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Crisis In The Middle East; Terror Plot Probe; Open Doors

Aired August 15, 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: In southern Lebanon, you're looking at the scene here. A flood of displaced civilians frantically trying to return home. And they're treading on dangerous ground. There still are plenty of unexploded munitions leftover from the fighting there.
In southern Lebanon, a flood of the returning refugees causing all sorts of problems today. Let's find out more about that with our Brent Sadler who's joining us from the Beirut capital and our bureau there.

Brent, hello.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello. Good morning, Daryn.

I can tell you I've just spent the last 30 hours since that cessation of hostilities watching this mass stampede of Lebanese civilians, hundreds of thousands of them, streaming south. Now they're blocking up main highways, highways that are still just about passable in some places. But in areas where bridges have been brought down by Israeli air strikes, then they're having to detour on back roads. And the congestion is immense. Hours and hours and hours just to go a few miles.

One of the biggest problems is the Litani River. In the eastern sector, all the bridges have been downed by Israeli activity, by bombs, and people have started driving their vehicles across a narrow section of the Litani. Vehicles were getting stuck. There were others trying to drag them out with cables and ropes that kept on snapping.

I saw one woman sitting inside a vehicle. That vehicle filling up with water and she was trying to bail water out with her shoes. Her children terrified inside. I've seen other women struggling to cross this shallow part of the Litani holding infants in their hands. Really desperate situation down there.

And along the front itself, those villages where Hezbollah used to be able to look inside Israel, I was able to look inside Israel myself, saw the area was now eerily quite and Red Cross workers beginning the gruesome task, Daryn, of recovering bodies that have been left decomposing. Bodies of civilians, I must stress, for at least two weeks.

Daryn.

KAGAN: And, Brent, we're showing live pictures from southern Lebanon while we talk to you and it shows the stream of people who are coming back, the shocked look on their faces. Just trying to take it all in. While this is happening, down around the Litani River, I'm hearing reports that there are explosions still being heard. What can you tell me about that?

SADLER: Exactly. The area down there is still pretty unstable. It's difficult to know what those explosions are. I asked the United Nations for clearance for some idea of what was going on. They said they thought it might have been unexploded devices being detonated by peacekeepers.

Certainly there is an awful lot of unexploded ordnance on road tracks, in wooded areas. I've seen 155 millimeter shells. I've seen cluster bombs. I've seen all sorts of ordnance across the road. And just to give you an idea just how dangerous it is, Daryn, there was one bomb at the side of the road which we could well have hit had we not noticed the little pile of stones around this unexploded device. That's the only warning you get.

So everything you look at is potentially dangerous. And that's the condition under which these people are now moving, blocking roads, causing chaos. And goodness knows what the knock-on effect of that is going to be when the Lebanese army attempts, as we're told as early as tomorrow, to start moving south to try to initiate the begins of the stabilization of this area along with international peacekeepers, when they get in.

But at the moment, I can tell you that the chaos down in the south is immense and it's still growing. These people going back to homes, many of them that have been destroyed, causing more problems down there. All the while humanitarian agencies trying to get in there to add relief. The picture is very, very desperate.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Brent Sadler in Beirut. Thank you for that.

Now we want to go live to the United Nations. The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton, at the microphone. Let's listen in.

QUESTION: Peacekeepers go in here to southern Lebanon, but yet, in Sudan, a genocide occurred while in Lebanon, Israel, 1,100 dead. What does that say about the council and the people who are living in Darfur.

JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: I think that we're certainly accelerating our efforts to get the hand-over from the African mission in Sudan to a U.N.-led mission and hopefully we will make progress on that on the next several days. The question, as always, is, whether the Security Council can overcome the political objection from several significant member governments, including two permanent members and the government of Sudan in this case. And we'll just have to see what happens. But see y'all a little bit later.

KAGAN: Well, that was quick. A lot of work to do there at the U.N. And that was U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton. We'll find out more about what he had to say at the microphone in a little bit.

Meanwhile, let's head back overseas. Let's got to Jerusalem. Our Paula Hancocks standing by there with the latest.

Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

Well, we've been hearing from Israeli politicians today. Most notably the foreign minister Tzipi Livni. She's actually going to be on her way to the United Nations later on today. She's going to be meeting with Kofi Annan, the U.N. secretary-general, to discuss exactly how to implement this U.N. Resolution 1701. They'll be talking logistics. Probably tomorrow she'll be meeting with Kofi Annan.

