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The Situation Room
Hezbollah Threatens Attack on Tel Aviv; Target: North Israel; Syria Under Pressure; Violence Continues in Iraq, More Troops Needed; James Woolsey Interview
Aired August 03, 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 to our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information are arriving all the time.
Standing by, CNN reporters across the United States and around the world to bring you today's top stories.
Happening now, lethal weapons and hostile warnings. One hundred and eighty Hezbollah rockets rained death down on northern Israel, killing eight Israelis.
And Hezbollah's leader threatens a tit-for-tat retaliatory strike. He says if Israel strikes Beirut, Hezbollah will strike back at Tel Aviv.
The Hezbollah leader delivers his message to the news media. Although he's repeatedly grabbed the spotlight, Hassan Nasrallah is largely out of sight. If the Israelis found him, would they kill him?
And it's 5:00 p.m. here in Washington. Are senior military officials finally admitting Iraq is on the verge of a civil war? We're going to tell you how their opinion from a year ago is much more ominous right now.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
The deadliest day yet for Israel in the current Middle East crisis. More than 200 Hezbollah rockets rained down on northern Israel today, killing eight Israeli civilians, injuring many more. And four -- and with four Israeli soldiers killed in the fighting, that makes this the single deadliest day for the Israeli side since the fighting began back on July 12th.
And Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, is now threatening to strike Tel Aviv in revenge for the attacks on Beirut.
Meanwhile, CNN has obtained a copy of a draft United Nations resolution on the crisis. It calls for an immediate cease-fire and addressing the root cause of the crisis. But a Hezbollah spokesman says a cease-fire wouldn't stop militants from fighting Israeli soldiers on land Hezbollah considers its own.
We have correspondents throughout the region covering this clearly widening war.
Joining us this hour, our CNN international correspondent, Matthew Chance. He's in northern Israel.
Aneesh Raman is in Damascus.
Brent Sadler is in Beirut.
And Brent, let's start with you on the latest message coming from Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah.
BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Wolf, Nasrallah is the chief of Hezbollah, still very much, according to political sources, close to Hezbollah, very much in command and control of his fighters, firing those record numbers of rockets into Israel.
A short time ago, Nasrallah made a prerecorded televised speech shown on all local televisions, and this is what he had to say about tit-for-tat military action against Israel if Israel were to attack central Beirut.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HASSAN NASRALLAH, HEZBOLLAH LEADER (through translator): If you hit our capital, we will hit the capital of your entity. If you hit Beirut, the Islamic resistance will hit Tel Aviv, and is able to do that with god's help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SADLER: That threat, Wolf, followed an overnight attack against the southern suburbs again, the Hezbollah stronghold that's been hit many times. And it also follows the dropping by air of the Israeli army by leaflets on the southern suburbs, warning more people to evacuate four districts.
The Israelis haven't said they'll attack central Beirut specifically, but if they're thinking about that, Nasrallah says quite clearly in this threat he has the missiles in his armory, if he's to be believed, that could reach further than ever before, Tel Aviv -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Brent, he's made these boasts before, that he's got the weaponry, the missiles, the rockets to hit further south in Haifa, all the way to Tel Aviv. If, in fact, he has it, what's the assessment there? Why hasn't he used those rockets or missiles yet?
SADLER: Well, it's the first time Nasrallah himself has publicly declared that they've got the capability to hit Tel Aviv. What we've seen, Wolf, is an incremental buildup of the firepower of Hezbollah, starting in the northern settlements, then reaching Haifa.
At one stage, Nasrallah was threatening to go beyond Haifa. They did. And then beyond, beyond Haifa, they did. So there's a stepping up of the longer-range rockets as Israel continues its ground operations and its continuing airstrikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Brent Sadler reporting from Beirut. Thank you, Brent.
And coming up in a few moments, Israel's hunt for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Is he a target for assassination? CNN's Brian Todd will take an in-depth look at this question.
Now to northern Israel, where sirens wail as rockets fall. There seems to be no escape from a bombardment of Hezbollah rockets designed to bring more death and devastation.
Our senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance, once again joining us now live from northern Israel along the border with Lebanon.
It's been the deadliest day in this war so far, Matthew, for Israel. Eight civilians dead, four Israeli soldiers.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Civilians have been particularly hard hit today across towns and cities in northern Israel with that barrage of more than 200 rockets from Hezbollah strongholds raining down on the north of this country, causing the emergency services, of course, to be overstretched, going in between these various places, trying to get to the people who have been injured, see to the people who have been killed as well, causing widespread panic and fear amongst the civilian population of northern Israel.
