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Inside Politics

War in Iraq

Aired March 31, 2003 - 16:00   ET

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

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


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: From Basra to Baghdad, coalition forces keep going after Iraqi military targets, while trying to win the hearts and minds of civilians.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we're trying to do is drive a wedge between the control of the Baath party officials and its militia and the people.

ANNOUNCER: A war and a prayer. U.S.-led forces search for comfort in hostile territory.

America's other war of ideas. Then ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're here to make it clear to the Japanese that the time has now come to make sense. And now ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They also start using electrical shock on my fingertips.

ANNOUNCER: CNN live this hour, Judy Woodruff reports from Washington, with correspondents from around the world. A special edition of "INSIDE POLITICS: The War in Iraq," starts right now.

JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST: Thank you for joining us.

President Bush is warning Americans that Saddam Hussein's dying regime may try to bring terror to U.S. shores, but HE promised that coalition forces will not relent in Iraq until that country is free.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Day by day, we are moving closer to Baghdad. Day by day, we are moving closer to victory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: More just ahead on the president's remarks in Philadelphia. His praise for the United States Coast Guard and the administration view of the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL: We are seeing significant degradation of those forces. I won't put an exact number on it, but I'll say very significant weakening of the forces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: Pentagon officials say Iraqi commanders are moving Republican Guard troops around to shore up the strength of their weakened forces.

Right now, let's go back to Kuwait City for the latest battlefield report. My colleague, Wolf Blitzer is there -- Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Thanks, Judy. It's just after midnight here in Kuwait and Baghdad. We're watching the skies for any sign of attack. It's become a nightly ritual since war broke out. This is the scene now after explosions rocked the heart of the capitol city about an hour and a half ago. Throughout the day, U.S. forces pounded Republican Guard units around Baghdad from the air as well as from the ground. U.S. bombers and cruise missiles struck command and communications centers several times.

Iraqi television says this is another new video of Saddam Hussein and his sons. The Pentagon was quick to point out today that the world has not seen "hide or hair" of the Iraqi president, except, except on videotape. And the Pentagon says U.S. officials have seen evidence that members of Saddam Hussein's family have tried to flee Iraq.

Meanwhile, coalition aircraft continue to hammer away at Iraqi targets from above. For more on the air campaign, let's turn now to CNN's Bob Franken. He is one of our embedded journalists. He is at an air base not far from the Iraqi border - Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Wolf, if you look behind me, you see a flight line that is normally just bristling with aircraft. But it's really quite empty now. Most of them are in the air. The figures have come out for the last 24-hour reporting period. About 2,000 sorties have been flown in the entire theater. That's up some from the day before, which was already substantially up. And it's hardly any surprise, the air right now is flooded with aircraft from the United States and coalition partners. In particular, the A-10 anti--tank plane continues to really have a very prevalent role in the fighting that's going on. A lot of them fly from this particular base.

There have been particular emphasis on attacks on Republican Guard troops on the ground. As a matter of fact, the great bulk of the sorties that have been flown by the A-10s have been aimed at the Republican Guard, which is no surprise. This is quickly becoming a battle between the elite forces of the Iraqi military, which would be the Republican Guard, and the U.S. forces on the ground. And the United States, of course, does have the advantage of the intense air power that the Iraqis are now doing pretty much without.

There have been no engagements with Iraqi aircraft. As a matter of fact, there have been quite a few successful bombing runs on the Iraqi aircraft on the ground. Again, the intensity of the air campaign continues to grow and, by all accounts, it's going to get larger and larger increase. Of course, we've talked about this before, Wolf. It's a reverse of what the procedures were in Gulf War one. This time, the air campaign much more coordinated with the ground campaign and becoming more and more of a factor - Wolf.

BLITZER: Bob Franken, he's at an air base not far from the Iraqi border. We'll be getting back to you later, Bob. Thanks very much.

Judy, I'm going to be having a complete wrap-up of all the day's action, and there has been quite a bit at the top of the hour. But until then, I'll throw it back to you in Washington.

WOODRUFF: Thanks, Wolf. We will be watching you at 5:00 Eastern when you are up.

A British military official says that Iraqi paramilitary forces indiscriminately fired mortars today in the town of Basra. British television reporter Bill Neely has more on the battle for control of that city.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL NEELY, ITV NEWS (voice-over): This was a battle in which the marines had a high-tech advantage and you're looking through it. They moved forward in pitch black using night vision equipment. The Iraqis they were heading for had none. So when they opened fire, they had sight and surprise on their side. And they had firepower too, more than 700 marines here with artillery behind. Their attack was withering. Flares lit up the night sky to guide more marines, machines and munitions in. This was the biggest marine assault since the night of the invasion, backed up by more than a dozen tanks.

They code named this operation "James" after James Bond. But there was nothing make-believe about it. This was real and raw and brutal power. And the Iraqis suffered. Outnumbered, outgunned, the body count rising. By dawn, the back of the Iraqi resistance had been broken, but there was no break in the firing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have three (UNINTELLIGIBLE). They took out several pieces of armor, including enemy main battle tanks and armored personnel carriers. We've also moved through taking out several armed militia. They're dispersing now. (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

NEELY: First light gave many Iraqis the chance they wanted to give up -- among them, two senior army officers. The marines say these were the first of 200 Iraqis taken prisoner. By mid-morning, their target, Abu Al Kasib had been taken, too. The Iraqis had positioned tanks throughout the village but they dug them in, so when the marines attacked, they couldn't move. They were picked off one by one. The village air thick with the heavy smoke of defeat, the tank crews dead.

Then, from the date palms around the village, more men emerged. They wore no uniform. They were snipers, experts in the ambush and the trap, but they'd been trapped and their war is over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The plan was to cross the line of departure (ph) here and to punch forward with the troop attacks. That has been successful. It destroyed a number of bridge equipment pieces, a number of tanks and APCs. They've pushed all the way forward on this axis, which is scarlet, and have taken up a strong defensive position on this junction.

NEELY: Many Iraqis in the south want to see Saddam Hussein defeated, but they're not greeting the foreign attackers with roses, just bewildered stares.

(on camera): One aim of this attack is to squeeze Iraq's second city, Basra, even more in the hope that it explodes from the inside in a popular uprising. But there's no sign of that so far. So these marines are now preparing to take the city the hard way.

Bill Neely, ITV News with the Royal Marines in southern Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: The resistance in Basra proving to be every bit as difficult as the coalition forces had predicted. Bill Neely reporting.

Just ahead, it has been a fierce battle zone in the war in Iraq. Today, American marines are on patrol in Nasiriya. CNN's Alessio Vinci will bring us the latest from what's called "ambush alley."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Just a moment ago, we saw evidence of tough fighting in the area around Basra. Separately, a bloody battle zone in southern Iraq is now under coalition control. And, today, American forces are on patrol in Nasiriya. The latest from CNN's Alessio Vinci, who is embedded with U.S. marines in that area.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A week ago, this area of Nasiriya was a firing zone, so-called ambush alley, where several marines lost their lives in a fierce battle. Today, it's under the control of U.S. troops who have begun patrols.

LT. TROY GARLOCK, U.S. MARINE: Basically, what we're trying to do is, you know, also win the hearts and the minds of the people. We're not here to totally, what the marines are known for with force, brute force and taking everything out. We also want to show the other side, that we're here to also help restore and help set a base for Iraq and for especially An-Nasiriya.

VINCI: The first patrol began early in the morning with marines walking in tight formation, weapons trained on anything that moved. A civilian who approached the patrol handed over a letter he wanted sent to Washington to President George W. Bush.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It says I'd like to have an appointment to meet you, sir. And that this is a very important matter, that can I have -- going to make all the people here happy. VINCI: Others had less ambitious requests. They asked for water and food. The marines say water and electricity will soon be restored and food by nearby warehouses will be distributed.

