Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Huge Explosions Being Heard in Lebanon; U.N. Proposal for Middle East

Aired August 07, 2006 - 11:01   ET

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

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

Let's take a look at what we know right now.

The Middle East crisis, President Bush says that even though Israel and Hezbollah object to parts of the proposed cease-fire that's before the U.N., the violence must end. We aired the president's statement on CNN.

Meanwhile, the Arab League is calling for changes in that proposal. A delegation is expected to deliver the request to the U.N. Lebanon has criticized the resolution because it does not demand an immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon.

Meanwhile, the death toll surges. Lebanese officials say Israeli airstrikes have killed dozens of people today. Israel says it warned civilians to evacuate.

Let's go to Tyre, Lebanon. That's where we find our Ben Wedeman.

It looks like, Ben, are you turning around because you are hearing explosions nearby?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, I'm hearing a lot of explosions. This kicked in about 10 minutes ago, some very large blasts coming from the hills behind me. Artillery barrages, as well as airstrikes. Huge plumes of smoke we saw coming up, and really it's been like this all day long.

Now, what is -- what is new about this is that much of it is composed of artillery barrages, which means that obviously the Israeli artillery is focusing in on this one area just below the ridge, between basically that group of buildings you see, which is a Palestinian refugee camp, and the sides of the hill. Now, what is also significant today is that overnight, Israeli aircraft bombed the main road between Tyre and Beirut, which essentially means we're now cut off, at least as far as road traffic is concerned.

I spoke with somebody from Doctors Without Borders, who -- they had sent a convoy of food and medical supplies from Beirut to Tyre. They had to essentially carry it across the river. They told me that the only way out of here now is either by wading through the water or by walking across a log across the river. So the situation here is obviously difficult.

We're also hearing reports that in the town of Houla, which is southeast of here, that a series of buildings were hit in Israeli airstrikes. People were in their basements. We're hearing anywhere between 40 and 60 either killed or trapped in the rubble beneath those buildings -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Let's talk about something happening nearby there in Houla, a collapsed building with concern that civilians can be trapped inside.

Are you OK standing there, by the way?

WEDEMAN: No, I'm fine.

KAGAN: OK.

WEDEMAN: It's just a little distracting with all the noise going on in the background.

KAGAN: If you've got to go, you go.

WEDEMAN: No, no, it's OK.

KAGAN: All right. OK.

WEDEMAN: I'm here for you, Daryn. Go on.

KAGAN: OK. We were talking about Houla, a collapsed building.

WEDEMAN: Yes, a collapsed building. Several collapsed buildings, according to some reports.

We've heard from police sources in Beirut saying as many as 60. The Lebanese prime minister, Fouad Siniora, announced the news of these -- this incident in Houla to a meeting of the Arab foreign ministers who are meeting in Beirut at the moment. His figure, somewhere above 40.

Obviously, Daryn, this is in an area that is just impossible to get to safely. At this point, travel outside of Beirut -- rather outside of Tyre, excuse me, is difficult and, more than difficult, very dangerous -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. We'll check back with you. Clearly a lot of explosive action taking place there in Tyre, Lebanon.

Ben Wedeman is there.

We're also standing by waiting to see videotape that was shot in Crawford, Texas. The president and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held a news conference in the last hour, but only audio was available. You will see them coming up in a little bit.

And meanwhile, let's go to the United Nations. That's where we find out senior correspondent, Richard Roth, talking about this proposal that we will hear in more detail when we listen to the president on tape. But a proposal that's not exactly completely being embraced by everyone who needs to vote on it there at the U.N. -- Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: When you see it on videotape, I mean, the president certainly didn't want to go into details, neither did Condoleezza Rice, regarding any adjustments to this resolution. The White House feels there is enough here for a permanent cease-fire, to get at the root causes of the problem. Now that's why the United States is now ready to sign on to a resolution, something that other members of the U.N. here were much more eager for weeks ago.

The U.S. said it was no time for a quick fix. The Lebanon's -- Lebanese government amendments to this resolution are what's holding up a vote today. The Russian ambassador, yesterday, at a meeting of United Nations Security Council members, expressed concern that maybe we should -- they should take into concern Beirut's objections.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VITALY CHURKIN, RUSSIAN AMB. TO U.N.: We are discussing the situation, but unfortunately I don't think there is a magic wand. One would hope that the Lebanese government, and Lebanon generally, and in the Arab world, they give a very serious reading to this draft. And I think if they do, they'll see that there is much in it which is very much in the interests of Lebanon. And more importantly, there is a clear-cut call for a full cessation of hostilities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: The main objection from Lebanon, under the current resolution, Israeli just has to cease its offensive military operations. The troops could stay in southern Lebanon until things calm down and the U.N. gets its forces in there.

What Lebanon is saying in its amendment, the Israelis should start withdrawing immediately once there's a cessation of hostilities. The French ambassador said the council will take into consideration some of the objections and what's being said at today's emergency Arab League meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN-MARC DE LA SABLIERE, FRENCH AMB. TO U.N.: We have already registered some -- some -- some -- we have -- you know, there are some indications, I have received information on what is happening in the -- in this meeting. And we look at it very, very, very carefully.

It is an important meeting. And this is why we have decided yesterday, because this meeting was taking place, an important meeting, not to push the resolution. We could have done it, you know, before -- before the meeting. And we have to -- we have to listen, you know, to what is happening there.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROTH: The French ambassador said the Security Council is willing to act in a responsible, fast way.

