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CNN Live Today

Israel and Hezbollah Militants Stepping Up Attacks; President Bush Meets With German Chancellor Merkel; Ground Delays

Aired July 13, 2006 - 11:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Daryn Kagan.
Welcome to the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY.

Let's get right to the breaking news from the Middle East. Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon stepping up each of their attacks. The United Nations is sending a team to the region trying to defuse the crisis.

Here is what we know at this hour.

Rockets striking northern Israel today, hitting the town of Safed. Hezbollah also vowed to attack the key Israeli port city of Haifa if Israel strikes back.

Israeli forces bombed Beirut's airport. Now Israel says it has attacked two additional airports in Lebanon.

This all started when Hezbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others in attacks yesterday.

As rockets are raining down in the Mideast, there are fears that the fighting will blow up into a regional war.

Our Alessio Vinci will check in shortly with us from Beirut.

First, though, let's go to where the conflict has started. And our John Vause joining us. He is right along the Israel-Lebanese border.

John, hello.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

This Israeli military offensive seems to be escalating by the hour with reports of an Israeli airstrike in the north of Lebanon for the first time in this conflict. And also in the Bekaa Valley, along the border with Syria, there is also that Israeli naval blockade off the coast of Lebanon. Israel's defense minister, Amir Peretz, says the strategy here is to try and force Hezbollah to retreat from the southern part of Lebanon.

You can probably hear the artillery rounds which are now being fired behind me. If we can take a closer look just here, this is one of the Israeli positions not far from the Lebanese border. You can see the Israeli artillery which is embedded here about half a mile away. They've been firing continually throughout the day, every hour, on the hour.

This is a scene which is being repeated up and down the border with Israel and Lebanon. Part of that military campaign which Israel has been using to try and pressure Hezbollah and the Lebanese government to free the two kidnapped Israeli soldiers.

So far, there's been more than 40 Israeli airstrikes, mostly targeting Hezbollah strongholds, but also three -- three airports have been hit. In particular, the airport in Beirut. Israel says that was a target because it was used to transport terrorists and weapons. But that also seems to be sending a very clear message to the Lebanese that there is an economic price to pay for supporting Hezbollah. Many in Lebanon have been pinning their hopes on tourism for an economic recovery, but obviously tourism now has taken a very serious blow.

The Hezbollah response to all of this, to send volleys of Katyusha rockets into northern Israel. Earlier today, the town of Nahariya was hit by three, maybe four Katyusha rockets. One person was killed there, more than a dozen injured.

But perhaps what could be more troubling for the Israelis, the town of Safed was also hit. There, one person was killed. Safed is about 12 miles away from the Lebanon border. It has never been hit before by Katyusha rockets, and the fact that it is now a target could indicate that Hezbollah has now increased the range of their missiles -- Daryn.

KAGAN: I want to talk to you about that range in just a minute. First of all, just to be clear, when we hear those explosions, those booms in back of you, those are -- that's what's being fired. That's not landing right behind your head.

VAUSE: What we have behind us is the Israeli artillery. That is the outgoing fire. That's been happening on a very regular basis, being every -- every few minutes, every hour throughout the day.

There is also incoming fire as well. We've heard the Katyusha rockets which have been coming in to northern Israel. Not as frequent as the Israeli artillery, but also on a fairly regular basis as well. But the booms that we've been hearing from the last couple of minutes have been from Israeli artillery -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. John Vause live from the Israeli-Lebanese border.

Thank you.

Now a fact check on Hezbollah, the group at the center of this crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN (voice over): Hezbollah, or party of god, emerged in Lebanon in the early 1980s in response to Israel's invasion of Lebanon. Hezbollah was formed by Shiite clerics primarily to try and drive the Israeli troops out. It is supported by Syria and Iran. Israel and the U.S. consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization as the group became synonymous with suicide bombings and kidnappings targeting Israeli and Western interests.

