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Israeli/Palestinian Peace; U.S. F-15's Grounded; Bush Supports Turkey; India's Tata Motors
Aired January 10, 2008 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: Time is running out. Before he leaves office, the U.S. president says he wants to see a Middle East peace deal.
ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: This helicopter sped off on a rescue mission, it's returning with two women held for years deep in the jungles of Colombia.
CLANCY: Barack Obama may have lost New Hampshire, but he's just won a major backer.
SESAY: And are you looking for some cheap wheels? I mean really cheap. A carmaker in India has some big dreams for the nano. Hello and welcome to our report seen around the globe. It's 7:00 p.m. in Jerusalem, noon in Bogota. Hello and welcome to our report seen right around the globe. I'm Isha Sesay
CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. From Kabul to Calcutta, wherever you are watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
We're going to get to those stories in just a moment. We want to bring you breaking news from Canada where an Air Canada passenger jet has been forced to make an emergency landing in Calgary. A Calgary Airport official saying the plane hit turbulence during a cross country flight. It was traveling from Victoria, British Columbia to Toronto. Fourteen people aboard the jetliner were injured. It is said -- wire reports indicate that the injuries are not serious.
This is a jetliner on a routine flight going from Victoria, British Columbia to Toronto. Fourteen people injured. You see one of them being taken off there but airport officials telling us that these injuries are not considered life threatening.
All right. Turning to our main story today, U.S. President Bush says he is only 12 months to work with but he says if both the Palestinians and the Israelis agree to painful concessions, a treaty creating a Palestinian state will be signed on his watch.
SESAY: Those high hopes come after meetings with Palestinian leaders in the West Bank on Mr. Bush's first official trip to the region.
Well, setting a goal is one thing but resolving every last detail of bitter decades-old disputes is quite another. Mr. Bush today acknowledged a tough road ahead, offering advice to both sides. One highlight was a message to Israel, quote, "End the occupation," let's bring in our very own Hala Gorani now is in Jerusalem. And Hala, the president getting down to specifics this day.
HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. I'd say that's the headline. In its spirit the message delivered by George W. Bush when he made his statement just a few hours ago, is something that perhaps we've heard before but the rhetoric is much stronger. There's no disputing that.
Let's listen first to what George W. Bush, the U.S. president said about what he would like Israel to do with regards to borders that have changed dramatically over the last 31 years. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, U.S. PRESIDENT: The point of departure for permanent status negotiations to realize this vision seems clear. There should be an end to the occupation that began in 1967. The agreement must establish a Palestine as a homeland for the Palestinian people, just as Israel is the homeland for the Jewish people. These negotiations must ensure that Israel has secure, recognized and defensible borders, and they must ensure that the State of Palestine is viable, contiguous, sovereign and independent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right. Of course, Mr. Bush referring to the 1967 war, the Six Day War, which was 41 years ago -- and 37 years ago. As I mentioned now, what was important was what was left out. He mentioned settlements, that expansion of settlements and the removal of illegal outposts as something that should be implemented. So no expansion of settlements and the removal of illegal outposts. But what is not addressed are the settlements that are there right now.
(Inaudible)
SESAY: We're having some technical problems. We appear to have lost Hala Gorani who was joining us there from Jerusalem. We'll continue to monitor the president's trip to the Middle East for you.
CLANCY: We have much more coming up on that this hour. We'll be talking with a former Palestinian negotiator and legislator now, an activist there in politics, Hanan Ashrawi. That's coming up.
Well, they had been held by Colombian rebels in the Amazon jungle for more than five years. Now two women hostages are finally free. Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez spearheaded a mission to free them and he says, "I told them both, welcome to life."
For more on this developing story, let's turn to our own correspondent there, Karl Penhaul in Colombia. Karl, this had been much delayed but the reaction must have been very warm, indeed.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So far, Jim, there really hasn't been too much reaction because this is still very recent. Those hostages are still in the air, flying from the depths of the Colombian jungle, en route to Caracas, and that's is where we understand they'll be re-united with their families. President Hugo Chavez's words, "welcome to life" appropriate enough.
