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Presdient Bush Meets With Israeli Leaders
Aired January 09, 2008 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning again everyone. You're with CNN. You're informed. I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on this Wednesday, the 9th of January. Here's what's on the run down.
The push for peace, President Bush visiting Israel and the Palestinian territory. This hour his news conference coming up live.
HARRIS: On to Michigan and South Carolina and Super Tuesday. The McCains and the Clinton campaigns celebrate comebacks in New Hampshire.
COLLINS: Smoke and fog, a deadly combination for cars and big rigs on a Florida highway. Pile-up in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: A man on a mission, President Bush on his push for a Mideast deal; two men scheduled to meet with the press at any moment now. Let's show a live picture of that room where that press availability is scheduled to happen at any moment now; the U.S. president and the prime minister of Israel. The president, as you saw just a moment ago, received a red carpet welcome when he arrived in Tel Aviv. He is hoping to move Israel and the Palestinians toward a peace agreement before his final year in office ends. He pledged to stand with Israel against the terrorists.
PRES. GEORGE BUSH, UNITED STATES: We will do more than defend ourselves. We seek lasting peace. We see a new opportunity for peace here in the holy land. And for freedom across the region.
HARRIS: Palestinian hard liners in Gaza staged small protests against President Bush. The president again scheduled to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. That is scheduled to happen tomorrow in the West Bank.
COLLINS: Comeback, it seems to be the word of the day on this morning after the nation's first presidential primary. Here are the results now from New Hampshire beginning with the democrats. Hillary Clinton rebounded from a disappointing finish in Iowa. She edged out Barack Obama, the front runner, in many New Hampshire polls. John Edwards finished third. Among the republicans, John McCain came out on top. Mitt Romney second. And Mike Huckabee a distant third. So is this the first day of a whole new presidential race? Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hold the phone, it's all different now. Twin victories in New Hampshire have set the '08 presidential race on its head. One win for a campaign left for dead.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Tonight we sure showed them what a comeback looks like.
CROWLEY: And another win for a campaign on the brink.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Together, let's give America the kind of comeback that New Hampshire has just given me.
CROWLEY: Women voters who prefered Barack Obama in Iowa, flocked to her in New Hampshire, drawn the Clinton campaign believes by a newly accessible more open candidate.
CLINTON: Over the last week I listened to you, and in the process, I found my own voice.
CROWLEY: Hours before the polls closed, Clinton's staff talked about antsy donors and upcoming changes. They seemed startled by her victory. No more so than camp Obama would sail into Iowa into a double digit lead in New Hampshire, all of which disappeared when the votes came in. Still, they are formidable foes who will meet again next in Nevada and South Carolina and beyond.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We know the battle ahead will be long. But always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.
CROWLEY: On the republican side, John McCain proved himself the old warrior he is, losing most of his money and his staff last summer, McCain chose to stand and fight in New Hampshire with a tough guy truth teller campaign they loved in 2000 and loved again in 2008.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I listened to you. I answered you. Sometimes I argued with you. But I always told you the truth as best I can see the truth. And you did me the great honor of listening.
CROWLEY: McCain's victory makes the well-healed front-runner Mitt Romney a two-time loser. Romney looks now to his home state of Michigan to bail him out.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know the silver and I would rather have a gold but I got another silver.
CROWLEY: The republican race is now officially the chaos with Iowa's winner Mike Huckabee placing third and Rudy Giuliani waiting in the wings for a contest in friendly territory. And though John Edwards and Bill Richardson journey on the democratic race looks like an epic battle between two mega watt superstars. Buckle up. It's going to be a bumpy ride. Candy Crowley, CNN, Manchester, New Hampshire.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: So Iowa and New Hampshire voters have spoken. So what is next in the race to the white house? Next Tuesday, the Michigan primary. Mitt Romney is eyeing the 30 republican delegates at stake in his native state. No democratic delegates are up for grabs. That's punishment from the party. After Michigan moved up its primary date on Saturday, January 19th, it's the Nevada caucuses. On the same day, the republicans have their primary in South Carolina. The democratic primary in South Carolina is the following Saturday, January 26th. Florida closes out a busy month. Its primary is Tuesday, January 29th. Got it? Good. A quiz later. For all of the political news that you could ever want or need, just logon to CNNpolitics.com.
COLLINS: We are getting some new information about that horrific chain reaction crash in Florida we've been talking about this morning. Authorities say at least three people have died in a fiery 50-vehicle pile-up on Interstate 4 in Polk County. The highway was blanketed, as you can see, by eerie shroud of fog and smoke from a nearby brush fire. The smog and smoke have now lifted. Just a short time ago the sheriff said crews are still working to free an injured crash victim.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF GRADY JUDD, POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA: We have had a very, very tense situation here. Our troopers, our deputies, our firefighters, and certainly our EMTs went into an environment where you could see absolutely nothing in front of you. It was as if hitting a wall of smoke and fog. As a result of that, there have been at least 50 vehicles involved in the major event.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Interstate 4 between Tampa and Orlando is, of course, shut down. We are going to continue to update you throughout the morning. Officials do say it will likely be hours before the highway reopens.
HARRIS: The weather story today is a system that wreaked some havoc in Arkansas and Indiana that is now moving, Jacqui, to the northeast?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's moving to the northeast but not packing nearly the punch that it was. Even this morning, this thing was very strong and caused damaging winds and power outages and a lot of trees downed, across upstate New York to Buffalo and Rochester and the Syracuse area. Now we're just looking at more garden variety showers with a few thunder showers as well.
But as this moves through, we're going to see the winds pick up and if visibility is going to be reduced. It will be a little rough on the roadway. Of course they get wet, they get slick.
