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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

U.S. Brokers Cease-Fire Between Israelis and Palestinians; President Bush Begins His European Tour

Aired June 12, 2001 - 20:00   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.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Tonight, a breakthrough in the Middle East. The U.S. helps Israel and the Palestinians map out a cease-fire.

President Bush enters the lions den. On his first trip to Europe, he's already taking heat on global warming, the death penalty and his plan for missile defense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I look forward to making my case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: CNN's John King is traveling with the president.

And I'll talk with former NATO commander, General Wesley Clark, about U.S.-European relations, and his controversial new book on waging war in Kosovo.

Have Muslim rebels in the Philippines beheaded an American hostage, as they claim? We'll get a report, and reaction from the man's family, back home.

And, a day after Timothy McVeigh is executed, will one of the convicted bombers of two U.S. embassies in Africa meet the same fate? The jury is now in.

Good evening. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting tonight from Washington.

There's a major development to end the fighting in the Middle East. Late tonight, CIA Director George Tenet reached a tentative agreement on the cessation of hostilities between the Israelis and Palestinians. The deal comes after months of violence and hundreds of deaths. It also comes following months of resistance by the Bush administration to intervene aggressively and publicly to stop the fighting.

CNN Jerusalem bureau chief Mike Hanna has our top story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MIKE HANNA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While the Palestinian leaders deliberated over a cease-fire agreement, their followers demonstrated against accepting U.S. proposals aimed at ending the violence. The protests continued throughout lengthy talks between Yasser Arafat and CIA Director George Tenet, who was attempting to forge a formal agreement between Israelis and Palestinians bringing about a cessation of hostilities after more than eight months of conflict.

Earlier in the day, Tenet had secured Israeli agreement to a new draft of proposals drawn up after lengthy discussions late Monday night.

ARIEL SHARON, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I can't say I'm enthusiastic about the plan, but on the whole, we can work and move forward.

HANNA: The Palestinians, though, were even less enthusiastic, arguing that Tenet's revised draft included a number of Israeli amendments that they considered unacceptable.

These reportedly included the demand that the Palestinian authority immediately arrest a number of Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants and that a buffer zone be created around areas under the control of the Palestinian authority.

Another sticking point, too, said Palestinian sources, was the proposal that Israeli concessions would come after a cease-fire was seen to be in place rather than at the time an agreement was reached.

ZIAD ABU ZIAD, PALESTINIAN COUNCIL MEMBER: It's not going to be a cease-fire. We're talking about a political problem. The roots is political issues, the negotiations, the peace process. So whatever is done is done on the security, if it's not linked entirely to the political issue, it will not survive.

HANNA: While the negotiations continued late into the night, another person killed by gunfire. An Israeli military spokesman says a Greek monk driving in the West Bank near Jerusalem was shot and killed by unidentified Palestinian gunmen.

(on camera): In the early hours of the morning, the news that the Palestinian authority had accepted the Tenet proposals with the exception of the clause concerning a buffer zone, and on condition that a defined timetable be set for Israel to lift its restrictions on the movement of Palestinians.

Mike Hanna, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: While his envoy was helping Israel and the Palestinians find some common ground, President Bush today was struggling to do the same with Europe. On his first presidential foray to the continent, he found himself under fire on a number of issues. CNN senior White House correspondent John King has the story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At stop one, the president was polite but defiant, brushing aside fresh criticism from major European allies on global warming.

BUSH: The Kyoto Treaty was unrealistic. It was not based upon science. The stated mandates in the Kyoto Treaty would affect our economy in a negative way.

KING: Spain's prime minister is among those urging Mr. Bush to reconsider. And as the president began his five-day visit, protesters took to the streets of Madrid, and the European Union called the U.S. approach, "soft on action that will contribute to actually reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the short to medium term."

Missile defense is another pressure point. Mr. Bush wants to amend or abandon the 1972 Antiballistic Missile Treaty so the United States can test new intercept technologies.

BUSH: The ABM Treaty is a relic of the past. It prevents freedom-loving people from exploring the future.

KING: Spain was a warm-up for more contentious stops ahead: Wednesday at NATO headquarters in Brussels and a Saturday sit-down with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

BUSH: The days of the Cold War have ended, and so must the Cold War mentality, as far as I am concerned. And I believe we are going to make great progress on this issue. I truly do.

KING: His host offered Mr. Bush a helping hand, warning against a rush to judgment.

JOSE MARIA AZNAR, SPANISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): What I am surprised by is the fact that there are people who, from the start, disqualify this initiative.

