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American Morning

Hezbollah Rockets Continue to Rain Down on Northern Israel; Humanitarian Relief in Lebanon; Condoleezza Rice's Diplomatic Mission in Middle East; Interview with Mayor of Haifa

Aired July 25, 2006 - 06:30   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. The latest now on the conflict in the Middle East.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is there. No quick solution as she is holding talks with Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert. Secretary Rice is now set to meet with Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.

Dozens of people wounded after Hezbollah rockets have hit the Israeli port city of Haifa. It happened early this morning. Hezbollah has now launched more than 2,000 rockets since the fighting began.

And the U.S. military is set to start delivering humanitarian aid to Lebanon today. The supplies include medicines and blankets. An estimated 800,000 people have now been displaced by the fighting.

Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. You're watching a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING.

I'm Soledad O'Brien, in New York today.

Good morning, Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.

From Jerusalem, Miles O'Brien, live from the city where the diplomatic shuttle diplomacy on the part of the secretary of state continues. She met just a little while ago with the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, and got presumably a much warmer greeting than she got in Beirut, where she was met coolly as the prime minister of Lebanon, the speaker of the parliament there, insisted on an immediate cease-fire with the humanitarian crisis growing in Lebanon.

Some 800,000 people displaced, upwards of 400 Lebanese now dead, 1,100 injured. Hard to separate who is a civilian and who is a Hezbollah fighter in that case, since Hezbollah tends to embed themselves with civilians.

Nevertheless, the notion of an immediate cease-fire, a non- starter for the United States and for Israel. The feeling on the part of the United States and Israel is that they need to reset the table in the Middle East and come up with something that will provide, in their view, a longer-term solution.

Let's listen to the secretary of state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: We cannot return to a status quo ante in which extremists at any time can decide to take innocent life hostage again by using their rockets or using their capabilities. And that is why we have and the president, President Bush, has talked about an enduring cease-fire, an enduring cessation of violence which would indeed make the security situation better than it was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: The goal here is to allow the Lebanese government, that fledgling democracy, to somehow rein in Hezbollah, this rogue entity of militants, some would describe them as terrorists, also a political faction in Lebanon, and rein them in somehow and incorporate that part of southern Lebanon which is sort of a state unto itself into greater Lebanon.

In the meantime, the Israelis say is there no cease-fire or thought of cease-fire in sight.

Let's listen to the prime minister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EHUD OLMERT, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Israel is determined to carry on the fight against Hezbollah. We'll reach out for them, we'll stop them, and we will not hesitate to take the most severe measures against those who are aiming thousands of rockets and missiles against innocent civilians for one purpose, to kill them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: And as if to underscore the points, Hezbollah rockets raining down once again this morning on northern Israel. Once again, one of the targets, the third largest city in this country, the northern port city of Haifa. Sixteen rockets, at least, we have counted in three separate locations in the downtown area. There are reports of injuries.

CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney is above the city right now watching it all unfold -- Fionnuala.

FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed, the air raid sirens sounding again several times over this city, and the last air raid siren was within the last hour, Miles. And as you reported, dozens of injuries, moderate injuries, we are told, but at least one building taking a direct hit.

The problem for the residents of Haifa is that, even though the air sirens give off, giving them some amount of warning, often the rockets are falling before the air raid sirens finish. That's because it takes just two minutes for these rockets to travel from south Lebanon across here to Haifa. It is a very, very quiet city at the moment. It is basically shut down.

We went out and about a little bit earlier this morning. And while there was one mall open, people who were in shops were listening all the time to radios. And very few of those shops were open.

So, the economic impact of this is beginning to be felt. A lot of people are staying home, they're not going to work. And then as soon as these air raid sirens sound, anybody who is outside is diving into the nearest building for cover.

There are no strategic targets for these Katyusha rockets. They're not very finely calibrated. So when they land, nobody has any sense at all where they're going to land over this city, which spreads across the Bay of Haifa and down beyond south.

It's a sprawling city, 300,000 people. And the rockets tending to fall in the city. And we can see what we saw earlier, about an hour ago, was that we heard at least seven rockets. But we know that there are at least more impacts. And three of the rockets we actually saw for ourselves.

So, really, the residents of Haifa, not just in Haifa, we should say, across the band of northern Israel, some of them in bunkers and shelters 24/7 because they don't have air raid warnings in the way that Haifa does because it's slightly further south and can detect these rockets heading this way. So it's a pretty tense situation here as the air raid sirens continue to go off intermittently throughout the day -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Fionnuala Sweeney watching the continuing blitz there on the city of Haifa.

