The difference was minor. Shimon Peres, statesman, born 1 August 1923; died 28 September 2016. HARMAN: Yes, it's accurate, but it's more complicated. In 1957, he successfully lobbied the French government for a nuclear reactor, and established a hi-tech intelligence unit, Lakam, whose operatives served him in future clandestine ventures. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. He also opened a good fence border crossing with Lebanon, revitalised the IDF after the near-humiliation of the 1973 war, allowed legally questionable settlements on the West Bank, and masterminded the daring rescue of hostages from Entebbe in 1976. One of my Iraqi friends said to me, "OK, the United Nations says 3,700 Iraqis died in October, civilians." Fox News host Tucker Carlson kept it classy as usual on Monday night, describing CNN reporter Shimon Prokupecz as a "midget with the microphone.". He also released For the Future of Israel, a series of philosophical conversations with the author Robert Littell. BLITZER: Do you believe there is a civil war in your country right now between Iraqi Sunni versus Iraqi Shia? Fifty percent of the 10 divisions -- it's in the Baker-Hamilton report -- are not deployable outside of the regions in which the recruits joined up. PERES: At that time, more or less, yes. Shimon Peres addressing members of the Foreign Press Association during a visit in the southern Israeli town of Sderot, 2014. She has filed a number of exclusive interviews for RT, including with Israeli president, Shimon Peres, Lebanese president Emile Lahoud, Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniye and South African president Jacob Zuma. The dialogue with Iran will be a 100-percent failure, just like it was with North Korea. And Kurdistan is the one peaceful area. He called it unworkable. He bought Israels first US weapons, but resigned in 1965 with the prime minister, Ben-Gurion. HARMAN: I am not angry. The administration has a big problem here. I think Iran is a problem for the rest of the world. In 2009 Peres served as national host for Pope Benedict XVIs visit to Israel. HAMILTON: We don't want a precipitous withdrawal either. Shimon, is the sky safe from attacks by rioters during the inauguration and at all time following??? BLITZER: Secretary Baker, the Kurds not excited about your report, to put it mildly. The problem is not Iran, not the Iranian people. In Houston, James Baker; he was the secretary of state under the first President Bush. We dismantled settlements by force. Israels 1988 election took place against the backdrop of the Palestinian intifada (the uprising against Israel in the occupied territories). SHAYS: My assessment is, if we do see real regionization, it's an indication that some of our policies failed. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. [1] Starting in May 2022, he has been covering the Robb Elementary School shooting in Texas, including the related first responder attack timeline controversy. Where other Israeli politicians grudgingly accepted a Palestinian state as inevitable, only Peres argued in Le Monde that it was necessary for Israels future. PERES: I wish it would help. Those are strong words from the Kurdish president of Iraq. The KFSN team covers the greater Fresno County area like no one else. So I would not be trying to encourage a division. The New York Post had an editorial, "The Counsel of Cowards" it was entitled. Prime Minister, thanks very much for coming in. Learn how your comment data is processed. HAMILTON: I think Jim's on the right track there when he talks about our large interests in the region. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. BLITZER: The secretary, former secretary of state James Baker, the co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group, had this advice this week about -- for the president, in terms of accepting the recommendations, the 79 recommendations of the panel. Everything we saw on our trip to Baghdad, everyone we talked to agreed with that. And America's interests all over that part of the world would be severely, severely damaged. So you will talk to them and they won't answer. BLITZER: I want Lee Hamilton to weigh in as well, because, you know, you're getting negative reaction from all the key groups in Iraq. Also to be tossed overboard are regional allies who believed America has the will to finish the fight it began." And they have an army, an Iraqi army which has about a 50 percent readiness rate. I think Chris is right. But the vice president no longer is the center of the action in the administration, and I'm saying the president may not be either. The problem is that there are two different wars. In other words, do you want Arab Sunnis outside of Iraq playing a role in determining your country's future? BLITZER: Are you encouraged or discouraged, Congressman Hamilton -- because we only have a few seconds left -- by the initial response from President Bush? Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. In his inaugural presidential speech he bluntly stated that Israel had to get rid of the territories. BLITZER: Brent, we'll watch it closely with you. I do not believe that the American people want to extend $8 billion a month to Iraq, to a government that is not doing enough to stop killing in Iraq. From Washington to Baghdad, the buzz this week over the Iraq Study Group, its downbeat assessment of the war, and fresh questions of how President Bush will respond. FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST: Sixty-five years ago, Shimon Peres got his first major position in Israel as head of its navy. Now that they're going to share the oil equitably -- or that's what they said yesterday -- I think that's a very healthy sign that this may be their choice for how to move. And they're saying this interferes in their own sovereignty. It seems like it's not much better now. And later, Representatives Jane Harman and Chris Shays on how changes in Iraq policy will play on Capitol Hill. The problem is, there is a two-party situation among the Palestinians. Updated Of course, there are some sectarian violence in some areas, but not in all Iraq. What's your reaction? As a crime and justice correspondent for CNN, he has covered some of the. Doesn't he know it? He's now honorary chairman of the James Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. The acrimony between them deepened, and probably exacerbated Palestinian frustration. (END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: And coming up, we'll get a very, very different perspective. As he said, he's not going to be a bump on a log, that he's going to come in and he's going to look at this situation. Shimon Peres funeral: Obama evokes unfinished business of peace talks, Asa peacemaker, Shimon Peres never won over the Israeli public, Sonof Shimon Peres announces death of 'devoted' former Israeli leader video. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we were to fail, that failed policy will come to hurt generations of Americans in the future. September 22, 2014 - Releases a comedic YouTube video, So Now What? The video depicts the former president trying out a variety of new jobs including pizza deliveryman, gas station attendant, supermarket cashier and airport security guard. BAKER: Well, Wolf, you can't put any value on just one American life. Welcome to Washington. WOODWARD: Yes. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: An update for you who are following the story: The former Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet, dead at the age of 91, this coming in from a military hospital in Santiago. We'll be right back. Jalal Talabani, the president of Iraq, a man I assume you know quite well -- we've interviewed him many times -- very blunt in rejecting your report, saying it contains very dangerous articles that undermine the sovereignty of Iraq. Although many Israeli leftists felt outraged at his betrayal, experienced Peres-watchers knew that his personal friendship with Sharon counted for more than ideological congruence. Similar charges resurfaced in 2005, when he left Labour to co-found Kadima with Sharon, barely a month after losing the Labour leadership to an outside candidate, Amir Peretz. (END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: On CBS, Democratic Senator Carl Levin emphasized what he thought was the Iraq Study Group Report's bottom line. Over the years, wrote the Israeli historian Zeev Sternhell, Shimon Peres destroyed everything of value [in Labour]. Other leftists blamed him for initiating with Oslo II the settlement bypass roads that seemed to render a contiguous Palestinian state impossible. It doesn't mean he can't countermand decisions. And quite frankly, the whole future of Iraq depends upon whether or not the Iraqi government can effect a program of national reconciliation between Kurds, Shia and Sunni. Shimon Prokupecz (born February 4, 1978) is an American journalist who works as the crime and justice reporter for CNN. September 13, 2016 - Peres is hospitalized after suffering a stroke. Peres thus won the dubious privilege of becoming Labours first-ever opposition leader. Son of Yitzhak and Sarah Persky (he later Hebraised the family surname), he was born in Vishneva, then a largely Jewish town located in the borderlands between modern Belarus, Poland and Lithuania. And George Bush knows that and has known that for two years. And sometimes it's very, very painful. Given the problem of settlements, it was, he quipped, an attempt to turn an omelette back into eggs. He has my support. We're continuing our conversation with two experienced hands in the U.S. Congress: Democrat Jane Harman and Republican Chris Shays. (END VIDEO CLIP) ROBERTSON: