Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Back-And-Forth Attacks in Middle East; Cyprus Getting Crowded With Refugees; Stem Cell Veto

Aired July 19, 2006 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, more back-and-forth attacks, more deaths. Here's what we know about the Middle East crisis right now.
CNN's Paula Newton saw Israeli special forces enter a town in northern Israel that may have been infiltrated by Hezbollah militants.

And in Beirut, Lebanon's prime minister says that a week of Israeli airstrikes has killed more than 300 people, wounded more than 1,000.

Israel reports at least 29 deaths, including two children killed in a Hezbollah rocket attack in Nazareth. And two soldiers were killed in a border fight.

Hundreds of U.S. citizens are finally out of Beirut. They're due to arrive in Cyprus in about four hours on a U.S.-chartered cruise ship. Thousands more expected to set sail over the next two days.

CNN has reporters all across the region to bring you the latest on the fighting and the evacuations. We've got live reports straight ahead.

Battles on the border in Lebanon, and Israeli missiles return to a frequent target.

CNN's Alessio Vinci joins me once against from Beirut -- Alessio.

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.

I'm going to give you the very first -- first the very latest from here.

About 48 minutes ago, we heard three massive explosions here again in the southern part of the capital, Beirut, highly populated by Muslim Shia. We understand there, again, the Israeli air force targeting Hezbollah positions, although much of that area now is completely deserted and everyone has pretty much left that area. But again, there are massive explosions reported here in the last 40 minutes or so.

All this, of course, while thousands of Americans are beginning to evacuate en masse here from Beirut today. The first cruise ship carrying primarily Americans, but also some British citizens, left here. The atmosphere on board that ship, of course, much -- very different compared to the one of fear, frustration and uncertainty that many Americans experienced over the last few days as other nationalities left this country and they had to wait.

The U.S. ambassador here in Lebanon saying that part of the delay was due to the fact that the United States had to organize a massive security operation along -- as organized in the cruise ship, and that the embassy had to field as many as 500 phone calls an hour at the beginning of this crisis. But he said that now the first ship is gone, more ships will be coming in the coming days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY D. FELTMAN, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO LEBANON: It really is a big logistical operation, because we've got thousands of people who have asked for our help in facilitating. And the top priority was security.

How do you help people travel safely? And today, we're helping more than 1,000 people travel safely. Tomorrow, it will be more. And we're going to keep this pace up until everyone who has asked our help in leaving Lebanon has is a safe way to do so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VINCI: And among those who were on that ship earlier today, Kyra, a family from Washington, D.C. She is a Lebanese-American, he is an American. She actually had left this country years ago before the civil war on a container ship, so she was quite happy that this time around there was a cruise ship that came to rescue her.

They were at the international airport of Beirut last week when the Israeli jets first bombed the runways there, and they got stuck here for a week. In their words, "We managed to stay out of trouble as much as possible, but there was a lot of frustration, also, in trying to get information from the United States Embassy, as well as the State Department back in Washington," where they live.

And all this, of course, is happening because the airport is closed, of course. And today, again, the Israeli air force pounded that location that has been the target of repeated attacks over the last -- past few days.

Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: And Alessio -- Alessio, we were talking so much about the evacuations, but at the same time we don't want to lose sight of the ongoing battle that's taking place not only in Gaza, but also in Lebanon.

Any more you can tell us about the war going on between the Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, what's happening there in Beirut where you are?

Does it seem calm today? Has it picked up? And any word on the Lebanese army, if it's going to take a role in this?

VINCI: Well let me, first of all, talk about the Lebanese army. Again, they are trying to stay out of it. Israel, again, trying to -- saying, you know, we don't want the Lebanese army to get involved. As a matter of fact, Israel is asking for the Lebanese army to take control over that southern part of Lebanon where the fighting is going on, or much of the fighting is going on.

So, again -- but, nevertheless, the Israelis have targeted several times the Lebanese army, perhaps by mistake, perhaps not. But nevertheless, several Lebanese army soldiers have been killed over the past few days.

As far as here in Beirut, with exception of the last few explosions here, it was a fairly quiet day. Of course, in the morning, there were some attacks in the southern suburbs, as well as the airport, but much of the fighting, of course, is concentrated in the southern part of the country, especially on the border between Israel and Lebanon. And there, we understand, that the fighting is intensifying.

