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CNN WOLF BLITZER REPORTS

Fighting in Fallujah, Najaf; Bush Gets Ready to Meet With 9/11 Commission

Aired April 27, 2004 - 17:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hot spots. Fallujah. A fierce new flare up follows bitter fighting in the city heartland.

Najaf. After a furious battle with U.S. forces, Shi'ite hard liners bury their dead.

9/11 probe. As the president gets ready to meet with investigators could Congress have done more to prevent the attacks on America?

Back to Iraq? Two surviving sisters make an excruciating decision.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, April 27, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: U.S. forces on the offensive in Fallujah. This was the scene in the Sunni Triangle -- a city in Fallujah. Just in the last few hours U.S. Marines hammering what are believed to be insurgent targets from the ground and the air. We'll hear from a reporter who was on the scene as it happened in just a moment.

First, though, more on Fallujah, and other battle lines.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Fallujah, a long simmering standoff between U.S. forces and insurgents boils over -- at least temporarily.

Gunfire and explosions could be seen and heard as an AC-130 gunship fired repeatedly on targets inside the city just a few hours ago. Joint patrols between U.S. Marines and Iraqis were supposed to start today, but were post appointed with American military officials saying the Iraqis simply weren't ready.

There's no word on how tonight's action by the U.S. will affect talks with insurgents to lay down their weapons. There had been little response before tonight.

Funerals in Najaf, Shi'a's holiest city now face a radical anti- American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his banned Medhi army. Mourners chanted "long live Sadr" during a funeral procession today for some of the insurgents killed in fierce fighting with U.S. forces.

The Americans called in helicopters and an AC-130 gunship as they attack (UNINTELLIGIBLE) positions outside the city yesterday. U.S. military officials say at least 64 insurgents were killed.

But the man the U.S. really wants, Sadr, remains holed up in the city, wanted in last year's murder of a rival cleric. American officials say about 2,500 soldiers are surrounding Najaf, but their commanders are very hesitant to enter the city because of its religious significance to Shi'ites.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: More now on the Fallujah offensive from pool reporter Karl Penhaul. He was with U.S. Marines outside the city when the assault started.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There in the distance about 800 meters or one kilometer, we're talking about three quarters of a mile from the position where we're now standing, you may be able to make out plumes of black smoke rising in the distance and blowing across Fallujah's night sky.

We can hear in the air the rumble of an AC-130 Spectre gunship, a coalition aircraft that has been blasting those positions that we can see there in the distance. Blasting them with what we're told are probably 105 millimeter Howitzer Cannons, round after round going in there.

I believe that I counted on the first run by the Spectre gunship possibly 20, 25 rounds going in. That sent up flames and sparks from the ground. The gunship then made several circles through the sky and returned and started to hit another position, again, with probably 20- 25 rounds beings big thumps as they left the aircraft.

This strike comes the day after a U.S. Marine platoon from the small base where we are now positioned was engaged in a heavy gun battle with Iraqi insurgents taking a stand here in the city of Fallujah. That gun battle lasted for about three or three and a half hours yesterday, Monday. Results in one Marine dead and at least nine others injured.

All the time these attacks have been going on in the distance we can hear chants and songs from one of the many mosques in Fallujah. From this distance it's very difficult to detect what the demands or what they may be saying or chanting. Unclear whether this is an extension of prayer time or whether it's a specific act that caused a specific service because they can see what is going on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: That was Karl Penhaul the embedded television pool reporter with U.S. Marines in Fallujah. Let's get the view from the Pentagon now. Go to our correspondent there, Barbara Starr. What are they saying, Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf as we watch these very dramatic pictures come in from Fallujah, the question is, is the offense on? Is the cease-fire over? What is really going on there?

Let's try and put some context on it. Certainly, a lot of firepower moving through the air in Fallujah over the last several hours. Now, technically, and it may just be a technical point right now, the cease-fire is still in place.

The Marines say they called in two AC-130 gunships. That's the effect we have seen in the video against two targets in Fallujah after the Marines defensive positions came under fire.