And this comes on the heels of the words from another senior Kurdish leader in Iraq, saying that the study group plans to essentially take away from the Kurds control over their oil revenues, from the Kurdish area, putting it more under central government control. BLITZER: Here are a couple of the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group. From here, it looks much more like a proposal, like many others in the report, that was designed to bind up wounds in Washington, D.C. than to bind up wounds here in Iraq. And I will help them stay in Congress and help keep our majority in 2008. That's a prescription for ongoing war. Thanks very much. Shimon sports a slim and toned figure, featuring a height of 5 ft 8. And the X factor in all of this is Bob Gates. Joining us here in Washington, Bob Woodward of The Washington Post. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. CARL LEVIN (D-MI): The key element to this report, to me, is that they say that there is no military solution in Iraq; there is only a political solution in Iraq, and that the Iraqis have got to come together politically. And now, in case you missed it, let's check some of the highlights from the other Sunday morning talk shows here in the United States. And one very indispensable element of that national reconciliation program is the sharing of oil proceeds on the basis of population. We have to change the strategy. HARMAN: I'm talking about semi-independent regions. We'll be right back. All the story with the Syrians is spent (ph) with "no" and "no" and "no." And to do it effectively would take years. All of that makes tremendous sense. Chris Shays narrowly being re-elected, but I'm sure you're happy to be here in Washington. We'll get an exclusive Sunday interview with arguably the most powerful Shiite politician in Iraq, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim. Not every detail is sound. When Shamir became prime minister, Peres served as foreign minister (1986-88), during which time the iconoclastic pragmatist and security hawk, who once called settlements the roots and eyes of Israel, blossomed into a peace campaigner. It doesn't mean he won't be in place. The former Emmy Award winner, Shimon has been working with the network for more than a decade. First, though, let's check in with CNN's Fredricka Whitfield for a quick look at some other important news making headlines right now. There were two aftershocks. BURNS: Well, it's an irony -- perhaps you could even say a tragedy -- of the American enterprise in Iraq that those two elections which brought, ultimately, something like 12 million of the 27 million Iraqis to the polls and which gave everybody so much hope that there was going to be a turn for the better has actually only worsened things here by bringing to power -- and I'm not only talking about the government, the Shiite religious parties, but basically, sectarian interests. By arthur January 15, 2023. Then we'll go to Baghdad. Failing in Iraq, which we are doing, not correcting the course, is not going to help us anywhere else in the world and not going to help our BLITZER: So you think the U.S. can still win? Many of those mixed Shia-Sunni neighborhoods are no longer mixed. The couple married in 1945 after Sonia had served as a nurse and driver with the British Army in Egypt. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Welcome back to "Late Edition." Shimon Peres, in Memoir, Takes On Israel Past and Future. But currently we are concentrating on Iraq and the Iraqi issue. The Syrians don't want to meet with us. It's time to get things in the security environment handed over to the Iraqis. We'll tell you what he has to say. Interview With Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim; Interview With Shimon Peres. 1959 - Elected to Israels parliament, the Knesset. We paid $2 billion compensation. "If the Iraqi government does not make substantial progress toward the achievement of milestones on national reconciliation, security and governance, the United States should reduce political, military or economic support for the Iraqi government." I don't see the first step. Then you would have a broader-based civil conflict, you'd have a region-wide war. And it's very hard to discern, anywhere in the political class here, a strongman. Less charitable souls felt that his overvaulting ambition had once again trumped his principles. WOODWARD: Well, he was not there for the war, and so he's going to make a fresh assessment of it. And, as Lee said, it's understandable, I think, that the Kurds, who would like their own independent state, might have some problem with some of the things we suggest in there, which is to support the president's vision, this current administration's vision, of an Iraq that can sustain itself, defend itself and govern itself, and that the Shia in the south might want their own state. I understand how hard our troops are working. When I was there last year with General Abizaid, it was clear to me that the United States did not have a good understanding of the insurgency, of the sectarian violence. Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a91d8cc5813a760822b8d0c0b9fef1bf" );document.getElementById("afe063943e").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This idea that the Iraq Study Group has put forward of, "Well, let's just embed more U.S. forces in the Iraqi units; maybe let's quadruple it" -- I mean, John Burns can tell you, reporters who've been with those units, that's going to do absolutely nothing. AL-HAKIM (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): There are many present (ph) politicians who've said many things and talked about many things. I mean, they will have read those first 50 pages of the Baker- Hamilton report as closely as you and I and everybody else did. BLITZER: But the general notion that James Baker and Lee Hamilton and their colleagues have that, in order to ease the crisis, potentially a catastrophe, in Iraq, the United States has to get much more intimately involved on the Israeli-Palestinian front. Nic, what's the latest? That seems to be what the choice of the Iraqis is, and that should be what controls. I mean, without them, the Palestinians would have already a state a long time ago. And I think that the study group pointed that out. "I think the Baker-Hamilton report is unfair and unjust. His career began as a paralegal at the District Attorney's Office in his home town. In the Iraq Study Group report, the Arab-Israeli conflict is seen as inextricably linked to the situation in Iraq. Before joining CNN International, she was a reporter for Abu Dhabi Television. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Peres had meanwhile founded a centre for peace in his name, with headquarters in Ajami, a largely Arab neighbourhood of Jaffa. On the other hand, the only one that was cited in the report, Wolf, was the fact that we call for a sharing of oil proceeds. BAKER: Well, my reaction is, if you believe that editorial, you believe in the tooth fairy. They had to start again after the first year. And that, in turn, could help the U.S. in Iraq. Still with us, Bob Woodward here in Washington, John Burns in Baghdad. Do your job, as Bill Belichick would say! But they're junior. Great reporting! He came here to Baghdad -- the mission, it seemed, to thank troops, thank commanding officers for their work. Shimon Prokupecz is an American journalist and TV personality He is of American nationality and white ethnicity He currently serves as the crime and justice reporter for CNN's Washington bureau His career began as a paralegal at the District Attorney's Office in his home town His net worth is estimated at $2 million. But he visited the al-Asad air base in the West, a massive Balad air base about 50 miles north of Baghdad, that is a major U.S. medical facility. And the ISG report lays out a good baseline to change that strategy. Is the situation in Iraq linked to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict? In spite of the circulating rumors about his sexual orientation, Shimon is not gay, and it appears that he is still single. The center aims to showcase Israels technology achievements and encourage entrepreneurs and start-ups. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. GORDON SMITH (R-OR): I, for one, am at the end of my rope when it comes to supporting a policy that has our soldiers patrolling the same streets, in the same way, being blown up by the same bombs, day after day. It was bridgeable. But at the moment, he has not been charged, I don't believe. [1] In 2017, he returned to Washington, D.C. as a crime and justice reporter. He fought the 1984 elections to a dead heat, and duly headed a national unity government, agreeing that he would hand power to Likuds pugnacious new leader, Yitzhak Shamir, after two years. https://www.instagram.com/p/_-ZABTrQiU/?hl=en&taken-by=shimonpro. Which barrel has the shell? And Afghanistan isn't going well. We don't need BLITZER: To break it up? BLITZER: Congressman Hamilton, right after the president met with Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, arguably the most powerful Shiite politician in Iraq right now, and he made it clear he disagrees strongly with several of your key recommendations, including this notion of bringing in these regional players, of the neighbors. It may not work. And that's one of the main purposes of our suggestion, not that there be a conference but that there be meetings of all of the countries neighboring Iraq, meetings sponsored by the United States and the government of Iraq, and meetings, by the way, that Prime Minister Maliki has supported. According to sources, Handler was the Nobel Peace Prize laureate's