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Length: 3:46
MILES O'BRIEN: In Iraq, a
lot of violence west of Baghdad in Anbar province.
That's where the latest U.S. deaths are reported. Two
Marines killed in combat.
CNN's Michael Ware is embedded with a Marine unit in
Ramadi. He joins us live -- Michael.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes,
what we see here very much is the war on terror being
fought out day by day, street to street.
Here in Ramadi, this is the al-Qaeda front line.
Al-Qaeda owns the insurgency here, and it's they who
are guiding and funding the attacks against U.S.
Marines and soldiers day in, day out.
Last night we went out with a combat patrol to search
what's generally known as Ramadi's Central Park, akin
to what you find in New York. There, however, in the
last few weeks there's been the emergence of new
graves. They've been digging into the ground and
burying what's suspected to be al-Qaeda fighters.
Today we visited the governor's center, from where
the governor of al-Anbar province tries to administer
some kind of governance across this province, but
he's unable to do so. We see the rate of attacks
continuing from al-Qaeda. However, they've changed
markedly in the past two months.
So what we see here is the war on terror continuing
with an al-Qaeda force that U.S. commanders say has
been disrupted but has not been disturbed or
depleted. And it very much remains as strong as it
always has been -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Michael, how are the troops there able to
tell the difference between attacks that have the
al-Qaeda imprint on them and the local homegrown
insurgency?
WARE: Well, there's a number of indicators, but when
you talk to the young Marine or the young soldier in
the gun pit, he's very frank. He says, "I don't know
who that guy is that's shooting at me and, quite
frankly, I don't care. I'm just going to kill him.
And I'll kill anyone else who steps out to take his
place."
But there are ways to tell. I mean, there's certain
tactics and methods which are purely al-Qaeda, such
as the suicide car bombs and the chest vest suicide
bombers. There's also other kind of indicators, but
also there's what's known as atmospherence.
What we have learned here in Ramadi, particularly, is
that whilst there's a swirling mix of local Iraqi
insurgent groups -- they call themselves nationalists
-- drawn from Saddam's former military and
intelligence apparatus, these groups have been
hijacked by al-Qaeda because of its money and because
of its ideology. And it's al-Qaeda that guides the
fight. So, whoever it is, al-Qaeda is pushing the
buttons.
M. O'BRIEN: So the insurgency is, in essence, taking
orders from al-Qaeda?
WARE: In Ramadi, absolutely. This is the central node
of al-Qaeda. Baghdad for al-Qaeda is one theater of
the fight, but this now is their base.
There's areas here just north of the Euphrates River
which cuts across the top of the city where Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaeda in Iraq leader, would stay,
would move, would plan. His replacement now does the
same thing.
This is a major funnel for al-Qaeda, and it's their
headquarters. Yet, this is an area the size of New
Hampshire. And U.S. forces are only able to put in a
few hundred troops. They can't hope to stop al-Qaeda
out here -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Michael Ware, embedded with the United
States Marines in Ramadi. Thank you very much.
Soledad.