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American Morning

Sharon to Ask Bush to Cut Arafat Ties

Aired February 07, 2002 - 08:55   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: CNN Jerusalem bureau chief Mike Hanna is traveling with the prime minister. He joins us now from Washington.

Welcome to town, Mike.

First up, there is a report this morning that Ariel Sharon will ask President Bush to stop dealing with Yasser Arafat completely and, basically, find the next Palestinian leader. Can you confirm that?

MIKE HANNA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The situation is is that Sharon has been saying for days, for weeks, that is, that he doesn't want to deal with Arafat anymore, he believes that he is irrelevant, and certainly, he will be taking to President Bush the request that the U.S. administration redefine its relationship with Yasser Arafat, maintain political pressure on him, and even threaten him with a complete severance of all ties.

Certainly, that is what Ariel Sharon would like, it would appear. Whether the U.S. administration follows through with that is another matter entirely -- Paula.

ZAHN: What else is he expecting from the Bush administration today?

HANNA: It is going to be a wide-ranging talk, centering on the whole issue of the War Against Terror. Off that, Yasser Arafat is just one segment. Sharon will be saying to President Bush that Israel faces a major threat from Iran, from the Hezbollah guerrilla group, and from a Yasser Arafat. This, says Israel, is a trilateral, a triumvirate, of terror, and it is going to be asking President Bush what he has got to offer in terms of protecting Israel against these three elements.

One very interesting point, Paula, is that the leader of Mossad, Israel's CIA, has been in the United States in recent days, preparing for Sharon's visit. This is an unprecedented step in terms of the Mossad director preparing the way for the prime minister's visit, and a very strong indication of increasing intelligence ties between the United States and Israel, and this is a type of thing that will be discussed, not just Yasser Arafat and the future relationship of the United States with him, but Israel's role in the whole wider War on Terror being that is being waged by the United States at present -- Paula. ZAHN: Those meetings take place at 5:30 this afternoon. I know that CNN will be turning to you throughout the day for an even broader preview of what we might expect. Thank you so much.

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