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Former NFL Player Pat Tillman Killed in Action in Afghanistan; Defending Convoys in Iraq.

Aired April 23, 2004 - 13:58   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: He gave up football to fight for freedom, a multimillion-dollar career to fight for his country. Now Pat Tillman has made the ultimate sacrifice.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Paul Bremer makes a change in Iraqi policy, makes it official. Why some former with Baath Party members are being allowed to return to their old jobs.

PHILLIPS: Fully loaded to fight off terrorists, we'll show you what pilots are going through so they can be armed for takeoff.

O'BRIEN: And some trouble aboard the International Space Station again. We'll talk with orbiting Mr. Fix-Its who will have to put that on their list.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, very firmly grounded here, I'm Miles O'Brien.

PHILLIPS: So we think so. And I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.

PHILLIPS: Our top story, on the eve of one of the biggest days for the NFL, the college draft, some devastating news hits the league. Former Arizona Cardinal Pat Tillman was killed yesterday while serving as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan. Tillman left football to join the Army after the 9/11 attacks. CNN's Sean Callebs joins us now live from Washington with more on all the characteristics behind this strong man -- Sean.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Kyra, I think summed up by the fact he walked away from a $3.36 million a year contract to serve, Pat Tillman was killed serving in Special Forces in the southeastern area of Afghanistan. He was with the 75th Ranger Regiment, a light infantry unit out of Fort Benning, Georgia.

The Pentagon is saying Tillman died during a fire fight. The military has been in that area since right after 9/11, trying to root out al Qaeda operatives and those sympathetic to the Taliban.

I spoke with a sports columnist in the Phoenix area who has known Tillman and his family since college. He says Tillman served in Iraq first, then returned home. And as late as April 1 he was back in the United States until he was sent out to Afghanistan.

By all counts, simply an outstanding young man. On fact, Tillman joined the Rangers with his brother Kevin. The two were serving together in the same battalion in Afghanistan. One thing is clear, the events of September 11 made a tremendous impact on this young man. Once he joined the service, he didn't grant any interviews. Only those closest to him knew exactly why Tillman joined the Rangers.

But listen to what he had to say two-and-a-half years ago on September 12, 2001.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAT TILLMAN, KILLED IN ACTION IN AFGHANISTAN: You kind of take it for granted, especially in the country we live in. We are such a free society and, you know, we look at that flag and I do -- I've always had a great deal of feeling for the flag. But even someone who considers themselves that way, you just don't think about it all of the time. You don't realize what a gift, you don't realize how great a life we have over here. Times like this you should stop and think about just how -- not only how good we have it but what kind of a system we live under, what freedoms we're allowed.

And that wasn't built overnight and it's kind of -- the flag is a symbol of all of that, a symbol of -- my great grandfather was at Pearl Harbor and a lot of my family has gone and fought wars. And I really haven't done a damn thing as far as laying myself on the line like that. And so I have a great deal of respect for those that have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Tillman was an inspiration to many. The National Football League is mourning the loss of this young man. And listen to what the vice president of the Arizona Cardinals has to say about Tillman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL BIDWELL, V.P., ARIZONA CARDINALS: He was a special guy. Again, he is a hero. He is a brave man. There are very few people who have the courage to do what he did, the courage to walk away from a professional sports career and to make the ultimate sacrifice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Tillman and his brother were offered to chance to go into the Army as officers. They both turned it down, going as specialists, Kyra, making about $18,000 a year.

PHILLIPS: Unbelievable. Well, there was no sport shortage of tributes. John McCain came forward, also, right?

CALLEBS: Exactly. John McCain coming out making a statement, basically he said that he is simply heartbroken and went on to say, I'm quoting here: "This is, in Pat Tillman's example, in his unexpected choice of duty to his country over the riches and other comforts of celebrity and in his humility, such an inspiration to all of us to reclaim the essential public spiritedness of Americans that many of us, in low moments, had worried was no longer our common distinguishing trait." And McCain went to say that: "We are celebrating the courageous life and mourning the heroic death of Pat Tillman" - Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Sean Callebs, thanks so much. One more note, it's important to remember that while it may not get the publicity that Tillman's death is getting, Americans are still putting their lives at risk every day in Afghanistan. Since the start war of (sic) terror, 116 Americans have died in Afghanistan, 50 of them from hostile fire.

O'BRIEN: The White House says President Bush was moved by recent photos of military caskets, but he stands by the policy that keep such pictures from being made public.

Senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are pictures the Pentagon didn't want you to see, row on row of flag-draped coffins on their final voyage home from Iraq, or perhaps Afghanistan. The official Air Force photographs were taken for historical purposes and released to an anti-government secrecy Web site, the memoryhole.org, under the Freedom of Information Act. That release is now under review because it conflicts with official Pentagon policy, banning news media coverage of the return of military remains.

To some that policy seems misguided.

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: The idea that they're essentially snuck back into the country under the cover of night so no one can see that their casket has arrived, I just think is wrong.

MCINTYRE: Since just before the 1991 Persian Gulf War, with a few rare exceptions, the Pentagon has banned cameras at Dover Air Force Base or any place en route. Gravesite coverage is permitted if the family agrees. The Pentagon insists it's not trying to cover up the war's human cost, but simply protecting the privacy of families. And it has the support of the National Military Family Association.

In a statement, the organization say: "There is no apparent consensus among families about the policy." and it believes: "The current policy is sensitive to the needs of the families."

this picture, published on front page of "The Seattle Times" last Sunday, showing more than 20 flag-draped coffins, resulted in a contract worker losing her job. After e-mailing the picture taken earlier this month to a friend, Tami Silicio was fired along with her husband for what the contractor says was a violation of government and company regulations.

For the newspaper, publishing the picture was an easy call.

DAVID BOARDMAN, MANAGING EDITOR, "SEATTLE TIMES": The most amazing thing about it really is that everybody seems to be moved by it. What they see in it is largely a function of what they bring to it. So that some people see it as a strong anti-war statement, other people see it very much as a picture that honors the soldiers who are over there.

MCINTYRE (on camera): The Pentagon says it has nothing to apologize for in trying to craft guidelines that balance the needs of the news media against the sensitivities of the families. And an official says there are no plans to review the policy.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, it may soon be back to work for thousands of Saddam Hussein's old supporters. It's a change in policy for the coalition. CNN's Jim Clancy reports from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Friday's message came from the top, to all Iraqis.

PAUL BREMER, U.S. CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR: Working together, we can create the future you want.

CLANCY: While depicted as a mere technical adjustment, some saw Bremer's national address on the U.S.-funded television channel as an effort to correct past mistakes. On the military front the policy shift may reflect the lessons learned in April as security plunged and casualties soared. The Iraqi army and police trained by U.S. performed poorly. Friday, Bremer said former high-ranking officers not involved in the crimes of Saddam Hussein's regime would come back.

BREMER: Over 70 percent of the men in the Iraqi army and Iraqi civil defense corps served honorably in the former army. They have asked to serve their country again and we welcome their renewed service.

CLANCY: Also dismissed after the war, more than 10,000 Iraqi teachers who had membership in the Baath Party, a measure some say has hurt the education of all Iraqis.

BREMER: This will allow thousands of teachers to return to work. Thousands more will begin receiving pensions this week.

CLANCY: While reconstruction efforts have suffered as some giant foreign contractors hold out staff to avoid kidnapping, Ambassador Bremer said he's ordered other projects accelerated, a move that may create more than a million jobs.

BREMER: I've told my colleagues in the coalition to accelerate these projects everywhere in the country. We expect that they will create over a million-and-a-half jobs over the next year. I have instructed the coalition to give priority to Iraqi firms whenever possible in order to create as many opportunities for Iraqis as possible. CLANCY: Iraqis will welcome a greater share of the billions of dollars in reconstruction money U.S. taxpayers are pouring into the country. Many argue Iraqis can do the work cheaper and employment is the best way to convince people they have a stake in their country's future.

(on camera): In many ways, Bremer's address was in itself an effort to rebuild, rebuild trust after some of the worst violence in more than a year. It also sent the message that the coalition was prepared not only to tell Iraqis how to run their country but to listen to their ideas as well.

Jim Clancy, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And more news out of Iraq. A threat of suicide bombers from militant Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, al-Sadr said he could unleash bombers if U.S. troops attack Najaf or Karbala. Those cities are holy to Shiite Muslims. U.S. troops are poised just outside of Najaf where al-Sadr is staying. They vow to destroy his militia.

Meanwhile, a Bulgarian soldier was killed when suspected insurgents ambushed his convoy near Karbala's city hall. That soldier was shot in the head. Later, we're going to talk to security analyst Ken Robinson about how the coalition can fight such ambushes.