(on camera): This section of the city at this time of day is largely deserted. The few people who do come out in the street appear to be largely sympathetic to U.S. marines here.

(voice-over): Many civilians say they need the presence of U.S. troops. Some are in particular need of medical attention. Three- month-old Zahara (ph) was treated for mild diarrhea and an eye infection. A man identified as an Iraqi combatant told marines he was wounded two days ago when his group of 15 came under helicopter gunship attack. He says he's the only survivor.

STAFF SGT. ANTHONY GOODWIN, U.S. MARINES: Obviously, we're trying to look at the overall picture, trying to be as humane as possible. That's our goal. We want these people to know we are here to help them. But it makes it difficult when the Iraqi military does what they do in the civilian attire and the civilian equipment.

VINCE: People confirm that pockets of paramilitary combatants remain in town and threaten civilians.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But not see him, because he's dressed like to me. I can't see him. He's dressed like to me and he come, tonight he was trying to kill me and my family.

VINCI: So, in this one little corner of Iraq, people seem to feel safe enough to speak freely but not too freely.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, with the U.S. marines in Nasiriya, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Remarkable to see the troops walking around An- Nasiriya, when a few days ago that was the site of bloody, bloody fighting that seemed to go on for days.

When we return, our Bill Schneider will join us to tell us what the latest polls are saying about Americans and their reaction to this war.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE BUSH, FMR. PRES: Very proud of our armed forces, very proud of the president. And you've just heard from the proudest dad in the United states of America. Thank you all very, very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: No question about it, he is a proud father of the first President Bush, President George H.W. Bush, throwing out the first pitch at this game in Cincinnati. Cincinnati's opening up its new ball field, ballpark called the Great American ballpark. We're told that the first President Bush wore a jersey with the number two on it. That was his jersey number when he played for Yale. He played baseball for Yale back a few years ago. That was Cincinnati.

Well, his son, President George w. Bush, of whom he said he was very proud, was away from Washington today, but his thoughts were very much on the war with Iraq. During a speech in Philadelphia, Mr. Bush said coalition forces are moving closer to victory. With us now, CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash. Dana, the ostensible purpose of this trip to pay tribute to the Coast Guard?

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: that's right, Judy. And I should tell you that the president is now back in Washington. He just landed just moments ago. But you're right, he came to the port of Philadelphia to pay tribute to the Coast Guard. And it was an interesting choice to pay tribute to the coast Guard because it allowed him to combine lots of themes, particularly the theme of homeland security, and the war on terrorism and the war in Iraq. Of course, the Coast Guard spends a lot of its time, most of its time patrolling the ports in and around America to make sure that they are safe. But also, they are involved in the war in Iraq. They are deployed in the theater in the Persian Gulf, helping particularly in southern Iraq, in the port there to help make way for humanitarian aid to get into Iraq. The president made mention of that.

And also, on the issue of Iraq, gave a very upbeat assessment of how the war is going so far. Trying to contradict critics, saying that the war plan perhaps is flawed. He said that it's day 11 and the oil fields are secure. Most of them are secure, and that the U.S. coalition forces have control of most of the south and west of Iraq. But he also said that dangerous days do lie ahead. But day by day, he said, that U.S. forces are getting closer to Baghdad. And Judy, he had a very clear message to the people of Iraq. Unlike 12 years ago, when they left Saddam Hussein in power, President Bush said that the U.S. is going to come in. And he said he won't relent until the country of Iraq is free.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Victory will mean the end of a tyrant who rules by fear and torture. Our victory will remove a sponsor of terror, armed with weapons of terror. Our victory will uphold the just demands of the United Nations and the civilized world. And when victory comes, it will be shared by the long-suffering people of Iraq who deserve freedom and dignity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: You heard President Bush referring to Saddam Hussein as a tyrant. The theme of talking about the brutality of the Iraqi regime has been a big part of the president and the Bush administration message in general in the past couple of days, talking about the fact that the Iraqi people are being forced to fight, saying death squads are forcing the Iraqi men and women to fight back, suggesting that that perhaps is why we are not seeing the surrenders that some had predicted before this war had begun. But also, linking that to terrorism and saying that perhaps there might be a threat of some kind of terrorist attack on the homeland, because of this war. He made very clear, at this event, with the Coast Guard and the homeland security director, that they're doing what they can to prevent that - Judy.

WOODRUFF: Dana Bash on a cold and blustery day in Philadelphia, near the port in that city, where, as you say, Dana, the president reinforced the message to the Iraqi people. We're coming, he said, with food and medicine and better life. This is a message the president hammering away at day after day.

Well, we also couldn't help but notice that the president's speech today was in Pennsylvania a politically important state that he has visited a number of times since he's taken office. We're joined now by our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider. Hello, Bill.

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SNR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Has there been any political fallout, as best you can tell, from the polls yet from this war?

SCHNEIDER: Judy, the answer is yes. And it has been good for President Bush. Two weeks ago, we asked registered voters, if George W. Bush runs for reelection in 2004, are you more likely to vote for Bush or the Democratic candidate. The result was virtually a tie, 45 percent said Bush, 42 percent, the Democrat. We asked the same question this weekend. Bush is now up to 51 percent. The unnamed Democrat down to 36. That's a 15-point lead. Keep in mind, at 51 percent support, Bush is far from a sure thing.

Also keep in mind, right after the Persian Gulf war in 1991, his father had a 50-point lead over a Democrat yet to be named.

WOODRUFF: So Bill, as you look at this, as the gain the president is experiencing, is that helping the Republican party overall?

SCHNEIDER: Well, actually, it is. In January, the two parties were just about tied in favorability. Now, the Republican figure is up to 56 percent, while the Democrats are down slightly to 49. So, it looks like the GOP, not just President Bush, is getting a wartime boost.

WOODRUFF: And Bill what about people's views of individual Democrats, Democratic public figures?

SCHNEIDER: Well, we see some effect there also. Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, you'll recall, was harshly critical of President Bush just before the war started. And Daschle's ratings have turned negative, 32 percent favorable, 38 percent unfavorable. They had been positive in January. Now, Senator Joe Lieberman, another Democrat running for president, has been strongly supportive of the war. Lieberman's ratings have stayed favorable, 41 to 26. So, the message to Democrats right now is you criticize the war at your peril, politically.

WOODRUFF: Perhaps a lesson for other Democrats. All right, Bill Schneider, thanks very much. We'll talk to you a little later.

WOODRUFF: The Democratic presidential candidates, you just heard Bill talk about two of them, are still making noise on the campaign trail. But they are doing it at a lower volume than before the war began. Over the weekend in Iowa, Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of senator and Democratic hopeful John Edwards criticized White House diplomacy. She summed up the Bush administration attitude toward the rest of the world as quote, "We are the biggest, baddest cowboy in town."

Senator Joe Lieberman, meantime, is offering support for members of the armed services. Today, in Washington, Lieberman talked about why U.S. troops are in Iraq and the ideals they're fighting for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D-CT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today, as American men and women in uniform continue to fight overseas, we would do well to pause and ask what it is about our way of life that we're fighting for. And to remember that this is the first nation founded not just on a set of borders, but on a set of ideals. Again, that we were created equal and endowed with those rights. The terrorists we are fighting against don't understand that. Don't accept it, don't accept the tolerance that comes from it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: Senator Lieberman talking in Washington today.

As we continue our coverage of the war, stay with CNN for the latest political developments here in the United States.

