Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Former President Gerald Ford Hospitalized for Shortness of Breath; Tyre, Lebanon, Frequent Target of Israeli Forces; Haifa Continued Target by Hezbollah Militants

Aired July 26, 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: At the top of the hour you're watching LIVE FROM. More news now.
Straight to Fredricka Whitfield with regard to President Ford, as we reported, was hospitalized.

Fred, what is the latest?

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. And it's expected that he will be released later on today. We know that he was admitted to a Colorado hospital after suffering from shortness of breath. He is admitted at the Vail Valley Medical Center.

Now, this is the second time the former president, 93 years old, has been hospitalized within the past year. The last time it was for pneumonia, and it was at a California hospital where he was hospitalized for 12 days.

The former president just celebrated his birthday earlier in the month there in Colorado. He has a home in Beaver Creek.

So, again, he is being treated for the shortness of breath symptoms in a Colorado hospital, and the hope is he will be released later on.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll track his progress, Fred. Thanks.

Well, warplanes on the attack and troops on the move. It's day 15 of the crisis in the Middle East. Here's what we know right now at this point.

You can see the video just in, people screaming in pain in the Lebanese city of Tyre after new Israeli airstrikes knock down a building there. Meantime, more Israeli troops are heading to the Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil after fierce new fighting broke out. The Israeli military says that eight soldiers were killed in clashes with Hezbollah fighters.

Hundreds of people with foreign passports have left Tyre on a ship, including some Americans. The U.S. military says most of the Americans who wanted to leave Lebanon have now gotten out.

And no agreement on a cease-fire after international talks involving the U.S. in Rome. Other nations are pushing for one, but the U.S. is insisting on something more lasting. CNN has reporters all across the region. LIVE FROM has live reports throughout this program.

Well, it's been a frequent target of Israeli forces, and it's come under fire once again. Our Ben Wedeman joins us from the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon with the latest from there -- Ben.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kyra, the sun was just going down, it was a fairly quiet day here in Tyre when we heard two huge explosions coming, not from the usual direction, which is to the south of Tyre, to the east, but rather from the middle of the town.

We saw huge clouds of black smoke rising above the buildings above the skyline. My colleague, Karl Penhaul, went there, and he described a scene of utter destruction. Apparently, a 10-story building had been utterly destroyed. There were scenes of panic, where people running around in the streets, some people with blood on their faces, blood coming out of their ears. It's not clear at this point what exactly was in that building that Israeli aircraft would want to strike.

Now, Israeli aircraft have been really focusing their fire on the outskirts of the town, but the middle of the town has only been hit a few times in the last two weeks.

Meanwhile, here in Tyre, the United Nations came down in their first major convoy, in fact the largest food shipment to Tyre since this fighting began. They brought 10 truckloads of flour and medical supplies, but the flour is only enough to supply Tyre for basically a week. The medicine for three months.

Also here today, we watched as about 500 individuals with British, French, Australian American and other passports boarded a Canadian chartered vessel that will be taking them to Cyprus. Certainly, it does seem that most of those foreign nationals who want to leave Tyre and Lebanon have left, because from what we saw today, if you can leave, it's a good idea -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ben Wedemen. Thanks so much.

Well, Hezbollah militants fired more rockets across the border into northern Israel today. One of the targets, again, the city of Haifa.

CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney is there -- Fionnuala.

FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, Haifa not hit by any direct missile attacks today. No rockets landing in the city. One near the city.

But, overall, though, in northern Israel a number of towns and communities were hit. Twenty-seven rockets landing on communities throughout northern Israel, 18 people injured.

It has been a quieter day as of late, but there is no guarantee that an air raid siren won't go off at any time in the city of Haifa, which is a port city, 300,000 people. It's really quite unusual to see not anything moving, nothing on the streets. Particularly people taking cover whenever the air raid siren goes off.

Shops barely open. And if they are open, they are closing early. And very little business being done.

It's a port city. You' don't see any cargo ships moving in and out. It's a coastal city with plenty of beaches, very few people on those beaches. And, indeed, no pleasure boats or no canoes or any of the other things you'd expect to see at the height of summer -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Fionnuala Sweeney there in Jerusalem.

Thank you so much.

We want to move on now and talk about where it's extremely intense. At least that's how Israeli soldiers are describing the fighting in a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Lebanon. Israel says it was control of that city just yesterday, but now it's reporting casualties today.

CNN's John Roberts joins us live from northern Israel with details.

John, I know you said it's really hard to get information, a lot of censorship going on as this battle rages. What do you think? Are you able to get any more information since we last talked?

