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Yasser Arafat Buried After Chaotic Farewell; Battle for Falluja Continues

Aired November 12, 2004 - 14:00   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.


TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Frantic mourners crowd in as Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is buried. Will the next generation of leadership bring peace to the volatile situation?
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Intense firepower in the fight for Falluja. This hour we take you inside the battle and talk with a former general about the next challenges for U.S. forces.

HARRIS: Exploding cell phone a danger you might not be aware of. We'll show you how to prevent it.

PHILLIPS: And Operation Big Fat Lie. The government going after companies making false claims about helping you lose weight.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris, in for Miles O'Brien. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Shots fired, crowds chanting, mourners weeping. That was the chaotic scene as Yasser Arafat was buried in the West Bank. Tens of thousands of Palestinians stormed his Ramallah compound to bid farewell to their former leader. CNN's John Vause joins us now from Ramallah with details.

Hi, John.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Tony.

Palestinian officials here had planned a formal service, but in hindsight, that was never really going to happen, as thousands of mourners took over the West Bank compound for an emotional and a passionate good-bye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE (voice-over): For Yasser Arafat one final, triumphant return. Thousands climbs walls, rushed security guards and pushed their way into the Ramallah compound, desperate to touch his coffin, to get close to the leader they called "The Old Man."

It was chaos. Police and soldiers fired wildly into the air. The crowd barely flinched.

Palestinian officials pleaded unsuccessfully from the helicopter door for the mob to back off. Thirty minutes later, the coffin appeared. It was loaded on to a jeep and Arafat's personal bodyguards, the men who protected him in life, clung to the casket while the crowd surged forward.

Slowly, they moved towards the marble and concrete burial site. Officials had planned a formal service, marching bands and parading soldiers. None of it happened.

On this day, the Palestinian people claimed their leader for themselves. The funeral took on a life of its own.

Militants from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade made a show of force, while the Palestinian flag was ripped away, replaced by a kaffia (ph) similar to the one which was Arafat's trademark. As the coffin was lowered, it was covered with soil from the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the place where Arafat wanted to be buried and where Palestinians hope one day he will be when there is a Palestinian state.

Amid all the chaos there was still ceremony, verses from the Koran and prayers. And finally, Yasser Arafat was laid to rest. A chapter in history had come to an end.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Now, when Yasser Arafat left his West Bank compound two weeks ago, he said to those around him simply, "I'll be back." And as his life slipped away in a Paris hospital, those who know him best say this was a homecoming he would have loved -- Tony.

HARRIS: John, for us here in the states it seemed so chaotic. But I wonder, from your point of view, from that side of the country, did it feel appropriate, the funeral tied for Arafat?

VAUSE: It's a very difficult question what would be an appropriate funeral for a head of a nation that doesn't actually have a state. It was chaotic down there, and it was very emotional. But it wasn't really dangerous, apart, of course, from the bullets which were being fired in the air.

But the crowd was very passionate, but they weren't an angry mob. They just wanted to get close to the coffin. They just wanted to get close to touch the coffin. And it really was their chance to say good- bye.

And one very interesting thing in all of this, if you are looking for symbolism, Mahmoud Abbas, the man who is likely to take over from Yasser Arafat as the next president when they hold their elections in two months from now, he was on that helicopter. He was trying to get out but the crowd kept pushing him back in. This really was a moment today for Yasser Arafat and his people -- Tony.

HARRIS: Not ready for him yet. OK. John Vause reporting for us from Ramallah. Thank you, John.

PHILLIPS: Now to Iraq. For five days now, U.S. and Iraqi forces have been fighting to take Falluja from insurgents. Their efforts are paying off. The military says 80 percent of that city is now under control but the fighting is far from over.

CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman joins me now to brief us on the very latest developments -- Gary.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, we've been monitoring the video coming in throughout the day from Falluja. And the range of emotions we've seen in these video feeds are overwhelming. Harrowing, violent scenes, combined with images of kindness are what we've been witnessing. Some of the most recent video shows the injured being helped by their fellow troops.