There's been a very ferocious barrage going in the other direction as well, though. I have to say, the artillery strikes have been stepped up, as well as Israel's ground troop activity. More than 10,000 now, according to Israeli officials on the ground inside south Lebanon.
Really pounding hard as Hezbollah strongholds in south Lebanon, hitting at the infrastructure there that has been built up by the Lebanese militia over the course of the past six years since Israel left its occupation of southern Lebanon. Concrete bunkers and shelters and tunnels which are making it very difficult for the Israeli army to advance quickly across that territory.
Regardless of that, Amir Peretz, the Israeli defense minister, saying that he's ordered the army to prepare for a new phase of the operation. We could see it expanded further -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Matthew, as you see the situation unfold there, are Israeli troops sort of shuttling back and forth across the border? You throw out the number which has been reported now, 10,000 Israeli troops now in south Lebanon. Are they permanently there, or are they going back and forth from northern Israel?
CHANCE: Well, I think there's an extent to which they are going back and forth. They are not going into this area and then being static. They're saying that's too dangerous, it just attracts guerrilla activity. They're being dynamic as they can, according to military officials, going in and out, making their presence felt whenever it's necessary to do that. At the same time, we've had a buildup of the numbers of Israeli forces that are available to take part in combat operations. About a week ago, Israel called up tens of thousands of its reserves. They are now becoming available for combat and are being deployed in this increasingly widening campaign -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Matthew Chance on the border for us.
Thank you, Matthew, very much.
And meanwhile, pressure is mounting on Syria to try to rein in Hezbollah.
CNN's Aneesh Raman is live in Damascus with details.
Aneesh, what's going on?
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the Europeans are doing what the U.S. will not today, directly engaging Syria. Spain's foreign minister, here in Damascus today, meeting with the Syrian president. Both called for an immediate cease-fire. And after the meeting, the foreign minister said Syria offered to use its influence over Hezbollah to help the situation, but only if a political and military agreement was reached that Hezbollah signed on to.
The Syrians are in a difficult position on one hand, downplaying their relationship with Hezbollah amid international claims they are helping to funnel arms to the group. But at the same time, using their influence over the group as a basis to be a power broker in any peace deal that could be brokered -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Aneesh Raman in Damascus for us.
Aneesh, thank you.
The secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, talks about the Middle East crisis with CNN's Larry King. She says a United Nations resolution on the fighting could come soon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: We're certainly getting close. We're working with the French very closely, we're working with others.
We've wanted very much to see an end to this conflict. We need to end the hostilities in a way, though, that points forward a direction for a sustainable peace. And we are working -- we've worked with the parties when I was in the region to come up with those principals, with those elements.
We're now working on a Security Council resolution, and hopefully we can get that passed. And I think it will certainly be within days.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: And you can see Larry's entire interview with the secretary of state tonight on "LARRY KING LIVE." That airs 9:00 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN.
Let's go to Jack Cafferty. He's in New York.
Hi, Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, Senator Joe Lieberman has been one of the most prominent names in American politics for the last several years. He's a good guy.
Lieberman shot to prominence when, as a Democrat, he stood on the floor of the U.S. Senate and condemned then-president Bill Clinton, a member of his own party, for disgracing the nation's highest office with his tawdry affair with Monica Lewinsky. Lieberman touched a nerve in a country that was disgusted by Clinton's behavior.
He went on to greater heights as Al Gore's vice presidential candidate in the 2000 election. And, but for a hanging chad or two, he might have held the second highest office in the land.
Now, though, it looks like he might not have any office at all. Lieberman is perceived as a Republican in Democrat's clothing. His support of the war in Iraq and some of President Bush's other foreign policies has alienated the voters in his home state of Connecticut. And heading into next Tuesday's primary in the Nutmeg State, Lieberman is behind his Democratic opponent Ned Lamont by double digits. He's trailing 54 to 41 percent in the latest poll.
Lieberman says if he loses the primary, he plans to be on the ballot as an Independent in November. But it's safe to say at this point that Joe Lieberman's political career may be at an end.
Here's the question: What does it mean when the voters turn against a man of the caliber of Senator Lieberman?
E-mail your thoughts to CaffertyFile@CNN.com or go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile.
It is very seldom in our history that you see any of those worms in Washington show any true courage, Wolf. But the day he stood in the well on the Senate floor and called Bill Clinton to task for that affair with Lewinsky I think was a moment of courage.
BLITZER: Did you notice last week or the week before Bill Clinton going in to Connecticut to campaign for Lieberman's reelection?
