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Cleveland Mourns Marines; Insurgents Using Bigger Bombs; Embedded Journalist Shares Experience; Rescue Mission Launched for Russian Submarine

Aired August 05, 2005 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice. A city gathers. We are remembering Marines slain in the line of duty.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. A special edition of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Tears for the fallen, fears and prayers for those still standing and fighting and risking the ultimate sacrifice. As you may know, it's been a devastating week for U.S. Marine reservists in Iraq. Twenty-one killed since Monday in three attacks, most of them from Ohio, and most of those were from the same battalion.

A public memorial began last hour in Cleveland.

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PHILLIPS: We'll bring you extended excerpts in this special edition of LIVE FROM along with details of a new coalition offensive in volatile Anbar province. Officials say Quick Strike was in the works before those Marines were killed in the same general area.

One more casualty of the ongoing bloodshed, President Bush's poll numbers. Only 38 percent of Americans responding to an A.P. survey say they approve of Mr. Bush's handling of Iraq. Six in 10 say they disapprove.

In the meantime, more images of casualties passed under wraps no longer. The Pentagon has put out another batch of official photographs of flag-draped coffins and honor guards, having long resisted, claiming invasions of family's privacy.

CNN's Jamie McIntyre has more on that and on the new and potent tactics of Iraq's insurgents -- Jamie. JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, we are told by a Marine spokesman that that armored assault vehicle, amphibious vehicle that the Marines were riding in on Wednesday when they were hit with that deadly blast was, in fact, up armored. It had as many as 76 plates of additional armor on the sides, the top and the slope of the vehicle, but that was not enough to prevent the tragic consequences of that blast.

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MCINTYRE (voice-over): These pictures taken by an Associated Press photographer a day after show why the 14 U.S. Marines and their civilian interpreter never stood a chance. The force of the powerful bomb buried in a dirt road flipped the lightly armored amphibious assault vehicle, setting it on fire and trapping inside anyone not killed by the initial blast.

The 26-ton AAV is really designed for storming beaches, the traditional Marine Corps mission. Its thin armor provides protection against small arms fire but not much else.

And insurgents are adapting, building bigger bombs with sophisticated shaped charges to increase their lethality. Military officials say the doomed troop transport did have extra added armor but, judging from the size of the crater, it's not clear even a heavily armored 60-ton M-1 tank could have survived the blast.

BRIG. GEN. DONALD ALSTON, U.S. AIR FORCE: It's not just about the armor that you carry. It's about your tactics and it's about how you evolve and develop those and try to defend yourself before those things detonate, as well.

MCINTYRE: The deaths, along with four more announced Thursday, puts the four-day toll at at least 25 Americans, and nearly 50 have died over the past 10 days. That's the highest rate of U.S. casualties since the first week of the war in March of 2003.

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MCINTYRE: And military officials tell CNN, Kyra, that there is some evidence that some of those sophisticated shaped charges that have increased ability to penetrate armor may have been smuggled into the country, having been prefabricated outside of Iraq. Some suggestion that they might be tied to Hezbollah elements in the area, but Pentagon officials at this point have not been able to tie a bomb that was smuggled in from outside the country to any one of these particular blasts, but it does appear to be a dangerous trend -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jamie, I want to ask you about the flag-draped coffins, the photographs that we're seeing. There was so much controversy on whether they should be released or not, and now the Pentagon's releasing them.

MCINTYRE: Well, one of the things that was brought up in this lawsuit that was brought by a former CNN correspondent and now University of Delaware professor Ralph Begleiter, in conjunction with the National Security Project, is that many of these images were already released by the Pentagon in various forms.

These are images taken by military photographers. So they have been gradually, in response to a lawsuit with information requests, releasing some of those images.

But what the Pentagon hasn't changed is its policy banning media coverage of any of the return of those remains or any of these ceremonies that we saw in those photographs. We still have to rely on those pictures being taken by government or military photographers and then only being released long after the event as a result of a freedom of information request.

PHILLIPS: Jamie, thank you.

Back now to the heartland. Heartbroken in the wake of disproportionate tragedy. Today's service in Cleveland is likely the first of many for the fallen Ohio Marines.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My friend, we come here today with heavy hearts. Young men and women have lost their lives, and our eyes fill with tears. To all who are grieving, we embrace you in this time of loss and sorrow.

