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Live From...
Pentagon to Extend Troop Deployments in Iraq; Bush & Sharon Outline New Peace Plan
Aired April 14, 2004 - 12:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STACY CLARK, HALLIBURTON DRIVER: I was brought behind his truck, I seen a grenade. The guy come out of the woods and he threw a grenade underneath the trailer, it explodes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Risky business. Civilians under attack and Marines muscling for control in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE TENET, CIA DIRECTOR: And the staff statement says that DCI had no strategic plan to manage the war on terrorism. That's flat wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: A top spy fires back at the 9/11 Commission.
President Bush live this hour taking questions from reporters, expected hot topic, Middle East peace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Frank Buckley in Los Angeles where we have an incredible story of survival involving a five-year-old girl. That story coming up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. Miles is on assignment. CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.
Up first this hour, stalemates and milestones in Iraq and a bombshell for journalists and other non-Iraqis working in Baghdad.
This is it. A rocket crashing through the upper floor of the Baghdad Sheraton, rattling nerves but remarkably causing no real injuries.
The stalemate is military. U.S. troops facing down but not doing all-out battle with Iraqi insurgents.
And the milestone is political and still in the future, though a U.N. envoy is confident they'll be achieved.
Keeping watch on all of the day's events is CNN's Karl Penhaul who is in Baghdad -- Karl.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra.
Yes, certainly the main political event of today was the afternoon press briefing by U.N. special envoy to Iraq, Lakhdar Brahimi. And really what he was doing for the first time in such detail was sketching out the kind of interim government that should take over control from the coalition occupational authorities after June 30.
Mr. Brahimi was saying that in charge of the government as a whole will be a president. He will be followed by two vice presidents. There will be a prime minister in charge of a cabinet of ministers.
And then shortly after the handover of sovereignty to this caretaker government on June 30, they widely expect a national conference to take place. And at that point, delegates to that conference will choose a legislative assembly, if you like, a parliament. And that will then lead the country towards January 2005 when, with U.N. help, Iraqis are expected to hold elections.
That said, Mr. Brahimi did signal great U.N. concern for the recent wave of violence which over the last two weeks we're told by Pentagon sources has claimed the lives of 91 coalition soldiers. We understand that more than 700 Iraqis combatants have been killed in that time. Now Mr. Brahimi said if that kind of climate of insecurity continues until January 2005, then it will be very difficult to organize elections at that stage.
Now, moving on as part of that overall insecurity, there's been a rash of international hostage-taking. We understand more than 40 international hostages are being held at this time according to coalition authorities. There was good news though today for one of them. A French journalist, who had been seized earlier this week, was released in Baghdad. And we understand in a first call to his editors, he said that he was safe and well and had been reasonably treated -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Karl Penhaul live from Baghdad, thank you.
And the spike in violence means some 20,000 U.S. troops will spend three more months in Iraq than they planned. President Bush promises that whatever CENTCOME wants by way of additional boots on the ground, CENTCOM gets.
CNN's Barbara Starr joins me from the Pentagon -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, as this period of great uncertainty continues, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld now expected to sign the paperwork that could keep 20,000 troops in Iraq for an extra 90 days beyond their one-year tour of duty. Final paperwork hasn't been done but here's how it's beginning to look. About 14,000 or 15,000 troops from the 1st Armored Division, including some of their aviation elements, helicopters, are likely to stay. They will be joined by support troops, medical, communications, transportation. They will also be joined by elements from the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment now in Iraq. They are from Ft. Polk, Louisiana. They are all likely to stay for an extra 90 days now. Their units and their families being notified. They will stay to deal with the insurgency.
The next issue on the table, how to replace them and let them come home as this 90-day period unfolds. What sources are telling us is they feel they have a few weeks, maybe a month, to make that final decision about what new units to send over to fill that 20,000-person requirement that General Abizaid says he needs to deal with the insurgency. They won't make that decision right away. They want to see how the situation unfolds - Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon, thank you.
Well, common ground on disengagement. We'll know shortly when President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon brief reporters on their meeting this morning at the White House. Live pictures now where they will step up to the podium soon.
Sharon wants moral support and/or political cover for his plan to pull Israelis out of Gaza and much of the West Bank. Palestinians claim that would close all doors to peace. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux has the latest now -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, here's what we expect. Both will walk up to the podium. They will make their opening statements and then take a couple of questions. What is going to happen here is that...
