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CNN Live Today

Evacuating Lebanon; Space Shuttle Discovery Lands

Aired July 17, 2006 - 10:30   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Our Paula Newton is with us. She is in Jerusalem with the latest from there -- Paula.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, already unfortunately the Israeli government says it's premature to talk about an international force there. And they take issue with something called UNIFEL, which is a U.N. force already in southern Lebanon, which is supposed to be doing some of the heavy lifting when it came to getting Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon already. They've been there for six years and have 2,000 soldiers. So at this point, Israel is saying we're willing to talk, we'll hear ideas, but it doesn't look like any kind of diplomatic break through imminent -- Daryn.

KAGAN: What about word of Israeli troops along the Lebanese border? There was some word that they crossed briefly. But what about really going in and having a significant presence?

NEWTON: Yes, just to clarify that, Daryn. what happens is on the overnight raids special forces do go in. They did say they went in last night and tried to clear out some Hezbollah posts. In the future, the Israelis certainly want to see some type of half-mile security zone or buffer zone kept along that border. It is unclear exactly when they want to go in there to do that and how long they will stay.

And then this is the part that gets tricky. At some point, if they want to maintain the buffer zone, they'll then have to hand it over to a multinational force. All of that is being worked out right now. And certainly the Israeli forces say they want to go in gingerly to the southern area because they still do believe that Hezbollah has quite a few strong holds along that border area.

KAGAN: Paula, thank you.

NEWTON: We continue to watch events in the Middle East. We're going to have more live reports from all around the region coming up next.

Also from the world of science and politics, a showdown over stem-cell research. A Senate vote could be setting the stage for President Bush's first veto. The story ahead on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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KAGAN: Looking at live pictures from Lebanon right now. This caravan of cars includes the French Foreign Minister Dominic Devillepen and other French officials arriving there to meet with members of the Lebanese government, perhaps to see if there can be some resolution to this crisis between Lebanon, Hezbollah and Israel. More on that ahead from Beirut.

Right now let's focus on Cyprus taking in many of the evacuees who are trying to leave Lebanon.

That's where we find our Chris Burns -- Chris.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, there is an Italian naval ship that is supposed to be mooring here at the port of Arnica (ph) in the next few hours. A French one arriving about midnight tonight. The French ship with 1,200 or 1,300 evacuees. The Italian with about 400. Some of the people on the ships could be actually Americans, some officials are saying.

Otherwise the American evacuations have been aboard a helicopters from over the last couple of days. And that is what is actually holding things up, is that they are just helicopters that are moving these people. Priority cases. These are elderly. These are ill people. These are children who are not accompanied by parents, who the parents want to get them out of there. These are priority cases, just a few dozen of them. We did hear from U.S. officials over the last 24 hours. They are organizing what they call an orderly and secure evacuation, but it's going to take at least another day or two. They do plan on doing this by ship over here to Larnaca and then flying them out. But that process is taking times, and these Americans are having to wait and stay put for the time being.

We did talk to one who made it through, among other students, through a private company, a harrowing experience, racing through the streets of Beirut, trying to make it to this evacuation point, explosions going off just a couple hundred yard he was. As he went into his apartment to try to get his things out, the elevator was shaking and rattling from the explosions, although he is, of course, very grateful to be here finally safe and sound.

Back to you.

KAGAN: Chris, have the Cypriots said how many people, how many Americans they are willing or able to take in?

BURNS: The Cypriots are wide open to taking in as many as they need, as many people have to come here. They have done this many times before in recent conflicts, in previous conflicts. This is a byway for that. It's only a half-hour flight by Lebanon. Just a few hours by boat. It is believed a few thousand Americans could be evacuated over here and moved as U.S. officials say through commercial and through charter flights. That is what they plan on doing once they arrive here.

KAGAN: Chris Burns live from Larnaca in Cyprus, thank you.

Now some of the evacuees that are fleeing Lebanon are going toward Syria, to Damascus.

That's where we find our Aneesh Raman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is for many the only way out. Crossing from Lebanon to Syria, young and old, they are fleeing the violence. Wael (ph) and his wife, Nikola (ph), left to keep their 1-year-old daughter, Thalla (ph), arrive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are bombs are all over the place. Beside my house, there was a bomb just about 500 meters.

