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CNN Live Sunday
Explosive Packed Tunnel Rips Through Israeli Military Outpost In Gaza, Kills 1, Injures 4; Iraqi Insurgents Claim To Have Kidnapped U.S. Marine
Aired June 27, 2004 - 18:00 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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: CNN SUNDAY is just ahead, but first I have these headlines.
Al Jazeera is reporting that a U.S. marine has been taken hostage in Iraq. The militants in the video are threatening to kill the marine if the U.S. does not release all prisoners. A coalition spokesman tells CNN they're trying to confirm the story.
In the meantime, the militants holding a Pakistani hostage are also demanding the same thing. They are threatening to cut off the hostage's head in the next couple of days.
Iraq's interim prime minister says they expect to take custody of Saddam Hussein next month, all the legal paper work is being done. But Secretary of State Colin Powell says that does not mean the U.S. will transfer physical custody Hussein anytime soon.
A huge blast at an Israeli military post in Gaza has wounded five Israelis. The blast took place in a tunnel next to the outpost. Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade are claiming responsibility for the attack.
And good evening. I'm Carol Lin. Welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Straight ahead, a breakthrough drug just approved by the FDA. Imagine chemo in a pill, or drugs that don't make you sick. Treatment that gives you, the patient, the best chance to survive. I've got the doctor and the amazing story of a patient who's beating the odds.
And the stakes in Iraq go ever higher. Now claims of a U.S. Marine being held hostage, just one of five hostage situations that the world knows of right now. Can the militants be stopped? I'll ask an expert.
But right now we begin in Iraq. There is a fresh wave of attacks and now a new claim that a U.S. marine is being held hostage in that country. Anderson Cooper is in Baghdad. Anderson, this would be the fifth hostage taken just in the last week.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Carol, good even. Yes, disturbing news indeed. We are not going to show you the video, the video which aired on al Jazeera earlier, a video which purports to show what Iraqi resistance fighters say is a U.S. Marine.
The video appeared to show a man in fatigues, in a marine uniform, holding up identification papers. You actually see the person's name. Again, we are not going to be disclosing any of that information, until several things, A, that we have confirmed the story, and, B we know the man's family has been notified.
At this point, the U.S. military is not commenting, saying they're trying to confirm whether this is real. There are a couple of other videos out there. A Pakistani man who has been held hostage. A video showing on many Arab networks of that. There are also 3 Turkish workers who have been held hostage and as become all too common here, that deadline, 72 hours. In the case of the Turkish workers, they say they want all Turkish companies and workers to withdraw and all Turkish workers to withdraw from Iraq. That, of course, highly unlikely to happen.
This, of course, timed while President Bush is in Turkey meeting with NATO leaders trying to convince them to help get them involved and help retrain the Iraqi army. Of course, there's a number of conflicts about that. Those discussions, President Bush still going to be having over the next several days. In particular tomorrow he meets with NATO leaders.
But again, these videos timed for maximum impact, we have seen over and over again, these insurgents here in Iraq, as well as the foreign fighters here in Iraq, very well aware of the power of pictures, well aware of the use of media. They time these things for maximum impact -- Carol.
LIN: Anderson, the Iraqis that you're maybe having a chance to talk to, what are they telling you on the street that may be different from what we Americans are reading in the states?
COOPER: Well, you know, I do think there is -- it really depends on where you go and who you talk to. There is a lot of optimism here. There's certainly a lot of tension here as well, a lot of trepidation what the next days, weeks and months really mean. This handover of power happens by June 30, but exactly what it means isn't clear.
Sovereignty, yes, you're going to see an Iraqi face on this much more and more increasingly, the Iraqi military, the Iraqi police being called in to try to deal with some of these insurgent problems, but they're really not up to the task. And just about everybody here will admit that. U.S. military, U.S. civilians, and certainly Iraqis alike. There is no illusion here the U.S. will be pulling out anytime soon. Of course, the final say is up to the new Iraqi government, but few Iraqis we talked to think that will happen really anytime in the near future.
LIN: Thank you very much. Anderson Cooper reporting live in Baghdad.
With this breaking news situation of more hostages, I'm joined on the telephone by one of our military analysts, Major General David Grange. General Grange, what do you make of this new hostage situation? How many more hostages are going to have to be taken before the situation ends, if at all?
MAJ. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.) CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, you know, there's not going to be any compromise, so it doesn't matter how many more are taken. The U.S. government and most of the coalition governments will not give in. And so this is a strategy, an economy of poor strategy by insurgents to terrorize, to put pressure on not only the homefront, but different governments, alliances to try to get the coalition to give in. And you cannot compromise with a terrorist, because once you start, it actually snowballs, and it shows to them that this technique works, and there will be more of it.
