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U.S. Troops Mount Massive Overnight Offensive on Insurgents Near Najaf; Justices Questioning Whether Cheney's Private Meetings on Energy Policies Should Become Public Records

Aired April 27, 2004 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, HOST: We'll get started here in Atlanta. Good morning, we're at CNN headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Daryn Kagan.
We begin in southern Iraq, where U.S. commanders say troops near Najaf killed 43 insurgents during battles in the city's outskirts today. Coalition source says helicopter gun ships were used in the strikes, which also took out an anti-aircraft battery. Radical cleric al Sadr is believed to be holed up inside the city but U.S. troops have yet to come after him.

An Army helicopter carrying three soldiers from South Carolina's Fort Bragg helicopter is missing. The Blackhawk vanished last night shortly before 10:00 a.m., it's last known position was about 20 miles northeast of Florence, South Carolina. A search is now underway in that area.

Saudi Arabia is getting a warning from the man believed to be Usama bin Laden's main link to al Qaeda's operatives in the kingdom. Abdul Aziz al Mukrin (ph) says Saudi security forces will be hit hard if they stand in the way of Jihad. This ultimatum was posted on an Arabic website, where he also denied responsibility for last week's deadly bombing in Riyadh.

Here in the United States, on Capitol Hill, John Negroponte is scheduled to undergo Senate scrutiny this morning. You see him standing to the left of your screen there. He has been named America's first ambassador to post Saddam-Iraq. First though, he does have to go through the approval process. It is expected to be relatively swift.

Live this hour, executive power or an election year minefield. This hour, the U.S. Supreme Court pries open the closed doors of Dick Cheney's meetings on energy policy. Does the public have a right to know who he was meeting with? More on that just ahead.

U.S. troops mounted a massive overnight offensive on insurgents near the southern holy Shiite city of Najaf. U.S. officials say that dozens of Iraqi fighters are dead and an ultimatum to a radical cleric sounds more urgent and ominous today.

Our Ben Wedeman joins. He is in Baghdad with more on this developing story.

Ben, hello. BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hello, Daryn. Well, according to Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt in a press conference held just a few minutes ago here in Baghdad, 57 members of the so-called Mehdi army, that is the militia loyal to Muqtada Sadr, the Shiite clerical leader in Najaf, were killed in overnight clashes northeast of Najaf. Not in or near the city but rather to the northeast of it. And during that battle, which raged for about an hour, apparently U.S. forces not only used helicopter gun ships but an AC-130 gunship as well, which took out, according to Mr. General Kimmitt, an antiaircraft weapon. And there were about 2500 U.S. troops around Najaf.

The city has been in something of a state of rebellion for the past three weeks. The United States, of course, wants to get its hands on Muqtada Sadr; Shiite leader who they believe may have had a role in the killing of a prominent Shiite cleric in April of last year. And of course, his Mehdi army has been involved in attacks on coalition forces.

But what we're seeing in Najaf, Daryn, is clearly a change in U.S. tactics. Not so confrontational. They're allowing really the rivalries between Shiite leaders to play themselves out. We do know that many other prominent Shiite leaders do not want to see Muqtada Sadr become the leader of the Shiites. And therefore, the Americans are taking a wait and see attitude in the hopes somehow the situation in Najaf will be defused.

Fallujah, that other -- that Sunni city to the west of Baghdad, seems to be calmer today. General Kimmitt saying they are going to allow negotiations to continue, that the benefits are obvious, even though no tangible progress has been made today. It was supposed to be that the insurgents were going to hand over some of their weapons, that there would be some joint patrols between the U.S. Marines and Iraqi security forces. We are told that commanders, U.S. commanders, Marine commanders on the ground have decided the situation is not quite ripe. And therefore, they say those patrols may take place Thursday -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Let's move north to where you are in Baghdad. Getting word another U.S. soldier has been killed in that city. What are the details you can give us about that -- Ben?

WEDEMAN: Well, Daryn, the details at this point are fairly sketchy. We do know that one U.S. soldier was killed and another wounded, when a joint patrol composed of Iraqi forces as well as U.S. troops, was attacked. And as I said, one killed, one wounded. But beyond that, not too many other details. Baghdad, for its part, has been relatively calm recently. But obviously, this is the sort of attack that the U.S. forces have become somewhat accustomed to -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Ben Wedeman in Baghdad, more from you later in the day.

