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Richardson Withdraws from Nomination; Israeli Ground Operations

Aired January 04, 2009 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Fredericka Whitfield, and you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A shakeup in the coming administration of President-elect Barack Obama today. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, the man tapped to be the new commerce secretary, is withdrawing his nomination. Our Brianna Keilar is in Washington with more on why Richardson did this and what it could mean for the transition team. Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, he is citing a federal investigation into ties to a company that has done business with his state. We actually have some details from two democratic officials who told CNN it's an investigation involving a California company that was awarded municipal bond business in New Mexico after it contributed money to a number of Richardson's causes.

So Richardson released a statement in coordination today with President-elect Obama, and he said that he felt a duty to serve with the economy being in such dire straits, but he said - he went on to say it is also because of that sense of urgency about the work of the commerce department that I have asked the President-elect not to move forward with my nomination at this time. I do so with great sorrow but a pending investigation of a company that has done business with New Mexico's state government promises to extend for several weeks or perhaps even months.

He goes on to say let me say unequivocally that I and my administration have acted properly in all matters and that this investigation will bear out that fact, but I have concluded that the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process.

Now, President-elect Obama, he said in a statement, "Governor Richardson is an outstanding public servant and he would have brought to the job of commerce secretary and our economic team great insights accumulated through an extraordinary career in federal and state office. It is a measure of his willingness to put the nation first that he has removed himself as a candidate for the cabinet in order to avoid any delay in filling this important economic post at this critical time."

No details at this point who will be filling this post now that Richardson has pulled himself out of the running here, but remember, Richardson's endorsement of Obama. It was a very big deal for the then junior senator from Illinois. Richardson had of course served in the administration of Bill Clinton as ambassador to the U.N., and both Hillary Clinton and Obama lobbied for his endorsement.

It was a bit of a surprise, considering his ties to the Clintons, that he didn't throw his weight behind her and instead threw it behind the now president-elect. So the president-elect here, Fred, saying good- bye to someone that he hailed a short time ago as a leading economic diplomat for America. This all happening, of course, even before he takes office.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Talk about timing, you know. President-elect Obama in Washington now, expected to meet with Congress tomorrow. All this taking place, too, while the Illinois governor is under fire. Terrible timing with all of this.

KEILAR: Yes terrible timing, and the two democratic strategists outside of the transition told CNN that Obama aides pushed the withdrawal because they did not want another ethical distraction in the wake of the controversy surrounding the embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Federal prosecutors you know they say that Blagojevich had hoped to barter Obama's senate seat for either money or influence, of course you knew that, Fred.

And one of these democrats told CNN that Richardson was stunned by this sudden turn of events, but democrats who talked with CNN noted it was in keeping with the Obama philosophy of resolving issues quickly, and the other thing obviously is that the president-elect wants to keep things focused on the economy at this point, Fred. He is heading to Washington here shortly. He's going to be on Capitol Hill tomorrow talking with top republicans and democrats selling his proposal for an economic stimulus package.

That is what he wants people paying attention to. You can tell he's trying to move on with this quickly hoping that it won't influence or really impact what he wants the focus to be on.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Brianna Keilar, we'll talking more about this coming up.

Bill Richardson, while he was the first high-profile Latino named to President-elect Obama's cabinet, he has a long and distinguished career in public service. Richardson was re-elected as New Mexico governor in 2006. He was energy secretary during the Clinton administration, and Richardson was also U.N. ambassador during the Clinton presidency, and he served in the U.S. House of representatives from 1983 to 1997. And after his unsuccessful bid for the democratic presidential nomination, Richardson endorsed Barack Obama quite publicly in March.

All right. Day two of the Israeli ground incursion in Gaza. Here's what we know right now. Palestinian security sources acknowledge that Israeli troops are in control of parts of northern Gaza. Reports say Gaza City is effectively surrounded. Palestinian medical sources say at least 37 Palestinians have died since the incursion began yesterday. The Israeli military reports one Israeli soldier died.

Israeli air strikes on Gaza continue. Israeli military leaders say their missiles targeted 45 Hamas locations overnight. Israel says its offensive is a response to Hamas militants who have been firing rockets into Israel. The European Union called for a ceasefire today declaring the Israeli operation is not justified.