LIN: So, what's it going to take for thinks kidnappings to end and the insurgency to get tamped down.
GRANGE: A couple things. One is, when they realize this strategy is not change the resolve of the United States or other committed countries. No. 2, a increased surge in counterterrorist forces and intelligence organizations to find the information and hunt down and eliminate the insurgents that are doing this.
I'm sure that there's a full-court press on that right now, but every time something like this happens, there's no doubt in my mind from my past experiences that the tempo will even increase more than it is right now.
LIN: David, I'm just wondering, Prime Minister Allawi of Iraq has suggested that he may have to impose martial law. Do you think it is time that he do so, and do so immediately in order to stop these kidnappings?
GRANGE: Well, you know, that's not something bad for the Iraqi people. They're used to a lot of control from someone, and if that control brings some type of order -- because that's the concern of the populous more so than a totally free society. They are used to security, even if it's imposed by a free or dictator-type government.
So I think that the prime minister could get away with that, and it may be prudent to do that on either side of the transition date, just to maintain rule of law in the situation.
LIN: That's just in a few days. Thank you very much. Brigadier General David Grange for phoning in from Wheaton, Illinois.
CNN is going to have complete coverage leading up to Iraq's new sovereignty. Tonight, "CNN: Presents" has a special report, "Countdown To Handover." Again, that's tonight at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.
President Bush is in Turkey right now and will push his case before NATO tomorrow. He wants the alliance to help train Iraqi security forces, to tackle the growing insurgencies. Trainers are not troops, but it could be the most the president can hope for. Suzanne Malveaux is traveling with the president and filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the eve of the 2 day NATO summit, President Bush is gathering support from allies for his Iraq mission, but what is uncertain is whether or not the violence there and the protests here will undermine his efforts.
A picture of unity for President Bush as NATO members prepare to formally offer their support to help train Iraqi troops. It's a far cry from the peacekeeping force the Bush administration had initially envisioned in Iraq, but a symbolic victory nonetheless. While Mr. Bush did not specifically mention the deal, he thanked secretary- general and gently suggested an expanded role for the alliance in fighting terror.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to work together to help make sure NATO is configured militarily to meet the threats of the 21st Century.
MALVEAUX: A senior administration official says the agreement responds to a request by Iraq's interim prime minister to provide technical assistance and training for a restructured Iraqi force. It would also allow allies like Germany and France, who have refused to send their troops to Iraq to provide training within their own countries.
JAAP DE HOOP SCHEFFER, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: It's up to the Iraqi government what they want to do. Coming back to your question, I think the training could take place inside Iraq and outside Iraq.
MALVEAUX: But the escalation of violence leading up to Wednesday's turnover of power is making European allies nervous and attracting thousands of anti-war and anti-American protesters.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We expected that we would see this increase in terrorist and insurgent activity as we got closer to the first of the month and the changeover, and it might continue for a period after that. But I know that our military are hard at work, and we're building up the Iraqi security forces as fast as we can.
MALVEAUX: And U.S. officials in Istanbul are engaged in a full- court press to convince the international community they all have a stake in bringing democracy to Iraq.
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The terrorists won't like it, the extremists won't like it, the foreign regime elements that want to have another Saddam Hussein-type regime won't like it. The people who like anarchy won't like it. The people that would prefer a civil war won't like it, but it will happen.
MALVEAUX (on camera): The NATO agreement on Iraq will also study further steps the alliance can take to contribute to Iraqi security, leaving the door open for possibly sending peacekeepers in the future. Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Istanbul, Turkey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Well in the meantime, more than 100 people died in fighting just in the last week alone around Iraq. A year ago, the insurgents were just a disorganized band of thieves and foreigners. Today, they have melded today into a sophisticated terrorist network. Even now, the Bush administration concedes that the attacks are coordinated and controlled. CNN's Kathleen Koch has more on this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More attacks on Baghdad's green zone and U.S. forces in Iraq. U.S. officials now no longer describing the violence as the random acts of killers and thugs, but instead as an orchestrated campaign.
POWELL: There certainly is a level of coordination in my judgment, and hopefully we can penetrate whatever system is operating there, whatever command and control system is at work.
KOCH: Iraq's incoming prime minister reveals the new government's initial strategy will be to offer amnesty to resistance fighters without blood on their hands.
AYAD ALLAWI, INCOMING IRAQI PRIME MINISTER: Provided they come forward and give information about the hard-core people or the people whom they have assisted. This is a possibility that my government is looking at.
