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American Morning
U.S. Forces Bombarding Insurgents' Strongholds in Fallujah; Election Results from Pennsylvania
Aired April 28, 2004 - 07:00 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. forces back in the fight, bombarding insurgents' strongholds in Fallujah. Today a plan for Iraqis to intervene in that state.
Election results from Pennsylvania. Can a moderate senator like Arlen Specter still be elected in the Republican Party?
And whether snow in April or a 100-degree heat wave, spring is looking very strange on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, good morning, a whole lot to cover.
In a very interesting meeting yesterday between Secretary of State Colin Powell and Qatar's foreign minister, the U.S. voicing complaints yet again about the Arab television network Al-Jazeera. In a few moments Suzanne Malveaux from the White House tackling this issue today.
A lot of concern about the message that's going out there on the Arab networks -- not just Al-Jazeera but more than that -- we'll get to it in a moment.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, the Supreme Court hearing a critical case today based on two individuals.
The question: can Americans be locked up indefinitely without trial because they are deemed to be enemy combatants in the war on terrorism?
Bob Franken and also Jeff Toobin are standing by for this one.
HEMMER: We'll figure that out. Also Jack Cafferty with us today -- good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: How you doing? What to do in Fallujah.
If you send Marines in on the ground, American casualties go skyward. If you go in -- through the air -- collateral damage and the deaths of women and children mount up, increasing anti-U.S. sentiment in that city. Negotiations getting us nowhere. None of the options particularly attractive. We're going to let you figure it out a bit later.
HEMMER: And they will.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack. Top stories, let's start this morning with the Supreme Court taking it's closest look yet at security and terrorism in two back-to-back hearings today.
Jose Padilla and Yaser Hamdi, both U.S. citizens, are considered enemy combatants by the Bush administration. The questions before the justices -- can the government imprison Americans and refuse them access to lawyers?
More legal analysis on this in a few moments here.
The wreckage of a missing Blackhawk helicopter has been found in South Carolina. The UH-60 chopper found in a wooded area near a bridge off Interstate 95. Military sources say all three crewmembers are presumed dead. That helicopter missing on Monday night during a routine training flight out of Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.
The cause of that crash is now under investigation.
Condoleezza Rice giving another briefing on the war in Iraq today. Rice is expected to meet today with House Democrats in a closed-door session. She spoke with House and Senate Republicans last week along with Senate Democrats as well.
Some Democrats criticizing Rice for holding separate Party meetings instead of bipartisan sessions on the Hill.
Mother Nature swinging from one extreme to the other. In Detroit, Michigan, an April snowstorm. Heavy snow showers fell across the Metro area during yesterday's rush hour. A messy commute there.
Meanwhile, further west in California, that heat wave continues. People heading to the beach trying to escape triple-digit temperatures. Downtown L.A. hit 102 degrees, breaking a record of 94 degrees for that day back in 1881. Good thing they had the beach, huh?
O'BRIEN: It looks nice -- I mean I know it's really, really, really hot but doesn't it look nice? People standing at the lifeguard station and the big waves?
HEMMER: Compared to what we've been getting here? And how about the folks in Detroit, it's almost May and they're getting crushed by the snow up there.
O'BRIEN: April, weird.
(WEATHER REPORT) O'BRIEN: A possible move toward hope and progress today in the Iraqi city of Fallujah west of Baghdad. Just hours after U.S. war planes an artillery bombarded Sunni Muslim insurgent positions -- sheikhs from around Iraq are heading to Fallujah to discuss the situation there.
A senior military official said last night's bombardment was not the beginning of a new push against the insurgents, but rather a response to a threat to the Marines there.
The Marines yesterday engaged insurgents in urban combat. They're expected to join Iraqi security forces in joint patrols of the city tomorrow. Some U.S. officers believe their troops could be put at risk on those patrols by insurgents who have refused to surrender their arms.
Just a short time ago I spoke with reporter Tony Perry of "The Los Angeles Times." He is embedded with the First Marine Division in Fallujah and I asked him to further describe the events overnight.
(BEGIN AUDIOTAPE)
TONY PERRY, LOS ANGELES TIMES: What happened over night was an air strike by an Air Force AC130 gunship on an insurgent weapon cache. It was a tremendous explosion; it set off a series of explosions as the weapons started cooking off.
For 20 minutes the night sky was absolutely bright; it was like mid-day really.
With the flames and then with the smoke it was an extraordinary sight. It wasn't particularly significant militarily; in fact, last night was probably less than average activity by the AC130, not all that much activity by the Marines, not that many skirmishes, so as a military issue, last night was below average of what we've seen out here in the last couple of nights.
There is no indication that the big push that everybody is waiting for is occurring.
