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Attack on U.S. Embassy in Syria; Inside the Madrassa; Iraqi Prime Minister Meets Iranian President

Aired September 12, 2006 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: 11:00 a.m. in the East, 8:00 a.m. in the West.
Spend a second hour with us in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And good morning, everyone.

I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.

A progress report from the front lines five years after 9/11. We are live from Afghanistan.

HARRIS: Warming trend. The U.S.-backed Iraqi leader in Tehran today. A neighborly embrace with Iran's president. We're live from Baghdad.

COLLINS: And brighten up. What makes some people so dang smart, like Tony Harris? Fascinating answers from our Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

You are in the NEWSROOM.

A bold attack in Damascus. Gunmen try to storm the U.S. Embassy in Syria today but Syrian forces stopped them. Three of the gunmen were killed, a fourth wounded.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says all American Embassy staff are now safe. She says it's just too soon to know who is responsible for the attack, but Syrian officials suspect an al Qaeda- linked group.

With more on this, CNN's Anthony Mills joining us now from Beirut, Lebanon.

Anthony, get us up to speed here. What do you know?

ANTHONY MILLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, this attack is the latest in a series of conflicts of -- between the Syrian security forces, clashes between the Syrian security forces and a fundamentalist group in Syria over the last year and a half or so. Just back in June, a few months ago, Syria said it foiled an attack in the vicinity of its information ministry, its state-run television. A number of people were killed there as well.

It's a fundamentalist group. Its name is Jund al-Sham, which means Soldiers of the Levant, and it's operating in Syria, we understand. And the Syrian security services appear to be having a tough time actually snuffing it out. So it erupts. This violence has been periodically erupting over the last year and a half.

Today's attack really was the most brazen one, though, targeting the U.S. Embassy in daylight with this attack right in the heart of Damascus.

COLLINS: Anthony, I just want to repeat that there has been no claim of responsibility. Condoleezza Rice saying that certainly they will have to do quite a bit more investigation, forensic evidence must be looked at. But has this group ever done anything like this before?

MILLS: Well, Heidi, this particular group, Jund al-Sham, Soldiers of the Levant, was reportedly established in Afghanistan by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, of course the terrorist leader recently killed in Iraq. And it wants to set up a broad Islamic caliphate that includes not just Syria, but also Lebanon and Jordan. And these clashes with the Syrian regime, which it does not acknowledge, does not accept, appear to be something of an attempt to implement that wish -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Anthony Mills, our man with all of the Syrian expertise. We will continue to come to you for more if we do get it.

Anthony Mills, thank you.

HARRIS: Well, President Bush is clear on this. He calls Iraq the front lines in the war on terror. But the first battleground after 9/11 was Afghanistan. And today, there is evidence that the deposed enemy, the Taliban, are making a comeback and fighting safety across the border in Pakistan.

Just over an hour ago, Pakistan's president angrily rejected any suggestion his country is turning a blind eye to a Taliban resurgence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTANI PRESIDENT: The center of gravity of terrorism has shifted from al Qaeda to Taliban. This is a new element which has emerged. A more dangerous element because it has roots in the people. Al Qaeda did not have roots in the people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Religious students in Musharraf's Pakistan cracking the books, but are they learning a lesson of hate?

CNN's Nic Robertson visits a madrassa in Pakistan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's late, 10:00 at night. We're uncertain about what we're witnessing. Are these devoted and peace-loving students of Islam? Or is it a school where students gravitate to terrorism? We are in Lahore, Pakistan. Dozens of children, some only five, are painstakingly memorizing every word of the Koran, every word. It can take years.

(on camera): These children begin their studies at about 6:00 o'clock in the morning. They get a break for breakfast around 8:00 a.m. Then they go back to their books. They get a break for lunch, then studying again all afternoon. A long break in the early evening, and then back to their books again.

(voice-over): But is this about love, love of Islam or hate, hate for the U.S. and the West?

(on camera): Extremists could try to recruit young men from here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): My students never do bomb blasts.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): School like this are called madrassas. There are 15,000 in Pakistan.

This man, Mullah Abdul Rashid Ghazi, runs some of the largest anywhere. He says he met Osama bin Laden and describes himself as being ideologically close to the world's most wanted terrorist. In fact, he says jihad, war with oneself and one's enemies, a holy war, is part of the Koran, so he must teach it.

