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American Morning
Former Education Secretary Discusses Middle East Violence
Aired March 04, 2002 - 08:18 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.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: As we've been reporting, it was an extremely bloody weekend in the Middle East. Thirty people, in all, dead over the last couple of days, 20 Israelis, 10 Palestinians. The Israeli military has put further pressure now on the Palestinians to try to end the violence. A suicide bombing attack over the weekend responsible for nine of those deaths in a single incident. Six kids were killed in that.
As CNN's Jerusalem Bureau Chief Mike Hanna reports now, an entire family was also wiped out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE HANNA, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Enough of the terror, enough of the trouble, is the cry of these mourners, as several different funerals are held for those Israelis killed in a suicide bomb attack Saturday. Hours after the attack in the ultra- Orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood of Mayer Sharim (ph), specially trained religious men are still gathering all the remains of the dead for proper burial in accordance with Jewish law. And here, there is bitter anger directed at the suicide bomber and those who sent him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not just against us, this is against the whole human race.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It seems to be escalating, and there's no other answer than you have to try to go with force against terrorists. You have to. You can't put up with it.
HANNA: Seven-year-old Yacob (ph) was attending a bar mitzvah with his father Zeon (ph), when the explosion happened. "I got a blow to my leg and I think I broke it," he says. "And I've got a cut on my hand. We were playing tug of war," he continues, "and there was a big boom and the roof of the apartment started to burn." The seven-year- old continues, "I heard people shouting, 'My children are dead,' and I saw the fire and there were kids lying there."
Being buried here in the town of Rishan Letzian (ph), six-year- old, Shiraz Nehmad (ph), and her three-year-old sister, Liron (ph). And being carried past their graves, the bodies of their parents, 35- year-old Schlomo Nehmad (ph) and his 33-year-old wife, Govnit (ph). The traditional prayer for the dead is repeated four times.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HANNA: Israeli military action in the wake of these killings has been widespread, massive and, say Palestinians, indiscriminate. Some 20 Palestinians killed in the course of this morning. Among them, a mother and three of her children; one of them a toddler. Israel says that was a mistake and they've expressed regret. Also fired upon, two ambulances of the Palestinian Red Crescent, at least. A doctor killed and as many as six medical workers injured. The violence continues.
Mike Hanna, CNN, Jerusalem.
CAFFERTY: All right. Thanks, Mike.
Very sad, Paula.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, it is. It's horrible to see this continue around the pictures.
While the Israelis and Palestinians appear to be on the brink of an all-out war, a Saudi proposal for Mideast peace will be on the agenda when President Bush meets tomorrow with Egypt's president in Washington. Saudi Arabia is one of nine Islamic countries surveyed in a Gallup poll released just last week that found the majority of Muslims view the U.S. in a very negative light. Sixty-one percent said they don't believe Arabs were even involved in the 9/11 attacks, and 77 percent call the U.S. action in Afghanistan "morally unjustified."
And we would like to welcome now our newest regular contributor to "AMERICAN MORNING" Bill Bennett of Empower America, the former education secretary and now joining us this morning from Washington.
Welcome aboard.
WILLIAM BENNETT, EMPOWER AMERICA: Thank you very much Paula, nice place to be.
ZAHN: Thank you, glad to have you with us. First of all, I want to start off with having you respond to something the head of the Gallup Poll, Frank Newport, had to say. He writes that "at almost every opportunity within the survey respondents overwhelmingly agree that the United States is aptly described by such negative labels as "ruthless," "aggressive," "conceited," "arrogant," "easily provoked," "biased."
BENNETT: Yes. Well they hate us. That's really what it comes to is they hate us. This is hard for some Americans to appreciate and realize because it seems to most Americans we try hard. We try to put our best foot forward and we have been help to many countries, indeed, more help to more countries than any nation in the history of the world. That ...