Other news from Iraq now. A memo passed between top U.S. Army commanders raises serious concerns about a main form of ground transportation for U.S. troops in Iraq. The head of U.S. Army Forces Command, General Larry Ellis says that armored Humvees do not provide enough protection to the U.S. forces. That memo directed to the Army chief of staff and obtained by CNN, comes as the Pentagon rushes to increase the number of reinforced vehicles. General Ellis instead wants to ship Army funds to build twice as many of the Army's newest combat vehicle, it's called the Striker. It has eight wheels, weighs 19 tons, and when equipped with a special cage can withstand a rocket- propelled grenade attack.

Israel has sent a formal letter of protest to the United Nations, condemning remarks by top U.N. Lakdhar Brahimi. In a French radio interview, Brahimi denounced Israeli as oppressive and called Israel the creator of poison in the Middle East. Brahimi is working on a blueprint for Iraqi independence.

Policy, privilege and politics; rarely do three collide in a single debate and ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. But this hour, as we look at the picture of the High Court, justices are questioning whether Cheney's private meetings on energy policies should become public records.

Our senior White House correspondent John King takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(APPLAUSE)

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the campaign trail, a very public role leading the attack against Democrat John Kerry.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is irresponsible to vote against vital support for the United States military.

(APPLAUSE)

KING: But this is the vice president whose most important work is done in private, in the Oval Office here. and who is the leader of an aggressive effort to defend a president's right to conduct some business in secret.

ALBERTO GONZALES, WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: Well, you know, we don't operate in government on a baseline that everything is open to the public.

KING: At issue now: a Supreme Court case about whether some records of the vice president's Energy Task Force should be made public. A lower court said yes and the White House appealed. Democrats, and Congress, and other critics call it proof of a White House obsessed with secrecy on issues ranging from the Energy Task Force to blocking access to information about terror suspects detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

CHERYL MILLS, FMR. CLINTON DEPUTY COUNSEL: This administration is much more conservative on the issue of privilege. And much more, I'd say, aggressive about asserting it or asserting those things that are similar to it.

KING: Not so says the president's top lawyer.

GONZALES: In most cases, we are able to reach an accommodation. and that's why in the history of this administration only once has this president asserted executive privilege.

KING: Just recently, these compromises. The 9/11 Commission finally won access to a presidential intelligence briefing Mr. Bush received five weeks before the terrorist attacks. And National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice testified before the commission after months in which the White House said no.

NORMAN ORNSTEIN, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INST.: Every president, liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, oftentimes, faced with immediate political pressures, has kind of caved or given in on executive responsibility.

KING: But the White House did not give in this time and appealed the Energy Task Force case to the Supreme Court, reflects Mr. Cheney's unrivaled clout within the White House.

(on camera): And it reflects the vice president's view that presidential power has been under attack for 30 years, beginning with Watergate. And including a decision by the first president he worked for, Gerald Ford, to testify to Congress about his decision to pardon Richard Nixon.

John King, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: A hearing is scheduled to get underway just minutes from now in the sexual assault case against NBA star Kobe Bryant. Prosecutors could begin presenting their case as early as today, and question witnesses on whether the sexual history of his 19-year-old accuser should be admitted in court. The issue will be debated behind closed doors.

While this week's hearings are closed to the public, the issues and the irritants have been anything but private. From coffee shops to courthouse steps, the case has fueled debates and divisions in the quiet town that the accuser once called home.

Our national correspondent Gary Tuchman takes a closer look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Many people moved to Eagle, Colorado because it's a safe place to live. Hence, the irony of the story.

ROXIE DEANE, FMR. MAYOR, EAGLE, COLORADO: I feel bad that any, you know, anyone would feel that they weren't safe in this community, or didn't feel they could be here when it's their home. TUCHMAN: The woman who has accused Kobe Bryant of rape is not longer living in her hometown, because she feels unsafe there. Her attorney filed legal papers declaring, "She has been forced to quit school. She cannot live at home, she cannot talk to her friends, and she has received literally hundreds of phone calls and e-mails threatening either death or mutilation." In this family-oriented city of 3800 people, the accuser has many sympathizers.

LANEY COFFEY, EAGLE RESIDENT: I would feel badly for anybody who has gone through this. It's a gut-wrenching experience.

TUCHMAN: But more so than when this case began, there are those who are not shy about publicly criticizing the 19-year-old woman. At this bakery, the owner does not mince words.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's not right. You know, like I am a woman, OK? If I see a guy and I shouldn't go to the room. And she went to their room so that is the big mistake she did it.

