Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Bremer's Comments Hover Over Tonight's Debate; Anger in Samarra

Aired October 05, 2004 - 14:02   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: One on one: the number two men on the ticket get set to be the main event. What to watch for in tonight's debate.
Damage control: cleaning up a former insurgent stronghold while the former top civilian in Iraq says a bad decision led to that country's problems.

Flu shot shortage: health officials warn you could be left out in the cold this season.

Spewing into the sky: live pictures now. Mount St. Helens comes to life again. We're live from the volcano.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. Miles is off today. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Well, the quaffed and charismatic young lawyer versus the veteran D.C. mover and shaker, it's the under-card in campaign 2004, sitting VP Dick Cheney against the Democratic VP nominee, John Edwards, in their only head-to-head confrontation. Expect to hear a lot about Iraq, oil, and big money lawsuits and, of course, medical malpractice in a sit-down setting with no subjects off the table.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer joins us now from Cleveland to whet our appetites.

Hi, Wolf. What's everybody talking about?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're talking about the big debate tonight. But hovering over it, as you just reported, Kyra, the comments, very surprising comments from former Ambassador Paul Bremer, the former chief U.S. administrator in Iraq, suggesting there was a huge blunder that was made by the Bush administration, not enough troops on the ground to deal with a post-war situation, looking back, raising questions.

Certainly, even though he strongly supports the president of the United States for reelection, Ambassador Bremer playing into the hands of John Kerry and John Edwards, playing into the hands of the opposition. This is precisely what they have been saying for some time, there was no good plan on the ground, in the works, to deal with the post-military combat. And as a result, the U.S. and its coalition partners, the Iraqis, are paying that price, that very serious price we see unfolding today.

So it's hovering over this debate in Cleveland -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. So now you have that new element, Wolf, kind of hovering over. Let's talk about maybe a lot to prove for just the sake of personal reputations.

There was so much talk about Dick Cheney, his connection to Halliburton, that John Edwards would be bringing up the "H" word quite a bit. And then you've got Cheney saying that he has blamed trial lawyers for the rising cost of health care. Of course, John Edwards being this very well-known and successful trial lawyer, winning millions of dollars in suits.

How much is that personal reputation at stake when you -- when you talk about tonight what will be talked about?

BLITZER: I'm sure it will come up. The "Halliburton" word will come up. And I'm also sure that the vice president won't be raising it. It will be Dick Cheney, unless Gwen Ifill, the moderator from PBS, decides to ask a specific question on that. The whole trial lawyer and the litigation and the lawsuits, I'm sure that will come up in some way or another.

My suspicion, though, is three issues will be atop this debate tonight between these two vice presidential candidates: Iraq, the war on terror. The economy would be the third issue, specifically tax cuts, what's gone wrong, what's gone right over the past four years. So even though there will be stylistic differences and there will be some of these more sensational issues, the substance, the meat and potatoes of this campaign, I think, will be front and center.

PHILLIPS: What about practice and coaching? This, of course, is John Edwards' first debate. Dick Cheney has taken place -- you know, taken part in debates in the past. From your sense, from those who you have spoken with, is someone being coached more than another, or spending more time rehearsing than another that you know of?

BLITZER: They both have spent a great deal of time practicing and rehearsing. Remember, Dick Cheney did quite well four years ago when he debated then Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman. They sat around the table.

That's what he likes. He didn't want to be standing at a podium, as Bush and Kerry did last week. He certainly didn't want to do this kind of town hall meeting, where they could walk around, which is what the president and the Democratic nominee are gong to be doing Friday night in St. Louis.

He wanted that sort of "Meet the Press" kind of table, where Gwen Ifill would ask questions, they would answer the questions from their seated positions. That's precisely what he did with Lieberman four years ago.

They've been practicing that. To a certain degree, they've both been practicing their whole lives getting ready for this, which will be their most important debate. Edwards has gotten better in years, five years or so since he's been a United States senator. Early on he was a little rusty. Even a year ago, when he was on "Meet the Press," he didn't come off as strongly as he probably should have. He's gotten a lot better.

