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U.S. Prepares for Fallujah Assault; Yasser Arafat Comatose; Peterson Jury Still Deliberating
Aired November 05, 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: The fight for Fallujah, coalition forces gearing up to take out the insurgency in a volatile Iraqi city.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: Preparing for attack: inside the training of U.S. Special Forces. Urban combat, up close and personal.
O'BRIEN: Yasser Arafat in a coma. What does this mean for the future of the Palestine Liberation Organization? We're live from the Paris hospital with the latest.
PHILLIPS: Waiting for a verdict. The jury in the Scott Peterson murder case still deliberating. We're live from the courthouse.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips.
O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
PHILLIPS: We begin in and around Fallujah where the intensity grows around the insurgents in that area.
Our Karl Penhaul embedded in the area not far from Fallujah, joining us now by phone -- Karl.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Kyra.
Preparations are gathering pace at this Marine camp in the desert outside Fallujah. Also in the course of the day, we've seen Iraqi soldiers from the new Iraqi Army arrive here. And they've begun some training with the U.S. Marine counterparts that they will be going into Fallujah with.
Very clear from what we've seen that those Iraqi shoulders -- soldiers will be fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Marines. This is part of the effort to stand out the Iraqi Army on its own two feet so that eventually it can take control of the security situation, both in Fallujah and elsewhere in Iraq.
The type of stuff we've seen during the course of the day is for preparations for urban warfare. And U.S. commanders here on the ground say that they expect that the fight for Fallujah when the order comes could quickly get very bloody. It could become a very dirty street fight in a very short amount of time.
U.S. military intelligence sources have been updating us on the type of insurgent threat they are seeing inside the city of Fallujah. They said the latest information suggests around 3,000 hard-core insurgents are in the city. They're expected to put their backs to the wall and fight literally to the death, according to those U.S. military intelligence sources.
They also say that beyond the risk of regular arms fire, the main threat to U.S. forces going into Fallujah will be booby traps. They expect that there will be car bombs. They expect suicide attacks. They expect improvised explosive devices to be buried on the sidewalks and in the walls.
And they say that in certain cases, entire buildings could be rigged to explode when U.S. troops pass by or enter those buildings.
In fact, U.S. commanders are saying that this attack on Fallujah is expected to be so big that it's likely to be the Marine's biggest fight since Hue City in Vietnam in 1968 -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You've set up, Karl, how tremendous of a fight this will be, and as you mentioned, it's going to be urban combat. Quite different from the conventional battlefield, where you have sort a 360-battle going on, versus just crossing enemy lines.
This is the first big one for Iraqi forces. Are they ready? Have they been trained for urban combat?
PENHAUL: Certainly, talking to some of the U.S. Marines, as they work alongside those Iraqi soldiers today and also talking to some of the Iraqi soldiers, they say that they are ready to go in. They say that they came to come in at what U.S. forces say is that they see a very great deal of bravery on the part of those Iraqi soldiers.
In some of them have got more combat experience than the U.S. Marines that will be going in, because some of these Iraqi soldiers formerly were members of the Peshmerga guerrilla fighters fighting against the Saddam Hussein regime or part of the Shia resistance against Saddam Hussein. So there has been some combat experience on their part.
What the U.S. forces, though, also do comment is that still there is a little bit of a lack of leadership amongst some of their commanders or they do say some of their commanders are also very good. They also say that there is sometimes a little bit of a discipline issue when it comes to firing. They say that the Iraqi soldiers tend to open fire all at the same time rather than more disciplined fire pattern of U.S. troops.
But certainly, U.S. troops have no doubt that these Iraqis are keen and ready to go into Fallujah -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Karl, we've talked about the uniqueness of this fight. It's also very unique in that the number of journalists that are embedded there outside of Fallujah, within Fallujah.
What can you tell us about the coverage, how in depth we're going to be able to get into this battle that U.S. forces and Iraqis are preparing for?
PENHAUL: Well, certainly, as we know, there are a large number of journalists embedded with Marine units and indeed Army units for this operation.
Twofold, two factors here it seems. First of all, the U.S. military is very keen to try and show the world that they want to do this right, that their main target is the insurgents. They don't want to affect the civilians who are still inside of the city of Fallujah.
Current estimates are just about 50,000 civilians may still be inside of Fallujah.
And also perhaps one might suggest that here in the camp, there's been constant reference to that Marine fight from Hue City in Vietnam in 1968.
To some extent, one might suspect that what the Marines are trying to do here is to try also to show the world that they won't repeat the same pattern, the same mistakes possibly that were made in Hue City and to show the world also that they are the world's best when it comes to urban warfare -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Karl Penhaul just outside of Fallujah. We'll be watching and waiting. Thanks, Karl -- Miles
O'BRIEN: The timing is uncertain, but two facts are crystal clear. One is Iraq's monumental investment in nationwide elections in January, elections that'll be dicey at best if parts of the country are not under government control.
The second fact is U.S. determination not to repeat the mistakes of last April. That's when a military shellacking only laid the groundwork for the insurgents' return, as you will recall.
