Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
U.S. Troop Buildup in Persian Gulf at Steady Rate
Aired January 17, 2003 - 06:09 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's Martin Savidge is right next door to Iraq. He's in Kuwait assessing the buildup of American troops in the Persian Gulf. Martin is live in Kuwait City with the latest.
Good morning.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning again, Carol.
Well, for the U.S. Marines, their ship has come in -- their pre- position ship as it is referred to. In other words, it's not a troop- carrying ship. This is a ship that carries the beans, the bullets and the bandages as the general vernacular is (ph). More specifically, it's carrying the ammunition, it's carrying the equipment, and it is carrying the vehicles for U.S. Marines that are either here in Kuwait already or those that are on the way.
It's being off-loaded. It actually began yesterday, and it is continuing today. The U.S. Marines won't say exactly how many ships we're talking about here, and they won't say exactly where in Kuwait it's being off-loaded. We are not being allowed to show that to you, but the U.S. military is apparently taking some pictures of that operation. They will be releasing those to CNN, and we'll have them for you later in the day.
We can tell you this about those pre-positioning ships. There are a number of them actually that come under the sea lift (ph) command of the U.S. military, about 13 of them that are placed strategically all around the world -- the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean, which is probably where these have come from down by Diego Garcia, and also in the Western Pacific. They're divided into squadrons, they say, and each of these squadrons has the capability to deliver enough equipment to supply a Marine air-and-ground task force for about 30 days.
So, there is a lot of stuff that is being off-loaded. Of course, equipment is just as vital as personnel. The personnel does continue to arrive here in Kuwait. And as soon as they do, they are moved off to bases that are located in the northwestern part, the desert area up near the Iraqi border, and those U.S. forces stay there. They are training, they are rehearsing. And in fact, the Kuwaiti government has now deemed about a third of the country up there off limits to civilians. That means you don't go up there for a look-see unless you have permission to do so. And even those journalists allowed to go up certainly don't get to see all of the troops in one place at one time.
So, it's going on. It's just occurring out of sight for now -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, we can understand why a certain degree of secrecy is needed. Martin Savidge reporting from Kuwait City this morning.
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 17, 2003 - 06:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's Martin Savidge is right next door to Iraq. He's in Kuwait assessing the buildup of American troops in the Persian Gulf. Martin is live in Kuwait City with the latest.
Good morning.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning again, Carol.
Well, for the U.S. Marines, their ship has come in -- their pre- position ship as it is referred to. In other words, it's not a troop- carrying ship. This is a ship that carries the beans, the bullets and the bandages as the general vernacular is (ph). More specifically, it's carrying the ammunition, it's carrying the equipment, and it is carrying the vehicles for U.S. Marines that are either here in Kuwait already or those that are on the way.
It's being off-loaded. It actually began yesterday, and it is continuing today. The U.S. Marines won't say exactly how many ships we're talking about here, and they won't say exactly where in Kuwait it's being off-loaded. We are not being allowed to show that to you, but the U.S. military is apparently taking some pictures of that operation. They will be releasing those to CNN, and we'll have them for you later in the day.
We can tell you this about those pre-positioning ships. There are a number of them actually that come under the sea lift (ph) command of the U.S. military, about 13 of them that are placed strategically all around the world -- the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean, which is probably where these have come from down by Diego Garcia, and also in the Western Pacific. They're divided into squadrons, they say, and each of these squadrons has the capability to deliver enough equipment to supply a Marine air-and-ground task force for about 30 days.
So, there is a lot of stuff that is being off-loaded. Of course, equipment is just as vital as personnel. The personnel does continue to arrive here in Kuwait. And as soon as they do, they are moved off to bases that are located in the northwestern part, the desert area up near the Iraqi border, and those U.S. forces stay there. They are training, they are rehearsing. And in fact, the Kuwaiti government has now deemed about a third of the country up there off limits to civilians. That means you don't go up there for a look-see unless you have permission to do so. And even those journalists allowed to go up certainly don't get to see all of the troops in one place at one time.
So, it's going on. It's just occurring out of sight for now -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, we can understand why a certain degree of secrecy is needed. Martin Savidge reporting from Kuwait City this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
