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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
Forging Middle East Peace: Can Talks Turn Tide of Blood?
Aired June 16, 2003 - 17:00 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.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Can talks turn the tide of blood? Urging efforts to forge a Middle East truce. Will Hamas call off the bombers?
Will Israel hold back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not possible to achieve a diplomatic arrangement and certainly not a peace treaty when terrorism is rampant.
BLITZER: Desert scorpion: under attack in Iraq. U.S. Forces strike back, hard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now we're kicking in their doors and arresting them.
BLITZER: Are they turning Iraqi villagers into anti-American die-hards?
Cell doors swing open four years after dozens were caught up in a controversial drug sweep through a Texas town.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is a special edition of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, live from the Middle East. Reporting from Jerusalem, here's Wolf Blitzer.
BLITZER: Good evening. In Israel and the Palestinian territories, there's a sense of urgency. An urgency that could result in either war or peace in the coming hours. By all accounts the next 24 to 48 hours will be critical. We'll have extensive coverage.
But first, let's take a brief look at some of the headlines making news back in the United States right now.
We are going to begin with a military hearing under way at Fort Knox, Kentucky, for the U.S. soldier accused of a deadly grenade attack on fellow soldiers in Kuwait in March.
In Tulia, Texas, a dozen African-Americans convicted on testimony from an undercover cop charged with perjury have been released after four years in prison. A 25-year-old woman is under arrest, suspected of leading a smuggling operation that left 19 people dead in the back of a truck in Texas last month.
And award-winning actor Hume Cronyn has died of prostate cancer. He was 91 years old.
Let's get back to our top story.
Namely this, war or peace here in the Middle East. Diplomats are working feverishly to try to determine whether or not there can be a breakthrough. This issue is by no means easily resolved, and efforts are intensifying at this very moment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): These are critical hours in the war between Israel and Hamas. At stake, more of this, namely Palestinian suicide attacks and Israeli air strikes, or this, a cease-fire on the start of peace negotiations. Privately, Palestinian Authority and Israeli government sources insist a cease-fire is doable. Publicly, neither side is budging, at least not yet.
ARIEL SHARON, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Israel wants peace. The people of Israel live here peacefully. The people of Israel deserve quiet.
MAHMOUD ZAHAR, HAMAS SPOKESMAN: After this moment we give no answer. We are going to discuss the study and to give our answer at proper time.
BLITZER: The Israelis want an end to Palestinian terror attacks and the Palestinians want an end to Israel's targeted killings of Hamas leaders. Israeli sources say they won't abandon those assassinations if they get word of hat they call a ticking bomb, namely, intelligence indicating a terror attack is in the works. In the Middle, Egyptian mediators trying to broker a deal that will set the stage for an end to these assassinations and an initial Israeli withdrawal from northern Gaza with the Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas' security services taking over responsibility. Also in the middle, special U.S. envoy Jon Wolf, who met with Israeli officials Monday, and will do the same with the Palestinians Tuesday.
JOHN WOLF, ASST. SECRETARY OF STATE: Our task is to work with the parties to try to realize the vision that President Bush, Prime Minister Sharon and Prime Minister Abbas discussed, and on which they committed at Aqaba.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: The Bush administration is clearly scrambling to try to keep the road map toward peace from unraveling. Let's get the latest. Go to the White House right now.
CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is standing by with details. Suzanne, what's the assessment where you are?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, President Bush very much sounding like candidate Bush earlier today in Elizabeth, New Jersey, that's where he was highlighting his domestic agenda. You are absolutely right, The big push is to get the Middle East peace process back on track. Publicly the White House is condemning extremist Hamas. We heard from Ari Fleischer calling them rejectists. But privately, of course, the White House really putting pressure on the key players Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, as well as the Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.
As you mentioned before in the region, John Wolf meeting with Sharon later to meet with Abbas. Of course, the key test here, whether or not Abbas can actually put in place a secure Palestinian territory, as to whether or not there will be a cease fire with Hamas. And in Washington we saw with National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Secretary State Colin Powell meeting with Israel's chief of staff. The message there was these assassination attempts against Hamas are really counterproductive to this whole process that the administration does not agree that that will move this forward. But of course everybody simply looking for a period of calm -- Wolf.
BLITZER: As Secretary of State Powell expected here in the region in the coming days, what is that about, Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Of course they haven't made the final determination, and that depends on what happens in the days to come. But, yes, they are certainly hoping that secretary Powell, as well as there is some talk about Dr. Rice as well, getting involved directly with those involved in these talks. The administration wants to make it very clear that they are putting high-level officials, making it a priority to get this thing moving forward. And if the president sees that it's appropriate for him to pick up the phone and make those calls or even perhaps visit the region again, he will do the same.
BLITZER: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Thanks, Suzanne, very much.
Underscoring the urgency of what's going on are these numbers. Lets take a closer look.
Since the cease-fire is still not there, the numbers of course have been staggering since the latest cycle of attacks began only about a week or so ago. 24 Israelis and 32 Palestinians have died.
What will it take to end this violence, to end the terrorism, get back on the road for peace?
Tomorrow at this time we'll speak with a leading voice from the Palestinian side.
Right now joining me here in Jerusalem is Ra'anan Gissin, to the Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Ra'anan, thanks for joining us.
Good evening. Are you at all hopeful this cease-fire is going to be achieved?
RA'ANAN GISSIN, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON: We've been having this experience for a long time and this time we are hoping that maybe the breakthrough will come as a result of two main factors. One, the sustained military pressure on Hamas that we have mounted in the past week after losing 26, by the way, Israelis have died and still 58 pending alerts are there and the other factor, of course is the U.S. pressure and the involvement of the U.S. on all fronts. Both vis-a-vis, Egypt, vis-a-vis the Arab Countries and vis- a-vis Palestinian Authority to move the process forward. I think the Palestinians realize there's no more time to waste, it's do or die. Either they move in and rein in terrorism in the territories and there is a plan being worked out with...
BLITZER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is the Palestinian minister on this issue. Someone you've dealt with in the past, someone I believe you trust as Mahmoud Abbas as well, will this plan call for some sort of initial Israeli withdrawal from at least parts of northern Gaza?
GISSIN: Definitely I think the plan was all submitted in the first two meetings between Prime Minister Sharon and Prime Minister Abu Mazen. And at that time, the Palestinians said we're not ready yet. But I think now they are quite ready because they understand that if they don't move in, Hamas will continue. Particularly Hamas in Gaza, which is launching most of the attacks in the territory. Hamas in Gaza is also, according to some of our information is involved with outside groups like al Qaeda, and is trying to scuttle the peace process.
BLITZER: We'll get to the al Qaeda thing in a moment.
But are you prepared, your government, to stop these targeted killings, at least in the short term as part of this deal?
