Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Sunday

Woman Admits To Suicide Bombing Attempt In Jordan; NASCAR Driver Picked Up For Reckless Driving In Arizona; Special Effects Company Simulates Terrorist Attack In Georgia

Aired November 13, 2005 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Unfolding this hour, an Iraqi woman appears on Jordanian TV saying she was one of the hotel bombers in Amman. Just ahead, you'll hear why she survived and why she's talking about it.
The noise of a different kind of explosion on the quiet streets of Atlanta this morning. Find out why police were actually happy to see this fireball erupt.

And a star driver on the NASCAR circuit has some explaining to do after a run-in with the law off the track.

Hello. Adn welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All that and more after this check of the headlines.

President Bush's national security adviser speaks out about the decision to go to war in Iraq. Steven Hadley admits the administration was wrong about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, but he insists President Bush did not manipulate intelligence or mislead the American people. Hadley says when it came to the WMD question, Mr. Bush relied on the collective judgment of the intelligence community.

Iowa communities turned into demolition sites, the work of powerful tornadoes that ripped through the state yesterday. At least one person was killed. Dozens of homes have been leveled. The American Red Cross has set up relief centers for residents who have been left homeless.

And what a wakeup call that is. A live serenade this morning from Paul McCartney to the crew of the International Space Station. The former Beatle delivered his hello during a concert in Anaheim, California. American astronaut Bill MacArthur simply called it magnificent.

Now to our developing story. A first: a female would-be bomber used in an al Qaeda terror attack in Jordan, and she lived to tell about it on television. Jordanian authorities were quick to broadcast the confession to show the public the people who bombed the Amman hotels last week were Iraqis, not Jordanians. Here's CNN's Jonathan Mann.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This evening the people of jordan got a short glimpse of the face of a would-be suicide bomber and it's probably fair to say it wasn't what they were expecting. Shazda al Rashawi (ph) revealed herself as a haggered 35-year-old who explained somewhat glumly, but essentially dispassionately to an off- camera interrogator how she set out to try to kill so many people on Wednesday, the day that 57 people were in fact murdered by three other suicide bombers who were her accomplices.

Earlier, we heard from the deputy prime minister of Jordan about exactly what she told interrogaters.

MARWAN MUASHER, JORDANIAN DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: The suicide bomber and his wife went to the Radisson Hotel knowing that they were going to a wedding party by the clothes that they were wearing. And both had explosive belts around their waists.

His wife attempted to detonate the belt after they went in the wedding room, but failed to do so. And her husband asked her to leave the wedding party. Once she did, he detonated himself successfully.

Subsequent to that, we were able to apprehend the woman. And she will appear on Jordanian TV to talk about the details of the operation.

MANN: We spoke to Muasher as well about his decision to put her on television. He said it was important for two reasons. Important to show the people of Jordan that they were not attacked by other Jordanians. In fact, all four of the bombers, both the one who survived and the three who were killed in the attack, were said to be Iraqis from Anbar Province.

We were also told that the government wanted to put her on television so that the people in Jordan would have a face to channel their anger towards. There have been protests in the streets of this city. The people of Amman, the people of Jordan are furious that their home has also now become the target for terrorist attacks.

This was a very strategic effort by the government to show them who they could blame. One of four Iraqis from Anbar Province, a woman who was in fact a terrorist in a family business of terrorists. Her husband, the man who led her toward this attack, her brother, described as Abu Musab al Zarqawi's right-hand man in Anbar Province, a man who was himself killed by U.S. forces in Fallujah last year.

And so with her husband and her brother as her examples, Sashida al Rashawi (ph) set out to kill a great many people on Wednesday. Now she is quite literally living to tell the tale.

Jonathan Mann, CNN, Amman.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Even before the bombings, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq was one of the most wanted man in the world. Abu Musab al Zarqawi has a $25 million bounty on his head. Now increased pressure to catch him.

Joining me now from los angeles is CNN military intelligence analyst Ken Robinson.