It's been linked to many high-profile attacks, including the 1983 bombing of Marine barracks in Beirut that left 241 American troops dead. Over the years, Hezbollah also evolved into a civilian movement with members of the Lebanese parliament and a welfare program that provides schools, hospitals and other services to the Lebanese.

Although Israeli troops withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah continues to control the south of the country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And as we continue to follow the latest developments, Israel now confirming it has bombed two additional airports in Lebanon. Earlier, Israeli warplanes bombed all three runways at Beirut International Airport, forcing that airport to close.

Our Alessio Vinci is standing by live from the Lebanese capital with the latest from Beirut.

Alessio, hello.

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

Well, we've been able to confirm with the Lebanese army that Israel has, indeed, attacked two more targets here in Lebanon. The first one in the eastern -- the town of Rayak. There is a military barrack there and an airport. That was attacked. And then also within the last hour or so, we understand that another military airport in the north of Lebanon known as Al Klayat (ph), that has also been hit.

And meanwhile, Lebanese television is reporting that Israeli jets are flying over a major supply route linking Beirut to Syria, basically, in the Bekaa Valley.

So, all this, of course, is escalating the tensions here, and it comes only when, after this morning, Israeli jets bombed the international airport here in Beirut by attacking the three runways and virtually forcing the airport to shut down. And also enforcing a naval blockade right now that is obviously preventing and hitting Lebanon where it hurts the most, and that is its tourism industry.

This is the middle of summer here, of course. Ten of thousands -- hundreds of thousands of tourists were expected to come here in the coming months. Of course, all this is making it very difficult for them to be here.

And the Lebanese government is now beginning a second cabinet session of the day trying to come up with some kind of response to this. By the hour, the cabinet -- the Lebanese people and the Lebanese government is seeing its country being crippled by the hour.

Daryn, back to you. KAGAN: And so that's the reaction of what the Lebanese government is trying to do. What about the Lebanese people? What's the -- what's the word, the reaction of these attacks?

VINCI: Well, you know, the country is basically split in half between Muslims and Christians. And, of course, the Muslims, most of those who support the Hezbollah movement, believe that Hezbollah is doing the right thing in protecting the interests of the Lebanese people.

On the other side, you have the Christians, who believe -- who see this -- that this is just a big problem, because obviously Israel is targeting infrastructure that is used by all people in this country, bridges, the power supplies, water supplies, the airport. And so, it is obviously a country that is split in half.

Now, if you go down to the south, in the area predominantly controlled by Hezbollah -- controlled by Hezbollah, there, of course, has been a high toll of civilian casualties. Forty-five people have been killed so far since the crisis started, including 10 children and a member of an entire family.

Here in Beirut, for example, we've noticed already people beginning to stock up on fuel, for example, at gas stations. And in the streets of Lebanon -- of Beirut, we understand usually at this time of day it should be filling up with a lot of people in the streets, traffic jams, or whatever. None of this is happening. Most of the people are at this time staying in their homes and possibly watching the developments on local television here.

KAGAN: Alessio Vinci live from Beirut.

Thank you.

Let's now go to the United Nations. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton speaking at the microphone.

Let's listen in.

JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: We'll see what happens during the debate tomorrow. We also had the question today whether Qatar will -- will continue to pursue its resolution on the Gaza Strip. Our understanding from conversations in Doha is that will be postponed. And I think that would be -- that would be useful.

Anything else on the Middle East then?

QUESTION: Ambassador, do you hold the Lebanese government responsible for what happened, or do you think other regional countries are to blame? And also, on the Qatar resolution, there's been some reports that the U.S. has been putting pressure on member states to -- not to vote for the resolution, and that's why it has been postponed.

Do you -- do you have any comments on that? BOLTON: Well, we have said before we didn't think any useful purpose would be served by a resolution or council action with respect to the situation in Gaza. And so that has remained our position, and we've conveyed that to other countries on the Security Council and other countries that are interested in the question.

On the subject of Lebanon, I think I've indicated what the U.S. position was. Let me just take one more here.

