Najaf Insurgents Launch Heavy Attack; Commander Defends Troops in Prisoner Abuse Case
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Tonight, a new flash point in Iraq. Insurgents in Najaf have launched their heaviest attack so far on American troops. I'll talk with author and professor Rashid Khalidi about the prospects for an end to the violence. The prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq. The soldiers' commander says it's unfair to blame her troops.</s>BRIG. GEN. JANIS KARPINSKI, COMMANDER, 800TH MILITARY POLICE BRIGADE: I do know with almost absolute confidence that they didn't wake up one day and decide to do this.</s>DOBBS: Tonight, in my commentary, putting perspective un- American behavior and the greater affront to Arab and American sensibilities. A small, but growing number of American business leaders say companies that export American jobs to cheap overseas labor markets are making a big mistake.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are losing to others for a short-term gain and a long-term loss.</s>DOBBS: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says exporting America is good for the American economy and good for American jobs. The Chamber's CEO, Tom Donohue is my guest. And record heat in California, wildfires burning more than 2,000 acres. Forestry officials say this summer's fire season could be the worst ever.</s>ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT for Monday, May 3. Here now for an hour of news, debate and opinion, Lou Dobbs.</s>DOBBS: Good evening. Iraqi insurgents today launched the heaviest attacks against American troops in Najaf since the soldiers replaced Spanish troops in that city last month. American troops said they killed as many as 20 Shiite gunmen loyal to the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. No Americans were killed or wounded. Jane Arraf has the report from Najaf.</s>JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): The most intense attack by Muqtada al-Sadr's militia since U.S. forces moved into this base in Najaf three weeks ago. One mortar round hit this abandoned hospital. The only occupants were the dead, left in the morgue here after the Mahdi Army overran it last month.</s>LT. COL. PAT WHITE, 2ND BATTALION, 37TH REGIMENT: We've had about 30 mortar rounds during the attack in various locations in the city coming in at us. And then, of course, everybody's grabbed their AK and jumped up on the roof to fire at us as well.</s>ARRAF: The problem for U.S. Army soldiers in the middle of a crowded Shia city was firing back.</s>COL. BRADY MAY, 2ND BATTALION, 37TH REGIMENT: The particular position we're in right now is the central part of the city. And what you have is the holy sites essentially on either flank of us. And we've been very careful to avoid contact inside the holy sites out of respect for religion.</s>ARRAF: The Army didn't use its artillery or its attack helicopters. These two Apaches took fire from rocket-propelled grenades. The Army says they returned safely to base. (on camera): U.S. military officials say firing has come from essentially all directions around this U.S. base. They say they've even pinpointed mortar rounds coming from the courtyard of a mosque in Kufa. They say they did not fire back. (voice-over): For hours, Salvadoran snipers working with the United States fired from the perimeter. The Army used only small-arms and tank-mounted weapons. Workers reinforced the building housing a handful of civilian coalition officials who have stayed here under daily attack since Sadr seized Najaf and Kufa in April.</s>PHIL KOSNETT, COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY: Our union is fond of saying that more American ambassadors have died in action than American generals since the end of World War II. There's more to being a modern American diplomat than conference tables and cocktail parties.</s>ARRAF: With the constant attacks, it seems unlikely coalition officials will be sitting around a conference table discussing the withdrawal of militia forces anytime soon. Jane Arraf, CNN, Najaf.</s>DOBBS: In Fallujah, the Iraqi general put in charge of the Fallujah Brigade has been replaced only three days after the U.S. military put him in charge. The new general in charge is Mohammed Abdul Latif, a former military intelligence officer in Saddam Hussein's army. The U.S. military replaced General Jassim Mohammed Saleh, who was a member of Hussein's Republican Guard. It turns out the victims of Saddam Hussein's regime were outraged with Saleh's appointment in the first place because they said he was too closely tied to the former dictator. No word whether the same people are equally as outraged that many members of the new Fallujah Brigade apparently fought against U.S. forces trying to free the city of insurgents. Escaped hostage Thomas Hamill today arrived in Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Hamill is receiving medical treatment for a gunshot wound in his right arm before he flies home. Hamill was found by soldiers in the 1st Infantry Division near Balad north of Baghdad. Hamill escaped when he heard an Army patrol near the farmhouse where he was being held prisoner. Hamill was captured three weeks ago when insurgents ambushed his convoy. The U.S. Army today said it has reprimanded six soldiers, admonished another for abusing Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. Six other American soldiers all military policemen face criminal charges. The White House said President Bush today called Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to make certain all of the soldiers involved in the scandal are punished. Senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has the report -- Jamie.