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CNN Live Sunday

Israel Says Will Accept New International Peacekeeping Force in Southern Lebanon; President Bush Hears Pressure to Push for Cease Fire

Aired July 23, 2006 - 19:00   ET

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

MALE ANNOUNCER: Attack and counterattack. More civilians maimed. The battle builds up. Can the U.S. do the diplomatic dance?
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I fully expect that the diplomat work for peace will be difficult.

MALE ANNOUNCER: Or is an Israeli invasion imminent?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course they will fight the invading force of Israel if it tries to come inside.

MALE ANNOUNCER: This is a special edition of "CNN LIVE SUNDAY." Crisis in the Middle East, day 12.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: It is 2:00 a.m. in Israel, 7:00 p.m. at the CNN World Headquarters. Hello. I'm Carol Lin.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Roberts live in Haifa, Israel, where it's been another day of rocket attacks and cross-border clashes, and the first steps in diplomacy to try to bring an end to the hostilities is underway. We'll have complete coverage live for you from the Middle East, but right now with a wrap-up of the day's events, let's go back to Atlanta, and here's Carol.

LIN: John, here's what we know right now, the latest CNN war bulletin. A U.S. congressional delegation in the Middle East is backing Israel's military action against Hezbollah guerrillas. A hint of a possible solution. Israel's defense minister suggests a national peace keeping force in southern Lebanon. And this as Israel's former prime minister and military general Ariel Sharon's condition declines. Sharon had a massive stroke back in January.

Now, Lebanese security officials say at least 266 killed and more than 631 wounded. From Israeli military sources, 17 civilians have died, and another 20 military deaths have been reported. The number of Israelis injured now stands at more than 300. Now let's go back to John Roberts live in Israel -- John?

ROBERTS: Thanks, Carol. A total of 90 missiles reported to be fired into Israel by Hezbollah according to the Israel Defense Forces. Fifteen of those fell here in Haifa. The air raid sirens went off early this morning at about 11:00 when the first barrage of nine missiles that we counted came in.

Three of those landed inside the city, one of them in neighborhood about three miles away, a neighborhood called Neshur (ph). It's a hillside neighborhood overlooking the Gulf of Haifa. We went out, and we saw that house that this rocket had hit. It belonged to a fellow in his 40s and his young son. They had hid in the shelter that they had built in the basement.

And even though the rocket literally blew the top off the house, it went through the floor, down to the basement where they were hiding. They miraculously escaped uninjured.

Two other people, though, in this area weren't as fortunate. They died in those rocket attacks. Up along the border, the Israel Defense Forces continue their artillery barrage on Hezbollah outposts and strongholds, trying to suppress those missile firings.

There's also continued cross-border incursions today by the Israeli forces. No one, perhaps except those forces, has a better vantage point of what's going on in those cross-border skirmishes than our Christiane Amanpour. Let's go to her live now in northern Israel hard along the border there with Lebanon -- Christiane?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the chief of staff of the northern command up here is saying that now, all their troops, those that they have inside southern Lebanon, are going quite deep. He said in the depth, deep inside in some areas.

The main focus at the moment, though, remains to try, according to Osraeli army chief -- to try and get rid of the Hezbollah what they call strongholds and outposts along the border. That's not just above ground. Outposts and infrastructure, but below ground, as well. And that is why they have the ground forces there, we're told.

But it's not going as fast as perhaps one would expect with this massive Israeli military might against a guerrilla army. We saw that the town of Maroun al-Ras, which was claimed to be in Israeli hands and is still claimed to be in Israeli hands since yesterday, still there is fighting there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

An Israeli tank rumbles back across the border from Lebanon after battling Hezbollah militants in the small, hilltop town of Maroun al- Ras. Olhad (ph), the tank commander, said it was a very hard battle. Two of their tanks were ambushed.

"They were ready for us. They have a lot of ammunition, they have guns, they have everything they need," he says. In all, six Israeli soldiers were killed and several more were wounded in the fight for this one village.

Even though the army high command says they've now captured the village, their helicopters and tanks are still shelling it, and their soldiers are still trading fire there with Hezbollah. And Hezbollah's Katyushas keep coming, volleys of them into northern Israel. Flames from several days of rocket fire lick the edges of Kiryat Shmona, the biggest Israeli town up here. BRIG. GEN. SHUKI SHACHAR, ISRAELI DEPUTY NORTHERN COMMANDER: I didn't say that we're making great. I said that we're operating our forces according to the situation in the area, and it's the process that needs time to accomplish the missions.

