Return to Transcripts main page
Paula Zahn Now
Israeli Government Approves Escalation of Ground Campaign Against Hezbollah; 15 Israeli Soldiers Killed in Fighting; Does Lieberman Defeat Signal Online Revolution?
Aired August 09, 2006 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. Thank you all for joining us.
Tonight's "Top Story," of course, the massive new offensive against Hezbollah just approved by the Israeli cabinet could start at any moment, even as Israel pays the bloodiest one-day price of the war.
Here are the latest "War Bulletins."
Israel is pouring rocket and artillery fire into southern Lebanese tonight, but Israel's military denies this is the startup of the large-scale operation authorized earlier today by Israeli leaders. But Israel's military confirms that 15 of its soldiers are dead in today's fighting, with 38 more wounded. That's the Israeli military's highest one-day casualty toll so far.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah's leader is still breathing defiance and issuing threats. On TV this afternoon, Hassan Nasrallah predicts, Lebanon will be a graveyard for the Israelis. He's also urging all Arabs to leave the Israeli city of Haifa.
And there's late word tonight that a U.N. peace resolution probably won't be ready for a vote tomorrow, after all.
Right now, we're bringing in live reports from Beirut, the Israeli-Lebanese border, and the capital of Iran, Tehran.
So, the worst day of combat casualties for Israel and a major buildup of Israeli forces on the border with Lebanon, that's where we're going first.
Let's join John Roberts, who joins us live from along that border.
John, what's the latest you hear from IDF officials?
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening to you, Paula.
It was not a very good day for the Israeli army, 15 casualties, four in the town of Aita al-Shaab, another nine in the town of Dibel, which is one of the new fronts in this war, one of the latest towns to be taken. Another soldier died in the region as well. And, while the Israeli security cabinet did approve a plan for a major expansion of this ground war, they're holding off on that for just a moment.
Here, in the northern part of Israel, we have seen a battle raging for more than 24 hours now. Even now, at 3:00 in the morning here in Israel, outgoing artillery and mortar fire, the sound of machine guns off in the distance -- Israeli officials insist that this is only another pinpoint operation, Paula.
But, from what we have been hearing over these last 24 hours, it sounds more like they're using a sledgehammer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): The intensity of the ground war kicked up another notch today, as Israeli forces battled for control of territory just north of the town of Metulla.
It is the eastern-most front of the war, an area dotted with Arab villages, where the Israeli army says Hezbollah is well dug in. Tank, artillery, and rocket fire rain down ahead of the advancing force. Israeli troops move along the ridgelines, taking the high ground, while heavy armor rolls in to provide covering fire.
(on camera): We have been watching this valley and the surrounding hills for the past week now. We have seen a lot of artillery softening up Hezbollah positions, and some small cross- border incursions. But, in just the past 24 hours, there has been a significant increase in the amount of activity here -- hundreds of Israeli troops streaming across the border, backed by tanks and armor.
And now that the Israeli political leadership has approved an expansion of the ground campaign, this may be just a small part of what's ahead in the coming days.
OLIVIER RAFOWICZ, SPOKESPERSON, ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES: The Israeli army is ready for any eventuality. We're continuing to fight Hezbollah and to make the job, because we need to protect our population. We need to protect our people. We need to protect our state.
ROBERTS (voice-over): The amount of armor on the border has risen dramatically, an almost nonstop flow of tanks and troop carriers to the front lines. Much of it is massed in the eastern and northern sectors, an indication the Israeli army may be preparing for a drive to Lebanon's Litani River, which, this far north, is only three miles away.
There is broad support among the Israeli people for an expansion of the ground war, an operation that would take on Hezbollah face to face and, they hope, avoid the grim images of civilian casualties in Lebanon produced by the air campaign.
Privately, some army officers admit, it was a mistake to rely too much on airpower in the early going, and that a massive ground campaign should have been launched from the beginning.
Military sources say, fighting on the ground may also be a better way to root out those short-range Katyusha rocket launch sites. More than 170 fell in northern Israel today, including this hit, about a half-a-mile from where a rocket killed 12 soldiers on Sunday.
There were no deaths today, but the number of Katyusha strikes remains terrifyingly high. An expansion of the ground war would also likely mean more casualties for the Israeli army. It was the military's deadliest day yet. Fifteen soldiers died today in fierce clashes with guerrillas in places the army has been pounding for days.
Hezbollah has shown it will not run in the face of Israeli armor. And, as troops march deeper into Lebanon, each new advance will present grave new risks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: For that moment, an expansion of the ground war remains only a threat. Israeli political officials say that they want to give the diplomatic track more time, but it would serve as a clear warning to Lebanese officials of what lies ahead, if they do not quickly agree to an end to hostilities -- Paula.
