The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour

MR. MUDD: Good evening. I'm Roger Mudd in Washington.

MR. MacNeil: And I'm Robert MacNeil in New York. After tonight's News Summary, we discuss the fallout from Israel's killing of a Shiite leader in Lebanon. Judy Woodruff reports on the final campaigning of the Democratic hopefuls in New Hampshire, and Elizabeth Farnsworth reports on the war without end in Cambodia. NEWS SUMMARY

MR. MacNeil: Shiite Muslim fighters and Israeli forces traded artillery rocket fire along the border between Lebanon and Israel today. The fighting came a day after an attack by Israeli helicopter gunships killed the leader of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah, as well as his wife and young son. The Lebanese government sent army reinforcements to the area in case of further violence. We have a report narrated by David Simmons of Worldwide Television News.

MR. SIMMONS: For Islamic fundamentalists in Lebanon, Sheik Abbas Musawi's death is a devastating setback. Thousands of mourners chanting, "You will be avenged" accompanied hiscoffin from Beirut to the Shiite Muslim stronghold in Balbek. Those of his wife and their five year old son were also surrounded by grieving Muslims, vowing Israel would pay for their debts. Hours earlier, Musawi had been attending a rally at Hezbollah's pro-Iranian supporters in the village of Jibshite. As he traveled home, Israeli helicopter gunships fired on his motorcade with stunning accuracy. Israel's defense minister, Moshe Arens, said it sent Israel's enemies a message. "You open an account with us," he said, "and we'll settle that account." Musawi's assassination has unquestionably fueled anti-Israeli hatred. Hezbollah's political and spiritual masters in Iran described him as a martyr. President Rafsanjani said it would deepen the struggle of Palestinians against the Jewish state.

MR. MacNeil: Israel's army chief of staff said his forces would strike back harshly if Hezbollah guerrillas made a revenge attack on Israeli territory. We'll have more on this story right after the News Summary. Two new members of the Palestinian delegation to the Middle East peace talks have been arrested by Israel. Palestinian spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi said the two men were arrested, one on January 9th, the other February 16th. Neither had attended previous talks, but they'd been named as part of an expanded delegation for next week's forth round in Washington. An Israeli army spokesman confirmed the arrests. Roger.

MR. MUDD: The United States agreed today to spend $25 million to build a clearing house near Moscow to help former Soviet nuclear scientists find work on civilian projects. The announcement came after a three hour meeting between Sec. of State James Baker and Russian President Boris Yeltsin in Moscow. They also agreed the U.S. would provide Russia with equipment and rail cars to move, store or destroy its nuclear weapons. Yeltsin said the two sides had not agreed on further cuts in long range nuclear weapons, but he hoped they could in time for a July meeting with President Bush in Washington. Yeltsin surprised Baker today with a request for $600 million more in credits to buy American grain. The U.S. has already provided Russian with 3 3/4 billion dollars in grain credits. Two U.S. Senators were also in Moscow today looking into allegations that the KGB might have interrogated American POWs during the Vietnam War. The Russian government's official news agency reported today no new evidence has been found in a search of the old KGB archives, however, Senators John Kerrey of Massachusetts and Robert Smith of New Hampshire said there was some evidence that American deserters and possibly POWs had passed through the Soviet Union on their way out of Vietnam.

MR. MacNeil: In Northern Ireland, British commandos shot and killed four suspected Irish Republican Army guerrillas late yesterday. Two other suspects and one of the commandos were injured. The incident occurred shortly after the guerrillas attacked a police station 30 miles West of Belfast with a truck- mounted heavy machine gun. Thirty-one people have been killed in Northern Ireland this year in a wave of IRA and Protestant attacks. The IRA is seeking to end British rule there.

MR. MUDD: Jeffrey Dahmer will spend the rest of his life in prison. There will be no parole and his lawyer said there would be no appeal. A Milwaukee judge sentenced the 31 year old to 15 consecutive life sentences for killing and dismembering 15 young men and boys. It was the toughest sentence possible because Wisconsin has no death penalty. Dahmer confessed to the murders but claimed he was insane.Witnesses at his Saturday trial detailed Dahmer's practice of necrophilia and cannibalism. And over the weekend, a jury found that he was sane when he committed the murders. At today's sentencing, relatives of the victims made impassioned pleas for a harsh sentence. The sister of one forced a recess when she lunged toward Dahmer, screaming profanities, calling him Satan. Dahmer, himself, spoke publicly for the first time about his crimes.

JEFFREY DAHMER: Your Honor, it is over now. This has never been a case of trying to get free. I didn't ever want freedom. Frankly, I wanted death for myself. I feel so bad for what I did to those poor families and I understand their rightful hate. I know I will be in prison for the rest of my life. I know that I will have to turn to God to help me get through each day. I should have stayed with God. I tried and failed and created a holocaust. Thank God there will be no more harm that I can do.

MR. MUDD: Dahmer still faces charges in Ohio for another killing.

MR. MacNeil: That's our summary of the news. Now, we look more closely at Israel's killing of a Shiite leader, Democrats in New Hampshire, and memories of war in Cambodia. FOCUS - '92 ELECTION - DOWN TO THE WIRE

MR. MUDD: Believe it or not, it's almost over in New Hampshire. By tomorrow night, someone will have won the nation's first Presidential primary, Republican and Democratic. And while the winners take a symbolic victory lap around the state, the also-ran- candidates and their followers will shift to other places and other places, but in Judy Woodruff's report tonight on the Democrats, the citizens of New Hampshire are the object of undivided attention.

MS. WOODRUFF: If there is one thing all of the Democratic Presidential candidates can agree on, it is that the man who currently holds the job needs to be replaced.

