her young grandchildren did witness that attack. In fact, the robber went on to slam the cash register into the clerk as she lay on the floor bleeding.
Please released this surveillance tape and say a tipster led them to the suspect. The 34-year-old man is now charged with attempted capital murder.
The Arab League pushing for changes to a U.N. resolution. The league secretary-general will join Kyra Philips on "LIVE FROM." That happens at the top of the hour.
Meanwhile, YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a quick break.
I'm Daryn Kagan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SWEENEY: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Fionnuala Sweeney in Haifa, Israel.
GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani in Beirut. Here's some of the top stories we're following for you.
Violence in Iraq threatens to spiral out of control, especially in the capital. A manager at the Baghdad morgue says almost 2,000 bodies were brought there in July. That's prompted U.S. officials to reinforce troop strength in Baghdad, deploying some 12,000 American and Iraqi personnel to try to secure the capital.
Israeli's security cabinet has given the army the green light to push deeper into Lebanon. Troops will now attempt to secure a 20- kilometer-wide buffer zone running from the Israeli-Lebanon border to the Litani River. The wider ground war can only add to the frustration of relief workers trying to distribute aid. Planes loaded with supplies landed in Beirut Wednesday, but agencies say the heavy fighting is making it very difficult to help -- to get the help to where it's needed most -- Fionnuala.
SWEENEY: Well, let's get some more details now on Israel's decision to widen the war in Israel. And for that, we're joined from Jerusalem by Isaac Herzog, member of the Israeli Security Cabinet.
Thanks very much for joining us, Mr. Herzog. My first question to you is, why expand the war 20 kilometers into Lebanon when you can barely hold and capture the places along the border?
ISAAC HERZOG, ISRAELI SECURITY CABINET MEMBER: First of all, we are holding and capturing, and we hitting the Hezbollah in a very substantial way. The only problem, the main problem that we've got in the last few days, is that, unfortunately, the short-range missiles have been launched in a barrage on Israel, on northern Israel, every day in the last few days. And of course, it is our duty and obligation as a government and as an army that defends its people to make sure that this activity will stop. Namely, we have to take care of these areas so that we make sure that they cannot launch missiles from those areas.
SWEENEY: But as you take care of these areas, as you put it, the big news in Israel today, at least on the political/military front, was the sidelining of Israel's military northern commander. What does it say about the mistakes or the challenges, perhaps, that have not been met by the Israeli military in this war with Hezbollah?
HERZOG: I think it's an exaggerated description. It's basically an appointment of somebody from the general staff, together with the regional commander. And it makes sense. It happened in almost every war. It makes things easier and simpler. So I won't elaborate more than is necessary on this.
I must tell you that we will now expose more and more the results of our activity in Lebanon, as we've exposed today some of the incredible arm armament that was caught, of course prisoners that were caught and a lot of infrastructure that was demolished. And you'll see for yourself that there are a lot of achievements.
Our main goal, though, is to make sure that no 150 missiles or 200 missiles are launched at Israel. This doesn't make any sense. Now (INAUDIBLE) to this activity, of course, there is an international activity. But we cannot wait for any international timetable or any international clock if we see that the international community is not taking any resolution that makes sense in preventing this pattern of behavior by the Hezbollah any more.
SWEENEY: Right. Let me ask you -- I'd like to ask you for your reaction to an op-ed piece in "Haaretz," of course an Israeli newspaper here today. And I'm going to quote from it, if I may. "We are losing it" -- meaning the war -- "because our prime minister, defense minister and army chief, who are new at their jobs and have proven it at every opportunity, made outlandish, grandiose and boastful claims at the outset of this campaign." If you lose public opinion, how long can you continue to prosecute this war, Mr. Herzog?
HERZOG: This is an opinion by one journalist. And we know all too well, as you know from the States, and you know anywhere else, we are a democracy. We have a variety of opinions. We are very proud of it. This is the great quality of this nation, as opposed to our enemies who have no real democracy of any kind, and they're ruthless and they're supported by Iran. And I believe that the spirit of democracy and freedom is what prevails always as we've learned in history. So one can run one or write one...
SWEENEY: That may be, but the newspapers have...
HERZOG: ... and we are entitled to our own opinions.
SWEENEY: ... generally supported you throughout this campaign. And the first indication, perhaps, of loss of public support is often in -- reflected in its newspapers.
HERZOG: The Israeli public is adamantly supportive of this campaign and staunchly demanding that we make sure that one million Israelis who are in shelters will be able go on living their normal lives. I think it's the duty of any decent nation towards its citizens.
SWEENEY: One final question, if I may ask you. I understand three cabinet members abstained in this vote today to expand the war. Without, of course, obviously giving any secrets away, can you enlighten us, perhaps, as to the arguments for and against expanding the grand campaign?
