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CNN Live At Daybreak

Fighting Intensifies; Boy Warriors; Prison Abuse Hearings; Front & Center; Summer Games

Aired August 24, 2004 - 05:30   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 COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The battle in Najaf, just minutes ago, an ultimatum for the militia holed up in that holy shrine.
It is Tuesday, August 24. This is DAYBREAK.

And good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

"Now in the News."

Iraq's defense minister has just announced that tonight troops will seal off the exits from the holy shrine compound in Najaf where militiamen are still holed up this morning. It comes after a third straight night of heavy U.S. airstrikes and some of the most intense fighting in days.

In the meantime in Baghdad, four people were killed, five others wounded in separate car bombings this morning. These pictures just in to CNN. The bombers were apparently targeting two Iraqi ministers. Both escaped unharmed.

The man who allegedly drove Osama bin Laden around and protected the terrorist mastermind is about to become Guantanamo Bay's first terror suspect to be tried. His arraignment is scheduled for today. Three other detainees will also be arraigned this week in the first U.S. military commission since World War II.

And back here in the States, Scott Peterson's former lover Amber Frey due back on the stand in California. She'll face more questioning from defense attorneys in the Peterson murder trial.

To the Forecast Center and -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning, Carol. Got my tie on this morning, all ready to go now. Didn't have time to put it on at 5:00.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MYERS: Back to you.

COSTELLO: All right, thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome. COSTELLO: Let's head straight for the topic of Iraq, because just a few minutes ago, the Iraqi defense minister had issued an ultimatum, get out of the shrine or Iraqi forces will force whoever is in there out. He says if they do not move, we'll wipe them out.

Let's bring in our international editor David Clinch now to tell us more about this most recent ultimatum, because there have been ultimatums before.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: There have been, and we talked about this before, the Iraqis, to a certain extent, hoping, and they are really telling us this and telling the public, hoping that they don't have to enter by force, by making this forceful threat and indicating that they will wipe out the Mehdi Militia if they don't leave the mosque. They are, of course, hoping that they don't have to enter the mosque with guns blazing. The sensitivity of this mosque to the Iraqi government is enormous.

On the other hand, Matthew Chance embedded with the U.S. forces there and hearing directly from the Iraqi defense minister patience is running out. And also, of course, the complication is that the fighters or many of them, from what we can see with our other set of eyes, which is a crew we have right beside the mosque, many of those fighters have spread themselves out outside of the mosque, leaving, perhaps, only women and children inside.

But now we've done reporting over the last 24 hours that the Mehdi Militia is far from shy about using children as fighters, not only within the mosque but elsewhere and in Sadr City. So the Iraqi forces have no assurance that entering that mosque, even if it is just women and children, that there might not be booby traps, snipers, bombs and even children holding guns.

COSTELLO: Well what if -- I don't know -- they're going to use loud speakers to warn people before any of the Iraqi security forces go into that mosque. How might that work?

CLINCH: Well the one thing that we do know right from the beginning is that the U.S. forces have indicated that they will bring their tanks right up to the edge of the mosque. And we are seeing that in real time right now that they will secure the area as much as they possibly can, but it will be Iraqi forces that enter the mosque itself.

Specially trained Iraqi forces, not just trained from a military point of view, but trained and aware of the layout of the mosque, exactly where they expect to find people within the mosque and what to do with them when they find them.

COSTELLO: Do we know how many Iraqi security forces are there in Najaf?

CLINCH: Well eyewitness reports this morning indicating that there are hundreds aligned with the U.S. forces at the moment in Najaf. There are, of course, thousands available. We've got the old issue that's come up again and again of Iraqi forces not turning up when they are asked to turn up. This specific force we've been aware are specially trained and they will turn up and they will carry through the orders.

COSTELLO: You know...

CLINCH: That doesn't take away the sensitivity of the mission of course.

COSTELLO: But there is always the very real possibility that U.S. forces will be sucked inside that mosque anyway.

CLINCH: Well...

COSTELLO: You know if the security forces from Iraq need help, the U.S. is right there. They've got to help.

CLINCH: Exactly. And the U.S. absolutely determined to make sure that the message is clear, they will not enter the mosque. And so when we see these tanks riding up to the mosque, we'll be seeing them getting as close as they possibly can, but they are telling us they will not enter. That doesn't mean they're not being fired at and we've seen that this morning. They are in the line of fire. So very dangerous regardless of whether they are in or out.