</s>JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Lou, the Pentagon today insisted that it began investigating the allegations of prisoner abuse back in January immediately after some of these pictures surfaced. They were turned over, they say, by a concerned is soldier. So far, six soldiers, including some officers, have been reprimand, effectively ending their military careers. And six others, including some military police seen in the photographs, are now facing court-martial on criminal charges. But according to their lawyers and in fact one of the generals who is in charge of the prison, those military police were following orders from military interrogators or, in some cases, the civilians they hired.</s>KARPINSKI: One of the most despicable aspects of those pictures, those faces on those soldiers, those soldiers who belong to one of my M.P. companies, absolutely. I don't know how they do this. I don't know how they allowed these activities to get so out of control, but I do know, with almost absolute confidence, that they didn't wake up one day and decide to do this.</s>MCINTYRE: Now, in a classified Army investigation, General Karpinski, seen there, was also faulted for giving too much authority to the military intelligence officers. And today, again, the U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad said whatever the investigation finds about the role of military intelligence or contractors, there's no excuse for some of the activity depicted in those photographs.</s>BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. DEPUTY CHIEF OF OPERATIONS: I don't know if we should be focusing on specific organizations as much as individual conduct that we saw in those photos. I'm not sure what organization those people were from, but I can tell you that what they were doing in those photos on is absolutely wrong, deplorable, and they should be investigated and prosecuted.</s>MCINTYRE: Now, unlike some of the high-profile cases we've seen recently, like for instance out of Chaplain Yee, who was charged with various offenses that eventually didn't stand up in court, the investigation of these cases has been held very close. In fact, none of the names have been officially released, nor the specific charges or the results of the investigation that led to those charges to date. In fact, so far, General Myers, the Joint Chiefs chairman and Donald Rumsfeld, defense secretary, insist they haven't read this classified report, nor been briefed on it. And, in fact, General Myers approached "60 Minutes" who first aired these pictures and asked them to hold them for some period of time because of his fear that these images might provoke an anti-U.S. backlash in an area where already the U.S. is dealing with a lot of violence -- Lou.</s>DOBBS: Remarkably here, Jamie, General Karpinski is out talking to the media after reassignment, suggestions by General Kimmitt that it's not important which organization the soldiers, all of them military police at this point, were working for. At the same time, this investigation touching upon whether military intelligence as we understand it had some role in all of this. What more can you tell us about that?</s>MCINTYRE: Well, interestingly, there are five separate investigations that have been going on. The most recent one was started just 10 days ago. That's the one looking at the role of military intelligence and also the role of what private contractors, mostly former intelligence or former military people employed by the U.S. government, what role they might have played. And of course, it's particularly problematic when you have American contractors doing this kind of work, because they don't fall under military justice. They don't fall under Iraqi justice. They do fall under U.S. law. But it's very murky about how they will be prosecuted and how they would be brought to justice and what role they should play. That's one of the things, the disturbing questions they're looking at now.</s>DOBBS: Indeed. Thank you very much, Jamie -- Jamie McIntyre, our senior Pentagon correspondent. That brings us to the subject of tonight's poll. The question: Do you believe private security firms, instead of military intelligence, the FBI and the CIA should be interrogating prisoners of war, yes or no? Please cast your vote at CNN.com/Lou. We'll have the results later in the broadcast. Also later here, I've be sharing some of my thoughts about the prisoner abuse scandal and the implications for U.S. policy in the Middle East. I'll also be talking with professor and author Rashid Khalidi about the transfer of power in Iraq on June 30, the role of the United States in the Middle East, and the future of the insurgency confronting the U.S. forces in Iraq. In "America Votes" tonight, President Bush has launched a bus tour in the Midwest. Senator John Kerry has stepped up his advertising. We'll have the report for you on the presidential campaign. And a day of mourning for Pat Tillman, former NFL player, soldier, killed in the line of duty in combat in Afghanistan. Please stay with us.