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CNN Live Today
Israel Leaves Gaza; Plane Crash Mystery
Aired August 15, 2005 - 10:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take a look at what's happening "Now in the News."
A decorated Marine who served in Iraq is due in court today in Massachusetts. Daniel Cotnoir faces arraignment on attempted murder and assault and battery charges. Police say he opened fire outside a nightclub over a weekend. Two people were wounded by bullet fragments.
A meeting to consider a new draft constitution for Iraq has been delayed. The parliament session scheduled for last hour was postponed until next hour. Today is the deadline for completing the draft resolution, but disagreements over federalism and the role of Islam have not been resolved.
The Bush administration releases more documents on Supreme Court nominee John Roberts this hour. The papers are from Roberts' days as associate counsel to former President Reagan. The Senate Democrats are demanding documents on cases Roberts handled for former President George Bush. The administration refuses to release those.
You might call it tax deadline, the sequel. Tax returns are due today for about nine million Americans who filed for extensions back in April. Those who still can't get their returns done can ask for another two-month extension, but the IRS wants a written explanation for that delay.
Good morning. Welcome to CNN LIVE TODAY. Let's check some of the time around the world.
Just after 11:00 a.m. in Springfield, New Jersey; just after 6:00 p.m. in Gaza City; and just after 7:00 p.m. in Baghdad.
From CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Daryn Kagan.
First up, moving day. Jewish settlers are packing trucks across Gaza today. They have until Wednesday to get out of their homes or be forced out. The withdrawal will end Israel's 38-year occupation and could open a new chapter in the peace process.
Our international correspondents have the story covered. John Vause is in a settlement in southern Gaza. Ben Wedeman is with Palestinian reaction in Gaza City.
John, we'll start with you.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn. Really the first day of this disengagement now coming to an end. It didn't start well in many of the settlements across Gaza.
The idea, in fact, did not go to about five of those settlements. They reached an agreement with settlement leaders that they would in fact deliver those evacuation notices to them and those leaders would then pass them on to the settlers in those communities.
Here in Morag, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, not far from Egypt, dozens of residents and even more protesters gathered at the gates of this community to stop soldiers as they arrived. It was a standoff for about two hours. People were singing and praying. This is a deeply religious community.
And they tell you here one of the reasons why they're so against this disengagement is because they believe that God promised them Gaza and to leave is to defy God's will. The flip side of that argument, of course, is that both the Palestinians and the United Nations say this is occupied territory. And the Palestinians claim this as part of a future state, along with all of the West Bank.
So the first day, they're also protesting the largest of the Jewish settlements, Neve Dekalim. Roads were closed. There were burning ties to try and stop police from entering there. And also, scuffles broke out in a number of the other smaller settlements as well.
Now, the eviction notices will tell these people -- or have told these people, rather, that they now have until midnight tomorrow night, local time -- that's about 5:00 p.m. Eastern -- to leave their homes. After that they will be forced to leave, and they could lose a good deal of their compensation, up to a third, as well as some of their possessions as well. And if they are here after that deadline, Daryn, Israeli police and soldiers will carry them out one by one.
KAGAN: All right. John Vause. Thank you for that.
Now let's check in with Ben Wedeman in Gaza City.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Daryn. Well, the Palestinians are watching very closely as the Israeli evacuation of the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip get under way. And for their part, the Palestinian security forces seem to be doing everything they can to ensure a smooth evacuation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN (voice over): A pep talk to Palestinian security troops before taking up positions around the Jewish settlement of Netzarim. "We bear a huge responsibility," Major Abu Ahmed (ph) tells his men, "to stop our people from bleeding, to stop anyone from preventing the Israeli pullout." A triumphal cheer before boarding the buses to take up positions they fled at the beginning of the Palestinian uprising.
Israelis may be debating the significance of it all, but not the men on this bus. "This is a victory for all the Palestinian people," Shadi (ph) tells me. "From Gaza to south Lebanon because Palestine is ours," says another. It will be the job of this somewhat disorderly force to ensure no one from the Palestinian side interferes with the evacuation.
