Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
Crisis in the Middle East; Iraqi Prime Minister in U.S.; Inside Hezbollah; John Bolton Speaks at U.N.
Aired July 25, 2006 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Soledad, thank you for that. You have a good day in New York City.
We're also going to be in touch with Miles, who will continue to co-anchor with me as our coverage continues over the next couple of hours.
Let's get started by taking a look at what we know right now.
The pictures over Beirut tell the story as smoke billows over that Lebanese capital right now. Massive new explosions thundering through Beirut's southern suburbs just minutes ago.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets with Israel's prime minister. Ehud Olmert vows to press on with Israel's offensive against Hezbollah.
Lebanese political sources say Rice is proposing an ambitious peace plan. We're told it calls for a sizable international military forces to help stabilize southern Lebanon.
From Lebanon to Israel, Syria to Cyprus, CNN has reporters all across the region bringing you the latest on the fighting and diplomatic efforts to end it. We'll have many live reports straight ahead.
We're going to continue throughout our coverage to keep these pictures up. Once again, live pictures from Beirut, Lebanon.
Heading south of there, though, our Miles O'Brien co-anchors with me this hour from Jerusalem.
Hello.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello from Jerusalem, Daryn.
It's now 5:00 and it has been a day of fierce diplomacy, active diplomacy, and very fierce fighting both sides of the border here. We've just been hearing from Brent Sadler as he's giving us first-hand reports of a series of apparent Israeli air attacks in southern Beirut.
Brent, bring us up-to-date on what we know.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Was hit by the reverberations of the result of a series of loud detonations south of the Lebanese capital. Understood to be in the southern suburb, which is where Hezbollah has had its military leadership, its command and control structure as centered for the best part of 20 years. This has been the same area that's being consistently hit and sustained very heavy damage since Israel's air campaign began against Hezbollah.
In the past 20 minutes or so, it's been noticeable here. There's been a dramatic reduction in the number of cars moving about the Lebanese capital as Lebanese once again start to get panicky about the sounds of explosions erupting south of Lebanon. This part of Israel's continuing parallel air and ground operations as they move a pace in the south, building on a foothold in the south of Lebanon. The Israeli defense forces that is. As a prelude, it's widely expected by Lebanese military sources of a far wider ground operation to prevent Hezbollah firing these Katyusha rockets into Israeli cities.
Miles.
O'BRIEN: You know, it's no secret, Brent, that Hezbollah and Hassan Nasrallah, the leader, would claim south Beirut as a stronghold. We talked a little while ago about how the Israelis are able to identify targets using intelligence. But I'm curious, on the Israeli side of the border, there is warning, there is sirens blaring, in many cases, depending on how far away they are from the border, as the Katyusha rockets and other missiles come in. In Beirut, is there any sort of warning system for civilians?
SADLER: No, there isn't at all. No air raid sirens. There's no defense warning system in place in this country to the extent that there is in Israel. There was no warning when we heard those tremendous explosions.
And let me just give you some idea of the geography. The southern suburbs of Beirut, this stronghold of Hezbollah, is several miles from where I'm standing, yet the explosions certainly loud enough to rattle our bureau here in the center of town and to give us all a jump. And if you consider that the Lebanese, accustomed as they have been over the past 25 years, to on and off states of war, it's still enough to give the Lebanese the jitters, to get them off the streets of downtown Beirut where we're reporting from.
As Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. secretary of state, departs the region, it is often the case when major players on the diplomatic field leave the area, that hostilities escalate. But, don't forget, it's not just what's happening from the air, resumed again on the southern suburbs within the past 20 minutes or so, but also continued fierce fighting in the south of Lebanon and also an expectation that every time Israel strikes at Hezbollah's heartland, if you like, Katyushas start firing again into northern Israel and deeper south into Israel.
Miles.
O'BRIEN: Brent Sadler in Beirut watching things unfold there after a two-day respite. One of those days the secretary of state in Beirut. The bombing now continues in and around Beirut's southern suburbs, known to be the southern portions of Beirut. Let's move down south now of the border to an Israeli artillery location about two and a half miles north of where we're about to go, John Roberts is standing by, is the town of Bint Jbeil, where fierce fighting continues today as the Israeli forces try to get a hold of what is described as a command and control facility, the capital, if you will, of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. We're told 20 to 30 Hezbollah fighters are dead, according to the Israeli defense forces. And the artillery keeps coming in trying to take out those rocket sites. John Roberts with more.
John.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Miles.
We can't tell you our exact location. But we can tell you that there was a real flurry of activity just a few minutes ago as this group of soldiers arrived in a real hurry, in a car. They geared all up. They jumped on top of their armored personnel carrier. It looked like they were about to go into battle. And then all of a sudden, for some reason, the urgency seems to have been off a little bit. They have since decide to stand down their posture just a little bit. Not sure exactly what's going on. But they will probably gear back up at some point in the not to distant future and get set to head across the border.