ZAHN: And you're talking about a -- potentially, a tremendous amount of firepower there.
John Roberts, thanks so much.
Now, as Israel continued to pound Lebanon today, Hezbollah's leader delivered yet another defiant TV message.
Let's get the very latest from Beirut.
That's where we find Jim Clancy standing by. He joins us now live.
Hi, Jim.
JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Paula.
Well, there's nobody else in this conflict that has more at stake than Lebanon. But this is a battle between Israel and a movement called Hezbollah. There are many people who would like to talk about diplomacy today. But, to be honest, all of that was drowned out by the drumbeats of war.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(EXPLOSIONS)
CLANCY (voice-over): The sound of rockets and artillery reverberated across the hills of southern Lebanon tonight in intense fighting between Israeli troops and entrenched Hezbollah guerrillas.
Farther north, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, an Israeli airstrike killed at least five and wounded one, when it targeted the home of a Hezbollah official. Despite the new fighting and the Israeli approval of a new offensive, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah remained defiant.
"You will not stay in our land," Nasrallah warned on Hezbollah television. "If you enter, we will push you out. We will make a graveyard to the Zionists. We will wait for you at every hill or valley."
Nasrallah used his address to brand the proposed U.N. cease-fire resolution backed by the United States unjust and unfair, because it doesn't call for an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Welch making a surprise call on Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora in Beirut -- the two men discussed possible changes to that cease-fire draft. As part of the discussion, they went over details of what the Lebanese army could do and what it would need to take up positions and ensure security along the southern border.
In the embattled city of Tyre, residents weren't waiting for diplomacy to work. They lined up outside a bakery, hoping to buy enough bread to weather the gathering storm. It is the essentials that count now. With Israel still warning that it considers any moving vehicle a potential target, the south of Lebanon is cut off, and it is unlikely more aid will get through.
The thunder of artillery does not necessarily mean a full-scale Israeli invasion is under way, nor does the diplomatic wrangling mean a compromise cease-fire is assured. Tonight, both Israel and Hezbollah are showing they are ready to push this crisis to the brink.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: And standing on that brink are certainly Lebanese civilians.
But, when we went to a funeral today for 29 victims of a single bombing here in Beirut, we found them surprisingly defiant, surprisingly supportive of Hezbollah, but still concerned about their future and the future of their country -- Paula.
ZAHN: And, Jim, you just mentioned some of the threats that Nasrallah has made once again. Do we have any sense at all of exactly what he has left, militarily?
ROBERTS: We don't have a good sense. We know that he probably has thousands of rockets. We know that he has got thousands of fighters, and he has more, he says, standing by.
Certainly, Hezbollah has been preparing for this fight for the past six years. I think that's reflected with how far the Israeli army has been able to come up here. And one of the questions that is being asked, when you look at the casualty figures today, Paula, does the Israeli army want to sacrifice all of that, and then hand it over to the Lebanese army or hand it over to an international peacekeeping force?
A lot of people here tonight are not entirely convinced that Israel intends to march any further north.
ZAHN: Jim Clancy, thanks for the update.
And we now turn our "Top Story" coverage to the country of Iran and its role in this conflict. Tonight, there is a report from Israeli TV that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard soldiers have been found among the Hezbollah dead in Lebanon. Iran denies that report, but, for years, Israel has insisted that Hezbollah gets supplies and training from Iran.
Tehran denies that as well, but there's no denying that Hezbollah is hugely popular in Iran.
Aneesh Raman reports for us tonight from Tehran.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fists in the air, they chant praise for Hassan Nasrallah. They chant, as well, death to the United States, death to Israel, as smoke rises from burned American and Israeli flags.
This is the scene almost daily in Tehran. And while the numbers vary from a few hundred to thousands, support for Hezbollah does not. The hero status of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has risen to the point that he shares posters with Iran's current and past supreme leader. And analysts say he's inspiring a new generation.
SADEQ ZIBAKALAM, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, TEHRAN UNIVERSITY: There are thousands and thousands of Iranians who, if the Islamic regime let them, would volunteer and rush to Lebanon to -- to support Hezbollah against -- against Israelis.
RAMAN: Iran calls Hezbollah an offspring of its own Shia-Islamic revolution, and has maintained close ties, with Nasrallah repeatedly visiting Tehran, but how close?
In a recent newspaper interview, Iran's former envoy to Syria said that, in 1982, Iran was involved in 30 Hezbollah training courses, each with some 300 fighters. Iran denies that, today, it is still training or supplying Hezbollah, as is widely alleged. Instead, Iran says it wants to be a broker of peace, so that, in turn, it can be acknowledged as the major power in the region.