Battle songs blaring, gunmen from Islamic Jihad stage a victory march through the streets of Gaza City, while shortly after midnight, when the Israeli evacuation officially began, Hamas holds thanksgiving prayers for what they see as a triumph of armed resistance.
And just to make clear who's the boss, the authority deployed policemen and a bulldozer to knock down a house belonging to a senior authority official who they say built illegally on state land. The authority says this house demolition is a message to anyone, officials or militants, who thinks they're above the law.
FREIH ABU MDAIN, ADVISER TO PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT: We are not going to accept to anybody, in settlement or outside the settlement, to capture and to occupy and to build.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: Now, so, basically, Daryn, with groups like Islamic Jihad, Hamas and other militants banging on the door down here, the Palestinian Authority is trying to show everyone that it is still in command and in control -- Daryn.
KAGAN: They have their work cut out for them. Ben Wedeman in Gaza City. Thank you.
I want to let our viewers at home know that in about 10 minutes I'll talk live with the Shimon Peres, the veteran Israeli politician, the former Israeli prime minister, about the Gaza withdrawal.
The forced removal of Israeli settlers from Gaza has a long and complex history, but a few points may help give you a little perspective on the significance of today's events. Here now are the facts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN (voice over): The Gaza Strip is only about 140 square miles, or about half the size of New York City. Nearly 1.4 million Palestinians live in Gaza. The Jewish population in Gaza before the pullout only numbered about 7,000.
Gaza's borders were first run up in 1949 at the end of the Arab- Israeli war. Palestinian refugees packed into the small Arab- controlled area after being forced from their homes in Israel. Gaza quickly became overcrowded and impoverished and a staging point for operations against Israel.
Israel sees the area during the Suez Crisis of 1956 and then turned it back over to Egypt under international pressure.
Israel took control of Gaza again during the Six-Day War of 1967, and the current occupation has continued from then until now. (END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Searchers have recovered all but two of the bodies from that Cypriot airliner that crashed in Greece. Now the focus is on whether the 121 passengers and crew died before the plane crashed. The jetliner was headed from Cyprus to the Czech Republic, with a stop in Athens when it crashed near the Greek capital.
Our Chris Burns has the latest now from Grammatiko, Greece.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: To a backdrop of the Aegean Sea, the smoldering remains of a jet crash. Work crews have continued through the day over my shoulder, looking for bits of the plane, as well as the bodies, trying to get to the bottom of exactly what caused the plane to go down. The bodies were transferred over to a makeshift morgue and then on to a central hospital where families from Cyprus were brought over to positively identify their loved ones.
Authorities up to now believe that what caused the plane to go down was some kind of loss of cabin pressure and loss of oxygen, which incapacitated both pilots. There is one official with the government who says that the F-16s that were scrambled to see the plane as it -- before it went down saw a -- what they believed to be was a stewardess who was trying to grab control of the plane to keep it from going down. Some dramatic moments just before it crashed.
Authorities have found the two black boxes, the voice and data recorders, for the plane, though authorities say that the voice recorder seems to be very badly damaged. It could be difficult to get anything from that. A team of Americans are coming from Boeing, because the plane is a Boeing 737, to offer some help and expertise in trying to explain what caused this plane to come down.
Three days of mourning have been declared in Cyprus. And here in Greece and Athens, Prime Minister Karamanlis joined others in a ceremony honoring the dead.
Chris Burns, CNN, Grammatiko, Greece.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: That crash was the worst air disaster ever in Greece. Here now, a look at some of the world's deadliest air crashes.
A Turkish jetliner crashed in Paris in 1974. That killed 346 people.
Two jets collided on a runway in the Canary Islands in 1977, killing 582 people.
Five hundred and twenty people died in the crash of a Japan Airlines plane in August 1985.
A cargo plane crashed on takeoff from Zaire in 1996, killing 350. And in November of that same year, a Saudi Arabian airliner plane and a Kazak Airlines plane collided near New Delhi, India. All 349 people died.