And if you remember some of the debates during the Democratic presidential primary, when he was debating John Kerry and Howard Dean and all the other Democratic presidential candidates, he was pretty effective in that style, where he was above the fray, he was Mr. Nice Guy, didn't get into negative politics.

For him to win tonight, he's got to get much more into the dirt, if you will, and he can't just be Mr. Positive. He's got to be Mr. Negative as well.

PHILLIPS: All right. Wolf Blitzer -- hey, Wolf, that -- the bus behind you, the CNN election bus, is that where you're camping out?

BLITZER: I'm sleeping in there, eating in there. No, not really. It's a beautiful bus, though. Have you been on it -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Actually, I have not had the pleasure of being on that bus. I heard that there's good champagne, though.

BLITZER: There's -- I don't know about the champagne, but there is a history to that bus. Someday I'll share that history with you.

PHILLIPS: I can't wait. We'll write a book, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right.

PHILLIPS: Wolf Blitzer, whatever your candidate, whatever your party, Wolf's your man. CNN is the place for "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS," live from Cleveland, 5:00 p.m. Eastern, 2:00 on the West Coast. Stand by for hard news. Wolf Blitzer.

And later this hour, we're going to preview tonight's debate right here on LIVE FROM with Democratic strategist Robert Zimmerman and former Republican Congressman Bob Barr. CNN's live coverage of tonight's debate in Cleveland begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. And the same goes for Friday, for the second presidential debate between President Bush and Senator Kerry.

We trust that you'll join us.

Senator John Kerry campaigning today in Iowa after a hearty greeting at an event this morning. Kerry assailed the White House over the conflict in Iraq, and he just did so again just a short time ago. Here's John Kerry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today, we learned that a top official who was in charge of Iraq after the invasion, Paul Bremer, now believes that we made two mistakes that he acknowledges in Iraq. We didn't deploy enough troops to get the job done, and two, we didn't contain the violence and looting after Saddam was deposed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, no public events for President Bush today. A spokesperson says the president plans to watch tonight's debate from the White House. For a part of that day he was expected to continue preparations for his second debate with Kerry.

The Pentagon has a problem with some of the things Iraq's former U.S. civilian administrator is saying. CNN's Barbara Starr has more now on the reaction to Paul Bremer's comments from the Pentagon -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, overall, a bit of annoyance here at the Pentagon today about these Bremer remarks. Several officials telling CNN that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld takes his advice from military commanders, and it wasn't necessarily Paul Bremer's job as head of the civilian reconstruction effort, the occupation of Iraq, if you will, to make any recommendations about troops.

But Paul Bremer, in fact, is now saying that the U.S. paid a price for not having enough troops on the ground when Baghdad fell, and when that looting occurred. He says that they never had enough troops on the ground, and it led to, in his words, an atmosphere of lawlessness and horrid looting.

Ambassador Bremer releasing a statement saying that those remarks only refer to the period of time right after Baghdad fell shortly in the same time frame, if you will, when major combat ended. But these, Kyra, are Ambassador Bremer's second set of remarks in recent weeks about all of this.

What we have now learned is, in September, in remarks to students at DePaul University in Indiana, Ambassador Bremer making the same points, and going a step further saying, "The single most important change, the one thing that would have improved the situation, would have been having more troops in Iraq at the beginning and throughout. Although I raised this issue a number of times with our government, I should have been even more insistent."

Now, officials, again, saying here that they simply cannot address the issue of whether Ambassador Bremer ever raised this in the military framework. But what they are saying here is that Secretary Rumsfeld listened to the advice of his military commanders, no one ever asked him for more troops, and if they had, he would have listened to the advice of those commanders -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon. Thank you.

And the violence continues in Iraq today. U.S. forces pounding the part of Baghdad known as Sadr City, trying to pressure followers of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr into laying down their weapons. Iraq's interim prime minister says the basis for an agreement to end to the fighting there has been worked out. And a car bomb in Mosul killed three civilians today, exploded as a military convoy was passing through a neighborhood. Four American soldiers were wounded.

In Najaf, U.S. Marines making more than $200,000 in condolence and collateral damage and repair payments to Iraqis. That money is going to people who suffered losses during fighting there in August.

