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CNN Live At Daybreak
New Day of New Violence on Streets of Iraq
Aired April 07, 2004 - 06:00 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A new day of new violence on the streets of Iraq. These images a reminder that one year later a bitter fight rages on for Americans and Iraqis.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, this is DAYBREAK for April 7.
I'm Carol Costello.
Here are the latest headlines now.
It's been one of the deadliest days for U.S. troops in Iraq. As many as 12 Marines were killed by insurgents in the city of Ramadi, west of Baghdad.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee today looks into the U.N.'s Oil For Food Program. The program was designed to help Iraq, but billions of dollars may have been skimmed by U.N. officials.
An Amtrak passenger train has derailed in Mississippi. One person is dead, about three dozen others hurt. At least three people remain in critical condition this morning.
A victory for the U. Conn. women brings a first for the NCAA Division One basketball. Connecticut the first school to win the men's and the women's basketball championships in the same year.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: U.S. Marines in Falluja are locked in an intense battle with Iraqi insurgents at this hour. The violence follows one of the deadliest days American troops have spent in Iraq.
For the latest, we take you live to Baghdad now and Jim Clancy -- hello, Jim.
JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, again, Carol.
Yes, that fight continues. Now, we understand all shops are closed in Falluja. An emergency field hospital has been set up in the center of the town by the Iraqi residents themselves. The other hospital was a short distance away, across a river, though. They had no access to it. They say they are trying to treat a large number of civilian casualties. Overnight we had reports of two Marines who had been wounded. We also have reports that 36 Iraqis were killed. According to some accounts, 25 of those in a single missile strike. The U.S. military saying here just less than an hour ago that they make every precaution possible and they try to go to extreme lengths to see that they hit with precision. Still, in an urban combat situation like this, one that's ongoing, civilians almost inevitably are going to be caught in the crossfire. It's part of the price paid by both sides in this kind of an urban conflict.
Meantime in Ramadi, nearby, we understand that there were 12 Marines killed overnight in an unusual attack, a direct frontal assault on U.S. Marine positions there. They failed to secure the objectives, which was the governor's mansion and other key areas within the city. Marines holding the ground in complete control of Ramadi this day.
Meantime, a lot of focus of attention on Muqtada al-Sadr, a rebellious young Shia Muslim cleric who is wanted on a murder warrant. He is now holed up in al-Najaf, perhaps seeking sanctuary there near the holy shrine of the Imam Ali Mosque.
But he maintains a private militia responsible for unrest, clashes and deaths in half a dozen Iraqi cities in the last 48 hours. Today, U.S. Army -- the U.S. general, Mark Kimmitt, here in Baghdad had direct words for the fate of that private militia, the Mahdi Army.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: We will attack to destroy the Mahdi Army. Those offensive operations will be deliberate, they will be precise and they will be powerful. And they will succeed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: All right, as the U.S. military attempts to bring the situation under control, a lot of questions being asked about all of the different things that have contributed to this. In large measure, Muqtada al-Sadr was expected to cause trouble at some point in Iraq. The real concern right now, and the U.S. military addressing this a few minutes ago, is an upcoming religious commemoration in southern cities like Karbala; also here in Baghdad. And they say they are going ahead with the security plans for that. Literally hundreds and hundreds of thousands of Shia Muslims are expected to attend those services. The last time that happened, about two months ago, more than 150 Iraqis were killed, more than 400 wounded, in both suicide attacks and car bombs -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Jim, you said something intriguing a short time ago. You said that Sheikh al-Sadr is mentally unstable, he's not really the man in charge.
If he's not in charge, who is?
CLANCY: The people around him are said to be really guiding him forward. He is the obvious person to choose. He has some mantle of legitimacy. It is all inherited from his father. His father and two of his brothers were killed by suspects assassins from Saddam Hussein's regime. He was an outspoken leader.
However, the young Muqtada al-Sadr does not command the kind of loyalty his father did, or prestige. He's not particularly charismatic. Those comments really coming from U.S. military officials here, high level ones who have been studying Muqtada al- Sadr.
They believe a lot of the current violence may be linked to the arrest of Mustafa Yacoubi, a top aide who literally spent 24 hours a day with that young man, trying to steer him in one direction or another.
But it raises some troubling questions about just what is ahead.
COSTELLO: Jim Clancy live from Baghdad this morning.
Many of the troops taking on the Iraqi insurgents are from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based in Camp Pendleton, California. They took over from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division. They're assigned to the Sunni Triangle and the area extending to the border with Syria. As we've been telling you, the Marines are facing fierce fighting in the city of Ramadi.