BOB KERREY: Now here is a man who I believe just fundamentally doesn't understand how important a job is to most Americans.

PAUL TSONGAS: Did you see him the other night at the supermarket and the scanner?

GOV. BILL CLINTON: He comes up to here and says to you, like a robot, the message "I care," as if he descended from some planet while you all were going downhill.

SEN. TOM HARKIN: I've said all along we're going Bush whacking and Quayle hunting this year.

MS. WOODRUFF: It's a message that falls on receptive ears in recession-racked New Hampshire.

NED HELMS, Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate: What's real, what's real on the ground is I don't know anybody who doesn't know someone who is either unemployed or has had a personal tragedy of some type economically. There is this palpable fear.

MS. WOODRUFF: Patrick and Frances Tanner work for a real estate firm in Laconia.

PATRICK TANNER, Laconia: Nowheres have we ever seen so many foreclosures. This time I would say in this area, Belknap County, we're approaching a thousand foreclosures. Every day of the week people, you know, call up and say, you've got to sell my house, you've got to. But you can't, because the price is too high and they can't compete with the banks-owned and three months later, they don't own the house anymore, the bank owns it. But that's what we're going through here and I don't know if any of the politicians realize the depth of this.

MS. WOODRUFF: Both Tanners voted for George Bush in the last election, but like many other New Hampshire residents, this time they're looking elsewhere and that's where matters get complicated. Just a week ago, some polls showed that as many as half the people who planned to vote Democratic werestill undecided.

DAVID MOORE, University of New Hampshire: On the Democratic side, five candidates not very well known in terms of New Hampshire politics and they're all saying things which are similar, and that accounts I think for a large part of this volatility.

MIKE PRIDE, Concord Monitor: The last time we had a Democratic President things seemed very out of control economically, so there's some testing going on about whether a Democrat really has the ideas that can make the economy grow and can be trusted to try to make the economy grow.

MS. WOODRUFF: For voters interested in testing, there have been a lot of words and a lot of paper for them to chew over. Since early last year, former Massachusetts Senator Paul Tsongas has been passing out the 86 page booklet he wrote which lays out his prescription for overhauling the U.S. economy.

SEN. PAUL TSONGAS, Democratic Presidential Candidate: We have printed I think about 180,000 of these and people come up to me and say, hmm, hmm, Senator, on page 45, you said, and go through it, and they grill me on what I wrote. So when people say issues don't count, they should come up here.

MS. WOODRUFF: Tsongas's message that includes a call for higher taxes is that government must stop lying to Americans about what is needed to get the country back on track.

PAUL TSONGAS: We're grown-ups. We can handle it. Tell us the truth. Tell us what the problems are. We'll overcome them and be a great nation once again. No more Santa Claus, no more giveaways, no more media types.

MS. WOODRUFF: Because the message was coming from an uncharismatic fellow from the state next door who shared a Greek- American heritage with Michael Dukakis, many New Hampshire voters at first didn't take Tsongas seriously. In fact, no one really emerged from the Democratic pack until early this year after New York Governor Mario Cuomo decided not to run and Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton got a burst of media attention.

BILL CLINTON: [talking to little girl] What's your name?

LITTLE GIRL: Destiny.

MRS. CLINTON: Destiny. What a wonderful name!

BILL CLINTON: What a wonderful name! Boy, are we glad to meet you!

MS. WOODRUFF: Clinton was lauded for his quick grasp of the issues and a powerful appealing delivery, but almost as soon as he started to bask in his front-runner status, Clinton was hit with allegations of an extramarital affair followed by stories about his efforts in the late sixties to avoid the draft and the Vietnam War. Since then, questions about his personal life have hung like a shadow over his campaign.

REPORTER: [Clinton Paid TV Program] This negative campaigning here seems to have targeted you. I don't know why. Would you be so vulnerable in the fall that you would not be electable?

BILL CLINTON: [Clinton Paid TV Program] I've had very, very tough negative ad campaigns, very, very tough hit jobs done. I've always been able to come out of it when I stood up to it, thought it and work it through. And I will with this if there's enough time.

MS. WOODRUFF: Clinton's problems have been good news for Tsongas, who New Hampshirites then took a second look at and for the other three major Democrats in the race.

SEN. BOB KERREY, Democratic Presidential Candidate: I'm the one who had to get up every morning, determined to put my life back together, to learn how to walk again, going through the ups and downs of rehabilitation.

COMMERCIAL SPOKESMAN: Bob Kerrey, a decorated war veteran. No one can question his patriotism.

MS. WOODRUFF: Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey is pinning his hopes onhis personal story. He lost a leg in Vietnam, then became a successful businessman and politician. But polls show it's a message that has yet to catch on.

MIKE PRIDE, Concord Monitor: I think that of all the candidates in the race he was making the most convincing generational appeal, the notion that it's time for a new generation of leadership, and I'm it. And I think that that's something that he did not really develop very well in his campaign. He tended to stress instead his Vietnam experience and he just, he needed to go beyond that. He needed to appeal to the same kind of things Kennedy did with his generation. It's a post war experience, it's not the war experience that's important.

MS. WOODRUFF: There's been no mistake about the message of Iowa Senator Tom Harkin. He's the only one in the race who stresses traditional Democratic Party themes.

SEN. TOM HARKIN, Democratic Presidential Candidate: Our message is that there is a hunger in this country, to turn away from the failed policies of Reagan and Bush, for the rich have gotten richer, the poor poorer, the middle class lining up, paying for both. And I'll tell you there's a hunger in the Democratic Party for a real Democrat to take on George Bush.

MS. WOODRUFF: Harkin has also distinguished himself by his willingness to go out of his way to attack his Democratic opponents.