O'BRIEN: News across America now. Wisconsin National Guard soldiers Rachel and Charity Witmer get another 15 days to decide whether to return to Iraq. They're on leave, as you'll recall, mourning the death of their sister, Michelle, who was killed in the war. The two could ask for a non-combat assignment.

The mother of Nathaniel Brazil, who used a gun to kill his seventh grade teacher, is joining the effort to stop gun violence. Polly Powell was among those passing out gunlocks at inner city neighborhoods in Palm Beach County.

PHILLIPS: The U.N. says North Korea is asking for help following this week's huge train explosion near the Chinese border.

CNN's Jaime FlorCruz is not far from the accident site.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAIME FLORCRUZ, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): North Koreans on the banks of the Yalu (ph) River finding time to repair fishing boats and unload commodities. But not far from their homes along the China-North Korea border, was a scene of carnage. A huge explosion at a train station rocked the town of Rumchen (ph), killing scores and injuring more than 1000.

JOHN SPARROW, RED CROSS SPOKESMAN: Obviously, a lot of people are at this moment without a roof over their heads. A lot of people are injured. And we expect those casualty figures to rise. But it's a scene certainly around that station, one of mass destruction.

FLORCRUZ: It's a disaster North Korea could hardly afford. The isolated communist state already suffers from chronic shortages of food and energy. And it's locked in a confrontation with the U.S. over its nuclear weapons program.

(on camera): The city behind me, Sinuju (ph), is the place where many of the injured are believed to be receiving treatment. But many fear that Sinuju's backward medical facilities may not be enough to cope with the emergency.

(voice-over): In this industrial city of half a million people, patients usually get only basic care in crowded hospitals. And there's still no official word on what caused the blast. It occurred nine hours after North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il, passed the town on his way back to Pyongyang from China. But the explosion appeared to be an accident.

PAUL BEIJER, SWEDISH AMB. TO NORTH KOREA: It was not two trains colliding, but work in a freight yard in this little town. They were shifting a couple of freight cars full of explosives, high explosives, and these freight cars came into contact with a live power cable, and the resulting spark ignited the explosives.

FLORCRUZ: Whatever the cause, international aid workers and Chinese hospitals here say they are ready to offer any help that Pyongyang and asks for.

Jaime FlorCruz, CNN, Dandong, China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Iraqi insurgents targeting supply convoys, how do you protect a large moving target over an open desert road? We'll talk to a military expert up next.

Plus, the fear of attack is driving some international contractors from their jobs. We'll show you how Iraqis themselves are picking up the slack.

Also ahead, comic strips dive into the debate over the Iraq war. We'll tell you about that, too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: "Beans and bullets" as the old saying goes, an army moves on its stomach. And what you're witnessing in Iraq is the master plan of insurgents, killing the convoy at any cost. Convoys like these are what keeps the U.S.-led coalition and the reconstruction of Iraq alive. Food, fuel, ammo, other essential supplies make their way down military supply routes, MSRs is what that they're called. And when those routes are terrorized, the U.S. strategy to rebuild and refuel this country slows down. It's frustrating to the troops, it's fruitful to the insurgents. CNN national security analyst Ken Robinson is here to talk to us about defeating these types of ambushes. Let's start by just laying out the region and showing our viewers these military routes for supplies.

KEN ROBINSON, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, we've got a graphic. It shows the main supply route coming from Amman, Jordan, moving from the west to the east has to traverse in some very dangerous territory. There are hostile bandits which are impeding non-governmental organizations, news media, et cetera, and then you move through town of Fallujah. In the town of Fallujah right here on this bridge, viewers may recall this is where we had four contractors, several of their bodies were hung. And as the enemy moves into this ,area waiting to impede Coalition Provisional Authority convoys, U.S. military convoys, it is causing an extreme challenge to their ability to have infrastructure supplied.

PHILLIPS: And let's talk about how they do that. Let's go through the scenarios. The first ambush, very common, assassination attempts.

ROBINSON: Assassination attempts, one of the key ones here is an Iraqi Governing Council member was assassinated on September 20. And she was a leading candidate to become the Iraqi representative to the United Nations. And what they did was on a 9:00 a.m. morning, as she was leaving her home, her residence, they caught her, because there's two known points: where you go to sleep at night and where you go to work.

