Return to Transcripts main page
The Situation Room
Kennedy Joins Kerry on Filibuster; Large Tunnel Runs under U.S.-Mexico Border; Frist Announces Test Vote To See If Kerry Can Sustain Filibuster; Release Of Female Iraqi Prisoners May Help Jill Carroll; Nicole Kidman Now U.N. Goodwill Ambassador
Aired January 26, 2006 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And it's 5:00 p.m. here in Washington. And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where news and information from around the world arrive in one place at the same time.
Happening now: it's midnight in the West Bank and Gaza. A democratic election, a clear-cut victory, it's just what President Bush wished for except the winner is Hamas, the radical Islamic group, labeled a terror organization by the United States.
It's 2:00 in Mexico, the starting point for a tunnel, the length of eight football fields, that runs under the border. Who was sneaking into the United States and why?
And it's 5:00 p.m. at the United Nations, where the actress Nicole Kidman is also an ambassador. We'll tell what message she wants to carry around the world.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
The Middle East changed dramatically overnight with a stunning victory in the Palestinian election by the Islamic militant group Hamas. Will an organization condemned for terrorism form the next Palestinian government? CNN's John Vause is standing by live in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
But let's begin with the shock waves in this country. We'll go to the State Department, our correspondent Andrea Koppel is standing by -- Andrea.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, some are saying this is classic case of be careful what you wish for.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL (voice-over): A new flag raised over the Palestinian parliament. But Hamas' landslide victory was a stinging defeat the U.S. and Israel.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If your platform is the destruction of Israel, it means you're not a partner in peace. And we are interested in peace.
KOPPEL: The U.S. has made spreading democracy the centerpiece of its foreign policy. The challenge now, how to treat the democratically-elected Hamas, radical Islamists behind so many suicide bombings against Israel, a group the U.S. considers terrorists.
GEORGE MITCHELL, FORMER MIDDLE EAST ENVOY: One of the problems is, of course, you have to be careful what you wish for. They won in a democratic election. Now, of course, we don't like the result of the election.
KOPPEL: Those aren't the only results the U.S. doesn't like. Recent parliamentary elections in Egypt saw the rise of radical Islamists, now Egypt's largest opposition bloc. In Iraq, Iranian- backed Islamist parties won the most seats. In Lebanon, members of the militant group Hezbollah are in parliament, while elections in Iran brought hard-line President Ahmadinejad to power.
EDWARD WALKER, PRES., MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: You always have to be careful and cautious when you throw the dice and they don't come out quite the way you want them to. We have to have a long-term confidence in the ability of democracy to change even the hard-line people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: But in the short-term, the U.S. is threatening to cut off about $270 million in must-needed financial assistance to the Palestinians, and is looking to Europe, a much bigger donor, to do the same. The goal of this is try to force Hamas to moderate its views and to try to treat Israel and deal with Israel as a partner in peace.
It is a message, Wolf, that Secretary of State Rice is going to be delivering in person when she travels to London next week for a meeting of the E.U., NATO, and Russia -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Andrea Koppel at the State Department, thank you very much.
Its charter calls for the destruction of the Israel. And it has sent suicide bombers into the streets of major Israeli cities. It has also fed the poor on the streets of Gaza. So what now? Will Hamas opt for terrorism or nation-building? Let's turn to our John Vause. He's in the West Bank. He is joining us now live from Ramallah.
What's the next step, John?
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, today, Hamas leaders said that they intend to change the way that Palestinians are governed in every aspect, from universities, schools, hospitals, to agriculture, to the economy. They want to cut all ties with Israel, not just any future peace negotiations, but the basics, electricity, gasoline, water, everything which is bought from Israel, they want to end those deals.
They want to turn to Arab and Islamic world. In Gaza, for example, they want to cut the deals with Israel. They want turn to Egypt. They say that will be a better deal for the Palestinians. Not everyone's happy though about this situation. Outside the Palestinian Legislative Council today, there were some clashes, some violent clashes. Hamas supporters stormed the building. Fatah supporters inside tried to stop them. At one stage the Hamas supporters were on the roof trying to hoist a flag over the main entrance. Rocks and stones were thrown. And gunfire was -- guns were fired into the air as well -- Wolf.
BLITZER: John, 24 hours ago when we spoke, it looked like Fatah had won this election, Hamas was going to come in second. That's what the exit polls showed. That's what we reported. I went to sleep thinking that was the situation. What happened?