SEN. HARKIN: I'm going to tell you very forthrightly you won't be reading about me in the tabloids and I sure as heck won't be dating any Hollywood women, I'll tell you that.

MS. WOODRUFF: A reference to Sen. Kerrey's friendship with Actress Deborah Winger and perhaps former California Governor Jerry Brown's relationship with Singer Linda Ronstadt. There's been no mistake about Brown's message either, a plea to do away with government and politics as usual, to sweep away the current tax laws and campaign finance system.

JERRY BROWN, Democratic Presidential Candidate: So I went to Philadelphia in October and I declared my candidacy not just as another candidate running but as a cause, as a movement, to restore and invigorate the democracy in this country and that's what this, that's what this is all about.

MS. WOODRUFF: Some New Hampshire voters are attracted to Brown's vision.

PAUL SALERNO, Milford: He seems to be the only one who's angry enough to try to change some of the things that I think that are holding down our progress.

MS. WOODRUFF: More of them, however, react like Diana Figenshu of Manchester.

DIANA FIGENSHU, Manchester: I don't think he's a real serious candidate.

MS. WOODRUFF: But there are also some in-between views like those of Linda Kappus of New Boston.

LINDA KAPPUS, New Boston: I think that he's very much of a common person, kind of person you could sit down and just talk one on one with, but if anything serious ever happened, if a war ever broke out somewhere, I don't know if he would be the one that would be able to take over and handle that sort of thing.

MS. WOODRUFF: As of this weekend, Kappus was leaning toward Gov. Clinton.

MS. KAPPUS: I'm not 100 percent sure, but I feel that that's the way I'm going to go.

MS. WOODRUFF: Why not 100 percent sure?

MS. KAPPUS: Some of the things that have come out I'm just not real sure whether I believe that he's coming across completely honestly about that.

MS. WOODRUFF: A number of voters who brought up the allegations against Clinton say they effectively disqualify him.

GARY FROST, Manchester: I've heard Gov. Clinton speak and I was impressed by him earlier, but there are some issues that have arisen sincethat makes choice for him questionable.

ELIZABETH KALLSELZ, New Boston: I tend to believe that some of it is true and I don't feel that if you're honest in your personal life -- well, I feel that if you're dishonest in your personal life, that tends to carry over into your work.

MS. WOODRUFF: There are many others though who say Clinton has been the victim of unfair attacks by the news media and by his opponents.

PATRICK TANNER, Laconia: They like to go to sensationalize anything and if the Pope had to run for office, they would find something that he had done somewheres along the way or at least indicate that he had done.

DIANA FIGENSHU, Manchester: It doesn't bother me in the least. The only possible thing that it could come up with is how much is truth and how much is not, however, I kind of admire him for standing up for -- his personal life shouldn't have anything to do with what he does professionally.

MS. WOODRUFF: Also standing up for Clinton are a few hundred supporters from Arkansas who flew to New Hampshire this week.

PAMELA WALKER, Little Rock, Arkansas: We just couldn't believe that people were actually taking this stuff in and we had to come do something about it. We had to come talk to people and tell 'em, look, we know him, he has done a marvelous job as governor. I mean, it's just, we just cannot let this chance pass.

MS. WOODRUFF: A number of voters who say they are still bothered by Clinton's past are seriously considering Paul Tsongas.

MIMI SILVERMAN, Bedford: I was very interested in Gov. Clinton three weeks ago, but I'm afraid that his support throughout the country is eroding and that the Republicans, if he is nominated, will sidetrack from the issues and into things that aren't important. And we need a candidate who won't be sidetracked, who will talk about the economy, about health care, about the environment. I feel that Sen. Tsongas is sincere, he's very bright. He seems to have a plan of action and I think he'd make a very good President.

MAN ON STREET: What he says is he more or less seems to follow through with, you know, or at least he cares about what he says, instead of just trying to blow smoke in our face.

MALE VOTER: I just like Tsongas's message better. He's articulated it, plus he got in it before everybody else got in it so he, he's not in it for any sort of gain.

MS. WOODRUFF: But voters see liabilities with Tsongas as well.

VOTER: I don't know about Tsongas. He did a good job when he was in Massachusetts. I worry about the man's health more than anything else, but I believe he's a straight shooter.

MS. WOODRUFF: Tsongas says he has beaten the cancer that forced him to give up his political career eight years ago, but concedes he has to keep reassuring voters of that.

PAUL TSONGAS, Democratic Presidential Candidate: [after taking swim in front of cameras] The fact is that the word "cancer" frightens people so I have no choice. It's there. I have to deal with it. Medical reports are part of it, but this is a way of saying you can look at me and take comfort in the state of my health.

MS. WOODRUFF: We found some in New Hampshire who worry both about Tsongas' lack of charisma and Clinton's problems who are thinking of writing in the name of New York Governor Mario Cuomo. There is an organized write-in campaign here trying to maximize those sentiments.

KIT GILL, Cuomo Supporter: People are a little bit sore that he's not in it, he hasn't come here, and that bothers people. They think they're throwing their vote away. We're trying to convince them it's not a wasted vote.

SPOKESMAN: [Debate] Our topic for the next 90 minutes, the economy.

MS. WOODRUFF: None of the six voters we asked to come together last night to watch the televised Democratic debate mentioned Cuomo's name. Most of them came away more favorably disposed than before to their original choices. Joanne Keyser went into the evening undecided between Clinton and Tsongas and came out leaning Tsongas.

