Return to Transcripts main page

Your World Today

Dangerous Game of Chess Between Iran's Leader and President George W. Bush; Influential Shiite Cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr Turns Up in Iraq

Aired May 25, 2007 - 12:00   ET

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

HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR, YOUR WORLD TODAY: Pressure builds in an already troubled region. A dangerous game of chess between Iran's unflinching leader and President George W. Bush. What is next? Direct talks between the U.S. and Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

A defender of human rights. That's where my duty begins. I have to be present and defend my clients when their human rights are violated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR, YOUR WORLD TODAY: An exclusive conversation with a woman who knows what it is like to be imprisoned in Iran.

GORANI: Influential Shiite Cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr turns up in Iraq after four months urging, once again, American troops to leave.

CLANCY: And a true relic of Communist East Germany lives on -- barely.

It is 7:30 p.m. in Tehran, 8:00 in the evening in Baghdad. Hello, and welcome to our report, broadcast around the globe. I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. From Budapest to Montreal, Cape Town to Kansas City, wherever you're watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

Well, the two countries, of course, have no formal diplomatic relations and are more accustomed to trading insults than ideas.

CLANCY: But in a few days Iran and the United States will try to put aside years of animosity to find at least some common ground on Iraq.

GORANI: Well, they're holding rare face-to-face talks in Baghdad, beginning Monday.

CLANCY: And the focus in these talks, expected to remain squarely on efforts to stabilize Iraq without spilling into the dispute over Iran's nuclear program. Now, that dispute, of course, has put the two countries on a collision course.

So has the growing controversy over Iran's detention of three people with dual Iranian-American citizenship and a fourth, a reporter with Radio Free Europe, has had her passport seized. And then there's that former FBI agent, Robert Levinson, who's been missing in Iran since March. Iran denies he's even being held.

The U.S. Senate is getting involved in the case of one of them, Haleh Esfandiari. It passed a resolution calling on Iran to release her immediately, echoing demands by George W. Bush.

The Washington-based scholar is charged with conducting activities against Iran's government. For more on her case and other developments we have Middle East Correspondent Aneesh Raman in Tehran, and our Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour in London. Let's start with Aneesh.

Aneesh, there is some news coming out of Tehran this day, and you have it.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN MIDDLE EAST CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Jim, we're seeing essentially a disturbing trend now continue. Human Rights Watch today revealed that another American is allegedly in custody in Iran. His name is Ali Shakaria, a businessman from California. His friends, who spoke to Human Rights Watch, said he was detained earlier this month.

Now, you listed the five Americans, at least five Americans, who are in varying degrees of custody inside the country. Three of them believed to be in detainment. One of them officially is; Haleh Esfandiari, a scholar from the Woodrow Wilson Center, back in Washington. She's been charged with working to undermine the regime here.

I spoke -- and first of all, I should say it's been very difficult to get anyone in Iran to talk about her case given the sensitive nature of the charges, but today we spoke to Sadik Zebakalam (ph), a professor at Tehran University. He had twice met Haleh Esfandiari at academic conferences. He said he was shocked when he heard what the charges were, it simply was not the person he knew.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was somehow sympathetic toward the Islamic regime -- she was saying, well, we have these radicals, we have the same radicals back in Washington, but there are so many moderates, so many well-educated Iranians within the Islamic regime and we must hope --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAMAN: Zebakalam (ph) suggesting that the detainment of Esfandiari and the others could be part of a broader Iranian strategy. Keep in mind that for over four months now five Iranian diplomats have been held inside Iraq by the U.S. military. They have not been charged as the investigations go on.

And it could be, analysts here suggested, that Iran is sending a message that it can do that as well. But caught in the middle are people like Haleh Esfandiari who colleagues say she was working to bring the two countries together. Instead, she will spend the night tonight again in an Iranian jail -- Jim.

CLANCY: Aneesh Raman, I'm going to ask you to stand by. We'll come back to you a little later in our report for some more analysis on the situation, what is happening right now in Tehran.

For now, Hala.

GORANI: Right, Jim. Well, apparently, there were indications of trouble weeks before Esfandiari's arrest. Her husband says Iran's intelligence agency had several questions about her work in Washington. Our Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour has talked with him.

