[Transcript]  Mosaic News - 02/05/08: World News From The Middle East

Voting is underway in the United States from the day dubbed “Super Tuesday,” a day that could shape which candidate goes on to contest the final race to the White House. Voting is taking place in 24 States. The first polling stations opened on the East coast three hours ago. In a moment, we will be talking to our correspondent in New York City to explain how it all works. And as we’ve said, there has been a huge buildup to Super Tuesday, with many many candidates criss-crossing the country in a frenzy of last-minute campaigning. But, with so many states voting, each with their own rules, it is a highly complicated and confusing process. Lucia Newman has travelled across the states trying to make sense of it all.

They are facing the biggest primary battle in the history of the United States. Super Tuesday or Tsunami Tuesday, as some are now calling it, will for the first time see nearly half of this enormous nation’s 50 states voting simultaneously for their presidential candidates of choice. From the deep south, like here in Mobile, Alabama, where the racial divide continues to run deep. To the Rocky Mountain State of Colorado, until recenetly a bastion for religious right. To the West coast, to California, which is famous for its liberal stance on gay and abortion rights. The size and the political culture of the states taking part in Super Tuesday, are as diverse as the issues that matter to them. In Alabama, blacks only effectively obtained the right to vote 43 years ago. So in Chadwick Kensley’s barber shop, the primaries are viewed as a chance to weigh in on a major concern-racial inequality.

I see it like in as far as job opportunities, you know, some people with less experience that are like white get a job and a higher position than somebody with more experience than black.

But, there is one issue that crosses racial, geographic, and party lines.

The economy and our long-term involvement in the Iraq War.

Super Tuesday is crucial for picking the candidates favored to deal with it all. 52% of Democratic delegates and 41% of Republicans are chosen on just this one day but every state has its own rules. Some have primaries, a simple secret ballot vote. Others, like Colorado, hold what’s called a caucus.

In caucus States, people will meet with their neighbors, their fellow Democrats or their fellow Republicans, if they are Republicans. People who are there and attending will separate out into groups. It's a public process and not a secret ballot, and be counted as supporting their particular candidate.

In some States, you have to belong to the party whose candidate you are voting for. In others, independents can vote. In the case of the Republicans, in some States, the winner takes all the delegates. In others, a portion. If it sounds incredibly complicated, it's because it is, but at the end of the day what matters is not the number of States that can be won, but rather the number of delegates that a candidate can win to represent him or her at the National Nominating Convention. Which in the case of the Democrats, will be held right here in Denver in late August. No candidate has enough money or time to campaign in every Super Tuesday state. So, they are concentrating on the biggest prizes. And the biggest of all is California. The state that by far awards the largest number of delegates.

Yeah, it's very exciting, because basically we have a huge influence on the whole election process.

But even winning California is no guarantee of winning the nomination, at least this year.

We may have a presumptive nominee, we may not, because the race is very close.

A super contest that according to the experts is likely to continue for one or both political parties, even after Super Tuesday.

Presenter, FEMALE #1:
Hamas Movement leaders in Nablus called for yielding its military control of the Gaza Strip and returning the situation as it was before last July to serve as a launching pad to begin dialogue between the Fatah and Hamas movements. They also called on armed fighters from all factions, specifically those from Hamas, to surrender their arms to the Palestinian security agency. Khaled Al Qassim with the details.

Reporter, MALE #1:
For the first time, the political and civic leaders of the Hamas Movement in the city of Nablus decided to come out with a public position about Hamas’ control over the Gaza Strip.

Guest, MALE #2:
We call on our brothers in Gaza to end all it has gotten through military force and allow the return of the situation to before July 14, 2007 in order to open a pathway for a national Palestinian dialogue and serve as a gesture of good intentions for serious dialogue with our brothers in the Palestinian National Authority, headed by our brother the honorable president, Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Mazen.