Also means we tend to have problems at the airport. We have wind advisories and high wind warnings. Wind warnings are in the dark orange that we have there. That's where winds gust as much as 55 miles per hour plus. In the yellow areas, including you in Boston to Hartford and New York City, expect to see winds more in the range of 30 to 40 miles per hour.
We'll zoom in and check on some of those winds. These are sustained winds. Not to mention the gusts that go well beyond this. Check out Buffalo, 28 miles per hour. We've 31 miles per hour there in Syracuse. New York and LaGuardia 17 miles per hour, and there you can see now 22 in Boston. So it's very, very gusty.
Now, in the wake of this storm, with the flooding is still on going across the Midwest, and this dark green that you see here, that's where we have the warning still in play. We have some record level flooding in northern parts of Indiana. Those rivers will stay out of the banks throughout the weekend.
Tomorrow's big event takes place across parts of the Deep South. More severe storms are possible. We think it will be a little bit more isolated than the last go around that we had. If you live anywhere say from New Orleans on up towards Louisville, Kentucky, Nashville and Atlanta, Georgia, be on alert for tomorrow afternoon where damaging winds and some isolated tornadoes. That storm system is also going to help usher in much-cooler air. Those record highs, guys, records tumbling down the last couple of days haven't been so great, though?
HARRIS: Yeah.
JERAS: You hate to see the consequences but enjoyable for those of us who haven't seen the severe weather.
HARRIS: My mom says it's pneumonia weather.
JERAS: Why?
HARRIS: My mom. I don't know.
COLLINS: Warm, cold, warm, cold.
HARRIS: Every time I question my mom, there's a repercussion. Sorry.
COLLINS: Take all the preventive medication. Jacqui, thank you.
HARRIS: Let's talk more about weather. Warm weather kicks up another round of tornadoes, rain, flooding. It's that system we were just talking about just a moment ago. In Appleton, Arkansas, a man was killed when a rare January twister rolled his mobile home off its cinder blocks and send it smashing into trees. Heavy rain and melting snow left the flash flooding in Indiana. Two small children actually died when the SUV they were riding in stalled in deep water. Another man drowned when his truck swept into a flooded creek. Some people had to be rescued by a boat as you see here. Hundreds remain out of their homes in Indiana.
COLLINS: They react, you decide. Iran today said U.S. navy video of a high seas confrontation was fabricated. CNN's Jamie McIntyre has the pictures.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As sailors on the destroyer "Hopper" are ordered to general quarters manning their battle stations, the ship blasts a loud horn repeatedly. In an effort to warn the Iranians speed boats to steer clear. Instead, they zip around, in between the U.S. warships. The radio crackles with an ominous threat from the Iranian revolutionary guard corps manning the fast attack boats.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am coming to you.
MCINTYRE: From the bridge of the hopper, a warning to back off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your identity is not known. Your intentions are unclear. Stop your communications now. Immediately remain clear.
MCINTYRE: At this point, after nearly 30 minutes of provocation from the Iranians, the Hopper is preparing to unload its 50 caliber machine guns. But the Iranians give up the dangerous game.
BUSH: We viewed it as a provocative act. It is a dangerous situation. And they should not have done it, pure and simple.
MCINTYRE: The video does not show the small white boxes the U.S. navy says were dumped in the gulf near the trailing ship and the three-ship formation. But it does clearly show how close the Iranian patrol boats came. If one had turned and sped directly toward one of the U.S. ships, it would have hit it in a matter of seconds. Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: President Bush in Israel, a grand welcome before the hard work. There is plenty of hard work. His news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert coming up in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. New Hampshire surprise for some. Will the momentum last? CNN's political contributors also give us their views of the Clinton and McCain win.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Bush due any moment now at a joint press conference. When that begins we will take you to Israel live and bring that to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
For politics now. Hillary Clinton defined the polls to win the New Hampshire primary. But the pollsters were right on John McCain winning on the republican side. What happened and what's next?
CNN contributors Amy Holmes and Roland Martin are in Washington in New York respectively. Good to see you both. Let me see. Where do I want to start here? Ladies first. Let me start with you, Amy. Why did Senator McCain win? And wasn't this exactly what he had to do?
AMY HOLMES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It's what he planned to do and it's what he had to do. Let's remember, John McCain won in 2000 against a very well funded opponent of George Bush by 19 points in New Hampshire. This wasn't a big surprise for republicans going in. I know last week that much of the McCain campaign was already focused on Michigan. They were feeling pretty confident ability New Hampshire. Last night the big surprise, Hillary Clinton, my goodness, no one saw that coming. Not a single pollster. Not even the Clinton campaign itself.
HARRIS: What do we make of the pollsters and the pundits? What would it make of this? Supposed to be up in double digits and then, what do we get here?
HOLMES: I think there are two lessons that we learned. You know, never mind the polls and never ever underestimate the Clintons.
HARRIS: Yeah. Roland, jump in here.
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: If you breakdown into what happened. First and foremost, the polls were correct in terms of percentage that Obama was going to get. They all said he would get about 37 percent. That's what the average was. Clinton was going to get 30 percent. Edwards was going to get around 17 percent. I think Edwards eventually got 16 percent. The difference is that 156 percent of all voters in New Hampshire made up their minds on the day of the election. So a total of 286,000 people came out and voted. That means nearly 40,000 decided yesterday. So you look at what happened, the whole crying episode, how important was that? All the national newscasts led with it Monday night. All the morning shows led with it on Tuesday.
HOLMES: Oh, no!
MARTIN: Wait. One second. One second. Calm down. Calm down.
I'm not done. Secondly, secondly, and more importantly --
HOLMES: Are you saying we voted on emotion?
MARTIN: Amy, calm down.
Secondly. More importantly, Obama had a three percentage point lead among women. At the conclusion of the election, she had a 13- point lead. What I'm saying is, women put her over the top and the polls never indicated undecideds.
