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Your World Today
Ariel Sharon Takes Political Chance; Bush Asia Tour; 'Eye on the Middle East'; Nike Corporate Jet Experiences Landing Gear Problems
Aired November 21, 2005 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Taking a political chance. Israel's prime minister prepares to run for reelection under a new party banner.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: An ongoing controversy. The U.S. president wraps up a trip to Asia with a stop in Mongolia. But questions over Iraq overshadow the visit.
HOLMES: And...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FOUAD SALAMEH, GROOM: I wanted to send a message that we are not scared. I will not let these scumbags ruin our happiness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: ... a show of defiance. A wedding in Amman at the same hotel where a suicide bomber killed dozens more than a week ago.
Hello, everyone. It is 7:00 p.m. in Tel Aviv, also in Jordan.
I'm Michael Holmes.
VERJEE: And I'm Zain Verjee. A warm welcome to our viewers throughout the world and in the United States.
This is CNN International. And this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
HOLMES: Well, it could be the ultimate political gamble for a long-time hawk now seeking more moderate ground. Let's begin with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his decision to quit the Likud party he helped found decades ago and form a new centrist party which he wants to run in early elections.
We're waiting for Mr. Sharon to formally announce his decision in a televised address. Until then, let's go to Guy Raz, standing by in Jerusalem.
This had been mooted, talked about, rumored for a little while, but was it a surprise when it was eventually announced. Guy? GUY RAZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No question about it, Michael. This is a political scenario never before seen in modern Israeli history. A sitting prime minister, Ariel Sharon, will abandon his ruling Likud party. He'll jump ship, and he'll form a brand new centrist political movement.
Now, in the past hour, the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, approved a motion dissolving itself, which essentially paves the way for early elections probably sometime around mid-March of next year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAZ (voice over): A political earthquake in Israel. After the Labor party quit the coalition government, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon asked the president to dissolve parliament and call for early elections.
MOSHE KATSAV, PRESIDENT OF ISRAEL (through translator): The state of Israel cannot afford to postpone the elections for long in light of this new reality. We have to have the elections as soon as possible.
RAZ: Under Israeli law, elections must now be held within three months. And Sharon, the man who long personified the right-wing Likud party, is abandoning that group.
ARI SHAVIT, HA'ARETZ NEWSPAPER: The Israeli political landscape is changing for good. The old system which stopped representing the Israeli public has collapsed.
RAZ: The Gaza withdrawal left Sharon's Likud party splintered. The hard-right flank of Likud opposes territorial concessions to Palestinians. So Sharon decided to form a new party made up of centrists from across the political spectrum.
SHAVIT: He would like to shape Israel's border -- borders for the next generation. In order to do that he must make great concessions in the West Bank. He must deal with the settlement problem in the West Bank as well. He couldn't have done that within the Likud.
RAZ: The man most likely to succeed Sharon at the helm of Likud is former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a hard-liner who quit Sharon's cabinet this summer over the Gaza pullout.
On the left, Sharon will face Amir Peretz, the Labor party's new leader, whose firebrand rhetoric focuses on economic issues.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RAZ: Michael, amidst all the political turmoil, one thing is absolutely certain, and that is not likely -- not much is likely to happen on the diplomatic front before the end of March. Both Palestinians and Israelis hold elections early next year. The outcomes of those respective elections will likely determine the future course of the diplomatic process.
Michael. HOLMES: Now, does this in any way take the wind out of Labor's sails? A new leader there, new hopes obviously for their supporters.
RAZ: Well, if anything, it takes the wind out of the sails of the Likud party that Ariel Sharon leaves behind, particularly Benjamin Netanyahu, the man who is most widely believed will be the successor to Ariel Sharon at the helm of that party. He has carved out a very right-wing position. He has very strong support from the hard right.
Labor is very confident because Labor has already said it's prepared to work with the new Sharon party, that centrist party, perhaps even forming a coalition government after the elections. And both this new centrist Sharon party and the Labor party have broadly similar perspectives when it comes to the future diplomatic process with Palestinians.
Michael.
HOLMES: All right. Guy, thanks very much. Guy Raz there, reporting.
VERJEE: Ariel Sharon not only has a long political career but a military one as well. He was commander of an infantry unit in Israel's 1948 War of Independence and also played key roles in the 1967 and 1973 wars. Mr. Sharon helped found the Likud party in 1973 and was later elected to parliament. He was appointed foreign minister in 1997, and he was the one who urged Israelis to build settlements in the occupied territories. Mr. Sharon was sworn in as prime minister in 2001, two years after being elected head of Likud.