ABDUL RASHID GHAZI, PAKISTANI MULLAH: We have been asked by the government many times that you should stop teaching the jihad. So we tell them that we can't stop it because we cannot make any amendment in Islam. ROBERTSON: In the 1980s the madrassas launched graduates of holy war against the Soviets in Afghanistan. In the 1990s madrassas produced leaders and soldiers for the Taliban. And since 9/11, they have incubated a growing hatred for the West, declaring the war on terror a campaign against all Muslims.

GHAZI: If you talk about Afghanistan, yes, we say that American army can be attacked in Afghanistan and in Iraq, American army, because they are aggressive.

ROBERTSON: This young man took four years to memorize the Koran. For him, it was especially difficult. He doesn't understand a word of it because he doesn't speak Arabic, but he does understand the promised rewards.

JABER ISMAIL, AMERICAN MADRASSA STUDENT: If a person that memorizes the Koran, you know, he can take six people to heaven like this.

ROBERTSON: Jaber Ismail is American. Five years ago, two months after 9/11, he and his parents moved here from California to get a religious education. And now, he may never get to go back to U.S. Twice he has tried to go home, but he says the U.S. is keeping him out, and says U.S. officials suspect he has been in a terrorist training camp here. His cousin has already been convicted by a U.S. court.

ISMAIL: I don't think they believe me, you know.

ROBERTSON: Why not?

ISMAIL: Because they said I have to do a lie detector test and I was thinking like, you know, I was born in the United States. Why do I have to take a lie detector test to enter my own country.

ROBERTSON (on camera): As we're leaving his village, I must admit to being a little bit confused. Is it as simple as Jaber Ismail says, that he came here to study the Koran, didn't get tempted into terror training? It is very, very hard to discern fact from fiction.

(voice-over): After all, last summer the investigations of the London subway and bus bombings found some of to bombers had visited Pakistan shortly before the attack. Pakistan and the madrassas were implicated. And Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf tried to crack down on the madrassas, but many defied him.

GHAZI: We are against Musharraf. I mean, we say that he is a dictator. He is an agent. He's an agent of the United States.

ROBERTSON: And yet, despite growing Western suspicions that madrassas turn young innocence into easy converts for terrorism, madrassas have never been more popular. Mullah Ghazi says anger at the U.S. and the West is great for his schools.

GHAZI: Forty percent increase in the number of students and the number of people who are donating.

ROBERTSON: That is why we are not sure what we saw in the class this day. Devoted and focused students who love the Koran and Islam or if the day's lessons focus on the jihad chapter. Were we seeing the groundwork of recruitment for the next generation of holy warriors angry at the U.S.?

Nic Robertson, CNN, Lahore, Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And you can see more of Nic Robertson's reports from Afghanistan on "ANDERSON COOPER 360."

Watch a special edition of "AC 360" tonight at 10:00 Eastern, only on CNN, your most trusted name in news.

COLLINS: Hands across the border. Iraq's prime minister pays his first visit to neighboring Iran and gets a warm welcome from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

CNN's Cal Perry joining us now from Baghdad with more on this.

Cal, why are we seeing this seemingly friendly and warm encounter now? CAL PERRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, for two reasons, really, Heidi. I mean, in part, this is a bit of a homecoming for the prime minister. He spent years in Iran when the Saddam Hussein regime was here running Iraq. He was in exile, founding the Dawa Party, which is a very powerful political party here in Iraq. It held the seats in the last two prime ministerships in the past two elections.

Also, Iraq is really trying to stay out of any Iran-U.S. dispute. We heard this from a government spokesman before the meeting who said that Iraq really finds itself in the middle of this dispute and it doesn't want to be in the middle. They don't want to be in a position where they're passing diplomatic messages between the two countries, and they certainly don't want to be in a position with 130,000 U.S. troops here to be involved in any kind of military action between the two countries.

So, really, the message on this visit, try not to make the situation in Iraq any worse than it already is -- Heidi.

COLLINS: That is pretty fascinating, especially as we get a look, a still shot of them actually shaking hands, you know, just inches from each other.

What does Iraq have to gain, though, from a relationship with Iran?

PERRY: Well, the Iranians have incredible influence here in Iraq. They control Shia militias across the country, especially in the south. This is a big issue here in Iraq, the militias.