HOLMES: I would agree with that. Obviously women did put Hillary over the top. If it was because she's emotional and she cries and ear emotional and we cry, I wouldn't necessarily use that. MARTIN: That's not what I said.
HOLMES: I would suggest actually, a thought occurred to me this morning, what does Clinton's win among women mean for Oprah? Did she rest on Barack's morals in Iowa and figure her early support was going to win among women? What is she going to do in South Carolina now that we see that Clinton did get that women's vote?
MARTIN: Also, look at this here. Unions put in $4 million in New Hampshire. That benefited Clinton. Clinton runs a traditional campaign. That is, blue collar voters, union voters, women. Obama is nontraditional. He was trying to pull some traditional voters, independent as well as young voters. In Iowa, 22 percent of all voters were between 17 and 29. In New Hampshire, it was 17 percent. So if you take that, plus a loss of women, then you will see how she was able to lead him by beating him by 8,000 votes. She won the large cities.
HOLMES: Sure.
MARTIN: That's what she wanted.
HARRIS: Amy, just a second. Let me give you the last word on this and then I want to get to something else. Go ahead.
HOLMES: Yesterday I talked to one of the Clinton's major, major fund-raisers. You know, their spirits were down yesterday afternoon. One thing he pointed out to me is that in Iowa they felt they were not very well organized, the Clinton team, with the caucus-goers. They had not been well trained. In New Hampshire they were hopeful the New Hampshire voters going into the poll and pulling the lever which gave Clinton an evangelical. Just over organization and training. That may have happened.
HARRIS: Roland, let me take you to Michigan, not really a contest for democrats. How do you size it up for republicans? Are you talking about a two-person race between Senator McCain and Governor Romney? At least one paper in Detroit is framing it that way.
MARTIN: I think in Michigan it a two-person race. But look, Mitt Romney has no chance. He poured all of his money into --
HARRIS: Wait a minute. That's his home state.
MARTIN: Follow me. When I say a chance, he has no shot at the nomination. He poured a ton of money into Iowa. He lost. He was the governor of the neighboring state in New Hampshire and couldn't beat John McCain. He needs Michigan. In fact, he needs a blow-out in Michigan. I think the problem with Romney, he doesn't come across as authentic. Whereas McCain, call him a maverick, call him whatever, disagree with him on immigration, he operates as authentic. Authentic seems to be the word. Hillary Clinton learned that in New Hampshire. Open yourself up. Allow yourself to be more about yourself. That's the difference.
HOLMES: I would agree with Roland that Michigan is make or break for Mitt Romney. His father having been governor. Romney grew up there. You can see that he's changing his message, changing his tact to focus more on those economic issues. But you know it's going to be an up hill climb for him. Remember, McCain won Michigan in 2000. If Mitt Romney doesn't do well here it's hard to see how his campaign moves forward.
MARTIN: Tony?
HARRIS: Yeah.
MARTIN: Real simple, Mitt Romney, bye-bye. It's over.
HOLMES: Oh, you know, it ain't over until the fat lady sings. We saw that last night with Hillary Clinton. No one predicted that win.
MARTIN: You can't keep saying silver medal, silver medal, silver medal.
HARRIS: Let's leave it right there. I don't even want to talk about south Carolina right now. Take this and do that.
HOLMES: I think we can do that.
HARRIS: Amy, good to see you. Roland, great to see you.
MARTIN: Glad to be here.
HARRIS: Thank you, man.
Let's take a big step back for a moment and put these early contests in some sort of context here as we get ready for the news conference between Prime Minister Olmert and President Bush. That context being the delegate counts. Here is where we stand right now. Democrats, Senators Clinton and Obama neck and neck and pledged delegates from Iowa and New Hampshire. Coming up? Okay, great. States also have what are known as super delegates, such as elected officials and party leaders. They can support any candidate they choose. And according to CNN's most recent survey of them, Hillary Clinton hold as big lead in the overall delegate count with 183. More than 2,000 are needed for the nomination. So there is still, as you can see here, a long way to go. On the republican side, three races so far; Iowa, New Hampshire, and Wyoming that Romney has two second place finishes and one in Wyoming. Our survey puts his delegate total at 30. Mike Huckabee is in second with 21. The republican nominee needs 1191. For more on this, just go to CNNpolitics.com.
COLLINS: Just a quick reminder, we are awaiting this news conference between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and president of the United States, President Bush. Coming to the microphone there's, live in Jerusalem. We will have it for you just as soon as it happens.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: At Supreme Court today, Indiana's voter ideal law, does it prevent fraud or franchise minorities and the poor? CNN's Kelli Arena has been inside the hearing at the Supreme Court. Sounds like it is over. So Kelli, what was said inside?
KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Democratic Party, which brought this case to the Supreme Court in the first place, argued that the Indiana law which requires voters to present a government-issued id just too many burden on voters, especially those who are elderly, some minorities because it's very difficult for them to get the documentation necessary, birth certificate, for example. It costs money to get. They argue this is making it difficult for people to vote and, therefore, unconstitutional. The government argued, wait a minute, there is absolutely no evidence that any one, nobody has come forward saying, I was not able to vote because of this new law. And so the government says, you know, what we're dealing with hypotheticals here, if there is a problem, then let's come to court. Let's not do anything before the issue.
So the arguments and the questions today seem to focus basically, Heidi, on three issues. One was how soon does the court need to act if it does? Does it wait to see how this presidential election goes or does it act now to prevent any foreseeable problems? Is this case valid? Is there actual -- are there actually individuals and how many individuals would be inconvenienced? The third is basically the balance, what the government says is a measure to try to prevent fraud versus people who may be inconvenienced by this law.