HERZOG: Of course, we don't disclose any information. I can just say that we are, of course, a responsible government. And we analyze all the aspects. Some of these aspects are known to everybody. Which -- you know, which pattern of activity to take, how far, what will be the outcome of our activities. And of course, the analysis of the international -- wheeling and dealing in the diplomatic circles.
And we running power lines to the international effort, but the international community ought to know that there is no unlimited time to waste. Rather -- and wait for more and more missiles to be launched at Israel. That's why we've decided to approve this operation. We've given the prime minister and the minister of defense the right to decide on the timetable of the operation and when to start it.
And, of course, the operation is a -- can be coordinated or can be amended according to the international developments. So now we have to see if there is any international outcome. Otherwise, of course, there will be a major operation in Lebanon.
SWEENEY: All right. We have to leave it there. Thank you very much. In Jerusalem, Isaac Herzog, cabinet minister -- Hala.
GORANI: Well, Fionnuala, as Israel keeps up its airstrikes across Lebanon -- just an hour ago, we heard a very loud explosion -- the victims from a Monday bombing in a district closer to central Beirut than the other bombings has continued to have an impact here in the capital. Lebanese security officials now say that 41 people died as a result of this strike on the Shia neighborhood. And emotions are running very high there, as our Jim Clancy now reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the bodies of 29 victims, one a 10-day-old infant, were laid out for burial, tears and anger overflowed.
"We're going to keep fighting until the extermination of Israel!" shouted out this man, adding, "And America, the biggest Satan -- America is the one killing our children."
Politics and pain. Men cried and hugged one another as they prepare to lay to rest as many as 12 members of a single family. All were killed when an Israeli missile strike on an apartment building brought it crashing to the ground Monday night in the southern Beirut suburb of Chiah (ph). The dramatic effort to find survivors ended. Most thought all that was left was to bury their dead.
But even as they were being lowered into the ground, an Israeli airstrike hit nearby. And in a show of defiance, some of those at the funeral threw up their arms and shouted, "God is great." And a second blast from Israeli warplanes replied.
"All we want is for the Israelis to go back across their border," one man had told us, "and leave us in peace."
But not even the funerals in Lebanon can escape the fury of war and the prospect of more funerals.
Jim Clancy, CNN, Beirut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, Lebanese in the south who haven't already fled now find themselves trapped, in effect, in the southern port city of Tyre and elsewhere in the region.
Ben Wedeman looks at the climate in that city, and why some there are only expecting things to get worse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the future looks grim, sometimes the best thing to do is eat, drink and try to be merry.
"I'm drinking to relax," says fisherman Kimal Stambuli (ph), "so I can sleep."
Across the bay, smoke rises from yet another Israeli airstrike. The latest Israeli leaflets to fall on Tyre, calling on residents not to support Hezbollah, don't seem to have had the desired effect on this tipsy crew, who say, they can't leave here, even if they wanted to.
"How can we escape?" asks Hadi (ph). There's no money, no cars, no roads out. For those who have sought refuge in Tyre, supplies are running low. These women and their children are going to the mayor's office to complain they're not getting any food, a complaint someone in the mayor's office doesn't think our camera should record.
Store owner Issam Ghanim's family fled north. He wanted to keep an eye on ship. A grandfather, he's now learning the bachelor life.
ISSAM GHANIN, STOREOWNER: When I am alone, I just manage myself. I have food, a lot of food, but I don't have anybody to cook for me.
WEDEMAN: After Israel warned that cars on the roads of South Lebanon would be considered legitimate targets, most people get around Tyre by foot. But garbage trucks are still doing their rounds, and the Lebanese Red Cross's mobile clinics are still mobile, handing out medicine to residents and refugees.
(on camera): While there still are some pockets of life in this city, most of the stores are now closed, and according to the municipality, more than 80 percent of the population has left.
(voice-over): Those who can't get out or have chosen to stick it out either sit quietly and hope for the best, or try, with a little help from their friends, to look on the bright side of life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: Now, Hala, compared to Tyre, the real problem, of course, is the villages and towns to the south and to the east of here near the Israeli border. A U.N. representative today told me that they're increasingly concerned about their inability to get down to those areas and get people out, get the wounded out and deliver food to those parts of the country -- Hala.
GORANI: All right. Ben Wedeman in Tyre, thanks so much -- Fionnuala. SWEENEY: Well, Israel accuses Iran of funneling money and weapons to Hezbollah.
GORANI: So how is Iran reacting to the diplomatic back and forth? We'll go to Aneesh Raman. He's in Tehran. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI; Hello and welcome to this special edition of YOUR WORLD TODAY. In Beirut, I'm Hala Gorani.
SWEENEY: And I'm Fionnuala Sweeney, reporting from Haifa, Israel. Here are some of the highlights and differences between the U.N. resolution and the Arab-backed plan. The U.N. resolution calls for an end to the violence but no immediate cease-fire, respect for the blue line by both parties, the sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon, and the unconditioned release of the two abducted Israeli soldiers.