The U.S. military has had a very wavering policy on these militias. The Iraqi government has not committed to disarming the militias. It's something we're starting to see now. But if Iraqis -- if Iraqis and Iraqi politicians especially can bring on board Iranian politicians to shut down these militias, get them -- get them to disarm, and in cases shut down some of these death squads that we hear so much about, that would greatly improve the security situation here on the ground.

COLLINS: Talk to us quickly a little bit about the history between these two countries in years gone by.

PERRY: Well, between 1980 and 1988, of course, there was an incredibly bloody war. Nearly 100 people were killed in that war between Iran and Iraq, and that still is something that runs high here on the streets of Iraq.

People still have not forgotten that. So this is, if nothing else, a very symbolic visit. As you said, the handshake, hands across the border. It really is that, if nothing else -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. It is certainly interesting video to watch. That's for sure.

Cal Perry, thanks for your insight.

U.S. Marines getting ready to do battle in the war on terror.

Straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, we head to the California desert for special training.

CNN, the most trusted name in news.

HARRIS: And a lot of genius. Yes. Yes.

Most of us had heard it before, kind of as a -- as a punch line. I get that all the time, Heidi. But we're talking serious smarts here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're seeing the brain activity over the course of one single second. So in that second all these different things are happening in the brain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Find out what makes smart people so smart.

That story ahead in the NEWSROOM.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: As American troops fight on the front lines, President Bush vows to push ahead in the war on terror. After paying tribute to the victims of the September 11th terror attacks, the president spoke to the nation in primetime last night. He characterized the war on terror as a struggle for civilization.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We face an enemy determined to bring death and suffering into our homes. America did not ask for this war. And every American wishes it were over. So do I. But the war's not over, and it will not be over until either we or the extremists emerge victorious.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Under fire overseas. U.S. troops at war. Not Iraq, but along the Afghan-Pakistan border.

CNN's Anderson Cooper is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To get to ground zero in Afghanistan's war on terror, you fly east out of Kabul, over parts of the country the government here is still struggling to control. (on camera): We're in a U.S. military helicopter, heading toward a forward operating base in eastern Afghanistan, along the Pakistan border. We have to fly very low to the ground. The higher you are in the air, the more at risk you are for getting hit by rocket-propelled grenades.

The base that we're heading to has already come under pretty intensive attacks, incoming rocket fire and mortar fire. But now that Pakistan has signed a deal with Taliban militants on the Pakistan side of the border. U.S. intelligence sources are concerned that those attacks are only going to increase.

(voice-over): When we get to the base, soldiers from Bravo Company, 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain, are firing at enemy positions several miles away. Daily, these soldiers head out on patrol in armored Humvees in full battle mode.

1ST LIEUTENANT RICHARD PARNELL, U.S. ARMY: There's a lot of bad guys in this area, suicide bombers. You have got guys that will set in, in ambushes behind the ridgeline towards Pakistan. You have got rocket attacks, mortar attacks. The 3rd Platoon, in particular, has been through it all.

COOPER: First Lieutenant Richard Parnell joined the Army because of 9/11. He says the enemy he and his men are fighting now is very diverse.

PARNELL: You have got international terrorists, who are your al Qaeda, a very household name. You have got the Taliban. And you have just got general -- general criminals in and around the area that are trying to capitalize on the fledgling government here in Afghanistan.

COOPER: Today, they set up a checkpoint with soldiers from the Afghan national army, a joint operation to intercept weapons being smuggled in from Pakistan.

(on camera): And right over here, they're interviewing a truck driver who they have just pulled over, asking him about if -- you know, what he's carrying, if he's seen anything along the road. This truck driver had a truck filled with timber, pretty innocuous, but soldiers say they often find weapons hidden underneath the timber. So, they are searching all the vehicles.

(voice-over): It is a routine patrol, along with building schools and roads, the kind of thing they do every day. Many of the soldiers, however, feel their sacrifices aren't being noticed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're still out here. We're still doing what we came here in 2001 to actually do.

I went home on leave. I went home on my R&R. And people are asking me, oh, you know, "How's Iraq?" And after a while, I just got sick of correcting them. I was like, "No, I'm in Afghanistan." And people just -- again, like I said, people don't realize that -- how Afghanistan is still going on. COOPER: It is definitely still going on. Back at base, the soldiers gather for a moment of silence to remember 9/11. We're broadcasting live, but things don't quite work out.