This attack comes after more than 150 planned attacks in Jordan by Zarqawi's group, Ken. And all this since last year. Why has Zarqawi been so determined to do something like this in Jordan?

KEN ROBINSON, CNN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Zarqawi really has a stated interest to set the whole region on fire. His goal is instability. And his longer-term goal is failed states. He subscribes to the same ideology as Osama bin Laden. And they want to see these corrupt regimes -- their words, go away -- and they want to see the emergence of one day a calafat.

WHITFIELD: But after so many attempts, all of them foiled, this time his plan succeeded. What do you suppose happened? Why did things go right for he and his group?

ROBINSON: Well, you know, the thing about terrorism that's so deadly is the fact that the security services have to be right every single day, 24 hours a day. They only have to get lucky once to be able to introduce a cruise missile -- and their cruise missile is a human being -- and introduced them into crowded places.

These crowds in democracies and republics and kingdoms are very vulnerable. The ashamite (ph) kingdom of Jordan has worked very hard not to become an open police state, but to try to let people live their lives. The terrorist groups want to erode that, and cause people to live in fear, to then propose their alternative, which is that of getting rid of all the corrupt western influences.

WHITFIELD: And what does this say, perhaps, about either the creativity or the methods that Zarqawi's group are willing to use, that apparently fictious names were used by these four bombers, phony passports, and the fact that they used a woman, the first apparently for al Qaeda to do.

ROBINSON: Well, we've raised the specter last year with the vessel on attacks. And with the Chechen attacks in the Moscow opera house where we started seeing widows -- black widows, Chechen widows, women in Palestine, and this is the new tipping point, when you have women starting -- the people -- the hand that rocks the cradle, women starting now to choose this route. It really is an indication of enormous hopelessness on their part to be able to decide that death is the only alternative. Typically that's a jihadi male's chosen route.

So, it's something that really concerns westerners, because women have the ability to sneak into places unobserved in a much better detail. They provide better cover than a man by himself. So, it's a huge challenge for western security services and for Arab intelligence services.

WHITFIELD: And now it seems the most familiar face in terms of leadership for al Qaeda has been Abu Musab al Zarqawi. You haven't heard as much talked about Osama bin Laden and his presence, or leadership. Might this in any way perhaps backfire for Zarqawi, that he is becoming the famous face of al Qaeda, not necessarily bin Laden these days? ROBINSON: Well, many people in the intelligence community don't believe that bin Laden is the rock star that he's made out to be in the media, or that al Qaeda, the name has an organizational line in block charts that we in the west think of it.

These groups are ideological aligned, but they're loosely affiliated. And Zarqawi, his objectives have been much more aggressive. In the captured intelligence captured that happened between couriers between the two, there's been open letter and open disagreement about tactics. Zarqawi has wanted to press things harder more aggressively, get a higher body count and he's going after Arabs themselves, where bin Laden has been urging just attack western targets, don't go after the Arab street, because people on the street will react to that, which we saw in Jordan where thousands of people yesterday walked into the streets in protest.

WHITFIELD: Well then ,does that potentially lay the groundwork for this backfiring for Zarqawi when he's been able to maintain some support, even in his hometown of Jordan? But now then as you -- now that as you underscore, a number of Arabs being killed in all of this, might he be losing some of that support?

ROBINSON: I think he is, Fredricka. We're seeing Imams in the region preach against this type of Arab-on-Arab violence, and we're seeing their voices being heard. And we're seeing people now actively protesting in the streets. We're seeing Iraqis now who are in Ramadi, especially where this terrorist group came from, just west of Fallujah, also reacting to this. And I think we're seeing a potential tipping point.

WHITFIELD: To look more into the tactics used, apparently the explosives, the detonators hat were used in this attack purportedly have some deep roots in Yugoslavia, that perhaps they came from there. And that the detonators might come from grenades and that the explosives might be military explosives. Is this particularly sophisticated or is this the route that al Zarqawi's group has been using in prior attacks? Is there anything different here?