So very heated though, Heidi. I'll tell you, lots of animated responses and questions. Because this is just as much about politics as it is about law, Heidi. We heard some very animated questions from conservative judges who seem to want to uphold that law and the more liberal judges saying, wait a minute, are we going to let the horse out of the gate and have a problem after the fact of an election. So lots of high tempers in there. More animated than I've seen it before. We should expect a ruling sometime in June, Heidi. Well before this presidential election. That's for sure.
COLLINS: OK. That's what I was going to ask you. It is interesting it seems like this whole thing is going forward without any evidence whatsoever that someone has been affected adversely.
ARENA: That's right. There was actually an aside to this case. There were -- there was a block of people, 32 voters in one county, who had to deal with provisional ballots. Those were not the people who actually brought this case forward. It was the Democratic Party who brought it forward. Lots of very colorful discussion about, you know, whether or not that was the right venue. You know, the Democratic Party just, you know, representing everybody it thinks it can represent or do you actually need real people to come forward and say, hello, look at me. I tried to vote. I couldn't. I've got a legitimate gripe.
COLLINS: All right. CNN's Kelli Arena covering this story for us on voter id. Thanks so much there, Kelli.
HARRIS: We are getting new information about a horrific chain reaction crash in Florida. We've been sharing these pictures with you in the NEWSROOM all morning. Authorities say at least three people have died in a fiery 50-vehicle pile-up on Interstate 4 in Polk County. The highway was blanketed by an eerie shroud of fog and smoke from a nearby brush fire. The fog and smoke have lifted. A short time ago the sheriff said the crews were working to free an injured crash victim.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDD: We have had a very, very tense situation here. Our troopers, our deputies, our firefighters, and certainly our EMTs went into an environment where you could see absolutely nothing in front of you. It was as if hitting a wall of smoke and fog. As a result of that, there have been at least 50 vehicles involved in the major event.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Live pictures now. Boy! Live pictures that really give you a sense of just how horrible that scene is. Interstate 4 between Tampa and Orlando is shut down. We will continue to monitor this situation throughout the morning, but officials say it will likely be hours before the highway reopens.
That actually -- that hurt a little bit. Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM. Thank you, I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: Hi there everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
People want to know, how could he? Police say 37-year-old Lam Luoung, you see the pictures of him there, confessed he threw his four young children off a bridge in Alabama. They are missing and presumed dead today. Lung is in a Mobile County jail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN TYSON, MOBILE CO., ALA. DISTRICT ATTY: We have probable cause to believe that he has committed a capital murder involving the death of all four of his children. It is stunning news.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Authorities are still searching coastal waters for the children. They range in age from four months to three years old. Lung is due in court today. He faces four counts of capital murder now. A news conference is set for this afternoon at 1:00 Eastern. We will keep you updated on this story.
Eight months pregnant and missing. Authorities need your help finding 20-year-old Lance Corporal Maria Louderback. She is stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Her mom reported her missing December 19th. The next day, her cell phone was found near the main gate at the base. The sheriff's department says Louderback's mother told them her daughter witnessed an incident that happened on base and was scheduled to testify about it.
HARRIS: And still to come in the NEWSROOM, heavy rains, melting snow and, boy, floods. You need a boat to get around parts of Indiana today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Really need to catch you up on the weather story. Warm winter weather kicking up another round of tornadoes, rain and flooding. Lets take you to Appleton, Arkansas now. A man was killed when a rare January twister rolled his mobile home off its cinder blocks and sent it, as you can see here, smashing into trees. Heavy rain and melting snow led to flash flooding in Indiana.
Two small children, this is horrible, actually were killed when the SUV they were riding in stalled in deep water. Another man drowned when his truck was swept into a flooded creek. Some people had to be rescued by boat, as you can see here. Hundreds remain out of their homes in Indiana.
COLLINS: In fact, Jacqui Jeras has been following that story for us as well with all this flooding in the Midwest. Some pretty frightening pictures coming out of there.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, really is. Perfect example of why we tell you, don't drive over the roadway if you see water over it. You never know how deep it is. You don't know if the road underneath could be washed out. So you're going to have to use a lot of caution in the upcoming days across northern Illinois, northern Indiana, on into parts of Michigan and also northwestern Ohio. All the dark green that you see here on our map, those are flood warnings. Those mean those rivers are in flood. And we are seeing some record levels in northern Indiana, around Monticello, along the Tippecanoe River and the Wabash River, also out of its banks.
This happens every year here, but this is really unprecedented just how high this river levels have gone along with us here for today. Now, the storm system that brought all the wet weather and the warm weather ahead of it and the snow melt is now across the Northeastern corridor and has really lost a lot of its punch. We had a last little hoorah this morning, so to speak, in upstate New York with damaging winds and gusts up to 75 miles per hour.
Now we're looking at just some light to moderate rain showers here. But it's still a nuisance. It still creates wet roadways and makes travel difficult. And the winds behind are strong, very, very strong. There you can see the wind advisories which are in effect throughout the day for today. And when you get strong winds you also get overcast conditions. It spells trouble at the airport. There you can see some of those delays pushing two hours now at La Guardia. That's trying to arrive into that area.
We've got some troubles out West, too. We've got a new storm which is approaching. We've had series of storms here in the West. And one of the great concerns besides traveling in this kind of conditions is the threat of avalanches. They're doing some avalanche control right now in the Cascade mountains. We've got some pictures to show you from Snoqualmie Pass. Take a look and a listen to this.
They actually use dynamite. If you're not familiar, you're not a skier, perhaps you don't know about this. But they use dynamite and explode the area so that -- there you can see the snow comes down so it doesn't happen on its own and try and keep people safe. So, don't go out on the back-country, Heidi Collins. It just isn't in the Pacific Northwest, it's in Colorado, too.
COLLINS: Yes, I only go with my helicopter.
HARRIS: You adventurer you.
COLLINS: No, no, no. I would never. It is pretty unbelievable when you're skiing and you hear them shooting down the avalanches. Kind of duck and cover.