After all, one of the hostages, Vice Presidential Candidate Clara Rojas has been held for six years by the FARC guerrillas. The other hostage, Consuela Gonzales, a former congresswoman, has been held for more than six and half years. We don't know what physical condition they are in or what mental condition they certainly must be feeling good they're out of the jungle and out of the hands of Colombia's guerrillas, Jim.
CLANCY: Was President Hugo Chavez there or did he speak with them by phone?
PENHAUL: President Hugo Chavez was not here in Colombian territory. He sent a delegate, his interior minister, Ramon Rodriguez Chasin (ph). He's known to have close ties with the FARC rebels. It was he who received the coordinates of where he could fly into to pick up the hostages. When he touched down on the ground in a jungle clearing to pick up the Clara Rojas and Consuela Gonzales, at that point we are told by President Hugo Chavez he got on the phone to the Venezuelan president on a satellite phone, called the president and said, "I have them, they are getting on board the helicopter, they are well."
And so we presume now that that was the point when President Hugo Chavez had a personal conversation, a personal word, at least, with the two hostages, Jim.
CLANCY: President Uribe had fired Hugo Chavez as a negotiator in all of this, relations between the two men not considered good. Will this change all that?
PENHAUL: Not really. We don't expect to see any change in the Colombian government's position as far as President Hugo Chavez's mediation efforts are concerned. President Uribe and the Colombia government felt for some time that President Chavez was trying to gain political capital out of trying to mediate a wider prisoner-for- hostage swap with the guerrillas. That never came to fruition. There were a lot of sticking points there and the Colombian government fired him when he thought he was making political capital out of it.
And in fact when this deal that went ahead today fell apart actually less than a week ago, between Christmas and the New Year, an operation to collect these hostages from the jungle was dragged out for more than a week and it descended into farce.
So really today, yes, can be seen as a face-saving operation for President Hugo Chavez, but it really doesn't bode well for any wider effort by him to step back into the fray to mediate a wider deal between the Colombian government and Colombian guerrillas, Jim.
CLANCY: Karl Penhaul there on the scene with the latest, as always, Karl, thank you.
SESAY: We want to take you to Pakistan now where there was a suicide attack outside a court in the eastern city of Lahore. At least 23 people were killed, dozens are injured. Police had been deployed in front of the court ahead of an antigovernment rally by lawyers. Officials say the bomber went up to a barrier manned police and blew himself up.
The blast is the latest in the wave of attacks targeting politicians and now security forces. Ahead of those controversial parliamentary polls next month.
CLANCY: Well, Iran releasing its own video now. Tehran says it debunks the U.S. account of what happened between American naval ships and Iranian Revolutionary Guard gun boats in the Strait of Hormuz last weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iranian Navy (inaudible) boat (naudible), how do you copy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is coalition warships (Inaudible). Over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coalition warship seven three.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: The U.S. is accusing Iran of aggressive behavior during the meeting in international waters. They say the tape was edited so that it would not show the aggressive moments in the exchange between the ships.
SESAY: Now to Kenya where former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will be taking on a large task.
CLANCY: That's right. The former UN Chief and African Union Chairman John Kufor (ph) failed to get opposition leader Raila Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki to meet over the disputed presidential election. A U.S. diplomat telling CNN now that Annan has agreed to take over the mediation efforts.
SESAY: Paula Newton more from Odinga's hometown where anger continues to simmer over those election results.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the streets the consequences of political deadlock are real. They have no time for rhetoric here, the demands are blunt and urgent.
This is Raila Odinga's hometown, Kisumu. The opposition leader has quite a following here. Tempers are tested day after day. They want Odinga sworn in as president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kibaki must go.
NEWTON: They claim they are driven to rage. The latest insult, they say, President Mwai Kibaki announcing his Cabinet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is this happening in Kenya? And now President Kibaki is there illegally!
NEWTON (on camera): They're incredibly angry about the situation in Nairobi. They do not want to mediate, they do not want any negotiation. They believe that they were robbed, cheated out of their votes.
This is the kind of adversity that faces the government as they try and negotiate their way through this in Nairobi. And the situation gets worse and worse.
(voice-over): So instead, they riot, they burn, even the water treatment office, using any excuse to loot and vandalize.
