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Tensions Erupt at Gaza Synagogues Over Withdrawal; Bank Robbery Investigation Yields Possible Terror Case; Troops in Iraq Try to Root Out Bombs; Pope Benedict XVI Returns to Germany for World Youth Day

Aired August 18, 2005 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR, LIVE FROM: Conflicts and clashes. Riot police move in on Israeli protesters at a synagogue. We're live from Gaza.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out! Get out!

PHILLIPS: On the front lines with American soldiers in Iraq, on guard for insurgent bombs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She knew that she was going to die and that's when he slipped the panty hose over her, around her neck and strangled her.

PHILLIPS: The horrific methods of a serial killer and family members are set to speak at a sentencing.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta I'm Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

PHILLIPS: Extremely difficult and very painful. An Israeli army officer describes the ongoing showdown in Gaza, and hold out settlers and hard-line sympathizers versus sympathetic, and in many cases deeply conflicted troops and police. The day began with 12 of the territories 21 settlements emptied out since Monday. Seven more to be swept, cleared, vacated before the start of the Sabbath at sundown tomorrow.

But nowhere have the images and more dramatic, the emotions more intense than at the synagogues. CNN's John Vause has case in point, in Kfar Darom, where it's just about -- just past, actually 8 p.m., that time there.

John, describe what it is like now. We've been watching the pictures all morning.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INT'L CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hello, Kyra.

It's all winding down here now. There's still some resistance. Still lots and lots of police men and women here who are trying to clear out the synagogue. We were told earlier today that there could be as many as 200 protesters, infiltrators into the Gaza strip who are inside that synagogue.

As the day unfolded many of those protesters decided to leave quietly. They were carried out by Israeli police, one by one, though, not kicking and screaming. They were, in fact, young women and young children inside that synagogue. And then the protesters who gathered on the rooftop of the synagogue were in fact given an ultimatum delivered to them by the Israeli police.

They had ten minutes to get out. Otherwise they would be dragged out. They elected to stay. That's when the violence erupted. The police moved though, they were using water canons to try to push the protesters away from the roof. They had strung out razor wire around the rooftops. They found out later on they had actually armed themselves with some kind of acid, some kind of acid mix.

Police later told me it was a mix of paint, water, and acid, which they are throwing on police. Police were running from the synagogue in their underwear at one stage trying to get this acid off them. A number of police were hurt in this exchange as were a number of the protesters.

If I look up here right now we can still see there are a couple of protesters still left on the roof. These are just the last ones who remain. They will be brought down eventually and taken away. The protesters who are involved in this violent confrontation with the police, we are told, will face criminal charges in all of this, as opposed to the settlers who remained after the deadline.

They left peacefully. Some were carried out but none of them we're told will be charged. These protesters, who are not from Kfar Darom, will face some kind of criminal charges -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: John Vause continuing to follow that story there in Kfar Darom. Thank you so much, John.

I'm just getting word that we actually have a Palestinian on the line. We're going to go to that in just a moment. But we are going to talk to Khalil Bashir, who evidently is hold up in his home right now, as this is ongoing. We want to give you more of that Palestinian side, that human angle, of course, as we watch what is happening in that Jewish settlement, where John Vause was.

But before we get to that, phone interview, let's talk about the Palestinians, of course. They are watching the scenes here very close by, with very keen interest with very different views concerning how this day came about and where they go from here. Let's go right to CNN's Ben Wedeman. He's in Khan Yunis, elsewhere in Gaza.

I think it's important, Ben, as we do look at these live pictures and what is happening where John Vause is, that we do point out, you know, at least a part of the history here, and the struggle from both points of view, Palestinian and Israeli.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INT'L CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kyra.

Palestinians are watching this drama that's unfolding in settlements like Kfar Darom with a certain amount of satisfaction. They feel that these settlements were set up illegally. The Jewish settlers were brought in, given land that didn't belong to them in the first place. This applies not just, of course to the Gaza Strip but also to the West Bank where there are approximately 230,000 Jewish settlers in that area.

Palestinians are looking forward to return of what they believe is their land. And certainly I spent a lot of time today here in Khan Yunis, which is on the front lines with the settlement block. Many people are saying that they want to, A, be able to live in peace. B, they want to have the ability to move around in a way they didn't before.

So many Palestinians, Kyra, are feeling a historic injustice is being undone despite, of course, the trauma of the Jewish settlers and the drama that is going on within the Jewish settlements -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ben, looking forward and talking about the future, taking in account the Palestinian point of view here, the Palestinians also need to stick to their part of the agreement here. And that is to rid terrorism in these parts. The economic development is so important overall, correct? And, also, getting rid of terrorism that is plagued these areas for so many years.

WEDEMAN: Well, it's important to point out the Israeli pull-out from the Gaza Strip is actually not an agreement. It's a unilateral decision taken by the Israeli government for their own reasons to pull the settlements out.

The important sort of -- not agreement -- but the piece of paper that's out there is the so-called road map for peace that was drawn up by the United States, the European Community, the United Nations and Russia, which says one of the obligations on the Palestinian Authority is to dismantle and disarm the militant groups.