QUESTION: Regarding North Korea, can you tell me, what is the difference? Because North Korea is still trying, and they have said that they are going to try further missiles.

Where is the difference between North Korea and Iran when Iran hasn't tried anything yet, but still you want to punish Iran more than North Korea?

BOLTON: Well, I don't think that's an accurate statement. I think what we have said unequivocally to Iran is that they need to suspend their uranium enrichment activities, and they continue to refuse to do that. And their continued refusal to do that means they have taken a different path which will lead to their increasing isolation.

So -- OK. Thanks very much.

KAGAN: Getting to the end of some questions from reporters there, answering questions on North Korea and Iran, and also what is happening with the escalating situation in Lebanon.

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton.

Let's even move it up higher than that. President Bush wasting little time and few words in confronting the crisis in the Middle East. It's a distraction from his diplomatic mission.

He's in Germany. He's nurturing his growing friendship with the chancellor there. Then he travels on to Russia for a Group of 8 summit. That gathering is important, but the Mideast violence is nothing short of urgent.

Our White House correspondent, Ed Henry, joining us from Germany now with the latest on what the president has to say.

Ed, hello.

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

That's right, the agenda for this G-8 summit getting larger and larger by the day, with global hotspots from North Korea to Iran and now that violence in the Mideast that you've been talking about. The president trying to navigate all these hotspots with his new mantra of diplomacy, diplomacy, diplomacy. And riding shotgun, as you noted, is the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, who is here showing off her home turf in what was communist East Germany. The president and first lady arrived last night, but the official welcoming ceremony was today, where the president got a traditional barrel of herring, and he also was taking a tour of the historic St. Nikolai Church which dates back to the year 1270.

Later tonight, he will be dining on German barbecue with Chancellor Merkel. In fact, the president was joking all day today he's "looking forward to the pig."

But they did also get down to business for what the president called a strategy session to talk about these foreign policy crises. And then they had a session with reporters, where the president was very blunt in blaming both Iran and Syria for the violence in the Mideast, saying they both support Hezbollah, and he charged that they are slowing down progress in the Mideast.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's really sad where people are willing to take innocent life in order to stop that progress. As a matter of fact, it's pathetic.

And having said that, Israel has a right to defend herself. Every nation must defend herself against terrorist attacks and the killing of innocent life. It's a necessary part of the 21st century.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: But the president did express concern that he doesn't want Israel to perhaps over-respond in a way that could stunt the growth of the fledgling democracy in Lebanon.

The president, on another issue, also said that Iran will be sorely mistaken if it thinks it can wait out the U.S. in terms of pushing for a nuclear weapons program. And just like with North Korea, the president said that he wants to press sanctions before the United Nations, but cautioned, again, just like with North Korea, that that takes time, diplomacy does not happen overnight.

In short, almost a complete reversal from what we heard from the president on the issue of Iraq several years ago. And it's also a complete contrast to his relationship with Chancellor Merkel. Her predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder, had a very icy relationship with the president in part because of his vehement opposition to that war in Iraq -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Ed Henry live from Germany.

Thank you for that.

A lot of news to get to here in the U.S., including California, which much of the Yucca Valley is up in smoke and burning. There is concern this raging wildfire could triple in size. A live report just ahead. But first, are you tired of those annoying delays, airport delays? The FAA trying to cut down your wait. Weathering the storm of air travel just ahead.

And Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby superstar that suffered that terrible injury during the Preakness, tough odds. That's what the doctors are saying the horse faces today. We'll have an update on his condition just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: This just in to CNN. We're getting the latest on Kentucky Derby superstar Barbaro. The word on him not very good.

The doctors that have been treating him for his devastating illness after the Preakness say that he is suffering and has developed a life-threatening inflammation in his left hind foot. They say it's a bad case of laminitis, as a horse can get.

They do want to stress that he is not suffering. They say that his chances of recovering at this point are poor. But as long as Barbara isn't suffering, they say efforts to save his life will continue.

