Hezbollah Attack Kills Two Israeli Soldiers; Posts Claimed Bombs on Several Flights
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 6:00 p.m. in London, 8:00 p.m. in Amman, Jordan and 8:00 p.m. in Jerusalem. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us. Up first, a deadly attack ratcheting up tensions in the Middle East, even more so. Israel says the militant group, Hezbollah, fired on an Israeli military vehicle in the Golan Heights. Two Israeli soldiers were killed. A Spanish peacekeeper was also killed in the fighting. This was Hezbollah's deadliest military attack on Israeli forces since the 2006 war between the two sides. The conflict has much wider implications since Hezbollah is backed by both Iran and the Syrian regime of President Bashar Al Assad. Our Global Affairs Correspondent Elise Labott is up there. She's near the Israeli border with Lebanon and the Golan Heights up there. Elise, we just got word, moments ago, that the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, assembled his security cabinet for an assessment meeting. What does all this mean? What are you hearing, now, about a potential escalation along the border between Israel, Lebanon and Syria?</s>ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the Israelis answered that artillery fire and those missile attacks into Israel today with air strikes against Hezbollah targets across the Lebanese border and also with ground artillery into the Lebanese border. Prime Minister Netanyahu saying Israel will not stand for another front, an open front, with Hezbollah, warning Hezbollah, in effect, about what happened to Hamas in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge saying they could have the same fate. Israeli military sources' analysts are saying that they seem to be kind of satisfied with the Israeli response which was immediate and punishing, they feel. And they are hoping it could escalate -- de- escalate, Wolf. But as you know from covering the Middle East for so long, one wrong move on either side of the border and it could quickly spiral out of control -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: It certainly could. That's the great fear right now. And walk us through, Elise, because the tensions along the northern -- Israel's northern border with Syria and Lebanon, they have been escalating dramatically over the past week, right?</s>LABOTT: Well, that's right. Well, you have that attack last week into Syria against high-level Hezbollah and Iranian targets. Now, Israel never copped to that attack. But certainly the IDF forces were on alert right after because they targeted and killed those high-level Iranian and Hezbollah operatives. Israel deployed the iron dome anti- missile system across the border, on its side of the border. We visited that today. And everyone is on high alert, Wolf. Yesterday, there were some rocket fire on the Golan Heights from Syria into Israel. Overnight, Israel targeted Syrian positions saying the Syrian regime is responsible for what happens on its side of the border. And then, today, you had that attack on that Israeli military convoy. So, things have been escalating over the last several days. Hezbollah certainly saying this is punishment for that Israeli attack against Hezbollah and the Iranians. However, it's been quiet for the last few hours. We'll see what happens overnight whether it de-escalates. I don't think anybody really wants a new front, Wolf, an open war between Israel and Hezbollah. But, you know, things could quickly spiral out of control.</s>BLITZER: It certainly could. Elise, stand by. I want to get back to you. But I want to get more insight, now, on the latest fighting and what it means for the broader Middle East. Joining us is Aaron Miller. He's a distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, a former advisor to six U.S. secretaries of state on the Arab Israeli conflict. What's going on over there?</s>AARON DAVID MILLER, PUBLIC POLICY SCHOLAR, WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER: You know, the Middle East is full of surprises but this one was predictable. There's no question that Hezbollah responded directly to the January 18th Israeli targeted hit on that convoy.</s>BLITZER: There was a convoy of Hezbollah vehicles going from Syria into Sour (ph), Lebanon, and it got, sort of, four miles away from Israeli forces were.</s>MILLER: Exactly. And Israeli intel clearly -- well, whether they knew they were Iranian rev guard -- revolutionary guard commanders in that convoy is unclear. But what they intuited, I suspect, is that Hezbollah and Iran wanted to expand and open a new front on the Golan. And that's one of the implications here. I think the -- what the Israelis fear is that Iran and, again, Hezbollah is looking for a way to establish a new baseline so that Israeli civilians, military forces can be shelled from the Golan which, as you know, at least on the Syrian side of the border, is very much an open space, free fire zone. So, the Hezbollah response was expected. They could have responded abroad in a terrorist attack. They could've opened up a huge high trajectory of weapons, across border assault. But they didn't. They took advantage of this attack to, basically, establish some measure of deterrence. And this was clearly payback. That attack, by the way, this morning's attack, I'm told, was quite sophisticated. New generation --</s>BLITZER: The attack on the Israeli vehicle?