It's the same reason Iran has sought engagement with the U.S. on the issue of nuclear development, with Iran facing a deadline by the end of this month on possible U.N. sanctions. Some have suggested Iran engineered this latest Mideast crisis as a way to distract attention from the nuclear standoff. Tehran denies that's the case.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And that was Aneesh Raman, reporting tonight from Tehran. Coming up, we have got other top stories we're also following tonight, including one soldier's ultimate sacrifice.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN (voice-over): This young American died in uniform, fighting for something he believed in, not in Iraq, but in Lebanon -- tonight, the passion that prompted his final journey.
Amazing new technology -- for the first time, a paralyzed person's thoughts become action, a "Mystery of the Mind" you will have to see to believe -- all that and more just ahead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: Our "Top Story" coverage continues now.
Hope for a U.N. agreement to end the fighting in Lebanon has hit an enormous roadblock. The U.S. and France are now disagreeing on when an international peacekeeping force led by France should go into southern Lebanon and when Israel should withdraw.
France, taking Lebanon's side, wants Israeli troops out as soon as the fighting stops. The U.S. backs Israel's demand that its troops stay until the international force is in place. But the late word tonight is that a vote tomorrow is unlikely.
Let's see how all of this is playing in Israel tonight.
Anderson Cooper joins me live from the border.
Anderson, we checked in with John Roberts at the top of the hour, and he said this new incursion, expansion of the ground operation that has been in -- excuse me -- approved will not happen at this moment. Do you get the sense that that is being used as a threat to prod the Security Council into action?
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": It's very possible.
I mean, there -- there's a lot going on, you know, a lot of public statements being made, which are, no doubt, for the effect of -- of the diplomatic efforts. There are large numbers, though, of -- of tanks on the border. We have seen large numbers of troops. There are troops right down below me right now marching toward the border.
And we have seen intense firefights all night long just in the hills behind me. So, you know, the ground war is going on. It is intensifying. There's no doubt about it. Fifteen Israeli troops have been killed in the last 24 hours. That's the worst single amount of casualties for Israel so far.
But -- but there's no doubt that -- that a lot of what's going on is also for the effect of -- of how it may play out on -- on the bargaining table.
ZAHN: And, of course, while all this is going on, with the diplomats seemingly so hopelessly divided, the U.S. is warned about a further expansion of this war on Israel's part. How is that being received?
COOPER: You know, I -- I think, at a certain point, many Israelis feel, look, this is what we have to do.
And -- and I think they're waiting for the diplomat efforts to -- to bear fruit. I think there's a widespread acknowledgement here, both among officials and among civilians -- and pop -- the population here, that there is no military solution for this, that -- that, you know, they will fight as long as they can, and as long as they have to, on the ground, but that, ultimately, what will bring this to a resolution is what happens around that diplomatic table.
And I think there's an understanding that it's not going to be a process that's going to take just a couple days. I think there was a lot of skepticism last week, when you had Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saying, you know, oh, by the end of the week, we're going to have some sort of agreement.
A lot of people here, you know, were looking at what was happening on the ground in south Lebanon and saying, this thing is going to take some time.
ZAHN: Before we let you go, Anderson, describe to us exactly what we hear going on behind you.
COOPER: There is intense fighting that has been going on really all night long so far. It is just before dawn here now, several hours before dawn. We have seen a lot of tracer fire, basically, Israeli troops pounding Lebanese positions, a Lebanese town, Hezbollah positions in this Lebanese town very close to the border.
And it's very telling, Paula, that, you know, four weeks into this thing, they're still battling in villages right along the border. Not even those places which are closest to the Israeli border are secure for Israeli troops, are -- are -- or have -- they have not been able to get rid of Hezbollah fighters from the -- the -- the villages just across the border.
You can only imagine how tough the fighting is deeper inside Lebanon, when Israel's going to have to maintain those supply lines and try to keep those supply lines open. It's going to get very nasty before this thing wraps up.
ZAHN: Anderson Cooper, thanks so much. We will see you again at 10:00 p.m., where Anderson, of course, will be anchoring his own show from northern Israel
Our "Top Story" coverage will continue in just a few minutes.
Right now, it's time for our countdown of the day's top stories on CNN.com. And, for that, we go to Melissa Long at our CNN Pipeline studio.
Hello...
MELISSA LONG, CNN PIPELINE: Hello, Paula.
ZAHN: ... for the first time tonight.
LONG: Hello once again to you.
A lot of traffic on the Web site today -- some 17 million people logged on to CNN.com.