Back to you, Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Richard. Thank you.

We've been given the two-minute warning. They're ready to start rolling the tape in -- from Crawford, Texas.

And from Crawford, we have our Suzanne Malveaux, who is traveling with the -- with the president.

Let's go ahead and -- Suzanne, give us an idea of what we should listen for in the tape.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, Daryn.

I also want to give you some context here. It's really important to note that you're actually going to see a tape of the president. That's pretty rare when you think about it. He's often at his Crawford ranch, spends weeks there, and we go for days not seeing the president.

I was here last year during his summer break. That, of course, when Hurricane Katrina hit. He got a lot of criticism for the administration really being slow to respond in that crisis.

What you're going to see on the tape, very interesting, is that this is not the normal kind of walk up to the podium at the Crawford ranch when they gather the pool and it's very casual, somewhat relaxed atmosphere. It's a much more formal setting.

Literally, we went into the vans, rode up that dirt road up to the Crawford ranch, and there was a hangar where they actually set up a podium. Officially, you'll see the western White House behind the president. The president and Secretary Rice, a very formal kind of news conference setting, and both of them taking as many questions that were hurled at them.

I have to say, there were a lot of responses, some of them not necessarily answers, but responses. The president trying to convey to the American people that, yes, he's on top of this and, yes, that they do have some sort of plan to deal with this Middle East crisis -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Suzanne. It looks like we're getting very close, within a mere matter of seconds.

Once again, President Bush and Secretary Rice, they are in Crawford, Texas, holding a news conference earlier today. We heard the audio, now a chance to see the president and the secretary of state as they answer questions from reporters in Texas.

Lets listen. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good morning.

Since the crisis in Lebanon began more than three weeks ago, the United States and other key nations have been working for a comprehensive solution that would return control of Lebanon to its government and to provide a sustainable peace that protects the lives of both the Lebanese and the Israeli people.

Secretary Rice and diplomats from other countries are developing United Nations resolutions to bring about a cessation of hostilities and establish a foundation for lasting peace.

The first resolution, which the Security Council is now considering, calls for a stop of all hostilities. Under its terms, Hezbollah will be required to immediately stop all attacks; Israel will be required to immediately stop all offensive military operations; and, in addition, the resolution calls for an embargo on the shipment of any arms into Lebanon except as authorized by the Lebanese government.

A second resolution, which the Security Council will begin working on as soon as possible, will help establish a sustainable and enduring cease-fire and provide a mandate for a robust international force that will help the legitimate government of Lebanon extend its authority over all of Lebanon's territory.

Under the second resolution, the Lebanese armed forces, supported by the international force, would deploy to southern Lebanon. This international force will help Lebanon patrol its border with Syria and prevent illegal arms shipments to Hezbollah.

As these Lebanese and international forces deploy, the Israeli Defense Forces will withdraw and both Israel and Lebanon will respect the Blue Line that divides them.

These two resolutions are designed to bring an immediate end to the fighting, to help restore sovereignty over Lebanese soil to Lebanese democratic government -- to Lebanon's democratic government, excuse me -- to strike a blow against the terrorists and their supporters, and to help bring lasting peace to the region.

By taking these steps, it will prevent armed militias like Hezbollah and its Iranian and Syrian sponsors from sparking another crisis. It'll protect innocent Lebanese and Israelis. And it will help the international community deliver humanitarian relief and support Lebanon's revival and reconstruction.

The loss of life on both sides of the Lebanese-Israeli border has been a great tragedy. Millions of Lebanese civilians have been caught in the crossfire of military operations because of the unprovoked attack and kidnappings by Hezbollah.

The humanitarian crisis in Lebanon is of deep concern to all Americans, and alleviating it will remain a priority of my government.

I also believe that innocent civilians in Israel should not have to live in bunkers in fear of missile attacks.

To establish a lasting peace that protects innocent civilians on both sides of the border, we must address the underlying conditions that are the root cause of this crisis. I believe that the two resolutions I have discussed and that Secretary Rice is working on will put us on that path.

And now I'll be glad to answer some questions.

QUESTION: Lebanon has rejected the draft proposal, and Israel is not speaking out in support of it. How do you get a resolution that both sides will support?

BUSH: Everyone wants the violence to stop. People are -- understand that there needs to be a cessation of hostilities in order for us to address the root causes of the problem. That was the spirit of -- that came out of the G-8 conference, that came out of the Rome conference that Secretary Rice attended.

We all recognize that the violence must stop, and so that's what Secretary Rice is working toward with our friends and allies.

Look, everybody -- I understand both parties aren't going to agree with all aspects of the resolution.

But the intent of the resolutions is to strengthen the Lebanese government so Israel has got a partner in peace. The intent of the resolution is to make sure that we address the root cause -- the resolutions is to address the root cause, which was a state operating within the state. Hezbollah was -- or is an armed movement that provoked the crisis. And so whatever comes out of the resolutions must address that root cause.

And so the task today for the secretary and her counterparts is to develop a resolution that can get passed. It is essential that we create the conditions for the Lebanese government to move her own forces, with international help, into the south of Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah and its sponsors from creating another crisis. And so that's where we're headed.

QUESTION: The Lebanese prime minister's demanding a quick and decisive cease-fire after an Israeli air raid today killed 40 people. When will we see this resolution? And if it's approved, when will we see a cessation of violence?

BUSH: I'll let Condi talk about the details of what she's going to do today, if you care to hear from her.

