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CNN CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT
U.S. Troops Move Toward Iraq
Aired March 18, 2003 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CONNIE CHUNG, CNN HOST: Good evening. I'm Connie Chung.
Tonight, the countdown to war: 24 hours.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: On the brink.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours.
ANNOUNCER: Saddam Hussein defiantly rejects the U.S. ultimatum and digs in for a fight. Tonight, the world braces as the clock ticks down to war.
The war plan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two to three weeks for the combat phase.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're expecting harder fights out of the Republican Army.
ANNOUNCER: The troops are ready to fight. CNN's Wolf Blitzer is with them in Kuwait, and has the latest on their preparations. What is the strategy for war against Iraq?
TOM RIDGE, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Your federal government is ready. Professionals at all levels are ready. America is ready.
ANNOUNCER: War abroad means increased security at home.
BUSH: We will not be intimidated by thugs and killers.
ANNOUNCER: Now, homeland security faces its first and most important test.
On what could be the eve of war, we check back in with two parents. All three of their children are serving their country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I pray a lot. I keep in contact with the kids and I put it in the Lord's hands and hope that he takes care of my children.
ANNOUNCER: A family faces battle. (END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT. Live, from CNN World headquarters in Atlanta, Connie Chung.
CHUNG: Good evening.
Tonight, we are precisely halfway through the deadline President Bush gave Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq, and take his two sons, top lieutenants of his, along with him. The alternative will be war.
A new kind of war, the first American war launched to neutralize a potential aggressor before it attacks the U.S. CNN has learned it be called Operation Iraqi Freedom. Several Iraqi officials boldly attacked President Bush and his ultimatum.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri used insulting words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NAJI SABRI, IRAQI FOREIGN MINISTER: The radical, I think, solution to keel is this window open is for the two despots in Washington and London to leave office.
How can an ignorant, idiot man become the president of the United States? A man who doesn't know Spain, a kingdom or republic. How come that he becomes the president of clever people like the American people?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: The Iraqi National Assembly meets tomorrow. A special meeting of the U.N. foreign ministers will also be held tomorrow, but the real decision-making can be seen in who's moving where.
The U.N. inspectors have now completed their evacuation of Iraq. U.S. troops in Kuwait are moving north in a vast convoy of tanks, armored personnel carriers and other vehicles. Baghdad is shutting down, even as Iraqi soldiers move into defensive positions around and outside the city.
America also took up a defensive posture today as the new threat level, orange, led to new flight restrictions and increased security at the White House and other potential terrorist targets around the country.
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge today warned that war could spur a terrorist response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIDGE: The message was we know we have been attacked before. We know that our interests have been attacked abroad. And we should prepare for a potential attacks either here or abroad at this time. I think you just need to categorize it as saying that it's our responsibility, whether we're with the federal government, state government or local government to be prepared for any attempted attack against our interest. And that's exactly what this coordinated national effort is designed to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: We'll talk more about the potential of a terrorist attack here in the U.S.
We'll also go to the pentagon, to Kuwait where, U.S. troops are poised. And we'll take to you Baghdad.
We begin at White House. CNN senior White House correspondent, John King. Good evening, John.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Connie.
CHUNG: John, it's obvious that this deadline is 24 hours away, and it appears that President Saddam Hussein isn't going anywhere voluntarily. Does that mean that the bombs will start dropping?
KING: Well, Connie, the White House says the president reserves the right to act immediately any time after that deadline which, as you noted, is now just 24 hours away. So as early as tomorrow night, Wednesday night here in Washington, the president could be addressing the American people from the Oval Office saying military confrontation is under way.
However, two senior administration officials noting to CNN today that the president deliberately choosed the term in his address last night that the United States will strike -- quote -- "at a moment of its choosing." Mr. Bush used very similar language in his speech to Congress before the war on terrorism began. He waited three weeks after that to speech attack.
Nobody thinks the president will wait this long this time. But officials say he could wait a day or so if the military planners say they would wait -- want more optimum conditions.
In any event, Press Secretary Ari Fleischer says today the president understands the gravity of the decision he is about to make, but he says he's quite comfortable with it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FLEISCHER: The president, having worked on this issue for such a considerable period of time, pursued the diplomacy with the diligence and the importance that the diplomacy deserved, believes now and is comfortable now with the fact moment of truth has come.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: And again, Connie, when the president does make that fateful decision, and no one thinks Saddam Hussein will accept the ultimatum to leave. When we hear from the president, it will be from the Oval Office -- Connie.
CHUNG: John, I think a concern among many is that there is irreparable damage done between the U.S. and certain allies. Is President Bush doing anything about that?