Earlier today at the Pentagon, the top officials said they are still trying to give every chance to trying to make the cease-fire work in Fallujah. Here's a bit of what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The people on the ground have indicated to General Myers and to me that they believe what they're doing and the pace at which they're doing it is net in the interest of their goals.

GEN. RICHARD MYERS, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: It's worth a try.

RUMSFELD: It's worth a try.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Worth a try is what they say. They want to proceed, they want to try and make it work. But when you see these pictures, hard to believe that there is still technically a cease-fire in place.

But today less talk of deadlines, deadlines for the insurgents to turn over their heavy weapons, deadlines for joint U.S.-Iraqi security patrols to begin in Fallujah because at this point the crucial problem is what do they do about it?

U.S. officials are saying they know if it comes to all out fighting, street by street, house by house, it will be very ugly business. It will be civilian casualties. There will be heavy damage. A lot of concern how all that will play across Iraq and indeed across the Arab world -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Thanks, Barbara, very much.

Let's bring in our national security analyst Ken Robinson. Ken, let me draw one scenario. The U.S. Marines, the U.S. military seeking to scare or intimidate the insurgents. This is basically simply a warning? KEN ROBINSON, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I believe that your analysis is correct. They are dealing with arrows in one hand, olive branch in the other. They are very serious about any threats. The Marines have joked in almost gallows humor.

And they've said that what they're doing is turning their weapons in one mortar round at a time and one bullet at a time. If they have targets of opportunity they're going to take them.

BLITZER: An AC-130 gunship. That can be a terrifying ordeal to go through. Explain to our viewers what is involved, what those on the ground, the targets might be experiencing from these gunships.

ROBINSON: The AC-130 gunship, and there are two gunships in play for this attack which just recently occurred. It has a 105 millimeter Howitzer, it has a 40 millimeter cannon, it has a 20 millimeter cannon.

And it produces an awesome amount of fire at a very large rate. And they can focus it. They can focus it with precision on a one meter area. The Rangers in Special Operations use this aircraft for danger close missions close to them all the time in training. And in combat it's very effective.

BLITZER: Was this just a target of opportunity that they saw and as a result they decided to hit it? Or was it, as we're suggesting, perhaps, simply an effort to scare or intimidate?

ROBINSON: My analysis would be that they had specific intelligence either from drones or from human intelligence that gave them an actionable target so they could apply combat power on it. They would not use combat power to simply scare. They could use it to make a point to actually kill any insurgent threats.

BLITZER: We'll see what the impact is going to be when the dust settles. Thanks very much, Ken Robinson, for that.

Gunfire and explosions also shook an unlikely place today, the Syrian capital. Witnesses heard a series of blasts right in the heart of Damascus. Syrian television said, and I'm quoting now, "A group of terrorists traded fire with Syrian security forces." One passerby was reportedly killed along with at least one attacker.

The clash in the tightly controlled capital took place near the Iranian and Canadian embassies and near the residence, the residence of the British ambassador to Syria. Witnesses said a building once used by the United Nations was heavily damaged. Sources say it's unclear at this moment what group was involved in the fighting. Syria has been on the U.S. State Department's list of nations which sponsor terrorism. We're following the story, hope to get some more details for you as this hour continues.

The fight for Fallujah, though, clearly our top story. That fight now underway. U.S. aerial gunships pounding suspected insurgent positions. Our live coverage of this developing story continues and I'll speak with one of the few journalists in the city. Plus -- visiting Saddam Hussein. Is the imprisoned Iraqi leader cooperating? I'll speak with coalition spokesman Dan Senor and the chief U.S. military spokesman General Mark Kimmitt.

Difficult decision, from the sisters of a fallen soldier in Iraq. We'll find out whether or not they are planning to return to the war zone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Two hot spots in Iraq are causing enormous trouble for the U.S.-led coalition. The Shiite holy city of Najaf is home to a radical cleric with his own private army. In the Sunni heartland Fallujah is still with Saddam Hussein loyalists and a number of foreign fighters.