Iraqi security personnel and U.S. forces are patrolling the streets of Samarra today, dealing with pockets of resistance left after a major offensive. The people of Samarra are expressing their anger over those results.

Jane Arraf joins us now from Samarra with a live report -- Jane.

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Kyra, we were right in those streets today where, just 48 hours ago, there was intense fighting. In fact, gunfire ricocheting down the street.

Today, it was quiet. People were cleaning up the streets, people were venturing out. The shops were still shuttered. But a lot of people told us that more people were staying at home because they were still afraid, afraid of American forces, afraid of continuing fighting.

Now, they are continuing, U.S. forces, along with an unprecedented number of Iraqi forces, continuing to go throughout the city, doing house-to-house searches, raids, looking for more suspected insurgents. But they say they believe they have killed or captured perhaps up to half of them, and what they're doing now is laying the groundwork to help reconstruct the city -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, Jane, you were able to organize that interview with Colonel Randy Dragon for us out of Samarra. I'm curious, as a journalist stepping back and looking at U.S. forces and Iraqis fighting together, what have been your observations?

Is it successful? Are these Iraqis learning how to control and secure their areas?

ARRAF: It's been absolutely fascinating, Kyra. The other day we went out with Iraqi special forces, and they're increasingly backed by U.S. forces.

Before -- we've seen this transition. We would go out on raids before and it would be the Americans in the lead, the Iraqis around, playing a peripheral role. Now they've reversed it.

They're making a conscious effort to let the Iraqis take the lead, to find the intelligence, go to these houses, execute the raids. And the Americans are standing back in case they need help.

Now, it doesn't always work. On one of the raids we were at, they got a few wrong houses. But they do bring something that American troops never will, the cultural awareness, the acceptance by Iraqis, who would far prefer most times to have an Iraqi search their home than an American. And it's amazing that they've really gotten off the ground the way they have.

A lot of kinks to worked out. It's still a work in progress. But here we've seen 2,500 Iraqi security forces this battle for Samarra, and that has been unprecedented -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Our Jane Arraf embedded there with the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division. Thank you so much.

Straight ahead, simmering down or getting ready for another blowup? Mount St. Helens shows signs of life again. We're live from the volcano.

Planning on getting a flu shot? A drug maker's announcement may make it impossible. Details on what promises to be significant -- or promises, rather, to be a significant shortage straight ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELTON JOHN, SINGER: Madonna, best (EXPLETIVE DELETED) live act. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: There it is, once again, the Elton John beep-off. Sir Elton royally rips Madonna. Find out what the foul language is all about later on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Just what some folks don't want to hear. The British government is suspending flu vaccine maker Chiron's license for three months. And it's going to have a big impact here in the U.S.

Our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, joining us with the details on this looming vaccine shortage.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, this is big. Chiron, the company you mentioned, they make nearly half of the vaccine that was going to be used for this flu season.

Vaccination season starts around now, October, November, December. And about half of the one million doses that were supposed to be given to people come from Chiron. And now the British government says no, they can't ship out those vaccines, because apparently there were contamination problems at that plant.

And already, the Health and Human Services, they have just put out a statement on this. They say, "Clearly, the loss of the Chiron flu vaccine poses a serious challenge to our vaccine supply for the upcoming season."

So what do they recommend? They say, "Our immediate focus will be on making sure that the supply we do have reaches those who are most vulnerable." So let's talk a bit about who are the most vulnerable and about who should be getting the remaining vaccine. First of all, children ages six to 23 months, they actually need two shots, not just one, because of the way their immune systems are set up, adults ages 65 and older, adults and children with chronic illness, and people who can spread the flu to those who are at high risk, and I would also add to that list pregnant women. And so what the Department of Health and Human Services is saying is, if you don't fall into one of those categories, don't rush out and get a flu shot. Let the people who need it the most get it.

PHILLIPS: So why is this a particularly bad year?

COHEN: This is a particularly bad year for this to happen for two reasons. One, you noticed that I mentioned that children ages six to 23 months need to get not just one, but two shots per child. That's the first year that the CDC has recommended this. So that's millions more people who need to get these shots that have previously been recommended.

