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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Israeli Forces Storm Yasser Arafat's Headquarters

Aired March 29, 2002 - 19:00   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.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: THE WAR ROOM: Israel strikes back. Government forces storm Yasser Arafat's headquarters, trapping the Palestinian leader in his own office with room-to-room fighting just outside.

Any hope of a cease-fire, let alone a peace plan, goes up in smoke.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: There was reason for guarded optimism; and let's be clear about what brought it all to a halt: terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: No let-up on that front as another suicide bomber strikes, this time in a Jerusalem supermarket.

What's next in the Middle East? What about the war on terrorism? We'll talk live with former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft and with Ahmed Rashid, best-selling author of "Taliban" and "Jihad," as we go into THE WAR ROOM.

Good evening, I'm Andrea Koppel reporting from Washington. Wolf Blitzer is off.

We'll get to our guests in a moment. But first, the smoldering crisis in the Middle East ignites right in front of Yasser Arafat's door. The Israeli army moved on the West Bank town of Ramallah today, laying siege to Yasser Arafat's headquarters.

The Israelis rolled in with tanks and exchanged gunfire with Palestinian guards. At least five Palestinians are dead, up to 70 arrested. One Israeli officer was killed.

It's just the beginning, Israel says, of an offensive that could go on for weeks. The final straw before the Israeli assault, the Passover massacre in Netanya. And today, two more Israelis were killed in Jerusalem in yet another suicide bombing.

For the latest on what's going on in the Middle East, we turn now to CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour reporting live from Jerusalem. Good evening, Christiane.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening Andrea.

Well, it's been quite a day here in Israel and in the occupied territories. Israel, as you said, has sent in long columns of tanks and armored vehicles, has breached the walls of Yasser Arafat's compound, his headquarters, where he has been confined for the past several months by the Israeli government.

They have torn down buildings in there. And although the Israeli government has assured the U.S. that Yasser Arafat himself is not a target, Arafat believes that he is.

In a very angry interview that he had with me about an hour or so ago, he said that already buildings around the exact office in which he is holed up have been destroyed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YASSER ARAFAT, PRESIDENT, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY: They have destroyed completely seven of our buildings, completely, around my office, and firing my office with all their armaments.

What do you expect? An Arafat that -- and they have to understand it is the Palestinian people who are fighting this challenge. And we are sure that our people will continue to stead fastening in the face of this terrorism. This is the real terrorism of the occupation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: You could hear machine gun fire in the background as Yasser Arafat was talking.

And again, the Israelis say they are in full control now of his headquarter compound as they try to isolate him -- in control of all the buildings there except for that building in which he and some of his aides have been, not only today, but for the last several months.

All of this comes after suicide bombings in Israel killing Israeli civilians. The latest in a Jerusalem supermarket, a woman, an 18-year-old girl, we're told, from a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank walked into this supermarket, detonated the explosives strapped to her and killed two people and injured many more.

When we asked the Israeli government spokesman how long this was going to last, this invasion into Ramallah, the siege of Yasser Arafat's headquarters, they told us that there is no limit to how long it will last. They said it will last until there is a cease-fire or until, they say, terrorism is rooted out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RA'ANAN GISSIN, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: The last time an incident, we stopped in mid-course because we wanted to give peace a chance. We wanted to give the political process a chance. We wanted to give Zinni a chance, so we stopped in mid-course.

This time we're going all the way, and we're going to destroy the military and terrorist infrastructure that he built around himself because he failed to destroy.

He will be fully protected. We're not going to touch him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: There's been a lot of condemnation from around the world, particularly from Europe and, of course, the Arab countries, urging Israel to pull back and not to harm Yasser Arafat, to show restraint -- Andrea.

KOPPEL: Christiane Amanpour in Jerusalem. The beginning of another long night ahead for you and our colleagues there. Thank you very much.

Christiane Amanpour will return next hour with more on the situation in the Middle East on "LIVE FROM JERUSALEM" at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.

And tomorrow Bill Hemmer anchors are coverage of "LIVE FROM JERUSALEM." That's also at 8:00 p.m. Eastern tomorrow.