We're going to check all the latest developments in the war and other headlines when we return.

Plus, in the trenches with the U.S. marines, how they're coping and praying.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: At last report, from U.S. and British officials, 67 coalition troops have died in operation Iraqi Freedom. Thirty five Americans were killed in combat, eight by friendly fire or in accidents. Five British troops were killed by hostile fire, 18 by non-hostile fire. The cause of one death has not yet been determined.

Now, Iraqi officials are not, for their part, releasing information about their military casualties. But they say that 420 civilians have been killed and about 4,000 have been injured. U.S. Central Command says more than 4,000 Iraqis have been captured.

Seven Americans, meantime, we know are being held prisoner of war by Iraq, and at least 19 Americans are missing in action.

Well, as American troops wage war in Iraq, some of them are trying to find time away from the battlefield. Yesterday, some of the marines in central Iraq found time to attend church services. Australian reporter Geoff Thompson, who is embedded with U.S. troops there, has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEOFF THOMPSON, AUSTRALIAN REPORTER (voice-over): In Iraq's central desert, rare quiet (ph) on the war's front line, the big guns sitting quietly. The supply lines are secured and unexpected resistance is assessed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they're going to overrun us, so we're just going to pull whatever. We're gong to get get them iced in, ramp, I mean, we're just going to rain steel on them.

THOMPSON: Sergeant Jorge Velasquez readies his artillery team for any eventuality, equipped as they are with many way ways of unleashing precision horror on an enemy up to 30 kilometers away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically, this one is a expelling round. When we fire it, it pumps out grenades, 188 grenades dump out. It drops down, bounce up and they'll get you about chest high.

THOMPSON: What do you imagine is happening on the other end of this artillery battery?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the other end, well, basically, I see a lot of people praying.

THOMPSON (on camera): But on this side of the guns, they are digging and hoping that here, prayer won't be necessary on this night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sleeping holes, just hole got to be deep enough that you are under the ground. So if we take incoming, you're not taking it in the chest.

THOMPSON: There are a few scares, but not a shot is fired. The first all quite night on the coalition front since the war began. The morning is alive on a day when it is time for prayer. Looking at his bible, Corporal Charles Robertson makes his way to church.

Two makeshift Christian services held in a Muslim land and a Bible reading about a place just kilometers from where these Marines now stand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "'From a distant land,' Hezekiah replied. 'They came from Babylon.'"

THOMPSON: But, shortly, they return to their work. There seems to be time for maintenance, but it soon runs out, as a fire mission is radioed in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's unlimited amount of rounds fired, if they call that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four one six.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four one six.

THOMPSON (on camera): When the ground war began, these guns were firing constantly. Now the lull of the last few days is about to come to an end, as the real battle begins, with Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard.

Geoff Thompson, ABC News, central Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(NEWS BREAK)

WOODRUFF: We want to tell your viewers that, just a few moments ago, Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke at the State Department.

Let's listen to what he's saying right now.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We have not made a decision on that. As we have said to the Chinese...

POWELL: ... message will eventually come through.

One more.

WOODRUFF: We've been listening to Secretary of State Colin Powell speaking in Washington.

Our coverage of the war in Iraq continues in a moment.

But right now, the search for answers to a mysterious illness goes on around the world. The respiratory illness known as SARS has killed scores of people around the world.

And with me now from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the administrator of the CDC, Dr. Julie Gerberding.

Dr. Gerberding, just how out of control is this disease, this severe acute respiratory syndrome?

DR. JULIE GERBERDING, CDC DIRECTOR: Right now, the disease continues to expand internationally. We're seeing more cases in Asia and a few more cases in the United States.

Our concern is that it can be spread very efficiently, like most common respiratory viruses, so it could get much worse before it gets better. WOODRUFF: How worried are you about it?

GERBERDING: Well, I think the optimistic part of all this is that, in just two weeks, the international science community has come so far in terms of being able to identify the virus. And we're very close to having a test for it. So that will certainly help us narrow in our efforts at containment.

But we have a long ways to go before we would even begin to think that it's under control.

WOODRUFF: What has to be done, what is being done around the world right now to make sure that it isn't spread anymore?

GERBERDING: One of the most important things is to isolate cases as soon as they're identified. This takes them out of the home or out of the environment where they could expose other people.

In situations where health care workers have been able to use the right infection control and the patients are properly isolated, we really can curtail spread. But we've got to identify people who are at risk and then take those initial steps very quickly.

WOODRUFF: Dr. Gerberding is head of the Centers for Disease Control.

Dr. Gerberding, I read -- "The Wall Street Journal" had an editorial today urging people to stop, to suspend all travel to China, because it pointed out that China was not fully cooperating with this effort. Should people stop travel to China and other countries like this?

GERBERDING: Well, right now, we're not in a situation where there are travel restrictions recommended by the U.S. government or by WHO.

But we are telling people here that, if you have unessential travel, if you don't really need to go there, maybe it would be a good idea to defer travel until we have a better understanding of how this is being spread and what else needs to be done to contain it.

WOODRUFF: For viewers, anyone who is listening or watching, Dr. Gerberding, what should they know about how to prevent this disease?

GERBERDING: Right now, in the U.S., the risk is limited to people who are either health care workers taking care of sick patients or household contacts.

If you've traveled to one of these areas in the last 10 days, you could still be at risk for coming down with the infection. So you need to call your medical provider if you develop any symptom of a respiratory illness. But, beyond that, the people who are not in those groups have very little to be concerned with. If we see that it spreads out outward from the source patients into the community, then of course we'll be issuing additional advice.

WOODRUFF: And once it has been diagnosed, what can be done about it?

GERBERDING: We don't have a specific treatment for this virus, but we are working very hard in the laboratory to identify compounds that might be useful as therapy.

So, when a person gets very ill, the therapy right now consists of the usual measures that we'd take for anyone with a community- acquired pneumonia. In addition to general good nursing practices, these patients will also be in isolation rooms, so that they pose less risk to their health care providers.

WOODRUFF: All right, Dr. Julie Gerberding, we thank you for helping put this in perspective. Dr. Gerberding is head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

We've been discussing severe acute respiratory syndrome. And, as she described, there are efforts being made -- frantic efforts, if you will -- to control the spread of this newly diagnosed illness.

And one other medical note: A new treatment for Parkinson's disease is showing promise. Early testing surprised scientists when all five patients receiving it showed improvement. Parkinson's is a progressive disease of the nervous system.

We're back in a moment with the latest on the war in Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: There was a recent Pentagon briefing -- in fact, it was the one that took place on Saturday -- when we saw the image of the face of an Iraqi woman, replacing the more common aerial combat videos we've been showing -- or they've been showing. Was it proper, is a question? Was it a proper way to stay on message or was it a form of propaganda for the U.S. government?

Let's check in with our senior analyst, Jeff Greenfield -- Jeff.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: Well, Judy, the question you raise is one that has been with us not just in this war, but in all wars, because getting the message out, trying to define what you're fighting for, can be every bit as important, in many cases, as the battles that are fought on the ground.

Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTORIA CLARKE, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I'm going to show you a couple of clips here. The first one is an Iraqi woman.

GREENFIELD (voice-over): This wasn't combat footage the Pentagon was showing on Saturday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they also start using electrical shock on my fingertips. GREENFIELD: But video clips illustrating the horrors of life under Saddam Hussein, including the aftermath of a chemical weapons attack on the town of Halabja in 1988.

