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CNN Live Today

CIA Leak Lawsuit; Crisis In The Middle East; Iraq Checkpoint Attack

Aired July 14, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: You going to celebrate best deal day?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I am.

M. O'BRIEN: What are you going to do?

S. O'BRIEN: I'm going to go home and take a nap and then celebrate (INAUDIBLE) this year.

M. O'BRIEN: A big celebration. A little French wine and a nap. That sounds good.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, indeed.

M. O'BRIEN: Merci bocu.

S. O'BRIEN: We're out of time. Let's get right to Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center, taking you through the next couple of hours. You've got a big press conference coming up with morning, don't you?

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely. It looks like it's getting started, so I'll go ahead and take the reins.

Good morning, everyone. Breaking news this hour. Former CIA operative Valerie Plame and her husband, Joe Wilson, about to talk live about the outing of Plame's identity and their lawsuit that it names Presidential Advisor Karl Rove, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Cheney's former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the only person who is charged in the case. So let's go ahead and listen in, in Washington, D.C.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As John Doe defendants. The complaint alleges a violation of our client's constitutional rights and other legal wrongs as a result of conduct by the defendants in 2003. Copies of the complaint are available on line at www.wilsonsupport.org. And we have some hard copies here today as well.

I will not repeat what is spelled out in great detail in our complaint. But in brief summary, and as we allege in the complaint, in 2003 Ambassador Wilson exercised his first amendment rights as an American citizen to challenge the president of the United States for assertions . . .

KAGAN: We're listening to a lawyer for Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson. They are suing some of the highest -- or who have been some of the highest ranking officials in the U.S. government, including Karl Rove, the deputy chief of staff at the White House, Vice President Dick Cheney and the former chief of staff for Dick Cheney, Scooter Libby.

Let's go ahead and bring in our John King.

John, first of all, any reaction from the White House on this lawsuit?

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, the White House official comment is no comment because there is an ongoing legal matter, meaning the pending trial of Scooter Libby. The White House says it cannot comment on these issue. Both the White House press office and the vice president's press office saying that -- Karl Rove through a spokesman saying that there's no merit to this lawsuit today. And, of course, as this lawsuit is filed, remember, we still have months and months of pretrial hearings in the Scooter Libby case. So many of the issues being raised in this lawsuit are also issues in the trial and so you'll have these two things going on concurrent paths.

I will tell you though, privately, while the official White House line is no comment, privately officials there will tell you, and especially supporters of the vice president outside of the White House will tell you, they view what's happening today as a political stunt. A way to try to keep this story in the news because, as we have reported recently, Karl Rove will not be charged in the case, the grand jury investigation appears to be winding down, so you have the Scooter Libby trial and many of the vice president's supporters will tell you they view this as a political stunt to keep this story in the news in this midterm election year.

But, obviously, the first question is, and this is more of a legal issue than a political issue, will a judge at the U.S. district court here in Washington allow this suit to go forward. There are some questions as to whether you can sue, particularly the vice president, in a case like this.

KAGAN: And why is that?

KING: There have been some cases in the past in which the Supreme Court has said a whistle blower who has a complaint against a chief executive like the president or the vice president cannot sue at that level. You have to press your complaint against the agency that fired you, in one case. In another question, anyone challenging this suit will say that Valerie Wilson Plame was not fired from the CIA, she resigned. So there will be a lot of legal questions that are probably better put to someone like Jeff Toobin than to John King.

KAGAN: Yes.

KING: But there are a bunch of legal issues first. But make no mistake about this, this is a political drama as well as a legal drama.

KAGAN: Right. And so the political questions are the good ones for John King. So let me ask you this, any concern privately from White House officials that if this suit does go forward that you could have discovery motions, that you could have the vice president having to give a sworn deposition that beyond the political attack, this could be an effort to try to get more information out of the administration.

KING: Absolutely. And the administration would argue the president and the vice president did give a statement, were interviewed in the Scooter Libby trial. The vice president himself told me just a short time ago in an interview he expects to be called as a witness in the Scooter Libby trial. So the White House answer would be, well, these questions have all been asked or all will be asked in the legal proceedings underway.