All right. Jacqui, thank you. Great pictures out of there.
I want to tell you about this story now in New Jersey. An inmate is cooling his heels in jail this morning. Police found Jose Espinosa in an apartment just six blocks from the jail. A young woman was also arrested. You remember, Espinosa and his cohort, Otis Blunt, they're the ones who tunnelled the cinder block wall of their cell at Union County Jail last month. They covered the hole in the wall with posters of women in bikinis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF RALPH FROELICH, UNION COUNTY, NEW JERSEY: That's one down and one more to go. And I'm certain we're going to be successful with it. With a combined efforts of all these agencies, we'll get the other guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Blunt is still on the loose, but authorities believe he may be close to turning himself in.
HARRIS: New details emerging this morning about the kidnapping and killing of the Georgia hiker. Authorities say Meredith Emerson was alive, listen to this, for three days after her disappearance last Tuesday. An autopsy found she died from a blow to the head and was then decapitated. A 61-year-old drifter has been charged with Emerson's murder.
Gary Michael Hilton will be back in court this afternoon. A prosecutor says Hilton led police to Emerson's body, only after authorities agreed they wouldn't ask for the death penalty. Hilton is now being investigated for possible links to unsolved murders. Officials say the Emerson deal would have no bearing on other prosecutions.
COLLINS: Quickly, let's go directly to now to Jerusalem. We have President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, at the microphones.
EHUD OLMERT, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: ... in Jerusalem.
We spent more than two and a half hours talking privately and with the delegations.
And this was very interesting and I think a very important meeting, Mr. President. I think your visit is timely and is very important to encourage the process that you and Secretary Rice helped start in Annapolis a few weeks ago.
And, to me, both sides, I believe, are very seriously trying to move forward with now in order to realize the vision of a two-state solution, a Palestinian state for the Palestinian people and the state of Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people and a Jewish state.
I want to thank you at this opportunity for the friendship and the support for the security of the state of Israel that you have manifested for a long period of time, throughout your tenure as president of the United States of America.
This last year, you decided to increase the annual support for the state of Israel for an overall package of $30 billion, which is remarkable and important, and is very helpful for the future of the state of Israel.
We discussed regional issues and the bilateral relations between Israel and America, and, naturally, of course, the progress that we envisage for the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
And I hope, Mr. President, that you felt, through these talks, that the Israeli team is absolutely committed to carry on these negotiations in a very serious manner, to deal with all the core issues that we need to deal in order to bring about an agreement that will have to be implemented, subject, of course, to the implementation of the road map, as we agreed with the Palestinians, and as you have announced in Annapolis in the international meeting.
That was a very important and encouraging meeting with the participation of so many countries coming from the region and from all parts of the world.
We are dealing with serious security problems. Only today, the terrorists were shooting many Qassam rockets on the southern part of Israel, and mortar shells, and few of the rockets landed inside the city of Sderot.
This is a serious problem. Israel does not tolerate and will not tolerate the continuation of these vicious attacks on uninvolved and innocent civilians living in our cities.
And we made it clear to everyone that we'll take all the necessary measures in order to reach out for those who are responsible for these attacks, and we will not hesitate to take all the necessary measures in order to stop them.
There will be no peace unless terror is stopped. And terror will have to be stopped everywhere. We made it clear to the Palestinians. They know it and they understand that Gaza must be part of the package and that as long as there will be terror from Gaza, it will be very, very hard to reach any peaceful understanding between us and the Palestinians.
Mr. President, I want to thank you for your visit, for your efforts, for your friendship, for the power that you use for good causes for this region and for the world. Welcome.
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: Mr. Prime Minister, thank you.
I view this as historic moment, historic opportunity, Mr. Prime Minister, first of all, to work together to deal with the security of Israel and the Palestinian people -- matter of fact, the security of people who just simply want to live in peace.
We're in conflict with radicals and extremists who are willing to murder innocent people to achieve a dark vision. And this is a historic opportunity for the world to fight that -- to fight those terrorists.
It's a historic opportunity to spread freedom (inaudible) the great alternative to their ideology is a society based upon human rights and human dignity, a society in which every man, woman and child is free.
And it's a historic opportunity to work for peace. And I want to thank you for being a partner in peace.
I believe that two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace is in the best interests of America and the world. I believe it's in the long-term security interests of Israel, and I know it'll provide a more hopeful society for the Palestinians.
And that's why I articulated this vision early in my presidency and that's why I'm so pleased to have -- to watch two leaders, you and President Abbas, work hard to achieve that vision. It's in the interests of all of us that that vision come to be.
I'm under no illusions: It's going to be hard work. I fully understand that there's going to be some painful political compromises. I fully understand that there's going to be some tough negotiations. And the role of the United States is to help in those negotiations.
It's essential that people understand America cannot dictate the terms of what a state will look like. The only way to have lasting peace, the only way for an agreement to mean anything is for the two parties to come together and make the difficult choices. But we'll help. And we want to help.
If it looks like there needs to be a little pressure, Mr. Prime minister, you know me well enough to know I'll be more than willing to provide it. I will say the same thing to President Abbas tomorrow, as well.
I come -- you know, people in America say, "Well, do you really think these guys are serious? You know, we've heard a lot of rhetoric in the past, a lot of grand proclamations."
I wouldn't be standing here if I did not believe that you, Mr. Prime Minister, and President Abbas and your negotiators were serious.
It is my considered judgment that people now understand the stakes and the opportunity. And our job, Mr. Prime Minister, is to help you seize that opportunity.
In the rest of my trip, I will be talking about the opportunity for Middle Eastern peace, and remind people in the neighborhood that if they truly want to see two states living side by side in peace, they have an obligation. Arab leaders have an obligation to recognize Israel's important contribution to peace and stability in the Middle East, and to encourage and support the Palestinians as they make tough choices.