(on camera): But, in another sense, it was combat footage in the war of ideas, a war that has often been as critical as any military engagement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: And so a nation which has ever held life cheap prepares to practice once again its ancient arts of death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREENFIELD (voice-over): All through the Second World War, the Office of War Information enlisted filmmakers like Frank Capra -- he made "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" -- to explain the war to America's military.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: We're here to make it clear to the Japanese that their time has come to make sense, modern, civilized sense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREENFIELD: For their part, axis powers also tried to talk to American G.I.s via the radio, with American-born voices. The Japanese had Tokyo Rose.

Throughout much of the Cold War, the Central Intelligence Agency subsidized publications, as well as European political parties and student and youth groups, to get the anti-communist message out. And when the war turned hot in Vietnam, the North Vietnamese welcomed American anti-war leaders to visit. And, in 1966, "New York Times" man Harrison Salisbury got a visa. And his stories about civilian casualties in the north stirred up a huge controversy.

After September 11, with much attention focused on anti-American sentiments in the Muslim world, advertising executive Charlotte Beers was recruited by the government to develop a public-relations campaign. it featured American Muslims talking about their lives in the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wear a hijab in the classroom where I teach. I have never had any child that thought it was weird or anything like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GREENFIELD: So, does this matter, this battle for the hearts and minds? Well, it clearly does in a case like this.

If the American position is that this is a war not of conquest, but of liberation, and if people do not believe that argument, if other propaganda convinces them that it's otherwise, then it is indeed possible that this could be a case where the United States wins the battle militarily, but loses the greater war -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: Jeff, another media story we're following today, and that is former CNN war correspondent Peter Arnett, who, in this war, was reporting for NBC and for "National Geographic Explorer," got in considerable trouble for something that he said. What about that?

GREENFIELD: Well, Peter Arnett went on Iraqi state television and said, A, that the journalists were treated very well and also said that the reports coming back about civilian casualties and resistance was actually stiffening anti-war sentiment in the United States.

He apologized for that this morning. But NBC, and, for that matter, "National Geographic," ended their relationships with Arnett. And the question was, A, saying it on state-run TV was probably not a wise move. And asserting that journalists are being treated well, when many have been kicked out of Iraq and a couple of "Newsday" journalists are missing, probably wasn't wise.

And kind of acknowledging to the people that the United States forces are fighting that reports back from Iraq may be weakening the resolve of Americans -- which, by the way, the polls don't show to be true -- came really -- it didn't come close. It crossed a whole lot of lines. And, as you know, Peter Arnett got into some controversy when he was working at CNN for being in Iraq and reporting on alleged civilian casualties there.

So he came with some baggage. And I just think, from NBC's point of view, it was a public-relations disaster they simply weren't prepared to deal with.

WOODRUFF: All right, Jeff Greenfield reporting on a range of media pieces of this Iraq war that we are trying to follow -- Jeff, thanks very much.

GREENFIELD: All right. There will be more.

WOODRUFF: We'll be checking in with you throughout this week.

We want to let you know that there's word just coming in to CNN about an incident at a U.S. military checkpoint near Najaf in southern Iraq, actually, just south of Baghdad. You can see on the map.

According to U.S. Central Command, U.S. soldiers fired into a van that was carrying 13 women and children when the vehicle refused to stop at a checkpoint. Now, according to Central Command, seven people were killed. Two others were wounded. CENTCOM is saying soldiers from the 3rd Infantry signaled the vehicle to stop, but it continued moving forward. The soldiers were said to have fired warning shots into the air. Then they fired into the vehicle's engine when it failed to respond to the warning shots. Again, this is from Central Command. The soldiers then fired into the passenger compartment, CENTCOM saying the incident is under investigation.

We're going to go live to the Pentagon in a few minutes for the very latest on this incident.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: U.S. troops in Iraq will soon receive support from thousands of their fellow service members arriving in the region.

Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more on the next wave of U.S. firepower.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seventy thousand additional combat troops are now beginning to arrive in the region. The Pentagon says it was always part of the war plan. But, as the war may now go longer than first specked, the additional firepower is vital.

MAJ. GEN. STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF DIRECTOR: It will be exactly based upon what's required on the ground. If, in fact, they're required to maneuver and be part of the combat fight, that's what they'll do.

STARR: Already arriving, 20,000 troops of the 4th Infantry Division. After weeks of waiting offshore Turkey for permission to land and open a northern front, 30 ships full of the division's tanks, vehicles and artillery are in Kuwait. Troops are now arriving on site. And they will be moving into Iraq for possible combat.

Additional so-called follow-on forces also are being sent, all part of the plan, though quick victory might have kept them home. General Tommy Franks says there's no last-minute reinforcement.

GEN. TOMMY FRANKS, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: You see, one says, begin here and then ask for more if necessary. The other course says, begin to flow this amount of force and we'll stop it when it's no longer necessary. We're in the case of the latter, rather than being in the case of the former.

STARR: The 1st Cavalry Division sending 17,000 troops, one of the Army's premiere heavy armored divisions. Hundreds of tanks, armored vehicles, artillery guns and Apache helicopters will be able to move quickly on the battlefield to where they're needed.

The 1st armored division: another 17,000 troops, also providing tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, artillery and helicopters. The 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, 5,200 troops, tanks, and Bradley Fighting Vehicles. And the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, with 3,500 troops, mainly equipped with armored Humvees for reconnaissance patrols and security checkpoints.

(END VIDEOTAPE) STARR: Now, Judy, all of these troops are going to be in place within the next two months. By the time they arrive, if the war is over, they will be peacekeeping troops. If not, they'll be in place to fight the final battles -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: All right, Barbara Starr, it may be hard for some of us to keep track of all those numbers, but we know that families and loved ones are watching them very closely.

Barbara Starr, thanks very much.

Our coverage of the war in Iraq continues in a moment, but right now, a final tribute to Daniel Patrick Moynihan. A memorial service was held here in Washington today for the former senator and longtime public servant. He died last week at the age of 76.

Our Bruce Morton reflects on the man, the scholar, and the politician.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUCE MORTON, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He grew up poor, a cold water flat in New York's Hell's Kitchen, worked as a shoeshine boy, but good times, too. In this 1991 Senate debate on the interstate highway system, he said the General Motors exhibit at the 1939 World's Fair, Futurama, was its inspiration. Getting there cost 5 cents on the subway. And he remembered he'd had a secret way in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PATRICK MOYNIHAN (D), NEW YORK: Caught the imagination of the country, caught the imagination of this 12-year-old, who knew a hole in the fence, such that, if you got out there for 5 cents and went in for that way, why, you got all sorts of free snacks and another look at Futurama. And then you had the 5 cents to get home and a good day was spent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORTON: He went on to become a scholar and a politician, served four presidents, wrote a controversial, but accurate study of problems in African-American families, was Richard Nixon's ambassador to India, Gerald Ford's ambassador to the United Nations, where he said the U.S. should speck up for political and civil liberty.

He served four terms in the U.S. Senate, knew more about more different things, transportation, housing, poverty, foreign policy, than any senator I ever covered. He thought public buildings should be beautiful and led the drive to clean up Pennsylvania Avenue -- the looped presidential inaugural parades tape. Liked the new avenue so much, he bought an apartment on it.

His Senate was more cordial, less partisan, less bitter than today's. The country changed. Deploring kiss-and-tell books on CNN's "EVANS & NOVAK" a few years ago, he said:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "EVANS & NOVAK")

MOYNIHAN: A vulgarization, things that no gentleman would do, are done now, because there are no gentlemen left.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORTON: Maybe. He once said a colleague had a mind as clear as Easter bells. You could say the same of his.

Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Like everyone else, every time I was around Pat Moynihan, I learned something new and important. And that's something that will never be lost.

That's it for this hour. I'm Judy Woodruff in Washington.