And they simply it waited. If you look at this key, the red car is the enemy assassins. The blue car is coming out of the residence of the doctor, and the -- if you will move to the next slide, you will see that as the convoy moved around the corner, there was an attack initiated by an RPG. And then once the RPG hit the lead vehicle, then the terrorists moved up, they strafed the vehicle and they left her with a lethal wound which she died from five days later.

PHILLIPS: So one tactic with these type of ambushes, take out those who could rule Iraq.

ROBINSON: And Dr. Hashimi was key to that, and she was one of three women who were going to be part of this governing council.

PHILLIPS: Second ambush scenario, the convoy ambush. We've been seeing a lot of this. This is what's taken the lives of so many soldiers. The "shoot and scoot."

ROBINSON: This convoy is one of the very common ones that's occurring right now. If you look at this key, on the left and right those diamonds are terrorists. In the back where you see that arrow, that's an RPG. And what they do is they initiate with strafing fire on the bottom arrow and they strafe the convoy, hitting the lead vehicle, slowing it down, slowing down the convoy and then they attack the rear vehicle, then they strafe the convoy with machine gun fire.

PHILLIPS: This takes out soldiers, it takes out supplies. Next scenario, this is the alleyway ambush. We've been seeing a lot of this in Fallujah. Kids on cell phones, triggering the insurgents to make the attack.

ROBINSON: This is one of the key reasons why hopelessness is important, that we've got to get rid of that. The issue here is that these children are providing the eyes and ears for the terrorists. Then as soon as the vehicle comes into position, they fire, strafe the vehicle, and then they leave long before anyone can react to it and they disappear into the countryside.

PHILLIPS: Another scenario, highway robberies, and this is what's targeting the press, coalition partners, NGOs, kidnappings are taking place, right?

ROBINSON: The kidnappings have been a really important strategy to the different terrorist organization which seem to be loosely working together. And in this scenario, the lead vehicle that you see there in red slows down, causing the blue vehicle to overtake. Then the rear vehicle pulls to the side, strafes the vehicle and the tires, causes it to pull over and then the terrorists move up, approach it and either rob, kill or kidnap the occupants.

PHILLIPS: Finally, the staged accident ambush, this was -- I found this very interesting. You said this is the way insurgents are going after Iraqi police, Iraqi fire, because they respond to these accidents and there's a surprise.

ROBINSON: They want to have an effect. What they do is they enlist members of the crowd. And what they do is they build a crowd together around a staged accident. And then when the police or the fire respond to it, or when a coalition unit responds to it, on signal they make the crowd depart, making room for the terrorists to be able to fire directly into the responding vehicles of the police or the firemen. And then they go to the vehicle that you see at the bottom of your screen there, and they exit the area, again, and the crowd closes back in and does what you saw with the four contractors where they attacked those individuals or they dissipate and you can't have any identification of who actually committed the crime.

PHILLIPS: So Ken, finally, you know, this is definitely attacking the U.S. strategy. It is challenging with the U.S. and coalition troops are trying to do. We're seeing the soldiers dying. We're seeing coalition folks leaving. How do you defeat these type of ambushes?

ROBINSON: There are several ways that they are using -- they're using electronic counter measures right now. And what that means is if you think about the assassination attempts on President Musharraf in Pakistan, you saw that after his convoy passed certain locations, explosive devices went off. That's because he is jamming. They now have jamming systems trying to jam these garage door openers, these car door openers and cell phone communications for electronically controlled ambushes of IEDs.

But more importantly they're trying to defeat the strategy by identifying who these terrorists are. And now that these terrorists have started to kill Shiite and Sunni, there's a very likelihood that the leaders -- the tribal leader in these communities will start cooperating and communicating with coalition forces, providing them that desperate HumInt that they need, that human intelligence to be able to identify who the culprits are and then to apply combat power against them.

PHILLIPS: Ken Robinson, thanks so much.

ROBINSON: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: Let's make a deal, several states join forces to get a better prescription drug price for Medicaid patients. We will tell you who will benefit from the new plan after a break.

Also ahead, a behind the scenes look at the training program for pilots who would like to be armed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back from the CNN Center in Atlanta. This is LIVE FROM..., and I'm Miles O'Brien.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. Here's what's all new this half hour. A mechanical malfunction could have the International Space Station struggling to keep its balance. Miles will talk with the only men who can fix it.

Plus, another animal story? A wild feline gets her new family into quite a fix. We're going to tell you what's going to happen to them now.

O'BRIEN: I'm not a cat lover, I can tell you that.