Christiane joins us live now from London with more on what he told her about his wife's detention in Iran -- Christiane.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INT'L. CORRESPONDENT Well, Hala, it's important to note that actually, Mrs. Esfandiari, Haleh Esfandiari, has not been formally charged. The only public and official statement, per se, that has come out of Iran has been one by the ministry of intelligence. And it was reported on Iranian state television.

The wording is very interesting according to her husband, and others who are looking very closely at this. It doesn't directly say that she is doing any plotting, but it says that she has been connected with various groups such as the Woodrow Wilson and that they -- having networks of interest against Iran, inside the United States.

So important to note that she has not been formally charged and, as you know from talking to Shirin Ebadi, no lawyers have been able to get to her yet. The family and all those who are concerned about Haleh Esfandiari, which is a growing number of people around the world, and in the United States, are quite amazed by this development.

Because Mrs. Esfandiari has been going back and forth to Iran for more than a decade, seeing her family, seeing her mother most particularly who's now 93 years old. And has never had any trouble from the authorities. She has been at the Woodrow Wilson Center for all these years as well, has never been warned, has never been cautioned, has never had any trouble, we're told, from her family with any of the authorities.

So this really did come out of the blue for them. In addition, her interrogation began well before those five Iranians, the Iranians who say they are diplomats, they're diplomats who were taken inside Iraq and who remain detained inside Iraq. The family does not believe that her detention is directly linked to that arrest of the Iranian diplomats in Iraq.

Her sister, Haleh's sister, who lives in Western Europe, is very concerned about the health of not only her -- of Haleh, but also their 93-year-old mother. Because, as you know, Haleh was there visiting her 93-year-old mother, and was trying to come back to the United States, back home, after her visit.

Now her mother is the only person who Haleh is allowed to call on a daily basis from prison. These are one to two-minute calls. It looks, according to her family, as if they're with minders in the background, and not a whole lot is said.

But obviously, the mother in '93 is bearing up under a huge amount of pressure. She herself is frail. She's a religious and good woman, who believes hopefully that the truth will win out, that people will see that her daughter is innocent and this will be resolved. But it is an extraordinary situation for the family and indeed for Mrs. Esfandiari to be caught up, in this, at this time.

What many people are suspecting right now is that it has less to do with the diplomats who have been taken in Iran, but more to do with a fear within certain quarters in Iran that the United States of America has some desire for a soft revolution, for regime change in Iran. And we'll talk about that more when we continue this conversation.

GORANI: Absolutely, Christiane Amanpour, thanks very much. We will come back to you shortly.

But first, here's a look at the exclusive interview that we conducted with Shirin Ebadi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and also the attorney to Haleh Esfandiari. And here's what she had to tell me about her friend's detention in Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHIRIN EBADI, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER (through translator): Two of my colleagues went to the office of the judge of investigation and asked to visit with Haleh. They did not let them in. They asked to read the file. They did not let them read the file.

And when they asked what the charges were, they got no answer. But what is more surprising is that the judge of the investigation had informed them that Haleh had said in prison that she did not need an attorney. I cannot accept this statement.

GORANI (on camera): So you think she said this not because she believed it, but because she was told to say this, that she did not need an attorney in prison?

EBADI (through translator): Yes, she has either been forced to say so, or that this is not a true statement.

GORANI: Why do you think she was arrested? Why do you think she's been charged and officially it's with trying to undermine the regime, or the state? Why do you think this is happening now to your friend, Haleh Esfandiari?

EBADI (through translator): I have not had access to the file. I believe that Haleh is totally innocent. And I think the people who have detained her should respond to this question. But as her attorney I can state here that all the measures that have been taken against her are illegal.

GORANI: Now, you've spent some time in that very prison, where she is now being detained, and others. What is she going through right now?

EBADI (through translator): I have been imprisoned in that cell. So have my two other colleagues who are representing Haleh. This is a small room, with cement walls and no windows. There is a fluorescent light that's on 24 hours. And since the watch is taken, since one's watch is taken from one, you can never tell the time.

In that little room there was no TV, no radio, no access to newspapers or books. Even my glasses were taken away from me. There was a dirty carpet on the floor, no pillow, and there were only two blankets provided. Sleeping without a pillow really bothers one's body. And this is what happened to me. I felt very uncomfortable sleeping on the floor with two blankets.

