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Heavy Fighting in Iraq; Recruiters Working Overtime; Michael Ware's Harrowing Adventure
Aired January 28, 2007 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: It is a fierce firefight in Iraq. A U.S. chopper down, hundreds of insurgents reportedly wiped out. We're going to bring you the very latest.
And we're also going to take you to another hot spot, Haifa Street. Thousands of Iraqis call it home, but U.S. forces are calling it a war zone. A war zone turned training ground where troops come face to face with insurgents. We hear from those troops as they're actually engaged in the battle. And CNN correspondent Michael Ware, he was kidnapped on Haifa Street. The story he lived to tell and his unequal view of the war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Zarqawi fighters wanted to execute the westerner. As they said, you bring a westerner in here and you expect us to let him leave alive. Well no, it doesn't work like that.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: I'm Rick Sanchez, you're now in the CNN NEWSROOM, let's get you right to the headlines.
Hot and heavy fighting in Najaf. An American helicopter crashed today killing two soldiers. Iraqi officials say insurgents shot it down. They also say their forces have killed at least 250 gunmen. Attackers launched mortars at a girl's school in Baghdad killing five children. The students were taking midterm exams at the time, 21 others were wounded.
After stops in Iraq and Pakistan, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has moved on to Afghanistan, where she met with President Hamid Karzai today. Mr. Karzai says he needs more U.S. help training and funding his police and his army.
More violence between rival Palestinian factions. Fatah gunmen have kidnapped a Hamas official in the West Bank. Amazing pictures. It happened in front of a camera. Just one of several abductions and attempted killings today by one of those groups.
Black smoke in the skies over Texas City, Texas. A boiler at the Valero refinery caught fire bringing plant personnel and city firefighters right to the scene. The crews were able to get the blaze under control in about two hours. Our big story out of Iraq is the fighting south of Baghdad. Fierce fighting today with heavy losses apparently inflicted on a group of insurgents. Iraqi officials say those gunmen were plotting to slaughter Shiite pilgrims but got wiped out themselves. The furious battle included the loss of a U.S. helicopter crew. This all unfolded in the area around Najaf or just a bit north of it. From Baghdad now here is CNN's Arwa Damon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A snapshot of the battle's intensity captured on a cell phone camera. A fierce firefight between hundreds of gunmen and U.S. and Iraqi forces, just a few miles north of the holy Shia city of Najaf. That plume of smoke is believed to be coming from the wreckage of a U.S. helicopter. The U.S. military confirmed that the two servicemen on board were killed. It all began just before dawn. Police in Najaf received tips, some 150 gunmen were massing north of the city, preparing for an attack on Tuesday. But the day that Shia from across the country would be observing Ashura, the holiest ritual in Shia Islam. The tipsters told police the men were plotting to kill pilgrims and Shia clerics, including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most revered Shia religious cleric in the country. Reaction was swift and the enemy they found surprised them.
Estimates of up to 600 insurgents described by police as a mix of extremists, thugs, criminals, dug in fighting positions with sophisticated military techniques and modern weaponry, all signs of a well-planned operation and a well-funded enemy. The Iraqi military and police force sustained a number of casualties and were forced to withdraw in the face of the enemy, calling the Americans for help. U.S. forces responded with both ground and air support. Based on the intensity of the battle and the ongoing bombardment of the area, Iraqi officials are estimating some 250 to 300 gunmen were killed.
(on camera): Both U.S. and Iraqi officials have been bracing themselves for some sort of major attack against the Shia community and remain on the lookout for other plots targeting Shia pilgrims and clerics. But the shear magnitude of this one is shocking and had it succeeded it most certainly would have catapulted the already violent sectarian attacks to a whole new level. Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: We should tell you that this battles is taking place as we speak. So if there's any information that's coming into us, we're going to bring it to you right away. But what we want to do right now, is bring in a general who has experience and has been to this area, he's joining us from San Diego, Major General Don Shepperd, U.S. Air Force Retired. He's also, as you probably know, a CNN military analyst. Thank you so much general for joining us. Let's start with this, given what you know of this situation and your experience of course in the past, how would you characterize this battle?
MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): First of all, surprising. The size of the battle itself, the fact that 600 well armed insurgents could get in dug-in positions around the city of Najaf makes one wonder about the quality of intelligence that's coming to us. Now it's not the quantity of intelligence, it's what you believe and who can you believe there with the forces being infiltrated. But the fact that they were able to dig in and be prepared for a battle of this size is very surprising. Now, the insurgents know that if they can set off the sectarian violence the U.S. will be seen as defeated. And boy, had they been able to kill the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, it would have been a big deal for setting off sectarian violence, Rick.
SANCHEZ: So what's the role for the U.S. in this case, after they heard that something like this may have been taking place, they move in how? Describe it for us.
SHEPPERD: Yeah, number one, first of all it's encouraging that Iraqi forces were engaged. When they found out they were overwhelmed, which is the early reports by about 600 fighters, they called in the scorpion task force, which is another Iraqi task force of very highly trained and mobile fighters. That's good news. It shows that intelligence is flowing and help is on the way. When American help comes, they supply logistics, they supply fire power, particularly air power from helicopters and jet fighters if appropriate, that type of thing. And we also rush in troops on the ground. That's the way this is supposed to work. The Iraqis carry the fighting. We are embedded with some of the Iraqis and then we follow on with additional help if needed. So it sounds like it's working the way it's supposed to at least in this area.
SANCHEZ: We should tell the viewers again, this is an ongoing battle going on as we speak. We've been sharing with you some of the pictures you see on the screen right now, although limited obviously because it's going to be very difficult to get the pictures from the battlefield. But what is the U.S. soldier actually doing in this case? You know, we always wonder how much of this is the Iraqi troops' responsibility vis-a-vis the U.S. troops' responsibility? To do what?
SHEPPERD: Well first of all if you have a planned activity, you can divide it into sectors and the U.S. can take one sector, the Iraqis can take the other. And of course the whole idea again is that we have troops embedded with the Iraqis to give them additional support. And then you call on U.S. forces to back up. Particularly, take a sector, take a street, that type of thing. In this case where it's a pickup game, where you're called into an area and you don't have time to plan an operation, again, you probably will take a sector. And so you show up with your fire power, with your platoons, with your companies and that type of thing, and you're given an area of responsibility. You respond with rules of engagement and you take on the enemy and you fight what's in front of you and it's a pickup game, Rick.
SANCHEZ: You know what's odd about this, is we have been hearing so much news about the infiltration possibly from Iran. But of course the Iranians as we know are members of a Shia sect and this city Najaf is basically historically religiously a Shia city. So we have Sunnis essentially attacking as we've understood this to be, a Shia city. That would mean that this really is probably not related to the Iranians in any way, right?
SHEPPERD: Rick, this is so complicated and it's so hard to tell the players without a score card even when you get a scorecard, the scorecard changes. You have Sunni versus Shia violence, we all understand that. We understand that the Iranians who are basically Shia supporting the Shias in the south, that's the basic setup. But then you have various sections within the Shia community, you have the al Sadr militia, you have the barder brigades and you have the people supporting Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani, so it's hard to tell who is fighting who. The reports early, and I would be very cautious about these reports of 200 or 300 people killed, because these are reports by the Iraqi police forces. The early reports are that these insurgents were not only Sunnis but also had some Shia mixed in, but thugs and that type of thing. So you have criminals, you have Sunnis, you have al Qaeda all mixed in together. That's most difficult to understand.
SANCHEZ: That does really complicate things, but we thank you once again general. We might check back with you depending as this thing unfolds throughout the night. Thank you once again for taking the time to try and clarify some of this for us.
SHEPPERD: My pleasure.
SANCHEZ: We're going to continue to follow some of the news that's coming in around Iraq for example. Several mortars slamming into a girls' school in the capital today killing five students. The school is in a mainly Sunni neighborhood in the western area of Baghdad. Students ages 12 to 14 were taking midterm exams at the time. Twenty one people, students and employees, were wounded in that attack. We'll talk about the troop build-up in Iraq and that region for us and against. It was a staple on the news shows this morning. Congressional leaders showing no signs of backing away from passing a resolution opposing President Bush's new Iraq war strategy. Kathleen Koch with more on this debate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The administration has made its views clear. Any congressional resolution opposing the president's new troop increase.