We're going to hear from Mr. Sharon in less than 30 minutes from now on CNN. He's scheduled to hold a news conference beginning at 17:30 GMT. We're going to bring it to you live.
HOLMES: Well, the U.S. president, George W. Bush, is on his way home after an eight-day trip to Asia which included a stop-off in Mongolia. At each stop along the way, Mr. Bush was dogged by questions over the Iraq war.
Here's Suzanne Malveaux.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Finally, the warmest of greetings in perhaps the coldest of places along President Bush's eight-day journey to Asia.
Mongolia is an eager partner in the U.S. war in Iraq, but a trip designed to promote U.S. economic and political interests in Asia was largely overshadowed by the controversy over Iraq.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: First of all, I appreciate the fact that the Senate, in a bipartisan fashion, rejected an amendment that would have taken our troops out of Iraq before the mission was complete. MALVEAUX: On his first stop in Japan, standing shoulder to shoulder with the leader he called one of his best friends, President Bush boldly took on his critics back home, while the vice president ratcheted up the rhetoric in Washington.
RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Some of the most irresponsible comments have, of course, come from politicians who actually voted in favor of authorizing the use of force against Saddam Hussein.
MALVEAUX: Both sides abandoned the traditional courtesy not to engage in domestic warfare while the commander in chief was on foreign soil. Decorated veteran, Democratic Congressman John Murtha, upped the stakes.
REP. JOHN MURTHA (D), PENNSYLVANIA: It's time to bring them home. They've done everything they can do. The military has done everything it can do.
MALVEAUX: On Mr. Bush's second stop, South Korea, the president was dogged by anti-war protests and a surprise proposal from his host, South Korea's defense ministry, to pull out a third of its troops in Iraq.
The president continued to defend his Iraq policy in a rally before U.S. troops but got a tepid response. At the same time, White House officials and their Republican friends continued to paint Mr. Bush's critics as unpatriotic and out of the mainstream.
REP. JEANNE SCHMIDT (R), OHIO: Cowards cut and run; Marines never do.
MALVEAUX: But by President Bush's third stop, in China, it had become clear the political dueling over Iraq, literally playing out across the world, was taking its toll. Mr. Bush offered an olive branch.
BUSH: Congressman Murtha is a fine man, a good man. I heard somebody say, well, maybe so and so is not patriotic because they disagree with my position. I totally reject that thought.
MALVEAUX (on camera): On his final stop here in Mongolia, the president kept his critics out of the script and went back to highlighting his broader theme on the war on terror.
(voice-over): But an unplanned moment the day before seemed to symbolize it all. Pressed with a question he was eager to escape, Mr. Bush looked for an exit strategy -- something that Democrats have been calling for, for Iraq for some time and will undoubtedly continue to do so when the president returns home.
Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Mongolia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: The Bush administration's second in command continues to defend the U.S.-led war in Iraq despite growing criticism. Just a short while ago during a speech in Washington, Vice President Dick Cheney kept up the counterattack against opponents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHENEY: I believe it is critical that we continue to remind ourselves why this nation took action and why Iraq is the central front in the war on terror and why we have a duty to persevere. What is not legitimate and what I will again say is dishonest and reprehensible is the suggestion by some U.S. senators that the president of the United States or any member of his administration purposely misled the American people on prewar intelligence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: Cheney has come under renewed fire for U.S. treatment of terror suspects. A former CIA chief recently labeled him a vice president for torture.
Michael.
HOLMES: Zain, the deputy governor of Nineveh province in Iraq says he has been told Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was absolutely not killed in a military operation. Eight people were reported killed in a house in Mosul during that operation on Saturday, but military officials say Zarqawi, who is believed to be the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, was not one of them despite rumors to the contrary. The U.S. military says during the gun battle three insurgents killed themselves to avoid capture. Eleven U.S. troops were wounded.
VERJEE: When we return, this week's special, "Eye on the Middle East," coverage.
HOLMES: Yes. All this week we're going to be looking this time at the recent hotel bombings in Amman and how they are affecting the opinions of Jordanians. What's their view on anti-terrorism efforts, and what's their view of the West?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VERJEE: Hello, and welcome back. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
HOLMES: Greetings to our viewers around the world, including in the United States. We have an hour of international news under way.
VERJEE: And all this week we're focusing on the Middle East. Now, today we want to take a close look at Jordan.