KOCH: But Iraq's new defense minister vowed no mercy for the remaining insurgents, telling "Newsweek" magazine, quote, "we have different laws than you do, we will cut off their hands and behead them." A troubling development, say some U.S. lawmakers.
SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD, (D) CONNECTICUT: Certainly this isn't exactly what we were hoping we were going to set up here. When we talked about going in and creating a new Iraq.
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL, (R) NEBRASKA: It is difficult, it is tough, but this is their world, and if they're going to make something of their world, then they're going to have to not only win it, but then frame it in their way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Please tune in tonight at 10:00 pm Eastern for my interview of journalist Michael Ware, who's lived with the insurgents the last month. His eyewitness accounts of bomb factories and terrorist training in Fallujah. Tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
Trouble on the border between Gaza and Israel. Rescuers are counting the casualties from an explosion at an army outpost in Gaza. The Palestinian militant group, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade called CNN saying it set off the bomb. Our John Vause is following the story from Jerusalem right now. John, what have you learned about the circumstances of this attack and any injuries?
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol. It appears that the past came from a tunnel which had been dug underneath the Israeli military outpost in Gaza. Now both Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades are claiming responsibility for the attack.
According to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the tunnel was more than 1,000 feel long and packed with more than 3,000 pounds of explosives that did damage part of the military outpost, but it exploded in a courtyard area, but not far from dormitories where dozens of Israeli soldiers were asleep.
Now the latest figures we have, 5 Israeli soldiers wounded. And according to Israeli television, one of those soldiers has now died. He was trapped beneath the rubble. When emergency crews arrived to try to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble of the damaged building, they came under fire from mortar shells and small-arms fire from Palestinian militants. The Israeli soldiers also returned fire.
In the meantime, there have been celebrations on the streets of Gaza City as well as Rafa. But those celebrations could be short lived. Israeli tanks reportedly moving in around the Cairn Unis (ph) the city from where the tunnel was dug, and Palestinian security sources report that two Palestinians have been killed by tank shelling, one of them a teenager 13 years old, the second one according to security sources, is in fact a Palestinian policeman.
Now, according to Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, this attacks is in retaliation for the deaths of 6 or 7 militant leaders killed in the town Nablus. They were killed by Israeli forces there. The end result of a three-day operation in the West Bank -- Carol.
LIN: All right, thank you very much. John Vause reporting live in Jerusalem.
Still ahead on CNN LIVE SUNDAY, a birthday celebration turned deadly over the skies of Oklahoma. A look at what went wrong when we return.
Plus, no cake, no flowers, no bride, no groom, we're going to tell you why the tables will be empty at some wedding halls.
And later, beating the odds against cancer: the breakthrough that's helping the worst cases survive.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Investigators say a birthday helicopter ride turned tragic in Cushing, Oklahoma. And that story tops our look at the news across America right now.
Earlier today, search crews recovered the bodies of two people killed when the helicopter they were in went down into the Cimarron River, three others injured in the crash are still in critical condition. FAA investigators are trying to determine what caused the crash.
And south of Atlanta, Georgia another air tragedy, three people were killed today when their chartered helicopter went down in a wooded area behind a home near Barnesville.
A final good-bye for a young man known for his uncommon determination and good will. Funeral services will be held tomorrow for 13-year-old Mattie Stepanek. Earlier this week, he lost his battle with muscular dystrophy. In his short life, Stepanek made an amazing impact by becoming a best-selling author, peace advocate and goodwill ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
This year's gay pride celebration had a different twist. No, the traditional drag queens were still there, but it is the first time many of the marchers were married couples. The newly weds were honored, along with the city officials who made the same-sex unions possible earlier this year.
All right, nearly three years after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the events of that day have barely faded from memory for most New Yorkers. This year, the 11th of September falls on a Saturday, a prime wedding day in a popular month for tying the not.
CNN's Alina Cho has the story of two soon-to-be brides and their wedding plans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jennifer Luongo and Joseph Russo have spent months planning their perfect wedding.
JOSEPH RUSSO, GROOM-TO-BE: We both wanted to be outside. We both like the fall, it's our favorite season. And it was a Saturday.
CHO: Saturday, September 11, the day they will say their vows.
(on camera): Tell me why it is you chose the 11?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We thought about it. September 11 is really big for us. Over the last few years, it's been time for us to be with family. We couldn't think of a better way to be with all our families at once. To celebrate our wedding.
CHO: Luongo (ph) and Russo grew up in New York, moved back just a few months before 9/11.
RUSSO: Obviously, it's probably going to be a big part of the day, remembering what happened. But also, you know, we want to make something good of it.
CHO: You're trying to re-claim it?