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Certainly emboldens the enemy and our adversaries.
KOCH: Top Democrats reacting angrily.
SEN. CHRIS DODD, (D) FOREIGN RELATIONS CMTE.: It's irresponsible, he ought to be very careful about statements like that. This is a Democratic process.
SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D) FOREIGN RELATIONS CMTE.: The persons emboldening the enemy is the president and his policies. He went in without a plan, he went in prematurely, he went in without enough troops. KOCH: Republican supporters echoed President Bush challenging critics to come up with their own plan if they so dislike the new strategy.
SEN. DAVID VITTER, (R) FOREIGN RELATIONS CMTE.: I think to have a responsible debate, we need to compare plans side by side because there is no easy answer.
SEN. JON KYL, (R) ARIZONA: If they're really concerned about the lives of our soldiers and they believe that this is a futile effort, then cut off the funds now so that no more lives are lost.
KOCH: So far no of the competing resolutions the Senate is considering would cut off funding. But one prominent Democrat says that could come next.
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER, (D) NEW YORK: It's a difficult thing to do because you want to protect the troops that are there and not allow an escalation. But in the upcoming funding resolution in the next month will be our second step.
KOCH (on camera): Test votes are due as soon as this week on the resolutions. The vote is also a test for President Bush of whether he's persuaded lawmakers to give his plan a chance or has become even more politically isolated. Kathleen Koch, CNN, the White House.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Once again, we're going to be focusing in on the battles that's being waged as we speak in parts of Iraq. The president wants to expand the army and the Marine Corps, but where will 92,000 more troops come from?
Plus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAMON: Through the window of a crumbling theater it could almost be a normal world outside, but this is Haifa Street in Central Baghdad.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Combat, up close, we're going to take you to the deadly battle for Haifa. It's at 7:30 eastern.
Also.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to fend off the claws or keep him from clawing you. So he just wants to pin me down and start eating me, he didn't care.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: What an amazing story, attacked by a lion and he fought back. A hiker describes how an ordinary item helped to save his life. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM as we follow the battle that's surging in Iraq. As we speak, lost in the debate over President Bush's plan to send additional troops to Iraq is a military surge of a different kind. For U.S. troops the question are, how many, from where, and for how long? We asked Gary Nuremberg to look into the president's strategy and the plan to increase the total size of the American military. Gary, what kind of numbers are we talking about here?
GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well the plan would take half a decade Rick. The marines growing by 5,000 a year, I'm told there were 202,000 of them. The army growing by 7,000 a year until it reaches 547,000.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NURENBERG (voice-over): President Bush thought it important enough to include in the state of the union.
BUSH: I would ask the Congress to authorize an increase in the size of our active army and marine corps by 92,000 in the next five years.
NURENBERG: But some in Congress are skeptical that can be easily done as American casualty figures in Iraq continue to climb.
SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD, (D) CONNECTICUT: How do you get people to do it when you're asking people to serve three and four tours in Iraq?
NURENBERG: One senate colleague has an optimistic answer.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: I'm sure there's enough patriotic Americans who will join the military.
NURENBERG: Take Roger O'Brien of Falls Church, Virginia.
ROGER O'BRIEN, MILITARY RECRUIT: I'm going to be an infantry soldier and I'm going to become an infantry officer after completion of college.
NURENBERG: The 18-year-old high school senior has enlisted in the marines and he is far from alone.
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: All active branches of the United States military exceeded their recruiting goals for the month of December, with particularly strong showings by the army and the marine corps.
NURENBERG: One military scholar is worried the military to meet the new goals will have to rethink recruiting standards for education, health and misdemeanor criminal records.
WINSLOW WHEELER, CTR. FOR DEFENSE INFORMATION: They're going to have to relax all those standards, hire more recruiters and so on. They're going to have a very tough time doing it.
GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANLAYST: The pay has risen dramatically, the benefits are very good.
NURENBERG: Retired General Don Shepperd is a CNN analyst who believes the administration can reach its recruitment goals by emphasizing pay and benefits, benefits O'Brien finds appealing.
O'BRIEN: It's the career I want to choose. You can always be promoted and it's job security. It has an allowance.