(INTERRUPTED BY LIVE EVENT)
PHILLIPS: The president of the United States along with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon talking about their meeting, of course, today and the proposal on behalf of Ariel Sharon, the one that he was sharing with the president about an Israeli withdrawal for Gaza and parts of the West Bank. Our Suzanne Malveaux was also monitoring what they had to say of course to the press.
Suzanne, your thoughts?
MALVEAUX: Well, Kyra, this is clearly a departure from the road map. You may recall back in June the summit with Mr. Bush, Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, all of them committing to the U.S. road map, that series of reciprocal steps to get to that two- state solution.
On the Palestinian side undergoing reform, stopping the violence. On the Israeli side, holding steadfast to security and yet pulling out some of those settlements. What became obvious to U.S. officials really over the last six months or so is that the Palestinians and Israelis stopped talking to one another after a series of violent acts on both sides.
Sharon has come up with this plan. The administration says that of course they're signing off on it because there really are two conditions. First, they say that ultimately they hope that it will open up a dialogue again between Israelis and Palestinians eventually to get to that two-state solution.
So it allows them to say, yes, the road map still is in existence. It allows Sharon to establish his own security buffer here. The big question is the Palestinians. Today Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei saying that he was concerned that the talks over the West Bank, the final status talks over the border were going to fall apart essentially.
So that is the big question here. How do the Palestinians work in with this type of agreement? But obviously, Kyra, it is a face- saving measure on all parts.
PHILLIPS: Suzanne Malveaux, live from the White House. Thanks so much.
Let's talk more about the prospects for peace, the point that Suzanne brought up and also about the discussion with the press there just moments ago. Our guest in Washington is Allen Keiswetter of the Middle East Institute. He has also been monitoring what was said at -- as the president and the prime minister were talking.
Mr. Keiswetter, let's talk about, first of all, this talk about a withdrawal and that it could lead to a civil war. What are your thoughts about that?
ALLEN KEISWETTER, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: Well, I think we're doing whatever we can and working with the Israelis and the others to make sure that doesn't happen, and particularly, of course, the Palestinians. I presume you're talking about in Gaza in this case, with withdrawal of the Israelis from the 21 settlements there primarily.
One of the purposes of the visit of Mubarak was to nail down Egyptian support and to try to prevent this from happening. And Mubarak seemed to be supportive. While he said the Egyptians would not police themselves, they would be willing to train and do -- help the Palestinians to do so. And the hope is that the Palestinian Authority will have that capability.
PHILLIPS: One comment that was made, a female from the Israeli press, asked the question to the prime minister, or actually to the president of the United States, saying pretty point-blank that Sharon's future rests on whether President Bush supports his proposal, his plans. But the president being very strong and coming forward and saying, Sharon's future does not rest on what I do or what I say.
What did you make of that question and do you think that the president's -- what he says and what he does with regard to this peace process does affect Sharon's future? KEISWETTER: Well, I think the answer here is, yes, probably the primary determinants are other things, but certainly one of the major ones is U.S. policy in this regard.
Let me just point out that there's an election in the Likud Party on the twenty-ninth of the month. And the two sort of new points of policy that were in the president's statement, the one relating to settlements, that is the reference to demographic realities, and the other one, the reference to the right of return, well, the point of this is, I think, to pave the way so that Sharon can carry the day when the Likud votes on the twenty-ninth of April.
PHILLIPS: Do you think what is happening in Iraq is any type of distraction with regard to the peace process in the Middle East?
KEISWETTER: Yes, I think it is. And certainly from the point of view of the Arabs, while the Arabs have been very strong -- excuse me, while the Arabs are very concerned with what's happening in Iraq they've always regarded the number one issue as being the Arab-Israeli one and they would prefer we put our emphasis there.
PHILLIPS: Allen Keiswetter from the Middle East Institute, thank you so much for just monitoring that discussion and talking with us today.
We're going to take a quick break, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: DCI on the defensive. In a return engagement before the 9/11 Commission, the director of central intelligence, or DCI, George Tenet. Tenet faced a new round of questions as the panel released its preliminary conclusion, CIA and Tenet personally "did not develop a management strategy for a war against terrorism before 9/11."
Tenet says that is flat wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TENET: Mr. Chairman, some context, by the mid-1990s the intelligence community was operating with a significant erosion in resources and people and was unable to keep pace with technological change.