Yesterday was pretty much an average day. About 100 rockets, Hezbollah-fired rockets, rained down in various parts of northern Israel. Eleven people were wounded just yesterday. We're still tallying up what's going on this morning.

The rockets continue, the fighting continues -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles, thanks.

With the evacuations out of Lebanon, at least from the U.S. perspective, almost complete, the U.S. focus today is getting humanitarian relief into Lebanon.

CNN's Alessio Vinci is in Larnaca, Cyprus, a port there. A staging point, too, for food and for medical supplies.

Alessio, good morning.

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

You may notice behind me here some activity. It is the first time in a week that we're actually seeing the Port of Larnaca actually dealing with business that is not directly connected to the evacuation, an indication perhaps that indeed the situation is getting, more or less, back to normal.

Behind this cargo ship you will see the Serenade (ph). That is the last ship that has arrived here last night, about 1:30 local time. It brought about 600 Canadians. And then across the port there is another ship there that arrived last night, the Princess Marissa (ph), carrying various nationalities here at the Port of Larnaca.

It is about an hour from here in the Port of Limassol, where the U.S. military and evacuation operation is concentrated there. We understand that two ships are expected at some point during the day. One carrying about 300 Americans, another one carrying about a thousand of them.

And as you said, the officials here are telling us that the operation is winding down. Four charter planes are expected to leave today from the Larnaca airport en route to the United States. Again, an indication that there are more people leaving now Larnaca than those who are arriving here. That is, of course, as far as the Americans are concerned.

And that is also why the U.S. military now is concentrating more in bringing in humanitarian aid, as opposed to bringing people out of Lebanon, back to safety here in Cyprus. And the United States military has brought two choppers' worth of medical kits and supplies to the embassy in Beirut which is still operating, of course. And we do understand also that at some point today, for the first time, the Americans will send a ship, a high-speed boat, a catamaran, into the Port of Beirut, also there loaded with much needed medical supplies.

What we're beginning to see here in Larnaca as well, Soledad, is that the attention is beginning to shift, if you want, from the need of taking care of the evacuees, to a need off organizing medical and humanitarian aid. We know the SERC (ph) is expected to put together a ship that will leave as early as Friday. They have a team of four people on the ground in Lebanon right now, two surgeons and two doctors, who are scouting the location, especially in southern Lebanon, to make sure that they know exactly what needs to be brought in.

The French are bringing in 45,000 tons of food. And the Germans, we understand, are getting ready to bring to Lebanon a transportable hospital.

So, again, the focus here, humanitarian aid for the people in need in Lebanon.

Back to you.

S. O'BRIEN: That means that port is going to be busy for quite a while.

Alessio Vinci is in Larnaca for us this morning.

Alessio, thanks. Still to come this morning, an effort to cut the fraud and the red tape. FEMA changing the way it responds to disasters. Some very big changes. We'll tell you what they're doing.

And the Senate is expected to pass an abortion bill today. We'll tell you what that bill says.

Then later, on the move with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Miles talks to a reporter who is traveling with the secretary. What she thinks about the U.S. response to the crisis.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is set to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank today, searching for a solution to the crisis in the Middle East. She's already talked to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. She's going to meet with Arab leaders in Rome tomorrow.

You're taking a look at some live pictures of the presidential compound in Ramallah. We'll bring you any remarks and any updates from there as they happen.

Happening "In America" this morning, a busy day in Washington, D.C. President Bush is going to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki at the White House this morning. They're expected to discuss moving more troops into Baghdad, Iraqi security, and the dramatic rise in sectarian violence.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, changing the way it responds to disasters, and an attempt to cut down on fraud and waste. Among those changes, displaced families will receive $500 in emergency aid instead of $2,000 from the get-go. The agency will begin registering evacuees before storms make landfall, and it will require government contracts with local companies to remove debris before disaster strikes.

A billion dollars was wasted in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and other storms.

The Senate is expected to pass a bill today cracking down on teenage abortions. The measure would make it illegal to take a minor to another state to end a pregnancy in order to avoid parental notification laws in her own state. A similar measure passed the House last year.

All 23 members on board an Asian cargo ship that listed off the coast of Alaska safe this morning. The Coast Guard and Alaska's National Guard rescued the stranded sailors from the bad weather and 10-foot squalls that happened yesterday. Nobody was seriously injured.

And nearly a week after violent storms blew through the St. Louis area, tens of thousands of homes and businesses still without power. Now Missouri's senator is calling for an investigation.

No big surprise there.

