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American Morning
Israel is on Alert
Aired March 20, 2003 - 07:51 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: We're going to go to Mike Hanna, who is standing by at our bureau in Tel Aviv. Of course, the big concern is about what happened during the Gulf War with a number of Scuds fired into Israel from Iraq. We mentioned to you a little bit earlier this morning that Iraqis are accused of firing three surface-to-surface missiles into Kuwait last night, one of them taken out by a Patriot missile battery.
Nevertheless, the concern is pretty great there, isn't it, Mike?
MIKE HANNA, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, indeed it is, Paula. But at the same time, the Israeli government has continued to reassure its citizens that the possibility of an Iraqi strike into Israel is very, very slim indeed.
The U.S. had promised Israel that it would notify the authorities when it was about to commence a strike. It did so. Secretary of State Colin Powell phoning the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, 19 minutes before those first cruise missiles were fired into Baghdad. And sources tell CNN that the secretary of state told Mr. Sharon that this was a preemptive operation; that the main assault was still to happen.
The Israelis, though, on a state of high alert, all citizens carrying their gas masks, including the kids going to school this morning. We understand that attendance at the schools was somewhat down, many parents keeping their children away until they see exactly how the situation continues in the days ahead.
The Israeli foreign minister had a telephone consultation with his ambassadors, both in Britain and in the U.S. And he told his Israeli ambassador in the U.S. to convey to the United States the fact that Israel was on its side, but he also asked the message to be conveyed that Israel does not see itself as part of this war, and it hopes that that continues -- Paula.
ZAHN: Mike Hanna, thanks for the update.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired March 20, 2003 - 07:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to go to Mike Hanna, who is standing by at our bureau in Tel Aviv. Of course, the big concern is about what happened during the Gulf War with a number of Scuds fired into Israel from Iraq. We mentioned to you a little bit earlier this morning that Iraqis are accused of firing three surface-to-surface missiles into Kuwait last night, one of them taken out by a Patriot missile battery.
Nevertheless, the concern is pretty great there, isn't it, Mike?
MIKE HANNA, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, indeed it is, Paula. But at the same time, the Israeli government has continued to reassure its citizens that the possibility of an Iraqi strike into Israel is very, very slim indeed.
The U.S. had promised Israel that it would notify the authorities when it was about to commence a strike. It did so. Secretary of State Colin Powell phoning the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, 19 minutes before those first cruise missiles were fired into Baghdad. And sources tell CNN that the secretary of state told Mr. Sharon that this was a preemptive operation; that the main assault was still to happen.
The Israelis, though, on a state of high alert, all citizens carrying their gas masks, including the kids going to school this morning. We understand that attendance at the schools was somewhat down, many parents keeping their children away until they see exactly how the situation continues in the days ahead.
The Israeli foreign minister had a telephone consultation with his ambassadors, both in Britain and in the U.S. And he told his Israeli ambassador in the U.S. to convey to the United States the fact that Israel was on its side, but he also asked the message to be conveyed that Israel does not see itself as part of this war, and it hopes that that continues -- Paula.
ZAHN: Mike Hanna, thanks for the update.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