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH (D), OHIO: Oh, Lord, we know that you love all your people and that your will for all is peace. Teach us how to work for peace. Teach us how to love one another.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On behalf of Lima Company, my son J.D. Coleman and others who lived to fight and who have died fighting when their country called, for those who still have dreams and hopes, be one with those who make decisions about sending our military members to war and stay with them now and forever more. May we always support our troops, particularly in these difficult times. May God bless them now and forever more.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we send our soldiers, sailors, Marines and Coast Guard into harm's way, be with them and keep them in your care. Let us remember them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On behalf of my son, Marine Captain Jason Keith Minors (ph), who was killed three years ago, this day we remember with compassion your children who have lost their lives to war. Incline us to honor their memory, to dear heavenly father, with sincere pledge to seek peace and end conflict, solutions to world conflict.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there's injury, pardon. Where there's doubt, faith. Where there's despair, hope. Where there's darkness, light, where there's sadness, joy. Oh, divine master, grant that I may not seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

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PHILLIPS: So what is it really like living and working in western Iraq where the Marines made the ultimate sacrifice? Coming up I'm talking to Matthew Cox from the "Army Times." He's living the danger zone right now. His story, coming up.

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PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, when servicemen and women make the ultimate sacrifice how does it affect their comrades in arms? A retired Marine general who served in Iraq shares his stories.

Later on LIVE FROM, trapped under sea and running out of air. The U.S. Navy joins the rush to rescue a Russian submarine crew.

Monday on LIVE FROM, inside the war on cancer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I still haven't given up hope.

PHILLIPS: New drugs leading to new cures. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta with a special report.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More and more I'm developing a group of patients who are long-term survivors of this disease.

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PHILLIPS: We continue our special coverage now, "The Ultimate Sacrifice." Journalists also making a lot of sacrifices as they cover this war. Matthew Cox with the "Army Times" is embedded with U.S. troops in the volatile al Anbar province, the area we've been stalking so much about in the past couple of weeks. He's managed to get through to us by phone.

Can you hear me, OK, Matthew?

MATTHEW COX, "ARMY TIMES": Yes, Kyra, I can.

PHILLIPS: Well, I know that you are right there in the middle of the danger zone. Why don't you explain or describe for us and our viewers, first of all, where you are and with whom you're embedded.

COX: OK. Right now I'm right outside of a town called Rawa (ph), which is about 35 miles from the Syrian border. It's just above the Euphrates River to the north of it. The Marines are just to the south of it. I'm with -- I'm embedded with Bravo Company 3rd Battalion 21st Infantry Regiment, which is pat of the Stryker Brigade, 25th Infantry (ph), out of Mosul. PHILLIPS: Now, you know the area of Haditha, and I understand that you came pretty close with Marines who had been involved in the shootouts that had taking place. Is that right?

COX: Not that close. The units I'm with are working jointly with the Marines. They're doing coordination. The other day, on Monday, August 1, we -- our Bravo Company went closer into that area. We went about -- were about two miles from the Syrian border to the southwest of here. It was a town called Ardanharthan (ph) and there was some fighting there. A couple of suicide bomb attacks against us.

PHILLIPS: Well, and I want to talk about what Marines and soldiers are dealing with. But I understand since you brought up the suicide attacks, you actually got so close to a suicide attack that you were wounded. Can you tell me what happened? I understand we have some pictures. Describe to me how it all went down.

COX: Basically, we were in town. There was -- the one I was near was the second of -- the second car bomb attack. The first one happened about two hours earlier, and it came near a Stryker. It wounded three soldiers. The unit I was with was patrolling the area, looking.

They caught -- they came about on two insurgents who were -- yes, turned out to be insurgents -- that were digging in two prepared bombs, homemade bombs made of, each made of large caliber artillery shells. They caught them. Or they caught two of them. We were taking the detainees back to the Strykers. Myself and my "Army Times" photographer, James Lee, were at the rear of one Stryker vehicle that ran it down. We were getting ready to get armed.

What we didn't realize was there was -- there was a suicide car bomb approaching to the front of that vehicle. There was a soldier up in a hatch. He fired -- he fired at the vehicle. It exploded about 25 feet away from the front of the Stryker.

