Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Iraqi Interim Prime Minister Allawi Holds Press Conference; Battle for Falluja; Ailing Yasser Arafat
Aired November 08, 2004 - 06:32 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: And all-out offensive has not begun yet in Falluja, but there have been American airstrikes. There had been some fighting on the ground. You heard Mr. Allawi refer to that hospital that was taken over in part by Iraqi forces when they invaded. He claims that inside that hospital four foreign terrorists were hiding, were working, and they have been arrested.
Let's go out to Karl Penhaul near Falluja. He is embedded with the U.S. Marines.
Karl -- what more can you tell us?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Carol.
Well, we're here with U.S. Marines in a series of defensive trenches. At this point, we're about a mile and a half from the northern edge of Falluja. The Marines have dug these trenches, also with the help of military excavators, to protect themselves from the threat of insurgent mortar attack.
There doesn't really seem to be any danger of any insurgent advance on these positions, because the insurgent tactics seem to be, according to military analysts, to lure the Marines inside the city, where they suspect buildings are rigged with explosives and that there are also multiple car bombs.
But there is a risk here of indirect fire, as they call it, mortar attacks. In fact, about 5 or 10 minutes ago, a couple of mortar rounds flew over our heads but landed well back, landed about 200 yards behind us.
What have we seen this morning then so far? These Marines have stayed in this position after arriving here under cover of darkness. A little to our south, we've seen an Army tank position there opening up on suspected insurgent targets just on the eastern edge of the city there.
Battalion commanders told us that those positions were groups, small groups of four or five insurgents armed with AK-47s, and they were using binoculars to spot U.S. Marine positions to try and detect where they were so that they could fire on them from those points.
Further up to the west in the city, we've seen airstrikes by U.S. jets there, a number of bombs going off. Missiles also have been fired into those positions as well. Again, we understand that most of what's been going on there are strikes on insurgents forward of (INAUDIBLE). But so far battalion commanders are characterizing the resistance as light.
Now, we actually did hear from Mr. Allawi. U.S. Marines, together with a contingent of Iraqi commandos, took control of Falluja's main hospital. That is, in fact, though just on the western outskirts of the city, outside what you'd consider the main city limits itself.
More significantly perhaps, that contingent is also taking control of two of the main bridges across the Euphrates. One of those bridges, of course, the highly symbolic bridge, where back in March insurgents killed and mutilated and then hung the bodies of the four U.S. Blackwater contractors from those bridges -- Carol.
COSTELLO: We certainly remember that. Karl Penhaul, embedded with the 1st Expeditionary force. He's reporting live from somewhere near Ramallah. Thank you for the update.
We have some breaking news to tell you out of the Palestinian territory this morning. Palestinian leaders will be going to Paris to visit their ailing leader, Yasser Arafat, after all. The trip was in doubt after Arafat's wife accused the Palestinian delegation of wanting to bury her husband alive. Those are her words.
Michael Holmes live from Ramallah to bring us up-to-date once again on what exactly is -- it's turned into the quite political drama, hasn't it, Michael?
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it certainly has, Carol. A very unseemly 24 hours or so since Suha Arafat made her comments. It was only 24 hours ago or less that we were reporting to you that this delegation would go, a very high-powered delegation.
The Palestinian prime minister, the former prime minister and senior PLO men were headed to Paris. Then these comments from Suha Arafat.
Let's remember that under French law, she is next of kin, and therefore has been controlling all of the information, pretty much, about Yasser Arafat's condition and controlling those who will see him.
Now, I've got with me Hanan Ashrawi, a senior Palestinian legislator, for the very latest.
Hanan, this trip was on, it was off. What is the latest?
HANAN ASHRAWI, PALESTINIAN LEGISLATOR: The latest is that the trip is on. There has been a negative reaction to Suha Arafat's public statements. And Abu Mazen, Mahmoud Abbas and Abu Ala, Ahmed Akra (ph) will be leaving shortly this afternoon, and they will be going to Paris this evening.
The question is that Suha Arafat has been acting as though he's her private property. While we do understand the human dimension, she is the wife, after all. He's her husband. But at the same time, he's head of state. He's the father of a nation. He's a public figure. And he cannot be reduced to the role of Suha's husband. And this is what people reacted to here.
And her statements went against the grain. Everybody here was starting to pull together to present a united front, the highest degree of responsibility to operation unity. And there comes Suha with this public denouncement that certainly didn't go down well with anybody here.
HOLMES: What happens when they get there? What is this delegation, the prime minister, the former prime minister, what are they hoping to achieve when they get there?
ASHRAWI: This is an important delegation, because they're second in command. And they are the people who have to present to the Palestinian public the fact that we do have a rule of law, we do have institutions, that business will continue, and that despite the tragedy of the president's health, that we do have an ongoing system.