I'm an optimistic people -- person. People say, "Do you think it's possible, during your presidency?" And the answer is, I'm very hopeful. And we'll work hard to that end.
We also talked about Iran. Iran is a threat to world peace.
There was a recent intelligence report that came out that, I think, sent the signal to some that it said perhaps the United States does not view an Iran with a nuclear weapon as a serious problem.
Well, I want to remind people, Mr. Prime Minister, what I said at the press conference, when I discussed that national intelligence estimate.
I said then that Iran was a threat, Iran is a threat, and Iran will be a threat if the international community does not come together and prevent that nation from the development of the know-how to build a nuclear weapon.
A country which once had a secret program can easily restart a secret program. A country which can enrich for civilian purposes can easily transfer that knowledge to a military program. A country which has made statements that it's made about the security of our friend Israel is a country that needs to be taken seriously.
And the international community must understand with clarity the threat that Iran provides to world peace.
And we will continue to work with European countries and Russia and China as well as nations in this neighborhood to make it abundantly clear that the threat that Iran poses for world peace.
So we've had a very constructive dialogue and I'm not surprised. This isn't the first time we've had a chance to visit. Every time we've had, I've come -- I've come away impressed by your steadfast desire to not only protect your people, but to implement a vision that will lead to peace in the long term.
Thanks for having me.
OLMERT: Thank you.
QUESTION: Mr. President, I've heard what you've said about Iran. And Israel's finding about Iran are completely different than the NIE report.
Given the duration and the unpopularity of the war in Iraq, there is a fear, a concern in Israel that your administration will not take the necessary action against Iran.
And a question to Prime Minister Olmert: (SPEAKING IN HEBREW)
BUSH: Let me remind you what the NIE actually said.
It said that as far as the intelligence community could tell, at one time the Iranians had a military -- covert military program that was suspended in 2003 because of international pressure.
My attitude is that a nontransparent country, a country which has yet to disclose what it was up to, could easily restart a program.
The fact that they suspended the program is heartening in that the international community response had worked. The fact that they had one is discouraging, because they could restart it.
Secondly, there are three aspects to a weapons program.
One is the capacity to have enriched so that you can have the materials necessary to make a bomb.
They're claiming they're enriching for civilian purposes. I believe that knowledge gained for civilian purposes could be transferred for military purposes. Therefore, our efforts are to stop them from enriching.
Secondly, the knowledge of how to convert any materials into a bomb. We don't know whether they have that knowledge or not. However, for the sake of peace, we ought to assume they do and, therefore, rally the world to convince others that they are a threat.
Third, they've got missiles in which they can use to deliver the bombs.
So, no matter how you might have interpreted the NIE, I interpreted it to mean you better take the Iranian's threat seriously.
Secondly (sic), I have always told the American people that I believe it's incumbent upon the American president to solve problems diplomatically. And that's exactly what we're in the process of doing.
I believe that pressure, economic pressure, financial sanctions, will cause the people inside of Iran to have to make a considered judgment about whether or not it makes sense for them to continue to enrich or face world isolation.
The country is paying an economic price for its intransigence and its unwillingness to tell the truth.
The Iranian people -- we have no qualm with Iranian people. I'm sure Israel doesn't either. It's a people with a proud history and a great tradition. But they are being misled by their government. The actions of their government are causing there to be isolation and economic stagnation.
People went into office saying, "We promise you this," and, "We promise you this economic benefit," but they're simply not being delivered.
And so we'll continue to keep the pressure on the Iranians. And I believe we can solve this problem diplomatically.
(CROSSTALK)
OLMERT: (UNTRANSLATED)
(THROUGH TRANSLATOR): And the fact that it has certain technological capacities is a fact. And through this, it is capable of realizing that potential and creating nuclear weapons.
And considering the nature of the government there and the type of threats that they are voicing, one cannot possibly disregard that power, and we must do everything possible to thwart them.
Of course, the United States will decide for itself just what steps to take. I can only say one thing: namely, my impression, based on this conversation, as well as previous talks that we had -- and we talk quite frequently, apart from the face-to-face meetings. My impression is that we have here a leader who is exceptionally determined, exceptionally loyal to the principles in which he believes.
He has proven this throughout his term in office, in his preparedness to take exceptional measures in order to defend the principles in which he believes and in his deep commitment to the security of the state of Israel.
In as much as I could sum up all of these impressions this evening, I would say that I certainly am encouraged and reinforced, having heard the position of the United States under the leadership of George Bush, particularly on this subject.
QUESTION: Mr. President, are you disappointed that the Israelis and the Palestinians haven't made more specific progress since Annapolis? And is it, maybe, time for you to apply some of that direct pressure you referred to earlier?
And, for the prime minister, did you offer any new assurances to the president, or do you plan to, that Israel will stop disputed settlement and construction activity?
BUSH: Step one of any complicated process that is going to require a lot of hard work and serious dialogue is whether the mindset is right. You know, it's one thing for somebody to say to the president, "Sure, we're for a two-state," just to make the president feel OK.
That's not the case here. The fundamental questions that I was seeking at Annapolis and on my return trip is the understanding about the power of what a vision will do for peace.
You know, one of the concerns I had was that, whether it be the unprovoked rocket attacks or the issues of settlement, that the leaders would be so bogged down in the moment that they would lose sight of the potential for a significant -- a historic agreement.
And I've come away with the belief that while those issues are important, they certainly create consternation amongst the -- you know, the respective constituencies, that both leaders are determined to make the hard choices necessary.
Now, you know, implicit in your question is whether or not the president should butt in and actually dictate the end result of the agreement. In my judgment, that would cause there to be a nonlasting agreement.
In my judgment, the only way for there to be a vision that means something is for the parties to seriously negotiate that vision.