The blast -- the front of the vehicle took most of the blast, but the blast that came all the way around the vehicle. It knocked James and I off our feet. There was a huge cloud of dust. I caught a couple of pieces of shrapnel, two or three pieces of shrapnel, in the left leg.

PHILLIPS: Matthew, the military has to be there. Why are you sticking this out, considering how dangerous it is, and going through what you just went through a few days ago?

COX: It's my job. I work for "Army Times." It's an independent newspaper owned by Gannett. And we cover the U.S. military. We go where they go.

PHILLIPS: Are you getting frustrated with the insurgency? Are Marines and soldiers getting frustrated with the insurgency?

COX: I just think that this is the way it has been. I don't know. They get frustrated at times, but this unit I'm with has been here for about 10 months. They've got a month left. Eleven months. They've got a month left and they go home.

And they were in Mosul. They got called to come down here. It's tough. It's tough for them. I mean, they were inside. Basically it's a combat outpost. It's desert living, very intense. There's very few comforts here and there're going.

There was a patrol out of town in Rawa (ph), which is, you know, like I said, about two kilometers from us. There was another car bomb attack against a patrol. We saw the smoke cloud. I know he was hurt. But, it's just kind of a constant thing.

PHILLIPS: Unbelievable. How long do you expect to stay there, Matthew?

COX: I think we're probably going to be here in country another three weeks. You know, you never know, I guess. We'll see how it goes.

PHILLIPS: I'm being told we're just getting a picture of you when you were injured by that suicide bomb, Matthew and as we take a look at that, it really, once again, brings about the reality check of what all the men and women are going through right now.

And considering the Marines that have been killed, the large number of Marines that have been killed just within the past week, how has that affected the mood? How has that affected all branches of the military as you're out there, meeting all of them and dealing with this insurgency face-to-face?

COX: Well, I mean, we hear -- we hear reports once it goes on. We heard the one -- I mean, we heard the one about the seven Marines getting killed a few days before that.

It's hard. I mean, they don't like to hear about any service members getting killed, and we're in the same area. I think they just -- I think -- I talked to a lot of soldiers out there. I think they believe that they are fighting a war on terror here. They believe that the insurgents are coming from, you know, Syria and other places to come and fight Americans here.

Yes. The soldiers, they don't want to get killed here. They don't want their service members killed, but what I heard is they don't want it to be fought on American soil, either.

PHILLIPS: Of course. Nobody wants that.

Do you see this fight effective? Do you see the insurgency getting smaller? Do you see the attacks -- I mean, obviously, we hear about these attacks on a regular basis and we talk about them. But as you spend every breathing moment with these men and women, any glimpse of success, hope, something you can tell us that gives us faith in this fight right now?

COX: I think it's interesting, because this down here in the western part of the country is very open. There's a lot of open desert. There's a lot of ground to cover. There's not much out there. And I think they think it's a perfect place for insurgents to come and prepare. There are little towns surrounded by desert, like Rawa (ph).

And they believe that foreign fighters are coming in and they're using these towns. They bring in a lot of explosives. They prepare these car bombs. And then they go to bigger cities like Mosul and Baghdad.

We came in here July 17. You know, we were -- the first four days, you know, was fighting every day. We rolled in -- the first day of town we got ambushed. The second day there were a couple of suicide car bomb attacks. I was in, Jeff Lee and myself with Stryker. And another one came pretty close to us and exploded.

Still, but then it got a little better. It started getting a little better. You know, they were trying to talk to people at first. And people were saying, just like, everything's fine here. There's no problem. And they were obviously intimidated, and now they're starting to come out more.

Some of them -- a lot of them left town and now they're starting to come back. I think the insurgency, they've pulled out of this town, because it's now controlled by U.S. and Iraqi forces. And they want to go somewhere else like to a town that we went, you know, to the west, Syrian border. They were there.

And, you know, the people are coming out. And you know, they're starting to talk to the U.S. military now, saying, well, at least acknowledge that yes, there were insurgents here and, you know, yes, there's a weapons cache here or there.

So little steps. And also, it does seem like the insurgency has used this place as kind of a safe haven. And, by the way they're coming on with the -- their attacks, how bold they are, they don't like when the coalition forces come in here. It throws them off balance a little.

PHILLIPS: Well, the insurgency has got to go. So we continue to hope that they throw off the balance of what they're -- what they're doing.