TUCHMAN: Aris Duncan went to high school with the alleged victim.

ARIS DUNCAN, EAGLE RESIDENT: I think she shouldn't be afraid to come back. I think more she should be ashamed.

TUCHMAN: Three men, all from outside Eagle, have been charged with threatening the accuser. But the woman's family says her security is threatened in Eagle, because the location of the family home is well known. That, plus the increased public cynicism in town, make many here understand the decision to stay away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't blame her parents for trying to go somewhere else until this whole thing is over.

TUCHMAN (on camera): The alleged victim and Kobe Bryant share something in common when it comes to this town. They would both; at least for the time being, prefer not to be here.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Eagle, Colorado.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Fighting in the street, it is urban warfare in Iraq right now. Do insurgents have the upper hand over coalition troops?

And the battle over military service: the John Kerry camp lobs new allegations to the president and vice president for not serving in Vietnam.

Later: ladies, would you consider a world without men? Coming up on CNN LIVE TODAY, you're going to meet the author of a book; it's called "Adam's Curse." He claims men are in the process of going extinct.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAGAN: These pictures just taken a moment ago. Lakers' star Kobe Bryant arriving at court in Eagle, Colorado for a few days of hearings here. They are looking at two key issues. One how involved will prosecutors -- will defense attorneys allowed to go into the alleged sexual past and sexual history of Kobe Bryant's accuser. Also, whether certain evidence which was gathered Kobe Bryant's attorneys say illegally will that be allowed in the trial once a court date -- a trial date has been set. More from Eagle, Colorado in just a moment.

Now, we check in on other headlines. What is next in Fallujah for coalition commanders? It's a dilemma. Should their forces try to retake the city and risk alienating a population, or should they stay put and give diplomacy more time? Joint patrol involving U.S. Marines and Iraqi police were supposed to start today but postponed.

Let's get expert analysis on this difficult decision. Our military analyst and retired Air Force, Major Don Shepperd. We have tracked him down in San Antonio, Texas. He thought he could run from Tucson and we wouldn't find him, but we did better than that.

Good morning, General.

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET), U.S. AIR FORCE: Hi, Daryn.

KAGAN: Good to have you here with us. First, let's talk about these joint patrols. A number of Marines expressing their concerns with doing this, citing the reliability or lack of that of the Iraqi security forces, also the loyalty in question.

SHEPPERD: Well, two things about the joint patrols. You have a right to be nervous; this is extremely dangerous business. It's dangerous to conduct American patrols; they're going to be shot at. And it's dangerous to conduct joint patrols because the Iraqis are seen as collaborators by many of the people. And those patrols are going to be shot at. No safe way to conduct patrols in Fallujah right now -- Daryn.

KAGAN: So, do you not do them?

SHEPPERD: Well, you're going to have to conduct controls at some point. In other words, you're going to have to exert control over the city. And you're going to have to route out the bad guys, either through negotiations or through an all-out assault on the regions of the city, where these really bad people are held out. This is the heart of the truly bad people from the Saddam regime: the Mukhabarat, the Republican Guards, Special Republican Guards, special security organizations. This is where the bad guys are. And right now, it's seen as a victory by the Jihadist, the fact that we have not conducted an all-out assault.

KAGAN: OK. Well, let's talk about that all-out assault in terms of bad situation and bad challenges, the risk and the challenge of urban warfare facing the U.S. military if it does decide to go into Fallujah. SHEPPERD: Well, it's the worst kind of warfare. No question about that. Our soldiers are trained for it but you're going to conduct casualties. And also you're going to cause collateral damage; you're going to kill other civilians. The problem urban warfare, the problem with Najaf, the problem with Fallujah and al Sadr right now, is that you're walking a fine line between creating sympathy uprising. A widespread popular uprising, or even an uprising within the Shiia or Sunni population that then spreads across the country and also can end up in civil war.

So this is a very, very dangerous situation. We're trying to bring it to a head through negotiations as opposed to killing people. and it's really tough.

KAGAN: And let's talk about some of the other physical challenges from within Fallujah specifically. You have a lot of narrow streets making it difficult to get around. A lot of people say that they've been digging tunnels from -- the insurgents, from one building to another giving them good escape routes. And then you also, and almost every neighborhood have mosques, schools and hospitals that can be used for cover by the other side.

SHEPPERD: You've outlined it very well. When a mosque, school or hospital is used as a military storage point, it no longer is protected by the rules of warfare. You can attack people that are storing things there and engaging from combat from those.