GORANI: Now, you're going back to Tehran in a few weeks. Are you concerned that you, too, might be stopped again? You were before. You spent time in Evan Prison. Are you concerned for yourself, for your safety?

EBADI (through translator): This danger has always existed, and it will exist in the future for me. However, I don't pay attention to it, and I don't let it take over me. I have a duty to do, and I will continue doing my work. And as I said, once my seminars are done with, I will go back to Iran either on June 9th or 10th.

GORANI: You have a choice not to go. I mean, you're making the choice to go in an environment where there have been four U.S.-Iranian academics detained.

EBADI (through translator): I am a defender of human rights. That's where my duty begins. I have to be present and defend my clients when their human rights are violated.

GORANI: You're going to go to the prison? You're going to go to the prison to try to see your client, and your friend, Haleh Esfandiari?

EBADI (through translator): Yes, certainly.

GORANI: And what will you do if you're refused a meeting with your client? Will you continue to go?

EBADI (through translator): Yes, I will go there two or three times per week. I will challenge the court, and I will make them understand that they are violating my client's human rights.

GORANI: Thank you very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Incredible woman.

GORANI: Incredible.

CLANCY: Incredible decision on her part to decide she's going to go back and she is going to defend Haleh Esfandiari.

GORANI: She's saying publicly she's going back. That she's going back, she gave us the date. She's saying she's going to go two to three times a week to the prison until she's allowed to see her client. And she also said it's important to keep the name of Haleh Esfandiari in the news, in the headlines, so that pressure might lead to her release.

CLANCY: It's an important story. We're going to have more on it with Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour. Right after this short break. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back, everyone. You're with CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: Covering some of the news that the world wants, needs to know, giving you a little bit of deeper perspective into the stories of the day.

And there's clearly the story today is what's going on between the U.S. and Iran. Let's get some more analysis now on the Iranian- American citizens who are detained in Iran this day, most of them academics. How that's going to affect Monday's talks in Baghdad.

Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour joins us again from London. We hear, on the outside, this Nobel Peace laureate from Iran, Shirin Ebadi, very powerful words. But how strong is her voice inside Iran?

AMANPOUR: She is very strong. And most particularly she's strong since she won the Nobel Peace prize. She's the first Muslim woman ever to have won a Nobel. And many Iranians are proud of her.

On the other hand, as you can imagine, because of her relentless struggle for human rights, for women's rights, for children's rights, and defending some of these people who are in trouble in recent years, you can imagine that she is also a thorn in the side of the Iranian authorities. So on the one hand she's very high-profile, she's very brave, and she works very, very hard.

And on the other hand, certain quarters in the revolutionary courts, and elsewhere, clearly find her a formidable adversary, so one has to weigh that as well.

I have covered a couple of Shirin Ebadi's trials, including the that led to her winning the Nobel Peace prize. She's very, very effective in court.

CLANCY: Another question comes up when you look at all of this and people say whether it's the nuclear issue, whether it's hostages, whatever it is. The Iranian regime doesn't seem to bend at all to international public opinion. True or false?

AMANPOUR: Well, I think, false. If you take the last -- the last round of crises when the British servicemen were taken for a period of a couple of weeks. They were eventually released. And it appeared in a press conference by President Ahmadinejad as a unanimous and magnanimous gesture.

If you remember, he said as a gift at this time of holy holidays throughout the world. In Christian -- if you remember, it was Easter at the time. It was Passover, which he even mentioned, in Israel, and for the Jews. He said we release them as a sign of goodwill. So I do think that there is that side of them as well, and there is certainly the side of much of the Iranian authorities, and many people there, that they do look at international public opinion.

On the other hand, they're also saying to themselves why isn't anybody giving the same kind of public statements, public descriptions of those five Iranians who are being held by the Americans in Iraq, or in Iraq but by the American authorities? They have claimed over the last several months since they were being held that they were diplomats and that they were innocent.

So they feel that they are not being treated as the West wants to be treated. But of course taking a scholar such as Haleh Esfandiari is something that nobody can accept because her work has been to promote dialogue, to promote understanding, and not the reverse.

CLANCY: When you talk about dialogue, I can't let you go without asking you about this meeting that is coming up on Monday. Some would say the first direct talks in 30 years between Iran and the United States. I understand the Iranian ambassador to Iraq is on his way there for those meetings.