RUSSO: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The day is so traumatic, and it's still is so traumatic in the city. And still is such a day of memorial in the city, that I really didn't want to have that as my wedding day.
CHO (voice-over): Bride to be Lisa Camm (ph) lives within sight of Lower Manhattan and on 9/11 watched it all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was an awful day. And while I have, to some extent, readjusted to this as my new view, my guests from out of town won't have.
CHO: That's especially important, because Camm (ph) is getting married at a place that once had spectacular views of the Twin Towers. Most of the city's wedding has will be dark this September 11, the first time since the terrorist attacks the anniversary has fallen on a Saturday.
(on camera): You can understand that people might not...
AMY GRUBER, TWENTY-FOUR FIFTH: 100 percent. Absolutely. It's even sometimes uncomfortable for me to address and say that I even have the date available.
CHO: September is traditionally one of the most popular months for a weddings, Saturday is the most popular day. No weddings on this Saturday means no cakes...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This year so far one cake booked and one maybe.
CHO: ...and no flowers.
BANCHET JAIGLA, FLORIST: It's emotional more than anything. It's not about the money.
CHO: September 11, is not for a day business as usual.
JENNIFER BLUMIN, SKY STUDIOS: There's certain times when there's other things that are more important than making money. And I think that's one of those days.
CHO: A day seared in the nation's memory on which most will be thinking about the past...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe if it were five years out I could see doing it. It's still too close, and too raw and it's still here in New York.
CHO: ...while a few...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Celebrating on that day kind of commemorates the love that a lot of people lost that day.
CHO: ...will be toasting the future. Alina Cho, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Some major rulings are expected this week from the Supreme Court. Up next, a look at the decisions to be made and how President Bush will be affected.
Plus, praying for troops overseas is nothing new for this chaplain, but now it's time for him to give his blessings up close and personal.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Some civil libertarians said that President Bush's war on terror attacked not only al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein, but also the rights and civil liberties of everyday Americans. Well, with the Supreme Court about to issue rulings in several cases concerning the president's handling of terror suspects, CNN's Bob Franken has taken a look at the broader use by President Bush of presidential power.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The justices have saved the most fundamental issue for last, how much power does the president have in wartime, how little does the court have in guaranteeing individual rights.
THOMAS GOLDSTEIN, SUPREME COURT LEGAL ANALYST: The Supreme Court is going to tell us whether or not the president can hold someone out away from public view and away from the protection of the courts, because he believes he needs to interrogate them or keep them isolated.
FRANKEN: The case of Jose Padilla involves an American, arrested on American soil at O'Hare airport in Chicago, held for two years without charge, with almost no access to a lawyer. Padilla is a presidentially designated enemy combatant, accused of planning domestic terrorist attacks.
JAMES COMEY, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: We now know much of what Jose Padilla knows, and what we have learned confirms that the president of the United States made the right call.
FRANKEN: Jaser Hamdi is also a U.S. citizen, but he was taken prisoner by U.S. allies on the battlefield in Afghanistan. He, too, is being held in a military brig in the United States, unlike the detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The administration insists that as part of Cuba, Guantanamo Naval Base is beyond the reach of U.S. courts.
NEAL KATYAL, GEORGETOWN UNIV. LAW CENTER: We can't have an effective debate in this country about what the limits are of civil liberties in time of war when the government ships these people abroad intentionally to evade not just review by the courts, but review by the public.
FRANKEN (on camera): It's as basic as this: the justice will decide whether in times of war, they must give up their checks and balances power over the president. Bob Franken, CNN, the Supreme Court.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: All right, let's check on some headlines from around the world right now. In New Delhi, India and Pakistan are talking about the issue that has brought them to the brink of nuclear war more than once: the dispute over Kashmir. Delegates are looking at confidence building measures and planning a bus service across the cease-fire line.
Law and order, or lack of it prompts the biggest demonstration in recent Mexican history. Hundreds of thousands marched in Mexico City today to protest law enforcement's failure to reduce kidnapping and violent crime.
In Berlin, a more colorful demonstration also drew hundreds of thousands of people today. The German capital saw one of Europe's largest parades in a worldwide gay pride celebration. The city's openly gay mayor lead the float. Similar revels took place this weekend in other cities including Paris, Toronto, San Francisco and Mexico.
Up next, the hostages in Iraq, now reports that a U.S. Marine is captured. I am going to be talking to our Middle East expert Mamoun Fandy, a former professor of Middle Eastern politics about his theory on why the terrorists are getting personal.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It reminds me very much of the person who once said when the church is on fire, everyone carries a bucket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: How this Crawford, Texas chaplain is preparing to take the word of faith to soldiers in Iraq.
