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CNN Live At Daybreak
Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Lives Up to Name in Iraq
Aired January 01, 2003 - 06:05 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: To the issue of Iraq, the New Year begins with the growing threat of war against Baghdad.
And our military affairs correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, reports on recent attacks by the Predator aircraft and recent remarks by President Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The Predator unmanned aerial vehicle is beginning to live up to its name in Iraq. Once a relatively benign reconnaissance aircraft, the Predator UAB has been armed with Hellfire missiles and has been used twice now to conduct strikes against mobile targets in the southern no-fly zone.
U.S. Air Force pilots control the low, slow-flying drones remotely from the ground in Kuwait, and the Predators are giving the U.S. the ability to react with lethal force as soon as they spot a potential target.
Friday, a Hellfire missile fired from a Predator took out a communications van, and yesterday, Monday, another Predator attack hit a mobile radar being moved in the southern no-fly zone.
The action in the south comes as the U.S. is moving ahead with a methodical deployment of troops, planes and ships to the Persian Gulf region. But despite the obvious buildup, President Bush answered a reporter's question in Crawford, Texas today with an insistence that he has not yet decided whether to order an invasion.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, you said we're headed to war in Iraq, I don't know why you say that. I hope we're not headed to war in Iraq. I'm the person who gets to decide and not you. And I hope this can be done peacefully. We've got a military presence there to remind Saddam Hussein, however, that when I say we will lead a coalition of the willing to disarm him if he chooses not to disarm, I mean it.
MCINTYRE: Among the first additional troops to dispatch are the 1st and 3rd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Stewart and Fort Benning, Georgia. Those soldiers will join the 2nd Brigade already in Kuwait for exercises, and they will form one full division.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, at the Pentagon.
(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 January 1, 2003 - 06:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: To the issue of Iraq, the New Year begins with the growing threat of war against Baghdad.
And our military affairs correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, reports on recent attacks by the Predator aircraft and recent remarks by President Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The Predator unmanned aerial vehicle is beginning to live up to its name in Iraq. Once a relatively benign reconnaissance aircraft, the Predator UAB has been armed with Hellfire missiles and has been used twice now to conduct strikes against mobile targets in the southern no-fly zone.
U.S. Air Force pilots control the low, slow-flying drones remotely from the ground in Kuwait, and the Predators are giving the U.S. the ability to react with lethal force as soon as they spot a potential target.
Friday, a Hellfire missile fired from a Predator took out a communications van, and yesterday, Monday, another Predator attack hit a mobile radar being moved in the southern no-fly zone.
The action in the south comes as the U.S. is moving ahead with a methodical deployment of troops, planes and ships to the Persian Gulf region. But despite the obvious buildup, President Bush answered a reporter's question in Crawford, Texas today with an insistence that he has not yet decided whether to order an invasion.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, you said we're headed to war in Iraq, I don't know why you say that. I hope we're not headed to war in Iraq. I'm the person who gets to decide and not you. And I hope this can be done peacefully. We've got a military presence there to remind Saddam Hussein, however, that when I say we will lead a coalition of the willing to disarm him if he chooses not to disarm, I mean it.
MCINTYRE: Among the first additional troops to dispatch are the 1st and 3rd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Stewart and Fort Benning, Georgia. Those soldiers will join the 2nd Brigade already in Kuwait for exercises, and they will form one full division.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, at the Pentagon.
(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.