CNN's Barbara Starr is watching today's developments from the Pentagon. She joins us now -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, in fact it has been seven months now, as you say, since coalition forces were inside Fallujah, seven months for the insurgents to become very well dug in.
As Karl Penhaul was saying, as the Marines, as the Army forces get ready, waiting for the order that may come for a ground assault. They are getting ready what they will fear they will face once inside the city: snipers, vehicle bombs, improvised explosive devices, booby traps, a variety of measures being used against them.
But some Marines are now digging into their own bag of tricks, getting ready, making their own explosive charges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LANCE CPL. WILLIAM SABIN, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Instead of using force to bust down a door, instead of trying to kick it down or ram it down, you just blow the doorknob. These charges are used for doorknobs. It's called a doughnut charge. This -- these wraps of the det (ph) cord kind of acts like a main charge. Put this on the doorknob, say my fist was the doorknob. This would go by the lock. So this -- there concentrated amount of explosives here blows the lock in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Young Marines getting ready with these explosive charges. One benefit of them is if they do encounter a booby-trapped building, these doughnuts will blow the doors. Marines will be able to stay safe.
As the Marines and the Army get ready, expect to them see equipped, Miles, with their standard load out. Heavy armor, tanks, armored vehicles, mortars, artillery.
Expect to see continued close air support, the kind of air activity we have seen over Fallujah now for many weeks.
They believe they will be facing a very determined enemy, and, of course, as Karl said here at the Pentagon, one thing that will be closely watched by the leadership is just how well or not the Iraqi security forces perform this time around -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: That'll be interesting to watch. It'll also be important to watch. The term at the Pentagon -- it's a bit of a euphemism -- is collateral damage, and that's the possibility of civilians, innocent, getting in the line of fire here.
What has the Pentagon said about how they're going to try to either issue warnings, or do what they can to avoid that?
STARR: This is going to be very tough business. There's no question about it. The Pentagon, the U.S. military has a very strong policy, of course, of trying to, the best they can, avoid the prospect of civilian casualties.
The type of weapons they are going to use are -- are more precise than they have been in years past, at least. So they're hoping at least that will give them some advantage in trying to avoid civilian casualties.
Intelligence and reconnaissance will be very important.
But make no mistake, this is going to be very tough, very ugly if it, in fact, happens because the belief is that the insurgents in the city, for example, are going to use the civilians that are left as human shields, if you will. That they will fight behind them, that they will fight from mosques, from other areas that the U.S. is going to try and avoid targeting.
So it's going to be very, very tough business.
Now, one thing that has happened, as I believe Karl Penhaul mentioned, large numbers of civilians have already left the city. The hope is that as many as possible will be able to get out before the fighting begins, but no one's making any bets on how any of this is going to turn out, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you very much -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Now to the outskirts of Paris where the fate of a comatose Yasser Arafat may rest on a painstaking search for a burial site.
For the record, the Palestinian leader and icon is said to be stable, though U.S. officials tell CNN he's on life support and no one thinks he'll survive.
We get the very latest now from CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney -- Fionnuala.
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right. Thanks indeed, Kyra.
Well, over here in Paris, we just heard a news statement from -- about an hour ago from the general military spokesperson here, a General Christian Estripeau, and in that statement he basically shed very little light on the condition of Yasser Arafat, went into very few details, saying only that the president was hospitalized here at the hospital, which was no secret to anybody outside, and that his condition had no deteriorated from the last update, which is what we heard yesterday, this time yesterday, in which his condition then was described as more complicated than it had been.
A lot of conflicting signals about what has been going on with Yasser Arafat over the past number of days. Doctors working around the clock in the intensive care unit to try to revive him.
We do understand that he slipped into a coma. That's according to Leila Shalid, who is the Palestinian envoy to Paris. She saying this morning that that coma was reversible. Doctors believe that he could come out of the coma.
But really, she is not a definitive medical source, and the only source we're hearing or official sense of what is going on with Yasser Arafat are these very short, 45-second long statements from the hospital -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Fionnuala Sweeney, thank you so much. We'll continue to check in with you -- Miles
O'BRIEN: Reporter Jackie Spinner of "The Washington Post" is embedded with forces who have been converging on the flash point of Fallujah, which takes us back to our top story.
As our embeds, as we call them, people who are embedded with the U.S. military, become available, we're going to drop in and talk with them. She's available to us now.
Jackie, first of all, just give us the basic situation now. What have you seen in the way of troops preparing, massing, air power and the like to get ready for this apparent assault?
JACKIE SPINNER, "WASHINGTON POST": Well, we're seeing both Marines and U.S. Army soldiers getting ready for an upcoming offensive.
They're cleaning their weapons. They are going through their vehicles, loading those up. I saw some very basic battle preparation today. They were wiping off the windshields of the vehicles so they have a clear view when they do -- when they do go in.