And later, a cancer survivor shares with me how a new medical procedure helped to save his life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired June 27, 2004 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: CNN SUNDAY is just ahead, but first I have these headlines.
Al Jazeera is reporting that a U.S. marine has been taken hostage in Iraq. The militants in the video are threatening to kill the marine if the U.S. does not release all prisoners. A coalition spokesman tells CNN they're trying to confirm the story.
In the meantime, the militants holding a Pakistani hostage are also demanding the same thing. They are threatening to cut off the hostage's head in the next couple of days.
Iraq's interim prime minister says they expect to take custody of Saddam Hussein next month, all the legal paper work is being done. But Secretary of State Colin Powell says that does not mean the U.S. will transfer physical custody Hussein anytime soon.
A huge blast at an Israeli military post in Gaza has wounded five Israelis. The blast took place in a tunnel next to the outpost. Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade are claiming responsibility for the attack.
And good evening. I'm Carol Lin. Welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Straight ahead, a breakthrough drug just approved by the FDA. Imagine chemo in a pill, or drugs that don't make you sick. Treatment that gives you, the patient, the best chance to survive. I've got the doctor and the amazing story of a patient who's beating the odds.
And the stakes in Iraq go ever higher. Now claims of a U.S. Marine being held hostage, just one of five hostage situations that the world knows of right now. Can the militants be stopped? I'll ask an expert.
But right now we begin in Iraq. There is a fresh wave of attacks and now a new claim that a U.S. marine is being held hostage in that country. Anderson Cooper is in Baghdad. Anderson, this would be the fifth hostage taken just in the last week.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Carol, good even. Yes, disturbing news indeed. We are not going to show you the video, the video which aired on al Jazeera earlier, a video which purports to show what Iraqi resistance fighters say is a U.S. Marine.
The video appeared to show a man in fatigues, in a marine uniform, holding up identification papers. You actually see the person's name. Again, we are not going to be disclosing any of that information, until several things, A, that we have confirmed the story, and, B we know the man's family has been notified.
At this point, the U.S. military is not commenting, saying they're trying to confirm whether this is real. There are a couple of other videos out there. A Pakistani man who has been held hostage. A video showing on many Arab networks of that. There are also 3 Turkish workers who have been held hostage and as become all too common here, that deadline, 72 hours. In the case of the Turkish workers, they say they want all Turkish companies and workers to withdraw and all Turkish workers to withdraw from Iraq. That, of course, highly unlikely to happen.
This, of course, timed while President Bush is in Turkey meeting with NATO leaders trying to convince them to help get them involved and help retrain the Iraqi army. Of course, there's a number of conflicts about that. Those discussions, President Bush still going to be having over the next several days. In particular tomorrow he meets with NATO leaders.
But again, these videos timed for maximum impact, we have seen over and over again, these insurgents here in Iraq, as well as the foreign fighters here in Iraq, very well aware of the power of pictures, well aware of the use of media. They time these things for maximum impact -- Carol.
LIN: Anderson, the Iraqis that you're maybe having a chance to talk to, what are they telling you on the street that may be different from what we Americans are reading in the states?
COOPER: Well, you know, I do think there is -- it really depends on where you go and who you talk to. There is a lot of optimism here. There's certainly a lot of tension here as well, a lot of trepidation what the next days, weeks and months really mean. This handover of power happens by June 30, but exactly what it means isn't clear.
Sovereignty, yes, you're going to see an Iraqi face on this much more and more increasingly, the Iraqi military, the Iraqi police being called in to try to deal with some of these insurgent problems, but they're really not up to the task. And just about everybody here will admit that. U.S. military, U.S. civilians, and certainly Iraqis alike. There is no illusion here the U.S. will be pulling out anytime soon. Of course, the final say is up to the new Iraqi government, but few Iraqis we talked to think that will happen really anytime in the near future.
LIN: Thank you very much. Anderson Cooper reporting live in Baghdad.
With this breaking news situation of more hostages, I'm joined on the telephone by one of our military analysts, Major General David Grange. General Grange, what do you make of this new hostage situation? How many more hostages are going to have to be taken before the situation ends, if at all?
MAJ. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.) CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, you know, there's not going to be any compromise, so it doesn't matter how many more are taken. The U.S. government and most of the coalition governments will not give in. And so this is a strategy, an economy of poor strategy by insurgents to terrorize, to put pressure on not only the homefront, but different governments, alliances to try to get the coalition to give in. And you cannot compromise with a terrorist, because once you start, it actually snowballs, and it shows to them that this technique works, and there will be more of it.