(on camera): We're actually now just getting some fire. Some rockets have been fired.

(voice-over): In all, six rounds are fired at the base. No one, however, is injured. The soldiers seek cover in underground bunkers and return fire with their Howitzers. When the guns finally fall silent, in the dwindling light of day, the men once again come together, determined to remember 9/11, the lives lost, the war still being waged.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all have families. And we're all out here for a reason. We're not just here because some guys are shooting at us. We're here because those are the perpetrators of the tragedy on September 11.

COOPER: It was a simple ceremony. It is a complex mission. Five years after 9/11, the war in Afghanistan shows no sign of letting up.

Anderson Cooper, CNN, along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And tonight at 10:00, live from Afghanistan, Anderson Cooper is on patrol with the U.S. Army on the front lines of the war on terror. An "AC 360" special report live from Afghanistan tonight at 10:00 Eastern. See it only on CNN.

COLLINS: The pentagon launched Operation Enduring Freedom just days after 9/11. Target, the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Over the years, the mission has often languished in the shadow of Iraq. There are about 20,000 U.S. forces, though, fighting the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan. NATO has about the same number of troops on duty in the country.

HARRIS: The U.S. military swept into Afghanistan just weeks after the 9/11 terror attacks. The operation was called Enduring Freedom.

Fast forward now. More than 320 U.S. troops have been killed, just over 900 wounded. Of that number -- this is amazing -- 342 returned to duty within 72 hours, 559 had not returned to duty within that time frame.

COLLINS: A lot of change in Afghanistan since American forces invaded that country. Among the developments since then, Afghanistan has a democratically elected government, including its president, Hamid Karzai. But Afghanistan is still among the world's poorest countries, and the economy remains a huge concern.

There has been a resurgence of the poppy cultivation in an estimated $3 billion a year illegal drug trade. But one sign of economic progress and new jobs, President Karzai cut the ribbon Sunday to, yes, hey, Atlanta. Opened a $25 million Coca-Cola bottling plant in Kabul. Certainly going to be a lot of jobs there.

HARRIS: And still to come, a brilliant mind. We're talking about genius level here. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is trying to find out how super smart people get that way. He shows us in the NEWSROOM.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: This news and these pictures just coming in to us. Near Dallas, our affiliate there, WFAA -- it's Kaufman, Texas, to be specific. Some flames at a restaurant. Firefighters working pretty hard to handle those flames, as you can see. Quite a few crewmembers on site.

HARRIS: Yes. This is, Heidi, The Feed Store restaurant, Kaufman, Texas, about 30 miles southeast of Dallas, as you were mentioning. No word on what caused the fire right now. But as you can see, and we saw just a moment ago, it was pretty intense.

COLLINS: Yes.

HARRIS: Firefighters doing what looks to be a pretty good job right now of bringing this thing under control. The issue for them, obviously -- you can see another building right next to it -- is to keep that fire where it is and not allow it to jump to the adjoining structures there. So that is the real intense work that is going on right now to keep that fire under control and to keep those flames from jumping to the next building.

COLLINS: Right. We'll keep an eye on it for you. No injuries to be reported at this time. We'll watch it.

COLLINS: I hesitate to say this. Well, Tony, are you feeling smart?

HARRIS: I'm feeling -- feeling pretty smart, feeling strong today. Thank you, Heidi, for asking. I appreciate that.

COLLINS: Are you using your extreme brain power, though?

HARRIS: Huh?

COLLINS: Extreme brain power.

HARRIS: I'm not quite sure what you mean by that. But I do know a couple things here.

COLLINS: I'm so glad none of this is scripted.

HARRIS: Scientists are probably a lot smarter than we are, and they're trying to figure out what makes really smart people really smart. Our senior medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, went to find out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just looking at a human brain, you can't tell if it belongs to a genius or a fool. You can't even tell if it's from a man or a woman. But now imagine actually seeing the birth of an idea, with high- tech imaging.

That's what they do at the Mental Illness and Neuro Discovery or MIND Institute in New Mexico. It's a world-renowned center for brain research.

This image was taken through a process call magnetoencephalography. You sounds smart just saying that. It shows electrical activity millisecond by millisecond.

REX JUNG, MIND INST.: You're seeing the brain activity over a course of one single second. So in that second, all these different things are happening in the brain.

GUPTA: First light up, the brain region handling sight, as the test subject looks at something. Next, the motor cortex, muscle control as the subject points a finger in response.