When I became DCI I found a community in the CIA whose dollars were declining and whose expertise was ebbing. We lost close to 25 percent of our people and billions of dollars in capital investment.
The pace of technological challenged the National Security Agency's ability to keep up with the increasing volume and velocity of modern communications. The infrastructure to recruit, train and sustain officers for our clandestine services, the nation's human intelligence capability, was in disarray. We were not hiring new analysts, emphasizing the importance of expertise or giving the analysts the tools they needed. (END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And still to come today, testimony from FBI chief Robert Mueller. That starts at 2:30 p.m. Eastern, 11:30 a.m. Pacific. CNN will bring that to you live.
Less than halfway through the deadliest month yet for U.S. troops in Iraq, President Bush is vowing "resolute action in order to finish the work of the fallen." In only his third prime time news conference as president, Mr. Bush says U.S. troops have a green light to use decisive force against Shiite and Sunni insurgents. The consequences are failure, the president says, would be unthinkable as for the political consequences of a long and messy war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATE: I don't plan on losing my job. I plan on telling the American people that I've got a plan to win the war on terror. And I believe they'll stay with me. They understand the stakes. Look, nobody likes to see dead people on their television screens. I don't. It's a tough time for the American people to see that. It's gut-wrenching.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Live pictures now out of Harlem, the Democratic nominee-to-be says he wants a new course in Iraq. John Kerry calls for, in his words, an end to the American occupation with the help of the U.N. and other countries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that there is a better choice for America on every single one of those issues. And I believe we deserve a president of the United States who understands how to make America safer and stronger in this world.
I will reach out to other countries, understanding, as I learned in Vietnam firsthand when was the tip of the spear of American foreign policy, I learned what it was like when presidents make mistakes and make bad judgments about how you take a nation to war.
And I promise you that we should and could have a policy in this country that made our troops safer, that reduced the cost to the American people and that had a better chance of success than this president is pursuing today in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Massachusetts senator, as we said, is in Harlem talking about the high cost of college, obviously talking about Iraq also. Kerry proposes free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students who enter public service.
Straight ahead, your money or your life. Dangerous situation for civilians in Iraq. Two of them tell us their story of a narrow escape just ahead on LIVE FROM...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Back to Iraq where widening violence may lead to the evacuation of some Russian contractors now. Eight Russians were kidnapped and released this week in Baghdad. Russia is sending planes to Iraq to bring home contractors if they choose to leave. France meanwhile is telling its citizens, including journalists, to get out of Iraq for their own safety.
Seven civilian contractors working for a Halliburton subsidiary have been missing since Friday in Iraq. CNN's Brian Todd has the story of two Halliburton drivers who narrowly escaped with their lives.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Back from harm's way.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Here comes daddy, mommy.
TODD: A reunion made all the more emotional by the thought of how close it came to not happening at all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nope, not letting go.
TODD: Stacy Clark and Steve Heering, truck drivers for a company called Kellogg Brown & Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton. They had headed to Iraq because the money was good. They say they were scheduled to be there a year and quit after four months.
STEVE HEERING, HALLIBURTON DRIVER: Now people are getting hurt. People are dying. You know, it's not worth it as a civilian, I feel.
TODD: Heering says the job wasn't bad for the first two months then they started taking small arms fire. Then an ambush last week nearly killed both men.
CLARK: The good lord brought me home. I'm telling you all. And that boy right there, I'm telling you all. I was brought behind this truck, I seen a grenade, that guy came out of the woods and he threw a grenade underneath the rear trailer. It explodes.
TODD: Through the smoke and fire they got out, barely. We contacted Halliburton for more details. The company confirms the assault took place during a routine transport mission they were conducting for the U.S. Army. Halliburton says to protect the privacy of their employees they won't release names or further details. But Halliburton does confirm to CNN that Kellogg Brown & Root made a joint decision with the U.S. Army to suspend some convoys until additional security can be put in place by the U.S. military.
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: None of the coalition port operating bases are in danger of running out of supplies at this time. TODD: Halliburton says it has lost 30 people in Iraq and Kuwait from a staff of more than 24,000 in the region. The company says it is hoping for the safe return of American hostage Thomas Hamill, another driver for Kellogg Brown & Root. Clark and Heering say they both got assurances before they went to Iraq.
HEERING: I was told we were going to be secure. You know, the military is doing their job. But it's just -- it's not safe.
