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Violence Continues in Iraq Despite Holy Holiday; Kerry Moves on Momentum; Bush Targets Midwest

Aired October 15, 2004 - 13:00   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: A hellish situation in a holy time. Violence in Iraq at the beginning of the most sacred Muslim holiday. We're live from Baghdad.
DREW GRIFFIN, CO-HOST: Campaign countdown. The candidates making their final arguments to win your vote. We're live on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Total (expletive deleted) slime ball and outrageous in his lies about my family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Talking trash. Who has the first President Bush so fired up?

GRIFFIN: And words of warning. The FDA orders a new message about children and antidepressants.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Drew Griffin, in for Miles O'Brien.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

GRIFFIN: And we begin this hour with Ramadan in Iraq. A holy month for Muslims dedicated to fasting and prayer, but not a month free of violence in Iraq, like yesterday's suicide attacks in Iraq's most fortified sector, the Green Zone in Baghdad, government offensives, insurgent bombings, mosques as bunkers. All underscore a simple fact of life: in post-Saddam, pre-Democratic Iraq, nothing apparently is sacred.

Overnight, U.S. and Iraqi forces moved against the hotbed city of Fallujah in ways not seen in months.

CNN's Brent Sadler following developments from Baghdad -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks very much, Drew.

It's after failed Iraqi government ultimatums and negotiations to disarm and expel foreign fighters that Fallujah's insurgents come under renewed attack with repeated strikes day and night. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SADLER (voice-over): U.S. artillery and warplanes blast suspected insurgent targets in Fallujah, lighting the night sky with heavy explosions. The push is aimed at breaking a hold over the city by insurgent forces, ahead of a possible full-scale ground and air assault.

The new military action follows weeks of sustained American air strikes, targeting the network of top terror suspect Abu Musab Zarqawi.

On the ground, it's U.S. troops who are doing most of the fighting, setting up vehicle checkpoints in and around the volatile city. It involves two American infantry battalions, one from the Marines and one from the Army, combined with Iraqi special forces, supported by U.S. strike jets and helicopter gunships, taking the fight to the heart of the rebel stronghold.

The U.S. military says targets hit include terrorist planning centers, weapons storage sites, safe houses and illegal checkpoints.

It follows an Iraqi interim government warning that military action is being prepared to smash Fallujah's deeply entrenched insurgents.

(on camera) Not since April have U.S. forces moved into Fallujah when a Marines-led offensive was called off and a tenuous ceasefire installed that later broke down, allowing nationalist insurgents, backed by foreign fighters, to gain control.

(voice-over) Hours earlier, bombers infiltrated Baghdad's top security Green Zone, targeting a souvenir market and a cafe, killing at least three Americans in two explosions, wounding a score of other people, damaging the fortress-like reputation of the zone.

Some of the casualties flown by helicopter to a U.S. air base at Balad, north of the capital, victims it seems, of smuggled explosives and rigged to detonate, possibly by at least one suicide bomber.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SADLER: The U.S. military here is now confirming that two suicide bombers carried out that attack in the Green Zone yesterday. How those explosions were smuggled in, well, investigators are trying to work that out -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: Brent, back to Fallujah, is there any timetable for when the major assault will be? And there seems to be some question. The rebels say Zarqawi is not there to give up.

SADLER: Well, there's no date, of course. One wouldn't expect that to happen in terms of when a big offensive might take place. But the Iraqi authorities have made it absolutely clear they're not going to tolerate the situation, not only in the Fallujah but other areas ahead of planned elections at the end of January. Right now about 1,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops are reportedly encircling Fallujah, squeezing the rebels inside that area, presumably Abu Musab Zarqawi himself, whom U.S. forces have been trying to capture or kill for many months now.

GRIFFIN: All right. Brent Sadler, live in Baghdad. Thanks for that report -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now the military ramifications of Ramadan.

It wasn't a long ago the Muslim holy month would have been and was a major factor in Pentagon planning. Has religious sensitivity become a casualty of war?

Joining us from Chicago with his insights and expertise, CNN military analyst, retired Army Brigadier General David Grange.

General, good to see you.

BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Same.

PHILLIPS: I guess you look at -- I guess from the perspective of the militant Muslim, talk about an abuse of Ramadan when you see what's taking place overseas.

GRANGE: Well, the fundamentalists, the insurgents, terrorists, they use Ramadan as an excuse to achieve martyrdom, to -- to attack the coalition or the Iraqi government and justify that it's OK, even though it's a holy month.