KING: U.S. officials described the talks here as upbeat, and took the prime minister's remarks as a sign of slow progress in the debate over missile defense.

But outside the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, a reminder that controversy will shadow Mr. Bush in the days ahead.

(on camera): The president shows no signs of giving ground in the major policy disputes over global warming and missile defense. But over and over again, he is promising to listen, an effort on his part to quiet European criticism, that in his early months of office, the president has too often taken the go it alone approach.

John King, CNN, Madrid

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: A day after Timothy McVeigh was executed for killing 168 people in the Oklahoma City bombing, President Bush faced European criticism on another score.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Democracies represent the will of the people. The death penalty is the will of the people in the United States. There are some people who don't agree with the death penalty in our country, and it's not an easy subject for any of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Meantime, a man convicted in one of the twin U.S. Embassy bombings had his life spared today. Let's go live to CNN's Brian Palmer in New York. Brian?

BRIAN PALMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, after five days of deliberation, the jury did not choose the death penalty.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PALMER (voice-over): Mohamed al-'Owhali was sentenced to life in prison without parole after convicted two weeks ago after bombing the U.S. Embassy in Kenya in 1998, killing 213 people.

The New York jury heard from 26 survives and relatives of people killed in the Kenya bombing, some of whom responded to the verdict.

HOWARD KAVALER, RELATIVE OF VICTIM: We're extremely disappointed with the fact that the jury accepted some or all of the false and dishonest arguments, advanced by the defense to save the life of a convicted mass murderer.

SUE BARTLEY, RELATIVE TO VICTIMS: Although the ultimate sentencing was not what we hoped to have, at least we can be peaceful with the fact that al-'Owhali will not be free to harm anyone else.

PALMER: Al-'Owhali's lawyers said the life sentence was a victory for the judicial system.

DAVID BAUGH, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It was a wonderful testament to the idea of having 12 good citizens determine the guilt or innocence and also the appropriate punishment for someone who was convicted.

PALMER: The U.S. Attorney said in a statement that the death penalty would have been the just punishment.

"But the imposition of the death penalty is uniquely a matter for the jury to decide, and we respect the verdict."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PALMER: Next week, the same jury must decide whether Khalfan Khamis Mohamed will get the death penalty for his role involving the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania -- Wolf

BLITZER: Brian, this jury was deadlocked on this first defendant. Is there any reason to believe the jury will be less than deadlocked in the next defendant, who's technically eligible for the death penalty?

PALMER: Wolf, this has been a very meticulous jury. I don't think there's any way to predict. But if today's verdict is any indication what may happen, it seems that some of the jurors are concerned about the finality of the death penalty and they will probably carry those concerns into the next set of deliberations -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian Palmer in New York, thank you very much.

In the Philippines, military troops have yet to find evidence confirming claims that Muslim rebels have executed an American hostage. The American was among a group of people kidnapped last month from an island resort in the Philippines. With the latest, here's CNN's John Raedler.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN RAEDLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The rebel group made their claim in a phone call to a radio station in the southern Philippines, saying they had beheaded 40-year-old U.S. tourist, Guillermo Sobero, one of three Americans kidnapped from a Philippines resort last month.

VOICE OF ABU SABBAYA, REBEL LEADER (through translator): Our gift for Independence Day is one of our friends here, Guillermo, and he has lost his head. It's up to you to find him in Kabacan (ph) and hurry up.

RAEDLER: The rebels had kidnapped the three Americans and 17 Filipinos with them, are known as the Abu Sayyaf. They are extremist Muslims who claim they want to establish a separate state in the Southern Philippines. They have a history of kidnapping and ransom demands, prompting many Filipinos to condemn them as mere bandits.

PRES. GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO, PHILIPPINES: The reported murder of Mr. Sobero only strengthens our resolve to decimate once and for all this cold-blooded bandit group.

RAEDLER: The Philippines' military has tried to crush them, but its efforts to date have been unsuccessful.

More troops are being added to that effort.

Back in the U.S., Sobero's family is waiting and hoping.

ALBERTO SOBERO, BROTHER OF KIDNAP VICTIM: The State Department has called, and so has the FBI, and they have said that they cannot confirm those reports.

RAEDLER: The U.S. embassy in Manila condemned the reported killing in what it called "the strongest possible terms."

