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At Least 14 Killed in Florida Storms; New Intelligence Report on Iraq Released

Aired February 02, 2007 - 11:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's hear what the sheriff has to say.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SHERIFF BEN JOHNSON, VOLUSIA COUNTY, FLORIDA: As of this time, we know of no deaths in Volusia County. We have had some injuries. Thankfully, most of them so far have been minor injuries.

It's extensive damage. The health department, our sheriff's department's substation destroyed, many houses have been destroyed. Apartment complex, one of -- a couple of our local mobile home communities have been destroyed. And buildings in the New Smyrna Beach area.

We have called for mutual assistance from the Seminole County Sheriff's Department. And the resources from Volusia County all have been activated. We are right now on a search and rescue mission.

We also are contemplating a curfew for this area tonight. We have not confirmed we're going to do that, but we are discussing it.

And we also request that we have no people just come to see just what's going on. If we find people in the way, we will deal with them. We will also deal with anybody looting.

So let's make sure that they get that word out, that this will not be tolerated. And we also have to look at long-term recovery and the fact of when this happens that we do not have people taking advantage of our citizens.

At the moment, it's all we can really give you on that. But we do have many, many resources coming to us, and our goal is to contact all the residents of the homes and make sure everyone is OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Sheriff.

And let me remind everyone, for information, we do have a citizen hotline number open -- 866-345-0345. That number is 866-345-0345. That's the Volusia County citizen information line.

Online, www.volusia.org. You can get to the county and city information through volusia.org.

So, at this time, let me turn it over to Mike Floyce (ph), assistant city manager, city of DeLand, for the city of DeLand perspective. COLLINS: We have just been listening in now to the sheriff's department and the sheriff, Ben Johnson, of Volusia County. And you heard him say there that at this point they are not aware of any deaths in Volusia County. But as we know here, at least 14 have been reported in total across the area of central Florida, which includes four different counties there.

So, once again, Sheriff Ben Johnson talking to the people of Volusia County and updating them on the situation in Volusia County.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Iraqis killing Iraqis. A country torn apart and questions about the government's ability to stop the bloodshed. A new intelligence report on Iraq paints a sobering picture.

White House Correspondent Elaine Quijano is tracking down the details. She joins us live.

Elaine, good morning.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Tony.

Just taking a look at this which has been released now a little less than an hour, the key judgments, declassified now from the office of the director of National Intelligence, outlining the situation on the ground, as is sort of the collective view of the 16 intelligence agencies in the United States in Iraq.

Now, this describes as you noted, a very stark picture of what is taking place in Iraq, describing the challenges, confronting Iraqis as "daunting," describing multiple factors. But really at the heart of it, Tony, of course, are the sectarian divisions, the very deep divisions among Shia, Sunni and Kurds.

Now it's interesting to note, one portion of this talking about the term "civil war." There have been a lot of questions, as you know, about whether or not what we are seeing in Iraq does amount to a civil war. And this national intelligence estimate does attempt to address that, although there is ambiguity in the answer, Tony.

It talks about the term "civil war," not adequately describing necessarily the situation because of the fact there is violence even within. For instance, the Shia community, Shia-on-Shia violence. Nonetheless, this report says that the term "civil war" accurately describes key elements of the Iraqi conflict, including the hardening of ethnosectarian identities, a sea change in the character of the violence, ethnosectarian mobilization and population displacement. So, interesting to note that this national intelligence estimate talking about there very clearly being elements of a civil war in the conflict that is taking place.

Something else to note as well. A senior administration official early this morning emphasizing this point, even before the key judgments were made public. The report does talk about the possibility, if coalition forces were to "withdraw rapidly" during the term of the estimate, which is 12 to 18 months, that that would essentially cause things to deteriorate quite rapidly in Iraq.

And so, this NIE talking about how coalition capabilities are an essential component to stabilizing Iraq at this time. But it does not talk about the possibility of adding more forces.

As you know, of course, President Bush, as part of his new Iraq strategy, is sending some 21,000-plus U.S. forces to pacify Baghdad and the Al Anbar Province. And there's been a great deal of skepticism and opposition on Capitol Hill, and some criticism as well, because the lawmakers would have liked to have seen this national intelligence estimate before the president laid out his Iraq strategy.