A lot of readers wanted to learn more about the new polling that's out about the Iraq war. It's number 10 on our list this evening. That latest poll by CNN and Opinion Research Corporation shows, 60 percent of Americans oppose the U.S. war in Iraq, the highest number since the fighting began in March of '03.
Number nine on the list, watch this graphic surveillance video, a terrible attack at a convenience store. Police say -- watch in a moment -- the robber smashes a liquor bottle on the store owner's head. She's recovering from that assault. No arrests have yet been made.
And number eight -- Georgia's often controversial Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has been denied reelection for the second time in four years. You will remember that it was back in March, she made a public apology, after a scuffle with a police officer on Capitol Hill -- Paula, back to you.
ZAHN: Wish she -- she probably wishes she could do that chapter all over again in her life.
Melissa, thanks. See you in a little bit.
Now, for one American family, the crisis in the Middle East isn't just the "Top Story" on TV news. It was a cause for pride and anxiety that now has turned into a nightmare. Their story is next.
And, then, a little bit later on, the "Top Story" in politics tonight: The shockwaves from Senator Joe Lieberman's election defeat reverberate from coast to coast tonight. How is it that a guy that was on a presidential ticket as a vice presidential candidate, gets hurt so bad?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: Back to our "Top Story" coverage of the war in the Middle East -- Israel, so far, has lost more than 80 soldiers in the conflict with Hezbollah.
And you might be surprised at where our coverage takes us now. We're going to a Philadelphia suburb, where one American family is mourning the loss of their son, because he gave his life for Israel.
Jason Carroll has his story tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you were only allowed a few words to memorialize a loved one's life, it might prove to be too difficult. But, in Michael Levin's case, a few words of his own, captured in an Israeli documentary, symbolize what his life was all about, joining the IDF, the Israeli Defense Forces.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL LEVIN, ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES: It's a dream come true, something I have wanted since I was a little kid. It's just -- it's something no words could describe what it means to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Three years ago, at the age of 19, Michael Levin left the comforts of suburban Philadelphia to follow his dream. He joined the IDF, becoming what Israelis call a lone soldier, a foreign-born soldier who goes to Israel to serve in their military.
HARRIET LEVIN, MOTHER OF MICHAEL LEVIN: He came home. And he was due to go back. And the conflict was growing. And he said: "I really need -- I can't be here. I have to be back there."
And, in fact, he found out that he was not due to go to Lebanon. He argued to go to Lebanon.
CARROLL: Three weeks ago, Michael became one of the first American lone soldiers killed in action. He died in southern Lebanon, a victim of Hezbollah rocket fire.
MARK LEVIN, FATHER OF MICHAEL LEVIN: Devastated would be an understatement, when we heard the word that he was killed in Lebanon.
CARROLL: The IDF won't confirm numbers, but it's estimated there are about 150 American lone soldiers fighting for Israel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is during the same period.
CARROLL: In trying to understand what led him to fight for Israel, look at the his family. His grandfather was a World War II veteran. His other grandparents survived the Holocaust at Auschwitz.
H. LEVIN: I think he knew how important that was, that, had Israel existed then, there would have been a place for Jews to go, and how important that is now.
CARROLL: Despite his son's passion, his father tried to convince him to go to college.
MARK LEVIN: I know that, if I had taken Michael's passport away, which I would never have done, he would have found another one.
CARROLL: Levin didn't let his size stop him either. At 5'6'', 118 pounds, he wasn't the ideal physical candidate for the elite paratroop brigade, under which he would eventually serve. He knew what he had to do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL LEVIN: That's the truth, man, no pain, no gain. You don't take the pain, you're not going to go into the best units.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: More than 2,000 showed up for his memorial service back in Pennsylvania. Hundreds also attended his funeral in Jerusalem. One of the Levin's toughest decisions was to lay their son to rest in the Holy City.
MARK LEVIN: We thought it was important, imperative, to grant Michael his final wish, which was to be buried in the city, in the country that he loved so dearly, that he gave his life for.
CARROLL: His parents created a foundation in Levin's name to remember the lone soldier from outside Philadelphia who died fighting for what he believed in.
Jason Carroll, CNN, Holland, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: What amazing convictions.
We're going to have much more of our "Top Story" coverage in a moment.
First, let's go back to Melissa Long for more of our countdown.
Hi, Melissa.
LONG: Hello, Paula. Thank you.
News about actor Robin Williams comes in at number seven. The publicist says he has entered treatment for alcohol abuse, after two decades of sobriety. He's also in the news because his latest film is now in theaters. "The Night Listener" opened just last week.