TODD: A security expert has this advice for civilian contractors in Iraq. If you go over there, put your game face on and leave it on.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, a little girl with a will to live. She survived a ten-day ordeal after her mom is killed in a car wreck. We have her amazing story.
A new investigation into new allegations against Michael Jackson. We have got the scoop.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Amazing story now out of Los Angeles. A five-year-old girl has been found alive after surviving a car crash and spending more than a week at the bottom of a ravine. CNN's Frank Buckley tells us how she stayed alive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY (voice-over): Workers repairing guardrail found the wreckage first, then the girl. Five-year-old Ruby Bustamante had survived a plunge down a hillside and 10 days in the elements.
OFFICER BOB CLARK, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL: I couldn't imagine having to survive like that for 10 days and without any help and a small child like that. It is amazing that she was able to live that long.
BUCKLEY: A body found near Ruby believed that to be of her mother, Norma Bustamante. When workers got to the two, they found Ruby alive wandering around the car. They did their best to comfort her.
CLARK: A small child complained of being thirsty and hungry and the worker gave her some water and an apple. She appeared to be without injury except maybe dehydrated.
BUCKLEY (on camera): Hospital officials say Ruby had a good night in the hospital. She was able to eat a hamburger and have some apple juice. Family members say Ruby was able to survive those 10 days because her mother had Gatorade in the vehicle and dried noodles and she survived on those.
Frank B, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Other news across America now. A baseless rumor, that's what Michael Jackson's attorney says may be behind another claim of child abuse against the pop star. Police are investigating claims a person was abused by Jackson in the late 1980s. Jackson has pleaded not guilty to molesting another alleged victim.
Barry Bonds hits one into the record books. The San Francisco Giants slugger hit his 661st career home run last night, passing Willie Mays for third place on baseball's all-time home run list.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARRY BONDS, SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: I don't feel I'm ahead of Willie because Willie is my mentor. And he'll always be that. And to me he's the one who, you know, strived (ph) me with his performance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Check this out, the person who caught the ball also caught number 660 the night before.
The Bellagio Hotel & Casino isn't pressing its luck. Crews at the Vegas resort ate testing electrical and security equipment before re-opening this afternoon. The Bellagio has been closed since Monday after a power failure caused it to go dark.
Some kids catch a wave on spring break. Others are happy to come back with an armload of sea shells. Well, a Minnesota boy came home with a haul that's even bigger than he is.
Reporter John Croman of our affiliate KARE explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN CROMAN, KARE REPORTER (voice-over): When you're six years old on a balmy spring day, it can be tough to fit everything in, especially if your motor runs as fast as Evan Schomaker's.
He likes to zoom around on his bike.
EVAN SCHOMAKER, CAUGHT SHARK: Look what -- I can do it with one hand.
CROMAN: Climb a tree or two and then do a little front yard fishing. He'll get them warmed up for upcoming trips to grandpa's dock.
(on camera): How many fish do you think you and your grandpa have caught?
E. SCHOMAKER: I think ten hundred.
CROMAN (voice-over): That may sound like a fisherman's fib but the tail Evan brought back from a spring break trip to Florida is definitely a keeper.
E. SCHOMAKER: It was a big shark, six feet long.
CHRISTIN SCHOMAKER, MOTHER: They didn't weigh it while we were there, but they figure about 150 to 200 pounds.
CROMAN: Evan and his mom Christin were at the tail end of an uneventful fishing charter when a major bite chased away the boredom.
C. SCHOMAKER: Now all of a sudden he yells, I need your help mom. I got something. So I look over. And this little kid is planted with all of his might, and the fishing pole is like bent over the boat. And the line is just zooming out in locked position. I'm like, oh, my, I think you got something.
CROMAN: Some 50 minutes later, with a little help from the crew, mother and son had reeled in the toothy bull shark.
E. SCHOMAKER: It was good.
CROMAN: Good enough to stuff and hang on Evan's ceiling.
C. SCHOMAKER: I'm hoping that he remembers a little bit of the moment when the shark arrives at our door, because I don't know if mom would have necessarily needed a six-foot mounted shark.
CROMAN: John Croman, KARE 11 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(MARKET REPORT)
PHILLIPS: And coming up on LIVE FROM..., reaction to the president's primetime presser, both sides of the political divide.