A senior administration official, though, saying that the underlying information contained in this NIE was certainly used as the president was deliberating with the White House. It's called the "New Way Forward in Iraq." But certainly, even the senior official conceding, Tony, that this NIE paints a very serious and complex situation on the ground -- Tony.

HARRIS: And Elaine, I think you just answered my question. I was wondering if the president factored in some of -- into his new plan some of these assessments. And it sounds like he may have done just that.

QUIJANO: Absolutely. And that's something that officials here are quick to say, is that the president receives daily briefings, that certainly top intelligence officials, even publicly, have outlined some of the themes that we are seeing here today about the effect of these deep sectarian divisions in Iraq. So some of this really not surprising, but certainly coming at a time when the Bush administration is trying to convince skeptics that his plan can work.

HARRIS: White House Correspondent Elaine Quijano for us.

Elaine, thank you.

COLLINS: More than a dozen people dead, neighborhoods flattened. We are following breaking news from central Florida, where severe storms and a suspected tornado hit with devastating fury overnight.

Authorities in Lake County report at least 14 people killed. Among the hardest-hit areas, the town of Lady Lake. At least two mobile home parks there were devastated.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist has declared a state of emergency in four counties now.

GOV. CHARLIE CRIST (R), FLORIDA: Obviously, early this morning we had a significant weather event. I have just signed an executive order that will affect the four affected counties. They are Volusia, Sumter, Lake and Seminole counties.

The state emergency operation center obviously is in full mode. These people are working hard and they're doing great work.

We are coordinating with local officials to make sure that Floridians are safe, that they are secure. You know, this is one of the most important things that we do in government, is protect and serve our citizens. And that's exactly what's happening here.

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HARRIS: And quickly now, let's get you to the sheriff of Lake County, who is holding a news conference right now.

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JOHNSON: And they're very up against it. This officer has been on the road two weeks. And he was not hurt. He was shook up a little bit, but he was wanting to come back to work. He asked me if he could get another car and come back to work, and we sent him home because he worked all night already.

He was lucky. He should have been seriously injured, if not killed.

There's one vehicle that was blown from across the parking lot, probably 200 or 300 feet that it flew over and landed up against the building. The building is absolutely destroyed. We're going to have to relocate our district office. We're trying to recover the property out of it.

It's damaged and destroyed. And at the moment, we've had to stop operations until they can shore up some of the walls.

QUESTION: Sheriff (OFF-MIKE). Can you tell us about that damage there? Is that the hardest hit area?

JOHNSON: I can't say that's the hardest hit. And the question was about the extreme damage in the Botts Landing Road (ph) area.

There's an apartment complex out there that was destroyed from what I can see from the air. Severe damage.

From there, the storm crossed -- knocked down an old dairy farm down there. Then it came down Flowing Well Road (ph), next to Lake Beardsford (ph). All of this was in the same general area, everything west of Lake Beardsford (ph).

It destroyed numerous homes, damaged homes, and that's when it skipped across Lake Beardsford (ph) and then came into the DeLand area.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

JOHNSON: I'm sorry, repeat...

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

JOHNSON: Well, the message we want to tell people is we're going to do everything in our power to help our citizens, to make sure they're all right, to protect their property. It goes to show you, you have to be prepared at all times. You need to have an emergency plan.

This could happen again. We've seen it Christmas and now, and we haven't seen something like this in many, many years, since we've had storms of this magnitude. And you never can tell. We may not see one again for years. But in the last few years, we have seen quite a bit of bad weather in Florida.

People should always be prepared. Have an emergency plan, have their papers in a safe area, know where they're going to go. Know a rallying point so that people know how to get in touch with them.

You know, there's a lot of people that we've been having to field calls from. "We can't get in touch with family members." Well, we have a problem that phone lines are going to be out. Power will be out for some time in a lot of these areas.

So it's something that's -- you know, you need to be -- if you are here, please -- if you can, get in touch with your family. Otherwise, it floods our system. And we're already very busy.

So, if you're listening, please don't call us about it. It's hard for us to get to these people. If in a few days' time you haven't heard from them, it's another story. But at the moment, we don't have time to go out and chase down individuals.

We're looking for people who are hurt, you know, to protect their property. And that's our first -- our first...