Reporter, MALE #1:
Prior to this announcement, the Palestinian Authority released tens of Hamas leaders, who are being detained in PA jails, specifically in the city of Nablus.

Guest, MALE #2:
We highly value this step taken by the Hamas leaders in Nablus. It aims to protect Palestinian lives. It aims to maintain national unity. Certainly, we welcome this and we will work together and our work will progress further. We hope that similar steps are taken in all districts. We also hope that the Hamas leaders in Gaza will renounce their black coup.

Reporter, MALE #1:
This closing of the gap between the positions of Hamas leaders in Nablus and the Palestinian Authority may be a sign of relief for tens of Hamas Movement detainees in jails of the Palestinian Authority, which hopes that the decision of Hamas’ leaders in Nablus will influence Hamas’ throughout the Palestinian Territories. It appears that the Palestinian Authority has scored two points today against the Hamas Movement. It scored at the military level. That is if today’s announcement by the Hamas Movement leaders came as a result of the Palestinian Authority limiting the movement of its leaders in Nablus. It scored politically, if the Palestinian Authority was actually able to convince Hamas to take this position for the sake of public interest. From Nablus, north of the West Bank. Khaled Al Qassim. Al Arabiya

Good evening. We open with this late development. Just one hour ago, the Israeli Air Force attacked a Hamas police station in Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip. Palestinians report six people dead. The IDF confirmed the strike and said it came in response to the ongoing Qassam rocket fire from Gaza into Israel. And in a related development, there is a high alert across the country following over 50 specific warnings of planned terror attacks. And at this hour, a 73-year-old is being laid to rest in her hometown of Dimona. She was murdered yesterday in a suicide bombing in the town. Five of the people wounded in the attack remain hospitalized. IBA’s, Dennis Zin, filed this report.

A heightened police presence throughout the country continues following yesterday's terror attack in Dimona. The security forces were issued a Code 3 alert, one stage less than emergency. The deployment was highest in the south of the country in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Overnight, border police squads arrested 240 Palestinians who entered Israel legally for work. All were escorted back to Jenin and Sumaria. According to general security sources, some 50 terror warnings have been recorded. The motivation to carry out an attack is soaring they said, one attack creates an appetite among terrorists for more.

The Israeli National Police has heightened security in public places, both malls, central bus stations, as well as train stations. This is a necessary measure that is being taken in order to heighten security and prevent any further terrorist attacks from taking place.

Meanwhile, an intelligence probe is under way to establish the identities of the two terrorists and the route by which they arrived to Dimona. A host of Palestinian terror groups in the West Bank and Gaza have claimed responsibility, including the Fatah and the Hamas. The premise that the two came via the West Bank town of Hebron, and not from Gaza through Egypt, has taken predominance. However, investigators say that at this stage, no possibility has been ruled out. A police officer who shot the second terrorist dead was given a promotion and citation for his action by the police chief. Tomorrow, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is scheduled to hold security consultations regarding the Dimona attack. On the agenda is the erection of a fence along the border between Israel and Egypt. Meanwhile, the Head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, today, called for the targeting of the Hamas leadership in response to the organization claiming responsibility for the Dimona attack. He said that the Hamas must be shown no immunity, while Israelis are being killed.

PRESENTER,
Palestinian martyrs often left fighting for their lives before passing away. This news comes after Mahmud Abu Taha and Baker Abu Rijal, two Palestinian Martyrs, were fatally wounded by the Israeli occupation army during an offensive in the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. The two martyrs were left bleeding to death before a medical team could reach them due to the presence and shelling of Israeli tanks in the area. The new Israeli incursion comes as a retaliatory action to the attack on Dimona yesterday. Amidst the cycle of attacks and counterattacks, Palestinian factions announced they fired two home made rockets of the Hifs type into the Israeli settlement of Sedorot, damaging a local factory there. A day after the attack on Dimona, the Israeli police was put on high alert in anticipation of more attacks. According to the Israeli police, thousands of police and border patrol officers, backed with Jewish volunteers, were put on high alert in hot spot areas, especially along the borders with Egypt. The source added: This is Israel’s highest level of alert before a state of emergency is declared in the country. Let’s go now to occupied Jerusalem, where we are joined with our correspondent, Mohammad Al-Sayed.
Mohammad, Israel put yesterday its army on high alert. Does this have to do with the attack on Dimona?

