Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

CIA Director Meets With Yasser Arafat

Aired June 04, 2002 - 09:07   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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go overseas quickly now to the Middle East now, CIA Dir. George Tenet taking his Middle East cease- fire efforts to the West Bank earlier today, meeting with the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat -- the two expected to talk about how security forces will be rebuilt.

Jerrold Kessel now following the Tenet trip, and joins us live from Jerusalem.

Jerrold, good afternoon.

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.

There's really no relief in the unstable situation between the Israelis and Palestinians, which has Israeli forces on high alert for more would-be Palestinian bombers. And Israeli forces maintaining a tight grip on Palestinian areas and indeed making a periodic, not (UNINTELLIGIBLE) incursions into Palestinian towns, to stop, to preempt, would-be bombers.

That the backdrop for Mr. Tenet's trip to Ramallah today, as he went to meet with Yasser Arafat. As his motorcade went into the Palestinian leader's headquarters, there was some cries of "go home" from a small clump of Palestinian demonstrators. The CIA director, as usual, pretty camera shy, and also declaration shy. So we'll wait to see if he's had any progress on his efforts to try to restructure the Palestinian Authority security forces.

But we do have some sense that what is being revealed is that the United States and President Bush not just sending emissaries in the form of Mr. Tenet and also the special emissary, William Burns, to the area, but really getting prepared to tangle and to try to unravel this entrenched Israeli-Palestinian, Israeli-Arab conflict.

This in the form of the summoning of Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to Washington for yet another summit next Monday. We understand Mr. Sharon will be leaving on Friday, and it will be the sixth time he will be meeting with the president within the last year, the second time within a month.

And the Israelis preparing in advance for that mission. A look into the possibility there could be disagreement with the Bush administration on two counts. Firstly, on this whole question of whether Mr. Bush means to lay out a whole vision for the Middle East peace vision, which would be, Israel says, be rewarding Palestinian Authority, Palestinian terror.

And the second issue, whether Yasser Arafat has a role to play in that. The United States saying to try to sideline him would be an error, Israel arguing, Mr. Sharon preparing to argue, that with Yasser Arafat in, there's no hope of containing Palestinian terror, nor of getting that reform which Mr. Tenet is trying to work towards.

That a kind of stalemate in advance of that meeting next week in Washington.

HEMMER: Jerrold, thank you. Jerrold Kessel, reporting live in Jerusalem.

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