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Length:
3:23
KYRA PHILLIPS: As
thousands of Americans continue to hit the eject
button in Beirut, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
heads in with pledges of humanitarian aid. Her
surprise stop is just one of many headlines out of
Lebanon today. CNN's Michael Ware has the latest for
us now from Beirut. Hey, Michael.
MICHAEL WARE: Hey, Kyra. Well, today we were at the
US Embassy watching the helicopters ferrying in from
the US warships just offshore here from Beirut, as
they came in with Secretary Rice. She made a
lightning, unannounced visit where she met with the
Lebanese prime minister and other leaders. She
expressed US support for the Lebanese government,
their regard for their steadfastness, and according
to US officials, it was a statement of support to the
Lebanese people that, "we, the US, are here."
Ironically, however, we also saw Hezbollah itself
make a very similar statement today during a tour for
the media of the southern suburbs of Beirut, their
stronghold which had been pummeled by Israeli jets.
The take from that Hezbollah tour was that they, too,
are still here in Beirut and operating.
PHILLIPS: What more, Michael, can you tell us about
Hezbollah? Obviously we can't watch Hezbollah
television here in the US, it's banned from being
aired here. Do you feel that we're covering that side
of the story in a balanced way? Are we getting the
real story from what they are saying via other media
types?
WARE: Well, clearly it's very difficult. I mean, this
is literally a battlefield. So the term 'fog of war'
very much applies. But we can glean some things about
the state of Hezbollah. Just take a look at the press
tour today -- it was not a unique event, in fact,
this is a daily occurrence very much like a Pentagon
press briefing that are held in Baghdad and
Washington on regular occasions. This is very slick,
very well-orchestrated, with a spokesman speaking
excellent English very much on-message with talking
points. You can also see Hezbollah members providing
inner and outer security cordons and herding the
media, keeping them within the Hezbollah control. We
even saw Lebanese police officers with cameras
attending this Hezbollah briefing, further reflecting
the sense of a state within a state which is affected
by the Hezbollah organization.
At the same time, we can look at the military
activity on the southern border. We are seeing fierce
fighting between Hezbollah ground forces and the
Israeli Defense Force. We are seeing evidence of
bunkers, trenches, complicated defenses and ambushes,
all of which is a sign of on-going command and
control. Israeli Defense Forces say their aim is to
cripple Hezbollah. Well, from the indications that we
are seeing here, that is yet to take place. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Michael Ware, reporting for us from Beirut.
Thank you so much.
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Length: 3:57
KYRA PHILLIPS: CNN's
Michael Ware has the latest now from Beirut.
Michael, this has, for the longest time, been your
beat and you've met with main players on both sides
of this battle. What do you think is keeping it going
right now? Is it Israel's determination to dismantle
Hezbollah or is it Hezbollah just building up
stronger assets?
MICHAEL WARE: Well, you basically have two very
determined outfits of markedly different natures
going head-to-head here, Kyra. You've got the Israeli
Defence Forces, by far the most sophisticated
military in this region, coming up against Hezbollah,
which is the most sophisticated, the most organized,
the most deeply entrenched Islamic militant group in
the region. So this really is a battle of relative
titans here in the region, and by looking at the
state of Hezbollah right now, we get some kind of a
sense of what is the state of this war and how long
it might go. And I have to say that as it stands at
the moment, Hezbollah continues to put men in the
field in the battles in the south and here in Beirut
they are still operating very effectively. And we're
seeing that particularly in their media operations
here in the capital. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So let's talk more about the strength of
Hezbollah, Michael. Like you mentioned, the IDF has
incredible air assets, it's got troops on the ground,
it's got tanks -- what is it Hezbollah has? Is it
what's coming from Syria and Iran? Is it what it
already has hidden in the bunkers? Because we haven't
talked about Hezbollah air assets at all.
WARE: No, well, clearly Hezbollah has no air assets,
but it certainly has indirect fire capability, which
is what we're seeing with the onslaught of the
Katyusha rockets that are striking Israel.
Hezbollah's arsenals are an unknown quantity. The
only thing that can be said with any kind of surety
is that they are large, they are formidable, and they
are heavily protected. As Israeli commanders have
said, "We can pound and pound and pound their
arsenal, even if we take out 50% of their weapons,
that still leaves thousands." And what we're seeing
is an extremely disciplined, an extremely
well-organized, and a relatively effective guerilla
outfit that is fighting on home soil against a foe
that it knows intimately, and it's been down this
road before. So this is a resilient enemy for the
Israeli Defence Forces. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And the open-ended question, finally,
Michael -- any idea on how long this could go?
WARE: Well, that's the big question, clearly. But so
far we're not seeing either side take a decisive
advantage. We're seeing the Israelis making surgical
strikes inside Lebanon, but it's heavy going. They're
meeting very stiff resistance from bunkers, from
trenches. Their armor is being ambushed. We're seeing
clear signs of ongoing Hezbollah command and control.
So right now the Israelis seem to be quite some
distance away from achieving their goal of crippling
Hezbollah, and as the Israelis keep saying, they're
in this for the long haul. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Michael Ware, and no doubt so are you, live
from Beirut. Appreciate it, Michael.
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Length: 2:49
KYRA PHILLIPS: CNN's
Michael Ware has the latest now. Michael, bring us up
to date.
MICHAEL WARE: Well, as you point out, Kyra, Secretary
Rice made a lightning, unannounced visit here, to
Lebanon, today. She brought the promise of aid, which
is something for a deepening humanitarian crisis. Yet
the most difficult element here is, as you yourself
said, the US is not at this point looking for an
immediate cease-fire. This says that the Israeli
Defence Forces have not yet achieved their arm of
crippling the Hezbollah troops battling them in
southern Lebanon. And there's plenty of evidence of
that, the stiff resistance that the IDF is meeting,
and even here in Beirut, there is clear signs of
Hezbollah displaying that its infrastructure remains
intact. Its media operations, as just one example,
continue to keep pumping out information -- daily
briefings, tours of their strongholds -- very
well-orchestrated, very well put-together. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Michael, the Secretary of State said this
before she headed to the region, that she is dealing
with an organization -- we're talking about Hezbollah
-- that has one foot in politics, legitimate politics
as part of the Parliament, and another foot in
terrorism. Let me ask you just about the looming
humanitarian crisis and those that live in Hezbollah
stronghold areas. Is Hezbollah doing anything to help
its people?
WARE: Oh, absolutely. This has been one of
Hezbollah's strong points for a considerable period
of time. They're very effective at the 'hearts and
minds.' In fact, in many ways they have operated to
some degree as a state within a state, delivering
services to their constituency. We see it now, at
this moment, in southern Beirut. Areas that have been
absolutely pummeled, decimated by Israeli air
strikes, there are masses, congregations of refugees.
One such grouping is at an unfinished Beirut shopping
mall. There are now hundreds and hundreds of refugees
hunkered down there. Hezbollah provides them
protection, services, it's even pumping in its own
broadcast of its TV station. So very much they are
bearing in mind their grassroots support and
attempting to ensure that that does not whither away.
Even under fire, they're still trying to consolidate
their power base.
PHILLIPS: Michael Ware, live from Beirut. Michael,
thanks so much.