The Bush administration says, while it would like to see the Israeli incursion end, it understands the Israeli position. The U.S. also repeated demands that Yasser Arafat put an end to Palestinian terrorism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POWELL: We cannot lose sight of our goal. Despite the tragedy we see unfolding now on this holy week, we must not lose sight of the goal. We have to achieve an enduring and comprehensive peace for Arabs and Israelis alike.

This is the future. This is what we must achieve. And although things look dark now, we must have hope and we must continue to work, and work hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: For more, we go to White House correspondent Major Garrett in Crawford, Texas this evening, where President Bush and his wife are spending the holiday weekend.

Good evening Major.

MAJOR GARRETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good evening Andrea.

One of the first things to point out is that there was no personal reaction to the tumultuous events in the Middle East from President Bush himself today. That task was dispatched to his Secretary of State Colin Powell.

After an hour-long video teleconference, the president here at his Crawford ranch and all of his senior advisers meeting at the White House, that lasted about an hour. And from that came the U.S. reaction, which was very strong, condemning Palestinian attacks of terrorism against Israeli civilians, and a little bit strong on warning the Israeli government not to inflict casualties on Palestinian civilians, but also saying that the United States understands Israel has a right to defend itself.

Bush administration also saying that Israel should weigh all consequences, not only of this military action, but any future military actions.

The key here, Andrea, is the Bush administration infuriated at the recent terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. The answer to that is because the Bush administration considered substantial progress was being made up until Wednesday on obtaining a cease-fire; a cease-fire that could actually be administrated and hold, the Bush administration thought, between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

That progress completely derailed, short-circuited by the Passover massacre and all that has transpired since then -- Andrea.

KOPPEL: Major Garrett, thank you so much, reporting from Crawford, Texas.

The U.N. Secretary Council is discussing the latest developments in the Middle East. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on Palestinians to stop terrorist attacks on Israelis. He also said Israel should not destroy the Palestinian Authority.

CNN's senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth is there right now with the latest.

Good evening Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Good evening Andrea.

That's right, Secretary-General Kofi Annan just told the Security Council that. And he said both of these tactics by both sides are not going to bring the region any closer to peace.

Also speaking right now inside the Security Council is Israel's Ambassador Yehuda Lancry. Lancry lashed out at the Palestinians for releasing a suicide bomber when they knew that he was capable of such an act before Palestinian Observer Nasser Al-Kidwa demand from the Security Council an order calling on Israel to withdraw from Palestinian cities. He's not likely to get that type of answer, though, from the council this evening.

Lancry -- the Palestinian representative said that if Israel harms Yasser Arafat in his compound it would be, quote, "the mother of all mistakes." The U.S. is not going to accept any language that calls on Israel to withdraw. That's something Syria is pushing for -- Andrea.

KOPPEL: Richard Roth, thank you so much tonight, reporting from the United Nations.

The first U.S. soldier to die in Afghanistan during Operation Anaconda may not have been killed by enemy fire. The military is now investigating.

CNN national correspondent Bob Franken joins me now live from the Pentagon with more on this story.

It's incredible, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there was an important Pentagon briefing today, where the main theme was loose ends, tragic loose ends, and still some unanswered questions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): The commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan has launched an investigation to determine if the first U.S. soldier to die in Operation Anaconda might have been the victim of friendly fire. Originally it was reported that Army Chief Warrant Officer Stanley Harriman had been killed by enemy forces March 2.

But now General Tommy Franks says he's not so sure.

GEN. TOMMY FRANKS, CMDR., U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: There was reporting of one of our convoys, a friendly convoy of Americans and Afghans, being under fire. Simultaneously, on a different radio network, I noticed reporting by an AC-130 gunship that it was engaging a convoy.

I put the two things together and said, OK, what we need to do is we need to find out the facts associated with that.

FRANKEN: This disclosure was buried in a report on 10 friendly fire incidents. On conclusion, the United States military was not at fault for civilian casualties, but that communication and procedure errors were responsible for the deaths of U.S. forces killed by other U.S. forces.

As the head of the central command, General Franks' part of the world includes Iraq, so he must consider relocation of U.S. assets now that Saudi Arabia has made it clear it will not support an attack on Iraq. An important question is what to do about Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, called a combined air operation center, a CAOC.

