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CNN Live Today

What Might First Days of War Look Like?

Aired March 06, 2003 - 10:26   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Want to get military perspective now on what the first days of the Iraqi war might look like if it indeed happens. Lending his expertise to that, our military analyst, Don Shepperd, retired major general in the U.S. Air Force.
General, good morning. Thanks for being with us.

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: My pleasure, Daryn.

KAGAN: Before we get to the first days of the potential war, let's talk about what is happening there right now. There's already plenty of action.

SHEPPERD: Yes. The people in the air and the people on the ground are getting ready. Basically, they're massing in Kuwait. Turkey, we're trying to figure out whether we are going to have a northern front, and from where, and then the pilots on the ships and the pilots on the ground bases are getting ready, getting their equipment ready, and getting their final plans in order. They think there's imminent action.

KAGAN: Give us a look at some of the planes that are flying in the action...

SHEPPERD: We have got an animation here on the planes that I think will give the folks a really good idea about what is going on in the air. Right now, you see the airborne warning control, the AWACS airplane up, looking with radar surveillance over all of Iraq, watching for things that are moving. We also have the EA JSTARS and side-looking radar that is watching for ground movement of forces. So this is the surveillance capability that you have.

In addition to that, we also have the refueling airplanes that basically are key to everything. This is a KC-135 refueler, refueling an EA-6 electronic jamming aircraft, getting ready, training, if you will. In addition to these jammers, you are going to see the strike airplanes.

Here you see the F-15E Strike Eagle in addition to the EA-6 jamming aircraft. We see them all operating off of tankers. It is accompanied by an F-14 from the Navy. Here's a B-1 out of Diego Garcia. They have standoff weapons as well as global positioning system weapons. This is an F-18 off -- you'll see off the carriers in the initial strike.

In addition, you are going to see some of the F-14s, and you're going to see F-16s from the Air Force as well as the F-15s, all of them carrying precision weapons. You are going to see, probably 70 percent to 90 percent precision weapons this time, as opposed to 20 percent in the Gulf War. These people are all getting ready and getting primed.

KAGAN: They are getting ready. Now, let's take it a step forward, if it does lead to that, and in fact it does go to war. We have heard it's going to be two or three days of intense, intense bombing. It's not going to look like the first Persian Gulf war.

SHEPPERD: It's going to be very intense. Let's take a zoom in capability, a look at this thing. We have some zoom-in on the Baghdad area in some of our moving animations. This is going to zoom in, I believe, on one of the Republican Guard complexes in downtown Baghdad. As you will see, these are huge complexes. They comprise several -- several acres, if you will. There are underground bunkers, there are storage areas, there are ways for communications. This goes for the palaces as well as Republican Guard areas. I think the first one is the Republican Guard, it could be a palace. I'll just have to wait until we get in there.

KAGAN: As we're doing that, let me just ask you this. We've heard the head of the joint chiefs of staff come out and say just this week -- because -- we're looking at a city. Military guys like you look at that and you see bunkers and guards, but we're looking at a city, and the head of the joint chiefs of staff has come out and said there will be civilian casualties.

SHEPPERD: This is a -- this is the presidential palace, by the way. And this is a military complex, not a city. It's in a city. And the key is, we're able to hit it with precision weapons and not affect all of the surrounding area there.

KAGAN: We hope.

SHEPPERD: Well, we hope. Of course, there are mistakes, and there could be civilian casualties. But the point is, on all of these places, we know there are military complexes within the palaces, within the Republican Guard and military headquarters. A lot of them are buried underground, we know where they are from our intelligence, and we're going to go after them without affecting the surrounding areas, is the basic idea.

KAGAN: That is what we know.

Some of the things we don't know: who exactly is going to be on board, and that includes Turkey. General, the U.S. military planners are having to make plans if Turkey is on board, or if Turkey is not on board, because that northern part of Iraq is so key.

SHEPPERD: Yes. Let me show you a couple things on the map we are showing here. Baghdad area, Iraq, Kuwait. This is off limits, over in Iran. We can use pilot rescue there. Syria is off limits for everything. Turkey is the question. Are we going to have a northern front or not? What's shaping up right now is forces massing in Kuwait. Leaving Kuwait and going up toward the Baghdad area, leaving the Baghdad area, going west to secure western Iraq, encircle Baghdad if you will, coming from a northern front, and of course, going up the Tigris- Euphrates valley as well.

All of those forces marshalling in Kuwait right now, designed to put pressure around Baghdad and, again, we don't expect a lot of fighting in the outlying areas. We expect Baghdad to be heavily defended.

KAGAN: All right. General, we'll be calling on your expertise many times in the days and weeks to come. I thank you for your time.