JOANNE KEYSER, Unemployment Counselor: I was impressed with Tsongas. I liked in particular his talking about the principles he believed in, the fact that underlying his, his democratic beliefs are very strong principles, something that I don't think we've seen in government for a while and think maybe we need to get back to that. I think Clinton did well. He speaks very well and he's, I guess the only reason I'm hesitating over Bill Clinton is I'm scared of charmers.

MS. WOODRUFF: Kevin Bailey, on the other hand, an independent who voted for Reagan and Bush in the past and was also leaning Tsongas, came away still liking his ideas, but worried about his ability to get them across.

KEVIN BAILEY, Construction Worker: Bill Clinton is like everybody says. He presents himself very well. Paul Tsongas, I think he has a difficult time with talking and public speaking I think and I think that might be some of the things why they say he's not electable.

MS. WOODRUFF: Elaine Holt, a school principal, agreed.

ELAINE HOLT, School Principal: I was somewhat bothered by Tsongas's lack of, it was almost like a lack of confidence, if I may, may I interrupt, permit me, that kind of aggressiveness that I'm looking for in a candidate that's going to be able to sell his ideas.

MS. WOODRUFF: But two of the independents in the group had particularly bad news for Republicans in the fall. Si Mahfuz, who is in the carpet business, had considered either President Bush or Sen. Tsongas going into the debate, but came out planning to vote Democratic.

SI MAHFUZ, Small Businessman: Well, I think they all understand the problems more than Bush does. I really did. I came in, I think, as i said on the outset giving Bush the 12 years of on the job as being very important to me, but I listened very carefully and I feel that -- and if Bush watches this and listens to anything, I think what I want him to know is that he's not saying the things we have to hear.

MS. WOODRUFF: Jennifer Bernard works in television production.

JENNIFER BERNARD, TV Technician: I've been out of college now for about two years and what we were promised when we went into college certainly wasn't there when we got out. A lot of bills are being owed right now. There really is very little opportunities out there. I would say now I'm amazed at how many friends and a lot of others in the age bracket are suddenly thinking Democrat.

MS. WOODRUFF: Independent so-called "undeclared" voters like Bernard and Mahfuz will make up 1/5 of the Democratic vote count on Tuesday.

MR. MUDD: Still ahead tonight, Israel's attack on a Shiite leader and memories of war in Cambodia. FOCUS - CYCLE OF VIOLENCE

MR. MacNeil: The newest round of Middle East violence, particularly Israel's assassination of the Hezbollah leader in Lebanon is next tonight. We'll have three views on the fallout from that after a brief backgrounder. In Beirut today, there was an emotional funeral for the leader of the Party of God. It marked the end of a three day cycle of violence in the Middle East that began late Friday. Arab guerrillas slipped into an army camp in Northern Israel and attacked three soldiers apparently as they slept in their camp beds. Israeli officials said two were stabbed, the third attacked with a pitchfork as he came to their rescue. Israeli troops immediately began searching local villages and quickly made several arrests. On Saturday as the army prepared to bury its dead, Israeli warplanes and helicopter gunships struck two Palestinian guerrilla bases in Southern Lebanon, killing a reported eight people. On Sunday, with those attacks continuing, the Israeli air force launched a more closely focused attack. It fired rockets into a convoy carrying the leader of Lebanon's pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement, Sheik Abbas Musawi. The 39 year old Sheik, his wife, their son and several body guards were killed in the attack. Israeli officials said the killing of Musawi was part of the general campaign against Hezbollah, not a retaliation for the death of the three soldiers.

YITZHAK SHAMIR, Prime Minister, Israel: We have not assassinated anybody. It's a part of a continued struggle with the terrorists of Hezbollah.

REPORTER: His wife and son were also killed. How do you justify that?

YITZHAK SHAMIR: We regret such incidents, but it could happen.

MR. MacNeil: We get three views now. Uriel Savir is Israeli Consul General in New York. He joins us this evening from Portland, Oregon. As'ad Abukhalil is a visiting professor of political science at Colorado College, a native of Lebanon. He joins us from Denver. Richard Murphy was assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs from 1983 to '89. He's now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Savir in Portland, the wires are quoting sources in your security forces as saying you had such good intelligence on Musawi's movements you could have taken him virtually whenever you wanted. If that is true, why now?

MR. SAVIR: Well, I think without referring to the specific quote that there was a long-term feeling among the Hezbollah that they could get away with murder and murder after murder and hostage after hostage, and I think the time has really come, may be overdue, to give the message that they cannot get away with murder.

MR. MacNeil: Apparently, Mr. Shamir we just heard say he regrets that family members died, but you just heard him say it could happen. Does your government regard that as acceptable behavior for a civilized nation like yours to use a helicopter gunship against a motorcade carrying a leader of the religious faction in Lebanon with his family in the car?

MR. SAVIR: Tragedies happen in war and the question is whose responsibility is it. When your air force attacked Iraq and civilians were hurt because they were around military targets, we saw it as a responsibility of Saddam Hussein and not of President Bush. The same case is here. When civilians get hurt, when we attack terrorists, it is the responsibility of the terrorist and we regret their uncivilized behavior.

MR. MacNeil: You call him a terrorist. It's been widely reported recently, and certainly since he was killed, that since he took over the Hezbollah faction last year that Musawi had been trying to turn it to a more moderate course. He had, he had supported, for example, the peace talks between Israel and its Arab neighbors. What justifies his assassination as a terrorist now?

MR. SAVIR: To be candid, to be a moderate of the Hezbollah is almost like saying to be a moderate in the Ku Klux Klan. The position that he took was very extreme. He has on his own hands the blood of many Americans like Col. Higgins, responsibility for hostage taking, for different murders of Americans and Israelis. I don't understand what is moderate about that. As far as the peace talks go, minutes before his death he gave a speech where he very strongly condemned the peace process and I think that everything that he said, everything that they did, day by day had one specific target, to hamper the peace process. And Israel was struggling now to make the peace process happen, must fight those who try to create these cruel obstacles.