JUNG: And then up in this part of the brain, this is the frontal part of the brain, the frontal cortex -- prefrontal cortex, in which a lot of the action happens involved wit decision-making, problem solving, integration of ideas, narrowing the focus down to the specific right answer.

GUPTA: They say the higher the intelligence, the faster this pathway lights up. Based on other kinds of imaging, Dr. Rex Jung and his colleague Richard Haier say the brains of smart people are different from average brains.

Here's one surprise, the higher the I.Q., the less brain activity, as signified by the cool green color. The smart brain is more efficient.

DR. RICHARD HAIER, UC CALIF-IRVINE: It might be that more intelligent people have more tissue in certain areas to process information and, therefore, the tissue overall doesn't have to work as hard.

GUPTA: Jung and Haier continue to refine their work. Some day, they say, brain scans might replace an I.Q. test, or even the SAT for college. But right now, the secret of genius remains tantalizingly out of reach.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: All that in Albuquerque. I did not know that mind institute was there.

HARRIS: Yes, and I didn't even pay attention to the piece because I knew it all.

COLLINS: Duh.

Well, if you're smart, you'll catch Dr. Sanjay Gupta's full report. You can tune into "Genius: Quest for Extreme Brain Power."

HARRIS: And that is Sunday night, 10:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

Getting back in the game. Still to come in just a moment, for one high school athlete it took a surgeon's skills.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it actually looks like a thumb, other than the nail. It doesn't go down as far. But I was actually kind of surprised. It doesn't look like a toe on a hand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Wow.

HARRIS: But Heidi, that's what it is. It's a toe on a hand. You've got to see the story. It's up next in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: U.S. Marines getting ready to do battle in the war on terror. Straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, we head to the California desert for special training.

CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And again, we just want to keep you posted on the activity that's going on right now as firefighters in Kaufman, Texas try to gain control of this fire. And as you can see, the flames are really fighting back here. No injuries to report. This is a fire at the Feed Store Restaurant. Again, this is in Kaufman, Texas, about 30 miles southeast of Dallas. No word on what caused the fire right now. But it looks like it's gas-fueled at this point. Firefighters on the roof, firefighters with hoses on ladders, trying to get control of this before, Heidi, flames jump to adjoining buildings. We'll get a wider shot, and you'll see there are buildings right next door to this restaurant.

So the angle of attack, as you can see now, is to try to get the flames under control before those flames jump to the adjoining buildings there. We'll keep an eye on this and update the story for you.

In the California desert, U.S. Marines ready to pack up and ship out to the front lines in the car on terror, but not before special training. CNN's Peter Viles is with us in the newsroom from 29 Palms in California.

Peter, good to see you. What can you tell us about this special training?

PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Tony.

First things first, 29 Palms, home of the Marine Corps' Air Ground Combat Center, which is a crucial training center for the Marines. The vast majority of Marines who go to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan will come through this training facility. And they're getting training that is really up to date.

Let me give you an example. This contraption behind me is something the Marines just built this summer. They realized they needed to train marines in how to get out of a humvee that had tipped over or rolled over, because that is happening so many times in Iraq, due partly to roadside bombs and partly to accidents in rough terrain.

But the Marines decided they needed to train specifically for this skill. They've always trained in getting out of a helicopter that's submerged in the water, but they've just started training in this.

And the man who trains them is kind enough to join us. This is Master Sergeant Nicholas Formosa.

Master Sergeant, tell us, first of all, we see this thing spinning around, and later it will have marines inside there. Why is this kind of training necessary?

MASTER SGT. NICHOLAS FORMOSA, U.S. MARINES: Well, because of the implementation of the heat trainer, the incidents that were taking place in country, rollovers and IED attacks, which cause rollovers, the commandant, General Michael Hagee, has instructed us to train Marines in how to egress the vehicle once it's rolled. Our job here is to train them in a simulated manner to that rollover.

VILES: And I take it back, there are Marines strapped into this Humvee. Now I most people watching at home are going to think, how difficult could it be to get out of a vehicle that's upside down. Well, they're not carrying a rifle, they're not wearing the 40 to 50 pounds of gear, and they are not being shot at and they haven't just been through an explosion.

So explain to me the challenge that Marines are facing in Iraq when they're in these rolled-over Humvees and their lives are on the line.