HOLMES: That's right. The nation's reputation as one of the safest countries in the Middle East of course dealt a serious blow when dozens of people were killed in the worst terrorist attack on its soil earlier this month. Now people of this small Arab country face a new reality.
VERJEE: CNN's Hala Gorani is in the capital city of Amman. She joins us now. Hala? HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Zain and Michael, it's a big topic of discussion here, of course, these terrorist attacks that happened on November 9. But by and large, people are starting to go about their lives again.
We caught up with one very symbolic celebration where people told us they're not going to let fear rule their lives.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI (voice over): It's probably the most symbolic sign that life is returning to normal in Jordan after the deadly hotel bombings, the first wedding at the Radisson hotel in Amman since a suicide bomber killed dozens here at a ceremony on November 9.
For the bride and groom, Thelma and Fouad, getting married here is a show of defiance.
SALAMEH: I wanted to send a message that we are not scared. I will not let these scumbags ruin our happiness.
GORANI: A day earlier, the Radisson's assistant manager was thanking tourists for booking rooms in his hotel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much for coming. I really appreciate it. We really look for your support.
GORANI: Support from tourists the hotel needs. Occupancy here was slashed in half after the attacks and is steadily but only slowly picking up. Now bags are searched and guests can only walk in and out of hotels in this city through metal detectors.
At another hotel hit by a suicide bomb, the Amman Hyatt, new panes of glass are brought in to replace those shattered a few weeks ago. A new sign is unveiled after 10 days of total closure.
And because tourism is so important to the Jordanian economy, accounting for 12 percent of growth last year, the hope across the city is that business will get back to normal in the next few weeks.
And at the Days Inn hotel, guests also speak of not cowering in the face of terrorism.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are going to go there. They don't scare us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will come back there. Bombs are not new to me.
GORANI (on camera): But if many are expressing outward signs of defiance after the bombings, some here on the streets of Amman say they don't feel as secure as they once did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are not safe. This is a terrible thing.
GORANI (voice over): And an opposition politician also raised questions about the ability of Jordanian intelligence to thwart attacks.
LEITH SHUBEILAT, OPPOSITION POLITICIAN: We should start asking, why did this happen? How did our intelligence get a clue of what was going on?
GORANI: As workmen continued to repair the ballroom ripped apart during the Radisson wedding party a few weeks ago, guests at today's wedding vowed to stand for a minute's silence in honor of the victims, with the hope that there are no further attacks that could turn today's defiance into tomorrow's fear.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Now, interestingly, the family of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi published statements in Jordanian newspapers this day repudiating Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whose terrorist organization, of course, took credit for these attacks.
Now, the recent bombings in Jordan have some in this country re- examining the relationship Amman has with the West, and particularly with the United States.
Now, though official policy remains the same, what are the opinions of people on the streets of Irbid, Amman, or even of Zarqa, where Abu Musab al-Zarqawi comes from?
Jonathan Mann takes a closer look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Is this the price you pay for being a U.S. ally in the Arab world? Is the kingdom a target because of the company it keeps? Officially, the answer is clear.
KING ABDULLAH, JORDAN: This is a strike against the people of Jordan, not the policies of Jordan.
MANN: Jordan has been a Western ally ever since Britain carved the country out of the Ottoman Empire and installed the royal family that rules it to this day. The first King Abdullah, the current king's great grandfather, was assassinated because of his willingness to cooperate with the West and communicate with Israel.
Today, his namesake is cooperating with the U.S.-led war in Iraq and more than communicating. Jordan is officially at peace with the Jewish state.
The cost is paid in public opinion. Roughly half of Jordan's population is of Palestinian descent. Peace with Israel isn't popular, and most Jordanians aren't happy about working so closely with Washington.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're talking well over 80 percent of the population who are opposed to American policies. MANN: Another cost of the pro-Western policy, attacks from extremists. Even before the hotel attacks, al Qaeda had attempted several earlier ones in Jordan, including a foiled chemical bombing on Amman that authorities say could have killed thousands of people.
And there's another kind of fallout from Jordan's friends. The kingdom has received waves of refugees. First the Palestinians, now perhaps a million Iraqis -- two groups whose numbers have had an impact on a country of 5.5 million.
But the pro-Western policy also has its payoffs -- friends in high places and support for Jordan's stability, crucial for a small kingdom in a dangerous part of the world. Washington also offers three-quarters of a billion dollars a year in aid and gave Jordan the first U.S. free trade agreement in the Arab world, strengthening its struggling economy.