HARRIS: OK. Let's wrap this up just a bit. You've been listening to Sheriff Ben Johnson once again, the sheriff of Volusia County. He was actually -- he's actually in Lake County right now.

Something interesting, worth noting here, the sheriff did mention that the county is contemplating putting a curfew in effect for the areas in his county, in Volusia County. He is warning against sightseers and certainly against any looters, promising that looters will be dealt with.

As you can see, here's a map of the counties severely hard hit by the storm that rolled through in the small hours of the morning, 3:45, 4:00 a.m., in some cases.

We want to get to T.J. Holmes now in the newsroom, who has been speaking with some of the witnesses to all of this destruction.

T.J., what do you have for us?

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we've been hearing more and more about this area, certainly those four counties we're talking about. But this is something here, The Villages is what we've been hearing a lot about.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes.

HOLMES: A retirement area here. And we have somebody who lives in The Villages.

Sarah Tederstrom is on the line for us.

Can you hear me, ma'am?

SARAH TEDERSTROM, RESIDENT, THE VILLAGES: Yes.

HOLMES: Hey, can you tell -- give us first just a perspective and the idea of exactly where you are.

TEDERSTROM: I live in Sumter County, about one mile from Lake County. So I'm right on the edge.

HOLMES: All right. Well, you're right on the edge. Tell me, how did your home make it through last evening's storms?

TEDERSTROM: My home wasn't touched.

HOLMES: Wasn't touched. But...

TEDERSTROM: Nothing.

HOLMES: ... you also know -- we also know from you that not too far away from you, you see some pretty heavy damage.

TEDERSTROM: Right. It's, what, one city block away, there are houses, you know, just completely destroyed.

HOLMES: A block away?

TEDERSTROM: Yes.

HOLMES: Now, what was it like for you to walk outside knowing that your home wasn't touched? I don't know if you were watching TV and you saw some of the destruction, but you walk literally up the street, down the street, across a block. What's that like for you, for it to hit you to think how close you were to that?

TEDERSTROM: It was scary, yes, because it is iterally one block away. And people are there are just -- when I woke up this morning, I was awakened by my radio, which was talking about a tornado in The Villages. So, we got up and went for a walk, and just a block away, it's terrible. Just terrible.

HOLMES: Now, what do you see on the street right now? Do you see neighbors, do you see people walking around helping each other? Have you been able to locate most of your neighbors?

I don't know how many people up the street you might know, but tell me just what the neighborhood looks like as far as people walking around. And what are they doing?

TEDERSTROM: Well, there were a lot of people walking around earlier, but now they've kind of locked down everything. If you live in here and leave, you can't get back in. And they're not letting other people in at the moment. There's just nothing -- you know, until the gas and electricity and all are taken care of, it's too dangerous to walk up there.

HOLMES: And ma'am, you said you didn't get up -- or a radio woke you up. But you didn't wake up really until the storm was pretty much over. So you slept through this thing, is that right?

TEDERSTROM: Yes. Yes. I did -- I have a radio that has a weather alert on it. So I was awakened twice last night. Once at, what, about 11:00, and then again just after midnight. But this didn't happen until 3:00 in the morning, and I didn't hear anything then.

HOLMES: Now, was there -- did you just not think -- or did you not know -- I don't know what the weather reports were there. I'm sure they were predicting some stuff. But were you worried going to bed and maybe thought you needed to stay alert and maybe take some shelter? But again, it sounds like you went to bed, slept right through it, and woke up and you saw this.

TEDERSTROM: Exactly, yes. No, the weather people last night were saying, be careful, there are dangerous storms coming tonight.

So I had my radio alarm -- weather alarm set. But otherwise, you know, it was -- there was no notice of it at all. I didn't turn the television on.

HOLMES: And give us more idea of your neighbors as well, ma'am. I understand this is a retirement community. So, certainly, are there a lot of folks who are -- I don't want to say in ailing health, necessarily, but not -- certainly some older folks who may need more help than others.

TEDERSTROM: Yes, but pretty much the neighbors take care of the older people down here. I mean, we're all retirees. So it's -- we look out for each other.

HOLMES: And the extent of that damage you said that's a block away, your home wasn't touched, but is it pretty devastating? I know you're seeing some of the pictures on TV, but are we talking about -- you're seeing homes with that type of destruction that I'm seeing on my TV here right now. And hopefully you can see this picture.