The latest information from military officials indicates 130 Americans have been wounded this week in Falluja, as well as 40 Iraqi troops. The death toll is at 27, 22 Americans and five Iraqi government soldiers. The U.S. says at least 600 insurgents have been killed.

Commanders did say 80 percent of the city is now in government hands, but the fighting is still chaotic and dangerous. This is what we've seen today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's still barriers there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that it or what?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: The man who took these pictures is a journalist with "TIME" Magazine who has told us some remarkable stories today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL WARE, "TIME": As morning came and the first light of day, the attacks began. They came fast and furious and have been unrelenting. They continued until just a few hours ago.

There were scenes of great chaos, scenes of great destruction. I witnessed acts of unimaginable horror. Yet, an even greater measure, I also witnessed acts of uncommon valor by the individuals that you see in this footage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: Now, just a short time ago, this armored personnel carrier with American troops caught fire. They continued to drive the APC before frantically abandoning it, afraid it was going to explode. One man aboard the APC was hurt, but this is what daily life is like during this urban warfare in the Sunni Triangle's most volatile city.

But then there's another image, that of soldiers handing out candy to children. Now, you may be wondering, what are children still doing in Falluja? Well, most civilians did evacuate, but it's estimated that hundreds of civilians remain behind. And it's impossible to know how many civilians have been killed or wounded. Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: And Gary, there was quite a tremendous effort on behalf of Iraqi troops and U.S. troops to warn civilians and get civilians out of the area before this fight took place, right?

TUCHMAN: There was plenty of notice for civilians to get out. But for some of them, they didn't want to leave. Others just couldn't leave. They had no way of doing it.

PHILLIPS: Gary Tuchman, thanks so much.

Now a closer look at one of the 22 Americans killed in that Falluja offensive. Reporter Dan Levitan (ph) of affiliate WJXT was there yesterday after loved ones got the visit that every military family dreads.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROLYN WOODS, JULIAN WOODS' MOTHER: My baby is gone. My baby is gone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Emotions overcome Carolyn Woods. The mother of Julian Woods dealing with the tragic loss of her youngest child. The difficult news coming to her west side home.

WOODS: When the doorbell rang this morning and I peeked out the door, and when I seen those two guys standing there in that white uniform, I just lost it. Because I didn't want to hear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Julian, just 22, was killed Wednesday during the U.S. assault on Falluja. A Navy corpsman, he was on the Iraqi battlefield with the Marines, other men and women he was charged with saving.

WOODS: I'm not mad. I'm not angry. I'm at peace with myself because my brother, he died for a cause.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His younger sister Alexis (ph) shares her love for her brother. The two actually graduated together from Ed White High before he joined the service in 2000.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're not twins, but he was my other half. And when he died, that's a part of me that's gone.

O.J. WOODS, JULIAN WOODS' BROTHER: I think he's a hero. Yes. He's my hero. He went out for -- at least he went for a good reason.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His brother O.J., several years older, a Navy sailor who was stationed with Julian in Virginia.

O. WOODS: I've got a lot of good memories. That's all. That's all I got now is good memories of my brother. I'm going to miss him a lot.

C. WOODS: On the days he felt he couldn't go on, "You can do it, son." I told him, "You are my hero." And he wrote me back and said, "No, mom, you are my hero. I get my strength from you."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Wow. That was Dan Levitan (ph) of CNN affiliate WJXT in Jacksonville.

HARRIS: Allies in war, now partners in a fresh push for peace. President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair met at the White House and pledged to stay the course in Iraq. Mr. Bush warned things could get tougher before the January elections.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As those elections draw near, the desperation of the killers will grow and the violence could escalate. Successful democracy in Iraq will be a crushing blow to the forces of terror, and the terrorists know it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Mr. Bush voiced new resolve in the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. He said Yasser Arafat's death brings new opportunities for a Palestinian state. Mr. Blair emphasized such a state must be based on democratic principles.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: And I think there is every possibility that we can do this with the energy and the will and the recognition that, in the end, it is only if the two states that we want to see living side by side are indeed democratic states, where the rule of law and human rights are respected in each of them, that a just peace could be restored.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The British prime minister is the first world leader to visit President Bush since his reelection.