Number six on the countdown -- the U.S. Navy says, a sailor who deserted in 2005 is now charged with spying and is being held at the brig at Naval Station Norfolk. Military sources say it's believed he was working for Russia.
And a political upset in Connecticut ranks at number five on the countdown. Newcomer Ned Lamont has defeated incumbent Senator Joe Lieberman in the Democratic primary.
And, Paula, I know this is a story you will be covering in-depth tonight.
ZAHN: Yes. And, as you live pretty much in Web land, Melissa, you will appreciate the fact how much is being made of the impact the Internet had on that race. And we will talk about that a little bit later on.
See you in a little bit, Melissa.
LONG: OK.
ZAHN: Of course, Senator Joe Lieberman's defeat is today's "Top Story" in politics -- coming up, why it has both Democrats and Republicans rethinking their game plans for November.
And, as part of our in-depth coverage, see how this one single race has unleashed a coast-to-coast political revolution in cyberspace.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: Welcome back. Coming up in this half-hour one of the most amazing mysteries of the mind you've ever seen. You're actually going to meet a paralyzed man who can control a computer just by thinking. It's incredible to watch. And then coming up the top of the hour on "LARRY KING LIVE," just how bad will the fighting get in the Middle East before there's a cease-fire?
Back to tonight's top story in politics, right here focuses on the first political casualty of the Iraq war, a Democrat. Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman, a man nearly elected vice-president, soundly defeated in a primary few expected him to lose and all at the hands of a political novice who happens to be an anti-war candidate.
Now, to understand just how big the shockwaves are consider this, even White House spokesman Tony Snow spent much of his daily briefing talking about that today, and we asked senior political correspondent Candy Crowley, part of the best political team on TV, to explain what the senator himself is probably asking himself tonight, what happened?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Connecticut Democrats gathered for a family portrait Wednesday, unity minus one.
SEN. CHRIS DODD (D), CONNECTICUT: Joe Lieberman has been a good senator. He's served our state well over the years and I'm confident he can find tremendous results and success in whatever else he chooses to do.
CROWLEY: It may not be your definition of a good friend but when voters come out in record numbers to vote against the war, defeat a powerful incumbent and replace him with a guy out of nowhere, it is the definition of a good politician to go with it.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: I'll be sending a contribution to Mr. Lamont today. I've called to offer whatever support he needs.
CROWLEY: It's enough to make a guy rethink the whole thing.
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: Well, I will respectfully say no, no, no. I am in this race to the end.
CROWLEY: He has loyalists like fellow moderate Senator Ben Nelson who support his choice, but most Democrats lined up like dominoes behind Lamont, with a heavy contingent of '08ers, Clinton, Kerry, Edwards, Bayh, et cetera. Mr. Lamont is all the rage and his blogging friends enjoy some new shine, empowered and elevated by their first major scalp. They're flexing their keyboards from liberal blogs to the website of left-wing activist Michael Moore, who had a specific warning for Hillary Clinton. You and Joe, he wrote, have been Bush's biggest Democratic supporters of the war. Last night's voter revolt took place just a few miles from your home in Chappaqua. Did you hear the noise? Can you read the writing on the wall? It is just the kind of rhetoric, just the sort of people Republicans can make something of.
KEN MEHLMAN, REPUBLICAN NATL. CMTE. CHAIR: Today's Democratic party too often has become the defeatacrat party and people like Joe Lieberman aren't welcome. Who is? Ned Lamont, a man whose entire campaign is based on retreating from the terrorists in Iraq.
CROWLEY: The vice-president, known for upping the ante, suggested to reporters the troubling thing about Lieberman's defeat is what it signals to al Qaeda, who he says is betting it can break the will of the American people. Lieberman supporters warned early on that Republicans would use his defeat to their advantage. It is certain now they will at least try. Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And we will have a lot more on the Internet revolution that Candy mentioned, the blogging that is changing the face of politics straight ahead.
Now Senator Joe Lieberman's defeat isn't just the top story in politics. It is also the top story in technology tonight when our in depth coverage continues see why political junkies on the Internet may be the country's newest power brokers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: More now on the Internet revolution sending shockwaves through American politics tonight. The political trouncing of Senator Joe Lieberman was fueled by bloggers, people who write web blogs, places you go to on the Internet to read their opinions, and a lot of bloggers are just ordinary people, passionate about their politics, and Lieberman's opponent Ned Lamont got a tremendous boost from Internet bloggers who wrote scathing articles about Lieberman and even produced videos that torpedoed the powerful senator. Here's our top story in Internet politics from technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before the citizens of Connecticut came out in force to vote in Tuesday's primary runoff, the citizens of the world wide web came out in force to share their opinions of the candidates, and just like in the primary Ned Lamont beat Senator Joseph Lieberman handily on the web. Switch on the increasingly popular video sharing website Youtube and you'll find dozens of low budget productions, many accusing Lieberman of paying lip service to the democratic party, using a clip of an unflattering moment with the president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe needs to go.
