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CNN Saturday Morning News

Rockets Crisscross Israel-Lebanon Border; Israeli Forces Plow Deeper Into Lebanon; U.S. Diplomacy Picks Up in Lebanon; Second Positive Doping Test for Tour de France Champ Floyd Landis

Aired August 05, 2006 - 09:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning everyone. Welcome to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Tony Harris and Betty Nguyen with you.
Why are we affixed on that shot, you're asking? Well. we love a good implosion ...

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Implosion.

HARRIS: Well, as long as it is controlled and it goes off without a hitch.

NGUYEN: And nobody gets hurt.

HARRIS: So what you're looking at now is a shot at Hartsfield- Jackson International Airport, once known as the world's busiest airport until Delta started having its problems. Check this out. North America's tallest freestanding air traffic control tower set to come down any moment now, crumbling to the ground. The tower is actually being moved -- correct me if I'm wrong here, Betty -- 231 feet. Is that what you have?

NGUYEN: Two hundred and thirty one feet tall. It is going to topple over and then they are going carry it off in pieces to clear the way.

HARRIS: That's all that will be left.

NGUYEN: But here's what is going to go in its place though. This is pretty exciting, especially for folks who travel a lot because there is going to be a new international terminal here at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, and so that's is what is going to be in its place. And what we're waiting on is for somebody, and that somebody being the airport chief, to press the button so we can see this thing crumble to the ground.

HARRIS: You got it.

NGUYEN: All right. Not happening right now, but there are other things that are happening.

HARRIS: Let's update you on the crisis in the Middle East. Here is what we know right now. Israel urges civilians to flee the southern Lebanese city of Sidon. Israel's military is dropping leaflets, presumably in advance of airstrikes on the city. Hezbollah fires at least a half dozen rockets into the Israeli port city of Haifa. Israeli police say two houses were hit and nine people wounded. Israel pounds the southern Lebanese city of Tyre. Israeli jets and helicopters swoop in. Commandos sweep across the city. Israeli Defense Forces report several casualties in fierce fighting against Hezbollah militants.

NGUYEN: Not to worry. We will bring you pictures of the implosion when it does happen.

But in the meantime, an extremely busy day in the Middle East. Rockets crisscross the border and Israeli forces plow deeper into Lebanon. There has been a lot of fighting and lot of bloodshed since you went to bed last night. So lets get the latest now from the region. We have CNN correspondents fanned out across this conflict.

We begin with CNN's John Roberts. He's embedded with Israeli troops and joins us by phone from the Israeli Lebanese border.

Good morning John.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SR. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Good morning to you, Betty. A lot of fighting going on in the vicinity where I'm embedded with an Israeli reserve group. We can hear tank fire, mortar fire, as well.

The group that I'm with call themselves the Tank Hunters. We came in on foot last night, an infantry unit walking for about seven hours. Deep into Lebanese territory, deep into the heart of where all of the action is. Very dangerous area, a number of Israeli soldiers has been killed in this general area in the last few days.

Three in an area not too far from where I am right now. The goal of these tank hunters is not to go out and kill tanks because the only people that have tanks right now are the Israelis. What they are tasked with is going out and finding the Hezbollah fighters, trying to neutralizer them and also get a handle on these Katyusha rockets that are still being fired, while the ones that are hitting Haifa are being fired from the area of Tyre, according to the Israel Defense Forces. There are many more that are going into central towns and eastern along the border.

It is believed that they are being fired from this area of southern Lebanon. So this group is going to go out very soon and start looking for the Hezbollah fighters, looking for those Katyusha rocket launchers trying to neutralizer them.

The goal here is to hold as much territory as quickly as possible so that they can get a buffer zone established in hopes that that international peace keeping force or international stabilization force is going to come in. Hear tank firing just there in the background. There is not a whole lot of trust here for this two-part resolution at the United Nations.

The Israelis have seen what UNIFIL can and cannot do. Mostly cannot do since 1978. That's the U.N. force that's been in southern Lebanon. So an expansion of that force really isn't very satisfactory to them. They will need to pull out if this resolution is adopted but it could be that once the resolution is adopted and the U.N. force starts to expand, we got a rocket coming in here. We got a rocket coming in. And it seems to have passed overhead, thankfully.

NGUYEN: Goodness. Are you all right, John?

ROBERTS: What I was about to -- that was one of the Katyusha rockets flying right over our head, presumably aimed toward northern Israel. Everybody in the unit that I'm with took cover. But as I was saying it is likely that Israel would have to sort of drag -- I don't want to say drag its feet. Would have a slow withdrawal from the area if this expanded United Nations force comes in because they do not trust the United Nations.