I can tell you just a couple of hours ago here in Khan Yunis, I saw hundreds of these militants parading through the street. There was no attempt to disarm them or in any way interrupt their activities. That is the fundamental problem of the Palestinian Authority that they don't have the willpower, apparently, or the weaponry to confront these groups, like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which are more and less a law unto themselves. That's the real challenge facing the Authority. Economic issues is really secondary to that -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Point well made. Ben Wedeman, thank you so much.

Now I'm being told we have a Khalil Bashir, a Palestinian -- evidently a Palestinian school principal, that is not far from where these protests are taking place.

Mr. Bashir, can you hear me okay?

KHALIL BASHIR, VIA PHONE: Yes, OK.

PHILLIPS: Why don't you tell me where exactly you are. As this is all unfolding what is going through your mind?

BASHIR: I am now confined in my room surrounded by soldiers in the ground floor. Some of them are now asleep. The others are watching me. And listening to me while I speak with you.

My house is very close to Kfar Darom, but sorry, I cannot see the process of their withdrawal because I'm confined.

PHILLIPS: You, of course, know what is going on. Why don't you tell me what the soldiers have told you. Why are they there? Why are you restricted there to stay inside your home?

BASHIR: They didn't give me any interpretation for my restriction. But I have been restricted for more than four years now. What is new nowadays is being restricted day and night. And they didn't tell me why they came, but they told me that they will confine me for three weeks.

PHILLIPS: Mr. Bashir, I want to make sure I ask you this, too. While this is happening and while this is taking place, and while we are seeing these protests and the Jewish settlers having to leave this land, is this a feeling of justice for you? For the Palestinian people? And do you believe the Palestinian people will now take up and follow this road map for peace while seeing what is happening here in Gaza? Will Palestinians work hard to root out terrorism and the militants?

BASHIR: First of all, I would like to tell you that I am extremely happy to get back my freedom. And I do hope that my people will meditate, be wise enough to put an end to violence, and to look forward to healthy and peaceful relations with the Israelis.

I do think that it is not time to gloat over another's grief, or to give vent to one's anger. It is time for forgiveness and tolerance. I do want this occasion to be a starting point for coexistence, peaceful coexistence with the other side, because we are destined to live together.

I do hope that the next step after the Israeli withdrawal is build up a healthy relations. Because, as I told you, we are neighbors, we are destined to live together. I do believe that the Palestinian Authority will succeed in putting an end to any violent actions against the Israelis, because this will pave the way for historical reconciliation and to achieve our goals in liberating the West Bank and building our independent state.

Our historical responsibility now is to put an end to uproot violence, to put an end to hatred, and replace them with brotherhood, good neighborhood, love, and peace.

PHILLIPS: Khalil Bashir, pleasure talking to you, sir. Thank you for your time.

More LIVE FROM right after a quick break.

Next on LIVE FROM, tracking terror in Los Angeles. Investigators say a string of stick-ups reveals a possible homegrown terror cell.

Ahead on LIVE FROM:

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out! Get out!

PHILLIPS: Finding bombs in Iraq. Meet the men on the front lines and a soldier who lost his leg but not his positive spirit.

Later on LIVE FROM, a good Samaritan's twist of fate. A woman stops to help the driver of a wrecked car and makes a stunning discovery.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't believe it. I just -- it still gives me the goose bumps.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well the legal issue is modest, even a formality, but the details, the monster savagery are almost beyond comprehension. We're live at the sentencing hearing of the BTK serial murder and self-described monster, Dennis Rader, in Wichita, Kansas. CNN's Jonathan Freed is covering it for us -- Jon.

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, the morning session wrapped up here in the sentencing hearing of Dennis Rader. What we heard were the last of the prosecution witnesses. And Kyra, what the prosecution here, the D.A.'s office is trying to do is show the court that Dennis Rader was deeply twisted and evil, as an individual. Saying just the fact, the knowledge of the 10 murders that he has confessed to between 1974 and 1991 weren't enough. They really need to go deeper and demonstrate to the court how twisted he really was.

In order to do that they brought forward a number of exhibits including photos of Dennis Rader's bondage equipment. They also say he liked to dress in women's clothing including on occasion Kyra clothing taken from some of his victims.

Now, at one point, he even painted a woman's mask, which he put on the body of Dolores Davis, which was his 10th victim in 1991. Let's hear the police talk about that mask and give us a bit more context now. This happened just a short while ago in court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. SAM HOUSTON, SEDGWICK CO. SHERIFF'S DEPT. : I asked him did she wear the mask. He said, yeah. And he stated, He said, that's my mask. And I said, Your mask? He said, Yeah, that's my mask. I wear that mask, too.

And he stated that -- I had I guess a strange look on my face. He said, well I pose myself in bonding pictures with this mask.

He told me that he would wear the mask to do his sexual fantasy stuff. His self-bondage, he put the mask on, wear that. He would also take pictures of it. So I looked more female and -- that he looked like he was in distress. Like he was a victim or that he was posing as one of his own victims.