</s>MILLER: Exactly. New generation of anti-tank missiles, simultaneous IEDs and mortar fire. And, apparently, that Israeli military vehicle was also under armored (ph). So, you'd have to raise a question about why the Israelis anticipated this was going to happen. Why they weren't better prepared.</s>BLITZER: Because the fear is this could get out of control. And we all remember 2006 where there was a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah along the Israeli-Lebanese border. I remember covering that war. It was awful, the hundreds of thousands of Israelis had to abandon their homes in the north Haifa. A big city was virtually empty. But I drove around Haifa, the dock, the major port there. No ships were there. The Israelis lost billions of dollars in revenue. They certainly don't want that to happen now but it could escalate to that point given the volume of rockets and missiles Hezbollah has received over these past several years.</s>MILLER: It could. But the three primary parties here, Israel, Iran and Hezbollah, I suspect, don't want a repeat of that. I mean, from the Israeli side, you're facing elections on March 17. I mean, you remember this, Wolf. In 2006, for 33 days, half of the Middle East's most preeminent military power from Haifa to the Lebanese border was essentially closed space. And Hezbollah has rearmed and their high- trajectory weapons are more sophisticated, greater precision, more lethality. I'm not sure the Israelis want to open this up. And Iran already stretched in Syria, supporting Assad, and Hezbollah supporting Assad as well, on the ground with fighters, I suspect, don't want a second (</s>INAUDIBLE.) BLITZER: Yes, I agree. I'm sure the Israelis don't want this to escalate. I suspect the Iranians don't. But you know what? There could be a miscalculation. As we all know, those --</s>MILLER: Logic and rationality don't always apply.</s>BLITZER: Yes. In the Middle East, the pessimism, as they say, pays on these kinds of matters. Stand by for a moment. Elise, let's talk about that iron dome. You went up to the Golan Heights. The Israelis moved that U.S.-made -- that iron dome system that works relatively very effectively in dealing with incoming rockets and missiles. You were up there. Tell us what it was like. Did you actually get to see that iron dome on the Golan Heights?</s>LABOTT: We did, Wolf. We saw the batteries. They're not very large. We got a few hundred yards from it. The IDF was pushing us back every time we tried to get closer. Now, it's a very sophisticated radar system. As you know, they can shoot down, lock onto one of those rockets and shoot it down within 15 seconds. And that, you know, is very helpful during operation protective edge. Israelis could live a relatively normal life during a very volatile time. The problem is it's untested against the kind of rocket fire that Hezbollah is capable of firing, large salvos of missiles. We're talking about how Hezbollah could have about 100,000 missiles. If they start throwing hundreds of rockets at one time, this system is, certainly, untested about that. And it's unclear whether it has the capability to be as successful. It probably does not. That being said, I think that, as we've been saying, everybody wants to tone this down. It's really unclear, right now, whether you had your tit for tat. Hezbollah answered that Israeli air strike into Syria against Hezbollah and Iranian targets. Hezbollah responded. The Israelis came back and answered it. The Israelis are saying to Hezbollah, Syria and Iran, we will not tolerate another front. We will not let you change the rules of the game. So, I think, now, everyone's looking to see whether either side is looking to de-escalate (ph). And I think, as you've been saying, that the answer is no here.</s>BLITZER: Yes, I suspect you're right and Aaron's right as well. Quickly, Aaron, where does the Syrian regime of President Bashar Al Assad fit into all of this? They're getting support, obviously, from Iran, from Hezbollah. What do they want?</s>MILLER: I mean, I think Assad has reached the conclusion that there's going to be no western intervention. The Israelis have intervened, as you know, half a dozen time through air strikes destroying probably missiles from Iran to Hezbollah (INAUDIBLE.) The Israelis don't want a mess in this war. Assad, frankly, has created a manageable status quo for himself which is one of the reasons, I suspect, neither Iran nor Hezbollah wants to open up this second front. Remember, the Iranians spent a lot of money helping Hezbollah repair Lebanon in the wake of the 2006 war. Price of oil going down, stretched in Syria, Iran is simply not flush and I don't think wants it this time around.</s>BLITZER: All right. Aaron Miller, thanks very much. Elise, we're going to get back to you later as well. Elise Labott on the border between Israel and Lebanon. Coming up, a potential deal in the works to swap a Jordanian prisoner, a Jordanian air force pilot for two ISIS hostages. We have details, new information coming in. And a string of bomb threats targeting several flights here in the United States. Why investigators may have a hard time tracking down the culprit.