And we're also hearing the steady pounding of the bombs hitting the city. That's been going on nearly every night for the last week. And you certainly have a sense that something is about to happen, although we don't know exactly when and if the Marines will actually go in.
O'BRIEN: Clearly the Marines will be spearheading this. The Iraqi defense forces are part of the mix. Explain how the forces have been integrated, and how well these Iraqi troops appear to be performing?
SPINNER: Well, certainly the U.S. military and the Iraqi commanders believe that their forces are ready. They are here at this Marine outpost near the city, where I am. They are training. They are also getting their weapons and their battalions ready to go in.
And this is going to be a big test for them. And I think that we'll all be watching to see how well they perform, if they stay in the fight, and how long they stay in the fight.
O'BRIEN: Give us a sense, if you could share with us an anecdote or two of what the morale is. In particular I'm thinking of these U.S. forces. They've been waiting a long time for this opportunity, if you can call it that, to settle the score, if you will, in Fallujah. What's the morale like among the rank and file?
SPINNER: Well, what we're hearing from the commanders, I would say their line is certainly that they are not going to do anything until the interim prime minister says go.
But what you're hearing from the troops and the Marines themselves is they're anxious to get in there and do whatever is asked of them. I think they are tired of waiting around. You hear a lot of bravado around here that they're going to go in; they're going to the storm the city. They're going to take it. They're going to do it in a relatively easy manner. That's what they're telling us.
And, you know, when this thing does kick off, if it does kick off, we're going to be watching to see how quickly they are able to get things under control and restore some sense of security to the city, which we haven't had for about six months now.
O'BRIEN: Jackie Spinner is with the "Washington Post," embedded with military. Thanks for that report. We appreciate it -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: We're going to hear more from -- about urban combat from General David Grange coming up.
Also, an explosive situation of another kind. No, it's not a celebration, but something that went horribly wrong. Details on that straight ahead.
Plus a New Jersey school fired on by a military strike fighter. Investigators want to know why it happened.
And is this judgment day for Scott Peterson? A California jury is still deciding his fate. We're live on that story right after a break.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Inside Army Special Forces as they prepare for urban combat.
This exclusive video is just training for a very real war in a city that once housed 300,000 people. We're talking about Fallujah.
A battle not fought by smart bombs or long-range missiles but U.S. and Iraqi forces now. They are preparing for street-by-street, house-by-house combat, reminiscent of Somalia or Chechnya.
Joining us from Washington, CNN military analyst, retired Army Brigadier General David Grange. Good to have you, General.
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Why don't we get right into the mantra? We had the unique opportunity, of course, to go inside the training last year before Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Speed, surprise, security, violence of action. As we look at this first picture I think speed, surprise and security are obvious. But what's the importance of violence of action and being aggressive in a situation like this?
GRANGE: Well, it's bringing all the force to bear on the concentrated points of the enemy, so they don't have a chance to react to attack, to regroup, to shift their defenses. Keep them off balance and maintain a momentum.
PHILLIPS: And as we move into the second picture, I took a wide shot of the city where we actually observed the training, and I want to talk about, you know, before entering a city like this, how important it is from an intelligence perspective, to know your area, to have maps, and also communications, knowing how you're going to communicate by radio or rather by hand signals.
GRANGE: Right, and it's not just maps. It's updated maps. It's maps that are matched against photographs, aerial photographs, photographs from the ground. People telling you, "No, that street is blocked. That sewer is blocked. There's television lines over there. Be careful of low flying helicopters. Gas lines run on this side of the street, not the other side of street because of fire hazards."
All those type of things are critical in the planning before one attacks an urban area.
PHILLIPS: All right. So you plan for an urban area like this. Let's say this was Fallujah. Three hundred and sixty degree battlefield -- battlefield, because you never know what's going to happen.
Let's talk about the threats. Snipers on top of a building such as this, booby traps around door areas, even improvised explosives in the streets. How does a soldier enter into an area and look out for all of this so quickly and in such a secure manner?
GRANGE: Every element has an attack or an assault force, or you could say the maneuver of force with over watch, or supporting force. In other words, every movement is covered by a static covering force.
PHILLIPS: So you're talking by air of course?
GRANGE: By air and also by ground units.
PHILLIPS: OK.
GRANGE: In other words, they may occupy a building in friendly territory that over watches the movement of friendlies attacking forward to an enemy position.
You're going to -- you're going to have counter snipers to handle snipers, because in urban warfare a sniper is a very effective weapon, hard to find and take out.
Booby traps are a defensive mechanism that is a munition of choice, and it has a psychological effect on people. So you may have to enter, other than the normal entry points, like a doorway for an example.
So those type of things in a city are very critical to an assaulting force.
PHILLIPS: And of course, you've got to be ready to change plans quickly. As we see from the videotape in the training that we observed, you never know what's going to happen. And so right now we're seeing a flash bang, a bit of a distraction device there, and then soldiers running out to the next point.
But I mean, nothing ever goes as planned. Let's talk about how you have to change your mindset at any moment.