U.S. marines have again been in action there today as we've been seeing here on CNN. The coalition's spokesman Dan Senor and the U.S. military spokesman General Mark Kimmitt joined me earlier from Baghdad just before the start of the aerial bombardment of Fallujah.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Yesterday we heard that the marines had, what, some 7,000 troops already in place. If it comes down to fighting do you have enough forces already there?

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: We're absolutely confident that the marines are more than capable of finishing the problem in Fallujah by military force.

BLITZER: How different is the situation, General Kimmitt, in Najaf?

KIMMITT: Well, it's a little bit different there because it's not as far advanced. The discussions are not anywhere near the same level they are in Fallujah. It's a little bit of a larger area because it extends not only to Najaf but parts of Karbala, as well. And it's a different enemy down there. He is Muqtada al-Sadr and his militia have sort of insinuated themselves among the holy shrines of Najaf. So we have that concern to make sure that we don't unnecessarily inflame the situation by going against an area that means so much to the Shia people.

BLITZER: How worried are you, General Kimmitt, that some insurgents might deliberately attack a holy site, a mosque, some other temple or whatever and blame it on the U.S.?

KIMMITT: Well, I think we've always got to keep that in the back of our minds. I think we've always got to be ready to address any accusations in that regard.

BLITZER: Let's bring Dan Senor in. The spokesman for the coalition provisional authority. Dan, the whole visit, the first visit by the International Red Cross to Saddam Hussein, give us what you can on what happened. DAN SENOR, CPA SPOKESMAN: You know, Wolf, under international law, we actually are not allowed to discuss the meeting that took place. Any questions on it would have to be taken up by the ICRC.

BLITZER: But you can confirm that the visit did take place. And this was the first time representatives of the Red Cross met with the former Iraqi dictator?

SENOR: No, it's the second time. They met several months ago and, yes, we can confirm the meeting did occur.

BLITZER: What about his cooperation or lack thereof. What can you tell us about Saddam Hussein now. His birthday is tomorrow. He's going to be 67 years old. Is he talking? Is he cooperating?

SENOR: No, Wolf. He is not being cooperative. Early on, we were being told that there was intelligence being gathered by the documents that were with him that shed some insight into the nature of the insurgency, how it was being financed and some other related matters but that was strictly a function of the documents he had with him and some related information. He himself has not been terribly cooperative.

BLITZER: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is now being blamed for the attack against the oil facilities near Basra. He's being blamed for what happened , the near terrorist attack in Amman, Jordan. Dan Senor, first to you, then I'll bring General Kimmitt in. Is he to blame for all of this?

SENOR: Well, it certainly looks to be that way, Wolf. But it's too early to tell. He is a very bad guy. He's an international terrorist. Zarqawi has very direct ties to al Qaeda. He's been involved with al Qaeda for a number of years. Several months ago, we discovered a document that was drafted by Mr. Zarqawi, headed for the senior al Qaeda leadership in Afghanistan that outlined his battle plan for Iraq. And in there were very specific operations that he had taken credit for that occurred in the past and he described the sorts of operations that he would like to be involved with going forward.

We are now seeing some of those manifest themselves out. We are seeing attacks similar to the kinds of attacks he described in that document. So while we don't know for certain if he was behind them, we know this, they are definitely a clear link based on what he described and what has occurred. We need obviously some more granularity, more depth. But certainly has all the look and feel of al Qaeda and Mr. Zarqawi.

BLITZER: General Kimmitt, is he in Iraq or some place else?

KIMMITT: We remain confident that he is most likely in Iraq.

BLITZER: Any idea where?

KIMMITT: He has been able to operate throughout the country as recently as three days ago we saw what he was able to do with his people down in Basra. He is sort of able to slip around this country with some relative ease, we believe. But if we had to make a bet we'd say he's somewhere in central Iraq, probably somewhere between Baghdad and Fallujah.

BLITZER: That would be the Sunni Triangle. General Kimmitt, thank you very much for joining us. Dan Senor. Good luck to both of you as well.

SENOR: Good to be with you.

KIMMITT: Good to be with you, thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Heavy fighting in Fallujah is happening right now. You have been watching CNN over the past few hours, you've seen our live coverage and our live coverage will continue.