Matthew Cox, we respect your bravery. We thank you so much for your time. Continue to keep us updated on your columns in the "Army Times" and also your blog. We've been following them both. Thanks, Matthew.

COX: Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: Well, as we remember these Marines that have died, we also think about every soldier, sailor and aviator killed in this war since it began. We're also reminded of the friends, families and fellow fighters who are feeling the loss.

This brings me to our next guest. Lieutenant General Earl Hailston was in charge of all U.S. Marine forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom. I had the honor to meet and interview him as he prepared for war.

But what I remember the most about General Hailston was his intimate connection with his Marines. He proudly shared with me hundreds of pictures of himself with his men and women about to go into battle.

Retired Lieutenant General Earl Hailston joins me live from Washington to talk more about the human toll that this war is taking.

General, it's such an honor to see you and talk to you again.

LT. GEN. EARL HAILSTON (RET.), U.S. MARINE CORPS: Hello, Kyra. It's nice to talk to you. I'd like to begin my remarks by saying that my heart and sympathies go out to the families that have been watching on your presentation in Ohio and actually across the nation. My sympathy is with them. I lift them in my prayers.

PHILLIPS: And you know what's amazing about you, and you know I feel this way, because I was very moved by the time that I met you overseas. And the first thing you shared with me was not necessarily tactics and strategy and how you were going forward with this war, but the men and women that were fighting this war. And you did show me hundreds of pictures.

You have made such a personal connection with so many of your Marines. Tell me why you got so close them.

HAILSTON: Well, you get close Marines. You get close to soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines because of the phenomenal job that they're doing for their nation. You know, nobody requires them to serve. And they're doing this, not to get rich; they're doing it for their nation. And somebody that makes that sacrifice for their country deserves all of our love and respect.

PHILLIPS: When you would get word that you lost one of your Marines, tell me what went through your mind and how you handled that and how you approached it and what was the first move that you made, besides that first prayer you would take?

HAILSTON: Well, I mean, it was -- it's an impact of losing a family member. At that time I probably looked at the perspective of what I was doing when you and I were together over there. I looked at it first as a Marine and second as a friend. And last, because you cannot detach yourself as a father of a son or daughter.

Since I retires -- since I retired, I listen to this. I think that is just exactly reversed. I have to think about these young men and women, the duty that they're doing. And I think of it as a parent, a proud parent. Then I think of it as a friend and last as a Marine, but still as a Marine.

So my very first thought has to be, you know, put a name to it. I need a name. And I think that takes me to congratulations to you and the news reporting for what -- what took place yesterday. We -- or the day before when some names were presented. On behalf of the veterans who have fought from Vietnam until now, I mean, you have personalized that, and it's very important that we continue to uplift those names, those that can't be mentioned by the person anymore, but we must keep them alive and repeat it.

PHILLIPS: I tell you, I wish I could name every single name. We're talking more than 1,800 names now. And I remember you telling me even during Vietnam when you were flying jets that there were so many people dying every day and it was nearly impossible to keep up with naming all those names.

But tell our viewers and even tell those that may not have a loved one overseas why it is so important to remember the name and the individual that's over there fighting, because it affects all of us, what they're doing over there.

HAILSTON: Well, it does affect all of us. It's very important that we remember these names.

First of all, across the nation, as a nation, particularly for those of us who have had the uniform on, though, we are bound together forever because of combat. We've served together, and it's us who have shared the pain, the wounds and the suffering. And this cannot be forgotten.

It's why Marines and soldiers and sailors and airmen get together and have reunions and talk about time that has passed. We must remember that history.

But tenfold more important is the mission and the -- it's incumbent upon us who are here to lift up the names of those who have made that ultimate sacrifice, those who have given their lives to their country, whose mouths have been silenced. And that's why it's important. It's important to remember that they were there doing and serving their country in a selfless manner.

It's amazing that we have such phenomenal young men and women. I'm grateful to the nation for it. And I will tell you it is a service that totally fulfills and satisfies the soul, and I'm glad we continue to have them.

PHILLIPS: General, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, I remember you telling me one of the most memorable moments for you is when you saw your Marines actually enter Baghdad and take down that statue of Saddam Hussein. I remember -- I remember the moment. I remember talking to you. Take me back there for a second and just tell me how that felt and what you were thinking after all that training and preparation.

