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Prelude to Deeper Israeli Ground Assault?; Proposed U.N. Resolution to End Middle East Fighting Might be in for Some Big Changes; White House Press Briefing; Fed Source: One of 11 Missing Egyptian Students Arrested
Aired August 09, 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, we're expecting to hear from the president's press secretary in Crawford, Texas, at the top of the hour. We'll go to that briefing live as soon as Tony Snow steps up to the mic.
Day 29 in the Mideast conflict. Here's what we know right now.
Israel's security cabinet has voted to expand the ground war, sending forces 13 miles into Lebanon.
For his part, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah appeared on Lebanese television denouncing a U.S.-French peace proposal as unfair and unjust. But he supports the deployment of the Lebanese army to take the place of Israeli and Hezbollah fighters.
On an unannounced visit to Beirut, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Welsh met with Lebanon's Prime Minister Siniora. Siniora says they made no progress toward ending that fighting.
Now, is at omen? New shelling around Tyre in southern Lebanon today, what some in Lebanese intelligence see as a prelude to a deeper Israeli ground assault.
CNN's Ben Wedemen brings us more now.
Hi, Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
Well, the few people left in Tyre are dealing in different ways with this city's predicament. All of them, however, are facing the fact that they are stuck.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN (voice-over): When the future looks grim, sometimes the best thing to do is eat, drink and try to be merry.
"I'm drinking to relax," says fisherman Kimal Istanbuli (ph), "so I can sleep."
Across the bay, smoke rises from yet another Israeli airstrike. The latest Israeli leaflets to fall on Tyre, calling on residents not to support Hezbollah, don't seem to have had the desired effect on this tipsy crew, who say, they can't leave here, even if they wanted to.
"How can we escape?" asks Hadi (ph). There's no money, no cars, no roads out. For those who have sought refuge in Tyre, supplies are running low. These women and their children are going to the mayor's office to complain they're not getting any food, a complaint someone in the mayor's office doesn't think our camera should record.
Store owner Issam Ghanim's family fled north. He wanted to keep an eye on ship. A grandfather, he's now learning the bachelor life.
ISSAM GHANIN, STOREOWNER: When I am alone, I just manage myself. I have food, a lot of food, but I don't have anybody to cook for me.
WEDEMAN: After Israel warned that cars on the roads of South Lebanon would be considered legitimate targets, most people get around Tyre by foot. But garbage trucks are still doing their rounds, and the Lebanese Red Cross's mobile clinics are still mobile, handing out medicine to residents and refugees.
(on camera): While there still are some pockets of life in this city, most of the stores are now closed, and according to the municipality, more than 80 percent of the population has left.
(voice-over): Those who can't get out or have chosen to stick it out either sit quietly and hope for the best, or try, with a little help from their friends, to look on the bright side of life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: And, Kyra, we're hearing again distant booms of what sounds like artillery in the background. Despite Israel's decision to expand its military activities in south Lebanon this afternoon, we really haven't, however, seen an increase in the bombardment of the area to the east and to the south of Tyre -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Now, Ben, from what I understand, you and Karl Penhaul both and the crews are running low on supplies. Is that true? Not only has it been a strain on this area, but it's becoming a strain on all of you trying to cover the story?
WEDEMAN: Well, we're not really running low on supplies, but we have limited supplies. We have -- in our bathroom, for instance, my cameraman, Brian Pachadi (ph), and I have water stacked to the ceiling. We're OK as long as this doesn't go on too long. We may be eating tuna fish soon, but we do have supplies.
We're just hoping that we don't have to get down to the bottom of those supplies. So, we're holding out for the time being -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. You always do.
Ben Wedemen, thanks.
Well, redrafting the draft. The proposed U.N. resolution to end the Middle East fighting might be in for some big changes, and that has the U.S. on edge. Let's get the latest now from our senior U.N. correspondent, Richard Roth.
Hey, Richard.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, the United States and France are still talking. They're meeting in person. They're talking with the special Arab envoys who are here from the Middle East.
The United States ambassador, John Bolton, met earlier with the French ambassador at the French mission. The British happen to have their headquarters, their mission still in the same building. And Ambassador Bolton, the British ambassador were in the streets of Manhattan today trying to avoid questions from reporters.
There's the British ambassador, and shortly you'll see Ambassador Bolton.
They're not at a breakdown stage. Things are moving forward, says John Bolton, but still, there's no agreement because Lebanon has a plan to send 15,000 government soldiers down to the southern part of the country, and they think and the French are taking their line so far here that, what's the point of having some sort of emergency force and a U.N. force? Why not have Lebanon fill the vacuum and have Israel leave now? Which is not what is in the current draft.
So I asked Ambassador Bolton how are things going between him and the French.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMB. JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMB. TO U.N.: We have a great relationship among other areas of our agreement. Neither one of us are happy with the coffee at the French mission, of which we have been drinking quite a bit lately. But we're continuing to work, events are moving.
It's a bit of a moving target, I grant you. But we're still working hard to try and bring this thing to closure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: The British ambassador said there are difficult issues. They're trying to address those issues.
The Security Council members meet privately with the Arab delegates. There's a lot of meetings going on inside the U.N. and outside.