MR. MacNeil: Prof. Abukhalil, describe Sheik Musawi ideologically within the spectrum of Shiite opinion.

PROF. ABUKHALIL: Well, let me say first that much of the discourse on subjects like this carry more than a tinge of racism, particularly when you, Mr. MacNeil, invoke the word "civilized" as if too imply that Israel's enemies, Arabs, Palestinians and Muslims in general are uncivilized and justifiably, acts like Israelis are legitimate. Let me say --

MR. MacNeil: You infer that, Prof. Abukhalil. I did not imply it.

PROF. ABUKHALIL: Well, that's how it appears to people and that's how the discourse takes place. And another thing I want to mention is the so-called "cycle of violence," because the State Department statement yesterday came with this cliche that appeared also in the introductory piece. I must say that this language is always used in order to absorb Israel from responsibility. When Arab deeds take place, accusatory fingers are always pointed specifically at those who are responsible. Only this language is used to absolve Israelis. And I must say that the cycle of violence, itself, the origin of all of this process, began not three days ago, but probably two weeks ago at least from the Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim sides. Two weeks ago a physically fit, 36 year old Palestinian died in Israeli custody a week after he complained to the judge of torture and pains in his chest. Now, many Palestinians and Arabs were outraged about that. And then three days ago, there was an act by three Palestinians who killed three Israeli soldiers, and I must say the Israeli position on this is highly puzzling and confusing, as well as inconsistent. Now, Israel said that the attackers left no trace behind, yet the Israeli government insisted that it was the act of the Fatah movement of the PLO, and they consequently went to Lebanon and attacked civilian targets in refugee camps in South Lebanon, killing in the process two children that probably Israel will characterize as terrorists. And then yesterday there was the leader of the Party of God, who was assassinated, in addition to those around him, civilians and bystanders that Israel will probably characterize as terrorists, including the six year old son of that man. As far as the image of the individual shot, there is no question that this man and the organization in general is one that is linked to violent acts against Westerners as well as Lebanese. But I must also add that this criteria of blood of innocent people on hands of leaders could also be applied in the same measure to some of Israelis, to some of the Israeli leaders and if we apply that standard, some of those Israeli leaders around the cabinet table would be characterized as ones who have blood of civilians on their hands. Now, there is evidence to suggest in the historic evolution of the Party of God that Abassa Musawi, the man who was assassinated, had steered the party into a moderate direction, and I use the word "moderate" contextually here, and he has tried to distance the party from its past and what I see happening as a result of assassination, reverberation that will sabotage not onlythe cause of peace in the region but also in Lebanon.

MR. MacNeil: Why do you think -- sorry to interrupt, but why do you think Israel killed him now?

PROF. ABUKHALIL: Well, let me say this. Let me say first something about the repercussion that will happen. First of all, the Lebanese, Palestinian, and Syrian governments are now less reluctant -- I'm sorry, they are more reluctant now to participate in the peace talks, particularly after the arrest of the two Palestinian negotiators in the occupied territories. Also, we must remember that there is a deadline coming out next summer, in September, where the Syrian forces in Lebanon were supposed to redeploy. And I think the Syrians will now use the argument that their presence in all parts of Lebanon is needed in order to face off the Israeli challenges and confrontations in South Lebanon, in particular. More importantly, the Party of God has over the past two years resisted stubbornly to disarm against the intention and the wishes of most Lebanese.

MR. MacNeil: Well, would you come to the point of what your theory is as to why Israel killed Sheik Musawi now.

PROF. ABUKHALIL: What I see happening is the Party of God now will be in a more militant direction. And I see now the ascendance of all guards of the Party of God leadership, the one that was directly responsible to the acts against the Marines as well as that of kidnapping hostages. As far as Israelis intentions in particular, I can only say that the general picture in the region, the attacks against the Palestinians, this guy, as well as two Palestinians, indicate in general, it is interest on the part of Israel to pursue the peace process to which Israel came kicking and screaming.

MR. MacNeil: Mr. Murphy, what do you make of the killing of Sheik Musawi?

MR. MURPHY: I don't think it's going to interfere with the peace process substantively. It certainly is going to complicate the atmosphere for the next several days and weeks. And it is also true that he was the head of the wing of the Hezbollah Party which was more responsive to Iran in its new efforts to open up to the West to get the hostages released, but having said that, I don't think you're going to find any deep regrets that he's gone because his organization in the West that is, his organization is associated with the hostage taking and with increased attacks on the Israeli Northern border over the past year.

MR. MacNeil: So that's why the State Department, you think, has been so mild in its response to this, as compared with the condemnations it issued of other recent Israeli actions? It's been quite severe on Israel in recent months, but this was very mild.

MR. MURPHY: I think that the Department statement yesterday was directed in general at violence, and that's about all they can say at this point in time, because they were dealing with three separate incidents and one statement. They didn't focus the statement specifically on Musawi's death.

MR. MacNeil: So you think that the State Department is quite happy that Musawi has been --

MR. MURPHY: I don't want to say that, Robin, but I think that the fact is we've had a lot of problems as a government with Hezbollah. It is an organization that wants the West out of Lebanon, the West out of the region. It is not for the peace process, and interestingly, Rafsanjani, who is probably the closest in control of that wing of Hezbollah, has been quite moderate today, saying, be logical, be reasonable to the Muslims.

MR. MacNeil: Mr. Savir, how do you respond to the suggestion from Mr. Abukhalil that you are not, at the very least, not interested in promoting the peace talks and that this is more evidence of that?