But no question, that's a key point. If this suit goes forward, Ambassador Wilson, his wife, Mrs. Plame, could ask the vice president, could ask Scooter Libby, could ask any -- could try to depots aides around them as to what exactly was going on in those White House strategy meetings.

We do know after Ambassador Wilson's column questioning the president's account was published in "The New York Times," there were strategy meetings at the White House. How do we rebut this? How aggressive should we be? What should we say? Who should take the lead in that effort?

We know the president and the vice president were involved in those discussions. They say they were simply trying to rebut what they believe were factual errors and other miss perceptions, other contextual issues with Ambassador Wilson's column. He claims in this suit now that, no, they were trying to punish him and, in fact, discredit his wife and destroy her career.

KAGAN: So after today's announcement, the next step, federal district court, can it go forward.

KING: The next step will be a judge will have to decide whether this case -- well, first, they just simply put the case into the system and then the plaintiffs in the case can challenge the case saying it has no merit at all and try to have it summarily dismissed. That will be the first legal battle.

And then assuming the case goes forward, then you will raise the very provocative issue you just hit on, can you depots the vice president? Can you ask questions? When would it be put on a course for trial?

A civil suit is very different from a criminal proceedings. Criminal proceedings they try to go as quickly as possible. Sometimes civil suits get hung up in the court for some time. So there are a number of calendar sessions, shall we say, that will have to be dealt with after today's events, the filing of the suit and this news conference.

KAGAN: John King, excellent job with the political questions as always and good job stepping in for Jeff Toobin on those legal ones.

KING: Reasonably good job.

KAGAN: Well, you get a passing grade. Thank you.

All right. Let's move on now to the Middle East. Bombs and rockets falling in the Mid East. Israel and Hezbollah battling for a third day. Here is what we know.

Israel targeting the Beirut Airport again today. One strike damaged a runway that had just been repaired. Hezbollah launched more rockets into northern Israel. Police say four towns were hit. The U.S. State Department has given families of embassy workers permission to leave Lebanon, but the challenge is, how do they do that safely?

President Bush spoke by phone with Lebanon's prime minister about the crisis. The prime minister wants the U.S. to help end the fighting that erupted on Wednesday when Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers.

Let's take a look at the view in the northern Israeli town of Safed. CNN's Paula Hancocks is there and joins us by phone.

Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

Well, in the past few hours (INAUDIBLE) we understand from Israeli police that at least 220 missiles have been launched on Israeli (INAUDIBLE). Starting from Thursday when this escalation in violence really started. Now five of those rockets landed here in Safed, about 25 kilometers south of the Lebanese border.

And behind me there are two apartments (INAUDIBLE). The ground floors of both of them hit by two rockets. We understand a couple of Israelis were injured in the attack. But there were other people in the building at the time. We are hearing police driving by earlier saying these people should stay inside. Stay out of open areas. And there are also bomb shelters here that they are suggesting people make good use of.

We're hearing that in other northern Israeli towns as well. In the past couple of days, two people have been killed from these rocket attacks themselves. And recently the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, just right now is meeting with his security cabinet.

KAGAN: We're going to go ahead and jump in here. We want to go back to Washington, D.C. Valerie Plame, who has just filed this federal civil lawsuit, at the microphone. Let's listen in.

VALERIE PLAME: With heavy hearts, but with a renewed sense of purpose. I would much rather be continuing my career as a public servant than be a plaintiff in a lawsuit, but I feel strongly and justice demands that those who acted so harmfully against our national security must answer for their shameful conduct in court. Thank you.

KAGAN: We'll wait and see if former Ambassador Wilson has something to say. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now Ambassador Wilson.

KAGAN: Apparently so. Let's listen to the ambassador.

AMBASSADOR JOE WILSON: Good morning.

My name is Joe Wilson. I proudly served my country as a foreign service officer for 23 years. I was deeply honored to be appointed ambassador to African countries by President George Herbert Walker Bush for whom I also served as acting ambassador to Iraq during the first Gulf War.

In that capacity, I was the last American diplomat to confront Saddam Hussein before the launching of Desert Storm. In the Clinton administration, I served as senior director for African affairs at the National Security Council.