Are we talking about that kind of damage just literally up the street from you? Or...

TEDERSTROM: Yes.

HOLMES: ... is it -- really?

TEDERSTROM: Yes. Terrible damage. I mean, houses that people won't get back into for -- they'll be lucky if they get back in, in six months.

HOLMES: All right. Well...

TEDERSTROM: And some of them are going to have to be taken down before they can be put back up, I would think.

HOLMES: My goodness. Well, I guess you're certainly one of the lucky ones there.

Sarah Tederstrom, who's joining us from The Villages. Thank you, ma'am, for helping us and our viewers get some perspective of what's going on there. Thank you for your time. And good luck to you and your neighbors in trying to get things back together.

But Tony, guys, it's amazing to hear that her home was not touched, she slept right through it all, she walks up the street and she sees total devastation. So some folks...

HARRIS: That's just the random nature of these things, T.J., as we know.

An additional piece of information here, that folks in that area who have lost so much, there is a shelter that has been set up at The Villages Elementary School. If you can get there for help, it might be a place to sort of reorient yourself and get the help you need as you sort of plot your next moves forward.

T.J., thanks.

COLLINS: I want to go ahead and take you back to Lady Lake, which is in Lake County. Again, one of the hardest hit areas.

We have a report coming to us from our affiliate, WSTV's Amanda Ober. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANDA OBER, REPORTER, WSTV: Well, you know, it's really just everyone trying to figure out what's going on and where to star. When you wake up in the morning and you come outside to something like this, you just really -- these people don't even know where to begin.

I mean, take a look down this row of houses you see here. Just total destruction. There's nothing else they can do.

Many of these folks have already left the area and actually gone to be with family and friends. Those who were injured were taken to area hospitals. We're told about three dozen people just in this Sumter- Marion County section of The Villages have been pulled out of their homes and taken to area hospitals for treatment.

Thankfully, no one reported killed yet in this part of Sumter County. So they're hopeful, of course, that that does not change.

We've heard stories of people really just pulling together this morning at the height of the storm. We heard one woman who said she heard the noise and went outside to see if she could help anyone. She heard people screaming for help in a home right near her house, actually drove over, ran inside, pulled some folks out, and helped pull out an 88-year-old woman just before the roof on her home collapsed.

She's now in the hospital in surgery, but expected to be OK. Of course, her house looks very similar to the ones you're seeing right now. She doesn't have much of a home to go home to. The emergency management officials here in Sumter county and Marion County, The Villages, are busy trying to figure what exactly to do next. They are going through, home to home, with an urban search and rescue time, trying to assess the damage, trying to assess how many people are injured.

As you can see, it's just -- it's just everywhere.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Obviously, that is something that is still going on as you, of course, would imagine after this happened overnight, about 3:00 a.m. or so in the morning. Huge storms across central Florida surprised many people who may not have heard sirens or may not have had all-weather radios.

I want to go ahead and bring in Shannon Lewis. She's with New Smyrna Beach, and she is in Volusia County -- the city of New Smyrna Beach, I should say.

Shannon, tell us about what are you seeing this morning now in New Smyrna Beach.

SHANNON LEWIS, NEW SMYRNA BEACH EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER: Well, listening to the reports from around the area, we're fortunate in that we have had no fatalities and no major injuries. We had just three minor injuries associated with the tornado, what we believe to be a tornado.

We have had 69 homes that have been damaged in two of our subdivisions which also resulted in a power outage of about 800 customers, 300 of which are back on line at this time. There's still a portion of southbound US 1 that's closed from the southern limits of Port Orange to Industrial Park Avenue within New Smyrna Beach.

COLLINS: What would be the priority today in your area?

LEWIS: In our area, we have utility crews in the area working to restore power. We also have a shelter open with a Red Cross representative for people who have been displaced. Certainly, we want to provide assistance to those individuals who are unable to go back to their homes today and this evening.

We do have our building department representatives in the field, and we know that there are already contractors in the area. So we do urge people to make sure that they're utilizing licensed contractors. And if there's any reports of gouging, that they report that to the state.

COLLINS: Boy, I sure hope that doesn't happen.

LEWIS: Absolutely.

COLLINS: A situation like this.