VAUSE: Well, we all went to sleep thinking that situation, Wolf. No one expected Hamas to win this big, not even Hamas. But it seems that their campaign was well-organized, well-disciplined. And they cashed in on the protest vote, the anger vote, the frustration vote.
Palestinians who are annoyed with Fatah, disillusioned about the lack of progress on the peace deal with Israel, a lack of progress on a Palestinian state. Hamas cashed in on it all. And Fatah missed out. Fatah ran a bad campaign. There was a lot of in-fighting and a lot of division within Fatah. And they paid the price for it today.
BLITZER: John Vause in Ramallah for us. John, thank you very much.
And only in the past few minutes we received this statement from Israeli government, a statement from acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office in Jerusalem. Among other things it says this: "The state of Israel will not negotiate with a Palestinian administration if its members include an armed terrorist organization that calls for the destruction of the state of Israel. In any case, Israel will continue to fight terrorism with a heavy hand everywhere."
And later this hour, I'll speak live with a spokesman for Hamas, someone who is providing advice to Hamas in this political campaign.
Moving on to other news we're following in this hemisphere, it's almost a mile long, and complete with electricity and ventilation. Federal officials call it the largest and most sophisticated cross- border tunnel uncovered so far. CNN's Chris Lawrence's is joining us now live with more on this very dramatic story.
Chris, what's going on?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the federal agents in the building behind me are worried, not just about smuggling people or drugs, but with the size of this tunnel, the possibility of weapons also coming through.
This is a tunnel that started about 150 yards south of the border in Tijuana. It ended up half a mile into the United States, inside of another warehouse. Federal agents are calling it massive, one of the largest and most sophisticated tunnels they have ever discovered on the southwest border.
And it's easy to see why when you take a look at it. As long as eight football fields, tall enough for a man to walk through, the shaft has electricity, a ventilation system, even a water-pumping system. And it has got a gurney attached to some of the beams that allowed items to be taken in and out of the tunnel.
On the U.S. side, they discovered a couple of hundred pounds of marijuana, but on the Mexican side, two tons of marijuana. And officials are concerned that with a tunnel this sophisticated, what else may have come through?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL UNCUETA, SPECIAL AGENT, ICE: We're very concerned. And really, for all of agencies that are represented here and certainly the Department of Homeland Security, when we find these tunnels, we see that as a vulnerability to our national security, whether the tunnel was used to smuggle aliens or whether the tunnel was used to smuggle narcotics, or in a worst case scenario, some sort of weapon that would be smuggled in and directed at the United States..
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: Yes, right now, they're taking air and soil samples to try to get a better idea of what may have already come through that tunnel. They're also doing an investigation, trying to find out who owned these warehouses and who may have been involved in this plot -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Chris. Thank you very much. Chris Lawrence reporting, what a story that is.
As well, we want to update you now on a story that our Brian Todd reported here in THE SITUATION ROOM yesterday. Mexico has now decided to cancel plans to hand out maps to immigrants crossing illegally into the United States. They showed the location of highways, rescue beacons, water tanks in the Arizona desert, where dozens of illegal immigrants have died.
The homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff, says the U.S. strongly opposed that effort. Mexico's Human Rights Commissions says it's canceling the project for fear of anti-immigrant groups would learn migrant locations, not because of U.S. pressure. That's the latest development on those maps that have been handed out.
Let's move on, and talk a little bit about another developing story that's come here into THE SITUATION ROOM only in the past hour or hour-and-a-half or so. The former presidential candidate, Senator John Kerry, is dropping something of a bombshell today on the Samuel Alito confirmation process. The Senate Democrat now says he's backing a filibuster of the Supreme Court nomination. Our congressional correspondent Ed Henry broke this story here on CNN. He is joining us now live with more -- Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, in fact, CNN has just learned that Senator Edward Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, of course, is also now going to join this filibuster, privately telling Democrats he's onboard, even though all signs are pointing towards Republicans stopping this filibuster and getting Judge Alito confirmed as early as next week.
Democratic sources tell CNN that yesterday at a private meeting of Democratic senators in the capital, Kerry and Kennedy spoke loudly and forcefully for a filibuster, urging their colleagues to join the effort. And then Senator Kerry went onto Davos for the World Economic Forum, where he is now. And I'm told that he has been burning the phone lines all day today, trying to get more Democratic support.
But it's not looking like he's going to be able to sustain this effort. White House aide Steve Schmidt telling CNN a short while ago the White House is confident they have at least 60 votes they need to cut off this filibuster. An aide to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist also telling CNN just in the last few minutes they're hopeful they'll have the 60 votes to cut off this filibuster. White House aide Schmidt adding that this more about John Kerry positioning himself for the 2008 presidential race than it is about Judge Alito.