Time to check on the forecast again. Chad's got that at the CNN Center.

What a mess it was, huh, Chad?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It sure was. Five hundred thousand people without power. It was actually two storms on two separate days.

One came in from the north, the other one came in from the west, just knocking power lines down. It even did some damage at Busch Stadium there in St. Louis.

St. Louis today, 95. Tomorrow, 90. And you have to realize that we're not talking about not being able to use the air conditioner without power, but you can't even turn a fan on. And at 95, it gets pretty hot in the house.

It will be 75 this morning in St. Louis. That will be the coolest time of the day. So that doesn't help. Opening up the windows, all you do is let the humidity in.

It's 62 in Cincinnati right now. That's pretty good.

We're watching this storm system out here in the eastern sections of Brownsville and Tampico, the western part of the Gulf of Mexico. It will bring in some rain from Brownsville up to Corpus Christi, even in to Houston. Some of that rain could be three to five inches deep in some spots, and that could run off, make some flooding.

It's not a tropical named or numbered system. It could develop into something, but right now it's just a little bit of a low pressure system there.

For highs today, 91 in Minneapolis; 95 up in Kansas City; 92 in Denver; and 97 out in Salt Lake City. It's still going to be hot in Vegas, still hot in Phoenix today. And then two more days of this hot weather in California, and you guys -- you guys are finally, finally done.

There's the heavy rainfall there. There's the colorful rainfall. Those are inches of rain. Every time we see a different color, that's another inch. So you could see, I don't know, maybe three or four inches, even from western Houston, right on down to Corpus Christi, and that's the problem area for tomorrow -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: What a mess that's going to be. All right, Chad. Thank you.

MYERS: Sure.

S. O'BRIEN: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, the latest headlines out of the Middle East. We'll check back in with Miles. He's live in Jerusalem for us this morning. And we'll talk to a reporter who is traveling with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Her insights on the effectiveness of the diplomatic efforts, that's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, special edition.

We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Live pictures now. This is the presidential compound in Ramallah on the West Bank. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should be there momentarily. She will be meeting with the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, to discuss this situation.

Let's not forget this all began a month ago now in Gaza with the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier there. Additional action continuing down in Gaza. A lot of our focus, of course, has been on what's going on in southern Lebanon, but the conflict continues as well in Gaza as the Israelis try to seek out locations where they believe weapons caches related to Hamas are located.

And the reporters who are part of that delegation traveling with the secretary of state did not know they were going to Beirut until they arrived in Shannon Island on a refueling stop. Pretty much after they shut the doors and said, "We're taking off," they told the reporters, "No phone calls. We are on our way to Beirut via Cyprus, and then on our way into Jerusalem."

It was a surprise in one sense, but it was something that had been planned all along. It wasn't publicly stated for security reasons.

I talked to one of the reporters who was on board that airplane, Robin Wright of "The Washington Post."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: First of all, the trip to Beirut, it was surprise for you on the plane. But when you think about it, was it really a surprise?

ROBIN WRIGHT, "THE WASHINGTON POST": No. In fact, we had an inkling that we would probably go to Beirut. This was a very strong signal that the United States is trying to take it from the point of view of the Lebanese perspective as well, not just from the Israel perspective. The United States has come under growing pressure from all its key allies, including the Lebanese government, demanding a cease-fire, protesting about the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, and this was a way of trying to show some empathy, at least, for what's going on in Beirut.

M. O'BRIEN: Is it about showing empathy, is it about showing support, or was it about real diplomacy and really stopping what's going on in the ground in south -- southern Lebanon?

WRIGHT: Well, it was less about trying to stop what's going on. The United States sides with Israel in terms of eliminating Hezbollah as a security threat along that border. But it was an attempt diplomatically to also build up the Lebanese government as an interlocutor, as the negotiating partner.

Warren Christopher dealt in 1996 with the last Israel-Hezbollah truce, with Syria as the mediating partner, and he shuttled for a week. Rice is now developing Lebanon as that alternative.

M. O'BRIEN: A lot of people at home would say, why can't the Lebanese government rein in Hezbollah?

Why not?

WRIGHT: Well, it's a very good question, but the reality is that in the aftermath of the 15-year civil war, the Lebanese government, and particularly the Lebanese army, is not strong enough. And the great fear is that if they deployed in the south to disarm Hezbollah, that it would trigger another civil war.

There has to be some kind of political agreement that ensures that Hezbollah is willing to do that. And Lebanon had begun a national dialogue earlier this year to try to deal with some of those issues. And Hezbollah was a party to that.