NURENBERG: O'Brien's recruitment is a success story for the military, one it has to repeat 92,000 times to meet the president's goal.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
NURENBERG: And it's going to be expensive. General Shepherd estimates a cost of between $8 and 10 billion dollars. And he points out that this comes at a time when military equipment is being worn out in Iraq. So, expect the cost of equipping these new recruits to be in addition to the cost of replacing all that military equipment that's being beat up in Iraq. Rick?
SANCHEZ: And then of course there's the strain on the soldiers and the question that remains unanswered of course is, how many times can you go to the well? Gary Nuremberg, thanks so much for that report.
News across America now. In California, a walk down a state park trail turns to terror. Jim Hamm ended up in a hospital after he and his wife were suddenly attacked by a mountain lion. His wife Nell fought back with their only weapon, which happened to be a pen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told her to get my pen from my pocket, I had one in my pants pocket and jam it in his eye. So she jammed it in his eye and it crumbled. So it wouldn't work. So she got the club and started to club it again. She did that, and it backed off and laid his ears back. She was yelling and screaming at it and it just turned around and went off into the ferns and left.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: In Washington, another Arkansas governor running for president. Republican Mike Huckabee says he's going to be setting up a, yes, exploratory committee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) FMR. ARKANSAS GOVERNOR: Tomorrow I'll be filing papers to launch an exploratory committee and, yes, I'll be out there.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: And it is award season. The red carpet is being rolled out. Sibila Vargas, she's in Los Angeles checking this out for us. What have you got Sibila?
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey Rick, I'm having such a fabulous time out here at the Shrine Auditorium. As you can tell, the crowd is going wild. Let's see, oh my gosh, Leo DiCaprio just walked by and I have Teri Hatcher here. Hopefully I'm going to try to wrangle some stars for us, that's coming up in a little bit.
SANCHEZ: All right thanks so much. While you're going to be monitoring the situation there in Hollywood, we're going to be monitoring the situation around Iraq. And in 10 minutes, a look at a ground battle in Baghdad that we've been focusing on over the last couple of days. This is our special on the battle for Haifa Street.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM. A big night in Hollywood where the Screen Actor's Guild Awards are going to be handed out tonight. These awards are all about acting and sometimes they become a crystal ball for who's going to win the Oscars. Sibila Vargas is live on the red carpet for us, surrounded by some pretty big names I imagine Sibila, who are you seeing?
VARGAS: Absolutely, I mean tons of people walking down but right now I have a very special guest, Teri Hatcher. Of course this is not just about film, it's about television, "Desperate Housewives," again nominated. How are you feeling?
TERI HATCHER, ACTRESS: We're just thankful to all have jobs. You know we have a very large and incredibly hard-working cast and a great set of writers. It's really amazing to get to be here three years in a row.
VARGAS: It has been such a whirlwind for "Desperate Housewives." From the beginning you have the love, the Golden Globe love, the SAG love. And you yourself as well, how does it feel?
HATCHER: You know, I mean it feels wonderful. I think with all awards you have to recognize when it goes your way that there's a great little special feeling to that. But when it doesn't go your way, you know, there are so many incredibly talented people in our industry to recognize and it can't always be you. So it's a little bit of both.
VARGAS: What does it feel like? Just give our CNN audience an idea of what it feels like to be on the red carpet, to look around and see all these celebrities.
HATCHER: It's a lot of famous people. I'm just as enamored as the next person. Also there's a lot of people, you know I've had a long career of movies and television and sometimes I forget how many different kinds of people I have worked with, from Sally Field to Alec Baldwin, you know. So you literally run into them at events like this and it's like old home week, you know it's really great.
VARGAS: Is there anything in particular that you're really looking forward to tonight?
HATCHER: No, just hanging out with my cast. We don't actually get to do that a lot. We have three big tables. We have a very large cast and I think we're all going to have a good time.
VARGAS: This is also an opportunity to get dressed beautifully. What are you wearing tonight?
HATCHER: This is Armani Preve(ph) and I'm enjoying it.
VARGAS: Why did you choose it?
HATCHER: It just felt right. I love the color. It's easy to wear. It's different than what I wore to the last event and I don't know -- I don't know that you can put it into words. It just felt good.