COSTELLO: David Clinch, I know you have a lot of work to do, so we'll let you go.

CLINCH: Yes.

COSTELLO: Thank you very much.

Today's fighting in Najaf follows nighttime airstrikes that pounded targets against that revered shrine. You heard David mention that. Here are some of the pictures for you. The military is trying to force troops loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to leave the Imam Ali Mosque and end their week's old uprising. And so far the fighters are holding firm.

As CNN's John Vause reports, some of those fighters are just little boys.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With a grenade in one hand and a brand-new AK-47 in the other, Karrar Nouri is a volunteer in Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army. He's just 10 years old.

KARRAR NOURI, CHILD SOLDIER (through translator): I am a guard with the Mehdi Army against the Americans.

VAUSE: He's spending school vacation manning a checkpoint in Sadr City, a sprawling slum in Baghdad and stronghold for the rebellious cleric. The boy's father says Karrar has taken part in the fighting against U.S. and Iraqi forces.

FALAH NOURI, FATHER (through translator): I taught him how to shoot. He can now shoot by himself.

VAUSE: He's not the only boy with a gun in Sadr City. There are many others, most in their teens, but a few are younger than Karrar. The U.S. military says they have been fired on by boys. They return with warning shots to try and scare them off.

CAPT. JOHN MEREDITH, U.S. ARMY: Just the fact that they would resort to those kind of tactics kind of tells you who we're fighting.

VAUSE: The Iraqi government says just two children have been killed, 20 wounded, in Sadr City during the recent outbreak of violence. No one knows how many were actually fighting, and how many were caught in the crossfire.

But local doctors say the number is much higher. On the day we spoke with Dr. Adel Mezher, he says eight bodies were brought to his hospital, six of them children.

DR. ADEL MEZHER, SADR CITY HOSPITAL (through translator): They were all civilians. Most died inside their homes, killed by mortars and rockets. We don't know who fired at them.

VAUSE: Here, the so-called Mehdi Army holds almost mythical status.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The Mehdi Army is composed of the orphans of those who were murdered in the prisons of Saddam Hussein. They now chant, "We are the Mehdi Army. This is the pride for us."

VAUSE (on camera): Much of Muqtada al-Sadr's support is the legacy of his late father, the Grand Ayatollah Mohammed al-Sadr. Admired and respected for his opposition to Saddam Hussein, he was shot dead five years ago. But it seems that family reputation for defiance is now inspiring a young new generation of the Mehdi Army. Only this time, it's defiance of the U.S. and the Iraqi interim government.

John Vause, CNN, Sadr City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: A second U.S. soldier accused in the Abu Ghraib Prison abuse scandal is expected to enter a guilty plea today. This is day two of the hearing in Germany, so let's go there live now.

Chris Burns is at the tribunal site in Mannheim, Germany.

Bring us up to date -- Chris.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, Staff Sergeant Ivan Frederick is expected to plead guilty, according to military sources here at the barracks in Mannheim, Germany. But we are not sure whether it's going to be today or perhaps in a later hearing, but that could be a very important break in the case. Now you could look at it from the prosecution side saying he could turn a prosecution witness. But also defense is really rubbing its hands together and they can't wait to see him testify about how they believe that this was the higher ups who were commanding these military police, like Frederick, like the Specialist Charles Graner, who we saw yesterday. In fact, his lawyer says it is going to help the defense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUY WOMACK, ATTORNEY FOR SPECIALIST CHARLES GRANER: It will help us greatly. Staff sergeant Frederick is a veritable fountain of information that we want.

He has quite a string of e-mail traffic and other communications between his family and him, other persons, as well as military intelligence, sources that we would like to have. And if he is not a government witness, I would have to try to get immunity for him. On the other hand, if he pleads guilty and becomes a government witness, he is handed to me as a witness. And he would be a fountain of information that we really need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNS: On a silver platter he says. And there is also more evidence. There is a memo that Mr. Womack says exists where a military intelligence officer said the gloves are coming off in this memo. We need to get tougher on the prisoners at Abu Ghraib and other prisons to try to get them to talk, to try to get to the bottom of these insurgencies that are killing American soldiers. The defense is saying that is going to be a piece of ammunition in their defense.

And also keep in mind this so-called Thaier (ph) report from the Defense Department was supposed to come out tomorrow, which points fingers at military intelligence officers at the prison, as well as civilian contractors, military medics and does point a finger criticizing Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who was commanding the U.S. forces in Iraq at the time, saying he really fell down on the job -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, those reports due to come out later today.

