CNN - The Situation Room and Lou Dobbs Tonight - 2006-07-13

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] and Wolf Liter.

[0:02] >> Susan, thanks very much. To our viewers,

[0:04] you're in the situation room where new

[0:06] pictures and information are arriving

[0:07] all the time. Standing by, CNN reporters

[0:10] across the United States and around the

[0:12] world to bring you today's top stories.

[0:15] Happening now, the exploding Middle East

[0:18] crisis. Israel blasts the Beirut airport

[0:21] a second time, stepping up its response

[0:23] to the killing and kidnapping of Israeli

[0:25] soldiers. and rockets fired from Lebanon

[0:28] land in a major Israeli city. It's 11

[0:31] p.m. in Israel where the Army Chief of

[0:33] Staff is warning nothing in Lebanon is

[0:36] safe right now. This hour, we'll talk

[0:39] about the conflict with key players in

[0:41] the United States and in the region. The

[0:43] Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, the

[0:45] US ambassador to Iraq, Zme Khalil Zad,

[0:48] and with tensions boiling over, oil

[0:50] prices are hitting new highs and

[0:53] threatening economies around the world.

[0:55] Also ahead, the Israeli ambassador to

[0:57] the United States, Daniel Ayalon, and

[0:59] the Syrian ambassador to the United

[1:01] States, Immad Mustafa. They'll both be

[1:03] here in the situation room. Is an allout

[1:06] war in the Middle East in the making?

[1:08] And could the entire region be swept up

[1:11] in it? I'm Will Blitzer. You're in the

[1:14] situation room.

[1:31] This hour, breaking news from the Middle

[1:33] East. The crisis there growing more

[1:35] volatile and dangerous by the minute.

[1:37] Israel's ambassador to the United States

[1:39] is calling a rocket attack on the

[1:41] northern Israeli port city of Hifa a

[1:43] major major escalation. That's his

[1:46] words. and he's warning Iran and Syria

[1:49] that they are playing with fire for

[1:51] supporting Hisbala militants and that

[1:53] those nations will face consequences.

[1:56] Hisbala, which warned it would fire

[1:58] rockets at Hifa, is now denying it

[2:01] launched them. And the Lebanese

[2:02] government is calling for a ceasefire.

[2:05] The fighting continues today between

[2:07] Israeli forces and the Lebanon based

[2:09] Hezbollah. Israelis up the Annie with

[2:13] new attacks on Lebanon earlier today.

[2:16] And just a short while ago, the Beirut

[2:18] International Airport once again was

[2:20] bombed this a second time by the

[2:23] Israelis. And the Israeli Navy is

[2:25] blockading Lebanese waters. That

[2:27] blockade currently in effect. Meanwhile,

[2:30] the United Nations Security Council is

[2:32] planning to meet tomorrow on this Middle

[2:34] East crisis. And in Europe, President

[2:36] Bush says Israel has a right to defend

[2:39] itself after the kidnapping of those to

[2:41] two Israeli soldiers along the border

[2:44] with Lebanon. We have reporters standing

[2:47] by. Our White House correspondent Suzan

[2:49] Malvo is traveling with the president in

[2:51] Germany right now. But first, let's go

[2:53] to Hifa. CNN's John Voss is standing by

[2:56] in this Mediterranean city. John, what's

[2:59] the latest from there?

[3:03] >> Hello, Wolf. Well, the Israeli Defense

[3:04] Forces claims that two his Hezbollah

[3:07] missiles landed here within the last few

[3:09] hours. If that is in fact accurate, it

[3:11] would be the furthest that Hezbollah

[3:13] have traveled ever. It is a dangerous

[3:16] escalation, at least in the opinion of

[3:18] the Israelis. This is Israel's third

[3:20] largest city, home to 300,000 people

[3:23] here, Israel's major oil refinery, a

[3:26] prime target for any attack. Hezbollah

[3:29] though denies the missiles were theirs

[3:31] despite earlier making a threat to carry

[3:34] out an attack on Hifer. However,

[3:36] throughout the day, Hezbollah has

[3:37] claimed responsibility for almost 100

[3:40] Kusha rocket attacks across northern

[3:43] Israel. In the tourist town of Nasaria,

[3:46] there was uh two attacks today. Kusha

[3:49] rockets falling there in the morning and

[3:51] also in the afternoon. At least one

[3:53] person there was killed in the town of

[3:55] Sephed, home to Israel's northern

[3:57] command. One person was killed, others

[4:00] were wounded. Israel's chief of the

[4:02] military has warned if these attacks

[4:04] continue on Israeli towns and cities.

[4:06] Then, in his words, Beirut will be a

[4:09] target. Israel continues to carry out

[4:11] air strikes across Lebanon, not just in

[4:13] the south. The Israeli Navy is

[4:15] blockading the coast of Lebanon, and

[4:17] Israeli artillery continues to shell

[4:19] positions in the south of Lebanon. The

[4:22] strategy now according to Israel's

[4:23] defense minister not just to pressure

[4:25] the Lebanese government and Hezbollah

[4:27] for the freedom of those two kidnapped

[4:29] Israeli soldiers but also to drive

[4:32] Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon and to

[4:34] ensure they never return. Wolf are John

[4:38] are Israelis and Hifa and other areas in

[4:40] the northern part of the country now

[4:42] under instructions to go into bomb

[4:44] shelters.

[4:48] Well, in the north of the country, they

[4:50] are because up the north, the residents

[4:52] there are used to the uh the missiles

[4:54] flying, the mortars being fired from

[4:57] southern Lebanon. Hifer is a different

[4:59] story. It has never experienced the kind

[5:01] of attacks that those communities in the

[5:03] north have been going through for the

[5:05] last few years. So in Hifer, there is a

[5:07] good deal of shock and a good deal of

[5:09] panic now that it too could very well be

[5:12] in the range of those missiles. Here in

[5:14] Israel though, Wolf, you know that all

[5:16] of the homes, especially since the first

[5:17] Gulf War, are now equipped with what

[5:19] they call safe rooms. Others have bomb

[5:21] shelters. So, the situation here in

[5:23] Hifer will be similar to what it is up

[5:26] north if these missiles continue to

[5:28] fall. John uh Voss, standby. We're going

[5:30] to be coming back to you for any late

[5:32] breaking developments. John Voss is on

[5:34] the scene in Hifa for us. Let's find out

[5:37] how the Bush administration is reacting

[5:39] to all of this. Suzan Malvo is traveling

[5:41] with the president. She's joining us now

[5:43] from Germany. What's the latest reaction

[5:45] coming from the president, Suzanne?

[5:49] >> Well, Wolf, just a moment ago, we got

[5:50] news that there is going to be an on

[5:52] camera briefing. Secretary of State

[5:53] Condisa Rice, who's traveling with the

[5:55] president, as well as National Security

[5:57] Adviser Steven Hadley. Both of them

[5:59] going on camera in about 15 minutes or

[6:01] so before a small group gaggle of

[6:03] reporters, if you will, to give us an

[6:05] update. We have also learned as well

[6:06] there has been a flurry of diplomatic

[6:09] diplomacy, if you will. Secretary Rice

[6:11] uh reaching out to all the counterparts

[6:13] in the region. Uh most notably of course

[6:16] UN uh secretary general UN Secretary

[6:19] General rather Kofi Annan. Uh she has

[6:21] also reached out to Israeli Ahoud Mer

[6:24] and as well as administration official

[6:26] Elliot Abrams. All of them to figure out

[6:28] what is the strategy now? Where do they

[6:30] push those buttons? Now we heard from

[6:32] President Bush earlier today as well as

[6:34] German Chancellor Angela Merkel. both of

[6:36] them speaking with one voice on this,

[6:38] appealing for calm in the Middle East.

[6:40] And we heard President Bush uh quite

[6:42] boldly and frankly say that he believes

[6:45] that Israel is doing the right thing in

[6:48] terms of the attacks in Lebanon, saying

[6:49] that Israel has a right to defend

[6:51] herself, but at the same time warning

[6:54] against any kind of movement that would

[6:56] undermine or weaken the Lebanese

[6:58] government. The United States has really

[7:00] invested quite a bit in the diplomatic

[7:02] reforms. We also heard, of course,

[7:04] Merkel and Mr. Bush emphasizing that

[7:06] this is a problem with the terrorist

[7:08] organization Hezbollah.

[7:11] >> When peace advances,

[7:13] it's in the terrorist interests in some

[7:15] cases to stop it. And that's what's

[7:16] happened.

[7:18] And we were headed toward the road map.

[7:21] Things look positive and terrorist

[7:24] stepped up and

[7:26] kidnapped a soldier, fired rockets into

[7:28] Israel. Now we got two more kidnappings

[7:31] up north. Hezbollah doesn't want there

[7:33] to be peace.

[7:35] militant arm of Hamas doesn't want there

[7:36] to be peace and those of us who do want

[7:38] peace will continue to work together to

[7:40] uh to encourage peace

[7:44] and wolf also what we heard from the

[7:46] president is putting quite a bit of

[7:47] pressure on the Syrian government

[7:49] specifically President Assad saying that

[7:51] that is a government a regime that is is

[7:54] supporting Hamas as well as Hezbollah do

[7:56] not be surprised if we hear more details

[7:58] about President Bush reaching out to

[8:00] some of the Middle Eastern allies to put

[8:02] pressure on the Syrian government

[8:03] essentially to take responsibility and

[8:05] accountability for what is happening in

[8:07] Israel, Lebanon right now.

[8:09] >> And we'll come back to you as soon as we

[8:11] hear from the Secretary of State and the

[8:12] National Security Adviser, among others.

[8:15] Suzan Malvo, traveling with the

[8:16] president in Germany. Thanks very much.

[8:19] Iraqis, meanwhile, are watching all of

[8:21] this wearily as their neighbors exchange

[8:24] military fire and verbal threats. Could

[8:26] the situation in Iraq become even less

[8:29] stable and more dangerous if this uh

[8:32] other conflict in the Middle East

[8:33] spreads? We're joined now here in the

[8:36] situation room by the United States

[8:37] ambassador to Iraq, Zme Khalil Zad. Mr.

[8:39] Ambassador, it's never dull in the part

[8:41] of the world you serve. Uh before we get

[8:44] to Iraq specifically, you studied in

[8:46] Beirut. You know this region about as

[8:48] well as any American diplomat. How

[8:50] dangerous is the situation right now? I

[8:54] think it's a a very dangerous uh

[8:56] situation uh and I believe that it has a

[9:00] lot to do with the uh evolving situation

[9:03] with regard to the Iranian nuclear

[9:04] issue. It is possible that uh as the

[9:09] Iranians refuse to cooperate uh with the

[9:13] uh proposal that was offered to them uh

[9:16] and as they come under more pressure uh

[9:19] to cooperate that they may escalate uh

[9:22] things uh in Lebanon, in Israel, the

[9:26] Palestinian area as well as in Iraq. So

[9:29] we have to be uh very careful and uh be

[9:32] resolute uh in terms of uh the future

[9:35] circumstances that we will face

[9:37] >> because it was interesting yesterday the

[9:39] immediate reaction from the white house

[9:41] was to say that Iran and Syria have a

[9:44] lot of responsibility for what Hzbalah

[9:46] does and perhaps what kamas does uh

[9:49] elsewhere. Well, I don't want to get too

[9:51] far into that in terms of the details

[9:53] because uh I'm very much focused on Iraq

[9:57] and others in the administration are

[9:59] dealing with this issue. But I think

[10:02] that the broader issue of uh the future

[10:05] uh relations with Iran over the nuclear

[10:08] issue is going to have a a significant

[10:10] impact potentially uh on both the Iraqi

[10:14] Iraqi theater as well as on the on the

[10:16] uh Israeli Lebanon Palestinian theater

[10:19] as I I want to move on to Iraq, but for

[10:21] what I hear you saying is that as the

[10:23] Iranians feel the heat on their nuclear

[10:25] program, they're reacting by maybe

[10:28] encouraging their allies in Hezbollah or

[10:30] Hamas to take these kinds of actions

[10:33] sort of to show that they have some

[10:34] muscle as well.

[10:35] >> Exactly. I I will not uh uh rule that

[10:38] out that there is a connection uh

[10:40] between those uh two events.

[10:42] >> Let's let's talk a little bit about

[10:44] what's happening in Iraq right now.

[10:45] You're back in Washington. you're

[10:47] heading back, I assume, in the next few

[10:48] days. It looks like the situation is

[10:51] spiraling in in a worse kind of way with

[10:55] the sectarian violence. Uh the awful

[10:58] stories that we've been hearing since

[10:59] the weekend of, for example, Shiites,

[11:02] militia men going into Sunni

[11:04] neighborhoods, looking at ID cards. If

[11:07] the name is a Sunni name, these people

[11:09] are simply shot in the head.

[11:11] >> Uh Wolf, Iraq is in a difficult

[11:13] transition. There is good and bad

[11:14] happening. as uh simultaneously on the

[11:17] good side uh you know that today we

[11:20] turned over the uh control and

[11:22] leadership uh in the security domain of

[11:25] the Mana province to the Iraqis so

[11:27] they're standing up taking

[11:28] responsibility but with regard to

[11:31] sectarian uh violence the terrorists

[11:34] have adapted to the success of the unity

[11:37] government to take advantage of the

[11:39] sectarian fault line to uh increase that

[11:42] conflict and uh that is very much uh the

[11:46] dominant problem right now facing the

[11:47] Iraqis particularly in Baghdad.

[11:49] >> Is the situation controllable in the

[11:52] sense that these militias which we've

[11:54] seen in in Lebanon and you know a lot

[11:56] about that situation was once just a

[11:59] militia now it's actually part of the

[12:01] government is the militia situation uh

[12:04] at least does it have a an indication it

[12:06] can come under control there whether the

[12:08] Methdi militia or the B or any of these

[12:10] other militias that are in basically

[12:12] independent of the government. What's

[12:14] very important for Iraq to succeed to

[12:16] become a successful democratic

[12:19] government that the militias as well as

[12:21] the insurgency uh come under control

[12:23] right now.

[12:24] >> The militias right now are the key the

[12:26] key focus.

[12:27] >> The militias are the key focus that the

[12:29] terrorists attack Shiite targets to

[12:32] provoke sectarian violence and the

[12:33] militias respond by attacking uh Sunni

[12:36] areas. But uh for the militia problems

[12:39] to be dealt with which there has to be a

[12:42] decommissioning and demobilization and

[12:44] reintegration of the militia forces uh

[12:46] the insurgency which has become a kind

[12:48] of Sunni militia has also has got to

[12:51] come down. These two things are related

[12:52] to each other. I'm glad that Prime

[12:55] Minister Maliki was a very strong leader

[12:57] and effective leader is confronting

[12:59] these problems has got a reconciliation

[13:01] plan to deal with the insurgency

[13:04] problem. He also is working uh and we're

[13:06] helping him to develop a plan how to

[13:08] deal with the militia problem. These two

[13:10] things have to be dealt with.

[13:12] >> And I heard earlier he's planning on

[13:13] coming here to Washington in the coming

[13:14] days.

[13:15] >> You will be here on the 24th. Uh and uh

[13:18] also will be visiting the United Kingdom

[13:21] on the way to Washington.

[13:22] >> And this is a man you you know this man

[13:25] because a lot is riding on Nuriel

[13:27] Maliki. You trust him. You think he can

[13:29] get the job done? He is a good strong uh

[13:33] leader who believes in uh uh winning uh

[13:37] for Iraq, stabilizing Iraq, bringing

[13:40] Iraqis together. Uh he's got the right

[13:44] priorities, makes uh decisions in a

[13:47] timely fashion. No, I think uh we're

[13:50] very encouraged by by uh the decisions

[13:53] that he has taken and by his style of

[13:55] leadership. Zme Khalil Zad arguably has

[13:58] one of the most difficult and dangerous

[14:00] jobs in the US government. Thanks for

[14:02] coming into the situation room. I know

[14:04] you're heading back to Beirut to Baghdad

[14:06] pretty soon. I hope you're not going to

[14:07] Beirut but in uh but be careful over

[14:09] there.

[14:09] >> Well, at the rate that I'm going. I've

[14:11] been to Cabo Baghdad. I don't know where

[14:13] I'll be heading next.

[14:14] >> Well, let's see. Hopefully, it'll be a

[14:16] nice sight safe location given the

[14:18] history that you've had. Appreciate it

[14:19] very much.

[14:20] >> It's good to be with you.

[14:21] >> Thank you.

[14:21] >> Thank you.

[14:22] >> Let's go to New York. Jack Caferty is

[14:23] standing by with the Caerty file. Jack,

[14:25] >> back to the Middle East. Wolf, Israel

[14:27] reacted, as you expect they might have,

[14:29] to the kidnapping of their soldiers by

[14:31] terrorist groups. They lashed back

[14:34] swiftly, violently, but at what price?

[14:37] The soldiers are still in the terrorist

[14:38] custody, and military conflrations in

[14:41] Gaza and Lebanon are growing. Warnings

[14:43] are being issued to other countries like

[14:45] Iran and Syria. World markets are

[14:48] scared. Oil hit record highs today.

[14:49] Stocks plunged for a second day in a

[14:51] row. And questions are being asked about

[14:54] what Israel's response to the

[14:55] kidnappings is really accomplishing. In

[14:58] an editorial, the New York Times this

[15:00] morning wrote this. The repeated lesson

[15:02] of recent history is that inflicting

[15:04] pain and humiliation on Arab civilians

[15:06] does not make them angry at the

[15:08] terrorists who provoke the violence. It

[15:10] makes them angrier at Israel."

[15:13] On the other hand, conducting military

[15:15] operations in inhabited areas without

[15:17] inflicting pain on civilians is easier

[15:19] said than done. So here's the question.

[15:21] Has Israel overreacted to the kidnapping

[15:24] of three of its soldiers? Email us at

[15:26] [email protected]

[15:28] or go to cnn.com/caferty

[15:31] file. Wolf, thanks Jack very much. And

[15:33] to our viewers, if you want a sneak

[15:34] preview of Jack's questions, plus an

[15:36] early read on the day political news and

[15:38] what's ahead right here in the situation

[15:40] room. You can sign up for our daily

[15:42] email alert, just go to cnn.com/

[15:45] situation room. Coming up, we'll have a

[15:48] live report from Lebanon on the latest

[15:50] attacks and counterattacks between

[15:52] Israel and Hezbollah. CNN Allesia Vinci,

[15:55] he's standing by in Beirut. We'll go to

[15:57] him shortly. Up next though, the Senate

[15:59] Majority Leader Bill Frist. What can and

[16:02] should the United States do to prevent

[16:04] the M East powder keg from escalating

[16:07] into a fullscale explosion? Stay right

[16:10] here for more of our breaking news

[16:11] coverage of the Middle East in crisis.

[16:14] We're also standing by for live

[16:15] interviews with the Israeli and Syrian

[16:18] ambassadors to the United States. Stay

[16:20] with us. You're in the situation room.

[16:25] >> The situation room is brought to you by

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[17:06] >> Have a good day.

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[17:09] >> Okay.

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[19:26] We're just getting this in uh a new

[19:28] story involving the Speaker of the House

[19:30] of Representatives. Let's bring in CNN's

[19:32] Fred Rica Whitfield. She's joining us

[19:33] from the CNN Center with the latest.

[19:35] What are we picking up, Fred?

[19:36] >> Well, Wolf House Speaker Dennis Hastard

[19:38] has been admitted into the Bethesda

[19:41] Naval Hospital for treatment of a skin

[19:43] bacterial infection called cellulitis.

[19:45] The recommendation is he stay in the

[19:47] hospital for 72 hours to get treated

[19:50] introvenously with antibiotics.

[19:53] He apparently felt this hot uh swelling

[19:56] of an area in his lower leg just a few

[19:58] days ago. the infection spread, it

[20:00] worsened. So, his doc doctor recommended

[20:02] that he now be admitted into Bethesda

[20:04] Naval Hospital, which he was earlier

[20:05] today. And the expectation is he'll be

[20:07] back to his normal schedule as early as

[20:09] next week.

[20:10] >> Thanks very much. And we of course wish

[20:12] the speaker of the house a speedy

[20:14] recovery. We're also following all the

[20:17] fastm moving developments in the Middle

[20:18] East crisis. Just a short time ago, the

[20:21] United States vetoed a UN Security

[20:22] Council resolution condemning Israel's

[20:25] two-week incursion into Gaza. The US

[20:28] says the resolution was untimely in

[20:30] light of the current conflict between

[20:32] his the Israeli forces and Hzbollah in

[20:34] Lebanon. Rockets fired from Lebanon

[20:37] struck the Israeli the northern Israeli

[20:39] town city of Hifa in what Israel is

[20:42] calling a major escalation of the

[20:44] crisis. Hisbala denies involvement

[20:46] despite an earlier threat from Hisbala

[20:49] to attack Hifa. and we're waiting to

[20:52] hear directly from the Secretary of

[20:53] State Conda Rice and the National

[20:55] Security Adviser Steven Hadley. They're

[20:58] expected to speak out about the

[20:59] situation in the Middle East. They're

[21:01] with the president in Germany. The

[21:03] briefing will not be on camera, but

[21:05] we'll bring you the information. What

[21:07] they say as soon as we have that. Let's

[21:10] go to the United Nations right now where

[21:12] Israel's continuing military offensive

[21:14] in Gaza was the subject of a debate

[21:17] earlier today. A UN resolution

[21:19] criticizing Israel was vetoed by the

[21:21] United States. Let's bring in our senior

[21:23] UN correspondent, Richard Roth. Richard

[21:26] Wolf, of course, the Lebanon violence

[21:28] overhanging the action on Gaza, the

[21:30] first veto for US Ambassador Bolton,

[21:32] first veto in nearly two years by the

[21:34] United States. It blocked a resolution

[21:36] which would have condemned Israel for

[21:38] its Gaza incursion. The Palestinians

[21:40] tried in the last few weeks to make it

[21:42] more balanced. There's a part in that

[21:43] resolution uh saying that the abducted

[21:45] Israeli soldiers should be released and

[21:47] rockets not to be fired in, but it

[21:49] wasn't enough. John Bolton said the

[21:50] resolution was outdated and unbalanced.