And police say some are terrorizing neighborhoods and rival tribes. And when police get involved, they bring out the guns.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were wrong because it was a peaceful demonstration.
NEWTON: Frederick Odiambo (ph) says he was shot in the foot by police who used exploding bullets. It shattered his foot. It had to be amputated. And the bullets are indiscriminate.
Larine Ayuwar (ph) was sitting in her home when a bullet pierced the continue walls. "The shot came through the left-hand side through my chest and into my right arm," she says.
Her brother Samson (ph) says two other siblings were hurt, too, and at just 11, Larine was forced to spend more than a day in a local clinic with nothing ease the pain.
How did that make you feel?
UNIDENTIFIED MAL: Embarrassed. Embarrassed. Because I didn't expect a young child like this to be shot.
NEWTON: Reason no longer rules here. As Dan Opiyu (ph) will tell you. "Police shot me from behind," he says. And it came right through the chest. He says he wasn't even protesting, but he adds if the political impasse keeps up, he will be, the minute he is released from hospital.
"If Kibaki does not go, then the violence will go on," he says. Kenya, it seems, has passed the point of no return. Political compromise may have come too late. Paula Newton, CNN, Kisumu, Kenya.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: OK. First it was Knut the Cute. Now Germany's going nuts over another baby polar bear.
CLANCY: That's right. This female cub doesn't yet have a name, in fact she's lucky to be alive. Keepers at the Nuremberg Zoo decided to hand-raise this cub after her mother was spotted showing signs of violently rejected her. SESAY: She is so cute. The five week old baby bear is a hit with most Germans. But just as they did with Knut last year, some critics say zookeepers should have let nature take its course and they shouldn't have intervened.
CLANCY: She doesn't seem to be trouble troubled by it.
SESAY: No, she looks like she's having a sleep.
CLANCY: We got to take a break. Coming up, shipping out.
SESAY: Some U.S. marine units may be getting some new marching orders soon. They aren't going home or to Iraq. We'll tell you where they're headed and why they might not be too happy about it.
CLANCY: And Indian car company rolling out the Model T of the new millennium with a price tag to match.
SESAY: And the Michigan primary may not mean much to Democrats but for some republican presidential candidates, it means everything.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: OK, everybody. Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY. You are looking at scenes from Charleston where presidential hopeful Barack Obama is joined by John Kerry and we are expecting shortly to hear the former presidential hopeful, John Kerry, that is, endorse Barack Obama for this year's race.
CLANCY: That's right. And this is a huge endorsement for him. It will add more energy to his campaign. Of course that's what all the candidates are doing right now, they are holding events hoping to keep the momentum up, if they've got it, or try to gain some momentum if they don't.
We understand ...
SESAY: We want to take you to this scene, show you John McCain who is also in South Carolina. He of course won that New Hampshire primary which gave a huge boost to his own campaign. This is a presidential hopeful whose campaign was written off. Just months ago he was out of money, his campaign and his staff was being rejigged and there weren't high hopes. But he came, sailed to the fore in South Carolina carrying on that campaigning.
CLANCY: And back in South Carolina, if we hear anything from John Kerry we're going to go back to that live. So stay with CNN here.
But we're going to go on with our news now as we look at the situation in Iraq. A U.S. military launched massive air strikes against al Qaeda on the outskirts of southern Baghdad. U.S. warplanes struck some 40 different sites, like this one in the first minutes of the operation, dropping nearly 18,000 kilograms of bombs.
One official describing the small area targeted as a safe haven for the insurgents. They said the goal was to neutralize the area before ground forces then moved in.
SESAY: Meanwhile there is a new estimate of civilian deaths across Iraq. The figures come from a study by the Iraqi government and the World Health Organization. It says there were 151,000 deaths between March 2003 and June 2006. But the report cautions a number could be as high as 223,000. That's because the data were compiled from household interviews and not official records which authorities say are not available.
CLANCY: All right. To Afghanistan now where the top NATO commander is asking the Pentagon for more troops to head off a spring offensive by the Taliban. If the U.S. military agrees, 3,000 more U.S. marines could be deployed. More from our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): CNN has learned that the request by NATO's American commander in Afghanistan is to send a U.S. Marine air-ground task force to reinforce the British-led sector in the south where the heaviest fighting has been going on.