Let's listen to the vet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DEAN RICHARDSON, CHIEF OF SURGERY, NEW BOLTON: Yes, this horse is -- you know, you look at him in the stall, his ears are up, he's bright, you know, he's looking around. He's spending some time in the sling, as I mentioned. These other times he's out of the sling.

And we're not -- we are not torturing this horse. We are not -- I mean, I didn't go into this business -- there's a guarantee there's no veterinarian out there whose goal in life is to inflict pain on animals. We're trying to save his life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Barbaro had that accident back in -- on May 20th. He shattered three bones in his right hind leg, and he's had three surgical procedures in this past week alone.

The latest on the Kentucky Derby champ.

The sun is shining, you're waiting to fly. What's the problem? Your plane is delayed by storms hundreds of miles away. Now the FAA says it can help shorten your wait.

Our Kathleen Koch is at Reagan National Airport with details on a plan. A lot of frustrated travelers looking forward to hearing this -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, this is a new system that the FAA has come up with to reduce those very frustrating delays due to bad weather. And bad weather is -- does account for 70 percent of flight delays. And it's not only tough on the passengers, but it really does cost the airlines a lot of money.

Now, what this new system is called, it's called the Airspace Flow Program. And what it does is, for the first time, it combines meteorological or weather data with flight schedule information. So, the FAA, instead of putting a ground stop or delay at an entire airport, it can determine which specific flights would encounter severe weather, delay only those flights, and let the other flights go ahead.

FAA administrator Marion Blakey this morning explained that also -- that if specific flights are impacted, the system will give the airlines and the pilots more information sooner so that they can make alternate plans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARION BLAKEY, FAA ADMINISTRATOR: Pilots can check the AFP status prior to takeoff. And if there's a delay, they can learn about it earlier, passengers can be advised about it before they even get to the airport in some cases. And pilots can plan the flight paths that are most desirable from the standpoint of what they know about their own business situation, fuel burn, crew timing, all those kinds of factors. They can plan that with the weather in mind and get airborne sooner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Now, airlines really love this new system. The prediction is that over the next 10 years, the reduction in delays will save them more than $900 million -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Not to mention a lot of frustrated passengers as well.

Kathleen, thank you.

Let's talk weather.

Rob, it's been a particularly tough early summer on a lot of cities, hasn't it?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, it certainly has.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: Thank you, Rob.

MARCIANO: You bet.

KAGAN: We go back to our developing story, attacks escalating and tensions rising, fighting intensifying between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. An update on the breaking news from the Middle East is just ahead

This is CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The tensions are rising in the Middle East as we watch a number of developments. It all centers around two Israeli soldiers that have been captured by Hezbollah on the Lebanon side of the border.

Israel very upset about that and lobbing a number of rockets and hitting the Beirut airport. Hezbollah firing back into Israel today. So tensions continue to rise.

Those are pictures briefly there of the Beirut airport. The Israeli military hitting all three runways. That airport is now closed.

And then Hezbollah firing rockets into the town of Safed in northern Israel, trying to do damage there, threatening to hit Haifa if Israel continues to hit Lebanon.

More on that as the hour goes on.

Now, though, to homicide, rape and armed robbery, aggravated assault. The FBI reporting a surge in violent crime here in the U.S. It is up 2.5 percent over the last year.

And from "USA Today," police blaming most of it on juveniles. Some as young as 10 years old.

Take a look at these numbers in Boston.

Juvenile arrests for robbery rising 54 percent last year. In Minneapolis, police estimating that juveniles will account for 63 percent of suspects in violent and property crimes this year. And that is just a sample.

From Los Angeles, the Lakers' Kwame Brown is now in the clear. Prosecutors have rejected a sexual assault claim against Kwame Brown.

The Lakers' center had denied wrongdoing and was never arrested. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office is now revealing details about the claim. A 23-year-old Long Beach State student alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Brown, but the D.A.'s office says a medical exam shows no signs of forcible sexual assault.

Also from California, up in smoke. Yucca Valley is burning. And there's concern that this raging wildfire could triple -- triple in size. A live report just ahead.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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