Return to Transcripts main page

Your World Today

Israel Lifts Air and Sea Blockade of Lebanon; New Pentagon Directive on Treatment of Detainees; Islamabad Reaches Deal With Tribal Leaders

Aired September 06, 2006 - 12:00   ET

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

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The Pentagon reversing its stand on the treatment of Guantanamo Bay detainees to embrace the Geneva Conventions.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Seek and destroy. Israeli bunker busters hunt for weapons Hezbollah left behind as Israel changes course on the Lebanon blockade.

CLANCY: A parent mourns. Steve Irwin's father turning down a state funeral offer for the son that he calls just an "ordinary bloke."

GORANI: And a possible emperor is born. Japanese celebrate as a succession crisis is avoided.

Hello and welcome to our report broadcast around the world.

I'm Hala Gorani.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.

From Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Tokyo, Japan, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

Welcome. We are following developing stories on two fronts this hour.

CLANCY: Now, from Washington, word that it's changing its rules for prisoner interrogations around the world. The new rules conforming with the Geneva Conventions.

GORANI: Well, we'll have more on that in a moment, but we want to begin with this developing story out of the Middle East. Three weeks after a ceasefire ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel is agreeing to lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon.

Let's go straight to Chris Lawrence in Jerusalem for details -- Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, this comes as somewhat of a surprise in that the U.N. secretary-general, Kofi Annan, just yesterday predicted yesterday that Israel would lift its blockade in the next 48 hours. But at the time, Israeli officials denied that report. Now the prime minister's office has released a statement on the government Web site, basically saying that, yes, Israel will lift its blockade of southern Lebanon and they will pull all of their troops out of those air and seaport control posts by 6:00 p.m. on Thursday night.

Now, from what we understand, today German experts are expected to arrive at the Beirut airport in Beirut. And there has been some agreement reached between the Lebanese government and German government to have the Germany navy and German forces take control of some of those ports.

We understand that may not happen in its entirety for a week to two weeks. That it may take that long for the German forces to take up their positions. But, that in the meantime, Italian, French and Greek troops will assume those positions until the German forces are able to completely take over.

Now, Israel had said that it would not relinquish control of the air and seaports, it would not lift its blockade until it was positive that the international force would be able to stop Hezbollah from rearming through those supply routes. Apparently by agreeing to these terms, Israel feels that the international force is now sufficient to take control -- Hala.

GORANI: Chris, briefly, what's the latest on the negotiations to free those two Israel soldiers that were captured by Hezbollah in mid- July?

LAWRENCE: Well, we're hearing that they are moving along, that it depends on a timing issue at this point. Of course the Israel government will not confirm anything on the record that they are even entering into negotiations, and we believe they are being conducted through a third party.

But on its basis, there is some -- a lot of reporting in the Israeli media that Israel will agree to release hundreds of Hezbollah prisoners in staggered terms, perhaps a few hundred at a time, until the end of the year in return for the return of those two captured soldiers.

GORANI: All right. With the latest from Jerusalem, Chris Lawrence.

Thanks -- Jim.

CLANCY: Well, Israel's decision, no doubt, is going to be welcome news in Lebanon.

Anthony Mills joins us now in Beirut with some perspective from there -- Anthony.

ANTHONY MILLS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jim, this statement by Israel comes just a few hours after Lebanon's foreign minister, Fawzi Salloukh, in a visit to Cairo, to the Egyptian capital, Cairo, summit of Arab foreign ministers there, he said that if Israel didn't lift this blockade within the next 48 hours, then Lebanon would take the necessary measures to do so.

A short while ago, I spoke to Lebanon's deputy speaker of parliament, Mohammed Kabani (ph), about this, and he said he believed that the pressure applied by the Lebanese government may have had something to do with this decision by Israel. But at the same time, other high-ranking government sources here are telling me that basically they believe Israel realized that the Lebanese government was taking the necessary measures to secure its borders, to secure its airport and ports.

This is welcomed here. This decision by Israel is welcomed here in Lebanon, where, of course, the airport has been closed for the last seven weeks or so since Israeli jets bombed its runways at the beginning of the Hezbollah-Israel war. The port has been closed as well, really for that -- the duration of that time.