RAMAN: Many Lebanese here, like Ali, who spent hours going through immigration, saw the bombs start to fall too close.

"I carried five people to the hospital myself," he says, "after a bomb exploded just near to me. They were civilians who were hit. women and children. I saw it with my own eyes. It was terrible."

RAMAN: The majority here are poor Syrians, workers in Lebanon. This group carried everything they had on their heads and walked home.

"We left our lives there behind," this 65-year-old woman told me. "I just want to live. If I die, I want to die here in Syria."

(on camera): Officials here estimate that hundreds of thousands of people have made their way through this border crossing over the past few days. They say it has never been so busy, each person carrying with them stories of the violence taking place within Lebanon.

(voice-over): Understandably the road into Lebanon was virtually empty, except for a few Lebanese. This man lives in Saudi Arabia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My home, my land, my family! From everything, I am from Lebanon (ph).

RAMAN (on camera): Everyone here supports Hezbollah.

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: Yes.

RAMAN: It wasn't just them. Literally everyone we met here supported Hezbollah. They say the Israeli attacks will only strengthen that allegiance. But no one took joy in what is taking place.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is between -- (INAUDIBLE). I thank God my here are here now, but many kids, they are...

RAMAN: For Lebanese here, like Wael and his family, the hours ahead are riddled with uncertainty. They don't know when they will return home. And they don't know whether the safe haven they found in Syria will soon become the next front in this escalating war.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And let's join Aneesh Raman live now in Syria. The mood there, I imagine, as we can hear from your piece, both a mixture of fear, but also there are some welcome arms as they have some people coming in across the border from Lebanon.

RAMAN: There are. The Syrian government has relaxed visas for people to be able to come in. It's patriot Arabs, Kuwaitis, Saudis who are in Lebanon have come. The Lebanese who come here tend to be self-selected, coming to a country that has such an intense history with Lebanon. Also a country that has such intense ties with Hezbollah.

Syria really is dealing with two issues. One is the influx of these people exiting from Lebanon. The second is the international microscope being put upon that relationship and the support within this country for Hezbollah.

Today, a few thousand people took to the streets in the capital Damascus in support of Hezbollah. The government, though, keying amid this crisis to downplay the connection, saying they support Hezbollah, but they are not dictating Hezbollah's action -- Daryn.

RAMAN: Aneesh Raman live from Syria, thank you.

KAGAN: Still ahead, we're going to have more coverage of what's happening in the Middle East, including a discussion on what and if anything should the U.S. be doing to help bring more peaceful time to the region.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We're at the quarter hour. Let's take a look at what we know right now. The nearly week-long fighting taking some ominous new turns in the Middle East. More blistering attacks today in both Israel and Lebanon. Hezbollah is believed to have fired a barrage of rockets at northern Israel, hitting targets in Haifa and several other cities. In Lebanon, Israeli war planes are still on the attack. A short time ago they unleashed more blistering missile strikes. Among the targets Beirut's ports. And amid the fighting, new calls for the deployment of international forces to the region. That plan put forth by British prime Minister Tony Blair and United Nations Secretary- General Kofi Annan.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

KAGAN: We're going to have much more from the Mideast straight ahead.

Also the shuttle has landed safely. More on that coming up with Miles O'Brien. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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KAGAN: Oh, that's a pretty picture, on time and picture perfect. These pictures taken of the Space Shuttle Discovery as it landed in Florida this morning, a little after 9:00 Eastern. Let's go to our space correspondent Miles O'Brien for a look at that -- Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

You know, one of the -- the traditional thing for a crew to do after they had a journey like this, an epic journey of more than five million miles, is once they get the suits off and get themselves a little acclimated to gravity is walk around the orbiter and more or less kick the tires. Actually they don't really kick the tires. They're under high pressure, and that's not a good idea. But nevertheless, they take a look at this amazing vehicle, and that's -- everybody in a navy-blue suit there, just about everybody there in a navy-blue suit, is a crew member. Six of them now. Remember they went up with seven. They came back with six, because they left one guy behind. Don't worry, that was on purpose. Thomas Reiter, a German astronaut who spent six months on the International Space Station.