[21:54] The Palestinians said Israel is turning

[21:56] Gaza into a prison and this veto sends

[21:58] the wrong message to Israel.

[22:00] >> Deterioration of

[22:01] >> is the situation in Gaza clearly that

[22:04] was the the the source of this

[22:05] resolution. We expect a full debate

[22:08] though on what's happening on the

[22:09] northern Israeli border with Lebanon as

[22:12] well, right Richard?

[22:12] >> Yes. Urgent session tomorrow morning

[22:14] starting at 10 a.m. Lots of speeches. We

[22:16] don't know if there'll be a resolution.

[22:18] >> And and finally, Richard, before I let

[22:20] you go, uh the United States vetos this

[22:22] resolution. What was the vote? Did any

[22:24] other countries come to Israel's defense

[22:27] in this resolution?

[22:28] >> The US was the only veto uh in the

[22:30] council, but there were several other

[22:32] countries that abstained. Britain, Peru,

[22:33] Slovakia, and Denmark.

[22:36] Richard Roth reporting for us from the

[22:38] United Nations. Richard, thank you very

[22:40] much.

[22:42] United States is standing by Israel as

[22:43] we just heard as it intensifies its

[22:46] attacks in Lebanon. At the same time,

[22:48] President Bush is warning Israel not to

[22:50] weaken Lebanon's government and he's

[22:52] trying to put new pressure on Syria to

[22:54] try to tamp down the conflict. Let's

[22:56] talk about this and other subjects with

[22:58] the Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

[23:01] He's joining us from Capitol Hill.

[23:02] Senator Frist, thanks very much for

[23:04] coming in. And uh is is the US in your

[23:07] opinion doing enough to try to quiet

[23:09] this escalating violence in the Middle

[23:11] East?

[23:12] >> Wolf, I think that that that we are.

[23:14] There are certain pressure points that

[23:16] we can push. I think we do need to

[23:18] continue to call upon the international

[23:19] community as you just covered in the

[23:21] piece uh setting this up. I'm very

[23:23] disappointed and I'm sure everybody in

[23:25] the United States is disappointed uh in

[23:27] the fact that we had to to veto today

[23:30] the the resolution. It was the right

[23:32] thing to do. It was very one-sided. It

[23:34] was imbalanced as uh Mr. Bol Mr. Bolton

[23:37] said we need to continue to put uh

[23:38] pressure right now. Israel clearly has

[23:40] the right to defend itself and we need

[23:43] to continue to support Israel and need

[23:44] to put need to continue to put

[23:46] international pressure on bringing some

[23:49] resolution to all of the chaos that's

[23:51] going on in the Middle East. I don't

[23:52] know if you heard my interview with the

[23:53] US ambassador to Iraq Zme Khalil Zad

[23:56] just now in the situation room but he

[23:59] made the point he was pointing a direct

[24:01] finger at Iran saying that the Iranians

[24:04] who are under enormous pressure because

[24:05] of their own nuclear program may be

[24:08] using their influence with Hisbala and

[24:11] Hamas to up the Annie elsewhere to show

[24:14] that they have some influence in that

[24:16] part of the world as well. Do you see

[24:18] Iran and or Syria involved in in this

[24:22] escalating tension?

[24:23] >> Well, I think that they are and I think

[24:25] that the details of that and how much

[24:26] emphasis to put on it, we won't know for

[24:28] a few days probably. But what we do know

[24:31] is that Hezbollah has been supporting

[24:33] Iran has been supporting Syria. Syria

[24:35] has been supporting Hezbollah. Iran's

[24:37] been supporting Hezbollah and Hezbollah

[24:39] is a terrorist organization that is

[24:41] behind much of the activity uh that is

[24:44] underway. So I do hold Iran responsible

[24:47] and Syria because of that very direct

[24:49] relationship in financially and

[24:51] otherwise supporting Hezbollah.

[24:52] >> We heard Russian officials and French

[24:55] officials earlier or others saying that

[24:57] Israel is overreacting to this

[24:59] situation. The New York Times in an

[25:00] editorial made that point as well. Is

[25:03] Israel overreacting for example by

[25:06] taking out the runways at Beirut

[25:08] International Airport?

[25:09] >> No, I don't I don't believe so at all.

[25:12] They have the right to defend

[25:13] themselves. And you ask really, are we

[25:16] doing enough now? We need to continue to

[25:18] call as a country and as an

[25:19] international community upon the

[25:21] immediate release of these captive

[25:23] soldiers. And that may may take some of

[25:25] the pressure pressure off, but

[25:27] absolutely not. I I think Israel is

[25:30] acting acting appropriately. They have

[25:31] every right to be able to defend

[25:33] themselves and we're going to I'm sure

[25:35] that we're going to continue to be

[25:36] supportive. Let me move on to a totally

[25:38] different subject while I have you

[25:39] because it's going to be coming up for a

[25:41] vote in the US Senate. Embryionic stem

[25:43] cell research on this issue. You've

[25:46] separated yourself from the president,

[25:48] from the White House. He's threatening

[25:50] to veto any legislation which calls for

[25:53] new funding for embryionic stem cell

[25:55] research. Uh tell our viewers how you

[25:58] see this whole battle unfolding and why

[26:00] the stakes from your perspective are so

[26:02] enormous. Yeah, Wolf. Uh the whole issue

[26:05] of embryionic stem cell research and

[26:06] stem cell research uh generally does

[26:09] really come at this nexus, this changing

[26:12] nexus of advancing science with all the

[26:14] hope and and potential for the future

[26:18] with ethics and with morality. And this

[26:20] really brings that debate to to a crux.

[26:23] And first of all, we ought to point out

[26:24] that the president was the first

[26:25] president to ever support embryionic uh

[26:27] stem cell research with federal dollars.

[26:30] In 2001, he set up a system to support

[26:33] embryionic stem cell research, which at

[26:35] that time we didn't know would be as

[26:38] limited as it is. At that time, we

[26:40] thought there were 78 to 100 cell lines

[26:42] that would be available. It's only about

[26:44] 20. All of those cell lines are

[26:46] contaminated with mouse feeder cells.

[26:47] Those are the sort of details that we'll

[26:49] be talking about next week. The larger

[26:51] implications that we'll be talking about

[26:53] on Monday and Tuesday are how far should

[26:55] the federal government go to support

[26:58] what is legal today that is embryionic

[27:00] stem cell research as well is as support

[27:03] other types of research that stop short

[27:06] of destruction of the embryo which I am

[27:08] very much in favor of obviously as we go

[27:11] forward to give that hope and potential

[27:14] uh the opportunity to be explored in the

[27:16] future. So it'll be an interesting

[27:17] debate as we go forward. We'll be voting

[27:19] on Tuesday. a good debate on Monday and

[27:21] Tuesday,

[27:21] >> but you don't have enough votes to

[27:22] override a threatened presidential veto.

[27:25] Do you need 68 in the Senate? Do you

[27:27] have enough votes to override a veto?

[27:28] >> I think we don't know at this juncture.

[27:30] One of the reasons I wanted to to to

[27:32] take and responsibly take three

[27:34] different bills that have to do with

[27:36] with the research at the embryo level

[27:38] and at the fetus level is to allow

[27:41] everybody the opportunity to position

[27:43] themselves on what is a very very tough

[27:46] issue to reflect where the American

[27:48] people are, where individual consciences

[27:50] are among the various senators. And this

[27:53] has already been voted on in the House,

[27:54] one of those three bills. And at some

[27:56] point, I would hope all three bills are

[27:58] considered in the House of

[27:58] Representatives. And if the president

[28:00] were to veto this legislation, it would

[28:02] be his first veto since taking office.

[28:04] Senator Bill Fris, the majority leader.

[28:05] Thanks for coming in.

[28:06] >> Good to be with you, Wal. Thank you.

[28:07] >> And still ahead, our breaking news

[28:09] coverage from the Middle East and fears

[28:11] of an all-out war. We'll have a live

[28:13] report on the situation in Beirut.

[28:15] That's coming up. And we'll compare this

[28:18] crisis to so many others that have

[28:20] rocked the region for so long. Plus, the

[28:22] Middle East fallout that you'll feel at

[28:24] home. Learn why one analyst fears the

[28:27] price of gas could reach $4 per gallon.

[28:30] That's for regular. Stay with us here on

[28:33] the situation.

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[30:24] >> I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Welcome

[30:26] back to the situation room. The news

[30:27] keeps breaking this hour in the crisis

[30:30] in the Middle East. Israel is striking

[30:32] at the heart of Lebanon's economy right

[30:34] now with two attacks on the Beirut

[30:36] International Airport and a naval

[30:38] blockade of Lebanese waters. It's a

[30:41] stepped up response to the abduction of

[30:42] two Israeli soldiers by Hisbulla

[30:45] militants. All this unfolding and and

[30:48] the situation apparently getting worse

[30:51] in response as Bullah threatening to

[30:53] attack various locations in Israel,

[30:56] including the northern port city of

[30:58] Hifa. In fact, rockets landed there, two

[31:01] of them. Hisbala, though, is denying

[31:03] that it launched those rockets. Israel

[31:05] isn't buying it, calling this a major

[31:07] attack and a major escalation of the

[31:10] conflict. We're waiting to hear directly

[31:12] from the Secretary of State, Condisa

[31:14] Rice, and the president's national

[31:15] security adviser, Steven Hadley. They're

[31:18] expected to speak out on the Middle East

[31:20] situation. They're traveling with the

[31:21] president in Germany. We'll give you

[31:23] those remarks. We're now told they will

[31:25] be on camera. As soon as we get those

[31:27] remarks, we'll bring them to you.

[31:30] Lebanon is taking a beating from the

[31:32] Israeli air force and from artillery

[31:34] strikes. And Israel's ambassador to the

[31:36] United States is warning that his

[31:38] country will continue to pound targets

[31:40] in Lebanon until Isba militants have no

[31:43] capacity to endanger Israelis in the

[31:46] north. Let's go to Beirut. CNN's Allesio

[31:49] Vinci is joining us from the Lebanese

[31:51] capital. What's the latest, Allesia?

[31:55] >> Hello, Wolf. The latest is that uh at

[31:57] nightfall Israeli an Israeli gunboat

[32:00] fired uh rockets presumably at a fuel

[32:03] depot at Beirut's international airport

[32:06] and television station here showing

[32:08] pictures of a large fire there uh in

[32:10] that at that location. We understand

[32:13] there are no casualties but obviously a

[32:15] huge amount of uh damage there and that

[32:17] that was only hours after in the morning

[32:20] the Israeli air force had targeted all

[32:22] three international uh all all three

[32:25] runways of Beirut's international uh

[32:27] airport basically forcing it to shut

[32:29] down forcing uh incoming passengers to

[32:32] be diverted to Cyprus and passengers

[32:35] here in Beirut who wanted to leave

[32:37] actually had to go by car either to

[32:39] Syria or to other neighboring countries

[32:40] in order to be able to leave the

[32:42] country. We understand also many

[32:44] tourists uh have have left the country

[32:46] in the last few hours. And speaking of

[32:48] the tourists, on a Thursday night here

[32:50] in Beirut Wolf, we are in the middle of

[32:53] the summer. The streets of this city

[32:55] should be packed with young kids eating

[32:58] outside, drinking, having a good time.

[33:00] It is a summer, as I said. Well, none of

[33:02] this is happening. There is definitely a

[33:05] sense here that something bad is

[33:06] happening. We've heard uh reports that

[33:08] the Israeli air force has even dropped

[33:10] leaflets in the southern part of Beirut.

[33:13] That is where obviously the

[33:15] predominantly Muslim uh community lives

[33:17] and that supports Hezbollah. Dropping

[33:19] those leaflets urging the civilians to

[33:21] leave that area possibly because of

[33:23] course there might be some further

[33:25] military activity in that area as well.

[33:27] So there is a sense of uh apprehension

[33:29] here perhaps that the battle days here

[33:32] are quickly coming back specifically

[33:34] because Israel is hitting hard at the

[33:36] infrastructure that is hurting you know

[33:39] the civilian population here rather than

[33:41] just the Hezbollah militia. Allesio, the

[33:43] Israelis say that what they're doing is

[33:46] designed to put pressure on the Lebanese

[33:48] government to crack down on the

[33:50] Hezbollah militia to to stop them from

[33:53] launching rockets against northern

[33:55] Israel, going into northern Israel,

[33:57] killing and kidnapping Israeli soldiers.

[34:00] Is there any indication that the

[34:02] Lebanese government is responding to

[34:04] that and the Lebanese army is about to

[34:07] crack down on Hisbala?

[34:10] Well, first of all, the uh Lebanese

[34:12] government has acknowledged that he has

[34:14] no control over the southern part of uh

[34:16] of this country and therefore it has

[34:19] really very little leverage on the

[34:20] Hezbollah militia group and therefore

[34:22] very little power to bring about or at

[34:24] least to help to bring about uh an end

[34:27] to the current crisis. As far as the

[34:28] Lebanese army is concerned right now, we

[34:31] have no indication whatsoever that it

[34:33] will get involved into uh this mess

[34:36] right now. Uh again the the Lebanese

[34:38] government making it clear that while

[34:40] denouncing uh the attacks by Israel at

[34:43] the same time it is distancing himself

[34:45] from Hezbollah and from the kidnapping

[34:47] of the two Israeli soldiers. So no word

[34:50] whatsoever of an involvement yet from

[34:51] the regular army.

[34:53] >> All right Allesio stand by. We're going

[34:54] to be coming back to you. This could be

[34:56] a long long night in Beirut. Allesio

[34:59] Vinci reporting from the Lebanese

[35:01] capital. Much more on this story coming

[35:02] up. But there's another story we're

[35:04] watching right now. New developments

[35:06] this hour in the CIA leak controversy

[35:09] here in Washington. The CIA operative

[35:11] whose identity was leaked is now suing

[35:14] the vice president Dick Cheney. His

[35:16] former top aid Lewis Scooter Libby and

[35:18] presidential adviser Carl Rove. Let's

[35:20] bring in our CNN's Brian Todd. He's in

[35:22] the newsroom with details. Brian

[35:24] >> Wolf, we got the documents just a moment

[35:26] ago. Here they are right here. Valerie

[35:29] Pla Wilson, former CIA officer, and her

[35:31] husband, former US Ambassador Joe

[35:33] Wilson, filing suit in US District Court

[35:35] here in Washington, essentially con

[35:38] accusing Vice President Dick Cheney and

[35:40] others of conspiring, and the word

[35:42] conspiracy is used at least twice in

[35:44] these documents that I've seen of

[35:46] conspiring to ruin her career and that

[35:48] of her husband, former ambassador Joe

[35:50] Wilson. Cutting to the chase, the

[35:51] defendants listed in this lawsuit are

[35:54] Vice President Dick Cheney, his former

[35:56] top aid Lewis Scooter Libby, who is

[35:58] facing obstruction of justice and other

[36:00] charges relating to this case. Uh,

[36:02] Deputy White House Chief of Staff Carl

[36:04] Rove is also a defendant in this case.

[36:06] And uh also listed here defendants John

[36:09] Doe's numbers 1 to 10. And they

[36:11] characterize them as persons whose

[36:14] identities currently are unknown but who

[36:15] are believed to be persons who were

[36:17] either employed by the US government in

[36:19] senior positions or who were political

[36:21] operatives with close ties to those

[36:24] persons. They are seeking compensatory

[36:26] and punitive damages. No monetary amount

[36:29] listed. But in the injuries listed um to

[36:33] uh Valerie Plane Wilson and her husband

[36:35] Joe Wilson, uh they claim that the

[36:37] defendants uh as we said conspired to

[36:40] take away their constitutional rights.

[36:42] But it says here, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson

[36:44] have suffered gross invasions of

[36:45] privacy, that they fear for their safety

[36:47] and that of their children. That as a

[36:49] result of the defendant's actions, Mrs.

[36:51] Wilson was impaired in her ability to

[36:53] carry out her duties at the CIA and to

[36:55] pursue her career there. and also that

[36:57] she and former ambassador Wilson were

[37:00] impaired in their ability to seek

[37:02] professional opportunities elsewhere. Uh

[37:04] we have placed three calls to the vice

[37:06] president's office since we got these

[37:08] documents less than an hour ago. Not a

[37:10] formal response yet. We hope to get that

[37:12] very soon. We've also called former

[37:14] ambassador Wilson to get any further

[37:16] clarification and guidance on this

[37:17] lawsuit. He is not commenting this

[37:19] afternoon, but we understand that he is

[37:21] going to hold a news conference

[37:22] tomorrow. So again, just to repeat, Vice

[37:25] President Cheney, uh, Deputy White House

[37:27] Chief of Staff Carl Roe, Cheneyy's

[37:29] former top aid Lewis Scooter Libby are

[37:31] being sued in federal district court by

[37:34] former CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson

[37:36] and her husband, former US Ambassador

[37:38] Joe Wilson for essentially conspiring to

[37:40] ruin their careers. Wolf, just curious,

[37:43] Brian, do you have the name of the

[37:44] lawyer representing Valerie Pla Wilson

[37:47] and Ambassador Joe Wilson in this

[37:48] lawsuit?

[37:49] >> Let's see if I've got it here. Uh it uh

[37:53] there is a lawyer here listed as

[37:54] Christopher Wolf. Uh there's also

[37:56] another one listed as Charles Sims

[37:58] signed here uh on behalf of the

[38:01] plaintiffs. So we're going to try to

[38:02] contact them as well, but uh that's what

[38:05] we know now. Again, not a response from

[38:07] Vice President Dick Cheneyy's office

[38:09] just yet. We've called them several

[38:11] times. They're working on it. They're

[38:12] probably reading these documents as we

[38:13] speak. Chris Wolf is a well-known

[38:15] prominent Washington attorney. He's

[38:17] represented Valerie Plane Wilson for

[38:19] some time now. So, uh, he's obviously

[38:22] involved in this. I was just curious.

[38:24] Thanks, Brian, very much. We'll stay on

[38:26] top of this story. Up next, we're

[38:28] standing by, uh, for more on our

[38:30] breaking news coverage of the crisis in

[38:32] the Middle East. Also, we'll be speaking

[38:34] with the Israeli and the Syrian

[38:35] ambassadors to the United States. We'll

[38:37] be speaking live with them. We're also

[38:40] awaiting to hear from Condisa Rice, the

[38:42] Secretary of State, and the president's

[38:44] national security adviser, Steven

[38:46] Hadley. They're traveling with the

[38:47] president in Germany. They're going to

[38:49] be speaking with the reporters shortly.

[38:51] We'll get you that videotape soon as it

[38:53] comes in. Also ahead, we're going to

[38:55] take a closer look at the House Speaker

[38:57] skin ailment. The speaker, Dennis

[39:00] Hastard, has now been admitted to a

[39:02] Washington DC area hospital. We're going

[39:05] to tell you what's going on with the

[39:06] speaker of the House of Representatives,

[39:08] Dennis Hastard. Stay with us. You're in

[39:10] the situation.

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[40:50] Welcome back. We're continuing to cover

[40:52] all the breaking news from the Middle

[40:53] East this hour. Uh we're standing by to

[40:56] hear from Condisa Rice, the Secretary of

[40:58] State, as well as the president's

[41:00] national security adviser, Steven

[41:02] Hadley. They're briefing reporters right

[41:04] now in Germany, traveling with the

[41:06] president. Meanwhile, a leading senator

[41:09] today unveiled the bill that would

[41:11] require court review of the National

[41:13] Security AY's controversial domestic

[41:16] surveillance program. This is a

[41:18] potentially significant development.

[41:20] Let's bring in our congressional

[41:21] correspondent Andrea Cpple to update us

[41:23] on what's going on. Andrea

[41:25] >> Wolf, after months of insisting that he

[41:28] had inherent constitutional authority to

[41:31] authorize those secret warrantless

[41:33] wiretaps, President Bush has made an

[41:37] about face. He's made a significant

[41:39] shift. That according to the chairman of

[41:41] the judiciary committee, Arlland

[41:43] Spectre, who'd been digging in his heels

[41:45] for months, insisting that the Bush

[41:48] administration come around. Well,

[41:50] according to Arlland Spectre, he and

[41:52] President Bush met earlier this week,

[41:54] and President Bush told him he will sign

[41:55] off on proposed legislation to allow a

[41:59] secret federal court known as a FISA

[42:01] court to review the program to determine

[42:04] if it's constitutional.

[42:07] >> They're going to review it and they're

[42:08] going to decide if it's constitutional.