Kerry allies believe that this could help Kerry become more of a hero to the left. Liberals very upset about the nomination process, concerned the high court is moving to the right. But this also could alienate Kerry from some of the middle-of-the-road voters who want to see Alito confirmed to the court -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Ed Henry, good work. Thanks very much. Ed Henry on Capitol Hill.
Over the weekend, we had a poll, a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll. We asked about a Democratic filibuster, 38 percent of the respondents said it would be justified, 48 percent said it would not be justified, 14 percent were unsure.
Let's go to Jack in New York with "The Cafferty File." Hi, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Hi, Wolf.
"Outsmarting the Crooks" is the name of a new Treasury Department DVD about how to prevent identity theft. It explains what identity theft is, how to protect yourself, and what to do if you become a victim.
Identity theft is a huge problem. The Federal Trade Commission says it's the number one consumer fraud complaint for the sixth straight year. More than 255,000 complaints filed last year. And it also says that complaints involving kids have almost doubled in the last two years because young people, obviously, can become easy targets. H
Having your identity stolen is a time-consuming nightmare. In 2004, according to the FTC, victims spent 250 million hours to sort out fake accounts and try to set their credit straight. The question then is this, how concerned are you about having your identity stolen? Write to us and we will share your thoughts, caffertyfile@cnn.com is the e-mail address -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Jack. CAFFERTY: I know a kid here on -- who works here at CNN, one of our producers had this happen to him a couple of years ago. He still two years later, every couple of months he has to check -- flag his credit reports, go to the credit agencies, and he is still fighting this thing. Two years and change later, it's just a nightmare.
BLITZER: What a nightmare. All right, Jack, thanks very much.
Coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM, she underwent the first ever partial face transplant, received a new nose, lips, and chin. How is she doing now? We are going to show you some new pictures.
And there are new details in that fiery bus crash in Florida that left seven people dead. It involved a truck, a van, and a school bus. Tell you what's happening.
And Nicole Kidman and her work with the United Nations, we'll tell you about her causes. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: An update now on that fiery crash involving a bus, a van, and a truck that left seven people dead in Florida. Today there are new details on what happened. Let's go straight to Victoria Warren of our CNN affiliate WJXT. She is joining us in Lake Butler, it's not far from Jacksonville.
What have we learned today, Victoria?
VICTORIA WARREN, WJXT REPORTER: Well, this one tragedy seems to just be leading to another tragedy. Those seven victims from that crash, seven members of the same family, all children, aged 20 months to 15 years old, five siblings, two cousins. As if that's not bad enough, when the mother learned the news that her children had died in that crash, she calls her own father to let him know the news, her father suffering a massive heart attack, getting rushed to hospital, he dies overnight.
So you can only imagine, this is a very small community in Lake Butler, Florida, and it is affecting the entire community, a lot of prayers this evening, a lot of people just wondering how something like this could possibly happen. The Florida Highway Patrol is looking into it to find out how exactly what happened.
There was a school bus traveling. The school bus stopped. Then these children, they were all in one vehicle, they stopped. A semi truck, coming behind them, did not stop. The big question today is why that semi truck driver did not stop.
Now the Florida Highway Patrol says there likely will be charges filed against that semi truck driver. But right now they don't know exactly what those charges will be. They're doing toxicology tests. They are doing blood tests. They want to find if drugs or alcohol were involved. Though they say at this point they have found no indication that there was any evidence that drugs or alcohol were involved. It's pretty routine. They want to find out why that driver failed to stop.
The NTSB is out here, because a school bus was involved with this crash. There were nine other people also injured, seven of them children who go to local schools here. So seven children taken to the hospital. Most of them are out of the hospital today. They are all expected to make a full recovery. But again, seven children, all from the same family, died in that fiery crash here in Lake Butler, Florida.
BLITZER: What a horrible story, Victoria. What's the truck driver saying?
WARREN: Well, they're being pretty tight-lipped about what the truck driver is saying. They have spoken to him. He himself was taken to the hospital, but he is expected to be fine, from what I've been told so far, he is cooperating. They did search the truck. They have not found any evidence of any drugs or alcohol. But one thing they're definitely looking into is whether or not speed was a factor. They want to know exactly how fast he was going, if he was going the speed limit, if he was speeding, and why he didn't stop.
BLITZER: What a horrible story. Victoria Warren, thank you very much. Victoria works for WJXT, our CNN affiliate down there.