KING: He made some effort today to reach out to two of the nations that he believes are very important to long-term relations. The president called President Vladimir Putin of Russia. He also called President Hu Jintao of China, the new Chinese president. Mr. Bush, we are told, said in both of those conversations, that he hopes the profound differences those two presidents have with the United States over Iraq do not cause long-term damage to the relationships.
It is interesting to note, Mr. Bush has not made any similar conciliatory calls or outreach to President Chirac of France, for example, or Chancellor Schroeder of Germany. The White House anger at those two traditional U.S. allies runs much deeper -- Connie.
CHUNG: Now, John, finally, in the few seconds we have left, there are 30 countries that are in this U.S. coalition. What will they do to help the United States and to support the United States?
KING: Well most are of them are simply in the coalition to provide political, symbolic, moral support if you will. The list includes put out by the administration today includes Nicaragua, for example; the tiny impoverished Eastern African nation of Eritrea; Poland and the Czech Republic; many of the that were once in the Soviet Bloc.
White House officials say if there is a confrontation it will be British troops and the perhaps Australian troops joining in the actual fighting. The rest of those countries in the coalition mainly to provide moral and symbolic support for the United States -- Connie.
CHUNG: John King, thank you.
And now to Baghdad. Earlier I spoke with senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, one of the few journalists remaining in Baghdad tonight, about the Iraqi response to President Bush's ultimatum.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: Nic, there has been no mincing of words. The foreign minister calling President Bush an idiot, and ignorant. Quite frankly, I was a bit shocked.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is very, very strong language, the sort of language we haven't really heard, and while the foreign minister, Naji Sabri, still indicates that there's room for diplomacy, he says Iraq has done every thing it can. The language that we hear does not sound like diplomatic language and the reality is that the Iraqi leadership here fully expects war to come to them in the next few days.
Very interesting listening to Naji Sabri, however, talking in Arabic to the Arabic part of the news conference, ostensibly saying that this attack was on the region, it wasn't just on Iraq ,that this was something president Saddam Hussein had predicted in the past. And indeed, taking some satisfaction, if you will, from the fact that the United States and Great Britain do not have the support of the U.N. Security Council.
So while Iraq recognizes the war coming, they are taking some satisfaction where they can.
CHUNG: The oldest son of President Saddam Hussein had a blistering comeback to President Bush's demand that President Saddam Hussein and his two sons go in exile. Tell us about that.
ROBERTSON: Well, indeed, he called it reckless and debase to call on him to step down and leave the country. And went onto say that this was a sick hope of President Bush that he could win victory in Iraq without actually fighting, and President Saddam Hussein said the reason that he has this attitude -- that President Bush has this attitude is because he is already defeated. He is already isolated in the international community.
These words, if you will, ring hollow at this time because it is very clear that it is Iraq now that's on the defensive and that there's very little Iraq can do. But the language is still very, very strong, hinting not at all at any step-down whatsoever.
CHUNG: Nic, did Uday suggest that President Bush step down?
ROBERTSON: Absolutely.
The president -- President Saddam Hussein's son, Uday Saddam Hussein, who has his own television channel here, had a statement read on his channel. And it said that it wasn't President Saddam Hussein who should step down, it would be President Bush and his whole family who should step down and move out of the way.
And Foreign Minister Sabri was saying the same thing, if he said -- If there's any chance for diplomacy left at all not, it's not because Iraq can do anything else. It is that the -- what he described as the warmongers in Washington and London, President Bush, Prime Minister Tony Blair. They should get out of office and make way for peace. That's the view coming from here.
CHUNG: Nic, is there fear of the impending war among the Iraqi people?
ROBERTSON: Absolutely. It's almost palpable here.
When one goes to the shops here, they're all closed down, almost all of them. The shutters are up, the blinds are down. I went into a barber's shop today, he was the only one open in a whole parade of shops. The reason he was open, he said, people are rushing into get their hair cut.
But even there the normally friendly banter that you would have with a Baghdad resident just wasn't there. There was a level of tenseness. People are very afraid and concerned about what's going to happen. This is a city of 5 million people in Baghdad. Most of them cannot afford to get themselves or their families out of the city. Most of them are going to be here. They're very concerned about the bombing. They're concerned that after the bombing there may be civil disorder.
But beyond all of that as well, people are just plain angry that their country's being invaded. They don't see why it should happen, Connie.
CHUNG: All right. Nic Robertson, thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: In 1991, the U.S. had a half million troops engaged in the Gulf War, along with more than 150, 000 troops contributed by other nations. This time out, the U.S. and Britain together have between a quarter million and 300,000 troops.
The task is different: an all-out invasion. But so is the enemy.
For instance, in 1991, Iraq had 750 combat aircraft. Now, fewer than 90.
