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CNN Sunday Morning

Wall Street Trader Heads to Middle East

Aired July 14, 2002 - 11:08   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: From surviving the September 11 attacks to heading to the front lines in the Middle East, that's one Wall Street trader's experience. Here's CNN's John Vause with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He normally spends his days trading on Wall Street. He's 49. The knees aren't what they used to be, but for the last two weeks Alan Leventen, an American Israeli, has been Sergeant Leventen, patrolling a five-mile road in Israel's Magido Valley, armed with an M-16. Carrying a full pack, it's hot, hard work.

ALAN LEVENTEN, BORDER POLICE VOLUNTEER: Providing that I don't end up with a bullet in my ear or being blown into cat food from a road side bomb, I'm probably going to be a healthy person when I get back to New York.

VAUSE: After surviving 9/11, Allen says he was overcome with a sense of duty. He wanted to do something, anything, so he volunteered for two weeks with Israel's Border Police.

LEVENTEN: Thinking about if I was a terrorist, where would I want to be if I was going to conduct an ambush against a vehicle like this?

VAUSE: Allen had wanted to join the U.S. action in Afghanistan, but there was no call for part-time volunteers. So he came back to Israel, his second stint here in 30 years.

(on-camera): This is the green line. It was drawn up after Israel's war of independence in 1948. Palestinian territory is just over there. The town of Jenin only a few miles away. And Israeli authorities say, in the last year-and-a-half, at least 24 suicide bombers have come from that part of the West Bank.

(voice-over): It's also a path many Palestinians take to get to work in Israel. Eventually though, there will be a 10-foot electronic security fence along this road. But in the meantime, it'll be patrolled by volunteers like Allen alongside regular IDF soldiers, some less than half his age.

LEVENTEN: If I have to take the bullet, I'll take the bullet. I am willing to give my life to protect these people.

VAUSE: He's one of a few dozen foreign volunteers here and he plans to come back at least twice a year for the next few years as long as the knees hold out.

LEVENTEN: Let's go.

VAUSE: John Vause, CNN, the Magido Valley.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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