The surge of some 3,000 additional forces would boost U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan to their highest points since the 2001 invasion, 30,000, up from 27,000 right now. The problem is NATO has failed to provide almost 8,000 additional promised troops, and U.S. and NATO commanders want to be ready by march when the Taliban and al Qaeda launch their annual spring offensive.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has not yet approved the dispatch of additional U.S. troops to fill the gaps, something he said as recently as last month he wasn't inclined to do.
ROBERT GATES, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: My own view is, I am not ready to let NATO off the hook in Afghanistan at this point.
MCINTYRE: But Gates and his commanders are becoming resigned to the fact that maybe NATO nations just don't have the stomach to send more forces into what has become a deadly war zone, and that holding back American troops could risk failure. Aides to Gates say he has not made up his mind, but will give the request a hard look before deciding some time next week whether to dispatch American reinforcements.
(on camera): The deployment of 3,000 marines, if approved, would be temporary, says the Pentagon. Seven months on the ground to ensure there are enough troops during the crucial spring and summer months. But already the U.S. has been forced to extend some temporary deployments because other NATO nations haven't delivered on their promises. Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: The U.S. presidential race has just begun, but it's already gotten very interesting. CLANCY: More people are getting interested by the day. That's what all the polls are showing us. Democratic hopeful Barack Obama about to get the support of a former Democrat hopeful, that man -- John Kerry. What will his backing mean to Obama?
SESAY: And later on YOUR WORLD TODAY, it is not exactly pocket change, but it is affordable. We'll look at India's Nano.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN center in Atlanta. More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a few minutes but first some of the stories making headlines right here in the U.S.
Getting video now out of Pontiac, Illinois. You can see the flooding after the severe weather, thanks to our affiliate there out of Chicago bringing these pictures in. Tough time not only for people - obviously you can see the animals, too. Bringing in resources to try and deal with the high waters and get things out of the homes.
I'll tell you what, Chad Myers, we didn't expect so much to happen so quickly.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And even this morning now and into this afternoon, this morning from Mississippi, a lot of tornado warnings actually eight tornado warnings, I can find five major storms right now rotating, one with actually a tornado reported on the ground near Magnolia, Mississippi.
So here they go. They're moving quite quickly today to the northeast. I'll stop the map. Everywhere there is a little pink square here is a tornado warning. There are many of them out there. If you see a storm and you're in Mississippi, Louisiana, or even up toward Alabama at this point, you see a storm to your southwest, you need to be taking cover. There is the Magnolia storm.
Couple of storms here with those pink boxes moving toward Wesson and then toward Utica into Mississippi and then father to the north, Yazoo City, it looks like the storm is going to be south of you but moving toward the east and northeast here. There is an awful lot more weather today. Yesterday the storms, Kyra, lined up and they didn't rotate. Today they are super cells. See how this is all by itself not in a line, that's why they're rotating today and they're going to rotate in more places. Could be in Tennessee, could be back down into Mississippi, Alabama and maybe later tonight as far east as even into Atlanta, Georgia. We'll see.
PHILLIPS: Oh boy. Not good for us. All right. We'll keep tracking that with you.
And I'm told right now that Senator John Kerry just now endorsing Barack Obama at a live event happening in Charleston. Let's go ahead and listen.
SEN. JOHN KERRY, (D) MA: ... speak out so loudly that Washington has absolutely no choice but to listen.
That's not just the way to win an election, that is the only way to change a nation. He understands that we have to force the politicians to feel your power. And I am here because it is Barack Obama who, in a unique way, brings the lessons of the neighborhood, the lessons of the legislature, and the lessons of his own life to that awesome challenge.
And my friends, those lessons made him a candidate to bring change to our country, and they are the same lessons that he will take to the Oval Office every day to fight for you as president of the United States.
Now, I was proud to help introduce Barack to the nation when I asked him to speak to our national convention in 2004. Obviously Barack did all the heavy lifting.
But like millions of Americans, Teresa and I were stirred by the way that he eloquently reminded us of the fact that our true genius is faith in simple dreams and insistence on small miracles. And we were, all of us, moved by the power of which he shattered the shallow stereotype reminding people all across America, in the red states and the blue states, we also worship an awesome God.