GRANGE: Boy, is that the truth. As soon as you start the attack, it changes. First bullet's fired, everything changes, and the plan has to be flexible enough to -- for the soldiers to adapt, the Marines to adapt to what they find on the ground, not what the plan actually said.
And what's wonderful about the American military is once they understand the intent, the purpose of their mission, the U.S. military decentralizes the decision-making to the small unit leaders on the ground in order to adapt of what they actually find and go left instead of right, or hold back a little bit or speed up a little bit.
They can feel and sense the battlefield. And as long as they are in the commander's intent of the overall objective, then they can execute under own initiative, which is a great battlefield multiplier.
PHILLIPS: Well, and what's interesting, when you look at this videotape and you see the soldiers, you know, in low-ready position, moving close together, side by side, what's interesting when you look at this video is for the first time you're going to see Iraqi forces and U.S. forces doing this together.
Talk about the confidence factor. I mean, you want to know without looking behind you that you've got three or four guys covering you.
GRANGE: Yes. A lot of the pictures we saw earlier of soldiers and we were talking about them training, Iraqis and U.S. soldiers training.
Actually, they're going through final rehearsals. Final rehearsals to know how they're going to move together, cover each other. Who's going to use what weapons systems, when? If the Iraqis go into a sensitive site within the city, how the U.S. troops are going to cover for them. And it's to build that trust and confidence that troopers get on the ground when they're standing there in harm's way side by side.
And what's going to be key is the Americans setting the example, which they will do, leading the way for the Iraqi soldiers, which are newer at this type of camaraderie and understanding to fight in this new Army. So they understand what to do. And I think that'll be very beneficial to the coalition as they attack.
PHILLIPS: CNN military analyst, retired Army Brigadier General David Grange. Thanks so much for your time today. We know it was a busy day for you. We'll be monitoring this and hope that you will, too, and come back.
GRANGE: My pleasure.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, General -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: The trial of the Scott Peterson double murder trial just beginning its second full day deliberations. In the meantime, the judge is trying to hold the media at arm's length to ensure the jury isn't tainted during this critical phase.
CNN's Rusty Dornin watching and waiting in Redwood City, California. I guess you could say she's at arm's length right now.
Rusty, how are things going?
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the operative word there, Miles, is waiting. They've been deliberating about two hours this morning. And we understand the judge just popped his head into the courtroom and said nothing's going on, meaning they haven't asked for any read backs or any other evidence.
We do know from a source close to the case, they asked for evidence yesterday that turned out to be photos of Scott and Laci Peterson's house, the inside of the house.
Another significant development they elected a foreman, and it was juror number 5, as many of us here expected because of his background. He's a doctor and a lawyer working for a biotech firm.
Now the significance of that is that he's probably going to be very cautious, very methodical, encouraging people to really go through all of this testimony. And as he headed into the deliberation room, he had more than a dozen notebooks under his arm. He was very meticulous about taking notes throughout this trial.
Now, when the verdict is announced, of course you have to say, if it's going to be announced, if it's not going to be a hung jury, apparently we're going to hear it but not see it. The judge did ban cameras from the courtroom, citing privacy concerns of the family.
There are also concerns that there could be a quote, "meltdown" by one of the families when they hear the verdict.
Now, much of this also has been behind closed doors. That's been very frustrating for many of us here in the press. And they did try to get those transcripts unsealed yesterday, but the judge was very adamant. He's going to keep those transcripts sealed during the deliberations by the jury.
If they don't reach verdict today, they'll be going to their hotel. They are sequestered before the weekend, where they will be allowed to only watch movies and some sports shows. No regular TV. No one will be allowed to call in. They will only be allowed to call out of the hotel -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right, Rusty. As we know, Friday afternoon tends to be verdict time. So we'll stay in close contact with you in Redwood City, appreciate it.
Well, this next story could have ended very, very badly, but the school in New Jersey only suffered some damaged windows, a roof, and a parking lot. The culprit, you ask? Well, it was an Air National Guard F-16 fighter jet.
Yes, a United States copy of that from Andrews Air Force Base. Pilot, well you could say that's a goof-up. You could say that.
Yes, he intended to shoot onto a live fire target range. Instead he fired 25 lead rounds into the Little Egg Harbor Intermediate School. Now it was at night, which of course, would make it more confusing. Only the janitor was inside. He was not hurt.
Such training is suspended until they figure out how this all happened.
Alabama, there'll be a recount on Amendment Two there. It was a ballot item that proposed the removal of several segregationist era lines from the state constitution.
The sticking point was not the overt racist language. Critics agree it should go but say the wording of the amendment goes beyond that and would open the door to lawsuits and higher school taxes. Legislators from both parties say they will tweak the wording and reintroduce it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, more jobs for Americans. A surprising new report out today. What does it mean for the economy, Wall Street, and interest rates?
Later on LIVE FROM, two journalists with the inside track for the race for the White House. They're out now with new details of the inner struggles of both campaigns. We'll talk with them.