LIN: So, what's it going to take for thinks kidnappings to end and the insurgency to get tamped down.
GRANGE: A couple things. One is, when they realize this strategy is not change the resolve of the United States or other committed countries. No. 2, a increased surge in counterterrorist forces and intelligence organizations to find the information and hunt down and eliminate the insurgents that are doing this.
I'm sure that there's a full-court press on that right now, but every time something like this happens, there's no doubt in my mind from my past experiences that the tempo will even increase more than it is right now.
LIN: David, I'm just wondering, Prime Minister Allawi of Iraq has suggested that he may have to impose martial law. Do you think it is time that he do so, and do so immediately in order to stop these kidnappings?
GRANGE: Well, you know, that's not something bad for the Iraqi people. They're used to a lot of control from someone, and if that control brings some type of order -- because that's the concern of the populous more so than a totally free society. They are used to security, even if it's imposed by a free or dictator-type government.
So I think that the prime minister could get away with that, and it may be prudent to do that on either side of the transition date, just to maintain rule of law in the situation.
LIN: That's just in a few days. Thank you very much. Brigadier General David Grange for phoning in from Wheaton, Illinois.
CNN is going to have complete coverage leading up to Iraq's new sovereignty. Tonight, "CNN: Presents" has a special report, "Countdown To Handover." Again, that's tonight at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.
President Bush is in Turkey right now and will push his case before NATO tomorrow. He wants the alliance to help train Iraqi security forces, to tackle the growing insurgencies. Trainers are not troops, but it could be the most the president can hope for. Suzanne Malveaux is traveling with the president and filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the eve of the 2 day NATO summit, President Bush is gathering support from allies for his Iraq mission, but what is uncertain is whether or not the violence there and the protests here will undermine his efforts.
A picture of unity for President Bush as NATO members prepare to formally offer their support to help train Iraqi troops. It's a far cry from the peacekeeping force the Bush administration had initially envisioned in Iraq, but a symbolic victory nonetheless. While Mr. Bush did not specifically mention the deal, he thanked secretary- general and gently suggested an expanded role for the alliance in fighting terror.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to work together to help make sure NATO is configured militarily to meet the threats of the 21st Century.
MALVEAUX: A senior administration official says the agreement responds to a request by Iraq's interim prime minister to provide technical assistance and training for a restructured Iraqi force. It would also allow allies like Germany and France, who have refused to send their troops to Iraq to provide training within their own countries.
JAAP DE HOOP SCHEFFER, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: It's up to the Iraqi government what they want to do. Coming back to your question, I think the training could take place inside Iraq and outside Iraq.
MALVEAUX: But the escalation of violence leading up to Wednesday's turnover of power is making European allies nervous and attracting thousands of anti-war and anti-American protesters.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We expected that we would see this increase in terrorist and insurgent activity as we got closer to the first of the month and the changeover, and it might continue for a period after that. But I know that our military are hard at work, and we're building up the Iraqi security forces as fast as we can.
MALVEAUX: And U.S. officials in Istanbul are engaged in a full- court press to convince the international community they all have a stake in bringing democracy to Iraq.
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The terrorists won't like it, the extremists won't like it, the foreign regime elements that want to have another Saddam Hussein-type regime won't like it. The people who like anarchy won't like it. The people that would prefer a civil war won't like it, but it will happen.
MALVEAUX (on camera): The NATO agreement on Iraq will also study further steps the alliance can take to contribute to Iraqi security, leaving the door open for possibly sending peacekeepers in the future. Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Istanbul, Turkey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Well in the meantime, more than 100 people died in fighting just in the last week alone around Iraq. A year ago, the insurgents were just a disorganized band of thieves and foreigners. Today, they have melded today into a sophisticated terrorist network. Even now, the Bush administration concedes that the attacks are coordinated and controlled. CNN's Kathleen Koch has more on this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More attacks on Baghdad's green zone and U.S. forces in Iraq. U.S. officials now no longer describing the violence as the random acts of killers and thugs, but instead as an orchestrated campaign.
POWELL: There certainly is a level of coordination in my judgment, and hopefully we can penetrate whatever system is operating there, whatever command and control system is at work.
KOCH: Iraq's incoming prime minister reveals the new government's initial strategy will be to offer amnesty to resistance fighters without blood on their hands.
AYAD ALLAWI, INCOMING IRAQI PRIME MINISTER: Provided they come forward and give information about the hard-core people or the people whom they have assisted. This is a possibility that my government is looking at.
KOCH: But Iraq's new defense minister vowed no mercy for the remaining insurgents, telling "Newsweek" magazine, quote, "we have different laws than you do, we will cut off their hands and behead them." A troubling development, say some U.S. lawmakers.
SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD, (D) CONNECTICUT: Certainly this isn't exactly what we were hoping we were going to set up here. When we talked about going in and creating a new Iraq.
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL, (R) NEBRASKA: It is difficult, it is tough, but this is their world, and if they're going to make something of their world, then they're going to have to not only win it, but then frame it in their way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Please tune in tonight at 10:00 pm Eastern for my interview of journalist Michael Ware, who's lived with the insurgents the last month. His eyewitness accounts of bomb factories and terrorist training in Fallujah. Tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
Trouble on the border between Gaza and Israel. Rescuers are counting the casualties from an explosion at an army outpost in Gaza. The Palestinian militant group, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade called CNN saying it set off the bomb. Our John Vause is following the story from Jerusalem right now. John, what have you learned about the circumstances of this attack and any injuries?
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol. It appears that the past came from a tunnel which had been dug underneath the Israeli military outpost in Gaza. Now both Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades are claiming responsibility for the attack.
According to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the tunnel was more than 1,000 feel long and packed with more than 3,000 pounds of explosives that did damage part of the military outpost, but it exploded in a courtyard area, but not far from dormitories where dozens of Israeli soldiers were asleep.
Now the latest figures we have, 5 Israeli soldiers wounded. And according to Israeli television, one of those soldiers has now died. He was trapped beneath the rubble. When emergency crews arrived to try to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble of the damaged building, they came under fire from mortar shells and small-arms fire from Palestinian militants. The Israeli soldiers also returned fire.
In the meantime, there have been celebrations on the streets of Gaza City as well as Rafa. But those celebrations could be short lived. Israeli tanks reportedly moving in around the Cairn Unis (ph) the city from where the tunnel was dug, and Palestinian security sources report that two Palestinians have been killed by tank shelling, one of them a teenager 13 years old, the second one according to security sources, is in fact a Palestinian policeman.
Now, according to Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, this attacks is in retaliation for the deaths of 6 or 7 militant leaders killed in the town Nablus. They were killed by Israeli forces there. The end result of a three-day operation in the West Bank -- Carol.
LIN: All right, thank you very much. John Vause reporting live in Jerusalem.
Still ahead on CNN LIVE SUNDAY, a birthday celebration turned deadly over the skies of Oklahoma. A look at what went wrong when we return.
Plus, no cake, no flowers, no bride, no groom, we're going to tell you why the tables will be empty at some wedding halls.
And later, beating the odds against cancer: the breakthrough that's helping the worst cases survive.
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LIN: Investigators say a birthday helicopter ride turned tragic in Cushing, Oklahoma. And that story tops our look at the news across America right now.
Earlier today, search crews recovered the bodies of two people killed when the helicopter they were in went down into the Cimarron River, three others injured in the crash are still in critical condition. FAA investigators are trying to determine what caused the crash.
And south of Atlanta, Georgia another air tragedy, three people were killed today when their chartered helicopter went down in a wooded area behind a home near Barnesville.
A final good-bye for a young man known for his uncommon determination and good will. Funeral services will be held tomorrow for 13-year-old Mattie Stepanek. Earlier this week, he lost his battle with muscular dystrophy. In his short life, Stepanek made an amazing impact by becoming a best-selling author, peace advocate and goodwill ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
This year's gay pride celebration had a different twist. No, the traditional drag queens were still there, but it is the first time many of the marchers were married couples. The newly weds were honored, along with the city officials who made the same-sex unions possible earlier this year.
All right, nearly three years after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the events of that day have barely faded from memory for most New Yorkers. This year, the 11th of September falls on a Saturday, a prime wedding day in a popular month for tying the not.
CNN's Alina Cho has the story of two soon-to-be brides and their wedding plans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jennifer Luongo and Joseph Russo have spent months planning their perfect wedding.
JOSEPH RUSSO, GROOM-TO-BE: We both wanted to be outside. We both like the fall, it's our favorite season. And it was a Saturday.
CHO: Saturday, September 11, the day they will say their vows.
(on camera): Tell me why it is you chose the 11?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We thought about it. September 11 is really big for us. Over the last few years, it's been time for us to be with family. We couldn't think of a better way to be with all our families at once. To celebrate our wedding.
CHO: Luongo (ph) and Russo grew up in New York, moved back just a few months before 9/11.
RUSSO: Obviously, it's probably going to be a big part of the day, remembering what happened. But also, you know, we want to make something good of it.
CHO: You're trying to re-claim it?
RUSSO: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The day is so traumatic, and it's still is so traumatic in the city. And still is such a day of memorial in the city, that I really didn't want to have that as my wedding day.