If you're asking me, am I nudging them forward, well, my trip was a pretty significant nudge. Because yesterday, they had a meeting -- and, by the way, the atmosphere in America was nothing's going to happen, see; that these issues are too big on the ground, therefore, you two can't together and come up with any agreements.
You just heard the men talk about their desire to deal with core issues, which, I guess, for the uneducated on the issue, that means dealing with the issues like territory and right of return, Jerusalem -- those are tough issues -- the issue of Israeli security.
And they're going to sit down at the table and discuss those issues in (inaudible).
I've been briefed, today, from the Israeli perspective of those discussions. Tomorrow I'll be briefed by the Palestinians about their interpretations.
Now, there's three tracks going on, by the way, during this process. One is the vision track.
Let me just make sure everybody understands, in our delegation, the goal. The goal is for there to be a clear vision of what a state would look like, so that, for example, reasonable Palestinian leadership can say, "Here's your choice: You can have the vision of Hamas, which is dangerous and will lead to -- you know, lead to war and violence, or you can have the vision of a state, which should be hopeful."
The second track is to help both parties deal with road map issues. Settlements is a road map issue. Security is a road map issue, in a certain limited sense.
The third issue is to help the Palestinians, one, organize the security forces so that they can better assure their own people and, equally important, better assure Israel that they can deal with the extremists in their midst.
That's what General Dayton is doing here, for example.
Or an economic track. Listen, the best way to make sure that the Palestinians realize there's a hopeful future in which it's their interest to live at peace with Israel is for them to realize that they've got an economy in which they can make a living.
And Tony Blair is helpful on that, and so is America.
And so, you're watching three tracks parallel each other. And the one, of course, you're asking about is whether or not the leadership has got the willingness and the desire and the drive to design a state compatible to both sides. And my answer is, yes, I think they will.
OLMERT: I hope that I don't disappoint anyone, certainly not the president, because we talked at length, if I would say the president didn't ask for me to make any commitments other than the ones that Israel made already with regard to the peace process.
And as I've spelled out on many different occasions, including in Annapolis, which was a very -- as I said, a very important event, the commitment of Israel is absolutely to carry on on this process in order to realize the vision of two states living side-by-side, as I said before.
Now, there are many issues. Settlement is one of the issues. We made clear our position. And I know that sometimes not everyone is happy with this position, but we are very sincere and we were never trying to conceal any of these facts from anyone, starting with President Bush and Secretary Rice and, of course, our Palestinian partners.
They know that there is a moratorium on new settlements and new expropriation of land in the territories. But they also know, and we have made it clear, that Jerusalem, as far as we are concerned, is not in the same status. And they know that the population centers are not in the same status. And there might be things that will happen in the population centers or in Jerusalem which they may not be in love with, but we will discuss it and we will not hide them.
We are not going to build any new settlements or expropriate land in the territories.
We made it clear and we will stand by our commitments.
And we will fulfill all our commitments as part of the road map, because this is an essential part for any progress that will have to take place in the future.
But there are some aspects, only just real life (ph) which one can't ignore. And everyone knows that certain things in Jerusalem are not in the same practical level as they are in other part of the territories which are outside the city of Jerusalem. And so it's true about some population centers.
So there was nothing that happened that was not known in advance to all our partners in this process. We made clear our positions. We made clear exactly what we can do, what we can't do, what we want to do, and what we will not be able to do.
And I think that they all know it. And at least even when sometimes they disagree with us, they at least respect our sincerity and openness about these issues.
QUESTION: Mr. President, regarding the issues of rockets and settlements that you mentioned before, what should, what could Israel do regarding the ever-growing threat from Gaza?
And regarding the settlements, did you get any new assurances from the prime minister regarding the removal of illegal outposts? Do you believe that this time it will be implemented? Do you care about it?
(LAUGHTER)
BUSH: Yes.
QUESTION: (UNTRANSLATED)
(THROUGH TRANSLATOR) member of Knesset Lieberman is going to withdraw from the coalition.
BUSH: As to the rockets, my first question is going to be to President Abbas, "What do you intend to do about them?"
Because ultimately, in order for there to be the existence of a state, there has to be a firm commitment by a Palestinian government to deal with extremists and terrorists who might be willing to use Palestinian territory as a launching pad into Israel.
So I'll be asking that question tomorrow. And, "What can we do to help you?"
I believe that he knows it's not in his interests to have people launching rockets from a part of the territory into Israel. Matter of fact, maybe the prime minister can comment on this in a while, in a second, but at least he's told me that he fully recognizes in order for there to be a state, he cannot be a safe haven for terrorists that want to destroy Israel.
You can't -- you can't expect the Israelis -- and I certainly don't -- to accept a state on their border which would become a launching pad for terrorist activities.
And that's why the vision of a democracy is an important vision.
How Israel deals with the rocket attacks, I would hope, is done in a way that not only protects herself, but, you know, worries about innocent life, and I'm convinced the prime minister does.
He understands he has an obligation to protect Israel. He also understands that, you know, he's got to be circumspect and reasonable about how he does it so that innocent people don't suffer.
He just gave you the answer on the settlements.
In terms of outposts, yes, they ought to go.
Look, I mean, we've been talking about it for four years. The agreement was get rid of outposts -- illegal outposts. And they ought to go. And...
OLMERT (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I said earlier, and I say once again, I think it's important to repeat this, Israel has commitments and the Palestinians have commitments. We must abide by our commitments, and we shall do so.
I do not want to use this as an excuse, as a pretext. And, therefore, I say, we demand of the Palestinians that they uphold all of their commitments. And some have not been upheld, not a single one, particularly the most important things that have to do with terrorism, that have to do with the security of the state of Israel, not only in Gaza.