CNN's "American Morning," by the way, will have lots on the Iraqi conflict, including an update from correspondent Tony Perry of the "Los Angeles Times." Of course, "American Morning" comes your way in just about an hour.
American troops are not the only ones coming under fire in the latest violence. Other members of the coalition also being caught in the crossfire.
We want to get more on this from CNN's Guy Raz.
He's live in London for us -- hello.
GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
And this week is really shaping up to be a crucial one for U.S. allies based mainly in the southern part of the country. As we know, the southern part of Iraq has long been regarded as a relatively peaceful place. Now, we've seen clashes between British troops and insurgents and demonstrators in the town of Amarah. It's about 100 miles north of Basra in southern Iraq. There have been clashes in Diwaniyah. That's where mainly Spanish troops are based.
And, effectively, it's already calling, bringing into question whether there needs to be some kind of strategic reassessment among the allies. We're hearing from both unofficial and official sources in Europe that the fluid situation in southern Iraq, the changing nature of the conflict and what seems to be a Shiite uprising materializing is really forcing some of European countries who have made military commitments to Iraq to reassess their position in the country, particularly as we're less than three months away from the June 30 hand over to an Iraqi administration.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, Guy, I'm wondering, didn't Tony Blair just come out and say the strategy was working just fine in Iraq? I know he's going to meet with President Bush soon, so is what he's saying kind of disingenuous?
RAZ: Well, it's really hard to say. I mean publicly the prime minister remains very committed to this project. He remains very committed to keeping the 11,000 British troops operating in southern Iraq. We understand that privately he has some reservations and there's no question he will be bringing those up to President Bush next week when the two of them meet.
The prime minister is under considerable pressure in this country because, of course, his decision to deploy troops in Iraq is not universally popular among the British public. There are a tremendous number of calls, both here in Britain and in other European countries where troops -- who have given troops over to the coalition -- to bring in the United Nations and to see to it that the United Nations has a stronger role in the process after June 30 -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Guy Raz reporting live from London for us this morning.
A fugitive insurgent with suspected ties to al Qaeda is claiming credit for a wave of attacks targeting coalition forces in Iraq. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi says he is responsible for the bombings of U.N. facilities in Baghdad and the city's Al-Rasheed Hotel, among others. The claims come in an audiotape posted to the Arabic language political Web site, Middle East Transparent. Also on that audiotape, threats to assassinate CENTCOM leader General John Abizaid and U.S. Administrator Paul Bremer. There is still some speculation about the tape's authenticity, but Middle Eastern intelligence sources familiar with Zarqawi say it is 100 percent genuine.
For more on Iraq, including an interactive map and a complete photo gallery, visit our Web site at cnn.com.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, could American forces spend more time in Iraq than first thought? We're going to talk live with our Pentagon correspondent, who's following the military movements this morning.
And you've heard the headlines from Falluja, Ramadi, Najaf. But what's really going on in these towns and why is the action there so important to the coalition's mission?
Plus, voters versus Wal-Mart. Who won the battle over retail development in one community?
Those stories and much more in just a minute.
But first, before the break, we're seeing pictures from our video phone out of Rwanda's capital, Kigali. Ten minutes of silence taking place now to commemorate the beginning of the Rwandan genocide 10 years ago. Some 800,000 people killed in that fighting. That massacre largely ignored by the international community. World leaders and survivors are taking part in the ceremony and the country is at a standstill for these 10 minutes.
This is DAYBREAK for a Wednesday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Before we reveal the winner of a beautiful CNN mug, I'd like to thank all of you viewers for e-mailing me e-mails of support after the one cruel e-mail that we read earlier this morning.
MYERS: Well, you just read one. You should read the ones I get. You would be getting the plastic and the paper out of a DAYBREAK coffee mug, right? No...
COSTELLO: No, seriously, thank you.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: That made me feel so good.
MYERS: Yes, good stuff.
COSTELLO: OK.
MYERS: Some great e-mails this morning.
Thank you, guys.
Anyway, the coffee mug. The winner from North Carolina...
COSTELLO: Oh, you've got to read the total.
MYERS: In the most recent Pew poll, what's the biggest concern of Americans? It was gas prices. And how many militia members does the U.S. believe Muqtada al-Sadr has at his disposal? Three thousand is the correct answer. But in our desk here, the -- remember, the international desk did say thousands and thousands. So both of those were correct answers.
And the winner, from North Carolina, Steve Anderson.
COSTELLO: I like the town Lake Waccamaw.
MYERS: Waccamaw.
COSTELLO: Congratulations.
MYERS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Steve.