And back to the hearings as FBI Director Robert Mueller faces the 9/11 Commission live. LIVE FROM...'s hour of power kicks off right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired April 14, 2004 - 12:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STACY CLARK, HALLIBURTON DRIVER: I was brought behind his truck, I seen a grenade. The guy come out of the woods and he threw a grenade underneath the trailer, it explodes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Risky business. Civilians under attack and Marines muscling for control in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE TENET, CIA DIRECTOR: And the staff statement says that DCI had no strategic plan to manage the war on terrorism. That's flat wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: A top spy fires back at the 9/11 Commission.
President Bush live this hour taking questions from reporters, expected hot topic, Middle East peace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Frank Buckley in Los Angeles where we have an incredible story of survival involving a five-year-old girl. That story coming up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. Miles is on assignment. CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.
Up first this hour, stalemates and milestones in Iraq and a bombshell for journalists and other non-Iraqis working in Baghdad.
This is it. A rocket crashing through the upper floor of the Baghdad Sheraton, rattling nerves but remarkably causing no real injuries.
The stalemate is military. U.S. troops facing down but not doing all-out battle with Iraqi insurgents.
And the milestone is political and still in the future, though a U.N. envoy is confident they'll be achieved.
Keeping watch on all of the day's events is CNN's Karl Penhaul who is in Baghdad -- Karl.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra.
Yes, certainly the main political event of today was the afternoon press briefing by U.N. special envoy to Iraq, Lakhdar Brahimi. And really what he was doing for the first time in such detail was sketching out the kind of interim government that should take over control from the coalition occupational authorities after June 30.
Mr. Brahimi was saying that in charge of the government as a whole will be a president. He will be followed by two vice presidents. There will be a prime minister in charge of a cabinet of ministers.
And then shortly after the handover of sovereignty to this caretaker government on June 30, they widely expect a national conference to take place. And at that point, delegates to that conference will choose a legislative assembly, if you like, a parliament. And that will then lead the country towards January 2005 when, with U.N. help, Iraqis are expected to hold elections.
That said, Mr. Brahimi did signal great U.N. concern for the recent wave of violence which over the last two weeks we're told by Pentagon sources has claimed the lives of 91 coalition soldiers. We understand that more than 700 Iraqis combatants have been killed in that time. Now Mr. Brahimi said if that kind of climate of insecurity continues until January 2005, then it will be very difficult to organize elections at that stage.
Now, moving on as part of that overall insecurity, there's been a rash of international hostage-taking. We understand more than 40 international hostages are being held at this time according to coalition authorities. There was good news though today for one of them. A French journalist, who had been seized earlier this week, was released in Baghdad. And we understand in a first call to his editors, he said that he was safe and well and had been reasonably treated -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Karl Penhaul live from Baghdad, thank you.
And the spike in violence means some 20,000 U.S. troops will spend three more months in Iraq than they planned. President Bush promises that whatever CENTCOME wants by way of additional boots on the ground, CENTCOM gets.
CNN's Barbara Starr joins me from the Pentagon -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, as this period of great uncertainty continues, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld now expected to sign the paperwork that could keep 20,000 troops in Iraq for an extra 90 days beyond their one-year tour of duty. Final paperwork hasn't been done but here's how it's beginning to look. About 14,000 or 15,000 troops from the 1st Armored Division, including some of their aviation elements, helicopters, are likely to stay. They will be joined by support troops, medical, communications, transportation. They will also be joined by elements from the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment now in Iraq. They are from Ft. Polk, Louisiana. They are all likely to stay for an extra 90 days now. Their units and their families being notified. They will stay to deal with the insurgency.
The next issue on the table, how to replace them and let them come home as this 90-day period unfolds. What sources are telling us is they feel they have a few weeks, maybe a month, to make that final decision about what new units to send over to fill that 20,000-person requirement that General Abizaid says he needs to deal with the insurgency. They won't make that decision right away. They want to see how the situation unfolds - Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon, thank you.
Well, common ground on disengagement. We'll know shortly when President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon brief reporters on their meeting this morning at the White House. Live pictures now where they will step up to the podium soon.
Sharon wants moral support and/or political cover for his plan to pull Israelis out of Gaza and much of the West Bank. Palestinians claim that would close all doors to peace. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux has the latest now -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, here's what we expect. Both will walk up to the podium. They will make their opening statements and then take a couple of questions. What is going to happen here is that...
