New and Renewed Attacks in Iraq
SWEENEY: Welcome back. I'm Fionnuala Sweeney in Haifa, Israel.</s>GORANI: And I'm Hala Gorani in Beirut. Now, with all of the fighting that's been going on in southern Lebanon, and northern Israel, as well, Iraq hasn't made headlines much lately. But there have been new and renewed attacks, sectarian violence in that country with horrifying new tactics. And there are new questions about whether Iraq is indeed sliding into a full-blown civil war. The matter is front and center before the U.S. Senate today, where high-level U.S. officials have been testifying, including the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East.</s>ABIZAID: I believe that the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I've seen it in Baghdad, in particular. And that if not stopped, it's possible that Iraq could move towards civil war.</s>SWEENEY: Well, now to Iraq, where some say it's descending into civil war. Some deny it is. Others say it already has slipped into civil war. Harris Whitbeck has more on the day's events.</s>HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fionnuala. There were more attacks today in Baghdad, again targeting civilians. A bomb went off in a busy square in one of the busiest shopping districts in Baghdad. The explosion occurred at around 3:50 in the afternoon, a time during which shopkeepers were closing up their shops, a lot of activity on the streets. There were 10 people killed, and 32 others were wounded. People also reacting to an attack which occurred yesterday on a soccer field in a Shia neighborhood, a poor Shia neighborhood in Baghdad. There were several players and spectators killed there. Among the dead were three teenagers. People reacting with particular shock to that incident, given that it occurred on a soccer field and that there were children who were involved. The violence does seem to be on the rise here, Fionnuala. And it certainly seems to be random, and it seems to be targeting more civilians -- Fionnuala.</s>SWEENEY: Can I ask you, Harris, whether or not there's been any change in tactics on the part of Sunni and Shia in this war?</s>WHITBECK: No, we haven't really seen any change in tactics at this stage. What I can tell you -- the difference that we've seen, again, is the fact that there are more civilians -- or there are more targets where there are more civilians. So more civilians are being wounded and killed. Now, there are different types of violence in Iraq. There's the sectarian violence, which obviously involves Shias, Sunnis, but there's also a lot of organized crime. A lot of the kidnappings that we've seen, there was just one massive kidnapping a couple of days ago. And a lot of those kidnappings have to do more with organized crime than with -- with politics -- Fionnuala.</s>SWEENEY: All right. Harris Whitbeck reporting live from Baghdad. Thank you. Let's go now to Hala once again, who's standing by in Beirut -- Hala.</s>GORANI: Well, Fionnuala, the debate over Iraq hasn't escaped the attention of the U.S. Congress, of course. Our Dana Bash is in Washington and has been following some heated exchanges at a congressional committee -- Dana.</s>DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Hala. Well, it has certainly been a riveting morning inside that hearing room here on Capitol Hill, where senators, members of the Armed Services Committee, are questioning top military commanders, as well as Secretary Rumsfeld. And what has made it most interesting is the fact that military commanders, in particular, have been giving really grim and rather sober -- sobering assessments of the situation on the ground in Iraq. As we heard just a short while ago, General John Abizaid, the top commander in the Middle East, said that he sees the sectarian violence as bad, as he has seen it, and that Iraq could be moving towards a civil war. But he also was careful to say that he thinks that could be averted. Now, in one of the series of questioning, Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, asked the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Peter Pace, about what he thinks about the idea of a civil war. Let's listen.</s>SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: General Pace, you said there's a possibility of the situation in Iraq evolving into civil war. Is that correct?</s>GEN. PETER PACE, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: I did say that, yes, sir.</s>MCCAIN: Did you anticipate this situation a year ago?</s>PACE: No, sir.</s>MCCAIN: Did you, General Abizaid?</s>ABIZAID: I believe that a year ago it was clear to see that sectarian tensions were increasing. That they would be this high? No.</s>BASH: Now, Senator McCain also said that he was quite upset about what he sees as a whack-a-mole approach that the U.S. military has towards what's going on in Iraq, talking about the fact that now they are moving more U.S. troops toward Baghdad. He said, you know, a short while ago it was Ramadi, Falluja. He said that he's not -- really not clear that there really is a real long-term approach and plan to dealing with the uptick in the violence and the insurgency. Now, one of the other issues surrounding this hearing, Hala, has been the fact that Secretary Rumsfeld did not plan on attending until late last night. He had said, no, he wouldn't attend, he would rather talk to senators in private. But he had a change, of course, last night, and, of course, he is there, you see, talking to the senators. One of the Democrats who was most outraged vocally about the fact that he wasn't planning to come was Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton from New York. And there was an exchange between she and the secretary, particularly about his leadership in conducting this war.</s>SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: Well, I think it's fair to say that that collective common sense overwhelmingly does not either understand or approve of the way you and the administration are handling Iraq and Afghanistan. Under your leadership, there have been numerous errors in judgment that have led us to where we are in Iraq and Afghanistan.</s>DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Are there setbacks? Yes. Are there things that people can't anticipate? Yes. Does the enemy have a brain and continue to make adjustments on the ground requiring our forces to continue to make adjustments? You bet. Is that going to continue to be the case? I think so. Is this problem going to get solved in the near term about this long struggle against violent extremism? No, I don't believe it is.</s>BASH: Now, the secretary also went on to say, "I think it's going to take some time." But that -- there you get a sense of how the Democrats are approaching this situation. It is, of course, less than three months before a U.S. election, and Senator Clinton, among others, are up for re-election. And they made mentioned of the fact that their constituents are quite interested to hear what the secretary has to say, and especially what the panel has to say about the key issue for Americans, is when U.S. troops can come home. General Abizaid made clear that statements earlier last year about whether they could come home this year probably are not going to happen -- Hala.</s>GORANI: All right. Dana Bash on Capitol Hill. Stay with us. You're with YOUR WORLD TODAY. When we come back, I'll be speaking with a senior adviser to the Lebanese prime minister, Fouad Siniora, for perspective and reaction to the day's events. Stay with us.