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Israeli Offensive; Graduation Day; Bush Vows to Work with Congress on Guantanamo

Aired June 29, 2006 - 13:33   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A baker's dozen of destruction. Thirteen New York counties underwater and under states of emergency are just starting to dig out and dry out, those areas are. After an aerial tour, Governor George Pataki says damage in his state will hit at least $100 million. The upstate city of Binghamton seems to have gotten the worst of it -- 15,000 people flood as the Susquehanna River flood its banks and kept rising to nearly 12 feet above flood stage, the highest level in recorded history.
And forget what was on the menu here, because in Dolgeville, at a restaurant there, well, that restaurant -- you see it right there -- floating right off the map into the water. It collapsed into the West Canada Creek yesterday, and its owners watched helplessly.

Troubled waters also flow across Pennsylvania as the Susquehanna slowly recedes. New problems come to light. Damage and debris as far as the eye can see, plus a need for fresh drinking water. Tens of thousands of people have just been given the OK to go back to their homes to take stuff. Two-thirds of Pennsylvania's counties remain under states of emergency.

The governor is calling it a disaster along the Delaware. That river is still rising, and expected to crest this hour in New Hope, just north of Philadelphia.

Arrests, airstrikes, kidnappings and killings. Not Iraq this time; it's the state of affairs between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel sent warplanes after targets inside Gaza City today and pounded northern Gaza with artillery fire. That's the military phase of an effort to recover a kidnapped Israeli soldier. Another phase is affecting the Palestinian leadership.

With more on that, CNN's John Vause in Gaza City -- John.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka.

We're getting word from Palestinian sources tonight that a major Israeli ground offensive due to get under way about 30 minutes ago may now be on hold. According to a number of Israeli media reports -- and we have reason to believe these are, in fact, accurate, according to our own sources -- the delay, not the cancellation, but the delay of the offensive comes after a request from negotiators from Egypt and Qatar for more time in the hopes of securing a diplomatic breakthrough in trying to free the 19-year-old Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit who's been held hostage here in Gaza since Sunday -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Potential arrests, John, involving some Hamas figures?

VAUSE: Well, now with almost all of the Hamas cabinet either in hiding or in the hands of the Israelis, the Palestinian government really has ceased to effectively function. Hamas has declared this an act of open war, and the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, has called on the U.N. to intervene to try and negotiate their release. Israel says the timing of all of this is purely coincidental. Not many Palestinians actually believe that. Many Palestinians, or some leading Palestinians rather, here in Gaza, say the time has now come for the Palestinian Authority to be dismantled and responsibility for the Palestinian territories now be handed to either Israel or the United Nations -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: John Vause in Gaza City, thanks so much for that update.

Is this stomp and circumstance? Celebrations in Baghdad. And with good reason. These men and more than 300 of their colleagues just wrapped up two months of tough training to join Iraq's national police force.

CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is in Baghdad with more on that -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, there was something of a surprise when the minister of interior arrived at the police graduation ceremony today. Ten weeks of training for those 320 recruits at their passing-out parade. It was going to be the a first, because this was the first time they were going to pledge allegiance to the people of Iraq and to the country of Iraq. But what happened when the minister of interior arrived is there was a large and spontaneous cheering from the crowd, but they were chanting Shia slogans. And this is very surprising, because it comes at a time when the government of Iraq and the police in Iraq are trying to show that they are not, as the Sunni population here fears -- that they are not a Shia-dominated police force for a majority-Shia population. So it was very surprising to see this kind of reception for the minister of interior, who is himself a Shia -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Nic Robertson. Thank you so much for that update.

Straight ahead on LIVE FROM, we'll hear from the attorney for Salim Ahmed Hamdan, the man at the center of a lawsuit involving Guantanamo, and today's Supreme Court ruling. Attorney Neal Katyal (ph) joins me live.

Also live this hour, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. He authored a bill to strip the Guantanamo detainees of their habeas corpus rights.

Stay with CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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WHITFIELD: President Bush says he'll work with Congress to revise plans for trying terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina authored a bill to strip the Guantanamo detainees of their habeas corpus rights. He joins us from the Russell Rotunda at the U.S. Capitol.

And Senator Graham, good to see you.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Hello.

WHITFIELD: In a statement released earlier, you expressed that you're disappointed from today's Supreme Court ruling. But already the wheels are in motion to try to come up with another way to prosecute these detainees?

GRAHAM: Well, I'm disappointed in this regard. I thought the statute was clear in terms of retroactive application. The statute that I authored allowed military commissions to go forward in appeals to civilian courts, but the court looked at it in terms of a prospective rather than a retroactive application.

But here's what the court said that I agree with. The court said that military commissions would be proper if Congress blessed those commissions, that the president by himself could not do this, that he had to come to Congress and get the Congress to bless the military tribunal. I agree with that. I think it would be better off if the Congress and the White House work together to pass a statute that would allow these terrorists to be tried in a military court.

WHITFIELD: So you are pursuing now measures to go toward...

GRAHAM: Yes.

WHITFIELD: ... getting a military commission in place. Is it out of the realm of possibilities to try these detainees in a civilian court?

GRAHAM: I think it would be a huge mistake. We're at war and every other war we've been in, people like this have been tried in the military. The executive order passed by President Bush did not meet constitutional muster. I wouldn't want to be a juror in a civilian court involved in a terrorist trial.

It needs to be in a military venue. We need to pass the statute the court will bless. They gave us the road map to how to do this. We can do it in a way to be proud of as a nation and a model for the world. And I am going to work with my colleagues to pass a statute authorizing military tribunals for terrorists. And I think once we do that, this problem will be behind us.