Coming up, an important development for the sole survivor of that West Virginia mine disaster. We'll update you on Randy McCloy's condition.
And coming up in our 7:00 p.m. Eastern hour, sticker shock over the cost of trailers designed to house victims of Hurricane Katrina. You might be surprised at what the government is paying. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Let's go back to Zain in the CNN Center in Atlanta for a closer look at other stories making news. Hi, again, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, again, Wolf. A Maryland woman has been sentenced to probation and community service for driving around with three small children in the trunk of her car. Lanora Lucas said the 9-, 8-, and 3-year-old wanted to ride in the trunk and climbed in themselves from pass-through from the backseat. Lucas was convicted of reckless endangerment.
We are just getting word from West Virginia that Randy McCloy, the sole survivor of the Sago Mine disaster, has been transferred to a rehabilitation hospital. Doctors treating him say that McCloy is no longer in a coma. They say that the 26-year-old coal miner is more awake and able to chew and swallow soft food, but he's still unable to speak. The January 2nd explosion killed 12 miners.
And Wal-Mart's reporting a historic event, at least for that company, Wolf. Tomorrow the retail giant is opening a story in a southwest Chicago suburb. And Wal-Mart says it's received the largest number of job applicants in its history. Wal-Mart tells the magazine Crane's Chicago Business that the store received 25,000 applications, that was just to fill in 325 positions. Wal-Mart says that that more than doubles the last record number of store applications -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Zain, thank you very much.
Identity theft tops list of consumer fraud complaints for 2005. That according to a new Federal Trade Commission study. Almost half the complaints filed with the FTC are Internet related. But today the Treasury Department is teaching you how to outsmart identity thieves. Let's bring in our Internet reporter Abbi Tatton. She has more -- Abbi.
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, we constantly hear reports about identity theft, but it's often very difficult to know if you have been targeted and what to do if you have. Well, the Department of the Treasury is trying to help you out with this new resource. This is a DVD playing next to me here describing different examples of identity theft and trying to help you out to do something about it.
This section playing right now, deals with phishing. This is when you receive an e-mail or get directed to a Web site that purports to be legitimate, but it's not. It's actually from crooks trying to get your personal information, information here about what to do if you receive one of those e-mails, and also a show-and-tell of what it might look like.
Also at this site, a library of resources, different information, directories that will give you more resources showing you what to do. That's also ways to obtain credit reports to find out if have been a victim.
Now you can get the DVD from the Department of the Treasury. If you don't want to get it, go to their Web site, a lot of the resources are here. Also the form to fill in if you have been a victim, if you do want to make a complaint, over quarter of a million of those complaints made last year -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Abbi, thank you very much.
How concerned are you about having your identity stolen? It's Jack Cafferty's question this hour. E-mail him at caffertyfile@cnn.com. He'll be back later in the hour with some of your comments.
When we come back, is it a terror group or a social welfare organization? Which side of Hamas will emerge after its landslide win in the Palestinian election?
And actress Nicole Kidman is also Ambassador Nicole Kidman. We'll tell you about the new mission she'll be taking for the United Nations. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Critics of the president's domestic spying program point out that surveillance without court order has been banned in this country for a generation by federal law. Does the administration have an answer to that charge? Let's turn to our justice correspondent, Kelli Arena -- Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the short answer is yes. The problem is, there are lot of people who say that the administration is breaking a law passed in 1978 that spells out what you can and cannot do in intelligence investigations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA (voice-over): The president defended the NSA's domestic spying program and his decision to conduct electronic surveillance without warrants, insisting the program is constitutional.
BUSH: That's just very important for you to understand. Secondly, the FISA law was written in 1978. We're having this discussion in 2006.
ARENA: FISA stands for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. It makes it a crime to conduct domestic surveillance without a warrant. Even though the president seems to suggest the law is outdated, the administration is not looking for any changes.
ALBERTO GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL: FISA remains a vital tool in the war on terror.
ARENA: In fact, the Bush administration flatly told Congress that FISA is fine just the way it is. It even rejected a senate proposal back in 2002 to lower the legal bar to get certain warrants.
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: The fact of the matter is, the Congress has tried to help this administration after 9/11, they never came to us and told us FISA wasn't working.
ARENA: So then, if the law doesn't need to be changed, what exactly is the problem?
GONZALES: As the president has explained, the terrorist surveillance program operated by the NSA requires the maximum in speed and agility, and since even a very short delay may make the difference between success and failure in preventing the next attack.