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







Aired March 31, 2003 - 16:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: From Basra to Baghdad, coalition forces keep going after Iraqi military targets, while trying to win the hearts and minds of civilians.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we're trying to do is drive a wedge between the control of the Baath party officials and its militia and the people.

ANNOUNCER: A war and a prayer. U.S.-led forces search for comfort in hostile territory.

America's other war of ideas. Then ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're here to make it clear to the Japanese that the time has now come to make sense. And now ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They also start using electrical shock on my fingertips.

ANNOUNCER: CNN live this hour, Judy Woodruff reports from Washington, with correspondents from around the world. A special edition of "INSIDE POLITICS: The War in Iraq," starts right now.

JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST: Thank you for joining us.

President Bush is warning Americans that Saddam Hussein's dying regime may try to bring terror to U.S. shores, but HE promised that coalition forces will not relent in Iraq until that country is free.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Day by day, we are moving closer to Baghdad. Day by day, we are moving closer to victory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: More just ahead on the president's remarks in Philadelphia. His praise for the United States Coast Guard and the administration view of the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL: We are seeing significant degradation of those forces. I won't put an exact number on it, but I'll say very significant weakening of the forces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: Pentagon officials say Iraqi commanders are moving Republican Guard troops around to shore up the strength of their weakened forces.

Right now, let's go back to Kuwait City for the latest battlefield report. My colleague, Wolf Blitzer is there -- Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Thanks, Judy. It's just after midnight here in Kuwait and Baghdad. We're watching the skies for any sign of attack. It's become a nightly ritual since war broke out. This is the scene now after explosions rocked the heart of the capitol city about an hour and a half ago. Throughout the day, U.S. forces pounded Republican Guard units around Baghdad from the air as well as from the ground. U.S. bombers and cruise missiles struck command and communications centers several times.

Iraqi television says this is another new video of Saddam Hussein and his sons. The Pentagon was quick to point out today that the world has not seen "hide or hair" of the Iraqi president, except, except on videotape. And the Pentagon says U.S. officials have seen evidence that members of Saddam Hussein's family have tried to flee Iraq.

Meanwhile, coalition aircraft continue to hammer away at Iraqi targets from above. For more on the air campaign, let's turn now to CNN's Bob Franken. He is one of our embedded journalists. He is at an air base not far from the Iraqi border - Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Wolf, if you look behind me, you see a flight line that is normally just bristling with aircraft. But it's really quite empty now. Most of them are in the air. The figures have come out for the last 24-hour reporting period. About 2,000 sorties have been flown in the entire theater. That's up some from the day before, which was already substantially up. And it's hardly any surprise, the air right now is flooded with aircraft from the United States and coalition partners. In particular, the A-10 anti--tank plane continues to really have a very prevalent role in the fighting that's going on. A lot of them fly from this particular base.

There have been particular emphasis on attacks on Republican Guard troops on the ground. As a matter of fact, the great bulk of the sorties that have been flown by the A-10s have been aimed at the Republican Guard, which is no surprise. This is quickly becoming a battle between the elite forces of the Iraqi military, which would be the Republican Guard, and the U.S. forces on the ground. And the United States, of course, does have the advantage of the intense air power that the Iraqis are now doing pretty much without.

There have been no engagements with Iraqi aircraft. As a matter of fact, there have been quite a few successful bombing runs on the Iraqi aircraft on the ground. Again, the intensity of the air campaign continues to grow and, by all accounts, it's going to get larger and larger increase. Of course, we've talked about this before, Wolf. It's a reverse of what the procedures were in Gulf War one. This time, the air campaign much more coordinated with the ground campaign and becoming more and more of a factor - Wolf.

BLITZER: Bob Franken, he's at an air base not far from the Iraqi border. We'll be getting back to you later, Bob. Thanks very much.

Judy, I'm going to be having a complete wrap-up of all the day's action, and there has been quite a bit at the top of the hour. But until then, I'll throw it back to you in Washington.

WOODRUFF: Thanks, Wolf. We will be watching you at 5:00 Eastern when you are up.

A British military official says that Iraqi paramilitary forces indiscriminately fired mortars today in the town of Basra. British television reporter Bill Neely has more on the battle for control of that city.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL NEELY, ITV NEWS (voice-over): This was a battle in which the marines had a high-tech advantage and you're looking through it. They moved forward in pitch black using night vision equipment. The Iraqis they were heading for had none. So when they opened fire, they had sight and surprise on their side. And they had firepower too, more than 700 marines here with artillery behind. Their attack was withering. Flares lit up the night sky to guide more marines, machines and munitions in. This was the biggest marine assault since the night of the invasion, backed up by more than a dozen tanks.

They code named this operation "James" after James Bond. But there was nothing make-believe about it. This was real and raw and brutal power. And the Iraqis suffered. Outnumbered, outgunned, the body count rising. By dawn, the back of the Iraqi resistance had been broken, but there was no break in the firing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have three (UNINTELLIGIBLE). They took out several pieces of armor, including enemy main battle tanks and armored personnel carriers. We've also moved through taking out several armed militia. They're dispersing now. (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

NEELY: First light gave many Iraqis the chance they wanted to give up -- among them, two senior army officers. The marines say these were the first of 200 Iraqis taken prisoner. By mid-morning, their target, Abu Al Kasib had been taken, too. The Iraqis had positioned tanks throughout the village but they dug them in, so when the marines attacked, they couldn't move. They were picked off one by one. The village air thick with the heavy smoke of defeat, the tank crews dead.

Then, from the date palms around the village, more men emerged. They wore no uniform. They were snipers, experts in the ambush and the trap, but they'd been trapped and their war is over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The plan was to cross the line of departure (ph) here and to punch forward with the troop attacks. That has been successful. It destroyed a number of bridge equipment pieces, a number of tanks and APCs. They've pushed all the way forward on this axis, which is scarlet, and have taken up a strong defensive position on this junction.

NEELY: Many Iraqis in the south want to see Saddam Hussein defeated, but they're not greeting the foreign attackers with roses, just bewildered stares.

(on camera): One aim of this attack is to squeeze Iraq's second city, Basra, even more in the hope that it explodes from the inside in a popular uprising. But there's no sign of that so far. So these marines are now preparing to take the city the hard way.

Bill Neely, ITV News with the Royal Marines in southern Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: The resistance in Basra proving to be every bit as difficult as the coalition forces had predicted. Bill Neely reporting.

Just ahead, it has been a fierce battle zone in the war in Iraq. Today, American marines are on patrol in Nasiriya. CNN's Alessio Vinci will bring us the latest from what's called "ambush alley."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Just a moment ago, we saw evidence of tough fighting in the area around Basra. Separately, a bloody battle zone in southern Iraq is now under coalition control. And, today, American forces are on patrol in Nasiriya. The latest from CNN's Alessio Vinci, who is embedded with U.S. marines in that area.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A week ago, this area of Nasiriya was a firing zone, so-called ambush alley, where several marines lost their lives in a fierce battle. Today, it's under the control of U.S. troops who have begun patrols.

LT. TROY GARLOCK, U.S. MARINE: Basically, what we're trying to do is, you know, also win the hearts and the minds of the people. We're not here to totally, what the marines are known for with force, brute force and taking everything out. We also want to show the other side, that we're here to also help restore and help set a base for Iraq and for especially An-Nasiriya.

VINCI: The first patrol began early in the morning with marines walking in tight formation, weapons trained on anything that moved. A civilian who approached the patrol handed over a letter he wanted sent to Washington to President George W. Bush.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It says I'd like to have an appointment to meet you, sir. And that this is a very important matter, that can I have -- going to make all the people here happy. VINCI: Others had less ambitious requests. They asked for water and food. The marines say water and electricity will soon be restored and food by nearby warehouses will be distributed.

