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Rockets, Bombs Falling on Both Sides of Israeli-Lebanese Border; Skepticism and Speculation Surrounding Fidel Castro's Condition; Fighting Hezbollah

Aired August 02, 2006 - 09:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Rockets and bombs are falling on both sides of the border. Israel expanding its offensive into Lebanon, and Hezbollah firing back with more than 100 rockets.
And skepticism and speculation surrounding Fidel Castro's condition. Very little is known about what Cuba is now considering a guarded state secret.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm meteorologist Chad Myers in Atlanta, where the new weather center getting a big workout today. LaGuardia, 100 degrees. Record-breaking heat yesterday and warmer today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mel Gibson was there, and he was drunk, walking around, talking to everybody, and just having fun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: A new account of what happened the night of Mel Gibson's big gaffe. The actor is now offering up another apology for that bad behavior.

That story and much more ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

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

I'm Soledad O'Brien in New York.

Hey, Rick. Good morning.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rick Sanchez, Soledad, in Miami, filling in for Miles today.

We're going to be following on the commission of Cuban leader Fidel Castro and the reaction here that's been seen, witnessed throughout south Florida, as well as the developments that have been coming in from Havana that these folks are reacting to.

More on all of that just ahead.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Rick. We'll get right back to you in just a little bit. Let's get right to the crisis in the Middle East. An expanding ground offensive by Israel in Lebanon this morning to tell you about. A special operations team hit a suspected Hezbollah site in the Bekaa Valley. It's the first time Israel ground troops have been that far into Lebanon in this campaign. Plus, there's fresh shelling in Tyre, on the southern Lebanese coast.

That's where we find CNN's Ben Wedeman.

Ben, good morning.

Not long ago we were showing some live pictures of that shelling. Any details on what happened there?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's very difficult, I mean, to determine what exactly has been hit. But certainly throughout the morning and in to the afternoon we heard pretty constant bombardment to the south and to the east of here.

Artillery probably from warships out to the west of us, as well as Israeli airstrikes. We also saw a fair number of Katyusha rockets being fired from this position into northern Israel. According to some reports, this has been the heaviest day of Katyusha bombardment of northern Israel since the beginning of this conflicts.

Oftentimes, what will happen is, shortly after the Katyushas go off, Israeli planes will come to the area and try to find targets, but one of the things really we may want to clarify is we hear about Hezbollah rocket positions. They actually don't have positions. It's small groups, mobile units, three or four men who go out into the banana groves and other areas, launch the rockets, and go away as quickly as possible. So that's one of the reasons it's been so difficult for the Israeli air force to put an end to these Katyusha attacks.

Now, as that's going on here in Tyre, there's been intense fighting outside the city of Baalbeck in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. That's to the northeast of here.

There, Israeli commandos clashed with Hezbollah fighters. When those commanders entered or tried to take over a hospital called Darohekna (ph) -- that's an Iranian-funded hospital -- apparently there were no patients inside. The Israelis are suggesting it was some sort of command and control center for Hezbollah in that area.

Meanwhile, here in Tyre today, the third mass burial of people killed in the strikes. These are just temporary burials. What they will do is, once peace returns to this area, if it returns, and they will be taken -- the caskets will be taken by their relatives to their home villages and towns in this area.

At the moment, most of their relatives have fled to other areas. So no time for a proper burial here -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: It's a real tragedy there.

Ben Wedeman for us this morning.

Ben, thanks.

Michael Ware is reporting on the other side of that border. He's right outside the hospital in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the northeastern city of Baalbeck, close to the Syrian border, where less than 12 hours ago airborne Israeli troops assaulted this hospital behind me, the Darohekna (ph). Locals here say that the Israeli troops either landed on the roof of the hospital or dropped troops on to the hospital, as many as 10 helicopters swirled in the air.

They say that there was then a firefight. There's clearly signs here of fire going into the hospital. There is pock marks from bullets and fire coming out of the hospital by the gouges the bullets have left on surrounding buildings.

The story is still unclear. The locals on the ground here say that one person was killed here at the hospital and at least three people were taken prisoner by the Israeli troops and whisked away. They say that 500 meters north of this position on the road another eight civilians, they call them, were killed on the roadway in their cars and walking beside the road.

This is Michael Ware, for CNN, in Baalbeck, Lebanon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: More than 110 Hezbollah rockets have been fired on Israel today. One hit Palestinian territory in the West Bank more than 40 miles from Lebanon. It's Hezbollah farthest shot yet. No injuries to report there.

Farther north, though, one man was killed, 15 others injured by today's barrage.

The other story we're watching this morning, developments in Cuba. Fidel Castro supposedly saying that he's in good spirits. Haven't actually seen him yet.

Let's get right back to Rick Sanchez. He's filling in for Miles today. He's in little Havana in Miami.