ROBSINON: Not really. The RDX, which is the explosive that was used as a military compound, a plastic explosive, and it's very stable. It's selected particularly for that stability. Having timers come from another location, I mean, the whole Middle East, especially in Iraq, is an armed camp with multiple types of timers and explosive devices from all over eastern Europe and from the Middle East. It's simply a place where they're going to be finding bombs for 50 years into the future. So there's nothing really unusual about that.

What's unusual is really the target selection of a wedding, because Jordan and Arab culture, as a tribal culture, is made by a family bond.

WHITFIELD: And husband and wife being used to help carry out the attack at a wedding.

ROBINSON: Remarkably heinous. And the queen of Jordan recently said, you know, this type of terrorism knows no gender, it knows now religion, it's simply horrific. And it's that one tenth of one percent of ideologically minded silophists (ph) who are bent on destroying Islam and hijacking it.

WHITFIELD: OK. Military analyst Ken Robinson, thanks so much. Always appreciate your insight.

ROBINSON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: The suicide bombers killed 57 people Wednesday, including a well-known American filmmaker. Syria gave him a hero's burial today. Moustapha Akkad and his daughter, who also died, had dual Syrian-American citizenship. They are two of the three Americans killed in the attacks. Akkad is best known in the U.S. for producing all eight of the Halloween horror movies. He also directed the film "The Message" about the history of Islam.

A former U.S. president and current senator are taking a firsthand look at the aftermath of the bombings. Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary and their daughter Chelsea interrupted their trip to Israel to travel to Amman. They toured one of the bombed hotels. The Clintons' agenda also includes a meeting with King Abdullah and his wife Queen Rainia.

A calm, cool Sunday morning in midtown Atlanta is interrupted by explosions, gunfire and sirens. It's not a terrorist attack, though, or a movive set, but something in between. Atlanta transit authorities, and other agencies hired a production company specializing in disaster scenes to help put the city's first responders through a drill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are known as the masters of disasters.

PETE MITCHELL, JPM PRODUCTIONS.COM: More realistic that you can get into your training, the better the traing will actually be.

The aspects as far as the disaster is just kind of what's happened in the real world and how the response may actually be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Peach tree place.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything becomes pretty much as we've seen. I've been a marra medic for over 25 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need help over here. Somebody help us!

MITCHELL: We've seen a lot of analysis. And looking at how different types of trauma to actually get the makeup to look the way we want it to look. So we feel that we're fooling the doctors, nurses, EMTs, firefighters, and that's kind of our applause about the whole thing. Also if they get a little queasy, that's like a stand up ovation.

CAPT. BYRON KENNEDY, ATLANTA FIRE DEPARTMENT: First responders can get a tremendous amount of information from this. It's actual, practical hands-on experience that it's irreplaceable, actually.

JOSELYN BUTLER BAKER, ATLANTA MARTA: It's part of our preparedness. It helps us ensure that we know we have the resources in place, and the capacity we need to respond quickly and as safely as possible should an incident like this occur.

KENNEDY: It went very well. This was a full-scale event. There were no major kinks that I noticed from my area at all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And be sure to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Twisters strike the midwest again. This time, Iowa takes the hit. Straight ahead, find out how residents are coping there.

And walk along with U.S. troops as they try to avoid a deadly enemy in Iraq. This CNN exclusive takes you to the front lines in a way that reveals the tense conditions U.S. soldiers face every day. You're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back to CNN LIVE SUNDAY.

In Iowa, they're picking up the pieces following a swirl of tornadoes. Twisters swept across counties north and west of Des Moines yesterday afternoon. Dozens of homes were destroyed and at least one person killed. Eric Hanson from CNN affiliate KCCI has reaction from the hard-hit town of Woodward.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIC HANSON, KCCI CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the hours before sunset, Woodward went from quiet small town to tornado victim.

DELLAS KEELING, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I saw all this debris swirling, and real quick tried to find a place to hide.