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SR. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We haven't been able to get any more information about the actual nature of the fighting, the type of weapons used by Hezbollah, how they attack the Israeli soldiers. We hope to in the next few hours get a few more details on that, but nothing yet.

We're stuck over on this side of the border. They haven't taken us over yet. We've asked them several times. Perhaps they will allow us to in the next couple of days. But here's what we do know at this point.

Yesterday, as you said, the Israeli defense forces, General Gal Hirsch, told me personally -- he says, "We have complete control of the town of Bint Jbeil." They woke up this morning engaged in some clearing operations, and suddenly some Hezbollah fighters, the IDF says, who were hidden out in some bunkers set off some booby-traps and the Israeli Defense Forces and the Israeli army took a number of casualties.

We know at this point there are eight dead soldiers, 22 injuries, and three of those serious. Here's what Israeli army spokesman Mitch Pilcer told me about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. MITCH PILCER, ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES: A patrol is in the town to make sure that everything is out over there. And we're surprised we found some Hezbollah were still embedded in some bunkers over there.

There was heavy fighting going on over there. They came out, there was hand-to-hand, street-to-street fighting between the houses, and in the course of it we suffered some fatalities, some wounded, as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: General Udi Adam (ph), who is the head of the Israeli army's northern command, elaborated a little bit more on the situation in Bint Jbeil that the Israeli army encountered today. He said that in terms of controlling the city, he said, "What we really do is we control the territory."

I think that there might have been a little bit of face saving going on here. He said, It's a very big city. We could get in it and control it if we wanted to, but we didn't want to put that much emphasis on it, so we control the territory." And obviously when they went inside they found out just how little they do control that city.

He said that there are hard conditions in the fighting, and the fighting even continues now. And in terms of the casualties, he said such a price has to be made.

Now, most of the day, because of the intense fighting in Bint Jbeil, they closed off this entire area. This is the road that leads into the town of Avivim, which is about three miles away from Bint Jbeil.

They told us that it was a dangerous area, but we managed to find our way in around a back way, and we found that there was absolutely nothing going on inside the town of Avivim or the town next to it, Yaroun.

There was very little activity. We did come across a convoy of heavy armor, a couple of tanks and three of those big bulldozers that they use to either build berms to hide the tanks behind, or they can also use to clear out bunkers and gun emplacements and that sort of thing. They were joining the fight across the border.

Of course with the Israeli army being so tied up in Bint Jbeil, there is a real desperate need here for reinforcement. So we saw those going back across the border.

We followed them all the way to the hole in the fence that they had knocked down, touched Lebanese soil for a moment. Talked to a couple of the people who are in the armored vehicles about where they were going, but, of course, the Israeli army rules are that they can't talk to us.

And even as the fighting rages and the army is so tied up in Bint Jbeil, they are starting to expand the campaign a little further westward. Just as the sun was going down here in northern Israel, we saw a very intense artillery barrage to the west of Bint Jbeil.

We can only imagine that it was around a town that goes by the name of Yaroun. Don't know what they were after there, but I would assume that it's pretty safe to say that they believe that there are Hezbollah outposts and strongholds there, as well.

But an indication, Kyra, that they keep expanding the campaign, trying to push Hezbollah back so that they can get this secured strip that minister -- the defense minister Amir Peretz was talking about yesterday. A piece of ground that they can keep safe until an international force is brought in to maintain security in that area.

PHILLIPS: John, just to kind of get a sense of who you are with, behind you we're seeing a number of troops and tanks. Is this sort of a staging area where troops are strategizing, kind of waiting for the next move?

ROBERTS: This is a little bit of a bunch of different things, Kyra. It's a staging area. When the armored vehicles go in, they come in here first, and then they make their way to the border.

Also, tanks and other armored vehicles that have been in battle come out here for repairs. We'll see them replacing the treads on tanks, we'll see them replacing armor that might have been shot off by a Sagger rocket. We saw one of those yesterday on an armored vehicle.

So it's a little bit of a staging area. It's a little bit of a garage.

If people were wondering how much longer is this going to go on, when we first got here there were sort of optimistic assessments that it might be another week, maybe another two weeks or so. Well, General Udi Adam said today he thinks that this is going to go on for another few weeks. Don't know if international opinion will allow it to go on for another few weeks, but certainly the Israeli army is saying, we're going to take all the time that we can until Hezbollah is defeated.

PHILLIPS: John Roberts. Thanks so much.

Well, from the front and now on the Web, people caught in the middle of this conflict are telling their stories in real time and on Internet blogs.

Our technology correspondent, Daniel Sieberg, has been watching all of that very closely for us, kind of gives us a daily update.