Yet, if the coalition or the Iraqi military takes action, it will be condemned. And so they know that psychologically it's an advantage for them to put light to Ramadan that way. And they'll take advantage of it throughout this month.

PHILLIPS: So now for a military perspective, let's go back when you were active military in Desert Storm and how you looked at the month of Ramadan and how you carried out military actions.

Now Operation Iraqi Freedom, I remember prior to the air strikes, admirals and generals telling me, "Mo, it's not going to object in October, November, because it's Ramadan. We're not going to go there." Obviously, the war broke out in the spring.

Looking, though, at military strategy now, it's changed quite a bit, hasn't it?

GRANGE: Well, I think it's because of the type of fight. You know, in Desert Storm you could at strategic levels say, "Because of the region, the attitudes of the other Muslim countries in the region, attacking on Ramadan is not prudent. Let's delay a bit. Let's build up our forces some more. But respect that month."

And I think now that's still true, that the month will be respected if the enemy would respect it. But because it's an insurgency, because there's a 360-degree fight within different pockets, different points throughout Iraq, you can't look at it that way. It's at the tactical level. And you have to take each situation separately.

So if you have to attack, the heck with Ramadan in that case. You must be successful.

PHILLIPS: And you look at some of the very sensitive areas, for example, the mosques. They're now command and control centers for the insurgents, and there's weapons in these mosques.

So if you're talking at a point target, say a mosque, looking at Iraqi special forces and the new Iraqi police, will somehow, I guess, the tactics change, where maybe Iraqis will be more involved in those attacks, if deemed necessary, versus coalition forces?

GRANGE: I believe you're right. I think right at the -- the point target, in other words, 25 meters and closer, going into a mosque, actually face-to-face combat in a very holy site, during especially the month of Ramadan, it has to be Iraqi forces, probably the special forces, since they're the best trained of the Iraqi army right now, with the U.S. and other coalition forces as a backdrop, as an over watch, as providing security or providing more force if needed.

But they have to, I believe, do it that way at those type of sites.

PHILLIPS: And I'm just curious. Going back to Desert Storm just quickly, just to your personal insight and looking at what generals and admirals and the Marines are dealing with now, when it comes to Ramadan, have the rules of engagement changed quite a bit? Is it a tougher thing to deal with now for those leading the fight?

GRANGE: Well, I think so. It's not as simple as just delaying the fight for a month or two. One, you have the elections in Iraq right around the corner, in January. So what are you going to give up, a whole month of time before you take control of Fallujah, Baqubah, Ramadi, these different places that are strongholds of insurgents? You can't wait that long.

So that's why you start to see a squeeze. Not necessarily a sweep through the city but at least a cordon of Fallujah and a squeeze and certain critical targets taken out where they can take them out, where it's advantageous to the coalition, regardless of Ramadan.

PHILLIPS: General David Grange, thank you so much.

GRANGE: My pleasure.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's during Ramadan that the faithful believe the prophet Muhammad received the Quran from the angel Gabriel. It's a time of spiritual reflection and devotion and reflection of hatred and violence.

Has that message gotten lost in the 21st Century? Joining me with now with some thoughts about that, Headline News correspondent Asieh Namdar. She covers world affairs for our sister network.

Let's talk about observing Ramadan...

ASIEH NAMDAR, CNN HEADLINE NEWS CORRESPONDENT: OK.

PHILLIPS: ... and the important -- I know you put together a list for us of what Muslims attempt to observe during this time. Tough, obviously, overseas right now. But go into detail about that.

NAMDAR: Well, the most important part of Ramadan, Kyra, is prayer, which gets you closer to God, and fasting. Fasting is all about self control and discipline.

Here on the screen you will see the most important aspects, the rituals regarding Ramadan. You know it's the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar. No eating, drinking during daylight. No sexual relations during fasting. Fasting can be broken at the end of the day when it's dark, with prayer and a meal.

Sick, elderly, the pregnant and those who are traveling are exempt. And of course, it ends with a three-day celebration after 27, 28 days.

Again, the most important here is the prayer and the fasting, because fasting gives you humility for you to understand what those who don't have food on a daily basis, what do these people go through. And to show you that you can control yourself. And to have some kind of discipline and really have compassion for the poor. That's where it comes from, the fasting.

PHILLIPS: I remember being overseas during this time, and as an American, we had to be very respectful. We didn't drink water.

NAMDAR: Right.

PHILLIPS: We didn't chew gum. We wore long sleeves. It was very interesting. I learned a lot.