And the comic strips that refuse to shy away from the controversies surrounding Iraq. We'll tell you about those as well.

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 April 23, 2004 - 13:58   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: He gave up football to fight for freedom, a multimillion-dollar career to fight for his country. Now Pat Tillman has made the ultimate sacrifice.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Paul Bremer makes a change in Iraqi policy, makes it official. Why some former with Baath Party members are being allowed to return to their old jobs.

PHILLIPS: Fully loaded to fight off terrorists, we'll show you what pilots are going through so they can be armed for takeoff.

O'BRIEN: And some trouble aboard the International Space Station again. We'll talk with orbiting Mr. Fix-Its who will have to put that on their list.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, very firmly grounded here, I'm Miles O'Brien.

PHILLIPS: So we think so. And I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.

PHILLIPS: Our top story, on the eve of one of the biggest days for the NFL, the college draft, some devastating news hits the league. Former Arizona Cardinal Pat Tillman was killed yesterday while serving as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan. Tillman left football to join the Army after the 9/11 attacks. CNN's Sean Callebs joins us now live from Washington with more on all the characteristics behind this strong man -- Sean.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Kyra, I think summed up by the fact he walked away from a $3.36 million a year contract to serve, Pat Tillman was killed serving in Special Forces in the southeastern area of Afghanistan. He was with the 75th Ranger Regiment, a light infantry unit out of Fort Benning, Georgia.

The Pentagon is saying Tillman died during a fire fight. The military has been in that area since right after 9/11, trying to root out al Qaeda operatives and those sympathetic to the Taliban.

I spoke with a sports columnist in the Phoenix area who has known Tillman and his family since college. He says Tillman served in Iraq first, then returned home. And as late as April 1 he was back in the United States until he was sent out to Afghanistan.

By all counts, simply an outstanding young man. On fact, Tillman joined the Rangers with his brother Kevin. The two were serving together in the same battalion in Afghanistan. One thing is clear, the events of September 11 made a tremendous impact on this young man. Once he joined the service, he didn't grant any interviews. Only those closest to him knew exactly why Tillman joined the Rangers.

But listen to what he had to say two-and-a-half years ago on September 12, 2001.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAT TILLMAN, KILLED IN ACTION IN AFGHANISTAN: You kind of take it for granted, especially in the country we live in. We are such a free society and, you know, we look at that flag and I do -- I've always had a great deal of feeling for the flag. But even someone who considers themselves that way, you just don't think about it all of the time. You don't realize what a gift, you don't realize how great a life we have over here. Times like this you should stop and think about just how -- not only how good we have it but what kind of a system we live under, what freedoms we're allowed.

And that wasn't built overnight and it's kind of -- the flag is a symbol of all of that, a symbol of -- my great grandfather was at Pearl Harbor and a lot of my family has gone and fought wars. And I really haven't done a damn thing as far as laying myself on the line like that. And so I have a great deal of respect for those that have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Tillman was an inspiration to many. The National Football League is mourning the loss of this young man. And listen to what the vice president of the Arizona Cardinals has to say about Tillman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL BIDWELL, V.P., ARIZONA CARDINALS: He was a special guy. Again, he is a hero. He is a brave man. There are very few people who have the courage to do what he did, the courage to walk away from a professional sports career and to make the ultimate sacrifice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Tillman and his brother were offered to chance to go into the Army as officers. They both turned it down, going as specialists, Kyra, making about $18,000 a year.

PHILLIPS: Unbelievable. Well, there was no sport shortage of tributes. John McCain came forward, also, right?

CALLEBS: Exactly. John McCain coming out making a statement, basically he said that he is simply heartbroken and went on to say, I'm quoting here: "This is, in Pat Tillman's example, in his unexpected choice of duty to his country over the riches and other comforts of celebrity and in his humility, such an inspiration to all of us to reclaim the essential public spiritedness of Americans that many of us, in low moments, had worried was no longer our common distinguishing trait." And McCain went to say that: "We are celebrating the courageous life and mourning the heroic death of Pat Tillman" - Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Sean Callebs, thanks so much. One more note, it's important to remember that while it may not get the publicity that Tillman's death is getting, Americans are still putting their lives at risk every day in Afghanistan. Since the start war of (sic) terror, 116 Americans have died in Afghanistan, 50 of them from hostile fire.

O'BRIEN: The White House says President Bush was moved by recent photos of military caskets, but he stands by the policy that keep such pictures from being made public.

Senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are pictures the Pentagon didn't want you to see, row on row of flag-draped coffins on their final voyage home from Iraq, or perhaps Afghanistan. The official Air Force photographs were taken for historical purposes and released to an anti-government secrecy Web site, the memoryhole.org, under the Freedom of Information Act. That release is now under review because it conflicts with official Pentagon policy, banning news media coverage of the return of military remains.

To some that policy seems misguided.

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: The idea that they're essentially snuck back into the country under the cover of night so no one can see that their casket has arrived, I just think is wrong.

MCINTYRE: Since just before the 1991 Persian Gulf War, with a few rare exceptions, the Pentagon has banned cameras at Dover Air Force Base or any place en route. Gravesite coverage is permitted if the family agrees. The Pentagon insists it's not trying to cover up the war's human cost, but simply protecting the privacy of families. And it has the support of the National Military Family Association.

In a statement, the organization say: "There is no apparent consensus among families about the policy." and it believes: "The current policy is sensitive to the needs of the families."

this picture, published on front page of "The Seattle Times" last Sunday, showing more than 20 flag-draped coffins, resulted in a contract worker losing her job. After e-mailing the picture taken earlier this month to a friend, Tami Silicio was fired along with her husband for what the contractor says was a violation of government and company regulations.

For the newspaper, publishing the picture was an easy call.

DAVID BOARDMAN, MANAGING EDITOR, "SEATTLE TIMES": The most amazing thing about it really is that everybody seems to be moved by it. What they see in it is largely a function of what they bring to it. So that some people see it as a strong anti-war statement, other people see it very much as a picture that honors the soldiers who are over there.

MCINTYRE (on camera): The Pentagon says it has nothing to apologize for in trying to craft guidelines that balance the needs of the news media against the sensitivities of the families. And an official says there are no plans to review the policy.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, it may soon be back to work for thousands of Saddam Hussein's old supporters. It's a change in policy for the coalition. CNN's Jim Clancy reports from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Friday's message came from the top, to all Iraqis.

PAUL BREMER, U.S. CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR: Working together, we can create the future you want.

CLANCY: While depicted as a mere technical adjustment, some saw Bremer's national address on the U.S.-funded television channel as an effort to correct past mistakes. On the military front the policy shift may reflect the lessons learned in April as security plunged and casualties soared. The Iraqi army and police trained by U.S. performed poorly. Friday, Bremer said former high-ranking officers not involved in the crimes of Saddam Hussein's regime would come back.

BREMER: Over 70 percent of the men in the Iraqi army and Iraqi civil defense corps served honorably in the former army. They have asked to serve their country again and we welcome their renewed service.

CLANCY: Also dismissed after the war, more than 10,000 Iraqi teachers who had membership in the Baath Party, a measure some say has hurt the education of all Iraqis.

BREMER: This will allow thousands of teachers to return to work. Thousands more will begin receiving pensions this week.

CLANCY: While reconstruction efforts have suffered as some giant foreign contractors hold out staff to avoid kidnapping, Ambassador Bremer said he's ordered other projects accelerated, a move that may create more than a million jobs.

BREMER: I've told my colleagues in the coalition to accelerate these projects everywhere in the country. We expect that they will create over a million-and-a-half jobs over the next year. I have instructed the coalition to give priority to Iraqi firms whenever possible in order to create as many opportunities for Iraqis as possible. CLANCY: Iraqis will welcome a greater share of the billions of dollars in reconstruction money U.S. taxpayers are pouring into the country. Many argue Iraqis can do the work cheaper and employment is the best way to convince people they have a stake in their country's future.

(on camera): In many ways, Bremer's address was in itself an effort to rebuild, rebuild trust after some of the worst violence in more than a year. It also sent the message that the coalition was prepared not only to tell Iraqis how to run their country but to listen to their ideas as well.

Jim Clancy, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And more news out of Iraq. A threat of suicide bombers from militant Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, al-Sadr said he could unleash bombers if U.S. troops attack Najaf or Karbala. Those cities are holy to Shiite Muslims. U.S. troops are poised just outside of Najaf where al-Sadr is staying. They vow to destroy his militia.

Meanwhile, a Bulgarian soldier was killed when suspected insurgents ambushed his convoy near Karbala's city hall. That soldier was shot in the head. Later, we're going to talk to security analyst Ken Robinson about how the coalition can fight such ambushes.