Let's bring in somebody who has been through this whole process, this ritual, Eileen Collins, former shuttle commander. A year ago she was there in her blue suit doing the same thing.

Eileen, what's going through the mind right now take a look at this vehicle now in its 32nd flight. As you can see, as you look at closeups there, it's kind of dinged up and it's been through the fires, quite literally. What's it like seeing it?

EILEEN COLLINS, FMR. SHUTTLE COMMANDER: Well, this is a very exciting time for the crew. Of course, they made it back safely. They had a really successful mission. Right now they are talking to managers and some of the workers, technicians at Kennedy Space Center that put Discovery together and got it ready to fly. It's a very uplifting time.

But keep in mind also the bodies are readapting to being in gravity again, and you're putting one foot in front of the other. You almost feel like you're a 1-year-old toddler who is learning how to walk for the first time.

O'BRIEN: Yes, let's try to see if we can identify some of the people there. There's the pilot, Mark Kelly, there. I'm trying to see if I can get everybody here. It's hard for me to see where I am right now. We're not getting great views this moment.

Tell you what, let's go back and walk people through the landing. We had some great views.

There's the commander, Steve Lindsey, right where I put the No. 1 there.

COLLINS: Yes, Steve Lindsey in the middle with Mike Griffin, the NASA administrator with his back to us.

O'BRIEN: Yes, we've got to make him No. 1. That's probably in his contract. He is the administrator, right? So anyway, they successfully brought this mission to a close. I think you're probably seeing right there, that is probably a little bit of Lisa Nowak, I think. She's having a conversation with Mike Griffin, getting some kudos from them. Is that Mike Fossom there?

COLLINS: That's right.

O'BRIEN: In any case, let's show folks the landing. And the head-up display views was fantastic.

If we could back up a little bit to show that head-up display, it'd be a little more fun to show, Joe. I don't know if we can do that. This is a great shot. And they do just what they should. They landed right on the center line. The drag chute deployed, all that good stuff.

And basically what we're seeing here, Eileen, is some would say that the shuttle program can consider itself back in business, maybe with a little asterisk in the sense they are looking at things a lot more closely than they did with Columbia, but back in business and start thinking about building the space station.

COLLINS: Well, I think the key thing is there were no major problems on the flight. There were some minor things that will have to be worked on. But right now NASA is on track to fly again at the end of August or early September. It's part of a total of 15 more flights to get the International Space Station built by the end of the decade.

O'BRIEN: Do we have that shot with the head-up display or not? Apparently we don't. So imagine, if you will, a shuttle coming in right lined up perfectly. Steve Lindsey doing the job well. I have to say, Eileen, there they are as they walked out of the crew transport vehicle. And they look good. Look fit. They've had about an hour or so to kind of get off the hot, heavy suit, which has rubber interior and all. So there's Lisa Nowak, Mike Fossom, Mark Kelly, behind Steve Lindsey.

And the last thing you want to do after flying in space and five million miles is meeting a receiving line, Eileen, right? And that's what you've got to do, right?

COLLINS: Well, I think the difference here is the receiving line, there are people that you know, there are people that basically had your life in their hands that made the decisions before the flight and during the flight, people you worked with very closely, and it's really a good, uplifting time to see them.

And you know, it's a good idea to grab ahold of a steady hand, because the astronauts are a little bit wobbly after they come back from space. It takes a while to get your Earth legs back.

O'BRIEN: All right, there's Stephanie Wilson. There's Piers Sellers. Just grabbing on, hanging on for dear life there as they meet Mike Griffin and receive the accolades of the NASA managers there, obviously relieved. We're going to hear from Mike Griffin in about three minutes, some of the NASA managers.

We'll keep you posted throughout the day as NASA starts thinking about the next flight already. And this time last year, as we know, there was a big delay that lay ahead.

Eileen Collins, former shuttle commander, always a pleasure. Thanks for talking the shuttle down for us.

COLLINS: OK, thank you. It's been great to be with you this morning.

O'BRIEN: All right -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Miles thank you.

We're going to get back to what is happening in the Middle East just ahead, including talking with our guest about what the U.S. should be doing to stop the escalating violence in the Mideast. Also, the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will be speaking before the Knesset in Israel, in Jerusalem, and we will listen in to that. That's all coming up just ahead. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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