[42:11] The bill does also say if they decide

[42:13] it's not constitutional, the attorney

[42:15] general can revise it and submit a

[42:17] revised plan. But the court will have to

[42:19] determine constitutionality

[42:21] for it to continue to operate.

[42:24] >> Now, a White House spokeswoman, Dana

[42:26] Parino, confirmed the terms of this

[42:28] agreement with CNN, saying that

[42:31] President Bush recognized that this was

[42:33] an optional choice. It wasn't a

[42:35] mandatory decision that he submit this

[42:38] to the FISA court. Wolf, this could come

[42:41] uh up for debate as soon as next week.

[42:43] Wolf

[42:44] >> Andrea, thank you very much. Is the

[42:46] United States prepared to fend off a

[42:48] disabling cyber attack? The country's

[42:51] top cyber security official has yet to

[42:53] be named and today marks one year that

[42:55] that job has remained vacant. Standing

[42:58] by here in the situation room with the

[42:59] latest is our senior internet producer

[43:02] and cyber crime analyst Alex Wellen.

[43:04] What are we talking about? What what

[43:05] kind of threat is there out there?

[43:07] >> When we say a cyber threat disabling

[43:09] attack, it's like a cyber Pearl Harbor.

[43:11] That's what experts sometimes refer to

[43:12] it. critical infrastructure, banking,

[43:14] finance, security, transportation, all

[43:17] of those things. Could they be taken

[43:18] offline? And if not taken offline, what

[43:21] if we had a low-level attack, an

[43:23] explosion somewhere, and then hackers or

[43:25] the bad guys then took offline our

[43:27] emergency services? Then we'd find

[43:29] ourselves in a lot of problems.

[43:30] >> What's the problem? Why can't the uh the

[43:32] government find someone to be in charge?

[43:34] >> It's a hard job to fill and there aren't

[43:36] that many people who can do it. It's

[43:38] been about a year that this position has

[43:40] been open. And in addition to that,

[43:41] we've seen, you know, about a half dozen

[43:43] people go through this process and and

[43:46] ex and a mass exodus in that regard.

[43:48] What we are talking about right now

[43:50] though is that most people complain that

[43:52] what is happening with this department

[43:53] is it's not being treated as a priority.

[43:56] Not enough money is being given to it.

[43:58] It's not something where they're getting

[43:59] enough support and they can get to the

[44:00] most important players.

[44:02] >> You've spoken to the Department of

[44:03] Homeland Security. What are they saying?

[44:05] Well, and the fear of course, Wol, is

[44:06] that we'll have a Katrina type scenario

[44:08] where we don't have someone in the

[44:09] position. The Department of Homeland

[44:11] Security says there is someone in place

[44:13] who's been acting that they're very

[44:14] close to the final stages and this is a

[44:16] very difficult position to convince

[44:19] someone who's coming from a very high

[44:20] level in the private sector to make the

[44:22] sacrifices for this job. So, we'll have

[44:24] to watch very closely. What we don't

[44:25] want to happen is to be in a scenario

[44:27] like we are with FEMA in the past before

[44:30] Katrina where we don't have things in

[44:31] place if in fact we see a cyber or a

[44:34] disabling attack.

[44:35] >> Alex Wellen, thanks very much for that.

[44:37] Alex Wellings uh is our senior internet

[44:40] producer and cyber crime analysts.

[44:44] Coming up, we're going to continue to

[44:45] update you on all the latest

[44:46] developments uh involving the escalating

[44:49] violence in the Middle East. Uh we're

[44:51] standing by to speak with the Israeli

[44:53] and the Syrian ambassadors to the United

[44:55] States and then a detailed geographic

[44:58] look at the hot spots around the region.

[45:00] Stay with us. You're in the situation

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[47:19] CNN, the most trusted name in news.

[47:24] The fallout from the Middle East crisis

[47:26] now being felt around the world at the

[47:28] United Nations. The United States today

[47:30] vetoed a resolution condemning Israel

[47:32] for an ongoing uh excursion uh into

[47:35] Gaza. The US says the resolution was

[47:38] untimely in light of the current

[47:40] conflict between Israeli forces and

[47:42] Hisbala in Lebanon. Secretary of State

[47:45] Condlesa Rice, National Security Adviser

[47:48] Steven Hadley. They're briefing

[47:49] reporters in Germany about the explosive

[47:52] situation, the tensions in the region.

[47:54] We'll bring you those comments soon as

[47:56] we get them. And crude oil closed at a

[47:59] record high in trading in the United

[48:01] States, closing at $76.70

[48:05] a barrel. Clearly, all of that involved

[48:08] in what's going on in the Middle East.

[48:10] Let's get a close-up view of this

[48:12] crisis. Before that, as always, we turn

[48:14] to CNN's Tom Foreman. Tom,

[48:16] >> you're hitting the nail on the head

[48:17] here, Wolf. Really, the whole world

[48:19] right now is getting very involved in 40

[48:22] miles and many years of disagreements.

[48:24] What are the 40 miles? Well, let's move

[48:26] in here and take a look at all of this.

[48:28] This is where all of this trouble has

[48:29] been breaking out along this border

[48:31] here, where Israel is down here.

[48:32] Lebanon's north. This is the border

[48:34] where the initial trouble broke out to

[48:36] begin with. It's about 40 m long and

[48:39] this is where these soldiers were taken

[48:41] in this brief encourage. About 40 miles

[48:43] end to end and yet all along this border

[48:45] all sorts of trouble today. One of the

[48:47] biggest strikes that we've been paying

[48:48] attention to all day has been up here in

[48:50] Lebanon to the north specifically at the

[48:53] airport, the Beirut airport. Let's move

[48:55] in and look at that. Israeli war

[48:58] plananes went in and struck earlier

[48:59] today and specifically they took out

[49:02] these runways

[49:04] along the airport there. That was

[49:05] earlier this morning. Then after rockets

[49:08] landed in Israel, which they believe

[49:10] were fired by the the forces in the

[49:13] southern part of the country here, then

[49:14] they went back and they struck again.

[49:16] This time they hit fuel storage, which

[49:18] we believe is right over here. This is

[49:20] what you've seen burning on TV all day.

[49:22] Big time, burning in the night. Fuel

[49:23] storage normally alongside airports.

[49:25] That's what was hit. But the bombs and

[49:28] and rockets have been flying all day

[49:29] here. Right now, Israel has set up a

[49:31] blockade off the coast here. The idea

[49:34] behind hitting the airport and

[49:36] blockading sea supplies is because

[49:38] Israel says basically that's how

[49:40] supplies are being brought in to the

[49:42] people who are operating out of the

[49:44] southern part of the country. Those are

[49:46] the people thereafter. Down in Israel

[49:47] today, of course, there were many hits

[49:49] as the various rockets came in. We had

[49:52] hits in Safed in Naharia up here closer

[49:54] to the border. And the furthest that

[49:57] missiles have gone in a long, long time,

[49:59] maybe ever, um, was all the way down to

[50:01] Hifa down here, a port city of about

[50:03] 300,000 people. So, there have been

[50:05] many, many other explosions, many, many

[50:07] other problems on both sides of the

[50:09] border here all day long, and it just

[50:12] keeps escalating and escalating, at

[50:13] least at this point.

[50:14] >> And it looks like it's not going to

[50:15] stop, at least anytime soon. Thanks very

[50:17] much, Tom, for that. Up next, more on

[50:20] the Middle East crisis. It's an all too

[50:21] familiar situation in a region rocked

[50:24] for so long by so much violence. CNN's

[50:27] Jeff Greenfield standing by. He'll

[50:28] consider whether there's still any room

[50:31] for hope. And at the top of the hour,

[50:34] live reports from the region on the

[50:35] latest fighting between Israeli forces

[50:37] at Hisba Gerilla. Stay with us. You're

[50:40] in the situation room.

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[52:46] New attacks between Israel and his bulla

[52:48] gerillas are a grim reminder that the

[52:50] Middle East is and has long been a

[52:52] powder keg waiting to explode. Let's

[52:55] turn to CNN senior analyst Jeff

[52:57] Greenfield. Jeff

[53:00] >> Wolf, it's a headline we probably ought

[53:02] to keep in our most active file.

[53:04] Violence, tensions, rise in the Middle

[53:06] East. And unpleasant as it may be to say

[53:08] this, it may be time for an airing of

[53:10] unblinkered, full throttle pessimism.

[53:15] Wait, the optimist in me says, remember

[53:18] when Egypt Sedat went to Jerusalem in

[53:20] 1977? The year after he and Israel's

[53:22] bean met with Jimmy Carter and renounced

[53:24] war. There's been no full-scale conflict

[53:26] in the region since. Yes. And in 1981,

[53:29] Saddat paid for that exercise in courage

[53:31] with his life, killed by extremists in

[53:34] his own country.

[53:36] Well, didn't Israel's Rabine reach out

[53:38] to Yaser Arafat and Bill Clinton and

[53:40] exchange mutual recognition with the

[53:42] PLO? each of them.

[53:44] >> Yes. And in 1995, Rabbine paid for that

[53:46] courage with his life killed by an

[53:48] extremist in his own country. More

[53:50] broadly, there are enough pictures of

[53:52] enough meetings and conferences and

[53:54] peace plans and working papers and road

[53:56] maps to fill warehouses.

[54:00] But then, inevitably, it seems come the

[54:02] other pictures. Rockets and suicide

[54:05] bombers and reprisals where civilians

[54:07] die.

[54:11] A little more than two weeks ago, I was

[54:13] in Petra, Jordan at a conference of

[54:15] Nobel laureates convened by Jordan's

[54:16] King Abdullah II and Elie Visel.

[54:19] Palestinian Authority Mimmude Abbas and

[54:21] Israel Prime Minister Omeir came,

[54:23] breakfasted, shook hands, pledged more

[54:25] meetings.

[54:29] >> And then came the rockets and the

[54:30] kidnappings and the air strikes and the

[54:32] real threat of a regionwide conflict.

[54:35] >> This agreement is the lip forward. Look,

[54:38] we know old conflicts can't end when

[54:41] leaders have the will and the authority

[54:42] to preside over historic change. We saw

[54:45] it when South Africa's decler said

[54:47] enough to apartate in racial supremacy

[54:49] and sat down with Nelson Mandela to

[54:51] negotiate a peaceful revolution.

[54:55] We saw it when Gorbachev saw the Berlin

[54:57] Wall fall and did not send troops in to

[54:59] preserve a crippled empire and began the

[55:01] process of dismantling the Soviet Union

[55:03] itself.

[55:05] We thought we had seen it so many times

[55:07] in the Middle East and so many times

[55:09] those wishes turned out to be little

[55:11] more than wishful thinking. There may be

[55:13] a logical, rational way to resolve a

[55:15] conflict when both sides believe God

[55:17] gave them the same piece of land, but

[55:19] right now it's a little hard to glimpse

[55:20] that through the smoke and the fire and

[55:22] the blood. Wolf

[55:24] >> Jeff Greenfield, thank you very much. Up

[55:26] next, Jack Ka with your email. Has

[55:29] Israel overreacted to what's going on?

[55:32] Also at the top of the hour, much more

[55:34] of our breaking news coverage. I'll

[55:36] speak live with the Israeli and the

[55:37] Syrian ambassadors to the United States.

[55:40] We'll be right back.

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[57:46] We'll go right to Jack in New York with

[57:47] the copyr file. Jack

[57:48] >> Wolf, the question this hour is, has

[57:50] Israel overreacted to the kidnapping of

[57:52] three of its soldiers? Lot of mail. Arie

[57:55] wrote, "No, Israel's not overreacted.

[57:57] What would any other nation do if

[57:59] rockets were continually being fired

[58:01] into their country from the other side

[58:02] of the border? And if their soldiers

[58:04] were kidnapped, how would any other

[58:06] nation react after hundreds and hundreds

[58:08] of individual terrorist attacks targeted

[58:11] their civilians in buses, malls, bus

[58:13] stations, pizza shops, and restaurants?

[58:16] Ed, in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania,

[58:18] yes, Israel has overreacted in a big

[58:20] way. The government of Lebanon is

[58:22] powerless to prevent the terrorists, and

[58:24] by attacking them, Israel's making

[58:26] themselves the aggressor in the

[58:28] situation. Did Britain invade the

[58:30] Republic of Ireland when the IRA

[58:32] attacked in London? John and Min Georgia

[58:34] writes, "If this were the first time

[58:36] that an Arab state had attacked Israel,

[58:38] then yes, it would be an overreaction."

[58:40] However, Israel has had to deal with the

[58:42] bias and prejudice against them from the

[58:44] entire region for decades. And I think

[58:46] they finally just had it. To be honest,

[58:48] Jack, I don't think I blame them. Kyle

[58:50] in Flint, Michigan, the answer is

[58:52] absolutely. Israel has the right to be

[58:54] upset, but not to go and start blowing

[58:56] people up. Both sides seem to be making

[58:58] rash decisions that do nothing but get

[59:00] innocent people killed. Don in

[59:02] Jacksonville, Florida, what would you do

[59:04] if you were in their place, surrounded

[59:06] on all sides by Arab countries that want

[59:08] to eliminate them? I sometimes wonder if

[59:10] the United States should have their

[59:11] attitude. And D, in Krooksville, Ohio,

[59:14] escalating things into an all-out war

[59:16] seems to be an overreaction, but I'm

[59:18] just an American. What do I know? We

[59:20] bombed the heck out of Iraq when we

[59:21] couldn't find the cave where Bin Laden

[59:23] was hiding. Maybe everyone in the world

[59:25] politics needs to take some anger

[59:26] management courses. That's probably a

[59:28] good idea. Wolf,

[59:30] >> what a story. Jack, thanks very much.

[59:32] Jack Ka in in New York. And to our

[59:34] viewers, you're in the situation room

[59:36] where new pictures and information are

[59:38] arriving all the time. Standing by, CNN

[59:40] reporters across the United States and

[59:42] around the world to bring you today's

[59:44] top stories. Happening now, unending

[59:48] strikes and counter strikes, kidnappings

[59:50] and killings. Could blistering tensions

[59:52] in the Middle East soon cause an all-out

[59:54] war? Rockets fired from Lebanon reach

[59:57] deep into Israel? Israel is blasting

[60:00] right back, pounding hundreds of targets

[60:02] in Lebanon. And still, two Israeli

[60:04] soldiers are missing in Lebanon. Now,

[60:07] Israel fears Hisbella guerillas could

[60:09] take them to Iran. I'll speak this hour

[60:13] with the Israeli and the Syrian

[60:14] ambassadors to the United States about

[60:16] these extreme escalations and oil prices

[60:20] surging right now to all-time highs.

[60:23] We'll tell you how Middle East tensions

[60:25] are causing panic among supplies. I'm

[60:28] Will Blitzer. You're in the situation

[60:30] room.

[60:47] All day the scene of bitter battles. For

[60:49] the first time ever, rockets from

[60:51] Lebanon hit deep into Israeli territory.

[60:54] Hifa is Israel's third largest city just

[60:57] 30 miles from the Lebanese border. His

[60:59] bulla denies today's rockets were its

[61:03] officials say the rocket launches caused

[61:05] no casualties. Right now, Israel's

[61:08] pounding away inside Lebanon. Israeli

[61:10] warplanes and artilleries are hitting

[61:12] hundreds of targets, including Beirut's

[61:14] international airport and a Lebanese TV

[61:17] station affiliated with Hezbollah.

[61:19] Meanwhile, Hezbollah is responding by

[61:21] lobbing dozens of missiles into northern

[61:24] Israel, reportedly killing two Israelis.

[61:26] Lebanese officials say 47 people have

[61:29] died since yesterday. And only moments

[61:31] ago, the United States vetoed a

[61:33] resolution that criticized Israel for

[61:36] its attacks in Gaza. The scale, the

[61:39] scope, the significance of this extreme

[61:41] escalation like nothing seen in the

[61:43] region in some years. CNN has reporters

[61:47] covering all the angles. CNN's Ed Henry,

[61:50] he's standing by. He's traveling with

[61:52] the president in Germany. Allesia Vinci

[61:54] is in Beirut. Let's go to Hifer first.

[61:57] CNN's John Voss with the latest from

[61:59] there. John

[62:04] Wolf. The Israeli military says two

[62:06] Hezbollah rockets hit this port city

[62:08] within the last few hours. It is the

[62:10] first time ever Hezbollah missiles have

[62:13] reached so deep inside Israeli

[62:15] territory. There are no casualties. But

[62:17] the Israeli government says this attack

[62:19] is a major escalation. Hezbollah though

[62:22] says the missiles were not theirs

[62:24] despite just hours earlier warning to

[62:26] carry out just such an attack. The

[62:28] militant group though has claimed

[62:30] responsibility for about 100 rocket

[62:32] attacks on Israeli towns and cities in

[62:34] the north. The tourist town of Naharia

[62:37] was hit twice. Once in the morning, once

[62:39] in the evening. At least one person was

[62:41] killed there. And the town of Ted, home

[62:44] of Israel's northern command, has also

[62:46] come under fire. Seven Kusha rockets

[62:49] there, killing at least one person.

[62:51] Israel's military offensive continues

[62:53] across Lebanon with air strikes. Its

[62:55] navy is blockading the coast and

[62:57] artillery continues to pound Hezbollah

[63:00] positions in the south of Lebanon.

[63:02] Israel's defense minister says this is

[63:04] now about more than winning the freedom

[63:06] of two kidnapped Israeli soldiers.

[63:08] Israel wants to drive Hezbollah

[63:10] militants out of southern Lebanon and

[63:13] ensure they never return. Wolf,

[63:15] >> how are the people in Hifa reacting,

[63:17] John, to the this attack uh on the city

[63:20] of Hifa?

[63:27] Unfortunately, I don't think John Voss

[63:29] can hear me, but let's let's we'll get

[63:31] back to John Voss shortly. CNN's White

[63:33] House correspondent Ed Henry is

[63:35] traveling with the president in Germany.

[63:37] Uh Ed, fill us in on what the Secretary

[63:39] of State Condisa Rice is telling

[63:41] reporters.

[63:44] >> Wolf, it's just after 11 p.m. here in

[63:46] Germany. We were expecting the White

[63:48] House to turn in for the night, but

[63:49] suddenly Secretary of State Condisa

[63:50] Rice, the National Security Adviser,

[63:52] Steven Hadley, came out, spoke to spoke

[63:54] to a small group of reporters near where

[63:56] I am now. We heard the audio. We have

[63:58] not gotten the tape yet. We'll have that

[63:59] shortly. But basically, Secretary Rice

[64:02] was trying to tamp the situation down,

[64:04] calm everyone down, pointing out that

[64:06] the administration is paying close

[64:07] attention to what's happening in

[64:08] happening in the M East. But she said

[64:10] the White House doesn't want to get into

[64:11] apocalyptic scenarios. uh they don't

[64:14] want people to think this is going to

[64:15] spiral out of control. They're trying to

[64:18] calm the situation down as much as

[64:20] possible. She said the White House is

[64:21] following the diplomatic efforts minute

[64:24] by minute, but this is coming at a time

[64:26] when the president has a lot of other

[64:28] foreign policy challenges.

[64:31] >> Chancellor Angela Merkel trying to make

[64:33] the visiting Texan feel at home with a

[64:35] German barbecue. First one to carve up

[64:38] the boar that's been roasting for hours.

[64:41] Thank you. Thrilled to be here. Thank

[64:42] you.

[64:44] But in advance of the G8 summit,

[64:46] President Bush is trying to shed the

[64:48] tough guy image, playing nice on the

[64:50] world stage. While the White House is

[64:52] ripping Iran and Syria for escalating

[64:55] violence in the Middle East,

[64:56] >> it's really sad where people are willing

[64:59] to take innocent life in order to stop

[65:01] that progress.

[65:03] As a matter of fact, it's pathetic.

[65:05] >> The president still tried to play the

[65:07] role of peacemaker and find some middle

[65:10] ground. Israel has a right to defend

[65:11] herself.

[65:14] Every nation must defend herself against

[65:18] terrorist attacks

[65:20] and the killing of innocent life.

[65:22] Whatever Israel does though should

[65:24] should not weaken the Sonora government

[65:25] in Lebanon.

[65:28] We're concerned about the fragile

[65:30] democracy in Lebanon. And the president

[65:32] sounded downright differential to the

[65:34] United Nations when pressed on how long

[65:36] the security council has to sanction

[65:39] Iran over its nuclear program.

[65:41] >> Oh well, they got plenty of time. I

[65:43] mean, the UN Security Council, they got

[65:44] time to react.

[65:45] >> Compare that to the president in March

[65:47] of 2003, pressed on whether he had to

[65:50] wait for the UN before launching the war

[65:52] in Iraq. I'm confident the American

[65:55] people understand that when it comes to

[65:56] our security um

[65:59] um if we need to act, we will act and we

[66:03] really don't need United Nations

[66:05] approval to do so.

[66:06] >> But now on hotspots like North Korea, a

[66:09] cautious president has changed his tune.

[66:12] >> I'm hopeful that we can get some UN

[66:14] action on North Korea.

[66:15] >> The shift has come because the

[66:17] president's image around the world has

[66:19] been battered. The president has to come

[66:21] sort of with his hat in hand doing the

[66:23] rounds and hope that others are willing

[66:25] to listen.