The fact that we, over the past year, have had fewer casualties from terrorism than in any year of the recent years previously is not because the Palestinians have made fewer attempts, but because we have been more successful in a very sophisticated and courageous ways of ours and our security service and our ideas in preventing these terrorist acts.
I'm not using this as a pretext. I'm saying we must uphold our commitment.
I believe that the president has said this fairly and appropriately. We have made commitments. We should uphold them. And we shall.
But let us present a balanced picture. By the same token, we will not refrain from demanding and insisting that the Palestinians abide by all of their commitments.
And their commitments, when it comes to terrorism, are the central key, the pivot, to bringing this negotiation process to a successful conclusion. And I hope it will happen this year, as all of us hope.
I very much sincerely hope that all of those in the coalition will remain in the coalition as full partners.
OLMERT (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): And I would certainly not like to have a political crisis. I don't think that anyone who is responsible -- has a responsibility such as I have would like to see any kind of an undermining of the stability of this government. It is a stable government, a government that has been operating in many different directions, with very impressive achievements, which the party of Avigdor Lieberman, Yisrael Beitenu, is part of this effort, part of these achievements, whether it's in the economic field or the political one, or when it comes to security or the deterrence ability of the state of Israel.
And everyone knows that this government has had some very impressive achievements on its record over the past year. And Lieberman's party was certainly a partner in this process. And I'd like them to stay part of the process.
I think that the gap between us is smaller than it appears. And I will do everything within my power to ensure that the coalition remains stable.
The state of Israel must be part of a serious peace process. We cannot forego this. We cannot obscure it. We must not delay it. It would be wrong to delay it.
Let me say something in Hebrew. Since I know that the president does not speak Hebrew, I'll say it in Hebrew, because, you know, we're not supposed to praise people in their presence. So I'll say it in Hebrew.
(LAUGHTER)
Well, then, what I'd like to say is, thank God I can conduct political negotiations with George Bush at my side, as one of my partners.
Thank God we can conduct political negotiations when the largest and most important power in the world, and the most important for us, is headed by such an important friend of Israel.
OLMERT (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): We have no interest in delaying matters. We don't want to procrastinate with the negotiations, lest changes for the worst take place on the Palestinian front.
And we certainly don't want to delay the negotiation process when we have such political assistance, assistance with respect to our security, too, when it comes to the most important power in the world, being led by a person who is so deeply committed to the security of the state of Israel and to realizing the vision of two states, a person who is fair, who does not hide his viewpoints, who speaks openly about his will to establish a Palestinian state alongside Israel, a state that will be secure, not at the expense of the interests of the state of Israel.
I believe that any responsible political leader in the state of Israel will understand that this is a moment that must not be missed. This is an opportunity that must not be passed up.
We must do everything we can.
OK, we can have occasional internal arguments. This president has said that some very difficult decisions must be made. He is right.
But I am not afraid of difficult decisions. I am willing to contend with difficult decisions. I am willing to make decisions that will entail painful compromises, so long as they enable us to reach the goal that we have dreamt of for so long: to secure ourselves -- to ensure ourselves of security and to give the Palestinians a state of their own that will be vibrant, democratic, open and living in peace alongside Israel.
At the head of our negotiating team is the deputy prime minister and foreign minister. She bears a very heavy responsibility. We work in full cooperation. And I am convinced that she will wisely succeed, together with Abu Ala, head of the Palestinian team, in navigating through these negotiations in such a manner that the vital interests of the state of Israel are served well on the basis of a deep understanding.
BUSH: The interpreter got it right.
(LAUGHTER)
OLMERT: Thank you, Mr. President.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: Mr. President, what is the United States prepared -- what action is the United States prepared to take if there is another confrontation with Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz? Your national security adviser this morning spoke about consequences if there was a repeat.
And, Mr. Prime Minister, why is there no three-way meeting scheduled on this trip?
BUSH: The national security adviser was making it abundantly clear that all options are on the table to protect our assets.
She's referring to, Mr. Prime Minister, the fact that our ships were moving along very peacefully off the Iranian border, in territorial water -- in international waters, and Iranian boats came out and were very provocative, and it was a dangerous gesture on their part.
We have made it clear publicly, and they know our position, and that is, there will be serious consequences if they attack our ships, pure and simple. And my advice to them is don't do it.
QUESTION: Why is there no three-way meeting this trip?
OLMERT: We had a three-way meeting in the United States just a month ago. We are starting now a serious process directly with the Palestinians.
The president met with the Israeli delegation and with me today.
He will meet tomorrow with the -- with President Mahmoud Abbas. And I am sure that all the necessary information will be provided and all the curiosity of the president will be satisfied.
And I do know that this is a very good and comfortable partner (ph).
I don't allow, by the way, trilateral meetings. Maybe in the future we'll have trilateral meetings. We are not against it.
We just found out that at this time in life, considering what we have achieved already and what we are about to start now, in a serious manner, that it was not essential in order to fulfill the desire that we all share, which is to move forward on this process between us and the Palestinians.
I can reassure you, and perhaps through you many of your people in America, that we think -- and I'm sure that the Palestinians think -- that the visit of the president is very, very helpful to the process that we are engaged in, and that it contributes and it will contribute a lot to the stability and the very comfortable environment within which we will conduct our negotiations.
And, therefore, I again want to take this opportunity, Mr. President -- now you don't need an interpreter, I believe...
(LAUGHTER)
... to thank you very much; really, to thank you for your friendship and your support and the courage that you inspire in all of us to carry on with our obligations.
It's not easy. You know, sometimes, it's not easy. But when I look at you, and I know what you have to take upon your shoulders and how you do it, the manner in which you do it, the courage that you have, the determination that you have, and your loyalty to the principles that you believe in, it makes all of us feel that, you know, we can also -- in trying to match you, which we can't, we can move forward.
Thank you very much.
BUSH: Thank you, sir.
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