The other reason is that last year's flu season was such a big deal, was such a problem. And that means there's going to be more awareness. So more people are going to want the shot probably than they have in previous years.

PHILLIPS: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you very much.

COHEN: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Well, concerns are rising as quickly as the steam over Mount St. Helens. Scientists say that that volcano is blowing off more steam today, which could be a sign of things to come. Ted Rowlands still following what's going on there, keeping his eye on the volcano. Joins us live now.

Ted, what's the latest?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a little bit of steam venting right now, Kyra. That's been the case for the last hour or so.

About two and a half -- or two hour and about 15 minutes now, we have had constant venting from Mount St. Helens. When it first began, it was significant. In fact, it is the most significant that we have seen thus far, not only because of the amount of steam coming out, but because of the amount of ash.

There was an ash advisory issue forward the first time since Mount St. Helens woke late last week. The National Weather Service issued that for areas northeast of here because of concerns about the ash content for people that lived in this area and for aviation.

That said, geologists say really nothing new to report. This is the same scenario that we saw yesterday, and they say that it is just one of the steps leading up to a possible volcanic eruption.

The one thing they did report is that there is either another vent hole, or the existing vent hole on the lava dome has grown, which is another significant sign that something is coming up, magma specifically. And they do believe there's a very good possibility of an event.

Then again, they just said in the last news conference that we should keep in mind that Mount St. Helens could do this sort of repeated venting on a daily basis for weeks or even months, and then completely shut down. So they really hedged their bet. We don't know what to expect, but we remain and we watch and we'll report any activity on the mountain -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Ted. Thank you very much.

Well, straight ahead, millions of Americans expected to watch tonight's debate, but will Dick Cheney and John Edwards affect how they vote? Poll results on that very question are ahead.

Plus, Madonna gets the "Rocket Man" all fired up. Find out what the cuss fuss is all about.

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rhonda Schaffler live from the New York Stock Exchange. Wal-Mart is getting, yes, even bigger. I'm going tell you what the retailer has in store after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Wal-Mart really taking on the world right now. Rhonda Schaffler live from the New York Stock Exchange with all the details on Wal-Mart's big expansion plans.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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 October 5, 2004 - 14:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: One on one: the number two men on the ticket get set to be the main event. What to watch for in tonight's debate.
Damage control: cleaning up a former insurgent stronghold while the former top civilian in Iraq says a bad decision led to that country's problems.

Flu shot shortage: health officials warn you could be left out in the cold this season.

Spewing into the sky: live pictures now. Mount St. Helens comes to life again. We're live from the volcano.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. Miles is off today. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Well, the quaffed and charismatic young lawyer versus the veteran D.C. mover and shaker, it's the under-card in campaign 2004, sitting VP Dick Cheney against the Democratic VP nominee, John Edwards, in their only head-to-head confrontation. Expect to hear a lot about Iraq, oil, and big money lawsuits and, of course, medical malpractice in a sit-down setting with no subjects off the table.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer joins us now from Cleveland to whet our appetites.

Hi, Wolf. What's everybody talking about?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're talking about the big debate tonight. But hovering over it, as you just reported, Kyra, the comments, very surprising comments from former Ambassador Paul Bremer, the former chief U.S. administrator in Iraq, suggesting there was a huge blunder that was made by the Bush administration, not enough troops on the ground to deal with a post-war situation, looking back, raising questions.

Certainly, even though he strongly supports the president of the United States for reelection, Ambassador Bremer playing into the hands of John Kerry and John Edwards, playing into the hands of the opposition. This is precisely what they have been saying for some time, there was no good plan on the ground, in the works, to deal with the post-military combat. And as a result, the U.S. and its coalition partners, the Iraqis, are paying that price, that very serious price we see unfolding today.

So it's hovering over this debate in Cleveland -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. So now you have that new element, Wolf, kind of hovering over. Let's talk about maybe a lot to prove for just the sake of personal reputations.

There was so much talk about Dick Cheney, his connection to Halliburton, that John Edwards would be bringing up the "H" word quite a bit. And then you've got Cheney saying that he has blamed trial lawyers for the rising cost of health care. Of course, John Edwards being this very well-known and successful trial lawyer, winning millions of dollars in suits.