AMANPOUR: General Shachar says Hezbollah has built up a big arsenal and dug in positions along the border in the six years since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon.

SHACHAR: Thousands of missiles are under the ground. Even if we hit about 40, 50 percent of the missiles, they still have thousands still with them.

AMANPOUR: Israel says its fighter bombers have made 1,500 sorties, and they've not finished the air war yet. From the ground, they say they've fired more than 20,000 rounds of artillery, and their infantry and special forces are penetrating deeper into southern Lebanon, pushing Hezbollah back.

But far from promising a quick end, the army chiefs tell the Israeli public to be patient. The Hezbollah flag is still flying.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Now, the chief of staff who briefed us this morning also took repeated questions again as they are increasingly now taking questions about civilian casualties inside Lebanon.

And about this car, this mini bus in Tyre which was taking civilians out under orders from the Israelis and then was struck in an air attack, the chief of staff said he was obviously sorry about that, but he said that sometimes in war, they make mistakes, and they misidentified the enemy.

In the meantime, the Israeli officials from the prime minister to the defense minister are saying that they will consider seriously the deployment of an international force in southern Lebanon -- John?

ROBERTS: Thanks, Christiane. And worldwide concern does continue to build over the mounting casualties in Lebanon. We heard an F-16 flying overhead just a second ago. You might be able to hear the rumble in the background there possibly on its way to another bombing run.

There were explosions today in southern suburbs of Beirut as well as attacks, as Christiane said, in the port city of Tyre and as well, further north to Sidon. Nic Robertson in Beirut has been monitoring those developments today. Here's his report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jan Egeland, the U.N.'s top relief coordinator, is the most senior international official to tour Beirut's bombed out buildings. And he's shocked.

JAN EGELAND, U.N. HUMANITARIAN AIR COORDINATOR: We are calling for a total stop to these attacks, which are, in our view, excessive and indiscriminate.

ROBERTSON: In Hezbollah's heartland, he told the guerilla group to stop shelling Israel.

EGELAND: The rockets going into Israel have to stop.

ROBERTSON: Despite the rhetoric, though, he is powerless to stop the fighting. His job is to get food, medicine and bedding to the hundreds of thousands fleeing their homes in the south of the country. And right now, he doesn't have security guarantees from the Israeli government to do that either.

EGELAND: At the moment, there are no one inside Lebanon. Many believe that, many even countries, leaders, believe that and announce that. It's not true. We only have until Beirut, and we can distribute there, but we cannot go down south.

ROBERTSON: In a Beirut park crammed with refugees, Egeland came face to face with the growing anger of people that the international community is yet to help.

Families are gathering under trees to try and get shelter from the sun. They've got a few possessions. A towel here. Some cooking implements here. A plastic bag of possessions. But what they say to us here is, "Don't send people to come and watch and talk to us. What we need is food. We need permanent shelter. We need the bombing to stop," they're telling us. And they want to go home.

Egeland says that in Beirut alone, as many as 120,000 people are in refugee centers like this. He plans an emergency three-month $100 million dollar relief effort, convoys of 100 trucks to distribute supplies shipped into Beirut from the southern port city of Tyre. But the plan is still dependent on Israeli say-so, and that worries the already overstretched Lebanese officials.

Ekram Ibrahim (ph) did manage to make the journey to the south of Lebanon. Shelled when hiding at home and again on the road, she says. "We were all injured," she says. My husband lost his legs. My 3- year-old lost a finger.

For many others still in the south, the rush northwards for safety continues, fleeing shelling, following Israeli warnings they should evacuate their homes. Lebanese government figures put the total number of displaced people at well over half a million, most still stuck out of the U.N.'s reach in the south.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And in the south after nightfall, we've heard from the port city of Tyre from the CNN team there that they've seen south of the city over the sea, over the coastline there, large what they describe as lights like flares hanging in the sky.

And one of the Arabic language networks here in Lebanon is reporting that a Palestinian refugee camp just south of Tyre has been struck by bombs tonight. There are 25,000 Palestinian refugees living in that camp. We are waiting independent confirmation about that being reported by one Lebanese broadcaster -- John?

ROBERTS: If that were true, Nic, that would be a troubling development. Nic Robertson live in Beirut.