Well, we've been showing you amazing video from the battle for Falluja.

PHILLIPS: And while the fighting is intense, the challenges for American troops may not stop once the fighting does. We're going to talk about it with our CNN military analyst right after a break.

HARRIS: And the challenge for those on the home front. We'll go to Camp Pendleton, where families are watching and waiting for word from their loved ones on the frontlines.

PHILLIPS: Also ahead, rocking the boat in the Scott Peterson trial. It was meant to be a defense exhibit, but it turns into a shrine to Laci Peterson. We're live from the courthouse.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Back now to the battle of Falluja and some of the challenges now and when it's over. CNN military analyst, retired Major General Terry Murray joins us from Washington with some insight.

Good to see you, General.

MAJ. GEN. TERRY MURRAY, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Take us into the mindset of the Marine. Once a Marine, always a marine. I know you are. The three-block war, and how that's taken 80 percent of Falluja to this point?

MURRAY: Very challenging environment to operate within, as you know, Kyra. What is required from the moment they enter the city is for them to move house-to-house, street-to-street, block-to-block, and ensure that they find all the insurgents or the guerrillas as they move through the city.

What you also encounter in an urban environment is a very different kind of battle. In many cases, all of the technological advantages of the attacker, the more capable force, in this case, coalition forces, our ability to see and engage targets at long range, is reduced because you are in an urban environment. And consequently, oftentimes you are confronted with your attacker at very, very close range, and indeed it becomes a close-in battle.

PHILLIPS: Now, the last close-in battle, and the largest offensive for the Marines that we remember -- and it went on for days, like Falluja -- was Baghdad. Can you even compare taking down Baghdad versus taking control of Falluja?

Obviously, uniformed soldiers versus guerrilla warfare. But do you see a lot of similarities or more differences?

MURRAY: The similarities, Kyra, is that both are urban environments. The difference here is -- and I think this was really crucial -- was that we had almost a quarter of a million people, civilians, evacuated from Falluja before the attack began.

Consequently, when we went into the city, when the coalition forces encountered the bad guys, they didn't have to differentiate between civilians and fighters. And this makes the battle much easier. You can, in fact, engage your targets much more quickly because you don't need to determine, are these civilians or are these guerrillas or foreign fighters?

PHILLIPS: After the conventional phase, what's next? Obviously, law and order.

Are the Iraqis ready for that? Can they take that on? Can the troops secure that environment once this fight is won?

MURRAY: That really is the $64,000 question. I think most military people would argue that this phase of the battle, while there have been tough fights from one block to the next, this was the easy phase. The hard part will be when a quarter of a million people again occupy this city, and when we decide to leave a stay-behind force, how many troops will we leave behind, and how well and how successful will these coalition forces be at maintaining law and order? I think what we can be certain of is, when the civilians come back, some of the guerrillas, maybe not in the same number as previously, maybe not the headquarters elements, but some of the guerrillas will return with the civilians, and then we'll have to maintain security in a very, very difficult environment.

PHILLIPS: So General, as a Marine, what did you think of this multinational force, where you had Army infantry, Army Special Operations and Marines working together, in addition to conditioning the Iraqi troops? Overall, effective, most effective?

MURRAY: As an outside observer, Kyra, I would say very, very effective. Of course, the Army, the Marine Corps, the Navy, the Air Force, we have been fighting jointly for decades. And especially for the last 20 years, since Goldwater-Nichols legislation about joint interoperability was enacted, we've been fighting jointly.

What we also saw here was the coalition piece with some 2,500, we believe, Iraqi fighters integrated into a force of about 13,000 or 14,000 men and women. And from what we can tell, watching from the outside, the -- the joint force did extremely well and continues to do well. And it appears also that the Iraqi coalition partners have done extremely well as we fought through the city.

The big question now is, what kind of force do you task organize to occupy Falluja after this conventional phase is done? How many of those forces will be Iraqis, and how successful will we continue to be at taming this very dangerous city?

PHILLIPS: General Terry Murray, thank you, sir, for your time.

MURRAY: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We want to go straight to Jane Arraf. She's embedded with the men and the women that General Murray used to command there in the area of Falluja.