Chris Burns, live in a rainy Germany this morning, thank you.

BURNS: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Coming up on DAYBREAK, an all-out assault on the middle class. In five minutes, they are members of the most powerful voting block in the United States, yet is anyone in Washington paying attention to them? Their story ahead.

And don't forget our e-mail "Question of the Day," should soft money ads be banned? E-mail us your responses. The address DAYBREAK@CNN.com. DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: There is no doubt health care is a key issue this election year, especially among middle class voters. So are jobs in the economy, I should say, but are the candidates listening? Some voters say they aren't so sure and that in itself is an issue.

Here's more from CNN's Peter Viles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Teacher Lori Magnuson. Her election concerns: illegal immigration, the high cost of housing, her fear that no one in Washington is listening.

LORI MAGNUSON, MIDDLE-CLASS VOTER: At this point, I'm very -- extremely tired of the Democrats and Republicans fighting against each other, wanting to work for just their ideals versus working together for the people.

VILES: From coast to coast middle-class anxiety is rising. Jobs are at risk, outsourcing on the rise, health-care costs out of control.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, 20, 25 percent of my income is going towards, you know, medical expenses.

VILES: Gas prices are spiking. Real wages are falling.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gas prices are going up, and I'm still making the same, and I still have to -- and support myself all for the same pay that I've been getting.

VILES: Overall, there's a sense of economic anxiety.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the economy is not what it was. I think the economy is much worse for most people.

VILES: Now you would think both parties are listening. The middle classes the ultimate block of swing voters.

JOHN ZOGBY, POLLSTER: I've looked at this group now in every election since 1972. Whichever candidate has won this group, that candidate has won the election. The only exception was that, in 2000, Al Gore won this group, he won the popular vote, but did not win the electoral college.

VILES: There's no official definition of the middle class. The middleclass.org defines it as families making $25,000 to $100,000 a year. That is six in 10 American families, 46 million households.

NORM ORNSTEIN, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: Most middle-class voters, even if they divide into Democrats and Republicans, want to see bipartisan cooperation and want to see the problems of the nation solved. They're not looking to pit one side against the other. But we're in a climate where the campaign is going to be conducted not to focus on the broad mass of voters in that way, but on the margins.

VILES: In other words, a campaign that ignores voters like Lori Magnuson.

MAGNUSON: The Republican and Democrat Parties are just so interested in just condemning each other and just forgetting about the people.

VILES: One irony here, the concerns of the middle class voters are largely about the future, the fear of losing jobs or losing health care and yet the campaign news of the past week has been focused on events that took place 35 years ago.

Peter Viles, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:46 Eastern. Here is what's all new this morning.

A new ultimatum comes amid some of the most intense fighting in Najaf. Iraq's defense minister warning Iraqis to leave the Imam Ali Shrine or they will be wiped out. You're looking at new pictures just in to us this morning from the embattled city.

The atheist who sued to get the phrase "under God" removed from the "Pledge of Allegiance" says he will refile his challenge. That after the Supreme Court refused to overturn its ruling that Michael Newdow cannot represent his daughter because he lacks full custody.

In money, another drop in oil prices. U.S. light crude fell below 46 bucks a barrel making it the third successive slide. However, supply concerns persist and that's keeping prices close to historic levels.

In culture, police in Finland say hundreds of paintings confiscated from a Salvador Dali exhibition are forgeries. Police shut down the Helsinki exhibition in June. They confiscated the works reportedly by the Spanish surrealist painter and other famous artists.

In sports, it looked bad, but it really wasn't that bad. Derek Jeter bruised his elbow last night at the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians. The Yankees went on to win 6-4, and Jeter is expected to play tonight. So he's OK -- Chad.

MYERS: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.

There are more charges and countercharges this morning over those controversial Swift Boat ads.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ask any question about what John Kerry is made of, just spend three minutes with the men who served with him 30 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Spots sponsored by a group of veterans criticize John Kerry's military service and some of his anti-Vietnam War statements. And I'm talking about the ad you're seeing now, of course.

President Bush is again calling for an end to attack ads sponsored by independent groups, but he stopped short of specifically condemning the Swift Boat ads.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: When you say that you want to stop all...

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All of them.

QUESTION: So, I mean...

BUSH: That means that ad, every other ad.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

BUSH: Absolutely. I don't think we ought to have 527s.

