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Hezbollah Leader: Ready for "Open War" With Israel; People Flooding From Egypt Into Gaza Through Border Hole; California Wildfires Blazing; Difficulties in Efforts to Evacuate Americans from Lebanon; Adib Farha Interview

Aired July 14, 2006 - 13:59   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The Middle East Conflict: missiles, airstrikes, casualties. Here's what we know right now.
Another bunch of missiles, not sure how many, landed inside the northern Israeli town of Nahariya. That's just within the past couple of hours. The Israeli army reports that two family members were killed near Beirut.

The Hezbollah headquarters blasted by Israeli artillery fired from a naval vessel off shore. Hezbollah says its leader is not harmed. In fact, he just made a very tough statement on Hezbollah TV that we are still monitoring right now.

And the Lebanese government says that more than 60 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in those attacks. Nearly triple that number hurt.

Israelis are reporting four dead civilians.

We have reporters all over the Middle East, including John Vause, in Nahariya, Israel; Paula Newton, in Jerusalem; Alessio Vinci, in Beirut; Aneesh Raman, in Damascus, Syria; and Ben Wedemen, in Gaza.

Let's get back to Tony Harris with more on our coverage. He was monitoring what the head of Hezbollah was saying on Hezbollah TV, in addition to the other networks -- Tony.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And Kyra, just to make it clear to everyone who is watching right now, in addition to our fantastic reporters and correspondents around the world, the international desk that you see behind me is working hard on this story. And even as we speak, working on a translation of the speech from Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

We are monitoring nine different Middle East channels right now. Of course, Al-Jazeera, Al-Arabiya. But we're also monitoring state- run Iranian television, as well as Hezbollah television, which, as you know, is banned in the United States.

And once again, as I mentioned, we are continuing to monitor the speech from Hassan Nasrallah, just a bit more of that speech inside the last minute or so.

Quoting now, "We either have two choices. Either we give up to the Israeli domination or we hold still and steadfast. But I know you. As I promised, with victory before, I promise a victory again."

And those are the words purportedly from Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah. We will continue to monitor this situation as it unfolds.

And Kyra, we will get you the latest with the help of the international desk right behind me.

PHILLIPS: Great. Thanks so much, Tony.

HARRIS: Sure thing.

PHILLIPS: Well, Beirut is beneath black smoke today, looking every bit the city under siege. More Israeli airstrikes have targeted the Beirut airport and the Hezbollah-dominated southern edge of that capital.

CNN's Alessio Vinci is there and joins me live -- Alessio.

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.

Well, first of all, let me report to you what is happening right now in Beirut, and you maybe perhaps hear it behind me here. There is celebratory gunfire.

The Hezbollah leader has just ended his audio message on Al Manar television, which has been broadcast by many -- many local television stations here. He has made very inflammatory remarks against Israel, calling on his people to resist, vowing (ph) them to bring victory to their country, saying to Israel, "If you want an all-out war, you will get an all-out war."

And we are hearing now in the area of Beirut that was bombed just before Nasrallah made these comments, we're hearing gunfire. A typical way in this part of the world to celebrate when someone is happy or has something to celebrate.

Let me give you a little bit of background of what happened just before Nasrallah made this appearance on an audiotape -- on telephone on Hezbollah television. Israeli gunboats targeted the headquarters of the Hezbollah in the southern district of Beirut. That is, of course, a heavily Muslim, Shiite Muslim-populated area there. The residences and the offices of many Hezbollah leaders are located in that area.

Now, we do understand that the great majority of those -- that area has been evacuated because, obviously, it remains a high potential. It is a high potential target. And, indeed -- and, indeed, Nasrallah told his viewers that -- his followers that actually he is safe and he escaped unhurt from that attack, indicating, obviously, that he was not anywhere near the building that was hit.

So, it is also important to note, Kyra, that Nasrallah is a highly popular, highly charismatic leader here. He has a huge amount of security around him. Rarely do people know where he is. He makes rarely live television appearances and, therefore, it is quite understandable that this strike against the headquarters of the Hezbollah militia here on this side of Israel, it was perhaps more a symbolic gesture rather than an attempt to kill him.

PHILLIPS: Alessio Vinci.

VINCI: Kyra, back it you.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Alessio.

Well, back to Lebanon in a minute, but first an update on what's happening in Gaza. We're told hundreds of Palestinians are streaming into Gaza from Egypt. A wall closed by Israel to seal off such movement was blown apart today by attackers wearing masks.