The Arab delegates are here. One of them is meeting Secretary- General Kofi Annan. They believe that a U.N. peacekeeping mission that is still in southern Lebanon, 2,000 man strong, would be enough, along with the Lebanese soldiers, in order to have Israel leave now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) AMR MOUSSA, ARAB LEAGUE, SECRETARY-GENERAL: There has to be a mutual guarantee about the withdrawal and about everything else, especially in the light of the presence of a beefed up UNIFIL. The UNIFIL, beefed up, would take care of all the issues pertaining to guarantees from one side or the other.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: U.S. officials and Israel, though, remain highly skeptical that the UNIFIL, U.N. peacekeeping mission there, can do the job, along with a Lebanese force which has been described as necessarily not exactly combat ready with old equipment.
There is a U.S. assistant secretary of state, David Welsh, in Beirut seeking clarification, say diplomats, from the Lebanese about how they envision a deployment of the army regarding the timing, what kind of equipment and military troops would they need, and how could the U.S. assist.
A lot of meetings, no votes today -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: We'll keep following it.
Thanks, Richard.
Well, we're expecting to hear on all these issues from the president's press secretary in Crawford, Texas, any moment now. We're going to go to that briefing live as soon as Tony Snow steps up to the mic.
All right. Let's get back to our Jeanne Meserve, working that story for us on the Egyptian students.
Seventeen came over here, Jeanne, from Egypt in this exchange program, 11 missing, but one arrested.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. One picked up today at 11:00 local time in Minneapolis, Minnesota. That's 12:00 Eastern. We do not yet know his name, we do not know the circumstances under which he was arrested.
We do know that authorities are questioning him now. You can bet that one of the things they want to know is where the other 10 might be located.
A "be on the lookout" was issued for all 11 of these Egyptian students after they failed to show up for an exchange program at Montana State University in Bozeman. They had all arrived at John F. Kennedy airport in New York on July 29th. Six of them did go on to Montana, but then these 11 went missing. It was said that there was no indication of any terrorist or criminal ties, but authorities want to find them and they want to make sure.
Just a short time ago I talked to the Egyptian ambassador to the United States, Nabil Fahmy. He told me that as far as he knew there was absolutely nothing that had turned up about these individuals that might raise questions about their security risk. He does not believe they are one.
We're waiting for more information -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Jeanne Meserve.
Thanks.
Say it ain't so, Joe. As leading Democrats throw their support behind Connecticut primary winner Ned Lamont, incumbent senator Joe Lieberman says he's not quitting. The Lieberman campaign filed papers this morning to get on the November ballot as an Independent, hoping to keep the seat he's held since 1989.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Why, in a nutshell, do you think you lost?
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: Well, it was real close, and the good news is I was closing, closed more than 10 points from a poll last week, so we're just going to keep on going in that direction and win in November.
But why? It was clear to me all along that this -- that if I had an opponent who had money, as this one did, they could make this, or would try to make it into a referendum on George Bush and the Iraq war, both of which are intensely unpopular among Democrats. And they would try to convince the Connecticut Democrats to send a message on those two matters, rather than focus on which one of us, Joe Lieberman or Ned Lamont, would do a better job as senator from Connecticut. And they just barely, through a lot of distortion, Soledad, were able to do that.
O'BRIEN: If an election is about voters sending a message, why aren't you taking that message and saying, I'm out, I lost?
LIEBERMAN: Well, the last thing I represent is the status quo. I've always represented progress. And you only make progress not by making noise and playing to the extremes in our country, but by saying what you truly believe and then working with members of the other party to get something done.
And the people of America are fed up. People in Connecticut are fed up by all the partisanship in Washington that stands in the way of us solving some of their problems: health care, energy, environmental protection, jobs, education. I could go on. And I'm fighting on for that cause.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Now, Lamont, a millionaire, cable TV executive, says he'd prefer Lieberman not stay in the race, but he believes his win proves that Connecticut voters are ready for something different.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Why do you think you won, in a nutshell?
NED LAMONT (D), CONNECTICUT SENATE CANDIDATE: I think we won because the people of Connecticut want to bring real change to Washington, D.C. They don't like the stay the course in Iraq and I think they want to change course in this country. We think we ought to start investing in this country again, investing in schools, investing in clean energy, and investing in health care for everybody.
O'BRIEN: Do you think there is a bigger message here in your victory? Is it a referendum, as some people have suggested, on the war in Iraq? Is it a message to incumbents, watch out, we want you out? Is it a message about President Bush and his declining popularity?
What is it?
LAMONT: I think it's a lot about Connecticut. There's a sense they want their senator coming back to the state, listening to them, hearing what they have to say, being responsive. I aim to do that. And when I go down to Washington, D.C., I'm going to try to change things.
I had fun last night. I asked everybody, "How many lobbyists are there for every single congressman in Washington, D.C.?" And everybody shouted 63 -- 63 lobbyists for every congressman. So I think our message is getting through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, today, Democratic Senate leaders Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer put their weight behind Lamont. So, too, did Connecticut's other Democratic senator, Chris Dodd, who campaigned for Lieberman in the primary.
Well, Georgia voters have spoken but most expect that somehow, some way, Cynthia McKinney will have the last word.