But the urban warfare, the way you do it is you go down the streets and return fire from where it's coming from. And in the process you kill innocent people as well as those engaging in fire. And you kick down the doors, and you go through the doors and examine what's inside. There's no good way to clear a city, especially one full of bad people that's about 300,000 in size, Daryn. It's really tough work. Our people are trained for it. But there is going to be casualties, lots of them on both sides.

KAGAN: On both sides. How long can the cease fire go on?

SHEPPERD: Well, General Kimmitt has repeatedly said our patience is not unlimited. Which leaves it up in question. You want the people to understand that you have the military force. We have the military force to defeat any military threat, anywhere in Iraq. Period. The danger, of course, is the other side is causing the uprisings because of what you do. So the point is that you can negotiate, as long as you're negotiating you're not killing people. But at some point, you're going to call a halt and you're going to conduct military operations.

KAGAN: General Shepperd, thank you for your time today. Appreciate it.

SHEPPERD: Pleasure, Daryn.

KAGAN: And a reminder for you that CNN will have live coverage of today's Pentagon briefing. It's scheduled for 1:15 Eastern this afternoon. Twenty-four-year-old Nathan B. Bruckenthal was just a month away from ending a second tour in Iraq returning to see the birth of his first born child. Instead he's being mourned as the first Coast Guard member to die in combat since Vietnam.

Our Susan Candiotti has the story and his family's loss.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For his first of two tours in Iraq, Nathan Bruckenthal earned a combat ribbon. His widow, Patricia, three months pregnant with his first child received it this day from the Coast Guard.

PATRICIA BRUCKENTHAL, MILITARY WIDOW: I was told that he received it right before he left, so he actually had it on him. Which kind of makes me feel a lot better because he really wanted this really bad.

CANDIOTTI: Petty Officer Bruckenthal offered to go back to Iraq a second time. His wife says he didn't want to tell her that. But she found out and understood. Bruckenthal was the first Coasty lost in action since Vietnam.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He fought for what he felt was right and he was a brave, brave man.

CANDIOTTI: Over the weekend, Bruckenthal and two Navy sailors were killed when they approached a small suspicious boat getting close to an oil terminal. The boat exploded when the team got close.

BRUCKENTHAL: He called me like everyday. He called me like three times Friday. And the day before I found out that he was dead, and he wouldn't get off the phone with me. He kept calling me and I'm like, why are you harassing me for?

CANDIOTTI: He told his wife he would be home in early June.

BRUCKENTHAL: Right now you can start counting because there was only a few weeks and a few days, and then I'll be home, you know? And then you don't ever have to let me go and I promise you that.

CANDIOTTI: Not the homecoming she expected or wanted, but she'll take comfort in his words.

BRUCKENTHAL: He told me that I was the air that he breathed and he told me that he was always in my soul.

CANDIOTTI: Petty officer Nathan Bruckenthal will be buried in Arlington.

Susan Candiotti, CNN Danya Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAGAN: Californians are bracing for another blistering day as a record heat wave turns spring into a summer swelter. Downtown L.A. saw a 32-year-old record melt on Monday. San Francisco reached a high 26 degrees above normal. I think we even have some live pictures of Southern California?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm kind of in the mood for maybe a koala story. Do we have anything like that?

KAGAN: Your wish is out command. But I want to hear Aw-factor.

MARCIANO: Aw, look at the cute little nose and the hairy ears!

KAGAN: Very well done.

MARCIANO: They always look so tired. Don't they?

KAGAN: Well, it's a lot of work eating all those eucalyptus leaves.

MARCIANO: They don't do a whole lot.

KAGAN: They do a lot for me. They're darn cute. And you know they're not bears. Four young koalas, we've been talking about, had a kind of coming out party. It seems the whole community is invited. Two male and two female koalas kids recently emerging from their mother's pouches. About 70 koalas live at the San Diego Zoo. and any one time, about half are loaned out to other zoos.

MARCIANO: And they're probably spitzing.

KAGAN: Spitzing. I do appreciate that. That was very good. Getting the lingo in.

MARCIANO: Oh, I'm trying to.

KAGAN: Thank you so much, Rob Marciano.

MARCIANO: See you in a bit.

KAGAN: We have a lot of news ahead. It is a plot more deadly allegedly than 9/11. The story of how Jordanian officials stopped a carefully planned attack involving a U.S. embassy.