CNN's Ben Wedemen is on the phone from Gaza now.

Ben, what can you tell us?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, I can tell you that nobody is streaming across anymore because about a half an hour ago Israeli attack helicopters opened up on -- near an area near that crossing basically to keep people away from that crossing between Egypt and Gaza.

Now, what happened is, about two and a half hours ago, armed militants used a locally made rocket-propelled grenade to open the -- force open the gate that divides Egypt from the Gaza Strip. What they did was they basically opened the door to allow thousands of Palestinians who have been stuck on the other side since the 25th of January when the Israeli Army corporal Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by Hamas militants and other militants.

And so, it was a scene of real pandemonium. When we showed up, there were people coming across the border by foot, carrying their luggage, taxis piled with luggage on the roof. There were even donkey carts with piles of luggage.

Lots of people happy to get back to Gaza. That's sometimes hard to imagine in this place. But they have been stuck, essentially, for almost three weeks at that border crossing. So they were quite happy to get back -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ben Wedemen on the phone there for us from Gaza.

The other battle taking place there, in addition to what's happening on the Israeli-Lebanon border. We're following both places for you -- in addition to what's happening at the U.N. Security Council.

It actually took up the crisis just a short time ago. And our senior U.S. correspondent, Richard Roth, is there.

Richard, we were talking about the vote that went down yesterday, and now today this emergency debate that was taking place.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Fierce rhetoric, fingerpointing inside the Security Council chamber. Another war of words mirroring what's going on in the Middle East.

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry sent a representative here, and he appealed for international intervention to obtain a cease-fire, anything to stop the violence in his country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOUHAD MAHMOUD, LEBANESE FOREIGN MINISTRY REP. (through translator): My government denounces and condemns this Israeli aggression, which is a flagrant violation of all international resolutions, laws, norms and conventions. I need not explain to you here who the victim is and who the aggressor is. What Israel is undertaking is an act of aggression and devastation aimed at bringing Lebanon to its knees and subverting it by any means.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: The next speaker, Israel. Ambassador Dan Gillerman saying what's being done from southern Lebanon is an act of war. And he pointed his finger at the Lebanese representative.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN GILLERMAN, ISRAELI AMB. TO U.N.: I would like to make a personal appeal to my esteemed Lebanese colleague.

Your excellency, you know deep down that if you could, you would add your own brave voice to those voices of your brave compatriots and colleagues. You know deep in your heart that if you could, you would be sitting here right next to me right now, because you know that we are doing the right thing. And that if we succeed, Lebanon will be the beneficiary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: The Israeli ambassador said the missiles fired at his country were made in Iran. The Security Council took no action, Kyra, after this meeting. Just issuing a statement hoping that various countries cooperate with U.N. officials who are going to be touring the Middle East.

Back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Richard Roth, appreciate it. We'll stay on top of that.

Meanwhile, the Israeli resort town of Nahariya should be buzzing with beachgoers today. Instead, it's quiet, and the people there are afraid and still rattled from a barrage of Hezbollah missiles.

CNN's John Vause is there.

John, bring us up to date.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, according to the Israeli military, another two Israeli civilians have been killed in the latest attack of Katyusha rockets fired by Hezbollah militants from Lebanon.

A grandmother and her 4-year-old grandson died in Mount Meron when their house took a direct hit from one of those rockets. At least five communities came under attack in that latest volley of rockets being fired by Lebanese -- being fired by militants from Lebanon.

The Katyusha rockets fell here in Nahariya. That was the second time today that this city has come under attack. At least 30 people have been wounded here.

And the Katyushas have also come down on the town of Safed. There, a dozen people have been hurt. And for Israelis living within about 14 kilometers of the border with Lebanon, they are now being advised by the Israeli military to take cover in bomb shelters, as well as safe rooms in their homes. And those within 40 kilometers of the border, including those who live in the city of Haifa, they're being advised to stay off the streets, to go home. Once there, to stay away from windows and doors -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, John. We'll keep checking in. Thanks so much.

Meanwhile, we've got to get back to Tony Harris in the newsroom working a very big story for us here in the United States, those wildfires in southern California.

What's happening?

HARRIS: That's right, Kyra.

You know, as we watch the developments in the Middle East, we are also keeping an eye -- let's show these pictures now -- of the wildfires in San Bernardino County, California. KABC is our affiliate there, and you see these shots over Morongo Valley, California, where you have, in essence, two major wildfires.