[66:29] >> Now, in this briefing with reporters

[66:30] just a few moments ago, Secretary Rice

[66:32] hit Syria hard, accusing them of

[66:34] sheltering terrorists from Hezbollah.

[66:36] She also said, quote, "Syria has to act

[66:38] responsibly, bring all pressure to those

[66:41] it is harboring." Wol Henry traveling

[66:44] with the president. Thanks very much.

[66:46] And joining us here in the situation

[66:47] room to discuss all of this, the

[66:49] escalation and the violence is Israel's

[66:51] ambassador to the United States, Daniel

[66:53] Iyon. Mr. Ambassador, thanks for coming

[66:54] in.

[66:55] >> You're welcome, Wolf.

[66:56] >> Uh you earlier were threatening Syria

[66:59] and Iran for what is happening along the

[67:01] border between Israel and Lebanon. What

[67:04] are you going to do about this?

[67:05] >> Well, absolutely. They are very much uh

[67:07] responsible for the major escalation

[67:09] that we see. And if we connect the dots

[67:11] of what happened uh in Gaza with kamas

[67:13] operation just two weeks ago, what's

[67:15] happening with theaha

[67:18] what's happening in Damascus uh we see

[67:20] that there is a drive by Damascus and

[67:23] Thran to upset things in the Middle East

[67:25] uh divert attention from the nuclear

[67:27] ambition and the program that they're

[67:28] working on uh in Thran and to upset any

[67:31] chance for political dialogue. I think

[67:34] it is a high time for the international

[67:36] community to call Iran and Syria to the

[67:39] task and make them understand that there

[67:42] will be consequences that they will pay

[67:44] and I think with a unified international

[67:46] position now with the upcoming of the G8

[67:48] uh at the UN. I think it will be very

[67:50] very effective uh to to uh stop the the

[67:54] escalation. We heard at the last hour

[67:56] the US ambassador to Iraq, Zme

[67:58] Khalilzad, make a very similar point

[68:00] that the Iranians are trying to uh

[68:03] deflect the tension from their own

[68:04] nuclear program, the criticism it's

[68:06] facing by uh perhaps using its influence

[68:09] with Hezbollah and Hamas to change the

[68:12] subject to show that they have a card as

[68:14] well. But let me rephrase the question.

[68:17] What can you do Israel against Syria and

[68:21] Iran if in fact as you suggest they are

[68:24] responsible for this situation? Cuz so

[68:27] far what we've seen are attacks against

[68:29] various Hisbala targets or other targets

[68:31] in Lebanon.

[68:32] >> Well, a lot can be done. We hope that

[68:35] the diplomatic efforts uh will suffice

[68:37] and I think they they will. But our main

[68:40] problem now is the Kushas, the rockets

[68:43] ofaha from the north and this is what we

[68:45] have to stop. We have re been receiving

[68:47] shells in Hifa in our major towns in the

[68:50] north and this has to stop and this is

[68:52] our main concentration now is to uh to

[68:54] deal withaha to really defang them in

[68:57] such a way that they will not a be able

[68:59] to perpetrate such terror attacks and

[69:01] escalation.

[69:02] >> What was the point of taking out the

[69:04] three runways at Beirut's international

[69:06] airport? very simple to make sure that

[69:09] there will not be an uh ongoing uh

[69:12] supply flow from Syria from Thran to the

[69:16] using the airport. They're using other

[69:18] ways as well which we will have to take

[69:20] care of. But uh the airport was uh one

[69:23] of the outlets or inlets of equipments

[69:26] and explosives to the to the uh we were

[69:29] quite careful this runways and there are

[69:31] no basic infrastructures that were hurt.

[69:34] So things can be uh amended there quite

[69:37] easily but right now the objective is to

[69:40] uh deny theah arms from Syria and from

[69:45] Iran. We did see an attack, a second

[69:47] attack at the Beirut airport that went

[69:49] over a after oil storage facilities,

[69:52] huge explosions there. The idea right

[69:56] now is, as I mentioned, to neutralize

[69:58] and we will not allow the to be back on

[70:00] our borders. Actually what we are trying

[70:02] to to arrange is for the uh the exercise

[70:06] and the implementation of UN security

[70:08] council resolutions 1559 1680 which

[70:12] called specifically for disarming theaha

[70:15] and for the Lebanese uh army and

[70:18] government to exercise their control all

[70:20] the way over their territory up to our

[70:22] northern border. If this is the case, I

[70:24] think all of us will benefit from these

[70:27] very trying hours and days that we are

[70:29] enduring right now. Should authorities

[70:31] in Syria and Iran be worried about

[70:33] Israeli air strikes?

[70:35] >> Well, Wolf, it's not our customs to uh

[70:38] make all kinds of uh threats. Certainly

[70:40] not uh over the uh this medium.

[70:44] Certainly, we will not discuss any

[70:46] contingencies plans. But I would say it

[70:49] is high time for Syria and Iran to stop

[70:52] playing with fire. And I think there

[70:53] should be consequences. And I think the

[70:55] international community understand that

[70:56] there should be consequences if we do

[70:59] not want to see a further deterioration

[71:01] in the Middle East, further escalation.

[71:03] You were quite right, Wolf, to mention

[71:05] that the Iranians and also the Syrians

[71:07] would like to deflect attention from

[71:09] what they are doing on the nuclear

[71:10] ambitions. Also, they would like to

[71:12] advance their cause and Iran would like

[71:14] to see an Islamic radical Islamic Middle

[71:18] East Allah

[71:20] Iran style and they are advancing their

[71:22] pawns right now and we must stop them

[71:24] and this is what we will do.

[71:26] >> One final question uh before I let you

[71:28] go. We just heard Conda Rice suggest

[71:30] that Israel should exercise restraint

[71:33] right now and she's especially concerned

[71:35] about the destabilization potentially of

[71:37] the Lebanese government. Do you want to

[71:39] respond to that? Well, we have been

[71:41] quite restrained. Uh, if you look at the

[71:43] last six years since the abduction of

[71:45] our three soldiers back in September

[71:47] 2000, and this was after our full pull

[71:49] out from Lebanon, there is not one inch

[71:51] of Lebanon that we occupy. And for them

[71:53] to do what they did, I think they

[71:55] misinterpreted mis misinterpreted our uh

[71:58] um restraint for the last six years. If

[72:00] we do not want to see further

[72:02] escalation, deterioration, violence,

[72:05] this is the time to stop the and what

[72:07] we're doing is the most effective to

[72:09] stop them.

[72:10] >> One of your Israeli colleagues today in

[72:11] Jerusalem suggested that they had

[72:13] indications that the Hisbala was going

[72:16] to try to transfer those two kidnapped

[72:17] Israeli soldiers to Iran. Is that true?

[72:21] >> It is true. And this goes to show again

[72:23] of the direct contact and connections

[72:25] between theah and Iran. in Syria, Kamas,

[72:30] Syria, Kamas, Iran. We're talking here

[72:32] about a network of organizations and

[72:35] countries who would like to destabilize

[72:37] the entire Middle East. We will not let

[72:40] them.

[72:40] >> The ambassador of Israel to the United

[72:42] States, Daniel, thanks for coming in.

[72:44] >> Thank you.

[72:44] >> And we're going to be hearing Syria's

[72:46] side of the story in just a moment. The

[72:48] Syrian ambassador to the United States,

[72:49] Immad Mustafa, he's standing by to join

[72:52] us live right here in the situation room

[72:54] as well. In the meantime, let's check

[72:56] back with Jack. He's got the caerty

[72:58] file. Jack,

[72:59] >> interesting political development today,

[73:01] Wolf. The White House has now agreed,

[73:03] apparently, to a court review of the NSA

[73:06] domestic eavesdropping program. That's

[73:08] big of them, don't you think? Senator

[73:10] Arlland Spectre says President Bush will

[73:13] sign a bill that would authorize the

[73:15] FISA court to review the

[73:17] constitutionality of the program.

[73:19] Spectre says this is quote a recognition

[73:21] by the president that he does not have a

[73:23] blank check unquote. But Democratic

[73:26] Senator Patrick Lehey calls the

[73:27] legislation quote an interesting

[73:30] bargain. Lehey says it's like the

[73:32] president saying, "If you do every

[73:33] single thing I tell you to do, then I'll

[73:36] do what I should have done anyway."

[73:38] Lehey is making reference, of course, to

[73:40] the laws that are already on the books

[73:42] about all of this, which up to this

[73:44] point have been ignored by the

[73:45] administration. Meanwhile, the White

[73:48] House says it doesn't think any of this

[73:49] is necessary, but it's willing to work

[73:52] with Congress. Can you tell the midterm

[73:54] elections are getting closer? Here's the

[73:56] question. Why has the White House agreed

[73:58] to let a special court review the NSA

[74:01] domestic surveillance program? Email

[74:03] your thoughts to cafferty file at

[74:05] CNN.com or go to cnn.com/cafertyfile.

[74:09] Wolf

[74:10] >> Jack, thanks for that. Uh up next,

[74:13] Israel says uh it that Hezbollah is

[74:16] behind the rocket attacks into northern

[74:18] Israel, but what role are Syria and Iran

[74:22] playing in the growing Middle East

[74:23] crisis? The Syrian ambassador to the

[74:25] United States standing by to join us

[74:27] live right here in the situation room.

[74:29] Also, could the US military soon be

[74:32] playing a role? We'll go live to the

[74:33] Pentagon for details of contingency

[74:36] plans being drawn up right now. Plus,

[74:39] we're going to show you how the violence

[74:40] in the Middle East could affect all of

[74:42] us in the matter of days. Rising gas

[74:45] prices. What can we expect? Stay with

[74:48] us. You're in the situation.

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[77:03] >> Heidi Bloom takes you inside Project

[77:04] Runway and takes your calls. Larry

[77:06] Gibbs, CNN tomorrow, 9 Eastern.

[77:10] Welcome back. Events are moving very

[77:12] quickly in the Middle East right now as

[77:14] escalating violence is driving Israel

[77:16] and Lebanon to the brink of war. We're

[77:19] following all the latest developments

[77:21] right now. Just a short time ago, the

[77:23] Secretary of State Condisa Rice spoke

[77:25] out on the crisis, saying, and I'm

[77:27] quoting now, "It's extremely important

[77:29] for Israel to show restraint." The

[77:31] United States today vetoed a UN Security

[77:33] Council resolution condemning Israel's

[77:36] earlier incursion into Gaza. Meanwhile,

[77:39] the price of oil is surging just hours

[77:41] ago in New York. US crude futures closed

[77:44] at almost $77 a barrel. That is a

[77:47] record. We're monitoring all of the

[77:49] escalating Middle East uh crisis

[77:52] situation and questions about the role

[77:55] specifically that Syria and Iran could

[77:57] be playing. Our national security

[77:59] correspondent David Enor has been

[78:01] investigating. He's joining us with the

[78:03] story. David.

[78:04] >> Wolf. Even as senior officials with the

[78:06] president in Europe are advising

[78:08] reporters not to use apocalypt

[78:10] apocalyptic language about the situation

[78:12] in the Middle East, officials back here

[78:14] who are monitoring it are very

[78:16] concerned.

[78:18] As Israel bombed Beirut airport

[78:23] and Lebanese bridges, US and Israeli

[78:25] officials charge that Iran and Syria are

[78:28] partially responsible for the rocket

[78:30] attacks and the seizures of Israeli

[78:32] soldiers.

[78:34] And as Israel moved forces into the

[78:36] Lebanese border area, President Bush

[78:38] issued a warning to Syria.

[78:40] >> Syria needs to be held to account.

[78:44] Syria is housing the militant wing of

[78:46] Hamas.

[78:48] Hezbollah has got an active presence in

[78:51] Syria.

[78:52] >> You know, we support any people who is

[78:55] under occupation and who is seeking to

[78:57] recapture it is its occupied land. US

[79:00] intelligence officials say weapons for

[79:02] Hezbollah from Iran transit through

[79:04] Syria. Some analysts argue that Iran

[79:07] more than Syria may be behind the

[79:09] actions of both Hamas and Hezbollah.

[79:12] Iran is behind Hezbollah and Hamas. And

[79:16] Iran is at the moment the focus of the

[79:19] G8 attention as we go to the summit in

[79:21] Russia because of its nuclear program.

[79:23] So, it's very convenient for Iran to

[79:25] derail that process by having all of us

[79:28] focus on what's happening in Lebanon.

[79:30] >> But other analysts said Hamas and

[79:32] Hezbollah may be acting against Israel

[79:35] for their own reasons.

[79:37] >> While there is influence coming from the

[79:39] outside, uh there is no indication

[79:41] really that this is a direct consequence

[79:45] is the attack on on the Israeli um

[79:48] military was a direct consequence of

[79:50] some instructions coming from Iran.

[79:53] Whether it's Iran, Syria, or Hamas and

[79:55] Hezbollah making their own decisions,

[79:57] there is deep concern in Washington

[79:59] tonight that the situation could spiral

[80:01] out of control. A distraction,

[80:03] deliberate or not, from the issue of

[80:04] Iran's nuclear program, which was

[80:07] expected to dominate the G8 summit in

[80:09] St. Petersburg this weekend. Wol.

[80:11] >> All right, David, thank you very much.

[80:12] Let's get some more. Now, for that,

[80:14] we're joined by Syria's ambassador to

[80:16] the United States, Immad Mustafa. Mr.

[80:18] Ambassador, thanks for coming in. I

[80:20] >> uh you heard earlier from the Israeli

[80:23] ambassador Daniel I alone that Iran and

[80:26] Syria right now or in his words are

[80:28] playing with fire and it could have

[80:30] serious consequences. How worried are

[80:33] you that Israel could take retaliatory

[80:36] action against targets in Syria?

[80:39] >> Uh well of course this is preposterous.

[80:41] It's the the only party to blame for the

[80:43] escalation of violence in the Middle

[80:45] East is Israel itself with its

[80:47] continuous occupation and with the

[80:49] atrocities it has committed against the

[80:51] Palestinians particularly in the past

[80:53] two months. Uh now uh suddenly it is

[80:57] Damascus once again and it's Iran once

[81:00] again. Who who's to blame for the

[81:02] results of their occupation? But you

[81:03] acknowledge that it was in recent days

[81:05] in the along the border between Israel

[81:07] and Lebanon that Hisbala gerillas,

[81:10] crossed into Israel, killed some Israeli

[81:13] soldiers, kidnapped two others, took

[81:15] them back into Lebanon. Isn't that an

[81:17] act of war?

[81:18] >> Look, for for the past past decade at

[81:21] least, the Israelis have abducted many

[81:23] Lebanese. They are still in the Israeli

[81:25] prisons. Hasbah has repeatedly demanded

[81:28] in the past six months that the Israelis

[81:30] should release their prisoners. The

[81:32] Israelis have done even worse things in

[81:34] the past.

[81:34] >> Israel withdrew from Lebanon 6 years

[81:36] ago.

[81:37] >> Not all of Lebanon. The Shabba farms are

[81:39] still under that Syria that your

[81:42] government says is part of Syria.

[81:43] >> The most No, we don't say we never have

[81:45] said this is a part of Syria. We have

[81:46] always said this is a part of Lebanon.

[81:48] But most importantly, Israel continues

[81:50] to to have Lebanese prisoners in its

[81:53] prisons and Israel continues to infringe

[81:55] on the Lebanese sovereignty uh

[81:57] continuously. It has done this in the

[81:59] without any ceation in the past 2 three

[82:02] years.

[82:03] >> I don't want to get into a debate over

[82:04] Sheba farms right now. It's a very

[82:06] complicated small little area.

[82:08] >> But but do you justify Hezbollah going

[82:10] in in recent days and starting this

[82:13] escalating

[82:14] justify is that the for the whole world

[82:17] to sit silently watching Israel doing

[82:19] whatever it wants to do. In the past two

[82:21] weeks, Israel have have have killed many

[82:23] many Palestinian civilians. Today,

[82:25] Israel has killed tens and tens of

[82:27] Lebanese civilians. Thou families were

[82:30] wiped out completely. And and what

[82:32] happens the United States and this is

[82:34] very important. You have to compare the

[82:36] attitude of this administration to the

[82:38] past attitudes of all all past

[82:41] administrations.

[82:41] >> Does the Syrian does the Syrian

[82:43] government want these Hezbollah

[82:45] militants to give up those two Israeli

[82:48] soldiers and to calm the situation down?

[82:50] Hasbah has said they want to exchange

[82:53] their imprisoned soldiers with the

[82:55] imprisoned Lebanese. Do you support

[82:56] that? Do

[82:57] >> you agree with me that the Lebanese

[82:58] prisoners are also human beings equal to

[83:00] the Israeli soldiers?

[83:02] >> But do you support that position?

[83:03] >> What we support what we support is the

[83:05] following. We want a comprehensive

[83:06] solution to the problem in the Middle

[83:08] East. Israel has stop has to stop its

[83:10] occupation of the Arab territories.

[83:12] Israel has to understand that it cannot

[83:14] go on forever with immunity doing

[83:16] whatever it wants to do. Only last week

[83:18] they went into the Palestinian

[83:20] territories. They abducted the Israelis.

[83:22] Tens of civilians from Palestine,

[83:24] cabinet ministers, elected members of

[83:26] the parliament. Nobody gave a damn about

[83:28] what the Israelis are doing. Once two

[83:30] Israeli soldiers are are captured by

[83:32] Hzbollah. Look, look at the reaction.

[83:34] And the stereotypical reaction of this

[83:36] administration is to blame Syria. In the

[83:38] past, you know what the US

[83:40] administration would have done? It would

[83:41] have sent envoys to the Middle East. It

[83:43] would have mediated. It would have

[83:45] calmed down the situation. She wasn't

[83:47] just blaming Syria. They're blaming

[83:48] Iran, too.

[83:49] >> Yes. Yes. This administration typically

[83:51] would only blame other parties and they

[83:53] would do nothing. This flagrant bias

[83:55] towards Israel is not helping the

[83:57] situation in the Middle East. Do you

[83:59] heard maybe you didn't hear what the US

[84:01] ambassador to Iraq Zme Khalil Zad said

[84:03] in the last hour here in the situation

[84:05] something similar that the Israeli

[84:06] ambassador Daniel Ion said almost the

[84:09] same thing that they sense that Iran

[84:12] under great pressure to suspend its

[84:14] nuclear activities is trying to change

[84:16] the subject now by go by allowing or

[84:18] encouraging Hisbala and Hamas to go

[84:21] ahead and uh kidnap Israeli soldiers.

[84:24] >> There's a dichotomy here. What we say is

[84:26] the following. Israel is trying to

[84:27] divert attention to what it has been

[84:29] doing to the Palestinians since Hamas

[84:31] was elected democratically by the

[84:33] Palestinian people. Israel has has

[84:36] driven the Palestinian economy into

[84:38] collapse. Israel has killed tens and

[84:41] tens of Israeli civilians including men,

[84:43] women and children in the past 3 four

[84:45] months and everything that is happening

[84:48] has Israel to blame because Israel

[84:50] continues to occupy the Palestinian

[84:52] territory. Is there an alliance now in

[84:54] effect between Syria and Iran?

[84:57] >> No, there is no alliance. Iran is our

[85:00] regional neighbor. We have good

[85:01] relations with all of our neighbors,

[85:04] Iran, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt. We we want

[85:07] good relations with everybody.

[85:09] Repeatedly repeatedly, we have invited

[85:11] Israel itself to engage in peace talks

[85:14] with us. It was Israel who categorically

[85:16] refused because Israel does not want

[85:18] peace to prevail in the Middle East.

[85:20] border between Israel and Lebanon had

[85:22] been very peaceful in recent years since

[85:24] the relatively peaceful since the

[85:25] Israeli withdrawal in the year 2000 only

[85:28] two weeks ago. You were here in the

[85:30] situation room and you said this. I want

[85:32] you to listen to what you said. Very

[85:34] good. Once the Israelis left Lebanon,

[85:38] Hezbollah has not been involved in any

[85:40] way whatsoever in anything that has

[85:42] nothing that has not to do with the

[85:45] Lebanese issues. This should be clear

[85:47] and we should not believe Israeli

[85:49] propaganda.

[85:51] >> You want to clarify what you meant of?

[85:52] >> Of of course. Let me remind everybody of

[85:54] what's happening. Israel actually holds

[85:57] Lebanese prisoners who happen to be

[85:59] members of the Hezbollah. Hebah has

[86:01] repeatedly invited Israel to re-engage

[86:03] in an a prisoners exchange. Very similar

[86:05] to what Israel has twice done withah

[86:07] with the German mediation. And Hezbollah

[86:10] is saying today the same. We want the

[86:11] Israelis through mediation through

[86:14] through third parties to involve in a

[86:16] prisoners exchange. Why do you think

[86:17] it's fair for Israel to have Lebanese

[86:20] prisoners while it's not fair forbah to

[86:23] have Israeli prisoners? Is there any

[86:25] solution you hear in the

[86:26] >> I think the only solution is for the

[86:28] United States to play the role it used

[86:30] to play in the past and to undertake its

[86:32] responsibilities as as a superpower and

[86:35] to impose on on on its ally Israel true

[86:38] restraint not something similar to the

[86:40] to the uh killing that is happening

[86:43] today and the destruction in Lebanon and

[86:45] to ask all all parties to involve in

[86:48] real serious peace talks.