They want this large some 15,000 members being talked about international force to come in here. That's when they would fully withdraw. There you hear another tank firing. Obviously a hot day here, Betty.

NGUYEN: Without putting yourself in any danger because I know if you need to go you need to go. Give us a sense of the danger that's involved in the operation that you're embedded with right now because it apparently seems like it's a hot zone.

ROBERTS: It is a very hot zone. Because this unit that I'm with operates on foot it doesn't have -- armor, however it should be pointed out that many of the troops that have died in this conflict since that terrible day at Bint Jbiel for the Israeli military have been in armored personnel carriers in tanks. Hezbollah has the anti- tank rockets. They are very powerful missiles able to easily go through armor.

It hasn't been the infantry that has taken the brunt of the casualties here in the last few days. It's been the armor, also a number of paratroopers who were holed up in a house. So these infantry soldiers that I'm with now they feel quite comfortable about moving around on open ground.

They know how to take cover; they know how to take cover of themselves. Many of the people in this unit are veterans of the first operation into Lebanon back in 1982 through the year 2000. They know the terrain. They know what to expect. But every once in a while Hezbollah does surprise them.

NGUYEN: Well, besides the rockets that are coming in, you are on foot on the ground. Are you coming in contact with Hezbollah? Is there any ground-to-ground fighting?

ROBERTS: We haven't as of yet. This force that I'm with that's the mission is to go out and engage the Hezbollah fighters. We expect as we will see some of that as the hours progress today Betty.

NGUYEN: All right. John Roberts. We appreciate your time. Do stay safe. Of course we'll be staying with you throughout the day and getting the latest information. Tony, did you have something?

HARRIS: No. That was well done. Well reported. Thank you, John.

A part of Israel's strategy against Hezbollah is apparently to isolate Beirut. Israel says it's to keep Hezbollah from bringing weapons in from Syria. Syria denies that it is happening.

CNN's Beirut bureau chief Brent Sadler is here to tell us what has been happening there.

Brent, good morning to you.

BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Tony. As you say the Lebanese capital more isolated than ever before as a result of a series of airstrikes against infrastructure yesterday. More airstrikes against Hezbollah strong hold in the southern suburbs overnight. Let's take a quick look at what has been happening on the political front.

Middle East envoy David Welch, who's the assistant secretary -- U.S. assistant secretary for Near Eastern affairs is here in Lebanon on a top-level mission. He's already met with Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Siniora. Also had a very, very important meeting with the speaker of the Lebanese parliament. He has been speaking on behalf of Hezbollah during these top-level negotiations.

Remember, Tony that it was last week that Condoleezza Rice had to cancel a trip to Lebanon after there was a serious loss of Lebanese life after the Israeli attack on a village south called Qana. But now U.S. diplomacy has picked up here in the Lebanese capital and the Lebanese government and the cabinet will be meeting in session this afternoon to examine the fine details of what the United States is thinking, what the French and other Europeans are thinking about how to stop this fighting.

There does seem to be a rough consensus emerging that there could be a cessation of hostilities coming out in the form of a U.N. resolution as early as Tuesday or Wednesday next week. But that first of what is expected to be two resolutions would not necessarily stop the fighting.

It would be a cessation of hostilities not a firm cease-fire. And it would lead to in the phase between the first and second resolution and very unstable situation and the fighting could erupt very quickly if indeed it stops at all -- Tony.

HARRIS: Still very unsettled situation. CNN's Brent Sadler for us in Beirut. Brent, thank you.

NGUYEN: And this just in to CNN. Let's take a look at this pictures that we're getting in from northern Israel. We have shown you a little bit earlier today Metullah where a rocket was fired there. Now all we can tell you about this location is that it is somewhere in northern Israel. It appears that this is in a residential area, though, while the details of it are not being made clear just yet. See the smoke.

If we can take the banner down, the crisis in the Middle East banner take that down so we can see where the smoke is coming from. It appears to be coming from some kind of a rooftop down there. We don't know what kind of casualties it may have caused. There you go. There's a better view of it. And as you can see this is right in the middle where many civilians were probably living.

Although we understand that many are in shelters but then if you look toward the top part of your screen, you can see smoke coming in two different places there, as well. So the latest and rockets that are being fired back and forth between Israel and Lebanon, these apparently have -- this area in Israel has taken a hit.

Looks like in a couple of places there. See the smoke billowing into the sky. We're working this and trying to determine what kind of casualties may have occurred because of it. But no doubt it has been a busy, very busy day in these crises in the Middle East.

HARRIS: Well as you can see just to stay with the picture just a bit longer. There is smoke obviously in the foreground and as you look to the top of the screen you can see some smoke in the background, as well. And all we can tell you right now is this is an area, a city in northern ...