That's been the story over the last two days or so, two major wildfires burning within essentially a half a mile of each other. The concern, obviously, is that these two fires will merge and become one huge fire.

Three thousand or so firefighters working on it right now. More than 61,000 acres of timber burned by the Sawtooth complex and the Miller complex fires.

If you want an idea of the size of this, put five Manhattans -- Manhattan, New York, five of them side by side. Put them all together and there you have it. That's the size of this fire that these firefighters are having to contend with right now.

The forecast calling for high temperatures, 100 degrees and above, low humidity and 15 mile-per-hour winds. That's a cocktail for this kind of thing.

One hundred homes under an evacuation order right now. And the governor, Governor Schwarzenegger, has declared a state of emergency for San Bernardino County.

Kyra, we will continue to follow this story, as well.

PHILLIPS: All right, Tony. Thanks so much.

HARRIS: Sure.

PHILLIPS: And I was just being told -- what did you want me to tease?

All right. I'm being told that we are going to have a live shot coming up in the next few minutes exactly from that scene of where those wildfires are. So Tony is following it for us. We've also got someone on the scene we'll be bringing to you soon.

Meanwhile, exclusive insight into the Middle East conflict. I'm going to continue my conversation with a former Israeli special operations officer and international terror expert straight ahead.

Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We want to talk more now about Hezbollah, the Israeli defense force, and the military strategy in the ongoing battle that's taking place right now.

I'm joined again by Steve Hartov. He served in the Israel defense force's airborne brigades and in a special operations branch of military intelligence. He's currently editor-in-chief of "Special Operations Report."

Steve joins me once again from New York.

And Steve, I want to get right into your personal experience when you were active with the IDF. Tell us what it's like to take on fighters like those within Hezbollah.

STEVEN HARTOV, "SPECIAL OPERATIONS REPORT": Well, you know what's really interesting, Kyra? When I went in, which is quite some years ago -- we're talking the late '70s -- the situation was virtually identical in southern Lebanon.

Now, Hezbollah hadn't yet been formed, but we were fighting the PFLP and the PLO, and Lebanon had been turned into a terror state. Now it's at risk of being turned again into a terror state. I don't think the actual terrorists were any more dangerous -- are any more dangerous today than they were back then, but it was definitely a dangerous business for the IDF at the time and for all of us involved.

PHILLIPS: Well -- and we're looking here at a shot of a Katyusha rocket. You know these rockets well. It doesn't surprise you that these rockets are being used. And you're saying, though, they have improved quite a bit since you saw them in action.

HARTOV: Well, interestingly enough, a number of my first missions with special ops and airborne were against single Katyusha launches in the security zone, which is what we call it in southern Lebanon. However, those rockets were fairly primitive.

They were based on the old Russian air to ground, very simplistic rockets. Nowadays, what I believe hit Haifa this week is a Fajur 3 (ph). That's a 240 millimeter -- 240 millimeter diameter rocket produced by the Iranian air force, and it has a range of 25 miles. These are very dangerous and far different than the original primitive Katyushas that we saw.

PHILLIPS: Once again, bringing in what you have been saying about Iran, supplying these weapons to Hezbollah and other organizations -- definitely, we'll be getting more into the Iran factor and how it's playing into this. But back to your personal experience, so now you've been telling me your fellow soldiers that you know well have been using air assets to take out these launch pads where these Katyusha rockets are.

The airborne assets are quite effective for the IDF, yes? And I know that they've been strategizing. We just saw the Hezbollah headquarters taken out, and they're also going after training camps and other facilities, correct?

HARTOV: Correct. And I think that this is sort of just the beginning of this campaign. Right now, the IDF is in a stage where they're hitting strategic targets to prevent movement of arms and assets, maybe to prevent the Hezbollah fighters from removing the two Israeli soldiers from Lebanon proper. But certainly to prevent the Iranians from resupplying them with those heavy ground-to-ground rockets.

What you haven't seen yet and may yet see are some serious special operations raids against Hezbollah command posts and training camps in the Bekaa Valley. That has not yet taken place, but stand by.

PHILLIPS: And stay with us, Steve. We're going to talk more about the special operations going on right now through some photos that you have, and also the fate of those Israeli soldiers. You've got insight on that.

But we want to go over to Tony Harris real quickly. He's got some developments from the Mideast -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes. Kyra, just want to bring you -- this is the reason why we count on our international desk so much to bring us guidance and context on a story like this.