We're all waiting for it, we're all waiting for the order, but if it's coming down, no one is telling us.
O'BRIEN: Is this then still considered being an official ceasefire or, I mean, you look at those pictures and I got to tell you it doesn't look anything like a ceasefire to me.
PERRY: Well, I think ceasefire is a kind of joke. I'm here with the Marines who fought a vicious two-hour firefight on Monday in which one good Marine was killed, 15 other Marines were injured. This was during a ceasefire, during a truce.
I ask you how real is a truce when you have a firefight like that with that kind of casualties? There has been no ceasefire; there has been no truce that really carries the name. There has been a lessening of attacks, but there have been attacks every day, almost every hour on the Marines.
O'BRIEN: With this attack on the weapons cache is there a sense that the Marines are getting a better sense of where the insurgents are keeping their weapons?
PERRY: Well, they've been getting those weapon caches every night for several weeks. The problem, of course, is there is so many of them. This is one of the most heavily armed cities and one of the most heavily armed countries in the world.
And I don't think we're going to be able to wear down the insurgents, the Marines are, by denying them their weaponry -- there's just so much of it out there, and some of it is probably being smuggled in to replenish that which they're using in these firefights with the Marines.
It's something you do to degrade their capability, as the Marines say, but I don't think that's how the battle is going to be won by making them denuded of weaponry.
There's just too much of it out there. I think it's going to go either to a peaceful settlement (UNINTELLIGIBLE) or it's going to go to Option B, an urban fight downtown to where the insurgents are holed up in an urban situation the like of which the Marines really haven't seen since Wey City, the battle of Wey City in Vietnam.
(END AUDIOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: We will probably know soon if it is Option A or Option B, as Tony Perry of "The Los Angeles Times" explained for us.
Talking to him a little bit earlier this morning from Fallujah and, again, he is embedded with the First Marine Division -- Bill.
HEMMER: Soledad, since U.S. action in Iraq began more than a year ago, the pictures shown in the U.S. very different from those on Arabic language networks.
Those networks reach millions across the Persian Gulf and throughout the Middle East. Case in point, this is how some of the video looked yesterday in Fallujah on U.S. broadcast networks including our own here on CNN.
Meanwhile some of the coverage provided by the Al-Jazeera satellite TV station much different not just in the pictures but also in the words.
The Bush administration believes their coverage is inciting violence against U.S. troops and the Iraqi allies and now we await for an administration response yet again today, and for that Suzanne Malveaux is at the White House this morning for us.
Good morning there.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. Well, Al-Jazeera's base is Qatar and the concern is so serious among administration officials that yesterday Secretary Powell meeting with Qatar's foreign minister -- came out of their meeting and said that he was concerned about some of the coverage, what is considered exaggerations and perhaps inflammatory coverage from Al-Jazeera and others.
The U.S. position is this: it is not only an issue about misinformation or even perhaps United States losing the public relations war, but its an issue of safety.
They believe that this misinformation, these exaggerations are inciting violence, making it more dangerous for Americans, Iraqis and others in the region.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: It's the inflammatory nature of much of their reporting, particularly when much of that -- much of that inflammatory material coming out of Iraq these days is not only designed to inflame the situation but is in fact totally false and they do this without seeking clarification or substantiation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Senior state department officials say that the U.S. government has not asked Qatar to take Al-Jazeera off the air, they simply have asked perhaps to take a greater role in oversight of its coverage. The foreign minister of Qatar says, yes, he admits that sometimes Al-Jazeera does exaggerate, but he also says that the coverage reflects the thinking in the region -- Bill.
HEMMER: Suzanne, as a practical matter, what can the White House do with influence here? Saying one thing and getting them to act in another way are two completely different matters that we've talked about for the past year.
MALVEAUX: Well, the White House is already taking action because they are really involved in their own information campaign. That on the ground inside of Iraq as well as throughout the region through various media outlets.
They want to make sure that the Iraqis as well as other people in the area at least get the view of the United States. What they believe is the neutral view.
At the same time, of course, they are trying to flex their political muscle with Qatar but you are right, they are somewhat limited in what they can do there.
HEMMER: Suzanne Malveaux, thanks from the front lawn this morning. Now Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Late last night veteran GOP Senator Arlen Specter narrowly won a shot at a fifth term in Pennsylvania -- Specter won the closely watched primary battle with 51 percent of the vote. He wished his opponent well and called on Republicans there to come together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R) PENNSYLVANIA: I compliment Congressman Pat Toomey on a hard-fought campaign. Now -- now is the time having settled our family disagreement within the Republican Party to unify, to reelect President Bush, to maintain a Republican majority in the United States Senate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Congressman Toomey has intimated that Arlen Specter isn't conservative enough for Pennsylvania, but says that he is going to support Specter in the November elections.