After my retirement from the foreign service in 1998, I undertook two discreet missions at the request of my government to the republic of Niger to look into uranium related matters. In each case, I reported back my conclusions faithfully and truthfully.

One mission was to look into assertions that Iraq had purchased or was in the process of purchasing uranium yellow cake from Niger. I found no evidence that there was any truth to the allegation. More- over, the U.S. ambassador to Niger and a four star Marine Corps general also looked into the allegation and came to the same conclusion that the claim was bogus.

Weeks before President Bush uttered his now infamous 16 words in a 2003 State of the Union Address, the national intelligence officer representing the intelligence community as a whole reported to the administration the allegation was baseless and should not be used. Regrettably, that counsel was not heed.

In the months that followed the president's State of the Union Address, I privately urged the administration to correct the public record on the falsehood contained there in. When the administration refused to do so, I exercised my civic duty to hold my government to account for what it had said and done in the name of the American people. I wrote an article in "The New York Times" entitled "What I didn't find in Africa."

The day following the appearance of the article, the administration spokesman finally admitted that the 16 words did not rise to the level of inclusion in the State of the Union. Subsequently, the director of Central Intelligence confirmed that the statement should never have been made. Within weeks, a deputy national security advisor offered his resignation, acknowledging that he had been informed on several occasions that the intelligence community did not want the president to be a witness of fact on an unsubstantiated allegation.

Even as the administration was belatedly coming clean, however, some officials and their allies launched what the special prosecutor has called a concerted effort to use classified information to "discredit, punish or seek revenge" against my wife, Valerie, and myself. This attack was based on lies and disinformation and included the compromise of Valerie's identity as a classified officer of the Central Intelligence Agency. These officials abuse of power for personal revenge broke faith with their obligations as public servants to uphold and defend the Constitution.

This remains a nation of laws and no administration official, however powerful, is above the law. I have confidence in the American system of justice and this suit is about the pursuit of justice. To assist us in defraying the costs of this suit, the Joseph and Valerie Wilson Support Trust has been established with a website at www.wilsonsupport.org.

We are under no illusions about how tough this fight will be, but we believe the time has come to hold those who use their official positions to exact personal revenge accountable and responsible for the actions. Thank you.

KAGAN: There you have the husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson. Before that, Valerie Plame, the other plaintiff in this lawsuit, the former CIA officer, talking about how she would rather be a public servant at this time rather than a plaintiff in a lawsuit. And then the former ambassador going back and retracting his trip to Niger in 2003 that really is the crux of what this controversy grew out of.

I want to go ahead and bring back in John King and talk about that trip a little bit. One thing in contention here is who decided Joe Wilson goes to Niger? There are the allegations that it was Valerie Plame as a CIA officer who said we should send my husband. They say that that's not true, however.

KING: Well, Daryn, this is one of the key contentions and it will be a key contention not only if this suit goes forward, but it is a key contention in a court of law right now. The federal trial of the former vice presidential chief of staff, Scooter Libby. And among the exhibitors in the trial the prosecutor put in, that call on Joe Wilson just mentioned with some scribbles by Vice President Cheney asking, who sent him? Did his wife send him? Was this a junket? The vice president asking those questions of his chief of staff, Scooter Libby. It is an open question.

But what the White House says happened, you heard Ambassador Wilson say that this was a deliberate effort to punish and discredit his wife. What Scooter Libby has said in the hearings before his trial is that, no, they were trying to discredit what Joe Wilson said, take issue with some things they say were factual and that his wife came up almost as an afterthought when they were dealing with that point, who sent Joe Wilson.

Joe Wilson did say in one television interview, and he intimated in some others, that the vice president had sent him to Niger. What the White House is saying, that it was responding saying, no, he didn't. That the vice president had nothing to do with that trip. That he asked the CIA, is there any more information about uranium and can we check this out a little bit more? Can we find out more about this? And the CIA decided to send Joe Wilson. His wife was involved in that at some level some officials say. Others say she came into the process very late. That is a debating point, Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, the Senate Intelligence Commission investigation said that she sent him.