I can't be more plain about it. And I wish -- I hope my opponent joins me in saying -- condemning these activities of the 527s. It's -- I think they're bad for the system. That's why I signed the bill, McCain-Feingold.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Kerry's running mate, Senator John Edwards, lashed out at the president though. Edwards suggesting Bush is dodging the real issue and should flat out denounce the ads.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today, George Bush faced his moment of truth and he failed. He failed to condemn the specific attacks on John Kerry's military record. We didn't need to hear a politician's answer but unfortunately that's what we got. That's what the American people got today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The founder of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth issued a statement saying his organization will not back down. Roy Hoffman says in part, "it would make no difference if John Kerry were a Republican, Democrat, or an Independent, Swift Boat Veterans would still be speaking the truth concerning John Kerry's military service record in Vietnam..." Of course we've been soliciting your e-mail this morning. Do you think that soft money ads should be banned? And I've just printed some and I'm taking them off the printer right now. And I've just quickly printed three of them, so forgive me.

This is from Bill. He's from Newport Ritchie, Florida. He says if you ban independent groups from producing political ads, then you must also muzzle the Michael Moore's of the world. I'm all for free speech in this 2004 presidential race. This is what America is all about.

This is from Jim from Naples, Florida. He says yes, all soft money and negative ads should be banned. It's like watching a couple of 2 year olds calling each other names. Tell me what you're going to do for the country, not what the other guy supposedly did.

And this is from Gene (ph) from Honolulu, Hawaii. He says I'm against all soft money usage. Here's my question for you, why is it you didn't pose this question when the $70 million was being spent by Democratic Party supporting agencies? I don't understand what you mean by that Gene, but like I said, I was pulling these hurriedly off.

But we've gotten a lot of e-mails and we want more. DAYBREAK@CNN.com. DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

Still to come, the Summer Games sizzled as a rookie ran away with the gold. Move over Michael Johnson, there's a new champ in town.

This is DAYBREAK for Tuesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The Iraqi soccer team is making an impact on the Summer Olympic Games. We want to get the latest on that because it's pretty darned exciting.

Our Larry Smith has been watching the competition. He joins us live from Athens.

Bring us up to date.

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Carol.

Yes, it's true, the many performances that we have seen here, wonderful performances, Michael Phelps, U.S. softball team. We've witnessed the shame of the two athletes who had their medals stripped after failing drug tests. But the story of the Iraqi soccer team is truly one that we all can enjoy. And they have already qualified now for the semifinals in this their first Olympics since 1988. They play later on this afternoon. Paraguay trying to advance to the gold medal match on Saturday.

If they do manage to get a medal, it would be only the country's second Olympic medal and their first ever medal in soccer. But their success has been bittersweet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADNAN HAMAD, IRAQI TEAM COACH (through translator): Even when we are winners, our happiness isn't full happiness because we are still suffering and worried about our people because of circumstances and all these difficulties and all the daily problems they face with the fighting. So we don't really feel so happy.

We can't separate politics and sport. It is a daily routine for people and they deal with it every day. And now for our people who experience all these difficulties, we have to support them and they support us and we are happy that all the world supports us. We feel this everywhere we go, and we will try our best to win the game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Once again, Iraq versus Paraguay in the men's soccer semifinals this evening.

Last night in track and field, three medals for the U.S. in one event. The men's 400 meter and what a race it was. Jeremy Wariner unseating the retired Michael Johnson as the new gold medalist in the 400, finishing ahead of Otis Harris and Derrick Brew with a gold, silver, bronze sweep. Wariner is the sixth U.S. champion in a row in the 400 and the first one, two, three finish for the U.S. in the 400 in 16 years.

More controversy in gymnastics, American Paul Hamm waited for some 10 minutes while the crowd jeered a lower-than-expected score of Russia's Alexei Nemov, who eventually had to get back up and calm the crowd down. Hamm ended up winning silver in the high bar. Nemov, by the way, finished fourth.

As for Hamm's gold medal, well the Gymnastics Federation officials say that the rules do not allow for a duplicate gold medal. That's what South Korea wants after a scoring mistake last week inadvertently gave Hamm the gold in the all-around competition.

Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: Larry Smith, live in Athens this morning, thank you.

We'll have more from the 2004 Summer Games in the next hour of DAYBREAK.

But first, get out or face the consequences. This is the day of reckoning in the standoff for Najaf. We'll have a live report for you.