But when they go there, they will have to see him. It's very important. That is the problem. And the rumor mill working overtime is the fact that people did not have clear information, that very few people were able to see him.
Now, the Palestinian public has a sense of possessiveness and pride over President Arafat. They want to know more. They want to get this from reliable sources. They want to be able to see what can be done with the president.
But now that they're going there, they have to come back and address the public openly and say, we saw him and this is how he is and this is what the doctors told us. And put an end to the speculation and rumors and insecurity and so on.
HOLMES: And if their assessment is that he is incapacitated, how does the constitution work then?
ASHRAWI: First, the constitution calls for elections should the president pass away within 60 days, during which the speaker of the Parliament or the Legislative Council will take over. This is what happens (INAUDIBLE).
But should he be incapacitated, then it takes a committee of at least four doctors to pronounce him incapable of doing his job, therefore legally unable to do so, to carry out his powers and responsibilities. And then according to the basic law, you will have elections within 60 days.
But it takes a high level, at least a four-member medical team to pronounce him incapable of dispatching his official duties.
HOLMES: All right. After 24 or more hours of great confusion here in Ramallah, we have there some clarity from Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian legislator. So the trip is on. We're told that delegation, the high-level delegation will be leaving here, possibly as soon as within the hour on their way to Paris. They'll be there later tonight -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Michael Holmes live from Ramallah, thank you.
So what exactly will the operation to take Falluja entail? My colleague, Kyra Phillips, spent some time with troops who have trained on urban combat. She will join me next. She also has new information out of Iraq this morning.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Monday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It will likely be one of the biggest battles of the Iraq war, and thousands of U.S. and Iraqi forces are just outside of the insurgent-held city of Falluja. They're bracing to begin a full- scale assault, aimed at resting control. Attacks are already under way outside of the city, heavy fighting going on around a hospital seized by U.S. and Iraqi troops yesterday. Seven insurgents were reportedly killed in clashes with U.S. forces today.
Now, before this assault began, U.S. commanders warned the troops to expect the most brutal urban fighting since the Vietnam War.
CNN's Kyra Phillips had the opportunity to observe other U.S. special operation forces, trained for urban combat before the war in Iraq started. And she's here to talk more about these elite warriors.
But before we do that, you do have new information out of Iraq from your sources -- Kyra.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. Working a number of sources and talking about the threat at the moment. This is what they're going up against. About 100 car-laden -- cars laden with explosives reported to have been distributed throughout Falluja, hundreds of foreign fighters said to be standing by ready to be suicide bombers, bridges, a railway track.
Several networks of narrow alleyways in three different districts of the city have been mined. We have concern about insurgent snipers throughout mosques and other areas in the city, and also surface-to- air missiles, you know, which, of course, to counter attacks by the helicopter gunships.
COSTELLO: So this is true guerrilla fighting, urban fighting. So how do you fight something like that? I mean, you talked earlier, to me at least...
PHILLIPS: Right.
COSTELLO: ... about the 360-degree battlefield. What is that?
PHILLIPS: Absolutely. As you saw from the video there, I mean, there are so many different threats. I mean, number one, they've got their intelligence. I mean, I just read the new threats they know that they're up against, but they've been studying maps of this city. They know every single part of Falluja, where all of the important infrastructure is, where the civilians are living, where the threat could be.
Their communications, they're getting ready to -- are we going to communicate by radio, hand signals? They've got all of that down. So it's not like another Mogadishu. You remember Black Hawk down.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes.
PHILLIPS: The communications were a nightmare. So they're focusing on that.
Now, if you look at the mantra of special operations forces, speed, surprise, security, violence of action, this is what they focus on when going into urban combat. Let me go more into violence of action. That's about being aggressive and keeping the momentum.
Let's take a look at the Telestrator. You asked about the 360- degree battlefield. Well, it's all about situational awareness, OK? And looking at all of the different threats. I mentioned the mines. Well, they're also concerned about IEDs being planted throughout the streets.
I mean, when special operations forces come into a city, immediately they've got to be paying attention to 360 degrees all the way around them, snipers up on top of buildings there, snipers in doorways, in windows. Also booby-traps. They set booby-traps along the sides, in the windows. Like I said, planting mines, IEDs...
COSTELLO: You know...
PHILLIPS: ... all throughout the city.
I mean, imagine what you have to be thinking about as your conventional battlefield.
COSTELLO: I am imagining that, and it's frightening. And you think about there's only, what, 12,000 insurgents maybe in the city of Falluja? I don't know how many American forces there are combined with U.S. forces. But probably there are more than the insurgents in the city. But that's why such a small number of people can take on the U.S. Army, can take on the Marines, because they use these kinds of tactics.
PHILLIPS: They are unfair tactics. I mean, it's not playing fairly. The U.S. military will talk about that a lot, about insurgents and that they use these tactics. It's that element of surprise. Well, they want to be better at that element of surprise.