CNN correspondents across the Middle East are watching developments, and there you see Christiane Amanpour as well as Nic Robertson who will soon be joining us with their latest eyewitness accounts and interviews from that region as well.

Arab leaders are expected to press the United Nations tomorrow for a ceasefire resolution, and an emergency meeting by the security council last night failed to yield a new statement on Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN MAURICE RIPERT, U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT: We had extensive talks, consultation about the current situation on the ground in Gaza and in the south of Israel. I must tell you that there was no formal agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Diplomats say the U.S. objective to a Libyan- sponsored call for a ceasefire, the U.S. deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolfe defended the move. He says Hamas didn't abide by the council so it's doubtful that they would heed yet another. All right. Let's check in with your senior international correspondent Nic Robertson live at Gaza-Israel border. Nic, what's taking place from your vantage point?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredericka, what we're hearing from doctors in the hospitals inside Gaza, one doctor, a Norwegian doctor at main hospital in Gaza City, he says that since the ground incursion began he's seen a tripling of the number of casualties coming into the hospital there. He said about 30 percent of those casualties, women and children. The Israeli defense forces say that Hamas has been fighting them with snipers, with roadside bombs, with automatic weapons fire, mortars.

One Israeli soldier killed more than 30 wounded in the offensive so far, but one Israeli military analyst with knowledge of the fight said that so far they weren't meeting the kind of resistance from Hamas that their very conservative estimates had initially indicated. And he believed that was because Hamas is not putting all of its fighters into the fight at this time.

But despite the fact that this offensive continues from right behind me where the level of operations is perhaps tapered off during the day, the intensity and the bombardments and gun battles somewhat less. But despite the offensive Hamas firing rockets from right out of the battlefield area where the conflict has been going over in the past just over 24 hours. Now, 40 of their rockets fired into Israel today and two Israeli civilians injured when those rockets hit their homes, one landing in the town of Sderot, not far from here. Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nic Robertson, thanks so much there on the border. CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour also in the region. She spoke earlier today with Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni and right now Christiane is in Jerusalem with the very latest. Christiane.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Fredricka, well the Israelis including the Israeli Prime Minister today has said that they had no choice but to take the action that they have been taking over the last nine days and as you know there's a huge anger around the world over the massive loss of life on the Palestinian side in Gaza where as Nic has been reporting and others a significant portion of those being killed, being civilians, including children. This I put to Tzipi Livni earlier today and she acknowledged the worse civilian casualties and she regretted that.

During the nine days of this operation four Israelis have been killed by Hamas rockets. Now, as I say, the Israelis have been saying that they had no choice but to take this action and to neutralize the Hamas rockets and to kill off Hamas motivation for attacking Israel, but the Hamas narrative is that they had the ceasefire with Israel from June until December 19th and that that ceasefire was meant to have included opening of all the borders and corridors between Israel and Gaza and Egypt and Gaza.

So that there was a business and humanitarian supplies and all the kinds of things that are needed to sustain a population of 1.5 million in Gaza which actually has been strangled for the last three years since Hamas won the election there. Of course, the Israelis never opened those corridors. So Hamas could not get a commitment for Israel to open those corridors, and, therefore, did not sign on to a new ceasefire.

Now the objective is on Israel's side to try to kill off those missile capabilities but also on the international community side to figure out how to end this. I put that question to Tzipi Livni earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Many people are calling for a ceasefire, will you accept a ceasefire?

TZIPI LIVNI, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: There is one thing that frustrates me, the idea of saying something like Israel and Hamas need to stop. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. It's not the same. I'm not willing to put Israel and Hamas in the same package or even use the same wording because as I said before we are expressing our right of self-defense.

Israel is a state which is a member of the international community while Hamas is a terrorist organization. Israel acts against Hamas because its target is Israel. So they know what to do in order to stop it.

AMANPOUR: So you're going to continue until they stop?

LIVNI: They need to stop.

AMANPOUR: And if they don't?