We heard Israeli troops crossing into Lebanon earlier today. There was a heavy exchange of fire. Israeli soldiers died there. We do not have a figure of how many Hezbollah soldiers or militiamen have been killed, but that is where the fighting is concentrated.

Here in Beirut, you don't really have the feeling of an ongoing war. Once in a while, of course, there a loud explosions, and it is a reminder that this country is, indeed, at war. But here, there are large portions of this city that remain quite normal, I should say, under the circumstances.

Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Alessio Vinci in Beirut.

Appreciate it, Alessio.

Well, it's a Mediterranean island and a popular haven when things go bad in the Middle East. Cyprus is getting crowded, very crowded, and it's about to get a lot more intense.

Our Chris Burns is there to brining us up to date -- Chris.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.

In the next hour we're expecting the largest ship of the evening, some 1,600 people aboard a Swedish-chartered passenger ship that's supposed to arrive in about an hour carrying mainly Swedes, but also people from other countries, from Europe, possibly also from the United States. And that is part of an eight-ship flotilla of a sea lift bringing thousands, perhaps more than 7,000, evacuees from Lebanon overnight for now over the next 12 hours as people who had been pinned down by this conflict, some of them thinking it would take a very long time to get out, now they're getting relief. And thousands more are expected over the next few days.

We talked to actually Joseph Cicipio (ph), if you can remember that name, one of the hostages during the Lebanese hostage-taking crisis back in the 1980s. He's an American who was held for five years by his captors in Lebanon.

He got out on a U.S. military helicopter, along with other people in the last couple of days, and I asked him, "Well, what do you think about this? A lot of Americans over there were saying it was a very slow process, very frustrating."

He said, "Look, you've got 25,000 American citizens over there. It takes time to move them out."

And, of course, the Pentagon also arguing that it has to do with security. In fact, this ship that is coming over in the next three, four hours, the Orient Queen, is being escorted by a U.S. destroyer, the USS Gonzalez. The U.S. military wants to make darn sure that there is full security in bringing these people out so that there are no incidents -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And we've been talking with various military leaders, we're going to talk more with Admiral Patrick Walsh coming up, Chris. But what are you hearing there on the ground from the general that is running things with regard to responding, if, indeed, something were to happen, one of those ships coming in -- there are obviously strong naval and Marine-based assets out there that could respond.

Do you know the rules of engagement?

BURNS: The rules of engagement, I'm not quite aware exactly what that -- what they would be, but there are nine U.S. Navy ships in this area that are brought over here for this purpose, and that, of course, they are going to be watching out for this. This is the Mediterranean. There have been boat hijackings.

There was that Israeli ship that was fired on by the Hezbollah just a few days ago off the coast of Lebanon. Got to keep these things in mind. Lebanon is a country where there have been car bombings.

You've got to have strong security in moving those American citizens out so that there will be no incidents. And that's what the military wanted to make sure about. That's why they have so much presence there now. And that's why it took so long.

PHILLIPS: All right. Chris Burns in Cyprus. Thank you so much.

We want to take you now live to the president of the United States. We're kind of switching gears here, but we've been talking about the fact that the president plans to veto stem cell research, a bill that's been highly controversy while the House will try to override.

Let's listen in.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In this new era, our challenge is to harness the power of science to ease human suffering without sanctioning the practices that violate the dignity of human life.

(APPLAUSE)

In 2001, I spoke to the American people and set forth a new policy on stem cell research that struck a balance between the needs of science and the demands of conscious.

When I took office, there was no federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research. Under the policy I announced five years ago, my administration became the first to make federal funds available for this research, yet only on embryonic stem cell lines derived from embryos that have already been destroyed.

My administration has made available more than $90 million for research on these lines.

This policy has allowed important research to go forward without using taxpayer funds to encourage the further deliberate destruction of human embryos.

One of the bills Congress has passed builds on the progress we have made over the last five years, so I've signed it into law.

(APPLAUSE)

Congress has also passed a second bill that attempts to overturn the balanced policy I set. This bill would support the taking of innocent human life in the hope of finding medical benefits for others. It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect. So I vetoed it.