Now she's also been saying today about President Bashar al-Assad of Syria's speech. Now Assad basically said that it looked like Hezbollah had won, as was the president of Iran, in this particular conflict. And also saying that America's idea of a new Mideast was a complete illusion. Now this was referring back to what Condoleezza Rice said just a few weeks ago when she was here in the region. She said that this cease-fire should lead to a new Middle East. But Bashar al-Assad was claiming that that was not the case and it showed that Israel was not capable, in his words, of pursuing terrorist policies in the region.

Now in relation to that, Tzipi Livni was saying that Syria must understand that actually Lebanon is going a different way. It is moving away from Syria and Syria must not try and intervene in Lebanese governmental policies. And it must also not be involved in Hezbollah militia in trying to take control of Lebanon once again.

Now we do know, we're getting information from the Israeli military, that there is more violence on the ground in southern Lebanon. There is a cease-fire. It is holding at this point. But we understand from the Israeli military three Hezbollah fighters have been killed by the forces. According to the IDF, they say four Hezbollah fighters approached a group of Israeli soldiers and the Israeli soldiers opened fire thinking they were under threat.

So at this point I think the tally is about five Hezbollah fighters we believe have been killed this day alone. And overnight more skirmishes. This is to be expected.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Paula, what are the latest reports on former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who we reported yesterday has taken a turn for the worse?

HANCOCKS: Well, we're getting more updates from the medical center that's looking after him 24 hours a day. And what we know now is he is suffer from pneumonia. The former Israeli prime minister has pneumonia we hear in both lungs. And he's being treated according to a former aide who spoke to us by antibiotics, by steroids. And it should take a couple of days, we are told this morning, a few hours ago, before they know if this treatment is in fact working.

Now, of course, many people here see the irony. The fact that on the day of the cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon, Ariel Sharon takes a very bad turn for the worse. And, of course, back in '82, he was the defense minister that actually led Israeli troops into Lebanon in the first place and took them all the way up to Beirut.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Paula Hancocks live from Jerusalem. Thank you.

So, from the war in the Middle East, the smoke has cleared, but answers remain foggy. We're going to talk over what has changed and what hasn't. That's coming up later this half hour.

And now for you the latest on the British airline plot investigation. Warrants to detain 23 suspects have been extended at least until Wednesday. Under British law, police can hold terror suspects up to 28 days without filing formal charges. Investigators are searching for evidence of explosive tests. The search is going on in the woods west of London near where they arrested the suspects. And police are conducting a detailed forensic examination at one of the suspect's homes.

They're calling it a gift to charity, but did it help finance the airline terror plot? Our Deborah Feyerick take as closer look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): As Americans raised money to help victims of last year's deadly earthquake in Pakistan, the same relief effort was underway in Britain. The difference, British investigators now believe some of the money raised in the U.K. went not to victims, but to several of the terror suspects to carry out the jet liner plot.

The money was reportedly raised by a Pakistani charity that funds Islamic militants. A spokesman for the group, Jimat Aldalwat (ph), denies the charge and tells CNN, they never sent anyone to Britain to raise donations. John Conyngham spent years investigating money laundering.

JOHN CONYNGHAM, CONTROL RISKS GROUP: It may well be, of course, that many of the vast majority of funds that were raised for this earthquake donations were coming from genuine people with genuine motivations wishing to help. We're talk about a very small percentage here where -- who may have decided to divert some of those funds for very different reasons.

FEYERICK: And it's not just the money that's under scrutiny. Lord Nasir Ahmed, a member of parliament, is a leader among Britain's Pakistanis, who tells CNN at least four of the alleged plotters traveled to Pakistan, telling their families they were going to help the earthquake victims. NASIR AHMED, BRITISH PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Anything could be possible. We don't have any facts. What is truth is that these young people went to Pakistan to help with the charitable cause. They were young. They may have got involved with something which is illegal, they may not. So only God knows what happened.

FEYERICK: Experts on Pakistan say it would have been virtually impossible for the young Brits to avoid making contact with Islamic militants since they were the ones running many of the rescue operations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And our Deb Feyerick joins us live. She's still in London today.

Deb, what are they learning there about the possible al Qaeda connections between these suspects and al Qaeda?

FEYERICK: Well, Daryn, one of the security analysts that I spoke to today has very, very well-placed sources, telling me that, in fact, this is now looking less al Qaeda central and more al Qaeda inspired. What that means effectively is that it may not have had the sanction, the blessing, of Osama bin Laden as the 9/11 plot did. This may have been something by an independent group acting because they were inspired by his rhetoric and propaganda.