GISSIN: I think the prime minister was unequivocal about that. In those areas where the security forces will assume full control, even small chunks of the pieces of the territory in Gaza, in those areas they'll refrain from military action. But the prime minister was very clear on that. If it will be pending alerts about ticking bombs and ticking bombs, by the way for your information, for the information of the audience, it's not just those suicide bombers, but those who set up the assembly of bombers. People like Rantissi, people who generate and instigate these attacks. If the Palestinian Authority does not arrest them or prevent them from taking those actions we'll have no choice but to do it ourselves.
BLITZER: What hard evidence do you have of a link between al Qaeda and Hamas?
GISSIN: Right now there's not much hard evidence or at least not much we can reveal about it. But there's no doubt the two members, British nationals, which planned the suicide bombing in the Mike's Place in Tel Aviv several weeks ago.
BLITZER: The restaurant? GISSIN: Right. They were recruited by Hamas in Israel and there are some indication they've had connection with al Qaeda. This is -- the investigation is still under way, but there's no doubt that Hamas spreads its tentacles and does have connection with al Qaeda, particularly now that it is desperate to import suicide bombers when their infrastructure in the West Bank and in Gaza is badly damaged.
BLITZER: Let me ask you one final question before I let you go. NATO troops, U.S. troops possibly coming in to serve as a buffer between the Israelis and the Palestinians. You've heard Senator John Warner propose it, maybe Senator Richard Lugar. Yesterday, the U.N. secretary-general, Kofi Annan. Is your government ready for this third party, maybe NATO and U.S. troops, helping?
GISSIN: Well, I think Israel's position is quite clear. The prime minister made it, you know, very clear. There is no place for U.N. or U.S. troops at this stage.
What we accepted is U.S. monitors and that is what can happen after there is an agreement or after we start implementing the road map to peace.
By the way, the road map has not been born yet. We are still in the birth pangs of this process. But afterwards, when there is already an agreement, there is a useful role for peacekeeping forces. But before that, these forces, all they can do is keep themselves in one piece. And believe me, we don't want any U.S. troops shedding their blood here. We can do the job. Israel has -- that's the only place in the world where Jews can defend themselves by themselves. That's indeed what we are going to do. We hope the Palestinian will assume their responsibility and then we can really move on the road map to peace.
BLITZER: All right. Ra'anan Gissin, thanks for joining us.
GISSIN: Thank you.
BLITZER: Thank you very much.
And this important note: tomorrow at this time we'll have a special interview with a leading Palestinian voice. I'll speak with a senior official from the Palestinian authority, the labor minister, Ghassan Khatib. That's tomorrow at this time.
Much more coming up on this special edition of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, including this: set free after four years. Did lies and racism put these men behind bars? Coming up, shocking allegations of where the system went wrong.
Also, Operation Desert Scorpion. U.S. Troops launch an assault against Iraqi resistance. But it has an unintended consequence.
And fighting for her business. Martha Stewart takes action to win over consumers. Is it working? The answer coming up.
Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We're getting a disturbing story in from the Associated Press. A Catholic bishop has been arrested -- arrested for a fatal hit-and -run traffic accident. We're getting details. Those details when we come back.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(INTERRUPTED BY CNN COVERAGE OF BREAKING NEWS)
BLITZER: Jeffrey, stand by, though, because there's another fascinating story that's been developing throughout the day in Texas.
And I want to update our viewers on that as well. A dozen, a dozen African-American in Texas are tonight free from a case -- free in a case denounced by civil rights activists. The men were among 38 convicted of drug dealing in Tulia, Texas, on the testimony of an undercover police officer who was later indicted on perjury charges. The case dates back to a high-profile drug sweep in July 1999. A Texas appeals court judge today ordered the men released on their own recognizance while their cases are under review.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREDDIE BRODKINS, JR., RELEASED INMATE: It's really a blessing to finally be home with our families, speaking on behalf of everyone. But we also want to thank the media. If it wasn't for you guys, you know, we would probably still be in the same place, starting from the beginning. Which this is, the beginning, but it's not over yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Let's bring back Jeffrey Toobin, our legal analyst. How unusual is this case in Texas unfolding right now, Jeff?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you would think this case is something out of Jim Crow or out of "To Kill a Mockingbird." Just to put this case in perspective, there were 40 African-Americans arrested in this case. The town of Tulia has 400 African-Americans. So in this one drug investigation, one out of 10, 10 percent of every African-American in this town was arrested. They have now all been released. The main informant has -- is being prosecuted for perjury. But many of these people served years in prison. It is a completely shocking, really almost unbelievable story in 2003 United States.
BLITZER: And it is shocking. And if these people, who spent these years in prison, were set up falsely, obviously they are being released right now. But what other recourse, if any, do they have to get at least part of their life back?
TOOBIN: You know, it is -- because DNA evidence has come forward in recent years where we've seen the exoneration of quite a few people all around the country, the issue of, where do you go to get compensated for years in prison unjustifiably, where do you go to get some money, your life back. And the answer is, you don't really generally have much luck. There have been cases where people have been awarded sums of money, either by courts or by special acts of state legislatures, but the system is set up so that it's very hard for people who are convicted and later exonerated to get any money at all.
BLITZER: Jeffrey Toobin, thanks for your insight. Thanks very much.
More news coming up, including this -- two lives torn apart by violence. Innocent victims of both sides of the Middle East crisis share a common and bloody bond.
Plus, an American sergeant accused of killing fellow soldiers faces justice.
And wine, women and (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Saddam's son parties hard before U.S. forces roll in. But first, let's take this quick break.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very, very hopeful, but I'm pessimistic. Because we had better maps and we had better solutions that didn't work out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe (ph) in this peace now, you know. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Jerusalem, never peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Many of the victims of this most recent wave of violence here in the Middle East have been innocent civilians. Seventeen people died only a few days ago here in Jerusalem when a bus was blown up by a suicide bomber. Nearly 70 others were wounded, including American Sarri Singer, the daughter of the New Jersey State Senate leader. Appearing on our "LATE EDITION" program yesterday, she recalled the moment when the bomber struck.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARRI SINGER, BOMBING VICTIM: I wasn't even really paying attention. I just shut off my phone and put it in my bag, and the next thing I knew, I closed my eyes and I felt this huge shockwave. And it was very, very strong. I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know that was a terrorist attack. And then finally once the wave stopped and I realized I couldn't open my left eye when it happened. Something had hit it. But I just was screaming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, is now in Gaza trying to achieve a cease-fire with Hamas militants. But as CNN's Matthew Chance reports from Gaza, this is by no means an easy mission.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amid all the talk of peace, another family grieves its loss. Theirs was a 7-year- old girl named Amal (ph) killed when Israeli missiles struck the car of a Hamas leader as it drove through Gaza's busy streets. Her mother is beside herself.
"Amal (ph) was the brightest of my children," she says. "She loved to laugh. She'd only gone out to play on the street with her cousin when she met this fate."
Outside, friends and relatives have come to pay their respects, but this tragedy is only one of the many destroying hopes for peace here. Few now believe either Hamas or the Israelis will stop their attacks. Little confidence either in the new Palestinian prime minister.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We all hear about the road map, but we see no change on the ground. We hear about Abu Mazen, but things are no different for us. Others have also been involved, but our life remains the same.