Now, moments ago, during his speech, the leader of Hezbollah, Nasrallah said, in essence, just to paraphrase here -- stand by, watch -- "We have launched an attack and we have done serious damage to an Israeli vessel." OK? "It is burning, it is sinking," and the like.

Let's listen to that bite first, and then let me give you the other side of the story.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

HASSAN NASRALLAH, HEZBOLLAH LEADER (through translator): The surprises that I have promised you with will begin today, now, in the middle of the sea, across from Beirut Israeli military frigates that had committed aggression on our infrastructure and our civilians. Look at it burning and sinking with tens of Israeli soldiers. This is the beginning, and until the end, it will be a long talk and a promise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK, Kyra. On the other side of that, just moments ago, the IDF confirmed to us that the vessel was lightly damaged -- two messages here -- lightly damaged, and no soldiers were injured.

So, as we -- as we listen to this story unfold and analyze it and, really, look to the international desk for guidance and context on this, understand that throughout this story and the reporting on this story, we are often going to get mixed and conflicting messages. And we will sort that out for you and bring you, as best we can, absolute clarity on this story -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, Tony, keep bringing me the information, because, meanwhile, we have Steve Hartov with us still, former IDF.

And Steve, maybe you can shed light on IDF special operations. Do they have their sights on Hassan Nasrallah and the rest of his legitimate areas of operation?

HARTOV: Well, Kyra, I think I would say that the IDF certainly has been planning to use its special operation forces in counter- terror and counterinsurgency operations, and there are always contingency plans in effect.

The Israelis, for a very small armed forces, has a very large proportionate number of special operations forces, commandos, recon units, forces with very particular skills. And I would not be surprised to see them employed long range in Lebanon. I'm pretty sure that they're already being employed in the shallower aspects of southern Lebanon.

PHILLIPS: So here comes my next question. These captured Israeli soldiers, would these guys be going in to try and find those captured Israeli soldiers? And also, do you think those Israeli soldiers are going to come out alive?

You've been through the training. You've been told what you've had to deal with. You've lived within this environment and fought within this environment.

What do you think?

HARTOV: Well, you know, it's different when you're in the IDF than when you are in a western coalition force. Here in the United States you have something called SERE school: survival, evasion, resistance and escape.

The Israeli special forces and IDF do not put their people through a specific school like that because they're already so familiar with the enemy's culture and environment. I wouldn't say that there is a lot of hope that these soldiers will be released unharmed. I think that the most important thing for the average Israeli soldier is to know that Israel will do whatever it has to, to try to regain a soldier, to try to free a captured soldier, and that's part of the Israeli IDF culture.

PHILLIPS: Hostage-taking is a hobby in the Middle East, yes?

HARTOV: You said it. Hostage-taking, flesh-bartering has been around in the Middle East for thousands of years.

It's not like over here. Taking and kidnapping prisoners, exchanging them, using them for barter is common practice in the Middle East. So what you're seeing here is nothing unusual.

PHILLIPS: My final question. What does Israel have to gain by doing this? And do you think the answer is Lebanese army forces joining forces with the IDF and fighting against Hezbollah?

HARTOV: I don't see Lebanese army forces joining together with the IDF and fighting against Hezbollah. I think the Lebanese army, while they may -- it may be that they would like to be able to do so would not even try to take on Hezbollah. There isn't a fair comparison between the capabilities of those two forces to fight.

I think this is something that the Israelis are going to have to do pretty much by themselves, and are hoping to have the political support of the international community and not much more than that.

PHILLIPS: Steve Hartov, editor-in-chief of "Special Operations Report," former IDF.

Always appreciate your insights, Steve. We'll be talking again.

HARTOV: Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Thank you.

Well, a hot and horrible day in California for thousands of firefighters and for hundreds of homeowners who can only wait to see whether anything will be left when it's all over.

CNN's Keith Oppenheim brings us up to date now from Morongo Valley, California.

And Keith, what you've been focusing on are these two massive fires possibly on the verge of merging.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's possible that they already have merged. We haven't definitely heard that they have.

Right here I've got sort of orchestra seats, if you will, to an aerial bombardment. We're going to push in so you can see what's going on behind me.

That is the edge of the Sawtooth complex fire behind us. And we continue to see helicopters that are going through, and they are dropping retardant on those flames.