You know, we talk about the shock and awe. That's what they're working on, a little bit of shock and awe.
We've been saying, yes, we're getting ready for this big offensive; however, that element of surprise -- I mean, they are cooking up things that the insurgents have no idea what they'll be up against. But the good thing is they know the tactics of the bad guys, so they can prepare for that in an urban combat setting.
And it will be interesting to see them working with Iraqis for the first time, too, in a big major offensive.
COSTELLO: Well, it worked pretty well when they took over that hospital, because Iraqi forces actually invaded the hospital. They went in. And of course, they're there to also go into the mosques if need be and stuff like that.
I wanted to get to the e-mails, because you keep in contact with soldiers in Iraq. What are they saying to you about cities like Falluja?
PHILLIPS: Well, do you want to take a look at the number of e- mails?
COSTELLO: I do.
PHILLIPS: I've talked to men in the Marines, men in the Army, men in special warfare within the Navy, and these are the couple of things that they had to say.
This is one soldier from the 101st Airborne: "I just know that we can win this thing, and that we are making a difference. We just have to finish it. And if I can make the smallest difference, then that's where I belong. This actually kept me up most of the nights this past week, sitting in bed thinking how eager I am to go back and depressed I am to leave. It's very hard sometimes to love your country as much as you love your family."
This is someone who was there before Operation Iraqi Freedom, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, saw a lot of the Iraqis that worked closely with them be beheaded. They were killed. And now he's got to go back, and it's a real struggle for him between family and duty.
COSTELLO: Let's go to another e-mail.
PHILLIPS: This is from another Ranger with the U.S. Army, talking about losing one of their own: "The most frustrating is the fact that our airborne warriors have passed the gauntlet of ambushes, mortar attacks, firefights, and they came through virtually unscathed. Then we lose the most giant of Rangers and friends in such a way that was thought not to be in the master plan. Questions will always remain, and that we accept."
It's hard to lose one of your own, obviously.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, you can tell by the tone of these e- mails that the Marines, the Army troops, they want to go in and they want to kick some butt!
PHILLIPS: Yes, that's true. That's true. They want to go in and they want to fight. But at the same time, they're very human. And it's hard for them to see a civilian killed. It's hard for them to see a child that's been killed. It's hard for them to see one of their own that's been killed. I mean, they have a heart, too. Even though they've got to go in there and be a well-trained, disciplined warrior, these are -- a lot of these men are family men, too. And they've got children of their own.
COSTELLO: Thanks for coming in, Kyra. We appreciate it.
PHILLIPS: You bet.
COSTELLO: And of course, at 1:00 you'll be back on the air with Miles O'Brien, "LIVE FROM."
PHILLIPS: That's right.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Kyra.
Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 6:48 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
British police are trying to determine whether a suicide was the cause of a train crash that killed 7 people and seriously injured 11 others. Investigators say a high-speed train slammed into a car that had stopped on the tracks Saturday west of London.
Attorneys for John Hinkley Jr. go before a federal judge a little less than four hours from now. They're seeking longer visits for Hinkley and his parents. Hinkley has been in a Washington psychiatric hospital since 1981 when he attempted to assassinate President Reagan. He wants to leave the hospital for four days at a time every two weeks.
In money news, inflated bids on eBay bring a hefty fine. A New York court ordered eight people to pay restitution for bidding up their own items on eBay. One hundred and twenty people will share in the $90,000 settlement.
In culture, it was an incredible weekend at the box office. "The Incredibles" debuted with $70.7 million. It is the second-biggest opening for an animated feature. "Shrek 2" holds the record with a $108 million debut.
In sports, the Steelers have done it again. Pittsburgh beat the previously unbeaten Philadelphia Eagles 27-3. I think that's a spanking. It's the second straight week the Steelers have ended an opponent's undefeated season.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
When someone calls your phone, your cell phone, what do they hear? Those polyphonic ringtones are more popular than ever. Coming up, "Billboard" rings up the dirt on those cell phone sounds. We'll be back with the top 10.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: Some ringtones for you this morning from the "Ringtone Chart," of all things. All morning we've been talking about cell phone ringtones. You can download anything from new tunes by Usher and Snoop Dog to old favorites like Elvis Presley and Led Zeppelin. And now "Billboard" magazine has even begun a new chart for the top 20 ringtones.
Brian Garrity is the senior business writer for "Billboard" magazine. He joins us live from New York.
You know, Brian, a lot of people find ringtones very annoying. In fact, we've been soliciting e-mails from our viewers this morning, and Chad has one that kind of echoes the sentiment of many.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. You know, but I think Carl (ph) is still using the telegraph. He's from New Jersey. He says: "Ninety-five percent of the people who own cell phones are brain-dead anyway. I'd love to see cell phones banned completely."
COSTELLO: He (INAUDIBLE) cell phone.
