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American Morning
U.S. Planes Drop Leaflets Over Iraq
Aired October 03, 2002 - 09:03 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Late word this morning from the Pentagon, U.S. planes once again in action over the no-fly zone in Iraq, dropping, apparently, what is considered unusual payload.
Barbara Starr at the Pentagon can track this down for us and let us know more. Barbara, what do you have?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Well, CNN has now learned that the U.S. military has now begun leafleting, dropping propaganda air leaflets over southern Iraq.
This all occurred in the last couple of days when a fighter aircraft carrying leaflets dropped these propaganda leaflets over southern Iraq, urging the rank and file, Iraqi enlisted military, to stop supporting Saddam Hussein.
Here you see the leaflet. We have obtained a copy, and what it says to the rank and file on the ground in Iraq is "the destruction experienced by your colleagues in other air defense locations is a response to your continuing aggression towards planes of the coalition forces. No tracking or firing on these aircraft will be tolerated."
The leaflet concludes by telling the Iraqi military, you could be next.
This is the first leaflet drop since Saddam Hussein, back in September, started ratcheting up the activity, more provocations against U.S. aircraft with his anti-aircraft artillery and his surface-to-air missiles. This leafleting operation is the first step now in part of the Pentagon's overall psychological operation against the Iraqi military, trying to reach out to them, convince them that they have no option, that if they continue to support the regime of Saddam Hussein, with some of these provocations in the no-fly zones, that they will be targeted by U.S. warplanes.
We should expect, we are told, to see more of this in the future. Now, this is the first leafleting operation in over a year. We are told there was another leaflet drop last October, but this new effort is part of the pentagon's strategy, again, to demoralize the Iraqi military, given the current state of tensions between the United States and Baghdad -- Bill.
HEMMER: Quickly, Barbara, simple question. Why now, and does it indicate any sort of shift in strategy? STARR: Well, why now? For the official reason is because Saddam Hussein has increased the number of provocations. What an official told us here earlier this morning is, Look, we have expected some of this plinking back and forth, everybody firing at everybody in the past, but since September, the Iraqi military has really ratcheted up, and the U.S. wants to remind them that they are going to get attacked if they keep this up.
That's part of the why now, but clearly, this is part of a much broader, deeper, psychological operation strategy against the Iraqi military, part of the effort to convince them to abandon Saddam Hussein. There is just question that that's part of the Pentagon's strategy.
HEMMER: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Thank you, Barbara.
At the U.N. now here in New York City, chief weapons inspector Hans Blix is set to brief the U.N. Security Council on the deal he reached earlier in the week in Vienna with Iraqi officials. This is a crucial meeting before the security council can start talking about a new resolution.
And watching that from his post at the U.N. is Richard Roth -- Richard, good morning.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. In about 90 minutes, Hans Blix, the chief weapons inspector, will go before the Security Council fresh off two days of technical talks in Vienna with Iraqi officials.
Blix made progress on a lot of inspection items, the so-called practical arrangements, where the inspectors will live, how they get there, and even got access to so-called sensitive sites, but not the eight sprawling presidential sites, large complexes that remain subject to special conditions.
Now, Blix, we're told, after today is going to go to Washington tomorrow, a meeting requested by U.S. officials. Blix, we're told, will meet with senior Bush administration officials.
In about a half hour, he will meet here with U.N. Secretary- General Annan. Blix is the man right now, and even Secretary of State Powell said that Mr. Blix was able to -- quote -- "clear up some of the underbrush with the Iraqi officials," but U.S. officials say there is still a lot more that needs to be done.
Complete, unfettered, unrestricted access. There may even, Bill, today be another meeting of the five permanent veto-carrying members of the Security Council, this divided council on Iraq -- Bill.
HEMMER: On the -- with regard to the presidential palaces, Richard, is there any give that you detect on either side right now, regarding that? in other words, if they say it is an open door policy with unfettered access, but yet some areas are said to be off limits, how is that reconciled then, if at all? ROTH: Now, it is still a little early, they are still divided on that. That is going to be a really contentious issue, as it was in 1998 when Kofi Annan worked out an agreement with Iraq. Still divided, still too early. One diplomat said the issue, also, of over- flights. Iraq could not guarantee the safety of the inspectors when they are in Iraq in certain no-fly areas. So there are still a lot of issues the they have to tussle about, at least today.