ARENA: But some members and many legal experts never heard that argument until the NSA program was exposed.
PETER SWIRE, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: FISA allows for swift action. And the Congress has given this administration new power since 9/11 just to do that. The problem here is, they went outside those powers and broke the law.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: Several Democrats also believe the administration is breaking the law. But the president insists everything he's doing is legal, thanks to a resolution passed by Congress authorizing military force against terrorists.
Now, this is an argument that won't be resolved any time soon. And the NSA program remains firmly in place -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Kelli Arena reporting for us -- thanks, Kelli, very much.
I want to go back to a story that we have been reporting on now for the past 90 minutes or so, a decision by the Democratic Senator from Massachusetts John Kerry to apparently go ahead with a filibuster of the Samuel Alito nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court. We now have response -- a response from the Senate majority leader.
Ed Henry broke the story for us.
Ed, what is going on?
HENRY: Well, Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist just announced moments ago on the Senate floor that he's going have a test vote, basically a cloture vote to see whether or not Senator Kerry has enough votes to sustain this filibuster on Monday evening, late afternoon, 4:30 Eastern time Monday.
It's widely believed by the White House, by Republicans on the Hill, in Frist's office, that they will have at least 60 votes to break off this filibuster by Kerry and Senator Edward Kennedy, also of Massachusetts.
In fact, one Democratic source, a very senior source, is telling me they think there may even be 70 votes for cloture, because there's going to be a bit of a backlash here, and that centrist Democrats will not support this filibuster -- Frist also announcing that, presumably, after he gets cloture, cuts off the filibuster Monday evening, he will have a final vote Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time.
That means Samuel Alito expected to be confirmed by the Senate about 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday. Interesting to note that, politically, Democrats have been privately saying they want to get this done before Tuesday's night State of the Union, because then they think it will buried in Wednesday morning's newspapers, Tuesday night's cable coverage. That's because they realize this is a loss here. They thought were going to be stop Alito. They're not going to able to do it -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Ed, good reporting all day. Thanks very much, Ed Henry, our man on Capitol Hill.
Still to come, it's been almost two months since the world's first partial face transplant. The patient's improving. We are going to be showing you some pictures.
And a former NBA superstar, now a top executive, is accused of sexual harassment by one of his former executives. We will have some details on that story. That is coming up in our 7:00 p.m. Eastern hour here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: An Iraqi government official says today's release of five Iraqi female detainees may help save an American reporter kidnapped this month in Iraq.
CNN's Aneesh Raman is joining us from Baghdad -- Aneesh.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, still no word on the fate of American hostage Jill Carroll -- that as a glimmer of hope came today, with the release of some 420 detainees who were deemed not to be security threats anymore.
Among them, the U.S. military says, were five Iraqi women. Now, that's important, of course, because the group holding Jill Carroll, Brigades of Vengeance, has called for the release of all Iraqi women.
Now, the U.S. military quick to point out, this release is completely unrelated to the demand of those holding Jill Carroll. But while the cause may be separate, the hope, of course, is that the effect may be the same.
Now, Iraq's Justice Ministry says there are still four Iraqi women in custody, that their cases are under review, and that they could be released at some point in the future -- all of this as Jill Carroll's family in the U.S. and her supporters here in Iraq continue to await any word on her situation, now nearly a week after that deadline came and went -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Aneesh Raman reporting for us in Baghdad -- Aneesh, thank you very much.
More now on one of our top stories today, a dramatic win by Hamas in the Palestinian elections, a huge surprise, causing lots of reaction around the world. Hamas is reviled in much of the world for sending out suicide bombers. Hamas is revered on the Palestinian streets for helping the poor. Which side of Hamas will we see following this stunning election victory?
Nashat Aqtash is a member -- is not a member of Hamas, but he was a media consultant to Hamas candidates. He's a professor at Birzeit University on the West Bank. He's joining us on the phone now from Ramallah.
Professor, thanks very much for joining us.
Which side of Hamas do believe we will see, if it does in fact form this next Palestinian government?
NASHAT AQTASH, CONSULTANT TO HAMAS POLITICAL CANDIDATES: Well, we will see a very disciplined government, working on the internal suffering of the Palestinians, trying to lift this oppression been brought on the Palestinian for 60 years.
Americans and Westerners in general are looking into Hamas from one side, from a very small angle known as suicide bomber. The truth is different totally for Palestinians. When you see Hamas, it's a very successful organization, been working for more than 80 years on social and helping poor people.