Of course, as the death toll on northern side of the border continues to climb, there is more hope that there may be a diplomat solution found to this crisis. Let's go back to Atlanta. Carol Lin's got more on that -- Carol?

LIN: That's right, John. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice leaves Washington today to begin that diplomatic dance in the Middle East. Late last week, she met with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and they did talk about the need for a long-term solution.

But today there was a big meeting at the White House with the secretary of state, the president, and some Saudi officials. Kathleen Koch covering that story for us live from the White House -- Kathleen?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, this is a very delicate time right now. The pressure in the international community is mounting for an immediate cease-fire. And President Bush heard that directly from one of the more influential players in the region.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Fresh back from a weekend in Crawford, Texas, President Bush met with Saudi diplomats who called for an immediate cease-fire, delivering a letter from King Abdullah. The Saudis pointed to one major hurdle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is only one problem in this crisis. It is Lebanon and the inability of Lebanon to exercise its sovereignty over its territory. This is what we both agreed was the primary concern of everybody.

The U.S. hopes its Arab ally will sway its neighbor Syria to pressure Hezbollah to free the Israeli soldiers and stop shelling Israel. But Saudi diplomats say President Bush made no direct request for them to talk to Syria. Since the start of the crisis, the White House has maintained U.S. negotiations with Syria would be pointless.

JOSH BOLTEN, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: During the entirety of the first term, the administration had a number of very close, direct contacts with the Syrian government, which didn't do any good. They continued to allow terrorism to flourish. They supported it. They supported Hezbollah.

KOCH: But one U.S. lawmaker warned it's dangerous to let another country make U.S. arguments.

SEN. CHRIS DODD (D), CONNECTICUT: You cannot outsource your diplomacy here. We have too many issues that we have to resolve.

KOCH: Syria maintains it would welcome direct talks with the U.S. about the ongoing crisis. DR. IMAD MOUSTAPHA, SYRIA'S AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: If the United States wants to involve in serious diplomacy, of course Damascus is more than willing to engage.

KOCH: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice joined in the meeting before heading to the region for talks. Though Israel welcomes her visit as timely, neither the U.S. nor Israel are ready to talk timetables for a cease-fire.

DANIEL AYALON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: This battle has to be won. And the way to win this battle against the terrorists and against Iran and Syria is not by timing it with a stopper, with a stopwatch. It's by reaching the results. It may take a few days more, a few weeks more.

KOCH: The U.S. is going to talk about the possibility of a new international peacekeeping force in Lebanon, including an Israeli proposal to include NATO forces.

JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: We haven't discussed the possibility of U.S. boots on the ground in Lebanon, but I think that we want to be open-minded on what's doable here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH: The White House had no direct comment on the Saudi proposals presented to the president today. They only did put out one statement insisting that the two governments were united on the shared goals of helping the Lebanese people and restoring the sovereignty of their government -- Carol?

LIN: Kathleen, thank you very much.

Coming up later in this hour, I'm actually going to be talking exactly about what the Lebanese government can actually do or should do. But we also want to hear from you, our CNN viewers. Do you think diplomacy will work in the Middle East? Email us at Weekend@CNN.com. We're going to read some of your comments later this hour.

Now, with fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon showing no signs of ending, we are also going to take an in- depth look at the terror organization. Anderson Cooper hosts CNN PRESENTS: INSIDE HEZBOLLAH. That's tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Now, coming up, a dangerous job that could be deadly. Should an international force patrol the Israeli-Lebanon border? Or is the region just too risky?

Plus, ground war. If Israel invades, what will it look like? How disastrous could it be? And how big of a fight would Hezbollah put up?

And later, home sweet home. American evacuees back on U.S. soil. But their trek back was anything but easy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Israel says it will accept a new international peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon. Now, Hezbollah is so powerful and so influential that peacekeeping would be a hugely dangerous mission. Our Gary Nurenberg has some background.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When Italian army Captain Roberto Punzo (ph) was hit by Hezbollah gunfire Sunday, he became, according to the Associated Press, the second member of a United Nations monitoring team wounded in the latest fighting.

TIMUR GOKSEL, FORMER UNIFIL SPOKESPERSON: It's very, very dangerous.

NURENBERG: Leaders at last week's G8 summit endorsed insertion of a new international force. Timur Goksel was with the U.N. interim forces in Lebanon known as UNIFIL for 24 years.