We're in an area where they're going back and forth across the border between Israel and Lebanon to take on pockets of resistance that they're still finding on the other side. We shot some video just a little while ago of some of the troops coming back from the fighting. They've been over there for a couple of days. They were just completely caked in dirt. Looked like they were bone tired. Coming back for a little bit of rest, a little bit of fuel, as well, so that they can head back into the battle.
Here's what we know in terms of what's going on in Bint Jbeil, which is that city, as you said, is about three miles north of the border between Israel and Lebanon. What's taken by the IDF, at least, to be the southern strong hold of Hezbollah. The fighting there has been raging for a couple of days, but it's beginning, according to IDF sources, to be winding down a little bit.
The Israel defense force reports that some 20 to 30 Hezbollah fighters have been killed. There were a couple of IDF soldiers who were killed yesterday. So far today they only report eight injuries. They hope in going after Bint Jbeil that they will get some of the command and control facilities that Hezbollah has to be able to control those rocket launchers that have been going into Israel.
As of this morning, 55 rockets were fired. They report several casualties in Haifa. They got a pretty good hit on Haifa without getting specific as to location. They said that there was 18 injuries in Haifa. One died of heart attack there.
As we were coming down to our location, we drove through Kiriat Shimona (ph) and that has been hit very hard for the last two weeks. And again today we saw that it was being hit. There were a number of fires that were burning. And we actually saw two or three Katyusha rockets come in and hit the ground. Sort of a deafening crack as the warhead goes off and you actually hear the sound before you see the plume of smoke.
But there was, obviously, still a lot of danger in some of the urban areas because of those rockets. And they continue to fire them even though they're trying to suppress Hezbollah's capability of doing that. It just goes to show how entrenched this enemy is and how able they are to at a moment's notice, despite the withering fire that the Israelis have been putting down on them, to get those rockets across the border.
And it's not only the rockets that are a problem. Take a look at this armored personnel carrier. It was hit in the front. Typically there is armor that comes all the way along here to protect the tread. This was a mortar, according to one of the crew members from this armored personnel unit that got hit in the front here. You can see that it's been scorched. It took off the armor. It's damaged the roller wheels that the treads run on.
And talking to one of the soldiers who's working to repair this he says, this isn't Hamas. He says, these people aren't fooling around. They are serious about what they're doing. They're actually using anti-tank weapons. So it gives you some idea of what they're up against.
Miles, we have some late information from Amir Peretz, who is the defense minister. He said this morning at a press conference that Israel is going to hold the line on the Israel-Lebanon border until an international force comes in to stabilize the border, provide that buffer zone between Hezbollah and Israel. I'm not sure exactly what that means in terms of time, but we would assume that it would be -- we would be talking about a number of weeks. Because, first of all, there has to be an agreement to get an international force in place. And then, secondly, that international force would have to be deployed.
So in terms of the military operations here still ongoing to try to clear out those Hezbollah strongholds. And as you can see down here, another armored personnel carrier full of troops about to go back across the border. Again, try not to show that road sign to give away the location here. And it's an indication that the fighting is going to continue. And if they're going to hold that line, Miles, they're going to be at it for some time.
Back to you in Haifa.
O'BRIEN: I should say so. Thank you very much, John Roberts, right there along the border. Just south of the border with Lebanon in northern Israel.
The other end of that artillery firing in many respects today has been Tyre. We've been back there time and again. Tyre is a southern port city in Lebanon. It is about 20 miles north of the border between Israel and Lebanon. Israeli air attacks and artillery attacks focused on Tyre today using drones to identify locations that appear to be the source of some of these rocket firings. They have identified locations, sent in bombs and sent in artillery, as well. And in the midst of all of this is CNN's Karl Penhaul, who's been watching it all unfold.
Karl.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There have been a lull of about an hour after a very intense bombardment by artillery and Israeli war planes earlier on this morning and early afternoon. And then about five minutes ago that lull came to an end. Jets dropped a couple of bombs in a position down south of probably about a mile and a half or two miles from our position in a hilly area there.
Now the significance of that area, in that general area, in the course of the day, there have been rockets going out from Hezbollah militia fighters there. And, as you mentioned, there have been unmanned aerial drones in the air identifying those positions and then shortly after then begins a barrage of artillery coming from close to the Israeli border, about 10 miles from where we are.
O'BRIEN: Karl, you there? I'm sorry, Karl, I wasn't sure if you were done there.
Karl, let me -- have you been able to assess -- I know it's horribly dangerous there. Have you been able to assess what sorts of civilian casualties might have been incurred by these attacks?
PENHAUL: In the most recent ones, no. Very difficult. (INAUDIBLE) impossible, in fact. It's way too dangerous to approach those areas, especially while these barrages are in progress. When I say in progress, obviously we're not going to go down under the rain of shells. Everybody understand that. But even within the following few hours, still too dangerous because it's not clear where the Israeli artillery and the Israeli war planes consider that they've done their job.