KAGAN: Deborah Feyerick live from London. Thank you.

President Bush is at the National Counterterrorism Center in Virginia this morning. He's getting briefed on security at home and the fight against terrorism overseas. We're expecting remarks from the president soon and we'll bring them to you once they are available.

And remember that CNN "Security Watch" keeps you up-to-date on your safety. Stay tuned day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Airport screening lines can be long, but not if you work at the airport. There's a troubling security gap to tell you about. We'll do that straight ahead.

And questions from the rubble. Who are the winners and losers in the Middle East war? A veteran journalist looks beyond the destruction. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Thirty-four days aboard, the political and military achievements will be debated for some time. But here are some hard numbers that we put together on the Israeli/Hezbollah conflict.

Well over a thousand dead on both sides of the border. Lebanon says about 900 civilians died in the bombing raids. Israel reports more than 160 dead. Hezbollah losses are not clear but Israel claims it killed 500 fighters. Israel says around 4,000 Hezbollah rockets hit its soil. Human rights groups put the number of displaced persons at a million and a half. And that is on both sides of the border. Lebanon says damage to its infrastructure will top $2.5 billion. Israel puts its damage at less than half that, at $1.1 billion.

The dead and the wounded and yet another casualty of war, the truth.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN, (voice over): Within hours of the guns falling silent, a new volley erupted, the weapons in this exchange, words, and the all important claims of victory.

EHUD OLMERT, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER, (through translator): The soldiers of the IDF have struck a major blow at this murderous organization.

HASSAN NASRALLAH, HEZBOLLAH LEADER, (through translator): We are facing a strategic and historic victory.

KAGAN: So who really won? Israel says it achieved its military goal by weakening Hezbollah's stranglehold on southern Lebanon. But at home, the government of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is facing mounting criticism. Heckled by three Israeli lawmakers yesterday, he acknowledged short comings in the military operation and said there would be more fighting in the future. And Hezbollah may have gained ground politically just by standing fast. It certainly seems to have retained the support of many Shia in Lebanon.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I said to Hezbollah, God bless you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope that to when I be big and adult I want to be a doctor for Hezbollah.

KAGAN: Hezbollah's apparent surge in popularity may upset Lebanon's delicate political balance and undermine its fledgling democracy. Last year, outraged civilians marched through Lebanon streets. They blamed Syria for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Under international pressure, Syria withdrew its troops from Lebanon. But it has retained influence through Hezbollah. Now Lebanon's future much depends on whether U.N. Resolution 1701 is fully enforced and Hezbollah become a purely political organization without the potential to threaten Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Let's take a closer look now with a journalist who specializes in international affairs. Robin Wright has reported from 130 countries. I would love to see your passport. Probably really thick. She's now a diplomatic correspondent for "The Washington Post."

Robin, good morning. Great to have you here with us.

ROBIN WRIGHT, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Good morning. KAGAN: We're going to do like a scorecard type of thing. And not to make light of the situation, but just to break down into who has gained and who has lost. And I'd like to start with Hezbollah. What do they gain and what do they lose in all this?

WRIGHT: Well, within the Arab world, it will be seen as the second time that Hezbollah has won against Israel. The first time in 2000 when, after a 22-year occupation, Israel retreated for the first time voluntarily without any kind of peace agreement. This is the second time when it's the longest war the Israelis have ever fought against an unconventional army. Something that the Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanians were never able to do.

KAGAN: On the other hand, their infrastructure has been, not destroyed certainly, but they've taken a big hit with that and they're responsible for starting a war that has come at the cost of so many Lebanese civilians.

WRIGHT: Absolutely. And down the road there may be a reckoning politically. This is something that will -- you know, that has devastated Lebanon and the people at the moment, in looking the at the political status quo, what's happened on the ground, see it as a victory. The toll will come later.

KAGAN: So the people of Lebanon, definitely they lose. Any winners in a government that proved too weak to even shove Hezbollah out?

WRIGHT: The one winner is probably the prime minister. This is a former businessman who took over the Lebanese government after the assassination of Rafik Hariri last year. He has proven to be a very strong and persuasive leader. Impassioned pleas to the international community. Stood firm on certain things for the resolution that he won. He has emerged as one of the stronger leaders Lebanon has had in decades.

KAGAN: But not powerful enough to kick out Hezbollah or to stop them or to disarm them.

WRIGHT: Oh, absolutely, that's right. And the challenge will be getting his very fractured government to go along, including Hezbollah, with the next political steps.