VARGAS: And what about the diamonds, let's talk about those diamonds?
HATCHER: These are (INAUDIBLE) and I have a little ring here. And again, I think just simple and, you know, kind of princess-y, I guess.
VARGAS: You look very much the princess. Thank you so much and congratulations again, "Desperate Housewives," again getting the recognition that it deserves.
HATCHER: Thank you.
VARGAS: All right, there you have it. I have one of our TV stars, for sure. But as you can see, Rick, this place is a mad house. And as it gets closer to the hour, it will just -- we'll have more and more stars making their rounds. Hopefully I'll bring you a few more of them. Back to you.
SANCHEZ: Thanks so much Sibila, for keeping tabs on that for us.
From the stars of course, we're going to be telling you about a grim situation that's taking place in Iraq. Actual fighting that's going on as we speak, as a matter of fact. Baghdad's Haifa Street is an active battle ground. Residents have fled but thousands can't or won't. Arwa Damon reports from Haifa Street, a scene of some of the bloodiest fighting we have seen yet. And then --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARE: This men intercepted my vehicle with grenades with the pins pulled, so that they were live. Pulled me from the car. And with my own video camera, they were preparing to film my execution. (END OF VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: CNN's Michael Ware kidnapped on Haifa Street and nearly killed. An unbelievable story he tells first person. It's next in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Let's catch you up now on the stories that we're following for you right now. For the third time in the past eight days an American helicopter crashes in Iraq. It happened today during heavy fighting around Iraq's holy city of Najaf. Two people aboard we understand are confirmed dead at this time.
Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is in Kabul, Afghanistan meeting with President Hamid Karzai. Their talking point, utilizing additional U.S. troops to fight a resurgent Taliban movement.
A princely performance you might say. Look at this on the basketball court, Britain's Prince Charles shot some hoops today at a charter school in Harlem, New York. He and his wife Camilla are wrapping up a two-day visit to the United States.
Of course, though, our focus today as we bring you the news of this battle that is raging in Iraq we want to take you to yet another hotspot that we've been focusing on and we show you images that are as vivid as they are in many ways frightening to look at. This is the battle for Haifa Street.
U.S. and Iraqi troops going from building to building, from street to street. Their target, Sunni insurgents and some Shiite militias who have been fighting for a piece of this neighborhood for an awful long time. The U.S. military is hoping that this operation and others like this will eventually secure the city in some way when thousands more U.S. troops are able to come in and hit the ground running.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Wednesday Haifa Street, downtown Baghdad. It's like the period at the end of a sentence, a sentence that reads, take them out. U.S. and Iraqi troops targeting insurgents in one of those buildings. The terrain, high-rises. And apartment buildings. Windows, roof tops. It's a day-long battle that requires patience, sharp eyes, and perfect aim.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That blue door over to this summit area over here in the corner of the building. They run between there and that blue door. See, there they go.
Whoo. They're running to the right. There you go, there you go, there you go. That's a moneymaker right there.
SANCHEZ: Waiting for the perfect shot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good shot. Stop, stop, stop. You got him.
SANCHEZ: Insurgents so close the soldiers don't need binoculars to see them. Back on this rooftop American troops and Iraqi counterparts are under fire. An Apache helicopter can't get the shot so coordinates are radioed to a site far away to finish the job.
Listen closely. A bit more chatter from soldiers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shot. There you go, a shot. Mortar.
SANCHEZ: And -- the period. A precision-guided missile. The building that was, for a short time, a refuge for insurgents, completely leveled.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ (on camera): Keep in mind these are pictures we've been getting of the actual battle with the soldiers there. The camera was just feet for them. And when it was all over, at least 30 insurgents had been killed, 35 others were detained, two American soldiers wounded in the battle, and one unfortunately was killed.
Right after the gunfire went silent, the smoke lifted and the battle was essentially over. The area around Haifa Street, we're told, looked like a ghost town. Then some of the Iraqi civilians who did not flee returned to the street. That's important. CNN's Arwa Damon picks up the story from here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Through the window of a crumbling theater, it could almost be a normal world outside, but this is Haifa Street in central Baghdad where we can't venture out to talk to people but snatch quick conversations in doorways.