LIVNI: So Israel takes necessary step. It can be during this operation. It can be done later. At the end of the day, they need to understand that we are determined this time to change realities for our citizens. The idea is not to act against the population in Gaza strip. It's not about who controls Gaza strip as long as we can live in peace in quiet in Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: So many people now, including some Europeans are saying that this Israeli operation was certainly not conceived just nine days ago. It's massive, it's huge, it's fairly complex and it must have been prepared for quite a while. Now Tzipi Livni, you have heard, dismissed the idea of any early ceasefire.

But there is a big flurry of diplomatic activity right now, whether it's the Russian presidential envoy on the Middle East who has been sent here, the French president who is coming tomorrow to this territory, the Palestinian territory and Israel and other countries around, whether it's the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair who today has met with Palestinian authority leaders on the West bank and also with the Israeli leaders and is in phone contact with Condoleezza Rice, U.S. secretary of state, and, of course, the U.S. and Egypt trying to figure out some way of not just a ceasefire.

But one that includes additional protocols like trying to prevent any further smuggling of weapons into Gaza, trying to have an international monitoring force on the Gaza-Egypt border, trying to perhaps introduce Palestinian authority again into various sensitive border areas of Gaza and, of course, trying to open humanitarian convoys and corridors.

As I say, Gaza has been strangled for the last three years, and this military activity is providing no - no escape for ordinary Palestinian people. Fredericka, I've seen activity, military activity, over many years that I've been covering wars, and what you normally see is a massive out flux of refugees. Here in this case they are trapped. They can't get out. Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Christiane Amanpour, this top priority for a lot of world leaders and, of course, top diplomats, even Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has put on the back burner a planned trip to China. Instead now, she is going to stay stateside at least for now to try and deal with what's bubbling up here in the Middle East.

All right. Well, Palestinian authority officials say Israel must withdraw. Chief Palestinian negotiators Saab Erakat spoke with CNN's Wolf Blitzer earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAAB ERAKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: What we need to begin, Wolf, is a process of de-escalation and a process of de-confliction. At the end of the day you don't need more military solution. It did not work in south Lebanon. It did not work in Iraq. It did not work in Afghanistan. It will not work in Gaza. This will add to the complexities. The only thing that will be the result of this attacks and military campaign is enlarging the cycle of violence and counter violence, weakening moderates and strengthening extremists in the region.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Just underscoring some of Christiane's reporting, the Palestinian authority president Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to meet in Ramallah tomorrow with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

All right. Live from Ramallah in the West bank, I'll be talking with an adviser to the president of the Palestinian authority, and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, well, he shows his support for Israel by putting his boots on the troubled ground.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every single day, I see people die on the TV we see children that die - innocent children have to die on the floor, why, why? Why do children have to die? Why do innocent children have to die on the floor, why, why?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: One of the voices, a pretty powerful small voice of protest from London. Israel's ground assault in Gaza is in its second day now. Air strikes began more than a week ago.

Sallai Meridor is Israel's ambassador to the United States. He joins us now from Washington. Good to see you, ambassador. All right. We just heard that sound bite from the foreign minister of Israel, Tzipi Livni, who said Israel will not agree to a ceasefire until Hamas stops, but at this point isn't it Israel that that has the advantage in artillery and boots on the ground, et cetera. Is there response militarily from Hamas as of yet?

SALLAI MERIDOR, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Well, we are continuing with our activities to defend our people, and we are now continuing to try and hit Hamas infrastructure and to try to create a situation where there is enhanced security for our people, create a level of deterrence for against Hamas in ways that hopefully will create the grounds for future calm that is durable and sustainable.

WHITFIELD: But has the point been made, that if Israel defends - forces are saying at least 45 targets were nailed upon which include bunkers and places where there's storage of Hamas military arsenal, if those targets were made and if those were successfully demolished, at what point does this back-and-forth violence or at least the offensive from Israel cease?

MERIDOR: Well, this is, I think, a very defensive move. You know, this war against terror or defense against terror is a very complex one, and as you know America and NATO are now engaged in Afghanistan for almost seven years, if not more, in order to defend New York and Washington and London and Paris, and we are doing just the same against the same phenomena, defending our own towns, and these takes time.

These people are fighting from civilian population. We are making every effort to minimize them who are involved. This is for the need of time. And we are doing it very carefully but we are doing it very determinedly in order to make sure that we create a situation where we don't have to face rockets and an Iranian terror base on our doorsteps the day after.