PHILLIPS: Senator John Kerry, formally endorsing Barack Obama for president. A live event there in Charleston as they are starting to work, of course, a very important state as we get ready for the primary there in that state. John Kerry live there in Charleston. We'll continue to monitor it.
Meanwhile, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson apparently about to bow out, is what we're hearing. Sources close to Richardson tell CNN he'll end his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination today. Richardson finished fourth in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. A Democratic strategist puts his reasons for quitting plainly, quote "not enough votes and not enough money."
We are watching for a Richardson news conference in Santa Fe, 3:00 p.m. Eastern. We're going to have it live in the NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: And four girls found dead in a DC row house, now a woman that authorities believe is the girl's own mother has been arrested. Thirty-three-year-old Bonita Jacks faces four counts of murder, she is due in court this afternoon. Authorities say that the girls, believed to be sisters five to 17 years old, had been dead for at least two weeks in that home. They say it is not clear exactly how they died.
Well, is a Florida murder the work of a serial killer? An investigator tells us why he thinks the death of a woman in Daytona Beach is connected to other killings going back at least two years. He'll join us in the 3:00 p.m. Eastern hour right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Meantime, YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a quick break. I'm Kyra Phillips. See you in about 30 minutes. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers joining us from around the globe, including here in the United States this hour. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy.
ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Isha Sesay. Here are some of the top stories we're following for you.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says Colombian rebels have released two women held hostage for nearly six years in the jungle. Clara Rojas was an aid to fellow hostage and former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and Consuela Gonzales was a Colombian former congresswoman. They have been in custody for almost six years.
CLANCY: A suicide bomber struck outside a court in Lahore, Pakistan. At least 23 people were killed, most of them police officers. Dozens more were wounded. The blast comes ahead of crucial parliamentary elections next month.
SESAY: The U.S. president says Israel should end its occupation of Arab land that began in 1967. George W. Bush is in the region to push for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Mr. Bush says he believes a treaty creating a Palestinian state can be signed within a year.
CLANCY: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expressing a willingness to move ahead with the idea of peace with Israel, but his fellow Palestinians, not holding their breath. Mr. Bush is seen as a staunch ally of Israel at the expense of the Palestinians. Ben Wedeman explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Flags, banners and fiery speeches about struggle and liberation. Thousands of backers of the mainstream Fatah faction crowd into the compound of the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah to mark the anniversary of the founding of their movement. The people here, ostensibly supporters of the Palestinian leaders, President Bush is scheduled to meet, are hardly fans of American-Mid East policy.
Do you trust Americans, I ask Maha Aden (ph) from Jerusalem. "The American say one thing and do another," he answers. "They want to make a new Middle East by splitting each Arab country into bits. That's American policy. How can I trust them?"
Musa Tia (ph) says, "Bush went to Iraq and he destroyed it with sectarianism. And here he'll try to do the same."
In Ramallah's main square, artist Whaleed (ph) displays his heroes. Yasser Arafat, Sha Guvara (ph), Saddam Hussein. No George W. Bush. "I can't draw him. Impossible," he says. "Even if I were sitting at home, I wouldn't draw him. If he had helped the Palestinian cause, I would have built a statue for him. But he hasn't."
In the quiet Jordan valley town of Jericho, Sammy (ph) the barber isn't putting much faith in Bush's visit either. "Most American presidents make a lot of promises," Sammy says. "Promises they never keep."
Enclosed as he is in his tight security bubble, President Bush probably won't hear that kind of talk and probably won't get the chance to see where it comes from.
Talk of renewed American diplomacy doesn't amount to much here. Skepticism honed to a sharp point by years of occupation and violence, hope and disappointment. To get from town to town, West Bankers are often caught for hours at Israeli checkpoints.
A wall, in some places a fence, snakes through the West Bank. Israel said it was built to keep Palestinians from attacking Israel. Palestinians say it's a blatant land grab that's crippling their economy.