How have things developed since yesterday? I mean, this is getting more and more popular, isn't it, and flooded with some action, actually.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: It really is. And we do have to preface this segment with our Web warning. In a sense, what we are about to show you and talk about, CNN cannot independently confirm.

That being said, a lot of people are turning to sites like YouTube. And we're going to switch that site on now. This is a place where anybody around the world can share video. And the first video we want to show you is by someone who goes by the name of Andy. He is apparently a 22-year-old American who is vacationing at the King Solomon hotel in Tiberius, Israel. There were some explosions near the hotel, and he writes that they rattled the windows.

The patrons of the hotel there were asked by the employees to get down into the bomb shelter. You can see them now there in the hallways.

He writes on his site there on YouTube that it was a bit confusing. It sounded like there may have been a language barrier at the time. He didn't quite understand what was happening. A little bit chaotic, and at one point, though, he does turn the camera on himself, and listen now as Andy tries to reassure his family that all is OK.

And listen carefully at the end. He comments on this growing online phenomenon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, mom. I'm totally not in a bomb shelter right now. Our hotel is not being bombed. There's nothing to worry about.

This, by the way is totally going on YouTube.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIEBERG: So you heard him there mentioning this was going to go up on YouTube. Some people are creating profile pages on YouTube just to put up their experiences.

This is also part of Andy's series of videos. He actually posted a bunch of them, eight, in fact. This is six of eight.

You can see there, he calls this "Singing During Hezbollah Rocket Attack." And these are some Israelis and Americans gathered together singing about peace.

So, it's an amazing collection of videos from his particular experience, Kyra. You know, these days, with cell phone cameras, video cameras that are in people's digital still cameras, it's very easy to capture this stuff, and YouTube makes it easy to post it up there.

PHILLIPS: Yes, it's become really popular, as you said.

SIEBERG: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Now, what about the blogs?

SIEBERG: The blogs very active, as well. And the one I want to talk about is actually a Lebanese blog. It goes by the name of "Beirut Spring" at the popular site blogspot.com. In this case, it's run by someone who goes by the name of Mustafa (ph). He's apparently 28. This one was recommended to us by the folks at Harvard University's Global Voices Online program. And it's a really interesting blog.

You can see selling T-shirts on the right there that say "Stop Lebanon Bombing." He's a very opinionated guy, but he also talks about romance in a time of war. This is what he writes.

He writes, "When my friend heard that I got engaged while Lebanon was being bombed she thought our story would make a good Hollywood movie. Perhaps, but I'd rather have real fireworks, not ones dropped by Israeli jet planes."

And that from beirutspring.blogspot.com.

So some amazing insights from the bloggers on both sides of this, Kyra. And we'll -- we'll certainly be watching it and reading it. Some fascinating stuff.

PHILLIPS: All right, Daniel. Thanks.

SIEBERG: You bet.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, a lot of people talk about terrorists, but coming up, the inside story from a man who says he used to be one.

That's straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: CNN's Fredricka Whitfield has an eye on the CNN International Desk and various Mideast television stations, as well as your e-mails, all coming in here to CNN.

Fred, bring us up to date.

WHITFIELD: And through these various sources we're now learning that another U.N. peacekeeper, as well as his wife, were killed in Lebanon. This taking place in Tyre and taking place 10 days ago.

The two were feared dead when an Israeli rocket hit the building where they lived. This morning, the United Nations interim force, UNIFIL, has been able to confirm their fears. A Nigerian U.N. worker and his wife killed earlier this month. This now in addition to the four U.N. workers killed at their post in Khiyam, Lebanon, yesterday -- Kyra.

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

Meanwhile, United Nations peacekeepers have long been involved in southern Lebanon, and the latest deaths of U.N. observers there aren't the first.

Here's a "Fact Check" on the U.N.'s role in Lebanon. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): The goal is peace. The price paid sometimes is death for United Nations peacekeepers on missions around the world.

The current U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon began in 1978. One of the initial objectives was to oversee the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon. That was achieved only after 22 years in 2000, and the area remained a powder keg.

There are currently nearly 2,000 U.N. peacekeeping troops in Lebanon drawn from eight countries: China, France, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Poland and Ukraine. The force also includes about 50 military observers and nearly 400 civilian personnel.

Before the outbreak of the latest fighting, 249 peacekeeping troops and eight other U.N. staff had died in Lebanon.

The mission in Lebanon is one of 18 U.N. peacekeeping operations under way around the world. About 90,000 U.N. personnel are serving in such countries as India, Pakistan, Sudan, Haiti, Afghanistan, Cyprus, Syria and Liberia.