But aren't you, like, pushing forward this trend that some people really hate?
BRIAN GARRITY, "BILLBOARD" MAGAZINE: Well, I guess, you know, it does put the notion of ringtones on the map in a way that, I guess, those who are not a fan of cell phones to begin with, this is not going to be their favorite thing that's ever happened.
COSTELLO: No. That's putting it mildly.
GARRITY: To put it mildly.
COSTELLO: But why has "Billboard" come up with a top 20 list of ringtones?
GARRITY: Well, it's just a recognition of the fact that digital music is really becoming a big thing for the recording industry. And be it either digital downloads, which we started tracking last year, or ringtones, which is an emerging market for mobile, these are new revenue centers for the recording industry.
MYERS: Yes. I want to talk about that revenue center, too, Brian, because we were talking earlier that a lot of these ringtones are downloaded illegally. Are the ones that you're tracking, are they actually paid for?
GARRITY: These are the paid-for downloads. These are the legal downloads.
MYERS: Yes.
GARRITY: There are services and, you know, Internet applications out there that allow you to essentially steal ringtones. But these are the ones that, you know, people are paying for. COSTELLO: Something interesting that we both noticed about your list -- and we're going to put it up now, the top 10 ringtones -- is that pretty much all of these songs we've never heard of.
GARRITY: I guess it all depends how closely you're paying attention to the R&B and pop charts.
COSTELLO: Well, here are the top five. Number five is "Halloween." I guess that was because Halloween was last week.
GARRITY: Exactly. It definitely speaks to the seasonality of, you know, that ringtones have -- you know, they're designed to be interchangeable. And you know, you don't just take one ringtone and keep it all the time. The intent is that you have it for a little while and then you change it out.
COSTELLO: The fascinating thing that I read, too -- as we're going to listen in the background to the rest of the top five. The interesting thing is -- do you know this, Chad? That you can, like design your ringtones for the person who is calling.
MYERS: Oh, sure.
COSTELLO: So if your mom is calling, a certain ringtone will sound. I mean, that's crazy, Brian.
GARRITY: Yes, I mean, the sophistication of ringtones is really coming a long way. But yes, what they have are things called now ring back tones, where it's a new feature where basically, yes, you can set it for any song that you want will, you know, be based on the caller.
COSTELLO: That's "Drop It Like It's Hot." I kind of like the number three ringtone.
GARRITY: Yes. You know, you'll also see that a lot of these ringtones are really moving in step with, you know, what's hot on the charts right now.
COSTELLO: Oh, most definitely. Brian Garrity from "Billboard" magazine, thank you very much. It was fascinating. And you know, it's just kind of the wave of the future. It's only going to get worse.
MYERS: And Carol, I know the phone that you have, you also can program your ringtones to each person.
COSTELLO: Yes. But see, I keep mine on vibrate, because I always think I'm bothering people. But I guess I should rethink that.
MYERS: Carol, get on with the bothering thing.
COSTELLO: Come on, get rude! What are you talking about?
We'll have our DAYBREAK mug winner in two minutes. But first, this is DAYBREAK for a Monday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Take a look at that, a beautiful picture of the northern lights. Explain this, Chad.
MYERS: Well, it's the Aurora Borealis. It's the energy coming in from the sun, hitting the poles, the Northern Pole here obviously, because we're seeing the northern lights. There are southern lights. But the northern lights here. And my mom used to talk about this all of the time when they lived in Pennsylvania, if you saw the northern lights there was going to be a war.
COSTELLO: Really?
MYERS: A little ominous there with the Falluja thing, huh?
COSTELLO: Man, you're not kidding.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Although the war has been ongoing.
MYERS: Well, of course.
COSTELLO: Anyway, let's get to something...
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: Coffee mug, I have a great little e-mail here about the DAYBREAK coffee mug, Carol.
"I love your DAYBREAK coffee mug, but I think it would be a whole lot better if there was a picture of Carol Costello on the front. After all, it's her great personality that gets all of the viewers going in the morning."
COSTELLO: Oh, I'm blushing.
MYERS: From Robert in St. Claire's Shores. If you'd like...
COSTELLO: Oh, that's my uncle.
MYERS: Oh, Robert, of course.
If you want to win this one, you're going to have to try hard. Here's the one that we gave away from Friday. Lisa Drayer said what two kinds of fish are good sources of Vitamin D? The answers were mackerel and salmon. And what year was the original "Alfie" -- what's it all about, Alfie? Oh, that's different. Name the actor and also who played the title role. That was 1966 starring Michael Caine.
The winner, Wilma Leneus from New York City, New York.
COSTELLO: Congratulations.
MYERS: New city up there by the Catskills.
And that's all we have for you.
COSTELLO: Yes. We'll have the DAYBREAK quiz, because, you know, we had a lot of breaking news this morning.