MR. SAVIR: I'm really sad that he said that, because he speaks about a cycle of violence that began two or three weeks ago. The cycle of violence began about 50 years ago when Arabs tried to reject and liquidate Israel and what the Hezbollah stands for today is what Arab extremism stood for 50 years ago. Secondly, so much time has been wasted by such accusations as of the professor. I understand his desire to protect the Arab cause, but within the Arab community today there is a bitter struggle over the peace process. There are those Palestinians, those Jordanians who have a stake in the process, who want to negotiate with Israel, understand that Israel really wants peace, therefore, they are there. And there are those who fight it, brutally and cruelly, and I simply cannot understand why should one today after the peace conference with the negotiations happening next week go back to old Arab tactics of bashing Israel, of criticizing Israel, and defending horrible people, the Hezbollah, the people who have turned terrorism into the new heights of cruelty, have taken hostages, who for years didn't tell American families, Israeli families, what their fate was. If we want to talk seriously peace, we must know who the enemies of peace are and Israel is the one side that is more interested and would work hard to make peace happen and working against terrorists and enemies of peace is only compatible with this approach.

MR. MacNeil: Mr. Abukhalil.

PROF. ABUKHALIL: Well, I think it's highly disingenuous and purely propagandistic on the part of the Israeli guest to link me to any support or identification of the Party of God. I said before and I say now that the Party of God has been linked to evil terrorist attacks in the past and it has participated in acts that many Lebanese and many Arabs condemn, but I must say that --

MR. SAVIR: I didn't hear it. I'm glad you said that.

PROF. ABUKHALIL: But I must say that the Party of God is -- I mean, its platform, in addition to so many things, is also interested in something that the Lebanese government, as well as most Lebanese of all factions, Christians and Muslims, rightists and leftists all agree to, which is that Israel occupation in South Lebanon should stop the Israeli funding of a militia of thugs in South Lebanon, which has done a lot to impair the cause of peace in Lebanon, in the region, should also cease to exist. As far as that objective is concerned, most Lebanese will now far more firmly support the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, itself. And I think the paradox of the Israeli position is that on the surface there is this verbal dedication to the cause of peace, but the implications of the act of the past two days will lead to the ascendance of the militant strand within the Party of God and it will also, we must not forget, with the coming election coming next spring in Israel, strengthen the hand of right wingers in Israel, itself.

MR. MacNeil: Mr. Savir --

MR. SAVIR: Talk about the withdrawal of Israel, or about Syria or Iran? I didn't get you.

PROF. ABUKHALIL: I have no reluctance to say that Syria, Israel, and the Iranians, you name it, should withdraw from Lebanon. I have no qualms about saying it, but I must say that the activities of Israel and South Lebanon against civilians in the refugee camp, in South Lebanon, as well as the civilians who died, in addition to Mr. Musawa, let me remind you, Mr. Savir, that you did not only kill a terrorist, you killed bystanders and a six year old boy, you probably characterize him as "would-be terrorist" in the future. They also died and it is for this that many Lebanese are very mad and angry at the United States, as well as in Israel.

MR. MacNeil: Mr. Savir, I'd like to pick up the point that Mr. Abukhalil made earlier. Why has the Israeli government arrested two new members of the Palestinian delegation who were going to come to Washington a week from today, Mohammad Korani on the 9th of January, and Jamal Al Shubaki yesterday?

MR. SAVIR: It is all related to the same double approach. We want to talk to Palestinians. We want to come to terms that are compatible for the interests and concerns of both sides, but this is not a wild card, an open door for terrorist activities, for subversive activities, for inducing violence. And as I said, there is a struggle in the Palestinian community. We are unfortunately not dealing with a democracy. We are dealing in a situation where decisions are made by bullets, not by ballots. You talk about elections in Israel. There are no elections --

MR. MacNeil: Why were these two members of the delegation arrested?

MR. SAVIR: And these two gentlemen, and like others, whenever there is evidence of linking them to violence and terrorism, we take the minimal action necessary to give the following message. Peace and violence cannot go hand in hand.

MR. MacNeil: Mr. Abukhalil.

PROF. ABUKHALIL: Well, I must say that this abuse, that this really offensive abuse of the word "terrorism" does a great disservice to the genuine cause of fighting terrorism, especially in this new international stage, and I think that the deeds that result in the killing and injury of innocent civilians, whether they're Arabs or Israelis, Muslims or Christians or Jews, cannot be justified. Those acts should be condemned as they occur at whosever hand, and I think the Arabs and the Muslims are going to be partly critical at the United States for the reaction that resulted of what happened. If an Israeli leader was killed by an Arab and the result of which his son and his wife were killed, as well as other civilians, and I think there would be a hue and cry justifiably in the West that we do not find today.

MR. MacNeil: Mr. Murphy, do you sense that the United States in the last couple of months, the Bush administration, has been going softer on Israel?

MR. MURPHY: No, I don't think so, Robin. I think the fact that the three committees start up again next Monday is the result of the continuing efforts of the administration to get all the parties to the table at the same time. Now, you've heard more about Palestinian and Israeli talks than you've heard about Lebanon, Israel, or Syria. I think obviously all three have to go forward together. Mr. Savir's spoken of some 50 years of violence. I would take the lesser period and recall that when Israel invaded Southern Lebanon in 1982, 10 years ago, the Shiite of Southern Lebanon welcomed them as deliverance from the PLO. Three years later that had totally soured because of the occupation. Here we are now with a security zone that Mr. Abukhalil referred to that's existed since 1985. Some Israelis at that time argued get out of Lebanon entirely. Others said, no, no, stay deep, stay on the Letani River, and this was a political compromise, the security zone. Ever since, it's been a lightning rod for Hezbollah, for the PLO resistance. And so I think in the Lebanon talks, that has to be faced very squarely and Lebanon offers the possibility of perhaps the first breakthrough in these talks if that issue is faced squarely.