WHITFIELD: Well, Senator Graham, earlier on CNN, we also got a chance to hear from one of the attorneys representing the defendant Hamdan. His name is Neal Katyal. This is what he had to say earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEAL KATYAL, REPRESENTED SALIM AHMED HAMDAN: Mr. Hamdan is going to get the fair trial that he's wanted from the start. I mean, the reason why this case was filed is because four years ago, the president made a decision to create a trial system on his own at Guantanamo Bay, a trial system that doesn't comport with even the most basic values that we have as a nation. And today the Supreme Court said, you can't do that. You've got to go -- we're a government of laws. And those laws require a fair trial.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Senator Graham, how do you see this ruling today affecting all of the 450 detainees at Guantanamo, not just Hamdan?

GRAHAM: Well, what it does, it says that you can hold an enemy combatant like Mr. Hamdan off the battlefield and that's a lawful act. The Supreme Court did not require these people to be let go. They simply said in a 5-3 decision that if you want to try them, Mr. President, you need to get Congress involved.

And I agree with the attorney. We want a fair trial. That fair trial should occur in a military venue, not a civilian court. And the Supreme Court today told the president you have the right and you have the obligation to go to Congress and work with them to pass a statute.

I believe the president will follow the Supreme Court's advice to come to Congress. The president is right to try these people in a military setting, not a civilian setting. We need to do it together, Congress and the executive branch, and I think that will happen soon.

WHITFIELD: So, Senator, the Supreme Court didn't set a timetable, but what do you believe is reasonable?

GRAHAM: What I think we should do is have two systems at Guantanamo Bay. Those who have committed war crimes should be tried in a fair arena governed by the military with due process. Those that are not war criminals, but merely enemy combatants, foot soldiers in the war on terror, should be given due process rights and every year their case should be looked at to see whether or not they remain a threat to our country and have intelligence value.

Two hundred and thirty have been released. So we have a process in place to keep people off the battlefield and let people go who are no longer a threat. We need a process in place to try the war criminal. Congress needs to act with the president and I believe we will.

WHITFIELD: All right, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. Thanks so much for your time.

GRAHAM: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Washed away. Homes and businesses give way to floodwaters in the Northeast. An update straight ahead on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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WHITFIELD: We're all still watching the big flooding in the Northeast.

CNN's Mary Snow is keeping watch on the water line downstream from Wilkes-Barre. Here's her view of life along the Susquehanna River in flood-ravaged Plains, Pennsylvania.

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MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here in Plains, Pennsylvania, residents are doing what they can to get home, in some cases using a tractor. In other cases, using trucks to get through a road like this one leading to their homes.

This was one of the worst, hard-hit areas in Pennsylvania, Luzerne County. An evacuation order was lifted. People are going home, but the big clean-up begins. Some of the homes we visited were several feet underwater in their basements, but they say they've experienced much worse.

They say the difference between this and two other floods in the past couple of years has been the speed in which the water came in and the speed in which it went out. Still, a lot of problems, though, facing these communities. Several are without running water and without power.

Mary Snow, CNN, Plains, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Rain, humidity, lower temperatures -- firefighters in Nevada couldn't ask for more. Today's weather is finally allowing them to mop up one fire near Carson City and to keep another one outside of Elko from spreading.

Arizona has called in almost 900 firefighters to battle that state's largest wildfire of the year. It's burned nearly 60,000 acres north of the Grand Canyon. Not even half of it is under control, however. Like so many others lately, the fire was sparked by lightning.

And you'll know in the next hour whether your credit card interest is going up again. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his team are expected to raise interest rates for the 17th time in two years. You'll hear the announcement first right here on CNN at 2:15 p.m. Eastern.

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WHITFIELD: Well, this just in out of Iraq. Just north of Baghdad, in Kirkuk, reports indicate that a suicide car bomber has hit a funeral procession, leading to the deaths of 17 people and the wounding of 50 others. When we get more information on this, we'll be able to bring it to you.

Meantime, every six weeks or so, we ask the same question. Will the Federal Reserve raise interest rates? Or maybe better yet, Susan Lisovicz, why do they keep doing this? It seems like every time we turn a corner the interest rates are going up again and again.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Because inflation, unfortunately, is very stubborn and persistent, Fred. And, you now, every six weeks I pretty much have the same answer for you. Another rate hike almost a forgone conclusion. As they say here, it's already baked in the cake.

The Central Bank will announce its decision in about 25 minutes. The expected hike will be the 17th in a row since the Fed began its campaign of rate heightening two years ago. And assuming it's a quarter point increase, it will raise the federal fund's raise to 5.25 percent. That's the highest level we've seen in more than five years.

The unanswered question surrounds the statement that comes out with a decision. Investors will be looking for clues that policymakers are still concerned about inflation which would leave the door open for another rate hike in about six weeks or so in August -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Oh, perfect timing. OK, Ben Bernanke, he's been accused of giving conflicting statements about interest rates. Why?

LISOVICZ: Well, he's still learning the job. He's a very bright guy, came from Princeton. He chaired the economics department. But the scrutiny he's under is intense. Within three months of taking over from Alan Greenspan as Fed chairman, Bernanke suggested that the Central Bank might pause in its rate hike campaign.

A month later, he gave a tough anti-inflation speech. Those statements led to some of the big ups and downs we've seen in the stock market recently. But, Fed, he's made it pretty clear about this one. The Fed will probably hike and we'll bring that decision to you as soon as it comes.

WHITFIELD: All right, Susan. And so what is the market doing just ahead of this announcement?

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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