HEMMER: That was a close one, wasn't it?
O'BRIEN: Yes, it sure was.
HEMMER: Indeed it was.
O'BRIEN: Fifty-one -- that is squeaking by.
HEMMER: Yes, just by that.
In a moment here they are labeled enemy combatants by the White House. Today they get their hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court. What's at stake there and what will it mean for the war on terror. Live to the court in a moment for that.
O'BRIEN: Then the war of words over the war records of the president and Senator John Kerry. Does anybody win in this kind of battle?
HEMMER: Also, why is Elton John fuming about FOX'S "American Idol"? Find out ahead in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: This morning the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments regarding the rights of American citizens being held as enemy combatants. It is a critical test of the president's power in the war on terror.
Some suggest the most critical to date. Bob Franken live outside the Supreme Court this morning there. Bob, good morning.
BOB FRANKEN, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
And this is one of those rare occasions when the term "landmark case" has real meaning.
This is a case involving the war on terrorism, which hits really close to home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FRANKEN: What happens if you're a U.S. citizen and the president declares you an enemy combatant? It did happen to Jose Padilla, arrested at Chicago's O'Hare airport in May 2002.
A converted Muslim on his way from Pakistan, Padilla was accused but never officially charged with planting a so-called dirty bomb attack on the United States.
He was soon switched to military custody and spent 19 months in solitary, no access to his family or a lawyer because he was being interrogated by presidential order.
DONNA NEWMAN, JOSE PADILLA'S ATTORNEY: What they are saying if you really read it is that he had information that they wanted but that's a little scary, isn't it?
FRANKEN: In March, the Pentagon let Padilla's attorneys see him but closely monitored.
RUTH WEDGWOOD, INTERNATIONAL LAW EXPERT: Shortly after the September 11th attacks, the Congress authorized the president in plain words to use force against any nation, organization or person he determines necessary to prevent future attacks.
FRANKEN: The arguments over Padilla's constitutional rights are paired with the case of Yaser Hamdi, also born in the U.S., but unlike Padilla raised in Saudi Arabia and -- significantly -- captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan.
THOMAS GOLDSTEIN, SUPREME COURT LEGAL ANALYST: It's finally time for the basic questions about the scope of the president's power to hold people without the approval of the courts are really going to be confronted.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: So the justices are hearing arguments about nothing less than the president's war time powers over U.S. citizens and if there are limits on the president's powers in those circumstances -- Bill.
HEMMER: Bob, thanks for that. Bob Franken in Washington, there in D.C.
Sitting at the legal table for us today our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin checks back in today. Good morning to you.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning.
HEMMER: You were just listening to Bob; what's the critical argument for you today?
TOOBIN: Well, the question is here you have American citizens held in the United States of America but no lawyers, no charges. And the question is under ordinary circumstances, they would get lawyers, they would be able to go into court but now according to the president and the Congress we're at war so those rights are suspended.
Is that fair? Can that be done in 2004 America?
HEMMER: And a very basic way of saying this those who are challenging the administration on this rule are saying that they believe that these Americans are entitled to due process of law just like any other American is entitled.
TOOBIN: That's right. They are Americans; they get their day in court, even though we are involved in a war on terror.
HEMMER: If the administration were to lose this argument have you thought about the impact that would have on the war on terror?
TOOBIN: Well, you know, day to day its hard to -- you know, a lot of it depends on how the opinion is written, but this would basically say to the -- to the Bush administration if Padilla and Hamdi win that the old rules still do apply, that the war on terror has not changed how we operate. Bush administration says in an atmosphere of, you know, terrorism in a 9/11 world, the rules have changed.
HEMMER: So what you're -- the crux of the matter, the rights of judicial review...
TOOBIN: All that refers...
HEMMER: Versus the presidential obligation to protect Americans.
TOOBIN: That's right and -- and judicial review is the sense of, you know, the legal process letting these people hire lawyers, challenge their incarceration, forcing the government to prove their accusations against them, not just simply assert them and that's the end of the story.
HEMMER: So take my previous statement based on history, do presidents win these arguments?
TOOBIN: They usually do -- I mean -- the most famous example is, you know, the internment of the Japanese in World War II -- there you had thousands of people incarcerated during wartime without any showing that any of them were a threat to national security.
It is universally regarded that that was a black stain now against American -- against the victims there and against really the American system of justice.
This is much more narrowly tailored, much more limited intrusion. Now there are only really two people being held but wartime presidents usually win.
HEMMER: Some are saying it's the most critical decision in 50 years. Overstatement?
TOOBIN: I think you get a lot of argument on people Roe v. Wade was probably -- I mean, Bush v. Gore -- I don't know there are a lot of important cases over 50 years but this is an important one.