This man doesn't want his face shown. "The street from here to here is safe," he says. "But if you go down there, it's very bad."
In one direction, kids play soccer in the street, apparently oblivious to the battleground close by. But down the street, Iraqi and U.S. forces try to dislodge insurgents.
"We are happy to see the Iraqis and the Americans, but we can't be seen saying that," he says. "They will slaughter us."
"They are Sunni extremists," says Ali Hussein, a Shia who lives here. He called them "the others."
It's sort of a sectarian thing, but here we have Sunnis, too. But down there they are different.
He tells us there was a girl who went to the market down there with her child and a sniper shot them.
And down there is where we are going with a Stryker platoon, into an area that U.S. and Iraqi units have been trying to clear of insurgents.
(on camera): This is one of the Iraqi army patrol bases located on Haifa Street. It was formerly one of Saddam Hussein's palaces and would have been off limits to all of these men. They are fairly optimistic, the Americans here, however, are moving with extreme caution.
(voice-over): Because no one knows who is still out there or where. When it's not a battle field, Haifa Street can feel like a ghost town. The snipers, the battles, the intimidation has driven most residents away.
But thousands remain, most too afraid to step outside. This 25- year-old and her mother are taking advantage of a lull in the fighting. And as they speak of the horrors they have endured, they can't conceal their rage.
"Bodies in the street and dogs are eating them, is this how cheap humans have become?" she asks. "The Americans have to protect us. Otherwise they should just leave and let us slaughter each other."
But the Americans say they are not going to leave. They are just beginning a new operation to retake Baghdad. Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: And as we look at the pictures we wonder where the best perspective on the situation in Iraq might come from. Often it comes from those who have actually been there in wartime. So that's what we sought out, retired Brigadier General James "Spider" Marks.
He was a senior intelligence officer during the Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is also a CNN military analyst as you might know. So we got a chance to talk to him about this mission and the strategy that's being employed in the battle for Haifa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIG. GEN. JAMES MARKS (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Let me fly you into Baghdad and show you what we're talking about. As you can see, the Tigris River cuts the city in half. The west side is where Haifa Street is located.
What's highlighted right now are the primary areas where there's been a lot of insurgent activity, a lot of sectarian violence, primarily on the west side. Let's move into Haifa Street. As you can see, very major run runs right into the Green Zone, just to the west side of the Tigris. This is where the engagement took place. Where the CNN crew was located with the Iraqi and U.S. forces is in this building right here.
Where the insurgents were is located in the red building at the top of the screen. As you can see, the red building has a pretty good commanding line of sight, a commanding view of where the U.S. and Iraqi forces are located. As you orient now and get the insurgent view of the U.S. forces and Iraqi forces you can see they're on a much taller piece of terrain. That's commanding terrain in terms of an urban fight.
SANCHEZ: General, we have got a couple of pieces of video we want to show you that some of our viewers have been seeing and maybe with your expertise you can explain to us exactly what's going on.
This particular video seems to be a long shot. And you see there seems to be a mesh that seems to be obstructing some kind of view. There we see some of the soldiers. What kind of weapon is that that he is using right there?
MARKS: That is a sniper weapon. It's exceptionally devastating. It's a .50 caliber weapon system. It's a very large bullet. It will cut a man in half. It does a lot of damage on the business end.
SANCHEZ: What kind of teamwork is required for a mission like this where you have soldiers in one building essentially shooting at another building that may be a pretty good distance away.
MARKS: Absolutely. What you want to try to do is set up in teams. You certainly want to employ weapons systems, small arms as well as that sniper weapon in teams. And you want to have spotters, individual soldiers and marines that are identifying the targets. And then through radio communications to the firing location, if they're not co-located, is they start to market targets.
And they do it in terms that you and I would use depending on the circumstances. You see the head pop up in the third window to the left. You get your frame of reference, you engage. If it's a free fire area, if the rules of engagement have been lifted and you can engage they will quite readily once they get a good fix and good sight picture on that target.
SANCHEZ: As we look at these pictures we start to maybe get a sense of what the president and some of his commanders are going to try to do over the next couple months by sending in reinforcements. They say they want to be able to control the streets of Baghdad. Will we see more scenes like this play out? Is this what they mean by essentially taking back the streets of Baghdad?