NAMDAR: In fact, there are parts of the Arab world in Saudi Arabia that, if you are a foreigner and a non-Muslim and you are seen breaking that fast in public, you can be reported and possibly deported out of the country. So it's very serious.

PHILLIPS: Well, something else we are talking about, aside from just observing Ramadan, but the mentality of a militant Muslim. Talking with the general about the -- just abuse of Ramadan among these insurgents.

NAMDAR: Right.

PHILLIPS: Take me inside that mindset of a militant Muslim, not the mainstream Muslim, the militant.

NAMDAR: Right, right. I think Brigadier General Grange said that they will take advantage of Ramadan. And it's important to understand, first of all, mainstreams are not that way, mainstream Muslims. But in the mind of a militant Muslim, there is no better time than to kill a non-Muslim and die yourself than the holy month of Ramadan. In their mind, that, doing that will earn them a place in heaven.

This is -- these are extremists. These are not your average, you know, Muslims down the streets of Michigan. These are extremists with that kind of mentality.

PHILLIPS: Such a different definition of what is holy.

NAMDAR: Right.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. Asieh Namdar, thanks very much. Appreciate it.

NAMDAR: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Drew.

GRIFFIN: Kyra, Ramadan begins with a lower profile for Israeli troops in Gaza, and so begins our look around the world.

A redeployment of forces who swept into Gaza last month in hopes of routing Palestinian militants. Israel says the troops are not pulling out, just aiming not to intrude on Ramadan rituals.

Hours earlier, Israel's plans to uproot Gaza settlers sparked nationwide protests. Some 8,000 Jews live there, among a million plus Palestinians in a sliver of territory. And the controversial ban of Israel's prime minister wants them all resettled somewhere else by summer.

In Zimbabwe today, acquittal for an opposition leader accused of plotting the murder of President Robert Mugabe. Morgan Tsvangirai says democracy itself is vindicated in a judge's ruling that a videotaped meeting with a political consultant does not constitute treason.

Tsvangirai still faces charges arising from the rallies he organized in last year's campaign, but he says he's not afraid.

PHILLIPS: Record oil prices catch the attention of America's top moneyman. Find out what Alan Greenspan thinks the price spike will mean for your bottom line.

Closing arguments in the case for who should be president. We're live in the Bush/Kerry campaigns.

Pay attention to the guys in the background of this shot on the left of your screen. They're taking flip-flopping literally. Guess what, we're going to talk to Flip and find out why he's campaigning to get off on the right foot. Where's Flop?

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Eighteen days until election day, three debates done. And if you believe the John Kerry camp, done and won.

The Kerry bus is about to get some serious miles on it: ten days, seven crucial states. Kerry aides calling it the campaign's closing arguments?

First stop, Milwaukee. That's where CNN's Ed Henry is today.

Ed, they're sounding awfully cocky.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good afternoon, Drew.

Right now John Kerry just began his speech to the Milwaukee Area Technical College. He's zeroing in on the jobs issue, on the economy. This is part of his broader strategy in the final 18 days to really hone in on domestic issues.

Coming out of that third debate, the Kerry campaign thinks they have some momentum on the issues here on the home front. Today they are also focusing in on some key battleground states. We're going to see that from both campaigns in the final 18 days.

Of course, today it's Wisconsin. Ten electoral votes. Al Gore won here in 2000. John Kerry desperately trying to hang on here, make sure it's in the Democratic column.

He will finish the night, though, in Ohio. That is another key battleground that he wants to take away from President Bush.

Let's listen in right now and hear what John Kerry has to say.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Right now -- right now we've got an economy where people feel like they're on a treadmill, running faster and faster with each passing year. But they're not getting ahead. They're staying in place and a whole bunch of folks are even falling behind.

Gwen (ph) just reminded me that right here in Milwaukee, African- American employment is at 54 percent. That's unacceptable in the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

The bottom line is this: This economy has a bad case of the flu and we need a new medicine, ladies and gentlemen. George Bush...

(APPLAUSE)

George bush has had four years to do something about it -- anything -- to create...

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

... to create an economy where hardworking Americans can live out their dreams. But instead of seizing the moment, he squandered the opportunity. The problem is this president either just doesn't understand what's happened to our economy and to the average family of America, or he understands and he just doesn't care.

(APPLAUSE)

I'll tell you, jobs are being shipped overseas. I've met with those workers. I've been personally impacted, standing there listening to a worker in a factory who tells me that they've lost their jobs, that they've had to unbolt the equipment they worked on and ship it overseas, and sometimes even have to suffer the indignity of training their own foreign replacement.

And this administration says outsourcing is good for us.