And military records abound. The Bush and Kerry camps try to poke holes in each other's past. This is CNN LIVE today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired April 27, 2004 - 10:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, HOST: We'll get started here in Atlanta. Good morning, we're at CNN headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Daryn Kagan.
We begin in southern Iraq, where U.S. commanders say troops near Najaf killed 43 insurgents during battles in the city's outskirts today. Coalition source says helicopter gun ships were used in the strikes, which also took out an anti-aircraft battery. Radical cleric al Sadr is believed to be holed up inside the city but U.S. troops have yet to come after him.

An Army helicopter carrying three soldiers from South Carolina's Fort Bragg helicopter is missing. The Blackhawk vanished last night shortly before 10:00 a.m., it's last known position was about 20 miles northeast of Florence, South Carolina. A search is now underway in that area.

Saudi Arabia is getting a warning from the man believed to be Usama bin Laden's main link to al Qaeda's operatives in the kingdom. Abdul Aziz al Mukrin (ph) says Saudi security forces will be hit hard if they stand in the way of Jihad. This ultimatum was posted on an Arabic website, where he also denied responsibility for last week's deadly bombing in Riyadh.

Here in the United States, on Capitol Hill, John Negroponte is scheduled to undergo Senate scrutiny this morning. You see him standing to the left of your screen there. He has been named America's first ambassador to post Saddam-Iraq. First though, he does have to go through the approval process. It is expected to be relatively swift.

Live this hour, executive power or an election year minefield. This hour, the U.S. Supreme Court pries open the closed doors of Dick Cheney's meetings on energy policy. Does the public have a right to know who he was meeting with? More on that just ahead.

U.S. troops mounted a massive overnight offensive on insurgents near the southern holy Shiite city of Najaf. U.S. officials say that dozens of Iraqi fighters are dead and an ultimatum to a radical cleric sounds more urgent and ominous today.

Our Ben Wedeman joins. He is in Baghdad with more on this developing story.

Ben, hello. BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hello, Daryn. Well, according to Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt in a press conference held just a few minutes ago here in Baghdad, 57 members of the so-called Mehdi army, that is the militia loyal to Muqtada Sadr, the Shiite clerical leader in Najaf, were killed in overnight clashes northeast of Najaf. Not in or near the city but rather to the northeast of it. And during that battle, which raged for about an hour, apparently U.S. forces not only used helicopter gun ships but an AC-130 gunship as well, which took out, according to Mr. General Kimmitt, an antiaircraft weapon. And there were about 2500 U.S. troops around Najaf.

The city has been in something of a state of rebellion for the past three weeks. The United States, of course, wants to get its hands on Muqtada Sadr; Shiite leader who they believe may have had a role in the killing of a prominent Shiite cleric in April of last year. And of course, his Mehdi army has been involved in attacks on coalition forces.

But what we're seeing in Najaf, Daryn, is clearly a change in U.S. tactics. Not so confrontational. They're allowing really the rivalries between Shiite leaders to play themselves out. We do know that many other prominent Shiite leaders do not want to see Muqtada Sadr become the leader of the Shiites. And therefore, the Americans are taking a wait and see attitude in the hopes somehow the situation in Najaf will be defused.

Fallujah, that other -- that Sunni city to the west of Baghdad, seems to be calmer today. General Kimmitt saying they are going to allow negotiations to continue, that the benefits are obvious, even though no tangible progress has been made today. It was supposed to be that the insurgents were going to hand over some of their weapons, that there would be some joint patrols between the U.S. Marines and Iraqi security forces. We are told that commanders, U.S. commanders, Marine commanders on the ground have decided the situation is not quite ripe. And therefore, they say those patrols may take place Thursday -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Let's move north to where you are in Baghdad. Getting word another U.S. soldier has been killed in that city. What are the details you can give us about that -- Ben?

WEDEMAN: Well, Daryn, the details at this point are fairly sketchy. We do know that one U.S. soldier was killed and another wounded, when a joint patrol composed of Iraqi forces as well as U.S. troops, was attacked. And as I said, one killed, one wounded. But beyond that, not too many other details. Baghdad, for its part, has been relatively calm recently. But obviously, this is the sort of attack that the U.S. forces have become somewhat accustomed to -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Ben Wedeman in Baghdad, more from you later in the day.