HANSON: The southeast corner of town they hit the deck.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I knew it was headed right at us. I knew it.

HANSON: Mike Ramsey was watching TV.

MIKE RAMSEY, TORNADO SURVIVOR: And I looked off to the southwest and could see it coming across that field. And that's when I told my wife, I said, OK this is it. We've got to go to the basement now.

HANSON: While cars were getting tossed and walls were getting crushed above the ground Mike and his family heard it pass overhead.

RAMSEY: Got huddled up in a corning, hang on to some pipes that were overhead. And rode it out.

HANSON: When he surfaced, he found trees snapped, buildings ripped apart, a nightmare scene playing right off his front deck.

RAMSEY: Well, it's destroyed pretty near the whole neighborhood. Right through here, all these houses are gone. My son lives right over across the street and you can see that house is no higher than ten feet high right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want everybody out of here!

HANSON: Within minutes rescue crews arrived, going door to door searching for some victims while trying to prevent more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gas leaks. If anybody's injured. If any of the power's still going.

HANSON: The realty building was destroyed. The Caseys got hit hard, too. So did dozens of homes. A corner of town turned upside down, debris everywhere and survival stories from everyone.

DOUG ZINNEL, TORNADO SURVIVOR: As it went over the house, they got pictures of it.

HANSON: Including Doug Zinnel, who thought he left the destruction behind.

ZINNEL: Well, we lived in Kinner, Louisiana just right south of the Lake Pontchartrain.

HANSON: Now just weeks after one disaster, another one. Second cleanup job that will start once the sun rises again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Woodward authorities believe everyone has been accounted for there. But they're bringing in search dogs just as a precaution.

He's famous because of his driving, now he's in trouble with the law because of something he did off the track. Straight ahead, find out what the future holds for one big name NASCAR driver.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A NASCAR champ gets in trouble for his driving off the race car. NASCAR.com reports Kurt Busch has been suspended for two races after being charged with reckless driving Friday night in Arizona. Police say Busch ran a stop sign. The Associated Press reports a field breath test revealed alcohol on Busch's breath. The AP says when the NASCAR champ was taken in for another breath test, the breathalizer failed to work. Busch was cited for reckless driving.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: This guy came to this county, insulted my deputies, called them wimps and everything else. And he was driving recklessly in this county. If he wants to drive reckless or speed, he ought to do it on the racetrack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Busch has reportedly apologized for the incident, but insists it was not alcohol related.

Shopping for a new phone perhaps? Our technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg may have your number. Here's this weekend's edition of Technophile.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESOPNDENT: All right. So who doesn't have a cell phone these days. It does seem that they're everywhere with all different kinds of features. And like the world needed some more cell phones, we've got some pretty cool ones here to talk about with Brian Cooley from CNet.com.

Brian, the first one we're going to talk about here, the name is kind of a buzz word these days, the Razr. I haven't seen this color before, though.

BRIAN COOLEY, CNET.COM: No. The pink Razr is the latest. In a phone like this that is basically a style decision, color matters. On another kind of phone it might not, but in this one it definitely does. You buy this to have a very sleek, stylish, chic product.

It's the same old Razr inside, aside from the color. That means, it's got great battery life. Good call quality. Good bluetooth support. But beyond that, it's just a very convenient, slim phone.

Very well made, though. It's got a strong, robust hinge. It may look frail, but it's actually a really good product. It's 400 bucks without activation. But you'll get it around half that with a good, hefty service contract.

SIEBERG: OK. Some substance with the style.

The next one from Sony Erickson has a lot of features combined that are almost hidden in a sense when you look at it.

COOLEY: Well, you see it here and you see a phone. You say, that's great, it's got a nice, big color screen, high resolution. But then you start turning it around and see the walkman logo on the side. Because this has a Sony Walkman branded MP3 player. They really worked hard to make it a good MP3 player. We found it actually is a good MP3 player. It's no iPod, but it's pretty good considering it's an all-in-one.