And now a look at other stories making news around the world.
First to Japan, where the prime minister apologizes for Japan's role in World War II. And he vows that his country will never again take the path of war. Those comments came during ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of Japan's surrender. Many of Japan's neighbors accuse Tokyo of failing to atone for its wartime aggression.
In Sri Lanka, thousands are mourning the death of the foreign minister who was assassinated last Friday. Sri Lankan officials blame the Tamil Tiger rebels for the attack, but the rebels deny any role in the killing. Military forces are on high alert, fearing that all-out war could break out again after three years of relative peace.
The sultry sounds of tango are playing in Buenos Aires, and not just in the usual dance clubs and barrios where the dance is adored. It's the third World Tango Championship. More than 800 dancers from around the world have descended on the self-proclaimed birthplace of the dance to compete. And the top prize is about $1,700.
Iraqis scramble to finish a constitution. What are the key issues holding things up in Baghdad?
A shot rings out in Crawford, Texas. The Secret Service comes running. President Bush's neighbor shoots off his gun and his mouth amidst the growing anti-war protest.
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KAGAN: Jacqui Jeras has weather news for us.
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KAGAN: Just ahead, I'm going to speak to one of Israel's key leaders as the pullout from Gaza moves forward. Vice Premier Shimon Peres will join us on CNN LIVE TODAY after this.
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KAGAN: Iraqi officials are scrambling to meet today's deadline for drafting a new constitution. A meeting scheduled last hour to consider the document was delayed by two major sticking points.
Our Aneesh Raman is live in Baghdad with details -- Aneesh.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning.
A delay of about an hour. It was an hour ago that the national assembly was to have convened and a draft constitution was to have been presented. They are now set to meet an hour from now.
Meanwhile, frantic meetings are taking place at virtually every level of Iraq's political leadership. We know that the president, as well as the prime minister, are conferring.
Also, we understand there's a meeting taking place with leaders from the Sunni Arab community, the Shias, the Kurds, as well as a secular Iraqi list. They are bringing forth two proposals for the draft constitution that they will present to Iraq's political leadership, and then, one would assume, could come to this national assembly tonight.
Now, there are three things that could happen in the hours to come. A draft, again, of some sort comes forward today to the national assembly. The second option is that this body chooses to amend the law and create a later deadline either days from now, weeks from now, some suggesting a month from now, so they can try and hash out the issues.
The third is that if no draft comes forward and no amendment is made, this government at midnight tonight is essentially dissolved. But those key issues of federalism, how autonomous -- or how powerful will autonomous regions in Iraq be, and the role of Islam, will it be a source or the source of Iraqi law? The specifics of both those points now being hammered out in frantic last-minute negotiations.
KAGAN: Aneesh Raman live in Baghdad. Aneesh, thank you for that.
We move on now to Crawford, Texas. A presidential neighbor fires off his shotgun as anti-war Americans protest nearby. He says it's doves he's after, the bird kind, but there could be another issue at stake here.
Our White House Correspondent Dana Bash reports on mounting tensions outside the president's ranch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where did he go?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. I think he walked up to the house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said to his house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I called the police at 10 after 10:00.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Secret Service raced to the scene. Two gunshots heard near the vigil outside the president's ranch.
LARRY MATTLAGE, CRAWFORD RESIDENT: I threatened nobody, and I didn't point a gun at nobody. This is Texas.
BASH: On his own land across the road, Larry Mattlage had shut his gun in the air.
MATTLAGE: I'm getting ready for dove season. And you all are going to still be here, I'm practicing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There wasn't another message involved in the gunshot?
MATTLAGE: Figure that for yourself.
BASH: The doves that are really bothering him, antiwar protesters parking at the edge of his property, growing throngs of supports for Cindy Sheehan, whose son died in Iraq and wants to tell Mr. Bush troops should come home.
MATTLAGE: When they first came out here, I was sympathetic to their cause. All right? These American citizens have a right to march to protest. But it's like company. If you had your brother-in- law in your house for five days, wouldn't it start stinking after a while?