Jane, bring us up to date on what you're witnessing and what's going on within the fight.

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Kyra, we've moved in with Army troops for the first time to the south of Falluja. They are continuing to take the city sector by sector. And this is the first time U.S. forces have gone into this area.

Now, it's oddly deserted, not a soul around, except for the gunmen continuing to fire at the troops. And the insurgents are well hidden, Kyra. They are hiding in alleyways, in buildings, even in tunnels.

One of the things the Army has been doing is launching airstrikes to destroy a series of tunnels, some of them stretching across entire streets, linking building to building. And that's part of the way insurgents have been able to survive, they say, these airstrikes that have been launched, as well as the pounding the city has taken.

They have literally gone underground. But the Army and Marines and Iraqi forces are now conducting search-and-attack operations, going block to block in some areas to see what they can do to end this quickly -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And Jane, you know just as well, you are there with the Army. I mean, this is what they train for, and that is that urban combat-type of atmosphere you've talked about, the booby traps and what the insurgents have tried to leave there for soldiers. Are they staying one step ahead of the bad guy? Are they able to find the IEDs or the booby traps or these other sources of terrorism?

ARRAF: It's challenging, Kyra, everywhere they turn. I mean, in the industrial sector that we came from, there are wires leading to homemade bombs, piles of anti-tank mines, mortars stacked up in trailers, bomb-making factories. It is absolutely astounding the number of bombs and potential bombs in that area.

And then moving further south, as we did today, one of the very difficult things is, although there are no civilians in the sector, which would make it much more difficult to fight the way they are fighting here, you just don't know where the fire is coming from. At one point there was fire seemingly coming from several different directions. And when you look out at a number of houses, unless you see some movement, you just don't know where the gunfire is. It is a very challenging environment.

They are keeping one step ahead. They've got a lot of heavy firepower, a lot of technology. But they are dealing with gunmen who are determined, who are hidden, and who have been getting ready, it seems, for months for this battle -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jane Arraf, you know that 360-degree battlefield just as well as the Army there, embedded in Falluja. Thank you so much. We'll continue to check in.

(INTERRUPTED FOR BREAKING NEWS)

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Aired November 12, 2004 - 14:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Frantic mourners crowd in as Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is buried. Will the next generation of leadership bring peace to the volatile situation?
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Intense firepower in the fight for Falluja. This hour we take you inside the battle and talk with a former general about the next challenges for U.S. forces.

HARRIS: Exploding cell phone a danger you might not be aware of. We'll show you how to prevent it.

PHILLIPS: And Operation Big Fat Lie. The government going after companies making false claims about helping you lose weight.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris, in for Miles O'Brien. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Shots fired, crowds chanting, mourners weeping. That was the chaotic scene as Yasser Arafat was buried in the West Bank. Tens of thousands of Palestinians stormed his Ramallah compound to bid farewell to their former leader. CNN's John Vause joins us now from Ramallah with details.

Hi, John.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Tony.

Palestinian officials here had planned a formal service, but in hindsight, that was never really going to happen, as thousands of mourners took over the West Bank compound for an emotional and a passionate good-bye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE (voice-over): For Yasser Arafat one final, triumphant return. Thousands climbs walls, rushed security guards and pushed their way into the Ramallah compound, desperate to touch his coffin, to get close to the leader they called "The Old Man."

It was chaos. Police and soldiers fired wildly into the air. The crowd barely flinched.

Palestinian officials pleaded unsuccessfully from the helicopter door for the mob to back off. Thirty minutes later, the coffin appeared. It was loaded on to a jeep and Arafat's personal bodyguards, the men who protected him in life, clung to the casket while the crowd surged forward.

Slowly, they moved towards the marble and concrete burial site. Officials had planned a formal service, marching bands and parading soldiers. None of it happened.

On this day, the Palestinian people claimed their leader for themselves. The funeral took on a life of its own.

Militants from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade made a show of force, while the Palestinian flag was ripped away, replaced by a kaffia (ph) similar to the one which was Arafat's trademark. As the coffin was lowered, it was covered with soil from the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the place where Arafat wanted to be buried and where Palestinians hope one day he will be when there is a Palestinian state.