But here's where it gets really interesting. Turn it over one more time, open the lens and you've got really what appears to be a camera. It does feels camera-like and it's a megapixel 2 camera.

If you're just taking snapshots for e-mailing or web use, that may be all the camera you ever need, all in one device.

Again, this gadget here, depending on activation, it's 400 bucks, but then down from there with a good service contract.

SIEBERG: All right. The next one here, the Blackberry. Looks a lot different than say the typical Blackberry that we see so many people using.

COOLEY: Right. This one has a phone-like form factor. It's vertical. It holds in your hand like a phone. This moel is the 7100- t. And what this has is a much more personal device feel than the Blackberry which reminds you that you're working all the time.

So, it's got a very bright color screen. That's nice. It also has bluetooth support for a wireless headset, for example.

Interesting predictive keyboard. Every key stands for two or three characters and it predicts which one you want as you type it. It takes some getting used to. It absolutely does.

You can see, it definitely has a personal feel. And that is something that is unique for Blackberry. They have not done a phone in this market sector before. This guy can be had for as little as $199 with activation. That also helps to speak to the average user, not just the corporate fleet deployment.

SIEBERG: All right. Well, Brian Cooley from CNN.com, thanks for speaking with us.

COOLEY: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: An Iraqi woman says she was part of the plan to blow up a wedding reception in Jordan. Next, we'll find out who becomes a suicide bomber anyway and why.

Plus, an exclusive behind the scenes look at life and the every day obstacles for U.S. troops in Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back to CNN SUNDAY. Here's what's making news now.

People in central Iowa are cleaning up a big mess. That's after tornados rolled through the area yesterday. The twisters killed an 82- year-old woman, destroyed dozens of homes, toppled trees and downed power lines.

A senior Iraqi judicial official says day Saddam Hussein's trial will resume on schedule. That's despite the killings of two lawyers for the defense. Hundreds of lawyers reportedly have withdrawn from the defense team. They say there's inadequate protection for those assigned to the case.

Now back to the developing story. A televised confession stunning the world. This is the explosive belt Jordan's government says was to blow up during Wednesday's attack in Amman. And the woman wearing it is accused of planning to be the fourth suicide bomber. She confessed on Jordanian TV.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAIJIDA MUBARAK ATROUS AL-RISHAWI, CONFESSED BOMBER (Translator): My name is Saijida Mubarak Atrous. I was born in the Seven Seas, Iraqi national. On November 5th I accompanied my company to Jordan carrying a fake passport. (INAUDIBLE) We waited in a white car to pick us up. There was a driver and another man and we entered Jordan together. My husband organized everything. I don't know anything else. My husband wore an explosive belt and he put one on me. And he taught me how to use it. The targets were hotels in Jordan. We took a car and we went to November 9th to hotel. We went to the hotel. My husband took a corner and I took another one. There was a wedding in the hotel. There were women and children. My husband executed and detonated his belt. I tried to detonate mine, but I failed. People started running and I left running with them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Fifty-seven people were killed in the attacks last week. Dozens were wounded. Jordan says Al Qaeda in Iraq is behind the suicide attacks. And the country's king promises to bring the culprits to justice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING ABDULLAH, JORDAN: Obviously the tragedies that unfolded in Jordan have happened in many parts of the world, from Asia, to Russia, to all the Arab countries and to Europe and Americas. This is a phenomenon that brings us closer together. Because the only way that we'll be able to overcome these extremists is if we are united in one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Lets go inside the mind of a suicide bomber; my next guest says the attacks were part of a civil war within Islam. Joining me now by phone from Vienna is Joyce Davis; she is the author of "Martyrs, Innocence, Vengeance and Despair in the Middle East." And why Ms. Davis are you seeing this as a part of the civil war in Islam?

JOYCE DAVIS, MIDDLE EAST EXPERT (via phone): Because what you are now seeing is a tactic that was once used against the west, against allies of the United States. You're seeing that same tactic now turned on Muslims, on people who these Islamic militants are supposed to be trying to protect.