He is the first president to lose jobs in our nation in his four- year term in 72 years.

KERRY: And yet, they say, with last month's and the month before's job announcements, none of which even kept up with the number of people in the population entering the workforce, they say it's time to celebrate.

The first president in 11 presidents, six Democrats, five Republicans, to lose jobs on his watch.

Wages are falling. Prices are rising. And they tell us, "Hey, don't worry, this is the best the economy of your lifetime."

This is the first president, first president in 70 years -- measure that -- first president in 70 years to see income decline every year of his presidency.

Remarkably, the president said he's proud of his record. Proud of his record? Proud of millions of Americans unemployed?

HENRY: On that specific issue about the first Republican, you can hear John Kerry right there zeroing in on the issue of George W. Bush being the first president in over 70 years to actually lose jobs on his watch.

In fact, that's the subject of the new ad the Kerry campaign is running in Ohio, a key battleground where Kerry will be heading tonight, in fact, to Ohio -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: Ed, thanks for that report.

Candy Crowley, our senior political correspondent, is going to sit down with Senator Kerry this afternoon for an interview, and they'll air that tonight at 8 Eastern, an exclusive interview, during "PAULA ZAHN NOW" -- Kyra PHILLIPS: President Bush covering some of the same ground, those so-called battlefield states. He's in Iowa and Wisconsin today, two states that went Democrat four years ago and are very much up for grabs.

Elaine Quijano in Washington, where the president returns later today after a week on the road.

Hi, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra. Good afternoon.

With 18 days left to go, the sprint toward the finish for the Bush campaign will include visits to Midwest battleground states. Today as you mentioned at the top of his list, Iowa and Wisconsin. Yesterday Mr. Bush focused his efforts in the West, making campaign stops in Nevada and Oregon.

And today he turns his attention to two Midwestern states that his campaign has heavily targeted, as we said, Iowa and Wisconsin. Both are places where aides point to tens of thousands of Bush volunteers registered to date. Combined they carry a total of 17 electoral votes.

And even though Mr. Bush lost both in 2000 to Al Gore, he did so by less than one percentage votes: about 4,100 votes in Iowa and 5,700 votes in Wisconsin.

Now this time around, even though the polls show the race extremely tight once again, the campaign feels these are the states where the president can pull ahead.

Now, that's especially true in Wisconsin, where Bush aides say that Senator Kerry, they feel, has been forced to defend that traditionally Democratic-leaning state.

Now, this afternoon the president will be attending a rally first in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, before moving on to another campaign event in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Look for the president to continue with his vigorous post-debate attacks, trying to paint Senator Kerry as a tax and spend Massachusetts liberal, somebody who is out of the mainstream. We have heard the president say this time and time again. And somebody who favors big government, the president will say.

Bush aides, though, are conceding that the president had more momentum going into the debates, perhaps does not have as much now coming out. And they say they acknowledge that the president's performances on the campaign trail will be crucial, now more than ever -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Elaine Quijano, live from the White House. Thank you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, will you be legally banned from getting a flu shot? Desperate times calling for desperate measures.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM, GOLFER: Right there, yes.

PHILLIPS (on camera): Is that good?

SORENSTAM: Yes, don't move.

PHILLIPS: OK, I'm not going to move.

(voice-over) And don't you move until LPGA star Annika Sorenstam reveals how she once did not want to play the game she now dominates.

And on Monday, breaking barriers. An amazing new set of wheels giving new hope and new access for the handicapped.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: The FDA getting tough on antidepressants. Starting now, all labels on prescribed antidepressants will carry the government's strongest medical warning in a bold, easy-to-read black box.

The warnings on bottles of Zoloft, Prozac, Wellbutrin and others will spell out the risk of increased suicidal behavior in children who take these drugs. The labels will urge parents to watch their kids for warning signs. The FDA reports about three percent chance of suicidal behavior in kids who take these types of medicines.

This flu season's shot shortage means many of you can keep your sleeves rolled down. That is, unless help in the form of more vaccine comes from outside the country. Not likely, according to U.S. health officials today. There is a stockpile of vaccine outside our borders, but it cannot legally be sold here.

Some states are warning clinics to give flu shots only to high- risk patients or face charges.

And while we wait to see just how dire the situation is, join Wolf Blitzer at 5 p.m. Eastern for a look at lessons learned from the flu vaccine shortage -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, oil prices have been soaring. And for months the fed has been downplaying their impact on the economy. Fed chairman Alan Greenspan spoke at length about the issue today.

Rhonda Schaffler has details, live from the New York Stock Exchange.