CAFFERTY : Yes. It's not helping.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: Jack, thank you.
CAFFERTY: You're welcome. BLITZER: Up ahead, some Israelis compare him to -- compare him to Osama bin Laden. Is Israel targeting Hezbollah's leader for assassination? An in-depth look at the hunt for Hassan Nasrallah.
Also, Iran's president weighs in on the crisis with some of his most inflammatory rhetoric yet. CNN's Zain Verjee standing by with details.
Plus, we'll talk about the fighting with the former CIA director James Woolsey.
Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The leader of Hezbollah is out today with another threat delivered via video address. Since the Middle East conflict began, Hassan Nasrallah has skillfully shown himself when he wants to and stayed in the shadows when he does not.
Let's bring in CNN's Brian Todd. He's taking a closer look at Hassan Nasrallah -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it's not clear if this latest speech from Nasrallah was lived or taped. Just one indication of how difficult it's become for his enemies to find him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice over): In his fifth media appearance since the fighting began, Hezbollah's leader shows his resolve.
NASRALLAH (through translator): I can assure you that the resistance will not be defeated and the resistance will not be broken.
TODD: CNN national security advisor John McLaughlin says the video gives few clues on Hassan Nasrallah's whereabouts.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: One could say that he looks a little tired, his eyes are a little red, and that would be normal considering the stress he's probably under. But apart from that, this is a scene that could be filmed in the basement of a garage or almost anywhere.
TODD: Former Israeli and Western intelligence officials we spoke to believe Israel is targeting Nasrallah for assassination. Israeli officials are more guarded when asked publicly if they're looking for him.
DANIEL AYALON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: We are certainly. And I think that the fate of Nasrallah should not be different than bin Laden.
TODD: But experts say this is different than the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Nasrallah, they say, is on his home turf, protected by a growing number of local supporters. A former CIA officer who tracked Nasrallah says in his younger days, he was in charge of hiding Hezbollah's Western hostages. Reports that Nasrallah is hiding in Syrian or Iran cannot be confirmed. Most experts believe he's still in Lebanon, always on the move, possibly in civilian clothes with only a few bodyguards, and taking precautions.
PAUL CRUICKSHANK, NYU CENTER ON LAW & SECURITY: He's definitely making telephone calls, because Israelis -- the Israelis can sort of intercept those and home in on his position. And he's being very, very careful where he travels, and who knows where he's traveling, because the Israeli Defense Forces have aerial drones, unmanned aerial drones in the area.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: If the Israelis kill Nasrallah, could that backfire on them with the creation of a martyr? One former intelligence officer believes Israel would risk that if it means taking a top operational commander like Hassan Nasrallah out of the mix -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Brian, thank you.
Brian Todd reporting.
A statement by the president of the United States on Fidel Castro. A statement just released.
Let's bring in Zain Verjee. She's watching the story for us -- Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, we're just looking at this statement by President Bush on Cuba, where he says the Cuban people have the full and unconditional support of the United States. Here's exactly what is says.
It says, "I urge the Cuban people to work for democratic change on the island. We will support you in your effort to build a transitional government and Cuba committed to democracy. And we will take note of those in the current regime who obstruct your desire for a free Cuba."
It goes on to say, "In the event of a transition in the Cuban government, we stand ready to provide humanitarian assistance as needed to help the Cuban people. It has long been the hope of the United States to have a free, independent and democratic Cuba as a close friend and neighbor."
You'll remember, Wolf, of course, after 47 years in power, Fidel Castro stepped aside temporarily after having intestinal surgery. Cuban TV describing him as saying that he's stable, in good spirits, but also said that, look, his health is a state secret.
Power was transferred to Fidel Castro's 75-year-old younger brother, Raul Castro, who has actually not made any public appearances at all since the transfer of power. The White House, as you know, has refused to reach out to his brother, considered a hard-liner. And nobody really expects any change under Raul Castro.
Meanwhile, in other news, top military leaders are telling Congress that they don't expect a civil war in Iraq. But they warned, it is possible.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the head of the U.S. Central Command, General John Abizaid, and Joint Chiefs chairman General Peter Pace all testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee today. Abizaid told lawmakers that sectarian violence is as bad as he's ever seen it, but he's optimistic that it can be stopped.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: General Pace, you said there is a possibility of the situation in Iraq evolving into civil war. Is that correct?
GEN. PETER PACE, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: I did say that. Yes, sir.
MCCAIN: Did you anticipate this situation a year ago?
PACE: No, sir.