They're still up there on the look-out to see if there's anything more. And so our best point to find out the impact on civilians is one of the local hospitals here, which is on the outskirts of Tyre. But certainly the area that was going on looks to be an area of fields beyond the southern suburbs and beyond the village that also lies to the south. It looks more like a rural area there, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Karl Penhaul in Tyre, Lebanon. Thank you very much.
Back to you, Daryn.
KAGAN: All right, Miles, thank you.
Let's get a better idea of what we are seeing happen from a military standpoint and bring in our CNN analyst, Retired Major General Don Shepperd, who is with us in Washington, D.C.
General, this comes after a two-day pause in the bombing of Lebanon while Secretary Rice was there in town. MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): Yes, indeed, Daryn. The pictures that we're seeing with smoke plumes coming up in southern Beirut make sense from this standpoint. Southern Beirut is the redoubt, if you will, of Hezbollah in Beirut. Beirut being a coastal city. The airport being in the southern part of the city. And the suburbs that we hear are being bombed are north of the airport and south of the center of the city.
Now probably these weapons being dropped are precision guided munitions probably dropped by F-16s. Most likely 500 pound bombs. They can be one of two types. Laser guided bombs, which can be controlled by someone designating the target with a laser designator from the ground or from a pod on the aircraft. And the other type is the JDAM, Joint Direct Attack Munition, satellite assisted bomb where you type in coordinates.
Now the problem is, when you drop these in populated areas, you are going to produce civilian casualties. It is likely that the Israelis have very good intelligence that there are Hezbollah key players or key command posts or key communication facilities located in apartment buildings and they make the decision to destroy those buildings. And what goes with the buildings is the people inside it, producing civilian casualties.
KAGAN: And let's talk about that. That the information that's being reported is that this area is believed to be the command and control center for Hezbollah. But part of the trait of Hezbollah is integrating themselves among the civilian population. And as you were saying, this is just -- not just, but this is one of the very unfortunate side effects of going after this group.
SHEPPERD: Daryn, war is ugly. And it's especially ugly when we see civilian casualties, children from either side. It doesn't matter. It' is an ugly and terrible thing.
Hezbollah, the question is, what does Hezbollah look like? And the answer is, they look like everybody else. They operate from civilian areas. They meld with the population. They use that as one of their defenses. They know that civilian casualties are working against the Israelis, producing pressures for a cease-fire. The Israelis do not want a cease-fire until they severely cripple Hezbollah. All of this is a very tough order on the Israelis and on the people of Lebanon who are sustaining the attacks.
KAGAN: Retired Major General Don Shepperd, thank you.
SHEPPERD: My pleasure.
KAGAN: We're just coming up on the quarter hour. Let's take a look what we know right now.
Minutes ago new explosions tearing through the southern suburbs of Beirut. Smoke is still rising over the Lebanese capital. Explosions thundered across both sides of the border. You're looking at cockpit video of Israeli strikes -- well, we're not right now, but maybe we'll get that for you -- of Israeli strikes in Lebanon. And Hezbollah again targeted towns in northern Israel with rockets.
In the West Bank, protesters angrily greet U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She met today with Palestinian and Israeli leaders. Lebanese political sources say Rice is proposing an ambitious plan to stabilize the situation in southern Lebanon.
Our Miles O'Brien joins me once again from Jerusalem.
Miles.
O'BRIEN: Thanks very much, Daryn.
About 5:15 here. The secretary of state is long gone from Jerusalem. She's made her way to Ramallah, as you said. Ultimately going to end up in Rome today where she continues her diplomatic activity.
Meanwhile, we have been hopscotching all around the region, telling you about hot spots. On this side of the border, in Israel, of course in Haifa where those rockets rain down on civilians there. In Tyre, where artillery and missile firing from Israeli war planes focusing on the suspected sources of many of those rockets. An effort on the ground on the part of Israeli defense forces to go after Bint Jbeil, a suspected Hezbollah stronghold. Sort of the capital of Hezbollah in south Lebanon.
And finally, northward into Beirut today, it was quiet there yesterday. The secretary of state was there. We can understand that. Today, not so. Perhaps a dozen explosions after yet another Israeli air strike. Brent Sadler was there, felt the rumble and roar of it all and witnessed it.
Brent, what can you tell us?
SADLER: Miles, a series of very heavy explosions, still too early to say what caused them. Certainly a heavy Israeli air strike against the southern suburbs of Beirut. This is the stronghold of Hezbollah's leadership. It's where the Israelis have been concentrating heavy fire on and off for the past two weeks since the beginning of this conflict.
This is an attempt in parallel with what's happening on the ground in the south with Israeli defense forces battling Hezbollah on the ground, an attempt to really create a situation where Hezbollah's ability to command and control its fighters is paralyzed. And that clearly has not had the desired effect yet after two weeks of on and off strikes against the southern suburbs because Hezbollah is still putting up fierce resistance against Israeli troops around Bint Jbeil at the southern tip of Lebanon.