Amid all the chaos there was still ceremony, verses from the Koran and prayers. And finally, Yasser Arafat was laid to rest. A chapter in history had come to an end.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Now, when Yasser Arafat left his West Bank compound two weeks ago, he said to those around him simply, "I'll be back." And as his life slipped away in a Paris hospital, those who know him best say this was a homecoming he would have loved -- Tony.

HARRIS: John, for us here in the states it seemed so chaotic. But I wonder, from your point of view, from that side of the country, did it feel appropriate, the funeral tied for Arafat?

VAUSE: It's a very difficult question what would be an appropriate funeral for a head of a nation that doesn't actually have a state. It was chaotic down there, and it was very emotional. But it wasn't really dangerous, apart, of course, from the bullets which were being fired in the air.

But the crowd was very passionate, but they weren't an angry mob. They just wanted to get close to the coffin. They just wanted to get close to touch the coffin. And it really was their chance to say good- bye.

And one very interesting thing in all of this, if you are looking for symbolism, Mahmoud Abbas, the man who is likely to take over from Yasser Arafat as the next president when they hold their elections in two months from now, he was on that helicopter. He was trying to get out but the crowd kept pushing him back in. This really was a moment today for Yasser Arafat and his people -- Tony.

HARRIS: Not ready for him yet. OK. John Vause reporting for us from Ramallah. Thank you, John.

PHILLIPS: Now to Iraq. For five days now, U.S. and Iraqi forces have been fighting to take Falluja from insurgents. Their efforts are paying off. The military says 80 percent of that city is now under control but the fighting is far from over.

CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman joins me now to brief us on the very latest developments -- Gary.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, we've been monitoring the video coming in throughout the day from Falluja. And the range of emotions we've seen in these video feeds are overwhelming. Harrowing, violent scenes, combined with images of kindness are what we've been witnessing. Some of the most recent video shows the injured being helped by their fellow troops.

The latest information from military officials indicates 130 Americans have been wounded this week in Falluja, as well as 40 Iraqi troops. The death toll is at 27, 22 Americans and five Iraqi government soldiers. The U.S. says at least 600 insurgents have been killed.

Commanders did say 80 percent of the city is now in government hands, but the fighting is still chaotic and dangerous. This is what we've seen today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's still barriers there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that it or what?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: The man who took these pictures is a journalist with "TIME" Magazine who has told us some remarkable stories today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL WARE, "TIME": As morning came and the first light of day, the attacks began. They came fast and furious and have been unrelenting. They continued until just a few hours ago.

There were scenes of great chaos, scenes of great destruction. I witnessed acts of unimaginable horror. Yet, an even greater measure, I also witnessed acts of uncommon valor by the individuals that you see in this footage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: Now, just a short time ago, this armored personnel carrier with American troops caught fire. They continued to drive the APC before frantically abandoning it, afraid it was going to explode. One man aboard the APC was hurt, but this is what daily life is like during this urban warfare in the Sunni Triangle's most volatile city.

But then there's another image, that of soldiers handing out candy to children. Now, you may be wondering, what are children still doing in Falluja? Well, most civilians did evacuate, but it's estimated that hundreds of civilians remain behind. And it's impossible to know how many civilians have been killed or wounded. Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: And Gary, there was quite a tremendous effort on behalf of Iraqi troops and U.S. troops to warn civilians and get civilians out of the area before this fight took place, right?

TUCHMAN: There was plenty of notice for civilians to get out. But for some of them, they didn't want to leave. Others just couldn't leave. They had no way of doing it.

PHILLIPS: Gary Tuchman, thanks so much.

Now a closer look at one of the 22 Americans killed in that Falluja offensive. Reporter Dan Levitan (ph) of affiliate WJXT was there yesterday after loved ones got the visit that every military family dreads.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROLYN WOODS, JULIAN WOODS' MOTHER: My baby is gone. My baby is gone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Emotions overcome Carolyn Woods. The mother of Julian Woods dealing with the tragic loss of her youngest child. The difficult news coming to her west side home.