FREED: Now, Kyra, in the courtroom itself there was a large screen on which they have been projecting photographs of the victims, as well as photographs of the evidence that's been taken. One of the things that the prosecution put together today was a collage of what they call the many faces of Dennis Rader. Again, trying to emphasize, graphically, the point they are trying to make talking about the various depths of what they call his evil and his twisted personality.

Now one thing that came out in court today, as well, we heard this from the head of the BTK investigation, Lt. Ken Landwehr, we heard that Dennis Rader told police after he was arrested, and during questioning, that he was planning and 11th murder. And that he suggested that was going to be his last and a very elaborate display of the body. Let's listen to that.

KEN LANDWEHR, BTK TASK FORCE: He discussed with us in this interview of his last homicide, the 11th. His 11th homicide was going to be one where he was going to wrap the victim completely in plastic. She would, of course, be strangled. He would stretch her. He would put eye bolts in the ceiling and he would tie ropes to both her ankle, neck, and everything and would stretch her out and put her on display at her house so that when we walked in that we would see this display of this victim, which he intended at that time to possibly be his last.

FREED: Kyra, it's been difficult for us to figure out exactly how far this case is going to go. When we think, quote/unquote, we have seen it all, it just seems to keep getting stranger and stranger. Some of the images that we have seen today include very graphic images of Dennis Rader dressed up in women's clothing and in self-bondage. Something which he has talked about with police as being very much involved in and engaged in. We keep seeing an assortment of photos, some of which are a bit too graphic for us to display on television.

People have had a hard time getting their heads around the close- up of the victims we have been seeing. And then suddenly these are juxtaposed against pictures of Dennis Rader. The prosecution is really going all out to try to paint a picture of what his personality is all about.

The District Attorney Noella Folsom (ph), has also been taking a couple of jabs at Rader in court today, Kyra. Calling him just a dogcatcher, at one point, which was part of his job when he was arrested. And it is interesting on that note, to say that police pointed out today that Rader told him he practiced strangulation on cats and dogs, Kyra. And that he noticed -- made note that it was easier to kill the animals than it was to kill a human being -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Oh, Jonathan Freed. I don't really want to thank you for that report. It's pretty disturbing, but interesting nonetheless. Jonathan, thank you so much.

A series of gas station stick-ups in L.A., not exactly a major news story, or is it? CNN's Kelli Arena says a chance clue may indicate something far more significant.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For weeks this past spring police in the Los Angeles area were working what they thought was a typical criminal case. Several gas stations were hit by two armed masked men demanding money.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They take the money and all the money in the drawer and they go out quickly.

ARENA: During one of those robberies officials say one of the suspects dropped a cell phone, leading investigators to these men; 21- year-old Gregory Patterson and 25-year-old Lavar Washington, who was on parole for robbery. They were put under surveillance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were staking them out. Did witness them commit an armed robbery.

ARENA: They were later arrested. That's when the criminal investigation turned into an FBI terrorism probe. Law enforcement officials tell CNN when Washington's home was searched police found so-called Jihadist material, documents with quote, "radical Islamic rhetoric", some with positive mentions of Osama bin Laden. An Imam at the mosque both men attended said Washington mostly kept to himself.

IMAM JUNAID KHARSTANY, MOSQUE LEADER: He was a very secretive sort of individual, a very recluse sort of a person, didn't have much to do with many of the people of this congregation. Just prayed, leave, greet you once in a while. They would leave.

ARENA: Officials say investigators also found what some say may be a list of potential targets in the Los Angeles area, including three National Guard facilities, the Israeli consulate, and two synagogues. Rabbis in the area say police informed them of a possible threat.

RABBI ABRAHAM COOPER, SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER: They also made it clear that the immediate threat had in fact been neutralized with the arrest of these two individuals. And that all the steps that were being taken were obviously precautionary, because of the kind of world that we live in.

ARENA: Law enforcement officials stress at this point they cannot draw any concrete conclusions. But are obviously trying to figure out whether they stumbled upon a homegrown terrorist cell. Lawyers for both men deny any terror connection.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's nothing that I've seen that would make me think my client is part of any terrorist plot, nothing.

ARENA: Authorities are also looking into the possibility the men are connected to an organization called J.I.S. Investigators say it's a little known domestic extremist group. Government officials believe the group may have a minor presence in at least one California prison, the California State Prison, Sacramento, where Washington had served time.

RODERICK HICKMAN, CALIF. DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS: We have, and will continue to be, very aggressive in our investigations and prosecution of any group that might threaten the safety and security of our country or the state.

ARENA: Officials say investigators are talking with two inmates at the maximum security prison, Peter Martinez and Kevin James. Law enforcement sources say they may have information about possible Jihad recruiting there.

(On camera): Officials say there are about a dozen or so individuals of interest in this case, at least one, a Pakistani national, has already been arrested.

(On camera): Investigators won't be making any public statements until they know exactly what they are dealing with. Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well Kelli Arena joins us next hour for a preview of another report she'll have in "The Situation Room." She will take us to Quantico, Virginia, where the FBI is on a mission to recruit and train a new breed of agent.