FRANKS: I have no plans to move the CAOC from its current location. That does not say that I don't have plans to replicate it some place.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (on camera): Investigations into past friendly fire incidents, apprehension about future alliances, proof once again, Andrea, that the complexity, even the confusion is an inherent part of war -- Andrea.

KOPPEL: Bob, thank you so much. Bob Franken reporting from the Pentagon.

With Israeli tanks practically at Yasser Arafat's door, what is the next step in the Middle East? Joining me to discuss that and other topics, including the war on terror, here in Washington, Brent Scowcroft, former national security adviser; and in New York, Ahmed Rashid, author of the books "Taliban" and "Jihad." General Scowcroft, I'd like to begin with you, and I'd like to go to the Middle East and ask you, should the U.S. get more involved? And if so, how?

GEN. BRENT SCOWCROFT, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, we are trying to get more involved, but very gradually. I think the situation we are in now, we, in fact, have put the terrorists like Hamas and Islamic Jihad and such, they are in control of the agenda. Progress, I think, was being made earlier this week, especially the Saudi proposal, which was, has now been accepted by the Arab League and so on, changes the dynamics. It's all lost now because as soon as progress gets to be made, the terrorists do something and set things back. We've got to work around that.

KOPPEL: So how should the U.S. work around that?

SCOWCROFT: Well, we've got to figure out a way -- Arafat and his relationship with the terrorists is murky. But at least in some respects, it seems to me they are working against each other. And to treat Arafat and Hamas in this case as if they are identical, I think is not going to solve the problem. Any time there is progress apparently made on the peace process, terrorists are going to try to disrupt it.

KOPPEL: Ahmed Rashid in New York, much tougher language today from the Bush administration directed squarely at Yasser Arafat. How is that going to play within the militant Islamic world?

AHMED RASHID, AUTHOR: Well, certainly, I think there is going to be a reaction, not just from militant groups, but I think, you know, from Muslims around the Arab world. I think the actions today by Israel are certainly going to make the situation very difficult for the Arab regimes who have taken these momentous steps in Beirut over the last two days. And obviously, this is a major setback both to them, the Palestinians, and the Israelis.

KOPPEL: General Scowcroft, you were the architect of the Gulf War, one of the architects. How do you see -- you mentioned Hamas and Hezbollah. Do you think the U.S. should be going after those terrorist groups, what they call terrorist groups, the way that it's gone after al Qaeda?

SCOWCROFT: I think the situation is very different. Al Qaeda was protected by the Taliban. You had a country involved. It was specific.

KOPPEL: But isn't Hamas and Hezbollah being protected in Lebanon and by the Palestinians? SCOWCROFT: Well, Hezbollah is not intimately involved in most of these. The others are shadowy organizations. They don't have a permanent home. We -- to get us involved militarily now in this region with our own troops is a very, very complicated idea.

KOPPEL: I'm going to bounce back up to New York for Ahmed Rashid. And I want to ask you, sir, where do you see the next attack, the next terrorist attack, against the United States?

You and I had been talking last weekend about central Asia, and we were talking about Uzbekistan, for one. We've got other states there that have a large Islamic population. What do you think?

RASHID: Well, I think, you know, first of all, any of these recent events could be a trigger for another terrorist attack either in the U.S. or in Europe or somewhere else or against one of the Arab regimes. And I think the fear was that after the end of Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan and the killing of large numbers of Taliban, that could have triggered a terrorist attack.

The events of the last two days in the Middle East could well trigger a terrorist attack. And there are certainly signs that some of the militant groups in central Asia, the Islamic movement of Uzbekistan, are mobilizing. There are American bases in central Asia. There are American oil companies based there. So there well could be a target there. But on the other hand, I think, you know, given the recent events in the Middle East, the fear is that there will be repercussions of this by some of the militant groups, perhaps in the West.

KOPPEL: When we return to THE WAR ROOM, Osama bin Laden, public enemy No. 1 or irrelevant? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOPPEL: Welcome back. Continuing our discussion now, former national security adviser Brent Scowcroft and author Ahmed Rashid.