COSTELLO: And, of course, we'll get to our new questions of the day at 6:50 Eastern time.
Time now for a little business buzz.
The ballots have been counted and an L.A. suburb says no -- no -- to Wal-Mart.
Carrie Lee has the story from the NASDAQ market site -- wow, Wal- Mart loses.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wal-Mart loses in Inglewood, California. Of course, the L.A. suburb, Carol, voting by a two to one margin to reject a ballot measure that would have allowed Wal-Mart to build a big shopping center that would have taken the size of 17 football fields. So we're not talking small potatoes here.
Wal-Mart spent more than a million dollars trying to win the Inglewood vote. But residents apparently took their cue from elected officials in the working class neighborhood.
Now, the no vote comes despite the promise of 1,200 jobs and millions of dollars in sales tax revenue. The shopping center opponents say it would have put local mom and pop businesses out of business and pay lower wages to its employees.
Wal-Mart has had a mixed track record, trying to gain ground in the past. In San Francisco, the company did lose a vote -- or succeeded in San Francisco, rather. But they lost a vote to build in San Diego.
So this is the latest on Wal-Mart.
Separately, Citigroup starting today, according to "USA Today," is going to launch a financial literacy program, teaching people the ways and means of money around the world. The company's going to establish an office of financial education, give its 275,000 employees one day off a year to volunteer for a non-profit group. It might not sound like a lot, but if every Citigroup employee were to volunteer, it would be the equivalent of about 1,100 full-time employees dedicated to programs like this.
Carol, a story true to my heart. Always good to know how money works, right?
Back to you.
COSTELLO: Absolutely.
Carrie Lee live from the NASDAQ market site.
With the intense fighting going on in parts of Iraq, there may be a call for more American troops; not only more troops, but longer deployments. How long?
Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr live on the phone for us this morning -- good morning, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, Carol.
And that is the key question. With the heavy fighting continuing now to take place in several cities in Iraq, will the U.S. need more troops? General John Abizaid, head of the U.S. Central Command, looking at that very question and, of course, yesterday, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld saying if the military comes to him and asks for more troops, that they will certainly get them.
So how would they do that? Well, keeping the troops they have longer might be one way to do it. They might also reposition troops that they already have. They may accelerate some deployments, speed up the schedule for some troops to go over. It's just not very clear yet what, if anything, will happen.
COSTELLO: You know, Barbara, in talking to some of the troops' families who are just being sent over to Iraq, a year and a half they may have to stay?
STARR: Well, that's the point that's not very clear to anyone just yet. Now, certainly there are some very highly specialized fields, some fields of expertise -- computers, communications, special operations, that sort of thing. Sometimes those people do stay a bit longer.
But it's not terribly clear at the moment whether any significant number of troops or anybody, in fact, would have to stay longer. As we say, that is what they are looking at. They may have some other options if they decide they need more troops.
COSTELLO: OK. Well, let's talk about if they need more troops and if they send more troops, because over Washington, the Air National Guard did this demonstration as a publicity stunt to attract recruits. I think we're going to show you pictures in just a bit.
Barbara, should we read anything more into this? Is there a shortage of recruits?
STARR: You know, they say right now no. The current statistics show that people, young people are still signing up to join the military. That's recruiting. And then the other half, retention, meaning how many people stay once their enlistment is up. And they say that's going pretty well.
But certainly the real question is going to be once the war is over, once people are not in Iraq, will they -- once they come home, will they sign up again?
So far they say it's going pretty good.
COSTELLO: Well, at least that's brighter news. And we were just seeing those planes flying over Washington and people looking up and saying what the heck is going on? Because you don't want to see planes flying that close to any monument in Washington since 9/11.
One last question for you, Barbara. The president declared the end to active combat, but the fighting is intense, the casualties are rather high comparatively.
So when does it again become active combat? STARR: Well, you know, that's an interesting question, because, of course, the words that we now hear for the last couple of days to describe what is going on in Iraq is, you know, "heavy fighting." And those are combat words, I suppose, by anyone's definition.
But in terms of the kind of major combat the president was talking about last year, that is not taking place because the Iraqi government that existed at that time, of course, has now fallen.
But one indication, Carol, of just how concerned they are, last night the president held a conference call with Secretary Rumsfeld, General Myers, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Chief of Staff Andy Card, a 10 minute phone call to discuss the situation in Iraq, see how those offensive military operations were going. And he is scheduled to have a similar call today. So the president clearly very concerned and getting more involved.
COSTELLO: Barbara Starr live on the phone for us this morning.
We appreciate the insight.
Very interesting.