(INTERRUPTED BY LIVE EVENT)
PHILLIPS: The president of the United States along with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon talking about their meeting, of course, today and the proposal on behalf of Ariel Sharon, the one that he was sharing with the president about an Israeli withdrawal for Gaza and parts of the West Bank. Our Suzanne Malveaux was also monitoring what they had to say of course to the press.
Suzanne, your thoughts?
MALVEAUX: Well, Kyra, this is clearly a departure from the road map. You may recall back in June the summit with Mr. Bush, Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, all of them committing to the U.S. road map, that series of reciprocal steps to get to that two- state solution.
On the Palestinian side undergoing reform, stopping the violence. On the Israeli side, holding steadfast to security and yet pulling out some of those settlements. What became obvious to U.S. officials really over the last six months or so is that the Palestinians and Israelis stopped talking to one another after a series of violent acts on both sides.
Sharon has come up with this plan. The administration says that of course they're signing off on it because there really are two conditions. First, they say that ultimately they hope that it will open up a dialogue again between Israelis and Palestinians eventually to get to that two-state solution.
So it allows them to say, yes, the road map still is in existence. It allows Sharon to establish his own security buffer here. The big question is the Palestinians. Today Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei saying that he was concerned that the talks over the West Bank, the final status talks over the border were going to fall apart essentially.
So that is the big question here. How do the Palestinians work in with this type of agreement? But obviously, Kyra, it is a face- saving measure on all parts.
PHILLIPS: Suzanne Malveaux, live from the White House. Thanks so much.
Let's talk more about the prospects for peace, the point that Suzanne brought up and also about the discussion with the press there just moments ago. Our guest in Washington is Allen Keiswetter of the Middle East Institute. He has also been monitoring what was said at -- as the president and the prime minister were talking.
Mr. Keiswetter, let's talk about, first of all, this talk about a withdrawal and that it could lead to a civil war. What are your thoughts about that?
ALLEN KEISWETTER, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: Well, I think we're doing whatever we can and working with the Israelis and the others to make sure that doesn't happen, and particularly, of course, the Palestinians. I presume you're talking about in Gaza in this case, with withdrawal of the Israelis from the 21 settlements there primarily.
One of the purposes of the visit of Mubarak was to nail down Egyptian support and to try to prevent this from happening. And Mubarak seemed to be supportive. While he said the Egyptians would not police themselves, they would be willing to train and do -- help the Palestinians to do so. And the hope is that the Palestinian Authority will have that capability.
PHILLIPS: One comment that was made, a female from the Israeli press, asked the question to the prime minister, or actually to the president of the United States, saying pretty point-blank that Sharon's future rests on whether President Bush supports his proposal, his plans. But the president being very strong and coming forward and saying, Sharon's future does not rest on what I do or what I say.
What did you make of that question and do you think that the president's -- what he says and what he does with regard to this peace process does affect Sharon's future? KEISWETTER: Well, I think the answer here is, yes, probably the primary determinants are other things, but certainly one of the major ones is U.S. policy in this regard.
Let me just point out that there's an election in the Likud Party on the twenty-ninth of the month. And the two sort of new points of policy that were in the president's statement, the one relating to settlements, that is the reference to demographic realities, and the other one, the reference to the right of return, well, the point of this is, I think, to pave the way so that Sharon can carry the day when the Likud votes on the twenty-ninth of April.
PHILLIPS: Do you think what is happening in Iraq is any type of distraction with regard to the peace process in the Middle East?
KEISWETTER: Yes, I think it is. And certainly from the point of view of the Arabs, while the Arabs have been very strong -- excuse me, while the Arabs are very concerned with what's happening in Iraq they've always regarded the number one issue as being the Arab-Israeli one and they would prefer we put our emphasis there.
PHILLIPS: Allen Keiswetter from the Middle East Institute, thank you so much for just monitoring that discussion and talking with us today.
We're going to take a quick break, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: DCI on the defensive. In a return engagement before the 9/11 Commission, the director of central intelligence, or DCI, George Tenet. Tenet faced a new round of questions as the panel released its preliminary conclusion, CIA and Tenet personally "did not develop a management strategy for a war against terrorism before 9/11."
Tenet says that is flat wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TENET: Mr. Chairman, some context, by the mid-1990s the intelligence community was operating with a significant erosion in resources and people and was unable to keep pace with technological change.
When I became DCI I found a community in the CIA whose dollars were declining and whose expertise was ebbing. We lost close to 25 percent of our people and billions of dollars in capital investment.