O'BRIEN: News across America now. Wisconsin National Guard soldiers Rachel and Charity Witmer get another 15 days to decide whether to return to Iraq. They're on leave, as you'll recall, mourning the death of their sister, Michelle, who was killed in the war. The two could ask for a non-combat assignment.

The mother of Nathaniel Brazil, who used a gun to kill his seventh grade teacher, is joining the effort to stop gun violence. Polly Powell was among those passing out gunlocks at inner city neighborhoods in Palm Beach County.

PHILLIPS: The U.N. says North Korea is asking for help following this week's huge train explosion near the Chinese border.

CNN's Jaime FlorCruz is not far from the accident site.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAIME FLORCRUZ, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): North Koreans on the banks of the Yalu (ph) River finding time to repair fishing boats and unload commodities. But not far from their homes along the China-North Korea border, was a scene of carnage. A huge explosion at a train station rocked the town of Rumchen (ph), killing scores and injuring more than 1000.

JOHN SPARROW, RED CROSS SPOKESMAN: Obviously, a lot of people are at this moment without a roof over their heads. A lot of people are injured. And we expect those casualty figures to rise. But it's a scene certainly around that station, one of mass destruction.

FLORCRUZ: It's a disaster North Korea could hardly afford. The isolated communist state already suffers from chronic shortages of food and energy. And it's locked in a confrontation with the U.S. over its nuclear weapons program.

(on camera): The city behind me, Sinuju (ph), is the place where many of the injured are believed to be receiving treatment. But many fear that Sinuju's backward medical facilities may not be enough to cope with the emergency.

(voice-over): In this industrial city of half a million people, patients usually get only basic care in crowded hospitals. And there's still no official word on what caused the blast. It occurred nine hours after North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il, passed the town on his way back to Pyongyang from China. But the explosion appeared to be an accident.

PAUL BEIJER, SWEDISH AMB. TO NORTH KOREA: It was not two trains colliding, but work in a freight yard in this little town. They were shifting a couple of freight cars full of explosives, high explosives, and these freight cars came into contact with a live power cable, and the resulting spark ignited the explosives.

FLORCRUZ: Whatever the cause, international aid workers and Chinese hospitals here say they are ready to offer any help that Pyongyang and asks for.

Jaime FlorCruz, CNN, Dandong, China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Iraqi insurgents targeting supply convoys, how do you protect a large moving target over an open desert road? We'll talk to a military expert up next.

Plus, the fear of attack is driving some international contractors from their jobs. We'll show you how Iraqis themselves are picking up the slack.

Also ahead, comic strips dive into the debate over the Iraq war. We'll tell you about that, too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: "Beans and bullets" as the old saying goes, an army moves on its stomach. And what you're witnessing in Iraq is the master plan of insurgents, killing the convoy at any cost. Convoys like these are what keeps the U.S.-led coalition and the reconstruction of Iraq alive. Food, fuel, ammo, other essential supplies make their way down military supply routes, MSRs is what that they're called. And when those routes are terrorized, the U.S. strategy to rebuild and refuel this country slows down. It's frustrating to the troops, it's fruitful to the insurgents. CNN national security analyst Ken Robinson is here to talk to us about defeating these types of ambushes. Let's start by just laying out the region and showing our viewers these military routes for supplies.

KEN ROBINSON, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, we've got a graphic. It shows the main supply route coming from Amman, Jordan, moving from the west to the east has to traverse in some very dangerous territory. There are hostile bandits which are impeding non-governmental organizations, news media, et cetera, and then you move through town of Fallujah. In the town of Fallujah right here on this bridge, viewers may recall this is where we had four contractors, several of their bodies were hung. And as the enemy moves into this ,area waiting to impede Coalition Provisional Authority convoys, U.S. military convoys, it is causing an extreme challenge to their ability to have infrastructure supplied.

PHILLIPS: And let's talk about how they do that. Let's go through the scenarios. The first ambush, very common, assassination attempts.

ROBINSON: Assassination attempts, one of the key ones here is an Iraqi Governing Council member was assassinated on September 20. And she was a leading candidate to become the Iraqi representative to the United Nations. And what they did was on a 9:00 a.m. morning, as she was leaving her home, her residence, they caught her, because there's two known points: where you go to sleep at night and where you go to work.

And they simply it waited. If you look at this key, the red car is the enemy assassins. The blue car is coming out of the residence of the doctor, and the -- if you will move to the next slide, you will see that as the convoy moved around the corner, there was an attack initiated by an RPG. And then once the RPG hit the lead vehicle, then the terrorists moved up, they strafed the vehicle and they left her with a lethal wound which she died from five days later.