Hey, Rick.

SANCHEZ: And certainly no one is to know, Soledad, whether Fidel Castro actually even made those -- that statements, or it was written by someone in the government because they thought it was important for the people of Cuba to hear a statement from the Cuban president.

Look, a lot speculation right now as to what's going on in this situation about why we haven't seen the Cuban president. A lot of questions as to why we haven't seen his brother, Raul Castro, who is in charge of the country right now, by progression.

Some here in south Florida are saying Fidel Castro possibly could already be dead. But back in Cuba, life seems to go on with very little word from their usually longwinded leader and very little word from the Cuban people.

CNN is the only U.S. television network with a bureau in Havana, Cuba.

CNN's Morgan Neill is there, and he's joining us now to bring us up to date.

Good morning, Morgan.

MORGAN NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rick.

Well, the latest we heard was that statement Tuesday afternoon in which -- the reported statement from Fidel Castro saying his situation is stable and that he's in good spirits, and that it will be several days before we get a further update on the situation. It went on to say that because of Cuba's specific situation -- that referring to its relationship wit United States -- that the exact details of President Fidel Castro's health are being guarded as a state secret.

Now, on Monday, when the initial announcement was made that Fidel Castro was handing over power to his 75-year-old brother Raul Castro, temporarily, it came as shock to most Cubans. But now they're saying -- they're adopting more of a wait-and-see attitude. They're going to work, and while they were certainly stunned by the original announcement, there's no real sense of panic here.

Now, to give you an idea of what the state-run media is saying, let me show you, if I can, today's issue of "Granma" here. It says simply, (SPEAKING SPANISH) "Fidel, Get Better."

So, on the streets of Havana we see a very sense of normalcy. It's hard to tell, if we didn't know, if we hadn't been hearing these statements, that anything out of the -- out of the normal was happening -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: I'm wondering about this, because I've had a bevy of people here in south Florida come to me, and, you know, they have, Morgan, lots of relatives in Cuba. And they talk to them regularly by phone, and they say that they've talked to their relatives and their relatives are telling them that they're starting to see a military presence in Cuba. In other words, the same thing that they do here in south Florida, for example. They just make sure there's enough police presence incase there's any kind of disturbance or anybody taking to the streets.

Have you seen any of that or do you know if there are any plans for that type of operation?

NEILL: Well, as far as plans, we, of course, wouldn't be privy. We haven't noted any particular increased police presence on the streets, but you have to keep in mind, for those not familiar, who haven't traveled to Cuba, that the police presence here is always very visible.

There's also a real sense of police on the ground throughout many of the neighborhoods. So while I can't say that we've noticed it recently, there's always a very firm sense of order here -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Morgan Neill following that story for us from our Havana bureau.

Imagine going 47 years wanting to finally see something that you've just yearned for that much. Well, that's what many of the hundreds of thousands of Cuban exiles who lle in south Florida have been going through. It's almost half a century.

The Cuban exiled community waiting for any word of Castro's condition, and now they start to celebrate as soon as they hear some news. Castro, turning over power to his brother, could that be the end of his regime, even if it's only temporary? That seems to about what they hope for.

They've been doing this, interestingly enough, these very political, these very passionate people who live in this community, for all those years. They gather in different places. But nowhere is their presence seen more when they gather than a place called Versailles in Little Havana.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ (voice-over): To feel the pulse of Cuban-Miami, to understand why so many Cuban-Americans are so strident in their support of democracy, their hatred of communism, their extreme dislike of Fidel Castro, one has to come here.

Felipe Valls founded his restaurant 34 years ago.

FELIPE VALLS, RESTAURANT OWNER: It was one of the few places where I found something Cuban, something truly authentic to our culture. SANCHEZ: It's "Versailles" where among the guava-filled pastelitos and chicken croquettes, politics is the nightly staple served up with Cuban coffee as strong and pure as the passion displayed by these men and women who refer themselves not as Cubans, nor Americans, but as exiles hoping to return home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would be a dream for me for my parents to be able to go back there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If it's not on the first plane, I'll go on the second one.

SANCHEZ (on camera): But you'll go back?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Definitely.

SANCHEZ: Is that important for all of you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course.

SANCHEZ: Raise your hands. Yes. Yes. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

SANCHEZ: You'll go back?

(voice-over): It is their eternal hope to get back to a free Cuba. That's why the news of Castro handing power to his brother, Raul, brings them here. And here at "Versailles," as they have for decades, they break down the latest news, debate it, analyze it and argue it.