REPORTER, MALE #1
Yes, the two cases are directly linked. The Israeli army usually increases its presence in the city of Jerusalem, especially during Palestinian gatherings such as Friday prayers. However, this latest alert is unprecedented, as Israel’s security agencies have issued 9 warnings of anticipated attacks inside Israel, including 9 attacks along the border between Gaza and Rafah and two others in the West Bank. In addition, Israel’s intelligence agencies issued warnings, which the Israeli public takes seriously, especially after the attack on Dimona yesterday. Again, Israel intensified its army and security presence in anticipation of new attacks.

PRESENTER, FEMALE #1
What about the move taken today by Jewish extremists?

REPORTER, MALE #1
Yes, they planned today a massive rally. What distinguishes this gathering from the others is that the Israeli religious parties formed an alliance with Jewish extremists. This unprecedented solidarity between the Israeli religious parties and the radical settlers was evident today in Israeli media. Under the slogan:” No to dividing Jerusalem,” they came together and gathered around the Burak Wall or what they referr to as the Wailing Wall. This comes in the context of the ongoing anti-government campaign launched by Israel’s right wing.

Presenter, Woman # 1
The French president Nicolas Sarkuzy said that should his country have to fulfill its duty by intervening in Chad, then it will do so. Sarkuzy added, if Chad was the victim of an aggression then France have the means to counter such action which violates international law. Meanwhile leaders of the rebel groups offered to end the fighting if President Idriss Deby stepped down.

Reporter, Man # 1
Visitors to the afflicted Chadian capital of N’djamena will be greeted by these scattered and decomposing bodies. A delegation from Libya and the central republic of Congo are some of the visitors who will soon see these images of destruction and chaos in N’djamena. The minister of foreign affairs and French affairs of the Republic of Congo, Basile Ikouebe said that a delegation from Libya and his country will arrive today to Chad to mediate between President Idriss Deby and the rebels. He added that France has vowed to protect the Chadian government on behalf of the European Union and that he had asked the French’s help in reaching a political settlement.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council unanimously condemned the attempted coup in N’djamena and urged those who can help the Chadian government not to hesitate in doing so. The security Council was primarily referring to France.
Guest, Man # 2
In response to the government’s request, the UN Security council members can provide help.
I think that the French can do that considering their experience in this area. They now have the support of the Security Council.

Reporter, Man # 1
France’s response came quickly. Paris said that it supports what it called the legitimacy of the Chadian government but it does not want to intervene at the current time.

Guest, Man # 3
We do not intend to carry out a military operation though we reiterate our support to the legitimacy of Idriss Deby’s government.

Reporter, Man # 1
France supported the legitimacy of the Chadian government and condemned attempts to topple it. Political observers believe that this does not necessarily mean that France supports Deby completely. Meanwhile civilians have been trying to find a safe place a way from clashes between the rebels and the government forces. Some of N’djamena’s residents sought refuge behind the borders in the Cameron. American relief organizations say that about 300,000 out of city’s 700,000 residents had fled. However they escaped security breakdown only to be met by displacement, lack of shelter and food.

Presenter, Man # 1
Al Jazeera correspondent said that the government forces have started to speed up their control over different areas in the Chadian capital of N’djamena.

Presenter, Woman # 1
Al Jazeera correspondent who surveyed the situation in a number of areas in the city said that the city appeared calm and that only government forces were present in the streets. He quoted an official from the Chadian army saying that President Idriss Deby was in control of the military and the political affairs in the country.

