CNN: LOU DOBBS TONIGHT July 19, 2006
Lebanon
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DOBBS: Fierce fighting raging tonight between Israeli troops and Hezbollah terrorists just inside Lebanon. Israeli aircraft have destroyed a suspected Hezbollah command bunker located in southern Beirut. The Israelis said they dropped 23 tons of explosives.
A U.S.-chartered ship carrying more than 1,000 American evacuees from Lebanon has arrived in Cyprus. Up to 6,000 other Americans will be evacuated from Lebanon over the next several days.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice heading to the United Nations. She'll be here tomorrow in New York for talks on the Middle East conflict. Rice is set to discuss the widening conflict with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and European officials. She's not announced when she will travel to the Mideast, although that trip has been rumored to begin Friday.
The U.S. Navy has deployed nine ships to the eastern Mediterranean to help evacuate Americans from Lebanon. Those ships will also protect rescue ships from a possible attack by Hezbollah missiles.
Last week, Hezbollah fired a missile that disabled an Israeli warship. Jamie Mcintyre has the report from the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: The amphibious transport ship USS Nashville will be the first American war ship to pick up U.S. civilians from Beirut. While it's on a mission of mercy that doesn't mean it couldn't also become a terrorist target.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm concerned about attacks on ships, you bet.
MCINTYRE: For now, the sea lanes between Lebanon and Cyprus are considered a, quote, permissive environment, both for commercial vessels and military ships ferrying foreign nationals to safety. Still, CNN's Barbara Starr, on board the Nashville, reports the ship's commander is taking no chances.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: There will be, make no mistake, a series of extraordinary security measures for the marines when they go to Beirut. We have been asked not to be specific about those measures.
MCINTYRE: The stakes were raised when an Iranian-made C-802 anti-ship missile hit an Israeli warship Friday, revealing a capability few suspected Hezbollah possessed, the means to strike a ship as far as ten miles from shore. U.S. warships, including the Nashville, are equipped with the Navy's Phalanx System. The defense against anti-ship missiles features a sensitive tracking radar that looks like R2D2 on steroids, coupled with six 20-millimeter gattling guns, that fire more than 4,000 rounds a minute, knocking down incoming missiles with a wall of metal. It's good against high tech missiles but the threat is from low tech rockets as well.
JOHN PIKE, GLOBALSECURITY.ORG: American military planners are going to have to think very carefully about making sure that Hezbollah or Iran doesn't fire anti-shipping cruise missiles or artillery rockets at some of the evacuation points, at the evacuation ships or some of our war ships.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: As an extra precaution, Pentagon sources say the Nashville will likely remain several miles off shore and use its landing craft and helicopters to ferry Americans from the port to the ship. Lou?
DOBBS: Jamie, thank you very much for that. Jamie Mcintyre from the Pentagon.
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