GOKSEL: You have to have extremely careful ground preparation and political negotiations to make sure that you get the consent of the parties. Otherwise, you are an occupancy force; you're a target.

NURENBERG: CNN military analyst James Marks says any new peacekeepers have to be perceived as objective and more effective at deterring attacks than the current U.N. force, which has been in Lebanon since 1978.

BRIG. GEN. JAMES MARKS (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: You put someone in there that doesn't have a dog in a fight but will make a difference on the ground.

NURENBERG: That could mean a force that is NATO-led, an idea welcomed by Israel over the weekend. But there is no agreement yet.

RICE: The questions about what kind of force it is, what its command structure is -- is it a U.N. force, is it an international assistance force? Those are the discussions that are going on.

NURENBERG: The use of international peacekeeping forces became common in the last half of the 20th century. Cyprus, the stopping off point for this week's evacuees from Lebanon, saw U.N. peacekeepers inserted between Greek and Turkish Cypriots in 1964. And a smaller version of that force remains there today.

Lebanon has been dangerous to peacekeepers; 241 American marines serving in peacekeeping force were killed in 1983 in a Hezbollah bombing in Beirut. NATO forces began serves as peacekeepers in Kosovo in 1999 and are expected to expand their peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan later this month.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: That was our CNN's Gary Nurenberg reporting.

Now, coming up, poised to strike. Israeli troops brace at the border. Is an invasion imminent? One former general say it is essential. That's next.

And later, the Lebanese plight. Deal with Hezbollah or with Israel. We're going to talk options coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know only one thing. As a mother, I know that all mothers are suffering. All mothers want their sons back home.

LIN: The mother of a missing Israeli soldier taken hostage by Hezbollah. She is just one of the many casualties in this war. Is it possible to kill one enemy and have Israel not create ten times more? The endgame taking place along the Israeli-Lebanese border may not even end if a multinational force occupies southern Lebanon. CNN's military analyst, retired brigadier general James "Spider" Marks in Washington.

Spider, good to have you tonight. I want to pass on an observation by our Ben Wedeman, who is in southern Lebanon. He has never seen so many different Lebanese factions united over one issue, and that is being against the bombing campaign by Israel. How does Israel achieve its military goals without aggravating the region to such a point that they create ten times more enemies?

MARKS: Well, that's a very good question. And it really is the clash of the moral domain and the physical domain of combat in that you want to try to be as precise as you can, minimize collateral damage, don't strike civilians, but also put enough pressure, put enough killing power, be as aggressive as you can, to send an unequivocal message that actions of Hezbollah will not stand.

And the challenge is, as you described, Carol, because Hezbollah exists and lives and intermingles routinely with the citizens of Lebanon, that becomes very hard to distinguish friend and foe.

LIN: We talked in the last couple of hours about this notion of a multinational force occupying Lebanon at some point if peace can be achieved. How do you think -- or do you think peace will be achieved? Where is the end to -- where is the endgame here?

MARKS: Well, I think in the short-term, the end game can be described as a cessation of hostilities so that you could then bring an international force in and try to maintain that very fragile peace that's been achieved. Again, how do you define peace? As long as nobody is fighting and there isn't any continued violence, then you've achieved an element of peace.

Bring a force in. Give them the task and purpose to maintain that peace. But they also have to have the ability to make peace if that peace doesn't hold. In other words, they've got to have enough fighting capability to go after bad guys and stay in between.

LIN: What if the Lebanese government says no to a multinational force? Then what? MARKS: Israel will stay where they are until they can achieve their objectives. And if the Lebanese government says no, at some point, there will be a lot of international pressure that will bend them. In other words, I think Lebanon might say no, but a likely outcome would be a lot of pressure, Lebanon eventually would concede, an international body would have to come in there, international force on the ground.

LIN: Spider, I want a quick reaction to you. This just landed on my desk here that the Israeli Defense Force confirms it's captured two Lebanese suspected of terrorist activity. These arrests happened along the town of Maroun al-Raf, the southern Lebanese town which Israeli forces are occupying right now. Not confirming whether these two are members of Hezbollah. Give me a very quick idea of what you think is happening on the ground right now.

MARKS: Well, I would think that Israel probably has some other prisoners of war that they've captured when they took the village of Maroun al-Ras. They probably have just declared that they now have these two guys. It's too early to determine, but it's important to realize that these two soldiers probably have a lot of intelligence about what the dynamics were like inside that village that the IDF will need to get from them as they continue to make their operations and head north.