KING: Yes, the Senate Intelligence Committee said that she sent him. And what Ambassador Wilson and his wife said is the intelligence committee investigation was led by Republicans and that if you go into the CIA it's more complicated than that. That at some point she was brought into the loop and said, well, he knows the territory, he certainly could be helpful there. So if this goes forward, this is one of the issues that will be in this civil trial that they have filed and also in the criminal trial of Scooter Libby. This is one of the issues.

Although one of the reasons many people think this suit is being filed now is because the judge has narrowed the focus in the Scooter Libby trial and that many of the issues Ambassador Wilson would like explored in that trial, would like put on to the public record, will not be because Scooter Libby is not charged with leaky Valerie Wilson's name. He's charged with lying to investigators and lying to the grand jury.

Karl Rove was not charged in this case because the source of the original column, Bob Novak, says that Karl Rove was not his number one source. So the trial has not gone, if you will, to this open-ended process to tell this whole story over and over again. And many think that's one of the reasons Ambassador Wilson and his wife wanted to file this suit, because there are questions they want addressed that will simply not be answered in Scooter Libby's trial.

KAGAN: John King in Washington. John, thank you.

And now we have breaking news out of Iraq. Tony Harris at our breaking news desk with more on that.

TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, Daryn, good morning to you.

As you mentioned, breaking news out of Kirkuk in Iraq. CNN has confirmed -- just over the wires right now, we've been able to confirm this, that 12 Iraqi soldiers, including an officer, killed in an attack on a checkpoint on the road from Kirkuk to Takrit. Two more soldiers are said to be in critical condition. Now Kirkuk police are trying to get more information on the attack from one of the two soldiers in critical condition.

And, again, just to recap this breaking news into CNN. We've been able to confirm that 12 Iraqi soldiers have been killed at what is the first checkpoint on the road from Kirkuk to Tikrit. We will continue to follow this story and get you more information on this.

Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Tony, thank you.

HARRIS: Sure thing. KAGAN: The fighting from Israel into Lebanon continues at this hour. We'll go live to Beirut, also on the other side of the Israeli border, just ahead.

The U.S. government says good time to get Americans out of Beirut, but how do you do that when you can't even use the airport? We'll talk about that just ahead. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: More bombs and rockets falling in the Mid East. Israel and Hezbollah battling for a third day. Here's what we know right now.

Israel targeted the Beirut Airport again today. One strike damaged a runway that had just been repaired. Hezbollah launched more rockets into northern Israel. Police say four towns were hit. The U.S. State Department has given families of embassy workers permission to leave Lebanon. The challenge, though, is getting them out safely.

And President Bush spoke by phone with Lebanon's prime minister about the crisis. The prime minister wants the U.S. to help end the fighting. It erupted on Wednesday when Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers.

Let's go to our Alessio Vinci. He is in Beirut and joins us with the latest from there.

Alessio, hello.

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Daryn.

Let me first of all bring you up to date with some latest casualty figures that we got here earlier today from Lebanese officials. And these are, of course, only Lebanese civilians. These are 61 people have been killed, as well as 167 have been injured. In addition to those 61, two Lebanese army soldiers have been killed. And we understand that most of those casualties have occurred in the southern part of Lebanon where the main area of operation is taking place. But also some fresher casualties, of course, as a result of the overnight strikes, especially in the southern suburb of Beirut there where Israeli jets have bombed the headquarters or the offices of the Hezbollah movement, which is headquarters in that part of the town highly populated by Shiite Muslims.

And also another target overnight several times as well as this morning, the international airport -- Beirut International Airport. Israel forces yesterday began by bombing all three runways of that airport. Shutting it down. This morning, according to some sources that we got here within the government, we understand that the Lebanese officials managed to convince Israel to allow them to fly out five MEA planes, the Middle Eastern Airline, which is a national carrier in this country. Power those planes, plus a plane belonging to the former prime minister here, were allowed to leave after one of the runways was patched up. But a few moments later, once a planes had left, the Israelis bombed again that repaired runway. So the airport remains virtually shut and a few moments later we understand that Israeli rockets also hit the car park next to the terminal. So it appears that the international airport remains a preferred target for the Israeli strikes at this time.