BLITZER: Professor, let me play for you an excerpt of what President Bush said today about this stunning victory by Hamas in the Palestinian election. Listen to what President Bush said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I don't see how you can be a partner in peace if you advocate the destruction of a country as part of your platform.
And I know you can't be a partner in peace if you have a -- if your party has got an armed wing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Do you believe, Professor, that Hamas, now that it has been elected, will renounce terrorism and accept Israel's right to exist?
AQTASH: First of all, let me -- let me clarify things.
What President Bush was talking about was the (INAUDIBLE) to be on media. And it's a really ridiculous idea. He's talking about two different things. And I do understand, Americans could be cheated by this idea. But if you look at -- if you look at it from different angle, it's an occupation there is -- there is in our -- in our territory.
He is not mentioning an occupation there. Hopefully, hopefully, you understand this and just try to understand, as an American, there is different definitions in the term terrorist.
You look at the face -- you look at the thing from one angle. You don't like to see the other angle, which is occupation. Now, yes, we do -- as a Palestinian, we did actually. PLO recognized and been talking to the Israeli for 10 years.
We are always repeating the same thing, during Arafat's time, during Abu Mazen, and now during Hamas victory. They are saying there's no Palestinian partner. And we don't believe, as a Palestinian, and the Israeli, that they are really willing to do peace, because, let me just remind you, in 2003, all the Arab and the Islamic countries in -- in -- in a summit in Beirut, we had this beautiful proposal for U.S. and for Israel.
Let's have a full withdrawal from '67 territories and, again, normalizing life with Israel. Nobody listened to that.
BLITZER: All right.
AQTASH: And you do believe -- you still do believe somebody in the Middle East able to destroy Israel? It's a ridiculous idea. Nobody can do that. And nobody want to do that. We just want to do a lasting peace, just peace, to give the people the right to live peacefully, the home -- the right of home return, and ending an occupation, and (INAUDIBLE) United Nations resolution. BLITZER: All right.
AQTASH: Yes, sir.
BLITZER: Unfortunately, Professor, we got to leave it right there. But we will have you back, Professor Nashat Aqtash from Birzeit University on the West Bank. He had been an adviser to Hamas candidates in these elections.
The former President of the United States Jimmy Carter is backing up President Bush's demand that Hamas cannot be a partner in the peace process without renouncing violence. Carter's word carry significant weight, not only as a former president, but also as pioneer of the peace process, and a monitor of these Palestinian elections.
I spoke with the former president earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Mr. President, do you see any evidence that Hamas is ready to abandon its bottom-line commitment to a one-state solution, namely Palestine, in all of the West Bank, Gaza, Jerusalem, and all pre-'67 Israel as well?
JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I don't know what they will do. I certainly can't disagree with what President Bush said about dealing with an organization, including the Palestinian government, that continues to advocate the destruction of Israel by violence.
But if the Hamas new government, which is going to be formed in the near future, will just accept a two-state solution, and acknowledge the fact that Israel is a nation, deserving of recognition, provided they live within the '67 borders, that would be a major step in the right direction, and that's all we can possibly expect from them.
If, for instance, Hamas takes over responsibility for the interior ministry, which would mean that Hamas, for a change, would be responsible for peace and security and safety for the Palestinian people, and to -- it's their responsibility to eliminate violence rather than to be outsiders causing violence, that would be another step forward.
So, I think those are the two things that still have to be decided by Hamas leadership.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: President Carter also told me that this was a free and fair election. You can watch the full interview on CNN's "LATE EDITION." That will air this Sunday, 11:00 a.m. Eastern, only here on CNN.
Lou Dobbs getting ready for his program, ready to begin right at the top of the hour. Lou, what are you working on?
LOU DOBBS, HOST, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT": Wolf, thank you.
Coming up here on CNN at 6:00 p.m. Eastern, we will be looking into the question as to why Western governments, including that of the United States, were surprised by the Hamas victory. My special guest tonight will be John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. We will be talking about the Hamas victory, the Iranian nuclear challenge to Europe and the United States, as well as the culture of corruption and incompetence that's now defining the United Nations.
And then it's apparently not enough that we have lost three million manufacturing jobs in this country over the past five years -- now insult being added to injury -- the labor secretary blaming a skills gap on the part of American labor, while President Bush says no to federal help for a struggling auto industry, even though the federal government is principally to blame for its demise. We will have that special report.
And I will be talking with a congressman who is taking Google to task and calling for hearings, because Google is rolling over for communist China.
We hope you will join us for all of that and more -- Wolf, back to you.