LIN: Retired Brigadier General James "Spider" Marks. Thank you very much.

MARKS: Thanks, Carol.

LIN: Coming up, the delicate diplomatic dance. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in flight to the Middle East right now. What she faces. That's next.

Plus, left behind in Lebanon. An American family now back home in the United States. Hear their amazing story coming up.

SHANON COOK, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Shanon Cook. Coming up in other world headlines, Saddam Hussein out of court and in the hospital. I'll tell you why when CNN LIVE SUNDAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Welcome back to CNN's in depth coverage of the crisis in the Middle East. I'm Carol Lin at CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta.

ROBERTS: And I'm John Roberts.

In Haifa Israel where it's quiet on the Israeli side of the border, but Israeli jets and artillery continue to pound the Lebanese side. We'll have the latest on the situation, and diplomatic efforts to bring an end to hostilities.

But first, a wrap-up of today's news here in the Middle East. Here's Carol in Atlanta. LIN: Thanks very much, John.

Let's get you up to speed on our latest war bulletin. Here is what we know right now.

A fresh barrage of bombs and rockets today falling on both sides of the border. More than 60 hit northern Israel, killing two civilians.

Now, in southern Lebanon air strikes killed at least one person. Lebanon's minister of foreign affairs says two Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah militants are "in good health and safe." Now, You may recall the capture of those soldiers sparked the current crisis.

Israel says it would accept a multinational peace keeping force in southern Lebanon to diffuse the crisis, a complicated matter indeed. But we're going to go straight to the front lines in Israel now with CNN's John Roberts.

ROBERTS: And Carol, that idea that the Israeli government may be open to the idea of a multinational peace keeping force, perhaps under a mandate from the United Nations, but under the heading of NATO, is a significant development because this is something that the Israeli officials have been resisting for some time. They know that there's a U.N. force up there in since 1978 that's been basically useless in terms of keeping down terrorists attacks against Israel from the northern side of the border.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is on her way right now for talks in the Middle East beginning tomorrow in Jerusalem. As for what those talks could bring, here is Matthew Chance with more on that story from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Despite Israel's barrage of southern Lebanon, Hezbollah's missiles continue to reek havoc.

Targets surround them. Towns across northern Israel are under threat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So far Aramma (ph) Medical Center admitted eight patients, eight casualties, one with severe injuries to middle injuries, two light injuries and three stressed area response.

CHANCE: With massive Israeli tank force poised on the Lebanon border, international efforts to find a diplomat solution are finally being stepped up.

The French and German foreign ministers have been touring Israel's north, and meeting Israeli officials to ask for restraint.

PHILLIPE DOUSTE-BLAZY, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER: My question to Jerusalem and Beirut is the same: How do we reach as quickly as possible a cease-fire.

CHANCE: One answer may be the deployment of an international force in southern Lebanon. Looking for a way to avoid a full scale invasion, Israel says it might agree.

SHIMON PERES, ISRAEL DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: The major problem today is the missiles and the rockets. And a problem (ph) with international force can control the arsenal of missiles and rockets, and the use of them. Otherwise there is no mission.

CHANCE: There's been a U.N. force in southern Lebanon for 28 years, but it's had a limited mission. Both Israel and U.S. see it as ineffective.

Israeli officials have suggested NATO could be tapped to lead any future mission. It 's robust and has experience in tough theaters like Afghanistan. NATO officials says there's been no discussion with them yet.

But, as this crisis shows little sign of easing, it's hoped the coming days may produce something, a possible way out. Much will now depend on what pressure the United States is willing to bring to bear on Israel. So far it's content with allowing its ally more time to smash Hezbollah. People of southern Lebanon and northern Israel may still have much to endure.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Certainly growing hopes for a diplomatic solution to this crisis. But, the sense in Israel here tonight is that this may go on for at least another week --Carol?

LIN: All right, Thanks very much, John. We're going to get back to you in Haifa right there on the front lines, as Haifa has gotten hit several times throughout this conflict.

In the meantime, the Lebanese are caught in the middle, as well, as Israel and Hezbollah keep fighting. Adib Farha, spokesman for the American-Lebanese Coalition joins me to talk about that aspect of the crisis. Adib, Good to have you.

ADIB FARHA, FORMER LEBANESE GOVERNMENT ADVISER: It's nice to be here.