Daryn.

KAGAN: A couple questions for you, Alessio. First of all, why would Israeli officials agree for those Lebanese officials to be allowed to go?

VINCI: Well, when understand the planes belonging to former Lebanese official was allowed to leave and it's an interesting question. We really don't know.

KAGAN: OK.

VINCI: I really don't know. We are actually interviewing the prime minister at this time. My colleague, Nic Robertson, is interviewing him. So we hope that we're going to have some clarification as to, first of all, why the five planes had to be taken to a different country. And perhaps what was the nature of the negotiations then. Who really negotiated. Because, obviously, the fact that they managed to bring those planes out indicates perhaps that there is some kind of communication, perhaps through intermediaries between the Lebanese and the Israelis.

KAGAN: Yes, interesting point there.

Now you're in downtown Beirut right now. What can you tell us about what's happening around you right now?

VINCI: Well, if you can look behind my shoulder here, this is obviously a Friday afternoon here in Beirut. Usually this area of town would be bustling with people. Traffic, traffic jams. As you can see, most of the stores are closed. There are a couple of soldiers there patrolling. But the entire area is completely deserted. And we understand that most parts of the city are just like that. We are in the middle of the summer season here. The tourism season. It's a $4 billion industry in this country. And we're seeing a lot of tourists leaving as quickly as possible. The bars and restaurants usually bustling with all the tourists by this time of the year, well, they're all remaining empty right now.

KAGAN: All right, Alessio Vinci in downtown Beirut, thank you.

A number check here for you. There are about 25,000 Americans right now in Lebanon possibly in harm's way. CNN has learned that right now the Pentagon is evaluating options. How do you get those Americans out of there. And they're looking at options like getting U.S. troops in to get the Americans out. With more on that, let's go to the Pentagon and our correspondent Barbara Starr.

Barbara. BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, looking at all the options, but no easy answers just yet. As we reported, the ambassador is looking at evacuating some nonessential workers, embassy workers, family members out of the embassy, trying to get them out of Lebanon first. That might be the first task the military is faced with. And then it will remain to be seen how many of those 25,000 Americans want to leave. But the Pentagon indeed planning for the entire scenario. How they would get those Americans out of Lebanon.

Now we've seen the pictures this morning of those airliners taking off from Beirut International. The bombed out runway being paved over and those planes being allowed to leave. If a similar agreement was brokered for the U.S. to bring an airplane in to get some people out, it remains to be seen if the U.S. military feels that would be a safe enough route if they would be guaranteed safe passage.

We've spoken to some sources about that and the feeling of the military is, the greatest threat that they would face at Beirut International Airport would be small arms fire from adjacent civilian areas around the airport. That would be a potential very serious problem for any military aircraft trying to fly out of Beirut International Airport. And then what kind of armed escort would the military have to bring in.

It seems that, however, putting in an aircraft would be the initial option if it was a very small evacuation. However, what if it grows larger? Well, the Marines have a series of amphibious warships right now in the northern Red Sea. They are on an exercise with the Jordanian military. That group of ships headed by the USS Iwo Jima could be turned around. They could be put back into the Mediterranean. But it might take them two to three days to get there. So none of the options really looking too good at the moment.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, right. And then you think complications. You know, you have this single purpose of going in and getting Americans out and then something happens to U.S. military there, suddenly the Americans sucked into this battle on a military front.

STARR: Well, Daryn, what our sources are saying is, they certainly have known tension of that happening. So even if they go in with a very small military operation, perhaps sometime in the next 24 to 36 hours to get a small number of Americans out, initially they will go in with full force protection. They will go in with all of the armed escorts, all of the capability they feel they need to get in and get those Americans out safely.

That could be a considerable undertaking. There's no simple answer there. But what we can tell you today, the military continuing to plan for all of that, continuing to look at, as they say, at all of the possible contingencies they could face.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Barbara, thank you. Let's keep this military discussion going. Our next guest is a military veteran who operated in Lebanon in the 1980s. David Grange, a retired Brigadier General with the U.S. Army. He joins us as a CNN military analyst.