SIEBERG: Not to mention copyrighted material like this spot from "The Colbert Report."
STEVEN COLBERT, "THE COLBERT REPORT: How do you answer criticisms that you're too close to the president?
SIEBERG: Some pro-Lieberman videos can be found.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Instead of coming out of hibernation he sent his bear cub instead, Ned Lamont.
SIEBERG: But even those get ridiculed. One viewer writes, worst ad ever. From videos to a text revolution, Democratic bloggers also came out of hibernation, most of them supporting eventual Connecticut primary winner Lamont by attacking Lieberman, though some tactics did cross the line. Political wag had a field day when a pro-Lamont blogger posted an image of Lieberman that was digitally altered to show the Senator in black face. It was quickly removed, and the blogger apologized. So did these online pundits really sway the vote in Connecticut? Well, some activists argue that outspoken bloggers may have helped change some minds, but others say bloggers only express the opinion of the majority of Connecticut voters. Even as the volume was turned up, the venom was flowing.
MATT SMITH, PRO-LIEBERMAN BLOGGER: I think that when it comes down to it, the atmosphere that's been created in the blogosphere is one where it's just as poisonous as the atmosphere of D.C. consultants, where they are spinning everything in favor of their candidate.
SIEBERG: Lieberman's campaign also ran into a technical snafu on Election Day when its official site went offline. Some Lamont supporters hinted that Lieberman's camp inflated the news to gain sympathy, but Lieberman's side cried foul play.
DAN GEARY, DEVELOPER, JOE2006.COM: No, this was an attack. We were attacked, period.
SIEBERG: The site's creator has since turned over evidence to the FBI.
(on camera): Rallying political support on the Internet is nothing new. But some analysts say that this race should serve as a wake-up call to party strategists. Tap into the blogs and sites like You Tube and you still may not win, but ignore them at your own risk. Daniel Sieberg, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: All right. So is this the year politics finally gets tangled in the new media Web? Let's toss that to our Internet reporter Abbi Tatton in Washington. Always good to see you, Abbi. We heard Daniel talk about the debate over just how much influence the Web had on this campaign. You watched it unfold on the Internet. Does Ned Lamont owe his victory to the Web?
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Well I don't know if he owes the entire victory to the Web, but it certainly was a victory for bloggers online, on their sites, but a victory for which the conditions were right in Connecticut.
We've seen the liberal antiwar online community push candidates in the past, we saw them with Howard Dean in 2004, last year in Ohio special election, they pushed their candidate Paul Hackett, but they didn't get a win in either of those cases.
Yesterday was a victory for them, but it was a victory in a liberal state with a significant antiwar sentiment. Though the group moveon.org that got heavily involved in this, a liberal online action group, they called it with all these conditions a perfect storm for their win.
ZAHN: Abbi, we just saw some of the negative attack ads that ran on Joe Lieberman, but obviously there were positive things written about Ned Lamont as well on the Web. How influential were those?
TATTON: I should make the point that there was a lot of constructive stuff going on online as well, and it's not just bloggers, it's not just commentary, it's not just taking down candidates. They're raising the profile of this candidate. They raised the profile of Ned Lamont. This is not someone with a huge amount of name recognition in the early days, which is an understatement. These bloggers by circulating these videos, by having the discussions online, did raise his profile.
They also raised a lot of money. There are new Web tools that allow people to do this easily online. I'm going to show you the site here. ActBlue, which allows bloggers to link to this Democratic fundraising site to easily with a couple of clicks let people raise money. So it's not just commentary, it's not just attacks online, it's not just blogs. Significant online actions allow people to campaign and do constructive work.
ZAHN: So what do you think that means for the midterm elections?
TATTON: Well looking at the blogs out there, the liberal antiwar blogs today Paula, there's certainly a lot of momentum towards November. Looking at DailyKos, it's the biggest liberal blog, markers here, even appeared in Ned Lamont's, one of his campaign videos. That's how involved he was with this race. What Kos was saying today to his online community is this was a victory yesterday, but we have to look forward, there's a race nearby you, it's time to fight, we're just a hundred days away.
ZAHN: Guess we'll be spending a lot of time with you in the months to come. Abbi Tatton, thanks for bringing us up to date on what's going on out there in the blogosphere.
Joe Lieberman is Larry King's guest tonight in a few minutes. I imagine Larry, he will have some pretty powerful things to say about all that negative stuff that went on out there, about him.