Other news from Iraq now. A memo passed between top U.S. Army commanders raises serious concerns about a main form of ground transportation for U.S. troops in Iraq. The head of U.S. Army Forces Command, General Larry Ellis says that armored Humvees do not provide enough protection to the U.S. forces. That memo directed to the Army chief of staff and obtained by CNN, comes as the Pentagon rushes to increase the number of reinforced vehicles. General Ellis instead wants to ship Army funds to build twice as many of the Army's newest combat vehicle, it's called the Striker. It has eight wheels, weighs 19 tons, and when equipped with a special cage can withstand a rocket- propelled grenade attack.

Israel has sent a formal letter of protest to the United Nations, condemning remarks by top U.N. Lakdhar Brahimi. In a French radio interview, Brahimi denounced Israeli as oppressive and called Israel the creator of poison in the Middle East. Brahimi is working on a blueprint for Iraqi independence.

Policy, privilege and politics; rarely do three collide in a single debate and ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. But this hour, as we look at the picture of the High Court, justices are questioning whether Cheney's private meetings on energy policies should become public records.

Our senior White House correspondent John King takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(APPLAUSE)

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the campaign trail, a very public role leading the attack against Democrat John Kerry.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is irresponsible to vote against vital support for the United States military.

(APPLAUSE)

KING: But this is the vice president whose most important work is done in private, in the Oval Office here. and who is the leader of an aggressive effort to defend a president's right to conduct some business in secret.

ALBERTO GONZALES, WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: Well, you know, we don't operate in government on a baseline that everything is open to the public.

KING: At issue now: a Supreme Court case about whether some records of the vice president's Energy Task Force should be made public. A lower court said yes and the White House appealed. Democrats, and Congress, and other critics call it proof of a White House obsessed with secrecy on issues ranging from the Energy Task Force to blocking access to information about terror suspects detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

CHERYL MILLS, FMR. CLINTON DEPUTY COUNSEL: This administration is much more conservative on the issue of privilege. And much more, I'd say, aggressive about asserting it or asserting those things that are similar to it.

KING: Not so says the president's top lawyer.

GONZALES: In most cases, we are able to reach an accommodation. and that's why in the history of this administration only once has this president asserted executive privilege.

KING: Just recently, these compromises. The 9/11 Commission finally won access to a presidential intelligence briefing Mr. Bush received five weeks before the terrorist attacks. And National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice testified before the commission after months in which the White House said no.

NORMAN ORNSTEIN, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INST.: Every president, liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, oftentimes, faced with immediate political pressures, has kind of caved or given in on executive responsibility.

KING: But the White House did not give in this time and appealed the Energy Task Force case to the Supreme Court, reflects Mr. Cheney's unrivaled clout within the White House.

(on camera): And it reflects the vice president's view that presidential power has been under attack for 30 years, beginning with Watergate. And including a decision by the first president he worked for, Gerald Ford, to testify to Congress about his decision to pardon Richard Nixon.

John King, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: A hearing is scheduled to get underway just minutes from now in the sexual assault case against NBA star Kobe Bryant. Prosecutors could begin presenting their case as early as today, and question witnesses on whether the sexual history of his 19-year-old accuser should be admitted in court. The issue will be debated behind closed doors.

While this week's hearings are closed to the public, the issues and the irritants have been anything but private. From coffee shops to courthouse steps, the case has fueled debates and divisions in the quiet town that the accuser once called home.

Our national correspondent Gary Tuchman takes a closer look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Many people moved to Eagle, Colorado because it's a safe place to live. Hence, the irony of the story.

ROXIE DEANE, FMR. MAYOR, EAGLE, COLORADO: I feel bad that any, you know, anyone would feel that they weren't safe in this community, or didn't feel they could be here when it's their home. TUCHMAN: The woman who has accused Kobe Bryant of rape is not longer living in her hometown, because she feels unsafe there. Her attorney filed legal papers declaring, "She has been forced to quit school. She cannot live at home, she cannot talk to her friends, and she has received literally hundreds of phone calls and e-mails threatening either death or mutilation." In this family-oriented city of 3800 people, the accuser has many sympathizers.

LANEY COFFEY, EAGLE RESIDENT: I would feel badly for anybody who has gone through this. It's a gut-wrenching experience.

TUCHMAN: But more so than when this case began, there are those who are not shy about publicly criticizing the 19-year-old woman. At this bakery, the owner does not mince words.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's not right. You know, like I am a woman, OK? If I see a guy and I shouldn't go to the room. And she went to their room so that is the big mistake she did it.

TUCHMAN: Aris Duncan went to high school with the alleged victim.