How much is that personal reputation at stake when you -- when you talk about tonight what will be talked about?

BLITZER: I'm sure it will come up. The "Halliburton" word will come up. And I'm also sure that the vice president won't be raising it. It will be Dick Cheney, unless Gwen Ifill, the moderator from PBS, decides to ask a specific question on that. The whole trial lawyer and the litigation and the lawsuits, I'm sure that will come up in some way or another.

My suspicion, though, is three issues will be atop this debate tonight between these two vice presidential candidates: Iraq, the war on terror. The economy would be the third issue, specifically tax cuts, what's gone wrong, what's gone right over the past four years. So even though there will be stylistic differences and there will be some of these more sensational issues, the substance, the meat and potatoes of this campaign, I think, will be front and center.

PHILLIPS: What about practice and coaching? This, of course, is John Edwards' first debate. Dick Cheney has taken place -- you know, taken part in debates in the past. From your sense, from those who you have spoken with, is someone being coached more than another, or spending more time rehearsing than another that you know of?

BLITZER: They both have spent a great deal of time practicing and rehearsing. Remember, Dick Cheney did quite well four years ago when he debated then Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman. They sat around the table.

That's what he likes. He didn't want to be standing at a podium, as Bush and Kerry did last week. He certainly didn't want to do this kind of town hall meeting, where they could walk around, which is what the president and the Democratic nominee are gong to be doing Friday night in St. Louis.

He wanted that sort of "Meet the Press" kind of table, where Gwen Ifill would ask questions, they would answer the questions from their seated positions. That's precisely what he did with Lieberman four years ago.

They've been practicing that. To a certain degree, they've both been practicing their whole lives getting ready for this, which will be their most important debate. Edwards has gotten better in years, five years or so since he's been a United States senator. Early on he was a little rusty. Even a year ago, when he was on "Meet the Press," he didn't come off as strongly as he probably should have. He's gotten a lot better.

And if you remember some of the debates during the Democratic presidential primary, when he was debating John Kerry and Howard Dean and all the other Democratic presidential candidates, he was pretty effective in that style, where he was above the fray, he was Mr. Nice Guy, didn't get into negative politics.

For him to win tonight, he's got to get much more into the dirt, if you will, and he can't just be Mr. Positive. He's got to be Mr. Negative as well.

PHILLIPS: All right. Wolf Blitzer -- hey, Wolf, that -- the bus behind you, the CNN election bus, is that where you're camping out?

BLITZER: I'm sleeping in there, eating in there. No, not really. It's a beautiful bus, though. Have you been on it -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Actually, I have not had the pleasure of being on that bus. I heard that there's good champagne, though.

BLITZER: There's -- I don't know about the champagne, but there is a history to that bus. Someday I'll share that history with you.

PHILLIPS: I can't wait. We'll write a book, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right.

PHILLIPS: Wolf Blitzer, whatever your candidate, whatever your party, Wolf's your man. CNN is the place for "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS," live from Cleveland, 5:00 p.m. Eastern, 2:00 on the West Coast. Stand by for hard news. Wolf Blitzer.

And later this hour, we're going to preview tonight's debate right here on LIVE FROM with Democratic strategist Robert Zimmerman and former Republican Congressman Bob Barr. CNN's live coverage of tonight's debate in Cleveland begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. And the same goes for Friday, for the second presidential debate between President Bush and Senator Kerry.

We trust that you'll join us.

Senator John Kerry campaigning today in Iowa after a hearty greeting at an event this morning. Kerry assailed the White House over the conflict in Iraq, and he just did so again just a short time ago. Here's John Kerry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today, we learned that a top official who was in charge of Iraq after the invasion, Paul Bremer, now believes that we made two mistakes that he acknowledges in Iraq. We didn't deploy enough troops to get the job done, and two, we didn't contain the violence and looting after Saddam was deposed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, no public events for President Bush today. A spokesperson says the president plans to watch tonight's debate from the White House. For a part of that day he was expected to continue preparations for his second debate with Kerry.