LIN: A short time ago we heard from the Saudi foreign minister at the White House, and this is what he had to say about who should handle this conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAUD AL-FAISAL, SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTER: There's only one problem in this crisis. It is Lebanon. And the inability of Lebanon to exercise sovereignty over its territory. This what we believe is the primary concern of everyone. And everybody who needs help, who must help, should help. And we are not going to enter to these here about this -- I'm not going to say anything or be pushed into saying anything to prejudice the secretary's trip.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: All right. Essentially, Adeeb, this is what he said, that Lebanon, the Lebanese government needs to handle the situation, needs to get control of the southern part of its country and check Hezbollah.

Why isn't the Lebanese government stepping up, sending its military there and taking care of its own sovereign territory?

FARHA: As of now the Lebanese government, the Lebanese army is, indeed, not capable of handling Hezbollah by force. The Lebanese government has been trying to negotiate a disarmament of Hezbollah for the last year through an international dialogue. They had failed to do so before the last provocation by Hezbollah took place on the 12th of July.

And Hezbollah has not yet been weakened enough to where it would be amenable to coercion or to pressure by the Lebanese government or dialogue, whatever it may be. They are still too strong and they consider themselves to have won so far.

LIN: The U.S. secretary of state on her way right now to the Middle East. She has already said that she will not talk to Hezbollah or any of its supporters such as Syria. Is that the best course of action do you think?

FARHA: Well, I think it is because it is not usual for states to negotiate with organizations they consider to be terrorists organizations. And any discussions she would have with Hezbollah directly or indirectly would be futile at this time. Until Hezbollah has been sufficiently degraded, I don't think that it would be easy to reach any agreement with them or any settlements.

LIN: Which is not to say that Israel has not negotiated with Hezbollah in the past over prisoner releases and exhanges. So, this concept of a multinational force, then, ultimately if there is a peace achieved in southern Lebanon, under what conditions would the Lebanese government accept that multinational force?

FARHA: If I may comment on the first sentence you just mentioned. The fact that Israel has negotiated with Hezbollah indirectly through German mediators before, in retrospect, has proven to be the wrong thing. It sent the wrong message to Hezbollah. Last time Hezbollah kidnapped a couple of Israeli and the Israeli government released 400 prisoners. That encouraged Hezbollah to do it again.

Now, the second part of your question, the Lebanese government indeed should be the leader in these negotiations. It should not be Hezbollah negotiating on behalf of Lebanon and Lebanon's future, it should be the Lebanese government that does so. LIN: Adib Farha, thank you very much for joining us. It's good to tap into your experience as a former adviser to the Lebanese government. Appreciate your time.

FARHA: Thank you for having me.

LIN: Now don't forget, we also want to hear from you. Do you think diplomacy will work in the Middle East? Email us at weekends@cnn.com. We're going to read some of your comments a little later.

COOK: Hi, I'm Shanon Cook. Coming up, a birthday he'll never forget. How this little boy survived two days at the bottom of a well.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: We're going to get back to the crisis in the Middle East in just a moment. But first, some other major stories making news around the world.

Fresh violence in Iraq claims dozens of lives. Shanon Cook joins us live with more on that.

COOK: Hey there, thanks very much Carol.

Two car bombings taking a very heavy toll in Iraq. Here's what we know.

A minibus exploded at a bustling market in the Sadr City section of Baghdad. Police say the driver stopped to pick up passengers, then detonated the blast. At least 32 people were killed and 65 wounded.

And then four hours later a second attack, this time outside a courthouse in the northern city of Kirkuk. At least 18 people were killed and 100 wounded there.

Now, all this happened as Iraq's ousted president Saddam Hussein was being hospitalized. He's being fed through a tube after a two week hunger strike. He and three co-defendants are refusing meals to protest courtroom procedure in their trials. They also want better security for defense lawyers. The two prosecutors say Hussein is expected back in court on Tuesday.

And in the midst of the crisis in the Middle East, word that former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon has taken a turn for the worse. Sharon has been in a comatose since suffering a stroke in January. Now doctors say his kidneys are shutting down.

And in India a frightening stay at the bottom of a well is over for one very lucky 5-year-old. The boy, called "Prince," tumbled down the 60-foot pit in his village in the northern state of Haryana. He spent two days huddled at the bottom. They were able to get that footage by dropping a camera down. The soldiers were able to reach him by digging a parallel shaft. Prince, unharmed, was brought to the surface, just in the nick of time too, Carol, because today was his birthday.