You're watching DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired August 24, 2004 - 05:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The battle in Najaf, just minutes ago, an ultimatum for the militia holed up in that holy shrine.
It is Tuesday, August 24. This is DAYBREAK.

And good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

"Now in the News."

Iraq's defense minister has just announced that tonight troops will seal off the exits from the holy shrine compound in Najaf where militiamen are still holed up this morning. It comes after a third straight night of heavy U.S. airstrikes and some of the most intense fighting in days.

In the meantime in Baghdad, four people were killed, five others wounded in separate car bombings this morning. These pictures just in to CNN. The bombers were apparently targeting two Iraqi ministers. Both escaped unharmed.

The man who allegedly drove Osama bin Laden around and protected the terrorist mastermind is about to become Guantanamo Bay's first terror suspect to be tried. His arraignment is scheduled for today. Three other detainees will also be arraigned this week in the first U.S. military commission since World War II.

And back here in the States, Scott Peterson's former lover Amber Frey due back on the stand in California. She'll face more questioning from defense attorneys in the Peterson murder trial.

To the Forecast Center and -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning, Carol. Got my tie on this morning, all ready to go now. Didn't have time to put it on at 5:00.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MYERS: Back to you.

COSTELLO: All right, thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome. COSTELLO: Let's head straight for the topic of Iraq, because just a few minutes ago, the Iraqi defense minister had issued an ultimatum, get out of the shrine or Iraqi forces will force whoever is in there out. He says if they do not move, we'll wipe them out.

Let's bring in our international editor David Clinch now to tell us more about this most recent ultimatum, because there have been ultimatums before.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: There have been, and we talked about this before, the Iraqis, to a certain extent, hoping, and they are really telling us this and telling the public, hoping that they don't have to enter by force, by making this forceful threat and indicating that they will wipe out the Mehdi Militia if they don't leave the mosque. They are, of course, hoping that they don't have to enter the mosque with guns blazing. The sensitivity of this mosque to the Iraqi government is enormous.

On the other hand, Matthew Chance embedded with the U.S. forces there and hearing directly from the Iraqi defense minister patience is running out. And also, of course, the complication is that the fighters or many of them, from what we can see with our other set of eyes, which is a crew we have right beside the mosque, many of those fighters have spread themselves out outside of the mosque, leaving, perhaps, only women and children inside.

But now we've done reporting over the last 24 hours that the Mehdi Militia is far from shy about using children as fighters, not only within the mosque but elsewhere and in Sadr City. So the Iraqi forces have no assurance that entering that mosque, even if it is just women and children, that there might not be booby traps, snipers, bombs and even children holding guns.

COSTELLO: Well what if -- I don't know -- they're going to use loud speakers to warn people before any of the Iraqi security forces go into that mosque. How might that work?

CLINCH: Well the one thing that we do know right from the beginning is that the U.S. forces have indicated that they will bring their tanks right up to the edge of the mosque. And we are seeing that in real time right now that they will secure the area as much as they possibly can, but it will be Iraqi forces that enter the mosque itself.

Specially trained Iraqi forces, not just trained from a military point of view, but trained and aware of the layout of the mosque, exactly where they expect to find people within the mosque and what to do with them when they find them.

COSTELLO: Do we know how many Iraqi security forces are there in Najaf?

CLINCH: Well eyewitness reports this morning indicating that there are hundreds aligned with the U.S. forces at the moment in Najaf. There are, of course, thousands available. We've got the old issue that's come up again and again of Iraqi forces not turning up when they are asked to turn up. This specific force we've been aware are specially trained and they will turn up and they will carry through the orders.

COSTELLO: You know...

CLINCH: That doesn't take away the sensitivity of the mission of course.

COSTELLO: But there is always the very real possibility that U.S. forces will be sucked inside that mosque anyway.

CLINCH: Well...

COSTELLO: You know if the security forces from Iraq need help, the U.S. is right there. They've got to help.

CLINCH: Exactly. And the U.S. absolutely determined to make sure that the message is clear, they will not enter the mosque. And so when we see these tanks riding up to the mosque, we'll be seeing them getting as close as they possibly can, but they are telling us they will not enter. That doesn't mean they're not being fired at and we've seen that this morning. They are in the line of fire. So very dangerous regardless of whether they are in or out.

COSTELLO: David Clinch, I know you have a lot of work to do, so we'll let you go.

CLINCH: Yes.