It's hard to gauge how people feel in a country where many are afraid to openly criticize the king. Everyone we spoke to on the streets of the capital expressed support for his pro-U.S. policies. Some in very pragmatic terms.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, because they have the power, you know? They are so powerful. So we need to be with the power people in the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's a good thing for our economy. And yes, it's helped us a lot. It's had advantages more than disadvantages.
MANN: But the royal family also has its critics, who liken that kind of pragmatism to prostitution.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Doesn't a prostitute benefit from just selling her body to somebody? She benefits.
MANN (on camera): The Middle East has always been a battleground for competing powers. A small country like Jordan has to be smart to survive. The least you can say about the kingdom's Western-oriented strategy is that it has worked -- so far.
Jonathan Mann, CNN, Amman.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, that's it from me, live from Amman, Jordan. I'll see you in the coming days.
Michael and Zain, back to you.
VERJEE: Hala Gorani, with our special coverage from Amman in Jordan. Thanks, Hala. See you tomorrow.
HOLMES: Yes. Now, all of this week at this time we're going to have live reports from the region. VERJEE: And for our international viewers, CNN's Jim Clancy and our Hala Gorani are live with an hour-long special every day at 16:00 GMT.
HOLMES: And Tuesday at 17:00 hours GMT watch "CNN PRESENTS: Egypt: A Test Case for Democracy." That will be followed by "CNN CONNECTS: Voices Of A New Generation."
VERJEE: A check of what's topping the news in the United States, that's up next for our viewers in the U.S.
VERJEE: Yes. The rest of us around the world, we're going to check what's moving financial markets, including major closings and job cuts at GM.
Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta. More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a few minutes. First, though, a check on stories making headlines here in the U.S.
We begin with Vice President Dick Cheney apparently trying to turn down the temperature on the Iraq debate. In a speech seen live here on CNN in the last hour, he called Democratic Congressman Jack Murtha a decorated Marine and Vietnam vet and "a good man and a patriot."
Murtha stirred a hornets' nest in Washington last week by calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops by the end of spring. The Bush administration's early statements on Murtha were harsh. A spokesman compared the congressman to Bush critic and liberal filmmaker Michael Moore. Today, though, the vice president softened that tone, saying Murtha had a right to his opinion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I do not believe it is wrong to criticize the war on terror or any aspect thereof. Disagreement, argument and debate are the essence of democracy, and none of us should want it any other way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Cheney did repeat strong words from a speech last week to describe some Democrats in the Senate. He restated they were dishonest and reprehensible to suggest President Bush twisted pre-war intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq.
The director of the CIA has weighed in on the debate over a Senate bill to outlaw torture of U.S. prisoners. Porter Goss telling CNN -- telling "USA Today," "This agency does not do torture. Torture does not work. We use lawful capabilities to collect vital information, and we do it in a variety of unique and innovative ways, all of which are legal and none of which are torture." Goss says the CIA is neutral on the legislation. Vice President Cheney wants the agency exempted from any such restrictions on the treatment of foreign terror suspects.
Here in the U.S., tough news today for General Motors workers. The automaker has announced plans to cut 30,000 jobs. Under the plan, GM will close or scale back operations at about a dozen plants. Officials say they hope to get more production in line with demand and turn the company's fortunes around. Assembly plants are being closed in Oklahoma City; Lansing, Michigan; and Doraville, Georgia. And some shifts will be eliminated at other assembly plants. The job cuts are expected to start next year. Officials wouldn't say whether more plant closings or job cuts may come in the future.
We're learning more about the man accused of shooting six people and taking hostages at a shopping mall in Washington State. Dominick Maldonado's former girlfriend says that he sent disturbing text messages minutes before he allegedly opened fire on Sunday. One of the six shooting victims remains in critical condition today. The other five had minor injuries. Meanwhile, Maldonado is being held on $450,000 bond.
We are at 26 minutes past the hour. Thinking about the weather. Bonnie Schneider is here with more on that. Hi, Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Daryn.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: Bonnie, thank you.
And we have this just in to CNN. We're getting word from Portland, Oregon, that a Gulfstream -- live pictures right now from our affiliate KPTV -- an emergency landing taking place with a private airplane, a Gulfstream airplane, reportedly owned by the Nike Corporation. Apparently, the plane having troubles with its landing gear. So they're setting up for an emergency landing of that plane. We hear six or seven people on board that plane getting ready to land in an emergency situation in Portland, Oregon.
We will continue to follow that story out of Portland and the international airport there.