Coming up on DAYBREAK, where are the places we keep talking about in Iraq and why are they so important to both sides? We're going to have a little map lesson for you.
Plus, a radio show host and his right to privacy. A new step in the Rush Limbaugh case today. That's just ahead in Coffey Talk.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: There is so much going on in Iraq this morning, with things changing so quickly and coalition forces engaged in intense fighting on different fronts.
We want to go behind the headlines and talk with our senior international editor, David Clinch.
He's got details on the flashpoints in Iraq.
And it's really hard to keep all of these cities straight.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: It is. I mean we did this during the war, during major combat part one, if you want to put it that way, during the war. We looked at maps and we looked at the scale of it. It has come to the point where we need to do that again.
Looking at our coverage today and what's going on, we'll start with the Sunni Triangle. It's not exactly a geographical triangle, but it includes these mainly, primarily Sunni towns -- Ramadi, Falluja, Tikrit all in there -- Saddam's home turf, if you want to put it that way. That's where we've been monitoring the so-called Sunni insurgency for months now. What's changed most recently? Last week in Falluja, one of the most populated Sunni cities in that triangle, the killing of those four Americans and the abuse by the crowd in the city of those bodies. That changed things in this simple way -- the Marines, the U.S. made a vow to go in, find and punish the killers of those four Americans. And they are doing that right now in Falluja.
COSTELLO: And this has always been a dangerous place for coalition forces...
CLINCH: It's always been...
COSTELLO: And it's heavily populated, as well.
CLINCH: It's very populated. It's a very dense city, as are all of these cities, Ramadi, as well, right next door on the other side, where we heard of 12 Marines being killed yesterday. They're fighting, again, the Sunni insurgency. The Marines curiously using the word anti-Iraqi forces that they're fighting today. Now it takes...
COSTELLO: That is interesting.
CLINCH: ... some interpretation of exactly what they mean. But what we know they are fighting is Sunnis. Some of them we believe -- and the military is saying this -- are what are called Saddam loyalists, probably trained former Iraqi Army.
But the interesting thing you're pointing out about this side of the story is that in chasing these insurgents, they're going into these cities, something which just a matter of weeks and months ago, they were saying they were pulling back from these cities and allowing the Iraqis to patrol.
COSTELLO: They were sort of sucked back in, forced back in.
CLINCH: Now they're sucked back in and, of course...
COSTELLO: Let's go to the Shia part of the equation.
CLINCH: Right.
COSTELLO: Najaf.
CLINCH: Right. And the other side, also, equally densely populated cities, starting in Baghdad itself, the Shiite area of Sadr City there in Baghdad. And then, of course, Najaf, one of the main Shiite cities. There, first of all, Sadr City. You can see it's just in the top right hand corner there, a densely populated slum, if you want, of Baghdad itself. Trying to get into those streets, trying to do what General Kimmitt promised today, to find and destroy this Shiite militia, is a lot easier said than done.
COSTELLO: Let's pause on that for just a second because the Shiite militia, they're right out in the open and they're protecting -- oh, no, they're in Najaf. See, I'm getting confused myself. CLINCH: Right.
COSTELLO: This is Sadr City.
CLINCH: Sadr City.
COSTELLO: In Najaf, some of al-Sadr's, Sheikh al-Sadr's troops, have moved with him, right, and are protecting him?
CLINCH: Right. And, again, this comes back to the point that in Najaf, Nasiriyah, Kut, Basra, Amarah, all of these cities -- which, again, it's sort of reminding us of the war as we followed the Army up through Iraq -- all of these cities, the United States and coalition forces had, in many cases, pulled back out of these cities and allowed the Iraqis, and, in some cases, even the Shiite militias -- not Sadr's militia, but others -- to take control of those cities.
So the U.S. presence and coalition presence in those cities is not that heavy. So militias walking around the streets and protecting Sadr, who, we've been saying, is now in Najaf himself, is not that unusual over the last few weeks or months. They are the presence in those cities.
Whether or not we will see the U.S. go in to try and capture Sadr or to take that for the moment, as they are to the Sunni insurgency, to the Shiites in those cities is a very different question. You've got a lot of civilians in the way if you try to go into those cities.
COSTELLO: Yes, right now they're urging him to turn himself in.
CLINCH: They are asking him to turn himself into the local police. We'll remain to see. We do know, just very quickly, we do know that other members of the Shiite community, not Sistani, necessarily, but others, including the Governing Council, are asking Sadr to do just that.
COSTELLO: Well, we'll see if he does.
CLINCH: Yes.
COSTELLO: David Clinch, many thanks.
We're going to take a short break.