(APPLAUSE)

Like all Americans, I believe our nation must vigorously pursue the tremendous possibility that science offers to cure disease and improve the lives of millions.

We have opportunities to discover cures and treatments that were unthinkable generations ago.

Some scientists believe that one source for these cures might be embryonic stem cell research. Embryonic stem cells have the ability to grow into specialized adult tissues. And this may give them the potential to replace damaged or defective cells or body parts and treat a variety of diseases.

Yet we must also remember that embryonic stem cells come from human embryos that are destroyed for their cells. Each of these human embryos is a unique human life with inherent dignity and matchless value.

We see that value in the children who are with us today. Each of these children began his or her life as a frozen embryo that was created for in vitro fertilization but remained unused after the fertility treatments were complete.

Each of these children was adopted while still an embryo and has been blessed with the chance to grow -- to grow up in a loving family.

These boys and girls are not spare parts.

(APPLAUSE)

They remind us of what is lost when embryos are destroyed in the name of research. They remind us that we all begin our lives as a small collection of cells. And they remind us that in our zeal for new treatments and cures America must never abandon our fundamental morals.

Some people argue that finding new cures for disease requires the destruction of human embryos like the ones that these families adopted. I disagree. I believe that with the right techniques and the right policies we can achieve scientific progress while living up to our ethical responsibilities.

That's what I sought in 2001 when I set forth my administration's policy allowing federal funding for research on embryonic stem cell lines where the life-and-death decision had already been made.

This balanced approach has worked. Under this policy, 21 human embryonic stem cell lines are currently in use in research that is eligible for federal funding. Each of these lines can be replicated many times and, as a result, the National Institutes of Health have helped make more than 700 shipments to researchers since 2001.

There is no ban on embryonic stem cell research. To the contrary, even critics of my policy can see that these federally funded lines are being used in research every day by scientists around the world.

My policy has allowed us to explore the potential of embryonic stem cells, and it has allowed America to continue to lead the world in this area.

Since I announced my policy in 2001, advances in scientific research has also shown the great potential of stem cells that are derived without harming human embryos. My administration has expanded the funding of research into stem cells that can be drawn from children, adults and the blood in umbilical cords with no harm to the donor.

And these stem cells are already being used in medical treatments. With us today are patients who have benefited from treatments with adult and umbilical cord blood stem cells.

And I want to thank you all for coming.

(APPLAUSE)

They are living proof that effective medical science can also be ethical.

Researchers are now also investigating new techniques that could allow doctors and scientists to produce stem cells just as versatile as those derived from human embryos.

One technique scientists are exploring would involve reprogramming an adult cell -- for example, a skin cell -- to function like an embryonic stem cell.

Science offers the hope that we may one day enjoy the potential benefits of embryonic stem cells without destroying human life.

We must continue to explore these hopeful alternatives and advance the cause of scientific research while staying true to the ideals of a decent and humane society.

The bill I sign today upholds these humane ideals and draws an important ethical line to guide our research. The Fetus Farming Prohibition Act was sponsored by Senators Santorum and Brownback, both of who are here.

(APPLAUSE)

And by Congressman Dave Weldon, along with Nathan Deal.

Thank you, Congressmen.

(APPLAUSE)

This good law prohibits one of the most egregious abuses in biomedical research: the trafficking in human fetuses that are created with the sole intent of aborting them to harvest their parts.

Human beings are not a raw material to be exploited...

(UNKNOWN): Amen.

... or a commodity to be bought or sold. And this bill will help ensure that we respect the fundamental ethical line.

I'm disappointed that Congress failed to pass another bill that would have promoted good research. This bill was sponsored by Senator Santorum and Senator Arlen Specter and Congressman Roscoe Bartlett.

Thanks for coming, Roscoe.

(APPLAUSE)

It would have authorized additional federal funding for promising new research that could produce cells with the abilities of embryonic cells but without the destruction of human embryos.

It was an important piece of legislation. This bill was unanimously approved by the Senate, received 273 votes in the House of Representatives, but was blocked by a minority in the House using procedural maneuvers.