WOODS: When the doorbell rang this morning and I peeked out the door, and when I seen those two guys standing there in that white uniform, I just lost it. Because I didn't want to hear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Julian, just 22, was killed Wednesday during the U.S. assault on Falluja. A Navy corpsman, he was on the Iraqi battlefield with the Marines, other men and women he was charged with saving.

WOODS: I'm not mad. I'm not angry. I'm at peace with myself because my brother, he died for a cause.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His younger sister Alexis (ph) shares her love for her brother. The two actually graduated together from Ed White High before he joined the service in 2000.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're not twins, but he was my other half. And when he died, that's a part of me that's gone.

O.J. WOODS, JULIAN WOODS' BROTHER: I think he's a hero. Yes. He's my hero. He went out for -- at least he went for a good reason.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His brother O.J., several years older, a Navy sailor who was stationed with Julian in Virginia.

O. WOODS: I've got a lot of good memories. That's all. That's all I got now is good memories of my brother. I'm going to miss him a lot.

C. WOODS: On the days he felt he couldn't go on, "You can do it, son." I told him, "You are my hero." And he wrote me back and said, "No, mom, you are my hero. I get my strength from you."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Wow. That was Dan Levitan (ph) of CNN affiliate WJXT in Jacksonville.

HARRIS: Allies in war, now partners in a fresh push for peace. President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair met at the White House and pledged to stay the course in Iraq. Mr. Bush warned things could get tougher before the January elections.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As those elections draw near, the desperation of the killers will grow and the violence could escalate. Successful democracy in Iraq will be a crushing blow to the forces of terror, and the terrorists know it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Mr. Bush voiced new resolve in the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. He said Yasser Arafat's death brings new opportunities for a Palestinian state. Mr. Blair emphasized such a state must be based on democratic principles.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: And I think there is every possibility that we can do this with the energy and the will and the recognition that, in the end, it is only if the two states that we want to see living side by side are indeed democratic states, where the rule of law and human rights are respected in each of them, that a just peace could be restored.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The British prime minister is the first world leader to visit President Bush since his reelection.

Well, we've been showing you amazing video from the battle for Falluja.

PHILLIPS: And while the fighting is intense, the challenges for American troops may not stop once the fighting does. We're going to talk about it with our CNN military analyst right after a break.

HARRIS: And the challenge for those on the home front. We'll go to Camp Pendleton, where families are watching and waiting for word from their loved ones on the frontlines.

PHILLIPS: Also ahead, rocking the boat in the Scott Peterson trial. It was meant to be a defense exhibit, but it turns into a shrine to Laci Peterson. We're live from the courthouse.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Back now to the battle of Falluja and some of the challenges now and when it's over. CNN military analyst, retired Major General Terry Murray joins us from Washington with some insight.

Good to see you, General.

MAJ. GEN. TERRY MURRAY, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Take us into the mindset of the Marine. Once a Marine, always a marine. I know you are. The three-block war, and how that's taken 80 percent of Falluja to this point?

MURRAY: Very challenging environment to operate within, as you know, Kyra. What is required from the moment they enter the city is for them to move house-to-house, street-to-street, block-to-block, and ensure that they find all the insurgents or the guerrillas as they move through the city.

What you also encounter in an urban environment is a very different kind of battle. In many cases, all of the technological advantages of the attacker, the more capable force, in this case, coalition forces, our ability to see and engage targets at long range, is reduced because you are in an urban environment. And consequently, oftentimes you are confronted with your attacker at very, very close range, and indeed it becomes a close-in battle.

PHILLIPS: Now, the last close-in battle, and the largest offensive for the Marines that we remember -- and it went on for days, like Falluja -- was Baghdad. Can you even compare taking down Baghdad versus taking control of Falluja?

Obviously, uniformed soldiers versus guerrilla warfare. But do you see a lot of similarities or more differences?

MURRAY: The similarities, Kyra, is that both are urban environments. The difference here is -- and I think this was really crucial -- was that we had almost a quarter of a million people, civilians, evacuated from Falluja before the attack began.