WHITFIELD: How long do you see this taking place, this kind of engagement? The defense minister said yesterday that this will be possibly very lengthy.

MERIDOR: Well, we definitely don't want it to be very long, but it will take as much as it needs to create increased security for our people in ways that our children and the Palestinian children will be able to live in peace. There is nothing we're interested in more than in peace. We left Gaza three years ago not to come back, but the situation where a million Israelis are close to that are being attacked day in and day out cannot continue, and we'll have to take the actions necessary in order to take the actions necessary to improve the situation for us and for them.

WHITFIELD: Well, is there concern that Hamas while militarily they may be defeated as a result of the Israeli offensive, that potentially psychologically there may be a victory because of the disparity between arms here, because isn't that in part what took place from Hezbollah during the Israeli and Israeli conflict with Lebanon and Hezbollah eventually became emboldened a result?

MERIDOR: Well, I think the issue of perception is important. This should be taken into account in how this develops. However, I think one should not forget that since the war in Lebanon we had no rocket firing from Lebanon into Israel, and at the same time we had close to 6,000 rockets and mortars coming into Israel from Gaza, so we need to create a level of deterrence. We need to weaken their capacity to inflict terror. We need to damage their infrastructure, and we need to end it in a way that does not give them a credible basis to claim victory. They will try to claim victory anyway, but the issue is that they should not have a credible basis for that, and this has to do -

WHITFIELD: And what's the responsibility that Israel has to make sure that humanitarian need is met? We've heard from a number of sources which say that the humanitarian aid trucks are unable in large numbers to cross the borders in order to aid the innocent civilians, the Palestinians who are caught in the middle of this crossfire between Israel and Hamas?

MERIDOR: We care a lot for those civilians, and we really don't want them to be in any way damaged and we feel sad for the fact that uninvolved people who don't support Hamas and there are such people -

WHITFIELD: But what's the commitment for Israel?

MERIDOR: We are, I'm sure you know since the beginning of our defensive operation enabled more than 400 trucks, 10,000 tons of supplies coming to get into Gaza. As we are talking, there are Gazans that were taken out of Gaza for medical treatment in Israel. Foreign minister today took the time to meet with organizations that are supplying aid to Gazans in order to better coordinate their activities. This is something that is very important for us because this is the basis of our values that we share and hopefully in the future they will share as well.

WHITFIELD: Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Sallai Meridor, thanks so much for your time. Appreciate it.

MERIDOR: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: And we're expecting to hear from a representative of the Palestinian authority later on this hour. Meantime, standing with Israel, a show of support from New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANE, JERUSALEM RESIDENT: I'm very worried, very, very worried. Worried about everybody's mother's child who is going into a war. I think it's absolutely frightening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Casualties are mounting as Israel pushes forward with its offensive in Gaza. The Israeli military says one Israeli soldier was killed and another was wounded today. The soldier's death is the first since Israel launched ground operations yesterday. Palestinian medical sources say more than 500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza over the past week.

Protesters around the world are showing outrage over Israel's attacks in Gaza. Anti-Israeli demonstrations were held in Indonesia, Turkey, Lebanon, Iran and Syria this weekend. In Beirut, police used water cannons and tear gas to push demonstrators from the U.S. embassy today. Hamas supporters later held a sit-in outside a U.N. building. In Istanbul, more than 5,000 people hit the streets to protest the attacks and burned some U.S. flag and Israeli flags as well.

Chicago and Los Angeles saw pro-Israeli demonstrations. One group waved flags outside Israel's consulate in downtown Chicago Friday. That was before a much larger anti-Israel demonstration there, and this pro-Israeli group in Los Angeles was right across the street from a pro-Palestinian demonstration. Police barricades separated the protesters. One demonstrator held a sign reading Israel must defend itself. Police say there were no incidents and no arrests.

A show of support for Israel from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He's visiting towns in southern Israel that have been targeted in Hamas rocket attacks. CNN's Betty Nguyen spoke earlier with the mayor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN, ANCHOR: Looking at this conflict, what do you say to those who criticize the efforts and cite the fact that they believe that this force is excessive.