Much more ahead in international news after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VERJEE: ... being held by the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. A dramatic moment in Israeli political history. He's abandoning his Likud Party. He's forming a new party. Let's listen.
ARIEL SHARON, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): Good evening.
This morning I met with the president of the state and asked for his approval to dissolve the Knesset and to head for new elections as quickly as possible.
Subsequently, together with my colleagues, who displayed a great deal of courage and national responsibility, I began setting up a new liberal movement in Israel.
After much vacillation, I decided to leave the Likud today. Likud in its current format is unable to lead Israel to its national goals.
I set up the Likud in order to serve a national idea and to provide hope to the Israeli people. Regrettably, this no longer exists in the Likud. Were I to have stayed in the Likud, I would almost definitely win in the primaries and lead the Likud to success in the elections. That would have been a safer bet on the personal level.
But this is not the way to serve the state of Israel. Staying in the Likud means wasting time in political squabbles rather than acting on behalf of and for the sake of the state. I prefer the good of the state to any facile and comfortable personal interest.
Israelis did not choose me just to keep the prime ministerial seat warm. The new movement that we're setting up today will serve the Israeli people for many years to come. It will be a new home for all those Israelis who wish to act responsibly and out of belief in the state, and put into practice the Zionist vision.
I call upon everyone who believes in this to join us and to head into the future together with us.
We want to advance. Our approach will give Israel a real future of stability, national responsibility, personal security, a stable government, economic prosperity, peace and tranquility. This is what the Israeli people need today. That is what I was elected for. And that is why today I am offering myself up to the electorate for its decision.
We have two tasks facing us. One is to lay the foundations for a peace settlement in which the state's, permanent borders will be set, with the terrorist organizations being dismantled. This is not a new plan. I'm talking about the Road Map. Disengagement provided us with a historic opportunity, and I do not intend to allow anyone to miss this opportunity.
The second task, or mission, is to bring order on a domestic level and to deal with determination with poverty, with crime, with violence. And you cannot do this on the basis of empty slogans. You can do this only by deed, not just by word. I've already started along this path, and I intend to complete this.
I have served the state of Israel for more than 60 years. I'm familiar with every single field, all its borders, all of its roads. And above all I am familiar with and I love its population. Israel needs a leadership which, first and foremost, acts for the good of the public and not for any narrow political interest, a responsible, experienced leadership which is courageous and valiant and functions on the basis of a strategic understanding of Israel's future and its future needs. The Israeli public has placed its trust in me twice. I think I have proven my determination and my ability to act and to act on their behalf.
I believe that, with God's help, they will place their trust in me this third time as well.
Thank you very much.
STAFF (through translator): Ladies and gentlemen, we will allow questions to be asked now. Since our time is not unlimited, I would ask for people to ask just one question, not ask questions that consist of a number of sub-questions.
QUESTION (through translator): Mr. Prime Minister, can you tell us what historic goal you're aiming at in Judea and Samaria? And what would you say about Shaul Mofaz, who says that he doesn't have any faith in your approach?
SHARON (through translator): Well, you asked a very long question. I don't know which part I should refer to.
QUESTION (through translator): Well, how about the historic part?
SHARON (through translator): Well, from the point of view of a political solution, I've already said time and time again, over and over again, that I am committed to the Road Map in its entirety as it exists. I have no intention of carrying out any other plan. I've repeated this many, many times, but, as usual, people don't necessarily understand or accept what you say.
That is the plan. There's no additional disengagement plan. That was a one-time procedure, or step, which was designed to permit the political process, in accordance with the Road Map, to take place to the extent that the various parties or sides carry out their obligations.
That was the plan. There is no other plan.
As for the other part, first of all, you have to ask Shaul Mofaz. But what I will tell you is this: There will be an excellent defense minister. And what I want to say to you is this. Don't worry. I am not abandoning defense.
QUESTION (through translator): Mr. Prime Minister, can you tell Israel's public -- the other members in addition to those Likud members, those 14 members whom we've already seen -- what do you think about what's currently going on in the Knesset with the approval of the president of the state, where the Knesset is trying to dissolve itself, kind of overlapping with what you wanted to do this morning with the president?
SHARON (through translator): Well, since I took the decision yesterday night, obviously I haven't spoken to other people. I do trust that I'll be able to talk to other people. And in the meanwhile, I am certainly most satisfied with those people... (AUDIO GAP)
SHARON (through translator): And I certainly intend to and will then speak to other people as well.
As I said, I went to see the president this morning. You may assume that I had a different plan.