CHO (voice-over): Bride to be Lisa Camm (ph) lives within sight of Lower Manhattan and on 9/11 watched it all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was an awful day. And while I have, to some extent, readjusted to this as my new view, my guests from out of town won't have.
CHO: That's especially important, because Camm (ph) is getting married at a place that once had spectacular views of the Twin Towers. Most of the city's wedding has will be dark this September 11, the first time since the terrorist attacks the anniversary has fallen on a Saturday.
(on camera): You can understand that people might not...
AMY GRUBER, TWENTY-FOUR FIFTH: 100 percent. Absolutely. It's even sometimes uncomfortable for me to address and say that I even have the date available.
CHO: September is traditionally one of the most popular months for a weddings, Saturday is the most popular day. No weddings on this Saturday means no cakes...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This year so far one cake booked and one maybe.
CHO: ...and no flowers.
BANCHET JAIGLA, FLORIST: It's emotional more than anything. It's not about the money.
CHO: September 11, is not for a day business as usual.
JENNIFER BLUMIN, SKY STUDIOS: There's certain times when there's other things that are more important than making money. And I think that's one of those days.
CHO: A day seared in the nation's memory on which most will be thinking about the past...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe if it were five years out I could see doing it. It's still too close, and too raw and it's still here in New York.
CHO: ...while a few...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Celebrating on that day kind of commemorates the love that a lot of people lost that day.
CHO: ...will be toasting the future. Alina Cho, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Some major rulings are expected this week from the Supreme Court. Up next, a look at the decisions to be made and how President Bush will be affected.
Plus, praying for troops overseas is nothing new for this chaplain, but now it's time for him to give his blessings up close and personal.
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LIN: Some civil libertarians said that President Bush's war on terror attacked not only al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein, but also the rights and civil liberties of everyday Americans. Well, with the Supreme Court about to issue rulings in several cases concerning the president's handling of terror suspects, CNN's Bob Franken has taken a look at the broader use by President Bush of presidential power.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The justices have saved the most fundamental issue for last, how much power does the president have in wartime, how little does the court have in guaranteeing individual rights.
THOMAS GOLDSTEIN, SUPREME COURT LEGAL ANALYST: The Supreme Court is going to tell us whether or not the president can hold someone out away from public view and away from the protection of the courts, because he believes he needs to interrogate them or keep them isolated.
FRANKEN: The case of Jose Padilla involves an American, arrested on American soil at O'Hare airport in Chicago, held for two years without charge, with almost no access to a lawyer. Padilla is a presidentially designated enemy combatant, accused of planning domestic terrorist attacks.
JAMES COMEY, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: We now know much of what Jose Padilla knows, and what we have learned confirms that the president of the United States made the right call.
FRANKEN: Jaser Hamdi is also a U.S. citizen, but he was taken prisoner by U.S. allies on the battlefield in Afghanistan. He, too, is being held in a military brig in the United States, unlike the detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The administration insists that as part of Cuba, Guantanamo Naval Base is beyond the reach of U.S. courts.
NEAL KATYAL, GEORGETOWN UNIV. LAW CENTER: We can't have an effective debate in this country about what the limits are of civil liberties in time of war when the government ships these people abroad intentionally to evade not just review by the courts, but review by the public.
FRANKEN (on camera): It's as basic as this: the justice will decide whether in times of war, they must give up their checks and balances power over the president. Bob Franken, CNN, the Supreme Court.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: All right, let's check on some headlines from around the world right now. In New Delhi, India and Pakistan are talking about the issue that has brought them to the brink of nuclear war more than once: the dispute over Kashmir. Delegates are looking at confidence building measures and planning a bus service across the cease-fire line.
Law and order, or lack of it prompts the biggest demonstration in recent Mexican history. Hundreds of thousands marched in Mexico City today to protest law enforcement's failure to reduce kidnapping and violent crime.
In Berlin, a more colorful demonstration also drew hundreds of thousands of people today. The German capital saw one of Europe's largest parades in a worldwide gay pride celebration. The city's openly gay mayor lead the float. Similar revels took place this weekend in other cities including Paris, Toronto, San Francisco and Mexico.
Up next, the hostages in Iraq, now reports that a U.S. Marine is captured. I am going to be talking to our Middle East expert Mamoun Fandy, a former professor of Middle Eastern politics about his theory on why the terrorists are getting personal.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It reminds me very much of the person who once said when the church is on fire, everyone carries a bucket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: How this Crawford, Texas chaplain is preparing to take the word of faith to soldiers in Iraq.
And later, a cancer survivor shares with me how a new medical procedure helped to save his life.
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