HEMMER: On this Wednesday morning in late April we'll go with this one.
TOOBIN: All right.
HEMMER: Thanks Jeff, talk to you later. Here's Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Fallujah besieged, joint U.S.-Iraqi patrols set to begin to try to bring some order over there. We're going to have the latest on that.
And also a shock jock still relying it is not all bad news for Howard Stern. We'll explain as AMERICAN MORNING continues right after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Liberal Air America radio may be facing more woes, but shock jock Howard Stern seems to be surviving his troubles quite nicely thank you.
With those stories and a market preview Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business" this morning. What do you want to start with?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Well let's do the radio news.
O'BRIEN: OK.
SERWER: On your AM and FM dial. OK?
O'BRIEN: What's happening over at Air America?
SERWER: Well, it's the one-month anniversary today for Air America today and things a little bit rocky. They've been rocky for the past couple of weeks, actually, but today we learned the co- founder and CEO, that's Mr. O'Franken by the way, that's not the co- founder -- Mark Walsh is resigning -- so is another top executive, Dave Logan -- not the kind of way you want to start off the network.
Two top guys leaving. The network saying well it's the normal course of business. No it isn't. That's not the way things...
O'BRIEN: Have they said why they're leaving? What happened?
SERWER: Well it's programming changes, getting their footing, that kind of thing. Kind of differences. And of course off the air in L.A. and will be off the air in Chicago, they really had all kinds of problems over there haven't they?
Let's go -- Jack is just eating this up.
There's chuckling is the right way to characterize his behavior.
CAFFERTY: I'm entertained by your segments each morning.
SERWER: Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: I look forward to them.
SERWER: Let's talk about Howard Stern. You know the FCC's campaign against Mr. Stern may be backfiring. That's because his ratings are soaring.
Of course, the FCC has been fining radio stations and networks that have been carrying Howard Stern -- and Clear Channel Communications, the nation's largest radio network have banned him, dumped him from six stations.
Well, we're finding out today, Soledad, that Chicago, New York and L.A. his ratings are high and higher -- he's number one in these markets now again and...
O'BRIEN: Even bad press is good press as long as they spell your name right.
SERWER: There's no such thing as bad publicity. Some of us know that.
HEMMER: Soledad.
SERWER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: That's right, spell it right. Let's talk about the markets.
SERWER: Let's do that. Yesterday a mixed session on Wall Street. Blue chips were OK, techs a little bit coming back down but still above the Hemmer line. Hemmer line is 2,000.
O'BRIEN: Can I tell you something about this haircut he's got going on today?
SERWER: Talking about Hemmer lines.
HEMMER: What about that spring do. Only took you 24 minutes to go there.
O'BRIEN: I couldn't figure out how to fit it into the top of the show.
SERWER: It's really something there, Bill. Looking good.
O'BRIEN: Can you get a shot of it? Look, it's...
You look ten years younger.
HEMMER: Thank you very much.
CAFFERTY: I told him during the break if you're going to pay for a haircut you might as well get it cut -- cut them all.
HEMMER: And I did. O'BRIEN: You look good though. He hates when I touch it but I like it.
SERWER: If it feels good do it, Bill.
HEMMER: Thanks a lot. "Question of the Day" from Jack.
CAFFERTY: Well thanks, Bill. The greatest fear of U.S. military commanders in Iraq a year ago could be coming back to haunt them now. The prospect of fighting in the city.
Street to street, house to house. The options on the table so far in Fallujah and negotiating with the insurgents and ceasefire seem to be going nowhere and that leaves coalition forces with two choices, neither of them particularly appealing.
One, a ground assault, which would increase American causalities sharply at a time when there are questions about how high the appetite is for more coffins coming back to this country from Iraq -- plus, it's a political liability if causalities start to rise for President Bush in this election year, or an air assault.
Now that would save American lives, but there'd be a much higher Iraqi civilian death toll by striking insurgents that are hiding in mosques and behind Iraqi women and children. What a courageous bunch. And that's something that's sure to increase the anti-American sentiment throughout Iraq.
So, it's a tough situation. Here's the question, what's the answer to the situation in Fallujah? And we trust that you'll come up with something acceptable between now and 10:00. The nation is counting on you.
SERWER: Yes.
HEMMER: The clock is running.
O'BRIEN: It truly is though a massive question, a mess.
CAFFERTY: It's a very, very difficult -- and in the background is this supposed hand off of power by June 30.
SERWER: Coming up soon, yes.
HEMMER: Could be the end of May as the suggestion was yesterday, so.
CAFFERTY: Really? Wow.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. All right, thanks, Jack. Interesting question.