FORMOSA: Well, you have to understand that once the vehicle rolls over, Marines inside are disoriented. We train them how to egress this vehicle if one or two, or even three of the Marines inside are injured. Also, unlike the accidental rollover, we have to be concerned about, we train as we fight, so it would be like an IED attack with complex firearms.

VILES: And as we're speaking now, these Marines are now on the roof of this Humvee and trying to climb out and trying to keep track of each other.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out!

VILES: I just heard one of the instructors say, "get out." And we saw this drill a number of times yesterday, folks. It gets up to about 100, 110 degrees here in the desert, and much hotter inside that Humvee.

As you can see, I've got one, two Marines coming out on this side. Maybe that back door is jammed, which is the kind of thing that can happen in the field. There's three Marines and now four.

HARRIS: Hey, Peter, can you hear me? It's Tony Harris in Atlanta.

VILES: Yes, I can, Tony.

HARRIS: Hey, Peter, just a quick question. How quickly, if this exercise is being carried out properly and to specs, how quickly should those Marines be able to get out of that humvee?

VILES: Well, in a situation like this, they can get out pretty quickly. That was maybe 20 or 30 seconds at the most after it stopped spinning.

But yesterday we some saw drills where one of the Marines in there has a serious injury, is blinded, and that Marine can't climb out by himself. The other Marines have to realize this. You're in an environment where you can't always hear each other speak, so the different drills they do are not this simple, of all four guys just piling out. Sometimes they have to carry two guys out. But we talked to some Marines that went through this yesterday, said it was very valuable.

And the key here is if this happens in the field in Iraq, they're been through it before.

Let me just give the final word to the master sergeant here.

That was a pretty good drill.

FORMOSA: Yes, it was. That's the basic drill that they go through when they start. Like I said, we go through a number of scenarios. Everywhere we're at 180 degrees right now, and we go through nine simulations, all the way the whole way up to three personnel injured. And we also do it at 90 degrees all the way up to three personnel injured.

You have to remember that when this vehicle gets hit by an IED blast, the Marines are more likely to be deaf and also temporarily blind from the smoke.

VILES: You tell me they had hand signals so they can signal to each other when they can't hear each other.

FORMOSA: That's correct. We need to do an availability count inside in the event that this is a complex attack. And if the security vehicles don't come up fast enough and the vehicles on fire, these men need to egress and need to know who is a valuable asset in egressing that piece of equipment in order to sustain the fight against the enemy.

VILES: Master Sergeant Nicholas Formosa, thank you for your time.

Tony, back to you.

Just one key point, 29 Palms, the vast majority of Marines who go overseas for this country come through this training facility -- Tony.

HARRIS: That's very good, Peter. Appreciate it. Thank you.

COLLINS: I want to give you the bottom line now on the front lines.

Here is a breakdown of the American military in Iraq. The number of U.S. troops in Iraq has climbed back to about 138,000. U.S. Marines make up about 22,000 of that number.

HARRIS: The battle for Baghdad, the initial U.S. invasion wasn't as bloody as feared, but the ongoing fight to keep control of the Iraqi capital has been far more difficult than expected. It's being fought on many fronts.

To explain, here's CNN's Michael Holmes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hamid (ph) is treated for a burn to his arm, a burn that's been untreated until now. Outside this makeshift clinic, for the first time in several months, locals in the usually violent Baghdad suburb of Gazalia line up for medical treatment, courtesy of the Iraqi and U.S. military. Until a couple of weeks ago, such a gathering in this Sunni neighborhood would likely have attracted death squads bent on killing these people and the troops who stand guard this day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's better now. Before we couldn't sleep, we were scared of the death squads that attacked us.

DR. HUY LUU, U.S. ARMY: The issue is having to feel safe to be able to travel that short distance to go to the clinic.

HOLMES: It's all part of the security crackdown known as the "Battle for Baghdad," a massive influx of troops here in recent weeks driving out death squads and uncovering arms caches like this one.

LT. COL. VANN SMILEY, U.S. ARMY: We found a variety of different weapons, ammunition, explosive devices and different tools and things used to inflict injury on both coalition forces and Iraqi security forces.

HOLMES: For now, the operation is about maintaining a presence and building trust. What officers call protect and hold.

(on camera): It's also very much about winning hearts and minds. Convincing locals like these people that it's in their own interest to reclaim their cities and resist the return of insurgents.