Quickly, last question for you, Shannon, in New Smyrna Beach, did you hear any of those warning sirens? LEWIS: No. There are no warning sirens. This is -- the area impacted here is just north of our general aviation airport, which did not experience any damage. But there are no warning systems attached to that. After the storm, we were able to use an emergency call-down system to notify people of what occurred in the area.

COLLINS: What exactly is that?

LEWIS: We're able to utilize a computer system to map out the area, the affected people, and send a message to each of their homes indicating that there had been storm damage in the area.

COLLINS: Wow. So that sends a message directly to the people's homes?

LEWIS: Correct. And that works well with hurricanes and other incidents when you have leeway. In this circumstance, without prior warning, that call went out after.

COLLINS: Right. After the fact.

LEWIS: Correct.

COLLINS: All right. So we continue -- Shannon Lewis, thanks so much.

LEWIS: Thank you.

COLLINS: The city of New Smyrna Beach, again, in Volusia County.

Continuing to ask those questions about the warning system and if possible, Tony, that will be something that will change as we move forward in central Florida.

HARRIS: You would hope so. If it's feasible, you would certainly hope so.

As we continue to follow the situation in central Florida, CNN has confirmed at least 14 deaths because of this storm that came through in the small hours of the morning causing so much devastation. A state disaster declaration for four counties in central Florida: Volusia, Lake, Sumter, Seminole County. Twenty thousand households at least without power right now.

We will continue to follow this search and rescue operation as it unfolds literally before our eyes in the NEWSROOM.

And still to come, Iraq. The violence smolders, U.S. policy stumbles, and a new intelligence estimate adds to the concernings. We will talk to an esteemed panel of retired generals. What do they think can be done? They'll tell us in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: As we continue to follow the situation in central Florida, reporting now here through CNN that 14 people have been killed in the area. We want to bring you another story from one of our affiliates on the ground, WFTS. This is from Sumter County.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Six hours after the tornado hit, to Jane Stewart's (ph) relief, she found her cat. Her biggest worry during the storm, though, was her mother.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband grabbed me and threw me in the closet, and then threw a blanket on me. And then he went to get my mother, but the winds were -- the wind was blowing so bad through, we couldn't get through.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eventually, she had to be dug out from the rubble. And at 94, is hospitalized with cuts and bruises.

Across the street in Bob Tierney's (ph) kitchen, the smoke alarm, still sounding, carries right outside. He woke up when things started hitting his house and he knew what was coming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just caved in a matter -- a matter of maybe 30 seconds. Everything just totally destroyed. And it was chaos, and the next thing I was looking at the sky and rain was hitting me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (on camera): The winds were also strong enough to pick up the roof of this house. Just look at the hole that's right in the middle of it. Moved it about a block over to this parking lot to one of the clubhouses that has a pro shop in the back that's also been destroyed.

(voice over): Cars didn't fare much better, this one flipping over. This sign offering drivers directions a mile and a half out of place.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like a freight train coming through your house. I ran into my closet, and huddled on the floor and prayed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: A lot of people doing that today in central Florida. That report coming in to us from WFTS in Sumter County.

We will not be leaving this story. We will continue to follow it as it develops today.

Just a reminder. We have heard from all of the counties that have been affected in Florida. Search and rescue missions still under way. Hearing reports, though, some people being trapped in all of that debris that we've been showing you all morning long.

Our Chad Myers watching the situation to see if any other storms develop.

We are on top of it here at CNN.

For now, we'll bring you some other news. HARRIS: New concerns today in the fight for Iraq amid a new national intelligence estimate on the situation there. A declassified portion of the report just out this morning. Here's a closer look.

Iraqi-on-Iraqi violence is viewed as the primary source of conflict. The al Qaeda-inspired insurgency was previously seen as the top concern.

The report cites sectarian violence as a major threat. It says Iran's support of Shia militants has intensified the conflict.

The report also says the phrase "civil war" does not -- does not -- adequately capture the complexity of the conflict in Iraq.

Let's talk more about what the estimate says. We're joined by our in- house experts. They are retired Brigadier General David Grange. We also have retired Brigadier General James "Spider" Marks. Both men served in the Army. Representing the Air Force, retired Major General Don Shepperd.

All three gentlemen serve as CNN military analysts.