MR. MacNeil: Mr. Murphy, Mr. Savir, Prof. Abukhalil, thank you all for joining us. FOCUS - MEMORIES OF WAR

MR. MUDD: Over the weekend, Vietnam held its first major international sports event since 1975, a 10 kilometer marathon race. Beforehand, there was a special race for disabled contestants who had lost limbs in the years of brutal guerrilla combat in Southeast Asia. Some of that tragedy continues even in peacetime as innocent civilians encounter the treacherous land mines planted as part of the guerrillas' tactics. In Cambodia, Vietnam's neighbor, land mines sewn by warring factions are now claiming victims at an alarming rate. A United Nations-sponsored peace treaty has ended most of the fighting there, but a key aspect of the peace process, repatriating thousands of refugees, cannot begin until areas along Cambodia's border with Thailand are cleared of mines. Elizabeth Farnsworth of public station KQED-San Francisco was in Cambodia recently and filed this report.

MS. FARNSWORTH: These men were farmers before they were soldiers. Now they say they can do nothing at all. How can they plant rice, they ask, without legs. Mine explosions took their legs or feet or arms. Now they barely survive in a government rehabilitation center near Penom Phen. More than 30,000 Cambodians have lost limbs as a result of mines and another 300 are wounded each month. Cambodia's war may be the first conflict in history in which land mines have claimed more victims than any other weapon. After 13 years of bloodshed, Cambodia has the highest percentage of physically disabled inhabitants of any country in the world.

LONG SARATH, Former Government Soldier: [Speaking through Interpreter] I fought on the side of the government and was wounded in 1986. I stepped on a Khmer Rouge mine when we were on an operation along the border. I can't work now, so my family and I just stay here.

RON PODLASKI, Vietnam Vets of America Foundation: This war was fought with land mines, the sentinels that never sleep. They never go away. They'll always be there.

MS. FARNSWORTH: Ron Podlaski runs a prosthetics program at this center on behalf of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation. He and Dave Evans, a prosthetics specialist who lost both his legs fighting in Vietnam, are working to equip the men here with artificial limbs. Fitting prostheses on some patients will be difficult because of poor medical treatment they received.

SPOKESMAN: There was no post operative, pre-prosthetic treatment give to you guys. They just cut 'em. There are no waist bandages. The skin is adhered. No shrapnel holes here. That means the wound wasn't above the knee. There was no reason to take it above the knee. To avoid the patient dying of gangrene, they cut as high as possible.

MS. FARNSWORTH: Most of the men at this center stepped on mines while fighting in the Northwest, along the border between Cambodia and Thailand. Refugees fled by the tens of thousands from this area to camps in Thailand. Now, a key aspect of the United Nations peace process, the return of the refugees to Cambodia, cannot begin until areas along the border are de-mined. Jean Jacques Fresard directs the international committee at the Red Cross in Penom Phen.

JEAN JACQUES FRESARD, International Red Cross: In addition to the 350,000 refugees that are living in Thailand, we have almost 200,000 internally displaced. It means people who had to move inside Cambodia, away from their homes, because the villages had been attacked. And what we see now is that mostof these people are willing to go back home, but they can't do it, because the villages have been mined.

MS. FARNSWORTH: Why were the villages mined? I mean, if there's nobody in the village and you're not defending some sort of a military post, why were they mined?

JEAN JACQUES FRESARD: They were mined to keep civilians away from certain areas just because this has been mostly a guerrilla war and guerrillas are not in the position to keep strong positions on large areas, so the only way for them to keep those areas is to mine them and all the factions involved in the war had used the same methods.

PRINCE RANARIDDH SIHANOUK, Cambodia: As far as our side is concerned, we have already provided a mine map to the United Nations.

MS. FARNSWORTH: Prince Ranariddh Sihanouk, son of Cambodia's former head of state, commands one of the warring factions.

PRINCE RANARIDDH SIHANOUK: There are millions of mines all over Cambodia.

MS. FARNSWORTH: You think there are millions?

PRINCE SIHANOUK: Millions, at least four millions! Not only by the Khmer Rouge, but by the other side, by the Soviet, and sophisticated mines, you know, water mines.

MS. FARNSWORTH: Mines lie in wait even in the most peaceful places, in the paddies and alongside paths used by children on their way to school. And when the rains come, mines are washed into rivers, maiming the curious fishermen who haul the deadly devices in.

SPOKESMAN: Most of the mines laid in Cambodia are not marked or recorded.

MS. FARNSWORTH: As part of the early stages of the United Nations peace process, a contingent of 20 New Zealand mine specialists is in Cambodia to teach mine awareness. In this meeting in Penom Phen late last year, Major Mark Peterson briefed members of a French transportation unit.

MAJ. MARK PETERSON: If you move off a hard surface, a hard formed road, you must assume that the area is mined.

MS. FARNSWORTH: After the lecture, the New Zealanders gave a mine clearing demonstration in a field near the Penom Phen Airport. First an area was swept and then a soldier showed how to probe for the small Chinese mines used by the Khmer Rouge. These mines contain few metal parts and are very difficult to detect and remove.

MAJ. MARK PETERSON: When probing for mines, the distance between the probe should be no greater than the smallest diameter of the mine. The price for rushing the job is the loss of a limb, or death.