CNN's Rusty Dornin has more on the controversial soon to be former congresswoman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Always outspoken, often inflammatory, Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney's final speech was, well, outright bizarre.
REP. CYNTHIA MCKINNEY (D), GEORGIA (SINGING): Minimum wage with a baby on the way, let me tell you about hard work
DORNIN: Surrounded by her silent supporters, she sang along with an anti-Bush song by Pink, then made a concession speech that was anything but.
MCKINNEY: President Kennedy warned us that those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. DORNIN: McKinney claims she was maligned by the mainstream media. There was even a scuffle with her staffers and photographers before the speech.
She blamed her loss partially on the press and problems with electronic voting.
MCKINNEY: Electronic voting machines are a threat to our democracy.
(APPLAUSE)
MCKINNEY: So, let the word go out, we aren't going to tolerate any more stolen elections.
DORNIN: Georgia election officials say they have no indication of any malfunctioning equipment. Political analysts say McKinney misjudged her constituency.
ALAN ABRAMOWITZ, POLITICAL ANALYST: And even among her older supporters I think there has been some erosion, as she has been seen increasingly as ineffective and as behaving rather oddly.
DORNIN: Voters like Reginald Daniel...
REGINALD DANIEL, VOTER: I'm just tired of the rhetoric and the sense of blame that McKinney seems to want to place on everybody else but herself for some of the things that have occurred over the last couple months and the last few years.
DORNIN: And her clash on Capitol Hill when she punched a policeman? Some believe it was the beginning of the end for the six- term congresswoman.
Her opponent, Hank Johnson, says it definitely loomed in the minds of voters.
HANK JOHNSON (D), GEORGIA CONG. CANDIDATE: It was just a long, drawn out controversy at a time when the nation could have been focused on other issues.
DORNIN: By morning, McKinney was unavailable for comment. But some say, don't be surprised what comes next for a politician known as both unpredictable and unconventional.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Higher gas prices, a corroded pipeline. How the BP nightmare in Alaska is affecting you.
More LIVE FROM next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: We're expecting to hear from the president's press secretary in Crawford, Texas, any moment now. We're going to get to that briefing live as soon as Tony Snow steps up to the mic.
Meanwhile, let's get to the newsroom. Fredricka Whitfield working details on a developing story.
Hey, Fred.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello to you, Kyra.
Well, new fallout from that BP oil shutting down that oilfield in Alaska. Well, now the Alaskan government -- governor, rather, Frank Murkowski, is saying there will be a state hiring freeze and he will direct the attorney general to investigate the state's right to hold BP accountable for any of the state's losses.
And when we say losses, we mean pretty significant ones for the state of Alaska. They're expecting because of this whole oilfield shutting down to lose $6.4 million a day in royalties and taxes. As a whole, the state receives 89 percent of its income from oil, so this field closing, because of the leak, certainly, would mean that state falling short. Way short -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll follow it, Fred.
We're going to talk to the president of BP also coming up at the 3:00 Eastern hour.
Meanwhile, we want to take you straight to that White House briefing -- actually, in Crawford, Texas. Tony Snow at the mic.
TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: ... but also others, including the French, the secretary general of the United Nations and others.
A lot of different views. There's a range of views and a lot of concerns. And we are working to accommodate those concerns.
Our primary goal is to have an end to violence, but an end that will also ensure that there are not conditions for future violence, because we've seen this recur many times in Lebanon.
That would mean creating a credible force that would allow the government of Lebanon to seize effective control and authority over southern Lebanon and also would not lead to a situation where Hezbollah, once again, could arise as an independent militia, a state within a state, and to work its will independent of the government, and also to destabilize Lebanon.
We are working hard now to bridge differences between the United States position and some of the positions of our allies. As I said, we do not -- and we want an end to violence and we do not want escalations.
We are also working to -- on a draft that will meet the concerns of our partners. And the way forward is clear: the principles that were laid out in the G-8, that were laid out in the statement by the G-8, that were laid out in Rome, will remain the conditions that we think are still appropriate for trying to meet the long-term concerns of the Israelis, the Lebanese and everybody in the neighborhood.
We know at this point that we still have some work to do. Furthermore, we also know that the Lebanese army, while an absolutely essential part of any solution, is not itself independently capable of dealing with the problem; at least not yet.
And one of the goals is to make sure that in time the Lebanese government and its authorities have the ability to do it.
We are also concerned and remain concerned about the humanitarian situation in Lebanon and want to make sure that people who have been displaced and are in need are able to receive the kind of support and care that they need.
So that is a quick statement on the United Nations.
As for the primary election in Connecticut last night -- I know there's a lot of concern and interest about that. Democratic voters of Connecticut have made their choice, and they have chosen Ned Lamont over Senator Lieberman.
Just a couple of observations. Key leaders in the national Democratic Party have made it clear -- no, let me back up. This is a defining moment in some ways for the Democratic Party.
I know a lot of people have tried to make this a referendum on the president, and I would flip it. I think, instead, it's a defining moment for the Democratic Party, whose national leaders now have made it clear that if you disagree with the extreme left in their party they're going to come after you.