COSTELLO: Thank you very much.

Today's fighting in Najaf follows nighttime airstrikes that pounded targets against that revered shrine. You heard David mention that. Here are some of the pictures for you. The military is trying to force troops loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to leave the Imam Ali Mosque and end their week's old uprising. And so far the fighters are holding firm.

As CNN's John Vause reports, some of those fighters are just little boys.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With a grenade in one hand and a brand-new AK-47 in the other, Karrar Nouri is a volunteer in Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army. He's just 10 years old.

KARRAR NOURI, CHILD SOLDIER (through translator): I am a guard with the Mehdi Army against the Americans.

VAUSE: He's spending school vacation manning a checkpoint in Sadr City, a sprawling slum in Baghdad and stronghold for the rebellious cleric. The boy's father says Karrar has taken part in the fighting against U.S. and Iraqi forces.

FALAH NOURI, FATHER (through translator): I taught him how to shoot. He can now shoot by himself.

VAUSE: He's not the only boy with a gun in Sadr City. There are many others, most in their teens, but a few are younger than Karrar. The U.S. military says they have been fired on by boys. They return with warning shots to try and scare them off.

CAPT. JOHN MEREDITH, U.S. ARMY: Just the fact that they would resort to those kind of tactics kind of tells you who we're fighting.

VAUSE: The Iraqi government says just two children have been killed, 20 wounded, in Sadr City during the recent outbreak of violence. No one knows how many were actually fighting, and how many were caught in the crossfire.

But local doctors say the number is much higher. On the day we spoke with Dr. Adel Mezher, he says eight bodies were brought to his hospital, six of them children.

DR. ADEL MEZHER, SADR CITY HOSPITAL (through translator): They were all civilians. Most died inside their homes, killed by mortars and rockets. We don't know who fired at them.

VAUSE: Here, the so-called Mehdi Army holds almost mythical status.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The Mehdi Army is composed of the orphans of those who were murdered in the prisons of Saddam Hussein. They now chant, "We are the Mehdi Army. This is the pride for us."

VAUSE (on camera): Much of Muqtada al-Sadr's support is the legacy of his late father, the Grand Ayatollah Mohammed al-Sadr. Admired and respected for his opposition to Saddam Hussein, he was shot dead five years ago. But it seems that family reputation for defiance is now inspiring a young new generation of the Mehdi Army. Only this time, it's defiance of the U.S. and the Iraqi interim government.

John Vause, CNN, Sadr City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: A second U.S. soldier accused in the Abu Ghraib Prison abuse scandal is expected to enter a guilty plea today. This is day two of the hearing in Germany, so let's go there live now.

Chris Burns is at the tribunal site in Mannheim, Germany.

Bring us up to date -- Chris.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, Staff Sergeant Ivan Frederick is expected to plead guilty, according to military sources here at the barracks in Mannheim, Germany. But we are not sure whether it's going to be today or perhaps in a later hearing, but that could be a very important break in the case. Now you could look at it from the prosecution side saying he could turn a prosecution witness. But also defense is really rubbing its hands together and they can't wait to see him testify about how they believe that this was the higher ups who were commanding these military police, like Frederick, like the Specialist Charles Graner, who we saw yesterday. In fact, his lawyer says it is going to help the defense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUY WOMACK, ATTORNEY FOR SPECIALIST CHARLES GRANER: It will help us greatly. Staff sergeant Frederick is a veritable fountain of information that we want.

He has quite a string of e-mail traffic and other communications between his family and him, other persons, as well as military intelligence, sources that we would like to have. And if he is not a government witness, I would have to try to get immunity for him. On the other hand, if he pleads guilty and becomes a government witness, he is handed to me as a witness. And he would be a fountain of information that we really need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNS: On a silver platter he says. And there is also more evidence. There is a memo that Mr. Womack says exists where a military intelligence officer said the gloves are coming off in this memo. We need to get tougher on the prisoners at Abu Ghraib and other prisons to try to get them to talk, to try to get to the bottom of these insurgencies that are killing American soldiers. The defense is saying that is going to be a piece of ammunition in their defense.

And also keep in mind this so-called Thaier (ph) report from the Defense Department was supposed to come out tomorrow, which points fingers at military intelligence officers at the prison, as well as civilian contractors, military medics and does point a finger criticizing Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who was commanding the U.S. forces in Iraq at the time, saying he really fell down on the job -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, those reports due to come out later today.