Still to come this morning, battle lines are drawn as the Bush and Kerry campaigns take aim over military records. A look at that is ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired April 28, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. forces back in the fight, bombarding insurgents' strongholds in Fallujah. Today a plan for Iraqis to intervene in that state.
Election results from Pennsylvania. Can a moderate senator like Arlen Specter still be elected in the Republican Party?
And whether snow in April or a 100-degree heat wave, spring is looking very strange on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, good morning, a whole lot to cover.
In a very interesting meeting yesterday between Secretary of State Colin Powell and Qatar's foreign minister, the U.S. voicing complaints yet again about the Arab television network Al-Jazeera. In a few moments Suzanne Malveaux from the White House tackling this issue today.
A lot of concern about the message that's going out there on the Arab networks -- not just Al-Jazeera but more than that -- we'll get to it in a moment.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, the Supreme Court hearing a critical case today based on two individuals.
The question: can Americans be locked up indefinitely without trial because they are deemed to be enemy combatants in the war on terrorism?
Bob Franken and also Jeff Toobin are standing by for this one.
HEMMER: We'll figure that out. Also Jack Cafferty with us today -- good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: How you doing? What to do in Fallujah.
If you send Marines in on the ground, American casualties go skyward. If you go in -- through the air -- collateral damage and the deaths of women and children mount up, increasing anti-U.S. sentiment in that city. Negotiations getting us nowhere. None of the options particularly attractive. We're going to let you figure it out a bit later.
HEMMER: And they will.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack. Top stories, let's start this morning with the Supreme Court taking it's closest look yet at security and terrorism in two back-to-back hearings today.
Jose Padilla and Yaser Hamdi, both U.S. citizens, are considered enemy combatants by the Bush administration. The questions before the justices -- can the government imprison Americans and refuse them access to lawyers?
More legal analysis on this in a few moments here.
The wreckage of a missing Blackhawk helicopter has been found in South Carolina. The UH-60 chopper found in a wooded area near a bridge off Interstate 95. Military sources say all three crewmembers are presumed dead. That helicopter missing on Monday night during a routine training flight out of Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.
The cause of that crash is now under investigation.
Condoleezza Rice giving another briefing on the war in Iraq today. Rice is expected to meet today with House Democrats in a closed-door session. She spoke with House and Senate Republicans last week along with Senate Democrats as well.
Some Democrats criticizing Rice for holding separate Party meetings instead of bipartisan sessions on the Hill.
Mother Nature swinging from one extreme to the other. In Detroit, Michigan, an April snowstorm. Heavy snow showers fell across the Metro area during yesterday's rush hour. A messy commute there.
Meanwhile, further west in California, that heat wave continues. People heading to the beach trying to escape triple-digit temperatures. Downtown L.A. hit 102 degrees, breaking a record of 94 degrees for that day back in 1881. Good thing they had the beach, huh?
O'BRIEN: It looks nice -- I mean I know it's really, really, really hot but doesn't it look nice? People standing at the lifeguard station and the big waves?
HEMMER: Compared to what we've been getting here? And how about the folks in Detroit, it's almost May and they're getting crushed by the snow up there.
O'BRIEN: April, weird.
(WEATHER REPORT) O'BRIEN: A possible move toward hope and progress today in the Iraqi city of Fallujah west of Baghdad. Just hours after U.S. war planes an artillery bombarded Sunni Muslim insurgent positions -- sheikhs from around Iraq are heading to Fallujah to discuss the situation there.
A senior military official said last night's bombardment was not the beginning of a new push against the insurgents, but rather a response to a threat to the Marines there.
The Marines yesterday engaged insurgents in urban combat. They're expected to join Iraqi security forces in joint patrols of the city tomorrow. Some U.S. officers believe their troops could be put at risk on those patrols by insurgents who have refused to surrender their arms.
Just a short time ago I spoke with reporter Tony Perry of "The Los Angeles Times." He is embedded with the First Marine Division in Fallujah and I asked him to further describe the events overnight.
(BEGIN AUDIOTAPE)
TONY PERRY, LOS ANGELES TIMES: What happened over night was an air strike by an Air Force AC130 gunship on an insurgent weapon cache. It was a tremendous explosion; it set off a series of explosions as the weapons started cooking off.
For 20 minutes the night sky was absolutely bright; it was like mid-day really.
With the flames and then with the smoke it was an extraordinary sight. It wasn't particularly significant militarily; in fact, last night was probably less than average activity by the AC130, not all that much activity by the Marines, not that many skirmishes, so as a military issue, last night was below average of what we've seen out here in the last couple of nights.
There is no indication that the big push that everybody is waiting for is occurring.
We're all waiting for it, we're all waiting for the order, but if it's coming down, no one is telling us.