LIN: So he is now six?

COOK: Five or six. There have been sort of conflicting reports in India of what his actual age is. But a happy day regardless.

LIN: Yes. "Lucky" will be his next name. Lucky. Lucky Prince.

All right, thanks very much, Shanon.

COOK: Thanks, Carol.

LIN: Will diplomacy work in the Middle East? Does peace have a chance?

President Bush is sending his top envoy to the region. Joining me now is Ken Stein, mideast analyst at Emory University right here in Atlanta. Ken, good to have you.

KENNETH STEIN, MIDEAST ANALYST, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Pleasure.

LIN: In this scenario you have the secretary of state, she's on a plane right now heading to the Middle East. She's going to be dining with Israeli foreign minister and meeting with the prime minister of Israel. How does that conversation go right now?

STEIN: Well, right now I think what she wants to do is she wants to state what is the long-term goal of the U.S. government. To stabilize Lebanon, to secure Israel's northern border, to bring humanitarian relief to the Lebanese. Then what she wants to know is she wants to hear from the Israelis. What is it they will permit in terms of multilateral force, multinational force.

And if she is doing what I think she's done, as other secretary of states have done, she will probably be stating pretty specifically what the larger framework will be. How will this cease-fire build into something longer lasting, such as Lebanese-Israeli accord down the road?

LIN: A cease-fire seems very ambitious at this point. I mean what, hypothetically, if Israel were to stop firing on Lebanon right now, what do you think would happen?

STEIN: Well, I think if Israel were to stop firing, it would mean that Israel would feel that it has accomplished what is necessary in southern Lebanon. It would then be able to allow all of the humanitarian aid to come into Beirut, but not necessarily yet into the south. It would allow a cease-fire to be negotiated between Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. government, the Europeans. That may take place, that drafting may in fact take place this coming Wednesday in Rome. And from there she will then take a look at the entire package of all of the European participants, all U.N. participants. The very strange but unique aspect of this particular moment in Middle Eastern diplomacy is this is the first time in any Arab-Israeli conflict that we've had so much uniformity and unanimity about what should happen after the cease-fire, namely restructure Lebanon.

LIN: It's the road to that cease-fire. And, at the same time, the United States has expedited its missile shipments to Israel. Does that complicate the diplomatic mission?

STEIN: I don't think so, not at all. The U.S. also provided $5.8 billion this past week, we allocated it to the Saudis. This is all part of the United States bilateral relationships with these countries. I don't think that'll have an impact at all.

LIN: All right. But seen by the Arab world also as a supporter of Israel and its more aggressive tactics.

STEIN: Sure, it will be seen as United States is still in line with Israel. But the United States has also made it quite clear as Secretary Rice has made it clear, that our goal is to be sure that we restructure Lebanon for the long haul, that we hit the underlying causes of this, that we have a sustained solution to this.

It would be a big mistake for the U.S. government to go at this and just do a cease-fire, just have a multilateral force that's there that doesn't accomplish anything immediately, but just allows the same situation to fester and come back again.

LIN: All right. Ken Stein, thank you very much.

STEIN: My pleasure.

LIN: In the meantime, we are getting a lot of emails from you tonight on whether you think diplomacy will work in the Middle East. We're going to read some of your comments next.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: A Lebanese- American family who managed to escape the Middle East conflict and told us an amazing story of love and war. Stay with us.

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LIN: Thousands fleeing Lebanon are returning to the U.S. with distressing stories of their escapes. Daniel Sieberg has caught up with a group of them today in Atlanta. Daniel, they have an amazing story.

SIEBERG: They really do, Carol. And they have the photos and video to prove it.

This story features a family with Lebanese roots who live in California and Texas. As they travel to Lebanon to celebrate a joyful reunion, only to be caught in the middle of a crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're home!

SIEBERG: Members of a Lebanese-American family land in Atlanta in the middle of the night after enduring a harrowing ordeal. They went to celebrate a wedding and found themselves in a war.

After just a few hours sleep and some much needed coffee, they told us of their journey of stark contrasts.

They'd arrived in southern Lebanon in late June to celebrate two family weddings, one involving royalty.

BILLY BROECKELMANN: The Queen of Jordan's nephew. So the Queen's sister was there, and dancing all night. And the Queen's mother was there.