Chris Burns, live in a rainy Germany this morning, thank you.

BURNS: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Coming up on DAYBREAK, an all-out assault on the middle class. In five minutes, they are members of the most powerful voting block in the United States, yet is anyone in Washington paying attention to them? Their story ahead.

And don't forget our e-mail "Question of the Day," should soft money ads be banned? E-mail us your responses. The address DAYBREAK@CNN.com. DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning.

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COSTELLO: There is no doubt health care is a key issue this election year, especially among middle class voters. So are jobs in the economy, I should say, but are the candidates listening? Some voters say they aren't so sure and that in itself is an issue.

Here's more from CNN's Peter Viles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Teacher Lori Magnuson. Her election concerns: illegal immigration, the high cost of housing, her fear that no one in Washington is listening.

LORI MAGNUSON, MIDDLE-CLASS VOTER: At this point, I'm very -- extremely tired of the Democrats and Republicans fighting against each other, wanting to work for just their ideals versus working together for the people.

VILES: From coast to coast middle-class anxiety is rising. Jobs are at risk, outsourcing on the rise, health-care costs out of control.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, 20, 25 percent of my income is going towards, you know, medical expenses.

VILES: Gas prices are spiking. Real wages are falling.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gas prices are going up, and I'm still making the same, and I still have to -- and support myself all for the same pay that I've been getting.

VILES: Overall, there's a sense of economic anxiety.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the economy is not what it was. I think the economy is much worse for most people.

VILES: Now you would think both parties are listening. The middle classes the ultimate block of swing voters.

JOHN ZOGBY, POLLSTER: I've looked at this group now in every election since 1972. Whichever candidate has won this group, that candidate has won the election. The only exception was that, in 2000, Al Gore won this group, he won the popular vote, but did not win the electoral college.

VILES: There's no official definition of the middle class. The middleclass.org defines it as families making $25,000 to $100,000 a year. That is six in 10 American families, 46 million households.

NORM ORNSTEIN, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: Most middle-class voters, even if they divide into Democrats and Republicans, want to see bipartisan cooperation and want to see the problems of the nation solved. They're not looking to pit one side against the other. But we're in a climate where the campaign is going to be conducted not to focus on the broad mass of voters in that way, but on the margins.

VILES: In other words, a campaign that ignores voters like Lori Magnuson.

MAGNUSON: The Republican and Democrat Parties are just so interested in just condemning each other and just forgetting about the people.

VILES: One irony here, the concerns of the middle class voters are largely about the future, the fear of losing jobs or losing health care and yet the campaign news of the past week has been focused on events that took place 35 years ago.

Peter Viles, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:46 Eastern. Here is what's all new this morning.

A new ultimatum comes amid some of the most intense fighting in Najaf. Iraq's defense minister warning Iraqis to leave the Imam Ali Shrine or they will be wiped out. You're looking at new pictures just in to us this morning from the embattled city.

The atheist who sued to get the phrase "under God" removed from the "Pledge of Allegiance" says he will refile his challenge. That after the Supreme Court refused to overturn its ruling that Michael Newdow cannot represent his daughter because he lacks full custody.

In money, another drop in oil prices. U.S. light crude fell below 46 bucks a barrel making it the third successive slide. However, supply concerns persist and that's keeping prices close to historic levels.

In culture, police in Finland say hundreds of paintings confiscated from a Salvador Dali exhibition are forgeries. Police shut down the Helsinki exhibition in June. They confiscated the works reportedly by the Spanish surrealist painter and other famous artists.

In sports, it looked bad, but it really wasn't that bad. Derek Jeter bruised his elbow last night at the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians. The Yankees went on to win 6-4, and Jeter is expected to play tonight. So he's OK -- Chad.

MYERS: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.

There are more charges and countercharges this morning over those controversial Swift Boat ads.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ask any question about what John Kerry is made of, just spend three minutes with the men who served with him 30 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Spots sponsored by a group of veterans criticize John Kerry's military service and some of his anti-Vietnam War statements. And I'm talking about the ad you're seeing now, of course.

President Bush is again calling for an end to attack ads sponsored by independent groups, but he stopped short of specifically condemning the Swift Boat ads.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: When you say that you want to stop all...

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All of them.

QUESTION: So, I mean...

BUSH: That means that ad, every other ad.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

BUSH: Absolutely. I don't think we ought to have 527s.