NGUYEN: Kiryat Shmona is what I'm being told right now.

Kiryat Shmona.

HARRIS: Kiryat Shmona. Well that's an area that has been the location of some fierce fighting.

NGUYEN: Yes be it has.

HARRIS: During the past week. So once again so some renewed fighting in Kiryat Shmona. Obviously some Katyusha rocket fire into northern Israel in the foreground there you can see one of the strikes and the smoke that resulted. Obviously, no way to tell if anyone on the ground was hurt.

And then in the background there you can see more smoke seemingly from another Katyusha rocket attack, as well. So clearly the fighting is continuing on both sides of the border in the last hour we showed you live pictures of Katyusha rocket attacks in the northern Israeli city, the village of Metullah.

So clearly as John Roberts reported a moment ago a lot of action right now, both sides of the border. We will continue to follow it.

NGUYEN: And speaking of following it, let's get to CNN's Ben Wedeman in Tyre, Lebanon where Israeli commanders launched a raid against Hezbollah fighters already today. Bring us up to speed on that Ben.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well actually first of all I was listening to you talk about the Katyusha strike on Kiryat Shmona. Just before John Roberts gave his report in which he mentioned a Katyusha flying overhead we heard in the distance the roar of outgoing rockets being fired so we may well have been all along the way hearing them leave here, flying over John's head and hitting Kiryat Shmona. So that has really been the case for most of the day.

We have heard these rockets going out. We have heard really almost constant come bombardment in the distance by artillery and by airstrikes. Regarding the raid overnight here in Tyre, we were woken up by 3:00 in the morning; the skies were swarming with Israeli helicopters and aircraft as they were bombing targets in and around the town. I came out here to this spot at about 3:30 and saw bombs falling not too far from here in some cases they temporarily knocked out the electricity in Tyre.

What Israel -- the Israeli forces were trying to do, they were conducting a raid on a five-story building to the north of here. The helicopters, two helicopters apparently landed in citrus groves to the north of the city. They went to this five-story building.

Apparently they were going after men involved in the firing of these long-range rockets. The Israelis claim they killed several of these members of Hezbollah in fact one Israeli defense official saying that the operation was a success. He said everyone we wanted to kill we killed.

Hezbollah's taken a slightly different spin on this. They are saying they successfully repulsed the Israeli raid in the process killing one Israeli naval commando and wounding three others. Israel concedes that eight of its commandos were wounded, two of them very seriously.

Meanwhile, to the north of here, we have heard that in Sidon, which is a city about an hour to the north of here, Israel has dropped leaflets warning the inhabitants of that city to leave. That is a city north of the Litani; an area that it was thought was not going to be within the sort of range of Israel's intensive air bombardment. This could possibly mean more refugees, more people fleeing a very large city. Sidon is the third largest city in Lebanon to reach safety -- Betty.

HARRIS: Well, Ben, can folks leave? Let me ask you about that. We talked a lot about the infrastructure being pretty much wiped out. If people are being told to leave Sidon is there a way out? Is there a passage out?

WEDEMAN: There is a passage out in normal times it's about a 45- minute drive on a Lebanese superhighway from Sidon to Beirut. Now you have to go up in the mountains on some twisting roads. It takes about three hours if you're lucky. And that's really the only way out of there.

There's no inland routes left at this point. And this is really typical for most of southern Lebanon, at least; certainly to get from here to Sidon for instance we go on roads that are cratered. Bridges have been blasted. You have to take various detours. People will be able to leave Sidon it won't be very easy -- Betty. NGUYEN: CNN's Ben Wedeman joining us from Tyre today, an area that has seen a loft action. Of course we will be speaking with you shortly, as well -- Tony.

HARRIS: Just an amazing sequence we have been able to play out for you again in real time on the air here. Ben Wedeman reporting that he may have been on the front end of the firing of the Katyusha rockets that eventually landed where very close to where John Roberts is reporting from.

In fact, at one point John Roberts had to stop for a moment because he reported that the rocket was flying directly overhead. And it looks like those rockets found their mark in the town of Kiryat Shmona. Now, this is a town that has been under heavy bombardment from these Katyusha rockets.

Remember back to Thursday, when more than 12 of those rockets actually landed in that town. This is a town of about 25,000 people. By all estimates about 5,000 people are left in Kiryat Shmona. For the most part they are sort of hunkered down if you will in shelters trying to stay out of the line of direct fire.

So again these pictures that you're seeing now and another picture we had a look at before, the foreground image of the smoke coming from a rocket that landed. Then there were images in the background of smoke where another rocket landed.