We'll be back with more of DAYBREAK right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired April 7, 2004 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A new day of new violence on the streets of Iraq. These images a reminder that one year later a bitter fight rages on for Americans and Iraqis.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, this is DAYBREAK for April 7.
I'm Carol Costello.
Here are the latest headlines now.
It's been one of the deadliest days for U.S. troops in Iraq. As many as 12 Marines were killed by insurgents in the city of Ramadi, west of Baghdad.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee today looks into the U.N.'s Oil For Food Program. The program was designed to help Iraq, but billions of dollars may have been skimmed by U.N. officials.
An Amtrak passenger train has derailed in Mississippi. One person is dead, about three dozen others hurt. At least three people remain in critical condition this morning.
A victory for the U. Conn. women brings a first for the NCAA Division One basketball. Connecticut the first school to win the men's and the women's basketball championships in the same year.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: U.S. Marines in Falluja are locked in an intense battle with Iraqi insurgents at this hour. The violence follows one of the deadliest days American troops have spent in Iraq.
For the latest, we take you live to Baghdad now and Jim Clancy -- hello, Jim.
JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, again, Carol.
Yes, that fight continues. Now, we understand all shops are closed in Falluja. An emergency field hospital has been set up in the center of the town by the Iraqi residents themselves. The other hospital was a short distance away, across a river, though. They had no access to it. They say they are trying to treat a large number of civilian casualties. Overnight we had reports of two Marines who had been wounded. We also have reports that 36 Iraqis were killed. According to some accounts, 25 of those in a single missile strike. The U.S. military saying here just less than an hour ago that they make every precaution possible and they try to go to extreme lengths to see that they hit with precision. Still, in an urban combat situation like this, one that's ongoing, civilians almost inevitably are going to be caught in the crossfire. It's part of the price paid by both sides in this kind of an urban conflict.
Meantime in Ramadi, nearby, we understand that there were 12 Marines killed overnight in an unusual attack, a direct frontal assault on U.S. Marine positions there. They failed to secure the objectives, which was the governor's mansion and other key areas within the city. Marines holding the ground in complete control of Ramadi this day.
Meantime, a lot of focus of attention on Muqtada al-Sadr, a rebellious young Shia Muslim cleric who is wanted on a murder warrant. He is now holed up in al-Najaf, perhaps seeking sanctuary there near the holy shrine of the Imam Ali Mosque.
But he maintains a private militia responsible for unrest, clashes and deaths in half a dozen Iraqi cities in the last 48 hours. Today, U.S. Army -- the U.S. general, Mark Kimmitt, here in Baghdad had direct words for the fate of that private militia, the Mahdi Army.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: We will attack to destroy the Mahdi Army. Those offensive operations will be deliberate, they will be precise and they will be powerful. And they will succeed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: All right, as the U.S. military attempts to bring the situation under control, a lot of questions being asked about all of the different things that have contributed to this. In large measure, Muqtada al-Sadr was expected to cause trouble at some point in Iraq. The real concern right now, and the U.S. military addressing this a few minutes ago, is an upcoming religious commemoration in southern cities like Karbala; also here in Baghdad. And they say they are going ahead with the security plans for that. Literally hundreds and hundreds of thousands of Shia Muslims are expected to attend those services. The last time that happened, about two months ago, more than 150 Iraqis were killed, more than 400 wounded, in both suicide attacks and car bombs -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Jim, you said something intriguing a short time ago. You said that Sheikh al-Sadr is mentally unstable, he's not really the man in charge.
If he's not in charge, who is?
CLANCY: The people around him are said to be really guiding him forward. He is the obvious person to choose. He has some mantle of legitimacy. It is all inherited from his father. His father and two of his brothers were killed by suspects assassins from Saddam Hussein's regime. He was an outspoken leader.
However, the young Muqtada al-Sadr does not command the kind of loyalty his father did, or prestige. He's not particularly charismatic. Those comments really coming from U.S. military officials here, high level ones who have been studying Muqtada al- Sadr.
They believe a lot of the current violence may be linked to the arrest of Mustafa Yacoubi, a top aide who literally spent 24 hours a day with that young man, trying to steer him in one direction or another.
But it raises some troubling questions about just what is ahead.
COSTELLO: Jim Clancy live from Baghdad this morning.
Many of the troops taking on the Iraqi insurgents are from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based in Camp Pendleton, California. They took over from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division. They're assigned to the Sunni Triangle and the area extending to the border with Syria. As we've been telling you, the Marines are facing fierce fighting in the city of Ramadi.