Hi, Rhonda.

(STOCK REPORT) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired October 15, 2004 - 13:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: A hellish situation in a holy time. Violence in Iraq at the beginning of the most sacred Muslim holiday. We're live from Baghdad.
DREW GRIFFIN, CO-HOST: Campaign countdown. The candidates making their final arguments to win your vote. We're live on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Total (expletive deleted) slime ball and outrageous in his lies about my family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Talking trash. Who has the first President Bush so fired up?

GRIFFIN: And words of warning. The FDA orders a new message about children and antidepressants.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Drew Griffin, in for Miles O'Brien.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

GRIFFIN: And we begin this hour with Ramadan in Iraq. A holy month for Muslims dedicated to fasting and prayer, but not a month free of violence in Iraq, like yesterday's suicide attacks in Iraq's most fortified sector, the Green Zone in Baghdad, government offensives, insurgent bombings, mosques as bunkers. All underscore a simple fact of life: in post-Saddam, pre-Democratic Iraq, nothing apparently is sacred.

Overnight, U.S. and Iraqi forces moved against the hotbed city of Fallujah in ways not seen in months.

CNN's Brent Sadler following developments from Baghdad -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks very much, Drew.

It's after failed Iraqi government ultimatums and negotiations to disarm and expel foreign fighters that Fallujah's insurgents come under renewed attack with repeated strikes day and night. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SADLER (voice-over): U.S. artillery and warplanes blast suspected insurgent targets in Fallujah, lighting the night sky with heavy explosions. The push is aimed at breaking a hold over the city by insurgent forces, ahead of a possible full-scale ground and air assault.

The new military action follows weeks of sustained American air strikes, targeting the network of top terror suspect Abu Musab Zarqawi.

On the ground, it's U.S. troops who are doing most of the fighting, setting up vehicle checkpoints in and around the volatile city. It involves two American infantry battalions, one from the Marines and one from the Army, combined with Iraqi special forces, supported by U.S. strike jets and helicopter gunships, taking the fight to the heart of the rebel stronghold.

The U.S. military says targets hit include terrorist planning centers, weapons storage sites, safe houses and illegal checkpoints.

It follows an Iraqi interim government warning that military action is being prepared to smash Fallujah's deeply entrenched insurgents.

(on camera) Not since April have U.S. forces moved into Fallujah when a Marines-led offensive was called off and a tenuous ceasefire installed that later broke down, allowing nationalist insurgents, backed by foreign fighters, to gain control.

(voice-over) Hours earlier, bombers infiltrated Baghdad's top security Green Zone, targeting a souvenir market and a cafe, killing at least three Americans in two explosions, wounding a score of other people, damaging the fortress-like reputation of the zone.

Some of the casualties flown by helicopter to a U.S. air base at Balad, north of the capital, victims it seems, of smuggled explosives and rigged to detonate, possibly by at least one suicide bomber.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SADLER: The U.S. military here is now confirming that two suicide bombers carried out that attack in the Green Zone yesterday. How those explosions were smuggled in, well, investigators are trying to work that out -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: Brent, back to Fallujah, is there any timetable for when the major assault will be? And there seems to be some question. The rebels say Zarqawi is not there to give up.

SADLER: Well, there's no date, of course. One wouldn't expect that to happen in terms of when a big offensive might take place. But the Iraqi authorities have made it absolutely clear they're not going to tolerate the situation, not only in the Fallujah but other areas ahead of planned elections at the end of January. Right now about 1,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops are reportedly encircling Fallujah, squeezing the rebels inside that area, presumably Abu Musab Zarqawi himself, whom U.S. forces have been trying to capture or kill for many months now.

GRIFFIN: All right. Brent Sadler, live in Baghdad. Thanks for that report -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now the military ramifications of Ramadan.

It wasn't a long ago the Muslim holy month would have been and was a major factor in Pentagon planning. Has religious sensitivity become a casualty of war?

Joining us from Chicago with his insights and expertise, CNN military analyst, retired Army Brigadier General David Grange.

General, good to see you.

BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Same.

PHILLIPS: I guess you look at -- I guess from the perspective of the militant Muslim, talk about an abuse of Ramadan when you see what's taking place overseas.

GRANGE: Well, the fundamentalists, the insurgents, terrorists, they use Ramadan as an excuse to achieve martyrdom, to -- to attack the coalition or the Iraqi government and justify that it's OK, even though it's a holy month.

Yet, if the coalition or the Iraqi military takes action, it will be condemned. And so they know that psychologically it's an advantage for them to put light to Ramadan that way. And they'll take advantage of it throughout this month.