Any planes that have been flying into the Beirut airport or any ports, any ships arriving at Beirut ports, have needed to seek clearance with Israel in advance. So, Beirut airport, although some planes were flying in, it was under virtual embargo as well. So today's decision is being welcomed here -- Jim.

CLANCY: Anthony Mills reporting there live from Beirut.

Thank you.

GORANI: All right.

Now news that really could change the way detainees are treated in U.S. facilities. The Pentagon issuing a new set of directives that are intended to provide proper Geneva Convention protections for all U.S. detainees. This follows some criticism over U.S. military conduct and some secret interrogation policies.

Let's get more on this.

Jamie McIntyre now joins us live from the Pentagon -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, at this hour, a Pentagon official in charge of detainee affairs is briefing reporters on this new revised directive which he says provides for the humane treatment of detainees detained by the U.S. government or U.S. military, as well as the flexibility that the Pentagon needs to conduct the war against terrorism.

This is Cully Stimpson (ph), the under secretary who's in charge of detainee affairs. And this has been more than a year in the making, and, of course, comes as criticism that some of the U.S. policies were not in compliance with the Geneva Conventions. And what this new directive makes clear is that all of the U.S. policies for the detention, the interrogation and eventually the trial of these detainees will be in accordance with what's called Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention.

Here's a little bit of what the directive says specifically. It says, "All detainees shall be treated humanely and in accordance with U.S. law, the law of war, and applicable U.S. policy." And here's the key part. "All persons subject to this directive shall observe, at a minimum, the standards articulated in Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949."

So, what the administration has done here is essentially conceded the point raised by the Supreme Court of the United States and constant criticism, bringing all of its procedures clearly in compliance with the Geneva Conventions and -- and this is also an important part -- eliminating any classified annex that has procedures that are not available to the public.

So all of the U.S. law and procedures regarding detainees is publicly available. That's something that the administration opposed in the past, saying that it simply tells terrorists how they're going to be treated and what they can expect. But basically, they've gotten over that and decided that -- that this new directive, which will cover all of the detainee affairs, will be in compliance with the Geneva Convention. And it goes on to spell in quite detail how they can be treated from the moment they're captured, until the moment they may eventually be released.

GORANI: Jamie, why now? And how will this affect Guantanamo Bay and the potential special tribunals there to try some of those terrorism suspects down there?

MCINTYRE: Well, why now is because the policy's been under revision for some time. The Pentagon has been complaining it didn't have the flexibility under -- under the old procedures to fight a war on terrorism.

And how it will affect the tribunals is that those rules are being drawn up new as well in order to comply with the Geneva Conventions. We're expecting to hear from President Bush later this afternoon about new proposed procedures there. But again, it appears that they will also be in compliance with Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, something that the administration had resisted in the past. But their hand has been essentially forced by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled earlier this summer that the procedures they originally proposed simply didn't past international law or U.S. constitutional muster.

GORANI: All right. Thanks very much.

Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon -- Jim.

CLANCY: Bush administration policies and the war in Iraq could affect Republican candidates and congressional midterm elections in November. A new CNN poll finds 55 percent of those surveyed are less likely to vote for a candidate who has supported President Bush's policies.

The poll was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation on behalf of CNN. It asked 1,004 U.S. adults who they think is winning the war in Iraq. Nearly two-thirds say neither side is winning, 25 percent say the U.S. and its allies, 12 percent say the insurgents.

GORANI: Now, in this era of a fight against terrorism, Pakistan has made a deal that some analysts say could create a safe haven for pro-Taliban forces inside of Pakistan. The tribal area near Afghanistan is where Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding. Islamabad, though, calls the deal a peace agreement, but some in Washington disagree.

Tim Lister has this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIM LISTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The village of Tazagram lies some 20 kilometers from the Afghan border, and in some ways it's changed little in centuries. Most people here are farmers, life is hard. Islam is the bedrock of their existence.

But since 9/11, Tazagram has been dragged into the war on terror. These hills have become the rear base for the Taliban, and the villagers' sympathies are clear.