Now, that fire is close to another fire called the Millard Complex fire. And if the two fires get together, that could make a northward -- northward push towards Big Bear Lake. That's the worst that could happen, because there are plenty of homes in that area.

We're still miles away from that eventuality. And what fire crews are really trying to do is to build a northern line, a containment line on the northern edge of this fire, so those homes don't get burned.

PHILLIPS: All right. Once again, these pictures coming to us from KABC out of Los Angeles. You can see the fires there, Morongo Valley, California, exactly where Keith Oppenheim is.

Keith, we'll continue to keep in touch with you and follow what is happening there on the fire lines.

Meanwhile, want proof of the global economy? It's as close as the nearest gas pump, where the price escalates with the violence in the Middle East.

More on that straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: "Open war" with Israel, ominous words from the leader of Hezbollah. And here's what we know right now after hearing that.

Hassan Nasrallah promises to take the battle to Haifa and beyond. He spoke on a Beirut-based television station, "We will not be the only ones who lose children and houses."

Nasrallah's fate was in some question before he spoke. His headquarters in Beirut was struck by an Israeli artillery round fired from off shore. Still, we don't know whether his comments were live or recorded.

And Israeli military operations inside Lebanon will continue, at least for the near future. Meeting in Jerusalem, Israel's cabinet has authorized the military to proceed against Hezbollah targets.

Now, Lebanon wants a cease-fire. That is, the part of the Lebanese government that has no control over the militant group fighting Israel. Lebanon's prime minister spoke by phone today with President Bush, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and exclusively with our own Nic Robertson here at CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FOUAD SINIORA, LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER: Lebanon should not really be this way. Actually, the retaliated -- the retaliation of Israel against the abduction of the two -- of the two soldiers across the blue line is in no way proportionate. It is disproportionate to what has been done. And this is not the way how to deal with things.

So this is the way I think the situation is very bad. Lebanon is being penalized for something that is it has really expressed its opinion and that this government has made it very clear that it had no information about the, this operation and it takes no responsibility. And, in fact, it is disavowing what has been made in this respect.

The region, to start with, is still suffering from the problem that has erupted since 1948. And it is taking different forms. And, still, the problem is still going on.

The problem is the Palestinian/Israeli question. And this, this has to be resolved. And this is one of the topics that I discussed yesterday with the secretary-general and with President Bush this morning.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Once again, that's our exclusive interview. Nic Robertson did that for us with Lebanese prime minister. You'll see more of that interview here throughout the day here on CNN. Nic is traveling through the region. We hope to catch up with him soon.

Well, oil prices have soared over the last couple days. And concerns about the situation in the Middle East. Susan Lisovicz has been following it all for us from the New York Stock Exchange. What is the latest, Susan?

(MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Tony Harris, busy day today, monitoring what is happening in the Middle East and also what is happening in California with those wildfires.

HARRIS: Shoulders abroad. And if we can do it, Kyra. I want to show you these pictures again, live pictures now of the Morongo Valley in California courtesy of KABC supplying these aerial pictures of the huge wildfire that continues to burn, continues to be a huge concern out west.

The concern, obviously, is that these fires, there were two that we're talking about here, that they may merge and become one huge fire. And, Kyra, you were just talking to Keith Oppenheim just a short time ago. And in fact, those fires may have already merged and we don't have that officially, but it still continues to be the worry.

3,000 or so firefighters working on it right now. 61,000 acres of timber burned. We're talking about two fires here, the Sawtooth Complex fire and the Millard Complex fire. Think about Manhattan five times over put together, kind of squished together and then you have a sense of the size of this fire. And the weather conditions right now not helping the situation. High temperatures, 100 degrees and higher in some cases, low humidity, winds at 15 miles per hour, sort of fanning this a bit.

So, we will continue to watch it. Hundreds of homes, obviously, under evacuation order. The San Bernardino County declared a state of emergency by the governor, Governor Schwarzenegger. We'll keep an eye on it, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: You know, Tony, as you have been talking about this and taking these live pictures, I got an e-mail from my buddy in the Pasadena Fire Department. You know, Pasadena is just outside of Los Angeles, saying they may get called in to help fight these fires. He said a lot of other fire departments are getting called in to battle this because they need the resources since it's getting so big.