(voice-over): The soldiers who brought us here are friendly but wary. Incidents of violence here are down 50 percent, but far from over. The day before, a kidnapping and a bomb went off. Twenty-four hours after we came here with this unit of the 123 Stryker Brigade, a massive bomb hit one of their vehicles on the very road we drove along. Two soldiers were killed, others hurt.

Soon, U.S. troops will pull back, Iraqi troops will patrol. But much of the peacekeeping will be in the hands of Iraqi police and that is problematic. In this staunchly Sunni area, the predominately Shia police are feared and hated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's the police who kill us. We don't trust them.

HOLMES: Gazalia locals still live in fear and filth. Garbage- strewn streets, most shops still shattered. Here we patrol through a pool of raw sewage.

But it's the return of those death squads they fear most of all. Bringing some measure of quiet to these streets is one thing, keeping it is another.

(on camera): Do you think it will stay this way, quieter?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope so. I don't think, but I hope so.

HOLMES (voice over): Michael Holmes, with the U.S. Army, Gazalia, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: And a look now at the latest casualty numbers for American troops in Iraq. The death toll is now at more than 2,600. Nearly 20,000 have been wounded in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Of that number, almost 11,000 were back on duty within 72 hours. Amazing. More than 9,000 did not return to duty within that time frame.

You know, the truth of the matter is that the violence usually grabs headlines. But there are some things -- other things worth noting. The Bush administration issued this three-year progress report, citing that Iraq has a democratically-elected government and a new constitution. The White House says the country's economy is growing, but it's estimated that 40 percent to 60 percent of Iraqis are still without jobs. Other positive developments cited by the White House, the country's education system is being reformed. And the administration says Iraq's public health system is improving.

COLLINS: Now, remembering some of those who have fallen on the front lines. Sergeant Raphael Peralta's last act saved lives. CNN's Brianna Keilar talks with his family. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICARDO PERALTA, SGT. PERALTA'S BROTHER: If anything happens to me, just remember that I already lived my life to the fullest and happy with what I lived.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sergeant Raphael Peralta's final words to his family came in letters to his brother Ricardo and sister Karen.

PERALTA: We're going to declare war in the holy city of Fallujah.

KEILAR: The eldest of four children, Raphael died in Fallujah in November of 2004.

KAREN PERALTA, SGT. PERALTA'S SISTER: In the morning, we knew that he passed away. And in the afternoon, we received that letter.

KEILAR: Rosa Peralta says her son, who was born in Mexico, always wanted to be a Marine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right after he got his green card, he went and he enlisted in the Marine Corps.

KEILAR: He became a U.S. citizen while in the corps.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He should be proud of being in an American citizen.

KEILAR: Seladonald (ph) says her brother was very generous.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He will give everything to his friends.

KEILAR: And in the end, he gave them the ultimate gift. Insurgents shot Peralta as he and other Marines raided a house in Fallujah. Corporal T.J. Kaemmerer saw what happened next.

LANCE CPL. T.J. KAEMMERER, COMBAT CORRESPONDENT: One of the insurgents threw a grenade into the room where Sergeant Peralta was lying. And that's when he pulled it under himself and saved pretty much everyone in the room. Myself and the other Marines in the House all owe him our lives.

KEILAR: Raphael Perralta has been recommended for the congressional medal of honor, the military's highest award. But for his family, he is best remembered in his own words.

PERALTA: Don't be sad. Nor feel alone. Just thanking God. And that everything will be all right, and that one day we will be together again.

KEILAR: Brianna Keilar, CNN, San Diego, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COLLINS: We rarely get to tell those stories, but they keep coming in and coming in, the bravery and the things that these soldiers are doing to save their fellow soldiers.

HARRIS: That breaks your heart, doesn't it?

COLLINS: It does break your heart, indeed.

COLLINS: We just need to switch gears a little bit, though. We have Chad Myers in the Hurricane Headquarters to tell us about that -- we still talking tropical trifecta?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you've heard of Manny, Mo and Jack? Well, we got Florence, Gordon, and Eight. And Eight will turn into Helene. Forecast for that storm, coming right up after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Time for your "Daily Dose" of health news. Were you about to say something?

COLLINS: No, no, I love this story.

HARRIS: Well, he says he can't -- the subject of the story says he can't wait to get back on the football field. And because of an amazing transplant operation, doctors say, next season, Heidi, he will.