(on camera): This section of the city at this time of day is largely deserted. The few people who do come out in the street appear to be largely sympathetic to U.S. marines here.

(voice-over): Many civilians say they need the presence of U.S. troops. Some are in particular need of medical attention. Three- month-old Zahara (ph) was treated for mild diarrhea and an eye infection. A man identified as an Iraqi combatant told marines he was wounded two days ago when his group of 15 came under helicopter gunship attack. He says he's the only survivor.

STAFF SGT. ANTHONY GOODWIN, U.S. MARINES: Obviously, we're trying to look at the overall picture, trying to be as humane as possible. That's our goal. We want these people to know we are here to help them. But it makes it difficult when the Iraqi military does what they do in the civilian attire and the civilian equipment.

VINCE: People confirm that pockets of paramilitary combatants remain in town and threaten civilians.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But not see him, because he's dressed like to me. I can't see him. He's dressed like to me and he come, tonight he was trying to kill me and my family.

VINCI: So, in this one little corner of Iraq, people seem to feel safe enough to speak freely but not too freely.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, with the U.S. marines in Nasiriya, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Remarkable to see the troops walking around An- Nasiriya, when a few days ago that was the site of bloody, bloody fighting that seemed to go on for days.

When we return, our Bill Schneider will join us to tell us what the latest polls are saying about Americans and their reaction to this war.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE BUSH, FMR. PRES: Very proud of our armed forces, very proud of the president. And you've just heard from the proudest dad in the United states of America. Thank you all very, very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: No question about it, he is a proud father of the first President Bush, President George H.W. Bush, throwing out the first pitch at this game in Cincinnati. Cincinnati's opening up its new ball field, ballpark called the Great American ballpark. We're told that the first President Bush wore a jersey with the number two on it. That was his jersey number when he played for Yale. He played baseball for Yale back a few years ago. That was Cincinnati.

Well, his son, President George w. Bush, of whom he said he was very proud, was away from Washington today, but his thoughts were very much on the war with Iraq. During a speech in Philadelphia, Mr. Bush said coalition forces are moving closer to victory. With us now, CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash. Dana, the ostensible purpose of this trip to pay tribute to the Coast Guard?

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: that's right, Judy. And I should tell you that the president is now back in Washington. He just landed just moments ago. But you're right, he came to the port of Philadelphia to pay tribute to the Coast Guard. And it was an interesting choice to pay tribute to the coast Guard because it allowed him to combine lots of themes, particularly the theme of homeland security, and the war on terrorism and the war in Iraq. Of course, the Coast Guard spends a lot of its time, most of its time patrolling the ports in and around America to make sure that they are safe. But also, they are involved in the war in Iraq. They are deployed in the theater in the Persian Gulf, helping particularly in southern Iraq, in the port there to help make way for humanitarian aid to get into Iraq. The president made mention of that.

And also, on the issue of Iraq, gave a very upbeat assessment of how the war is going so far. Trying to contradict critics, saying that the war plan perhaps is flawed. He said that it's day 11 and the oil fields are secure. Most of them are secure, and that the U.S. coalition forces have control of most of the south and west of Iraq. But he also said that dangerous days do lie ahead. But day by day, he said, that U.S. forces are getting closer to Baghdad. And Judy, he had a very clear message to the people of Iraq. Unlike 12 years ago, when they left Saddam Hussein in power, President Bush said that the U.S. is going to come in. And he said he won't relent until the country of Iraq is free.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Victory will mean the end of a tyrant who rules by fear and torture. Our victory will remove a sponsor of terror, armed with weapons of terror. Our victory will uphold the just demands of the United Nations and the civilized world. And when victory comes, it will be shared by the long-suffering people of Iraq who deserve freedom and dignity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: You heard President Bush referring to Saddam Hussein as a tyrant. The theme of talking about the brutality of the Iraqi regime has been a big part of the president and the Bush administration message in general in the past couple of days, talking about the fact that the Iraqi people are being forced to fight, saying death squads are forcing the Iraqi men and women to fight back, suggesting that that perhaps is why we are not seeing the surrenders that some had predicted before this war had begun. But also, linking that to terrorism and saying that perhaps there might be a threat of some kind of terrorist attack on the homeland, because of this war. He made very clear, at this event, with the Coast Guard and the homeland security director, that they're doing what they can to prevent that - Judy.

WOODRUFF: Dana Bash on a cold and blustery day in Philadelphia, near the port in that city, where, as you say, Dana, the president reinforced the message to the Iraqi people. We're coming, he said, with food and medicine and better life. This is a message the president hammering away at day after day.

Well, we also couldn't help but notice that the president's speech today was in Pennsylvania a politically important state that he has visited a number of times since he's taken office. We're joined now by our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider. Hello, Bill.

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SNR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Has there been any political fallout, as best you can tell, from the polls yet from this war?

SCHNEIDER: Judy, the answer is yes. And it has been good for President Bush. Two weeks ago, we asked registered voters, if George W. Bush runs for reelection in 2004, are you more likely to vote for Bush or the Democratic candidate. The result was virtually a tie, 45 percent said Bush, 42 percent, the Democrat. We asked the same question this weekend. Bush is now up to 51 percent. The unnamed Democrat down to 36. That's a 15-point lead. Keep in mind, at 51 percent support, Bush is far from a sure thing.

Also keep in mind, right after the Persian Gulf war in 1991, his father had a 50-point lead over a Democrat yet to be named.

WOODRUFF: So Bill, as you look at this, as the gain the president is experiencing, is that helping the Republican party overall?

SCHNEIDER: Well, actually, it is. In January, the two parties were just about tied in favorability. Now, the Republican figure is up to 56 percent, while the Democrats are down slightly to 49. So, it looks like the GOP, not just President Bush, is getting a wartime boost.

WOODRUFF: And Bill what about people's views of individual Democrats, Democratic public figures?

SCHNEIDER: Well, we see some effect there also. Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, you'll recall, was harshly critical of President Bush just before the war started. And Daschle's ratings have turned negative, 32 percent favorable, 38 percent unfavorable. They had been positive in January. Now, Senator Joe Lieberman, another Democrat running for president, has been strongly supportive of the war. Lieberman's ratings have stayed favorable, 41 to 26. So, the message to Democrats right now is you criticize the war at your peril, politically.

WOODRUFF: Perhaps a lesson for other Democrats. All right, Bill Schneider, thanks very much. We'll talk to you a little later.

WOODRUFF: The Democratic presidential candidates, you just heard Bill talk about two of them, are still making noise on the campaign trail. But they are doing it at a lower volume than before the war began. Over the weekend in Iowa, Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of senator and Democratic hopeful John Edwards criticized White House diplomacy. She summed up the Bush administration attitude toward the rest of the world as quote, "We are the biggest, baddest cowboy in town."

Senator Joe Lieberman, meantime, is offering support for members of the armed services. Today, in Washington, Lieberman talked about why U.S. troops are in Iraq and the ideals they're fighting for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D-CT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today, as American men and women in uniform continue to fight overseas, we would do well to pause and ask what it is about our way of life that we're fighting for. And to remember that this is the first nation founded not just on a set of borders, but on a set of ideals. Again, that we were created equal and endowed with those rights. The terrorists we are fighting against don't understand that. Don't accept it, don't accept the tolerance that comes from it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: Senator Lieberman talking in Washington today.

As we continue our coverage of the war, stay with CNN for the latest political developments here in the United States.