I'll tell you what, gentlemen. We had an entirely different plan laid out this morning. When generals say they want to change the plan, we listen -- we listen to the generals. We follow.

David, first of all, to you, the national intelligence estimate out this morning raises some serious concerns. Give us your general overview about what you make of its conclusions.

BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, the conclusions really are really nothing new from what we've already heard. Obviously, the sectarian violence is the -- is the dominant threat that we have. The insurgency is still ongoing, of course.

It's a grim report, with a pessimistic outlook for the next 12 to 18 months, but it does show in it a glimmer of hope if certain actions are taken with U.S. forces, Iraqi forces, and a changed Iraqi government.

HARRIS: Spider, you know, I'm thinking that some folks may be a bit surprised when the estimate concludes by identifying Iraqi-on-Iraqi violence as the primary source of the conflict. And maybe this word here is the most striking, "surpassing" al Qaeda. I think a lot of folks believe that al Qaeda is still the primary threat in Iraq.

BRIG. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Tony, the thing you need to remember in all of this is that, what we see today, the level of the violence...

HARRIS: Yes.

MARKS: ... and the characterization of that violence really is Iraqi on Iraqi. It's that sectarian violence that we've spoken about and that we see. That tragic side of it. But the root cause of that was Sunni extremism, former Ba'athists still working with a degree of impunity in the country, Al Qaeda in Iraq. So that root cause still exists. It now manifests itself in Iraqi-on-Iraqi violence.

HARRIS: This estimate, Shep, identifies sectarian violence as the most immediate threat to the administration's goals.

SHEPPERD: Yes, I believe that. One of the keys to U.S. success and coalition success in Iraq is the performance of the new Iraqi government. For the new Iraqi government to perform, you have to have security and this sectarian violence is preventing that security from taking place. It's extremely serious. Remember, also, Tony, that you're only reading the unclassified. That's all we've got. The classified goes much deeper and reveals a lot more.

MARKS: If I may, Tony.

HARRIS: Please, please.

MARKS: The challenge that we have and Don just touched on it, is the Iraqi government has to break out of what I would call its DNA marking, and that is to have kind of its primary focus on its tribal affiliations, it's familial relationships and they have got to step up and establish, really deeply establish its national identity.

HARRIS: That's been rooted in over 1,000 years of loyalty to sect and tribe over this sense of a country-wide identity.

GRANGE: Well, it has. We're really forcing a seventh century mentality in the 21st century at our pace. The speed that Americans would like to see this thing happen, which is a challenge. But again, no matter how much we surge, no matter how many resources we pour into Iraq, unless you get unity of effort with the Iraqi government, that the Iraqi people themselves are the main purpose and not the tribes, the sects, the different pieces, then we're going to have a tough go at making any change.

HARRIS: I'm not at all curious and Don, did you want to jump in?

SHEPPERD: I was saying, we've had four Iraqi governments in three and a half years. This is tough sledding. Trying to put together a government in this country with law and order is hard enough. Elections are hard enough in this country. We see when they're screwed up. Now think of it in Iraq, this is truly a civil war of some type. We're afraid of using the civil war word, but it has civil war aspects of it, no question about it. This is tough sledding.

HARRIS: Can you make this plan work? We're going into, oh, about 23 neighborhoods in and around Baghdad, Baghdad International Airport, the Green Zone, with about 17,500 troops? I don't care whether you want more. Can you make this work? David?

GRANGE: You know, Spider knows the city much better than I do, but I truly believe that there's a shot at this. We have a chance. One with the leadership in place, if you focus in on certain areas of the city, we're not looking at really cordoning off the whole city and searching every dwelling. That's not the case. So it's a focused, prioritized look in control of certain areas. A tough set, but I think it's doable.

MARKS: David, and you know, the leadership that's in place, the leadership that is taking over, these guys are not dilettantes. These are professionals that have been involved sin this specific fight for quite some time. And it's very precise, in this case, the additional troops will make a difference. And also bear in mind, there are other troops in country. If you need more, you put them where you need more. You might need to bring more in country -- I mean into Baghdad.

HARRIS: Don?

SHEPPERD: And remember, this is not Americans that are going to secure Baghdad or Sadr City or Iraq. It's Iraqi forces. There's some good news.

HARRIS: Do you really believe that?

SHEPPERD: I believe that absolutely.