Plus -- should the White House go public on Vice President Dick Cheney's secret meetings with energy executives? The U.S. Supreme Court will decide.

Others have taken plenty of heat, could Congress have done more to head off the 9/11 attacks?

And once they were three, now two surviving sisters make a very difficult decision on their future as U.S. soldiers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're watching the situation in Fallujah right now. Fierce fighting has been going on. We'll go live to Fallujah. We have a reporter standing by.

Let's check some other news happening right now. It's a political and legal battle involving the vice president of the United States, Dick Cheney, that has gone on for almost three years.

Today it reached the United States Supreme Court. Justices heard arguments on whether the White House should make public records of Cheney's secret meetings with energy executives to set up a national energy policy. Our national correspondent Bob Franken has been covering the story for us. He joins us live -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And, Wolf, this is one of the occasions when the Supreme Court is dealing with one of its most fundamental issues.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (voice-over): Vice President Cheney wants the justices to decide what he and the Bush administration say is a fundamental constitutional question.

TED OLSON, SOLICITOR GENERAL: This is a case about the separation of powers. FRANKEN: U.S. solicitor general Ted Olson argued no judge, no other branch of government has the power to force Cheney to release the records.

OLSON: Congress may neither intrude on the president's ability to perform the functions or authorize private litigants to use the courts to do so.

FRANKEN: This drama had a subplot. Justice Antonin Scalia had refused to remove himself from the case even after disclosures he had gone duck hunting in January with Cheney.

Would he challenge as usual the solicitor general's arguments? He did.

"What was the arm in just releasing who actually voted on energy policy?"

ANTONIN SCALIA, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: Why would that be such an intrusion upon the executives?

FRANKEN: Why not, several justices asked Olson, just claim executive privilege?

OLSON: Executive privilege may not have covered every scrap of paper.

ALAN MORRISON, SIERRA CLUB ATTORNEY: Mr. Vice president, what are you hiding?

FRANKEN: That was the attorney for the Sierra Club outside. Inside he argued the law required that the administration show if it's energy policy had been shaped by Cheney's meetings with corporate energy executives.

MORRISON: The question is what happened at those meetings. And that's what we seek discovered.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: Now the justices are going to rule by the end of June. Of course, Wolf, that's right in the heat of the campaign. And of course this is a political issue as much as it is a legal issue.

BLITZER: All right. We'll be watching. Bob Franken, thanks very much for that report.

And to our viewers, here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our "Web Question of the Day" is this: should Vice President Cheney's private records on a national energy task force be made public? You can vote right now. Go to cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results later in this broadcast.

Mounting a massive offensive. U.S. forces kill 64 insurgents outside Najaf. And fierce fighting flaring up in Fallujah. Urban warfare it appears now imminent. In Iraq, up next, a situation report from an embedded reporter on the ground right now in Fallujah.

Shift in status. The Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi makes a rare visit to the European Union. Why the sudden solidarity?

And an extremely difficult decision. Their sister was killed in Iraq. Now these two soldiers face a dilemma. Choose fighting back in Iraq or family here at home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Fierce fighting in the Iraqi city of Fallujah. The cease-fire is violated. Gun battles begin. We'll speak with a journalist on the ground in just a moment. First a quick check of the latest headlines.

Another closed door hearing in the case against NBA star Kobe Bryant today. The judge is trying to determine whether the sexual history of Bryant's accuser can be brought up during trial. Prosecutors are expected to call their own witnesses once the defense finishes its side.

Moammar Gadhafi returned to Europe for the first time in 15 years today. The Libyan leader was in Belgium at the European Union. Gadhafi said he was ready to work for peace but warned that more violence in the Middle East could undue Libya's recent conversion.

Witnesses say there was a hour-long gun battle between police and a group described as terrorists in Damascus today. Sources say one passerby was killed and the Syrian ambassador to the U.S. says one attacker died. Several loud explosions were reported before the shooting began.