PHILLIPS: So now for a military perspective, let's go back when you were active military in Desert Storm and how you looked at the month of Ramadan and how you carried out military actions.

Now Operation Iraqi Freedom, I remember prior to the air strikes, admirals and generals telling me, "Mo, it's not going to object in October, November, because it's Ramadan. We're not going to go there." Obviously, the war broke out in the spring.

Looking, though, at military strategy now, it's changed quite a bit, hasn't it?

GRANGE: Well, I think it's because of the type of fight. You know, in Desert Storm you could at strategic levels say, "Because of the region, the attitudes of the other Muslim countries in the region, attacking on Ramadan is not prudent. Let's delay a bit. Let's build up our forces some more. But respect that month."

And I think now that's still true, that the month will be respected if the enemy would respect it. But because it's an insurgency, because there's a 360-degree fight within different pockets, different points throughout Iraq, you can't look at it that way. It's at the tactical level. And you have to take each situation separately.

So if you have to attack, the heck with Ramadan in that case. You must be successful.

PHILLIPS: And you look at some of the very sensitive areas, for example, the mosques. They're now command and control centers for the insurgents, and there's weapons in these mosques.

So if you're talking at a point target, say a mosque, looking at Iraqi special forces and the new Iraqi police, will somehow, I guess, the tactics change, where maybe Iraqis will be more involved in those attacks, if deemed necessary, versus coalition forces?

GRANGE: I believe you're right. I think right at the -- the point target, in other words, 25 meters and closer, going into a mosque, actually face-to-face combat in a very holy site, during especially the month of Ramadan, it has to be Iraqi forces, probably the special forces, since they're the best trained of the Iraqi army right now, with the U.S. and other coalition forces as a backdrop, as an over watch, as providing security or providing more force if needed.

But they have to, I believe, do it that way at those type of sites.

PHILLIPS: And I'm just curious. Going back to Desert Storm just quickly, just to your personal insight and looking at what generals and admirals and the Marines are dealing with now, when it comes to Ramadan, have the rules of engagement changed quite a bit? Is it a tougher thing to deal with now for those leading the fight?

GRANGE: Well, I think so. It's not as simple as just delaying the fight for a month or two. One, you have the elections in Iraq right around the corner, in January. So what are you going to give up, a whole month of time before you take control of Fallujah, Baqubah, Ramadi, these different places that are strongholds of insurgents? You can't wait that long.

So that's why you start to see a squeeze. Not necessarily a sweep through the city but at least a cordon of Fallujah and a squeeze and certain critical targets taken out where they can take them out, where it's advantageous to the coalition, regardless of Ramadan.

PHILLIPS: General David Grange, thank you so much.

GRANGE: My pleasure.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's during Ramadan that the faithful believe the prophet Muhammad received the Quran from the angel Gabriel. It's a time of spiritual reflection and devotion and reflection of hatred and violence.

Has that message gotten lost in the 21st Century? Joining me with now with some thoughts about that, Headline News correspondent Asieh Namdar. She covers world affairs for our sister network.

Let's talk about observing Ramadan...

ASIEH NAMDAR, CNN HEADLINE NEWS CORRESPONDENT: OK.

PHILLIPS: ... and the important -- I know you put together a list for us of what Muslims attempt to observe during this time. Tough, obviously, overseas right now. But go into detail about that.

NAMDAR: Well, the most important part of Ramadan, Kyra, is prayer, which gets you closer to God, and fasting. Fasting is all about self control and discipline.

Here on the screen you will see the most important aspects, the rituals regarding Ramadan. You know it's the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar. No eating, drinking during daylight. No sexual relations during fasting. Fasting can be broken at the end of the day when it's dark, with prayer and a meal.

Sick, elderly, the pregnant and those who are traveling are exempt. And of course, it ends with a three-day celebration after 27, 28 days.

Again, the most important here is the prayer and the fasting, because fasting gives you humility for you to understand what those who don't have food on a daily basis, what do these people go through. And to show you that you can control yourself. And to have some kind of discipline and really have compassion for the poor. That's where it comes from, the fasting.

PHILLIPS: I remember being overseas during this time, and as an American, we had to be very respectful. We didn't drink water.

NAMDAR: Right.

PHILLIPS: We didn't chew gum. We wore long sleeves. It was very interesting. I learned a lot.

NAMDAR: In fact, there are parts of the Arab world in Saudi Arabia that, if you are a foreigner and a non-Muslim and you are seen breaking that fast in public, you can be reported and possibly deported out of the country. So it's very serious.