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: Well, let me just raise it for you something that will bring it home. If you're in your apartment and some emotionally disturbed person is banging on the door screaming I'm going to come through this door and kill you, do you want us to respond with one police officer, which is proportional, or with all the resources at our command? Just think about it in that context. There's no such thing as proportional response to terrorism. This is not a game that we're playing by the markets of Queensby rules. People's lives are at risk.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Next hour CNN's Susan Candiotti will join us live from New York with details of Bloomberg's trip to Israel.

And thanks but no thanks. What's behind Governor Bill Richardson's sudden cold feet to being part of Obama's cabinet?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Now more on one of our top stories, the stunning news today that New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson says he won't be Barack Obama's commerce secretary. Let's go to CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser in Washington. Wow, talk about timing. President- elect Obama, a lot on his plate saying he wanted to go into the first days of his administration, two weeks away from being sworn in, to focus on the economy, but now it looks as though he's going to be in Washington this week meeting with Congress and now thinking about who is next for the commerce spot.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Exactly, Fred. This is really a distraction for him and gets him off message on the eve of him arriving in Washington and going to Congress. He's going to meet with congressional leaders, as you mentioned tomorrow, to talk about that almost trillion dollar stimulus package and that's what he wants to talk about, but I would assume reporters will be asking Barack Obama, if they get the chance, questions about Bill Richardson and the connection here and what happens next for commerce and this is really about a company, a California-based company, that donated some decent amount to Bill Richardson for some of his causes, among them to register Hispanic and native American voters.

Well, this California-based company then down the road received some lucrative contracts with the state of New Mexico. What federal investigators, what a federal grand jury wants to know is whether there was any funny business with either Richardson or people who worked for him, whether they did any lobbying to get this company these contracts. Bill Richardson in that statement that he put out today said, no, he will totally be cleared by this, but he realize this is a distraction and that's why he's stepping down, Fred, and it is really to him, a big, big disappointment because he was really hoping to be part of the Obama administration right off the bat.

WHITFIELD: It seems like it would be a huge disappointment for the transition team because team Obama has boasted about how thoughtful they have been, how thorough they have been about vetting certain candidates and naming people that they felt they had a lot of confidence in to be easily confirmed for these cabinet positions.

STEINHAUSER: Up until now it seems like they have done a pretty good job. In years past we've always seen candidates; nominees have to step down because of things that came up after they were vetted.

WHITFIELD: How could there have been overlooked, or would it have been overlooked?

STEINHAUSER: Two Democratic sources outside the transition team are telling CNN that, yeah, there may have been some little sloppy work here and this kind of got through, so, Fred what, happens next? Well, Barack Obama needs to pick somebody pretty quickly, would you think to replace Richardson as his nominee. Now two names are out there before Richardson got the job and that was back in the beginning of the December. I was reminded that Kathleen Sebelius the governor of Kansas was mentioned and also mentioned a name out there back in early November after the election was Pritzker (ph) who was a Chicago businesswoman and she also kind of ran Barack Obama's campaign, fund- raising operation, but her name was quickly taken out so what happens next, they have to get back to work and name somebody pretty quickly and get somebody in there as soon as they can.

WHITFIELD: That and the Middle East crises also going to be on the plate as president-elect Obama is sworn in. This is going to be a first order of business as well.

STEINHAUSER: Yeah, and what else about Bill Richardson. There's still a chance that Bill Richardson could come back. What happens to him next? Remains governor of New Mexico, two years left in his term, his term-limited and the can't run again but the statements he put out and Barack Obama put out this afternoon was interesting. It looks like maybe down the road if he's cleared he can come back and serve in the Obama administration in a different role.

WHITFIELD: Some other capacity.

STEINHAUSER: I think he would love that.

WHITFIELD: Interesting stuff. All right. Still potential. All right, Paul Steinhauser, thanks so much from Washington.

STEINHAUSER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Now more on the ongoing crisis in Gaza now in its ninth day. More than 500 people have been killed so far in the conflict. All but five of the report casualties are Palestinian. Israeli ground forces continued their advance into Gaza with a stated aim of stopping Hamas rocket attacks into Israel. Sorely needed relief aid, supplies and medicines are being held up at Rafah border crossing. Egypt says the post has been abandoned by guards on the Palestinian side of the border.