But at the same time the Iranians are saying all they're going to do is list their grievances with the Americans at those talks. What will come of it? What should we expect?

AMANPOUR: Well, it's hard because this has been on and off, and on and off, again for a couple of years now. And clearly both sides have a long list of grievances. The question is will they be able to get to the table, and talk about the one issue, that the U.S. says it wants to talk about, which is Iraq at this matter. That they want to talk about now. Will they be able to just, you know, keep a meeting on track and get to it?

But the real issue is that you've got in Iran, a new president, Ahmadinejad, who was elected back in 2005, with the idea that we have to go forward, we're going to do our nuclear program. We're going to stand up for our rights. We're going to be confrontational. And in the United States you have an administration who does not want Iran to have any of those abilities, or rights.

And, furthermore, which has authorized the use of tens of millions of dollars for civil rights groups, for human rights groups, and others and you know there's been a history of Congress approving $10 of millions for essentially, what is at the heart of it, regime change.

The question is will the United States be able to convince Iran that it is looking for a change of behavior and not a change of regime? Will the United States give an explicit -- an explicit whatever, confirmation, to Iran that it is not out to overthrow the government? And will Iran then meet the United States on some of these issues of bilateral importance?

What is absolutely clear is that a woman like Haleh Esfandiari is being -- is trapped as a pawn in this.

CLANCY: Christiane Amanpour, chief international correspondent, great to have you with us for your analysis ahead of this meeting that's coming up on Monday and amidst so much tension between Washington and Tehran.

Thank you again.

GORANI: All right. A quick break on YOUR WORLD TODAY. A vocal anti-American voice in Iraq returns to public view next.

That's right. Still ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY, talking about Iran, well a controversial Shia cleric wants to be the voice for all Iraqis. But some say he takes his orders from Iran.

BRENT SADLER, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: I'm Brent Sadler in Europe. I'll be bringing you an extract from an interview with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who's warned extremists holed up in a north Lebanese Palestinian refugee camp, that unless they surrender, they'll face the wrath of the Lebanese army. Coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Hello there, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes at the CNN Center in Atlanta. More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a few minutes, but we've got to check the stories making headlines in the U.S.

Up first here, showing you this picture, where a ramp has collapsed and sending an 18-wheeler into the water. This is in -- at a shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts. A ramp that leads to the pier at the Fort River Shipyard collapsed under the weight of an 18-wheeler.

You can kind of make out the 18-wheeler there in the water just a bit. We do understand that the driver was able to get out, was being treated, does not appear to have serious injuries. But the truck was hauling dirt and gravel, going across that ramp headed to a pier. And that ramp collapsed, sending that 18-wheeler into the water.

Investigation certainly right now is under way. We're keeping an eye on that story. But again, the key there is that the driver appears to have gotten out and is OK.

Also, packing up and getting out. Millions of Americans doing that right now, hitting the road this Memorial Day weekend. It is the unofficial start of summer and one of the biggest travel holidays of the year.

But before you go elbow to elbow on the beach, a lot of folks going bumper to bumper on the highway. Roads and airports expected to be jammed with about 38 million travelers this weekend, that's according to AAA. And that is an increase of about 2 percent from last year.

And many of those travelers, around 32 million, going to be driving. That's up about 2 percent, as well, from last year. Despite the higher gas prices. The average price of a gallon of gas is now $3.23. That is down slightly from yesterday. Whoo-hoo! But not enough to make much of a difference.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: Take you now to Florida, where the name Charlie doesn't seem like one you'd apply to a big monster like that thing right there. That's a gator, a 10-foot gator that's caught in the Miami Lakes area in South Florida. That's a 10-foot alligator that people had been seeing around their neighborhood and certainly did not want to see around their neighborhood.

They called and got some folks out, the professionals, out to try to trap this thing. Actually, the neighbors managed to themselves get a rope around the alligator's mouth. That is not the brightest idea, many would tell you. But the good news here, the alligator, ten- footer, as you see there, new video we're getting from the affiliate down there, is that that 10-foot alligator has been caught. So, good news there.

Also, hats off to today's graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy. You're looking at a live picture of it there. Defense Secretary Robert Gates delivering the commencement address to them. He called it, quote, "a joyous day in a difficult time." Gates thanked the newly commissioned officers for choosing military service.