The Arab-backed plan, in turn, calls for an immediate and comprehensive cease-fire, the withdrawal of all Israeli troops behind the blue line, the placement of the disputed Shebaa Farms area under U.N. jurisdiction and the use of an existing U.N. monitoring force to assist the Lebanese army in patrolling Southern Lebanon.
GORANI: Well, as it fights Hezbollah and Lebanon, Israel and the United States have been pointing accusing fingers both at Syria and Iran, accusing it of supplying weapons to Hezbollah fighters here in Lebanon.
Our Aneesh Raman is in Tehran with more on that and reaction.
Aneesh, the first question is, what is the reaction there in Iran since the conflict began? A few weeks ago, I spoke with a journalist who told me, this fight is not first and foremost on the minds of Iranians. Have things changed since then?
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think we're seeing here, Hala, as we're seeing throughout the Muslim world, growing support for Hezbollah, growing anger as well at the fact that this crisis continues onward.
Today, as we see near daily here in Tehran, demonstrations chanting "death to America, death to Israel," the burning of both American and Israeli flags. Only a few hundred protesters though.
You get a sense here in Tehran that while Iranians are very closely watching what's happening in Southern Lebanon, there are bigger issues that they know they will have to contend with, not the least of which is a U.N. deadline coming at the end of the month, amid Iran's nuclear ambitions for a peaceful civilian nuclear program, and domestically huge issues economically.
Unemployment is very high, given a population that is very young. And so while their president is really speaking on the world stage about global issues, many of them would like the government essentially to be focused more on their own house and what's happening in Iran -- Hala.
GORANI: All right. Aneesh Raman reporting live from Tehran. Thanks very much -- Fionnuala.
SWEENEY: Well, still ahead, a closer look at Israel's expanding offensive. What are the prospects for its success? We'll examine that with a military expert in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SWEENEY: Well, let's take a closer look now at Israel's decision to widen its grand defensive. The Israeli military says it needs at least 30 days to clear Lebanon's border of Hezbollah militants.
Joining us now with some insight into this strategy is former Israeli defense minister Moshe Arens. Thanks very much for joining us. A colleague -- a CNN colleague -- in Beirut pointed out yesterday that in 1982, it took the Israeli army a matter of days to reach the outskirts of southern Lebanon, so what is happening now that has taken four weeks to get beyond the border?
MOSHE ARENS, FORMER ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER: Well, we haven't moved during these past four weeks. The war is entering its fifth week now, and the Israeli ground forces have been active only in a very limited strip along the Israeli border. Now that the cabinet has taken a decision, I think you'll see a move that it will go much farther and also much faster.
SWEENEY: And how will that make a difference in terms of actual tactical strategy on the ground? Will sheer numbers be enough?
ARENS: It will make a very big difference, because we've been getting an average of 150 to 200 rockets coming down in the northern part of Israel for the past four weeks. We've got 1.5 million people in shelters who have abandoned their homes. The Galilee has been laid waste, and now the army is ordered to reach out and get to the launching sites of these rockets.
SWEENEY: Sir, I think the question I'm trying to ask is will sheer numbers on the ground be enough to overrun Hezbollah?
ARENS: As we pointed out before, the army had not been ordered until this time to go out to the launching sites, and now they're going to do it. It's going to take more numbers on the ground that haven't been engaged up to now. I think there are no more than 1,500 Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, and they should be no match for the IDF.
SWEENEY: Yes, I was going to ask you, how would you categorize Hezbollah at the moment?
ARENS: Hezbollah is a terrorist organization that believes that it gets its orders directly from God.
SWEENEY: In terms of how they're conducting their war? ARENS: Well, they have amassed over the past six years a very large arsenal of tens of thousands of rockets supplied by the Iranians and supplied by the Syrians. And they've taken it upon themselves to bombard Israel with these rockets. I think no country in the world or no people in the world would like to be subjected to that kind of terrorist threat, and we have to put a stop to it.
SWEENEY: And in terms of how you do that on the ground, I mean, there are some people that say that the Israeli authorities underestimated the capability of Hezbollah. Are you surprised or otherwise by how this conflict has turned out so far?
ARENS: I think the only surprise or, if you like, disappointment is that there was some expectation in Israel that as soon as the fighting started, the Lebanese government would intervene, would force Hezbollah out of the south, move the Lebanese army in, and put a stop to this rocketing of Israel. But the Lebanese army and the Lebanese government is apparently not strong enough to do that, and so Israel itself has to do it.
SWEENEY: All right. We have to leave it there. Moshe Arens, former defense minister of Israel, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us.
That's it for this hour. I'm Fionnuala Sweeney in Haifa, Israel.
GORANI: And I'm Hala Gorani in Beirut. Thanks for watching. Stay with CNN. The news continues.
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