(on camera): Why Raul Castro?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know why Raul, because he is not competent. He is -- he doesn't have the charisma. He doesn't have the personality. He does not have the know-how. And I think he's going to fall.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): Not all Cuban-Americans in Miami are so strident, so political. In fact, polls show many want to normalize relations with Castro's Cuba, something that decades ago would have been considered heresy. But Cuban-Americans who want to normalize relations are less vocal, seemingly less powerful and much less inclined to drink the coffee, unlike regulars here, like Jose Levine (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Havana is the big city in the world. You know the big city. All casino, parade, gay, women, everything in Havana. You know that before Castro.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Before Castro. And, oh, how they yearn for those days before Castro. So many dreamers, so many people, especially the older generation, as you see there with Mr. Levine (ph), wanting to somehow go back and yearning for what are is yesteryear.

Let me show you something else, Soledad, before I throw back to you on this occasion.

This is a shirt that's already being printed here. It says "Al Fin Libertad," "Finally, Liberty."

It may be wishful thinking at this point. Certainly somewhat premature. But nonetheless, it's what many of these people are hoping to hear sometime throughout the course of the next couple of days.

Back to you, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right, Rick. Thanks.

Twelve minutes past the hour. Let's get a check of the forecast with Chad at the CNN Center.

Good morning again. MYERS: Doesn't he look cool down there in Miami? I mean, it's just like, whoa, it's hotter up in New York City than it is in all of Florida.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MYERS: Back to you.

O'BRIEN: All right, Chad. Thanks.

Still to come this morning, an insider's perspective on the Israeli offensive. We're going to talk to an American who spent 13 years in the Israeli military, fought against Hezbollah. We'll talk about that.

Then our weeklong series, "Inside Autism," continues. Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells us why early intervention is so important to treatment.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Israel's goal is to seriously degrade Hezbollah's ability to attack. The jury out, though, still on just successful they've been in three weeks of fighting.

The book "Lonely Soldier: The Memoir of an American in the Israeli Army," is written by a veteran who fought Hezbollah. Adam Harmon is in our Washington bureau this morning.

It's nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us.

ADAM HARMON, FMR. ISRAELI SOLDIER: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Have you been surprised that the escalation has led to this, ground troops making the biggest headway into Lebanon so far?

HARMON: No. I think that the slow pace that the Israeli military has used has actually been very successful, that they have now been able to pinpoint Hezbollah in placements, command positions, rocket launchers that are along the border. And right now, as we call up the reserves and they enter in larger forces, we'll probably see the military stretch further and deeper into Lebanon.

O'BRIEN: Is there a risk to that slow pace? It's been 22 days of fighting. And as you well know, the IDF has often had an image, and almost a mythical, frankly, of superiority in the region, sort of the sense that IDF was three days ahead of their enemies.

The slow pace, this dragging out, as some people see it, doesn't that damage the image in the region and really chip away, to some degree, at the defense?

HARMON: I don't think so. I think as long as in the end Hezbollah is defeated, I think that Israeli deterrence will remain strong.

You have to keep in mind that the slow pace that the Israeli government has decided upon was taken specifically in order to mitigate the loss of civilian lives on the Lebanese side. Now that we have been able to clear that area, much fewer civilians are in the way and could possibly be caught in the crossfire. That's why at this stage, Israel is now putting in larger ground forces in order to engage Hezbollah more directly and more forcefully.

O'BRIEN: Tell me about Hezbollah as an enemy. You've fought Hezbollah. What are they like on the ground? What's it like?

HARMON: They are very well trained, a determined force. It's important to keep in mind that, on one hand, they're a terrorist organization that targets civilians. They work in small groups. But at the same time, they have the weapons and the training and the discipline that is very much like a normal military force.

That makes it very difficult and a very challenging enemy, but Israel can defeat them.

O'BRIEN: And describe for me how they -- how they fight. I've heard small groups, they sort of roll the artillery in and out relatively quickly. That seems to be a strategy that's working well against Israel right now.

HARMON: That's true, but you have to keep in mind, again, that up until now what Israel has done is had a very small number of forces, small units against small units of Hezbollah, and Israel has been successful at clearing these towns which they have been attacking. Now that we're going to see larger forces in the area, you'll see Israel over the next few days getting deeper into Lebanon and pushing Hezbollah back.

O'BRIEN: If you take a look historically at some of the wars that Israel's fought and been involved in, 1956 War, where Israel captured the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula; 1967 War, in six days captured the Golan Heights from Syria and all of Jerusalem; 1973, Yom Kippur War, where they captured this 165 additional miles from Syria; and this is when they're fighting on two fronts. You know, the history shows this aggression that pays off in massive amounts of land, frankly. You get the sense, at least from reading analysts about this war, this -- these attacks back and forth, you're not seeing the same thing this time around.

Or do you think that is a wrong reading of it?