But we will work with our partners to get the resolution laid down as quickly as possible. And the resolution will call for a cessation of violence.

And the concern, by the way, from the parties in the region is whether or not the resolution will create a vacuum into which Hezbollah and its sponsors will be able to promote more instability. We all agree that we ought to strengthen this government, the Lebanese government. That's the purpose of the resolutions, as well as, you know, to stop the violence.

And I don't know if you want to comment on...

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Sure, if you'd like.

BUSH: Yes.

RICE: First of all, we are working from what we believe to be a strong basis for a cessation of hostilities; that is the U.S.-French draft -- a strong basis for the cessation of hostilities and then, as the president said, to have a process, then, that can address the root causes.

And we also believe that it's going to be very important that this first resolution lay a very quick foundation for a passage of a second resolution. So these have to be worked, in a sense, together.

I spoke last night -- yesterday with Prime Minister Olmert, with Prime Minister Siniora, with Secretary General Kofi Annan, with a number of others. And I think we believe that there is a way forward.

Now, we understand that this has been a very emotional and, indeed, devastating and tragic set of circumstances for Lebanon and for Israel. And, obviously, the parties have views on how to stop this. Their views are not going to necessarily be consonant about how to stop it. The international community has a view.

But of course we're going to take a little time and listen to the concern of the parties and see how they can be addressed.

But I want to just note, we believe that the extant draft resolution is a firm foundation, is the right basis, but of course we're going to listen to the concerns of the parties and see how they might be addressed. And that's really what's going to be going on today, particularly after the Arab League meets and Prime Minister Siniora emerges from that.

QUESTION: Mr. President, officials have been quoted saying that the international force would not include U.S. troops. And I wonder if you can explain why that is. Is it because the military is already overtaxed? Is it because you're afraid that the U.S. doesn't have credibility in the region?

BUSH: No, I think, first of all, there's been a history in Lebanon with U.S. troops.

Secondly, I have said that if the international force would like some help with logistics and command and control, we'd be willing to offer logistics and command and control.

You know, there's some places where -- it's like Darfur. People say to me, "Well, why don't you commit U.S. troops to Darfur as part of an international peacekeeping?" And the answer there is that those troops would be -- would create a sensation around the world that may not enable us to achieve our objective.

And so when we commit troops, we commit troops for a specific reason with the intent of achieving an objective. And I think command and control and logistical support is probably the best -- is the best use of U.S. forces.

QUESTION: Many strategists say that we'll never get to the bottom of this crisis unless the U.S. engages directly with Syria and Iran.

Why not talk to them directly about this and have a back-and- forth conversation?

BUSH: Yes, that's an interesting question. I have been reading about that, that people have been posing that question.

We have been in touch with Syria. Colin Powell sent a message to Syria in person. Dick Armitage traveled to Syria. Bill Burns traveled to Syria. We've got a consulate office in Syria.

Syria knows what we think.

The problem isn't us telling Syria what's on our minds, which is to stop harboring terror and to, you know, help the Iraqi democracy evolve. They know exactly what our position is.

The problem is is that their response hasn't been very positive. As a matter of fact, it hasn't been positive at all.

In terms of Iran, we made it clear to the Iranians that if they would honor previous obligations and verifiably stop enrichment of nuclear materials, we would sit at a table.

So there's a way forward for both countries. The choice is theirs.

Now, you know, I appreciate people focusing on Syria and Iran. And we should. Because Syria and Iran sponsor and promote Hezbollah activities all aimed at creating chaos, all aimed at using terror to stop the advance of democracies.

You know, our objectives, our policy, is to give voice to people through democratic reform.

And that's why we strongly support the Siniora government. That's why I've articulated a two-state solution between the Israel and Palestinians, two democracies living side by side in peace. That's why Condi went to see President Abbas, the president of the Palestinian territories, to assure him that we're committed to a democracy. That's why we're making sacrifices in Iraq to build democracy. Because we believe democracy yields peace.

And the actions of Hezbollah, through its sponsors of Iran and Syria, are trying to stop that advance of democracy.

Hezbollah launched this attack.

Hezbollah is trying to create the chaos necessary to stop the advance of peace. And the world community must come together to address this problem.

QUESTION: Mr. President, in the last couple weeks, every time the question was asked, "Why not get an immediate cessation and then go to sustainable -- terms for a sustainable cease-fire after you get the hostility stopped?" it was categorically rejected. Yet a few weeks later here we are.

Can you explain why this wasn't done a couple of weeks ago?

BUSH: Sure.

Because, first of all, the international community hadn't come together on a concept of how to address the root cause of the problem.

Part of the problem in the past in the Middle East was people would paper over the root cause of the problem. And therefore the situation would seemingly be quiet and then, lo and behold, there'd be another crisis and innocent people would suffer.

And so our strategy all along has been, of course we want to have a cessation of hostilities. But what we want to do at the same time is to make sure that there is a way forward for the Lebanese government to secure its own country so that there's peace in the region. And that deals with an international peacekeeping force to complement a Lebanese army moving into the south to make sure that Resolution 1559, passed two years ago by the U.N., was fully upheld.

Had the parties involved fully implemented 1559, which called for the disarmament of Hezbollah, we would not be in the situation we're in today.

QUESTION: Mr. President, what are the specific stumbling blocks that are preventing this first resolution from being passed quickly? What are the people -- what are the parties objecting to in the language that needs to be altered?

RICE: I think that, first of all, I'm not going to get into specifics about the views of the parties. I think that we have to do that privately and talk with the parties privately.