Huzman Gani (ph) says he fought with the Taliban against U.S. forces.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): If we get the chance, we will take revenge for the loss of the lives of our brothers and the Taliban to them. We will prepare ourselves and our children for revenge until our last breath and until the judgment day.

LISTER: Another villager says that as Pashtun he could never hand over Taliban or al Qaeda fighters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I would feel privileged if Osama comes and stays with me as a guest because he is a great hero and he is the enemy of the USA. I would look after Osama and I would support him.

LISTER: Just a few miles from here is the village of Damadola, hit in a U.S. air strike last January. U.S. intelligence believes al Qaeda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri was in the village but he was not among more than a dozen people killed.

Over the past two years, some 8,000 Pakistani troops have been deployed in campaigns to root out Taliban and foreign fighters that use the border area. Now the Pakistani government's embarking on a different policy, agreeing to stop operations in the area so long as locals make sure foreign fighters leave. But the rugged border will now be patrolled by poorly-trained paramilitary forces rather than regular Pakistani troops.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: They're (ph) also not so sure how the Afghan government might react to this given the fact that it seems like the Pakistani government is ratcheting back its operations against militants in the tribal areas along the Afghan- Pakistan border.

LISTER: Some analysts say that in pulling out the army, President Musharraf is effectively giving the Taliban a safe haven on Pakistani soil.

The U.S. government, in public, at least, is taking a wait and see approach.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody understands the importance of not -- not having safe havens where you can have these ungoverned areas where al Qaeda, Taliban, other terrorist groups can launch -- plan and launch terrorist attacks.

LISTER: The Pakistani government is hoping negotiations will achieve what the army could not, fearing these tribal areas of the foreign fighters that make up the court (ph) of al Qaeda.

Tim Lister, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: The Pakistani president, Pervez Musharraf, said he would not allow the border area in Waziristan to become a terrorist sanctuary. He said any militant activity would be addressed with force. Now, Mr. Musharraf made the comments during a stop in neighboring Afghanistan for talks with the president here, Hamid Karzai. Musharraf also said both countries must join forces to fight their common enemy of terrorism and extremism.

CLANCY: All right. This is an important development, too. We have President Musharraf saying this day that he would not allow international forces, meaning the NATO-led forces currently in those areas of southern and eastern Afghanistan, to go into the tribal areas to pursue any militants that they might see there.

Karzai and Musharraf are close allies in the U.S.-led war on terror. That war on terror the centerpiece of a new series of speeches that President George W. Bush has been making in the run-up to the November elections in the U.S.

Kelli Arena reports an old but familiar enemy resurfacing in Mr. Bush's rhetoric.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A crippled organization, most of its leaders in custody or dead, its base of operations destroyed. That's how the president has described al Qaeda in the recent past, barely mentioning Osama bin Laden's name until now.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Bin Laden and his terrorist allies have made their intentions as clear as Lenin and Hitler before them.

ARENA: Now the president is talking about how al Qaeda and terrorists that are inspired are successfully using the Internet to recruit and train, how they're influencing western-born citizens to join their cause, and how they nearly pulled off another 9/11-style attack.

BUSH: Most recently, they attempted to strike again in the most ambitious plot since the attacks of September 11th, a plan to blow up passenger planes headed for America over the Atlantic Ocean.

ARENA: Is al Qaeda running scared, or should we be? What's changed to turn what the president described as a battered organization into a serious threat? Well, part of the answer is that plot to blow up airliners.

Just before it was revealed last month, two top government counterterrorism officials privately said that they didn't think al Qaeda was still capable of a large-scale attack. Analysts suggest that plot served as a wakeup call.

BRUCE HOFFMAN, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: I think there's a very good saying that sums it up, and that's the more things change, the more they stay the same. And I think whatever optimism we might have had has certainly been challenged in the past month.

ARENA: Some see politics at play here, that the closer we get to the midterm elections, the more the specter of a potent and dangerous al Qaeda suits the president and his party.

(on camera): But whatever the motivation, analysts say that the new and more alarming rhetoric may be closer to the mark than the old "we're winning" message.

Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Steve Irwin's father says he's lost his best mate.

GORANI: Still ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY, a mourning parent rebuffs a state funeral for his famous son.

CLANCY: U next, though, a power Iraqi politician returns from exile and speaks to CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins at CNN Center in Atlanta.

More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a few minutes. But first, a check on stories making headlines in the United States now.

The Pentagon releasing new manuals on prisoner interrogation. This manual addresses abuses in Iraq and concerns about the treatment of terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The manual reportedly prohibits intimidating prisoners with dogs, putting (ph) prisoners, and water-boarding (ph), which creates the sensation of drowning.

The administration says the guidelines reaffirm policy to remain consistent with Geneva Conventions. The rules will apply to all branches of the military but not the CIA.

Closed doors, open debate. Just a couple of hours ago, President Bush wrapped up a meeting with his cabinet. Now he's igniting a new debate on terror suspects.

Next hour he plans to speak about detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. Specifically, how to try them by military tribunal.

Join Kyra Phillips in the NEWSROOM for CNN's live coverage of the president's speech set for 1:45 Eastern, 10:45 Pacific.

A U.S. Air Force officer missing in Kyrgyzstan this morning. The military says Major Jill Metzger disappeared while on a shopping trip yesterday. She had gone to a mall with others from her air base. A task force of U.S. military and embassy personnel and local officials now searching for Metzger.

Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs in Purgatory today. A helicopter brought the former fugitive to the Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane, Utah.

Jeffs is due to make his first appearance this afternoon. He was captured late last month after a routine traffic stop near Las Vegas. Jeffs is accused of rape, as an -- as an accomplice, that is. He allegedly arranged a marriage between an underage girl and an older man.

Liftoff on hold again for the shuttle. Atlantis was supposed to blast off today on a trip to the International Space Station, but NASA says there is a problem with a fuel cell that provides electricity to the shuttle. The launch has already been delayed a couple of times, once because of a lightning strike and later because of Tropical Storm Ernesto. NASA will decide later today if they will try to launch tomorrow or Friday or a few weeks from now.

We'll watch that one for you.

Meanwhile, Jacqui Jeras standing by to tell us a little bit more about the weather.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Coming up the top of the hour now in "CNN NEWSROOM," a new directive from the Pentagon on the treatment of detainees. We'll hear from the Navy lawyer who won that landmark Supreme Court decision on behalf of military prisoners held at Guantanamo. Meantime, YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a quick break.

I'm Heidi Collins. Have a good day, everybody.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. Here are the top stories we're following for you.

The Pentagon is issuing a new set of directives. They're designed to provide proper Geneva Convention protections for all U.S. detainees. This follows a storm of criticism over U.S. military conduct, particularly in Iraq and at the Guantanamo Bay Prison camp in Cuba. A new direction also eliminates a secret list of interrogation policies.

CLANCY: Three weeks after a ceasefire ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel now agrees it will end its blockade of Lebanon by air and sea. Its troops will abandon positions at the air and seaports at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. International forces will take up the posts that Israel says are necessary to prevent Hezbollah from rearming.

GORANI: Well, their days in South Lebanon are numbered; their war with Hezbollah has been over for weeks. But the Israeli troops who haven't yet packed up and headed home are literally working around the clock.

Chris Lawrence went into Lebanon to learn more about their mission.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Israeli troops are on the clock...

(GUNSHOTS)

LAWRENCE: ... intent on destroying what Hezbollah left behind.

These are some of the last soldiers south Lebanon. The Israel government says it could pull them all out by the end of next week, leaving demolition teams little time to blow up these bunkers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's why we're working around the clock to find everything.

LAWRENCE: Lieutenant Gabi Graban (ph) takes us into south Lebanon with his Golani demolition unit. They discover one Hezbollah bunker after another. Graban shows us how the bunkers are covered by what looks like rocks and dirt, making them impossible to see from the air.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the only way to find them is sending the infantry inside, going from room to room.