PHILLIPS: Well, something else we are talking about, aside from just observing Ramadan, but the mentality of a militant Muslim. Talking with the general about the -- just abuse of Ramadan among these insurgents.

NAMDAR: Right.

PHILLIPS: Take me inside that mindset of a militant Muslim, not the mainstream Muslim, the militant.

NAMDAR: Right, right. I think Brigadier General Grange said that they will take advantage of Ramadan. And it's important to understand, first of all, mainstreams are not that way, mainstream Muslims. But in the mind of a militant Muslim, there is no better time than to kill a non-Muslim and die yourself than the holy month of Ramadan. In their mind, that, doing that will earn them a place in heaven.

This is -- these are extremists. These are not your average, you know, Muslims down the streets of Michigan. These are extremists with that kind of mentality.

PHILLIPS: Such a different definition of what is holy.

NAMDAR: Right.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. Asieh Namdar, thanks very much. Appreciate it.

NAMDAR: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Drew.

GRIFFIN: Kyra, Ramadan begins with a lower profile for Israeli troops in Gaza, and so begins our look around the world.

A redeployment of forces who swept into Gaza last month in hopes of routing Palestinian militants. Israel says the troops are not pulling out, just aiming not to intrude on Ramadan rituals.

Hours earlier, Israel's plans to uproot Gaza settlers sparked nationwide protests. Some 8,000 Jews live there, among a million plus Palestinians in a sliver of territory. And the controversial ban of Israel's prime minister wants them all resettled somewhere else by summer.

In Zimbabwe today, acquittal for an opposition leader accused of plotting the murder of President Robert Mugabe. Morgan Tsvangirai says democracy itself is vindicated in a judge's ruling that a videotaped meeting with a political consultant does not constitute treason.

Tsvangirai still faces charges arising from the rallies he organized in last year's campaign, but he says he's not afraid.

PHILLIPS: Record oil prices catch the attention of America's top moneyman. Find out what Alan Greenspan thinks the price spike will mean for your bottom line.

Closing arguments in the case for who should be president. We're live in the Bush/Kerry campaigns.

Pay attention to the guys in the background of this shot on the left of your screen. They're taking flip-flopping literally. Guess what, we're going to talk to Flip and find out why he's campaigning to get off on the right foot. Where's Flop?

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Eighteen days until election day, three debates done. And if you believe the John Kerry camp, done and won.

The Kerry bus is about to get some serious miles on it: ten days, seven crucial states. Kerry aides calling it the campaign's closing arguments?

First stop, Milwaukee. That's where CNN's Ed Henry is today.

Ed, they're sounding awfully cocky.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good afternoon, Drew.

Right now John Kerry just began his speech to the Milwaukee Area Technical College. He's zeroing in on the jobs issue, on the economy. This is part of his broader strategy in the final 18 days to really hone in on domestic issues.

Coming out of that third debate, the Kerry campaign thinks they have some momentum on the issues here on the home front. Today they are also focusing in on some key battleground states. We're going to see that from both campaigns in the final 18 days.

Of course, today it's Wisconsin. Ten electoral votes. Al Gore won here in 2000. John Kerry desperately trying to hang on here, make sure it's in the Democratic column.

He will finish the night, though, in Ohio. That is another key battleground that he wants to take away from President Bush.

Let's listen in right now and hear what John Kerry has to say.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Right now -- right now we've got an economy where people feel like they're on a treadmill, running faster and faster with each passing year. But they're not getting ahead. They're staying in place and a whole bunch of folks are even falling behind.

Gwen (ph) just reminded me that right here in Milwaukee, African- American employment is at 54 percent. That's unacceptable in the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

The bottom line is this: This economy has a bad case of the flu and we need a new medicine, ladies and gentlemen. George Bush...

(APPLAUSE)

George bush has had four years to do something about it -- anything -- to create...

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

... to create an economy where hardworking Americans can live out their dreams. But instead of seizing the moment, he squandered the opportunity. The problem is this president either just doesn't understand what's happened to our economy and to the average family of America, or he understands and he just doesn't care.

(APPLAUSE)

I'll tell you, jobs are being shipped overseas. I've met with those workers. I've been personally impacted, standing there listening to a worker in a factory who tells me that they've lost their jobs, that they've had to unbolt the equipment they worked on and ship it overseas, and sometimes even have to suffer the indignity of training their own foreign replacement.

And this administration says outsourcing is good for us.

He is the first president to lose jobs in our nation in his four- year term in 72 years.