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Lou. We will be watching.
Up next, an actress becomes an ambassador. We will hear from Nicole Kidman about her new role for the United Nations.
And, in our 7:00 p.m. Eastern hour, sticker shock in New Orleans -- FEMA is putting up displaced hurricane victims in simple trailers. You won't believe how much the federal government is paying.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The United Nations has been the scene of some of her movies, but now the actress Nicole Kidman is playing a role for real as a United Nations ambassador.
Let's go live to our senior U.N. correspondent, Richard Roth.
Richard, explain this story to our viewers.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a new striking ambassador in the hallways of the United Nations. Nicole Kidman is now going to be the goodwill ambassador for the U.N. women's rights agency, called UNIFEM.
Now, the last time, Wolf, she was inside the U.N. was uncovering a plot, an assassination plot, in the movie "The Interpreter." And, a number of years ago, she defused a big bomb across the street in the movie "The Peacemaker."
I asked he now, with this new post, does she has sort of a save- the-world complex?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLE KIDMAN, U.N. GOODWILL AMBASSADOR: I don't know if it's about saving the world. It's about helping people, though. It's -- I was -- I think I -- I was always raised, as I have said, with my family, having the door open to our house, allowing people in.
My mother was always saying, you have to take care -- we have to take care of each other, and not just own family. This world is a big family.
And I think that's the -- the way in which I view it. And I have been given many, many blessings in this life. And so much of it is about, now, a time and place of being able to give back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: Kidman says she's no expert on the subject, plans to bone up on issues, perhaps on first travels to Congo, Sudan, or Afghanistan -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Richard Roth, at the United Nations, having a rough assignment today -- Richard, thank you very much for that.
Zain Verjee is standing by at the CNN Center in Atlanta with some other news.
Hi, Zain.
VERJEE: Hi, Wolf.
There are new details on the condition of a French woman who received the world's first partial face transplant. She's been recovering almost two months. Now there are new pictures of her new face and new details about how she's doing.
Out tomorrow in "People" magazine, these exclusive pictures of Isabelle Dinoire, still in the hospital, seven weeks after receiving a new nose, lips and chin. The pictures also showed Dinoire's female donor. The magazine described how the 38-year-old woman's doing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICK ROGERS, SENIOR EDITOR, "PEOPLE": Physically, the operation seems to be going pretty well at -- at this point. But, emotionally, she tells us that this is tough road; she's got a long road ahead of her.
The biggest problem is isolation. She -- she is in this hospital room. She is not allowed to leave, except for very brief trips out into the real world. And she wants to be home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: The magazine says Dinoire has regained sensation in her lips and is able to eat food without dribbling, and is her putting her weight back on -- all developments Dinoire's doctors say are positive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. BERNARD DEVAUCHELLE, FACE TRANSPLANT SURGEON: She's doing very, very, very well. She is normal -- normal, except maybe in sensitivity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: Doctors say Dinoire is still not able to smile or laugh.
And they're unhappy that Dinoire, a chronic smoker before her operation, is now smoking again. In May, Dinoire's face was disfigured when she was attacked by her dog.
Doctors says the woman still has hundreds of stitches and some scars. And, Wolf, they caution that they won't be able fully able to gauge the success of her recovery until about a year from now -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Zain, thank you very much -- Zain Verjee reporting for us.
Jack Cafferty is in New York. And he's got "The Cafferty File" -- Jack.
CAFFERTY: "Outsmarting the Crooks," Wolf, is the name of a new Treasury Department DVD which explains what identity theft is, how to protect yourself, and what to do if you become a victim.
Now, the question this hour is, how concerned are you about having your identity stolen? This is a huge problem, number-one consumer fraud complaint six years running.
Holly in Red Oak, Texas: "I'm terrified of having my identity stolen. For years, I have given out my information to any place with a Web form and a privacy policy, naively thinking they will follow it."
Jim in Fort Lauderdale, Florida: "Jack, everybody tells you how not to get your I.D. stolen. Nobody tells you how to fix it after it happens. I had my I.D. stolen in 2002. It's still not fixed. It's a nightmare. Credit card companies don't care what happened to you. They just want their money."
Verna in New York writes: "My 22-year-old sister's identity was stolen. Total fraud perpetrated in her name, $60,000. I now pay to get alerts when any activity hits my credit report."
Greg in Nova Scotia: "Well, Jack, I'm not concerned about identity theft, if it is anything like having my credit cards stolen a few months ago. It seems the thieves are being more responsible with the cards than my wife ever was." That's an old joke.