CHANCE: And life here is tough. In the markets of Gaza City, there's plenty for sale, but few with money enough to buy it. Cut off from the outside by Israel, a million Palestinians crammed into the Gaza Strip, struggle to survive. Eighty-five percent live in poverty. It's fertile ground for groups like Hamas to find support.
"The road map is a farce," she says. "As long as the Israelis are here, we will fight them. Whatever anyone tells you, we'll not see a day of happiness until we have our country back."
The words may seem out of place in the diplomacy of recent days and weeks, but for many Palestinians here, she speaks the truth.
(on camera): It is not only the militant groups like Hamas that Abu Mazen needs to win over. Ordinary Palestinians also want to see that their pain has not been for nothing, and without those kinds of assurances, hopes for building a lasting peace here may be lost.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Gaza.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: A charm, offensive and a frontal assault. U.S. troops use a carrot and a stick in attempts to win peace in Iraq. Is it working?
Also, the Taliban reared their head. A new threat against U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
And Martha Stewart. She stepped down as CEO, but how is her business doing?
Find out if her high-profile case is affecting her company's bottom line.
All that, but first, our weekend snapshot.
At least nine people died when a charter fishing boat capsized in rough waters off the Oregon coast. None of them were wearing life jackets, but all eight survivors were.
Eight Cuban migrants made it ashore in the suburbs of Miami, alluding police and immigration officials for a time. The group is being processed as a detention center.
President Bush spent father's day with the former President Bush. They fished and played a round of golf near the family's summer hope in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating announced he's stepping down from a panel investigating the priest sex abuse scandal. The move followed a controversial comment Keating made comparing church officials to the Mafia.
The San Antonio Spurs won their second NBA championship, beating the New Jersey Nets, 88-77 in game six of the finals. They also said good-bye to star center David Robinson, retiring after 14 years.
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UNIDENTIFIED VOICE ACTOR: Oh, my gosh! Nemo is swimming in the sea!
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BLITZER: And "Finding Nemo" found itself in the no. 1 spot in the bock office. Disney's no. 1 feature sank to no. 2 last year, but floated to the top again with a $29 million take.
And that's our "Weekend Snapshot."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: CNN live this hour. Wolf Blitzer reports live from the nation's capital, with correspondents from around the world.
Here now is Wolf Blitzer.
BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting tonight from Jerusalem.
A U.S. Army sergeant accused of killing his fellow soldiers. We'll get details on this dramatic case.
First, though, let's check some other headlines making news right now.
(NEWSBREAK)
BLITZER: A military hearing has begun in connection with that case involving the U.S. soldier on duty in Kuwait who apparently was involved in trying to kill some of its fellow soldiers.
Let's get some details of all of this from our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Sergeant Hasan Akbar is accused of throwing a live grenade into the tent of his superior officers in Kuwait as they prepared to enter combat in the initial days of the war in Iraq. Two majors testified against him today. One described work on his computer when he heard footsteps and saw the grenade roll across the floor. He was unhurt in the explosion but shot in the hands and thighs when he stepped out of the tent.
In a different tent when he heard an explosion He said he saw an African-American in desert camouflage at the door of his tent, heard something roll across his floor and then there was a fire and explosion. According to the testimony and preliminary hearing, Sergeant Akbar was the last noncommissioned officer who had been guarding a cache of grenades. And four grenades were unaccounted for after the attack. The purpose of this hearing is to decide if there's enough evidence to go to court martial, where if convicted he could face the death penalty -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre, thanks for that update at the Pentagon.
In Iraq, day two of Operation Desert Scorpion, that's the mission designed to wipe out Saddam Hussein loyalists, Fedayeen and others who may be operating against U.S. troops. At the same time, U.S. personnel are also trying to endear themselves to the Iraqi public. It's a dual mission producing mixed results so far as CNN's Ben Wedeman reports from Fallujah.
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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In full combat gear, America's fighting men prepare for a different kind of mission, making Fallujah beautiful. Clearing away the rubbish and rubble littering a vacant lot. It's a charm offensive intended to soothe the sting of "Operation Desert Scorpion", America's latest attempt to crackdown on persistent armed Iraqi resistance. Residents had mixed feelings about the neighborhood cleanup.
These projects are great, says driver Mohammed Ali Hussein. We all benefit from them. But we want more. We want them to fix the water, the electricity. Several said they suspected the true purpose of this cleanup was to search for buried illegal weapons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The new water project is this location here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
WEDEMAN: Back at the mayor's office, Army engineers and municipal officials work on plans to repair the sewage system, fix up schools, clean up the city, all projects with a message.
CAPTAIN KEVIN JACKSON, 3RD INFANTRY DIVISION: We have to secure the place and we have to sit on these people and make sure that any threat that is out there, which we believe is in the minorities, to make sure they understand that we're here to stay and we are here to help these people.
WEDEMAN: By day the carrot, by night the stick. On the first night of "Operation Desert Scorpion", U.S. troops arrested 38-year-old Fedas Ahmed (ph). Fedas (ph) was one of several men rounded up for suspicion of involvement of anti-American attacks. He and his extended family had been sleeping in the garden trying to get relief from the oppressive Iraqi summer heat.
His mother, Nashima (ph), says Fedas (ph) is handicapped and could hardly have been involved in any attacks on the Americans. His uncle, Jason (ph), is bitter about the stick and has yet to see the carrot.
I was one of the people who swore as soon as the Americans came, I would invite them into my home, he said. Now we're all ready to become Saddam's Fedayeen. The outcome of America's proverbial battle for Iraq's heart and mind is still very uncertain.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Fallujah, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: He's Saddam Hussein's No. 1 son and because of his violent history, he was placed No. 3 on the U.S. Government's most wanted list of Iraqis.
But Uday Hussein also lived the life of an extravagant playboy whose parties turned into wild affairs. Al-Arabiya, the Arab satellite television station, has broadcast video. This video says it shows Uday partying in a Baghdad hotel during the height of his family's power.
Is it a settlement or a full-blown city? We're talking about the Israeli settlements on the West Bank. Palestinians call them an obstacle to peace, rather than say they're there to stay.
And with a court hearing ahead, Martha Stewart has a lot on the line, and a new line of furniture as well. Will consumers go for it?
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BLITZER: It's some of the most disputed real estate in the world. In a moment, I'll take you inside the land at the heart of this Middle East conflict.
Stay with us.
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BLITZER: Many believe that at the heart of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, at least a big chunk of it right now, is the whole issue of Jewish settlements on the West Bank. A quick visit to the area, though, earlier today showed very dramatically that there are settlements and there are settlements.
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BLITZER: It's been exactly 36 years this month since Israel's six-day war of victory that captured the West Bank from Jordan. Since then, some 200,000 Israelis have settled there. That doesn't include the quarter of a million who have moved to east Jerusalem and other neighboring parts of an expanded Jerusalem municipality, also controlled by Jordan until 1967.