MCCAIN: Did you, General Abizaid?
GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, COMMANDER, CENTRAL COMMAND: I believe that a year ago it was clear to see that sectarian tensions were increasing. That they would be this high? No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: The White House says President Bush won't quibble with his generals about the situation in Iraq and that it shows the importance of securing Baghdad.
We're going to have much more on what the Pentagon brass has to say about Iraq coming up a little bit later in THE SITUATION ROOM -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thank you, Zain.
Zain Verjee reporting.
And coming up, harsh words and an ominous warning as Muslim leaders from around the world meet to discuss the Middle East crisis. We're going to show you why one is predicting what he calls the ultimate nightmare.
Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: More now on the crisis in the Middle East.
We want to take you to Haifa, in northern Israel. CNN's Paula Hancocks is there with details of a deadly new barrage of rockets -- Paula.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, as Israeli politicians insist the fighting power of Hezbollah is diminished, Hezbollah this Thursday proved it is still more than capable of hurting Israel. More than 200 rockets fell across northern Israel with deadly results.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS (voice over): Less than one minute after a Katyusha rocket hit, it's carnage. A car less than 10 meters from the point of impact bursts into flames. The wounded lay where they fell, waiting for help.
The man driving this car was hit by pellets packed into the rocket warhead and lost control. Emergency services managed to free him from the wreckage, but he dies on his way to the hospital.
Four more people died at the scene. A father and 14-year-old daughter among the victims.
(on camera): It was late in the afternoon when the air raid siren sounded here in Acre. One of the rockets hit just down the road from here. And then the siren ended, so people started to come out of their houses to see what had happened. And this is when this particular rocket hit.
You can see the point of impact. This was the most deadly rocket. Four people standing nearby were killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hear another explosion. And we go to there, to another explosion, the second one. And we saw a lot of people that lie on the ground not alive.
HANCOCKS: Charlie says he was standing in the street a block away when the rocket hit. He says he could see wounded and the dead lying on the ground.
More fatalities in Tashiha (ph), just five miles from the Lebanese border. Three Arab Bedouins jumped out of their car when the sirens sounded, according to Israeli police, looking for shelter. It was a direct hit.
More than 200 rockets fell across northern Israel on Thursday. More than 260 fell the day before, casting doubt on Israel's claim it has dealt Hezbollah a heavy blow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS: But even those I spoke to today in Acre, where five people died, insisted the military operations had to continue until any future threat was destroyed -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Paula Hancocks in Haifa for us.
Thank you. And coming up, we'll have more on the situation in the Middle East, the escalating war. I'll get analysis from the former CIA director James Woolsey.
And is Iraq closer to a civil war? And if so, are senior American military officials ready to say that?
Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back to THE SITUATION ROOM.
I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
Leaders in the Muslim world are now weighing in on the deepening crisis in the Middle East.
Let's bring back Zain Verjee. She's following the story -- Zain.
VERJEE: Wolf, the Islamic world says it wants an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah. From Indonesia's president, an ominous warning, and from Iran's president, harsh words for Israel.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE (voice over): Obliterate Israel. That's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's solutions to the crisis in the Middle East.
At an emergency meeting for Muslim leaders in Malaysia, Iran's president called Israel an illegitimate country, saying the solution is "The elimination of the Zionist regime." Nothing new. Iran's leader has said before Israel needs to be wiped off the map.
Iranian experts say Ahmadinejad wants to carry favor with the ordinary Arabs and Muslims on the street and present himself as protector of the Islamic world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ahmadinejad is, in fact, in some ways more popular on Egyptian streets than Hosni Mubarak, and more popular on the Jordanian street than King Abdullah of Jordan, because he stands up to Israel in a way that they don't.
VERJEE: Ahmadinejad also blames the U.S. for the bloodshed in the region, saying, Washington wants to "... control the Middle East and its oil wealth."
Dark warnings, too, from Indonesia's president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. "The war must stop," he says. "Or it will radicalize the Muslim world and thrust the ultimate nightmare, a clash of civilizations."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a concern that we're -- we're reaching a point where we're creating a whole new generation of Osama bin Ladens and Zarqawis. VERJEE: And these are the images that fuel it. Islamic scholars say many Muslims are radicalized by pictures of their fellow Muslims being massacred by U.S.-made bombs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: And Wolf, anger is already sliding into the Arab and Muslim streets, boosting Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's rock star status among both Shias and Sunnis. Many united by their hatred for Israel and the United States -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thank you, Zain.
Zain Verjee reporting.