Now we understand that Condoleezza Rice presented a U.S. plan here that would envisage once the Israeli and if the Israelis would accept it, an idea of an international force headed by NATO perhaps with as many as 10,000 troops coming in after the establishment of a cease-fire. A cease-fire, of course, that Hezbollah rejects. Hezbollah want as cease-fire unconditionally and talk later. The international community wants to see conditions met before a cease- fire comes into place.
So diplomatic stalemate still in play at the moment. As these ongoing strikes against Hezbollah continue on the outskirts of the southern end of the city.
Miles.
O'BRIEN: Brent, what do we know about civilian casualties in these latest attacks?
SADLER: Still too early to say, but certainly we do know that given the past record that civilians in the southern suburbs, because you must bear in mind that Hezbollah is intertwined with the fabric of Lebanese society in the Daher (ph), the southern suburbs as its known more commonly in English. I know the area pretty well. It is a highly populated area where the civilian population and Hezbollah's leadership and their armed operatives intermingle in the same streets, the same areas. So this is where Hezbollah's leadership feels most likely it is the safest place to be even as these ongoing strikes continue.
Miles.
O'BRIEN: Brent Sadler live for us from Beirut as the Israeli air force once again targets those southern suburbs of Beirut. Hezbollah strong holds, places where the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, might very well be. And those attacks continuing today after a couple days of respite in Beirut.
The war in Lebanon has created a terrible humanitarian situation. Eight hundred thousand people at least displaced. Many of them internally. Refugee crisis kind of internally, as well as across the border into Syria where refugee camps are set up now. And the concern is not only for civilian casualties, but the fact is that as this goes on, there are concerns about food shortages, as well, supplies, medicines, people who are sick who need help.
Larnaca, Cyprus, which has been a crossroads in this crisis all along. It was a place where the exodus, the first stop on the exodus for American citizens and other foreign nationals on their way out, now is shifting gears and becoming a staging point for a humanitarian effort. CNN's Barbara Starr is there with more on the effort to get some help to the people of Lebanon.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Miles.
Well, yes, here in Larnaca, several ships are now loading up with supplies. Relief efforts on their way into Lebanon. But earlier today we were in Beirut. It was quiet at that point.
CNN was the only news crew to join the United States military as it flew its first planeload of relief supplies right into Beirut. We joined a U.S. Air Force special operations crew. Two helicopters flew into the embassy grounds and the crew got out very, very quickly and began unloading about one ton of medical supplies that are now being distributed inside the city. The military is being very cautious about getting involved in the relief effort for one reason. They don't want this to have a military footprint. And, of course, many international relief organizations simply do not want to, for obvious reasons, tie themselves to any military force in the world. They want to be independent.
So this was an extraordinary mission by the U.S. military. They are not going to do very many of these. They unloaded quite quickly only on the ground at the embassy for about 20 minutes amidst extraordinarily heavy security. They also took out an American family that was still there. Some Americans still wishing to come out, coming out with their small children.
But after we finished that helicopter flight, came back here to Larnaca, we are now seeing here that several ships indeed are loading up. There is a U.N. charter ship here that will begin loading supplies and moving out to Lebanon. And also the ICRC, the International Committee of the Red Cross, has a warehouse full of supplies being assembled here. And they will begin moving them to Lebanon, they say, as soon as they can.
Miles.
O'BRIEN: Of course one of the big concerns, Barbara, would be that these supplies somehow, some way, would end up in the hands of Hezbollah and what starts out as a humanitarian effort ends up as a resupply for a group the Israelis and the U.S. would call terrorists.
STARR: Well, I think in terms of what the U.S. military is doing, it's extremely limited and they are working with very specific international organizations, relief groups, already inside Beirut that they feel comfortable are distributing these supplies to those people in Lebanon. The people of the city that are the most needy.
The other international groups, there's pretty much mainstream groups. The United Nations, Doctors Without Borders, the International Committee of the Red Cross. These are groups which have long experience in these matters and tried very hard, obviously, to get the material to the people. Medicine, medical equipment, sanitary items. Things as basic as toothpaste. They have a lot of experience in distributing this and they certainly are expected to make every reasonable effort to make sure it does get to the right people, Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Barbara Starr in Larnaca Cyprus, with word on the humanitarian effort. The United Nations says $150 million is needed right away to begin that process.
Daryn.
KAGAN: Miles, thank you.
I want to give people a heads up about what's coming up in the next hour. CNN is going to have live coverage with President Bush's joint news conference with the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki. That's expected to begin around 11:25 a.m. Eastern. We're back with more coverage after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Those sounds coming from Beirut, Lebanon. The Lebanese capital just within the last hour. At least a series of four heavy blasts have been heard there in Beirut. The first Israeli strikes in the city in nearly two days as Israelis go in and try to target the command and control center of Hezbollah.
Much more from that region in just a moment. Right now, though, let's go ahead and check the markets. They've been open about an hour. Well, positive territory, but nothing like what we've seen in the last day or so. The Dow is up just three points. The Nasdaq in positive territory, as well. It's up 11.