CNN is committed to providing the most reliable coverage of news that affects your security. Stay tuned to CNN for the latest information day and night.

Straight ahead, Pope Benedict heads home on his first trip as head of the Roman Catholic Church. We're live in Cologne, Germany.

Just ahead, a war protesting mom said she got no comfort from President Bush. Other moms of soldiers killed in action have a different story. That's ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Live pictures now as you can see, the pope in the famous Pope Mobile from Cologne. You know the great novelist Thomas Wolf said, you can't go home again. But, as you can see here, Pope Benedict XVI, is giving it a try as he returns to his native Germany for World Youth Day.

It's actually the pope's first trip abroad as head of the Roman Catholic Church, although he's on his home turf he has big shoes to fill with this particular crowd. Pope John Paul II really connected with the youth. CNN's Alessio Vinci joins us live from Cologne.

Alessio, as we look at these pictures, let's talk about the response. You saw how the youth reacted to Pope John Paul II. How are they relating now to the new pope?

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN INT'L CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, he left Germany as an archbishop more than 20 years ago. And now he's returning, Joseph Ratzinger is returning to Cologne in Germany as a pope. Although this is a very different country than the one he left 20 years ago, far less Catholics, far less Catholic, less church goers. But nevertheless by the hundreds of thousands they came here to Cologne to have an opportunity to meet with this new pope.

And so far the response appears to be quite positive, although, of course, this is a big test for the new pope because, obviously, the comparison with his predecessor, John Paul II is inevitable. Everybody remembers his trips and they were the centerpiece -- were the centerpieces of his papacy, now Benedict XVI is taking his first international trip arriving in Germany, not his choice, of course. World Youth Day, and the venue here was decided long before he was elected pope.

Nevertheless a good response here. The pope knows this is an opportunity to address not only the young crowds of Catholics, joining here, but also those that are still searching for God.

PHILLIPS: Alessio, we're going to stay on the live pictures for just a moment. You know, you talk about less church goers in Cologne, give me a little background on that. Do you think Pope Benedict XVI could have an influence on that?

VINCI: Well, I didn't hear the first part of your question, Kyra, I'm sorry. The line dropped. Basically what the pope is set to do here in Cologne in the next four days is trying to reach out. He has an incredible opportunity here to reach out as many young Catholics that is possible. It is a great opportunity. There are hundreds of thousands of them here. By Sunday, when the pope is due to celebrate an open air mass here, in cologne, there will be up to 1 million people.

This is an opportunity for him to face some of the challenges that he says the Catholic Church is facing, especially in secular Europe and the Western world, in particular. So this is a way for them to rediscover God, to rediscover their faith.

The pope says he knows very well, he mentioned even, his predecessor John Paul II today, in various speeches, saying that the pope had the great idea and the great capability of connecting with the young people and telling them that life is not necessarily -- I'm sorry, Christianity and Catholicism is not just necessarily a life of dogmas, of difficult things to follow, that it is good to be a Christian.

So this pope is here because he wants to connect with these young people. Now whether or not he will be able to do so as quickly as -- or as well as the old pope did, that is a question that remains to be seen in the next couple of days. But, certainly, the first impact, with the crowd, if you want, has been positive. And the young kids here with whom we spoke appear to be delighted, although they do miss the old pope, of course -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Our Alessio Vinci live from Cologne. As we watch the live pictures of Pope Benedict XVI returning to his native Germany for World Youth Day. We'll follow it with Alessio throughout the afternoon. Thank you, Alessio.

Now if you were watching CNN this morning, you saw the last stand at Neve Dekalim, the largest of the soon-to-be bulldozed Jewish communities in Gaza. Officially, it's called disengagement, and polls show that most Israelis support it. But one protester who came to Gaza from Jerusalem calls it the saddest and most infamous chapter in history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (PROTEST CHANTS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

DAN GILLERMAN, ISRAEL REP. TO U.N.: What we are seeing today is a confrontation between people who have been living there for 40 years and believe that this is their rightful place; and young men, maybe their brethren, maybe their father or theirs sons, who are carrying out very boldly the democratic decisions of the Israeli prime minister, the Israeli government and the Israeli followers.

AARON DAVID MILLER, SEEDS OF PEACE: The prime minister of Israel is using the institution of the state he cares most about it, Israeli defense forces, to forcibly dismantle and remove other institutions; that is to say the settlements, which he cares, as well. And it seems to me this is an incredibly difficult choice.

GILLERMAN: I hope that Prime Minister Abbas, who has so far said the right thing -- he has walked the walk. Now it's time for him to talk to talk. He has to prove he will act against terror, he will not allow Gaza to become a terror base.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, caught in the middle of this unprecedented, heretofore unthinkable moment, are Israelis who wear their country's uniform, Israelis who never expected to face insult, abuse, even physical attack from other Jews.

Michael Herzog is a brigadier general in the IDF, which is Israel Defense Forces, as you know. He's a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He joins me live from D.C.

Michael, good to see you. And I'm curious, as you watch these live pictures, you watch the story unfold, did you ever think that this moment would ever come?