The Pentagon has a problem with some of the things Iraq's former U.S. civilian administrator is saying. CNN's Barbara Starr has more now on the reaction to Paul Bremer's comments from the Pentagon -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, overall, a bit of annoyance here at the Pentagon today about these Bremer remarks. Several officials telling CNN that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld takes his advice from military commanders, and it wasn't necessarily Paul Bremer's job as head of the civilian reconstruction effort, the occupation of Iraq, if you will, to make any recommendations about troops.

But Paul Bremer, in fact, is now saying that the U.S. paid a price for not having enough troops on the ground when Baghdad fell, and when that looting occurred. He says that they never had enough troops on the ground, and it led to, in his words, an atmosphere of lawlessness and horrid looting.

Ambassador Bremer releasing a statement saying that those remarks only refer to the period of time right after Baghdad fell shortly in the same time frame, if you will, when major combat ended. But these, Kyra, are Ambassador Bremer's second set of remarks in recent weeks about all of this.

What we have now learned is, in September, in remarks to students at DePaul University in Indiana, Ambassador Bremer making the same points, and going a step further saying, "The single most important change, the one thing that would have improved the situation, would have been having more troops in Iraq at the beginning and throughout. Although I raised this issue a number of times with our government, I should have been even more insistent."

Now, officials, again, saying here that they simply cannot address the issue of whether Ambassador Bremer ever raised this in the military framework. But what they are saying here is that Secretary Rumsfeld listened to the advice of his military commanders, no one ever asked him for more troops, and if they had, he would have listened to the advice of those commanders -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon. Thank you.

And the violence continues in Iraq today. U.S. forces pounding the part of Baghdad known as Sadr City, trying to pressure followers of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr into laying down their weapons. Iraq's interim prime minister says the basis for an agreement to end to the fighting there has been worked out. And a car bomb in Mosul killed three civilians today, exploded as a military convoy was passing through a neighborhood. Four American soldiers were wounded.

In Najaf, U.S. Marines making more than $200,000 in condolence and collateral damage and repair payments to Iraqis. That money is going to people who suffered losses during fighting there in August.

Iraqi security personnel and U.S. forces are patrolling the streets of Samarra today, dealing with pockets of resistance left after a major offensive. The people of Samarra are expressing their anger over those results.

Jane Arraf joins us now from Samarra with a live report -- Jane.

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Kyra, we were right in those streets today where, just 48 hours ago, there was intense fighting. In fact, gunfire ricocheting down the street.

Today, it was quiet. People were cleaning up the streets, people were venturing out. The shops were still shuttered. But a lot of people told us that more people were staying at home because they were still afraid, afraid of American forces, afraid of continuing fighting.

Now, they are continuing, U.S. forces, along with an unprecedented number of Iraqi forces, continuing to go throughout the city, doing house-to-house searches, raids, looking for more suspected insurgents. But they say they believe they have killed or captured perhaps up to half of them, and what they're doing now is laying the groundwork to help reconstruct the city -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, Jane, you were able to organize that interview with Colonel Randy Dragon for us out of Samarra. I'm curious, as a journalist stepping back and looking at U.S. forces and Iraqis fighting together, what have been your observations?

Is it successful? Are these Iraqis learning how to control and secure their areas?

ARRAF: It's been absolutely fascinating, Kyra. The other day we went out with Iraqi special forces, and they're increasingly backed by U.S. forces.

Before -- we've seen this transition. We would go out on raids before and it would be the Americans in the lead, the Iraqis around, playing a peripheral role. Now they've reversed it.

They're making a conscious effort to let the Iraqis take the lead, to find the intelligence, go to these houses, execute the raids. And the Americans are standing back in case they need help.

Now, it doesn't always work. On one of the raids we were at, they got a few wrong houses. But they do bring something that American troops never will, the cultural awareness, the acceptance by Iraqis, who would far prefer most times to have an Iraqi search their home than an American. And it's amazing that they've really gotten off the ground the way they have.

A lot of kinks to worked out. It's still a work in progress. But here we've seen 2,500 Iraqi security forces this battle for Samarra, and that has been unprecedented -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Our Jane Arraf embedded there with the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division. Thank you so much.

Straight ahead, simmering down or getting ready for another blowup? Mount St. Helens shows signs of life again. We're live from the volcano.