Once again Kiryat Shmona, this is in northern Israel again the target of these Katyusha rockets apparently according to Ben Wedeman's report fired from Tyre, Lebanon. And that is an area that the Israel Defense Force continues to target heavily with overnight air raids and airstrikes on the area trying to knock out the positions where those Katyusha rockets have been fired from.

NGUYEN: Despite all of the airstrikes from Israel, continue to be fired from Tyre. So that's why that maintains or continues to be a very hot zone and now we're seeing Kiryat Shmona being hit by rockets. It's a really interesting look at how it's being fired from both sides.

HARRIS: That's right.

NGUYEN: We have reporters on the ground that can give us that bird's eye view.

In the meantime we do want to invite you to tune in tonight-on CNN for a complete overview of this Middle East crisis over the past seven days. That is "This Week at War," it airs at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 4:00 Pacific.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right. Take a look at this. Latest developments in the crises in the Mid East, you are looking at a lot of smoke coming from two different areas in Kiryat Shmona, which was on the receiving end of the latest missile coming in from Lebanon. And you can see damage has been done. Now what we don't know is exactly where this hit.

We were looking at some pictures a little bit earlier and it appeared to be a residential area. See a hole -- looks like clouds there. So filled with smoke. But definitely couple areas on fire as we speak as soon as we get more information we'll bring that to you.

In the meantime Israel has dropped leaflets over Sidon, Lebanon's third largest city, urging residents there to leave. That's usually a prelude to Israeli airstrikes. Israeli commandos today raided an apartment building in the coastal city of Tyre, which they say was used to launch rockets into Israel. The Israel military says eight commandos were wounded and a number of Hezbollah fighters were killed.

Now several Hezbollah rockets were lobbed at Israel today, we showed you some a minute ago, including those that hit Haifa and Metullah as well. But Israel says some rockets actually overshot Israeli territory and landed in Syria.

Be sure to stay tuned to CNN tonight for a complete overview of the Middle East crisis over the past seven days. Today is day 25. That's "This Week at War," 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 4:00 Pacific.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So a second positive doping test for Tour de France champ Floyd Landis. There are a lot of unanswered questions. That is why we have invited Will Selva here. How did we get here?

WILL SELVA, CNN SPORTS: Well exactly. That's what everybody is wondering right now. But to be fair, this didn't come as a surprise to Floyd Landis or his legal team. After his epic stage 17 comeback of the Tour de France, Floyd Landis submitted a urine sample, which came back positive for a ratio of 11-1. It was well above the four to one limit.

A backup b sample was tested. It confirmed the findings of the first test. The international cycling union will refer the case to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which will hold a hearing. If he is found guilty, Landis faces a two-year ban and be the first Tour de France winner in it's 103-year history to have his title stripped.

The title will then to the runner-up. After the ruling Landis can appeal the decision. That could take several months. Landis' a Swiss-based team has already fired him. Landis however vows to fight to clear his name. In a statement this morning, just a few hours ago, Landis said, "I will fight these charges with the same determination and intensity that I bring to my training and racing. It is now my goal to clear my name and restore what I worked so hard to achieve."

Landis said he had been tested eight times through the course of the Tour de France and every single time the test come back positive and Tony, he is not naive enough to think that people aren't going to be suspicious about that.

HARRIS: You meant to say he had been tested eight times and he never tested positive before. SELVA: That is right.

HARRIS: This was the first positive test.

SELVA: That's right.

HARRIS: Two in a row. On and b.

SELVA: And there are possible explanations. Thyroid medication, Cortisone shots, alcohol, dehydration but his own personal physician thinks it's not because of the Cortisone shot or the thyroid medication and leading anti-doping expert also says that dehydration is also not a reason because you have to remember he was ahead of the pack, he had consumed over 70 bottles of water and his team was behind him so they were able to replenish him in what he needed.

HARRIS: Does not look good. We'll wait.

NGUYEN: The appeals process and see how that plays out.

SELVA: Yes and he is innocent until proven guilty.

NGUYEN: But as we understand he may be stripped of his title until that appeals process is over with.

HARRIS: Good to see you.

NGUYEN: Thank you.

HARRIS: So what is the cycling community's reaction to the Floyd Landis test? We'll find out next hour. When cycling expert talks to us live.

NGUYEN: He is Mr. Tour de France. The man with information on this one. Our coverage of the crisis in the Middle East, it does continue.

HARRIS: And just a little while Hezbollah launched a new set of rockets into northern Israel. And hours before that Israeli navy commandos raided Lebanon's port city of Tyre.

NGUYEN: This is day 25; you know what so far no end in sight. We do have a team of reporters in the region. We'll give you live reports at the top of the hour.

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