The fight for Fallujah. U.S. forces gear up for a possible battle with Iraqi insurgents. We're following the story for you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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Aired November 5, 2004 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: The fight for Fallujah, coalition forces gearing up to take out the insurgency in a volatile Iraqi city.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: Preparing for attack: inside the training of U.S. Special Forces. Urban combat, up close and personal.
O'BRIEN: Yasser Arafat in a coma. What does this mean for the future of the Palestine Liberation Organization? We're live from the Paris hospital with the latest.
PHILLIPS: Waiting for a verdict. The jury in the Scott Peterson murder case still deliberating. We're live from the courthouse.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips.
O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
PHILLIPS: We begin in and around Fallujah where the intensity grows around the insurgents in that area.
Our Karl Penhaul embedded in the area not far from Fallujah, joining us now by phone -- Karl.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Kyra.
Preparations are gathering pace at this Marine camp in the desert outside Fallujah. Also in the course of the day, we've seen Iraqi soldiers from the new Iraqi Army arrive here. And they've begun some training with the U.S. Marine counterparts that they will be going into Fallujah with.
Very clear from what we've seen that those Iraqi shoulders -- soldiers will be fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Marines. This is part of the effort to stand out the Iraqi Army on its own two feet so that eventually it can take control of the security situation, both in Fallujah and elsewhere in Iraq.
The type of stuff we've seen during the course of the day is for preparations for urban warfare. And U.S. commanders here on the ground say that they expect that the fight for Fallujah when the order comes could quickly get very bloody. It could become a very dirty street fight in a very short amount of time.
U.S. military intelligence sources have been updating us on the type of insurgent threat they are seeing inside the city of Fallujah. They said the latest information suggests around 3,000 hard-core insurgents are in the city. They're expected to put their backs to the wall and fight literally to the death, according to those U.S. military intelligence sources.
They also say that beyond the risk of regular arms fire, the main threat to U.S. forces going into Fallujah will be booby traps. They expect that there will be car bombs. They expect suicide attacks. They expect improvised explosive devices to be buried on the sidewalks and in the walls.
And they say that in certain cases, entire buildings could be rigged to explode when U.S. troops pass by or enter those buildings.
In fact, U.S. commanders are saying that this attack on Fallujah is expected to be so big that it's likely to be the Marine's biggest fight since Hue City in Vietnam in 1968 -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You've set up, Karl, how tremendous of a fight this will be, and as you mentioned, it's going to be urban combat. Quite different from the conventional battlefield, where you have sort a 360-battle going on, versus just crossing enemy lines.
This is the first big one for Iraqi forces. Are they ready? Have they been trained for urban combat?
PENHAUL: Certainly, talking to some of the U.S. Marines, as they work alongside those Iraqi soldiers today and also talking to some of the Iraqi soldiers, they say that they are ready to go in. They say that they came to come in at what U.S. forces say is that they see a very great deal of bravery on the part of those Iraqi soldiers.
In some of them have got more combat experience than the U.S. Marines that will be going in, because some of these Iraqi soldiers formerly were members of the Peshmerga guerrilla fighters fighting against the Saddam Hussein regime or part of the Shia resistance against Saddam Hussein. So there has been some combat experience on their part.
What the U.S. forces, though, also do comment is that still there is a little bit of a lack of leadership amongst some of their commanders or they do say some of their commanders are also very good. They also say that there is sometimes a little bit of a discipline issue when it comes to firing. They say that the Iraqi soldiers tend to open fire all at the same time rather than more disciplined fire pattern of U.S. troops.
But certainly, U.S. troops have no doubt that these Iraqis are keen and ready to go into Fallujah -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Karl, we've talked about the uniqueness of this fight. It's also very unique in that the number of journalists that are embedded there outside of Fallujah, within Fallujah.
What can you tell us about the coverage, how in depth we're going to be able to get into this battle that U.S. forces and Iraqis are preparing for?
PENHAUL: Well, certainly, as we know, there are a large number of journalists embedded with Marine units and indeed Army units for this operation.
Twofold, two factors here it seems. First of all, the U.S. military is very keen to try and show the world that they want to do this right, that their main target is the insurgents. They don't want to affect the civilians who are still inside of the city of Fallujah.
Current estimates are just about 50,000 civilians may still be inside of Fallujah.
And also perhaps one might suggest that here in the camp, there's been constant reference to that Marine fight from Hue City in Vietnam in 1968.
To some extent, one might suspect that what the Marines are trying to do here is to try also to show the world that they won't repeat the same pattern, the same mistakes possibly that were made in Hue City and to show the world also that they are the world's best when it comes to urban warfare -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Karl Penhaul just outside of Fallujah. We'll be watching and waiting. Thanks, Karl -- Miles
O'BRIEN: The timing is uncertain, but two facts are crystal clear. One is Iraq's monumental investment in nationwide elections in January, elections that'll be dicey at best if parts of the country are not under government control.
The second fact is U.S. determination not to repeat the mistakes of last April. That's when a military shellacking only laid the groundwork for the insurgents' return, as you will recall.