Shortly before the president's visit began, Israeli troops closed down the center of the city of Nablus (ph), hunting for militants, sparking clashes, injures dozens of Palestinians. This conflict remains a raw and open wound which most would-be peacemakers rarely see firsthand.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Bethlehem on the West Bank.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: So we heard there the deep skepticism among Palestinians that after all the years of talk about peace, finally something tangible may just happen. But did anything President Bush say today actually bring any new hope? Let's bring in Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian scholar and long-time political activist. She is in Ramallah.
Thank you so much for making time for us this day.
HANAN ASHRAWI, PALESTINIAN SCHOLAR, ACTIVIST: : My pleasure.
SESAY: President Bush saying something today that Palestinians have wanted to hear for a long time, that the occupation must come to an end. But some would argue that it was a mixed message. What are your thoughts?
ASHRAWI: Well, I would say the statement has a specific genesis. The first time he said that was on June 23, 2002, with his famous two- state speech. The first time he declared the division. He saw the epiphany, so to speak. And then it was included in the preamble of the road map. He repeated it in 2005 and so on.
The Palestinians want to stress this statement because it is significant when you talk about a two-state solution to identify the main obstacle and the main issue to be dealt with as the occupation, which began in '67, meaning we have to have Israel withdrawal to the borders of '67 as the borders of the Palestinian state, including Jerusalem. So it is significant and it is a reference point that has to be repeated.
But at the same time, when he adds to this the statement that was included in his letter to Sharon, again the notorious April 14, 2004, letter in which he says that any agreement will have to take into account demographic realities on the ground or facts created by Israel. He immediately made the U.S. fall in line or become complicate in illegal acts, which are the settlements. You cannot have an agreement that incorporates within it retroactive legitimacy to the settlements that are in themselves illegal.
SESAY: And, Hanan, what does that do to -- sorry to jump in there, but what does that do to the prospect of any serious negotiations, the fact that, you know, Ehud Olmert has already said that the (INAUDIBLE) of Jerusalem and those major settlements are off the table?
ASHRAWI: Exactly. That's the thing. It seems to me President Bush, if he's serious about negotiations and about re-engaging in a positive way -- and you must remember that the absence of any type of fair or even-handed American involvement in this issue has allowed the dynamic to run its course and to destabilize the region and to increase extremism and violence. So if he wants to re-engage, he cannot allow unilateralism to continue. He cannot place Israeli security priorities at the top of his agenda. He cannot undermine Palestinian rights. And he cannot be seen as complicate in illegal acts, particularly the settlements.
So when Olmert declares openly that Jerusalem and the population centers, which are the major settlements, are not on the agenda and are not included in the cessation of settlements activities, it was imperative that President Bush say no. And I think Dr. Rice stated it very clearly -- all settlements, whether in Jerusalem or anywhere else in the occupied territories, are unacceptable. They are illegal.
SESAY: We're pushed for time there. So I want to talk about, on the Palestinian side, President Bush saying that he's looking for strengthening of political institutions, economic institutions, and also talking about security forces being strengthened. There would be those that would argue forcefully that what the Palestinians need is a change in leadership. Your thoughts.
ASHRAWI: Well, they tried that before when President Arafat was the leader and they called for a change in leadership. And you have to accept the results of democracy. The democratic process is not selective nor subjective. Once have you an outcome, you have to respect it.
No, I think you need to deal with the issues of nation building, institution building, economic restructuring, revitalization, hand-in- hand with a political process that is viable, substantive and can change realities on the ground, while at the same time curbing the Israeli occupations, violations, and escalations of violence. Can you not have economic revitalization if you are in a state of siege. And Gaza is totally cut off from the rest of the world and totally venerable.
And the West Bank is fragmented with over -- with close to 600 checkpoints that prevent any kind of freedom of movement of people and goods. How can you talk about the economy, about the institutions, about national vision when you live in a fragmented territory and under siege and everything that you've been working for, including the infrastructure in the institutions, are being destroyed.
Israel has a free hand to steal your land and to kill your people and to imprison thousands without any kind of accountability or intervention. So we need positive intervention. We need constructive engagement.
SESAY: OK, Hanan Ashrawi, a prominent Palestinian scholar and political activist there. We must leave it. Many thanks for your time this day.
CLANCY: Well, the U.S. Air Force grounding its aging fleet of F- 15 fighter planes. This comes after an investigation into a crash found a critical defect. Our Jamie McIntyre's at the Pentagon with a little bit more on this.