HAILSTON: Well, I kept thinking -- I was watching it on the monitor just as you were. And my mind was evenly divided. It was one, "Oh, my God, what's Tommy Franks going to say to me as the American flag goes up in Baghdad?" Something we've been cautioned against doing at the time.

And the other half of my body is a former enlisted Marine and very proud of what we were doing along with the Army, who was right there with us and shoulder to shoulder. Go and get them and trying to yell out instructions of how to get that statue down faster and the flag up higher.

PHILLIPS: And when you talked to them after this, what did you say to them? I remember, you said the energy was just so intense, when you finally got to address them. Do you remember your first words?

HAILSTON: Well, first of all, the thing I remember the most, I have to tell you, the Marine Corps is a small family. The young officer in charge of that detachment at one time in his life dated my daughter. So he was very proud to send a picture and jab me as the general, saying, "We're real proud we were here to do this. I hope I didn't cause you too much pain. But here I am." And, of course, we remained close friends to this day.

The second thing that I told him was keep up the good work. I was very proud of them.

PHILLIPS: Finally, I have to ask you, you know, we are seeing so many people die in this war. And -- and we can't forget that and we have to keep talking about that. But at the same time I know you have very strong feelings about why the U.S. military needs to finish this fight.

HAILSTON: I certainly do. You know, these men are over there and women are over there as volunteers, but they're not over there as mercenary volunteers. They're there for a mission. They're there to defend democracy and freedom, and they talk to these people on the street.

I'm drawn to a statement in the newspaper the other day of an Iraqi citizen after Iraqi terrorists and insurgents had bombed his citizens and he said how long will this go on? We must protect ourselves and clear it. They're over there to give some stability, give some security and hope for economic growth and they are willing to make these sacrifices for other people and that's what America is all about and we can't quit. We have done so much. We are winning. Don't let the words of al Qaeda leaders who are hiding and scared and on the run. Don't let them set our national policy.

PHILLIPS: Retired General Earl Hailston. It's such an honor to se you and i can't thank you enough today. It's an absolute pleasure.

HAILSTON: It's my pleasure, Kyra. God bless you.Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Thank you. As we wrap up our look at the ultimate sacrifice. We want to remember that those who died this week were not only military men and women, but also sons, brothers and husbands. CNN's David Clinch with a closer look at three of them.

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DAVID CLINCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He was the youngest marine killed this week in Iraq. Lance Corporal Chris Dyer was 19 years old, barely a man, but a brave marine. He graduated from high school near Cincinnati with honors last year. He played the viola in school orchestra and was a member of the varsity dive team. Dyer's father said his son thrived on challenges and he joined the marines because of his sense of duty and the challenge to be one of the best.

Dyer had plans to attend Ohio State University this January. His parents last saw their son when he was on leave. His father remembers a proud and mature son who said he couldn't be happier with the way his life had turned out.

Lance Corporal Michael Cifuentes wanted to teach. He had a psychology degree and was enrolled in the math education masters program at Miami University. But he was forced to put it on hold when his reserve unit was called to duty in January. Cifuentes died with members of that unit when their amphibious assault vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb Wednesday. He was 25 years old.

His grieving family is now struggling to cope with their loss.

In civilian life Sergeant Bradley Harper was a dedicated police officer and he was a husband. Harper had served nine months in Iraq when he was killed Wednesday. A trainee at the police academy says Harper was positive, always committed and gave 110 percent.

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PHILLIPS: A race against time. A U.S. Navy crew packing to leave this hour for a rescue mission in the Pacific just of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. A Russian mini sub is trapped on the bottom of the ocean. Seven Russian sailors onboard, their oxygen said to be running out. Here's our CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr with the latest. Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, according to recent statements in the last couple of hours from Russian navy officials, they are trying to toe that sub to shallower water and the U.S. Navy is pursuing and continuing with the international rescue e for the that is being assembled.

Japan is trying to send some help. Some other count rose are looking for help, but it is the U.S. Navy that is getting underway at this hour. Two remote piloted underwater vehicles, 30 navy personnel being put onboard a C5 in San Diego, California. They will begin the long trip across the pacific. You see some of the technology here that is being assembled. They will go to the Pacific coast of Russia. These remote piloted vehicles will then be sent out to a Russian navy ship with the U.S. Navy crew. They will be dropped over the side and try and see if they can untangle this mini sub from the fishing nets and cables that appears to be caught up on, bring it to the surface and get those seven navy Russian sailors to safety. Earlier today in San Diego, some U.S. Navy personnel talked about the rescue mission they are undertaking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (video clip): Our only avenue here is to get a vehicle down there that can cut the cable away and they should be able to get to the surface then.