CNN's Barbara Starr is watching today's developments from the Pentagon. She joins us now -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, in fact it has been seven months now, as you say, since coalition forces were inside Fallujah, seven months for the insurgents to become very well dug in.
As Karl Penhaul was saying, as the Marines, as the Army forces get ready, waiting for the order that may come for a ground assault. They are getting ready what they will fear they will face once inside the city: snipers, vehicle bombs, improvised explosive devices, booby traps, a variety of measures being used against them.
But some Marines are now digging into their own bag of tricks, getting ready, making their own explosive charges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LANCE CPL. WILLIAM SABIN, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Instead of using force to bust down a door, instead of trying to kick it down or ram it down, you just blow the doorknob. These charges are used for doorknobs. It's called a doughnut charge. This -- these wraps of the det (ph) cord kind of acts like a main charge. Put this on the doorknob, say my fist was the doorknob. This would go by the lock. So this -- there concentrated amount of explosives here blows the lock in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Young Marines getting ready with these explosive charges. One benefit of them is if they do encounter a booby-trapped building, these doughnuts will blow the doors. Marines will be able to stay safe.
As the Marines and the Army get ready, expect to them see equipped, Miles, with their standard load out. Heavy armor, tanks, armored vehicles, mortars, artillery.
Expect to see continued close air support, the kind of air activity we have seen over Fallujah now for many weeks.
They believe they will be facing a very determined enemy, and, of course, as Karl said here at the Pentagon, one thing that will be closely watched by the leadership is just how well or not the Iraqi security forces perform this time around -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: That'll be interesting to watch. It'll also be important to watch. The term at the Pentagon -- it's a bit of a euphemism -- is collateral damage, and that's the possibility of civilians, innocent, getting in the line of fire here.
What has the Pentagon said about how they're going to try to either issue warnings, or do what they can to avoid that?
STARR: This is going to be very tough business. There's no question about it. The Pentagon, the U.S. military has a very strong policy, of course, of trying to, the best they can, avoid the prospect of civilian casualties.
The type of weapons they are going to use are -- are more precise than they have been in years past, at least. So they're hoping at least that will give them some advantage in trying to avoid civilian casualties.
Intelligence and reconnaissance will be very important.
But make no mistake, this is going to be very tough, very ugly if it, in fact, happens because the belief is that the insurgents in the city, for example, are going to use the civilians that are left as human shields, if you will. That they will fight behind them, that they will fight from mosques, from other areas that the U.S. is going to try and avoid targeting.
So it's going to be very, very tough business.
Now, one thing that has happened, as I believe Karl Penhaul mentioned, large numbers of civilians have already left the city. The hope is that as many as possible will be able to get out before the fighting begins, but no one's making any bets on how any of this is going to turn out, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you very much -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Now to the outskirts of Paris where the fate of a comatose Yasser Arafat may rest on a painstaking search for a burial site.
For the record, the Palestinian leader and icon is said to be stable, though U.S. officials tell CNN he's on life support and no one thinks he'll survive.
We get the very latest now from CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney -- Fionnuala.
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right. Thanks indeed, Kyra.
Well, over here in Paris, we just heard a news statement from -- about an hour ago from the general military spokesperson here, a General Christian Estripeau, and in that statement he basically shed very little light on the condition of Yasser Arafat, went into very few details, saying only that the president was hospitalized here at the hospital, which was no secret to anybody outside, and that his condition had no deteriorated from the last update, which is what we heard yesterday, this time yesterday, in which his condition then was described as more complicated than it had been.
A lot of conflicting signals about what has been going on with Yasser Arafat over the past number of days. Doctors working around the clock in the intensive care unit to try to revive him.
We do understand that he slipped into a coma. That's according to Leila Shalid, who is the Palestinian envoy to Paris. She saying this morning that that coma was reversible. Doctors believe that he could come out of the coma.
But really, she is not a definitive medical source, and the only source we're hearing or official sense of what is going on with Yasser Arafat are these very short, 45-second long statements from the hospital -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Fionnuala Sweeney, thank you so much. We'll continue to check in with you -- Miles
O'BRIEN: Reporter Jackie Spinner of "The Washington Post" is embedded with forces who have been converging on the flash point of Fallujah, which takes us back to our top story.
As our embeds, as we call them, people who are embedded with the U.S. military, become available, we're going to drop in and talk with them. She's available to us now.
Jackie, first of all, just give us the basic situation now. What have you seen in the way of troops preparing, massing, air power and the like to get ready for this apparent assault?
JACKIE SPINNER, "WASHINGTON POST": Well, we're seeing both Marines and U.S. Army soldiers getting ready for an upcoming offensive.
They're cleaning their weapons. They are going through their vehicles, loading those up. I saw some very basic battle preparation today. They were wiping off the windshields of the vehicles so they have a clear view when they do -- when they do go in.
And we're also hearing the steady pounding of the bombs hitting the city. That's been going on nearly every night for the last week. And you certainly have a sense that something is about to happen, although we don't know exactly when and if the Marines will actually go in.