Ma'ale Adumim is one of those Jewish settlements on the West Bank, not far from Jerusalem. It's grown from 23 families and a few tents and mobile homes in 1975 to this -- nearly 30,000 residents, most of whom commute to work in Jerusalem.
The Israelis who live here say almost uniformly that they will never leave this area, no matter what the politicians come up with.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you ask me to leave, no way. They pay me a lot of money, no way. I'm not going to leave.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to go somewhere and I want to stay here.
BLITZER: The homes and gardens are reminiscent of the southwest United States. There are playgrounds, shops, restaurants and movie theaters. The businesses here have prospered.
What you see here is similar to several of the other major settlements on the West Bank, including Ariel (ph), where several thousand Israelis live, just a commuter drive from Tel Aviv, and Efrat (ph), where another 10,000 live just south of Bethlehem. They are really more like towns.
Indeed, the Israelis who live in Ma'ale Adumim say they're not settlers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't consider this a settlement. This is a city. It's not a settlement.
BLITZER: These established communities are in marked contrast to what the Middle East peace road map calls the illegal outposts on the West Bank, built since March 2001, that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has promised to dismantle.
That process has started. But what happens Ma'ale Adumim and the other Jewish communities on the West Bank is supposed to be worked out through direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations as part of that road map.
Palestinians insist these settlements are part of an illegal Israeli occupation. But most Israelis will tell a visitor rather bluntly, "Don't hold your breath waiting for any of these major settlements to be evacuated, let alone dismantled."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is no way the Israeli government can do it. They couldn't offer the people in Ma'ale Adumim the money to move. They don't have that kind of money.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Palestinians say these settlements are obstacles to peace and they must literally go. Earlier, I spoke with the Palestinian human rights activist Jonathan Kuttab, who called these Jewish settlements obstacles to peace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN KUTTAB, PALESTINIAN ATTORNEY: You cannot talk peace while you're putting up road blocks like these and settling people with families and children on somebody else's land and say you want peace. Ultimately, they have to be evacuated. Some kind of compromise over this holy land needs to be made.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Here's your turn to weigh in on this very, very sensitive question. Our "Web Question of the Day" is this: "Should Israel dismantle all settlements in the West Bank and Gaza?" We'll have the results later this broadcast. You can vote at cnn.com/wolf.
While you're there, I'd love to hear from you. Send me your comments. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also, of course, where you can read my daily online column, cnn.com/wolf.
Martha Stewart in serious, very serious legal trouble. But is it tarnishing her business empire? Scandal at the bottom line straight ahead.
But first, a look at other news making headlines "Around the World."
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BLITZER (voice-over): A sixth night of student protests in Iran's capital, with hundreds calling for the country's religious leaders to relinquish power. Running street battles were reported throughout the night.
Police in Northern Ireland have arrested two men in connection with a massive bomb found Sunday. The 600-pound device was discovered in an abandoned van and diffused.
North Korea is marking the third anniversary of historic talks with the South. A rally was held at Reunification Gate in Pyongyang, one day after the two Koreas reopened rail links severed decades ago.
A documentary marks the anniversary of South Africa's Sowetto uprising 27 years ago today. The film is called "Amandla," which means freedom.
The 94th Paris Air Show is under way, showing signs of the industry's troubled times. There are 20 fewer planes on display this year and exhibit space is down 5 percent.
And team Bentley is the winner of this year's Le Mans, it's first victory since 1930. It was also the fourth straight win for driver Tom Kristensen, who now holds the record.
And that's our look "Around the World."
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BLITZER: Martha Stewart's facing a pretrial hearing on Thursday in connection with her legal issues. But what's the verdict on her business?
CNN's Allan Chernoff is standing by with that in New York -- Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Martha Stewart's legal problems hit just as her company was about to unveil a new line of products. But the criminal charges are not deterring shoppers.
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CHERNOFF (voice-over): Even as Martha Stewart prepares her defense in court, American consumers are embracing her newest line of products: Furniture. Martha Stewart Signature Furniture, inspired by her homes in Maine and the Hamptons, has been on sale about two months. Already the brand is the No. 1 seller at Manhattan's Foremost Furniture.
RICHARD BRODERSON, PRESIDENT, FOREMOST FURNITURE: Once they see the furniture in the environment, they couldn't care less about what happened to Martha Stewart, what didn't happen to Martha Stewart, what will happen to Martha Stewart. It's irrelevant.
CHERNOFF: Some shoppers say they care more about what Ms. Stewart is selling than what she may or may not have done.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love her styling. I think it's great. I mean, whatever happens with her is -- has got nothing to do really with her designs.
CHERNOFF: On her television show, Martha Stewart promoted the manufacturer, Bernhart Furniture.
MARTHA STEWART, CEO, MARTHA STEWART LIVING OMNIMEDIA: The company is a fine, American company.
CHERNOFF: While Bernhart does manufacture in North Carolina, much of the Martha Stewart line is made in eight other countries, including China and Vietnam. That's how Bernhart is able to price the Stewart line well below much of its other fine furniture.
Martha Stewart Signature carpeting is also selling well. In fact, a new poll of New Yorkers finds only 1 out of 5 would think twice about purchasing a Martha Stewart product, even though a majority believes Stewart is guilty of insider trading.
CAROL SWEDLOW, ARONSON FLOORING: I think everyone likes the fact that she's a bit of an outlaw now and if anything, it's been helpful for her flooring line.
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CHERNOFF: Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia expects to earn $5 million in royalties from that signature line. But that is only about 2 percent of the company's annual revenue. The bulk still comes from publishing, and that business is in a slump.
Wolf, the bottom line, Martha Stewart's company is likely to keep on losing money largely because of her legal problems.
BLITZER: All right. Allan Chernoff in New York, thanks for that update. We'll be watching that pretrial hearing coming up on Thursday.
Our "Web Question of the Day" -- we're monitoring the results of that as well. Remember, we've been asking you this question -- should Israel dismantle all settlements in the West Bank and Gaza? You can still vote, cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results immediately when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: A simply beautiful night here in Jerusalem. A wonderful city, a holy city to three great religions. We're watching what's happening here in the Middle East. A lot of dramatic developments.
Let's check in, though, on our "Web Question of the Day." Remember, we've been asking you this question: "Should Israel dismantle all settlements in the West Bank and Gaza?" Look at this: 77 percent of you say yes, 23 percent of you say no. You can find the exact vote tally, continue to vote, by the way, on our Web site, cnn.com/wolf. As always, we tell you this is not a scientific poll.
Let me get to some of your e-mail.
Scott writes this: "The use of terror tactics by either side is not acceptable, but for Israel to say that it will not negotiate with the Palestinians because they used to use terror to achieve their goals is hypocrisy at its worst. The IDF uses terror tactics just like Hamas does."
Raeefa sends this: "It is absurd to demand that Israel negoatiate with Hamas, a terrorist organization that exists solely to murder civilians. Would any one ask that the U.S. negotiate with al Qaeda? Hamas should be eliminated, not treated as an equal negotiating partner."