WHITFIELD: And so do you see that perhaps the profile of what had been the common or more expected suicide bomber to be changing as a result of the influence of this civil war within Islam?

DAVIS: Well that's a very good observation, because we are seeing tactics that one would say are much showing desperation. As the security forces are intensifying their abilities to stop the typical, so to speak, the male suicide bomber, we are seeing that they're trying more and more to bring women. And of course, what one fears, children. We've even had in recent times the use of a mother, the mother of two children. Small children who carried out a suicide attack. And again, these are not things that just pop up overnight. These are well-planned operations, and generally there have been practice runs.

WHITFIELD: Then in your view, does it seem as though this woman, if Al Qaeda was going to for the first time use a woman to carry out such a plan, that she really was the perfect candidate in part because of her brother's relationship to Zarqawi? Apparently he worked with him. Was Abu Musab Al Zarqawi's right-hand man? And so there is that relationship that she has with the group in an indirect way perhaps?

DAVIS: That's right. Clearly the people they have chosen are people who are trusted. Who have some connection? And they feel that they will carry out the operation. But the other thing that is generally required is proof that you have the will power, the discipline, and what they would call the commitment to, you know the precepts of Islam, this inner conviction to go forward with an operation. It's surprising to me to hear that her husband merely gave her a belt. I would have thought that she would have had to prove herself many times for this kind of operation.

WHITFIELD: In her statement she says, her husband organized everything and she doesn't know anything. Is that a believable statement? Might she be recruited or coerced or forced to be a part of this mission, but really not be open to all the details of how it is being executed, just given instructions on how to detonate her belt?

DAVIS: It is possible that she would simply have been told what to do. But she would have had to prove -- to have proven her inner strength, her commitment before this. This is what I find -- I tend to think she was part of an organization, and had many times been asked to carry out or to help in operations. And this time she was expected to carry out the ultimate operation, a suicide bombing.

WHITFIELD: So her dossal demeanor in this statement might intentionally be to kind of throw off her intent, that perhaps this is not the first time that, as you say, she has proven that she would be willing to carry out this plan, that there were other things that she probably had to do to win the trust of Zarqawi or his group?

DAVIS: Absolutely. And I would caution us against stereotypes with regard to women. As we know, women can be very fine soldiers, and women can be also ruthless. Women can be shrewd. So I would caution us, this is one of the things, don't look for the typical suicide bomber. A woman can be a suicide bomber.

WHITFIELD: So perhaps those who are studying whether it's Al Qaeda in Iraq or other terror groups, that there's a possibility that, as you look at friends or family members that are linked to these group leaders, they are more likely now perhaps to be used to carry out such attacks because as you were saying earlier, to perhaps throw off, I guess the more typical profile of a suicide bomber?

DAVIS: Well, I would certainly caution against assuming that everyone whose relative may have been involved in a terrorist attack or may have been a suicide bomber also will commit such an attack. But in my studies, I have found clearly that sometimes these kinds of operations are committed by family members. They are cells that exist. And again, there has to be an anger. Something that has really pushed someone to the edge of wanting to actually use their bodies as a weapon.

WHITFIELD: Joyce Davis, thank you so much for joining us from Vienna. Author of "Martyrs, Innocence, Vengeance and Despair in the Middle East."

Turning now to Iraq. Two U.S. marines and an American soldier have been killed in separate attacks. The two incidents happened yesterday. Meantime, U.s. and Iraqi forces have wrapped up their search for insurgents in the weeklong offensive called "Operation Steel Curtain" in western Iraq. But the job isn't over yet. Now they're going in search of an enemy that's proven even deadlier. CNN's Arwa Damon is embedded with forces in "Operation Steel Curtain" and has this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The IED!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right here. Around the corner.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It is the deadliest of insurgent weapons, the improvised explosive device.

LT. PAUL HAAGENSON, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Today's battlefield is one of almost finding an enemy who wasn't there.