Let's get some more on today's escalations in the war. It's now 23 days old.
Joining us is James Woolsey. He's a former CIA director.
Mr. Director, thanks very much for coming in.
JAMES WOOLSEY, FMR. CIA DIRECTOR: Thank you.
BLITZER: What do you make -- it's one thing for Ahmadinejad to be saying Israel should be eliminated. He's been saying that for some time. But for the president of Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, to be suggesting that perhaps we're on the verge of a clash of civilizations, that sounds very ominous to me.
WOOLSEY: Well, he's right to be worried, but the question is, what does one do to stop it? And I don't think that appeasing Ahmadinejad and Hezbollah, when Hezbollah has been attacking Israel with rockets for some time. It moved into Israel and captured two of their soldiers and kidnapped them. Hezbollah is breaking every law of war.
It's shelling civilians intentionally, whereas the Israelis are trying to retaliate against Hezbollah's military capability. And it's shielding itself, Hezbollah is, behind women and children, intentionally putting them at risk. So we can't lose track of what's right here. And I think what's important is that the world not knuckle under to Ahmadinejad's genocidal fanaticism which I think both words are well chosen.
BLITZER: By all accounts he's trying to develop a nuclear bomb and he's got missiles, medium range missiles already. He makes these threats to eliminate Israel. If you were still the CIA director, what would you be advising the president about capabilities and dealing with those capabilities?
WOOLSEY: I think the first thing to notice is that we have two streams of theocratic totalitarianism in the Middle East now. They're rooted in different parts of Islam, but they're certainly not majority views within Islam. But one is Ahmadinejad, his mentor in a sense and the other is Al Qaeda and in a sense the Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia. They're theocratic totalitarians and we have a movement of totalitarianism that is a religiously rooted one, but in other ways it has some parallels to the totalitarianism and fascism and Nazism in Europe in the 1930's, crazy wild dreams and total commitment -- a terrible situation.
BLITZER: What do you do about it though, what's the strategy that you would advance?
WOOLSEY: The main thing we don't do is appease. The world was generally agreed in the early and mid 1930s, that the way to deal with Hitler and Mussolini was to appease them. And through the League of Nations and through all sorts of other ways, they said well, if we just give in a little bit here, they'll be reasonable.
It turned out that was exactly the wrong thing to do. And the exact wrong thing to do with Ahmadinejad and with Hezbollah is to say, well they're being really tough, so let's do a little bit of what they want. I think that would be dead wrong.
BLITZER: So what's the opposite of appeasing, how do you get the message across short of war?
WOOLSEY: Well right now, I think what we have to do is back Israel in its effort to crush Hezbollah. If Israel comes out of this situation in Lebanon with anything other than a pretty clear victory over Hezbollah, it's essentially then a victory for Hezbollah. Hezbollah just holds on. That would be that. Because that then emboldens, I think both the Al Qaeda side of the fanaticism in the Middle East and the Iranian and Hezbollah side.
BLITZER: How worried are you there's been some fears expressed that Hezbollah could activate what some call are cells outside of the Middle East, especially here in the United States.
WOOLSEY: It's possible. There are twice as many Lebanese in Brazil as there are in Lebanon. And there are a lot of Lebanese, some Shia, in the United States, and most Lebanese in the U.S. are not Christians, but there are some Lebanese Shia here. It's possible that either within South America or here, there are some Hezbollah cells.
We have to be very attune to that and have to work with the good Muslim Americans and Muslims in South America to help them do what people who are Sunni Muslims have done before, turn in people like the Lackawanna Eight and so on. We have to not judge all Muslims as being radical, as they certainly are not. And especially they are not in the United States. But we have to really bear down on the possibility that there might be some cells here or in other parts of the Americas.
BLITZER: If the Israelis -- and they've made no secret about this. If they found Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, they would try to kill him, to assassinate him. Would that be smart or stupid in terms of the argument against that he would be made a martyr?
WOOLSEY: I think it would be smart. We found out where Yamato, the architect of Pearl Harbor was during 1942, '43 and sent up fighter planes to shoot him down. We've broken the Japanese codes. When you can kill an enemy commander and you're at war and they are clearly at war in Lebanon right now, I don't think you pull punches.
BLITZER: He has an aid, Imad Mugnia (ph), who is still on the loose, he's still around someplace and he's widely seen as the architect of the killing of those 241 Americans mostly marines at the barracks in Beirut back in '83. When you were CIA director, did you try to find this guy?