Let's focus on Iraq now. We're going to talk Iraq but we're gong to keep pictures up of Lebanon and Beirut at the same time. But while we do talk Iraq, that country's future and America's role in it, they will be the focus and under discussion today at the White House. President Bush holds his second meeting with Iraq's prime minister in just over a month. Our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, takes a look at what is at stake.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): President Bush's legacy is on the line, and it's tied to this man, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I saw firsthand the strength of his character and his deep determination to succeed to build a country that can sustain itself, govern itself and defend itself.
MALVEAUX: That was five weeks ago after Mr. Bush's highly choreographed surprise visit to Baghdad. But this is now. On average, at least a hundred Iraqis killed each day according to the United Nations. Baghdad now a battleground between Shiite and Sunni Arab militias. Maliki's security initiative aimed at cracking down on the violence has been disappointing to the U.S. military brass, who had hoped to draw down troops by the end of this year.
MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, MULTI-NATIONAL FORCES SPOKESMAN: We must be realistic in measuring success and setbacks. There are serious challenges facing the new government and Iraqi people.
DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: This is a classic civil war.
MALVEAUX: A war that threatens to undermine the centerpiece of Mr. Bush's foreign policy, bringing democracy to the Middle East.
GERGEN: Rarely have two leaders of nation's needed each other more than at this moment. You know, Maliki, if it were not for Bush and the support of the United States, would be a dead man. On the other hand, President Bush's legacy is directly tied to the capacity of the Maliki government to deliver. MALVEAUX: But Mr. Bush's June visit, meant to bolster that capacity, failed to make much difference.
GERGEN: The problem Mr. Maliki has is his rule does not extend much beyond the green zone. You know, this safe little enclave in Baghdad is where he can reign supreme. But you get much outside that and the militia have a heck of a lot more influence.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And our Suzanne Malveaux is standing by at the White House where that news conference will get started in about an hour.
Suzanne, when these two men meet, there will be some requests, I understand, from the Iraqi prime minister that probably will not be music to President Bush's ears.
MALVEAUX: Well, there are a lot of issues to deal with here. I mean there's the whole issue of whether or not there would be immunity for American troops, whether or not there will be amnesty for Iraqi troops. Those just a couple of the hot button issues.
But the main thing here, Daryn, of course, is the dismal security situation. We're going to be listening for any kind of new news coming out of this. We expect there's going to be an announcement about some sort of operation where they'll take more U.S. troops, Iraqi troops, from other parts of country, flood them into Baghdad to try to save that city, because it really is considered key to winning back the whole country.
But Daryn, as you know, of course, a lot of skepticism among the Americans and the Iraqis, who have heard of the plans time and time again to try to secure Baghdad. It is something that we've heard six weeks ago from Maliki, saying that they were going to try to take control of the situation. So that clearly is going to be the number one issue on their plates.
KAGAN: And is something substantial supposed to come out of these talks, or is it more symbolic?
MALVEAUX: Well, we'll have to wait and see. But essentially, the one thing that is supposed to come out is this announcement about this so-called Plan B, and that is to move in with those troops. There's a lot of skepticism beyond that whether or not it will just be symbolic. The symbolism, of course, important to Maliki back home. But also perhaps just looking ahead, they're running out of options here. And a lot of people are looking to both leaders, who are tied -- clearly tied, politically, their futures, their legacies -- to what happens next.
KAGAN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Suzanne, thank you.
CNN will have live coverage of President Bush's joint news conference with the Iraqi prime minister. That's expected to begin around 11:25 a.m. Eastern.
We are at the half hour. Let's go ahead and take a look what we know.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, now pushing an ambitious plan to end the Middle East crisis. Today Rice is in Israel. Lebanese sources tell CNN the plan includes international military forces to help stabilize the country's south. Along with the diplomatic push, more fierce attacks and counterattacks.
The Israeli war planes continue to pound Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, and more rockets rain down on northern Israel.
Let's take a look at the latest death toll on both sides of the border. Israel says 41 people have been killed in that country. And in Lebanon, at least 386 fatalities reported in two weeks of fighting.
From Lebanon to Israel, Syria to Cyprus, CNN has reporters all across the region, bringing you the latest on the fighting and diplomatic efforts to end it, as we look at live pictures from Lebanon and from Beirut, the southern suburbs.
Live reports just ahead from a number of correspondents.
Right now, let's go back to Jerusalem and Miles O'Brien -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Daryn. You know, yesterday in Beirut -- as a matter of fact, the day before -- were quiet days in that city. Of course yesterday, the secretary of state was there. And the Israeli Defense Forces, the Israeli Air Force, not targeting those southern suburbs of Beirut to provide safe passage in and out for the secretary of state.
Today an entirely different story. Very suddenly this afternoon, local time, what appears to be upwards of a dozen explosions in the southern suburbs of Beirut, known to be strongholds of that Hezbollah group that is fighting so hard in Southern Lebanon right now. Perhaps even the leader of Hezbollah in southern Beirut, Hassan Nasrallah.