CNN senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre has a look at the pentagon's battle plan, including plans to avoid battle.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Between now and when the war begins, the Iraqi military will be showered with U.S. propaganda aimed at convincing Iraqi troops to keep their guns pointed down and to give up without a fight.
BUSH: If war comes, do not fight for a dying regime that is not worth your own life.
MCINTYRE: President Bush's message is being broadcast in Arabic into Iraq, by a U.S. military airborne radio station. Sources say the clear instructions to avoid attack, promised by President Bush, tell the Iraqi military to lay down their weapons, park their tanks or other military vehicles, and remain in their barracks until U.S. forces arrive.
If the Iraqi troops don't resist, and technically don't surrender, that could reduce the number of POWs the U.S. military is responsible for. And in turn, that could allow ground troops to leapfrog over Iraqi regular forces in the south and more move quickly against the Republican Guard, which has dispersed around Baghdad and Saddam Hussein's ancestral home of Tikrit.
In addition, sources say, U.S. and British troops in Kuwait are hoping to score a quick victory in the southern town of Basra, which has a Shiite population that tends not to support Saddam Hussein. Pentagon strategists theorize early reports of jubilant Iraqis in Basra could prompt other Iraqi units to fold.
The two big unknowns in the war plan: will the vaunted Republican guard fight if it's clear Saddam Hussein's fate is sealed and will they carry out orders to use chemical weapons? U.S. intelligence indicates a Republican Guard unit near Al Kut may have been issued gas filled artillery shells.
Another indicator of possible plans to use chemical weapons, Pentagon sources say, is Saddam Hussein's appointment of an Iraqi commander in the south who's been nicknamed Chemical Ali because of his role in the use of chemical weapons against the Kurds in 1988.
(on camera): Pentagon sources say barring unforeseen circumstances, war is less than a week away. And the war has a working name. While it could change, Pentagon officials have tentatively decided to dub it "Operation: Iraqi Freedom."
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: The bulk of America's invasion forces is stationed in Kuwait, where today reports had hundreds of military vehicles moving north toward the Iraqi border. The convoy of tanks, armored personnel carriers, fuel trucks and other vehicles, filled a 16-mile stretch of road, and traffic reportedly doubled by this afternoon.
In Kuwait tonight, we have CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
Wolf, what can you tell us about what is going on at the border between Iraq and Kuwait, because we know that U.N. peacekeepers have already left there.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the short answer, Connie, is that they're getting ready to invade southern Iraq.
U.S. troops, backed up by British forces, are ready to move. They've opened up all sorts of areas in that border. The whole upper third part of the small but very affluent country, namely, Kuwait, has been sealed off to the outside world.
These are military zones. There are tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers and marines ready to move once the order is given. Presumably there will be airstrikes first, the first day or two, but it's not going to be like the first Gulf War, when it was four weeks before U.S. ground forces moved against Iraqi forces to liberate Kuwait, which was then occupied by the Iraqis. This time there's going to be more -- a more simultaneous move that's going to involve air power as well as ground forces.
CHUNG: Wolf, there must be tension right where you are in Kuwait City. What is the level of anxiety there and the rest of the country?
BLITZER: Well, Kuwaitis are nervous. That's understandable. They're not all that far away from Iraq. But by and large, I must tell you that most of the Kuwaitis we've spoken to say they're pretty reliant, they're pretty dependent on the U.S. military. There are almost a quarter of a million U.S. troops here -- almost in Kuwait and in the neighboring region. They think the United States military is the best in the world and is going to take care to make sure that the people of Kuwait are protected.
They've got Patriot missiles that have been stationed throughout this country. They've got a lot of U.S. early warning, detection capabilities, a lot of aerial flights to try to determine if anything is going on.
So the people are relatively calm, although they're nervous, they're prepared. There are gas masks that have been made available. There are some Kuwaitis that have left and that's certainly understandable. But by and large, I have to tell you, there seems to be a calm inside Kuwait.
CHUNG: Wolf, there are reports that people have jammed the airports, that they're scrambling to get out before the airport closes. What do you know about that?
BLITZER: Well, there's a limited number of flights that are still flying in, and people -- those who are affluent, those who can afford to get out. Certainly some people who want to send their children out or elderly people if they can -- if they can afford it, they're trying to get out.
But by and large, that's a real small minority. There aren't all that many flights to begin with, and the ones that are leaving, the ones that are still flying, are packed. They're fully booked. The ones that are coming into Kuwait are pretty empty.
CHUNG: All right. Wolf Blitzer in Kuwait City tonight, thank you.
Still ahead, the troops may be moving into place, but if president bush gives the word, what's the plan for invading Iraq and taking Baghdad?
Stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Next, threat level orange. The Department of Homeland Security launches Operation Liberty Shield.