Remember, I'll be reporting live here from the Middle East throughout this week. We'll have all of the developments, all of the stories both at noon and at 5 p.m. Eastern. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 16, 2003 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Can talks turn the tide of blood? Urging efforts to forge a Middle East truce. Will Hamas call off the bombers?
Will Israel hold back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not possible to achieve a diplomatic arrangement and certainly not a peace treaty when terrorism is rampant.
BLITZER: Desert scorpion: under attack in Iraq. U.S. Forces strike back, hard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now we're kicking in their doors and arresting them.
BLITZER: Are they turning Iraqi villagers into anti-American die-hards?
Cell doors swing open four years after dozens were caught up in a controversial drug sweep through a Texas town.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is a special edition of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, live from the Middle East. Reporting from Jerusalem, here's Wolf Blitzer.
BLITZER: Good evening. In Israel and the Palestinian territories, there's a sense of urgency. An urgency that could result in either war or peace in the coming hours. By all accounts the next 24 to 48 hours will be critical. We'll have extensive coverage.
But first, let's take a brief look at some of the headlines making news back in the United States right now.
We are going to begin with a military hearing under way at Fort Knox, Kentucky, for the U.S. soldier accused of a deadly grenade attack on fellow soldiers in Kuwait in March.
In Tulia, Texas, a dozen African-Americans convicted on testimony from an undercover cop charged with perjury have been released after four years in prison. A 25-year-old woman is under arrest, suspected of leading a smuggling operation that left 19 people dead in the back of a truck in Texas last month.
And award-winning actor Hume Cronyn has died of prostate cancer. He was 91 years old.
Let's get back to our top story.
Namely this, war or peace here in the Middle East. Diplomats are working feverishly to try to determine whether or not there can be a breakthrough. This issue is by no means easily resolved, and efforts are intensifying at this very moment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): These are critical hours in the war between Israel and Hamas. At stake, more of this, namely Palestinian suicide attacks and Israeli air strikes, or this, a cease-fire on the start of peace negotiations. Privately, Palestinian Authority and Israeli government sources insist a cease-fire is doable. Publicly, neither side is budging, at least not yet.
ARIEL SHARON, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Israel wants peace. The people of Israel live here peacefully. The people of Israel deserve quiet.
MAHMOUD ZAHAR, HAMAS SPOKESMAN: After this moment we give no answer. We are going to discuss the study and to give our answer at proper time.
BLITZER: The Israelis want an end to Palestinian terror attacks and the Palestinians want an end to Israel's targeted killings of Hamas leaders. Israeli sources say they won't abandon those assassinations if they get word of hat they call a ticking bomb, namely, intelligence indicating a terror attack is in the works. In the Middle, Egyptian mediators trying to broker a deal that will set the stage for an end to these assassinations and an initial Israeli withdrawal from northern Gaza with the Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas' security services taking over responsibility. Also in the middle, special U.S. envoy Jon Wolf, who met with Israeli officials Monday, and will do the same with the Palestinians Tuesday.
JOHN WOLF, ASST. SECRETARY OF STATE: Our task is to work with the parties to try to realize the vision that President Bush, Prime Minister Sharon and Prime Minister Abbas discussed, and on which they committed at Aqaba.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: The Bush administration is clearly scrambling to try to keep the road map toward peace from unraveling. Let's get the latest. Go to the White House right now.
CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is standing by with details. Suzanne, what's the assessment where you are?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, President Bush very much sounding like candidate Bush earlier today in Elizabeth, New Jersey, that's where he was highlighting his domestic agenda. You are absolutely right, The big push is to get the Middle East peace process back on track. Publicly the White House is condemning extremist Hamas. We heard from Ari Fleischer calling them rejectists. But privately, of course, the White House really putting pressure on the key players Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, as well as the Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.
As you mentioned before in the region, John Wolf meeting with Sharon later to meet with Abbas. Of course, the key test here, whether or not Abbas can actually put in place a secure Palestinian territory, as to whether or not there will be a cease fire with Hamas. And in Washington we saw with National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Secretary State Colin Powell meeting with Israel's chief of staff. The message there was these assassination attempts against Hamas are really counterproductive to this whole process that the administration does not agree that that will move this forward. But of course everybody simply looking for a period of calm -- Wolf.
BLITZER: As Secretary of State Powell expected here in the region in the coming days, what is that about, Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Of course they haven't made the final determination, and that depends on what happens in the days to come. But, yes, they are certainly hoping that secretary Powell, as well as there is some talk about Dr. Rice as well, getting involved directly with those involved in these talks. The administration wants to make it very clear that they are putting high-level officials, making it a priority to get this thing moving forward. And if the president sees that it's appropriate for him to pick up the phone and make those calls or even perhaps visit the region again, he will do the same.
BLITZER: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Thanks, Suzanne, very much.
Underscoring the urgency of what's going on are these numbers. Lets take a closer look.
Since the cease-fire is still not there, the numbers of course have been staggering since the latest cycle of attacks began only about a week or so ago. 24 Israelis and 32 Palestinians have died.
What will it take to end this violence, to end the terrorism, get back on the road for peace?
Tomorrow at this time we'll speak with a leading voice from the Palestinian side.
Right now joining me here in Jerusalem is Ra'anan Gissin, to the Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Ra'anan, thanks for joining us.
Good evening. Are you at all hopeful this cease-fire is going to be achieved?
RA'ANAN GISSIN, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON: We've been having this experience for a long time and this time we are hoping that maybe the breakthrough will come as a result of two main factors. One, the sustained military pressure on Hamas that we have mounted in the past week after losing 26, by the way, Israelis have died and still 58 pending alerts are there and the other factor, of course is the U.S. pressure and the involvement of the U.S. on all fronts. Both vis-a-vis, Egypt, vis-a-vis the Arab Countries and vis- a-vis Palestinian Authority to move the process forward. I think the Palestinians realize there's no more time to waste, it's do or die. Either they move in and rein in terrorism in the territories and there is a plan being worked out with...
BLITZER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is the Palestinian minister on this issue. Someone you've dealt with in the past, someone I believe you trust as Mahmoud Abbas as well, will this plan call for some sort of initial Israeli withdrawal from at least parts of northern Gaza?
GISSIN: Definitely I think the plan was all submitted in the first two meetings between Prime Minister Sharon and Prime Minister Abu Mazen. And at that time, the Palestinians said we're not ready yet. But I think now they are quite ready because they understand that if they don't move in, Hamas will continue. Particularly Hamas in Gaza, which is launching most of the attacks in the territory. Hamas in Gaza is also, according to some of our information is involved with outside groups like al Qaeda, and is trying to scuttle the peace process.
BLITZER: We'll get to the al Qaeda thing in a moment.
But are you prepared, your government, to stop these targeted killings, at least in the short term as part of this deal?