ARIS DUNCAN, EAGLE RESIDENT: I think she shouldn't be afraid to come back. I think more she should be ashamed.

TUCHMAN: Three men, all from outside Eagle, have been charged with threatening the accuser. But the woman's family says her security is threatened in Eagle, because the location of the family home is well known. That, plus the increased public cynicism in town, make many here understand the decision to stay away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't blame her parents for trying to go somewhere else until this whole thing is over.

TUCHMAN (on camera): The alleged victim and Kobe Bryant share something in common when it comes to this town. They would both; at least for the time being, prefer not to be here.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Eagle, Colorado.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Fighting in the street, it is urban warfare in Iraq right now. Do insurgents have the upper hand over coalition troops?

And the battle over military service: the John Kerry camp lobs new allegations to the president and vice president for not serving in Vietnam.

Later: ladies, would you consider a world without men? Coming up on CNN LIVE TODAY, you're going to meet the author of a book; it's called "Adam's Curse." He claims men are in the process of going extinct.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAGAN: These pictures just taken a moment ago. Lakers' star Kobe Bryant arriving at court in Eagle, Colorado for a few days of hearings here. They are looking at two key issues. One how involved will prosecutors -- will defense attorneys allowed to go into the alleged sexual past and sexual history of Kobe Bryant's accuser. Also, whether certain evidence which was gathered Kobe Bryant's attorneys say illegally will that be allowed in the trial once a court date -- a trial date has been set. More from Eagle, Colorado in just a moment.

Now, we check in on other headlines. What is next in Fallujah for coalition commanders? It's a dilemma. Should their forces try to retake the city and risk alienating a population, or should they stay put and give diplomacy more time? Joint patrol involving U.S. Marines and Iraqi police were supposed to start today but postponed.

Let's get expert analysis on this difficult decision. Our military analyst and retired Air Force, Major Don Shepperd. We have tracked him down in San Antonio, Texas. He thought he could run from Tucson and we wouldn't find him, but we did better than that.

Good morning, General.

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET), U.S. AIR FORCE: Hi, Daryn.

KAGAN: Good to have you here with us. First, let's talk about these joint patrols. A number of Marines expressing their concerns with doing this, citing the reliability or lack of that of the Iraqi security forces, also the loyalty in question.

SHEPPERD: Well, two things about the joint patrols. You have a right to be nervous; this is extremely dangerous business. It's dangerous to conduct American patrols; they're going to be shot at. And it's dangerous to conduct joint patrols because the Iraqis are seen as collaborators by many of the people. And those patrols are going to be shot at. No safe way to conduct patrols in Fallujah right now -- Daryn.

KAGAN: So, do you not do them?

SHEPPERD: Well, you're going to have to conduct controls at some point. In other words, you're going to have to exert control over the city. And you're going to have to route out the bad guys, either through negotiations or through an all-out assault on the regions of the city, where these really bad people are held out. This is the heart of the truly bad people from the Saddam regime: the Mukhabarat, the Republican Guards, Special Republican Guards, special security organizations. This is where the bad guys are. And right now, it's seen as a victory by the Jihadist, the fact that we have not conducted an all-out assault.

KAGAN: OK. Well, let's talk about that all-out assault in terms of bad situation and bad challenges, the risk and the challenge of urban warfare facing the U.S. military if it does decide to go into Fallujah. SHEPPERD: Well, it's the worst kind of warfare. No question about that. Our soldiers are trained for it but you're going to conduct casualties. And also you're going to cause collateral damage; you're going to kill other civilians. The problem urban warfare, the problem with Najaf, the problem with Fallujah and al Sadr right now, is that you're walking a fine line between creating sympathy uprising. A widespread popular uprising, or even an uprising within the Shiia or Sunni population that then spreads across the country and also can end up in civil war.

So this is a very, very dangerous situation. We're trying to bring it to a head through negotiations as opposed to killing people. and it's really tough.

KAGAN: And let's talk about some of the other physical challenges from within Fallujah specifically. You have a lot of narrow streets making it difficult to get around. A lot of people say that they've been digging tunnels from -- the insurgents, from one building to another giving them good escape routes. And then you also, and almost every neighborhood have mosques, schools and hospitals that can be used for cover by the other side.

SHEPPERD: You've outlined it very well. When a mosque, school or hospital is used as a military storage point, it no longer is protected by the rules of warfare. You can attack people that are storing things there and engaging from combat from those.