And it is probably worth trying to trace through some of the implications of that position, because it is clearly going to be one of the central issues as we get ready for the election campaign this year -- that is the midterm elections. First, let's think about Iraq. One of the positions is that we need to leave Iraq, we need to do it on a timetable, and we need to do it soon.
It's worth walking through the consequences of that position.
First, simply to walk away on a timetable without examining the conditions on the ground and without making sure that you have the ability for the Iraqis to stand up and also assert sovereignty over their territory and have a free-standing democracy would create a power vacuum and encourage terrorists, not only in Iraq, but throughout the region and throughout the world -- that one of the problems that often besets democracies, which is impatience in hard times, in fact, serves as a motivation for terror groups.
Osama bin Laden some years ago said that one of the keys is that if you simply stay at terror long enough, the West is too weak -- he said the Americans were too weak and would stand down. The second consequence would be it would create a failed state in the heart of the Middle East with the second largest oil reserves in the world.
Now, if you think about what happened in Afghanistan; Afghanistan, a nation with far fewer resources, when it was able to serve as a terrorist training and staging ground, was able to do considerable violence to the United States and pose a threat to the rest of the world.
Number three, another consequence would be that it would inflict incredible damage on America's credibility. We have made it clear, and this president has made it clear, that we're in it to make sure that the people of Iraq do, in fact, have the opportunity to live free and in a democracy.
And to walk away from that vow would send not only a sign of weakness, but also of American unreliability, and it would enable forces of oppression and totalitarianism to rise again within Iraq and elsewhere.
A white flag, in short, means a white flag on the war on terror. Prime Minister Maliki, when he spoke before Congress, made it clear that Iraq remains a central pivot on the war on terror because it is where many terrorist groups are going to test the will of the American people and also of the international community.
This president does not intend and will not walk away from the promises he has made. The other thing you might want to take in -- now, expand the view a little bit, because I think one of the arguments that is now being knocked around is whether, in fact, we're seriously engaged in a war on terror.
Let's take a look at the global situation. You have Iran remaining not only stubborn in the face of the international community saying that Iran needs to suspend nuclear activities, but also encouraging the destruction of Israel and continuing to serve as a financier and organizer of terrorist organizations around the world. We know that North Korea also poses certain threats.
We know that terrorist organizations around the world have already expressed their desire to disrupt democracy and also to disrupt civilization, in many places, including Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Amman, Jordan. We remember the bombings, also, in Madrid and London. It's a serious battle.
Hezbollah remains, also, an independent actor, which is operating with the support of Iran and Syria, firing not only Katyushas but Zilzal rockets into Israel with the desire, not only of fomenting larger hostilities but also hoping to destabilize the prospects for democracy in the region.
The reason I say this is that the stakes are high. It's an important debate to have. And it is clear that at least some of the leadership in the Democratic party believes that the proper way to address this is to point a finger at the United States and the council walking away.
The view of the president is that this is a challenge but it is also an opportunity. And let me outline that part. Democracies operate on different principals than totalitarian states.
In a democracy, you have to respond to the will of the people. In a democracy within the United States, whether it be Joe Lieberman and Ned Lamont competing for votes in Connecticut or, on the local level, dealing with the needs for people to have safe streets, good schools and services they can depend upon, those are the things -- you respond to the stated desires of the people.
In totalitarian states, the despot alone has the opportunity to declare what he or she wants to do. And frankly, quite often, they are much more warlike.
The president believes, and history will bear him out, that free and democratic states are far more peaceful and create the basis and opportunity, especially in an unstable part of the world, for economic, social, political ties that, in the long run, are going to be a lot closer than they are today.
So those are some of the issues that are raised.
As for -- the president has no comment on the winner or loser of the race. That is for the Democratic party and Democratic voters in the state of Connecticut. But it is also clear, because of the attention being paid to it, that there is a significant political argument underway.
And it's one that, I think, it is important for the American people to have. I say, "I think," but the administration thinks it is important for the American people to have.
And with that, I will take questions.
QUESTION: Tony, you said that the United States wants an end to violence and we do not want escalations?
SNOW: That's correct.
QUESTION: Is that a message to Israel, which today voted to widen its campaign in Lebanon?
SNOW: It's a message to all parties. If you're going to have diplomacy in this situation, you have to make sure that you're addressing the root causes of the problem. A power vacuum in southern Lebanon. You have to remember that Hezbollah started this with the firing of rockets; that, of course, followed on crossing over the blue line and kidnapping Israeli soldiers.
So the escalation is something that we do not want to see, but, also, you have to have a resolution that addresses the root cause of Hezbollah, has a practical solution to making sure that the Lebanese government will be able to have military and political control of the south so that the Israeli government -- and the Israeli government has expressed willingness to move out of Lebanon if those conditions are reached.
So the question is whether the United States and its allies can bridge those gaps to return to the principles that have been agreed upon by the European Community and others, both at the G-8 and also in Rome.
QUESTION: Tony, a few days ago Steve Hadley stood before us and said he expected a vote on the U.N. resolution Monday afternoon, possibly Tuesday morning. What is the administration's estimate now on when we're going to see a vote, if at all?
SNOW: We're not making estimates. At this point what you've had are some fairly -- you had some dramatic testimony and comments.
By the way, you can expect people to be ventilating these differing points of views in coming days. And, so, there was an emotional day yesterday at the United Nations.