DAMON: But one that has proven deadly, hidden in dust and grime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Half my score went through and then it went off.

DAMON: A marine is killed when he steps on a pressure plate IED, an Iraqi army soldier is wounded.

No matter how quiet this street may seem, it is more often than not a deceptive calm. A few moments ago, the harsh reality of the dangers that lie in wait as marines and Iraqi army soldiers push their way through the town.

(INAUDIBLE) They get up and get ready for another day. They discover in the very house that they spent the night in, more unexploded ordinates. The men tried carefully and thomberly, the memories fresh, but they keep going.

HAAGENSON: It's our fighting spirit as marines. If someone gives us a challenge, our instinct is to push back harder. That's the way the marines do it. We meet resistance head-on.

CPL. ANTHONY HILL, U.S. MARINE CORPS: It doesn't take much; two or three pounds can set these off. Just below the surface where you can't see them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say a significant amount of ordnance.

DAMON: A crude enemy that hides in the shadows and blends into the background. Once spotted, the marines employ high-tech solutions.

STAFF SGT. PETE KARR, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Great robot. Wide tracks, kind of like a tank. It's got an arm that articulates forward and back, wrist up and down. And it's got a little claw on it. Basically allows us to remotely view what we're dealing with.

DAMON: No one is entirely sure what that massive explosion just was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you need? What's up? Who's hit?

DAMON: Five marines are wounded.

It was a pressure plate IED originally intended for a vehicle running across the road. The explosive hidden in that hole.

CORPSMAN BRANDON ATTWOOD, U.S. MARINE CORPS: It is a little confusing; you never know where they're coming from. Basically it's kind of sneaky. I mean, just be walking down the street and, boom, people are hurt.

DAMON: Fighting a silent but deadly enemy. Fighting to find "it" before "it" finds them. Arwa Damon, CNN, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Straight ahead, amazing images from inside North Korea. You'll hear from one man who risked his life to show the world what life is like for those who live there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Taking a look at stories around the world. A drop in overnight violence in France is fueling hopes that the country's worst wave of turmoil in decades just might be ending. Rioting subsided on the 17th night of unrest. The European Union is offering France more than $50 million to help head off more clashes.

Authorities in New Delhi say they've captured the suspected mastermind behind last month's triple bombing. The suspect who is believed to be a member of the Pakistan-based militant group was captured in Kashmir. The attacks in two crowded markets and a bus killed 60 people and injured more than 200 others.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice continues her Middle Eastern swing. Rice spoke at a memorial in Jerusalem today honoring Israel's former Prime Minister. Her remarks focused on democracy. Rice admitted achieving democracy in the Middle East would be difficult, but said it's the only path to true stability and lasting peace.

Tonight "CNN Presents" gives us a rare, uncensored look at North Korea; undercover in the secret state reveals dramatic undercover video of life, punishment and poverty in the oppressive country. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Across from this hill in China is one of the border towns in North Korea. Loud speakers pump propaganda through the streets. Somewhere over there Mr. Lee, the undercover cameraman, has new pictures to smuggle out. When he finally arrives, Mr. Lee brings his new footage to a secret location.

MR. LEE, (Translator): It's been an incredibly tense time. How can I say this? There would have been no way if my work was discovered. They would have put me out of existence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is uncensored North Korea, in its bleak, unadulterated form.

LEE, (Translator): Video camera is the most serious form of treason in North Korea. My wife came with me on the journey, and she kept telling me not to do it. She said just get on with our lives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's captured people outside the station. Huddled in the streets, waiting for a train to arrive. Fuel shortages mean the trains don't often run.

LEE, (Translator): I was petrified. The punishment they inflict in North Korea is extremely severe. The system is such that they will punish the man; his family and relatives are also punished. I placed my camera inside a bag and made a hole on the side to secretly film. But the thing is, light was being reflected on the camera lens, so I had to be very, very careful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: "CNN Presents: Undercover in the Secret State" airs tonight at 8:00 Eastern. At 6:00 Eastern right here on CNN we'll talk to the director and producer of this eye opening film.