But the urban warfare, the way you do it is you go down the streets and return fire from where it's coming from. And in the process you kill innocent people as well as those engaging in fire. And you kick down the doors, and you go through the doors and examine what's inside. There's no good way to clear a city, especially one full of bad people that's about 300,000 in size, Daryn. It's really tough work. Our people are trained for it. But there is going to be casualties, lots of them on both sides.

KAGAN: On both sides. How long can the cease fire go on?

SHEPPERD: Well, General Kimmitt has repeatedly said our patience is not unlimited. Which leaves it up in question. You want the people to understand that you have the military force. We have the military force to defeat any military threat, anywhere in Iraq. Period. The danger, of course, is the other side is causing the uprisings because of what you do. So the point is that you can negotiate, as long as you're negotiating you're not killing people. But at some point, you're going to call a halt and you're going to conduct military operations.

KAGAN: General Shepperd, thank you for your time today. Appreciate it.

SHEPPERD: Pleasure, Daryn.

KAGAN: And a reminder for you that CNN will have live coverage of today's Pentagon briefing. It's scheduled for 1:15 Eastern this afternoon. Twenty-four-year-old Nathan B. Bruckenthal was just a month away from ending a second tour in Iraq returning to see the birth of his first born child. Instead he's being mourned as the first Coast Guard member to die in combat since Vietnam.

Our Susan Candiotti has the story and his family's loss.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For his first of two tours in Iraq, Nathan Bruckenthal earned a combat ribbon. His widow, Patricia, three months pregnant with his first child received it this day from the Coast Guard.

PATRICIA BRUCKENTHAL, MILITARY WIDOW: I was told that he received it right before he left, so he actually had it on him. Which kind of makes me feel a lot better because he really wanted this really bad.

CANDIOTTI: Petty Officer Bruckenthal offered to go back to Iraq a second time. His wife says he didn't want to tell her that. But she found out and understood. Bruckenthal was the first Coasty lost in action since Vietnam.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He fought for what he felt was right and he was a brave, brave man.

CANDIOTTI: Over the weekend, Bruckenthal and two Navy sailors were killed when they approached a small suspicious boat getting close to an oil terminal. The boat exploded when the team got close.

BRUCKENTHAL: He called me like everyday. He called me like three times Friday. And the day before I found out that he was dead, and he wouldn't get off the phone with me. He kept calling me and I'm like, why are you harassing me for?

CANDIOTTI: He told his wife he would be home in early June.

BRUCKENTHAL: Right now you can start counting because there was only a few weeks and a few days, and then I'll be home, you know? And then you don't ever have to let me go and I promise you that.

CANDIOTTI: Not the homecoming she expected or wanted, but she'll take comfort in his words.

BRUCKENTHAL: He told me that I was the air that he breathed and he told me that he was always in my soul.

CANDIOTTI: Petty officer Nathan Bruckenthal will be buried in Arlington.

Susan Candiotti, CNN Danya Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAGAN: Californians are bracing for another blistering day as a record heat wave turns spring into a summer swelter. Downtown L.A. saw a 32-year-old record melt on Monday. San Francisco reached a high 26 degrees above normal. I think we even have some live pictures of Southern California?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm kind of in the mood for maybe a koala story. Do we have anything like that?

KAGAN: Your wish is out command. But I want to hear Aw-factor.

MARCIANO: Aw, look at the cute little nose and the hairy ears!

KAGAN: Very well done.

MARCIANO: They always look so tired. Don't they?

KAGAN: Well, it's a lot of work eating all those eucalyptus leaves.

MARCIANO: They don't do a whole lot.

KAGAN: They do a lot for me. They're darn cute. And you know they're not bears. Four young koalas, we've been talking about, had a kind of coming out party. It seems the whole community is invited. Two male and two female koalas kids recently emerging from their mother's pouches. About 70 koalas live at the San Diego Zoo. and any one time, about half are loaned out to other zoos.

MARCIANO: And they're probably spitzing.

KAGAN: Spitzing. I do appreciate that. That was very good. Getting the lingo in.

MARCIANO: Oh, I'm trying to.

KAGAN: Thank you so much, Rob Marciano.

MARCIANO: See you in a bit.

KAGAN: We have a lot of news ahead. It is a plot more deadly allegedly than 9/11. The story of how Jordanian officials stopped a carefully planned attack involving a U.S. embassy.

And military records abound. The Bush and Kerry camps try to poke holes in each other's past. This is CNN LIVE today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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