The United States continues to work with the concerned parties, principally the Lebanese and the Israelis, but also our negotiating partners.
But I think at this point it's beyond any of us to come up with a firm prediction about when you get a resolution. Our view is, you have to have a resolution that offers a solution. And that has been one of the keys all along, is to make sure that you not merely have the -- because we have 1559. 1559 talks about all the conditions you need. No more militias. No more use of foreign forces. It's on paper.
But What you have to do now is have on the ground the kind of support for the Lebanese government that can make those promises real, and that is the thing that this administration continues to pursue.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) administration is insisting on an international force to be present before the Israelis can pull out?
SNOW: I'm not -- no, I think rather than talking about an impasse -- as the president said the other day, you know, diplomacy is not neat and prim and predictable. And you're going to have people there -- sometimes, you'll be surprised to hear, a disparity between comments made in public for domestic audiences around the world and comments made in private, as well.
I think what the administration -- we're not declaring an impasse here. What we do see is not only the opportunity to work with our allies, but the necessity of bridging differences and working toward a cessation of violence that creates conditions for a sustained peace.
QUESTION: What is the difference between -- where...
SNOW: I've just -- I'm not going to get -- and I noticed that Ambassador Bolton was not going to do this either and he's doing the direct negotiations. I think at this point it's not fruitful to try to get into fine points that are being discussed behind closed doors. Our desire is rather than trying to litigate this publicly, let's go ahead and, in conversations with our allies, try to resolve it so then there can be some public discussion of how to move forward.
(CROSSTALK)
SNOW: Am I saying what?
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) differences between the comments that the French are making in private and those they're making in public?
SNOW: I made a general comment about the kinds of comments people made. And as I just told her, I'm not going to get into characterizing individual positions that have been taken in the conversations.
Our clear desire to work with our allies so that we have not only a unified front but a resolution that is going to create real hope for sustained peace and an effective lasting democracy in Lebanon for people who themselves have been whipsawed by foreign governments for way too long and deserve the opportunity to live in democracy and peace.
QUESTION: Tony, you say you're not at an impasse, you want to work with our allies in this matter. Do you think it may become necessary, in order to get an end to the violence, for France and the U.S. to present separate resolutions to the U.N. to deal with this?
SNOW: I don't even want to get into that. We are still working with allies to come up with a resolution that everybody can agree upon. I can't tell you what the end state's going to be.
I can tell you that the American position remains the one to which G-8 governments and also the governments that gathered in Rome were committed to from the very beginning.
You've got to remember how it started with Hezbollah. You also have to remember that if you have Hezbollah still maintaining the ability to operate independently and to use military might, in defiance of 1559, getting rockets of various varieties -- one assumes from Iran -- in fact, that situation simply cannot remain.
And that is what set off this chain of events. And we are hoping that everybody not only continues to recognize the fundamental problem, but also knows that the way forward is pretty simple, which is: Address that problem.
Israel's expressed a desire to get out. And, you know, if that threat is gone, we know that the Lebanese government wants the ability to operate independently -- and we are continuing to work towards all those goals that same time.
QUESTION: Two things. Do you worry that the diplomatic process is dragging on too long while the violence continues?
SNOW: The diplomatic process never drags on too short in most of our experiences. So, you know, it is what is it is.
Again, just as we have said, we don't want to be trying to shape an Iraq strategy on the basis of a timetable. What you have to do is you have work hard and exhaust every possible avenue so you can try to get to the end state, to try to get to the kind of resolution that you think is going to provide the proper conditions so that the Lebanese people -- who, you know, they've got paper resolutions that say all the right things -- but they need a reality on the ground that is going to permit them to go forward under the conditions that were laid out in 1559 and, to this day, have yet to be fulfilled.
QUESTION: Lieberman -- are you telling us you now want to make the November election a referendum on the Democrats' position on the Iraq war?
SNOW: No, I'm saying there's some Democrats who have said that the key issue is leaving; and that there's some elements within the Democratic Party who are pushing hard to say: Look, if you don't agree with us, you no longer belong in the party.
You know, you take a look at the blogs today. They're pretty hot. And the real question for the American people to ask themselves is: Do you take the war on terror seriously, with all the developments going around the world? And, if so, how do you fight it to win?
There seem to be two approaches. And in the Connecticut race, one of the approaches is ignore the difficulties and walk away.
Now, when the United States walked away, in the opinion of the Osama bin Laden in 1991, bin Laden drew from that that the conclusion that Americans were weak and wouldn't stay the course. And that led to September 11.
And it is important to realize that terrorists are not simply inspired by American engagement in the world, but they have their own agenda. And it is an agenda that, if we turn around and look the other way, they're not going to ignore.
They will continue to build strength and they will continue to build adherence. And it is a vitally important debate to have. And it's really up to Democratic candidates and the Democratic party to figure out how they want to stand in the war on terror.
Do they want to have the sort of timetable approach -- leave by a date certain?
Do they not want to have something constructive to say about gathering threats from Iran and elsewhere, or do they want to acknowledge the fact that, in a dangerous world, it takes commitment, it takes persistence?