BRIG. GEN. MICHAEL HERZOG, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: Well, I did think it would come, but when it comes it's -- you can see the emotional strain there. After all, the soldiers and the policeman were trained -- specifically trained for this mission -- but I don't think any training could really prepare them for these emotional scenes that we see on the screen.

Generally speaking, soldiers are trained to fight wars, to chase terrorists. Policeman are trained to chase criminals. Now, they are asked to evict people, families from their homes. Some of them with familial ties, even. So, obviously, this is very difficult and I must commend the forces for the tremendous amount of restraint that they are showing out there.

PHILLIPS: And We want to point out that they are going in there unarmed. And maybe we can just take a moment here to look at some of these pictures. Michael, my producer and I found some pretty powerful photos of army -- of officers and Israeli army. And just looking at the faces -- not only of the settlers, and seeing these children -- but looking at the faces, also, of the officers and the army personnel, have you ever seen anything like this? I mean, they're in tears. They're holding these kids -- it's like they feel guilty for what they're doing.

HERZOG: Well, I've never seen such pictures in the past. Nothing in my military training and my military service really prepared me for this. I've been talking for -- to my colleagues and friends, people who are officers, who are commanding forces there. And they say it's a tremendous emotional stress for them.

Nevertheless, they realize that what is at stake is not only a question whether or not disengagement is good for Israel, but the character of Israel and the rule of the law. Namely, can Israeli implement the decision of its government or not? And at the moment of truth, I believe the overwhelming majority of people who are out there on the ground understand that.

PHILLIPS: How do you -- put me in the mindset, Michael, of an IDF. officer or even a police officer. You know, like you said, they're trained to deal with violence and they're -- you know, so many years, they've been dealing with suicide bombings and militant attacks. And now, I mean, these are people, innocent people, that have to go. How do you put yourself in that mindset? It's totally different from what they're used to.

HERZOG: It's certainly totally different. On the one hand, they understand that this is what they have to do. On the other hand, they realize how painful this is. And I think what you can see, if you follow the pictures on the ground, that they are doing it very determinately, but at the very same time, you can see the emotional effect on these soldiers and commanders. So I think they are, in a way, split. Emotionally, they are under pain, strain and so on. But I think their second half tells them that, you know, this is what our government wants us to do, so we need to do it. Otherwise we can't have a democracy in Israel.

PHILLIPS: With your experience as a brigadier general in the IDF -- and you watch what is happening right now, an unprecedented moment -- do you think this is going to work out? Or do you think this could turn into just a complete disaster? What's your sense?

HERZOG: It could work either way. I think this is really a critical crossroads. It could really open any openings for Israeli- Palestinian relations, but it could also deteriorate. I think the focal point is to what extent this will embolden (INAUDIBLE) forces on the Palestinian side, strengthen the Palestinian center and create a Palestinian Authority that can enforce its policy on the militant groups.

Or to what extent this will play into the hands of Hamas and other Eastern (INAUDIBLE) militant groups, and you know, encourage them to continue with their activities. They've already been saying this is victory to terrorists, so let's continue in the West Bank.

In my view, more than anything else, what will determine the success or failure of this historic move is a question to what extent this will really -- the moment will really be seized by the P.A. and weaken Hamas and other militants. PHILLIPS: Brigadier General Michael Herzog -- IDF Brigadier General, that is, and visiting fellow right now at the Washington Institute of Near East Policy. Sir, thank you for your time today.

HERZOG: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Georgia's governor leads the state this hour in a tribute to troops killed in Iraq. Flags on public buildings have been lowered to half staff, as residents pause for a moment of silence. Sixteen members of the Georgia National Guard's 48th Brigade have died in the last month.

Well, some of those soldiers were killed by IEDs, those roadside bombs that maim or kill more U.S. troops than anything else in Iraq. Earlier this week, CNN's Alex Quade introduced to us a Marine platoon that hunts them down. Today she brings us face to face with that dangerous duty.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX QUADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gunnery Sergeant Jeff Von Daggenheart (ph) and his Marines have hit 22 IEDs, improvised explosive devices, in two weeks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I took some shrapnel in the leg, and thank God for gear, because I took a piece here, then in my holster and then I got shrapnel across my leg. It's healing up now. It's all good. My helmet, you can see my helmet, my eyes through here.

QUADE (on-camera): Good thing you had these things on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes.

QUADE (voice-over): Some in his platoon bought extra protection on their own.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's not playing around. It's sappy here, sappy here.

QUADE: Everything helps, since their daily mission is hunting for bombs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you get used to, you know -- I guess when we first got here, it was like, you know, paranoid, you know, where's the holes? My God. And now it's just like, if it's going to happen, it's going to happen.

QUADE: It does, on the important main supply route between Falluja and Baghdad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got some (EXPLETIVE DELETED) here. I can -- go ahead and hold everybody off. Abandoned vehicle. I don't know how freaking one missed it. Go ahead, hoop a loop on this (EXPLETIVE DELETED). No license plate.