LAWRENCE: We follow it down to a bunker at least 50 meters long. It's so cramped you can't stand until you get to the bedroom, where a bottle of Pepsi and canned food have been left behind. Graban says fighters could have lived here for months. GRABAN: Because this is very deep into the ground. I mean, this way, they could just stay inside, even if there's bombing right above. It could stand.

LAWRENCE: On the other end, there's a ladder, a second route back and forth to the surface. And no more than 100 meters away, yet another bunker.

(on camera): This one contained nothing but ammunition. You can see, there are more tubes rather than actual mortars, meaning some of these were already able to be fired off into Israel. But more than at least 100 were just left behind. And the Israel army has wired this entire room and it's ready to be destroyed.

(voice-over): These are just some of the weapons the IDF says its removed before we got there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fear is that if we -- anything we leave here is going to use them the minute we leave. And them being here so close, using these things against us, for sure, could be devastating consequences.

LAWRENCE: We hike another half kilometer, deep into the bushes, where the IDF discovers its most important and disturbing find, a rocket launcher half buried with two Katyushas still in the chamber. Hezbollah launched 4,000 of these rockets into northern Israel, destroying hundreds of homes and killing dozens of people. Now the IDF sees Hezbollah's vantage point, with Israeli towns just a few hundred meters away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And if Hezbollah walks around here and looks down at the homes of Israeli people, just gives you the idea of what can happen here if they're here and we're not.

LAWRENCE: The unit leaves Lebanon with that thought, hoping their work and U.N. peacekeepers will eliminate Hezbollah's access to these weapons, but not entirely sure.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, south Lebanon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, we return to the deal Pakistan has reached a deal with tribal leaders in the remote northwest region.

CLANCY: Some analysts say that it's really opening a door to a safe haven for pro-Taliban and al Qaeda fighters on Pakistan's soil.

GORANI: Well, Pakistan says it will not allow that to happen. Now, here are the elements of the deal.

CLANCY: Pakistani troops would stop hugely unpopular military operations in the Waziristan region.

GORANI: Militants, in turn, would stop the tax on Pakistani forces and halt cross-border raids into Afghanistan. CLANCY: Foreign fighters in the area would be asked to leave the country or settle peacefully and abide by the law.

GORANI: Pakistani officials disputed a media report that said Osama bin Laden would not be captured if he agreed to lead a peaceful life.

CLANCY: Now, this development comes as the Pakistani president has arrived in Kabul. He's held talks with Afghan president Hamid Karzai. Pervez Musharraf said the two countries must join forces to stamp out their common enemy, terrorism and extremism.

For some analysis on the relations between the two countries, let's go now to Hussain Haqqani, director of the Center for International Relations at Boston University.

What's wrong with this picture? We have peace in Pakistan, a new peace agreement between the Taliban and the government. But what does that do for al Qaeda? What does it do for Waziristan province?

HUSSAIN HAQQANI, BOSTON UNIVERSITY: It does nothing except saving the Pakistanis from humiliation at the hands of the Taliban in Waziristan and saves the Pakistan army from having to fight another battle. General Musharraf is fighting a multi-pronged battle right now in Pakistan. He has an insurgency in Baluchistan, he has political opposition in Sindh (ph). So therefore, he's trying to cut his losses.

As far as Afghanistan is concerned, they have a single-issue agenda -- they want Pakistani support for the Taliban to end, and at the same time, they don't want Pakistan to play any role in internal Afghan affairs, which Pakistan is reluctant to do. So President Karzai and General Musharraf will have the hand shake, they will have the formal speeches, but I think that the subtext of hostility will remain.

CLANCY: Has al Qaeda won a new safe haven along that border?

HAQQANI: I don't think that al Qaeda has won a safe haven that it did not have. All that has happened is that the Pakistani military will not conduct large-scale operations. I'm sure that the United States will make sure that Pakistan remains engaged in trying to isolate and find al Qaeda.

But the problem is that al Qaeda, and Pakistani militants and the Taliban, they all look out for each other. And as long as you are allowing one to have a safe haven, the possibility that another will also get a safe haven under the same cover is immense. So there will be a lot of al Qaeda who will turn around, and those who can speak local languages will turn around and start saying, we are just local (INAUDIBLE). We are from the local Waziristan area. We are not foreigners.