For more on what has happened there today, we go now live to CNN's Brent Sadler -- Brent.
SADLER: Thanks, Miles.
Yes, in the past hour, a heavy series of explosions, shaking downtown Beirut, where I'm reporting from. The actual subject of the detonations was the southern suburbs. This is the sound we heard. Very, heavy impacts there, as you can tell, Miles.
The targets certainly a continuation by the Israelis to try to paralyze Hezbollah's mechanisms of command and control -- not only in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Hezbollah's heartland, but also the connectivity that Hezbollah has with its forces fighting in the field at the southern tip of Lebanon against the Israeli Defense Forces, and battles around Bint Jbeil, thought to be a key control center for Hezbollah Katyusha rockets and manpower.
So we're seeing a continuation of parallel military action, from the air, it's thought. Although some Lebanese TV channels reporting that was a naval assault, too early to say yet. But we certainly can confirm a very heavy attack on those southern suburbs -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Brent, help our viewers understand how the Israeli Air Force is able to identify targets there? They have a fair amount of intelligence and capability of tracking these suspected Hezbollah leaders, don't they?
SADLER: Well, they do. They have in the past been able to assassinate -- Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's chief of today, his predecessor, in a military missile strike. That happened a long time ago, about some ten years ago. The ability to eliminate in the same way, if you'd like, Hassan Nasrallah, is compounded by the fact that Israel's normal, if you like, supply of information from their own spies on the ground may be blurred as a result of the chaos that these strikes are causing.
But let's not forget that for the past six years, since Israel withdrew its forces from South Lebanon, under attack then after some 15-plus years of a war of attrition by Hezbollah against Israeli forces and Lebanese allies at that time, that Israeli airplanes have continued over flights, gaining reconnaissance information about what Hezbollah does on the ground.
So Israel does have, if you like, files of Hezbollah's activity, what they've been able to do over the years. But in many cases, in terms of trying to target Hassan Nasrallah himself, in the words of one political analyst here, they will be very much, according to him, shooting in the dark.
O'BRIEN: Brent Sadler, live in Beirut. Thank you very much.
As we said yesterday, Beirut was quiet as the secretary of state visited the prime minister of Lebanon, the leader of the speaker of the parliament, in an effort to pursue the Bush administration plan toward peace.
And Brent Sadler was among the first to get the details of that plan. We're going to share them with you right now as best we know them. The secretary is -- has a plan in hand which will call for the creation of no less than two international peacekeeping forces. One sort of a short-term one, on the order of 10,000 troops. Turkish and Egyptian troops perhaps under NATO or U.N. control to go in and immediately fill the power vacuum in Southern Lebanon and make it possible for that fledgling Lebanese government to try to reign in Hezbollah. Ultimately, that force would be replaced by a force of about 30,000 in strength, an international force, its makeup and leadership to be determined.
The big ifs on all of this is that this plan is contingent on either Hezbollah agreeing to it -- unlikely -- or being defeated militarily, which the Israelis insist they are bent on doing and will continue to pursue. One other problem is that Israel would like to create some kind of buffer zone on the order of 20 miles so peacekeeping forces would have to take care of a 20-mile swathe in order to protect against the range of these Katyusha missiles, which continue to rain down on the northern Israeli cities. It's an ambitious plan. It's a plan which really resets the deck here in the Middle East potentially. The secretary of state, she wants nothing less than that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The people of this region -- Israeli, Lebanese, indeed Palestinians -- have lived too long in fear and in terror and in violence. A durable solution will be one that strengthens the forces of peace and the forces of democracy in this region.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: The forces of peace, the forces of democracy, being trumped today by the forces of warmaking. You just saw what happened in Beirut a short time ago. We've just been telling you about artillery and bombing in Tyre, ground force activity around that stronghold in the southern part of Lebanon, rockets firing in this direction. The accusation -- foes of Israel have placed the accusation that Israel is responding to that threat of rockets in a disproportionate fashion, and is, in fact, punishing Lebanese civilians, average people, for the actions of Hezbollah.
Let's listen to the prime minister of Israel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EHUD OLMERT, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We will fight against Hezbollah. As you know, we are not fighting the Lebanese government and we are not fighting the Lebanese people. The Lebanese government I hope will make efforts to distance themselves from Hezbollah and from the terrorist organizations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: That was the prime minister, Ehud Olmert, of Israel, talking about that allegation that the Israelis have not responded in a proportionate way. Either way today, Daryn, what we've seen is a crisscrossing across this borders, rockets coming to the south, artillery, tanks, ground forces; and, of course, air strikes to the north. A busy day militarily. A busy day diplomatically -- Daryn.
KAGAN: All right, Miles, thank you. Miles O'Brien in Jerusalem.
Still ahead, we're going inside the world of Hezbollah.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: You can drive around, it doesn't seem like there's anyone around. And all of a sudden, your eyes, it's almost like adjusting to the darkness. Suddenly you realize there are people who are watching you, and guys on motorcycles talking on cell phones who pass you by, watching very closely what you're doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KAGAN: Anderson Cooper gives us a firsthand look at Hezbollah territory. Also within the next hour, we expect a news conference with President Bush and the Iraqi prime minister. You'll see that live today here on CNN.