Consequently, when we went into the city, when the coalition forces encountered the bad guys, they didn't have to differentiate between civilians and fighters. And this makes the battle much easier. You can, in fact, engage your targets much more quickly because you don't need to determine, are these civilians or are these guerrillas or foreign fighters?

PHILLIPS: After the conventional phase, what's next? Obviously, law and order.

Are the Iraqis ready for that? Can they take that on? Can the troops secure that environment once this fight is won?

MURRAY: That really is the $64,000 question. I think most military people would argue that this phase of the battle, while there have been tough fights from one block to the next, this was the easy phase. The hard part will be when a quarter of a million people again occupy this city, and when we decide to leave a stay-behind force, how many troops will we leave behind, and how well and how successful will these coalition forces be at maintaining law and order? I think what we can be certain of is, when the civilians come back, some of the guerrillas, maybe not in the same number as previously, maybe not the headquarters elements, but some of the guerrillas will return with the civilians, and then we'll have to maintain security in a very, very difficult environment.

PHILLIPS: So General, as a Marine, what did you think of this multinational force, where you had Army infantry, Army Special Operations and Marines working together, in addition to conditioning the Iraqi troops? Overall, effective, most effective?

MURRAY: As an outside observer, Kyra, I would say very, very effective. Of course, the Army, the Marine Corps, the Navy, the Air Force, we have been fighting jointly for decades. And especially for the last 20 years, since Goldwater-Nichols legislation about joint interoperability was enacted, we've been fighting jointly.

What we also saw here was the coalition piece with some 2,500, we believe, Iraqi fighters integrated into a force of about 13,000 or 14,000 men and women. And from what we can tell, watching from the outside, the -- the joint force did extremely well and continues to do well. And it appears also that the Iraqi coalition partners have done extremely well as we fought through the city.

The big question now is, what kind of force do you task organize to occupy Falluja after this conventional phase is done? How many of those forces will be Iraqis, and how successful will we continue to be at taming this very dangerous city?

PHILLIPS: General Terry Murray, thank you, sir, for your time.

MURRAY: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We want to go straight to Jane Arraf. She's embedded with the men and the women that General Murray used to command there in the area of Falluja.

Jane, bring us up to date on what you're witnessing and what's going on within the fight.

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Kyra, we've moved in with Army troops for the first time to the south of Falluja. They are continuing to take the city sector by sector. And this is the first time U.S. forces have gone into this area.

Now, it's oddly deserted, not a soul around, except for the gunmen continuing to fire at the troops. And the insurgents are well hidden, Kyra. They are hiding in alleyways, in buildings, even in tunnels.

One of the things the Army has been doing is launching airstrikes to destroy a series of tunnels, some of them stretching across entire streets, linking building to building. And that's part of the way insurgents have been able to survive, they say, these airstrikes that have been launched, as well as the pounding the city has taken.

They have literally gone underground. But the Army and Marines and Iraqi forces are now conducting search-and-attack operations, going block to block in some areas to see what they can do to end this quickly -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And Jane, you know just as well, you are there with the Army. I mean, this is what they train for, and that is that urban combat-type of atmosphere you've talked about, the booby traps and what the insurgents have tried to leave there for soldiers. Are they staying one step ahead of the bad guy? Are they able to find the IEDs or the booby traps or these other sources of terrorism?

ARRAF: It's challenging, Kyra, everywhere they turn. I mean, in the industrial sector that we came from, there are wires leading to homemade bombs, piles of anti-tank mines, mortars stacked up in trailers, bomb-making factories. It is absolutely astounding the number of bombs and potential bombs in that area.

And then moving further south, as we did today, one of the very difficult things is, although there are no civilians in the sector, which would make it much more difficult to fight the way they are fighting here, you just don't know where the fire is coming from. At one point there was fire seemingly coming from several different directions. And when you look out at a number of houses, unless you see some movement, you just don't know where the gunfire is. It is a very challenging environment.

They are keeping one step ahead. They've got a lot of heavy firepower, a lot of technology. But they are dealing with gunmen who are determined, who are hidden, and who have been getting ready, it seems, for months for this battle -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jane Arraf, you know that 360-degree battlefield just as well as the Army there, embedded in Falluja. Thank you so much. We'll continue to check in.

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