STARR: This is really unprecedented, Kyra. According to U.S. Navy officials it was the middle of the night when officials from the Russian navy called the U.S. Naval attache in Moscow, said they had seven sailors in trouble. They got a hold of the U.S. Navy pacific fleet in Hawaii. There were meetings, planning sessions throughout the night to assemble this team and get them underway. Their hope now is to get there in time to save that Russian crew. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: All right. Barbara Starr, thank you so much. That is a story we're going to continue to follow. Matter of fact, we were just talking to one of the piles of that rescue crew, the one that will be flying that transport plane to help rescue members in that sub. He's pilot Ryan Lindsay. He just went before the cameras and this is what he had to say.

RYAN LYNDSAY, U.S. AIR FORCE PILOT (video clip): Well, personally, I was ready to go see my family, but when we got the word that the Russians were in need we were more than thrilled to be able to do something to help out a friend.

PHILLIPS: Saving those Russian crew members is the ultimate goal. We are going to follow every minute of it and bring you more information as we get it. Quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.

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KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kathleen Hays at the New York Stock Exchange where Wall Street is focusing on a better-than- expected jobs report. The economy added 207,000 jobs in July, economists had expected a gain of about 180,000. The unemployment rate held steady at five percent. Along with the job surge came higher wages, though, and that's signing (ph) concerns about inflation and higher interest rates.

Look out if you're taking out a mortgage any time soon. Long- term bond rates are higher and that means 30-year mortgage rate up now for a fourth straight week could rise even more. Stock stocks are broadly lower. The Dow Industrials down 34 points. The NASDAQ Composite down almost half a percent.

And Chrysler will soon be using an odd couple to advertise its cars. Lee Iacocca, the company's former chairman, will appear in ads with rap star Snoop Dogg as the automaker tries to reach a younger group of buyers. In a "USA Today" interview, Iacocca called Snoop Dogg, quote, "a good kid."

He plans to donate his earnings from the ad campaign to a foundation benefiting diabetes research.

That's the latest from Wall Street, more LIVE FROM coming up right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Health news now. Researchers say that people with prehypertension have triple the risk of a heart attack compared to those with a healthy blood pressure. A person with prehypertension has a slightly elevated blood pressure reading between 120 over 80 and 139 over 89. Findings are published in the journal"Stroke."

And now the answers to life's burning medical questions such as why do men have nipples? CNN's Jeanne Moos takes that and more to the men who wrote the book.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORREPONDENT: If you've ever wondered why you yawn when someone else does, if you've ever questioned why you have an innie rather than an outtie. If your navel gazing has wandered north of the belly button to ponder.

Why do men have nipples?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're asking me?

MOOS: Now you can ask them. The guys who wrote this: "Hundreds of Questions You'd Only Ask a Doctor after Your Third Martini."

Does urinating on a jellyfish sting stop the burn?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

MOOS: Wrong. She must have been watching "Friends."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It hurt! It hurts it hurts!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to have to pee on it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It doesn't hurt that bad!

MOOS: Dr. Billy Goldberg says forget urine, use vinegar. Dr. Goldberg is an emergency room physician who teamed up with a humorist to write the book.

DR. BILLY GOLDBERG, "WHY DO MEN HAVE NIPPLES": People par as me at parties and I get phone calls in the middle of the night from my family when someone's tongue has turned black from drinking Pepto Bismol.

MOOS: Folks ask things like, can you lose a contact lens in the back of your head? Nope.

GOLDBERG: It's a closed space. So it can't really go anywhere.

MOOS: Is it bad to crack your knuckles.

Not really, you're just popping air bubbles, though you might stretch your ligaments. Let's get down to basic. Why does sweat stink? It's basically water.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It goes through a lot of crap to get out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe because it's something that you ate.

MOOS: Sweat stinks when it interacts with bacteria on the surface of the skin. Maybe you've wondered if it's dangerous to hold in a sneeze.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You might blow your brains out your ears or something like that.

MOOS: More or less true.

