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Secretary of State Rice Meets With Egyptian Foreign Minister, Intelligence Minister; Pelosi Criticizes Law Requiring Americans to Pay Evacuation Costs

Aired July 18, 2006 - 13:40   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The White House still plans to send Condoleezza Rice to the region at some point. CNN's Kathleen Koch has the administration's take on the latest events in the Middle East.
What do you think, Kathleen? When will she head there?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, right now White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, neither he nor the State Department, is giving any hard and fast time. Tony did just wrap up the briefing, and most of the questions in the briefing focused, obviously, on the situation in the Middle East, and I'll run through a couple of the highlights quickly.

Snow was asked about the U.S. supporting a stabilization force in the region, and while he said that yes, obviously, the U.S. does agree with other countries, you have to provide stability in the country of Lebanon, that there's a lot of debate right now over whether or not that should be with the Lebanese army or if that should be with international forces.

Then on the question of whether or not Israel is showing enough restraint to satisfy the president, Snow insisted that the civilians who are being injured, it's largely because of Hezbollah. He says Hezbollah uses it as a tactic. It's been a tactic of theirs to place its assets in civilian areas, so he said we certainly do lament the deaths.

And then I questioned Snow about the diplomatic risks involved in sending Rice to the region right now, when, as great Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair said yesterday to the president, quote, "If she goes out, she's got to succeed."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, you don't go there with an empty satchel. You go there if you have business that you think you can go ahead and transact. And the United States is busy working on multiple fronts.

I think the first thing you've got to look at is the report back on Thursday from general -- Secretary Annan's delegation to the region. And then you move from there. We're all waiting, basically, for that to take place. That's the next benchmark in terms of trying to measure where you go in terms of international cooperation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: And so that is, indeed, what the White House says they are waiting for, When this U.N. diplomatic mission returns, perhaps Thursday night, then makes its report Friday, they'll move on at that point, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, let's take it straight to the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Perfect timing, Kathleen. Thanks.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: ... the State Department to Washington, the foreign minister of Egypt and I are launching, today, the inaugural meeting of our U.S./Egyptian strategic dialogue. It is a dialogue that is devoted to the wide range of issues that arise in our relationship. It is devoted to a strengthening of our relationship.

We, obviously, have a very strong and long-standing strategic relationship. But it is, of course, a time of great change in the Middle East. It is a time of great change in Egypt itself and it makes, therefore, even more important our constant discussion and consultation.

We talk about matters of economic development. We talk about internal political developments in Egypt and in the region, and it will not surprise you that, given the circumstances evolving in the Middle East today, that we have spent, already, a good deal of time talking about the challenging situation in the region.

We both have talked about our concerns for the safety of civilians, that all should be concerned about protecting innocent civilian life, about protecting civilian infrastructure. We are, of course, both devoted to the evolution of a stable and sovereign Lebanon on the basis of Resolution 1559, and we have talked about how to improve the circumstances in which that can be carried out.

Egypt is, of course, a good partner as we work for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine, and we have talked, also, about trying to get that situation back on the road to -- or back on the roadmap.

And so it has been a very fruitful discussion thus far. I've promised to buy Ahmed lunch so that we can continue our discussions and broaden those discussions. But thank you very much for being here, Minister, and I look forward to further discussions with you today and in the future.

AHMED ABOUL GHEIT, EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Thank you very much, Secretary. Yes, I'm pleased to initiate the strategic dialogue between the United States and Egypt. The relationship between both is a strategic relationship and it is a lasting -- long-lasting relationship.

We, of course, today, had the opportunity to engage in discussions on the situation in the Middle East and -- the Middle East, meaning the situation in Lebanon, the Palestinian problem, the situation in Gaza. We discussed ways and means to -- how to bring cessation of hostilities to an end, establish a cease-fire, how to create the conducive environment for that cease-fire, the implementation of 1559, the deployment of the Lebanese army to the borders, the introduction of a strong peacekeeping operation or at least the widening of the presence of UNIFIL in the -- in that region.

RICE: Thank you very much.

GHEIT: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.

RICE: We'll be back.

PHILLIPS: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ...

GHEIT: We will continue discussions during and over lunch to cover, also, other areas of concern.

QUESTION: Madam secretary, is it time now -- is it time now -- Madam Secretary, is it time for the United States to -- instead of relying on U.N. envoys and their reports, to become more immediately involved, become more engaged? And how long do you think Israel should have before it should consider a cease-fire?

RICE: Andrea, first of all, I think that the G-8 was very eloquent in speaking about the need to deal with creating conducive circumstances. We all want a cessation of violence. We all want a protection -- the protection of civilians. We have to make certain that anything that we do is going to be of lasting value.

The Middle East has been through too many spasms of violence, and we have to deal with underlying conditions so that we can create a sustainable conditions for -- so that we can create sustainable conditions for political progress there.