QUADE: Daggenheart's Marines secure the area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just looking for trunks that are ajar, windows that may have been shot, doors welded shut, keyholes that are taken out, ignition wires that are ripped apart, wires coming out of the vehicle.

QUADE: They don't see anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you want to go check it? I don't know, boom! Yes, I don't know.

QUADE: They decide to push it off the convoy route with an up- armored Humvee when it happens.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Get out! Get out!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out! Get your ass back! All right, get your ass back!

QUADE: This is what the military calls a vehicle-borne IED. Translation: car bomb.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look for a trash man. Are you OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They said they saw somebody running down there.

QUADE: Someone watching and waiting for the right moment, the Marines say, detonated it remotely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Son of a (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Well, welcome to freaking Iraq.

QUADE: Amazingly, nobody was seriously hurt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hurry up before the .50-cal starts cooking. Leave it there. Hey, leave it there, because that's .50-cal ammo, and everything's going to start cooking.

QUADE: Ammunition can blow, causing casualties, or be salvaged by insurgents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ammo. Ammo.

QUADE: Daggenheart worries there may be a second bomb timed to target the recovery.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to have a secondary if we don't get the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just count up all the Marines.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just count up our Marines.

QUADE: Humvee driver Lance Corporal Jason Hunt (ph) tells me he thought he was going to die, then walks by me to pull security while his platoon deals with the situation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty close. I consider myself lucky.

QUADE: Gunny Daggenheart says it's just another day hunting for bombs and bomb builders.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to eventually kill them, at least in this little piece of the pie. I don't know how we're going to get them, but we're going to get them. I'd rather have a vehicle blown up than a Marine.

QUADE: Alex Quade, CNN, near Abu Ghraib Prison, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Now stay with us. Right after the break, the human story behind what an IED attack did to one family. A very special family. You're going to hear from them, coming straight up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well when I found out that Alex Quade was working on this IED series, it reminded me once again in life there's definitely no coincidence. I was flying home from assignment last week. As I took my seat on the airplane, a young man sat next to me, his wife and daughter right next to him, and I immediately noticed his prosthetic leg, and I immediately knew, obviously, what happened.

Well, Captain Dan Gade was commander of Delta Company 19 Infantry, his soldiers' mission, to hunt and destroy those IEDs. He shared his amazing and courageous story with me on our plane flight, and now I want to share it with all of you, and I want all of you to meet his wonderful family.

Dan joins us live from D.C., where he's currently undergoing treatment and therapy at Walter Reed Hospital.

Dan, it's great to see you.

CAPT. DAN GADE, U.S. ARMY: Good to see you again, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Also great to see adorable little Anna Grace. We'll get to that in just a second, but do me a favor take me back to January 10, 2005, 4:00 p.m. Iraqi time.

GADE: Well, it was a pretty hard day. We had been out for most of the afternoon several soldiers, several trucks of my company and myself had been out for several hours, visiting some local sheiks and doing some kind of power-brokering stuff near Ramadi, just letting them know that the American forces are here. We're here to secure your area, et cetera. And we were driving down the road. We were going from one sheikhs house to the next. And the next thing I knew I woke up flat on my back in the ditch. And I immediately knew that something had gone seriously wrong. I didn't know what. But what happened was I looked down and I saw that my flak vest was destroyed, that my -- and that there was a lot of blood from my lower body, so the first thing I said as I came conscious was, what happened, you guys. And my guys were treating me, and they said, sir, it's an IED. And I said, OK, because that happened to us many, many times before. And I said, are my legs, OK? And they said, sir, you're going to be fine. And I've seen enough war movies to know that, sir, you are going to be fine means you're not going to be fine at all.

So I was looking down, and I did a quick inventory of the other body parts and made sure I had everything. And as we were -- as I was waiting, my friends were holding my hands and my medic was working on my leg, trying to stop the bleeding because my femoral artery was severed in my right leg, and there was a great deal of damage to my right leg.

And the helicopter eventually came. Probably five minutes, six minutes after I got hit, the helicopter was there. And as the helicopter lifted off, I lost consciousness and regained consciousness about three weeks later at Walter Reed.

PHILLIPS: Unbelievable.

And one thing that I asked you when I was sitting next to you on the plane, I said, well, did your guys catch the man that basically was behind the IED, and you said, yes, he's actually in Abu Ghraib. You were probably pretty surprised he made it there alive.

GADE: Yes, the guys who captured him said that because they knew from an informant that it was him that had done this to me, they were pretty upset with him. They weren't happy just because one of their own had been seriously wounded by this guy.

PHILLIPS: And, Dan, you lost men in your company and your battalion, you know, tell me how frustrating -- you survived. But how frustrating has it been to deal with this insurgent tactic and to lose your own?

GADE: Well, it's -- the first thing about IEDs that's bad is it's such a shock you never really -- most of the time you don't know they are there. And so you are just minding your own business or doing your own thing; all of a sudden something bad has happened. There's a big explosion, or in my case, you know, you kind up wake up in a ditch. So it's such a shocking event.