MYERS: Of course. Of course.
COSTELLO: We did. And that always takes priority.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired November 8, 2004 - 06:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And all-out offensive has not begun yet in Falluja, but there have been American airstrikes. There had been some fighting on the ground. You heard Mr. Allawi refer to that hospital that was taken over in part by Iraqi forces when they invaded. He claims that inside that hospital four foreign terrorists were hiding, were working, and they have been arrested.
Let's go out to Karl Penhaul near Falluja. He is embedded with the U.S. Marines.
Karl -- what more can you tell us?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Carol.
Well, we're here with U.S. Marines in a series of defensive trenches. At this point, we're about a mile and a half from the northern edge of Falluja. The Marines have dug these trenches, also with the help of military excavators, to protect themselves from the threat of insurgent mortar attack.
There doesn't really seem to be any danger of any insurgent advance on these positions, because the insurgent tactics seem to be, according to military analysts, to lure the Marines inside the city, where they suspect buildings are rigged with explosives and that there are also multiple car bombs.
But there is a risk here of indirect fire, as they call it, mortar attacks. In fact, about 5 or 10 minutes ago, a couple of mortar rounds flew over our heads but landed well back, landed about 200 yards behind us.
What have we seen this morning then so far? These Marines have stayed in this position after arriving here under cover of darkness. A little to our south, we've seen an Army tank position there opening up on suspected insurgent targets just on the eastern edge of the city there.
Battalion commanders told us that those positions were groups, small groups of four or five insurgents armed with AK-47s, and they were using binoculars to spot U.S. Marine positions to try and detect where they were so that they could fire on them from those points.
Further up to the west in the city, we've seen airstrikes by U.S. jets there, a number of bombs going off. Missiles also have been fired into those positions as well. Again, we understand that most of what's been going on there are strikes on insurgents forward of (INAUDIBLE). But so far battalion commanders are characterizing the resistance as light.
Now, we actually did hear from Mr. Allawi. U.S. Marines, together with a contingent of Iraqi commandos, took control of Falluja's main hospital. That is, in fact, though just on the western outskirts of the city, outside what you'd consider the main city limits itself.
More significantly perhaps, that contingent is also taking control of two of the main bridges across the Euphrates. One of those bridges, of course, the highly symbolic bridge, where back in March insurgents killed and mutilated and then hung the bodies of the four U.S. Blackwater contractors from those bridges -- Carol.
COSTELLO: We certainly remember that. Karl Penhaul, embedded with the 1st Expeditionary force. He's reporting live from somewhere near Ramallah. Thank you for the update.
We have some breaking news to tell you out of the Palestinian territory this morning. Palestinian leaders will be going to Paris to visit their ailing leader, Yasser Arafat, after all. The trip was in doubt after Arafat's wife accused the Palestinian delegation of wanting to bury her husband alive. Those are her words.
Michael Holmes live from Ramallah to bring us up-to-date once again on what exactly is -- it's turned into the quite political drama, hasn't it, Michael?
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it certainly has, Carol. A very unseemly 24 hours or so since Suha Arafat made her comments. It was only 24 hours ago or less that we were reporting to you that this delegation would go, a very high-powered delegation.
The Palestinian prime minister, the former prime minister and senior PLO men were headed to Paris. Then these comments from Suha Arafat.
Let's remember that under French law, she is next of kin, and therefore has been controlling all of the information, pretty much, about Yasser Arafat's condition and controlling those who will see him.
Now, I've got with me Hanan Ashrawi, a senior Palestinian legislator, for the very latest.
Hanan, this trip was on, it was off. What is the latest?
HANAN ASHRAWI, PALESTINIAN LEGISLATOR: The latest is that the trip is on. There has been a negative reaction to Suha Arafat's public statements. And Abu Mazen, Mahmoud Abbas and Abu Ala, Ahmed Akra (ph) will be leaving shortly this afternoon, and they will be going to Paris this evening.
The question is that Suha Arafat has been acting as though he's her private property. While we do understand the human dimension, she is the wife, after all. He's her husband. But at the same time, he's head of state. He's the father of a nation. He's a public figure. And he cannot be reduced to the role of Suha's husband. And this is what people reacted to here.
And her statements went against the grain. Everybody here was starting to pull together to present a united front, the highest degree of responsibility to operation unity. And there comes Suha with this public denouncement that certainly didn't go down well with anybody here.
HOLMES: What happens when they get there? What is this delegation, the prime minister, the former prime minister, what are they hoping to achieve when they get there?
ASHRAWI: This is an important delegation, because they're second in command. And they are the people who have to present to the Palestinian public the fact that we do have a rule of law, we do have institutions, that business will continue, and that despite the tragedy of the president's health, that we do have an ongoing system.
But when they go there, they will have to see him. It's very important. That is the problem. And the rumor mill working overtime is the fact that people did not have clear information, that very few people were able to see him.