These are $40 million warplanes.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, this F-15 is the workhorse of the U.S. fleet. The older models to the ones assigned to protect the United States. And it's also the plane that the U.S. exports to friendly nations around the world.
And what they found as a result of this accident two months ago in which a plane essentially snapped in half, is that that was caused by a structural defect in the plane. It was a manufacturing defect. A bad part that was put in these planes about 30 years ago that can't hold up to the stress. The investigation revealed that the planes, built by Boeing and McDonald Douglas had a defective part that was not manufactured thick enough to withstand the tolerances.
And what this means, says the commander of the U.S. Air Combat Command, is that 40 percent of planes that have this defective part may never fly again. And that, he says, puts into jeopardy the idea of fulfilling his mission of protecting the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. JOHN CORLEY, U.S. AIR COMBAT COMMANDER: Right now we are doing the mission of defending America. But we have to ask ourselves, how do we do the mission of defending America tonight and for the future fight? How do we do it both near-term, mid-term and far-term, Jamie? Right now, with the absence of that 40 percent of the fleet, we're using F-15Es, we're using F-16s, we're using F-22s to cover for the 40 percent that's lost. But those airplanes, too, have missions they have to accomplish.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCINTYRE: And what is the Air Force looking at? Well, they're looking at a replacement, the F-22. A state of the art stealth fighter plane that's one of the most expensive fighter planes ever made, over $280 million a copy depending on how you calculate the production cost. And when some critics have suggested that the Air Force is over-inflating this problem in order to get more money for the F-22, the general I talked to got visibly angry and said that's simply not the case.
Meanwhile, there is a question also about the liability of the manufacturer for manufacturing these planes 30 years ago, but it's unprecedented because the U.S. has never flown a fighter plane this long.
Jim.
CLANCY: All right. Jamie McIntyre, live with us there from the Pentagon.
Isha.
SESAY: Well, Jim, coming up, U.S. President Bush calls Turkey a constructive bridge between the west and the Muslim world.
CLANCY: We're going to be talking with the Turkish president himself, Abdullah Gul, about his trip to the White House. What was discussed?
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CLANCY: Well, what President Bush's Middle East tour is going to be taking him to key Arab allies, regional concerns very much on his mind. Before he left Washington, Mr. Bush met with Turkey's president, Abdullah Gul. Mr. Bush says he supports Turkey's bid to join the European Union, calling the Islamic nation a constructive bridge between the west and the Muslim world. President Bush also saying he supported Turkey's efforts to fight Kurdish rebels, the PKK, in northern Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We deal with common problems. One such problem is our continuing fight against a common enemy, and that's terrorists. And such a common enemy is the PKK. It's an enemy to Turkey, it's an enemy to Iraq, and it is an enemy to people who want to live in peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: Now, earlier, we sat down and talked with Turkish President Abdullah Gul and we began by asking him what assurances President Bush gave him about fighting the PKK rebels in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABDULLAH GUL, TURKISH PRESIDENT: PKK is a terrorist risk of United States and also European Union. So it is clearly known that they are acting terror and they are killing innocent people. So, therefore, President Bush was so strong in his commitment to fight against terrorism together with Turkey. I was so pleased to hear this. So he once more repeated his commitment to fight PKK terrorism together with us. So I was so pleased.
CLANCY: How? What specific steps can the U.S. take?
GUL: Well, the first of all, we have to know what's going on. As you know, Iraq is not in good shape now. Iraqi government cannot control all our land. So there was a welcome of authority over there and PKK is using northern Iraq has a safe haven. We have to eliminate them over there. So the military action in inevitable, therefore we have been hearing some of their operations, but they are very careful. It's to the point and it will continue.
CLANCY: Do you believe that Iraq, for all of its difficulties, is making a serious effort to rein in the PKK?
GUL: The Iraqi government is not strong. Of course, they wish to fight with them. But since they have so many difficulties, maybe they are not able to do everything so far.
CLANCY: Your talks with President Bush took place just before he left for the Middle East. We have just heard the president in the Palestinian territory say that the occupation must end and strong and clear terms. Mr. President, what was your message to him before he departed on that trip?