I think we've all seen the efforts that have been made over the last few days in order to postpone and put the elections off, particularly by the Likud but not only by the Likud -- to postpone elections to May and so on and so forth.
In my view -- and that's how I see things, and that's why I went to see the president this morning -- the way I see things, given Israel's current position, and the major problems facing it and the need for decisions to be taken and, above all, to put decisions into practice, we've made (ph) decisions but not a lot of implementation.
I considered it to be irresponsible to put things off, and I thought that the elections should be held as quickly as possible.
QUESTION (through translator): In the framework of this Road Map -- and you said in the past that not every settlement in the territories will remain in place -- when you talk about the final settlement, are you talking about the annexation of the major settlement blocks?
And when you say "I will be in touch with everyone," do you mean you'll also be in touch, for example, with Shimon Peres?
SHARON (through translator): Well, maybe we'll start with Shimon Peres. I've known Shimon Peres for many, many years. I think I was, in fact, introduced to Shimon Peres when I was commander of the 101 unit, which was last century, in 1953, when Ben Gurion presented me or introduced me to Shimon Peres, who...
KAGAN: I'm Daryn Kagan in Atlanta. We're following a situation out of Portland, Oregon, at Portland International Airport. They are getting ready there for an emergency landing of a private plane, a Gulfstream V that we believe belongs to the Nike Corporation. We hear there are seven people on board, reports of four passengers and three crew members.
The problem -- apparently the crew is having trouble with the landing gear. No pictures of the plane right now because we're told the plane is flying around trying to burn off excess fuel. But they are getting ready there at Portland International Airport for the emergency landing of a G-5, a Gulfstream V airplane, that's registered to the Nike Corporation with seven people on board.
We'll continue to monitor the situation.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: We're getting those live pictures from our affiliate KPTV in Portland. Also, their helicopter over the scene taking those pictures. Their helicopter pilot monitoring the situation. And just a few minutes ago, he gave this explanation of what's happening to viewers there in Portland.
Let's listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oftentimes it is just, you know, an indicator light that goes bad. And you would think on these, you know, multimillion-dollar aircrafts that a light bulb would not be enough to slow you down or cause you to land when you weren't intending to. But oftentimes that's the case. You know, these are mechanical devices and they're prone to the same disruption that anything else would be. So hopefully, that is the case this morning.
But as you've been mentioning, pilots who fly at this level of aviation are very skilled and well trained, and, you know, go to great lengths to make sure that they're flying under the safest conditions they can. So they take every precaution to make sure the passengers are safe. So if they get a bad light or an indicator that suggests they need to land, then that's exactly what they do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Once again, that was from the chopper pilot with KPTV in Portland, Oregon. A corporate jet owned by Nike having trouble with its landing gear. It is right now flying around the area, trying to burn off excess fuel. When it's on approach and ready to land, we'll go back to Portland live.
Right now, we rejoin CNN International.
VERJEE: Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon speaking to the press, explaining why he has decided to leave his own party, Likud, the party that he helped to form more than 30 years ago. He's breaking away, jumping ship and creating his own new centrist party.
Let's go to Jerusalem and to Guy Raz, our reporter there who's been monitoring this as well. Guy, what, in your mind, is most striking about what we've heard Ariel Sharon say in this conference?
RAZ: Well, Zain, clearly a very confident man. And the first question that came to my mind is why is this man smiling? Well, there's a simple reason. He knows that public opinion polls in this country show he is one of the most popular prime ministers in history. The public trusts Ariel Sharon when it comes to diplomacy, when it comes to security.
Now, traditionally, snap parties have not done well in Israeli national elections. But what makes this situation different is the force of Ariel Sharon's personality and the high-profile politicians that he has now lined up behind him prepared to lead his party into a government -- into an election victory.
Zain. VERJEE: He talked about the Road Map and his commitment to it. What more did he say?
RAZ: Well, he also essentially said that there won't be any further unilateral withdrawals, what Mr. Sharon refers to as disengagement. And, of course, that was his decision to pull out Israeli soldiers and settlers from Gaza over the summer. And that really is what created this split within his right-wing Likud party and really what forced Ariel Sharon to make this decision, to make this political calculation that in the future, if he wants to carry out other kinds of territorial concessions, he simply cannot do it with the current Likud party in the current form that it is in now.
So he essentially has decided he has to form a centrist coalition, a broad spectrum of leaders from the left and the right. And essentially, Ariel Sharon wants his legacy to be a legacy that will determine the final future borders of Israel.
Zain.
