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CNN Live At Daybreak

Kuwait, Unfriendly Ally?

Aired November 26, 2002 - 06:33   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.


CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. forces are finding that some Kuwaitis don't want them there, even though their mission is to defend the Persian Gulf nation.
Our Kevin Sites is in Kuwait with more on this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN SITES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Operation Desert Spring, a U.S. military training exercise on Kuwait's northwest frontier. It's primary focus?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To provide deterrence from Iraqi aggression to the Kuwaitis, so we help defend Kuwait.

SITES: But defensive or not, the presence of 10,000 U.S. troops here has caused friction with some Kuwait residents. One quarter of the country has been closed off to civilians, officials say to protect the public from the soldiers during training and protect the soldiers from the public.

(on camera): The restricted zone was created last month, after attackers shot and killed one U.S. Marine and seriously wounded another, during a different training exercise just off the Kuwaiti coast.

You talk with your friends, and when you talk with the people in Kuwait, what do they say about American presence here? Very candidly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, they don't like it. They don't want it.

SITES (voice-over): During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, many Kuwaitis like to camp in the desert, but with so many tanks and heavy weapons, finding a peaceful spot is difficult. The Kuwaitis know a U.S.-led war with Iraq is possible. They're even preparing for it with emergency drills, although during this run-through, you pay enough attention to give it a second look.

But there's still talk of war, even at this marketplace in Kuwait City. Here, you can buy anything from furniture to fish. Here, some feel peace may be as elusive as these parakeets.

People here don't want war, but they don't want Saddam Hussein either.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't want to (UNINTELLIGIBLE), but also, we can't have the cake and eat it. So, you know, we are hoping that things will settle politically, and the Iraqi (UNINTELLIGIBLE) could, you know, throw him out, throw Saddam out before, you know, any war occurs or anything happens.

SITES: And that's the same dichotomy that makes many Kuwaitis grateful to American forces for helping to liberate them in the past but nervous about their presence now.

Kevin Sites, CNN, Kuwait.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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 November 26, 2002 - 06:33   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. forces are finding that some Kuwaitis don't want them there, even though their mission is to defend the Persian Gulf nation.
Our Kevin Sites is in Kuwait with more on this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN SITES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Operation Desert Spring, a U.S. military training exercise on Kuwait's northwest frontier. It's primary focus?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To provide deterrence from Iraqi aggression to the Kuwaitis, so we help defend Kuwait.

SITES: But defensive or not, the presence of 10,000 U.S. troops here has caused friction with some Kuwait residents. One quarter of the country has been closed off to civilians, officials say to protect the public from the soldiers during training and protect the soldiers from the public.

(on camera): The restricted zone was created last month, after attackers shot and killed one U.S. Marine and seriously wounded another, during a different training exercise just off the Kuwaiti coast.

You talk with your friends, and when you talk with the people in Kuwait, what do they say about American presence here? Very candidly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, they don't like it. They don't want it.

SITES (voice-over): During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, many Kuwaitis like to camp in the desert, but with so many tanks and heavy weapons, finding a peaceful spot is difficult. The Kuwaitis know a U.S.-led war with Iraq is possible. They're even preparing for it with emergency drills, although during this run-through, you pay enough attention to give it a second look.

But there's still talk of war, even at this marketplace in Kuwait City. Here, you can buy anything from furniture to fish. Here, some feel peace may be as elusive as these parakeets.

People here don't want war, but they don't want Saddam Hussein either.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't want to (UNINTELLIGIBLE), but also, we can't have the cake and eat it. So, you know, we are hoping that things will settle politically, and the Iraqi (UNINTELLIGIBLE) could, you know, throw him out, throw Saddam out before, you know, any war occurs or anything happens.

SITES: And that's the same dichotomy that makes many Kuwaitis grateful to American forces for helping to liberate them in the past but nervous about their presence now.

Kevin Sites, CNN, Kuwait.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.