We're going to check all the latest developments in the war and other headlines when we return.

Plus, in the trenches with the U.S. marines, how they're coping and praying.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: At last report, from U.S. and British officials, 67 coalition troops have died in operation Iraqi Freedom. Thirty five Americans were killed in combat, eight by friendly fire or in accidents. Five British troops were killed by hostile fire, 18 by non-hostile fire. The cause of one death has not yet been determined.

Now, Iraqi officials are not, for their part, releasing information about their military casualties. But they say that 420 civilians have been killed and about 4,000 have been injured. U.S. Central Command says more than 4,000 Iraqis have been captured.

Seven Americans, meantime, we know are being held prisoner of war by Iraq, and at least 19 Americans are missing in action.

Well, as American troops wage war in Iraq, some of them are trying to find time away from the battlefield. Yesterday, some of the marines in central Iraq found time to attend church services. Australian reporter Geoff Thompson, who is embedded with U.S. troops there, has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEOFF THOMPSON, AUSTRALIAN REPORTER (voice-over): In Iraq's central desert, rare quiet (ph) on the war's front line, the big guns sitting quietly. The supply lines are secured and unexpected resistance is assessed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they're going to overrun us, so we're just going to pull whatever. We're gong to get get them iced in, ramp, I mean, we're just going to rain steel on them.

THOMPSON: Sergeant Jorge Velasquez readies his artillery team for any eventuality, equipped as they are with many way ways of unleashing precision horror on an enemy up to 30 kilometers away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically, this one is a expelling round. When we fire it, it pumps out grenades, 188 grenades dump out. It drops down, bounce up and they'll get you about chest high.

THOMPSON: What do you imagine is happening on the other end of this artillery battery?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the other end, well, basically, I see a lot of people praying.

THOMPSON (on camera): But on this side of the guns, they are digging and hoping that here, prayer won't be necessary on this night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sleeping holes, just hole got to be deep enough that you are under the ground. So if we take incoming, you're not taking it in the chest.

THOMPSON: There are a few scares, but not a shot is fired. The first all quite night on the coalition front since the war began. The morning is alive on a day when it is time for prayer. Looking at his bible, Corporal Charles Robertson makes his way to church.

Two makeshift Christian services held in a Muslim land and a Bible reading about a place just kilometers from where these Marines now stand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "'From a distant land,' Hezekiah replied. 'They came from Babylon.'"

THOMPSON: But, shortly, they return to their work. There seems to be time for maintenance, but it soon runs out, as a fire mission is radioed in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's unlimited amount of rounds fired, if they call that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four one six.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four one six.

THOMPSON (on camera): When the ground war began, these guns were firing constantly. Now the lull of the last few days is about to come to an end, as the real battle begins, with Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard.

Geoff Thompson, ABC News, central Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(NEWS BREAK)

WOODRUFF: We want to tell your viewers that, just a few moments ago, Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke at the State Department.

Let's listen to what he's saying right now.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We have not made a decision on that. As we have said to the Chinese...

POWELL: ... message will eventually come through.

One more.

WOODRUFF: We've been listening to Secretary of State Colin Powell speaking in Washington.

Our coverage of the war in Iraq continues in a moment.

But right now, the search for answers to a mysterious illness goes on around the world. The respiratory illness known as SARS has killed scores of people around the world.

And with me now from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the administrator of the CDC, Dr. Julie Gerberding.

Dr. Gerberding, just how out of control is this disease, this severe acute respiratory syndrome?

DR. JULIE GERBERDING, CDC DIRECTOR: Right now, the disease continues to expand internationally. We're seeing more cases in Asia and a few more cases in the United States.

Our concern is that it can be spread very efficiently, like most common respiratory viruses, so it could get much worse before it gets better. WOODRUFF: How worried are you about it?

GERBERDING: Well, I think the optimistic part of all this is that, in just two weeks, the international science community has come so far in terms of being able to identify the virus. And we're very close to having a test for it. So that will certainly help us narrow in our efforts at containment.

But we have a long ways to go before we would even begin to think that it's under control.

WOODRUFF: What has to be done, what is being done around the world right now to make sure that it isn't spread anymore?

GERBERDING: One of the most important things is to isolate cases as soon as they're identified. This takes them out of the home or out of the environment where they could expose other people.

In situations where health care workers have been able to use the right infection control and the patients are properly isolated, we really can curtail spread. But we've got to identify people who are at risk and then take those initial steps very quickly.

WOODRUFF: Dr. Gerberding is head of the Centers for Disease Control.

Dr. Gerberding, I read -- "The Wall Street Journal" had an editorial today urging people to stop, to suspend all travel to China, because it pointed out that China was not fully cooperating with this effort. Should people stop travel to China and other countries like this?

GERBERDING: Well, right now, we're not in a situation where there are travel restrictions recommended by the U.S. government or by WHO.

But we are telling people here that, if you have unessential travel, if you don't really need to go there, maybe it would be a good idea to defer travel until we have a better understanding of how this is being spread and what else needs to be done to contain it.

WOODRUFF: For viewers, anyone who is listening or watching, Dr. Gerberding, what should they know about how to prevent this disease?

GERBERDING: Right now, in the U.S., the risk is limited to people who are either health care workers taking care of sick patients or household contacts.

If you've traveled to one of these areas in the last 10 days, you could still be at risk for coming down with the infection. So you need to call your medical provider if you develop any symptom of a respiratory illness. But, beyond that, the people who are not in those groups have very little to be concerned with. If we see that it spreads out outward from the source patients into the community, then of course we'll be issuing additional advice.

WOODRUFF: And once it has been diagnosed, what can be done about it?

GERBERDING: We don't have a specific treatment for this virus, but we are working very hard in the laboratory to identify compounds that might be useful as therapy.

So, when a person gets very ill, the therapy right now consists of the usual measures that we'd take for anyone with a community- acquired pneumonia. In addition to general good nursing practices, these patients will also be in isolation rooms, so that they pose less risk to their health care providers.

WOODRUFF: All right, Dr. Julie Gerberding, we thank you for helping put this in perspective. Dr. Gerberding is head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

We've been discussing severe acute respiratory syndrome. And, as she described, there are efforts being made -- frantic efforts, if you will -- to control the spread of this newly diagnosed illness.

And one other medical note: A new treatment for Parkinson's disease is showing promise. Early testing surprised scientists when all five patients receiving it showed improvement. Parkinson's is a progressive disease of the nervous system.

We're back in a moment with the latest on the war in Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: There was a recent Pentagon briefing -- in fact, it was the one that took place on Saturday -- when we saw the image of the face of an Iraqi woman, replacing the more common aerial combat videos we've been showing -- or they've been showing. Was it proper, is a question? Was it a proper way to stay on message or was it a form of propaganda for the U.S. government?

Let's check in with our senior analyst, Jeff Greenfield -- Jeff.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: Well, Judy, the question you raise is one that has been with us not just in this war, but in all wars, because getting the message out, trying to define what you're fighting for, can be every bit as important, in many cases, as the battles that are fought on the ground.

Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTORIA CLARKE, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I'm going to show you a couple of clips here. The first one is an Iraqi woman.

GREENFIELD (voice-over): This wasn't combat footage the Pentagon was showing on Saturday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they also start using electrical shock on my fingertips. GREENFIELD: But video clips illustrating the horrors of life under Saddam Hussein, including the aftermath of a chemical weapons attack on the town of Halabja in 1988.