The pace of technological challenged the National Security Agency's ability to keep up with the increasing volume and velocity of modern communications. The infrastructure to recruit, train and sustain officers for our clandestine services, the nation's human intelligence capability, was in disarray. We were not hiring new analysts, emphasizing the importance of expertise or giving the analysts the tools they needed. (END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And still to come today, testimony from FBI chief Robert Mueller. That starts at 2:30 p.m. Eastern, 11:30 a.m. Pacific. CNN will bring that to you live.
Less than halfway through the deadliest month yet for U.S. troops in Iraq, President Bush is vowing "resolute action in order to finish the work of the fallen." In only his third prime time news conference as president, Mr. Bush says U.S. troops have a green light to use decisive force against Shiite and Sunni insurgents. The consequences are failure, the president says, would be unthinkable as for the political consequences of a long and messy war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATE: I don't plan on losing my job. I plan on telling the American people that I've got a plan to win the war on terror. And I believe they'll stay with me. They understand the stakes. Look, nobody likes to see dead people on their television screens. I don't. It's a tough time for the American people to see that. It's gut-wrenching.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Live pictures now out of Harlem, the Democratic nominee-to-be says he wants a new course in Iraq. John Kerry calls for, in his words, an end to the American occupation with the help of the U.N. and other countries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that there is a better choice for America on every single one of those issues. And I believe we deserve a president of the United States who understands how to make America safer and stronger in this world.
I will reach out to other countries, understanding, as I learned in Vietnam firsthand when was the tip of the spear of American foreign policy, I learned what it was like when presidents make mistakes and make bad judgments about how you take a nation to war.
And I promise you that we should and could have a policy in this country that made our troops safer, that reduced the cost to the American people and that had a better chance of success than this president is pursuing today in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Massachusetts senator, as we said, is in Harlem talking about the high cost of college, obviously talking about Iraq also. Kerry proposes free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students who enter public service.
Straight ahead, your money or your life. Dangerous situation for civilians in Iraq. Two of them tell us their story of a narrow escape just ahead on LIVE FROM...
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PHILLIPS: Back to Iraq where widening violence may lead to the evacuation of some Russian contractors now. Eight Russians were kidnapped and released this week in Baghdad. Russia is sending planes to Iraq to bring home contractors if they choose to leave. France meanwhile is telling its citizens, including journalists, to get out of Iraq for their own safety.
Seven civilian contractors working for a Halliburton subsidiary have been missing since Friday in Iraq. CNN's Brian Todd has the story of two Halliburton drivers who narrowly escaped with their lives.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Back from harm's way.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Here comes daddy, mommy.
TODD: A reunion made all the more emotional by the thought of how close it came to not happening at all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nope, not letting go.
TODD: Stacy Clark and Steve Heering, truck drivers for a company called Kellogg Brown & Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton. They had headed to Iraq because the money was good. They say they were scheduled to be there a year and quit after four months.
STEVE HEERING, HALLIBURTON DRIVER: Now people are getting hurt. People are dying. You know, it's not worth it as a civilian, I feel.
TODD: Heering says the job wasn't bad for the first two months then they started taking small arms fire. Then an ambush last week nearly killed both men.
CLARK: The good lord brought me home. I'm telling you all. And that boy right there, I'm telling you all. I was brought behind this truck, I seen a grenade, that guy came out of the woods and he threw a grenade underneath the rear trailer. It explodes.
TODD: Through the smoke and fire they got out, barely. We contacted Halliburton for more details. The company confirms the assault took place during a routine transport mission they were conducting for the U.S. Army. Halliburton says to protect the privacy of their employees they won't release names or further details. But Halliburton does confirm to CNN that Kellogg Brown & Root made a joint decision with the U.S. Army to suspend some convoys until additional security can be put in place by the U.S. military.
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: None of the coalition port operating bases are in danger of running out of supplies at this time. TODD: Halliburton says it has lost 30 people in Iraq and Kuwait from a staff of more than 24,000 in the region. The company says it is hoping for the safe return of American hostage Thomas Hamill, another driver for Kellogg Brown & Root. Clark and Heering say they both got assurances before they went to Iraq.
HEERING: I was told we were going to be secure. You know, the military is doing their job. But it's just -- it's not safe.