General, good morning.

BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Good morning.

KAGAN: Let me pick up with Barbara Starr's story. What do you think of the idea of using the U.S. military to go in and get American civilians out of Lebanon?

GRANGE: Well, that's who would do it. It comes under the leadership of the department of state. But every country in the world has what they call a neo plan, Noncombatant Evacuation Operations plan. And they have one, of course, for Lebanon. And people assemble according to a State Department plan, in coordination with the military and they're extracted from a crisis site, like let's say Lebanon in this case. But there's several options that can be used and personally I'm very confident that one of those options would work in Lebanon.

KAGAN: Let's get to the battle on the ground right now. Now you have an extensive experience in Lebanon. You yourself have been involved in operations where you fought Hezbollah. How big of a threat do you think they are at this time?

GRANGE: Well, the Hezbollah is a threat. You know, we've kind of ignored it. And I don't mean we've ignored it overtly. Covertly we may not have, you know, avoided it, but the Hezbollah is a threat. It's grown in its proudness (ph) over the years. It was a tough force. In the '80s, with the support from Syria and Iran in particular, it's grown stronger. That's why you have all these rockets missiles that are being fired into Israel out of southern Lebanon. Those were provided to the Hezbollah by their -- by Iranian and Syrian supporters. So they're a tough force.

KAGAN: Which also, by the way, these rockets appear to have a longer range than they have in the past. They're going farther south into Israel than what we've seen.

GRANGE: Right. Correct. So they've increased their capability from let's say 10, 20 years ago. And that's why the Israelis are so concerned about pushing into southern Lebanon and establishing a buffer to negate the distance capabilities of these rockets. So, in other words, they're going in as deep as they have to in order to negate the firing positions of the Hezbollah.

KAGAN: What about Israeli tactics at this time? The military tactics?

GRANGE: Well, the tactics are that they have to somehow isolate to the best of their ability and then neutralize the capabilities of the Hezbollah. In this case, rocket missile fire. The other options they have, of course, is terrorism. Whether it be IEDs, suicide bombers. Suicide bombers mainly the favorite in this part of the world. And, of course, propaganda, disinformation on the use of the military.

They have to try to keep the Hezbollah from using that. And they do that -- the Beirut airport is really the only way Iran can get anything into Lebanon to support the Hezbollah, because otherwise they have to go through northern Iraq or go through Turkey. And I don't think either of those countries are going to allow that.

And so the other option, of course, is support through Syria but that's already in place. So they have to try to isolate any kind of roads or the air bridge or waterway, water approach, which they're doing with the blockade to isolate the Hezbollah.

KAGAN: And then finally we talked about the U.S. role, possibly, of going in and getting out American citizens. Can you see any other role for the U.S. military or other -- another international force in trying to calm things down in this region?

GRANGE: Well, there may be some kind of a deal worked out where there is a peace keeping force of some sort under the U.N. That's being worked. The main role, though, of the U.S. military is not to be pulled into the fight but to protect our citizens, protect our facilities. Like the embassy, as an example. And ensure that -- ensure that safety.

But I think that's really -- and also maybe to keep other countries from influencing the area. Like, for instance Syria and Iran. But not a direct -- I don't think a direct involvement.

KAGAN: Retired Brigadier General David grange, thank you for your time, sir.

GRANGE: My pleasure.

KAGAN: Good to talk with you.

Let's move the story forward as fighting in the Mideast is raging for a third day, Israel and Hezbollah trading more attacks across the Lebanese border. Here's what we know at the half hour.

Israel targeting the Beirut airport again today, but the U.S. helped broker a deal that allowed some planes to take off before the bombs fell. Hezbollah launched more rockets into northern Israel. Police now say five towns were hit in less than an hour.

And President Bush spoke by phone with Lebanon's prime minister about the crisis. The prime minister wants the U.S. to help push for a cease-fire. The fighting erupted on Wednesday when Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers.

It is called the ring of fire, Israel's strategy to isolate Hezbollah in this latest round of attacks. We're going for show you how it works coming up on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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