But obviously, this particular resolution is important because it sets an agenda for the basis for a sustainable peace.

And so, it will not surprise you that the Lebanese have views of what should be on that agenda. The Israelis have views of what should be on that agenda. They aren't always the same views.

And so working together to get to what that agenda should be is part of what's going on here. But I will say something that's very interesting. There is more agreement than you might think about how to prevent, again, a situation in which you have a state within a state able to launch an attack across the Blue Line.

For instance, there is agreement that the Lebanese government needs to extend its authority throughout the country, that it needs to have the Lebanese armed forces move to take care of this vacuum that has been existing in the south, that there should not be any armed groups able just to operate in the south the way that Hezbollah has been able to operate in the south, that there ought to be respect for the Blue Line. These are all agreements between the two parties.

And so there is going to be some pressure from both sides to get things onto the agenda because they want to get them onto the agenda. But I think we have a reasonable basis here that both sides can accept.

I think there are some issues of timing and sequence that need to be worked out.

There are some concerns about when an international force would actually be available.

And so we're going to continue to work to address those concerns of the two parties.

But as the president said, this last three weeks has been extremely important. Had we done this three weeks ago, we were talking about what people -- an unconditional cease-fire that I can guarantee you would not have addressed any of these items that both sides know are going to have to be addressed if we're going to have a sustainable cease-fire in the future.

So this has been time that's been well-spent over the last couple of weeks.

But everybody agrees it's time to have a cessation. We're going to work a little bit more with the parties. And I think this resolution will be the right basis, both to cease the hostilities and to move forward.

QUESTION: Mr. President, you've spoken with Prime Minister Blair and Chancellor Merkel about this. Have you spoken directly with Prime Ministers Olmert and Siniora? And if not, why not?

BUSH: Because Condi's handling those conversations, and she's doing a fine job of doing so.

QUESTION: Mr. President, you've been quite specific in Hezbollah's role in the creator of the conflict. But what is the magnet, what is the pressure point, what is the hook to get this group to accept a cease-fire, to stop shooting and to stop kidnapping soldiers from across the border of another country?

BUSH: Yes, I would hope it would be international pressure on not only Hezbollah -- the group of Hezbollah within Lebanon, but also its sponsors.

And that's the whole purpose of the United States working with allies and friends is to send a clear message that sponsoring terror is unacceptable.

It's the great challenge of the 21st century, really...

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

BUSH: Let me finish for a minute.

It is the great challenge of this century. And it's this: As young democracies flourish, terrorists try to stop their progress. And it's the great challenge of the United States and others who are blessed with living in free countries.

Not only do terrorists try to stop the advance of democracy through killing innocent people within the countries, they also try to shake the will of the Western world by killing innocent Westerners. They try to spread their jihadist message, a message I call -- it's totalitarian in nature -- Islamic radicalism, Islamic fascism. They try to spread it as well by taking the attack to those of us who love freedom.

And as far as this administration is concerned, we clearly see the problem and we're going to continue to work to advance, stable, free countries.

We don't expect every country to look like the United States, but we do want countries to accept some basic conditions for a vibrant society: human rights, human decency, the power of the people to determine the fate of their governments.

And admittedly, this is hard work because it flies in the face of previous policy, which basically said stability is more important than form of government.

And as a result of that policy, anger and resentment bubbled forth with an attack -- with a series of attacks, the most dramatic of which was on September the 11th.

And your question is, "Can we get people -- a terrorist group to change their attitude?"

Well, what we can do is we can get state sponsors of terror to understand this behavior is unacceptable and that we can convince some people in terrorist groups that there is a better way forward for them and their families.

Remember, Hezbollah is a political party within Lebanon. They actually ran people for office.

The problem is, is that they're a political party with a militia that is armed by foreign nations. And, obviously, this political party with militia was willing to try to influence the Middle East through unprovoked attacks. And what Condi is working on and I work on is to remind people about the stakes in the Middle East. And those stakes include not only helping the Lebanese government firm up its democracy.

Remember, we worked with the French two years ago to boot out Syria. Syria was inside Lebanon. And we felt that in order for a democracy to flourish Syria needed to remove not only her troops but her agents; her intelligence agents, for example.

And, obviously, there are some in the region that don't want the Lebanese government to succeed.

I also happen to believe that as Prime Minister Olmert was making progress in reaching out to President Abbas and others in the region to develop a Palestinian state, that that caused a terrorist reaction.

Remember, this all started with the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier by militant Hamas, followed shortly thereafter by the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah.

And finally, the third most notable battleground in the advance of liberty is Iraq.

And it's interesting, if you go back to the work of Mr. Zarqawi, he talked about fomenting sectarian violence in order to stop the advance of democracy.

The challenge of the 21st century is for free nations to help those who aspire to liberty. And, you know, the first question is, do people aspire to liberty? And the answer is absolutely. Look at the 12 million people who voted in Iraq, or look at the people who went to the polls in Lebanon.

And it's just clear to me that there will be terrorist activities that will try to stop people from living a decent, hopeful life.

And what you're watching now is diplomatic efforts to address the problem.

You know, I know -- I sense a certain impatience in your voice about diplomacy, you know, coming to a conclusion. What Secretary Rice is doing, as well as me, is we are dealing with a lot of different interests.

Remember, each nation at the Security Council has got its own domestic issues to deal with, as well. And so it is -- I wish things happened quicker in the diplomatic realm. Sometimes it takes a while to get things done.