TODD: A security expert has this advice for civilian contractors in Iraq. If you go over there, put your game face on and leave it on.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, a little girl with a will to live. She survived a ten-day ordeal after her mom is killed in a car wreck. We have her amazing story.
A new investigation into new allegations against Michael Jackson. We have got the scoop.
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PHILLIPS: Amazing story now out of Los Angeles. A five-year-old girl has been found alive after surviving a car crash and spending more than a week at the bottom of a ravine. CNN's Frank Buckley tells us how she stayed alive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY (voice-over): Workers repairing guardrail found the wreckage first, then the girl. Five-year-old Ruby Bustamante had survived a plunge down a hillside and 10 days in the elements.
OFFICER BOB CLARK, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL: I couldn't imagine having to survive like that for 10 days and without any help and a small child like that. It is amazing that she was able to live that long.
BUCKLEY: A body found near Ruby believed that to be of her mother, Norma Bustamante. When workers got to the two, they found Ruby alive wandering around the car. They did their best to comfort her.
CLARK: A small child complained of being thirsty and hungry and the worker gave her some water and an apple. She appeared to be without injury except maybe dehydrated.
BUCKLEY (on camera): Hospital officials say Ruby had a good night in the hospital. She was able to eat a hamburger and have some apple juice. Family members say Ruby was able to survive those 10 days because her mother had Gatorade in the vehicle and dried noodles and she survived on those.
Frank B, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Other news across America now. A baseless rumor, that's what Michael Jackson's attorney says may be behind another claim of child abuse against the pop star. Police are investigating claims a person was abused by Jackson in the late 1980s. Jackson has pleaded not guilty to molesting another alleged victim.
Barry Bonds hits one into the record books. The San Francisco Giants slugger hit his 661st career home run last night, passing Willie Mays for third place on baseball's all-time home run list.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARRY BONDS, SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: I don't feel I'm ahead of Willie because Willie is my mentor. And he'll always be that. And to me he's the one who, you know, strived (ph) me with his performance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Check this out, the person who caught the ball also caught number 660 the night before.
The Bellagio Hotel & Casino isn't pressing its luck. Crews at the Vegas resort ate testing electrical and security equipment before re-opening this afternoon. The Bellagio has been closed since Monday after a power failure caused it to go dark.
Some kids catch a wave on spring break. Others are happy to come back with an armload of sea shells. Well, a Minnesota boy came home with a haul that's even bigger than he is.
Reporter John Croman of our affiliate KARE explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN CROMAN, KARE REPORTER (voice-over): When you're six years old on a balmy spring day, it can be tough to fit everything in, especially if your motor runs as fast as Evan Schomaker's.
He likes to zoom around on his bike.
EVAN SCHOMAKER, CAUGHT SHARK: Look what -- I can do it with one hand.
CROMAN: Climb a tree or two and then do a little front yard fishing. He'll get them warmed up for upcoming trips to grandpa's dock.
(on camera): How many fish do you think you and your grandpa have caught?
E. SCHOMAKER: I think ten hundred.
CROMAN (voice-over): That may sound like a fisherman's fib but the tail Evan brought back from a spring break trip to Florida is definitely a keeper.
E. SCHOMAKER: It was a big shark, six feet long.
CHRISTIN SCHOMAKER, MOTHER: They didn't weigh it while we were there, but they figure about 150 to 200 pounds.
CROMAN: Evan and his mom Christin were at the tail end of an uneventful fishing charter when a major bite chased away the boredom.
C. SCHOMAKER: Now all of a sudden he yells, I need your help mom. I got something. So I look over. And this little kid is planted with all of his might, and the fishing pole is like bent over the boat. And the line is just zooming out in locked position. I'm like, oh, my, I think you got something.
CROMAN: Some 50 minutes later, with a little help from the crew, mother and son had reeled in the toothy bull shark.
E. SCHOMAKER: It was good.
CROMAN: Good enough to stuff and hang on Evan's ceiling.
C. SCHOMAKER: I'm hoping that he remembers a little bit of the moment when the shark arrives at our door, because I don't know if mom would have necessarily needed a six-foot mounted shark.
CROMAN: John Croman, KARE 11 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(MARKET REPORT)
PHILLIPS: And coming up on LIVE FROM..., reaction to the president's primetime presser, both sides of the political divide.
And back to the hearings as FBI Director Robert Mueller faces the 9/11 Commission live. LIVE FROM...'s hour of power kicks off right after this.
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