O'BRIEN: Clearly the Marines will be spearheading this. The Iraqi defense forces are part of the mix. Explain how the forces have been integrated, and how well these Iraqi troops appear to be performing?
SPINNER: Well, certainly the U.S. military and the Iraqi commanders believe that their forces are ready. They are here at this Marine outpost near the city, where I am. They are training. They are also getting their weapons and their battalions ready to go in.
And this is going to be a big test for them. And I think that we'll all be watching to see how well they perform, if they stay in the fight, and how long they stay in the fight.
O'BRIEN: Give us a sense, if you could share with us an anecdote or two of what the morale is. In particular I'm thinking of these U.S. forces. They've been waiting a long time for this opportunity, if you can call it that, to settle the score, if you will, in Fallujah. What's the morale like among the rank and file?
SPINNER: Well, what we're hearing from the commanders, I would say their line is certainly that they are not going to do anything until the interim prime minister says go.
But what you're hearing from the troops and the Marines themselves is they're anxious to get in there and do whatever is asked of them. I think they are tired of waiting around. You hear a lot of bravado around here that they're going to go in; they're going to the storm the city. They're going to take it. They're going to do it in a relatively easy manner. That's what they're telling us.
And, you know, when this thing does kick off, if it does kick off, we're going to be watching to see how quickly they are able to get things under control and restore some sense of security to the city, which we haven't had for about six months now.
O'BRIEN: Jackie Spinner is with the "Washington Post," embedded with military. Thanks for that report. We appreciate it -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: We're going to hear more from -- about urban combat from General David Grange coming up.
Also, an explosive situation of another kind. No, it's not a celebration, but something that went horribly wrong. Details on that straight ahead.
Plus a New Jersey school fired on by a military strike fighter. Investigators want to know why it happened.
And is this judgment day for Scott Peterson? A California jury is still deciding his fate. We're live on that story right after a break.
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PHILLIPS: Inside Army Special Forces as they prepare for urban combat.
This exclusive video is just training for a very real war in a city that once housed 300,000 people. We're talking about Fallujah.
A battle not fought by smart bombs or long-range missiles but U.S. and Iraqi forces now. They are preparing for street-by-street, house-by-house combat, reminiscent of Somalia or Chechnya.
Joining us from Washington, CNN military analyst, retired Army Brigadier General David Grange. Good to have you, General.
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Why don't we get right into the mantra? We had the unique opportunity, of course, to go inside the training last year before Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Speed, surprise, security, violence of action. As we look at this first picture I think speed, surprise and security are obvious. But what's the importance of violence of action and being aggressive in a situation like this?
GRANGE: Well, it's bringing all the force to bear on the concentrated points of the enemy, so they don't have a chance to react to attack, to regroup, to shift their defenses. Keep them off balance and maintain a momentum.
PHILLIPS: And as we move into the second picture, I took a wide shot of the city where we actually observed the training, and I want to talk about, you know, before entering a city like this, how important it is from an intelligence perspective, to know your area, to have maps, and also communications, knowing how you're going to communicate by radio or rather by hand signals.
GRANGE: Right, and it's not just maps. It's updated maps. It's maps that are matched against photographs, aerial photographs, photographs from the ground. People telling you, "No, that street is blocked. That sewer is blocked. There's television lines over there. Be careful of low flying helicopters. Gas lines run on this side of the street, not the other side of street because of fire hazards."
All those type of things are critical in the planning before one attacks an urban area.
PHILLIPS: All right. So you plan for an urban area like this. Let's say this was Fallujah. Three hundred and sixty degree battlefield -- battlefield, because you never know what's going to happen.
Let's talk about the threats. Snipers on top of a building such as this, booby traps around door areas, even improvised explosives in the streets. How does a soldier enter into an area and look out for all of this so quickly and in such a secure manner?
GRANGE: Every element has an attack or an assault force, or you could say the maneuver of force with over watch, or supporting force. In other words, every movement is covered by a static covering force.
PHILLIPS: So you're talking by air of course?
GRANGE: By air and also by ground units.
PHILLIPS: OK.
GRANGE: In other words, they may occupy a building in friendly territory that over watches the movement of friendlies attacking forward to an enemy position.
You're going to -- you're going to have counter snipers to handle snipers, because in urban warfare a sniper is a very effective weapon, hard to find and take out.
Booby traps are a defensive mechanism that is a munition of choice, and it has a psychological effect on people. So you may have to enter, other than the normal entry points, like a doorway for an example.
So those type of things in a city are very critical to an assaulting force.
PHILLIPS: And of course, you've got to be ready to change plans quickly. As we see from the videotape in the training that we observed, you never know what's going to happen. And so right now we're seeing a flash bang, a bit of a distraction device there, and then soldiers running out to the next point.
But I mean, nothing ever goes as planned. Let's talk about how you have to change your mindset at any moment.