Well, it went up in flames and collapsed. Now, less than a month later, this section of a California freeway reopens ahead of schedule. But an engineer fears safety may have been sacrificed for speed. We'll have more on this story a little later in the "CNN Newsroom".

Also fallen soldier, Private 1st Class Joseph Anzack found dead this week in Iraq after his unit was ambushed. His football coach joins to us talk about how he had to break the news former teammates and how the community is coping.

Please join Fredricka Whitfield, and me, at the top of the hour in the "Newsroom". Meantime, YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a short break. I'm T.J. Holmes. See you soon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Hello, everyone. Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY especially to our viewers joining us from more than 200 countries and territories all around the globe, including the United States.

GORANI: This is your world today. I'm Hala Gorani.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. Radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr renewing his call for U.S. troops to leave Iraq the moment he resurfaces. Al-Sadr led a sermon at the mosque Kufa (ph). Paul Hancocks has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Muqtada al-Sadr is back in the public eye, and his message hasn't changed. America go home. In his first public appearance in months, the radical Shiite cleric led Friday prayers at Kufa Mosque near the holy city of Najaf. Urging Iraqis to stop fighting each other and unite against what he sees as the common enemy.

MUQTADA AL-SADR, SHIA CLERIC (through translator): From time to time, we hear of clashes between our brothers in the Mehdi army and the brothers in the Iraqi army and police. Pay attention. This is an important point. As far as I know, the occupation is behind this, creating an excuse for it to stay in our beloved Iraq. So don't give it a reason, please.

HANCOCKS: Sadr is a constant target. The security he travels with testament to the level of risk he takes every time he shows his face. The U.S. military claims he's been hiding in Iran since the Baghdad security crackdown kicked off in February. Sadr's aides say differently, that he's been in Iraq all along, just out of sight.

But the question is, why did al-Sadr reappear now? One suggestion is he sees a political vacuum forming in Iraq. Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki is struggling to keep his coalition together. Add to that one of al-Sadr's major rivals, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq, is out of the country, undergoing treatment for cancer in Iran.

Al-Sadr also called for the Iraqi people and not the government to decide when the U.S. troops should leave. He knows from past experience he has the power to pull hundreds of thousands onto the streets.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Alright. Joining us now, Paula Hancocks live from Baghdad. And Paula, Muqtada al-Sadr's re-emergence, it has to be cause for some concern at least by the U.S. military. Without him on the scene there hasn't been the mobilization of those street protests and the like.

HANCOCKS: That's right, Jim. Yes. We heard from Major General William Caldwell, the military spokesman, just a few moments ago, and he said he believed that al-Sadr came back to Iraq just in the last couple of days. Now, of course, al-Sadr's aides still say that he never actually left. But he also said that he hopes that al-Sadr can become a part of future negotiations. Obviously not saying with the United States but hoping that al-Sadr could play some kind of part in uniting some of these Shiites groups. We have heard from al-Sadr as well saying that the Shiites should not be fighting amongst themselves, they should be fighting against the United States itself.

So certainly we have seen that the Mehdi army, for the most part, has been off the streets over the past few months. This has been obviously because al-Sadr wanted it this way. But there have been some splinters of his group. There has been some sectarian violence here in Baghdad that has been blamed on elements of his militia. So also that could be another reason that he's come back at this time to show his Mehdi army who's boss and to point out to them that only -- they can only react to certain situations if he says that they can.

CLANCY: Well, obviously, if you are an American diplomat there in Baghdad, you have to be wondering too whether this isn't Iran ratcheting up the pressure once again. Ahead of Monday's all- important meeting between U.S. and Iranian diplomats. But at this time, there's a lot of focus too on those five Iranians that are being held by the U.S. military. Anything new on that front?

HANCOCKS: Well, they've been held now for more than four months. It was back in January when the five of them were arrested in Erbil. Now, we know from the U.S. officials we've been speaking to this afternoon that they have been offered for their families to come to Iraq and to visit them to make sure they're okay, not for Iranian officials to come, just the family members themselves. But they have declined that particular offer.

We also know that the Red Crescent has been to see them a couple of times as well. But at this point they haven't been charged. And we're not hearing daily on a daily basis what is happening to them. It really has been going on for some time now. Of course, Iran says they are diplomats and the U.S. is saying they're part of this Kurds (ph) force.