[86:50] >> Are you afraid of allout war?

[86:52] It is a possibility.

[86:55] Israel is trying to escalate the

[86:57] situation, the tension in the in the

[86:59] region. We have we have to call for

[87:01] restraint. The United States has a play

[87:03] to role. It is the role of the United

[87:05] United States today. What did the United

[87:07] States do? It vetoed a United Nations

[87:09] Security uh Council resolution. This is

[87:12] negative diplomacy. We want proactive

[87:15] positive diplomacy from the United

[87:17] States. The United States has to

[87:18] undertake its international obligation.

[87:21] Immad Mustafa is the Syrian ambassador

[87:23] here in Washington. Thanks for coming

[87:24] in.

[87:25] >> You are welcome. Thank you.

[87:26] >> And coming up, the Pentagon is closely

[87:28] watching the escalating violence in the

[87:30] Middle East and making contingency plans

[87:32] right now. We're going to take you live

[87:34] to the Pentagon for details of what the

[87:36] United States military could be called

[87:38] on to do. Plus, a bird's eye view of the

[87:41] region and crisis. Our Tom Foreman, he's

[87:43] standing by with a report you will see

[87:46] only here in the situation room. Stay

[87:48] with us.

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[88:48] Heat

[89:01] Heat

[89:03] up

[89:05] here.

[89:38] Welcome back to the situation room. I'm

[89:40] Will Blitzer in Washington. We're

[89:42] following all the breaking news coming

[89:44] out of the Middle East this hour. Here

[89:46] are the latest developments. Israeli

[89:48] warplanes have bombed Beirut's

[89:49] international airport for the second

[89:52] time. Lebanon's health ministry says at

[89:54] least 47 people have been killed since

[89:56] the fighting started yesterday and two

[89:59] rockets fell on the Israeli port city of

[90:01] Hifa earlier today. No one was injured.

[90:04] Israel is blaming Hisbala, but that

[90:06] group denies responsibility. Israel's

[90:08] ambassador to the United States is

[90:10] calling the HIA attack, and I'm quoting

[90:12] now, a major major escalation. President

[90:16] Bush says Israel has a right to

[90:17] self-defense. But just a short time ago,

[90:20] the Secretary of State Condisa Rice

[90:22] warned Israel it's important to act with

[90:25] restraint. Israel says it will not let

[90:28] Hisbala return to southern Lebanon. Yet,

[90:31] Hisbala officials say it's their right

[90:33] to remain on any part of Lebanese soil.

[90:36] CNN's Allesio Vinci is joining us now

[90:38] live from the Lebanese capital of Beirut

[90:40] with more. Allesia.

[90:44] >> Hello, Wolf. Two developments out of

[90:47] Beirut in the last couple of hours.

[90:49] First of all, as you mentioned, Israeli

[90:52] uh gunship, an Israeli gunboat has

[90:54] actually uh targeted a fuel depot at

[90:58] Beirut's international airport, setting

[91:00] it ablaze. We've seen television

[91:02] pictures here on local television

[91:04] showing extensive damage but no uh

[91:07] casualty casualties. This is a second

[91:09] strike of course on the uh Beirut

[91:11] airport earlier this morning. Israeli uh

[91:14] air strikes hit all the three runways of

[91:17] the international airport basically

[91:19] bringing it to a complete shutdown

[91:22] rediverting incoming passengers to

[91:24] Cyprus as well as uh many of the flights

[91:29] outgoing flights had to be cancelled.

[91:31] And a second development that has been

[91:33] reported by several local television

[91:35] stations here carrying an Hezbollah

[91:37] statement including by the way one

[91:39] television station that was bombed

[91:40] earlier today by Israel affiliated with

[91:43] Hezbollah. They're carrying statements

[91:46] from Hezbollah saying that Hezbollah is

[91:48] denying that it has actually targeted

[91:52] Hifa the northern uh Israel city uh as a

[91:56] retaliation attack for what is happening

[91:57] in southern Lebanon. We do know that

[91:59] those television stations earlier uh

[92:01] today had reported that Hezbollah would

[92:05] indeed bomb Hifi should Israel target

[92:08] the outskirts of the southern outskirts

[92:11] of Beirut. That is an area of course

[92:13] predominantly Muslim and inhabitated by

[92:16] people supporting Hezbollah. But that is

[92:18] not happening. What we have seen tonight

[92:19] is Israeli war plananes dropping

[92:21] leaflets urging civilians in that area

[92:24] to stay away from the buildings.

[92:25] >> I'll ask you a question. And I asked our

[92:27] John Voss earlier. He's in Hifa. Are

[92:30] people in Beirut going into bomb

[92:32] shelters tonight?

[92:35] >> Uh not in Beirut. Uh but they're staying

[92:39] home, that's for sure. Uh on a Thursday

[92:41] night here in the middle of summer, uh

[92:43] there should be people out in the

[92:44] streets enjoying uh the evening

[92:46] drinking, having fun, going to outdoor

[92:48] restaurants. The entire city is

[92:50] completely calm, quiet. Certainly there

[92:52] is a a fear here and a feel that

[92:55] something may happen overnight and

[92:56] certainly there is no mood here to

[92:58] party.

[92:59] >> Allesio Vinci in Beirut for us. Thank

[93:01] you very much. Let's get some more now

[93:03] from CNN's Tom Foreman. He's got a

[93:04] closer look of the at this region in

[93:07] crisis. Tom,

[93:08] >> let's look first at what Allesio was

[93:09] talking about a moment ago. The attack

[93:11] on the fuel center at the airport here.

[93:13] We move up into Beirut. That is Lebanon

[93:15] up here that we're going into right now.

[93:17] This is the airport which as we know

[93:19] from earlier today there was a strike on

[93:21] the various um airline the runways out

[93:24] here earlier today. But this is the fuel

[93:25] storage area off to one side here that

[93:28] was hit and that you see burning over

[93:29] and over again. But beyond that, let's

[93:32] look at the bigger picture here. Short

[93:33] while ago, you're talking to the Syrian

[93:34] ambassador. Just give you some points of

[93:36] reference here on what we're talking

[93:37] about. Syria in this region is right

[93:41] over here. There's Lebanon up there.

[93:42] There's Israel down here. Here's Syria

[93:45] over here bordering the northern part of

[93:48] Lebanon. A little bit further over the

[93:49] other one that the US is talking about a

[93:51] lot is supporting Hezbollah is Iran over

[93:54] here. Why all of this matters is because

[93:57] uh the fight that's been going on in

[93:59] Lebanon involves primarily the southern

[94:02] part of the country. And if we look at

[94:03] all the action that we've had along the

[94:05] border here, you see all these

[94:06] explosions and things that have been

[94:07] going on today. all along that border,

[94:10] Israel down below and we've got uh

[94:12] Lebanon up above. The southern part of

[94:15] Lebanon is where Hezbollah fundamentally

[94:17] functions. They're part of the real

[94:19] Lebanese government, but they also

[94:22] operate largely autonomously in this

[94:24] region. So, Israel has been hammering

[94:26] that region trying to attack the base of

[94:29] Hezbollah, trying to shut down supplies

[94:31] through the airport, trying to shut down

[94:32] supplies through the port. They set up

[94:34] their own blockade out on the port out

[94:35] there hoping that they can cut off

[94:36] Hezbollah from supplies. And that's the

[94:40] military strategy of this. And the big

[94:42] question politically, of course, is the

[94:43] support from Syria, the support from

[94:44] Iran. How much can that help Hezbollah

[94:47] as this goes on? Tom Foreman, thanks

[94:50] very much for that good explanation. A

[94:52] region in crisis indeed. And these

[94:54] tensions may not directly involve the

[94:56] United States, yet many Americans in the

[94:58] region may still be in danger. Our

[95:01] Pentagon correspondent standing by with

[95:03] details. Barbara

[95:04] >> Wolf, the US military has been watching

[95:07] this situation unfold all day long. They

[95:10] are concerned for a very good reason.

[95:15] >> Bombed out runways at Beirut

[95:17] International Airport now forcing the

[95:19] Pentagon to plan for a worstc case

[95:22] scenario. How to evacuate 25,000

[95:25] Americans living in Lebanon without

[95:27] using the airport. Military officials

[95:30] tell CNN it's just prudent contingency

[95:33] planning, but if an evacuation were

[95:36] ordered, it could involve sending in

[95:39] Marines by helicopters from ships

[95:41] offshore in the Mediterranean.

[95:44] Hours before Hezbollah rockets hit Hifa,

[95:46] Israel's third largest city, the US Navy

[95:49] had already pulled one of its small

[95:51] ships out of the harbor.

[95:55] Hifa is the southernmost point Hezbollah

[95:58] rockets have ever reached. Hitting a

[96:01] city with a strategic port and oil

[96:03] refineries changed the military

[96:06] equation. Israel says in its fight

[96:08] against Hezbollah

[96:10] >> they have more than 10,000 rockets

[96:14] medium range and longer range and uh and

[96:18] Hifa is which is about 50 miles or so.

[96:22] 50 mi in the region is a strategic um

[96:26] range. So for the to do that, it's a

[96:29] major escalation.

[96:30] >> Analysts say it's an indication that a

[96:33] Bush administration nemesis may be

[96:35] behind Hezbollah's increased military

[96:38] capability.

[96:39] >> Iran, which is one of the manufacturers

[96:41] of these rockets, Hezbollah's primary

[96:43] source for these rockets, has been doing

[96:45] a lot of work uh over the last uh 20

[96:48] years or so uh to improve the quality of

[96:50] these rockets. their reliability, their

[96:52] accuracy, and their range. So,

[96:55] >> Wolf US the US military clearly wants to

[96:58] stay out of this fight, but they are

[97:01] very aware uh of potentially Iran and

[97:05] Syria's involvement in backing

[97:07] Hezbollah. One source even telling us

[97:10] that US intelligence noticed just

[97:13] yesterday a top Iranian military

[97:16] official was in Damascus. Wol.

[97:19] >> All right, Barbara, thank you very much.

[97:20] Barber Star at the Pentagon. Much more

[97:22] on this story coming up. We're going to

[97:23] tell you what's happening right now in

[97:25] the crisis in the Middle East. Also,

[97:27] how's the turmoil affecting oil prices?

[97:30] Guess what? They're reaching record

[97:31] highs today. But will they push even

[97:33] higher? And what are the political

[97:35] considerations in the conflict? We'll

[97:37] discuss all of that in our strategy

[97:40] session that's coming up.

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[99:47] >> And this just coming into CNN from the

[99:49] president of Iran, Mahmud Ahmedab saying

[99:52] this according to Iranian state

[99:55] television. And if the Zionist regime

[99:57] commits another stupid move and attacks

[99:59] Syria, this will be considered like

[100:01] attacking the whole Islamic world. And

[100:04] this regime will receive a very fierce

[100:07] response. Uh the the Iranian president

[100:10] quoted as saying that in a telephone

[100:12] conversation earlier with the Syrian

[100:14] President Bashar al-Assad. The situation

[100:17] clearly heating up. Let's bring in our

[100:20] strategy session right now. Joining us,

[100:22] our CNN political analyst and Democratic

[100:24] strategist, James Carville, and CNN

[100:26] political analyst and former Republican

[100:28] Congressman JC Watts. James, uh, you

[100:32] worked in Israel. You were helping Ahood

[100:34] Barack get elected prime minister

[100:36] several years ago as you see this

[100:38] situation unfold. It looks like the

[100:40] region is teetering right now.

[100:42] >> Boy, you know, it's a it's obviously a

[100:44] very serious situation and most people I

[100:46] talk to today of the opinion that things

[100:48] have to get worse before they get

[100:49] better. I I haven't talked to a person

[100:52] anywhere in the world that doesn't think

[100:54] that it's it's not going to get worse

[100:55] here in in the days coming. Now, maybe

[100:58] the fact that things are so bad and they

[101:00] they're bad in in in Iraq, they're bad

[101:02] in Afghanistan, maybe it'll force people

[101:04] to to to sort of focus on this and at

[101:06] least get some breathing room here. But

[101:08] it it it there's not a very pretty

[101:10] situation over there right now. And

[101:11] people are certainly not very optimistic

[101:12] in the short term.

[101:13] >> You've studied this situation in the

[101:15] Middle East for a long time yourself,

[101:16] JC. Well, Wolf, there's obviously

[101:18] tension, but I I I don't think this is a

[101:22] necessarily a unique situation when you

[101:24] consider that this tension has been

[101:27] there since uh the ' 40s and and and

[101:30] every decade there's there we continue

[101:32] to go through this. So, uh obviously I I

[101:35] think you have to uh monitor it. I I I

[101:38] don't like what the Iranian president is

[101:40] saying. I mean there is speculation that

[101:41] he's involved in this and kind of

[101:43] fueling the fire with uh you know

[101:45] Hezbollah and Hamas but nevertheless

[101:48] it's it's something that um we've seen

[101:51] for many many decades and it's pretty

[101:54] tense right now

[101:54] >> and it comes right as the president is

[101:56] getting for the G ready for the G8

[101:58] summit in St. Petersburg, Russia that's

[102:00] going to start tomorrow and go through

[102:02] the weekend. Uh, it clearly does change

[102:05] the subject from Iran's nuclear program

[102:09] to the possibility of a real a real war

[102:12] involving Israel and Lebanon and the

[102:13] Palestinians.

[102:14] >> Yeah. I mean, and who knows? I don't

[102:16] think the Russians all that disappointed

[102:18] with $76 a barrel oil either. Putin's77

[102:24] a barrel oil, if you will. Uh, and and

[102:27] you know, look, this thing eventually

[102:29] will get resolved. But it'll get the

[102:31] conflicts have been going on for 5,000

[102:33] years. It won't get resolved. But I mean

[102:34] I hopefully at a point it'll get so bad

[102:37] that something will happen and somebody

[102:38] will be able to come in and broke us

[102:40] some kind of a temporary deal. But

[102:42] you're altering the face of Lebanese

[102:43] politics pretty good right here. I'm you

[102:46] know and and you really are. And what

[102:48] happened here is that you know Hamas

[102:50] remember the Hezbollah has two seats in

[102:52] the in the in the Lebanese government.

[102:54] Hamas won the election in in Palestine.

[102:58] And so you You gota how this works

[103:03] itself out. I don't think anybody knows

[103:05] right now.

[103:05] >> How does this uh affect the president's

[103:08] really strong effort to promote

[103:09] democracy in the Middle East because

[103:11] Hamas was democratically elected?

[103:14] Hisbala was democratically elected in

[103:16] Lebanon to the parliament. Well, Wolf,

[103:19] you hope civil and and I think that that

[103:22] theory, that ideology is is still

[103:24] intact, and I still think that's a the

[103:26] civilized way to go to continue

[103:29] promoting uh democracy. But I think you

[103:33] have to recognize that this this tension

[103:36] is nothing new. It it's not unique. It

[103:40] it's it's been happening, as James said,

[103:42] for many many years. But but I I I do

[103:44] think that uh you know over in the G8

[103:46] summit I I do think though we'll see

[103:48] some focus there. I think you'll see uh

[103:50] some of those entities getting involved

[103:52] and calling on SER heads to prevail. But

[103:56] uh I I think uh another thing, Wolf, we

[103:58] we've talked about the uh Gaza Strip,

[104:00] that land giveaway. I think it proves

[104:02] that, you know, that's been a failure.

[104:04] You you've got to deal with these type

[104:06] of people and I think the way that

[104:08] Israel is trying to deal with them. But

[104:10] >> you don't think the Israelis are

[104:11] overreacting? I I I I you know, you

[104:14] always have to be careful how you use

[104:16] force, h how you how you react, but uh I

[104:20] think uh uh we've seen that in spite of

[104:23] the fact that they tried to compromise

[104:26] that that in terms of the Gaza land uh

[104:28] it it didn't work and and the the

[104:31] terrorist and the bad things continue to

[104:34] happen. So this is the way they've

[104:35] they've retaliated.

[104:36] >> Put on your political hat for a moment.

[104:38] How does this affect the politics which

[104:40] has been humming along here in

[104:42] Washington, this new crisis in the

[104:44] Middle East?

[104:45] >> I'll give you both theories. One theory

[104:47] says that the president is like he's a

[104:49] number one leader of the world. The

[104:51] world is in a state of disarray. That'll

[104:53] hurt the president. Another theory is to

[104:55] be fair, people say, "Well, the world's

[104:56] in a disarray. It's a dangerous world,

[104:58] but that may help the Republicans and

[104:59] help the president. People may rally

[105:01] around the president because it's so

[105:02] dangerous." You take your pick theory

[105:05] one or theory two. What's your

[105:07] >> uh it looks like theory one is operative

[105:09] now because the world's been in disarray

[105:11] for some time. The president's numbers

[105:13] the poll numbers are not very good and

[105:14] neither the Republicans. So I think that

[105:16] people would like to see would like to

[105:18] see a little more order in the world and

[105:20] it and it's increasing disorder and I

[105:22] think my guess is but to be fair there

[105:25] are a substantial number of people that

[105:27] say that this order actually can help

[105:28] the president down the road. Well, I I

[105:31] would I would hope that people would

[105:32] understand, and I think those two

[105:34] theories are in play, but I would hope

[105:35] that people would understand that this

[105:37] is not unique to this president.

[105:38] President Clinton had to deal with this.

[105:40] President Carter had to deal with it.

[105:42] Uh, you know, President Nixon, you know,

[105:44] he presidents have had to deal with this

[105:46] before. So I I think it's a good time if

[105:49] if there is such a thing a good time for

[105:51] it to be happening when we're having the

[105:52] GA summit because I think this will be a

[105:54] topic of discussion and I think um you

[105:57] know hopefully cooler heads will prevail

[105:58] and they can bring some civility to it.

[106:00] >> 5,000 years might have been a little

[106:01] excessive but it's been going on for a

[106:03] long time.

[106:04] >> James Carville JC let's hope

[106:07] >> let's hope it ends very very soon. That

[106:09] would be good.

[106:09] >> Yes.

[106:10] >> Thanks very much. The escalating

[106:12] tensions in the Middle East are helping

[106:13] to drive oil prices to record highs

[106:15] right now. For more on the surging

[106:17] prices and the potential fallout right

[106:19] here in the United States and around the

[106:21] world, let's bring in CNN's Mary Snow.

[106:23] She's joining us from New York. Mary.

[106:25] >> Well, if that potential fallout is an

[106:27] economic one, oil prices are reaching

[106:29] $77 a barrel on concerns that an already

[106:33] tight supply will get tighter.

[106:39] As fighting escalated in Lebanon and

[106:41] Israel, it triggered new worries in the

[106:43] oil markets. A major concern, traders

[106:45] say it's the fear that this conflict

[106:47] will incite Iran and choke off the 25%

[106:50] of the world's supply of oil that

[106:52] travels through the straight of Hormuz.

[106:54] >> I think you're going to see a $100 price

[106:56] for a barrel of oil at some point and

[106:58] that will translate into a $4 gallon for

[107:00] gasoline.

[107:01] >> Some say it won't take long for the

[107:03] ripple effects of the M East conflicts

[107:05] to be felt at gas pumps. It's going to

[107:07] be rapid and it it's going to be

[107:09] sustained over $3 for I think probably

[107:11] the rest of the summer now.

[107:12] >> Not even halfway into the summer, gas

[107:14] prices are almost as high as they were

[107:16] right after Hurricane Katrina hit last

[107:18] year. The most recent Lunberg survey

[107:20] shows $3 a gallon for gas is the average

[107:23] nationwide with places like Honolulu at

[107:25] 327. Many say those high prices are

[107:28] linked to consumer demand that has

[107:29] defied expectations. I really had

[107:33] expected that at $3 and three and a

[107:35] quarter uh that we would see marked

[107:38] changes in the way consumers drive, but

[107:41] so far that has not been borne out

[107:43] statistically at all.

[107:45] >> Veteran energy traders like Eric Bowling

[107:47] keep close tabs on hotspots around the

[107:49] globe. Tensions in places like Iran and

[107:52] Nigeria are keeping oil prices high, but

[107:54] Bowling says unless people start

[107:56] conserving, the prices simply won't go

[107:58] down. That's the only real solution to

[108:00] this. It's not a question of we're going

[108:02] to find more oil or there's going to be

[108:04] peace in the Middle East. That clearly

[108:06] those aren't going to be two of the

[108:07] reasons why oil comes down.

[108:09] >> And with some expecting gasoline to hit

[108:11] $4 a gallon, they do believe that that

[108:13] could be the thing that causes consumers

[108:15] to finally scale back. Wolf.

[108:17] >> All right, Mary. Thanks very much. I

[108:19] just want to update our viewers. Reuters

[108:21] and the Associated Press now reporting

[108:23] that Israeli aircraft have hit the

[108:26] Beirut to Damascus highway. That's the

[108:29] main road that links the Lebanese and

[108:31] the Syrian capitals. Uh we're trying to

[108:33] independently confirm this right now.

[108:35] The Israel Defense Forces earlier in the

[108:37] day said that they did hit that highway.

[108:39] The question now is whether a second

[108:41] strike has destroyed at least part of

[108:44] that main thoroughfare between Beirut

[108:46] and Damascus. As we check that out,

[108:48] let's go to Lou Dobs in New York. He's

[108:50] got a quick check of what's happening on

[108:52] his program that begins right at the top

[108:54] of the hour. Lots going on, Lou.