GISSIN: I think the prime minister was unequivocal about that. In those areas where the security forces will assume full control, even small chunks of the pieces of the territory in Gaza, in those areas they'll refrain from military action. But the prime minister was very clear on that. If it will be pending alerts about ticking bombs and ticking bombs, by the way for your information, for the information of the audience, it's not just those suicide bombers, but those who set up the assembly of bombers. People like Rantissi, people who generate and instigate these attacks. If the Palestinian Authority does not arrest them or prevent them from taking those actions we'll have no choice but to do it ourselves.
BLITZER: What hard evidence do you have of a link between al Qaeda and Hamas?
GISSIN: Right now there's not much hard evidence or at least not much we can reveal about it. But there's no doubt the two members, British nationals, which planned the suicide bombing in the Mike's Place in Tel Aviv several weeks ago.
BLITZER: The restaurant? GISSIN: Right. They were recruited by Hamas in Israel and there are some indication they've had connection with al Qaeda. This is -- the investigation is still under way, but there's no doubt that Hamas spreads its tentacles and does have connection with al Qaeda, particularly now that it is desperate to import suicide bombers when their infrastructure in the West Bank and in Gaza is badly damaged.
BLITZER: Let me ask you one final question before I let you go. NATO troops, U.S. troops possibly coming in to serve as a buffer between the Israelis and the Palestinians. You've heard Senator John Warner propose it, maybe Senator Richard Lugar. Yesterday, the U.N. secretary-general, Kofi Annan. Is your government ready for this third party, maybe NATO and U.S. troops, helping?
GISSIN: Well, I think Israel's position is quite clear. The prime minister made it, you know, very clear. There is no place for U.N. or U.S. troops at this stage.
What we accepted is U.S. monitors and that is what can happen after there is an agreement or after we start implementing the road map to peace.
By the way, the road map has not been born yet. We are still in the birth pangs of this process. But afterwards, when there is already an agreement, there is a useful role for peacekeeping forces. But before that, these forces, all they can do is keep themselves in one piece. And believe me, we don't want any U.S. troops shedding their blood here. We can do the job. Israel has -- that's the only place in the world where Jews can defend themselves by themselves. That's indeed what we are going to do. We hope the Palestinian will assume their responsibility and then we can really move on the road map to peace.
BLITZER: All right. Ra'anan Gissin, thanks for joining us.
GISSIN: Thank you.
BLITZER: Thank you very much.
And this important note: tomorrow at this time we'll have a special interview with a leading Palestinian voice. I'll speak with a senior official from the Palestinian authority, the labor minister, Ghassan Khatib. That's tomorrow at this time.
Much more coming up on this special edition of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, including this: set free after four years. Did lies and racism put these men behind bars? Coming up, shocking allegations of where the system went wrong.
Also, Operation Desert Scorpion. U.S. Troops launch an assault against Iraqi resistance. But it has an unintended consequence.
And fighting for her business. Martha Stewart takes action to win over consumers. Is it working? The answer coming up.
Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We're getting a disturbing story in from the Associated Press. A Catholic bishop has been arrested -- arrested for a fatal hit-and -run traffic accident. We're getting details. Those details when we come back.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(INTERRUPTED BY CNN COVERAGE OF BREAKING NEWS)
BLITZER: Jeffrey, stand by, though, because there's another fascinating story that's been developing throughout the day in Texas.
And I want to update our viewers on that as well. A dozen, a dozen African-American in Texas are tonight free from a case -- free in a case denounced by civil rights activists. The men were among 38 convicted of drug dealing in Tulia, Texas, on the testimony of an undercover police officer who was later indicted on perjury charges. The case dates back to a high-profile drug sweep in July 1999. A Texas appeals court judge today ordered the men released on their own recognizance while their cases are under review.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREDDIE BRODKINS, JR., RELEASED INMATE: It's really a blessing to finally be home with our families, speaking on behalf of everyone. But we also want to thank the media. If it wasn't for you guys, you know, we would probably still be in the same place, starting from the beginning. Which this is, the beginning, but it's not over yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Let's bring back Jeffrey Toobin, our legal analyst. How unusual is this case in Texas unfolding right now, Jeff?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you would think this case is something out of Jim Crow or out of "To Kill a Mockingbird." Just to put this case in perspective, there were 40 African-Americans arrested in this case. The town of Tulia has 400 African-Americans. So in this one drug investigation, one out of 10, 10 percent of every African-American in this town was arrested. They have now all been released. The main informant has -- is being prosecuted for perjury. But many of these people served years in prison. It is a completely shocking, really almost unbelievable story in 2003 United States.
BLITZER: And it is shocking. And if these people, who spent these years in prison, were set up falsely, obviously they are being released right now. But what other recourse, if any, do they have to get at least part of their life back?
TOOBIN: You know, it is -- because DNA evidence has come forward in recent years where we've seen the exoneration of quite a few people all around the country, the issue of, where do you go to get compensated for years in prison unjustifiably, where do you go to get some money, your life back. And the answer is, you don't really generally have much luck. There have been cases where people have been awarded sums of money, either by courts or by special acts of state legislatures, but the system is set up so that it's very hard for people who are convicted and later exonerated to get any money at all.
BLITZER: Jeffrey Toobin, thanks for your insight. Thanks very much.
More news coming up, including this -- two lives torn apart by violence. Innocent victims of both sides of the Middle East crisis share a common and bloody bond.
Plus, an American sergeant accused of killing fellow soldiers faces justice.
And wine, women and (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Saddam's son parties hard before U.S. forces roll in. But first, let's take this quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very, very hopeful, but I'm pessimistic. Because we had better maps and we had better solutions that didn't work out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe (ph) in this peace now, you know. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Jerusalem, never peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Many of the victims of this most recent wave of violence here in the Middle East have been innocent civilians. Seventeen people died only a few days ago here in Jerusalem when a bus was blown up by a suicide bomber. Nearly 70 others were wounded, including American Sarri Singer, the daughter of the New Jersey State Senate leader. Appearing on our "LATE EDITION" program yesterday, she recalled the moment when the bomber struck.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARRI SINGER, BOMBING VICTIM: I wasn't even really paying attention. I just shut off my phone and put it in my bag, and the next thing I knew, I closed my eyes and I felt this huge shockwave. And it was very, very strong. I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know that was a terrorist attack. And then finally once the wave stopped and I realized I couldn't open my left eye when it happened. Something had hit it. But I just was screaming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, is now in Gaza trying to achieve a cease-fire with Hamas militants. But as CNN's Matthew Chance reports from Gaza, this is by no means an easy mission.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amid all the talk of peace, another family grieves its loss. Theirs was a 7-year- old girl named Amal (ph) killed when Israeli missiles struck the car of a Hamas leader as it drove through Gaza's busy streets. Her mother is beside herself.
"Amal (ph) was the brightest of my children," she says. "She loved to laugh. She'd only gone out to play on the street with her cousin when she met this fate."
Outside, friends and relatives have come to pay their respects, but this tragedy is only one of the many destroying hopes for peace here. Few now believe either Hamas or the Israelis will stop their attacks. Little confidence either in the new Palestinian prime minister.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We all hear about the road map, but we see no change on the ground. We hear about Abu Mazen, but things are no different for us. Others have also been involved, but our life remains the same.