HARRIS: That Iraqis will be in the lead?

SHEPPERD: I believe Iraqis will be in the lead.

HARRIS: And that American, that coalition forces will form that second circle?

SHEPPERD: The idea is nine sectors of Baghdad with an Iraqi brigade in each one, Iraqi military brigade embedded with an American, a U.S., a battalion in each one of the nine sectors. This can make a difference. The good news is the Iraqi military is coming up to speed and doing well. The Iraqi national police are starting to do well. The local police are still a problem, Tony.

GRANGE: I don't agree on every target there.

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: OK, OK, this is what I wanted.

GRANGE: No, in spirit, I agree with that. But there's going to be some tough objectives, areas within the city, that I think U.S. forces -- there will be Iraqis with them that will actually take them down, clear them. The hard part is then who holds them.

SHEPPERD: They will settle into this relationship.

HARRIS: Why not, if you're going to surge, last question and I'm sorry I'm giving you this with little time, if you're going to surge in these number of troops, why not take on the big fight first?

The big fight is Sadr City, we'll show everyone Sadr City on the map. Why are we talking about these communities, these mixed communities around Baghdad, why not go fight the real fight and we all know where the real fight is? Who wants to take that one?

MARKS: Well, the bad guys are in Sadr City. And that's where they come from and that's where they go back to. They do. So if you can hold that off and make a difference elsewhere, you know, the definition of center of gravity is identify where you can make a difference and by making that difference, everything else will hinge on that. The way you're going to make success or have success in Sadr City -- you're raising your eyebrows.

HARRIS: Well?

MARKS: You know, you've got to get the Iraqi forces to take the lead. But I've served with this guy before and I've got to tell you, when you roll into town with Dave Grange, you don't let somebody else take charge. So the U.S. ethos is they're going to put a strong hand on this and they're going to settle into the relationship with the Iraqi forces and the U.S. forces in terms of lead and follow.

HARRIS: Don?

SHEPPERD: Look at Sadr City, you just saw Sadr City. That is a tough -- the toughest target, as Spider says, OK? If you can find a diplomatic solution rather than going in and taking it on militarily, it's a lot better. And that's what we're trying to find before we take on the toughest fight, Tony.

HARRIS: Wonderful conversation. Just what I hoped for. Retired brigadier general James Marks, retired brigadier general James Marks, retired major general Don Shepperd, thank you all so much.

COLLINS: A middle of the night wakeup call announces deadly weather.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We heard the train.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your house is?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That one, demolished.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Demolished.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Demolished, nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Central Florida hit by suspected tornadoes, complete coverage of this breaking story coming up right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: More than a dozen people dead, neighborhoods flattened. We are following breaking news from central Florida where severe storms and a suspected tornado hit with devastating fury overnight.

We're looking at some live pictures coming in in just a moment from DeLand, Florida. Authorities in Lake County are reporting at least 14 people killed. Among the hardest hit areas, the town of Lady Lake.

Again, this is coming to us live pictures, DeLand, Florida. At least two mobile home parks in Lady Lake were devastated. Florida Governor Charlie Crist has declared a state of emergency in four counties.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHARLIE CRIST, FLORIDA: Obviously early this morning we had a significant weather event. I have just signed an executive order that will affect the four affected counties. They are Volusia, Sumter, Lake and Seminole counties. The state emergency center obviously is in full mode. These people are working hard and they're doing great work. We are coordinating with local officials to make sure that Floridians are safe, that they are secure.

You know, this is one of the most important things we do in government, is protect and serve our citizens, and that's exactly what's happening here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The storms hit hard and quickly in the middle of the night, while many people were asleep. Search and rescue crews are sifting through the debris now for people who may be trapped. The Florida Highway Patrol says tractor-trailers were blown off the road along Interstate 4 in Volusia County. About 20,000 people across the region without power now across the region.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: What a morning it has been. About an hour ago now, Heidi, we heard in a news conference which featured the governor of Florida, Charlie Crist, Florida's emergency management director, Craig Fugate, Ben Nelson, the state's meteorologist, about the severity of this storm, 20,000 people without power. The state not wanting to go on record now with fatalities understandably.

