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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview with Josh Hammer

Aired April 07, 2002 - 11:14   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We're still talking about Palestine and Israel, so let's go back to Israel for a look at the continuing violence from the perspective of our next guest. He is Josh Hammer, the Jerusalem Bureau Chief of "Newsweek Magazine." He's also the author of a book about the long conflict in that region. Thanks for joining us this morning, Josh.

JOSH HAMMER, NEWSWEEK MAGAZINE: You're welcome. The book hasn't been written yet. Please, don't start sending your (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

WHITFIELD: All right, soon to be on the stands.

HAMMER: In progress.

WHITFIELD: Yes, once you completed the work. All right, thanks very much for that clarification. Well, Colin Powell this morning said that, you know, here are his objectives. He wants to meet with Arab friends, Israeli friends, and European friends. Is it too late for success in trying to bring about the peace in the Middle East in our view?

HAMMER: Well, I think Colin Powell's mission has been described as "mission impossible." I would say it's mission nearly impossible. I mean clearly he brings greater stature than Zinni, but he's facing two extremely intransigent foes right now, and the fact of the matter is that the Palestinians at this moment see no reason to negotiate.

They see -- they've had no political offers on the table for many, many months, practically since Sharon took power. So there is very little incentive for any movement on the Palestinian side. And, of course, there's just deep distrust from both sides, especially from the leadership, Sharon and Arafat. So it's going to be a tremendously difficult mission.

WHITFIELD: Yes, you see it as a great risk that Powell is even being asked to make this mission now, as opposed to much earlier in the game when there were calls and requests for him to do so, or at least the Bush Administration to respond by sending somebody earlier.

HAMMER: Yes. Sure, I think it could be a significant loss in stature for him. I don't think this is exactly something that he's looking forward to on his 65th birthday. I mean, it's been -- Washington wags just describe it as one of the 65th birthday presents any man could get. So, it's just a -- there are just so many obstacles in the way now, and there's so much bad blood generated by this Sharon incursion.

On the other hand, you know, it could be argued that the Israelis have had a lot of success rooting out militants. They've certainly had much more success in this operation than they have in previous operations. But it's my belief that they can go in and kill hundreds of militants, but fundamentally it's not going to result in any progress towards a peace settlement.

WHITFIELD: And with Israel's continued defiance, as so many members of the Bush Administration this morning, throughout the weekend have said, you know, this is the message. Bush is asking for an immediate withdrawal and there's this continued defiance. How strained are now U.S. and Israeli relations?

HAMMER: Well, I think there have been some strains, certainly a strained phone call between Sharon and Bush, but I think that the language of President Bush and much of the government, the U.S. government has been pretty clearly pro-Israeli, and I think that basically a lot is going to depend on what happens over the next few days.

Obviously, Sharon has no wish to lose -- he needs America. He needs his relationship with Bush. Bush is practically the only friend he's got. So, it's -- I think he's going to try to see how many more days he can wangle out of this demand from Bush, maybe get a few more days to mop up operations.

But the pressure is going to be very intense, especially by the time Powell gets there to end, wind down these operations considerably, at least move men, move troops completely out of several West Bank towns and just show fundamental good faith, in order to maintain the strength of the Israeli relationship.

WHITFIELD: Well, you said it. The U.S. is really the only friend that Israel has so, which begs the question, if this ends up being a failed operation by Powell heading over there, might it have to be the option of the U.S. to pull out, back off its relations with Israel so that it doesn't jeopardize the relations with other Arab states?

HAMMER: It's a real conundrum for the United States, but I just don't see the United States getting to the point of breaking off or even winding down this relationship. These two nations are really like brothers, fundamentally, and the U.S. may believe that its brother is seriously misbehaving, but I can't imagine that there would be a real breaking off, or even a winding down of a relationship that's endured for 53 years.

WHITFIELD: All right, Josh Hammer, we're out of time, sorry about that, with Newsweek, thanks very much for joining us this morning from Jerusalem.

HAMMER: Sure. You're welcome.

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