More now on our top story, the fierce fighting in the Iraqi city of Fallujah. U.S. warplanes today pounded insurgent positions where Marines have been locked in a two-week standoff.

"Los Angeles Times" reporter Tony Perry is there. He's embedded with the U.S. Marines. He's joining us now once again live on the phone.

Tony, the pictures look awful. It looked devastating. You were there. Tell us what happened.

TONY PERRY, "THE LOS ANGELES TIMES": Well, what we have tonight is Air Force AC-130 gunships hitting insurgent strongholds, hitting weapon caches.

We have had explosions that rocked the northwest section of the city, lighting it up. We have had sporadic gunfire. At this stage, Wolf, I would call the fighting really moderate. You have to remember, we've had fighting almost every night at some level or another, despite the truce. It does not seem -- we have had more fighting on other nights. We've had less fighting. I would put this at the 50th percentile.

There has been sporadic gunfire back and forth, nothing like we saw yesterday midday where we had a two-hour vicious firefight between the Marines and the insurgents. What is new tonight is the insurgents are using anti-aircraft weapons and shooting anti-aircraft missiles at the AC-130. They have been ineffectual. They don't have the training apparently to target an AC-130. But they're certainly trying.

That is what we've known. The Marines have known for a while that they have that kind of capability. They have never used it before. That's what is significant about tonight.

BLITZER: Is this the first time, though, that AC-130 gunships have pounded insurgent positions the way we have seen in these pictures?

PERRY: No, not at all. The AC-130 is up every night. It's called slayer. And it hits targets almost every night. And the Marines say they sleep better knowing that the slayer is in the sky. It moves slow. It lingers over the target. It can see everything. It can hit anything it wants. It can chase a target. An insurgent car, for example, a gunman car, it can hit.

No, the AC-130 has been the six-wing of choice throughout this three weeks. And I would say again that the AC-130 is probably hitting fewer targets tonight than it has on some nights, more than some nights, less than other nights.

What is different here is they are hitting weapons caches. And those always give you that secondary, two, three, four, five explosions that rock the night and you get that red glow. That is also significant here, that and the anti-aircraft fire that the insurgents are mounting.

BLITZER: I guess what is also different is that we had a live television camera showing our viewers around the world what was happening there with that AC-130, that attack.

Bottom line, as far as the so-called cease-fire, Tony, is concerned, is it all but done?

PERRY: Well, it is Swiss cheese. It has so many holes in it, it doesn't really even qualify, as I think, from the Marines' point of view, as a cease-fire. They have been engaged with the insurgents, attacked by the insurgents almost every day, almost hourly at some points.

So just what the truce is all about is unclear. There's also been no indication from the insurgents that they are willing to turn in their weapons, that they are willing for renounce the grip they have on parts of the city. Nor is there any indication that the residents of Fallujah are willing to help the U.S. in bringing down the people who murdered the four American contractors and who mutilated their bodies.

And we really have not seen much compliance on the other side. We have seen continued attacks. We have seen no weapons turned in. We have seen no suspects in the mutilation of the bodies. BLITZER: Tony Perry of "The Los Angeles Times," embedded with the U.S. Marines in Fallujah, we'll check back hopefully with you tomorrow at this time. Tony Perry, thank you very much.

And to our viewers, let's take a closer look right now at some of the intense action the U.S. Marines have been encountering this week in the area around Fallujah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just saw someone duck down in that middle window.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Upstairs?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), can we move in?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Negative. Just surrounded place. Do not go in. I say again, do not go in. Just make sure we got good 360 security on that place.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're going to have a psy-ops team come up and call them out. They're going to give them three minutes to come out, those who have been shooting at us from this mosque, OK? Break.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Move it on that side. Have proper respect for this place.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, we're ready.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just take up security positions where they were.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's that? You got it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, six.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're taking heavy fire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been hit!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who was hit?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go! Go!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you all right, dude? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's up, man?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you all right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I'm not hit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How bad is he? He got shot above.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got movement?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hellfire!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Perfect. Direct hit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: U.S. forces in Iraq have their hands full with not only the situation in Fallujah, but another key trouble spot as well. We've been watching that flare-up in Fallujah, where Marines are battling Sunni Muslims and foreign fighters.