O'BRIEN: Is this then still considered being an official ceasefire or, I mean, you look at those pictures and I got to tell you it doesn't look anything like a ceasefire to me.
PERRY: Well, I think ceasefire is a kind of joke. I'm here with the Marines who fought a vicious two-hour firefight on Monday in which one good Marine was killed, 15 other Marines were injured. This was during a ceasefire, during a truce.
I ask you how real is a truce when you have a firefight like that with that kind of casualties? There has been no ceasefire; there has been no truce that really carries the name. There has been a lessening of attacks, but there have been attacks every day, almost every hour on the Marines.
O'BRIEN: With this attack on the weapons cache is there a sense that the Marines are getting a better sense of where the insurgents are keeping their weapons?
PERRY: Well, they've been getting those weapon caches every night for several weeks. The problem, of course, is there is so many of them. This is one of the most heavily armed cities and one of the most heavily armed countries in the world.
And I don't think we're going to be able to wear down the insurgents, the Marines are, by denying them their weaponry -- there's just so much of it out there, and some of it is probably being smuggled in to replenish that which they're using in these firefights with the Marines.
It's something you do to degrade their capability, as the Marines say, but I don't think that's how the battle is going to be won by making them denuded of weaponry.
There's just too much of it out there. I think it's going to go either to a peaceful settlement (UNINTELLIGIBLE) or it's going to go to Option B, an urban fight downtown to where the insurgents are holed up in an urban situation the like of which the Marines really haven't seen since Wey City, the battle of Wey City in Vietnam.
(END AUDIOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: We will probably know soon if it is Option A or Option B, as Tony Perry of "The Los Angeles Times" explained for us.
Talking to him a little bit earlier this morning from Fallujah and, again, he is embedded with the First Marine Division -- Bill.
HEMMER: Soledad, since U.S. action in Iraq began more than a year ago, the pictures shown in the U.S. very different from those on Arabic language networks.
Those networks reach millions across the Persian Gulf and throughout the Middle East. Case in point, this is how some of the video looked yesterday in Fallujah on U.S. broadcast networks including our own here on CNN.
Meanwhile some of the coverage provided by the Al-Jazeera satellite TV station much different not just in the pictures but also in the words.
The Bush administration believes their coverage is inciting violence against U.S. troops and the Iraqi allies and now we await for an administration response yet again today, and for that Suzanne Malveaux is at the White House this morning for us.
Good morning there.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. Well, Al-Jazeera's base is Qatar and the concern is so serious among administration officials that yesterday Secretary Powell meeting with Qatar's foreign minister -- came out of their meeting and said that he was concerned about some of the coverage, what is considered exaggerations and perhaps inflammatory coverage from Al-Jazeera and others.
The U.S. position is this: it is not only an issue about misinformation or even perhaps United States losing the public relations war, but its an issue of safety.
They believe that this misinformation, these exaggerations are inciting violence, making it more dangerous for Americans, Iraqis and others in the region.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: It's the inflammatory nature of much of their reporting, particularly when much of that -- much of that inflammatory material coming out of Iraq these days is not only designed to inflame the situation but is in fact totally false and they do this without seeking clarification or substantiation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Senior state department officials say that the U.S. government has not asked Qatar to take Al-Jazeera off the air, they simply have asked perhaps to take a greater role in oversight of its coverage. The foreign minister of Qatar says, yes, he admits that sometimes Al-Jazeera does exaggerate, but he also says that the coverage reflects the thinking in the region -- Bill.
HEMMER: Suzanne, as a practical matter, what can the White House do with influence here? Saying one thing and getting them to act in another way are two completely different matters that we've talked about for the past year.
MALVEAUX: Well, the White House is already taking action because they are really involved in their own information campaign. That on the ground inside of Iraq as well as throughout the region through various media outlets.
They want to make sure that the Iraqis as well as other people in the area at least get the view of the United States. What they believe is the neutral view.
At the same time, of course, they are trying to flex their political muscle with Qatar but you are right, they are somewhat limited in what they can do there.
HEMMER: Suzanne Malveaux, thanks from the front lawn this morning. Now Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Late last night veteran GOP Senator Arlen Specter narrowly won a shot at a fifth term in Pennsylvania -- Specter won the closely watched primary battle with 51 percent of the vote. He wished his opponent well and called on Republicans there to come together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R) PENNSYLVANIA: I compliment Congressman Pat Toomey on a hard-fought campaign. Now -- now is the time having settled our family disagreement within the Republican Party to unify, to reelect President Bush, to maintain a Republican majority in the United States Senate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Congressman Toomey has intimated that Arlen Specter isn't conservative enough for Pennsylvania, but says that he is going to support Specter in the November elections.