I'm disappointed that the House failed to authorize funding for this vital and ethical research. It makes on sense to say that you're in favor of finding cures for terrible diseases as quickly as possible and then block a bill that would authorize funding for promising and ethical stem cell research.

At a moment when ethical alternatives are becoming available, we cannot lose the opportunity to conduct research that would give hope to those suffering from terrible diseases and help move our nation beyond the current controversies over embryonic stem cell research.

We must pursue this research. And so I direct the secretary of health and human services, Secretary Leavitt, and the director of the National Institutes of Health to use all the tools at their disposal to aid the search for stem cell techniques that advance promising medical science in an ethical and morally responsible way.

(APPLAUSE)

Unfortunately, Congress has sent me a bill that fails to meet this ethical test. This legislation would overturn the balanced policy on embryonic stem cell research that my administration has followed for the past five years. This bill would also undermine the principle that Congress itself has followed for more than a decade when it has prohibited federal funding for research that destroys human embryos.

If this bill were to become law, American taxpayers would for the first time in our history be compelled to fund the deliberate destruction of human embryos. And I'm not going to allow it.

(APPLAUSE)

I made it clear to the Congress that I will not allow our nation to cross this moral line. I felt like crossing this line would be a mistake and once crossed we would find it almost impossible to turn back.

Crossing the line would needlessly encourage a conflict between science and ethics that can only do damage to both, and to our nation as a whole.

If we're to find the right ways to advance ethical medical research, we must also be willing, when necessary, to reject the wrong ways. So today I'm keeping the promise I made to the American people by returning this bill to Congress with my veto.

As science brings us ever closer to unlocking the secrets of human biology, it also offers temptations to manipulate human life and violate human dignity.

Our conscience and history as a nation demand that we resist this temptation.

America was founded on the principle that we are all created equal and endowed by our creator with the right to life. We can advance the cause of science while upholding this founding promise. We can harness the promise of technology without becoming slaves to technology. And we can ensure that science serves the cause of humanity instead of the other way around.

America pursues medical advances in the name of life. And we will achieve the great breakthroughs we all seek with reverence for the gift of life.

I believe America's scientists have the ingenuity and skill to meet this challenge. And I look forward to working with Congress and the scientific community to achieve these great and noble goals in the years ahead.

Thank you all for coming. And may God bless.

(APPLAUSE)

PHILLIPS: As the president said, the needs of sciences versus the demand of conscience. His second term in office, and he's never vetoed anything until today. And you just heard it. President Bush just announced his veto of stem cell research legislation.

Reaction from Washington. Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash is on Capitol Hill, and senior political analyst Bill Schneider is in Washington.

We're going to take a quick break and then we're going to speak with both of them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: One of the bills Congress has passed builds on the progress we have made over the last five years. So I signed it into law.

(APPLAUSE)

Congress has also passed a second bill that attempts to overturn the balanced policy I set. This bill would support the taking of innocent human life in the hope of finding medical benefits for others. It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect, so I vetoed it.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: President Bush announcing his veto of stem cell research legislation.

Reaction now from Washington. Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash on the Hill, and senior political analyst Bill Schneider in our D.C. bureau. Dana, why don't we begin with you.

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly what you just saw there is, no doubt, a defining moment, Kyra, of the Bush presidency, and certainly a controversial one.

You heard the president speaking for himself, explaining why he vetoed a bill. He used his very first veto in five and a half years on a bill that, he didn't mention this, but polls show a majority of Americans actually support this idea, the idea of embryonic stem cell research, because of what this bill would have done. It would have allowed -- actually lifted federal funding restrictions on stem cell research on embryos, but those only that would have been discarded.

Now, you heard the president say simply that he thinks that it is a matter of morality. He did not want to have the federal government funding this kind of thing because, essentially, he thinks that that is murder.

But what has been most fascinating, Kyra, in watching this debate is to hear self-described pro-life Republicans vehemently disagree with him, say that they believe the most pro-life position, if you will, is to support this kind of research because it holds the promise, they believe, in talking to scientists, they say, of curing many of the diseases that so many people in this country and around the world are inflicted with, like Alzheimer's, like Parkinson's, and things like that.

PHILLIPS: Dana Bash on the Hill.

Thank you so much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com