And those who can't speak local languages, they will turn around and say, well, we have abided -- we have decided to abide by the agreement to live peacefully, and that's not a very good idea. CLANCY: All right, well, all of these developments are coming as we approach the five-year anniversary of September 11th. And I'm just wondering, the problem then was said that Afghanistan provided safe haven to al Qaeda. It would seem today that that potential is very real in Waziristan province, right there on the border with Afghanistan.

HAQQANI: Absolutely, Jim. What happened was two important messages post-9/11 were missed in Washington D.C. One was that Afghanistan required full attention. The United States got distracted with Iraq, very few troops, very little military operations to finish off the business with al Qaeda.

The second was that Pakistan had joined the war against terrorism on its own terms. It wanted to finish off -- help the United States finish off al Qaeda, but it wasn't willing to finish off the Taliban or Pakistani extremist groups, and now both of these categories of people are helping al Qaeda regroup and rearm, and that is not very good. And I think the United States made a mistake in accepting a half-hearted Pakistani participation in the global war against terrorism.

CLANCY: Let's get the view from Pakistani officials. Our own Nic Robertson has been covering that story. He joins us on the line now with a view on this latest agreements and on those talks between the Pakistani president and Hamid Karzai, his Afghan counterpart.

Nic, what are you hearing? What are you hearing?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly the government believes that this is a good deal that they've worked out with the tribal leaders here in north Waziristan. They say that this is a deal that will stop people crossing from Afghanistan into Pakistan, Pakistan into Afghanistan, people intent on committing acts of terrorism. They say that the border's open for people continue to move across for business.

They maintained adamantly, whoever you speak to in the government here, that they're doing everything that they can to catch any al Qaeda members inside Pakistan, to stop any Taliban or whomever else camping inside Pakistan, and then going across into Afghanistan. The latest deal has been signed between the government and tribes in north Waziristan, essentially seize that territory from -- to the control of the tribes. The government here says it's happy with that.

But they also say that the notion that anyone who's wanted, or is a terrorist or is committed a terrorist act anywhere in the world, or is wanted on any cause, the notion that they could get immunity in such areas is ridiculous, they say. They say that if Osama bin Laden, for example, is in north Waziristan, they expect him to be turned over. They would still go after him, they say -- Jim.

CLANCY: All right, Nic Robertson, with some perspective there from Islamabad.

I want to go back to our guest, Ambassador Hussain Haqqani, and just ask you your perspective on that -- this deal is good, according to Pakistani officials, that it will stop cross-border infiltrations by terrorists into Afghanistan. Do you believe that?

HAQQANI: I don't, for the simple reason, that the deal only applies to one small segment of the Pakistan-Afghan border, which is the border with Waziristan. the tribes in that area have signed this agreement. It does not and infiltration from other parts of the border. I think the Pakistani authorities, in collaboration with the Afghans and the international forces need to try and protect the entire length of the border because al Qaeda and the Taliban are not going to stop just because one part of that border has been secured.

CLANCY: Our thanks to Hussain Haqqani, the director of Boston University's Center for International Relations. Thanks so much, as always.

HAQQANI: A pleasure.

CLANCY: All right, we're going to take a short break here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

Hala and I will be back, right after this. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good afternoon, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins, coming to you from the world headquarters here at CNN in Atlanta. I want to take a moment to welcome our international viewers at this time as well.

We have some information we want to get straight to you. This just in to CNN now. ABC News has learned that President Bush will announce that high-value detainees now being held at secret CIA prisons -- we'll get back to that in just a moment -- will be transferred to the Department of Defense, and now granted protections under the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

A couple reasons this is important. No. 1, until now the U.S. government has not officially acknowledged the existence of CIA secret prisons. Again, that is some of the new information in all this.