HEMMER: That was a close one, wasn't it?
O'BRIEN: Yes, it sure was.
HEMMER: Indeed it was.
O'BRIEN: Fifty-one -- that is squeaking by.
HEMMER: Yes, just by that.
In a moment here they are labeled enemy combatants by the White House. Today they get their hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court. What's at stake there and what will it mean for the war on terror. Live to the court in a moment for that.
O'BRIEN: Then the war of words over the war records of the president and Senator John Kerry. Does anybody win in this kind of battle?
HEMMER: Also, why is Elton John fuming about FOX'S "American Idol"? Find out ahead in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: This morning the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments regarding the rights of American citizens being held as enemy combatants. It is a critical test of the president's power in the war on terror.
Some suggest the most critical to date. Bob Franken live outside the Supreme Court this morning there. Bob, good morning.
BOB FRANKEN, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
And this is one of those rare occasions when the term "landmark case" has real meaning.
This is a case involving the war on terrorism, which hits really close to home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FRANKEN: What happens if you're a U.S. citizen and the president declares you an enemy combatant? It did happen to Jose Padilla, arrested at Chicago's O'Hare airport in May 2002.
A converted Muslim on his way from Pakistan, Padilla was accused but never officially charged with planting a so-called dirty bomb attack on the United States.
He was soon switched to military custody and spent 19 months in solitary, no access to his family or a lawyer because he was being interrogated by presidential order.
DONNA NEWMAN, JOSE PADILLA'S ATTORNEY: What they are saying if you really read it is that he had information that they wanted but that's a little scary, isn't it?
FRANKEN: In March, the Pentagon let Padilla's attorneys see him but closely monitored.
RUTH WEDGWOOD, INTERNATIONAL LAW EXPERT: Shortly after the September 11th attacks, the Congress authorized the president in plain words to use force against any nation, organization or person he determines necessary to prevent future attacks.
FRANKEN: The arguments over Padilla's constitutional rights are paired with the case of Yaser Hamdi, also born in the U.S., but unlike Padilla raised in Saudi Arabia and -- significantly -- captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan.
THOMAS GOLDSTEIN, SUPREME COURT LEGAL ANALYST: It's finally time for the basic questions about the scope of the president's power to hold people without the approval of the courts are really going to be confronted.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: So the justices are hearing arguments about nothing less than the president's war time powers over U.S. citizens and if there are limits on the president's powers in those circumstances -- Bill.
HEMMER: Bob, thanks for that. Bob Franken in Washington, there in D.C.
Sitting at the legal table for us today our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin checks back in today. Good morning to you.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning.
HEMMER: You were just listening to Bob; what's the critical argument for you today?
TOOBIN: Well, the question is here you have American citizens held in the United States of America but no lawyers, no charges. And the question is under ordinary circumstances, they would get lawyers, they would be able to go into court but now according to the president and the Congress we're at war so those rights are suspended.
Is that fair? Can that be done in 2004 America?
HEMMER: And a very basic way of saying this those who are challenging the administration on this rule are saying that they believe that these Americans are entitled to due process of law just like any other American is entitled.
TOOBIN: That's right. They are Americans; they get their day in court, even though we are involved in a war on terror.
HEMMER: If the administration were to lose this argument have you thought about the impact that would have on the war on terror?
TOOBIN: Well, you know, day to day its hard to -- you know, a lot of it depends on how the opinion is written, but this would basically say to the -- to the Bush administration if Padilla and Hamdi win that the old rules still do apply, that the war on terror has not changed how we operate. Bush administration says in an atmosphere of, you know, terrorism in a 9/11 world, the rules have changed.
HEMMER: So what you're -- the crux of the matter, the rights of judicial review...
TOOBIN: All that refers...
HEMMER: Versus the presidential obligation to protect Americans.
TOOBIN: That's right and -- and judicial review is the sense of, you know, the legal process letting these people hire lawyers, challenge their incarceration, forcing the government to prove their accusations against them, not just simply assert them and that's the end of the story.
HEMMER: So take my previous statement based on history, do presidents win these arguments?
TOOBIN: They usually do -- I mean -- the most famous example is, you know, the internment of the Japanese in World War II -- there you had thousands of people incarcerated during wartime without any showing that any of them were a threat to national security.
It is universally regarded that that was a black stain now against American -- against the victims there and against really the American system of justice.
This is much more narrowly tailored, much more limited intrusion. Now there are only really two people being held but wartime presidents usually win.
HEMMER: Some are saying it's the most critical decision in 50 years. Overstatement?
TOOBIN: I think you get a lot of argument on people Roe v. Wade was probably -- I mean, Bush v. Gore -- I don't know there are a lot of important cases over 50 years but this is an important one.