Sneezes have been clocked at up to 100 miles an hour. As for contagious yawning, they think it has something to do with humans subconsciously imitating one other.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like the fact that animals yawn. I never knew that. I found out that fish yawn.

MOOS: We've seen a yawning two-headed turtle where one head yawned and the other followed suit.

It may be full of bathroom humor, but the book has gotten the number three on the Amazon best-seller list. Look out, Harry Potter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're coming to get you.

MOOS: But why do men have nipples.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The men need something to play with as well, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For piercings?

MOOS: For piercings? That's excellent!

Actually all embryos develop nipples until the male chromosome kicks in at about six weeks.

Co-author Mark Leyner showed of his embryonic souvenirs.

MOOS: That's a third.

MARK LEYNER, "WHY DO MEN HAVE NIPPLES?": That's a little thing. That's not actually a third one.

MOOS: If you ask most guys why men have nipples.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. Maybe I'm a morphodite.

MOOS: A morphodite, okay, thank you. Morphodite.

There's the guy who finds the nipple inexplicable. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: Okay. Your medical questions are answered by our Dr. Sanjay Hupta Saturday and Sunday mornings 8:30 Eastern on HOUSECALL. This weekend, former President Bill Clinton is Dr. Gupta's guest. He'll talk about how being a fat band boy shaped his life and will answer viewer emails. This as Clinton takes on the problem of childhood obesity. It's sure to be a hot one. We'll be back right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We are watching for the departure of an air force cargo jet racing that is racing to the rescue of a stranded Russian submarine. A U.S. Navy crew and a pair of so-called Super Scorpios are deploying from Coronado Island just of San Diego. Lieutenant Ryan Perry is on the phone with me to talk about the mission here. Can you hear me okay, Lieutenant Perry?

LT. RYAN PERRY, U.S. NAVY (on phone): I can. Yes, ma'am.

PHILLIPS: I appreciate your time today. Let's start by explaining to our viewers a little background behind these rescue vehicles. The Super Scorpios and their capabilities.

PERRY: Sure. The Super Scorpio is a remotely vehicle. It can submerge down to 5,000 feet. It weighs about 4500 pounds. It's quite a piece of equipment and once it's down there it has two manipulators which are capable of lifting up to 250 pounds a piece. So it will be able to affect the removal of the cables and the netting and it also has the capability of cutting at least an inch worth of steel as well as the video camera so that the personnel operating the machinery can witness everything that's going to.

PHILLIPS: Wow! So who's actually controlling the Super Scorpios? Is it somebody obviously, outside of water, right? It's submerged and there's somebody on another ship or who's controlling them?

PERRY: Well, that's right. We're actually putting a team of 30 personnel together, they'll be shipping out on the C-5 and they'll be able to control the ROV remotely from a Russian surface ship. So our navy, U.S. Navy personnel will be able to affect that from the Russian service vessel.

PHILLIPS: Wow! That's pretty incredible. So does someone actually establish communications with the crew inside this Russian sub to find out their exact location and then this vehicle would go down and actually I mean, cut into the sub to try and pull out the crew members?

PERRY: No. Actually, if communications were to be made, that would be through the Russian Navy. What our vessels would be able to do is go down beneath and hopefully free the vessel from the constraints that it's in right now and the vessel, the Russian vessel will be able to come to the surface on its own. Basically, we would just be removing the harness that it's under right now so that it's able to come back up to the surface and then be -- the rescue be ...

PHILLIPS: I'm sorry, go ahead. Did you want to finish your thought?

PERRY: No, that was it, maam.

PHILLIPS: Okay. Well, we're actually, Lieutenant Perry, watching a live picture right now on the tarmac there in - it's Coronado, right? That's where these cargo planes are?

PERRY: That's correct.

PHILLIPS: Okay. And we're watching them actually load up the cargo plane and the crew is getting ready. How long will it take them to actually get to the location of where this Russian sub crew is? Do you know?

PERRY: We expected this flight to be about ten hour, ma'am, give or take and once the plane arrives, the Russian Navy will truck the vessels over to their surface ship. The surface ship will get underway and then we'll be ready to go.

PHILLIPS: Tell me about this relationship between the Russian navy and the U.S. Navy. It's got to be pretty incredible to be able to just pick up the phone and say hey, we need help and see such a quick response time. I mean this, has been an ongoing relationship for quite some time hasn't it?