The operations don't come cheap. The U.N.'s peacekeeping budget for the fiscal year ending last month was about $5 billion.

Since the creation of the U.N. in 1945, more than 2,200 U.N. peacekeepers have died carrying out their missions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, more than 14,000 Americans have been evacuated from Lebanon, but the exodus isn't over quite yet. Hundreds of U.S. citizens are still believed to be trapped by the fighting. Now an intense effort is under way to get them out.

CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr has the story from Cyprus.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: A great tale of American heroism just emerging now in Cyprus. The Princess Marissa, a Canadian ship, sailing from Tyre in southern Lebanon, where the fighting has been the heaviest, here to Cyprus. And what we are learning from our sources in Lebanon and here in Cyprus is this tale of American heroism.

There are a number of Lebanese-Americans that are in southern Lebanon working very hard to organize that rescue. They have been hiring their own cars, drivers, sending convoys up into the hills to gather up Americans, and all the while in touch with the American Embassy in Beirut, which is using its phones and maps to direct people to these convoys, text messaging, cell phones, satellite phones all back and forth. These high-tech methods being used to launch this rescue and get as many Americans as possible out of the hills of southern Lebanon and down to the port in Tyre to get on that boat sail back to Cyprus and get to safety.

It was estimated there were originally about 500 Lebanese- Americans in the south. No one can say just yet how many have come out and how many are still there.

But we are learning even of a family of Lebanese-Americans from Los Angeles, California. One man using $8,000 of his own money to hire cars, drivers and get these convoys moving all of that, according to very knowledgeable U.S. officials in Lebanon.

The hope is, of course, it all goes very smoothly and everyone comes out very safely. The U.S. government believes it does have safe passage guarantees from the Israelis that they will not bomb any of these convoys.

They are said to know where they are, where these Americans are traveling. But, of course, after the bombing of the U.N. post, there is great concern about all of this.

At this time, the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit remains offshore Lebanon, with thousands and hundreds of Marines embarked on those ships. They could be ordered ashore, if needed to help, but at this point, the hope is that everything goes very smoothly.

Barbara Starr, CNN, Cyprus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, relief in sight. Much needed food and medical supplies making their way into London. We're going to show you how straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's get straight to Fredricka Whitfield in the newsroom working a developing story right now.

A popular freeway there in California on the I-5, Fred. What's going on?

WHITFIELD: That's right. The I-5 now closed in both directions in the Arleta area, northeast of Los Angeles, because of live pictures you're seeing right now, members of the bomb squad unit now responding to a suspicious package that perhaps he's approaching there that was scene there off of I-5.

Right there, that package right there. Looking closely to inspect what it just might be.

It's been alarming enough to them, however, to determine that they don't want any traffic continuing to be around the area but, well, there you go. No longer that suspicious, is it?

It looks like they have resolved what seemed to be a strange matter earlier in Arleta, California, just northeast of Los Angeles. And now members of the bomb squad going to reassess there.

And look at the backup this has produced there on I-5, popular thoroughfare there in Arleta. Everything to a standstill, both directions. And hopefully soon to be resolved -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: I wonder if they're going to return that jacket to whoever forgot if there, Fred, on the freeway.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: Well, you know, it's so hot in California right now -- yes, exactly.

WHITFIELD: Those three-digit temperatures. No need for a jacket these days.

PHILLIPS: Exactly, you got it. All right, Fred. Appreciate it.

All right.

Well, Wal-Mart is planning a big push into the Chicago area, but those plans hinge on a vote today by the city council. Susan Lisovicz joins us live today from the New York Stock Exchange with that story.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT) PHILLIPS: We want to check in with Fredricka Whitfield once again in the newsroom working a developing story for us.

What do you have, Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. This time it sounds like good news for former president Gerald Ford. They have now released him from the hospital he was admitted to in the last 24 hours there in Colorado.

He was admitted because of shortness of breath. And now, apparently, he has been seen leaving the Vail Valley Medical Center and likely returning to his home in nearby Beaver Creek. Ninety-three years old, oldest living American president.

PHILLIPS: It's amazing. It was just, I think, about six to eight month ago, Fred, he was out on the golf course swinging the club. It's pretty amazing.

WHITFIELD: It is. I mean, he tries to be as active as he can, but, you know, at the same time, keeping close tabs on his health. And it was just a few months ago when he was dealing with pneumonia and being treated in California at a hospital there. But overall, 93, pretty good condition.

PHILLIPS: Not bad. Fred, thanks.

Lots of people talk about terrorism, but coming up, the inside story from a man who says he used to be a terrorist. That's straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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