HARRIS: And you just -- you hit it right on the head. I mean, we were just sort of mentioning just a moment ago just to sort of try our best to come up with a visual picture of what this looks like. The size of this -- and the best we've come up so far is think of Manhattan, the size of Manhattan and put five of those together and maybe that gives you sense of the area that we're talking about here. My goodness, I can't imagine that before too long, we're talking about firefighters coming in from other states now.

PHILLIPS: Well, sure. And when you have to work it around the clock, you have to take breaks. They work long hours. And it's exhaustive. I mean, I've been out there and just seen them put on all that gear and breathe all that air and deal with this. And, yes, I agree with you. We've seen forces come in from other states, as well when we've seen these type of wildfires. It'll be interesting to see who helps out.

HARRIS: Absolutely. And I remember covering a couple of wildfires a lot of years ago now. I was think, five, six, maybe even ten years ago, the Malibu fires. I'm sure you remember...

PHILLIPS: Oh, yes, of course.

HARRIS: And I can remember being on the hill there at Pepperdine and watching the firefighters working, you know, as best they could to save those homes there along the PCH in Malibu. And, my goodness, that the fire just jumping from one side of the street to the other -- the PCH, to the other. And then when the firefighters thought they had one area under control, embers would start again and you get another flare up.

So, this is time intensive, tedious work that oftentimes has to be done over and over again.

PHILLIPS: Tony, thanks so much. Let's bring in Bonnie Schneider and have her inform us on the weather conditions there.

Bonnie, they have been talking about how hot it is, extremely hot. And the winds not helping either, fanning these flames.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. And the heat really has been a major problem.

When we take a look at where the fire is -- if we could go to our Google Earth, it's on GR116 (ph), we can show you exactly what we're looking at now. And we'll go ahead and put this in motion, and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Let's take a closer look at that now. And what we're looking at is the area that is in question where we're getting some of the burning at this time. You'll see the area highlighted in red is near Pioneer Town, which is a town that's known mostly for westerns from the 1950s, where they shot a lot of movies. But it was evacuated because the Sawtooth fire has been so large, over 50,000 acres burned.

Now one of the concerns is that the fires will merge with the Millard Complex fire and the next fight will be moving up to the north towards Big Bear Lake. Big Bear Lake is a resort area and that is the concern, that this fire will stretch and spread further to the north to that region.

You can see the lake there. That is to the east of San Bernardino. So this fire situation, obviously, is very, very large. They've already had 1,342 fire personnel working on the fire, including 12 helicopters overhead to work and to fight and to work to contain it at this time.

So that's what we're looking at on our Google Earth. We come back to our maps right now, I'll show you that temperatures have certainly been very, very warm across the region. We still have heat advisories in place for a good portion of southern California.

Temperatures highlighted in this orange area, this is where we're expected to see high temperatures climbing all the way up to 116 degrees, so very hot conditions, dry conditions and unfortunately some breezy conditions that will promote on spreading those fires. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: All right, Bonnie Schneider, thank you so much.

I'm being told that coming up, we're going to talk about all the individuals trying to get out of Beirut: efforts to evacuate Americans in Lebanon. We're going to get the latest from the Pentagon. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Getting back to the Mideast crisis, 25,000 Americans give or take live in Lebanon and the bombing of the Beirut Airport has made getting out a whole lot harder. CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins me live with an update on these possible evacuations. Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Here's the latest. U.S. ambassador in Lebanon of course has authorized the departure of non-essential Americans and adult dependent spouses, that sort of thing from the U.S. embassy in Beirut. But also has said it is not safe for them to travel because of the situation. So, in fact, nobody is leaving at this hour. The U.S. military is continuing its contingency planning, looking at options, trying to see what military assets are in the region that they can move in and take Americans out of Lebanon, if it comes down to that. There are 25,000 Americans, it would be extremely difficult to get them all out of there.

So, if there is an evacuation operation that begins, it is likely to start very small. There are several options on the table. If it is ordered, we are told, it could be aircraft trying to move in, find a usable air field in Lebanon, that's fairly problematic at the moment.

The other option, there are a number of U.S. Navy warships, amphibious warships in the northern Red Sea. They are led by the marine corps ship the Iwo Jima. They could be turned around, come out of the Red Sea, go up into the Mediterranean.

Those marines and their armed helicopters could be sent into Beirut to take the Americans out. There's also Cyprus, about 100 miles off shore in Lebanon in the Mediterranean. They could start some sort of air shuttle back and forth from there. But military sources say all of these options are problematic and very difficult to get 25,000 Americans out and they simply don't know how this is all going to shake out at this point, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Barbara, thanks. In just a few minutes, we're going to talk with our Arab affairs editor Octavia Nasr. She has been having direct links to Lebanon. We'll be able to talk more about those possible evacuations in the Americans that are living there right now.