But, in Najaf, the U.S. Army is squaring off against Shiites loyal to a militant cleric.

Joining us now here in Washington is Mario Mancuso. He led a U.S. Army special-ops detachment in Iraq, spent several months in Najaf.

You know that situation, Mario, very well. How complicated is the situation in Najaf right now?

MARIO MANCUSO, FORMER SPECIAL OPS COMMANDER: Well, Wolf, it's extremely complicated. But, in some ways, when compared to Fallujah, it is more difficult and more possible as a mission.

Unlike Fallujah, it is a religious, a very important religious city. But there is also a political opening, given the rivalries between the various elements in the Shia community.

BLITZER: How dangerous, though, is the situation in Fallujah if it comes down to urban warfare for U.S. troops to go in a city where there's a lot of religious mosque, symbols, that the Shiites obviously would be very worried about?

MANCUSO: It's incredibly dangerous.

However I should -- when Najaf -- there are two shrines, essentially three areas you have to be concerned about in Najaf, the two shrines, the shrine of Imam Ali, which is the holiest shrine in Najaf, and the Kufa Mosque, which is where most of Muqtada al-Sadr's insurgents are holed up with their weapons.

They are in that mosque and they are also in the surrounding neighborhood of Kufa. The third location is a large and vast Shia cemetery, which is -- it's not a religious space, per se. However, it is a sacred space. It would be difficult, but not impossible.

BLITZER: What are the rules of engagement, if you will, if you are shot at? If you are in the U.S. Army, you go into Najaf, or Karbala, another holy city nearby, and you take fire from a mosque. What do you do?

MANCUSO: Well, the rules of engagement are also highly localized. They're also evolutionary depending on the threats that soldiers or Marines are facing.

In general, you require positive identification. And to the extent that someone takes a shot at you, you can fire back only if you can positively identify the individual or the group of persons who fired upon you. So the U.S. military takes great pains to draft these rules, but also to communicate these rules, not just to the leadership, but to the rank-and-file soldiers who are in these situations.

BLITZER: If al-Sadr, the young Shiite cleric, is holed up in one of the holy sites in a mosque, how do you get him?

MANCUSO: You know, well, first there are two objectives, as I understand, that the coalition forces have announced with respect to Najaf.

One is capturing or killing Muqtada al-Sadr, although, in recent days, that hasn't been discussed as much. The second is disbanding the militia. Those two objectives need to be achieved. However, they don't need to be achieved simultaneously. It could very well be the case that current military actions in Najaf are chipping away at the insurgent power base to an extent where the political dynamics within the community make it easier to march on and deal with Sadr personally at a later date.

BLITZER: You have been watching together with all of us what we have been seeing on television this afternoon happening in Fallujah. What is your sense? What is happening there?

MANCUSO: Well, it is a very difficult situation. Clearly, it's potentially very explosive. With the use of the Spectre gunship, that's a great advantage, and tremendous amount of firepower, highly localized, highly targeted firepower. It's used in close air support situations.

My sense is that every lance corporal, every Marine on the ground is a strategic player, unlike many other wars. With a combination of the significance of that city and the insurgents and the media, one stray round from one M-16 can change the dynamics in the region.

BLITZER: All right, Mario Mancuso, thanks very much for joining us.

MANCUSO: Thank you for having me.

BLITZER: He was a U.S. Army detachment commander in Najaf. But you are now back safe and sound here in Washington. Thanks very much. Just a short while ago, the United Nations' top official involved in the planning of an interim government, Lakhdar Brahimi, briefed the United Nations Security Council. He warned that deteriorating security across the country is extremely worrying, particularly the situation in Fallujah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAKHDAR BRAHIMI, U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY TO IRAQ: Up and down the country. The hopes for a peaceful resolution to the standoff in Fallujah, which the secretary-general had repeatedly expressed in the past weeks, including to the U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, have not yet materialized.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Despite the violence, Brahimi says it is still possible to set up an interim Iraqi government by the end of June. And in fact he says it could even be possible to do it by the end of May. That would be a month before the coalition is scheduled to hand over power, at least a lot of that power, on June 30.