Now, the Palestinian public has a sense of possessiveness and pride over President Arafat. They want to know more. They want to get this from reliable sources. They want to be able to see what can be done with the president.
But now that they're going there, they have to come back and address the public openly and say, we saw him and this is how he is and this is what the doctors told us. And put an end to the speculation and rumors and insecurity and so on.
HOLMES: And if their assessment is that he is incapacitated, how does the constitution work then?
ASHRAWI: First, the constitution calls for elections should the president pass away within 60 days, during which the speaker of the Parliament or the Legislative Council will take over. This is what happens (INAUDIBLE).
But should he be incapacitated, then it takes a committee of at least four doctors to pronounce him incapable of doing his job, therefore legally unable to do so, to carry out his powers and responsibilities. And then according to the basic law, you will have elections within 60 days.
But it takes a high level, at least a four-member medical team to pronounce him incapable of dispatching his official duties.
HOLMES: All right. After 24 or more hours of great confusion here in Ramallah, we have there some clarity from Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian legislator. So the trip is on. We're told that delegation, the high-level delegation will be leaving here, possibly as soon as within the hour on their way to Paris. They'll be there later tonight -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Michael Holmes live from Ramallah, thank you.
So what exactly will the operation to take Falluja entail? My colleague, Kyra Phillips, spent some time with troops who have trained on urban combat. She will join me next. She also has new information out of Iraq this morning.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Monday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It will likely be one of the biggest battles of the Iraq war, and thousands of U.S. and Iraqi forces are just outside of the insurgent-held city of Falluja. They're bracing to begin a full- scale assault, aimed at resting control. Attacks are already under way outside of the city, heavy fighting going on around a hospital seized by U.S. and Iraqi troops yesterday. Seven insurgents were reportedly killed in clashes with U.S. forces today.
Now, before this assault began, U.S. commanders warned the troops to expect the most brutal urban fighting since the Vietnam War.
CNN's Kyra Phillips had the opportunity to observe other U.S. special operation forces, trained for urban combat before the war in Iraq started. And she's here to talk more about these elite warriors.
But before we do that, you do have new information out of Iraq from your sources -- Kyra.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. Working a number of sources and talking about the threat at the moment. This is what they're going up against. About 100 car-laden -- cars laden with explosives reported to have been distributed throughout Falluja, hundreds of foreign fighters said to be standing by ready to be suicide bombers, bridges, a railway track.
Several networks of narrow alleyways in three different districts of the city have been mined. We have concern about insurgent snipers throughout mosques and other areas in the city, and also surface-to- air missiles, you know, which, of course, to counter attacks by the helicopter gunships.
COSTELLO: So this is true guerrilla fighting, urban fighting. So how do you fight something like that? I mean, you talked earlier, to me at least...
PHILLIPS: Right.
COSTELLO: ... about the 360-degree battlefield. What is that?
PHILLIPS: Absolutely. As you saw from the video there, I mean, there are so many different threats. I mean, number one, they've got their intelligence. I mean, I just read the new threats they know that they're up against, but they've been studying maps of this city. They know every single part of Falluja, where all of the important infrastructure is, where the civilians are living, where the threat could be.
Their communications, they're getting ready to -- are we going to communicate by radio, hand signals? They've got all of that down. So it's not like another Mogadishu. You remember Black Hawk down.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes.
PHILLIPS: The communications were a nightmare. So they're focusing on that.
Now, if you look at the mantra of special operations forces, speed, surprise, security, violence of action, this is what they focus on when going into urban combat. Let me go more into violence of action. That's about being aggressive and keeping the momentum.
Let's take a look at the Telestrator. You asked about the 360- degree battlefield. Well, it's all about situational awareness, OK? And looking at all of the different threats. I mentioned the mines. Well, they're also concerned about IEDs being planted throughout the streets.
I mean, when special operations forces come into a city, immediately they've got to be paying attention to 360 degrees all the way around them, snipers up on top of buildings there, snipers in doorways, in windows. Also booby-traps. They set booby-traps along the sides, in the windows. Like I said, planting mines, IEDs...
COSTELLO: You know...
PHILLIPS: ... all throughout the city.
I mean, imagine what you have to be thinking about as your conventional battlefield.
COSTELLO: I am imagining that, and it's frightening. And you think about there's only, what, 12,000 insurgents maybe in the city of Falluja? I don't know how many American forces there are combined with U.S. forces. But probably there are more than the insurgents in the city. But that's why such a small number of people can take on the U.S. Army, can take on the Marines, because they use these kinds of tactics.
PHILLIPS: They are unfair tactics. I mean, it's not playing fairly. The U.S. military will talk about that a lot, about insurgents and that they use these tactics. It's that element of surprise. Well, they want to be better at that element of surprise.
You know, we talk about the shock and awe. That's what they're working on, a little bit of shock and awe.