KERRY: And yet, they say, with last month's and the month before's job announcements, none of which even kept up with the number of people in the population entering the workforce, they say it's time to celebrate.

The first president in 11 presidents, six Democrats, five Republicans, to lose jobs on his watch.

Wages are falling. Prices are rising. And they tell us, "Hey, don't worry, this is the best the economy of your lifetime."

This is the first president, first president in 70 years -- measure that -- first president in 70 years to see income decline every year of his presidency.

Remarkably, the president said he's proud of his record. Proud of his record? Proud of millions of Americans unemployed?

HENRY: On that specific issue about the first Republican, you can hear John Kerry right there zeroing in on the issue of George W. Bush being the first president in over 70 years to actually lose jobs on his watch.

In fact, that's the subject of the new ad the Kerry campaign is running in Ohio, a key battleground where Kerry will be heading tonight, in fact, to Ohio -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: Ed, thanks for that report.

Candy Crowley, our senior political correspondent, is going to sit down with Senator Kerry this afternoon for an interview, and they'll air that tonight at 8 Eastern, an exclusive interview, during "PAULA ZAHN NOW" -- Kyra PHILLIPS: President Bush covering some of the same ground, those so-called battlefield states. He's in Iowa and Wisconsin today, two states that went Democrat four years ago and are very much up for grabs.

Elaine Quijano in Washington, where the president returns later today after a week on the road.

Hi, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra. Good afternoon.

With 18 days left to go, the sprint toward the finish for the Bush campaign will include visits to Midwest battleground states. Today as you mentioned at the top of his list, Iowa and Wisconsin. Yesterday Mr. Bush focused his efforts in the West, making campaign stops in Nevada and Oregon.

And today he turns his attention to two Midwestern states that his campaign has heavily targeted, as we said, Iowa and Wisconsin. Both are places where aides point to tens of thousands of Bush volunteers registered to date. Combined they carry a total of 17 electoral votes.

And even though Mr. Bush lost both in 2000 to Al Gore, he did so by less than one percentage votes: about 4,100 votes in Iowa and 5,700 votes in Wisconsin.

Now this time around, even though the polls show the race extremely tight once again, the campaign feels these are the states where the president can pull ahead.

Now, that's especially true in Wisconsin, where Bush aides say that Senator Kerry, they feel, has been forced to defend that traditionally Democratic-leaning state.

Now, this afternoon the president will be attending a rally first in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, before moving on to another campaign event in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Look for the president to continue with his vigorous post-debate attacks, trying to paint Senator Kerry as a tax and spend Massachusetts liberal, somebody who is out of the mainstream. We have heard the president say this time and time again. And somebody who favors big government, the president will say.

Bush aides, though, are conceding that the president had more momentum going into the debates, perhaps does not have as much now coming out. And they say they acknowledge that the president's performances on the campaign trail will be crucial, now more than ever -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Elaine Quijano, live from the White House. Thank you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, will you be legally banned from getting a flu shot? Desperate times calling for desperate measures.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM, GOLFER: Right there, yes.

PHILLIPS (on camera): Is that good?

SORENSTAM: Yes, don't move.

PHILLIPS: OK, I'm not going to move.

(voice-over) And don't you move until LPGA star Annika Sorenstam reveals how she once did not want to play the game she now dominates.

And on Monday, breaking barriers. An amazing new set of wheels giving new hope and new access for the handicapped.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: The FDA getting tough on antidepressants. Starting now, all labels on prescribed antidepressants will carry the government's strongest medical warning in a bold, easy-to-read black box.

The warnings on bottles of Zoloft, Prozac, Wellbutrin and others will spell out the risk of increased suicidal behavior in children who take these drugs. The labels will urge parents to watch their kids for warning signs. The FDA reports about three percent chance of suicidal behavior in kids who take these types of medicines.

This flu season's shot shortage means many of you can keep your sleeves rolled down. That is, unless help in the form of more vaccine comes from outside the country. Not likely, according to U.S. health officials today. There is a stockpile of vaccine outside our borders, but it cannot legally be sold here.

Some states are warning clinics to give flu shots only to high- risk patients or face charges.

And while we wait to see just how dire the situation is, join Wolf Blitzer at 5 p.m. Eastern for a look at lessons learned from the flu vaccine shortage -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, oil prices have been soaring. And for months the fed has been downplaying their impact on the economy. Fed chairman Alan Greenspan spoke at length about the issue today.

Rhonda Schaffler has details, live from the New York Stock Exchange.

Hi, Rhonda.

(STOCK REPORT) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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