Rex writes in Toronto: "Let's see. I hate my job. My kids are out of control. I'm married to a steamroller with cleats. And the best part of my day is sending cathartic e-mails to Jack Cafferty at CNN. Somebody wants my identity, they're welcome to it."
(LAUGHTER)
CAFFERTY: And the last one: "Not concerned at all," signed "Jack Cafferty, Reno, Nevada."
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: We have got a lot of smart viewers, very clever.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Thanks, Jack, very much.
Has this ever happened to you? You pull up next to a car at a red light and wonder, is that my future spouse? Maybe the same thing has happened on an airplane. Well, there are now some Web sites dedicated to helping connect people and cash in on what -- what are called chance encounters.
Our Internet reporter, Jacki Schechner, is joining us with more -- Jacki.
JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, a new Web site called flirtingintraffic.com, here is how it works.
You go online. You sign up. They mail you a sticker. It looks like this. You put this on your car. Somebody looks over and likes what they see, they go online, they look you up. What they will find is a full profile to tell them all about you. You two can connect online that way.
Now, if you don't have a car, or you don't what the possibility of having to pay -- it's free now -- they're thinking about making that a pay service -- you can go always to craigslist online. It's an online community. It's free. They have a very popular missed connections section.
But the problem with this section is, you don't know if the person you saw also goes online and takes a look at it as well -- so, again, very much a chance encounter.
And if you don't want to leave anything to chances, there's now a Web site called airtroductions.com. You can book your flight online, but now you can go online, plug in your flight, and you can tell them exactly what you're looking for and who you want to sit next to.
And I did some preliminary search criteria for a possible flight to New York, and I came up with a guy named Mr. Flirt (ph).
So, Wolf, if I did go to New York, clearly, I would have something to do on the airplane.
BLITZER: Thirty-seven years old, Jacki...
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: ... way too old for you. Thirty-seven, not happening.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: Up next, Oprah Winfrey sits down with the best-selling author who now admits embellishing the memoir she endorsed. we will show you what the talk show host is saying right now, a remarkable change of heart.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Talk show host Oprah Winfrey now says she now feels duped by the author of a best-selling memoir she endorsed and defended, as questions arose about the book's truthfulness.
CNN's Mary Snow is joining us live in New York with the story -- Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Oprah Winfrey made a rare about-face and retracted her support for James Frey, author of "A Million Little Pieces."
It came four months after she added the memoir to her book club and it skyrocketed to the best-sellers list. Frey admitted to her today that he fabricated elements of his story about addiction and recovery. For instance, he says he spent a few hours in jail, not 87 days, as he described in the book.
He also admits he altered things about all of the characters in the book. Questions about his credibility arose earlier this month by Smoking Gun, a Web site owned by Court TV, which is portly -- partly owned by CNN's parent company, Time Warner.
On January 11, Frey defended his memoir on the "LARRY KING" show. At the time, he said that the book contained embellishments, but he said it wasn't necessarily appropriate to say he conned anyone.
And Oprah Winfrey called in to back him up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LARRY KING LIVE," JANUARY 11, 2006)
OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": The underlying message of redemption in James Frey's memoir still resonates with me. And I know that it resonates with millions of other people who have read this book, and will continue to read this book.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: Now, today, Winfrey took that back. And she says she regrets making that phone call.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW")
OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": This has been very embarrassing to me. And I -- I deeply regret leaving the impression that I did from the "Larry King" show that the truth doesn't matter, because it does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: And Winfrey told her audience today she made a mistake. And she says, for that, she's deeply sorry.
The book's publisher, Doubleday and Anchor Books, also came out today, apologizing to readers for what it said was any unintentional confusion surrounding the book. It says it will immediately begin adding a publisher's note and author's note to all future printings -- Wolf.
BLITZER: And did they say what that note would -- would say?
SNOW: They say now they came to the conclusion that there were embellishments, and that -- they did not say exactly what the note will say, but they're taking out advertisements in the next couple of days to say more about it.
BLITZER: I wonder if it will move from the nonfiction to the fiction list as a result of all of this.
Mary, thanks for joining us.
We will have much more on this story coming up in our 7:00 p.m. hour here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
And Mary not only will be back to talk about this, but, also, Larry King will have a lot more coming up on this story. That's tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, "LARRY KING LIVE." You will want to stick around for that as well.
We are here in THE SITUATION ROOM weekdays, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Eastern and 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
Lou Dobbs getting ready to pick up our coverage -- Lou.
DOBBS: Wolf, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