We've been saying, yes, we're getting ready for this big offensive; however, that element of surprise -- I mean, they are cooking up things that the insurgents have no idea what they'll be up against. But the good thing is they know the tactics of the bad guys, so they can prepare for that in an urban combat setting.
And it will be interesting to see them working with Iraqis for the first time, too, in a big major offensive.
COSTELLO: Well, it worked pretty well when they took over that hospital, because Iraqi forces actually invaded the hospital. They went in. And of course, they're there to also go into the mosques if need be and stuff like that.
I wanted to get to the e-mails, because you keep in contact with soldiers in Iraq. What are they saying to you about cities like Falluja?
PHILLIPS: Well, do you want to take a look at the number of e- mails?
COSTELLO: I do.
PHILLIPS: I've talked to men in the Marines, men in the Army, men in special warfare within the Navy, and these are the couple of things that they had to say.
This is one soldier from the 101st Airborne: "I just know that we can win this thing, and that we are making a difference. We just have to finish it. And if I can make the smallest difference, then that's where I belong. This actually kept me up most of the nights this past week, sitting in bed thinking how eager I am to go back and depressed I am to leave. It's very hard sometimes to love your country as much as you love your family."
This is someone who was there before Operation Iraqi Freedom, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, saw a lot of the Iraqis that worked closely with them be beheaded. They were killed. And now he's got to go back, and it's a real struggle for him between family and duty.
COSTELLO: Let's go to another e-mail.
PHILLIPS: This is from another Ranger with the U.S. Army, talking about losing one of their own: "The most frustrating is the fact that our airborne warriors have passed the gauntlet of ambushes, mortar attacks, firefights, and they came through virtually unscathed. Then we lose the most giant of Rangers and friends in such a way that was thought not to be in the master plan. Questions will always remain, and that we accept."
It's hard to lose one of your own, obviously.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, you can tell by the tone of these e- mails that the Marines, the Army troops, they want to go in and they want to kick some butt!
PHILLIPS: Yes, that's true. That's true. They want to go in and they want to fight. But at the same time, they're very human. And it's hard for them to see a civilian killed. It's hard for them to see a child that's been killed. It's hard for them to see one of their own that's been killed. I mean, they have a heart, too. Even though they've got to go in there and be a well-trained, disciplined warrior, these are -- a lot of these men are family men, too. And they've got children of their own.
COSTELLO: Thanks for coming in, Kyra. We appreciate it.
PHILLIPS: You bet.
COSTELLO: And of course, at 1:00 you'll be back on the air with Miles O'Brien, "LIVE FROM."
PHILLIPS: That's right.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Kyra.
Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 6:48 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
British police are trying to determine whether a suicide was the cause of a train crash that killed 7 people and seriously injured 11 others. Investigators say a high-speed train slammed into a car that had stopped on the tracks Saturday west of London.
Attorneys for John Hinkley Jr. go before a federal judge a little less than four hours from now. They're seeking longer visits for Hinkley and his parents. Hinkley has been in a Washington psychiatric hospital since 1981 when he attempted to assassinate President Reagan. He wants to leave the hospital for four days at a time every two weeks.
In money news, inflated bids on eBay bring a hefty fine. A New York court ordered eight people to pay restitution for bidding up their own items on eBay. One hundred and twenty people will share in the $90,000 settlement.
In culture, it was an incredible weekend at the box office. "The Incredibles" debuted with $70.7 million. It is the second-biggest opening for an animated feature. "Shrek 2" holds the record with a $108 million debut.
In sports, the Steelers have done it again. Pittsburgh beat the previously unbeaten Philadelphia Eagles 27-3. I think that's a spanking. It's the second straight week the Steelers have ended an opponent's undefeated season.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
When someone calls your phone, your cell phone, what do they hear? Those polyphonic ringtones are more popular than ever. Coming up, "Billboard" rings up the dirt on those cell phone sounds. We'll be back with the top 10.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: Some ringtones for you this morning from the "Ringtone Chart," of all things. All morning we've been talking about cell phone ringtones. You can download anything from new tunes by Usher and Snoop Dog to old favorites like Elvis Presley and Led Zeppelin. And now "Billboard" magazine has even begun a new chart for the top 20 ringtones.
Brian Garrity is the senior business writer for "Billboard" magazine. He joins us live from New York.
You know, Brian, a lot of people find ringtones very annoying. In fact, we've been soliciting e-mails from our viewers this morning, and Chad has one that kind of echoes the sentiment of many.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. You know, but I think Carl (ph) is still using the telegraph. He's from New Jersey. He says: "Ninety-five percent of the people who own cell phones are brain-dead anyway. I'd love to see cell phones banned completely."
COSTELLO: He (INAUDIBLE) cell phone.
But aren't you, like, pushing forward this trend that some people really hate?