HEMMER: On this Wednesday morning in late April we'll go with this one.
TOOBIN: All right.
HEMMER: Thanks Jeff, talk to you later. Here's Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Fallujah besieged, joint U.S.-Iraqi patrols set to begin to try to bring some order over there. We're going to have the latest on that.
And also a shock jock still relying it is not all bad news for Howard Stern. We'll explain as AMERICAN MORNING continues right after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Liberal Air America radio may be facing more woes, but shock jock Howard Stern seems to be surviving his troubles quite nicely thank you.
With those stories and a market preview Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business" this morning. What do you want to start with?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Well let's do the radio news.
O'BRIEN: OK.
SERWER: On your AM and FM dial. OK?
O'BRIEN: What's happening over at Air America?
SERWER: Well, it's the one-month anniversary today for Air America today and things a little bit rocky. They've been rocky for the past couple of weeks, actually, but today we learned the co- founder and CEO, that's Mr. O'Franken by the way, that's not the co- founder -- Mark Walsh is resigning -- so is another top executive, Dave Logan -- not the kind of way you want to start off the network.
Two top guys leaving. The network saying well it's the normal course of business. No it isn't. That's not the way things...
O'BRIEN: Have they said why they're leaving? What happened?
SERWER: Well it's programming changes, getting their footing, that kind of thing. Kind of differences. And of course off the air in L.A. and will be off the air in Chicago, they really had all kinds of problems over there haven't they?
Let's go -- Jack is just eating this up.
There's chuckling is the right way to characterize his behavior.
CAFFERTY: I'm entertained by your segments each morning.
SERWER: Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: I look forward to them.
SERWER: Let's talk about Howard Stern. You know the FCC's campaign against Mr. Stern may be backfiring. That's because his ratings are soaring.
Of course, the FCC has been fining radio stations and networks that have been carrying Howard Stern -- and Clear Channel Communications, the nation's largest radio network have banned him, dumped him from six stations.
Well, we're finding out today, Soledad, that Chicago, New York and L.A. his ratings are high and higher -- he's number one in these markets now again and...
O'BRIEN: Even bad press is good press as long as they spell your name right.
SERWER: There's no such thing as bad publicity. Some of us know that.
HEMMER: Soledad.
SERWER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: That's right, spell it right. Let's talk about the markets.
SERWER: Let's do that. Yesterday a mixed session on Wall Street. Blue chips were OK, techs a little bit coming back down but still above the Hemmer line. Hemmer line is 2,000.
O'BRIEN: Can I tell you something about this haircut he's got going on today?
SERWER: Talking about Hemmer lines.
HEMMER: What about that spring do. Only took you 24 minutes to go there.
O'BRIEN: I couldn't figure out how to fit it into the top of the show.
SERWER: It's really something there, Bill. Looking good.
O'BRIEN: Can you get a shot of it? Look, it's...
You look ten years younger.
HEMMER: Thank you very much.
CAFFERTY: I told him during the break if you're going to pay for a haircut you might as well get it cut -- cut them all.
HEMMER: And I did. O'BRIEN: You look good though. He hates when I touch it but I like it.
SERWER: If it feels good do it, Bill.
HEMMER: Thanks a lot. "Question of the Day" from Jack.
CAFFERTY: Well thanks, Bill. The greatest fear of U.S. military commanders in Iraq a year ago could be coming back to haunt them now. The prospect of fighting in the city.
Street to street, house to house. The options on the table so far in Fallujah and negotiating with the insurgents and ceasefire seem to be going nowhere and that leaves coalition forces with two choices, neither of them particularly appealing.
One, a ground assault, which would increase American causalities sharply at a time when there are questions about how high the appetite is for more coffins coming back to this country from Iraq -- plus, it's a political liability if causalities start to rise for President Bush in this election year, or an air assault.
Now that would save American lives, but there'd be a much higher Iraqi civilian death toll by striking insurgents that are hiding in mosques and behind Iraqi women and children. What a courageous bunch. And that's something that's sure to increase the anti-American sentiment throughout Iraq.
So, it's a tough situation. Here's the question, what's the answer to the situation in Fallujah? And we trust that you'll come up with something acceptable between now and 10:00. The nation is counting on you.
SERWER: Yes.
HEMMER: The clock is running.
O'BRIEN: It truly is though a massive question, a mess.
CAFFERTY: It's a very, very difficult -- and in the background is this supposed hand off of power by June 30.
SERWER: Coming up soon, yes.
HEMMER: Could be the end of May as the suggestion was yesterday, so.
CAFFERTY: Really? Wow.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. All right, thanks, Jack. Interesting question.
Still to come this morning, battle lines are drawn as the Bush and Kerry campaigns take aim over military records. A look at that is ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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