[108:56] >> Absolutely, Wolf. Thank you. Coming up

[108:57] at the top of the hour here on CNN,

[108:59] we'll have the very latest for you on

[109:01] what now appears to be an escalating

[109:03] undeclared war in the Middle East.

[109:05] Israel today attacking hundreds of

[109:07] targets in Lebanon. Radical Islamist

[109:09] terrorists firing rockets at Hifa, one

[109:11] of Israel's largest cities, for the

[109:13] first time. We'll be live in Hifa and in

[109:15] Beirut with reports for you. Also, a new

[109:18] flash point in the showdown over illegal

[109:20] immigration and border security. Do

[109:22] multilingual ballots divide our country

[109:24] or enhance our democracy? We'll have a

[109:27] special report and I'll be talking with

[109:28] the head of Laorazza, Janet Margia. And

[109:31] scientists say wildfires now raging in

[109:34] California could be the latest evidence

[109:36] of global warming. Is global warming an

[109:38] imminent threat? And if so, is it too

[109:41] late to prevent a worldwide catastrophe?

[109:44] Three of the world's leading

[109:45] climatologists join me tonight. We're

[109:47] going to cut through the clutter and get

[109:49] to what the solutions could be. We hope

[109:51] you'll be with us for that and a great

[109:53] deal more at the top of the hour. Wolf,

[109:55] back to you.

[109:56] >> Sounds important and good. Thanks very

[109:58] much, Lou, for that. And just ahead here

[110:00] in the situation room, there's a new

[110:02] development in the CIA leak case,

[110:03] potentially significant. A lawsuit filed

[110:06] by Valerie Pla Wilson targeting White

[110:08] House officials. We're going to show you

[110:10] who whom she's suing. Plus, Jack Ka

[110:13] wondering why the White House agreed to

[110:15] let a special court review the NSA

[110:17] domestic surveillance program. Jack

[110:19] standing by with the Caerty file. We'll

[110:22] be right back.

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[113:06] Now CNN tonight 8 Eastern.

[113:13] Let's

[113:16] check in with CNS Frederick Whitfield.

[113:18] There's a developing story out west.

[113:20] What's going on, Fred?

[113:21] >> Well, those fires in Southern California

[113:22] get more frightening now entering the

[113:24] fourth day of burning. Immediate

[113:26] mandatory evacuation orders are being

[113:28] put in place for people living north of

[113:31] Highway 62 between Palo Verde and the

[113:34] Riverside County line. Hundreds of homes

[113:37] in northern and western Morango Valley

[113:39] are being threatened. Now, we already

[113:41] know that some 1300 firefighters have

[113:43] been battling in nearby Sawtooth Complex

[113:46] fire, which is in Yucka Valley. Already,

[113:49] that blaze has burned 40,000 acres,

[113:52] destroyed 42 homes and 55 other

[113:55] structures. It's very serious out there,

[113:56] Wolf.

[113:57] >> All right, we'll continue to watch that

[113:59] story, Fred. Thanks very much. We're

[114:01] also watching this uh situation in the

[114:03] Middle East, the crisis that's

[114:04] escalating. There's been a important

[114:07] some important developments that we've

[114:08] been watching. We'll get back to that

[114:10] story in a moment. But first, there's a

[114:12] surprising new development in the CIA

[114:14] leak case. The woman at the center, uh,

[114:17] former CIA operative Valerie Plame is

[114:19] suing White House officials, including

[114:21] the vice president. CNN's Brian Todd has

[114:23] the story. Brian Wolf filed just this

[114:26] afternoon in US District Court here in

[114:27] Washington. This lawsuit raises the

[114:29] stakes in the CIA leak story. The

[114:31] plaintiffs, former CIA officer Valerie

[114:33] Pla Wilson and her husband, former US

[114:36] Ambassador Joe Wilson, accuse Vice

[114:38] President Dick Cheney, Cheny's former

[114:40] top aid Lewis Scooter Libby, Deputy

[114:43] White House Chief of Staff Carl Rove,

[114:45] and 10 so-called John Doe's in the

[114:47] government of conspiring to destroy

[114:49] their careers. The suit seeks

[114:51] compensatory and punitive damages, but

[114:53] no amount is given. At one point in the

[114:55] document, uh, they claimed that Cheney,

[114:58] Rove, Libby, and the John Doe's quote,

[115:00] reached an agreement to discredit,

[115:02] punish, and seek revenge against the

[115:04] plaintiffs that included disclosing

[115:06] Valerie Pla's then classified identity

[115:08] to the media. On the injuries, the

[115:10] Wilsons say they suffered invasions of

[115:12] privacy. They fear for their safety and

[115:14] the safety of their children. That as a

[115:16] result of the defendant's actions,

[115:18] Valerie Pla Wilson was not able to

[115:20] pursue her career at the CIA. that both

[115:23] Wilsons were impaired in their ability

[115:24] to pursue other professional

[115:26] opportunities and that their first and

[115:28] fifth amendment rights were violated.

[115:30] Now, contacted by CNN, Vice President

[115:31] Cheneyy's spokeswoman Leanne McBride

[115:34] gave this statement. Quote, "It appears

[115:36] that the lawsuit relates to a matter

[115:38] already before the courts. For that

[115:39] reason, standard policy of not

[115:41] commenting on a matter in litigation

[115:43] will be followed." We also got this

[115:46] statement from a spokesman for Carl Ro.

[115:48] quote, "It is clear that the allegations

[115:50] are absolutely and utterly without

[115:52] merit. We're also able to reach a

[115:54] spokeswoman for Scooter Libby. She had

[115:56] no comment." Wolf,

[115:57] >> thanks very much, Brian. We'll take a

[115:58] quick break. Jack Caerty with your

[116:00] email. That's next.

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[117:51] >> Back to New York and Jack Caerty. Jack

[117:53] Wolf. The question this hour is why has

[117:55] the White House agreed to allow a

[117:57] special court to review the NSA domestic

[118:00] surveillance program? Roger. In Madison,

[118:02] Wisconsin, the fall election would seem

[118:04] to be a factor. Or maybe the

[118:06] administration has finally realized the

[118:08] advocates of impeachment might actually

[118:09] be on to something. It may be a case of

[118:12] CYA before the indictments start coming

[118:14] down. Michelle and Dallas, if you

[118:16] recall, when the FISA court heard of

[118:19] what the White House and NSA were doing

[118:21] behind their backs, several of the

[118:23] judges quit. My guess is that now the

[118:25] White House has stacked the court with

[118:26] replacement judges who will rule in

[118:28] their favor more likely than not. And if

[118:30] FISA does not rule in favor of Bush,

[118:32] he'll just continue to break the law

[118:34] anyhow. laws don't matter to him.

[118:36] Margaret in Dexter, New Mexico, a

[118:38] promise was made to put it in a secret

[118:40] court that will agree with Bush. Why

[118:42] else would they have had the meeting in

[118:44] private for it? Chris, in Denver, I have

[118:46] a feeling this law could finally trigger

[118:48] a profound constitutional conflict. Can

[118:51] the Republican Congress pass a law to

[118:54] protect a president from their own

[118:56] party? That's a very interesting

[118:57] question. It's tantamount to the

[118:59] president pardoning himself for his

[119:02] crimes. Nick in Pennsylvania writes, "I

[119:04] think the Bush administration's

[119:05] attempting to appease the Congress as

[119:07] well as the American citizens that are

[119:09] still on the fence about the president's

[119:10] actions. Regardless of the outcome, the

[119:13] government simply does not want to look

[119:14] like it has something to hide headed

[119:16] into the elections." And Kevin in

[119:18] Wilmington, Vermont, it seems old cowboy

[119:20] W has come upon a hitch in his swagger

[119:23] and sees what most everyone else has

[119:25] seen for quite some time now, his gun

[119:27] belts down around his knees. And uh if

[119:29] you didn't see your email here, you can

[119:31] go to cnn.com/caffertyfile

[119:33] where we each day p uh post porst post

[119:36] post many uh other of these on the

[119:39] internet. That was well done.

[119:42] >> It's a it's a good read for all of our

[119:43] viewers. Jack, see you back here in 1

[119:45] hour. We're here in the situation room

[119:47] weekday afternoons 4 to 6:00 p.m.

[119:50] Eastern. Back for an hour at 700 p.m.

[119:52] Eastern. In the meantime, let's go to

[119:54] New York. Lou Dobs. Tonight starts right

[119:56] now. Lou,

[119:57] >> thank you. Wol. Tonight, Israel bombards

[119:59] Lebanon from the land, the sea, and the

[120:01] air. Radical Islamist terrorists have

[120:04] fired rockets into one of Israel's

[120:06] largest cities for the first time. We'll

[120:08] be live with reports in Hifa, Israel,

[120:10] and Beirut. And a new flash point in the

[120:12] showdown over illegal immigration and

[120:14] border security. Do multilingual ballots

[120:17] divide our country or enhance our

[120:19] democracy? We'll have that special

[120:21] report. And the president of the

[120:22] National Council of Larazza, Janet

[120:24] Margia, joins me here tonight.

[120:33] This is Lou Dobs tonight. News, debate,

[120:35] and opinion for Thursday, July 13th.

[120:38] Live in New York. Lou Dobs.

[120:41] >> Good evening everybody. Israeli troops

[120:43] and radical Islamist terrorists tonight

[120:45] are fighting an escalating undeclared

[120:47] war that could spread across the Middle

[120:49] East. Israeli aircraft and ships today

[120:52] bombarded hundreds of targets in

[120:53] Lebanon, including Beirut International

[120:56] Airport and the main Beirut Damascus

[120:58] highway. Radical Islamist terrorists

[121:00] fired dozens of rockets at northern

[121:02] Israel. Two of those rockets hit

[121:04] Israel's third largest city, Hifa.

[121:07] Allesio reports from Beirut tonight on

[121:10] the impact of the roundthe-clock Israeli

[121:12] bombardment of Lebanon. John Voss

[121:15] reports from Hifa where residents are

[121:16] preparing for the possibility of more

[121:18] rocket attacks. And Ed Henry reports

[121:21] from Rossto, Germany, where President

[121:23] Bush tonight faces a major new test of

[121:25] his foreign policy. We turn first to

[121:28] Allesio Vente. Allesio.

[121:31] >> Hello, Lou. It has been a day of

[121:33] escalating violence here in Lebanon. A

[121:36] day during which many Lebanese realized

[121:38] that the battle days of a long war may

[121:40] be coming back.

[121:43] Israel promised a painful response and

[121:45] it hit Lebanon where it hurts the most.

[121:47] The tourism industry at the height of

[121:49] the summer season. All three runways of

[121:52] Beirut's international airport have been

[121:53] damaged. All flights in and out were

[121:56] cancelled. Incoming passengers diverted

[121:58] to Cyprus. And after nightfall Thursday,

[122:00] gunboats hit a fuel depot at the airport

[122:02] again. While Israeli planes dropped

[122:04] leaflets urging people to stay away from

[122:07] Hezbollah buildings.

[122:09] The Israeli Navy is also imposing a

[122:11] naval blockade, preventing vital fuel

[122:13] supplies from reaching the capital's

[122:15] port.

[122:17] Residents of Beirut fear a prolonged

[122:19] blockade and the return to the bad old

[122:21] days.

[122:22] >> The situation is very bad. We expecting

[122:24] everything now is coming bad.

[122:26] >> I wasn't scared, but when I saw everyone

[122:29] going to the gas stations, I thought

[122:30] maybe I should, too. In southern

[122:32] Lebanon, closer to Hezbollah's main area

[122:35] of operations, people stockpiled

[122:37] essential supplies. Security sources say

[122:39] Israeli artillery and air strikes have

[122:41] killed more than 50 civilians. 12

[122:44] members of one family were killed in an

[122:46] air strike close to the border.

[122:48] Lebanese officials called the Israeli

[122:50] strikes an act of war and rejected

[122:53] Israel's insistence that it held the

[122:55] entire Lebanese government and not just

[122:57] Hezbollah responsible for the soldiers

[122:59] kidnapping, saying it is unable to reign

[123:02] in Hezbollah. The Lebanese government

[123:04] has called on the security council to

[123:05] intervene while calling for a

[123:07] comprehensive ceasefire.

[123:09] >> Lebanese analysts close to Hezbollah say

[123:12] a truth is now up to Israel. The door is

[123:15] still wide and open for indirect

[123:17] negotiations, but they have to uh stop

[123:21] or to start a ceasefire. The Israelis

[123:23] didn't want that. It seems

[123:24] >> with two Hezbollah ministers in its

[123:26] cabinet, the Lebanese government find

[123:28] itself caught in the middle.

[123:31] >> The Lebanese government has distanced

[123:33] itself from obviously the attacks uh

[123:37] from from the kidnapping of the Israeli

[123:39] soldiers. At the same time, also it has

[123:41] denounced Israel's attacks. But at the

[123:43] same time, it is acknowledging that he

[123:45] has no control over the southern border

[123:48] area, essentially indicating that he has

[123:50] very little power or no power to help

[123:52] bring about an end to the current

[123:54] crisis. L

[123:55] >> Allesio from Beirut, thank you. Radical

[123:58] Islamist terrorists today fired rockets

[124:00] at the Israeli city of Hifa, nearly 40

[124:02] miles from the Israel Lebanon border. A

[124:05] senior Israeli diplomat called the

[124:07] rocket attack on Hifa a major major

[124:10] escalation. John Voss reports from Hifa.

[124:12] John

[124:15] >> Blue, according to the Israeli military,

[124:17] two Hezbollah rockets reached this port

[124:19] city early Wednesday evening. It is the

[124:22] first time Hezbollah missiles have

[124:24] traveled so deep into Israeli territory.

[124:27] No one was injured, but the Israeli

[124:29] government has described this as a major

[124:32] escalation. Hezbollah denies the

[124:34] missiles were theirs, even though hours

[124:36] earlier they threatened to carry out

[124:38] just such an attack. Hezbollah has

[124:41] claimed responsibility for a 100 or so

[124:43] rocket attacks on Israeli towns and

[124:46] cities in the north of Israel. The

[124:48] tourist town of Naharia was hit twice,

[124:50] once in the morning and once in the

[124:52] evening. There, one person was killed.

[124:55] More than a dozen were injured. And the

[124:57] town of Sephed, home of Israel's

[124:59] northern command, has also come under

[125:01] attack. Seven Kusha rockets there,

[125:03] killing at least one person and wounding

[125:06] several others. The Israeli military

[125:08] offensive continues with air strikes

[125:10] across Lebanon. The Israeli Navy is

[125:12] blockading the coast of Lebanon and

[125:14] Israeli artillery continues to pound

[125:16] Hezbollah strongholds in the south. The

[125:19] Israeli defense minister says this is

[125:21] now about more than trying to free two

[125:24] Israeli soldiers who are being held

[125:25] hostage. The plan now is to drive

[125:28] Hezbollah militants out of southern

[125:30] Lebanon and ensure they never return.

[125:33] Lou,

[125:34] >> John, thank you. John Vos. President

[125:36] Bush today strongly defended Israel's

[125:38] right to defend itself. But in a sign

[125:40] the White House fears the conflict could

[125:42] escalate further, the president said

[125:44] Israel should not weaken the government

[125:46] of Lebanon. Tonight, Secretary of State

[125:48] Condisa Rice called upon Israel to

[125:50] exercise restraint. Ed Henry traveling

[125:53] with the president in Europe reports

[125:55] from the German city of Rosto.

[125:59] In advance of the G8 summit, President

[126:01] Bush is trying to shed the tough guy

[126:03] image, playing nice on the world stage

[126:06] while the White House is ripping Iran

[126:08] and Syria for escalating violence in the

[126:10] Middle East. It's really sad where

[126:13] people are willing to take innocent life

[126:15] in order to stop that progress.

[126:17] As a matter of fact, it's pathetic.

[126:20] >> The president still tried to play the

[126:22] role of peacemaker and find some middle

[126:24] ground. Israel has a right to defend

[126:26] herself.

[126:28] Every nation must defend herself against

[126:32] terrorist attacks

[126:34] and the killing of innocent life.

[126:37] Whatever Israel does though should

[126:38] should not weaken the Sonora government

[126:40] in Lebanon.

[126:43] We're concerned about the fragile

[126:45] democracy in Lebanon. And the president

[126:47] sounded downright differential to the

[126:49] United Nations when pressed on how long

[126:51] the security council has to sanction

[126:53] Iran over its nuclear program.

[126:56] >> Oh, they got plenty of time. I mean, the

[126:58] UN Security Council, they got time to

[126:59] react.

[127:00] >> Compare that to the president in March

[127:02] of 2003, pressed on whether he had to

[127:04] wait for the UN before launching the war

[127:07] in Iraq. I'm confident the American

[127:09] people understand that when it comes to

[127:11] our security um

[127:14] um if we need to act, we will act and we

[127:18] really don't need United Nations

[127:20] approval to do so.

[127:21] >> But now on hotspots like North Korea, a

[127:24] cautious president has changed his tune.

[127:26] >> I'm hopeful that we can get some UN

[127:28] action on North Korea.

[127:30] >> The shift has come because the

[127:32] president's image around the world has

[127:33] been battered. The president has to come

[127:36] sort of with his hat in hand doing the

[127:38] rounds and hope that others are willing

[127:40] to listen.

[127:44] >> It's after midnight here in Germany, but

[127:46] US Secretary of State Kalisa Rice just

[127:48] had a briefing with reporters. Uh she

[127:50] said the traveling White House is

[127:52] monitoring the escalating violence in

[127:54] the mid in the Middle East minute by

[127:55] minute. And she also had tough talk for

[127:57] Syrian President Assad saying he has to

[128:00] stop harboring terrorists from

[128:02] Hezbollah. Lou

[128:03] >> and thank you very much Ed Henry

[128:05] reporting from Roto Germany. The State

[128:07] Department today said Iran and Syria are

[128:10] directly to blame for the escalating

[128:11] violence in the Middle East. The State

[128:13] Department called Hezbollah

[128:15] subcontractors in terrorism for Iran and

[128:17] Syria. Syria and Iran also have close

[128:20] ties with the radical Islamist group

[128:22] Hamas, which controls the Palestinian

[128:24] government. Hamas has refused to hand

[128:27] over an Israeli soldier captured by

[128:29] Palestinian terrorists and taken to Gaza

[128:31] last month. At the same time, US

[128:33] military commanders say foreign

[128:35] terrorists and weapons have crossed into

[128:37] Iraq from Syria and Iran to join that

[128:40] insurgency. Meanwhile, Iran is

[128:42] continuing to defy the world over its

[128:44] nuclear weapons program. The United

[128:46] Nations Security Council is now deciding

[128:48] what action to take against Iran.

[128:51] Tonight, the Iranian president Mahmud

[128:53] Ahmad Lad said an Israeli air strike on

[128:57] Syria would be considered an attack

[128:59] against the whole Islamic world. The

[129:02] Iranian president said such an attack

[129:03] would bring a fierce response. He did

[129:06] not elaborate. France and Russia, two

[129:09] countries with extensive commercial ties

[129:11] in the Arab world tonight, are strongly

[129:13] criticizing Israel's bombardment of

[129:15] Lebanon. Russia called Israel's strikes

[129:18] quote disproportionate. France said

[129:20] there is a risk of a wider war in the

[129:22] Middle East. Both countries of course

[129:24] strong opponents of US efforts to remove

[129:27] Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq. The

[129:30] violence in the Middle East today

[129:32] leading to a sharp increase in the price

[129:33] of crude oil. Crude oil prices rose by

[129:36] nearly $2 a barrel in New York closing

[129:38] at a record high $76.70

[129:42] a barrel. And of course the principal

[129:44] reason for that gain fears the Middle

[129:46] East conflict could widen. Still ahead,

[129:50] a new front in the showdown over our

[129:52] illegal immigration and border security

[129:54] crisis. Members of Congress facing off

[129:56] over multilingual ballots. We'll have

[129:58] that special report. And fears tonight

[130:00] that two big wildfires in California

[130:03] could merge into one giant fire. Tens of

[130:06] thousands of acres have already been

[130:07] burned. Thousands of people evacuated.

[130:10] We'll have a live report for you. And

[130:12] how imminent is the threat of global

[130:14] warming? And is there anything we can do

[130:17] immediately to stop it? Three of the

[130:19] world's leading climate scientists join

[130:21] us here tonight to discuss those issues

[130:24] and more. Stay with us.

[130:30] I'm Paul McQueeny and this is my story.

[130:32] Been playing the bass since I was 16

[130:34] years old. And I noticed when I'd be

[130:36] practicing and playing rehearsals, I'd

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[130:40] "What is this?" I ended up going to the

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[130:44] arthritis. My friend from softball told

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[130:54] A leave helps me play, but it doesn't

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[132:47] Tonight, state and local governments all

[132:49] across the country are intensifying

[132:51] their fight against illegal immigration

[132:53] while Washington debates measures that

[132:55] could discourage minority assimilation

[132:57] in this country. Lisa Sylvester reports

[132:59] from Washington tonight where the House

[133:01] of Representatives today voted to

[133:03] continue forcing communities to offer

[133:05] multil- language ballots to voters. And

[133:08] Kenny Pilgrim reports on local

[133:09] governments readying tough new

[133:11] crackdowns on businesses that hire

[133:13] illegal aliens. We began with Lisa

[133:16] Sylvester in Washington. Lisa

[133:18] >> Lou, by a vote of 390 to 33, the House

[133:21] of Representatives voted to extend the

[133:23] 1965 Voting Rights Act. But first,

[133:26] lawmakers had to tackle four

[133:28] controversial amendments. One would

[133:30] eliminate a requirement that ballots and

[133:32] voting information be provided in

[133:33] foreign languages.