And then you never really -- it's very, very difficult to see the enemy, to acquire and engage the enemy. It's very difficult, because, you know, it could be just any old body. And a guy with binoculars on a cell phone a half a mile away, you're just not going to identify something like that in an urban environment. It's just very, very difficult. And so it is frustrating, you're right.

PHILLIPS: I want to read something. And while I'm reading this graphic about a prayer that you and your wife Wendy wrote. This is before actually you were struck by that IED, and it's on your Web site.

And you said the prayer was, "My wife Wendy and I believe firmly that God's purpose is being served by this unexpected detour in our lives. There are too many obvious indicators of him acting directly in this situation for there to be any doubt, because there is no doubt we will resolutely face our next difficult steps with our heads held high and set our feet upon the path that he has provided."

I think what amazes me about that prayer, you said that before this happened to you, and now you said you haven't changed -- those feelings haven't changed at all. You have no resentment.

GADE: No, none. The enemy will try to do what they are trying to do. But what they don't understand is that they're working as part -- in my opinion as part of God's plan. God's plan is perfect, and it's going to be fulfilled whatever some guy with an IED has to say about it. So really I haven't changed any of that, and I'm really humbled by all the things that have happened by the response of those people around me. It's been incredible.

PHILLIPS: Well, this is where I want to bring in your beautiful wife Wendy and you're absolutely adorable daughter Anna Grace, because I was humbled by all of you. And I know Anna Grace is a little nervous there, but she's doing OK.

Wendy, one thing I noticed about you, you were right next to your husband, working the book, planning out the therapy, talking about how all of you were going to work together as a family and deal with this. What kept you so strong?

WENDY GADE, SOLDIER'S WIFE: Well, you touched on it when you read the prayer that Daniel wrote before he left for Iraq. It definitely has been our faith that has kept us strong through this incredibly difficult time we have gone through. We had the prayer support of -- I can't -- countless people, many of which we will never get the chance to meet, and they definitely have supported us. I sort of thought of it as being in the middle of a storm and just being held out -- held up by people's prayers and their support.

PHILLIPS: Dan, what was it like to open up your eyes in that hospital bed and see little Anna Grace and Wendy for the first time after you went down in Iraq?

D. GADE: Well, it was a relief because it meant that I was alive, and it meant that, in my mind, it meant that everything was OK. So that was a relief. It was a very difficult time, but it was great to see her face, and she's just been a hero. I can't -- I just can't tell you how much of a hero my wife is. She's really the hero of this story in my opinion.

PHILLIPS: And, Wendy, I have a feeling you are going to say, no, it's my husband that's the hero in this family.

W. GADE: Well, he definitely is a hero, and that's without question.

PHILLIPS: Well, I want to make sure I plug this book that's coming out. I talked to a pastor and a chief petty officer that was in one of the units that responded, of course, to you, Dan, and the book was called "Reflections From the Battlefield." He put it together after experiencing your story. I know it comes out on September 11th. I want to talk with you again and the medics that saved your life and talk about this book. So can we do this again in a couple weeks?

D. GADE: Yes, that'll be great. I'm looking forward to it.

PHILLIPS: All right, Dan, Anna Grace, Wendy, I salute all three of you. I'm so glad that I met you, and I'm so glad you joined me today. Thank you.

D. GADE: Great. Thanks, Kyra.

W. GADE: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: My pleasure.

We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, the government is going after methamphetamine, often concocted from everyday cold medicines. Next hour, the U.S. attorney general is set to unveil a new strategy that deals with prevention and treatment. The government has been criticized for not doing enough to deal with what some call an epidemic. More on that and all the news of the day, when LIVE FROM returns right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Rooftop resistance. Protesters and police clash on an emotional day of removing Jewish settlers. We're live from Gaza.

Meticulous about murder. Chilling details of a serial killer's crimes. We're live from Wichita, Kansas.

Cutting costs at the airlines. What carriers are doing to conserve precious and increasingly expensive fuel.

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

Bitter tears and paint bombs. Water canon, turpentine and acid. Disengagement in Gaza, a process pitting deeply ambivalent Israelis troops against hard-line protesters, who, in most cases, aren't Gaza settlers at all.

You've been watching CNN. You know the synagogues in two key settlement of Neve Dekalim and Kfar Darom were flash points today. We have reporters in both. Let's begin with CNN's John Vause in the 35-year-old soon to be abandoned community of Kfar Darom.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: The operation to remove the protesters from the rooftop of the synagogue here in Kfar Darom now in its final stages. The last protesters being carried off, put on buses, and taken away. But the police did come under quite an attack from the protesters.

For more about this, Sergeant Yossi Attias, who is with the Israeli police.

So just tell me, what happened up there? Why are you covered in paint? What was it like?

SGT. YOSSI ATTIAS, ISRAELI BORDER POLICE: It was not very good for us. We got on the roof, and then we tried to get on top of the roof to take care of the people there. And then they start to throw on us paint and oil, and all of the things that they had there, onions, potatoes, everything, and turpentine. And it was very hard to be there.

VAUSE: Now, we saw some policemen and women running out in a great deal of agony, in a great deal of pain, removing their clothes, being covered or doused with water. Why was that?