You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
KAGAN: Their territory in tatters, but they had to keep fighting and spinning their message.
Our Anderson Cooper takes us to the turf of Hezbollah.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Drive into southern Beirut, and you quickly discover another city entirely. A heavily bombed state within a state, beyond the control of the Lebanese government.
This is Hezbollah territory. Along the road posted like billboards, pictures of so-called martyrs, Hezbollah fighters who died battling Israel.
(On camera): You can drive around. It doesn't seem like there's anyone around, and all of a sudden your eyes, it's almost like adjusting to the darkness. Suddenly, you realize there are people who are watching you and guys on motorcycles talking on cell phones who pass you by, watching very closely what you're doing.
(Voice-over): Tension in this neighborhood is high. Many here are convinced Israel is sending in agents to help guide their aerial attacks.
(On camera): We're not allowed to enter Hezbollah territory really without their permission. They control this whole area, even after the sustained Israeli bombing campaign. We've arranged with a Hezbollah representative to get permission to come here. We've been told to pull over to the side of the road and just wait.
(Voice-over): We'd come to get a look at the damage and had hoped to talk with a Hezbollah representative. Instead, we found ourselves with other foreign reporters taken on a guided tour by Hezbollah.
Young men on motor scooters followed our every movement. They only allowed us to videotape certain streets, certain buildings. Once, when they thought we'd videotaped them, they asked us to erase the tape.
These men are called al-Shabab, Hezbollah volunteers who are the organization's eyes and ears.
(On camera): You still see their CD's on the wall still.
Hezbollah representatives are with us now, but don't want to be photographed. We'll say -- we'll point to something like that and they'll say, well, look, this is a store. The civilians lived in this building. This is a residential complex. And while that may be true, what the Israelis will say is that Hezbollah has their offices, their leadership has offices and bunkers even in residential neighborhoods. And if you're trying to knock out the Hezbollah leadership with air strikes, it's very difficult to do that without killing civilians.
As bad as this damage is, it certainly could have been much worse in terms of civilian casualties. Before they started heavily bombing this area, Israeli warplanes did drop leaflets in this area, telling people to get out.
The civilian death toll, though, has angered many Lebanese. Even those who do not support Hezbollah are outraged by the pictures they've seen on television of civilian casualties.
(Voice-over): Civilian casualties are clearly what Hezbollah wants foreign reporters to focus on. It keeps the attention off them. And questions about why Hezbollah should still be allowed to have weapons when all the other militias in Lebanon have already disarmed.
After letting us take pictures of a few damaged buildings, they take us to another location, where there are ambulances waiting.
(On camera): This is a heavily orchestrated Hezbollah media event. When we got here, all the ambulances were lined up. We were allowed a few minutes to talk to the ambulance drivers. Then one by one, they've been told to turn on their sirens and zoom off so that all the photographers here can get shots of ambulances rushing off to treat civilians. That's the story -- that's the story that Hezbollah wants people to know about.
(Voice-over): These ambulances aren't responding to any new bombings. The sirens are strictly for effect.
When a man in a nearby building is prompted to play Hezbollah resistance songs on his stereo, we decide it's time to go.
Hezbollah may not be terribly subtle about spinning a story, but it is telling perhaps that they try. Even after all this bombing, Hezbollah is still organized enough to have a public relations strategy, still in control enough to try and get its message out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Ending the crisis in the Middle East. Could Syria be the key to peace? Anderson is live from Israeli tonight. "AC 360," 10:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
And these were the sounds earlier today from Beirut, Lebanon, the Lebanese capital. Bombing resuming in the southern part of that city, as Israelis try to go for the command and control center of Hezbollah. Much more ahead from Lebanon, and Israel and Jerusalem.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Let's give you a heads up. In about a half hour, CNN will have live coverage of President Bush's joint news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki. That's expected to begin around 11:25 a.m. Eastern.
Meanwhile, I want to go back to the Middle East and what's happening there. We've been watching these pictures of Beirut. The bombing resuming again after a two-day layoff by Israelis looking to target the command and control center of Hezbollah.
Heading to the region, to Jerusalem, and our Miles O'Brien. Miles?
O'BRIEN: Thanks very much, Daryn.
Jerusalem today was busy with diplomacy as the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, was here. She continues her stops throughout the region and beyond. She is on her way to Rome as we speak, trying to push a plan which would involve a peacekeeping force -- actually two of them -- that would create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon and allow that emerging democracy in Beirut to take a foothold there, as well as reign in Hezbollah.
She began the day meeting with the prime minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert, where of course she got a warm reception. She and Olmert agreeing 100 percent on the notion that a cease-fire at this juncture is premature. Yesterday in Beirut, she got a cool reception when she was asked by the prime minister of Lebanon, Siniora, as well as the speaker of the parliament there, Nabih Berri, to begin an immediate cease-fire or push for one or back for one. And she resisted that call.