LARRY KING, CNN HOST: And are they calling him a sore loser?
Also in addition to Senator Lieberman, two of the most vibrant talk show hosts in America, Neal Boortz on the right and Randi Rhodes on the left, will debate Israel's handling of the war. We'll have of course our journalists all over the Middle East and their extraordinary coverage. And we'll have James "Spider" Marks, our brigadier general telling us why things are happening where they are happening. All that at the top of the hour immediately following PAULA ZAHN NOW.
ZAHN: Thanks Larry, you look very dignified in that black shirt tonight. We'll be watching your show for the content, as well.
KING: Thank you, I'm trying to impress.
ZAHN: All right, we're going to go straight back to Melissa Long, who has more on tonight's CNN.com countdown. I forgot where we left off. Where are you?
LONG: We're at No. 4 actually, and No. 4 has a traffic accident story that a state trooper says it was the oddest he has ever handled. Why? A truck carrying wildlife on a Texas highway overturned and there was an emergency rescue for 21 penguins. Several other animals, four penguins and some exotic fish in the truck didn't survive that accident.
The crisis in the Middle East ranks third on the CNN.com countdown tonight. Israel's security cabinet has approved an expansion of the ground campaign against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
And No. 2, the FBI says three of the 11 missing Egyptian exchange students who failed to show up at Montana State University last month are now in custody. They were picked up in Minnesota, also New Jersey. What about the other eight kids? The FBI is still on the outlook for those students, Paula.
ZAHN: Big mystery tonight, we'll see where that takes us. Melissa, thanks, see you in a little bit.
In just a minute, we're going to go back to the Israeli/Lebanese border for a live update on tonight's top story as the heavy fighting in southern Lebanon continues. And then a little big later on, our mysteries of the mind features a paralyzed man with a computer chip implanted in his brain. He can actually control a computer just by thinking. Wait until you see the video tape. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: Our top story coverage, the conflict in Lebanon continues. Israeli leaders have authorized a massive military move into Lebanon, and the Israeli army is pouring rocket and artillery fire north across the border. But so far, Israel's military denies that big push has begun. There are a lot of questions about that tonight. And joining me again from the Israeli/Lebanese border, John Roberts. Welcome back, John. So what is it that the Israelis are waiting for?
ROBERTS: What they're waiting for is the diplomatic track. At this point, Paula, that expansion of the ground war remains only a threat, a lever, a stick, if you will, against the Lebanese leadership to say this is what awaits you if you don't come to the table and agree on an end to hostilities, and, of course, an end to hostilities that Israel wants to be very much in its own favor.
You can hear there an artillery shell outgoing from the Israeli side. The battle here in the northern part -- coming from the northern part of Israel into southern Lebanon is still raging tonight.
As to how long the Israeli leadership will wait before launching a major ground assault is a matter of question. It would seem that they're going to give it the weekend, in fact, I talked with an Israeli army soldier today who believed that maybe Sunday may be the last day of fighting, perhaps that is an overly optimistic assessment, because there are other people who say that it could go on for weeks if there is no diplomatic solution this weekend.
It's clear though, Paula, that this conflict seems to be at a tipping point. It's either going to tip toward the diplomatic side in the next 48 to 72 hours or it could tip exactly the other way, a major ground campaign that would probably increase the number of troops in southern Lebanon by 50 percent and that is something that could go on for at least another week, perhaps even longer than that, Paula.
ZAHN: John, some of Hezbollah's deadliest attacks so far have come more than a month into this campaign. And it's so fascinating to hear some of these defense officials say they are just beginning to understand the scope and the extent of Hezbollah's capabilities. They have been studying Hezbollah for years. Why didn't they know this going in?
ROBERTS: Well that's why there's so much criticism of the ground campaign, why we saw the shakeup at the top echelons of the military and why we see this threat of an expanded ground war is there are many people in the Israeli military, people who we talked to, who believe it was a mistake to not go in with a large ground force on July the 13th when this started. So in answer to some of that criticism, they now have this plan on the table, the shake up at the top of the military. They're going to give the diplomatic track a couple more days, but if it doesn't work out, things on the ground are going to get very hot here.
ZAHN: John Roberts, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
And we're going to quickly go back to Melissa Long now to find out the top story on CNN.com, Melissa.
LONG: Paula, the number one story a new development in the kidnapping case of American journalist Jill Carroll. The U.S. military is now reporting that four suspects are now in custody. Carroll, as you know, was held captive for 82 days in Iraq, and for those that are curious she is back to work in Boston at the "Christian Science Monitor."