Also, again, I want to make sure that we tell you ABC News has learned this information. A source familiar with the president's announcement coming later today, at about 1:45 -- we will have that here on CNN -- says that it will apply to all prisoners now being held by the CIA, which at this point we believe to be about a dozen prisoners being held by the CIA, including some names you may remember, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11th attacks, of course, and senior al Qaeda leader Ramzi bin al-Shibh. You're looking at some of the pictures of them on the screen now. Once again, about a dozen prisoners being held by the CIA.

The Bush administration, as you probably know, has come under some harsh criticism for the treatment of detainees captured by the U.S., and many of them have been given the legal status of enemy combatants. That certainly has been something talked about today, and will be addressed once again at 1:45 by the president.

Right now, I want to bring in our legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin to talk a little bit more about this. So what will happen next? We've been talking about this all morning, Jeffrey, but hadn't heard about the secret CIA prisons and the 12 detainees being held by the CIA.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Well, what this does is if the president's plan passes Congress, and that's of course a major step, it really sets the stage for the most dramatic and important 9/11 trials that have ever been conducted in this country. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is "the guy" apparently who was the main planner of this event. Now the government is saying, we are going to bring him out from the secret prison where he's been hold somewhere. No one that I'm aware of know precisely where he's been for the past four years since he's been captures, same thing with Ramzi bin al-Shibh. And put them on trial. Now it will not an American trial, it will not have the due process protections that we're all familiar with.

But it will resemble a trial more than the administration's previous proposals. And if it goes through Congress, the world will learn a lot more presumably about how 9/11 was planned and took place, and also, significantly, how these prisoners were treated by the American government in the past four years since they've been captured.

COLLINS: Now I know it's early, but will these trials actually take place? What sort of timeframe could we be looking at?

TOOBIN: Well, the timeframe has been much, much delayed already because the administration has first said, well, they're not entitled to any trial at all. The Supreme Court said, no, they are. Then they came up with one proposal for trial. The Supreme Court earlier this year said, no, you have to have Congress authorize it and you have to abide by the Geneva Conventions. Now that's the proposal that the administration is putting forward.

But because of what the Supreme Court said earlier this year, Congress has to pass it, and Congress is not going to roll over here. They have their own ideas. Senator McCain, Senator Warner have put out a proposal that is somewhat more protective of the rights of the detainees than what the administration has proposed.

That's going to have to get sorted out. Congress may pass something, they may not. Only if Congress passes it will we see any trials at all, and only then, after probably the Supreme Court has reviewed it yet again. So this is probably a year or two away, at best. But the process is grinding forward at this time.

COLLINS: All right, Jeffrey, let me take a moment just to remind everyone what exactly we're talking about here. This information just in to us here at CNN, coming to us from ABC News. It has learned President Bush will announce the high value detainees being held at secret CIA prisons will be transferred to the Department of Defense and granted protections under the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

That information, new to us today, especially because we had not known about the existence of CIA prisons. I want to go ahead bring in our national correspondent Bob Franken for a little bit more information on this, coming to us from D.C. today.

Bob, you've been to Gitmo.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Several times and also have covered much of the legal proceeding that's gone on in this. And so it's good that Jeff is here because Jeff, you lawyers have a way of leaving loopholes. And what the administration is planning to announce, according to the reports, is that in effect the handling of the CIA prisoners will be consistent with the new policies by the Department of Defense.

And as Jeff pointed out, in the new Pentagon policies, there is a key line, as construed and applied by U.S. law, which is to say that although there is now a dictate by the Supreme Court to apply to the standards of the Geneva Convention, there will be some revisions.

The particular Geneva Convention ruling that applies here is called Common Article 3. That is to say, it is in all Geneva Conventions. There have been four of them. And it says that there must be, quote, "All the judicial guarantees that are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples."

Well, the question is, what judicial guarantees, what about the normal court-martial provisions on the presentation of evidence, confrontation of witnesses, such things as -- some people have said as Miranda warnings, et cetera, et cetera. This is all subject to debate, so this is still not a closed question.

The other thing that is very, very important here is the new Pentagon policy says detainees and their property shall be accounted for. That has not happened with the prisoners that have been held by the CIA. So that would represent a huge change if and when that happens.

COLLINS: All right, Bob Franken, thanks so much for that.