BRIAN GARRITY, "BILLBOARD" MAGAZINE: Well, I guess, you know, it does put the notion of ringtones on the map in a way that, I guess, those who are not a fan of cell phones to begin with, this is not going to be their favorite thing that's ever happened.
COSTELLO: No. That's putting it mildly.
GARRITY: To put it mildly.
COSTELLO: But why has "Billboard" come up with a top 20 list of ringtones?
GARRITY: Well, it's just a recognition of the fact that digital music is really becoming a big thing for the recording industry. And be it either digital downloads, which we started tracking last year, or ringtones, which is an emerging market for mobile, these are new revenue centers for the recording industry.
MYERS: Yes. I want to talk about that revenue center, too, Brian, because we were talking earlier that a lot of these ringtones are downloaded illegally. Are the ones that you're tracking, are they actually paid for?
GARRITY: These are the paid-for downloads. These are the legal downloads.
MYERS: Yes.
GARRITY: There are services and, you know, Internet applications out there that allow you to essentially steal ringtones. But these are the ones that, you know, people are paying for. COSTELLO: Something interesting that we both noticed about your list -- and we're going to put it up now, the top 10 ringtones -- is that pretty much all of these songs we've never heard of.
GARRITY: I guess it all depends how closely you're paying attention to the R&B and pop charts.
COSTELLO: Well, here are the top five. Number five is "Halloween." I guess that was because Halloween was last week.
GARRITY: Exactly. It definitely speaks to the seasonality of, you know, that ringtones have -- you know, they're designed to be interchangeable. And you know, you don't just take one ringtone and keep it all the time. The intent is that you have it for a little while and then you change it out.
COSTELLO: The fascinating thing that I read, too -- as we're going to listen in the background to the rest of the top five. The interesting thing is -- do you know this, Chad? That you can, like design your ringtones for the person who is calling.
MYERS: Oh, sure.
COSTELLO: So if your mom is calling, a certain ringtone will sound. I mean, that's crazy, Brian.
GARRITY: Yes, I mean, the sophistication of ringtones is really coming a long way. But yes, what they have are things called now ring back tones, where it's a new feature where basically, yes, you can set it for any song that you want will, you know, be based on the caller.
COSTELLO: That's "Drop It Like It's Hot." I kind of like the number three ringtone.
GARRITY: Yes. You know, you'll also see that a lot of these ringtones are really moving in step with, you know, what's hot on the charts right now.
COSTELLO: Oh, most definitely. Brian Garrity from "Billboard" magazine, thank you very much. It was fascinating. And you know, it's just kind of the wave of the future. It's only going to get worse.
MYERS: And Carol, I know the phone that you have, you also can program your ringtones to each person.
COSTELLO: Yes. But see, I keep mine on vibrate, because I always think I'm bothering people. But I guess I should rethink that.
MYERS: Carol, get on with the bothering thing.
COSTELLO: Come on, get rude! What are you talking about?
We'll have our DAYBREAK mug winner in two minutes. But first, this is DAYBREAK for a Monday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Take a look at that, a beautiful picture of the northern lights. Explain this, Chad.
MYERS: Well, it's the Aurora Borealis. It's the energy coming in from the sun, hitting the poles, the Northern Pole here obviously, because we're seeing the northern lights. There are southern lights. But the northern lights here. And my mom used to talk about this all of the time when they lived in Pennsylvania, if you saw the northern lights there was going to be a war.
COSTELLO: Really?
MYERS: A little ominous there with the Falluja thing, huh?
COSTELLO: Man, you're not kidding.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Although the war has been ongoing.
MYERS: Well, of course.
COSTELLO: Anyway, let's get to something...
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: Coffee mug, I have a great little e-mail here about the DAYBREAK coffee mug, Carol.
"I love your DAYBREAK coffee mug, but I think it would be a whole lot better if there was a picture of Carol Costello on the front. After all, it's her great personality that gets all of the viewers going in the morning."
COSTELLO: Oh, I'm blushing.
MYERS: From Robert in St. Claire's Shores. If you'd like...
COSTELLO: Oh, that's my uncle.
MYERS: Oh, Robert, of course.
If you want to win this one, you're going to have to try hard. Here's the one that we gave away from Friday. Lisa Drayer said what two kinds of fish are good sources of Vitamin D? The answers were mackerel and salmon. And what year was the original "Alfie" -- what's it all about, Alfie? Oh, that's different. Name the actor and also who played the title role. That was 1966 starring Michael Caine.
The winner, Wilma Leneus from New York City, New York.
COSTELLO: Congratulations.
MYERS: New city up there by the Catskills.
And that's all we have for you.
COSTELLO: Yes. We'll have the DAYBREAK quiz, because, you know, we had a lot of breaking news this morning.
MYERS: Of course. Of course.
COSTELLO: We did. And that always takes priority.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