[133:37] >> When we come from various ethnic groups

[133:39] and races, what unites us? It's our

[133:41] language, the English language.

[133:43] >> Supporters say multilingual ballots take

[133:46] away the incentive to learn English.

[133:48] Opponents argue they make it easier for

[133:50] the poor and uneducated to vote. That's

[133:53] what language assistance is all about.

[133:56] It is about inclusion, not exclusion.

[134:00] Under the current law, jurisdiction must

[134:02] provide a translated ballot if English

[134:04] is not the primary language of more than

[134:07] 5% of the voting age citizens.

[134:11] Currently, more than 299 counties in 30

[134:14] states provide ballots in a foreign

[134:16] language, including Chinese, Korean,

[134:19] Japanese, Vietnamese, and Spanish. My

[134:21] amendment would lift the federal mandate

[134:23] imposing foreign language ballots on

[134:25] localities by allowing the mandate to

[134:28] sunset.

[134:28] >> If the mean-spirited section 203

[134:30] amendment passes, eligible voting age

[134:33] citizens will be deprived of language

[134:35] assistance and lose the chance to cast

[134:37] an informed, accurate vote for the

[134:40] candidate of their choice.

[134:41] >> But all US naturalized citizens already

[134:43] need to pass an English proficiency

[134:45] test. And they have the option of using

[134:47] an interpreter on election day.

[134:50] amendment. Supporters say the law costs

[134:52] local governments like Orange County,

[134:54] California millions

[134:56] >> in the last cycle spent $600,000

[134:59] on bilingual ballots when only 7/10 of a

[135:04] percent 7/10en of a percent of the

[135:06] ballots requested were were multilingual

[135:09] or bilingual ballots.

[135:10] >> The multilingual provision has also been

[135:12] described as arbitrary. In Wayne County,

[135:15] Michigan, there are 23 different Arabic

[135:17] dialects. It would be nearly impossible

[135:19] for election supervisors to accommodate

[135:21] them all. Now, all four of the

[135:24] amendments were defeated within the last

[135:26] hour, including the multilingual ballot

[135:28] provision. That vote 185 to 238 with

[135:32] most Republicans in opposition. Lou,

[135:35] >> Lisa, thank you. Lisa Sylvester from

[135:37] Washington. Hazelton, Pennsylvania

[135:39] officials tonight vote on a

[135:41] groundbreaking law that would punish

[135:42] employers and landlords for hiring and

[135:45] housing illegal aliens. The vote comes

[135:47] as state and local governments are being

[135:49] forced to take new action against

[135:51] illegal immigration in the absence of

[135:53] federal action. Kitty Pilgrim reports.

[135:57] >> Suffach County wants its contract

[135:59] workers to be legal and businesses will

[136:02] be fined if they are not.

[136:03] >> The 1986 immigration laws on the federal

[136:06] government already require this, but

[136:09] unfortunately, as we all know, the feds

[136:11] don't enforce it. So, where the feds

[136:13] won't, we think it's time that the local

[136:16] government step up to the plate and fill

[136:18] that void.

[136:18] >> The 5,500 member Long Island Business

[136:20] Association supports the proposal, but

[136:23] it worries about harsh penalties if some

[136:26] worker manages to slip through the

[136:28] system. Suffach County is not alone in

[136:31] getting tough on businesses who hire

[136:33] illegal aliens. Local governments across

[136:35] the country have taken up the task. The

[136:38] community of Hazelton, Pennsylvania, has

[136:40] proposed fines on any businesses that

[136:42] employ illegal aliens and fines for any

[136:45] landlord who rents to them. Last week,

[136:47] the mayor of Avon Park, Florida,

[136:49] proposed a similar ordinance inspired by

[136:52] Hazelton's approach. A Pennsylvania

[136:54] Superior Court judge wrote a letter to

[136:56] Homeland Security Director Michael

[136:58] Churof asking for a US Immigration and

[137:01] Customs Enforcement Office in Hazelton.

[137:04] The nearest ICE office is in

[137:05] Philadelphia, more than 100 miles away.

[137:08] He wrote, "The safety and security of

[137:10] residents of Hazelton, Pottsville, and

[137:12] other northeastern Pennsylvania

[137:14] communities are being compromised by a

[137:16] lack of enforcement by ICE." He goes on

[137:18] to say, "Count judges have been told to

[137:21] release illegals suspected of crime back

[137:23] into the community and that ICE officers

[137:26] will not come to northeastern

[137:27] Pennsylvania for those suspects." When

[137:30] shown the letter by CNN, Immigration and

[137:32] Customs Enforcement responded by saying,

[137:35] "ICE agents in Pennsylvania work day and

[137:38] night to assist law enforcement in the

[137:39] Hazelton area and other communities

[137:41] throughout the state." Since that letter

[137:44] was written three weeks ago, ICE has

[137:46] been in Hazelton on several occasions

[137:48] for illegal immigration sweeps with the

[137:50] local law enforcement. And Hazelton city

[137:53] council members meet tonight for the

[137:55] final reading of this proposed law to

[137:56] crack down on illegal immigration. It is

[137:59] expected to pass without any difficulty.

[138:01] Lou,

[138:01] >> and this is a trend moving throughout

[138:03] the nation. More than half the states

[138:05] now have uh put forward and passed

[138:07] legislation

[138:08] >> and uh everyone you talk to says we need

[138:10] to do this on the local level now

[138:12] because no one else is stepping up.

[138:14] >> Uh it's it's unbelievable that the

[138:17] federal government uh which has it

[138:19] obviously the responsibility and as well

[138:21] as the power is simply refusing to

[138:23] enforce immigration law. Kitty, thank

[138:26] you Kitty Pilgrim. That brings us to our

[138:28] poll tonight. The question, which

[138:30] benefit do you believe illegal aliens

[138:32] should be eligible for? Instate tuition

[138:34] rates, free health care, social

[138:36] security, food stamps, all of the above,

[138:39] none of the above. Cash your vote at

[138:41] ludobs.com. We'll have the results for

[138:43] you later in the broadcast. Tonight, law

[138:46] enforcement officials on the Texas

[138:47] border with Mexico are investigating an

[138:49] alarming shooting that took place last

[138:51] night. Mexican gunman last night fired

[138:54] as many as 300 rounds from automatic

[138:57] weapons across the Rio Grand near

[138:59] Harlingen, Texas. Gunman fired at

[139:02] sheriff's deputies and border patrol

[139:03] agents. No one luckily was injured, but

[139:06] there is concern tonight that the gunman

[139:08] may have crossed into the United States.

[139:11] Coming up next, tens of thousands of

[139:12] acres scorched by raging wildfires and

[139:15] tens of thousands more at risk. We'll

[139:17] have a live report next. And then are

[139:20] the wildfires the latest evidence of

[139:22] global warming. At least one study says

[139:24] they are. I'll talk with three of the

[139:26] world's leading climate scientists.

[139:28] Coming up, uh we'll be discussing

[139:30] climate change and what, if anything,

[139:32] can be done to stop it. And sectarian

[139:34] violence exploding in Iraq. Is the

[139:36] country descending into full-scale civil

[139:38] war? We'll have that report a great deal

[139:40] more still ahead. Stay with us.

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[141:06] Tonight on 360, walls of flame, miles of

[141:09] smoke fighting dozens of major wildfires

[141:11] now burning in the West. 360 tonight, 10

[141:13] p.m. Eastern.

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[142:17] >> Paul is on now CNN tonight 8 Eastern.

[142:24] >> Wildfires are raging tonight across tens

[142:26] of thousands of acres in Southern

[142:28] California. The San Bernardino sheriff

[142:30] has just ordered an immediate mandatory

[142:33] evacuation of hundreds of homes in the

[142:35] Morango Valley area. These wildfires

[142:38] have already burned more than 40,000

[142:40] acres and destroyed dozens of homes.

[142:42] Chris Lawrence tonight reports from

[142:43] Morango Valley, California. Chris

[142:47] Lou, this neighborhood we're standing in

[142:48] right now is one of those neighborhoods

[142:50] that was just ordered to evacuate by

[142:52] fire officials. The Sawtooth fire, the

[142:55] fire that is burning behind me there,

[142:56] has now scorched at least 40,000 acres.

[143:00] Uh that was the number from this

[143:01] morning. They have been fighting this

[143:03] fire all day and we expect to get an

[143:05] update very soon. So after some hours of

[143:07] firefighting, they that number may very

[143:09] well change. You can see what would

[143:11] happen there if that fire jumped the

[143:13] mountain as it has several mountains

[143:15] behind it and came right up here. You

[143:18] can see some of these homes right here

[143:19] that would be in danger. that the people

[143:21] there have been ordered to evacuate. An

[143:24] even greater danger is the fact that

[143:25] there is a second fire burning, the Mard

[143:28] fire. It has already scored several

[143:29] thousand acres and most fire officials

[143:32] that I've spoken with tell me that it is

[143:34] highly likely that at some point very

[143:36] soon those two fires will merge. Lou,

[143:39] Chris, thank you very much. Chris

[143:40] Lawrence reporting from Morango Valley,

[143:42] California. Taking a look now at some of

[143:45] your thoughts. Glenn in North Carolina.

[143:47] As an IT project manager, I could not

[143:49] imagine submitting a proposal to a

[143:51] potential voting machine customer that

[143:54] did not include verifiable paper

[143:56] receipts. Why? Because I couldn't

[143:58] imagine a customer stupid enough not to

[144:00] demand it. Mel in Washington. The core

[144:03] Republicans are inviting illegals across

[144:05] our formerly so sovereign border to take

[144:08] jobs that Americans don't want. The core

[144:10] Republicans are sending jobs that

[144:13] Americans want to communist China. But

[144:15] damn, Americans are going to enjoy

[144:17] eating those Indian mangoes. Jeff in

[144:20] Georgia. Lou, in a few years we'll be as

[144:23] poor as Mexico. So tell Al Qaeda to be

[144:25] patient. Mexico hasn't fought a war in a

[144:28] 100 years. George and New Jersey. How is

[144:31] it illegal aliens can demand so-called

[144:33] rights, and Americans are just left

[144:35] standing watching their rights get

[144:37] flushed right down the toilet? Hopefully

[144:39] our so-called representatives will get

[144:41] flushed come election time. Byron in

[144:44] Arizona. If the New York economy will

[144:46] fail if all the illegals are returned to

[144:48] their countries as the mayor Bloomberg,

[144:51] Michael Bloomberg has suggested maybe

[144:53] they need a new mayor. Send us your

[144:55] thoughts at ludobs.com. We'll have more

[144:57] of your thoughts here later in the

[144:59] broadcast. Up next, is global warming

[145:01] now an imminent threat? And what can we

[145:03] do about it? Three of the world's

[145:05] leading climate scientists join me. And

[145:06] new acts of war in the Middle East.

[145:09] Israel is striking back after rocket

[145:11] attacks on one of its largest cities.

[145:13] General David Graange with analysis and

[145:15] the National Council of Laazza takes

[145:17] issue with this broadcast coverage of

[145:19] its annual conference in Los Angeles.

[145:21] The president and CEO of Laorazza, Janet

[145:23] Margia, joins me here next. Stay with

[145:26] us.

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[146:57] Headline News Prime tonight.

[147:23] Your risks are always evolving.

[147:26] Shouldn't your insurance stay in sync?

[147:28] Travelers.

[147:31] In just a moment, we'll be talking with

[147:32] Janet Margia, the head of Laorazza,

[147:34] about her fight for illegal alien

[147:36] rights. But first, these headlines.

[147:38] Former CIA operative Valerie Plane is

[147:40] suing Vice President Dick Cheney,

[147:42] presidential adviser Carl Roe, and

[147:44] others for their role in revealing her

[147:46] classified CIA status. The civil lawsuit

[147:49] accuses the group of destroying her

[147:51] career and putting the lives of her and

[147:53] her family at risk. Blame's identity was

[147:55] revealed in a column by Robert Novak

[147:57] three years ago. The lawsuit seeks

[147:59] unspecified damages. A spokesman for

[148:01] Carl Ro says the allegations are without

[148:04] merit. President Bush today agreed to a

[148:06] court review of his controversial

[148:08] eavesdropping program. The Foreign

[148:10] Intelligence Surveillance Court will now

[148:12] examine the NSA program's

[148:13] constitutionality. President Bush has

[148:16] defended the program as critical to

[148:18] saving American lives. New surveillance

[148:20] video shows the sheer force of Monday's

[148:22] blast at a New York City townhouse.

[148:25] Trees were literally uprooted as debris

[148:27] flew everywhere. Police say a doctor who

[148:30] owns the building blew the building up

[148:31] in an apparent suicide attempt by

[148:33] rigging a gas line. He remains in

[148:36] critical condition. Another person who

[148:38] was hit with flying debris is now in

[148:40] stable condition. Insurgents have killed

[148:42] two more of our troops in Iraq. A sailor

[148:45] and a naval construction regiment was

[148:46] killed in Alanbar province and a soldier

[148:49] was killed in the northern city of

[148:50] Mosul. 2,545

[148:53] of our troops have now been killed in

[148:55] Iraq. 18,874

[148:58] of our troops have been wounded. 8,628

[149:02] seriously wounded. Democratic senators

[149:05] today blasted the Bush administration's

[149:07] conduct of the war in Iraq. Democratic

[149:09] members of the Senate Foreign Relations

[149:11] Committee said Iraq is facing a

[149:12] full-scale civil war. The senator's

[149:15] comments come one day after the US

[149:17] commanding general in Iraq said our

[149:19] troops could be called back to patrol

[149:21] the streets of Baghdad. Jimmy McIntyre

[149:23] reports from the Pentagon. In a week in

[149:26] which more than 180 Iraqis have died in

[149:29] sectarian attacks, at least 100 killed

[149:31] in Baghdad alone. The US ambassador to

[149:34] Iraq was on Capitol Hill arguing that

[149:37] the rising violence between Sunni and

[149:39] Shia factions is not the start of a

[149:41] civil war. Is it a low-grade civil war?

[149:44] >> I'm just saying that whether it's going

[149:45] to become a civil war of whatever the

[149:47] term of full-blown or not will be

[149:49] something that we judge later on with

[149:52] with regard to what happened

[149:53] subsequently. We it be I think a mistake

[149:55] to judge it that this is the beginning

[149:57] of a of a of an overall civil war.

[150:00] >> Let's not quibble over the descriptive

[150:01] term. Let's let's agree the violence is

[150:05] up.

[150:06] >> There's increased sectarian violence. It

[150:08] is

[150:08] >> what are our troops? The the heart of

[150:10] the question is if you would agree it

[150:13] can't be resolved militarily.

[150:14] >> Well, I agree. I say the following uh

[150:16] Senator Kerry, which is that in order to

[150:19] deal with this problem, you need both

[150:21] political steps and security steps.

[150:24] >> In a speech this week in Washington,

[150:26] Ambassador Khalil Zad said the violence

[150:28] between Shia and Sunni Iraqis has now

[150:31] surpassed the insurgency as the biggest

[150:34] threat to Iraq's future. Now he's

[150:36] telling Congress time is running out. I

[150:38] believe senator that this government as

[150:41] about 6 months or so to to to bring the

[150:45] sectarian violence under control and if

[150:48] it doesn't then I think we would have a

[150:50] serious uh situation.

[150:52] >> Violence is rising despite the dispatch

[150:54] of 50,000 Iraqi troops in Baghdad

[150:57] forcing US commander General George

[150:59] Casey to consider bringing more American

[151:02] troops back into the capital city.

[151:04] Critics, including some senators just

[151:06] back from Iraq, say the current strategy

[151:09] is simply not working.

[151:10] >> I still don't see a strategy for a clear

[151:13] strategy for victory in Iraq. Uh I do

[151:16] see a strategy for preventing things uh

[151:19] from outright defeat, but I don't I I

[151:22] hadn't come away with a clear strategy

[151:24] for victory.

[151:25] >> Meanwhile, the much anticipated

[151:27] announcement on US troop cuts is still

[151:29] on hold. something Ambassador Khalilzad

[151:32] today described as simply an intent, a

[151:35] goal, and he insisted that General

[151:37] George Casey has not drawn up a firm

[151:40] timetable for the withdrawal of US

[151:42] troops because of the uncertainty of the

[151:44] months ahead. Lou, Jamie, thank you.

[151:47] Jamie McIntyre reporting from the

[151:48] Pentagon. Israel tonight faces a radical

[151:51] Islamist enemy that appears to be as

[151:53] determined as the insurgents in Iraq.

[151:55] Ezbollah has been fighting Israeli

[151:57] troops and bombarding Israeli cities and

[151:59] towns for more than two decades.

[152:01] Ezbollah is also blamed for the bombing

[152:03] of the US marine barracks in Beirut in

[152:05] 1983 which killed 241 of our troops.

[152:09] Joining me now is General David Graange.

[152:11] General to see the Israeli forces moving

[152:14] back into southern Lebanon. Uh your

[152:17] reaction?

[152:19] The reaction, Lou, is that when they

[152:20] pulled back uh south and gave that area

[152:24] back to uh Lebanon and the Hezbollah

[152:27] then built up into it and now they're

[152:29] conducting these attacks. The idea here

[152:31] here, the strategic idea is to establish

[152:34] a buffer zone at least so the rocket

[152:36] attacks cannot hit critical cities

[152:38] inside of Israel.

[152:40] >> You were operating uh when you were in

[152:42] the United States Army uh and leading

[152:44] troops in in Lebanon. You fought against

[152:46] Hezbollah. Uh what are the odds that uh

[152:49] Israel will be effective in uh seeking

[152:51] out Hisba and and uh destroying them?

[152:55] >> Well, the the the chase for Hezbollah

[152:58] terrorists, the the militant arm of of

[153:00] Hisbala, uh it it's going to they're

[153:02] going to have some local success.

[153:04] There's no doubt about it. They will not

[153:06] destroy the militant Hisbala arm

[153:09] regionally because it covers too much

[153:11] area outside of Lebanon, Israel, etc. Uh

[153:14] but you know the 80s the word Hezbollah

[153:17] was like the word al-Qaeda today and

[153:20] they're a growing threat. They've had

[153:21] many years to get more powerful and uh

[153:24] we should talk about them a lot more

[153:25] than we do. We never mentioned Hisbala.

[153:28] >> Well, Israel is focusing renewed

[153:30] attention on them. uh the idea that

[153:33] President Bush, the White House have

[153:34] made it very clear uh that uh this

[153:37] government holds Iran and Syria

[153:40] responsible for Hzbollah uh as their

[153:43] principal supporters. Uh this war on the

[153:45] part of Israel is being carried out

[153:47] against Lebanon. Do you think uh that we

[153:51] should do more in terms of Syria in

[153:54] particular and Iran?

[153:56] >> Absolutely. I mean, you're not going to

[153:57] win at the tactical level. you have to

[153:59] hit the strategic resourcing of these

[154:02] terrorist groups and of course though

[154:04] that is Iran and that is Syria. Now you

[154:06] don't want to start another war

[154:08] hopefully but you I I would imagine that

[154:10] we'll see more covert action uh and more

[154:14] interdiction operations uh against the

[154:17] resourcing and movement uh in support of

[154:20] Hisbala and Hamas. Turning to Iraq,

[154:22] General uh General Casey saying that

[154:25] American troops may be moving back to

[154:28] patrol the streets of Baghdad. Your

[154:30] thoughts?

[154:32] >> As it should be if the conditions

[154:34] warrant. And we've talked about this

[154:35] many times before as you recall. Uh the

[154:38] conditions are going to have an increase

[154:39] and a decrease and it's going to go back

[154:41] and forth depending on the violence. And

[154:43] as discussed a little a few moments ago

[154:45] on the show, uh this issue about getting

[154:47] a handle on illegal armed groups,

[154:50] whether they be criminal or militia, is

[154:53] going to have to be taken on and it's a

[154:55] tough set just like the warlords in

[154:57] Afghanistan because uh you're caught in

[155:00] the middle of it. Uh but they have to be

[155:02] curtailed or there will be a civil war.

[155:04] >> General David Grange, thank you. Still

[155:07] ahead, the National Council of Laazza is

[155:09] taking issue with some of our reporting

[155:11] on this broadcast, particularly our

[155:13] coverage of their national conference.

[155:15] I'll be discussing that with Laorazza's

[155:17] president, Janet Margia. And is global

[155:19] warming imminent? Is the threat real.

[155:22] Some experts say the wildfires raging in

[155:24] California could be a sign of climate

[155:27] change and a result of global warming.

[155:30] Three of the world's leading climate

[155:31] scientists join us here to discuss those

[155:33] issues next. Stay with us. People

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[157:40] Illegal alien rights group the National

[157:42] Council of Larazza concluded its annual

[157:44] conference in Los Angeles this week.