So to help us understand what's going on in Gaza we turn to Aaron David Miller, a scholar at Woodrow Wilson Center and author of the book "The Much too Promised Land" and joining us now from Washington. Good to see you. OK. This really is a tough situation for the Palestinians who say they are kind of caught. You know, Hamas is in control here. Palestinians, civilians can't really do anything. They can't evacuate. They couldn't have done anything with the leaflets that potential bombing would take place. Describe for me the state of affairs there.

AARON DAVID MILLER, SCHOLAR, WOODROW WILSON CENTER: Look, I think the longer this goes on, the more destruction and devastation, the more Palestinians are killed, the more the Israelis invest in the prestige and effectiveness of a ground incursion, the more difficult this is going to be to unwind. The Israelis are determined to hand Hamas a profound military defeat and also to deny them a political victory, and for Hamas, well, for Hamas its capacity to govern Gaza and its whole reason for being as an effective resistance organization is on the line.

At some point when both sides understand that they probably cannot accomplish their designated objectives, you're going to have to have an international heard, either in the form of a Security Council resolution or informal set arrangements that are going to have to be worked out to bring this to an end. It will have an economic part, a humanitarian component, a security regime and therein, Fredericka, is the problem. How wars are fought are not nearly as important as how they are conceived to end.

WHITFIELD: You mentioned the word objective and I'm not sure everyone is clear on what the objectives are for each side. Would you able to glean some light on that?

MILLER: Yeah. I think the Israelis are clearly reacting in the shadow of their 2006 war against Hezbollah and Lebanon. They are determined to create an ending to this where Hamas does not have the capacity to rocket and use the high trajectory weapons, these rockets, to attack southern Israel, and Hamas, having invested enormous prestige and triggered enormous suffering on the streets of Gaza, is determined to have something to show for that.

For example, to open up the crossing points on a regular basis, not only to get humanitarian aid in but to begin to develop the economy of Gaza. That's why for the outgoing Bush administration but more likely for the incoming Obama administration, this is going to be an enormous headache. It is the first major crisis or will be of the Obama administration, and Barack Obama was not elected to be the war president or the peace president. He was elected to be the president of how to fix America's broken house, and yet he's going to inherit a crisis that is going to preoccupy him and for sure the 67th secretary of state of the United States of America, Hillary Clinton. They are going to have their hands full and there will be some very tricky choices that they will still have to make. WHITFIELD: Aaron David Miller thanks so much. We'll talk to you again next hour and we'll talk a little bit more about what this might do to the next administration and why so many other world leaders are now finding their way into the Middle East, whether it be in the Palestinian territory or in Israel and what kind of impact and influence they might have, and I'm talking about the Russian envoy to the French president and even the former British prime minister Tony Blair.

All right. The very latest on the crisis in the Middle East, including the Arab point of view in this conflict. How Israel's neighbors might see things differently and why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Sights and sounds of fighting in Gaza today. An Israeli helicopter fires rockets at targets in Gaza City.

Palestinian authority President Mahmoud Abbas will be meeting with leaders of the European Union tomorrow. Then he heads to New York for United Nations meetings. Mohammad Sheayyeh the adviser to the Palestinian authority president and is in the West Bank City of Ramallah. All right. Give me an idea of exactly what Mahmoud Abbas will be able to tell these leaders, especially since it's Hamas that's really in control and not necessarily the PLO.

MOHAMMAD SHEAYYEH, ADVISER TO PALESTINIAN AUTH. PRES. ABBAS: Well, by all means, the most important issue for the president is actually an immediate stop of all this act of aggression against our people in Gaza, one. Second important issue, there is a diplomatic movement here in the region, quite a number of international dignitaries will be coming here to try to put an end to this Israeli aggression against our people.

The Palestinian president will be at the United Nations Security Council in order for the security council to really come up with a resolution to stop Israel on one hand and call for an international force to take over Gaza from the Israelis and provide security for all parties in the region, not only the international observers, the international supervisor and international force should not only be deployed in Gaza but in the West Bank as well. It is a very serious situation, but civilians have been greeted and targeted and international community should really act now because the number of casualties is increasing by the minute.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. The number is very high, but I wonder what can the international community do? What can the U.N. do to these two sides Hamas and Israel refuse to do? Both are being asked or commanded by so many leaders across the world to simply stop, but each side is saying, well, we're not going to stop until the other side stops.