Throughout American history, generation after generation has been faced with difficulties. And each generation has risen to the challenge. And we're confident that this generation will do the same. QUESTION: Just a follow-up on that: Does this shake up the political landscape, conventional thinking of how November mid-terms are going to go, strategy looking forward to '08?
I don't think so. I mean, if you look at the mid-terms, again, every candidate is going to tell you that his or her campaign is a local campaign. And, quite often, local issues are going to condition them. There has been some attempt, on the part -- again, you have a lot of Democratic leadership getting involved in this Connecticut race, trying to nationalize around one issue.
That is, obviously, a key issue. But, on the other hand, everybody has known all along that that's a key issue.
SNOW: The president's view has always been that good policy is good politics. We are sticking with the positions we have taken. We think that they're the right positions to take.
One of the interesting things that happened in this Connecticut race, by the way, was there appeared to be some buyer's remorse as Election Day approached. Maybe the polls were rigged, maybe the polls were bad, but at least the lead that Mr. Lamont had went from 13 points to 6 to 4 on Election Day.
That indicates that even in a fairly liberal state like Connecticut, where this is the one issue, where you had a well- financed candidate who had more money than the incumbent, that you still had a 50-50 split more or less within the Democratic Party on this issue.
It's going to be up to Democrats to see exactly how they want to play it. I will tell you the president's position, which is the war on terror is vital, not only because the stakes are high, but also the rewards are high.
When you have created a democracy, when a democracy is able to stand up in Iraq, and when a democracy is able to stand up in Lebanon, when a democracy is able to function for Palestinians, you send a powerful message that these things are possible anywhere in the world and you create ties that are motivated no longer by ideology or sectarian hatred, but instead by self-interest, which means ties of trade, ties of politics and real opportunities for closer relations throughout the world, and it makes it a more peaceful world.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)
SNOW: You know, what the president's going to do on the campaign trail is talk about the issues, and the issues that are important. We're going to be in Wisconsin tomorrow. We're going to be talking about the economy. There's a good economic message to discuss.
When people go to the polls and people also start thinking about issues, they do think about the war on terror. But in addition, you've got bread and butter issues here at home, too. So there are a whole series of issues, all of them come into play, and I'm sure the president will talk about all of them. QUESTION: Tony, President Chirac interrupted his vacation to go meet with some of his cabinet members, and Tony Blair delayed his to make some phone calls. Has the president giving any consideration to doing something like that and get more involved to move this along?
SNOW: The president is involved. And as I said, he's been talking actively with Secretary Rice and also National Security Adviser Hadley. I know that they've been in close contact today with Israeli, Lebanese, French, U.N. and other officials.
So I dare say the president's very actively engaged in this. He may go for a bike ride in the morning, but he's spending a lot of time morning, noon and night working these issues.
QUESTION: But he's not calling any foreign leaders or anything...
SNOW: No foreign leaders calls so far today.
QUESTION: Tony, today in the Ohio Ken Mehlman delivered a speech in which he talked about the Lieberman loss as an example of the defeatism and isolationism of the Democratic Party.
It seems like, based on what we're hearing from you, this is part of a coordinated Republican effort to broaden this Lieberman race out to a more national...
SNOW: No that's -- again, I think what you've had is you've had a lot of national figures within the Democratic Party making this point. And that's why I tried to couch it in terms of responding to the arguments that were made in that race.
Again, it's up to the Democrats. Is this the national message they wish to run on? If so, it's going to be something that I think the American people are going to want to hear all sides of.
QUESTION: But is it a national message for you to paint Democrats as the cut-and-run party, the defeatist, isolationist...
SNOW: I don't believe I used any of those terms.
QUESTION: But Ken Mehlman used "defeatism" and "isolationism."
SNOW: Ken's running the Republican National Committee; I'm speaking for the president.
QUESTION: You said that the Lieberman loss is a defining moment for the Democratic Party. What does it say about the Republican Party, the results in the Michigan primary where a moderate Republican who had been in somewhat agreement with the president on immigration issues was defeated by the conservative wing of the Republican Party? And is that a defining moment?
SNOW: You know, it would be interesting to see how that plays out. That is a race that, I must tell you, in all fairness, that I did not look at with as much care or thoroughness. So I'll try to get you a more thorough answer.
But it appears that you had a self-described moderate being defeated by a self-described conservative. Beyond that, I wish I could give you more context but I can't and I'd be making it up.
QUESTION: Tony, do you anticipate the president will do anything to help Senator Lieberman get elected now as an independent?
SNOW: No. I mean, again, Joe Lieberman has been a Democrat all his life. He's had a long Democratic career. He says that if elected as an independent he would caucus as a Democrat.
Again, the president's going to stay out of that one.
QUESTION: Would the president prefer to have the Republican nominee in Connecticut face...
SNOW: Well, again -- as you know, there is an interesting situation in Connecticut. I think that this point we'll just see what happens.
All right, anything else on these two issues.
PHILLIPS: We want to continue to watch this briefing out of Crawford, Texas, with Tony Snow. You can go to CNN.com/Pipeline.
Meanwhile, we have got more on those students that came from Egypt to the United States, 11 of them missing. One has been arrested. Our Jeanne Meserve will have the latest on that.