Iraq in the days ahead was at issue today on Capitol Hill. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee began hearing about John Negroponte's nomination to become the next U.S. ambassador to Iraq. The current U.N. ambassador to the U.N. says he expects the world body to have a role in Iraq's future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN NEGROPONTE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UNITED NATIONS: Our efforts can be well coordinated and complementary. There is ample evidence across a broad range of situations that a strong partnership with the international community, including the United Nations organization, is in our strategic interests.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Negroponte must still be confirmed by the Foreign Relations Committee, as well as the whole U.S. Senate.

In the midst of the 9/11 Commission hearing, some are now asking, could Congress, yes, Congress, have done more to prevent the attack? A new report says information on al Qaeda was ignored. Up next, I'll speak with one of those voicing some serious concerns, commission member Timothy Roemer.

And choosing to fight back in Iraq or choosing family, two sisters, two soldiers, one very tough decision.

We'll get to all of that. First, though, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): There's no end in sight to massive pro- democracy demonstrations in Katmandu, capital of Nepal. Despite a ban on public gatherings, 10,000 angry protesters took to streets yesterday. They demand that the king restore the elective parliament he dismissed two years ago.

West Bank violence. Israeli troops killed two Islamic militants during a raid of a refugee camp. Israeli military officials say one was a Hamas leader in the camp. Palestinian medics say a 9-year-old boy was critically wounded.

Independence Day. Security is very tight as Israelis mark the 56th anniversary of the creation of the Jewish state. Soldiers patrolled streets randomly stopping people for inspections.

South Africa birthday. South Africans are celebrating 10 years of democracy and the end of the brutal system of racial separation known as apartheid. The country's first elected black president, Nelson Mandela, joined tens of thousands of people in Pretoria for the swearing in of President Thabo Mbeki to a second term.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: New criticism on congressional oversight of intelligence. A report says some in Congress paid scant attention to information on al Qaeda in the days before the 9/11 attacks. One of those voicing some concerns, 9/11 Commission member, former Congressman Timothy Roemer.

We talked about the issue just a short while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Congressman Roemer, thanks very much for joining us.

We have focused a lot on the executive branch of the U.S. government, how much responsibility, could they have prevented 9/11. We haven't looked much at the role of the U.S. Congress, specifically the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. You were on the Intelligence Committee. Could members of Congress have done more to prevent 9/11?

TIMOTHY ROEMER, PRESIDENT, CENTER FOR NATIONAL POLICY: I certainly ask myself that question all the time, Wolf.

Having served in Congress on the Intelligence Committee, having served on the joint inquiry and now on the 9/11 Commission, I don't think Congress did enough. I don't think I did enough. I wish I would have done more at that time period and we would have had more oversight hearings. There are a couple problems, I think, Wolf, up there

One is that members get on the commission. Just as they are learning to get on the committee, on the Intelligence Committee, there's term limits and they have to get off. That shouldn't be the case. Two, they don't have the oversight ability and auditing and investigative ability that they should have built in permanently on the subcommittees.

And, three, we have a little bit too much partisanship up there at times. And that affects the ability to get the job done. And if we can work, make some suggestions on some reforms in Congress, I think we'll have a more positive relationship up there.

BLITZER: There is a story which you saw in today's "Washington Post" which shows that there was a highly secret intelligence report on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction that was available to members of the Intelligence Committees, but very few members bothered to go and read it because you had to go to a secret vault. You had to just read it privately. This sounds like almost a dereliction of duty.

ROEMER: I'm not sure it's a dereliction of duty.

One of the problems up on the Hill is, you spend so much of your time on budget and on hot-spot meetings. Budget meeting, you have to look at 13 or 14 different agencies and departments within the intelligence community, go through their budgets, see what needs to be rejiggered and refigured. You also have the director of intelligence coming up and saying, here's what is going on in this part of the world. Here's what we're going to brief you on as a covert finding or a potential problem.