(CROSSTALK)
BENNETT: ... is indeed true, but such good actions have earned us only the contempt of many, particularly the Muslim countries in the Middle East. ZAHN: Is it possible, you think, that when some of these respondents ask the -- were asked these questions that they shaded their answers because of any money -- any pressure they might get from their governments if they didn't respond otherwise?
BENNETT: Maybe a little bit. Obviously these are not free countries with free presses, but how much evidence do we need? You know we saw early on after September 11, the celebrations in the streets, looked like there were too many to be government planned. If you've been following the reports in the papers, Paula, "The New York Times," "Washington Post," in-depth interviews with the man on the street in Egypt or Saudi Arabia -- bin Laden is a hero, and the United States is the villain.
I think what this clarifies, the good thing that this poll does is it clarifies the fact that people who hate us are not just the French. There are a lot of people who hate us, who have great contempt for us, and this has to do with their own reasons and their own problems.
One of the interesting things in this poll, Paula, I think that a lot of people have pointed out is that Kuwaitis have a strong dislike of Americans as anybody, indeed even stronger in Kuwait. These people know what the United States is. It was the United States who liberated Kuwait from Saddam Hussein and yet that contempt is there.
We need to go into this. I mean we got the report this morning, just a few minutes ago, about increased violence and hostility in Afghanistan. We have to go into this knowing that we, you know, may have allies from time to time, friends from time to time. We've got a good friend in Great Britain. We've got some of the Northern Alliance with us, but for the most part, because of the success of the United States, and indeed because of its virtues, because of its generosity, much of the world hates us and dislikes us, and we are very much on our own. Solomon Russity (ph) wrote in "The New York Times" just a couple of weeks ago that any American is a -- is a very strong factor in the world. This isn't something that's an advantage to us, but it is a reality in which we have to face up to.
ZAHN: Bill, I just have to cut you off for one moment because we have some ...
BENNETT: Yes.
ZAHN: ... breaking news to report ...
BENNETT: Sure.
ZAHN: ... this hour. Late word now that an American helicopter has been downed in Afghanistan. Barbara Starr standing by at the Pentagon. The U.S. is now confirming there have been multiple casualties in the chopper crash. U.S. ground troops have also come under rocket attack near Khowst while the U.S. continues its attack on al Qaeda and Taliban fighters in a cave complex in Eastern Afghanistan. Bill, let me go back to you for a moment. You heard this report. Barbara Starr reported at the top of the hour the Pentagon is confirming more fatalities in these incursions ...
BENNETT: Right.
ZAHN: ... going to these cave-like complexes. They're trying to close off these mountain passes. How will this affect American resolve?
BENNETT: I don't think it will affect it much. Our president has been clear and unequivocal. Anybody who wants to know what the game plan simply has to consult the State of the Union address. I think that was made plain. But we're seeing carping at American policy abroad, criticism that is too simple -- too simple minded for many of the Europeans.
We see the hatred in the Middle East. We're even now seeing some political sniping going on at home. I don't think this president's resolve will be -- will be -- will be questioned in the White House by his colleagues or by himself. This is not a man given to self-doubt. The question, of course, is public opinion, and will public opinion be there in the long run.
Again, I think something like this poll ought to strengthen public opinion, let people -- because people can understand that we are the nation that makes the difference in the world. It isn't the United Nations. It isn't some allegiance of countries. It is -- it is the U.S., but the notion that people believe that this was not Arabs who committed this action on 9/11, what the poll doesn't tell you is that many in the Middle East believe this was the work of Jews.
And the rancorous, the incredible anti-Semitism at root in some of these attitudes in some of these polls has really got to be brought to light as well. Some of these people hate us for what we have done and our virtues, and they hate us because we are close allies of Israel, and that's a fact that more people need to understand.
ZAHN: All right, we're going to have to leave it there for this morning, Bill. But we look forward to spending plenty more mornings with you on "AMERICAN MORNING" -- welcome.
BENNETT: Thank you very much Paula. Thanks a lot.
ZAHN: All right.
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