[157:46] Many of the nation's most powerful

[157:48] political and business leaders spoke at

[157:50] the conference and pledged their support

[157:51] to La Raza's cause. Tonight, La Raza is

[157:54] taking issue with this broadcast reports

[157:57] on the conference, specifically this

[157:59] portion of our report Monday evening.

[158:03] The National Council of Laorazza not

[158:05] only advocates amnesty, it helps illegal

[158:07] aliens avoid apprehension by immigration

[158:10] authorities. Its website promotes a link

[158:12] to a three-page National Immigration Law

[158:14] Center paper titled Immigration

[158:16] Enforcement, Know Your Rights at Home

[158:19] and At Work.

[158:22] >> Laurance's president and CEO Janet

[158:23] Margia joins us tonight from Los

[158:25] Angeles. Janet, good to see you. Uh,

[158:28] were we wrong?

[158:30] >> I think it's just the characterization,

[158:32] Lou, but I appreciate being on the show

[158:34] here to talk to you about it. I think uh

[158:37] the way you're characterizing so much of

[158:39] what happens through our organization

[158:41] and at the conference um the fact that

[158:43] you say we're promoting amnesty for

[158:46] instance when we know what we're talking

[158:47] about when it comes to immigration

[158:49] reform is really uh not amnesty. It's

[158:52] about a comprehensive solution uh to

[158:55] this broken system that we have that

[158:57] would actually make people walk through

[158:59] certain uh very uh ownorous steps to

[159:02] earn legalization. And I guess the way

[159:05] that you say we promote uh illegal

[159:08] immigration or illegal aliens and I just

[159:11] want to make sure you understand that we

[159:13] want to make sure we're promoting a

[159:15] sensible, rational solution to

[159:18] immigration reform. And of course at our

[159:20] conference we covered other issues

[159:22] besides immigration. It is the issue of

[159:24] the day and we wanted to focus on it.

[159:26] But as an organization, we work to

[159:28] promote opportunities for Hispanics in

[159:30] this country and to really help them uh

[159:33] uh you know be more successful and to

[159:36] help them achieve the American dream. So

[159:39] I just wanted to make it clear that in

[159:41] that particular link in the reference um

[159:43] you know we feel it's important for

[159:44] people to be informed of their uh rights

[159:48] um when in this country and uh it's just

[159:50] important uh for that information to be

[159:53] put out there and the way that it was

[159:55] characterized is what I took issue with.

[159:57] But uh you know we are committed at this

[160:00] organization uh to really promote

[160:02] opportunities for Hispanics in this

[160:04] country. And yes, we are a civil rights

[160:05] organization. So we will uh talk about

[160:08] those issues and uh do what we think is

[160:11] best in getting to those policy

[160:12] solutions we believe will advance the

[160:15] community.

[160:15] >> Right. And uh as as we've documented on

[160:18] this broadcast many times over the

[160:20] years, Janet, you and I have a different

[160:22] view about uh what is the appropriate

[160:24] and best policy for this nation. Uh but

[160:27] I I really do want to uh if you do not

[160:30] find error but take uh uh exception to

[160:33] the characterization. Let me ask you

[160:36] this. As a civil rights organization,

[160:38] when you link to the immigration uh uh

[160:41] law center and they advise, quote, if

[160:45] you hear, speaking to an illegal alien

[160:47] in this, if you hear that immigration

[160:50] has been asking questions about you at

[160:52] your job, it is possible that officers

[160:54] may show up at your house. If this is

[160:56] the case, try to find a way not to be at

[160:58] your home for a couple of days.

[161:01] Uh

[161:03] that sounds like uh you're telling

[161:04] someone to avoid law enforcement.

[161:07] >> Uh no, it's just a matter of, you know,

[161:09] obviously we tell everyone in our

[161:12] community to respect law enforcement,

[161:14] but it's also important to know that

[161:16] they have some individual rights when in

[161:19] this country. And that's consistent with

[161:21] what's in the Constitution and the 14th

[161:23] Amendment. And I don't think there's

[161:25] anything wrong with informing people of

[161:27] what that what their rights are.

[161:30] >> Um, if you open your door, if the

[161:32] officer asks if he can come in and you

[161:34] say yes, you're probably consenting to

[161:37] his entering your home. The best thing

[161:39] to do is keep the door closed and ask

[161:41] the officer to identify himself, then

[161:43] ask to see a warrant. Do not open the

[161:46] door if he cannot show you a warrant. An

[161:49] officer is not allowed to force you to

[161:50] consent to entering the house. Uh, for

[161:53] example, if your house is surrounded by

[161:54] border patrol or immigration cars with

[161:56] their lights flashing and the officer is

[161:57] holding his gun, has he asked for

[161:59] permission to enter home and you say yes

[162:01] because you're afraid a court would

[162:03] probably not consider this to be a valid

[162:05] consent. Uh

[162:09] you that's that's really remarkable at a

[162:13] time I understand the rights and and uh

[162:15] lawful but

[162:16] >> the the suggestion that people should

[162:18] not respect the law. Uh

[162:20] >> that's not what we're saying Lou. We're

[162:22] saying that that is the law and it's

[162:25] consistent with the 14th amendment of

[162:27] our constitution. Well, you know, that's

[162:28] an interesting thing to say because, you

[162:30] know, and I'm not an attorney and I I

[162:32] will defer to you because I'm sure

[162:33] you're well advised on this and and

[162:35] obviously deal with the subject daily

[162:37] and thoroughly,

[162:38] >> but the idea that any citizen um well,

[162:43] in this case, you wouldn't be a citizen,

[162:44] but in the idea that any

[162:47] >> but they could be citizens. They could

[162:48] be citizens.

[162:49] >> But this is this is clearly aimed at

[162:51] illegal aliens. And the idea, I guess

[162:54] what I'm saying to you, Janet, is

[162:55] >> why not just admit that we've got people

[162:58] breaking the law and it's really time

[163:00] for it to end.

[163:01] >> Well, we need a solution. And that's why

[163:03] we're promoting comprehensive

[163:05] immigration reform because we need we

[163:08] need to have a solution. But nobody else

[163:10] seems to be focusing on the fact that if

[163:13] we don't get a solution soon, you're

[163:15] going to have continual individual acts.

[163:17] You're going to have continual acts at

[163:19] the state and local government. We need

[163:21] a comprehensive solution so we can put

[163:23] an end to all of this. I' I've got to

[163:25] tell you what offends me far more

[163:27] >> just between you and me, no one else,

[163:29] just you and me, Janet,

[163:30] >> was listening to the remarks of Carl

[163:32] Rove and and former President Bill

[163:35] Clinton at your conference

[163:37] >> pandering and suggesting

[163:40] uh just to me the most and most

[163:43] outrageous tones uh that this debate is

[163:47] framed in in racism and it was just I

[163:52] think embarrassing

[163:53] >> particularly Carl Rob's comments. I

[163:55] mean, my gosh.

[163:56] >> Well, Lou, that's not Lou, that's not

[163:57] what they were saying. And I

[163:58] >> No, no, I know what they were saying.

[164:00] I'm telling you what they were saying

[164:02] and my interpretation.

[164:04] >> Well, I was there by videotape, the

[164:06] magic of television.

[164:07] >> Well, but I was there and I'm telling

[164:08] you, it's interesting to note, if

[164:10] nothing else, that you have President

[164:11] Clinton and Carl Rove coming together in

[164:15] agreement on a solution that must be

[164:18] comprehensive for this immigration

[164:20] reform system to be fixed. There's

[164:21] something about combining Carl Rove and

[164:24] Bill Clinton that makes me awful

[164:26] nervous.

[164:27] >> Well, it should give us hope that there

[164:29] can be people with differences of

[164:30] opinions who can come together on one

[164:33] solution and we need to have a solution

[164:35] and it needs to be comprehensive. And if

[164:37] you think that they're pandering, that's

[164:39] your opinion, Lou. But the fact of the

[164:41] matter is they understand how important

[164:43] the Hispanic community is and how

[164:45] important it is to communicate to the

[164:46] Hispanic community at this important

[164:48] time. And we appreciate

[164:51] because I don't know how important the

[164:52] Hispanic community is. I do know how

[164:55] important Hispanic American citizens

[164:57] are. Uh, and I don't frame folks in

[165:01] community terms

[165:03] because I'm a trodite.

[165:05] >> Well, Lou, I'm a Hispanic American

[165:06] citizen. I could speak I could speak for

[165:09] myself and I appreciated the fact that

[165:11] they were both there and that they were

[165:13] communicating to the Hispanic community

[165:15] to Hispanic American citizens and to the

[165:17] world to the country that this is an

[165:20] important issue and we need to have a

[165:22] comprehensive solution to it. And if

[165:24] Carl Row and President Clinton can

[165:25] agree, uh, and if Governor

[165:27] Schwarzenegger and Mayor Vargasa can

[165:29] agree, all those Governor Richardson all

[165:31] agreed that we need a comprehensive

[165:33] solution to this problem,

[165:35] >> then the rest of us don't need to have

[165:36] an opinion. We've got those uh

[165:38] luminaries coming together with their

[165:40] great minds.

[165:41] >> It's an example, Lou, of how there is a

[165:43] growing coalition that bipartisan

[165:46] >> that can come together on this. Well,

[165:49] it's sure an example of five folks in

[165:51] front of your group saying uh what you

[165:53] wanted to hear. I'll say I'll say that

[165:54] much. Jan,

[165:55] >> they're not the only they're not the

[165:57] only five folks who believe this.

[165:58] >> Those are just the five we mentioned.

[166:00] >> Yeah. But you know that there is a broad

[166:02] growing coalition that understands we

[166:04] need a comprehensive solution.

[166:07] >> You know, I'm going to give you the last

[166:08] word, Janet. I like you. Janet McGee,

[166:12] thanks for being here. The the president

[166:13] CEO of the National Council of Oasa.

[166:16] >> Lou, thank you very much. A reminder now

[166:18] to vote in our poll. The question is,

[166:19] which benefit do you believe illegal

[166:21] aliens should be eligible for? Instate

[166:23] tuition fees, free health care, social

[166:25] security, food stamps, all of the above,

[166:27] or none of the above. Cast your vote at

[166:29] ludimes.com. We'll have the results

[166:31] coming up in just a few moments. And as

[166:33] you just saw, Wolf Blitzer is coming

[166:34] right up at the top of the hour, the

[166:36] situation room. Wolf, tell us about it.

[166:38] >> Thanks very much, Lou. Uh, our

[166:40] continuing coverage of the breaking news

[166:41] out of the Middle East, a major

[166:43] escalation of the violence. We have

[166:45] reporters in all the hot spots and

[166:48] interviews with the key players

[166:49] including the Israeli and the Syrian

[166:51] ambassadors to the US as well as the US

[166:53] ambassador to Iraq Zme Khalil Zad. Plus,

[166:57] closer look at how the crisis could hit

[166:59] home. Oil prices are now at a record

[167:01] high and that's likely to impact all of

[167:03] us. All of that, Lou, coming up right

[167:05] here in the situation.

[167:06] >> Looking forward to it. Thank you, Wolfe.

[167:08] Coming up next, more of your thoughts,

[167:09] including your concerns about the

[167:11] all-out war on our middle class and

[167:13] wildfires that continue to rage in

[167:15] California. Is global warming to blame?

[167:17] Three of the world's leading climate

[167:18] scientists join me to discuss global

[167:20] warming and what we can and cannot do

[167:23] about it. Stay with us.

[167:27] >> Okay, let's do it. Stand by.

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[169:38] >> Bombs and missiles fly between Israel

[169:40] and Lebanon. The latest on Larry King. 9

[169:42] Eastern.

[169:46] The wildfires raging in Southern

[169:47] California tonight could be the latest

[169:49] evidence of global warming. According to

[169:52] research scientists at the University of

[169:53] Arizona in Tucson, the report published

[169:56] this month found a quote dramatic and

[169:59] sudden increase in wildfire activity in

[170:01] the mid 90s and 80s. One of the

[170:03] scientists said it is the first

[170:05] indicators of the impact of climate

[170:07] change in this country. Joining me now

[170:09] to discuss what can be done to minimize

[170:11] to mitigate the impact of climate

[170:13] change, three of the world's leading

[170:15] climate scientists, Michael Man,

[170:17] director of the Earth System Science

[170:19] Center at Penn State University, Gavin

[170:21] Smith of the NASA Gddard Institute for

[170:24] Space Studies at Columbia University,

[170:26] and Alan Robach, climate scientist

[170:28] professor at Rutgers University. And we

[170:30] thank you all for being here. Uh let me

[170:33] turn first this idea of a consensus on

[170:37] global warming. Is there one or is there

[170:40] not?

[170:41] >> Well, there's clear agreement among the

[170:43] leading scientists in this field uh that

[170:46] humans are having an influence on the

[170:48] climate. There are several different

[170:50] lines of evidence that are independent.

[170:52] Just the basic physics of how the

[170:54] atmosphere and the climate system works

[170:56] tell us that increasing greenhouse gas

[170:58] concentrations should warm the surface.

[171:00] Well, if you all as leading scientists

[171:03] with your best science, your the best

[171:05] minds working in the field agree that

[171:08] there is global warming and that

[171:10] greenhouse gases emissions are

[171:12] responsible uh for all are part of it.

[171:16] What can we do Gavin to deal with the

[171:19] issue?

[171:20] >> First of all, we have to understand the

[171:22] physical basis for those changes. So, we

[171:25] need to understand uh the the greenhouse

[171:27] gases. We need to understand the effects

[171:28] of ozone and black carbon. And then once

[171:31] we've understood the question, we can

[171:33] come back and say, well, what are the

[171:35] behaviors that we have as a society that

[171:37] are creating these problems? And then

[171:39] what we need to do is stop doing those

[171:41] behaviors and transfer our skills to

[171:44] another kind of uh uh

[171:48] >> to get on with the solution,

[171:49] >> right? To get on with the solution. Uh

[171:51] Alan, the the US Senate Committee on

[171:54] Environment and Public Works at staff

[171:55] put out a press release basically uh

[171:58] taking James Hansen to task uh uh one of

[172:01] the noted climate scientists uh your

[172:03] peers

[172:05] >> uh to uh in your case more than a pair

[172:08] >> uh and and whom I've uh talked with and

[172:12] whom I've appreciated.

[172:14] They're taking to task for supporting

[172:16] Tom Brokaw's documentary on discovery

[172:19] because he's got ties to uh to Al Gore

[172:22] to uh to all sorts of radical liberal

[172:26] bad people. I mean, how do you react to

[172:28] that kind of thing? Jim Hansen has spent

[172:30] his life studying climate change and he

[172:32] recognizes that humans are the strongest

[172:35] thing on the planet to cause climate

[172:36] now. We're stronger than natural

[172:38] variability and he's sick of people not

[172:41] doing anything about it. thinks it's

[172:42] time to just stop just studying it.

[172:44] Although we do have to study it to deal

[172:45] with it.

[172:45] >> I'm with Jim, by the way. I I mean, you

[172:48] guys have put your best efforts forward.

[172:50] You've come up with a You may Let's be

[172:53] honest, it's science. It's It could be

[172:57] there's something wrong with the

[172:59] conclusion.

[172:59] >> I I've take the risk.

[173:02] >> That's right. I've taken a lot of money

[173:03] from the government to do my research.

[173:05] >> Let me make a note of that.

[173:06] >> If I discover a danger to society, what

[173:08] they want me to do is to tell them about

[173:09] it, not to keep quiet. Well, what are we

[173:12] going to do? Let's let's let's on this

[173:15] broadcast tonight, Ludabs tonight. This

[173:18] broadcast decides global warming is

[173:20] caused by emissions. That discussion is

[173:23] over here. Let's talk about what we

[173:25] should do next.

[173:26] >> Well, you know, first we have to start

[173:28] uh we have to stop um the sort the false

[173:31] debate uh that uh has been uh placed in

[173:35] the in the public discourse about the

[173:36] science. Uh the science is agreed upon.

[173:39] Um, and unfortunately because it's an

[173:41] inconvenient conclusion,

[173:42] >> you're so used to dealing with this. I'm

[173:43] saying to you, we have moved beyond it.

[173:46] The false debate is over. We're going to

[173:48] focus on what pitiful little people on

[173:51] this planet can do to change the

[173:54] outcome.

[173:55] >> This is this is a hard problem because

[173:57] it it it has to deal with our basic

[173:59] source of energy, coal and oil.

[174:01] >> But it's a simple problem because we

[174:02] know what to do about it. We can develop

[174:04] new sources of energy and we have to

[174:06] develop a lot of little things. It's not

[174:08] just one solution. So we can use more

[174:10] solar power, more wind power, more

[174:12] bofuels, burn not just not just corn,

[174:16] but also switchgrass. I mean, President

[174:18] Bush mentioned swiss switchgrass in his

[174:20] state of the union. That's burning

[174:22] turning cellulose into fuel. There's a

[174:24] lot of different things that we can do

[174:25] and if we do each of them separately,

[174:27] the total amount of emissions will go

[174:29] way down.

[174:30] >> Well, let me ask you this. Why in the

[174:32] world aren't our research institutions,

[174:35] our uh some of our technology companies,

[174:38] why aren't our universities

[174:40] driving forward? This this country, you

[174:43] used to be able to rely upon innovation

[174:45] from surprising quarters in all of those

[174:47] places. But

[174:47] >> we need leadership from the top. The the

[174:50] current budget is cutting research in uh

[174:54] these in these things in energy

[174:56] efficiency and other sources. and

[174:58] they're spending a lot of money, the

[174:59] so-called energy bill, giving it to the

[175:01] oil companies.

[175:02] >> 12 billion worth of subsidies, uh, 7

[175:05] billion in royalties while they're

[175:06] posting record profits.

[175:08] >> Well, you know, Lou, there's there are

[175:09] other simple things we can do. Um, uh,

[175:11] our are our fuel efficiency. Uh, there's

[175:13] absolutely no reason that we have to be

[175:15] driving around in SUVs.

[175:16] >> Well, there's Well, people might argue

[175:19] that. I know that's a popular response,

[175:21] but people working out in the country, I

[175:24] mean, have got to have big vehicles,

[175:25] whether they're SUVs or whether they're

[175:26] some people needs, right? We we can make

[175:28] safe vehicles that are much more fuel

[175:31] efficient if we develop them. We know

[175:33] the technology to do that.

[175:34] >> This is a can do country, Gavin. This is

[175:36] a country mobilized with good leadership

[175:39] that can do things. Now, let me ask you

[175:41] this. Can we do enough to really turn

[175:45] the tide, if you will forgive the

[175:47] cliche, in climate change?

[175:50] >> There's going to be an element of

[175:52] climate change that's going to continue

[175:53] to happen anyway because right now the

[175:55] planet is trying to catch up with what

[175:56] we've already done to it. So, what we're

[175:59] talking about is we we're not going to

[176:00] be able to stop climate change. We're

[176:02] just trying to prevent it from reaching

[176:04] those worst case scenarios where you

[176:06] really have serious problems with ice

[176:07] sheet melting and sea level rise. So

[176:10] it's your best judgment that that this

[176:11] is reparable.

[176:13] >> Um the worst cases are avoidable.

[176:16] >> Okay.

[176:16] >> Reparable to going back to way we were

[176:19] impossible

[176:20] >> out of time. I'm going to ask if you all

[176:21] could join us again here in the next

[176:23] week or two.

[176:24] >> Uh and if if we can

[176:26] >> if we can start focusing on real

[176:28] solutions. Uh

[176:29] >> that'd be great.

[176:30] >> Sure. What do you think?

[176:31] >> Sure.

[176:31] >> If you're up we are. Thank you.

[176:33] >> Good to have you with us.

[176:35] >> Still ahead here, we'll have the results

[176:36] of our poll tonight. more of your

[176:38] thoughts, including your rising

[176:40] disappointment with our elected

[176:41] officials. I can't imagine why. Stay

[176:43] with us.

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[178:39] The results of our poll tonight. 96% of

[178:42] you say illegal aliens should not be

[178:44] eligible for any of these listed

[178:47] benefits. Uh, remarkable uh remarkable

[178:51] outcome. Taking a look now at more of

[178:53] your thoughts, Bernardet in Connecticut.

[178:55] Uh, Lou, war on drugs, war on terror,

[178:57] war in Afghanistan, war in Iraq.

[178:59] Unfortunately, the only war this

[179:01] administration is winning is the war on

[179:02] the middle class. John in New Jersey.

[179:05] Hey Lou, the only thing sinking lower

[179:07] than my confidence in our elected

[179:08] officials are my wages. And Sharon in

[179:11] Nevada, I have complete confidence in my

[179:13] elected officials. I believe they will

[179:15] do the best for them and their bottom

[179:17] line while selling me and our country

[179:19] out to the highest bidder. Patrick in

[179:21] Pennsylvania. Lou, if il if Kim Jong- Il

[179:26] were on the Pennsylvania ticket for

[179:27] Senate and was going to secure the

[179:29] border, he would have my vote. Joe in

[179:32] California, you forgot to say one thing

[179:34] about Fuad Jami, our guest here last

[179:37] night, the author of a book of the

[179:40] foreigner's gift, a great American. And

[179:42] you're right, we should have added that

[179:44] as well. Send us your thoughts to

[179:46] ludobs.com. You'll receive a copy of my

[179:48] book, Exporting America, if your email

[179:50] is read here. We thank you for being