The governor signing an executive order, declaring a state of emergency for four counties. Let's show the map -- Volusia, Lake, Sumter and Seminole County. A state of emergency declared there. The search-and-rescue operation very intense and ongoing at this time. Governor Crist has been in contact with the White House. The governor also has been in FEMA director, David Paulison. The governor probably at this point touring some of the impacted areas at this point.

We want to give you a view of things on the ground. We have shown you wonderful pictures from the air, but we want to put you on the ground now. This is a report filed just a short time ago by a reporter, Christina Arangio of our affiliate WFTV.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINA ARANGIO, WFTV REPORTER: The devastation is not as severe here as I'm seeing and hearing from some of these other locations. And the story is a little bit better in terms of homes that are still somewhat standing.

But you can see, all of the mobile homes right here and pieces of the aluminum siding just hanging over the power lines. And we also noticed off in the distance, there is a bus, an old school bus that was turned over on its side.

We've seen people walking up and down the street, just trying to take a look at the damage, make sure their neighbors are OK. There are Xs on some of the mobile homes here as sheriff's deputies of Marion County who were trying to help out here in Lake County have gone through and searched the area.

I spoke just a moment ago with Mary Kay (ph) and she's going to join us live right now. She was in her home, which is just a little bit down the street here, right over here. And we can show that in just a moment. Come on this way and just tell me what this was like for you this morning, Mary.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was scary.

ARANGIO: What did it sound like?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A freight train hitting.

ARANGIO: Where were you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In my bedroom when it hit.

ARANGIO: Were your alone in the house?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mom and dogs were in the house.

ARANGIO: And so what did you do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was back behind a bar that we had and I heard the windows bust out. My mom yelled if I was OK and I said, yes. Then the roof, you can see the tree over there on the roof and then there's one that went through the side of the house, too.

ARANGIO: Let's walk a little bit this way just so we can show people and maybe you can describe. Now, didn't you have a tree that came down, too? I see one right here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, on the top of the car.

ARANGIO: Kind of follow it down that way. And now you're seeing part of the sky through your home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

ARANGIO: You were telling me before about the Christmas Day tornadoes and how you watched the damage in those areas in Volusia County. You had some thoughts about that. Share them with me now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I just think, you know, homes ought to be donated to people who have lost everything. ARANGIO: And how you have a sense now of what it was like for those folks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, because we had one hit a long time ago, in Morgantown, blew out the windows downtown with no warning. I've been through one before.

ARANGIO: Worse than this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes.

ARANGIO: Here, though, you've never seen anything quite like this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Huh-uh.

ARANGIO: Thank you so much for taking a little bit of time. I know she's been here -- if you take a look, she's got her garbage bag right here. And she's going just little by little, trying to clean up the mess. But it's overwhelming. There are some folks who are trying to cut up branches and move debris. But then I've seen plenty of other folks who just seem completely shocked and unable to really react at this point because there is so much to clean up in this area.

Just behind her home here is the Lady Lake mobile home park that was flattened, apparently. And they're only letting immediate family in there. But this is the situation here on Alma Street (ph) off of Griffin View Drive. For now we're live in Lady Lake. Christina Arangio, Channel 9, Eyewitness News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Well there you have it, from Lady Lake. Four counties now as you may have seen on the bottom of your screen there that the governor has declared a state emergency. Volusia, Sumter Lake and Seminole County. We have been reporting here at least at this moment that we know CNN has confirmed 14 fatalities across central Florida.

But all of the search and rescue still very much ongoing right now. So those numbers could change.

HARRIS: We're going to take a break and come back with our continuing coverage of this devastating storm that has wreaked so much havoc on central Florida. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So many amazing stories we've heard this morning of folks who have made it through.

COLLINS: Yes.

HARRIS: And now have the difficult task of looking at this. And then trying to figure out, well, what pieces are salvageable? What is salvageable of the house that I was living in with my family? Where do I go to have my immediate needs addressed?

Amazing stories that morning of folks who have made it through. And, of course, tremendous devastation. How about this story from Kim Miller (ph) from the Florida highway patrol, reporting five semis blown off Interstate 4. Can you imagine that?

COLLINS: Yes and of course the worst problem here was that it happened in the middle of the night. We are hearing reports pretty much 100 percent of these areas did not have the warning sirens and if they did, people did not hear them.

So they were very much caught off guard as we continue to follow this story for you. We'll be back here in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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