Needless to say, it's been aborted. But there is a hope that there has to be a political component in this to make it work, because just deploying a multinational force is not going to do it. It makes it terribly vulnerable to the same problems we went through in the 1980s.

M. O'BRIEN: The prime minister of Lebanon, Siniora, would suggest essentially that the cart is before the horse here, that you really can't talk until the fighting stops. What does the secretary of state say in response to that?

WRIGHT: Well, one of the most controversial issues, really, is the sequence of events. Everyone recognizes what has to happen, but the issues is, what comes first?

It's a chicken and egg, cart-horse issue. Do you have a cease- fire first? Which his what the Arabs, the Lebanese want so that the humanitarian crisis doesn't grow any worse. And then to deal with issues of disarming Hezbollah, a multinational force, deploying the Lebanese army. But the Israelis want a sense that -- that all -- you know, they release the kidnapped soldiers, there is a guarantee to disarm Hezbollah, they are eliminated as a security threat before they engage in some kind of broader pact.

M. O'BRIEN: A lot of people have suggested this is all too little and too late.

WRIGHT: There is a big question about whether it's too little, too late. The reality is, I'm not sure what the United States could have done earlier since the Israelis were not willing to end their bombardment and the Hezbollahis (ph) were not prepared to give back the Israeli soldiers or stop their rocket fire. This was a gross miscalculation by Hezbollah. They went across to get two soldiers to try to engage in a wider prisoner swap, something they've been looking for since the last one in 2004, when they managed to get 430 Palestinians and Arabs out. They miscalculated grossly. The Israelis reacted with far greater force than anyone in Lebanon anticipated, and it's triggered what amounts to, you know, a de facto war.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: And while that Israel force continues its push today, Hezbollah continues raining down those rockets. Reports this morning of rockets landing in downtown Haifa, three separate locations. We're getting more information on the injuries there.

Yesterday alone, 100 rockets raining down on northern Israel, a typical day here on now day 14.

Back with more from Jerusalem in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Welcome back to the program, live from Jerusalem today, as we watch the diplomatic efforts. Secretary of State Condoleezza rice now in the West Bank, continuing her shuttle diplomacy.

Meanwhile, the rockets keep raining down. The city of Haifa, the third largest city in this country, a port city of upwards of 300,000, once again in the crosshairs of those Hezbollah rockets. No less than three rockets landing in the downtown area of Haifa just within the past couple of hours.

Joining us on the line right now, at the scene of one of those attacks, is Yona Yahav. He's the mayor of Haifa.

Mr. Mayor, thank you for being with us.

Just describe the scene you see right now, please.

YONA YAHAV, HAIFA MAYOR: We got hit by seven rockets by now after a few hours of silence, which actually were honey traps, because the people tend to go out in the streets to get fresh air and to -- you know, to cut off (INAUDIBLE), because we instruct them to stay at home.

The rockets hit residential areas. It caused lots of damage. And a half an hour after it hit, the fire was -- you know, was finished (INAUDIBLE). And the municipalities (INAUDIBLE) forces in order to upgrade and reconstruct the whole place and to bring them to a very nice position because we would like to pass on the message that nobody can destruct our life and nobody will destruct our city.

M. O'BRIEN: Mayor Yahav, can you tell us about injuries? Have you been able to tally who was hurt and how badly?

YAHAV: Seven people got hurt, but it was (INAUDIBLE) injuries, not severely. And the people were going to the hospitals right away.

Actually, (INAUDIBLE) falling in the vicinity of the hospital. So bringing them to hospital and give them medical care was not a problem.

M. O'BRIEN: Tell us about your city today. Is -- are there many businesses opened at this point? When we were there yesterday, many were shuttered, and there wasn't too much sign of life. It was very quiet.

How is it today?

YAHAV: Today (INAUDIBLE) businesses opening up. And we saw on the streets substantial cars going back and forth. And not like yesterday. And it seems that the economy is loading (ph) back and is restarting. But (INAUDIBLE) the inhabitants not to fall in this honey trap, as I called it, because I knew that after a few hours of silence rockets will fall again on Haifa, and this would help them.

It's the same time of rockets, the Syrian-made rockets containing (INAUDIBLE) in very substantial quantities which are being scattered around the (INAUDIBLE), the vicinity of such a rocket exploding stands no chance and he's definitely dead.

M. O'BRIEN: The mayor of Haifa is Yona Yahav, joining us from the scene of one of those rocket attacks this morning. As he describes it, the city still pressing on as best it can as this blitz continues.

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