John Raedler, CNN, Manila.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: He worked closely with America's allies. Can President Bush do the same? I'll discuss Bush under fire with the former supreme commander of NATO, General Wesley Clark. And fighting back against the blackouts, Californians let the sunshine in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. He graduated first in his West Point class and commanded troops at every level, beginning in Vietnam. He held a number of top Pentagon posts, and during the crucial period, he served as NATO's supreme ally commander. In that role, he oversaw the air campaign aimed at stopping the aggression in Kosovo. He is the author of a new book, "Waging Modern War."

Joining me now, retired General Wesley Clark. General Clark, thanks for joining us.

RET. GEN. WESLEY CLARK, U.S. ARMY: Thank you, Wolf, good to be here.

BLITZER: How difficult a mission does President Bush have right now? How deep is this divide between the United States and Europe, given all the differences between the Bush administration and the Europeans?

CLARK: Well, it's a deep divide. There are a lot of issues between us, but he doesn't have to win the battle in one trip. This is the start, not the end of it. He has got to go in and engage with them, and convince them that there is going to be a constructive dialogue.

BLITZER: Can he turn them around on his national missile defense shield?

CLARK: I think over a period of time, yes. But I think he has got to recognize there's a lot of other issues they have a strong interest in, and we'll have to give a little bit too.

BLITZER: How does he do that? How does he convince them that breaking the 1972 Antiballistic Missile Treaty, which they fear could fuel a huge international arms race, is a good thing?

CLARK: I think he's got to first articulate a real vision of what the world is going to be like with defensive armaments and reduced offensive weapons. I think he's got to bring Europe into it. He has got to assure them this is not just a by-America program. And above all, he has to have some sincere and meaningful consultations with the Europeans.

BLITZER: One of the things the Europeans are very concerned about is, with all the talk during the campaign to a certain degree since, that the U.S. is going to withdraw NATO troops, U.S. troops from the NATO mission in the Balkans, troops that you deployed there. Let me read to you what "The Washington Post" wrote in an editorial this past week. It says: "Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has given an impression, perhaps false, of preoccupation with pulling forces back from the Balkans, from the Sinai Peninsula, from Germany."

CLARK: Well, there's clearly a Pentagon institutional interest, which Secretary Rumsfeld has articulated, to get the troops home. It's cheaper, they can use them for other mission, and so forth.

But the national interest, our national interest, is to stay there, and I hope President Bush will see that.

BLITZER: What happens if the U.S. were to unilaterally start withdrawing some of those troops from the Balkans?

CLARK: Well, I think it will erode the entire NATO mission. I think everybody looks at the United States for leadership, and if the United States starts to come out, other countries will too. We'll lose heart, and the progress we've made will -- it will be lost.

BLITZER: Are you concerned that the Bush administration is going to wind up doing that, since it was articulated very often during the campaign?

CLARK: Well, I am concerned that there are sentiments that way, but I am hoping that when they confront hard reality in the Balkans and the determination of our European allies, they will recognize what they have to do.

BLITZER: Let's talk a little bit about the book you wrote, "Waging Modern War." One of the themes, of course, was the reluctance on the part of the then-Clinton administration to engage the ground forces in trying to get the job done. One of the things that -- you quote Defense Secretary William Cohen at the time as saying this, in the book: "Nothing about ground forces. We have to make this air campaign work, or we will be both be writing our resumes."

A lot of critics have suggested, why have $300 billion a year defense establishment if the military is reluctant to engage in ground troops?

CLARK: Well, I think this was another case of Pentagon institutional interests as really not being as interested in this conflict as they were in preparing for others and investing in the future. But the point is, in this war, we went as far as we could with air power. We not only saw the contributions of air power, we some of its limitations, and that ground threat, ultimately I believe, had a big part in convincing Milosevic to toss in the towel.

BLITZER: But the ground threat never materialized. Can't you argue, can't the air power advocates say that, yes, air power did, in the end, get the job down? Look at Milosevic right now, is in jail?

CLARK: Well, in fact we had almost 30,000 NATO troops on the ground in Macedonia and Albania. When the war was over, we had two headquarters, we had the Apaches on the border every day, we had radar, artillery and tanks up there. The Serbs knew all that, and the Russians told them this is a serious problems. So, I think Milosevic did hear it and did heed it. BLITZER: Let's talk a little bit about General Wesley Clark and your future. Recently in an online chat in "The Washington Post" you said this, and I want to put it up on our screen. You said: "I would hope that we keep the military free of partisan politics, and that retired generals would give the public the benefits of their long careers by professional rather than partisan comment."

You know the speculation that you're thinking -- or some people in Arkansas, your home state, thinking of having you run for some sort of office down the road. Is that in the cards?