GUL: As a matter of fact, we talked a lot about peace process at history. Gives (ph) a chance for me to convey, to tell him, our experiences. President Bush, he believes strong in two-state solution. So, therefore, he made it very clear today. I hope that there will be break-through. Of course, it's not easy, but the climate is there on both sides working very closely.
President Perez, Prime Ministers Olmert, President Abbas, they are all trying to reach this solution. So there's a good chance, in fact. Of course, not only United States, the other countries also should help this situation.
CLANCY: Let me ask you about another country, your neighbor, and it is fair to say an enemy of the United States, Iran. How concerned is Turkey about Iran's nuclear enrichment program?
GUL: Well, the fact(ph) that we don't want to see weapons of mass destruction in our neighborhood. I believe that the solution should be fine on a base of democratic dialogue. I have personally involved in this issue last year as when I was prime minister. We have to double our diplomat efforts. I'm sure that the solution will come. But, once more, I want to tell you that we don't want to see any weapons of mass destruction in our neighborhood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: President Abdullah Gul there of Turkey talking with us earlier.
SESAY: That's right.
And if you're looking for stories about cars, stay right here.
CLANCY: We're going to tell you about a compact from India that comes with a very compact price.
SESAY: And from the U.S., a self-proclaimed "meanest mom in the world" sells her son's wheels. That's just ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY.
CLANCY: You'll like that story.
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SESAY: (INAUDIBLE), you'll like this story. A luxury debut for the world's cheapest car as India's Tata Motors revealing its $2,500 car in New Delhi.
CLANCY: Yes, that's right. And the price is right. Its launch is one that Tata says it as big as the landing on the moon. Maybe a little hyperbole there, but detractors say it's an environmental nightmare in the making.
SESAY: That's what they say. Still, the launch of the Tata Nano is a new chapter in one of the world's fastest growing auto markets. Here's Eunice Yoon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EUNICE YOON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): This is the Nano, made by India's Tata motors. It's got four doors and room for five people. The price? Just $2,500. The cheapest car in the world.
RATAN TATA, CHAIRMAN, TATA MOTORS: What we have been trying to do has been basically to provide India a means of transport which today does not exist.
YOON: Few in India have been able to even think about owning a car. This is a country where tens of millions still live on less than $1 a day. But now with the economy booming, more people, like this man and his fiance, are getting more money and looking to buy a car for the very first time.
VINOD YACTAV, POTENTIAL CAR BUYER, (through translator): There are a lot of things we can't do on a bike, like shopping, carrying bags, traveling together as a family. I want a car for comfort.
YOON: The market for first-time car buyers is huge, especially in developing countries with growing middle classes like India. Carmakers worldwide want to tap into that demand. Tata aims to beat them to the punch. It calls the Nano the people's car, powered by a tiny engine that gets almost 16 miles to the gallon. But environmental critics are concerned.
ANUMITA ROYCHOWDHURY, CENTER FOR SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT: What about the pollution and the congestion impact of these cars? That's really going to add to the pollution several times over. YOON: Tata says the new Nano meets India's and Europe's environmental standards. The company plans to roll out the car this year and hopes to sell it elsewhere in the world down the road.
Eunice Yoon, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Now Tata's a huge company. It does billions of dollars in business. Not only cars, steel. All kinds of other things. And it's actually in line -- it might buy Ford's stake in Jaguar and Land Rover.
SESAY: Land Rover. Yes, absolutely. A little bit of background for you there.
Now the U.S. state of Iowa is back in the news, but it has nothing do with politics.
CLANCY: It's about a motivated seller and the car that she put up on sale. She advertised it. She calls herself the meanest mom in the world. She says she found alcohol in her 19-year-old son's car. Then what did she do?
SESAY: Guess what? She sold the vehicle. The ad read, in part, Old s1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love their teenage son, selling his car."
CLANCY: Hambleton (ph) says she got calls from all over the country congratulating her for taking a stand with her son and, you know, him having alcohol in the car. He said it was a friend's.
SESAY: Yes. And, safe to say, he is not happy.
CLANCY: That's our report for this hour. I'm Jim Clancy.
SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay. And this is CNN.
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