Well Lebanon's prime minister tells CNN that the current crisis is part of a much larger dispute. In an exclusive interview, Fouad Siniora also questioned why international efforts have focused on restraining Hezbollah, but not Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FOUAD SINIORA, LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER: Why we are being asked to stop Hezbollah, but at the same time, nobody is putting the necessity pressure on Israel to resolve the problem? I mean, the problem, the problem is closing the presence of Hezbollah. Let's get rid of the problem and Hezbollah will not be -- it will be a political party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well with more from the Lebanese perspective, I'm joined now by Adib Farha. He's a former adviser to the Lebanese government. He joins me from Wichita, Kansas. And maybe I should set up, sir, the reason you're joining us from there. I'm told you received death threats and had to move to the United States.

Can you tell me who made those threats against you? ADIB FARHA, FORMER ADVISER, LEBANESE GOVERNMENT: I wish I knew, but I have a feeling that it was certainly someone in the Syrian, Hezbollah camp, you know, one of those allies. But I'm delighted to be here in safety.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's a pleasure to have you. And I know you've got some pretty incredible insight for us, just to shed light on the situation. You heard part of that interview with the prime minister there in Lebanon, wondering why there are so many questions about why isn't Lebanon getting involved in fighting Hezbollah?

FARHA: Let me ask you from a political perspective, a lot of questions about why the Lebanese government isn't taking a different role in this battle. If you look back to 2004 and the U.N. resolution that the government was supposed to disarm Hezbollah, that hasn't happened.

So, why is Lebanon, the parliament, not taking more of an advance stance on stepping up to Hezbollah?

FARHA: Because the Lebanese government is really impotent when it comes to the question of disarming Hezbollah. Hezbollah's military strength grew in Lebanon over the last 20 some years when Lebanon was effectively under Syrian occupation and the central government could not do anything about it.

And this happened -- their growth was despite the government. Now, until the year 2000, there was almost near unanimity of support to Hezbollah because part of the Lebanese territories were still occupied, but that support has dwindled tremendously after Israel withdrew from south Lebanon in the year 2000. And, yet, there was nothing they could do to stop the growth of Hezbollah.

Now, we have regained our independence and we're trying to restore our democracy, which is still quite fragile and we've only been independent again now for only about a year since the Syrians left and if the Lebanese government were to push to disarm Hezbollah by force, then we are risking a new round of civil war.

Don't forget that Hezbollah enjoys the support of a fairly large segment of the Lebanese population, but not the entire Lebanese population. The Lebanese population in general would like to live in peace and we don't want a state of belligerency.

PHILLIPS: But Hezbollah was voted into the government, correct, so it is considered a legitimate part of the government, if, indeed, Hezbollah was voted in. So how do you -- where do you begin?

FARHA: Well Hezbollah was allowed to have one member of the Lebanese cabinet in the hope that that will entice them to become more Lebanese and to start having their loyalty exclusively to Lebanon. Unfortunately, Hezbollah's loyalties, its instructions, its orders and its allegiance is primarily to Iran and then to Syria. So this is the problem that some of us have with what's going on right now.

I realize that Hezbollah perpetrated this whole thing, they provoked Israel. Israel has an understandable right to respond. The only problem is the response, until a few hours ago, was primarily aimed at the Lebanese infrastructure and to send a message to the Lebanese government.

It's not like the Lebanese government could disarm Hezbollah or stop it, and they can't. So in a way, the Israeli campaign right now is punishing the victims rather than Hezbollah. They've got the wrong address. The address is Hezbollah and Syria and Iran, and primarily Syria, which is an axis of evil in the Middle East right now.

PHILLIPS: Well, and we have talked a lot about that. We've talked a lot about Iran supplying the weapons to Hezbollah. We have talked about Syria harboring these type of terrorist activities. We have addressed that.

But with regard to the Lebanese government not being able to take control and do something about Hezbollah, I just want to get you to respond to the Israeli ambassador who spoke at the U.N. not long ago, looking directly at the ambassador to Lebanon and saying this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN GILLERMAN, ISRAELI AMB. TO U.N.: I would like to make a personal appeal to my esteemed Lebanese colleague. Your excellency, you know deep down that if you could, you would add your own brave voice to those voices of your brave compatriots and colleagues.