guest at his Peres Center for Peace, where they conducted an on-camera conversation about his life achievements; his role in . AL-HAKIM (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): This is not up to us. President Peres was a strong advocate of innovation, both in Israel and the world. BLITZER: You served on the Intelligence Committee, until now. That's another reason why we have to get the Iraq problem behind us. Let me refer to something you wrote on November 12th: "It is something ordinary Iraqis say with growing intensity, even as they agree on little else. I also understand that we're hunting down Al Qaida on a regular basis and we're bringing them to justice. We'll be right back. Our whole -- the premise of all of our policy in recent years has been a unified Iraq. THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. But you need something that people will say, "Oh, this is a change, and this has a chance of working." Their reactions all went, as far as we could tell, to their sectarian interests. The situation seems to be deteriorating, even as we speak. He became the first Israeli head of state to address a Muslim state legislature when he spoke to Turkeys national assembly in November 2007. Most unusually for an Israeli president, Peres became his nations top diplomat. Basically, we are all for embracing peace. And that's what the Iraqis seem to be wanting. So if I were the Kurds, I'd like to say peaceful. Listen to what he said. Peress lieutenants, led by Yossi Beilin and Uri Savir, opened a secret track with PLO negotiators outside Oslo. "There must be a renewed and sustained commitment by the United States to a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace on all fronts: Lebanon and Syria, and President Bush's June 2002 commitment to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine." And you could really have a very, very chaotic situation which would be very detrimental to American interests. BLITZER: Do you think the presence of American forces, 140,000, 145,000 U.S. troops in Iraq are helping your country or hurting your country? It is certain that all these engagements and ventures helped Shimon Prokupecz to sharpen his professional reporting skills as well as to increase his popularity. Do you believe that there was a Holocaust in which 6 million Jews were killed? And by the way, Wolf, you showed just before we came on that clip of what's going on in Lebanon. What is your reaction to that? (adsbygoogle=window.adsbygoogle||[]).push({}); Shimon Prokupecz is an American journalist and TV personality, who is probably best known currently for serving as the crime and justice reporter for the CNNs Washington bureau, where he primarily covers the FBI-related stories as well as law enforcement issues. Coming up in just a few minutes, will any policy changes end the violence and the death in Iraq? So, I mean, as a wish, I'm all for it. SHAYS: In good conscience, I can, as long as it results in good results. Let me start with you, Secretary Baker. Welcome in, and I'll start with you, Jane Harman. There is no assurance that they will enforce justice." They were dismayed when in 2009 he defended Israels continuing attack on Gaza. A simple listing of achievements only hints at the phenomenon that was Peres. An earlier version said that Peres was survived by his wife, Sonia. For our North American viewers, coming up at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, "This Week at War," with John Roberts. Large numbers there, smaller than here in downtown Beirut but no less politically significant, Wolf. AL-HAKIM (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): My ambition is to stay as a servant for the Iraqi people. We still think we can achieve the president's goal of an Iraq that can defend itself, support itself and sustain itself, govern itself, if we make the changes that we have suggested. BLITZER: And good luck to everyone involved in this effort. Here is one of the conclusions, Chris Shays, of this Iraq Study Group report. We're continuing our conversation with the two co- chairmen of the Iraq Study Group: the former Secretary of State James Baker and former Democratic Congressman Lee Hamilton of Indiana. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". I cannot judge all the documents, and I cannot judge whatever came into this report. BLITZER: Here, Congressman Hamilton, is exactly what Talabani, the president of Iraq, said. SHAYS: Well, first off, very little time. With hindsight, Peress decision not to call immediate elections was an error. And if they do not meet those milestones, then we recommend a reduction in military or political or economic aid. To speak bluntly, Shimon shined in his career as CNNs crime and justice reporter. ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN in Washington, this is "Late Edition" with Wolf Blitzer.