KAGAN: Israel. What does Israel gain?

WRIGHT: Not a whole lot. The reality is that this was a very unsuccessful war in terms of its strategic goals. Israel had hoped to weaken, cripple or dismantle Hezbollah's infrastructure in the south and potentially eliminate its leadership. And it achieved neither. And this is going to be very extensively debated within Israel, I think, in the months ahead.

KAGAN: It will now have an international force along that Israeli/Lebanese border.

WRIGHT: Well, that will help it. But the reality is that Hezbollah can still be close to the south. It still has missiles that have range beyond the Litani into Israel. It still is a potential threat.

KAGAN: And, finally, the United States. What does the U.S. gain and what did the U.S. lose in all this?

WRIGHT: Well, in the end, the U.S. did, with France, pull off a masterful compromise in an international resolution. But the reality is, its image is badly battered in the international community, that particularly in the Middle East. It is seen as having allowed Israel to engage in this conflict with U.S. weapons. It's credibility as an honest broker in the broader issue of an Arab/Israeli peace is going to be complicated. And this comes after problems in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and in dealing with a transition for the Palestinian territories. So this is going to make life a little bit more difficult.

KAGAN: Robin, what's the next chapter you're going to be watching to see how this unfolds?

WRIGHT: I think we have to watch on the ground. The fact is, as long as Israeli troops are inside Lebanese territory, they are going to be targets for Hezbollah. Not missiles fired into Israel proper, but Israel will see this as again its resistance function. And so you can see, perhaps not major air strikes and missile attacks between the two countries, but actual fighting potentially on the ground inside southern Lebanon.

KAGAN: Robin Wright from "The Washington Post." Appreciate your time.

WRIGHT: Thank you.

KAGAN: Thank you.

Still ahead, we're going to look at diversity in the USA. The new American melting pot ahead. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's check those markets. Talk about popular. Someone's in a happy mood. Investors are. The markets have been open just about an hour. You can see the Dow is zooming. It's up 74 points. And the Nasdaq moving along quite well as well. It is up 23 points.

So you've had your bag searched, your shoes x-rayed, toiletries trashed. Air travelers can put themselves through the wringer. But others at the airport essentially find an open-door policy. Why is that? Our Rusty Dornin take as look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Take off your shoes and empty your pockets. Not even Congress is exempt from airport security screening. But plenty of airport workers are.

CHARLES SLEPIAN, SECURITY EXPERT: They don't even go through once a day and take everything out of their pockets. They come in, they swipe a card through a reader. A door opens and they are now in a secure area of the airport.

DORNIN: Mike Brooks is former corporate security manager for Delta Airlines in Atlanta. He says this is a huge vulnerability -- the gate on the tarmac. Airline employees can swipe a badge as they drive in and get on the buses.

MIKE BROOKS, SECURITY EXPERT: Then they get on to the bus and then the bus drives them right down here and into their and right to the concourse without going through any type of security whatsoever. Now they have been through background checks and fingerprints but . . .

DORNIN: They don't go through the security line to be checked every day.

BROOKS: No, not every day.

DORNIN: Atlanta Airport officials told us to call the Transportation Security Administration which issues national guidelines for security for all airports. They say airline and airport employees, including some vendors who have cleared 10-year criminal background checks, are "deemed not a threat to aviation and don't have to be screened every day." But some airports may vary slightly. In San Francisco, all flight crews must go through security screening. Even those who have had the mandatory background checks. But airport spokesman Mike McCarron says there's a human factor.

MIKE MCCARRON, SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT SPOKESMAN: You build machines that will ready equipment properly. You can put in procedures that are -- if they're followed properly, but the human being is the most unpredictable part of the whole system.

DORNIN: In 2002, 29 airport workers at three Florida airports were discovered to have false I.D.s. In 2003, 27 airport workers were busted smuggling drugs on to aircraft. Bringing up that nagging question, if they can smuggle drugs, what else could they put on an aircraft?

BROOKS: To me that's a vulnerability. Even though you're a loyal employee and you've been there for a long time, who's to say you're not having a bad problem with something and you need some money. I say every person has their price. Hopefully they don't.

DORNIN: Some security analysts say it's time everyone be forced to go through some kind of screening. But they say the airlines continue to fight it, arguing it would be time consuming and far too expensive.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KAGAN: You can catch more of Rusty Dornin's reports on "Paula Zahn Now" weeknights at 8:00 Eastern.

Tactics in the war on terror. Can the U.S. learn something from the U.K.? You're going to find out on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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