But what the American people need to know is we've got a strategy, strategy for freedom in the Middle East which protects the American people in the long run. And we've got a strategy to deal with the situations that arise in the Middle East: first, Lebanon, and, of course, the Iranian nuclear weapon issue.

And as you remember, right before the G-8, the question on your mind was would we ever get a resolution out of the U.N. on the Iranians' desire to have a nuclear weapon, as well as whether or not we'd ever get a resolution out of the U.N. to deal with North Korea.

As a matter of fact, there was great skepticism, I felt, in some circles, as to whether or not we'd be able to put, you know, a diplomacy in place that would deal with these two difficult problems.

And, in fact, during the G-8, two resolutions were passed -- by the way, those resolutions overshadowed by the situation in Lebanon. And I'm confident that, working with our friends, if we stay on principle and remind people of the stakes, that we will be able to accomplish the diplomatic objectives that we have set out, which is dealing with this problem and addressing the long-term issues.

QUESTION: If I can follow on (inaudible) question, she had asked...

BUSH: I can't remember that far back.

(LAUGHTER)

QUESTION: ... Lebanon's parliament's speaker, Nabih Berri, whose been negotiating for Hezbollah, has rejected the first resolutions as unacceptable; they want the Israeli troops to pull out immediately.

Is that a negotiable point?

And also, will Secretary Rice -- will you be reaching out to Berri, as you had spoken with him before?

BUSH: Whatever happens in the U.N., we must not create a vacuum into which Hezbollah and its sponsors are able to move more weapons.

Sometimes the world likes to take the easy route in order to solve a problem. Our view is it's time to address root causes of problems.

And to create a vacuum is unacceptable. It would mean that we haven't addressed the root cause.

The idea is to have the Lebanese government move into the south so that the government of Lebanon can protect its own territory, and that there be an international force to provide the help necessary for the Lebanese government to secure its country.

Remember, in Germany, the first thing I said was -- or one of the first things I said -- I think I said this -- help me out here if I didn't...

(LAUGHTER)

RICE: If you didn't.

BUSH: ... was we want the Siniora government to survive and to be strengthened. The lynchpin of the policy is to support democracies. And so the strategy at the U.N., the diplomatic strategy, is to support that notion. Because a democracy in Lebanon will not only help that nation address its long-term issues, such as rebuilding and providing a hopeful life, but a democracy on Israel's northern border will stabilize -- help stabilize the region.

We are committed to a democracy in the Palestinian territory. President Abbas, in our conversations -- in his conversations with Condi, talked about moving forward with democracy.

But there are people who can't stand the thought of a society based upon universal liberty from emerging. And that in itself ought to be a warning signal to those of us who care deeply for peace, that people would be willing to kill innocent citizens in order to stop the advance of liberty.

Now, I've talked a lot about the universal appeal of liberty. And I readily concede some people aren't willing to -- some say, "Well, you know, liberty may not be universal in this sense: American imposes its will."

We don't impose liberty. Liberty is universal. And it's one of the interesting debates of the 21st century, I think, that some would be willing to say that it's OK for people not to live in a free society.

It's not OK for us. If you love peace, in order to achieve peace, you must help people realize that which is universal. And that is freedom.

She asked you a question.

RICE: Right.

Our point of contact for the Lebanese government is obviously Prime Minister Siniora. As you know, I have also spoken to Speaker Berri on a couple of occasions.

I understand how emotional this is for the Lebanese. They have been through a very difficult war. It's emotional for Israel as well. They're in the midst of a difficult war.

Let me just say that, in terms of what the end state will look like here, I didn't think there's any disagreement that the right solution is the one that the president referred to. It's the Lebanese and the Lebanese armed forces able to secure their territory.

And the international help is so that Lebanon can secure its territory.

And I don't believe anybody anticipates that there should be foreign forces on Lebanese soil as a result of what has happened here.

And so I think there is room on this issue to work on this issue, because everybody has the same vision: that it's the Lebanese army, with support from an international force, that can actually prevent that vacuum from obtaining again in the south so that we're not right back here three or four or five months from now in the same situation.

QUESTION: Mr. President, I don't think we've heard from you since Fidel Castro has fallen ill. Can you give us what you know of his current condition, what your administration's contingency plans are for his death and how they address the desire of the Cuban exiles in this country to eventually go home and reclaim their property?

BUSH: First of all, Cuba is not a very transparent society, so the only thing I know is what has been speculated, and that is that, on the one hand, he's very ill and, on the other hand, he's going to be coming out of a hospital. I don't know. I really don't know.

And, secondly, that our desire is for the Cuban people to be able to choose their own form of government. And we would hope that -- and we'll make this very clear -- that as Cuba has the possibility of transforming itself from a tyrannical situation to a different type of society, the Cuban people ought to decide. The people on the island of Cuba ought to decide.

And once the people of Cuba decide to form a government, then Cuban-Americans can take an interest in that country and redress the issues of property confiscation.

But first things first, and that is the Cuban people need to decide the future of their country.

QUESTION: Mr. President, if I could turn to Iraq for a moment, when you and Prime Minister Blair met at the White House a few months ago, you were asked about mistakes and missteps. And he said the one mistake he made was miscalculating and thinking that a young democracy, as you put it, would be born very quickly after the fall of Saddam.

Are you prepared today to agree with him and acknowledge that you had the same expectations which were wrong?

BUSH: Actually, I think -- I can't remember his answer. I'm sure you've characterized it perfectly.