ZAHN: I talked to her dad earlier today, and he said she's very satisfied with those arrests. Melissa, thanks.
Still ahead tonight a mystery of the mind. How a paralyzed man can actually control a computer just by thinking.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: We have an absolutely amazing top story for you tonight in medicine, an extraordinary new brain implant that could actually help paralyzed people get out of their wheelchairs and walk again some day. Now, as incredible as that sounds, it's a device that's already helping some people move things just using the power of their minds. Now, it sounds like science fiction, but you're about to meet the man who was among the very first test subjects for this experiment, one of the true mysteries of the mind. Here's a first-hand look at the future from Deborah Feyerick.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's barbecue time for the Nagles and 26-year-old son Nat is home for a visit. Nat was always a competitive kid, a star on his high school football team.
PATRICK NAGLE, MATT'S FATHER: We watched him on the athletic field. He was never the biggest or fastest, but he was also the best.
FEYERICK: But five years ago Matt was stabbed in the neck after a party. His spinal cord was severed and he was instantly paralyzed. His brain unable to tell his body what to do. Nothing below Matt's neck moves, not his legs, not his hands. Everything is still.
His mind is another story. Like the late Christopher Reeves, who was paralyzed in a horse riding accident, Matt's brain appears to work normally. So much so, he learned how to move things just by using his mind.
MATT NAGLE, BRAIN IMPLANT TEST SUBJECT: I was able to open e- mails, control my television, change the channel, control the volume. I was able to open and close a mechanical hand. You know, that was a big thing for me.
FEYERICK: Change the channel just by thinking about it? Astonishing, but true. Because Matt had a tiny computer chip or sensor the size of a baby Aspirin implanted in his brain. That chip was attached to wires running out of the top of his skull, which were hooked to a computer, sort of like the characters in the Matrix.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This will feel a little weird.
DR. JOHN DONOGHUE: CYBERKINETICS: The goal is not to look like the Matrix, living in a dreamland, but in fact to be like any other able bodied person, to be able to move again in a normal way.
FEYERICK: Dr. John Donahue of Cyberkinetics, a technology company in Foxboro, Massachusetts, helped create the system tested by Matt and a few others. He gave me a quick course in how it all works. Matt's chip was implanted in an area of his brain that once controlled his arms and hands. The chip records Matt's brain impulses which are turned into a code. That code is synched to a computer which lets him do simple tasks by thinking about them.
M. NAGLE: Open the first e-mail.
FEYERICK: Was it difficult for you, for example, to learn how to do it? Was it pretty simple, the process?
M. NAGLE: I just thought about going right, and it would go right. If I wanted to go left, it would go left. I mean it's a pretty amazing thing when you really sit down and think about it. That you can actually control something with your thoughts. Next I'm going to paint the circle.
FEYERICK: One of the main criticisms is that for now the system only works when a patient is hooked up. But some doctors believe one day far in the future it will be wireless and multiple chips will be connected directly to muscles, allowing the brain to bypass the damaged spinal cord.
DONOGHUE: If we could though, start with holding a spoon and moving towards the mouth, so that a paralyzed person could again feed themselves, we would consider that a huge break through. But we would not like to stop there. That's only the beginning.
FEYERICK: A begin that go could give hope to millions of paralyzed people like Matt
(on camera): So how does it feel to be a pioneer? People looking up to you like Christopher Reeves?
M. NAGLE: I don't really look at it that way, but if I can give one person hope then this was all worth it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: Well, he is certainly is doing that, giving a lot of folks hope out there. Does he still have the chip implanted?
FEYERICK: He doesn't. He had the chip removed because he had a breathing tube put in. He couldn't have both of them. Right now he said though he would definitely consider having it put back again. He's also pinning some hopes on perhaps stem cell research, possibly one or the other, allowing him to move again in the future.
ZAHN: But when you hear about this, obviously no one wants build false hope here, so how viable is this technology for the hundreds of thousands of paralysis victims out there who could use this?
FEYERICK: The people who are working on this really believe that this is the way of the future because what it's done is they found the brain is so active, it keeps moving, it keeps sending out those signals to move. Like, even though I'm moving my hands like this, what happens it that because they have no spinal cord, what the doctors are trying to do is bypass it, so they would wire all the different muscles, so that the brain can then communicate again with the body and they really do think it's viable, maybe not entirely in the next couple of years, but small, small, small steps and there are other companies that are also working on similar technology.
ZAHN: It's amazing to watch that on tape. You really do have to see it to believe it. Deborah Feyerick, thanks so much. And that wraps it up for all of us here. Thanks so much for being with us tonight. We'll be back same time, same place tomorrow night. We hope you will join us then. Good night.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