As to my own involvement, I am very deeply involved with my colleagues with the regional states, like Egypt, which is the leader, with my G-8 and P-5 colleagues. I talked today to Mr. Solana, and as I have said, when it is appropriate and when it is necessary and will be helpful to the situation, I am more than pleased to go to the region.

GHEIT: Andrea, a cease-fire is imperative. And we have to keep working to reach that objective. It is imperative. We have to bring it to an end as soon as possible ...

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: ... there will be a cease-fire now ...

RICE: We all agree that it should happen as soon as possible, when conditions are conducive to do so.

PHILLIPS: Well, obviously, what's happening in the Middle East has been on top of the agenda for Egypt's foreign minister and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, talking about their strategic relationship. No doubt, a big talk -- a big part of that discussion, what is happening now in the Middle East, in Lebanon.

When will the secretary of state head to the region? You heard it from her right there. When it's appropriate and necessary, she will head to the region. It will be interesting to see when exactly she and her staff feel the appropriate time is.

We're going to follow, of course, every move out of the State Department about the evacuations and the secretary of state's trip, as we get more information.

Well, Israel's foreign minister says that diplomacy could help end the violence as well, but only if kidnapped Israeli soldiers are sent home first. CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney joins me now from Jerusalem with that. What do you know, Fionnuala?

FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, I think what you're beginning to see now is some common ground forged between Israel, certainly the United States, and perhaps a majority of the international community who are talking with the United States on ways to get a cease-fire.

It has always been Israel's view that it's not possible to call a cease-fire and then wait to see what happens. They want to see some concrete measures imposed on the ground based -- as we also though from Condoleezza Rice -- on U.N. Resolution 1559.

That was a resolution passed two years ago at the United Nations, which called on the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah militants along the border with Israel and to place Lebanese troops there. That is the basis on which Israel and now the international community working with the United States is looking to find a solution to this.

But as we heard Condoleezza Rice there say, it's not possible just to get a cease-fire on its own. A cease-fire won't happen as long as the conditions are possible. So Israel now looking for Resolution 1559, but I suspect also looking beyond that resolution, because there must be very little confidence here among the Israeli authorities and the Israeli people that the Lebanese army would be able to patrol that so-called border area, A border area that is now being talked more of in terms of a buffer zone to protect Israelis in northern Israel from continuing Hezbollah rocket attacks.

So in the meantime, Israel continuing its military barrage. But as we heard from Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister, today, negotiations are ongoing. Diplomacy is ongoing. But in the meantime, the military confrontation will continue -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile do we know state of those kidnapped Israeli soldiers, Fionnuala?

SWEENEY: There is no word. Reading into what sources are telling us, I mean, there's no indication to believe that they are dead, but nothing has been heard of Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped now almost four weeks ago, and he has been held by Hamas militants in Gaza, and the two Israeli soldiers who were kidnapped on Israeli territory just less than a week ago, before all this began, they are still apparently in Hezbollah hands. And what the Israeli military have been trying to do is bomb Hezbollah sites, and also infrastructure of Lebanon roads that, they say, may carry these soldiers out of southern Lebanon, into Syria and beyond. And that is something the Israeli military are trying to prevent.

But as yet, no official word. But as we heard from Tzipi Livni today, and also from the Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday, the release of those soldiers must be a precondition for a cease-fire -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Fionnuala Sweeney, live from Jerusalem, thank you.

It's something President Bush hasn't done in his five-plus years in the White House, veto a bill. But he's threatening to do it soon. Find out why, coming up on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: We want to get to a live -- I think it's a -- is it a news conference? Where is she speaking? She's speaking on the Hill, Nancy Pelosi. And it's about the money going toward the evacuations. There's been a lot of controversy over who should pay for that and who should not.

Let's listen to Nancy Pelosi.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), CALIFORNIA: ... to remove one worry from the minds of stranded Americans in Lebanon and their families back home by declaring immediately that our country will bear the country of bringing Americans home safely from Lebanon.

Any questions?

No. I don't even know about any such meeting.

Well, first of all, I don't even know what the purpose of the meeting is. The purpose of my coming here today was to say that no intention -- there was no intent of Congress to prevent the U.S. government from evacuating our citizens from a very dangerous area by saying to them first, we need you to sign that you will pay for this evacuation. As a country, we have a responsibility to protect our citizens. The hostilities in Lebanon were precipitous; They happened without much prediction, without much alert to remove people before the initiation of hostilities.

And what I would hope the president would do, were to immediately remove that worry from the minds of Americans in Lebanon now.

I have absolutely no knowledge of what the purpose of the meeting is at the White House. I will say that with the dangerous nature of the actions that are being taken in the Middle East, that it is time for us to come together as a country to engage in robust diplomacy, diplomacy that is backed up, of course, always by a military second to none to protect our interests.

PHILLIPS: House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi criticizing the law calling for citizens to pay for their emergency transportation out of the Middle East. She's holding a live news conference right now.

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