CNN's "American Morning," by the way, will have lots on the Iraqi conflict, including an update from correspondent Tony Perry of the "Los Angeles Times." Of course, "American Morning" comes your way in just about an hour.
American troops are not the only ones coming under fire in the latest violence. Other members of the coalition also being caught in the crossfire.
We want to get more on this from CNN's Guy Raz.
He's live in London for us -- hello.
GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
And this week is really shaping up to be a crucial one for U.S. allies based mainly in the southern part of the country. As we know, the southern part of Iraq has long been regarded as a relatively peaceful place. Now, we've seen clashes between British troops and insurgents and demonstrators in the town of Amarah. It's about 100 miles north of Basra in southern Iraq. There have been clashes in Diwaniyah. That's where mainly Spanish troops are based.
And, effectively, it's already calling, bringing into question whether there needs to be some kind of strategic reassessment among the allies. We're hearing from both unofficial and official sources in Europe that the fluid situation in southern Iraq, the changing nature of the conflict and what seems to be a Shiite uprising materializing is really forcing some of European countries who have made military commitments to Iraq to reassess their position in the country, particularly as we're less than three months away from the June 30 hand over to an Iraqi administration.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, Guy, I'm wondering, didn't Tony Blair just come out and say the strategy was working just fine in Iraq? I know he's going to meet with President Bush soon, so is what he's saying kind of disingenuous?
RAZ: Well, it's really hard to say. I mean publicly the prime minister remains very committed to this project. He remains very committed to keeping the 11,000 British troops operating in southern Iraq. We understand that privately he has some reservations and there's no question he will be bringing those up to President Bush next week when the two of them meet.
The prime minister is under considerable pressure in this country because, of course, his decision to deploy troops in Iraq is not universally popular among the British public. There are a tremendous number of calls, both here in Britain and in other European countries where troops -- who have given troops over to the coalition -- to bring in the United Nations and to see to it that the United Nations has a stronger role in the process after June 30 -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Guy Raz reporting live from London for us this morning.
A fugitive insurgent with suspected ties to al Qaeda is claiming credit for a wave of attacks targeting coalition forces in Iraq. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi says he is responsible for the bombings of U.N. facilities in Baghdad and the city's Al-Rasheed Hotel, among others. The claims come in an audiotape posted to the Arabic language political Web site, Middle East Transparent. Also on that audiotape, threats to assassinate CENTCOM leader General John Abizaid and U.S. Administrator Paul Bremer. There is still some speculation about the tape's authenticity, but Middle Eastern intelligence sources familiar with Zarqawi say it is 100 percent genuine.
For more on Iraq, including an interactive map and a complete photo gallery, visit our Web site at cnn.com.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, could American forces spend more time in Iraq than first thought? We're going to talk live with our Pentagon correspondent, who's following the military movements this morning.
And you've heard the headlines from Falluja, Ramadi, Najaf. But what's really going on in these towns and why is the action there so important to the coalition's mission?
Plus, voters versus Wal-Mart. Who won the battle over retail development in one community?
Those stories and much more in just a minute.
But first, before the break, we're seeing pictures from our video phone out of Rwanda's capital, Kigali. Ten minutes of silence taking place now to commemorate the beginning of the Rwandan genocide 10 years ago. Some 800,000 people killed in that fighting. That massacre largely ignored by the international community. World leaders and survivors are taking part in the ceremony and the country is at a standstill for these 10 minutes.
This is DAYBREAK for a Wednesday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Before we reveal the winner of a beautiful CNN mug, I'd like to thank all of you viewers for e-mailing me e-mails of support after the one cruel e-mail that we read earlier this morning.
MYERS: Well, you just read one. You should read the ones I get. You would be getting the plastic and the paper out of a DAYBREAK coffee mug, right? No...
COSTELLO: No, seriously, thank you.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: That made me feel so good.
MYERS: Yes, good stuff.
COSTELLO: OK.
MYERS: Some great e-mails this morning.
Thank you, guys.
Anyway, the coffee mug. The winner from North Carolina...
COSTELLO: Oh, you've got to read the total.
MYERS: In the most recent Pew poll, what's the biggest concern of Americans? It was gas prices. And how many militia members does the U.S. believe Muqtada al-Sadr has at his disposal? Three thousand is the correct answer. But in our desk here, the -- remember, the international desk did say thousands and thousands. So both of those were correct answers.
And the winner, from North Carolina, Steve Anderson.
COSTELLO: I like the town Lake Waccamaw.
MYERS: Waccamaw.
COSTELLO: Congratulations.
MYERS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Steve.
COSTELLO: And, of course, we'll get to our new questions of the day at 6:50 Eastern time.