Also the Phoenix serial killings. Somebody killed at least six people in cold blood. Police think they have their shooters. As that case gets underway, well, we peer into the minds of serial killers and try to learn what makes them tick. That's coming up on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right, what's the deal with these Egyptian students that have gone missing? Jeanne Meserve has been following the story since the FBI came out and said there was a BOLO trying to track down these students. What do we know, Jeanne?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have one arrest. Eslam Ibrahim Mohamed El Dessouki, a 21-year-old Egyptian, was picked up at about 11:00 a.m. local time in Minneapolis, Minnesota. That's about noon Eastern.
According to a press release from the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he was taken into custody without incident and this release says that a preliminary investigation has not identified any credible or imminent threat posed by El Dessouki or any of the other 10 Egyptians.
We are told that his arrest came as a result of FBI source information. He is now in the custody of Immigration and Custom Enforcement and they, of course, are questioning him. About one million foreign students are in the U.S. at any one point in time. Thousands of them are being reported as being in possible violation of their visa status. Most of the time, this turns out to be absolutely benign, but in this instance, a "be on the lookout" was issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI has not said why it put that out but I can tell you they're still very much looking for the other 10 -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Jeanne, thanks for updating us.
Two men and a string of deadly shootings in Phoenix. Police believe they have the killers, but at least one of the suspects says he's innocent. That remains to be seen, but we do know 16 counts of drive-by shootings are being added to the murder and attempted murder charges against Samuel Dieteman and Dale Hausner. A preliminary hearing for both is set for Monday. Now, on Monday of this week suspect Hausner held a jailhouse news conference in a jailhouse uniform.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DALE HAUSNER, "SERIAL SHOOTER" SUSPECT: I don't see Sam as a cold-blooded killer, but if they have evidence saying he is, then, you know, not much I can do to debut that.
QUESTION: They have evidence saying you are as well, is what they're saying.
HAUSNER: Well, I'd like to see them prove it. They're going to have to prove it because I didn't do anything wrong. I have no history of violence in my past. I mean, like I said, you know, I have been with the same job eight years. You know, I don't think I can fly. I'm not insane or anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, my next guest has made a career of outlandish murder cases. She is the author of this book, "My Life Among the Serial Killers," a forensic psychology who's sat face-to-face with the likes of Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer. Dr. Helen Morrison, welcome.
DR. HELEN MORRISON, FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIST, AUTHOR: Thank you for having me today, Ms. Phillips.
PHILLIPS: Let me ask you your first reaction to this press conference -- I know you were watching it closely.
MORRISON: Yes, I was. My first reaction was how tremendously organized he was to be able to pull together a press conference like this, and walk in and just very calmly define his defense, though nobody knows for certain whether he was or was not involved. But I think what is so striking is how very calm he is and how very proactive he is.
But, also, the other thing that I noticed about him is the lack of real emotion. I mean, this is a man who supposedly lost both of his sons with an ex-wife who was in a car accident with them and who reportedly has a terminally-ill daughter. But the lack of emotion that he's showing is very striking.
PHILLIPS: Well, he talks about that loss. Let's take a listen to that part of the news conference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAUSNER: I am so sorry. This is such a tragedy and I hate -- I lost two kids in 1994 because my wonderful ex-wife -- who I supposedly was going to gun down in the desert -- she fell asleep at the wheel of the car and killed both of my boys. And I know what it's like to suffer the loss of a kid, and I would never, ever, ever want anybody to have to go through what I went through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: So do you believe that? And that's interesting, now that you talk about his mannerisms. That felt kind of cold and he took a jab at his ex-wife.
MORRISON: Very arrogant, very sarcastic, very much in control of what he is saying. Most people who would be in his situation would either be totally terrified or totally shut down, but here he is exposing himself, so to speak, to everyone.
He's a very smart man. He certainly knows how to move things around, manipulate things. And coming out as strongly as he has saying, you know, I'm innocent, it's going to be a very interesting thing to watch over time.
PHILLIPS: Now, he talks about his weapons like this. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAUSNER: I have lots of weapons, as do most Americans.
QUESTION: Can you tell us, sir, what weapons you do have?
HAUSNER: Yes, I have two .410s, a 12 gauge, a 20 gauge, a 28 gauge, .303, probably five pellet guns, blow guns, various knives and stabbing weapons, ice picks, awls, stuff like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Interesting. Usually when I talk about knives, I don't really say stabbing weapons. What did he say, stabbing weapons?
MORRISON: Right. Stabbing weapons. I mean this -- you know, his statement, that well, like most Americans -- well, he's living in a culture where guns and weapons are not uncommon. But for him to have the variety, to be able to just rattle them off as if they were friends rather than destructive weapons is also quite interesting. What's an ice pick? I know what an awl is, and why would he have ice picks? It will be very much of interest to all of us to find out what this man's history truly is.
PHILLIPS: Does he fit that profile of a serial killer?
MORRISON: No, he fits a profile more of a serial shooter. You know, someone who is going out and treating people as if they were the cans on the top of the fence that he is picking off, if he indeed do this. And he is alleged it have done it. And, of course, you know, innocent until proven guilty. So he's so matter-of-fact about this. Most people who had feelings would be very, very upset.
PHILLIPS: What was Jeffrey Dahmer like when you sat down with him? Was he very matter-of-fact? What do remember about talking about with him?