Part of this force that the U.S. believes is giving the money, giving the training, giving the weapons to Shiite insurgent groups. And also more significantly, that the technology for these new armor- piercing road bombs that we've seen recently that have killed so many U.S. troops for May itself, 90 U.S. troops have been killed and there is an increasing number being killed especially by these roadside bombs. Jim?

CLANCY: Alright. Paula Hancocks reporting there live from Baghdad. Thank you, Paula.

GORANI: Well, U.S. military supplies are arriving in Beirut as government troops keep Islamic militants pinned down to the north. The U.S. has promised the shipment of ammunition and supplies. Before the current standoff with Fatah al Islam fighters near the Lebanese city of Tripoli ends.

Now, that erupted after a raid Sunday at a Palestinian refugee camp, and the Lebanese government put a rush on the order to America. The U.S. is a strong supporter of the current prime minister of Lebanon, Fouad Siniora, and his government. And in one of the most militarized regions in the world, Lebanon's official army, the national army of Lebanon, is remarkably weak. Jonathan Mann has some answers and some insight. Jonathan?

JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Remember the story of David and Goliath? The classic Middle East mismatch. Well, right now the national army of 40,000 men of Lebanon is having real trouble taking on just a few hundred Islamic militants that it has besieged and surrounded. The Lebanese army finds itself at a loss.

In Lebanon we've had for many years areas of the country where the Lebanese security forces have not been in, have not controlled what's going on, and law and order has been lacking. That's what the government is trying to do, I.E. to be able to be everywhere in the country, to restore state authority everywhere.

Even before the trouble at Naraobara (ph) the Lebanese army was already stretched pretty thin. Deployed along the border with Israel in the south, along the borders with Syria on the other sides, and also keeping the peace in the pressure cooker capital, Beirut. According to the Reuiter News Agency, witnesses say some of those troops now appear to be leaving those positions heading north to Naraobara. The problems they're having there go back decades. Ever since independence Lebanon has kept its national army small and intentionally weak.

Trying to keep it out of domestic politics, especially because the country's warlords had armies of their own. For a long time, Syrian troops were the real force in Lebanon. It's only when the Syrians withdrew, two years ago that Lebanon's own army got a chance to take control, and even that didn't last long.

A year ago Israel invaded Lebanon by land, air, and sea, and it fell to Hezbollah to repel the Israelis. The Lebanese army essentially didn't fire a shot. After the war was over, western nations were terrified of Hezbollah's new prominence and promised all kinds of aid to Lebanon and its army. The U.S. alone offering reportedly nearly half a billion dollars in military and security assistance. It's been dribbling in. But as we've been reporting, the Lebanese are suddenly getting a lot of it right now in a hurry.

HISHAM MELHEN, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, AN-NAHAR: At this moment the army is in bad need of ammunition, specifically certain types of ammunition like tank shells, night vision goggles, and communication gear. Unfortunately, this new group, Fatah al Islam, had night goggle visions, and that's why the army couldn't really fight during the night. Yesterday, a planeload of ammunition landed in Lebanon from Kuwait, today from Egypt. It could be decisive (INAUDIBLE).

MANN: Maybe the biggest problem for any army, even with the best equipment, is how to fight militants inside a crowded urban area like the Nahr el Bared camp. The Lebanese army has an added disadvantage. It agreed decades ago not to enter the refugee camps in the country. So, even once it's fully armed and ready, that will be the next step to watch, whether it continues to hold back. GORANI: And it was interesting when we were watching these pictures of the U.S. military equipment landing in Beirut. They came in U.S. military planes. They usually don't do that.

MANN: They usually use commercial jetliners. And people on the ground noticed it. We were talking to a (INAUDIBLE), a Lebanese journalist who very clearly made that point, that they are showing very publicly whose side they're on. They're not just talking about supporting this government. They're reminding people about that, half a billion dollars.

GORANI: It's deja vu seeing U.S. military planes in Beirut. I mean, what is going to happen next? Are people saying that we're looking at a real civil conflict situation developing?

MANN: Well, this comes back to what Brent Sadler was talking about with the prime minister, Fouad Siniora. Are they going to go into the camps? That's the crucial line. No one knows. And the prime minister told them they're negotiation possibilities if they'll talk. But they want these guys, they want Fatah al Islam to hand over these men. If not, they say they will do what it takes. And that's what could set it off, and that's what everyone's acutely nervous about.