My attitude is that a young democracy has been born quite quickly. And I think the Iraqi government has shown remarkable progress on the political front. And that is is that they developed a modern constitution that was ratified by the people and then 12 million people voted for a government.

Which gives me confidence about the future in Iraq, by the way. You know, I hear people say, "Well, civil war this, civil war that." The Iraqi people decided against civil war when they went to the ballot box. And a unity government is working to respond to the will of the people. And, frankly, it's quite a remarkable achievement on the political front.

And the security front is where there has been troubles. And it's going to be up to the Maliki government, with U.S. help, to use the trained forces and eventually a trained police force to take care of those who are trying to foment sectarian violence. We've made some progress against some of those folks, particularly when Mr. Zarqawi met his demise. Remember, Al Qaeda is in the country, all attempting to stop the advance of democracy. And, you know, the blowing up of the mosque created an opportunity for those who were trying to foment sectarian violence to achieve their objective. But the Iraqi people rejected that kind of sectarian violence. Their army stood strong.

No question it's still difficult. On the other hand, the political process is part of helping to achieve our objective, which is a free country, an ally in the war on terror, that can sustain itself and govern itself and defend itself.

OK, who else? I don't want to hurt any feeling.

Yes, sir?

QUESTION: Thank you very much.

BUSH: Identify yourself.

QUESTION: Kevin Corke, NBC News, sir.

BUSH: Right. I knew that.

QUESTION: Yes, sir.

BUSH: Just wanted to make sure you did.

QUESTION: Yes, indeed.

(LAUGHTER)

In reading the 1559 resolution and the draft as it's currently constructed, there are a lot of similarities, quite frankly.

QUESTION: And I'm wondering if you could speak to, maybe, the frustration some Americans might be feeling that you've said, "We want sustainable peace; we don't want to come back here in a few months or a few years," and yet it seems like there will be another resolution, maybe another resolution, maybe another this, that and the other. People get frustrated.

Can you understand that? I just want to ask that.

BUSH: Well, the people who should get really frustrated are the Israelis and Lebanese. They ought to be the ones that are frustrated. Because 1559 clearly laid a way forward for there to be a strong democracy in Lebanon which will more likely yield the peace.

And there is a level of frustration around the world with organizations that will take innocent life to achieve political objectives.

And our job is to remind people that this isn't a moment; this is a movement. And that we must deal with this movement. We must deal with the movement with strong security measures. We must bring justice to those who would attack us and at the same time defeat their ideology by the spread of liberty.

And it takes a lot of work. This is the beginning of a long struggle against an ideology that is real and profound. It's Islamo- fascism. It comes in different forms. They share the same tactics, which is to destroy people and things in order to create chaos in the hopes that their vision of the world become predominant in the Middle East.

And Condi and I will work hard -- by the way, the United States can't win this war alone. We can do damage to the enemy. We can take the philosophical high ground and remind people of the importance of how freedom can change societies. But we will work with our allies and friends to achieve this objective.

And part of the challenge in the 21st century is to remind people about the stakes and remind people that in moments of quiet, there's still an Islamic fascist group plotting, planning and trying to spread their ideology.

And one of the things that came out of this unfortunate incident in the Middle East is it is a stark reminder that there are those who want to stop the advance of liberty and destabilize young democracies. And they're willing to kill people to do so.

I repeat, this whole incident started because Hezbollah kidnapped two soldiers and launched rocket attacks. And it's been unfortunate that people on both sides of the border have lost life.

And we're committed to helping the Lebanese government rebuild.

On the other hand, what we won't do is allow for a false hope. We believe that it's important to challenge the root cause now.

We thought we had done so with 1559, but 1559 wasn't implemented. In other words, there was a way forward to deal with the problem.

And now there's another chance to deal with the problem. And that's the role of the United States, working with others, to not only remind people about the problem but to come up with solutions in dealing with the problem.

And the solutions that we are working with our friends, in our judgment, is the best hope for achieving stability and peace.

But it take a lot of work. And it takes commitment and focus. And that's what this administration will continue to do: We'll stay focused on the problem and stay focused on coming up with solutions that, when implemented, will leave behind a better world.

I thank you all very much for your interest.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: We've been listening in. This is the taped portion of what President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had to say in a news conference that was held earlier today at Crawford, Texas. Our Suzanne Malveaux was there, going to bring her in to wrap up what the president had to say.

Fitting, we end with the question you asked of the president, Suzanne, and now we turn it over to you.

Basically this is the president presenting the plan they would like to see voted on at the United Nations sometime this week.

MALVEAUX: And, Daryn, really my question goes to the rub of all of this, which is the U.S. fears if you have these Israeli forces pull out prematurely or too soon before an international force comes in that Hezbollah, again, will gain some sort of stronghold in Southern Lebanon. But Hezbollah officials are saying, look, you know, we are not going to stop our fighting, our attacks if we still Israeli troops sitting there in Lebanese territory.

So what you're hearing U.S. officials do is essentially buy time here. They are saying to the Lebanese, hang tight, hold tight, what we are trying to do is get a second resolution here. We haven't dealt yet, finished yet with this first. We're trying to get a second resolution to get a multinational force up and going as quickly as possible so we can reassure you that we're going to be able to move those Israeli troops out; but until that happens, you're still at this impasse. That what with we're talking about.

Secretary Rice, you didn't hear her response to the question, but she also did say she acknowledged that she would continue to reach out to Nabi Barry (ph). He is the Hezbollah negotiator. He is a member of the Lebanese government, the parliament speaker. They have been in contact with Lebanese officials, of course, behind the scenes, trying to negotiate this and make this work.