GRANGE: Boy, is that the truth. As soon as you start the attack, it changes. First bullet's fired, everything changes, and the plan has to be flexible enough to -- for the soldiers to adapt, the Marines to adapt to what they find on the ground, not what the plan actually said.
And what's wonderful about the American military is once they understand the intent, the purpose of their mission, the U.S. military decentralizes the decision-making to the small unit leaders on the ground in order to adapt of what they actually find and go left instead of right, or hold back a little bit or speed up a little bit.
They can feel and sense the battlefield. And as long as they are in the commander's intent of the overall objective, then they can execute under own initiative, which is a great battlefield multiplier.
PHILLIPS: Well, and what's interesting, when you look at this videotape and you see the soldiers, you know, in low-ready position, moving close together, side by side, what's interesting when you look at this video is for the first time you're going to see Iraqi forces and U.S. forces doing this together.
Talk about the confidence factor. I mean, you want to know without looking behind you that you've got three or four guys covering you.
GRANGE: Yes. A lot of the pictures we saw earlier of soldiers and we were talking about them training, Iraqis and U.S. soldiers training.
Actually, they're going through final rehearsals. Final rehearsals to know how they're going to move together, cover each other. Who's going to use what weapons systems, when? If the Iraqis go into a sensitive site within the city, how the U.S. troops are going to cover for them. And it's to build that trust and confidence that troopers get on the ground when they're standing there in harm's way side by side.
And what's going to be key is the Americans setting the example, which they will do, leading the way for the Iraqi soldiers, which are newer at this type of camaraderie and understanding to fight in this new Army. So they understand what to do. And I think that'll be very beneficial to the coalition as they attack.
PHILLIPS: CNN military analyst, retired Army Brigadier General David Grange. Thanks so much for your time today. We know it was a busy day for you. We'll be monitoring this and hope that you will, too, and come back.
GRANGE: My pleasure.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, General -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: The trial of the Scott Peterson double murder trial just beginning its second full day deliberations. In the meantime, the judge is trying to hold the media at arm's length to ensure the jury isn't tainted during this critical phase.
CNN's Rusty Dornin watching and waiting in Redwood City, California. I guess you could say she's at arm's length right now.
Rusty, how are things going?
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the operative word there, Miles, is waiting. They've been deliberating about two hours this morning. And we understand the judge just popped his head into the courtroom and said nothing's going on, meaning they haven't asked for any read backs or any other evidence.
We do know from a source close to the case, they asked for evidence yesterday that turned out to be photos of Scott and Laci Peterson's house, the inside of the house.
Another significant development they elected a foreman, and it was juror number 5, as many of us here expected because of his background. He's a doctor and a lawyer working for a biotech firm.
Now the significance of that is that he's probably going to be very cautious, very methodical, encouraging people to really go through all of this testimony. And as he headed into the deliberation room, he had more than a dozen notebooks under his arm. He was very meticulous about taking notes throughout this trial.
Now, when the verdict is announced, of course you have to say, if it's going to be announced, if it's not going to be a hung jury, apparently we're going to hear it but not see it. The judge did ban cameras from the courtroom, citing privacy concerns of the family.
There are also concerns that there could be a quote, "meltdown" by one of the families when they hear the verdict.
Now, much of this also has been behind closed doors. That's been very frustrating for many of us here in the press. And they did try to get those transcripts unsealed yesterday, but the judge was very adamant. He's going to keep those transcripts sealed during the deliberations by the jury.
If they don't reach verdict today, they'll be going to their hotel. They are sequestered before the weekend, where they will be allowed to only watch movies and some sports shows. No regular TV. No one will be allowed to call in. They will only be allowed to call out of the hotel -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right, Rusty. As we know, Friday afternoon tends to be verdict time. So we'll stay in close contact with you in Redwood City, appreciate it.
Well, this next story could have ended very, very badly, but the school in New Jersey only suffered some damaged windows, a roof, and a parking lot. The culprit, you ask? Well, it was an Air National Guard F-16 fighter jet.
Yes, a United States copy of that from Andrews Air Force Base. Pilot, well you could say that's a goof-up. You could say that.
Yes, he intended to shoot onto a live fire target range. Instead he fired 25 lead rounds into the Little Egg Harbor Intermediate School. Now it was at night, which of course, would make it more confusing. Only the janitor was inside. He was not hurt.
Such training is suspended until they figure out how this all happened.
Alabama, there'll be a recount on Amendment Two there. It was a ballot item that proposed the removal of several segregationist era lines from the state constitution.
The sticking point was not the overt racist language. Critics agree it should go but say the wording of the amendment goes beyond that and would open the door to lawsuits and higher school taxes. Legislators from both parties say they will tweak the wording and reintroduce it.
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O'BRIEN (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, more jobs for Americans. A surprising new report out today. What does it mean for the economy, Wall Street, and interest rates?
Later on LIVE FROM, two journalists with the inside track for the race for the White House. They're out now with new details of the inner struggles of both campaigns. We'll talk with them.
The fight for Fallujah. U.S. forces gear up for a possible battle with Iraqi insurgents. We're following the story for you.
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