The factions in Lebanon right now are talking about that, about what the government should do. Up till now, interestingly even Hezbollah, which wants those guys out of office, even Hezbollah has been supporting them, because Fatah al Islam is really unpopular. What they're going to do, whether they're going to go into the camp to fight them, we'll see.

GORANI: And what the domino effect will be. That's always interesting in Lebanon.

MANN: It's a house of cards and they don't dare upset it.

GORANI: And across sectarian lines, absolutely. Thank you very much, Jonathan Mann, with insight there for us.

A quick programming note for our international viewers. CNN's Beirut Bureau Chief Brent Sadler will have that exclusive interview and has it, we will air it, with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. You can see that interview on Business International at 2100 GMT.

CLANCY: We're going to take a short break here. Coming up ...

GORANI: The U.S. Congress passes a $120 billion war funding bill but not without serious reservations from both sides of the political aisle.

CLANCY: Two of the top Democrats hoping to become the next U.S. president voted against the bill. We'll ask our Senior Political Analysts how that could affect them come election time. That story, when YOUR WORLD TODAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back, everyone. You're with YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.

CLANCY: Bringing together some of the stories that affect the U.S. on one hand and affect the world on the other and concern everyone.

All right, well, let's take a look at the standoff under way in Washington. It's over war spending. And for now, at least there seems to be a ceasefire. The president may have gotten exactly what he wanted. Congress passed a $120 billion spending bill. But as Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash reports, the bill deeply divided the Democrats in Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Make no mistake about it, Democrats were not happy about giving in to the president's demand for a war spending bill with no timeline for withdrawal.

STENY HOYER, U.S. HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: The fact is this is simply the best bill we could put together and that would be signed. It's a political reality. It is not what we want to pass.

BASH: In fact, opposition to Iraq has grown so intense ...

JIM MCGOVERN, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: Just show me the money. That's all he wants. Mr. Speaker, I simply can't support it.

BASH: Nearly two thirds of House Democrats voted against funding the war with no plan to end it. Even the Democratic chairman who wrote the bill.

DAVID OBEY, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: I hate this agreement. I'm going to vote against the major portion of this agreement, even though I negotiated it because I think that the White House is in a cloud somewhere in terms of understanding the realities in Iraq.

BASH: But the vote was especially wrenching for two leading Senate Democrats running for president, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Both had made promises not to withhold funding for troops in harm's way. But in a dramatic turn, both voted against the war spending bill because it did not include a timetable to end the war, something staunchly anti-war Democratic primary voters demand.

Many Democrats call the funding bill another blank check for the war. But it does have conditions. If Iraqis don't show political and military progress, the measure threatens to cut off their economic aid and forces the president to revise his Iraq strategy. Not what Democratic leaders wanted, but they vowed to keep trying.

HARRY REID, U.S. SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Mr. President, paraphrasing the words of Winston Churchill, when it comes to forcing the president to change course in Iraq, Senate Democrats will never give in, never give in, never, never, never.

BASH (on camera): This measure may not have a timetable for troop withdrawal, but for the first time, the president will get and sign a bill that directly challenges his strategy in Iraq, a bill that passed with a healthy amount of Republican support. That is a significant shift when it comes to the politics of Iraq.

Dana Bash, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: How will what's being seen as a victory for the White House play with voters and particularly with the Democrats' own supporters?

CNN's Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider joins us now from our Washington bureau with some answers.

So that is my first question. How will this play out for the Democrats, then, that no timeline for troop withdrawal is included in the bill?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, there are a lot of angry Democrats, but they are angry over the fact that this bill passed. It passed without the support of at least several key Democratic candidates who are running for president, senators Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Christopher Dodd, all voted against it.

They did so at some risk because they're being accused by Republicans of a shameful switch. John McCain called it the height of irresponsibility. But they're answerable at the moment to those Democratic primary voters, who are virtually unanimously against this war.

And by the way, so is the American public, because the "New York Times"/CBS News poll reports today that public support for the war in Iraq continues to erode and at this point, is at the lowest level of support ever.

GORANI: So will the fact that the bill passed hurt overall the Democratic candidates, or will it help those like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama who voted against the measure?