Time now for a little business buzz.
The ballots have been counted and an L.A. suburb says no -- no -- to Wal-Mart.
Carrie Lee has the story from the NASDAQ market site -- wow, Wal- Mart loses.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wal-Mart loses in Inglewood, California. Of course, the L.A. suburb, Carol, voting by a two to one margin to reject a ballot measure that would have allowed Wal-Mart to build a big shopping center that would have taken the size of 17 football fields. So we're not talking small potatoes here.
Wal-Mart spent more than a million dollars trying to win the Inglewood vote. But residents apparently took their cue from elected officials in the working class neighborhood.
Now, the no vote comes despite the promise of 1,200 jobs and millions of dollars in sales tax revenue. The shopping center opponents say it would have put local mom and pop businesses out of business and pay lower wages to its employees.
Wal-Mart has had a mixed track record, trying to gain ground in the past. In San Francisco, the company did lose a vote -- or succeeded in San Francisco, rather. But they lost a vote to build in San Diego.
So this is the latest on Wal-Mart.
Separately, Citigroup starting today, according to "USA Today," is going to launch a financial literacy program, teaching people the ways and means of money around the world. The company's going to establish an office of financial education, give its 275,000 employees one day off a year to volunteer for a non-profit group. It might not sound like a lot, but if every Citigroup employee were to volunteer, it would be the equivalent of about 1,100 full-time employees dedicated to programs like this.
Carol, a story true to my heart. Always good to know how money works, right?
Back to you.
COSTELLO: Absolutely.
Carrie Lee live from the NASDAQ market site.
With the intense fighting going on in parts of Iraq, there may be a call for more American troops; not only more troops, but longer deployments. How long?
Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr live on the phone for us this morning -- good morning, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, Carol.
And that is the key question. With the heavy fighting continuing now to take place in several cities in Iraq, will the U.S. need more troops? General John Abizaid, head of the U.S. Central Command, looking at that very question and, of course, yesterday, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld saying if the military comes to him and asks for more troops, that they will certainly get them.
So how would they do that? Well, keeping the troops they have longer might be one way to do it. They might also reposition troops that they already have. They may accelerate some deployments, speed up the schedule for some troops to go over. It's just not very clear yet what, if anything, will happen.
COSTELLO: You know, Barbara, in talking to some of the troops' families who are just being sent over to Iraq, a year and a half they may have to stay?
STARR: Well, that's the point that's not very clear to anyone just yet. Now, certainly there are some very highly specialized fields, some fields of expertise -- computers, communications, special operations, that sort of thing. Sometimes those people do stay a bit longer.
But it's not terribly clear at the moment whether any significant number of troops or anybody, in fact, would have to stay longer. As we say, that is what they are looking at. They may have some other options if they decide they need more troops.
COSTELLO: OK. Well, let's talk about if they need more troops and if they send more troops, because over Washington, the Air National Guard did this demonstration as a publicity stunt to attract recruits. I think we're going to show you pictures in just a bit.
Barbara, should we read anything more into this? Is there a shortage of recruits?
STARR: You know, they say right now no. The current statistics show that people, young people are still signing up to join the military. That's recruiting. And then the other half, retention, meaning how many people stay once their enlistment is up. And they say that's going pretty well.
But certainly the real question is going to be once the war is over, once people are not in Iraq, will they -- once they come home, will they sign up again?
So far they say it's going pretty good.
COSTELLO: Well, at least that's brighter news. And we were just seeing those planes flying over Washington and people looking up and saying what the heck is going on? Because you don't want to see planes flying that close to any monument in Washington since 9/11.
One last question for you, Barbara. The president declared the end to active combat, but the fighting is intense, the casualties are rather high comparatively.
So when does it again become active combat? STARR: Well, you know, that's an interesting question, because, of course, the words that we now hear for the last couple of days to describe what is going on in Iraq is, you know, "heavy fighting." And those are combat words, I suppose, by anyone's definition.
But in terms of the kind of major combat the president was talking about last year, that is not taking place because the Iraqi government that existed at that time, of course, has now fallen.
But one indication, Carol, of just how concerned they are, last night the president held a conference call with Secretary Rumsfeld, General Myers, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Chief of Staff Andy Card, a 10 minute phone call to discuss the situation in Iraq, see how those offensive military operations were going. And he is scheduled to have a similar call today. So the president clearly very concerned and getting more involved.
COSTELLO: Barbara Starr live on the phone for us this morning.
We appreciate the insight.
Very interesting.
Coming up on DAYBREAK, where are the places we keep talking about in Iraq and why are they so important to both sides? We're going to have a little map lesson for you.