General Scowcroft, when President Bush, shortly after September 11, referred to Osama bin Laden and said he wanted him dead or alive. Now recently, he's tried to kind of get away from that. Do you think that the U.S. has backed itself into a corner and that's why it needs to remain in Afghanistan?

SCOWCROFT: No, I don't really think so. I believe at the beginning, it was important to focus what terrorism was and what the terrorist networks were. And Osama bin Laden served as that kind of focus to get the American people's attention on that. He was never, you know, even if we'd gotten him the first day, it wouldn't have changed things that much. But he has been the symbol of it. And now I think the symbol is less important. The American people don't seem upset that we haven't gotten bin Laden. So...

KOPPEL: Is that the definition of success, though?

SCOWCROFT: No. KOPPEL: Do we need to get bin Laden...

SCOWCROFT: No.

KOPPEL: ... and Mullah Omar? No.

SCOWCROFT: No. I don't think so.

KOPPEL: Ahmed Rashid in New York, sir, you have been talking to people who have said that the war should no longer be, and I'm referring to the war in Afghanistan, should no longer be kept in the hands of the Pentagon. It should be moved into the hands of the state department. Why is that?

RASHID: Well, I think there is a very strong feeling in Kabul, where I was recently, and amongst other arms of the U.S. government in Washington, that the decision making on the situation in Afghanistan is still being dominated by the Pentagon. Secretary of defense, Mr. Rumsfeld keeps reiterating that the war is still going on in Afghanistan. Most people believe that the war is now over in Afghanistan, and, in fact, there is a mopping up operation, which the U.S. has to carry out, and an intense intelligence organization -- operation to try and capture the remnants of bin Laden.

But what is now needed, I think, by the United States is a political strategy, a reconstruction strategy and other arms of the U.S. government, the State Department, the agency for international development, American NGOs. Other arms of the U.S. government should be brought into the political decision making process. And...

KOPPEL: Very quickly, very quickly, or else what?

RASHID: Well, I think, you know, it's a critical moment in Afghanistan. The political process has begun, and the next two months, three months are vital. And I think, you know, you can not have a war strategy when you are trying stabilize a country through other means, such as politics and reconstruction.

KOPPEL: Do you agree, Brent Scowcroft?

SCOWCROFT: I think we have a delicate transition going on. The war basically is over, but there's a lot of mopping up to do. And there will be a requirement for some troops there for a long time. But I think Ahmed is exactly right. We now have to turn to a political strategy, and what we have to ensure is that Afghanistan does not slide back into its previous state, allowing the terrorists to come back in. So that is the military part just gave us the opportunity to clean things up.

KOPPEL: A window of opportunity?

SCOWCROFT: Absolutely.

KOPPEL: Brent Scowcroft, thank you so much, sir, for joining us here in Washington. And in New York, Ahmed Rashid, thank you as well, sir. Coming up, a cameraman in Ramallah comes under fire.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOPPEL: Welcome back. The danger of covering the Mideast conflict tops this hour's "News Alert." Today an Egyptian TV news crew got caught in the crossfire and their Palestinian photographer was shot in the mouth, his camera still rolling. They rushed him to a hospital where the man remains in serious condition.

Heavy security at a Pakistani courthouse where the accused mastermind in the kidnapping and murder of journalist Daniel Pearl made a brief appearance. A judge set indictments against Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheik, and three others will be handed down April 5. At that time, the judge will decide if there's enough evidence for a trial.

In Rome, thousands of pilgrims gathered for the traditional Good Friday procession. But the pope's failing health has forced the Vatican to make adjustments. A special altar has been set up in St. Peter's Basilica so the pope won't have to climb steps during Easter ceremonies.

KOPPEL: And this programing note, starting this Monday, April 1 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, "CROSSFIRE" expands to one hour. For our WAR ROOM viewers, you can, of course, continue to catch Wolf Blitzer's reporting on the war on terrorism and the day's other news weekdays at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. But for us, that's all the time we have tonight.

Thanks very much for watching. Have a wonderful holiday weekend. I'm Andrea Koppel in for Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "CROSSFIRE" begins right now.

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