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 6, 2003 - 10:26   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Want to get military perspective now on what the first days of the Iraqi war might look like if it indeed happens. Lending his expertise to that, our military analyst, Don Shepperd, retired major general in the U.S. Air Force.
General, good morning. Thanks for being with us.

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: My pleasure, Daryn.

KAGAN: Before we get to the first days of the potential war, let's talk about what is happening there right now. There's already plenty of action.

SHEPPERD: Yes. The people in the air and the people on the ground are getting ready. Basically, they're massing in Kuwait. Turkey, we're trying to figure out whether we are going to have a northern front, and from where, and then the pilots on the ships and the pilots on the ground bases are getting ready, getting their equipment ready, and getting their final plans in order. They think there's imminent action.

KAGAN: Give us a look at some of the planes that are flying in the action...

SHEPPERD: We have got an animation here on the planes that I think will give the folks a really good idea about what is going on in the air. Right now, you see the airborne warning control, the AWACS airplane up, looking with radar surveillance over all of Iraq, watching for things that are moving. We also have the EA JSTARS and side-looking radar that is watching for ground movement of forces. So this is the surveillance capability that you have.

In addition to that, we also have the refueling airplanes that basically are key to everything. This is a KC-135 refueler, refueling an EA-6 electronic jamming aircraft, getting ready, training, if you will. In addition to these jammers, you are going to see the strike airplanes.

Here you see the F-15E Strike Eagle in addition to the EA-6 jamming aircraft. We see them all operating off of tankers. It is accompanied by an F-14 from the Navy. Here's a B-1 out of Diego Garcia. They have standoff weapons as well as global positioning system weapons. This is an F-18 off -- you'll see off the carriers in the initial strike.

In addition, you are going to see some of the F-14s, and you're going to see F-16s from the Air Force as well as the F-15s, all of them carrying precision weapons. You are going to see, probably 70 percent to 90 percent precision weapons this time, as opposed to 20 percent in the Gulf War. These people are all getting ready and getting primed.

KAGAN: They are getting ready. Now, let's take it a step forward, if it does lead to that, and in fact it does go to war. We have heard it's going to be two or three days of intense, intense bombing. It's not going to look like the first Persian Gulf war.

SHEPPERD: It's going to be very intense. Let's take a zoom in capability, a look at this thing. We have some zoom-in on the Baghdad area in some of our moving animations. This is going to zoom in, I believe, on one of the Republican Guard complexes in downtown Baghdad. As you will see, these are huge complexes. They comprise several -- several acres, if you will. There are underground bunkers, there are storage areas, there are ways for communications. This goes for the palaces as well as Republican Guard areas. I think the first one is the Republican Guard, it could be a palace. I'll just have to wait until we get in there.

KAGAN: As we're doing that, let me just ask you this. We've heard the head of the joint chiefs of staff come out and say just this week -- because -- we're looking at a city. Military guys like you look at that and you see bunkers and guards, but we're looking at a city, and the head of the joint chiefs of staff has come out and said there will be civilian casualties.

SHEPPERD: This is a -- this is the presidential palace, by the way. And this is a military complex, not a city. It's in a city. And the key is, we're able to hit it with precision weapons and not affect all of the surrounding area there.

KAGAN: We hope.

SHEPPERD: Well, we hope. Of course, there are mistakes, and there could be civilian casualties. But the point is, on all of these places, we know there are military complexes within the palaces, within the Republican Guard and military headquarters. A lot of them are buried underground, we know where they are from our intelligence, and we're going to go after them without affecting the surrounding areas, is the basic idea.

KAGAN: That is what we know.

Some of the things we don't know: who exactly is going to be on board, and that includes Turkey. General, the U.S. military planners are having to make plans if Turkey is on board, or if Turkey is not on board, because that northern part of Iraq is so key.

SHEPPERD: Yes. Let me show you a couple things on the map we are showing here. Baghdad area, Iraq, Kuwait. This is off limits, over in Iran. We can use pilot rescue there. Syria is off limits for everything. Turkey is the question. Are we going to have a northern front or not? What's shaping up right now is forces massing in Kuwait. Leaving Kuwait and going up toward the Baghdad area, leaving the Baghdad area, going west to secure western Iraq, encircle Baghdad if you will, coming from a northern front, and of course, going up the Tigris- Euphrates valley as well.

All of those forces marshalling in Kuwait right now, designed to put pressure around Baghdad and, again, we don't expect a lot of fighting in the outlying areas. We expect Baghdad to be heavily defended.

KAGAN: All right. General, we'll be calling on your expertise many times in the days and weeks to come. I thank you for your time.

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