WOOLSEY: We were always looking for him and other people high on the terrorist lists. We had more luck with helping the French find Carlos the Jackal than we did with him. But they were up there on the list and it was a constant effort, but it's hard to find individuals who want to stay hidden, particularly in parts of the world where we're not present in large numbers.
BLITZER: But do you believe Hassan Nasrallah when he says that he's got rockets or missiles that are capable of reaching Tel Aviv?
WOOLSEY: It may well be true. But I think the Israelis are really quite unified in understanding that this time they have got to do what they did in 1973 and come back from a slow start in order to prevail. And they need to prevail against Hezbollah. We should not have an early cease-fire if it would block them from doing that and we need to do everything we can to help them with smart weapons and the rest.
BLITZER: James Woolsey, the former CIA director, thanks for coming in.
WOOLSEY: Good to be with you.
BLITZER: An oil spill from a bomb factory near Beirut is threatening almost all of the Lebanese coastline right now and its moving north towards Syria. The United Nations is saying the Mediterranean Sea could be facing a, quote, "environmental catastrophe." Our internet reporter Abbi Tatton has more on this story. Abbi?
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, some of the evidence of this environmental destruction shown in this video that's been sent into CNN. This was taken by Yve Cresson, who was on vacation in Beirut. These pictures off the Beirut coastline before the strikes. This is a cell phone picture of oil on the beach in Beirut taken afterwards. Now this is the result of a strike on a power plant in the early days of this conflict, south of Beirut.
More pictures of some of the damage here from the Ministry of Environment in Lebanon. Now this has caught the attention of the U.N.'s environment program. This map shows what they're saying is the extent of this oil spill some 50 miles at this point. The coordinator of that program saying that immediate action is needed to address this, but hostilities must cease before they can send in a clean up team to address this issue. Wolf?
BLITZER: Abbi let's check back with Zain, she's following another story. Zain?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, Israel is dropping leaflets over suburbs of southern Beirut, asking people to evacuate. There are actually three towns encompassed in one suburb in particular in Beirut, called Diyah (ph). It is considered the home of Hezbollah, that basically is the main headquarters, comprising of offices and homes in which they believed to operate from.
Most of those towns, are apparently targets in the past 23 days of prior Israeli strikes. Those are some of the leaflets that you're seeing right now, it essentially tells people to evacuate for your own safety and they ask them just to stay away from Hezbollah and says, quote, "Israel's response will be painful, not just for Hassan's gang and its criminals." Wolf?
BLITZER: Zain, thank you very much. Still to come, senior American military officials are grilled on Capitol Hill. Among their assessments, Iraq may actually be closer to a civil war than they first thought. And Jack Cafferty has a question about a man many consider to be a scholar and a gentleman.
That would be Senator Joe Lieberman. What would it mean if Connecticut voters turn their backs on him? That would be democratic primary voters getting ready to cast their ballots next Tuesday. Stay with us. Jack Cafferty with your e-mail coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Here's a look at some of the hot shots coming in from our friends at the Associated Press, pictures on the Middle East likely to be in your hometown newspapers tomorrow. In Tyre, Lebanon, an Israeli air strike sends smoke billowing into the sky. In Akko, in northern Israel, emergency workers secure the scene after a Hezbollah rocket attack destroyed a vehicle.
In Nablus on the West Bank, Palestinian militants fired guns in the air, as others plug their ears during a demonstration against Israel. Again in Tyre, Lebanon, a displaced Lebanese girl waits for a blanket at a shelter. Those are some of today's hot shots. Pictures often worth a thousand words. Let's check back with Zain. She's got some other stories making news right now. Zain?
VERJEE: Wolf, CBS news correspondent Kimberly Dozier's thanking well-wishers after being released from a rehabilitation hospital. She was seriously injured when a bomb exploded in Baghdad in May. CBS cameraman Paul Douglas and soundman James Broden were killed. In a written statement Dozier says she thinks about them every day. She says she's walking now with a cane, she plans to continue her rehab on an outpatient basis.
There have been a string of deadly attacks in southern Afghanistan today, claiming the lives of several NATO soldiers and almost two dozen civilians. A suicide car bomb ripped through a crowded market near Kandahar killing 21 people. Some of the victims were children. Suspected Taliban insurgents also ambushed a NATO patrol killing three Canadian soldiers. A fourth Canadian soldier died when a roadside bomb exploded.
Ford Motor Company is recalling more than a million pickups, SUVs and vans. The number two U.S. automaker says a problem with the vehicle's cruise control system could lead to engine fires. Ford recalled more than 4 million vehicles last year for the same problem. It plans to install a fused wiring harness in the vehicles to correct it.