Because ultimately, you can have all of the U.N. Security Council members on board with these resolutions, but if you don't get the cooperation of the Lebanese government of Hezbollah, it is just not going to work -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Suzanne Malveaux in Crawford, Texas, thank you. We're going to talk to Richard Roth at the U.N. in just a moment to get the diplomatic angle on what is the next step.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's go ahead and take a look at what we know right now in the Middle East crisis. A big push is under way by the Bush administration for approval of a U.N. resolution aimed at ending the fighting. The draft is now before the Security Council.

A short time ago, President Bush called the loss of civilian lives on both sides a great tragedy, and he called the proposed resolution a basis for peace. Meanwhile, there is no letup in the fighting today. Israeli warplanes have launched heavy airstrikes on several Lebanese cities and towns, and dozens more Hezbollah rockets have slammed into northern Israel.

A look at the cease-fire resolution before the U.N. Security Council. The measure was written by the U.S. and France. It calls for both Israel and Hezbollah to cease all hostilities. Is it does not, however, demand a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon. That has stirred a lot of grumbling in the Arab world.

Senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth is watching developments at the U.N.

First, Richard, when would we expect a vote on the measure?

RICHARD ROTH, SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Don't look for it today. Maybe the earliest, tomorrow, but there's a visiting delegation coming from the Arab League, from Beirut. That meeting may not be until the afternoon. So maybe you're going to have a vote on Wednesday. And we don't know if Secretary Rice or others would join us here.

President Bush told journalists the world sometimes takes the easy route. That probably won't go down too easily here. But right now, they're watching inside the Security Council. They're talking about the Ivory Coast, a separate issue. But they're privately going over the resolution. The French ambassador said he wants to try to improve the text.

Lebanon wants Israeli forces out immediately, should it decide to accept this resolution. And instead, with the gap filled by U.N. peacekeepers as a way of guaranteeing that there would not be a further outbreak of fighting. The French ambassador said he's heard the concerns from the Arab League, from others. Says he's going to try to improve things. So we'll have to wait and see what tweaking and adjustments are made to the language -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Let's talk about one of the special challenges with this situation here. And President Bush, I think, referred to it as dealing with a state operating within a state. This is not just a negotiation where you bring in Israel and Lebanon. You got Hezbollah, which is really the instigator here.

ROTH: I mean, the days of Harry Truman and Khrushchev at the U.N. and one powerful state and another. And then they say we don't want to fight, let's have the U.N. be on our borders. They're gone long ago. And the U.N. has to deal with these rebel groups, militias, powerful entities within states, which are -- which don't have governments. Non-state actors -- we've used that term before. They like to use that here, not just on Broadway across town.

And it's a big dilemma for the United Nations, as Hezbollah, which may be represented in the Lebanese government, but the Lebanese government was unaware that they were going to kidnap the Israeli soldiers. That's how resolutions don't exactly get enforced these days. KAGAN: All right, Richard Roth, watching things for us at the U.N., thank you.

We heard a lot of talk in all this about the so-called Blue Line. What is it? Let's give you background. The United Nations established the Blue Line in 2000. That helped confirm Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon. It was drawn between Israel and Lebanon. If a peacekeeping force moves in, it would operate in a buffer zone between the Blue Line and the Litani River to the north.

Our John Roberts has been embedded with Israeli troops. He has a chance to come out and talk with us. We will do that in just a moment. What was his experience like doing that? You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Some -- the developments from the Middle East we'd like to bring you right now. We're getting word from Israeli officials. They confirm that residents in Southern Lebanon are being told to stay indoors within the next few hours. They're saying after 10:00 p.m. local time, which would be 3:00 p.m. Eastern, residents of Southern Lebanon, being told by Israeli officials to stay indoors.

Working on getting our correspondents up in Southern Lebanon to give us some perspective on that warning and what it might mean could be ahead.

Meanwhile, our John Roberts has been embedded with Israeli troops. He is now back, and he joins us from northern Israel to tell us, John, where you went and what you were able to see.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SR. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.

By the way, that warning issued by the Israeli military today for people to stay inside their homes after what is 5:00 Greenwich Mean Time, 8:00 or darkness here in Lebanon, might be an indication of a larger ground operation. They have been telling people to get out of those towns because of airstrikes, but perhaps telling them to stay inside might mean that there's fighting on ground that lies ahead.

I just returned this morning after an all-night trip back in an armored personnel carrier from the front lines. I spent 48 hours, a couple of days, with a reserve battalion who was up there doing some observation, some reconnaissance, hunting out some Hezbollah positions. A very difficult 48 hours, a long walk into our location to a town in Southern Lebanon. And in very harsh conditions once they got in there.

This battalion charged with setting up observation posts, trying to find places where Hezbollah might hide, call in artillery fire. We saw them on a radio. They would call back to the artillery batteries here in northern Israel, and then just a few minutes later, the targets that they had identified would suddenly light up with fire smoke as they brought in that artillery to try to suppress any potential Hezbollah positions.

Not that they actually saw fighters there, but what they were doing is identifying areas fighters could use to either attack them or potentially use to launch Katyusha rockets from. And they would hit those to tell Hezbollah fighters on the other side, we know about that location, you can't use that, try to take away any opportunity, any advantage that Hezbollah had.