PHILLIPS: So one tactic with these type of ambushes, take out those who could rule Iraq.

ROBINSON: And Dr. Hashimi was key to that, and she was one of three women who were going to be part of this governing council.

PHILLIPS: Second ambush scenario, the convoy ambush. We've been seeing a lot of this. This is what's taken the lives of so many soldiers. The "shoot and scoot."

ROBINSON: This convoy is one of the very common ones that's occurring right now. If you look at this key, on the left and right those diamonds are terrorists. In the back where you see that arrow, that's an RPG. And what they do is they initiate with strafing fire on the bottom arrow and they strafe the convoy, hitting the lead vehicle, slowing it down, slowing down the convoy and then they attack the rear vehicle, then they strafe the convoy with machine gun fire.

PHILLIPS: This takes out soldiers, it takes out supplies. Next scenario, this is the alleyway ambush. We've been seeing a lot of this in Fallujah. Kids on cell phones, triggering the insurgents to make the attack.

ROBINSON: This is one of the key reasons why hopelessness is important, that we've got to get rid of that. The issue here is that these children are providing the eyes and ears for the terrorists. Then as soon as the vehicle comes into position, they fire, strafe the vehicle, and then they leave long before anyone can react to it and they disappear into the countryside.

PHILLIPS: Another scenario, highway robberies, and this is what's targeting the press, coalition partners, NGOs, kidnappings are taking place, right?

ROBINSON: The kidnappings have been a really important strategy to the different terrorist organization which seem to be loosely working together. And in this scenario, the lead vehicle that you see there in red slows down, causing the blue vehicle to overtake. Then the rear vehicle pulls to the side, strafes the vehicle and the tires, causes it to pull over and then the terrorists move up, approach it and either rob, kill or kidnap the occupants.

PHILLIPS: Finally, the staged accident ambush, this was -- I found this very interesting. You said this is the way insurgents are going after Iraqi police, Iraqi fire, because they respond to these accidents and there's a surprise.

ROBINSON: They want to have an effect. What they do is they enlist members of the crowd. And what they do is they build a crowd together around a staged accident. And then when the police or the fire respond to it, or when a coalition unit responds to it, on signal they make the crowd depart, making room for the terrorists to be able to fire directly into the responding vehicles of the police or the firemen. And then they go to the vehicle that you see at the bottom of your screen there, and they exit the area, again, and the crowd closes back in and does what you saw with the four contractors where they attacked those individuals or they dissipate and you can't have any identification of who actually committed the crime.

PHILLIPS: So Ken, finally, you know, this is definitely attacking the U.S. strategy. It is challenging with the U.S. and coalition troops are trying to do. We're seeing the soldiers dying. We're seeing coalition folks leaving. How do you defeat these type of ambushes?

ROBINSON: There are several ways that they are using -- they're using electronic counter measures right now. And what that means is if you think about the assassination attempts on President Musharraf in Pakistan, you saw that after his convoy passed certain locations, explosive devices went off. That's because he is jamming. They now have jamming systems trying to jam these garage door openers, these car door openers and cell phone communications for electronically controlled ambushes of IEDs.

But more importantly they're trying to defeat the strategy by identifying who these terrorists are. And now that these terrorists have started to kill Shiite and Sunni, there's a very likelihood that the leaders -- the tribal leader in these communities will start cooperating and communicating with coalition forces, providing them that desperate HumInt that they need, that human intelligence to be able to identify who the culprits are and then to apply combat power against them.

PHILLIPS: Ken Robinson, thanks so much.

ROBINSON: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: Let's make a deal, several states join forces to get a better prescription drug price for Medicaid patients. We will tell you who will benefit from the new plan after a break.

Also ahead, a behind the scenes look at the training program for pilots who would like to be armed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back from the CNN Center in Atlanta. This is LIVE FROM..., and I'm Miles O'Brien.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. Here's what's all new this half hour. A mechanical malfunction could have the International Space Station struggling to keep its balance. Miles will talk with the only men who can fix it.

Plus, another animal story? A wild feline gets her new family into quite a fix. We're going to tell you what's going to happen to them now.

O'BRIEN: I'm not a cat lover, I can tell you that.

And the comic strips that refuse to shy away from the controversies surrounding Iraq. We'll tell you about those as well.

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