VERJEE: Will peace efforts with Palestinians then be put on hold because of this domestic political landscape transformation ahead of elections that will have to be held within 90 days?
RAZ: The short answer to that is yes. We shouldn't expect to see any diplomatic negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians now until after those Israeli elections in March. Essentially, the process will be put on ice until then.
Now, Ariel Sharon will head up a caretaker government until that time. But it's a government essentially emasculated. He is not -- he will not be in power to make any profound political decisions during...
KAGAN: I'm Daryn Kagan in Atlanta. Once again, we want to go back live to Portland. We're watching a situation at Portland International airport. A corporate jet that's owned by the Nike Corporation, a Gulfstream V, we're told, is getting ready to make an emergency landing at the Portland Airport.
The problem -- the landing gear. Now, what exactly is wrong with the landing gear? At this point, we're not sure. We just know they are getting ready for the plane to make an emergency landing. And we're not sure if that is the plane. It's a Gulfstream V. And we hear that seven people are on board, four passengers and three crew members.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: Once again, we're having this live picture on Portland and Portland International Airport. It's about 10 to 10:00 there in the morning. They're getting ready, prepping for an emergency landing by a private jet. We're told it's owned by the Nike Corporation -- a Gulfstream V with seven people on board, four passengers and three crew members. There apparently is a problem with the landing gear.
And the reason you don't see the plane right now, it is flying around the Portland area, trying to burn off excess fuel in anticipation of making a landing. Perhaps its landing gear does not -- if it does not engage at all, it would go down on its belly and because any sparks, it would want to have as little fuel on board as possible.
We're working all of our sources right now.
I want to welcome in Jeanne Meserve joining me on the phone with what she's been able to learn about the situation. Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn. We spoke with Bob Applegate, who's the spokesman for the Portland International Airport, and he tells us that this airplane, the problem with its main landing gear is that it is not fully retracting, it is stuck halfway between being retracted and fully down. This problem was detected shortly after it took off from Hillsborough Airport, and he says that the plane flew by the tower there to get a visual inspection of what was going wrong, and that's how they've described it, as this landing gear that's sort of midway between being retracted and being down.
He confirmed that they are burning off fuel, that they do expect to come in and make a landing at the Portland International Airport. He cannot give us an estimated time at this point. He expects it to come in on the north runway at the airport, and as a precaution they have shut down a surface road, which is next to that runway. The south runway at the airport remains open, and he says that operations at the airport at this point in time are continuing normally.
KAGAN: Which is a good point, Jeanne, because we keep -- we're following our coverage and our live pictures from our affiliate, KPTV, and we do see the camera from time to time zero in on certain planes, not necessarily the plane that we're concerned with at this time.
MESERVE: That's correct. He says eventually they will be positioning some emergency equipment along that northern runway, where they expect it to land. He indicated that that has not happened yet today. They're still waiting, I think, for a better timeframe on when that fuel's going to be burned off and when they'll be trying to bring it down.
KAGAN: Yes. And you know, you do give us good information here, because you say that they detected the problem upon takeoff. And I don't know how far away Hillsborough is from this airport, but if that's true then there will be quite a bit of fuel onboard, and that there would be a large -- you know, some amount of time that this plane would need to fly around, burn off the fuel, if not go ahead and dump some. And as you were pointing out, no emergency vehicles on either of the runways that we can see right now. So it doesn't appear that this emergency landing is imminent at any moment.
MESERVE: He tells us that the Hillsborough Airport is about 20 miles west of the city of Portland. It's a facility which has a lot of corporate flyers taking off and landing from them. That would certainly fit this profile. This is indeed a Nike jet, a Nike Gulfstream V. KAGAN: Absolutely. And as you were pointing out, that they detected the problem upon takeoff. So as I was saying, there would still be quite a bit of fuel onboard, and as you were pointing out, they're going to put emergency vehicles along one of the runways, and it doesn't look like that's happening.
MESERVE: Certainly doesn't from the pictures we're seeing now. I'm sure they will be -- he says they will be doing that shortly, or whenever they determine that plane's going to come down. But they just -- they don't have a timeframe at this point.
KAGAN: OK. Jeanne Meserve on the phone, thank you with the latest on what we've been able to learn.
So Jeanne helping us paint the picture a little bit, a corporate jet owned by the Nike Corporation taking off from Hillsborough, Oregon, not that far away from Portland, Oregon.
