Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Another Sign Israel Preparing for Possibility of War
Aired March 04, 2003 - 05:36 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: Well, here's another sign that Israel is preparing for the possibility of war. Overnight, U.S. Patriot anti-missile batteries were deployed in Tel Aviv neighborhoods.
We take you live to the center of the action.
Kelly Wallace joins us live from Tel Aviv -- good morning, Kelly.
Tell us about what they're doing.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Carol.
Israeli military officials are stressing that this move is not a sign that they believe a U.S. war against Iraq is imminent, but they say it's part of their preparations to protect Israel's cities from Iraqi SCUD attacks. You can say, though, that this neighborhood now has a few new neighbors. As you said, some of these American anti- missile missiles moved in overnight and are now deployed here along the shoreline.
Each of these trucks contains four anti-missile missiles, which could be used to intercept any Iraqi SCUDs. American soldiers are here staffing these Patriot batteries. We talked to one soldier. I asked him how confident are they that they can protect Israel. He said they are very confident.
But we'll all remember that during the 1991 Gulf War, the Patriots were not quite so successful. They failed to prevent 39 Iraqi SCUDs from hitting Israel's cities. Officials, though, say they're more confident this time because they say these Patriots are improved, that the missiles are larger. They also say they have a better software system to improve the accuracy of these Patriots.
But they also say something else. They say they are more confident because Israel has something now that it didn't have 12 years ago, and that is the Arrow missile defense system. It is a $2 billion program, financed 50 percent by the United States. An Arrow missile can intercept a SCUD as high as 30 miles in the air. So the thinking is if there is any Iraqi SCUD attack, the Arrow would first try to intercept it. If the Arrow failed, then, Israeli officials say, they would rely on the Patriot.
But overall, Carol, Israeli and American officials say they are more prepared this time than they were during the '91 Gulf War -- Carol. COSTELLO: It's interesting, Kelly, that American troops are there. How long will they stay and how many American troops are there in Israel?
WALLACE: We believe as many as 600 American soldiers are here. Many have been here for a number of weeks and have been taking part in joint exercises with the Israelis to test these Patriots along with the Arrow system, to see how well the two systems work together. Again, we did talk to one American soldier. We asked him how long he will be here. He said he couldn't say. But privately officials from both countries say these soldiers and these Patriots will be here until any possible U.S. war against Iraq -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Understand.
Kelly Wallace reporting live from Tel Aviv.
Thanks so much.
As always, you can log onto our Web site for an extensive look at developments involving Iraq. You know the address, cnn.com, AOL keyword: CNN.
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 March 4, 2003 - 05:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, here's another sign that Israel is preparing for the possibility of war. Overnight, U.S. Patriot anti-missile batteries were deployed in Tel Aviv neighborhoods.
We take you live to the center of the action.
Kelly Wallace joins us live from Tel Aviv -- good morning, Kelly.
Tell us about what they're doing.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Carol.
Israeli military officials are stressing that this move is not a sign that they believe a U.S. war against Iraq is imminent, but they say it's part of their preparations to protect Israel's cities from Iraqi SCUD attacks. You can say, though, that this neighborhood now has a few new neighbors. As you said, some of these American anti- missile missiles moved in overnight and are now deployed here along the shoreline.
Each of these trucks contains four anti-missile missiles, which could be used to intercept any Iraqi SCUDs. American soldiers are here staffing these Patriot batteries. We talked to one soldier. I asked him how confident are they that they can protect Israel. He said they are very confident.
But we'll all remember that during the 1991 Gulf War, the Patriots were not quite so successful. They failed to prevent 39 Iraqi SCUDs from hitting Israel's cities. Officials, though, say they're more confident this time because they say these Patriots are improved, that the missiles are larger. They also say they have a better software system to improve the accuracy of these Patriots.
But they also say something else. They say they are more confident because Israel has something now that it didn't have 12 years ago, and that is the Arrow missile defense system. It is a $2 billion program, financed 50 percent by the United States. An Arrow missile can intercept a SCUD as high as 30 miles in the air. So the thinking is if there is any Iraqi SCUD attack, the Arrow would first try to intercept it. If the Arrow failed, then, Israeli officials say, they would rely on the Patriot.
But overall, Carol, Israeli and American officials say they are more prepared this time than they were during the '91 Gulf War -- Carol. COSTELLO: It's interesting, Kelly, that American troops are there. How long will they stay and how many American troops are there in Israel?
WALLACE: We believe as many as 600 American soldiers are here. Many have been here for a number of weeks and have been taking part in joint exercises with the Israelis to test these Patriots along with the Arrow system, to see how well the two systems work together. Again, we did talk to one American soldier. We asked him how long he will be here. He said he couldn't say. But privately officials from both countries say these soldiers and these Patriots will be here until any possible U.S. war against Iraq -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Understand.
Kelly Wallace reporting live from Tel Aviv.
Thanks so much.
As always, you can log onto our Web site for an extensive look at developments involving Iraq. You know the address, cnn.com, AOL keyword: CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