MORRISON: Well, Jeffrey Dahmer, like any other serial killer, is more than matter-of-fact. They are completely empty human beings. They don't even pretend to have remorse. They don't pretend that they're innocent. They don't pretend anything that we would consider human emotion. They have no understanding of what humans experience.
They have no emotional life whatsoever. So, for them to sit down and recite to you the crimes that they've committed is very much just like reading off a list of things that they've done, and it has no meaning to them whatsoever.
PHILLIPS: Dr. Helen Morrison, you've definitely -- are leading a very fascinating life. Your book is extremely interesting. We'll be talking more.
MORRISON: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Appreciate it.
MORRISON: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Well, CNN did not attempt to speak on the record with someone from the public -- did attempt, sorry, to speak with someone on the public defender's office or anyone else from the defense side of this case. They all declined an interview. Just want to make that point.
And it's opening night, and somber reminder that the five-year anniversary of 9/11 is just around the corner. Oliver Stone's new movie "World Trade Center" opens nationwide on Tuesday. We're going to look at the support that it's gotten from a surprising source.
More LIVE FROM straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, a developing story out of Hollywood. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT"'s Brooke Anderson joins me now with more. Hey, Brooke.
BROOKE ANDERSON, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Hey there, Kyra.
We have some celebrity news just into CNN. Robin Williams has reportedly checked into rehab. We have just touched base with his publicist who issued this statement to us. "After 20 years of sobriety, Robin Williams found himself drinking again and has decided to take proactive measures to deal with this for his own well-being and the well-being of his family. He asks that you respect his and his family's privacy during this time. He looks forward to returning to work this fall to support his upcoming film releases."
He has a new upcoming movie called "The Night Listener." He was also recently in the film "R.V." We are trying to find out if it is a rehab facility, when -- where it is, and also when reportedly he checked in. We will keep you updated with those details.
Moving on now, it has been nearly five years since the September 11th attacks, and today, the movie "World Trade Center" makes its way into 2,500 theaters around the country. But many people are asking, is the subject matter still too raw on many Americans' minds and did controversial director Oliver Stone treat this sensitive story in the right way?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLAS CAGE, ACTOR: OK, listen up. We got to evacuate the tower. Who's coming?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON (voice-over): No one in Hollywood or anywhere else expected this would be an easy film to make, certainly not the actors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wanted to do right by the American people.
MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL, ACTRESS: I think it has been used by all sorts of people to further different political agendas. So that was also in my mind, too, as we began it, how to avoid that.
ANDERSON: Then there was the question of timing. One of the rescue workers whose experience is dramatized in World Trade Center defends its release this week.
WILL JIMENO, WTC SURVIVOR: People say, well, it's too soon, too soon. Well, when is not too soon, when all of us are gone and people are assuming what happened? We have the facts today, and we need to face reality.
ANDERSON: But it was the particular director who was taking on the 9/11 subject that sounded alarms, especially in conservative circles, when the project was announced last year -- Oliver Stone, the pundits wondered, along with some of those there that day.
LT. JOHN KASSIMATIS, WTC SURVIVOR: I always felt that Oliver roamed in the field of fiction.
ANDERSON: Could the lightning rod behind politically charged pictures like "JFK" and "Born on the Fourth of July" tell a September 11th story and not give it his own liberal ideological spin?
OLIVER STONE, DIRECTOR: Conspiracy one-two movies -- you know, there's no one -- don't pigeonhole me, I guess is what I'm saying. I like to surprise you.
ANDERSON: Most surprising perhaps is the flurry of effusive reviews coming from very unexpected places, "The Washington Times" to "The Weekly Standard," a chorus of hosannas from conservative quarters. Columnists calling it "required viewing for every American." Family groups have turned Stone into an American artistic hero. The Parents Television Council is recommended it to its one million members, an honor usually reserved for religious films.
MELISSA CALDWELL, PARENTS' TELEVISION COUNCIL: It's pretty unusual for us to get behind a movie that enthusiastically. It's rare for Hollywood to produce a film, these days anyhow, of such epic proportions.
ANDERSON (on camera): Producers will contribute 10 percent of the five-day opening box office proceeds to several 9/11-related charities, including the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, which is raising money to build a $510 million memorial here at the Trade Center site. And Paramount, the studio backing the pictures, has posted no outdoor advertising in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
(voice-over): Meanwhile, at a studio-sponsored screening for families and survivors, some are still wrestling with whether they're ready.
MARTY SILVIO, WTC SURVIVOR: It's on the cutting edge of too soon and not too soon. I guess it's time. You know. It's time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Nicolas Cage has said that he wanted to do this film because he wanted to use his acting abilities for a story that is healing. Oliver Stone said he did the best that he could, and he hopes he got it right. "World Trade Center" opens nationwide today.
Also back to the Robin Williams story -- I just got word from Robin's publicist that he is seeking treatment at a facility. She says she will provide no other details, and that the statement that I read to you just a few minutes ago speaks for itself.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: Well, the company at the center of the Alaska pipeline fiasco is BP America. We're going to talk more about that and also what's going on with the company. The president joins us live in the 3:00 Eastern hour.
We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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