COLLINS: That is not his thumb. It's his toe.

HARRIS: No, it's his thumb.

COLLINS: Put on his thumb. So it's a little bit graphic, but check it out. Fourteen-year-old Zack Buono is recovering from a toe- to-thumb transplant. Toe taken off, put on his hand. Zack lost his thumb -- you look confused -- and first two fingers in a fireworks accident several months ago. Very scary. But now he says it's all about getting back to normal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZACH BUONO, TRANSPLANT RECIPIENT: I don't have much sensation in it. It just feels like nothing's really there. I just want to be able to -- be able to use it so I can do everything else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Two toes up. Oh, that's...

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: Which toe was it?

COLLINS: My understanding it was the big toe put on. But the big toe looked intact, didn't it? HARRIS: It did.

COLLINS: We're going to investigate this.

Meanwhile, though, to get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, check this out, our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness. The address is CNN.com/health.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And Betty is in the NEWSROOM for Kyra Phillips this afternoon. She joins us now with a preview.

Hi Betty.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, guys.

OK, here's a question. What's it like pulling double duty in the war on terror? I'm going to talk with a soldier who says on both frontlines in Afghanistan and Iraq. And you are going to be amazed at the sense of humor, yes, humor, that goes with this guy's sense of duty.

And suddenly in charge, the death of Pittsburgh's mayor thrust a 26 year-old into the top job at one of America's largest cities. Can you believe it? We'll talk to him. That's live starting at 1:00 p.m. We'll see you in THE NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: We'll be there. Thanks Betty.

COLLINS: Thanks Betty.

NGUYEN: All right.

COLLINS: A Chicago Bears fan and business owner puts his money where his mouth is, and he wins or loses big time, depending on how you look at it. That's ahead in THE NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You're going to love this story. A huge Chicago Bears fan and furniture store owner went out on a limb for his team, betting on the bears.

COLLINS: And boy, was he confident. In the end, the customers, though, scored huge. Dane Placko of our affiliate station WFLD explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDY GONIGAM, OWNER, WORLD FURNITURE MALL: I'm a Bears fan through and through. DANE PLACKO, WFLD CORRESPONDENT: Not only is Randy Gonigam a huge Bears fan, he also happens to own a huge furniture store in far west suburban Plano. So after reading about the vaunted Bears' defense a few weeks ago, he came up with an idea to drum up business over the Labor Day weekend.

GONIGAM: I thought, here's something that would be fun. I knew the Bears were playing the Packers in the first game of the season at Lambeau. And I thought, you know what, let's put that on the line.

PLACKO: So Gonigam sent out 30,000 direct mail pieces promising that any furniture sold over the Labor Day weekend would be free if the Bears shut out the Packers. Mind you, Brett Favre has never been shut out in his 15 years as Packers' quarterback.

The sales pitch must have worked, because Gonigam sold $300,000 worth of furniture to more than 200 customers. Of course, you know what happened, the Packers folded like this lovely brown leather Berkline recliner, only $799, but could have been yours free if you'd believed in the Bears.

Final score, Bears 26, Packers, nothing.

GONIGAM: Congratulations.

PLACKO: Dotty Stanford (ph) was napping when the game ended.

DOTTY STANFORD, CUSTOMER: My husband was standing at the door. And he was going five, four, three, two, one! I thought he was nuts, nuts. So then he told me and I didn't believe it.

PLACKO: Bears fans Doug and Kathy Crest bought $5,000 worth of furniture.

Anything you want to say to the Bears' defense?

KATHY CREST, CUSTOMER: I just think they're wonderful. Of course, I always thought they were.

PLACKO: Lucky for Randy, he did buy insurance to cover some of his losses.

GONIGAM: The first thing I did was I went to my online bank account and made sure that the check for the premium on the insurance had cleared.

PLACKO: It had. So he avoided yet another sack by the monsters of the midway.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: That's good. That is good.

COLLINS: He was insured for $300,000.

HARRIS: Yes. COLLINS: How much came out of his own pocket?

HARRIS: Good point.

COLLINS: Ouch.

HARRIS: But he's still smiling about it.

COLLINS: He is smiling, good for him.

YOUR WORLD TODAY is next, everybody, with news happening across the globe and here at home.

I'm Heidi Collins, thanks for watching.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris, have a great day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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