Reporter, Man # 2
Two injured civilians who were shot in the past two days are staying in is this room. These are not the only injured people in this hospital; injured rebels were also treated here but most of them already left the hospital. Four injured rebels are being treated in this room. However hospital employees told us that in the past days there was a larger number of injured rebels in the hospital but they were taken home by their families.

Guest, Man # 3
You have been injured; may God give energy.

Reporter, Man # 2
Red Cross unit are still roaming in the city which appears calm. Only government forces are present in the city and they have been patrolling areas all over the city. The bodies of some of the rebels are still laying on the streets. We spoke with a number of military commanders in the army, and they told us that Chad’s president Idriss Deby is till leading the army and that he is in control of the political and military affairs in the country.

Presenter, FEMALE #1:
The US occupation army acknowledged killing at least 9 Iraqi civilians, including a child and wounding three others in an operation it carried out in southern Baghdad. However, eye-witnesses confirmed that 20 civilians were killed in this raid, including 17 members of the same family, reigniting the dissatisfaction of the Iraqi public. Meanwhile, three Iraqi civilians, including a young girl and an employee in the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, were killed in separate attacks in Baghdad and Baquba. The US forces announced that one of their soldiers was killed in a missile attack that targeted his patrol in southeastern Baghdad last Thursday.

Guest, MALE #1:
There is terrorism on one side and the Americans on the other. This should not happen.

Reporter, FEMALE #2:
They are two sides of the same coin. In the shadow of the occupation and the “orderly chaos” brought with it, Iraqis continue to lose confidence in their security. Iraqis, who don’t meet their fate due to explosions and booby trapped cars, which came with the democracy of the occupier, are killed by his armed forces, bullets and missiles. These incidents are always accompanied by expressions of regret over the killing of civilians and apologies for the victims’ families.
This was the case with the raid carried out by these forces on the village of Tel Al Samar in southern Baghdad on the pretext that an American patrol came under ambush fire, requiring them to call in air support, killing 9 civilians, including mainly women and children, according to the underestimated admissions of the occupation not to mention the injuring of 20 others.
An Iraqi source said that 20 people were killed, including 17 members of the same family due to this error.

Guest, MALE #2:
With great regret, this situation has been repeated many times. The occupation forces say that a mistake was made. When will the occupation forces get it right?

Reporter, FEMALE #2:
Making a mistake one or two times may be considered as accidents. However, repeated and constant mistakes have become a regular phenomenon throughout Iraq from the south to the north, making them into deliberate practices that aim to frighten the Iraqi people and those groups that target the US presence in Iraq. In addition, these forces spread death through random and organized planting of mines, and by driving a wedge among the united Iraqi people.

Guest, MALE #3:
The Americans are killing randomly and say that it was done by mistake. Their raids are unjustified.

Reporter, FEMALE #2:
With an American army that makes many mistakes, and an American president with a misleading and wide imagination. According to a US research center, he is an excellent liar, the Iraqi and the region’s problems will grow due to this lack of responsibility by the army and the president of the most powerful country in the world. This means there will be more deaths and greater brainwashing under various names in what is referred to as “orderly” chaos in this latest American era.

PRESENTER, FEMALE #1
Despite 6 decades having passed on the problem of Kashmir, a disputed between New Delhi and Islam Abad, the issue continues to impact Pakistanis at the public and official levels. While most Pakistanis support the right of self-etermination of the people of Kashmir, the Pakistani government wants to take control of the region, either militarily or through negotiations. On this Kashmir Solidarity Day, our correspondent, Mayhoub Khuder, reports from Islam Abad.

REPORTER, MALE #2
Amidst enthusiasm and deep emotion, Pakistanis took to the streets to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day. They displayed posters reflecting the suffering of the people of Kashmir. In addition, Pakistanis, including political parties, held demonstrations in major cities, where the protestors called for a free Kashmir. However, many Pakistanis want to unite Kashmir under their own flag.