SHEAYYEH: Well, this is the egg and the chicken. This is a visual circle of violence. We all know that the Israelis are in a position to stop. We all know that the Palestinians in the Gaza strip have been really under siege for six months by now, and we all know that this situation has really been caused by the Israeli occupation itself. This is a cycle of violence. It started in 2002 in the West Bank, and now it has moved to Gaza. We should not really look at the symptoms. We should deal with the causes of all of this Palestinian misery whether it's killing, assassinations, a thousand people in jail, total seizure in Gaza, and 612 military checkpoints in the West Bank and so on.

This misery of the Palestinian people is caused by the Israeli occupation that has started in 1967, so the international community that has been headed should end the occupation of the Palestinian territory and then the West Bank and the internal Palestinian issue because really a very minor issue the moment we handle the most important issue which is this. Look, this is a situation where 40 percent of those who are killed in the Gaza strip are not Hamas affiliates, 40 percent of them are children. I was told just a minute before coming to your program there is a random killing to the houses of the people and this is the cause of the high number of casualties.

As we have seen in all international stations, as I said, women and children, all men have been targeted so this is a situation where it has to stop. It is a pity that the United States in the last 15 minutes of the hour of the American president is not going to leave office with good memories for the Palestinians, even though it's highly appreciated his promise for a Palestinian state who himself couldn't fulfill but in the last 15 minutes of the hour the United States should not have blocked a United Nations resolution to really ask Israel to immediately stop its aggression on Gaza.

WHITFIELD: Well, I wonder how concerned you are also by seeing that there is world sentiment whether it be from particular world leaders or perhaps even citizens who are protesting in support of the Palestinians against the Israeli offensive, yet at the same time does this embolden who Hamas is doing because Hamas and many of the Palestinian citizens are not one in the same?

SHEAYYEH: Well, look, the international public opinion is far ahead of the international leaders. It's very unfortunate. We are very encouraged to see this international movement, demonstrations all over the globe whether it is in Europe, in Morocco, we've seen a million and a half people and in Jordan and everywhere, here in the West Bank.

WHITFIELD: How does that contribute to whether Hamas or Israel is simply digging in their heels?

SHEAYYEH: Well, this is a situation in which the international community should put pressure, should respond to the masses and put pressure on Israel to stop its aggression. We are responsible for our people, even though we are not in Gaza, but I think there is room for a compromise in which there has to be a stop of this aggression, immediate international force to take over and an opening of the international exit whether in Gaza or the West Bank, so this sequence of events is very important to reach a compromise, not only that, but we are heading for elections in both areas in the West Bank and Gaza to really unite the Palestinian institution as well as the Palestinian geography.

It has been very fragmented by this fact. We have been really living in a split, and I think the Israeli aggression does contribute to the total or a more fragmentation of the Palestinian people as well of the Palestinian geography.

WHITFIELD: Mohammad Sheayyeh, thanks so much, adviser to the Palestinian authority and president Mahmoud Abbas and, again, members of the EU will be meeting with Abbas as early as tomorrow, including that of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, and coming up right after this break, we'll be hearing from our Arab affairs correspondent Octavia Nasser telling us how the Palestinians as a whole may be reacting to all of this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. A check now of our top story. The conflict in Gaza. Israeli troops are gaining ground in parts of Gaza. At the same time diplomats are headed to the region in the hopes of brokering a cease-fire. According to Palestinian medical sources, more than 500 Palestinians have been killed so far. Five Israelis have been killed since the conflict broke out nine days ago. CNN's senior editor for Arab affairs Octavia Nasr joins us for analysis on this situation in Gaza. Initially there were a number of nations that were a bit reticent and a little bit reluctant to say anything against Hamas and so they were looked at as being pro-Israeli and many folks were aghast. That's all changing now.

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SENIOR EDITOR FOR ARAB AFFAIRS: It's changing.

WHITFIELD: To a degree.