SCHNEIDER: Well, they won't have to answer to Republican criticism for quite some time. A year from now or eight months from now, when they will be facing Republicans, whoever the victor is, the situation could be totally different. So, I don't think it was a matter of immediate concern. The immediate concern was being answerable to their own party.

And another factor is the bill passed. The troops were not denied funding. So, there's no immediate crisis that they would have to answer for. So in both senses, I don't think the risk was that great.

GORANI: So, was it win-win, essentially, looking back now for those candidates voting against a bill that ended up passing?

SCHNEIDER: In a way it was. They made a strong statement against the war. The bill also passed. So, the troops were not denied funding. And they can argue that they did vote for funding the troops, they voted on an earlier bill that the president vetoed that included deadlines for troop withdrawal. The president would not accept that. But the public favors that very, very strongly.

GORANI: All right. We're going to see how it plays out in the polls going forward. Thank you, Bill Schneider, our senior political analyst.

CLANCY: We've got to take a short break, but still to come right here on YOUR WORLD TODAY...

GORANI: A simple car stands the test of time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take your feet like a ballerina.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go. That's what I call a spacious interior.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: It's either a small car or he's eight feet tall. Tight quarters for one reporter getting right in the middle of this story.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Well, they were small, old-fashioned, underpowered, and had plastic bodies, and yet they were something of a design triumph.

CLANCY: I've seen them. I've ridden in them.

GORANI: You have?

CLANCY: And they ran. It was cheap. It was all the rage for commuting on the other side of the iron curtain. But the wall's gone, and as Frederick Pleitgen tells us, the little car that could is a bit over the hill itself.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERICK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They were the pride of the East German automobile industry and later became the symbol for communism's demise. Almost four million Trabants, or Trabis, as they were called, were manufactured in the German Democratic Republic beginning in 1957.

(on camera): Let's face the facts, it really doesn't look like a guy my size could ever fit into a car like this. But for people in socialist Eastern Germany, the Trabant was a car for the whole family. So today Rico Heinzig, expert on driving Trabis is going to show me the art of driving the Trabant.

Ready?

RICO HEINZIG, TRABI SAFARI: Yes.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): But first Rico has to show me the art of getting into the car.

HEINZIG: Take your feet like this, like a ballerina.

PLEITGEN (on camera): Yes. OK. Here we go. That's what I call a spacious interior.

(voice-over): Start the engine, and hear 25 horsepower roar. The Trabant only does about 60 miles an hour, offers not even basic comfort, and massively pollutes the air, Rico Heinzig says. Still, it was the most popular car in the communist bloc. But then again, they didn't really have a choice.

HEINZIG: You don't got a new car if you want this. You must wait 10 years for this car. It's very crazy. It's unbelievable. And so if you had this car you stayed with him until you die.

PLEITGEN: But now it's the Trabants that are dying. After the Berlin wall came down, sales declined dramatically. The last one was manufactured in 1991. Many of those still roaming the streets are almost artifacts. Rico Heinzig offers Trabant tours through Berlin, in A Trabi stretch limo or a Trabi beach buggy. But Heinzig says he knows one day the lack of spare parts will make it impossible for him to maintain his fleet. Then the Trabant will be history just like the communist era it symbolized.

Frederick Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Was he able to get out, though? He was able to get in, but then he's like...

CLANCY: It probably took two men and a sled dog team to help him.

GORANI: Right.

CLANCY: Now for some real monkey business.

GORANI: Right. Visitors to the London Zoo are in for a real treat if they keep their eyes peeled. The world's smallest monkeys have gone on display in a new habitat. This little pair of pygmy marmosets. And their name is Bonnie and Clyde. How cute. They're actually fully grown.

CLANCY: And I bet they act like a couple of little outlaws too. At their largest they're only 13 centimeters tall. That's barely -- that's not even half a foot. And their skull is about the size of a bottle cap, to give you an idea.

GORANI: Now in the wild you'd find pygmy marmosets in South America, but these mini-monkeys are enjoying their new rainforest enclosure with sloths and birds for company.

CLANCY: I hope they don't get eaten. All right. They're tiny.

GORANI: They are. We're not, though. We're average size.

CLANCY: But we're out of time.

GORANI: We are out of time. That we are. We're going to have a lot more after a short break. I'm Hala Gorani.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. This has been YOUR WORLD TODAY. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com