The plane takes off and the pilots realize they have trouble with the landing gear, it won't fully retract. So they flew by the control tower to get a visual sighting there at Portland International Airport. Sure enough, realizing they have a problem. So they're getting ready at some point for an emergency landing there in Portland, but right now, very important for the plane to fly around and burn off excess fuel, because upon landing, if there's any kind of impact or the plane has any kind of spark, they don't want any kind of fire to take place, and certainly that jet-A fuel being very flammable indeed.
Jeanne Meserve also reporting to us that they will be closing down the frontage road along one of the runways there, and getting out a number of emergency vehicles. However, so far no sign of that happening. So it would appear that any landing, or emergency landing, still some time away there in Portland.
What we know about the plane: a Gulfstream V, a private aircraft, it has seven people onboard, and that's four passengers and three crew members. The identity of any of those seven, we don't know at this point.
The other information we're receiving about the pilot circling Portland Airport to burn off fuel -- that was as of 9:30 a.m. local time this morning. Obviously a common practice in emergency-landing situations to cut back on the risk of fire.
Also, we're talking with our Bonnie Schneider, looking at the weather situation there in Portland, somewhat cloudy, but basically clear, or clear enough over the runway. Certainly other planes we see taking off and landing.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: We're seeing the skids right there of a helicopter. That's our affiliate, KPTV, providing us not only pictures but information. We were listening in earlier to the helicopter pilot from that station. Do we have that still ready to go? Let's listen in, and this is what the helicopter pilot from KPTV had to say to viewers there in Portland just a few minutes ago.
All right, while we wait for that to get ready, let me tell you what I do know, that this is a Nike jet, it's a private jet, a Gulfstream V, registered to the Nike Corporation, and...
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Well, actually, it's just curious, if Mark is still available, because the runway we can see here, that's 28 right, that's the one that's just south of the river, and you can still, you know, see the tarmac and the runway there. We don't see any emergency vehicles whatsoever along that particular stretch of the runway. Now, perhaps they're going to use the runway that's just south of the tower. That one at the moment is shrouded in fog.
So were there emergency vehicles down there, we would not see them because of the fog. So I'm curious if Mark is looking at the runway south of the tower or north of it, because the one north of it, that's 28 right, where you see a landing, actually a commercial jet, if you pan left, you'll see this United Jet just now coming in. No emergency gear along this runway whatsoever. So just an interesting fact, something we should point out here.
KAGAN: And we're listening in live as that helicopter pilot talks with his home base there at KPTV. As he was pointing out, something that we noticed ourselves, there is no emergency equipment that's been lined up, no foam retardant that's put on the runway, no emergency vehicles. So it would appear, even though they're on alert and ready for this Gulfstream V jet to make an emergency landing, at Portland International Airport, it does not appear to be happening any second right now, and in the meantime still accepting other commercial traffic, commercial jets and other planes as well.
And there's a really good picture that shows you the weather situation that Bonnie Schneider was describing, some fog, some clouds, but actually this is one thing that's working in the favor of this crew and the passengers onboard this Nike jet, it does appear to be clearing and the conditions improving there over Portland International Airport.
If you're just joining us, this is a situation they're monitoring at Portland International Airport, getting ready for an emergency landing with a private jet. It's a Gulfstream V. It's owned by the Nike Corporation, took off from Hillsborough, Hillsborough, Oregon, not that far away, just a few miles away, and when it took off, they realized that the landing gear wasn't retracting properly. So they flew over this airport, Portland International, to get a visual sighting by the control tower. Sure enough, they realized they had a problem and decided to engage in this emergency landing. But before they can do that, they want to go ahead and burn off as much excess fuel as possible to prevent any kind of fire upon landing.
We watched a situation like this just a couple months ago with a commercial jet, a JetBlue jet that was going from Southern California to New York that had trouble with its landing gear that was stuck. That was an Airbus plane. But even with that we watched that one fly around for quite a bit amount of time before it went ahead and made that emergency landing. That one was done successfully.
We're going to continue to watch the situation out of Portland, Oregon concerning this Nike jet, this Gulfstream V. Seven people on board. It's been in the air at least since about 9:30 a.m. Eastern. So not that long since it did realize it had a problem upon takeoff. Probably has a good amount of fuel that it needs to either burn off or dump before it goes ahead and attempts this landing.
And in fact as we watch these live pictures from KPTV as it scans the skies around Portland International Airport, at least in the immediate area of the airport, that plane does not appear to be there right now.
Our coverage is going to continue. I'm Daryn Kagan. I'm going to hand it over right now to my colleague Kyra Phillips, who begins her program, LIVE FROM.
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