And there's not enough time for members to do the substantive investigative work, both positively and negatively, one, holding the feet of the intelligence community to the fire, but, two, working with them, saying, we'll share the risk. We know the terrorism fight is difficult. Tell us what you need to do and we'll help with you that authority if we see it in the best interest of the American people.

BLITZER: Let's look ahead to Thursday morning, 9:30 a.m., at the White House. You and your nine fellow 9/11 Commissioners will be questioning the president and the vice president. What do you want to know?

ROEMER: I think what we want to know -- and I can only speak for myself on this -- is, what I would want to know is, one, was this a priority for this administration? How did the president personally make it a priority, an urgent priority, especially in the spring and summer of 2001, when people were saying, their hair is on fire, the chatter was coming in and saying something big was about to happen.

Two, about policy, how did the president and the vice president reach out to other people on the National Security Council and their staffs and the other agencies to say, where's the policy to address the threats that we're hearing from George Tenet? And, three, I think this could be a very positive meeting. Nobody can make the bureaucracies change more quickly and more fundamentally than the president of the United States.

And we need to work with Congress in a bipartisan way. We need to have the president engaged in the reforms that we will recommend at the end of the day to move from this old paradigm of the Soviet Union intelligence to the new paradigm of going after terrorists and in Tora Bora who may have a laptop computer and may be able to get into this country in a matter of hours.

BLITZER: Tim Roemer, good luck Thursday morning.

ROEMER: Thanks, Wolf.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And will they return to the battlefield after the death of their sister in Iraq? Two U.S. soldiers make a very difficult decision in the wake of a family tragedy. We'll update you on a story we've been following.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We told you about the tough decision facing two members of the Wisconsin National Guard, return to duty in Iraq after their sister was killed there in a Baghdad ambush or request stateside duty and stay closer to their home and family.

CNN's Brian Todd has the Witmer sisters' decision.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An enduring loss, an excruciating decision.

LT. COL. TIM DONOVAN, NATIONAL GUARD: They should complete their active-duty military obligations outside of Iraq.

TODD: After more that two weeks of grief, soul-searching and family discussion, Rachel and Charity Witmer accept the recommendation of the adjutant general of Wisconsin and formerly ask the Army to assign them stateside posts, rather than send them back to Iraq.

Through a spokesman, the adjutant general says he told the sisters they should ask for the transfer, because, if they return to Iraq, the publicity generated by their case would endanger their fellow soldiers.

DONOVAN: It was felt by us here in Madison, Wisconsin, and the by the commanders that their high visibility return to duty in those units wouldn't necessarily do those units any good.

TODD: April 9, Michelle Witmer, 20 years old, Charity's twin, Rachel's younger sister, killed in an ambush in Baghdad. Charity, with a medical battalion in Iraq, and Rachel, who served with Michelle in the 32nd Military Police Company of the Wisconsin Army National Guard, head back to New Berlin, Wisconsin, for the funeral.

Their parents appeal to the National Guard, Pentagon and members of the Congress to keep their surviving daughters home. But Defense Department officials tell CNN, under U.S. military policy, it was up to the sisters to decide whether to ask for so-called compassionate reassignment from a hostile zone.

Through a family spokeswoman, Rachel and Charity express their emotional conflict. They did not want to let down their comrades back in Iraq.

JOAN APT, WITMER FAMILY SPOKESWOMAN: "We have been faced with a profoundly difficult and complex decision. It is by far the most difficult decision we have ever made."

TODD: Now Defense officials say it's mostly a formality. The request goes up the chain of command and will almost certainly be granted. Two sisters stay home. A family breathes a sigh of relief and goes back to grieving.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And we'll have the results of our hot "Web Question of the Day" when we come back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day." Take a look at this, remembering, of course, this is not a scientific poll.

Updating you on the story we've been following this afternoon, U.S. warplanes firing on insurgents in Fallujah. Two U.S. AC-130 gunships pounded targets in the Sunni Triangle, with explosions and large columns of smoke clearly visible in the night sky. Continuing details here on CNN.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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