Plus, a radio show host and his right to privacy. A new step in the Rush Limbaugh case today. That's just ahead in Coffey Talk.
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COSTELLO: There is so much going on in Iraq this morning, with things changing so quickly and coalition forces engaged in intense fighting on different fronts.
We want to go behind the headlines and talk with our senior international editor, David Clinch.
He's got details on the flashpoints in Iraq.
And it's really hard to keep all of these cities straight.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: It is. I mean we did this during the war, during major combat part one, if you want to put it that way, during the war. We looked at maps and we looked at the scale of it. It has come to the point where we need to do that again.
Looking at our coverage today and what's going on, we'll start with the Sunni Triangle. It's not exactly a geographical triangle, but it includes these mainly, primarily Sunni towns -- Ramadi, Falluja, Tikrit all in there -- Saddam's home turf, if you want to put it that way. That's where we've been monitoring the so-called Sunni insurgency for months now. What's changed most recently? Last week in Falluja, one of the most populated Sunni cities in that triangle, the killing of those four Americans and the abuse by the crowd in the city of those bodies. That changed things in this simple way -- the Marines, the U.S. made a vow to go in, find and punish the killers of those four Americans. And they are doing that right now in Falluja.
COSTELLO: And this has always been a dangerous place for coalition forces...
CLINCH: It's always been...
COSTELLO: And it's heavily populated, as well.
CLINCH: It's very populated. It's a very dense city, as are all of these cities, Ramadi, as well, right next door on the other side, where we heard of 12 Marines being killed yesterday. They're fighting, again, the Sunni insurgency. The Marines curiously using the word anti-Iraqi forces that they're fighting today. Now it takes...
COSTELLO: That is interesting.
CLINCH: ... some interpretation of exactly what they mean. But what we know they are fighting is Sunnis. Some of them we believe -- and the military is saying this -- are what are called Saddam loyalists, probably trained former Iraqi Army.
But the interesting thing you're pointing out about this side of the story is that in chasing these insurgents, they're going into these cities, something which just a matter of weeks and months ago, they were saying they were pulling back from these cities and allowing the Iraqis to patrol.
COSTELLO: They were sort of sucked back in, forced back in.
CLINCH: Now they're sucked back in and, of course...
COSTELLO: Let's go to the Shia part of the equation.
CLINCH: Right.
COSTELLO: Najaf.
CLINCH: Right. And the other side, also, equally densely populated cities, starting in Baghdad itself, the Shiite area of Sadr City there in Baghdad. And then, of course, Najaf, one of the main Shiite cities. There, first of all, Sadr City. You can see it's just in the top right hand corner there, a densely populated slum, if you want, of Baghdad itself. Trying to get into those streets, trying to do what General Kimmitt promised today, to find and destroy this Shiite militia, is a lot easier said than done.
COSTELLO: Let's pause on that for just a second because the Shiite militia, they're right out in the open and they're protecting -- oh, no, they're in Najaf. See, I'm getting confused myself. CLINCH: Right.
COSTELLO: This is Sadr City.
CLINCH: Sadr City.
COSTELLO: In Najaf, some of al-Sadr's, Sheikh al-Sadr's troops, have moved with him, right, and are protecting him?
CLINCH: Right. And, again, this comes back to the point that in Najaf, Nasiriyah, Kut, Basra, Amarah, all of these cities -- which, again, it's sort of reminding us of the war as we followed the Army up through Iraq -- all of these cities, the United States and coalition forces had, in many cases, pulled back out of these cities and allowed the Iraqis, and, in some cases, even the Shiite militias -- not Sadr's militia, but others -- to take control of those cities.
So the U.S. presence and coalition presence in those cities is not that heavy. So militias walking around the streets and protecting Sadr, who, we've been saying, is now in Najaf himself, is not that unusual over the last few weeks or months. They are the presence in those cities.
Whether or not we will see the U.S. go in to try and capture Sadr or to take that for the moment, as they are to the Sunni insurgency, to the Shiites in those cities is a very different question. You've got a lot of civilians in the way if you try to go into those cities.
COSTELLO: Yes, right now they're urging him to turn himself in.
CLINCH: They are asking him to turn himself into the local police. We'll remain to see. We do know, just very quickly, we do know that other members of the Shiite community, not Sistani, necessarily, but others, including the Governing Council, are asking Sadr to do just that.
COSTELLO: Well, we'll see if he does.
CLINCH: Yes.
COSTELLO: David Clinch, many thanks.
We're going to take a short break.
We'll be back with more of DAYBREAK right after this.
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