ATTIAS: Yes. It was -- some of had thrown us acid, and all the -- all my friends got covered with this acid.

VAUSE: Is that a legitimate form of protest?

ATTIAS: Look, I can't tell you -- I can't tell you if it's legitimate or not legitimate, but they done it. And look, everybody has their own point of view. And they've got their point of view, and we've got our point of view.

But they protest there like this, we take them out. This is our -- my mission. This is their mission. Everybody have their own mission.

VAUSE: How difficult is it for an Israeli police officer to go in like this against fellow Israeli citizens?

ATTIAS: It's very hard to see children, parents and all kinds of people, Jewish people, standing in front of us and cries and pray, and take them out from a synagogue, it's a very, very hard thing. It's one part of our -- it's part of our symbol in Israel, the synagogue.

It's a very holy place, and it's very hard. It's very hard to get inside there when you see all the books and everything like that. It's very hard.

VAUSE: OK. Sergeant Yossi Attias, thank you very much.

ATTIAS: You're welcome. VAUSE: So now the police and the army always expected that the situation in Kfar Darom could work out like this. They had a plan in place. That plan was put into action. And now the final stages are being carried out.

John Vause, CNN, Kfar Darom settlement, Gaza.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Now, what's excruciating to many Jewish settlers and their sympathizers is electrifying to many Palestinians and their brethren the greater Middle East.

Joining me with that perspective, CNN Senior Arab Affairs Editor Octavia Nasr.

And you and I have been talking a lot about the Palestinians. And for the most part, for them, this is bringing back a lot of memories. I mea, we're going back to the 1940s.

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. EDITOR, ARAB AFFAIRS: Yes, it is bringing back memories. But at the same time, they're telling each other that this is a time to celebrate. This is not time to bring back the past and talk about history.

This is a time to celebrate the moment. Israel is out of Gaza. Go in there, take control of these settlements, and show the world that you can run your home.

And, of course, you know, now it's going to be a very interesting to see how the Palestinian Authority is going to deal with Hamas and how Hamas is going to deal back with the PA, whether they're going to work together or they're going to work against each other.

PHILLIPS: Well, that's the point. There's got to be a quid pro quo. As we watch these live pictures and we watch this unfold -- and this is just one part of that roadmap for peace, you know, you talk to Ben Wedeman, and he said, you know, militants still aren't disarming.

I mean, there's got to be a give and take here. And terrorism has got to be rooted out.

NASR: And they're very far from disarming. Not only are they not disarming, they're very far from that.

As a matter of fact, Hamas is jubilant about the fact that they believe that they forced Israel out of those settlements. So basically, moderates in the Arab world are stepping in to say, this is the wrong approach, because that is going to fuel more violence, that's going to encourage more violence if you believe that violence led to the Israeli pullout. So Hamas is trying to take full credit for this pullout.

PHILLIPS: How can they -- how can they think that they can take full credit for this?

NASR: Because they do believe that it is their resistance, what they call resistance, you know...

PHILLIPS: The suicide bombs, and the attacks on innocent people.

NASR: Exactly. And attacks on the Israeli military, and so forth. So basically, they're saying, see, we kept the pressure so high that Israel couldn't take it anymore and it had to pull out.

Now, moderates in the Arab world are stepping in and saying, this is the wrong approach. This is not a time for you to say, you know, "I take credit" or "I take credit." This is a time for you to step in and show that you can lead, because, according to many experts, the Palestinian Authority is in no shape to govern Gaza right now. And Hamas can govern Gaza, but it is not the right group to govern Gaza.

So it's going to be -- many in the Arab world, experts and commentators, say it all the time. They're saying that there's a fear that there's going to be a clash.

As a matter of fact, the one headline in the "Al Hayat" newspaper this morning said just that. It asked the question, "Who's going to govern Gaza after the pullout, Israel, Palestinian Authority, Hamas, or chaos?" So basically, chaos is still on the mind of many in the Arab world as a real possibility in Gaza.

PHILLIPS: And there's got to be a strong PA in order for there to be economic success, peaceful relations. So how -- I mean, how do you go forward from here? I mean, what are analysts saying? How do you build up the Palestinian Authority to be able to do that?

NASR: Experts are saying that Hamas should provide the PA with a lot of support. They're not discounting Hamas's role. They're not saying Hamas should dismantle or should, you know, drop their weapons, or any of that.

They're saying that Hamas should stand with the PA and together build a strong Gaza because they see this as a test. (INAUDIBLE), the editor-in-chief of "Al Hayat" newspaper today said exactly that.

He said, "This is a test, and is the test," he said, because now is the time or the Palestinians to show that they can take care of their own home, because, as he says, if this is a ploy on the parts of the Israelis, then, you know, Prime Minister Sharon would love to see Hamas and the PA clash against each other, and then he will say, look, I have no part in for peace here.

So basically, what (INAUDIBLE) of "Al Hayat" newspaper is saying, he's saying Hamas and the PA should work together in order to show the world that they can govern Gaza and from there on they can govern the Palestinian state once it's born.

PHILLIPS: Octavia Nasr, thank you so much.

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