MS. FARNSWORTH: Besides training their U.N. colleagues, the New Zealanders are also training teams of Cambodians. The U.N. hopes that most of the actual mine clearance will be done by the Cambodians who laid the mines in the first place. U.N. soldiers will serve mainly as trainers. About 1,000 additional U.N. troops are expected here soon to boost the training. U.N. officials say significant mine clearance will take years, but meanwhile, there is enormous pressure to clear crucial border areas now so that refugees can return home. Col. Alan Beaver heads up the U.N. mine clearing effort.

COLONEL ALAN BEAVER, U.N. Mine Clearing Director: People will be moving into holding areas for approximately a week and then they will be moved into the area to which they'll be resettled. Clearly, the priority for clearance will be those staging posts and then the resettlement areas.

MS. FARNSWORTH: There has been some frustration here in Penom Phen that mine removal has gotten underway so slowly. In fact, the entire U.N. effort got off to a slow start largely because getting anything done in Cambodia is very difficult. The infrastructure, where it exists at all, is badly damaged. Many roads are almost impassable, either because of mines or poor upkeep. Eventually, 16,000 U.N. peacekeepers are supposed to fan out through Cambodia to disarm the warring factions, including the Khmer Rouge guerrillas. But the obstacles to reaching remote areas are formidable. Nate Thayer, an Associated Press correspondent, has traveled extensively behind Khmer Rouge lines.

NATE THAYER, Associated Press: Cambodia's very rural and there are millions of land mines and it remains to be seen after the first Australian or French soldier starts stepping on land mines or dying from malaria how far they are going to be willing to go. And also you can foresee the Khmer Rouge saying, yes, you're welcome to go anywhere you want but we can't guarantee your safety, there's a lot of land mines here and good luck.

MS. FARNSWORTH: In spite of the obstacles, the U.N.-sponsored peace process is already changing Cambodia's political landscape. Prince Noradam Sihanouk is behaving almost like a head of state again and under his direction the warring factions are talking rather than making war. If the peace holds, more and more people will dare to return to the villages they have left behind. At the rehabilitation center, some of the families are beginning to talk about going home. In the weeks since we visited, many of the amputees have received their artificial limbs and now some are ready to leave. As displaced people throughout Cambodia begin to head home, mine clearance is increasingly a matter of life and death. RECAP

MR. MUDD: Again, the major stories of this Monday, Shiite Muslim fighters in South Lebanon exchanged artillery fire with Israeli forces. The fighting came a day after Israeli troops killed the leader of Hezbollah. The U.S. agreed to contribute $25 million toward setting up a clearing house for former Soviet nuclear scientists and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences. He will not be eligible for parole. Robin.

MR. MacNeil: Finally tonight, the NewsHour remembers Dr. Hacib Aoun, one of the first health care workers to announce publicly his HIV infection. Dr. Aoun, who was infected while caring for a patient almost nine years ago, died last night at his Maryland home. Since making his HIV infection known in 1987, Dr. Aoun worked tirelessly in making two points. He asked doctors and other health care workers not to shun patients infected with the AIDS virus. He also argued strongly that HIV-infected doctors should continue to work and draw on their talents as long as they were able. Dr. Aoun first appeared on the NewsHour in 1987, when he sued his former employer, the Johns Hopkins Medical Center, for a job and benefits. The case was eventually settled out of court. Since then, Dr. Aoun has appeared on the NewsHour several times, making his case. Last July, he testified against mandatory HIV testing of health care workers before a Congressional committee.

REP. ROY ROWLAND, [D] Georgia: Should we mandate that all physicians who do invasive procedures or health care workers be tested for HIV?

DR. HACIB AOUN: Until this illness became so popular and so devastating to many of us, people went to their doctors and placed faith in their doctors, and you didn't question your doctor, whether he had had a fight with his wife the day before or he had diabetes and could become hypoglycemic or he was a little bit senile and could become suddenly demented in the operating room. We have to place, continue to place faith in the medical profession. I place my patients first. And I have to think that most of peers also place their patients first.

DR. HACIB AOUN: [April, 1991] You issue restrictive guidelines across the board here, the message that you're sending to the health care worker is, go on and be in the front lines, take care of AIDS patients and take care of everybody out there, but if something happens to you, if you become infected, then we don't want you anymore, you will be unemployed, you will have lost your career, and your life support.

KWAME HOLMAN: Did you look for work, having already disclosed your HIV situation?

DR. AOUN: Oh, absolutely. And I was very up front, look, I'm a physician who contracted an HIV infection from a patient many years ago but I'm still very active, very capable, and I'm very much willing to pursue teaching and clinical care of patients. And I don't do invasive procedures. And you will find all sorts of excuses that will pop up, excuses that would never have appeared before because your credentials were good, very good, but all of a sudden, excuses appear from everywhere just because you are HIV- infected.

KWAME HOLMAN: How did that make you feel?

DR. AOUN: Well, it's frustrating, it's disappointing, just, it's disappointing and it's sad that medical institutions, themselves, who are supposed to be compassionate, caring people and care for our own especially, could not even care for their own people. Here is a colleague who has been highly productive, highly qualified, and because of an illness that person we're going to treat not on the basis of his qualifications or her qualifications, we're going to treat him on the basis of the illness. So I would have to say discrimination on the basis of an illness has to be one of the most awful forms of intolerance that a society can display.

MR. MacNeil: Tomorrow's issue of the prestigious Journal Annals of Internal Medicine will carry an article by Dr. Aoun describing the insights he gained from his HIV infection. It's titled "From the Eye of the Storm with the Eyes of a Physician." Dr. Aoun was 36 years old. Good night, Roger.

MR. MUDD: Good night, Robin. We'll be back tomorrow night with the early returns from the New Hampshire primary. I'm Roger Mudd. Good night.