HEMMER: Thank you, Richard. Hans Blix at the U.N. today, and as Richard pointed out, D.C. with administration officials tomorrow. Thank you, Richard.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 3, 2002 - 09:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Late word this morning from the Pentagon, U.S. planes once again in action over the no-fly zone in Iraq, dropping, apparently, what is considered unusual payload.
Barbara Starr at the Pentagon can track this down for us and let us know more. Barbara, what do you have?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Well, CNN has now learned that the U.S. military has now begun leafleting, dropping propaganda air leaflets over southern Iraq.
This all occurred in the last couple of days when a fighter aircraft carrying leaflets dropped these propaganda leaflets over southern Iraq, urging the rank and file, Iraqi enlisted military, to stop supporting Saddam Hussein.
Here you see the leaflet. We have obtained a copy, and what it says to the rank and file on the ground in Iraq is "the destruction experienced by your colleagues in other air defense locations is a response to your continuing aggression towards planes of the coalition forces. No tracking or firing on these aircraft will be tolerated."
The leaflet concludes by telling the Iraqi military, you could be next.
This is the first leaflet drop since Saddam Hussein, back in September, started ratcheting up the activity, more provocations against U.S. aircraft with his anti-aircraft artillery and his surface-to-air missiles. This leafleting operation is the first step now in part of the Pentagon's overall psychological operation against the Iraqi military, trying to reach out to them, convince them that they have no option, that if they continue to support the regime of Saddam Hussein, with some of these provocations in the no-fly zones, that they will be targeted by U.S. warplanes.
We should expect, we are told, to see more of this in the future. Now, this is the first leafleting operation in over a year. We are told there was another leaflet drop last October, but this new effort is part of the pentagon's strategy, again, to demoralize the Iraqi military, given the current state of tensions between the United States and Baghdad -- Bill.
HEMMER: Quickly, Barbara, simple question. Why now, and does it indicate any sort of shift in strategy? STARR: Well, why now? For the official reason is because Saddam Hussein has increased the number of provocations. What an official told us here earlier this morning is, Look, we have expected some of this plinking back and forth, everybody firing at everybody in the past, but since September, the Iraqi military has really ratcheted up, and the U.S. wants to remind them that they are going to get attacked if they keep this up.
That's part of the why now, but clearly, this is part of a much broader, deeper, psychological operation strategy against the Iraqi military, part of the effort to convince them to abandon Saddam Hussein. There is just question that that's part of the Pentagon's strategy.
HEMMER: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Thank you, Barbara.
At the U.N. now here in New York City, chief weapons inspector Hans Blix is set to brief the U.N. Security Council on the deal he reached earlier in the week in Vienna with Iraqi officials. This is a crucial meeting before the security council can start talking about a new resolution.
And watching that from his post at the U.N. is Richard Roth -- Richard, good morning.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. In about 90 minutes, Hans Blix, the chief weapons inspector, will go before the Security Council fresh off two days of technical talks in Vienna with Iraqi officials.
Blix made progress on a lot of inspection items, the so-called practical arrangements, where the inspectors will live, how they get there, and even got access to so-called sensitive sites, but not the eight sprawling presidential sites, large complexes that remain subject to special conditions.
Now, Blix, we're told, after today is going to go to Washington tomorrow, a meeting requested by U.S. officials. Blix, we're told, will meet with senior Bush administration officials.
In about a half hour, he will meet here with U.N. Secretary- General Annan. Blix is the man right now, and even Secretary of State Powell said that Mr. Blix was able to -- quote -- "clear up some of the underbrush with the Iraqi officials," but U.S. officials say there is still a lot more that needs to be done.
Complete, unfettered, unrestricted access. There may even, Bill, today be another meeting of the five permanent veto-carrying members of the Security Council, this divided council on Iraq -- Bill.
HEMMER: On the -- with regard to the presidential palaces, Richard, is there any give that you detect on either side right now, regarding that? in other words, if they say it is an open door policy with unfettered access, but yet some areas are said to be off limits, how is that reconciled then, if at all? ROTH: Now, it is still a little early, they are still divided on that. That is going to be a really contentious issue, as it was in 1998 when Kofi Annan worked out an agreement with Iraq. Still divided, still too early. One diplomat said the issue, also, of over- flights. Iraq could not guarantee the safety of the inspectors when they are in Iraq in certain no-fly areas. So there are still a lot of issues the they have to tussle about, at least today.
HEMMER: Thank you, Richard. Hans Blix at the U.N. today, and as Richard pointed out, D.C. with administration officials tomorrow. Thank you, Richard.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