You know deep in your heart that if you could, you would be sitting here right next to me right now because you know that we're doing the right thing, and that if we succeed, Lebanon will be the beneficiary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: What do you think about that, Mr. Farha?

FARHA: I can't disagree with the part that a lot of Lebanese would like to see an end to Hezbollah's weapons, however, I don't think that I can agree with the ambassador in saying that they are doing the right thing because they, so far, predominant, for the most part, have the wrong address.

If they were targeting Hezbollah, I think most Lebanese would be understanding, even if they don't dare to admit it while they live there. But they're targeting the Lebanese infrastructure. They're trying to pressure the Lebanese and this pressure can only end in a civil war in Lebanon.

PHILLIPS: But the targets that we're seeing -- but the targets that are being taken out are the Hezbollah headquarters or Hezbollah camps, Hezbollah sites. What specifically are you talking about within Lebanon, the Lebanon's government, the Lebanese people, what targets have been taken out by IDF?

FARHA: Well, let's talk about bombing the power plant just in Gee (ph), just south of Beirut. How does that hurt Hezbollah? That hurts the innocent Lebanese. The idea behind that is that Israel is trying to pressure the Lebanese who don't support Hezbollah into a state of rage where they say, OK, we want them disarmed.

You know, in Lebanon, you know, it's not like people can go out on the street and bang on the prime minister's door and say disarm Hezbollah.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: So you're saying the Lebanese army then could not try and prevent that, not try and prevent Hezbollah from taking any further actions trying to protect the civilians in Lebanon. The Lebanese army could not do that?

FARHA: If the Lebanese army would do that, the Lebanese army itself would split along sectarian lines. Don't forget, we have a very fragile Christian-Muslim coexistence in Lebanon. The army would split and certainly the people would split and we would be precipitating a state of chaos, which is not in Lebanon's interest, nor in the interest of Israel. A state of chaos will only produce more terrorism and more of what Israel is suffering from.

PHILLIPS: Former Lebanese government advisor, Adib Farha, I appreciate your time.

FARHA: Thank you for hosting me.

PHILLIPS: You know, it has also been brought up that -- well, final question I'm being told, and I'm going to get in big trouble for this. We missed a break, and it's my fault, and I apologize, but I just didn't want to cut you off with what you were saying.

With regard to the U.S. role, the next question that's been brought up is the United States and how the United States should get involved. We have been talking about possible evacuations of American citizens.

But then a number of analysts and former leaders within Israel, within Lebanon, various countries have been saying the U.S. needs to take a stronger approach, needs to step in, needs to do something, needs to deal with Syria, needs to deal with Iran. What do you think the U.S. role should be at this point?

FARHA: I think the U.S. show -- I mean it is important for the United States to send an envoy to try to bring an end to this and -- however, I don't think Israel is going to stop its military campaign until they soften the Hezbollah targets so that Hezbollah would start to make sense. Right now, Hezbollah is acting outside the Lebanese law, outside international law, and until they feel enough pressure, they're not going to sit at the table.

However, I repeat the pressure right now is shared equally by the innocent Lebanese who are victims, as well as Hezbollah, so I hope that Israel -- that the United States can pressure Israel into correcting the address. The address is not Lebanese infrastructure. It's not Lebanese civilians. It is Hezbollah. It is Syria which is an axis of -- the Syrian regime, rather, which is an axis of evil in the region and Iran.

PHILLIPS: Former Lebanese government advisor, Adib Farha. I sure appreciate your time, sir, thank you.

FARHA: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, straight ahead on the verge of the merge. Two major wildfires on a collision course in California, a state of emergency declared. It's hot, it's windy and 3,000 firefighters are battling the flames. We'll have more for you coming up next.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Amy Smith has a sweet idea to help the environment.

AMY SMITH, INSTRUCTOR, EDGERTON CTR., MIT: And the idea was there is a lot of sugarcane processing and therefore a lot of sugarcane waste so we looked at developing a way to take that waste material and turn it into a useful cooking fuel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This new kind of charcoal burns more cleanly, which could reduce the number of respiratory infections in children and is more gentle on the environment.

SMITH: Most people use either wood or charcoal for their cooking and what that means is that you'll find deforestation is a big issue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The sugarcane charcoal project's first formal training program will be held at the end of this summer, with representatives from about 15 communities expected to attend.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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