CLARK: Well, you know, I hope there will be an opportunity for further public service at some point in my life, and I certainly believe in it. But I am nonpartisan. I think it's important that for some period of time after someone takes off the uniform that he remains nonpartisan. I'm a businessman right now, I've written a book, and I want to get my ideas across from that book, and then I want to learn about the stuff of America, and I'm happy to be home and doing it.

BLITZER: So, are you a Democrat or a Republican, in case you did want to serve -- run for office?

CLARK: Right now, I'm a firm nonpartisan.

BLITZER: So, no immediate plans for the Senate?

CLARK: No immediate plans.

BLITZER: General Wesley Clark, good luck with the book, "Waging Modern War." Thanks for joining us.

CLARK: Thank you very much.

BLITZER: Thank you very much.

And up next: women get a boost in health coverage, as a U.S. judge has a prescription for a pharmacy change. And fighting power shortages with solar power. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. In other new tonight, in a major victory for women, a federal judge today ruled a Seattle-based pharmacy chain must include birth control in its employee health care plans. The case was brought by a 27-year-old pharmacist who said the company discriminated against women because its health plan covers almost all drugs for men. The decision could set a precedent for similar cases.

In Houston, Texas, residents are cleaning up from the costliest tropical storm in the nation's history. Preliminary damage estimates in Southern Texas already stand at $1 billion from tropical storm Allison. The storm is blamed for at least 20 deaths. Cleanup efforts also are moving forward in West-Central Minnesota. A tornado ripped through the area yesterday flattening homes and businesses. Just as the Bush Administration is promoting nuclear power in this country, Germany is now beginning to phase it out. German officials have signed an accord to shut down all 19 nuclear plants over the next two decades making it the world's largest industrialized country to abandon their use. Nuclear power provides about a third of Germany's energy.

With the California energy crunch, solar systems are in such high demand, many products are back ordered for months. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez has more in our "Leading Edge" report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Springtime in Los Angeles. The solar business is booming.

From solar energy to heat swimming pools...

TED BAVIN, PRESIDENT, ALL VALLEY SOLAR: Our crews are working six, sometimes seven days a week.

GUTIERREZ: ... to solar electrical systems to power appliances.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We call this Y2K squared.

GUTIERREZ: California residents like Gary Ono are turning to the sun to cut back on what he says are ridiculously high electric bills, bills that total more than $1,800 a year.

GARY ONO, SOLAR CUSTOMER: It's a lot of money. Come summer, when you have to turn the air conditioner on, the bills just double.

GUTIERREZ: So the Onos had these solar panels installed on their roof. And take a close look at what's happening: Their meter is actually spinning backwards, which is very good for the Onos.

CAROL ONO, SOLAR CUSTOMER: We should not have any electrical bills. GUTIERREZ (on camera): But solar systems aren't cheap. the Onos paid $18,000 for theirs. As an incentive, the state gave them a $5,800 rebate, so their system ended up costing around $12,000.

G. ONO: We hope to recover and come out even in about five to six years.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): The Onos are retired. They live on a fixed income, but they say their solar system is a long-term investment. When it comes to alternative energy, they say the big question is how much you're willing to sacrifice today for tomorrow.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Up next, I'll open our mailbag. Many of you hated our coverage of Timothy McVeigh's execution. I'll tell you why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Time now to open our mailbag. We were flooded with reaction to the McVeigh execution. Monica in Massachusetts writes this: "Wolf, if America thinks they have punished Timothy McVeigh, they are wrong. All he needed was solitary confinement with no contact with the outside world, especially the press and the writers who talk and interview him and make him feel like a hero."

This from Virginia in Shreveport, Louisiana: "I am so sick of all this coverage of McVeigh. You people are obsessed. I have stopped watching."

But this from Victoria in Pittsburgh: "At first, like many other viewers, I was appalled at the saturation coverage. Now, My opinion has changed. It was hard to watch and listen to all day, but that is how it should be -- difficult to view, difficult to accept."

And this from Joe in Maine, "I think it is good that you are covering it. What Timothy McVeigh did was awful and anyone who minds that you take time out of your broadcast to talk about this tragedy should be quiet."

Remember, I want to hear from you. Please e-mail me at: wolf@cnn.com. And you can read my daily online column and sign up for my daily e-mail previewing our nightly programs by going to my Web site, cnn.com/wolf. That's all the time we have tonight. Thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "THE POINT" with Jake Tapper filling in for Greta Van Susteren begins right now.

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