Later today, secretary of state went across the hills behind me, just a few miles behind me, into the West Bank in Ramallah, and met with the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas.
You'll remember, this is a two-front war. It all began nearly a month ago now in Gaza, with the kidnapping of a single Israeli corporal, the killing of two border guards there. There is still activity down in Gaza. Israeli forces striking an area yesterday where they suspected that members of Islamic Jihad were storing weapons caches.
And once again, Condoleezza Rice pushing the notion of a two- state solution. She clearly is setting her sights very high, hoping to come up with a comprehensive way to restack the deck here in the Middle East and thus far is meeting with a fair amount of resistance, aside from the reception she got here in Jerusalem.
Among the reporters traveling with her, Robin Wright of "The Washington Post," who I talked to just a little while ago and was asking her about the criticism that the U.S. administration was a little slow to engage in what we have been seeing here, and that is a secretary of state shuttling throughout the region, trying to engage in diplomacy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBIN WRIGHT, "WASHINGTON POST": There is a big question about whether this is too little, too late. The reality is I'm not sure what the United States could have done earlier, since the Israeli were not willing to end their bombardment and the Hezbollahis were not prepared to give back the Israeli soldiers or stop the rocket fire.
This was a gross miscalculation by Hezbollah. They went across to get two soldiers to try to engage in a wider prisoner swap, something they've been looking for since the last one in 2004, when they managed to get 430 Palestinians and Arabs out. They miscalculated grossly. The Israelis reacted with far greater force than anyone in Lebanon anticipated, and it's triggered what amounts to, you know, a de facto war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Secretary of state now on her way to Rome. She will meet with European leaders, as well as representatives of moderate Arab states. And once again, that question of a cease-fire and why the U.S. is not supporting an immediate cease-fire, will come up. It will be interesting to see if she makes much progress on the Bush administration proposal there.
From there, she heads to Kuala Lumpur, to Asia, for a previously scheduled summit. It will be interesting to see if we see additional stops here in the Middle East after that stop in Southeast Asia. And we will be following it, of course, every step of the way -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And Miles, we've been following you every step of your way. Where will we find you tomorrow?
O'BRIEN: We're going to make our way to the north, potentially Haifa, to see what is going on there. Another busy day there. More rockets strikes there. We want to talk to people in a city that is, by all accounts, a harmonious collection of both Arabs and Israeli Jews, Christians, Muslims, who have gotten along. And yet now all of them, no matter what their religion or ethnic background, are targets -- Daryn.
KAGAN: All right. Be safe out there. Thank you, Miles.
And once again, we're about a half hour away from an event at the White House. It's President Bush and the Iraqi prime minister. You'll see that live right here on CNN, which is the most trusted name in news.
Meanwhile, let's go to the United Nations. Here is U.S. ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton, at the microphone.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS) JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: ... go back to the ministers. But if we have to go back, we will.
QUESTION: Mr. Ambassador, two things. First on UNIFIL, which you're going into discuss. Does the United States support the secretary-general's recommendation for a one-month rollover? And despite your best efforts, it appears that the results of the straw poll have leaked out and been published quite widely. Could you comment on the results?
BOLTON: I think we will have a clear position on UNIFIL after Secretary Rice's meeting in Rome tomorrow. We have been considering the possibility of some interim extension of UNIFIL until some of the larger questions have been resolved, but I think really the answer depends on the further discussions that Secretary Rice will be having in the region today and then what may come out of Rome. So we'll reserve our position on that.
In terms of the results of the straw poll, certainly it violated the gentlemen's agreement that we had that the results were not going to get out. And I think it is unfortunate, in a way, although not surprising around here.
So the question, as I said yesterday, before you knew what the results were, was that the individual candidates who have declared now have to examine those results and decide what their next step is, and others who have been considering whether to become candidates can look at the results and decide whether they will now enter the race. Those are all decisions up to them.
QUESTION: Mr. Ambassador, how big of a failure is this that you haven't been able to get an agreement now actually months after this process began and weeks after the agreement in Paris? Where do we stand now? Do you hope to...
BOLTON: Why don't you ask me that question after the afternoon meeting and we'll see whether it's a failure or not?
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) do you think that this has a chance of being accepted by the Russians?
BOLTON: Well, we're going back and forth over fairly familiar territory. And the question is whether we've found a way to accommodate.
What we think the ministers agreed upon, which is to make the suspension of uranium enrichment activity mandatory, that's what we seek in this resolution; that's what we believe the ministers agreed to, and that's the product we want.
QUESTION: But the other side, just to follow up on that, the other side fundamentally feels that the agreement was not achieved in Paris, that there was no...
BOLTON: It's not clear to us what they think was agreed in Paris, which is one reason why we may have to go back to the ministers.
But our view is that the ministerial agreement was very clear, that uranium enrichment has to be suspended and made mandatory....
KAGAN: We've been listening in briefly at the United Nations, at the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