I can't be more plain about it. And I wish -- I hope my opponent joins me in saying -- condemning these activities of the 527s. It's -- I think they're bad for the system. That's why I signed the bill, McCain-Feingold.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Kerry's running mate, Senator John Edwards, lashed out at the president though. Edwards suggesting Bush is dodging the real issue and should flat out denounce the ads.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today, George Bush faced his moment of truth and he failed. He failed to condemn the specific attacks on John Kerry's military record. We didn't need to hear a politician's answer but unfortunately that's what we got. That's what the American people got today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The founder of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth issued a statement saying his organization will not back down. Roy Hoffman says in part, "it would make no difference if John Kerry were a Republican, Democrat, or an Independent, Swift Boat Veterans would still be speaking the truth concerning John Kerry's military service record in Vietnam..." Of course we've been soliciting your e-mail this morning. Do you think that soft money ads should be banned? And I've just printed some and I'm taking them off the printer right now. And I've just quickly printed three of them, so forgive me.

This is from Bill. He's from Newport Ritchie, Florida. He says if you ban independent groups from producing political ads, then you must also muzzle the Michael Moore's of the world. I'm all for free speech in this 2004 presidential race. This is what America is all about.

This is from Jim from Naples, Florida. He says yes, all soft money and negative ads should be banned. It's like watching a couple of 2 year olds calling each other names. Tell me what you're going to do for the country, not what the other guy supposedly did.

And this is from Gene (ph) from Honolulu, Hawaii. He says I'm against all soft money usage. Here's my question for you, why is it you didn't pose this question when the $70 million was being spent by Democratic Party supporting agencies? I don't understand what you mean by that Gene, but like I said, I was pulling these hurriedly off.

But we've gotten a lot of e-mails and we want more. DAYBREAK@CNN.com. DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

Still to come, the Summer Games sizzled as a rookie ran away with the gold. Move over Michael Johnson, there's a new champ in town.

This is DAYBREAK for Tuesday.

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COSTELLO: The Iraqi soccer team is making an impact on the Summer Olympic Games. We want to get the latest on that because it's pretty darned exciting.

Our Larry Smith has been watching the competition. He joins us live from Athens.

Bring us up to date.

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Carol.

Yes, it's true, the many performances that we have seen here, wonderful performances, Michael Phelps, U.S. softball team. We've witnessed the shame of the two athletes who had their medals stripped after failing drug tests. But the story of the Iraqi soccer team is truly one that we all can enjoy. And they have already qualified now for the semifinals in this their first Olympics since 1988. They play later on this afternoon. Paraguay trying to advance to the gold medal match on Saturday.

If they do manage to get a medal, it would be only the country's second Olympic medal and their first ever medal in soccer. But their success has been bittersweet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADNAN HAMAD, IRAQI TEAM COACH (through translator): Even when we are winners, our happiness isn't full happiness because we are still suffering and worried about our people because of circumstances and all these difficulties and all the daily problems they face with the fighting. So we don't really feel so happy.

We can't separate politics and sport. It is a daily routine for people and they deal with it every day. And now for our people who experience all these difficulties, we have to support them and they support us and we are happy that all the world supports us. We feel this everywhere we go, and we will try our best to win the game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Once again, Iraq versus Paraguay in the men's soccer semifinals this evening.

Last night in track and field, three medals for the U.S. in one event. The men's 400 meter and what a race it was. Jeremy Wariner unseating the retired Michael Johnson as the new gold medalist in the 400, finishing ahead of Otis Harris and Derrick Brew with a gold, silver, bronze sweep. Wariner is the sixth U.S. champion in a row in the 400 and the first one, two, three finish for the U.S. in the 400 in 16 years.

More controversy in gymnastics, American Paul Hamm waited for some 10 minutes while the crowd jeered a lower-than-expected score of Russia's Alexei Nemov, who eventually had to get back up and calm the crowd down. Hamm ended up winning silver in the high bar. Nemov, by the way, finished fourth.

As for Hamm's gold medal, well the Gymnastics Federation officials say that the rules do not allow for a duplicate gold medal. That's what South Korea wants after a scoring mistake last week inadvertently gave Hamm the gold in the all-around competition.

Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: Larry Smith, live in Athens this morning, thank you.

We'll have more from the 2004 Summer Games in the next hour of DAYBREAK.

But first, get out or face the consequences. This is the day of reckoning in the standoff for Najaf. We'll have a live report for you.

You're watching DAYBREAK.

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