HARMON: Well, I think we need to keep in mind that this war is very different than the other wars. In '67, '73, you know, Israel was -- the Israeli military was fighting against state militaries. So you had tanks versus tanks, planes versus planes, brigades versus brigades. And right now what we have is what military analysts call a hybrid war, where you have small groups of terrorists, of guerrillas who are well trained, well armed.

And so, it's a very different kind of war, and Israel needs to fight it differently. And it has been, and it has been doing so successfully. And that's why you see this slower pace, a different -- a different approach. But I think if Israel is allowed to continue its operation to its end, it will succeed and demonstrate that a western democratic country can defeat radical Islamists.

O'BRIEN: Adam Harmon has written a book. It's called "Lonely Soldier: The Memoir of an American in the Israeli Army."

Thanks for talking with us this morning. Appreciate it.

HARMON: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Still to come, did the government deliberately mislead the 9/11 Commission about what really happened during the attacks? We're going to take a look at that and much more ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Nearly 24,000 American children are diagnosed with some form of autism every year. Experts agree diagnosing autism at an early stage is key so that the kids can get therapy early, which in turn helps kids live fuller lives.

Our special series, "Inside Autism," continues this morning with our senior medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He's in Washington.

Sanjay, good morning.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

You're absolutely right. I mean, if you can diagnose this early, or if you can recognize it earlier, you can get treatment earlier. And that's one of the consistent things we found as we were doing all the research on the series, that early intervention is key, making it possible to somehow overcome some of the barriers associated with this condition that much easier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (voice over): They may act like mother and son, but Courtney Hall (ph) and 12-year-old Mack (ph) say they're more than that. They're superheroes on a mission to conquer autism.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all know that Mack Hall (ph) here, as he was knowing that he wanted to be a superhero and be a superhero at Hollywood...

GUPTA: Eight years ago, Mack Hall (ph) was diagnosed with autism. From that day, his mother declared war on autism. She found a speech therapist, a psychiatrist, a tutor. She sought out family support groups and special programs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The initial news tells you all the limitations your child's going to have. Me being who I am decided that that was not acceptable.

GUPTA: While researchers may not always agree on the best treatment for autism, one thing is certain: children with autism do much better if they're diagnosed and treated earlier. Catch the problem immediately, and the child may be taught to adapt, not only on a social level, but also psychologically.

So, how early is early enough? Well, that's a hard question to answer.

Many scientists believe the diagnosis should be made by the age of 5. But even better is before the age of 2. If caught that early, there may about way to rewire, if you will, sections of the young autistic brain through certain types of therapy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brain development starts before birth, and during the ages of 0 to 5 there's a tremendous amount of change that occurs in brain architecture and brain chemistry.

GUPTA: The goal is to take advantage of that change. Places like the Vanderbilt University Camp are trying to introduce kids with autism to rigorous instruction based on verbal interaction, reward programs, non-verbal communication and love. Therapists also teach children with autism to develop social skills that are tough for them to master, like playing with others.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can look them right in the eye.

GUPTA: Especially important, looking people in the eye. And, of course, parents have to be involved.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think one of the things that is missing in intervention is actual parent training. There are not that many interventions that focus on parents and helping them become more able to incorporate learning, teaching activities within their everyday routines.

GUPTA: And it take as team to diagnose and treat a child with autism.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They need interventionists in education, they need a pediatrician to take care of their medical needs, and for some children with autism, they need a child psychiatrist to help with some of the behavioral problems that they may have.

GUPTA: A lot of people will say Courtney Hall (ph) is a real superhero for all she's done for Mack (ph). She feels as long as he continues to improve, all that work would have been worth it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I have a very loving child, and I tell him I love him every single day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: Early intervention, as you heard, is key, but that's predicated on early diagnosis as well. It's amazing, Soledad. There are institutions around the country like Vanderbilt, you saw there, University Michigan, Hopkins, Yale, actually working on ways to try and diagnose autism as early as possible using some of the technologies we've been talking about, perhaps even as early as 18 months, which would be a huge step in trying to fight this problem.

O'BRIEN: Yes, it seems like that's often the biggest problem, even knowing if your child is autistic or not.

Sanjay, what's coming up tomorrow in your series?

GUPTA: Well, you know, we're covering all the different angles of this particular autism story. And we talk about the toll that it takes on a family, you know, getting your child into treatment. It's expensive. Some families have had to actually move from one state to another to get that treatment. It's a huge burden. We're going to talk about how to -- how to try and overcome that.

O'BRIEN: Yes, it is a big, big burden.

All right, Sanjay. Thanks. Look forward to tomorrow.

Coming up next, a CNN exclusive. We'll take you on board one of the Israeli naval warships that's right now off the coast of Lebanon. A behind-the-scenes look at the blockade in action just ahead.

And later, we'll meet a young man who left communist Cuba when he was just 7 years old. His story and his take on Castro's health, just ahead.

Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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