MARKS: Rick, that's what it means but it's really two things. First of all, you have to establish security and that's what operations like this will provide you. The second thing is that once you've achieved that security, even if it's minimally in very pinpoint areas within a certain district, you begin to expand from that and you provide other forms of governance.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: As we watch some of the video we've been monitoring from the situation in Haifa, today it's outside Najaf, Iraq. Again, one more example of the U.S. and Iraqi forces teaming up to fight the insurgency. Iraq forces finding themselves up against hundred of insurgents. U.S. forces called in for backup. In the end, hundreds of insurgents are killed and a U.S. chopper is downed. And really it's an example of why we're paying special attention to the battles for Haifa in this particular hour. Teamwork, training, as you've seen, U.S. forces teaching Iraqi troops combat strategy, how to take on insurgents from both sides of the Sunni-Shiite divide.
Haifa Street has been a huge challenge because after each campaign to rid the area of insurgents, they eventually go back to the very same area and then the U.S. troops or the Iraqi troops have to go back in and then the fighting resumes. The top brass are no doubt taking note to see if they can decide what to do with the buildup of more than 20,000 additional troops that the president has planned to send in.
Now we're going to continue to look at the realities of the fighting in the streets of both Haifa and Najaf. Two Iraq War vets are going to tell us what it's really like to try to clear a city.
And then later -- life on Baghdad's Haifa Street. A reporter's truly amazing tale.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As far as we're aware, after that day on Haifa Street, I'm the only westerner that we know of who has been in the control of Zarqawi's organization, al Qaeda, and to have lived to tell the tale.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. If you're just now joining us, this is our focus, this is a battle going on right now. A gun battle is Najaf is really raging as we speak. It's where the sound of insurgent and coalition weapon fire goes into the night.
You're looking at some video that's been coming in. Iraqi officials are saying 250 to 300 insurgents have been killed in the clashes so far. The fighting began after Iraqi forces were tipped off about an alleged Sunni plot to kill Shiite pilgrims and the country's senior Shiite cleric.
And amid those pitched battles a U.S. military helicopter has crashed. We understand it killed two of its crew members. Witnesses say the helicopter was shot down by insurgents. It's the third American helicopter to go down in about eight days. All lost in suspicious circumstances.
In Iraq, danger can be lurking behind just about every doorway, as we know. And every step a soldier takes may be his lost. CNN's Brian Todd talks to a couple of veterans who survived some fierce urban combat.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the top, the new mission is to clear and secure Baghdad's deadliest neighborhoods. How has that gone so far?
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The clear part of the operation went fairly well. And fairly smoothly. The problem is that there were insufficient forces, both Iraqi and American, for the hold phase.
TODD: Jon Powers and Garrett Reppenhagen know something about clearing and holding a city. For a year in Baghdad, Powers patrolled the streets, looking for insurgents. His army unit depicted in the film "Gunner Palace." Reppenhagen, a former army scout and sniper has a descriptive phrase for the year he spent in Baquba going house to house.
GARETT REPPENHAGEN, IRAQ WAR VETERAN: It's an ass puckering experience.
TODD: And that's only if you get to a house. Try getting past the roadside bombs, first.
REPPENHAGEN: Sometimes they're in trash, they'll hide them in animal carcasses, they'll hide them in trees or in light posts.
TODD: The curbs in Iraq, what did they do?
JON POWERS, IRAQ WAR VETERAN: We learned to identify they would make false curbs and have an IED built into the curb so as you're going down the street you had to find the difference in the curb, otherwise, it may explode.
TODD: Best to avoid using any vehicles, they say. Too easy to get trapped. When attacked from a building, Reppenhagen says, soldiers have to counter with overwhelming fire. Take out the target, then clear the entire building. It can take hours.
In one chaotic exchange, he describes firing back against a sniper in a building, having to take out another man who was rushing in and out to deliver him ammunition. At one point, that man took cover behind a car. His unit, he says, lit up the car, then looked inside.