BASH: Mattlage may be expressing the frustration of some locals. In the nearly five years Mr. Bush has been coming here, this is the first extended demonstration. An unprecedented number of people and cars descending on tiny Crawford, now both for and against Cindy Sheehan's cause.
(on camera): In fact, this is something we've never seen. Police put up a sign warning about heavy traffic in Crawford, a town with 705 people and one blinking light.
MATTLAGE: They had one Porto-Potty. Now we've got two Porto- Potties. And now we've got three. And if this keeps up, they'll be all the way at the end of the road.
BASH: Mattlage has benefited from living near the president. One TV network pays to use his property to get footage of the Bush ranch. The local sheriff says no laws were broken, both sides are within their rights.
Cindy Sheehan has a solution.
CINDY SHEEHAN, WAR PROTESTER: He should talk to his other neighbor, George Bush, and ask George Bush to come out and meet with me. And then we'll leave.
BASH: Mattlage doesn't know his presidential neighbor, but says he's skeptical that would make the protesters leave.
MATTLAGE: That's all I've got to say about that.
BASH: Dana Bash, CNN, Crawford, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: I want to get back now to the story of what's taking place in Iraq and talk more about the future of women's rights in the new Iraq. Zainab Al-Suwaij is executive director of the American Islamic Congress. Also an advocate for Iraqi women. Also a common -- a regular guest on this program.
And it's good to see you again.
She's joining me now from Boston.
ZAINAB AL-SUWAIJ, AMERICAN ISLAMIC CONGRESS: Thank you.
KAGAN: Before we get to the exact, more focussed issue of women in the new Iraq, what do you think is going to happen with this constitutional crisis? Do you think they'll pull it together and come up with some sort of a deal?
AL-SUWAIJ: Well, I hope this is going to be finishing soon. You know, I know the negotiations are going on right now. And there are major issues that they have to agree on. But still, there are a lot of things. And what's worrying us is women issues inside the new constitution.
KAGAN: Right. And that is one of the big issues that they're trying to come to agreement on. How do you think women are faring with what their roles will look like and their rights in the new Iraq as compared to the old Iraq?
AL-SUWAIJ: Well, a lot of women inside Iraq, they are -- they want to have their rights written clearly in the constitution. And they want it to be -- and they want it to be used in the future of Iraq. And right now, I think there are a lot of protests. There are a lot of campaigns that are going on inside Iraq right now to -- from women to guarantee their rights in the new constitution.
KAGAN: Right. And I think all sides would agree on that. It's just, what do you base those rights on?
And there are conservative women coming out and saying you must base this on the laws of Islam. And others would see that as a loss of rights.
AL-SUWAIJ: Well, there are a lot of different groups and different opinions inside Iraq, but I know that the majority of the Iraqi women wants their rights to be clear. And as far as Islam and Sharia law, or Islamic law, this is going to be a personal thing, if people want to practice this or not. This is going to be their own choice.
KAGAN: So you say make that your own choice, just don't put it into the law to make it everyone's choice?
AL-SUWAIJ: That's right. I mean, that are...
KAGAN: What are -- what are some specific rights that you are concerned that women had before that they might not have in the future?
AL-SUWAIJ: Well, for example, that the age of marriage in Islam is 9 -- 9 years old. And I think in the previous constitution it was 16 or 18. And also, children, custody and divorce. And in the past constitution the inheritance was also equal.
Basically, Iraqi women right now they don't want to be treated as a second-class citizen. And they want to be equal with men inside the constitution in Iraq.
KAGAN: But the number one thing will be that they get a deal to hold things together, at least until the end of today. We'll be watching.
Zainab, thank you. Thank you for your time.
AL-SUWAIJ: Thank you.
KAGAN: Zainab Al-Suwaij.
Just ahead, I'll speak with one of Israel's key leaders as the pullout from Gaza moves forward. Vice Premier Shimon Peres will join us on CNN LIVE TODAY after this break.
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