Late last night, just before dusk fell, we thought that we were under rocket attack. That unit has been very afraid of what are called SAGAR (ph) rockets. It's an anti-tank rocket with a range of a mile and a half, almost two miles, very accurate, very powerful as well. It turned out, though, that those were Katyusha rockets. There were some six of them that we counted being fired off, coming from the area that might be close to Qana, which is where the Israeli military believes those rockets that were fired into Haifa yesterday came from.

And when I came back over to the Israeli side -- you can hear sirens wailing in the background -- I found that the action on the ground here was far more intense than it was before I went over the border. It seems now with a U.N. cease-fire perhaps within sight, though there is disagreement between Israel and Lebanon over what shape that should take, that both sides have intensified their campaigns to try to do as much damage to each other as possible in whatever time they have left.

Despite the fact that these units are out there hunting those Katyusha rockets, trying to hit those Hezbollah positions, those rockets just keep on coming down. We were driving through Kiryat Shmona on our way back up to our base of operations in Matula. Typically in past days you would hear one air-raid siren, perhaps two, but it's almost constant now. You hear the air-raid siren, we counted six or seven rockets coming into Kiryat Shmona, some fairly close to the position that we had taken cover in.

And then just as were about to leave that position, the air-raid siren went off again, and here in Matula, which has been pretty much spared by the Katyusha rocket attacks -- it took three of them last week -- the air-raid sirens keep going on again, hooked into the same system as that in Kiryat Shmona, so every time we hear the sirens go off here, we're pretty certain that Kiryat Shmona is under attack.

But I can tell you from being out in the field for 48 hours that the objectives of the Israeli military are very, very difficult to achieve. Hezbollah fighters only show their heads when they want direct engagement or when they want to shoot off that indirect fire with those Katyusha rockets. For the most part, they keep their heads down. And it would appear as though in this engagement, there is not going to be a, quote, "victory" in the classic terms of military versus military, state versus state. It seems that both sides are trying to reach their own objectives, Hezbollah wants to survive to say that it fought Israel, and was still around after the battles.

Israel wants to suppress those rocket firings, to create a buffer zone in Southern Lebanon, and to remove the threat from Hezbollah to northern Israel. It seems as though the best objective that the Israelis can reach is peace, not certainly a kind of a military victory that they'd seen in the past in the Yom Kippur War, the 1967 War. And it would seem as well that Hezbollah's objective is merely to survive, to come out and say, we fought the most powerful military force in the region, and we're still here -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And from being embedded with the Israeli military, do you have a sense of how difficult the task is? This is following what you're saying. But just how integrated they are with the civilian population, how it's so hard to pick them out?

ROBERTS: You look out over the landscape and the terrain is very rugged, it's very hilly with a lot of steep valleys. There's plenty of area where guerrilla fighters could move under cover, where they could conceal their rocket positions. The Israeli forces, for the most part, don't even want to go into the towns. In Bint Jbeil, there was another soldier that was killed today. In Etta El Shab (ph) yesterday in ground fighting in the urban environment, there was another soldier killed. It goes to show that any time that they enter those towns and villages, that's when they get hit really hard.

So for the most part, they try to stay on the outside of those towns, they try to take the high ground, they try to control the area, they try to identify those Hezbollah positions and bring in what's called indirect fire, that artillery, tank shells, rockets, and bombs dropped from aircraft to try to suppress those Hezbollah positions.

It seems as though the goal now, Daryn, is for them to just try to hold the ground, to try to maintain control of an area until that international stabilization force could come in. But based on the delays now, it appears at the United Nations, it may be some time before that happens. And Emir Peretz (ph), the defense minister, today saying today if there's no diplomatic solution soon, there was going to be a sweeping ground situation, I think what could be seen in two ways. First of all, it's a warning to Lebanon to get on the game here, to come to a diplomatic solution, stop saying that this resolution is not good for you. But on the other hand, Emir Peretz and the military have wanted to go in with a major ground operation for a long time. There wasn't the political will here in Israel to do it. And perhaps they want to use that as an excuse to say Lebanon doesn't want a cease-fire, Lebanon doesn't want an end to hostilities, so we're going to ramp this up to the point where we can do as much damage as possible and bring both Hezbollah and Lebanon to its knees.

KAGAN: A journalistic question for you, John, what does it mean to be embedded with the Israeli military? Were there limits on what you're allowed to do and see and what you're allowed to report?

ROBERTS: We were with a unit just behind the front lines. It was a reconnaissance unit. So we weren't in there with those pinpoint attacks that go in the urban environment, the ones that engage in the heavy firefights. The Israeli military not yet ready to embed forces on that level, as the U.S. military was during the Iraq war.

It does mean that we are subject to censorship rules. In some cases we have to submit tapes to Israeli military to have them approved for air. In our cases, we have to submit tapes to the Israeli military to have them approve them for air. In other cases, such as in our case, they know that we have the experience of the Israeli censorship. We know what to show and what not to show. We were not subjected to submit our tapes to them, but we have agreed with them not to show certain things, like maps, certain types of equipment, so there is still a level of censorship here. It's not all wide open. But we did get a chance to see quite a bit while we were out there.

KAGAN: All right, and we look forward to seeing more of your reporting. John Roberts, live from northern Israel, just wrapping up 48 hours embedded with the Israeli military. Thank you, John.

Looking forward to seeing more of John's stories.

(NEWSBREAK)

KAGAN: Much more ahead on all of these developments on "YOUR WORLD TODAY." Keep watching CNN. I'm Daryn Kagan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com