NASR: Nine days into the incursion. We're starting to see change, change that the citizens of the Arab world were asking for and millions of people across the Arab world asked for since day one of the air strikes and then the incursion and today we're starting to hear some interesting comments. Today they spoke very harshly about the acts in Gaza calling it a war crime, calling it an all-out war, inhumane, he said, and basically he said that he wants to take action. He invited other leaders, Arab leaders, to do something, to have an Arab summit to do something. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHEIKH HAMAO BIN KHALFA ALLEN:-THANI (Translator): I have a message for Israeli leaders. Killing innocent civilians and showing off military pompousness will not bring you or us any security. Instead it will three-day repercussions of catastrophic proportions. Did leaders who planned this war think about generations of angry Arabs and Palestinians growing up with these images?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NASR: So you see the emir here with a cool head sort of kind of dialogue. He is saying we are for peace. We want to have peace with Israel, peace that is there for everybody, not just Arabs so he spoke very, very interesting. He had an interesting statement today and the first time in nine days, you know, he's appeasing some people but some others are saying that's not enough, Fred. WHITFIELD: And what about Jordan. We know the queen; she's Palestinian, always been very outspoken about the struggle, the plight of the Palestinians.

NASR: And the queen we hear has a statement tomorrow, and we'll wait to hear that, but today the prime minister of Jordan had some interesting comments again, some people are saying that he's responding to the street, the Jordan street and the demonstrators in Jordan have been asking Jordan to expel the Israeli ambassador to Amman. They have been asking for cutting off ties with Israel as measures to pressure Israel to stopping its incursion into Gaza so the first time, again, we hear such rhetoric, rhetoric that indicates the prime minister, for example, said that Jordan reserves the right to act against any government, especially the Israeli government.

He didn't really quite say what he's going to do, but basically the position of Jordan right now. We expect, you know, listening to experts across the Arab world. We're expecting more countries to step forward and say that they are willing to go to an emergency Arab summit, willing to speak in one voice and basically the emir of Qatar (ph) today when he called for that summit, he said if everybody speaks in one voice, then we can influence the international community and we can even influence Israel he said, very interesting comments.

WHITFIELD: How powerful is it that the EU, the European Union members, are making its way towards the Palestinian territory having direct talks with the Palestinian authority and among members of the EU also includes Turkey which is the only Muslim nation as part of the EU? Would Turkey have a representative that goes in there as well, and would that make a difference?

NASR: It does. Experts today, analysts are saying this is a very important step towards some kind of appeasing of the situation on the ground. Today in Turkey there was a huge demonstration. Mind you it was held, it was organized by the Muslim extreme, Muslim party in Turkey, but those are the ones that really identify with Hamas. The most important part of this conflict has been that was going to be Hamas' role in whatever future the Palestinian territories will have.

Initially Israel was saying that it wants to paralyze Hamas. Hamas promised Israel that Gaza will be its burial ground. Today on Arab media, for example, they are saying, look, Hamas didn't succeed and Israel didn't succeed in its initial mission and now maybe there is room for dialogue. Basically if the EU members visit the Palestinian territories, promise Hamas some kind of role in the new era, maybe they can convince them to stop shelling Israel and then they can convince Israel to stop its incursion.

WHITFIELD: Nothing simple about any of this, senior Arab affairs editor Octavia Nasr, thank you very much.

NASR: Anytime.

WHITFIELD: Breaking news on the U.S. political front. Governor Bill Richardson bowing out as Barack Obama's nominee for Commerce secretary. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello again. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Fredericka Whitfield. President-elect Barack Obama will have to go back to the drawing board to fill his cabinet. He needs a new pick for U.S. Commerce secretary. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is withdrawing his nomination for that position. Our Brianna Keilar is in Washington with more details on that. Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Richardson or pardon me, Fredericka, Richardson, he's citing a federal investigation as he withdraws his nomination for commerce secretary and two Democratic officials are telling CNN this is an investigation involving a California company that was awarded municipal bond business in New Mexico after it contributed money to a number of Richardson's causes.

Richardson today releasing a statement in coordination with president- elect Obama. This says in part I have asked the president-elect not to move forward with my nomination at this time. Do I so with great sorrow but a pending investigation of a company that has done business with New Mexico state government promises to extend for several weeks or perhaps even months.