REPPENHAGEN: There were three innocent kids that were hiding in the car, not aware that there was going to be a battle in Baquba day. And all three of them were killed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: So we take you now back to Haifa Street. Just this past week, as the video has been coming in, it's clear to us and the U.S. soldiers who have been fighting there. My colleague T.J. Holmes asked the Lieutenant Colonel Avanulas Smiley, commander of the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Stryker Brigade combat team who what it's like.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LTC AVANULAS SMILEY, U.S. ARMY: Well, I think it depends on where you are in the greater Kark (ph) area and along Haifa Street. But in the area we were in, basically you have enemy activity. We do not discriminate as to whether they are Sunni and Shia nor don't spend a whole lot of time on that when it comes to protecting my soldiers and accomplishing the mission. We are an equal opportunity employer in that right.
We have been paired or partnered with this Iraqi unit for a few months now. From where they started to where they are now, we have seen a vast improvement in their performance. This bottom line is this was an Iraqi planned and Iraqi led event and our purpose was to support them in this effort. The Iraqis have occupied certain locations around Haifa Street. And it is their battle space and they control it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The street the lieutenant colonel is talking about is also the street where reporter Michael Ware almost lost his life. Up next Ware talks to Anderson Cooper about his or deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: What was that feeling like when you realized you were going to live?
WARE: It took a long time before it actually dawned on me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: As we, again, focus on the day's news with battles raging and we talk about Haifa, we wanted to give you a different perspective on this. Two years ago CNN reporter Michael Ware was in Iraq on Haifa Street of all places when he really cheated death. Kidnapped by al Qaeda. It was Iraqi insurgents and a tribal code that may have spared him. He talks with CNN's Anderson Cooper about his life during those uncertain hours.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WARE: These men intercepted my vehicle with grenades with the pins pulled so that they were live pulled me from the car, and with my own video camera they were preparing to film my execution.
So as far as we're aware, after that day on Haifa Street, I'm the only westerner that we know of who has been in the control of Zarqawi's organization, al Qaeda, and to have lived to tell the tale.
COOPER: How did you get out of there?
WARE: Essentially, it was the nationalist insurgents who saved me. These groups don't share the same agenda. The nationalists just want to free their country. The Islamists, al Qaeda, for them, like the U.S. administration, Iraq is just one field of a global battle. I was saved by the Iraqi insurgents. I mean, I benefited from the difference between these two elements of the war.
COOPER: So you were in a vehicle and they pulled you out?
WARE: I was in a vehicle with a mid-ranking Iraqi insurgent commander who had told me of Zarqawi's take-over, essentially complained about it. And I said, I need to see this. He took me in there to show me that these radicals, these foreign Islamists have taken our territory.
When the foreign radical Islamists -- essentially who became al Qaeda -- dragged me from the car, this man was left to negotiate for my life. And this is where we see the difference come into play.
The Zarqawi fighters wanted to execute the westerner. As they said, you bring a westerner in here and you expect us to let him leave alive? Well, no, it doesn't work like that. So even though these Islamists at that time had the upper hand in Haifa Street they couldn't discount the local fighters.
Essentially it came down to the local Iraqi insurgents saying, OK, you can kill this foreigner but know that means we go to war. Because he has come here at our invitation. And for you to kill him is essentially an insult to us.
And as much as these foreign fighters wanted to kill me, at the end of the day they knew that practically they couldn't. Because they could not afford to have this local fight. And it was through gritted teeth that they essentially gave me back to the Iraqi insurgents, who then took me out.
COOPER: What was that feeling like when you realized you were going to live?
WARE: It took a long time before it actually dawned on me.
I spent many of the following days in my room. I found it very difficult to leave the comfort and safety of my bedroom. It took some time for me to re-gather myself and to return to the streets. But, in fact, just days later I did return to this very place.
COOPER: You went back to Haifa Street.
WARE: I went back to Haifa Street.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Despite his close call, Ware goes back to Haifa Street. He does so in many case around Baghdad every day. You can watch ANDERSON COOPER 360 weeknights at 10:00 Eastern. Tomorrow night it's a special look at what happens when U.S. troops come home from Iraq. That's tomorrow night at 10:00 Eastern.
Now there is much more ahead right here on CNN. Up next, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT on how to rob a bank. You are going to see how brazen thieves are stealing your good name to rob everything from stores to banks.
And of course we'll be back at 10:00 with video from today's fighting in Iraq.
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