(on camera): But, in another sense, it was combat footage in the war of ideas, a war that has often been as critical as any military engagement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: And so a nation which has ever held life cheap prepares to practice once again its ancient arts of death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREENFIELD (voice-over): All through the Second World War, the Office of War Information enlisted filmmakers like Frank Capra -- he made "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" -- to explain the war to America's military.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: We're here to make it clear to the Japanese that their time has come to make sense, modern, civilized sense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREENFIELD: For their part, axis powers also tried to talk to American G.I.s via the radio, with American-born voices. The Japanese had Tokyo Rose.

Throughout much of the Cold War, the Central Intelligence Agency subsidized publications, as well as European political parties and student and youth groups, to get the anti-communist message out. And when the war turned hot in Vietnam, the North Vietnamese welcomed American anti-war leaders to visit. And, in 1966, "New York Times" man Harrison Salisbury got a visa. And his stories about civilian casualties in the north stirred up a huge controversy.

After September 11, with much attention focused on anti-American sentiments in the Muslim world, advertising executive Charlotte Beers was recruited by the government to develop a public-relations campaign. it featured American Muslims talking about their lives in the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wear a hijab in the classroom where I teach. I have never had any child that thought it was weird or anything like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GREENFIELD: So, does this matter, this battle for the hearts and minds? Well, it clearly does in a case like this.

If the American position is that this is a war not of conquest, but of liberation, and if people do not believe that argument, if other propaganda convinces them that it's otherwise, then it is indeed possible that this could be a case where the United States wins the battle militarily, but loses the greater war -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: Jeff, another media story we're following today, and that is former CNN war correspondent Peter Arnett, who, in this war, was reporting for NBC and for "National Geographic Explorer," got in considerable trouble for something that he said. What about that?

GREENFIELD: Well, Peter Arnett went on Iraqi state television and said, A, that the journalists were treated very well and also said that the reports coming back about civilian casualties and resistance was actually stiffening anti-war sentiment in the United States.

He apologized for that this morning. But NBC, and, for that matter, "National Geographic," ended their relationships with Arnett. And the question was, A, saying it on state-run TV was probably not a wise move. And asserting that journalists are being treated well, when many have been kicked out of Iraq and a couple of "Newsday" journalists are missing, probably wasn't wise.

And kind of acknowledging to the people that the United States forces are fighting that reports back from Iraq may be weakening the resolve of Americans -- which, by the way, the polls don't show to be true -- came really -- it didn't come close. It crossed a whole lot of lines. And, as you know, Peter Arnett got into some controversy when he was working at CNN for being in Iraq and reporting on alleged civilian casualties there.

So he came with some baggage. And I just think, from NBC's point of view, it was a public-relations disaster they simply weren't prepared to deal with.

WOODRUFF: All right, Jeff Greenfield reporting on a range of media pieces of this Iraq war that we are trying to follow -- Jeff, thanks very much.

GREENFIELD: All right. There will be more.

WOODRUFF: We'll be checking in with you throughout this week.

We want to let you know that there's word just coming in to CNN about an incident at a U.S. military checkpoint near Najaf in southern Iraq, actually, just south of Baghdad. You can see on the map.

According to U.S. Central Command, U.S. soldiers fired into a van that was carrying 13 women and children when the vehicle refused to stop at a checkpoint. Now, according to Central Command, seven people were killed. Two others were wounded. CENTCOM is saying soldiers from the 3rd Infantry signaled the vehicle to stop, but it continued moving forward. The soldiers were said to have fired warning shots into the air. Then they fired into the vehicle's engine when it failed to respond to the warning shots. Again, this is from Central Command. The soldiers then fired into the passenger compartment, CENTCOM saying the incident is under investigation.

We're going to go live to the Pentagon in a few minutes for the very latest on this incident.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: U.S. troops in Iraq will soon receive support from thousands of their fellow service members arriving in the region.

Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more on the next wave of U.S. firepower.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seventy thousand additional combat troops are now beginning to arrive in the region. The Pentagon says it was always part of the war plan. But, as the war may now go longer than first specked, the additional firepower is vital.

MAJ. GEN. STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF DIRECTOR: It will be exactly based upon what's required on the ground. If, in fact, they're required to maneuver and be part of the combat fight, that's what they'll do.

STARR: Already arriving, 20,000 troops of the 4th Infantry Division. After weeks of waiting offshore Turkey for permission to land and open a northern front, 30 ships full of the division's tanks, vehicles and artillery are in Kuwait. Troops are now arriving on site. And they will be moving into Iraq for possible combat.

Additional so-called follow-on forces also are being sent, all part of the plan, though quick victory might have kept them home. General Tommy Franks says there's no last-minute reinforcement.

GEN. TOMMY FRANKS, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: You see, one says, begin here and then ask for more if necessary. The other course says, begin to flow this amount of force and we'll stop it when it's no longer necessary. We're in the case of the latter, rather than being in the case of the former.

STARR: The 1st Cavalry Division sending 17,000 troops, one of the Army's premiere heavy armored divisions. Hundreds of tanks, armored vehicles, artillery guns and Apache helicopters will be able to move quickly on the battlefield to where they're needed.

The 1st armored division: another 17,000 troops, also providing tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, artillery and helicopters. The 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, 5,200 troops, tanks, and Bradley Fighting Vehicles. And the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, with 3,500 troops, mainly equipped with armored Humvees for reconnaissance patrols and security checkpoints.

(END VIDEOTAPE) STARR: Now, Judy, all of these troops are going to be in place within the next two months. By the time they arrive, if the war is over, they will be peacekeeping troops. If not, they'll be in place to fight the final battles -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: All right, Barbara Starr, it may be hard for some of us to keep track of all those numbers, but we know that families and loved ones are watching them very closely.

Barbara Starr, thanks very much.

Our coverage of the war in Iraq continues in a moment, but right now, a final tribute to Daniel Patrick Moynihan. A memorial service was held here in Washington today for the former senator and longtime public servant. He died last week at the age of 76.

Our Bruce Morton reflects on the man, the scholar, and the politician.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUCE MORTON, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He grew up poor, a cold water flat in New York's Hell's Kitchen, worked as a shoeshine boy, but good times, too. In this 1991 Senate debate on the interstate highway system, he said the General Motors exhibit at the 1939 World's Fair, Futurama, was its inspiration. Getting there cost 5 cents on the subway. And he remembered he'd had a secret way in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PATRICK MOYNIHAN (D), NEW YORK: Caught the imagination of the country, caught the imagination of this 12-year-old, who knew a hole in the fence, such that, if you got out there for 5 cents and went in for that way, why, you got all sorts of free snacks and another look at Futurama. And then you had the 5 cents to get home and a good day was spent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORTON: He went on to become a scholar and a politician, served four presidents, wrote a controversial, but accurate study of problems in African-American families, was Richard Nixon's ambassador to India, Gerald Ford's ambassador to the United Nations, where he said the U.S. should speck up for political and civil liberty.

He served four terms in the U.S. Senate, knew more about more different things, transportation, housing, poverty, foreign policy, than any senator I ever covered. He thought public buildings should be beautiful and led the drive to clean up Pennsylvania Avenue -- the looped presidential inaugural parades tape. Liked the new avenue so much, he bought an apartment on it.

His Senate was more cordial, less partisan, less bitter than today's. The country changed. Deploring kiss-and-tell books on CNN's "EVANS & NOVAK" a few years ago, he said:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "EVANS & NOVAK")

MOYNIHAN: A vulgarization, things that no gentleman would do, are done now, because there are no gentlemen left.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORTON: Maybe. He once said a colleague had a mind as clear as Easter bells. You could say the same of his.

Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Like everyone else, every time I was around Pat Moynihan, I learned something new and important. And that's something that will never be lost.

That's it for this hour. I'm Judy Woodruff in Washington.

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