Even though Tom DeLay has resigned from Congress, a federal appeals court says his name cannot be removed from the November ballot because he's still his party's official nominee. The Texas Republican Party wants to replace DeLay with another GOP candidate and says it will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. DeLay, who's fighting a state money laundering indictment, announced his resignation from Congress shortly after being nominated for a 12th term -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Zain Verjee, thank you very much. Coming up, we're going to take a closer look at the other war going on right now. That would be Iraq. We have been focusing a lot of attention on the war between Israel and Hezbollah. But today, ominous words coming in from top military commanders and the Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. How have the assessments evolved over the past six months? We're going to take a closer look.
And Jack Cafferty wants to know if Joe's out of mojo. Jack's tracking the situation involving democratic senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. What would it mean if voters in his state, refused to reelect him? Jack has your e-mail. All of that coming up.
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BLITZER: Grim warnings of civil war in Iraq from two top U.S. generals, as they and the Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld appeared today before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Their very frank testimony and not contrast to what was said only a few months ago. For more now, we want to bring in our pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr and CNN's Michael Ware, he's in Beirut.
But as all of our viewers know, he covered the war in Iraq for a long time as "Time" magazine's bureau chief. Barbara, let's start with you. I want to play a sound byte from what the defense secretary said back in March and what he's testified today before the Senate committee. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The insurgents and terrorists are trying to cause a civil war. And so they've attacked the golden dome shrine and they're trying to create sectarian conflict. I don't think they're going to be successful. We can persevere in Iraq or we can withdraw prematurely. Until they force us to make a stand near home. But make no mistake, they are not going to give up, whether we acquiesce in their immediate demands or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: We know Barbara, the Secretary of Defense is very precise with his language. You cover him on a day to day basis. Have you seen a shift in his own public statements, as far as the current situation in Iraq is concerned?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: I think there is a shift Wolf, I think it is an evolution over time rather than conflicting statements. Clearly, the pentagon hoped when the new Iraqi government was put in, they would be able to control the violence that the violence would decrease. That simply has not happened, especially in Baghdad, sectarian violence on the rise. The United Nations now estimating as many as 100 Iraqi civilians on average die each day in attacks in that country.
BLITZER: Michael Ware, I want you to listen to General John Abizaid, as you know he's the commander of the U.S. military's central command, he's in overall charge of the entire Middle East region for the U.S. military. Listen to what he said back in March and listen to what he said today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, COMMANDER U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: I believe that we are not on the verge of a civil war. I believe that the sectarian issues are controllable.
I believe that the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I've seen it in Baghdad in particular, and that if not stopped, it is possible that Iraq could move towards civil war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: I traveled with him to Iraq last year Michael. He is a man very, very precise about his -- expert on the situation in Iraq as anyone in the United States military. What do you sense his words suggest to you as someone who spent a lot of time there?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It suggests to me that the military's public campaign, not its private assessments, but its public campaign has finally caught up with the reality on the ground. Now, that's a reality that's been clear and apparent, not just to the Iraqi people, not just to the generals, but also to military intelligence for all of this year, and even in some quarters at the end of last year. So in one sense, this is nothing new.
Everyone knows that Iraq is on the verge of civil war. If not, it's actually in a muted form of civil war. The only difference now is that General Abizaid is actually saying it publicly. And Secretary Rumsfeld is being very careful, he's mixing two separate issues, the civil war in Iraq with a terrorist threat to homeland America. One must be very careful of that war.
BLITZER: Barbara, listen to also General George Casey's, the overall U.S. military commander in Iraq, listen to what he said about U.S. troop levels back in June, only a few months ago, and what General Abizaid said today. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. GEORGE CASEY, U.S. COMMANDER IN IRAQ: I think we're going to be able to see continued gradual reductions of coalition forces over the coming months and into next year.
Senator, since the time that General Casey made that statement, it's clear that the operational and the tactical situation in Baghdad is such that it requires additional security forces, both U.S. and Iraqi.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And Barbara, as you have been reporting for a long time. They would have dearly liked to reduce U.S. force levels in Iraq toward the end of this year. Given the situation on the ground, doesn't look like it's going to happen.
STARR: Wolf that's exactly right. You know they've said since the beginning, troop withdrawals depend on conditions on the ground. They had hoped to be talking right now about bringing as many as two brigades of troops home, several thousand troops. Not going to happen.
Conditions on the ground are terrible especially in Baghdad and those troops are going to have to stay. In fact of course as we now know, over 3,000 troops are staying an additional four months. That's conditions on the ground right now, Wolf.