CHANCE: And life here is tough. In the markets of Gaza City, there's plenty for sale, but few with money enough to buy it. Cut off from the outside by Israel, a million Palestinians crammed into the Gaza Strip, struggle to survive. Eighty-five percent live in poverty. It's fertile ground for groups like Hamas to find support.
"The road map is a farce," she says. "As long as the Israelis are here, we will fight them. Whatever anyone tells you, we'll not see a day of happiness until we have our country back."
The words may seem out of place in the diplomacy of recent days and weeks, but for many Palestinians here, she speaks the truth.
(on camera): It is not only the militant groups like Hamas that Abu Mazen needs to win over. Ordinary Palestinians also want to see that their pain has not been for nothing, and without those kinds of assurances, hopes for building a lasting peace here may be lost.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Gaza.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: A charm, offensive and a frontal assault. U.S. troops use a carrot and a stick in attempts to win peace in Iraq. Is it working?
Also, the Taliban reared their head. A new threat against U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
And Martha Stewart. She stepped down as CEO, but how is her business doing?
Find out if her high-profile case is affecting her company's bottom line.
All that, but first, our weekend snapshot.
At least nine people died when a charter fishing boat capsized in rough waters off the Oregon coast. None of them were wearing life jackets, but all eight survivors were.
Eight Cuban migrants made it ashore in the suburbs of Miami, alluding police and immigration officials for a time. The group is being processed as a detention center.
President Bush spent father's day with the former President Bush. They fished and played a round of golf near the family's summer hope in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating announced he's stepping down from a panel investigating the priest sex abuse scandal. The move followed a controversial comment Keating made comparing church officials to the Mafia.
The San Antonio Spurs won their second NBA championship, beating the New Jersey Nets, 88-77 in game six of the finals. They also said good-bye to star center David Robinson, retiring after 14 years.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE ACTOR: Oh, my gosh! Nemo is swimming in the sea!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And "Finding Nemo" found itself in the no. 1 spot in the bock office. Disney's no. 1 feature sank to no. 2 last year, but floated to the top again with a $29 million take.
And that's our "Weekend Snapshot."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: CNN live this hour. Wolf Blitzer reports live from the nation's capital, with correspondents from around the world.
Here now is Wolf Blitzer.
BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting tonight from Jerusalem.
A U.S. Army sergeant accused of killing his fellow soldiers. We'll get details on this dramatic case.
First, though, let's check some other headlines making news right now.
(NEWSBREAK)
BLITZER: A military hearing has begun in connection with that case involving the U.S. soldier on duty in Kuwait who apparently was involved in trying to kill some of its fellow soldiers.
Let's get some details of all of this from our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Sergeant Hasan Akbar is accused of throwing a live grenade into the tent of his superior officers in Kuwait as they prepared to enter combat in the initial days of the war in Iraq. Two majors testified against him today. One described work on his computer when he heard footsteps and saw the grenade roll across the floor. He was unhurt in the explosion but shot in the hands and thighs when he stepped out of the tent.
In a different tent when he heard an explosion He said he saw an African-American in desert camouflage at the door of his tent, heard something roll across his floor and then there was a fire and explosion. According to the testimony and preliminary hearing, Sergeant Akbar was the last noncommissioned officer who had been guarding a cache of grenades. And four grenades were unaccounted for after the attack. The purpose of this hearing is to decide if there's enough evidence to go to court martial, where if convicted he could face the death penalty -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre, thanks for that update at the Pentagon.
In Iraq, day two of Operation Desert Scorpion, that's the mission designed to wipe out Saddam Hussein loyalists, Fedayeen and others who may be operating against U.S. troops. At the same time, U.S. personnel are also trying to endear themselves to the Iraqi public. It's a dual mission producing mixed results so far as CNN's Ben Wedeman reports from Fallujah.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In full combat gear, America's fighting men prepare for a different kind of mission, making Fallujah beautiful. Clearing away the rubbish and rubble littering a vacant lot. It's a charm offensive intended to soothe the sting of "Operation Desert Scorpion", America's latest attempt to crackdown on persistent armed Iraqi resistance. Residents had mixed feelings about the neighborhood cleanup.
These projects are great, says driver Mohammed Ali Hussein. We all benefit from them. But we want more. We want them to fix the water, the electricity. Several said they suspected the true purpose of this cleanup was to search for buried illegal weapons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The new water project is this location here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
WEDEMAN: Back at the mayor's office, Army engineers and municipal officials work on plans to repair the sewage system, fix up schools, clean up the city, all projects with a message.
CAPTAIN KEVIN JACKSON, 3RD INFANTRY DIVISION: We have to secure the place and we have to sit on these people and make sure that any threat that is out there, which we believe is in the minorities, to make sure they understand that we're here to stay and we are here to help these people.
WEDEMAN: By day the carrot, by night the stick. On the first night of "Operation Desert Scorpion", U.S. troops arrested 38-year-old Fedas Ahmed (ph). Fedas (ph) was one of several men rounded up for suspicion of involvement of anti-American attacks. He and his extended family had been sleeping in the garden trying to get relief from the oppressive Iraqi summer heat.
His mother, Nashima (ph), says Fedas (ph) is handicapped and could hardly have been involved in any attacks on the Americans. His uncle, Jason (ph), is bitter about the stick and has yet to see the carrot.
I was one of the people who swore as soon as the Americans came, I would invite them into my home, he said. Now we're all ready to become Saddam's Fedayeen. The outcome of America's proverbial battle for Iraq's heart and mind is still very uncertain.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Fallujah, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: He's Saddam Hussein's No. 1 son and because of his violent history, he was placed No. 3 on the U.S. Government's most wanted list of Iraqis.
But Uday Hussein also lived the life of an extravagant playboy whose parties turned into wild affairs. Al-Arabiya, the Arab satellite television station, has broadcast video. This video says it shows Uday partying in a Baghdad hotel during the height of his family's power.
Is it a settlement or a full-blown city? We're talking about the Israeli settlements on the West Bank. Palestinians call them an obstacle to peace, rather than say they're there to stay.
And with a court hearing ahead, Martha Stewart has a lot on the line, and a new line of furniture as well. Will consumers go for it?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: It's some of the most disputed real estate in the world. In a moment, I'll take you inside the land at the heart of this Middle East conflict.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Many believe that at the heart of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, at least a big chunk of it right now, is the whole issue of Jewish settlements on the West Bank. A quick visit to the area, though, earlier today showed very dramatically that there are settlements and there are settlements.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: It's been exactly 36 years this month since Israel's six-day war of victory that captured the West Bank from Jordan. Since then, some 200,000 Israelis have settled there. That doesn't include the quarter of a million who have moved to east Jerusalem and other neighboring parts of an expanded Jerusalem municipality, also controlled by Jordan until 1967.
Ma'ale Adumim is one of those Jewish settlements on the West Bank, not far from Jerusalem. It's grown from 23 families and a few tents and mobile homes in 1975 to this -- nearly 30,000 residents, most of whom commute to work in Jerusalem.