Planning on getting a flu shot? A drug maker's announcement may make it impossible. Details on what promises to be significant -- or promises, rather, to be a significant shortage straight ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELTON JOHN, SINGER: Madonna, best (EXPLETIVE DELETED) live act. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: There it is, once again, the Elton John beep-off. Sir Elton royally rips Madonna. Find out what the foul language is all about later on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Just what some folks don't want to hear. The British government is suspending flu vaccine maker Chiron's license for three months. And it's going to have a big impact here in the U.S.

Our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, joining us with the details on this looming vaccine shortage.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, this is big. Chiron, the company you mentioned, they make nearly half of the vaccine that was going to be used for this flu season.

Vaccination season starts around now, October, November, December. And about half of the one million doses that were supposed to be given to people come from Chiron. And now the British government says no, they can't ship out those vaccines, because apparently there were contamination problems at that plant.

And already, the Health and Human Services, they have just put out a statement on this. They say, "Clearly, the loss of the Chiron flu vaccine poses a serious challenge to our vaccine supply for the upcoming season."

So what do they recommend? They say, "Our immediate focus will be on making sure that the supply we do have reaches those who are most vulnerable." So let's talk a bit about who are the most vulnerable and about who should be getting the remaining vaccine. First of all, children ages six to 23 months, they actually need two shots, not just one, because of the way their immune systems are set up, adults ages 65 and older, adults and children with chronic illness, and people who can spread the flu to those who are at high risk, and I would also add to that list pregnant women. And so what the Department of Health and Human Services is saying is, if you don't fall into one of those categories, don't rush out and get a flu shot. Let the people who need it the most get it.

PHILLIPS: So why is this a particularly bad year?

COHEN: This is a particularly bad year for this to happen for two reasons. One, you noticed that I mentioned that children ages six to 23 months need to get not just one, but two shots per child. That's the first year that the CDC has recommended this. So that's millions more people who need to get these shots that have previously been recommended.

The other reason is that last year's flu season was such a big deal, was such a problem. And that means there's going to be more awareness. So more people are going to want the shot probably than they have in previous years.

PHILLIPS: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you very much.

COHEN: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Well, concerns are rising as quickly as the steam over Mount St. Helens. Scientists say that that volcano is blowing off more steam today, which could be a sign of things to come. Ted Rowlands still following what's going on there, keeping his eye on the volcano. Joins us live now.

Ted, what's the latest?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a little bit of steam venting right now, Kyra. That's been the case for the last hour or so.

About two and a half -- or two hour and about 15 minutes now, we have had constant venting from Mount St. Helens. When it first began, it was significant. In fact, it is the most significant that we have seen thus far, not only because of the amount of steam coming out, but because of the amount of ash.

There was an ash advisory issue forward the first time since Mount St. Helens woke late last week. The National Weather Service issued that for areas northeast of here because of concerns about the ash content for people that lived in this area and for aviation.

That said, geologists say really nothing new to report. This is the same scenario that we saw yesterday, and they say that it is just one of the steps leading up to a possible volcanic eruption.

The one thing they did report is that there is either another vent hole, or the existing vent hole on the lava dome has grown, which is another significant sign that something is coming up, magma specifically. And they do believe there's a very good possibility of an event.

Then again, they just said in the last news conference that we should keep in mind that Mount St. Helens could do this sort of repeated venting on a daily basis for weeks or even months, and then completely shut down. So they really hedged their bet. We don't know what to expect, but we remain and we watch and we'll report any activity on the mountain -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Ted. Thank you very much.

Well, straight ahead, millions of Americans expected to watch tonight's debate, but will Dick Cheney and John Edwards affect how they vote? Poll results on that very question are ahead.

Plus, Madonna gets the "Rocket Man" all fired up. Find out what the cuss fuss is all about.

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rhonda Schaffler live from the New York Stock Exchange. Wal-Mart is getting, yes, even bigger. I'm going tell you what the retailer has in store after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Wal-Mart really taking on the world right now. Rhonda Schaffler live from the New York Stock Exchange with all the details on Wal-Mart's big expansion plans.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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