BLITZER: And I think you will agree Michael Ware, someone who has now been shuttling between Baghdad and Beirut, as dangerous as the situation is for you personally in Beirut right now, it's a whole lot more dangerous in Baghdad.
WARE: Yes, you're absolutely right, Wolf. I mean as perilous and as heart wrenching as the situation here in Lebanon is, it pales to the day to day of Iraq. I mean, for example, the horrific bombing in Qana, the mistake by the Israeli air forces, where they killed between 30 and 50 civilians in an air strike.
Now that is barely one ordinary day in Iraq. And the fight against the American soldier continues, relentlessly, as an unceasing drip feed of dead soldiers and wounded troops. Not to mention the Iraqi civilian death toll. It's astronomical -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Michael Ware doing some excellent reporting for us in Beirut and our Barbara Starr always doing excellent reporting at the pentagon. Thanks to both of you very much. Up next Jack Cafferty is wondering what it means when voters turn against Senator Joe Lieberman. He's standing by with the "Cafferty File."
Stay with us, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
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BLITZER: Live picture from Havana, Cuba, a city in the news right now. Let's go to Jack Cafferty in New York -- Jack.
CAFFERTY: Is Castro still alive?
BLITZER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Do you know that for sure?
BLITZER: That's what his sister said.
CAFFERTY: Oh OK, well she should know.
Heading into next Tuesday's primary Wolf, Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman is trailing his democratic opponent Ned Lamont by double digits, 54 41 in the latest poll. The question we asked is, what does it mean when the voters turn against a man of the caliber of Senator Lieberman.
Cel in Canada writes, "It means the caliber of his support for the war in Iraq for the imperial presidency and for the ram it down your throat republicans has been huge. For his anti-war constituents, not so much."
Bob in Pennsylvania, "This could lead to the state of Connecticut electing a republican at a time when the Senate's majority is in question. I'm afraid my old friend Joe is no longer a democrat or a patriot. He's become too concerned with his own personal importance. This is sad since I've always considered him a good man. The Senate does horrible things to people. Maybe it's time for a one-term limit." There's a good idea.
Ron in California, "Come on Jack, I am a democrat, I hate the way the party is all over the place on the issues. They have too many fish on the fire. Since Clinton left office the democrats have been making a bunch of fools out of themselves."
Roxy in Minnesota, "It means Americans are waking up from a deep sleep and they're unhappy with what they're seeing the morning after."
George in Michigan, "Joe Lieberman is a class act through and through. When will the ultra left wing also the ultra right wing understand that people like Joe Lieberman represent the majority of true Americans, people who work hard, raise their families and only want justice and fairness in society? If Joe Lieberman's political career ends, we should all be ashamed."
Josh in Oakville, Connecticut, "It means I'm getting tired of voting against people, when can I start voting for someone?"
And Sal in Poughkeepsie, "It means poor Joe is between Iraq and a hard place." You can see more of these online. If you didn't hear yours here, go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile and read more of these compelling e-mails from our viewers -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thank you very much. Jack Cafferty in New York.
And only within the past few minutes, huge explosions rocking the Lebanese capital of Beirut. We're going to go there. Stay with CNN for complete coverage. That's coming up right at the top of the hour and certainly complete coverage coming up 7:00 p.m. eastern, right here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Let's continue to take a look at Joe Lieberman and his future.
Ned Lamont's challenge to Senator Lieberman has been bolstered largely by liberal bloggers from around the country. They have raised money and appeared in commercials for the anti-war candidate. But have pro-Lamont bloggers now gone too far? Abbi Tatton has the story -- Abbi.
TATTON: Wolf this is a flap about a doctored photo that was posted on the Huffington Post Web site yesterday. Posted by a pro Lamont blogger, it featured Senator Lieberman shown in blackface. The blogger Jay Hampshire of firedoglake had recently criticized Senator Lieberman for his approach to black voters. Senator Lieberman said of this graphic, "It represented one of the most disgusting and hurtful images that has been used in American history."
And the campaign demanded that Lamont cut all ties to this blogger. The blogger, Jay Hampshire, has since taken this down at the request of the Lamont campaign. But both she and the campaign deny that she ever worked for Ned Lamont. She says yes she has fundraised for him, but she, like many other bloggers has done this, she says that the Lieberman campaign is using this to quote, "Score political points" -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Abbi thank you very much. That's it for this hour, 7:00 p.m. eastern, much more one hour from now. Let's go to Kitty Pilgrim, she's filling in for Lou -- Kitty.
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