What's a secret to healthier higher performing elementary school students? Next, find out how one principal is getting results from what she's serving and what she isn't serving in the cafeteria.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Kids and sugar can be a bad mix. Every parent knows that. But teachers know it as well. CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen tells us about an Atlantic area elementary school that's trying to subtract sugar from its equation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Inside this red brick schoolhouse is a sugar-free zone. When the principal Yvonne Sanders-Butler arrived at Browns Mill Elementary School eight years ago, she said she noticed a direct link between diet and academic performance.

YVONNE SANDERS-BUTLER, PRINCIPAL: What are we having today? I saw kids very overweight. I saw large percentage of kids coming to the clinic for headaches, and stomachaches, even before we started class. And I would look at what they would eat in the morning. Or what they would not eat.

COHEN: Butler could relate. Her nickname was once sugar woman. She remembers feeling high after first tasting chocolate milk at school in rural Mississippi. Her sharecropper parents served food they grew, but her mother was also known for baking sugary treats. As an adult, Butler packed on the pounds. At age 39 she was obese and in trouble, dangerously high blood pressure, joint pain from the weight. She almost suffered a stroke. So after 20 years of yo-yo dieting, Butler joined overeaters anonymous and started to take control.

BUTLER: It's a lifestyle change. There is no magic bullet. There is common sense.

COHEN: A lesson she brought to Browns Mill.

BUTLER: We took out everything that was obviously sugar. We took out chocolate milk. We took out sugary desserts. We took out ice cream, all of those things that kids just like to gorge on. Children were more on task, more attentive in class, during class time. The other thing that we saw our test scores increased by 10 percent.

COHEN: Children at Browns Mill now start their day with stretching.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Relax. Stand up tall.

COHEN: Lots of exercise. And lunches with whole wheat breads, fruits and vegetables. Butler has a new book filled with recipes. A guide for families in the fast lane. Last spring Browns Mill Elementary did not pass a USDA check for calcium levels. Now Butler has made the grade by adding vanilla and strawberry flavored milk and animal crackers to the menu. The Georgia Department of Education says the best approach to combating obesity in elementary school is a greater emphasis on nutrition education for students and parents. Yvonne Sanders-Butler says she knows some may see her approach as radical but she's out to change the world one child at a time.

BUTLER: We all have sort of like a treadmill life. So we're just trying to maximize the moment. I know that we can do that and still be healthy.

COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Ahead in the next hour of CNN LIVE SUNDAY, the news coming out of Amman, Jordan that one of the would-be suicide bombers is a woman. At the top of the hour we will look at why women are being recruited as suicide bombers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shopping, as you know it is about to get a makeover.

ED GRIBBIN, PRESIDENT, INTELLIFIT: We're able to help more shoppers reduce the frustration of going into a fitting room and determining what can fit them best.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Intellifit system uses radio waves 1,000 times less powerful then a cell to scan a person's body.

GRIBBIN: In ten seconds it takes the Intellifit wand to go around we're actually collecting 200,000 data points. Those data points create a holographic image. We take measurements from the holographic images and then describe the image for privacy reasons.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Free of charge the shopper can then learn his or her size and which brands will fit the best.

GRIBBIN: As any shopper will tell you, there is no such thing as universal size 8 or a size 10. But we found that brands and retailers are interested in paying to have their products well represented to their shoppers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But fitting rooms may not completely become a thing of the past.

ANDY RASKIN: There's still going to be people who prefer a tighter fit, or people who prefer a looser fit, no matter what their body dimensions are.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: She tried to be a suicide bomber along with her husband. So why didn't an Iraqi woman die in the Jordan attacks and why is she confessing? We will go live to Amman's for the latest.

More tornados hit the nations heartland. We will take you there.

And the quest for what some call the perfect baby. When do medical breakthroughs cross the ethical line?

Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All that and more after this check of the headlines.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com