GUEST, MALE #2
Kashmir is one of Pakistan’s main arteries, and the country will not be complete without it.
Until Kashmir is annexed to Pakistan, we will continue to support it with its struggle for independence.

REPORTER, MALE #1
Today, Pakistani women came out in full force to support the people of Kashmir in their struggle; even the disabled didn’t miss the opportunity to mark the continuing struggle of the people of Kashmir. Amidst this show of solidarity, the people of Kashmir called on the international community to take a responsible position while dealing with their plight.

GUEST, MALE #3
We are appealing to the international community to mount pressure on India to grant Kashmir the legitimate right to self determination, in conformity with UN resolutions. Until this happens, we will continue our struggle toward victory, God willing.

REPORTER, MALE #1
The issue of Kashmir has prompted two wars between Pakistan and India. Four years ago, the issue was brought back to the negotiation table between Pakistan and India, with no progress to report. Between the option of war and peace, Kashmir remains an outstanding issue that needs a solution. n one United voice, Pakistanis came out today to say: “we will not forget Kashmir.”
With this, the Pakistanis want to deliver a duel message: one to the people of Kashmir and the other to the international community. Mayhoub Khuder, Dubai TV, IslamAbad.

Host, Man # 1
Professor Ahmad Asfahani, I want to point your attention to the political position held by individuals in the West so we can compare it to the position of individuals in the Arab world. After September 11th, Bin Laden threats, and the attacks by Al Qaeda on American interests, one expects individuals in America to think that they are being targeted by terrorist Islamic groups. Despite this however, the public in the West has taken the positions of supporting the Muslim plights such as their opposition to the war in Iraq, and their rejection to a future war in Iran. How can one explain these positions?

Guest, Man # 2
Whose positions?

Host, Man # 1
The positions of the people in the West.

Guest, Man # 1
I disagree with you. Regardless of some media claims, the Europeans in general, have a negative view of Islam because they do no know it. This is affirmative.There is a very simple reason for this; they are ignorant about Islam and different kinds of Muslims. This leads me to what Helbawai was talking about. When we speak about the Arab world, both us and the West, we ignore that a large segment of the Muslim citizens who are secular, liberal and believe in the democratic system. They do not agree with political Islam that is being advocated by some organizations. This is a very important point.

Host, Man # 1
You are saying that their views is being ignored.

Guest, Man # 1
Yes; their views are marginalized by the Muslim extremists who use violence and the Western governments who use more brutality to counter them. The voice of a large segment of Moderate Muslims is being ignored in the West. Westerners’ perceptions depend on historical misconceptions. They view the Middle East region as a Muslim region and they have specific way in mind of how they should deal with it. Their view is strongly influenced by the crusades.
I use a simple illustration as an example. When the leader of the British forces entered Jerusalem, he announced, “Now the crusades end”. His comrade who entered Damascus, visited the grave of Salah Al Dean and said, “We came back, Salah Al Dean”.

Host, Man # 1
This happened a long time ago.

Guest, Man # 1
At the time, they were talking about the crusades which ended 700 years ago. They were saying that the Crusades ended only then. At the time, both Egypt and the Levant were struggling between different political ideologies. such as Khilafa, governess, and state religion. Many names surfaced such Ali Abdel Razeq, Taha Hussein, Farah Anton, Muheyh Kawakbi and many others. These leaders were trying to plan the future of the region, but colonial forces had another plan. They wanted to establish many small states based on region and ethnicity, such as the Jewish state in Palestine, the Maronite state in Lebanon, the Kurdish state, and the Druze state and so on. The view of the region by westerners was based on religion and this view has not changed up until now. Now they say that there is Islamic terror. They don’t know which group of Muslims they are referring to. Sometimes they refer to Islamic terrorism in Pakistan, other times they refer to Islamic terrorism in Palestine. What is the difference between one Islamic terror and another? If we do not talk about this issue, it will be hard to open a dialogue between the West and Islam to deal with the problem.