The Israelis who live here say almost uniformly that they will never leave this area, no matter what the politicians come up with.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you ask me to leave, no way. They pay me a lot of money, no way. I'm not going to leave.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to go somewhere and I want to stay here.
BLITZER: The homes and gardens are reminiscent of the southwest United States. There are playgrounds, shops, restaurants and movie theaters. The businesses here have prospered.
What you see here is similar to several of the other major settlements on the West Bank, including Ariel (ph), where several thousand Israelis live, just a commuter drive from Tel Aviv, and Efrat (ph), where another 10,000 live just south of Bethlehem. They are really more like towns.
Indeed, the Israelis who live in Ma'ale Adumim say they're not settlers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't consider this a settlement. This is a city. It's not a settlement.
BLITZER: These established communities are in marked contrast to what the Middle East peace road map calls the illegal outposts on the West Bank, built since March 2001, that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has promised to dismantle.
That process has started. But what happens Ma'ale Adumim and the other Jewish communities on the West Bank is supposed to be worked out through direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations as part of that road map.
Palestinians insist these settlements are part of an illegal Israeli occupation. But most Israelis will tell a visitor rather bluntly, "Don't hold your breath waiting for any of these major settlements to be evacuated, let alone dismantled."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is no way the Israeli government can do it. They couldn't offer the people in Ma'ale Adumim the money to move. They don't have that kind of money.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Palestinians say these settlements are obstacles to peace and they must literally go. Earlier, I spoke with the Palestinian human rights activist Jonathan Kuttab, who called these Jewish settlements obstacles to peace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN KUTTAB, PALESTINIAN ATTORNEY: You cannot talk peace while you're putting up road blocks like these and settling people with families and children on somebody else's land and say you want peace. Ultimately, they have to be evacuated. Some kind of compromise over this holy land needs to be made.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Here's your turn to weigh in on this very, very sensitive question. Our "Web Question of the Day" is this: "Should Israel dismantle all settlements in the West Bank and Gaza?" We'll have the results later this broadcast. You can vote at cnn.com/wolf.
While you're there, I'd love to hear from you. Send me your comments. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also, of course, where you can read my daily online column, cnn.com/wolf.
Martha Stewart in serious, very serious legal trouble. But is it tarnishing her business empire? Scandal at the bottom line straight ahead.
But first, a look at other news making headlines "Around the World."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): A sixth night of student protests in Iran's capital, with hundreds calling for the country's religious leaders to relinquish power. Running street battles were reported throughout the night.
Police in Northern Ireland have arrested two men in connection with a massive bomb found Sunday. The 600-pound device was discovered in an abandoned van and diffused.
North Korea is marking the third anniversary of historic talks with the South. A rally was held at Reunification Gate in Pyongyang, one day after the two Koreas reopened rail links severed decades ago.
A documentary marks the anniversary of South Africa's Sowetto uprising 27 years ago today. The film is called "Amandla," which means freedom.
The 94th Paris Air Show is under way, showing signs of the industry's troubled times. There are 20 fewer planes on display this year and exhibit space is down 5 percent.
And team Bentley is the winner of this year's Le Mans, it's first victory since 1930. It was also the fourth straight win for driver Tom Kristensen, who now holds the record.
And that's our look "Around the World."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Martha Stewart's facing a pretrial hearing on Thursday in connection with her legal issues. But what's the verdict on her business?
CNN's Allan Chernoff is standing by with that in New York -- Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Martha Stewart's legal problems hit just as her company was about to unveil a new line of products. But the criminal charges are not deterring shoppers.
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CHERNOFF (voice-over): Even as Martha Stewart prepares her defense in court, American consumers are embracing her newest line of products: Furniture. Martha Stewart Signature Furniture, inspired by her homes in Maine and the Hamptons, has been on sale about two months. Already the brand is the No. 1 seller at Manhattan's Foremost Furniture.
RICHARD BRODERSON, PRESIDENT, FOREMOST FURNITURE: Once they see the furniture in the environment, they couldn't care less about what happened to Martha Stewart, what didn't happen to Martha Stewart, what will happen to Martha Stewart. It's irrelevant.
CHERNOFF: Some shoppers say they care more about what Ms. Stewart is selling than what she may or may not have done.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love her styling. I think it's great. I mean, whatever happens with her is -- has got nothing to do really with her designs.
CHERNOFF: On her television show, Martha Stewart promoted the manufacturer, Bernhart Furniture.
MARTHA STEWART, CEO, MARTHA STEWART LIVING OMNIMEDIA: The company is a fine, American company.
CHERNOFF: While Bernhart does manufacture in North Carolina, much of the Martha Stewart line is made in eight other countries, including China and Vietnam. That's how Bernhart is able to price the Stewart line well below much of its other fine furniture.
Martha Stewart Signature carpeting is also selling well. In fact, a new poll of New Yorkers finds only 1 out of 5 would think twice about purchasing a Martha Stewart product, even though a majority believes Stewart is guilty of insider trading.
CAROL SWEDLOW, ARONSON FLOORING: I think everyone likes the fact that she's a bit of an outlaw now and if anything, it's been helpful for her flooring line.
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CHERNOFF: Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia expects to earn $5 million in royalties from that signature line. But that is only about 2 percent of the company's annual revenue. The bulk still comes from publishing, and that business is in a slump.
Wolf, the bottom line, Martha Stewart's company is likely to keep on losing money largely because of her legal problems.
BLITZER: All right. Allan Chernoff in New York, thanks for that update. We'll be watching that pretrial hearing coming up on Thursday.
Our "Web Question of the Day" -- we're monitoring the results of that as well. Remember, we've been asking you this question -- should Israel dismantle all settlements in the West Bank and Gaza? You can still vote, cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results immediately when we come back.
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BLITZER: A simply beautiful night here in Jerusalem. A wonderful city, a holy city to three great religions. We're watching what's happening here in the Middle East. A lot of dramatic developments.
Let's check in, though, on our "Web Question of the Day." Remember, we've been asking you this question: "Should Israel dismantle all settlements in the West Bank and Gaza?" Look at this: 77 percent of you say yes, 23 percent of you say no. You can find the exact vote tally, continue to vote, by the way, on our Web site, cnn.com/wolf. As always, we tell you this is not a scientific poll.
Let me get to some of your e-mail.
Scott writes this: "The use of terror tactics by either side is not acceptable, but for Israel to say that it will not negotiate with the Palestinians because they used to use terror to achieve their goals is hypocrisy at its worst. The IDF uses terror tactics just like Hamas does."
Raeefa sends this: "It is absurd to demand that Israel negoatiate with Hamas, a terrorist organization that exists solely to murder civilians. Would any one ask that the U.S. negotiate with al Qaeda? Hamas should be eliminated, not treated as an equal negotiating partner."
Remember, I'll be reporting live here from the Middle East throughout this week. We'll have all of the developments, all of the stories both at noon and at 5 p.m. Eastern. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