SIEBERG: Then, several days later, violence erupted, forcing them to flee. Three adult siblings leaving behind their ageing parents.

NAHRAL BROECKELMANN: This will stay with me forever. Dad on the balcony, just saying goodbye. And mom walking away because she didn't want to -- it was hard.

SIEBERG: And their 97-year-old grandmother, who's unable to travel.

BILLY BROECKELMANN: I sat next to her sand said goodbye and I told her I would see her tomorrow. She actually told me you will never see me alive again. This is the last time you'll see me. It broke high heart.

SIEBERG: The next generation also experiencing the heartbreak of leaving loved ones behind. Twenty-year-old Ranah is returning to San Diego, but her mother and brother must stay in Lebanon for now.

Are you angry?

RANA GHANDOUR: Angry? I was angry, frustrated. It wasn't supposed to happen. It wasn't expected. You know, no one was expecting it.

SIEBERG: They headed north. Roads barely passable. Signs of conflict on all sides.

BILLY BROECKELMANN: Everybody's layered up and we drove for two, two-and-a-half hours. It was a huge rollercoaster ride.

SIEBERG: Billy was able to capture much of their remarkable trek with his digital camera.

BILLY BROECKELMANN: Israel was bombing the airport as we're driving by it. It's incredible. It's our allies are bombing us. It's within hundreds of yards, there was mortars coming down from their battleship. It's just not right.

SIEBERG: For Billy's daughter, Marianna, who was full of smiles at the weddings, the fearful trip was sometimes just too much.

MARIANNA BROECKELMANN The road trip to the hotel, it was scary. Everybody was crying. It was sad. I was just scared.

SIEBERG: But amidst the chaos, Marianna did manage to celebrate her 11th birthday, complete with a cake.

Eventually after minimizing all of their belongings, even sleeping in the streets at times, they boarded a transport ship to the USS Nashville. From there it was a short stay in Cyprus. Then they were among the lucky ones on a specially chartered Delta flight to Atlanta.

As they finished telling their story, Anthony manages to reach their parents back in Lebanon.

There's tension in their voices.

NAHRAL BROECKELMANN: OK, baba (ph), love you, take care.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And, incredibly enough, a few members of the Broeckelmanm family actually had to evacuate as Hurricane Rita approached in Texas last year. So they've had some amazing experiences. And, you know, a lot of these family members hadn't met or spent much time together before this trip and tonight they should all be on board flights to their respective homes across the country. But of course, Carol, it's a journey they will never forget.

And, incidentally, even after everything they've been through, they told us that most of them look forward to the next time they can get back to Lebanon and reunite with family and friends.

LIN: My goodness. What bravery, what courage.

Daniel, thank you so much.

SIEBERG: You bet.

LIN: Now, we've been getting a lot of emails in response to our question about whether diplomacy will actually work in the Middle East. So, I want to share some with you.

We got one from Elise, Santa Cruz, California. She says "Not unless diplomacy has teeth. Not false teeth, teeth like a dog with fangs. I don't think the terrorists, actually fascists at heart, understand anything else but being taken on, confronted, and defeated."

Fiaz writes to us: "Diplomacy is the only way problems can be solved. War is not a solution, it's an exhibition of emotion at a larger scale. The solution to the problem lies in understand the concerns at the grass roots level and not what the loudest party wants." Dennis writes to us from Lakewood, Colorado. He says "No, diplomacy won't work in the Middle East when radical Islam wants to eradicate Israel from the map. How does one strike a balance there? Israel's only choice is to defend itself."

John in South Carolina writes "Diplomacy will only work if Hezbollah disarms and a NATO force is put in place. Any intelligent person can see that the Lebanon government is really run by Hezbollah. After all, after the Israelis, we're next.

Now Patrick in Canada writes "Diplomacy is a glorified kind of ceasefire. It is also like peace-keeping forces. Wars have to fought to a conclusion, where there is a winner and a loser."

Great to hear from all of our viewers.

Now, CNN's Anderson Cooper takes you inside Hezbollah, it's weapons, it's tactics, and it's warriors. CNN PRESESNTS next.

And then at 9:00 Eastern a special edition of "LARRY KING LIVE," as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice heads to the Middle East. Is a diplomatic solution possible?

And at 10:00 Eastern, we're on the ground with Israeli troops in Haifa. The very latest on the conflict in the Middle East, after this.

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