I want to go ahead and move onto the Pentagon. We have Jamie McIntyre standing by. I spoke to you a little bit earlier today, Jamie, about this. This new bit of information, surprise to you?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, there's always been this double standard between how the U.S. military, under the Pentagon, is required to treat its detainees and what the CIA can do, often referred to as the other agency.

So if they move prisoners under DoD control, it comes on the same day in which the Pentagon has announced essentially a complete overhaul of its policies for how it treats detainees and how it -- more importantly, how it interrogates detainees with this revision of the Army Field Manual.

And essentially what it does -- what they've done is they brought the DoD policy, the Pentagon policy, to be in complete compliance with the Geneva Conventions. They have specifically outlawed torture. They have named eight different things that are going to be specifically banned that we've seen in the past, including things like forced nudity and the use of dogs, putting hoods over people, putting duct tape on them, sensory deprivation, using extreme cold, withholding food or water.

All of these things will now be specifically banned, and the procedures that are acceptable will be completely outlined and no other procedures will be approved, not in any secret annex or any secret prison.

So it's really -- it's a complete reversal of the administration, saying that there ought to be other procedures available against really dangerous people. And there was a big, internal debate inside the Pentagon, inside the administration about whether they or not they shouldn't withhold some of the procedures.

And you can see here are some of the things that are banned: forced nudity, the use of hoods, beatings, electric shocks, so-called waterboarding, a simulated drowning technique. These are all now specifically banned. Now they did, as long as -- again, hypothermia, mock executions, withholding of food and water, and the use of dogs except for security.

The other thing is, these procedures will treat all prisoners, whether they're unlawful combatants, prisoners of war, other detainees, all will have the exact same standard with only one exception, and that is for so-called unlawful enemy combatants.

They will be allowed to be separated from other combatants. It's not the same as solitary confinement, but they want to be able to separate them so they can question them without them being able to talk to other detainees. That's the sole exception for unlawful enemy combatants.

So, again, a complete overhaul in the policies, a complete transparency, no secret annexes. And the Pentagon is saying that what they've decided after this big, internal debate is that any information that comes from questionable and abusive techniques really isn't that valuable anyway, it does more harm than good to the U.S. reputation, and they want to make it absolutely clear the U.S. upholds the highest standards of humane treatment from this point on.

COLLINS: All right. And, Jamie, it's probably worth mentioning once again, too, that this revision, as its directive, has taken about a year for everyone to come together and get it out there, which we are seeing now today.

Also another bit of information to give to you, reportable to us from our justice correspondent, Kelli Arena. And she is reporting that a senior government official says the U.S. government will be putting more than one high-level detainee on trial in a military tribunal.

The detainees will not be facing criminal prosecution, according to that source. The source though would not say who exactly will be put on trial, that this will be part of the announcement made a little bit later by President Bush today, in about 45 minutes or so.

So I want to go back to Jeff Toobin, if I could, for just a moment here.

Jeff, How does all of this change, as far as the legal procedures go?

TOOBIN: Well, it's a huge change. For all that we've talked about -- military tribunals -- since Guantanamo opened, shortly after the American war in Afghanistan, there's been no -- there have been no military tribunals.

The trials have not yet had a chance to get started; the whole thing has been tied up in litigation. The administration keeps losing in the Supreme Court and has to go back to the drawing board and create new procedures. They've done that again.

What makes this one even more complicated is, because of the last decision by the Supreme Court, the administration has to get this plan through Congress. It's not just President Bush can snap its fingers and says, these are the people who are going to go to trial and the trial is going to start Monday. The Supreme Court has said these procedures have to be passed first by Congress.

COLLINS: Got it.

TOOBIN: And particularly in an election year, nothing goes fast through Congress and some things don't go through at all.

COLLINS: Yes, we have heard that. Well, certainly, we're going to stay on top of this story. Thanks to all of our players here today, Bob, Jeffrey and Jamie -- Jamie Pentagon -- Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. Thanks so much for all of your help, guys.

We're going to continue to follow this story right here on CNN throughout the rest of the day. We'll be back after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com