BUSH: I have directed additional security at our airports and increased Coast Guard patrols of major sea ports.
ANNOUNCER: Will enhanced national measures keep terror out of your backyard?
CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT will be right back.
(END VIDEOTAPE) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Twenty-four hours after President Bush issued his ultimatum, the prospect of war half world away is having a very real impact on Americans at home. The threat level has been raised to Orange, which means high. And around the country that assessment had very real impact.
The federal government has imposed flight restrictions around potential targets, including Disneyland and Disney World. In New York City, it's not only flight restrictions local officials want, but a return to patrol by military jets. CNN Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve looks at how the wave of Orange ripples from coast-to-coast.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the bridges of the West Coast to the subways of New York threat level Orange was evident. Even in places where there had been a lot of security, there was more.
CHIEF JOHN TIMONEY, MIAMI POLICE: This city and other cities across America have really goosed it up, if you will.
MESERVE: The looming likelihood of hostilities with Iraq and intelligence assessments that retaliatory attacks are a near certainty prompted the change.
RIDGE: While al Qaeda and those sympathetic to their cause are still a principle threat, the principle threat: Iraqi state agents, Iraqi surrogate groups, other regional extremist organizations and ad hoc groups or disgruntled individuals may use this time period to conduct terrorist attacks against the United States and our interests, either here or abroad.
MESERVE: Under Operation Liberty Shield, as the new national security plan is called, patrols on waterways and ports are being stepped up with security zones around critical infrastructure.
Law enforcement is more visible at airports and new flight restrictions are being put in place in certain U.S. cities, plus Disney World in Orlando and Disneyland in Anaheim.
The plan also calls for increased security at chemical facilities and increased vigilance in food production, just as the general accounting office released reports saying the extent of security precautions in food processing is unclear and the vulnerability of chemical plants unassessed and largely unaddressed.
Meanwhile, on the national mall, a standoff continued with a man who claims his tractor is loaded with explosives. It snarled traffic, shuddered buildings and diverted security assets and attention.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One cop became three cops and three cops was, like, this whole situation. MESERVE: While it doesn't appear to be a terrorist act, that has it happened at all raises the question, is security even in the nation's capitol what it could or should be?
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: Joining us now, Phil Anderson the director of the Homeland Security Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Thank you, Phil, for being with us.
PHIL ANDERSON, CTR. FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNAT. STUDIES: Pleasure.
CHUNG: I'm going to read you a couple of quotes here. The State Department's top counterterrorism officials said today there is a, quote, "certainty terrorists will try to," quote, "launch multiple attacks." And a senior intelligence official told CNN there their is, quote, "a near certainty of small scale al Qaeda attacks against U.S. targets."
That sounds like one of the strongest warnings I think I've ever heard here.
ANDERSON: It certainly is. I think that near certainty is probably more accurate. I don't think there's an absolute certainty we will face terrorist attacks here at home. I think if that were the case, we would certainly be at the Red level on the Homeland Security Threat Alert Warning System where there was severe risk of terrorist attack.
We're at Orange, at a high-risk, and as such, I think that we're relying on reliable intelligence information that suggests we're at higher risk. But that information is not specific with regard to the nature of these potential attacks.
CHUNG: Do you believe there's any chance that we'll be elevated to Red?
ANDERSON: There is certainly that possibility. I think we're entering into a time where there are numerous people related to -- associated with al Qaeda, and sympathetic to the Iraqi cause that could present a significant threat to the United States here at home.
CHUNG: Now one thing that surprised me, and I think Jeanne Meserve mentioned this, is that there were warnings regarding food and food producers. Can you explain what we have to know?
ANDERSON: Well, that's the first time that we've seen that. The food chain identified among all the other aspects of critical infrastructure that we're concerned about -- and there is a significant gap there, when you consider the fact that only 1 percent of our food, the food that's imported into the United States is inspected at this point.
So it's certainly an area of grave concern. And one that I am reassured, you know, by the fact that the government has included that among aspects of critical infrastructure that need to be watched very closely.
CHUNG: And so the last question in the few seconds we have left. The GAO put out a report that was a bit frightening. It said the chemical plants are not protected. What do you know about the protection of chemical plants in the United States?
ANDERSON: Well, there is considerable concern about the chemical industry in the United States. There are approximately 123 large chemical production facilities that are within a mile or so of million plus population centers, and these are not necessarily very well secured. The chemical industry has done a superb job in handling safety issues.
But they have yet to address the possibility that a thinking enemy, a terrorist attack and I think would be the subject of a terrorist attack. So we have a ways to go there, and I think that Operation Liberty Shield is going to put the necessary assets in place in the near term at least, to help security most dangerous, most vulnerable facilities.
CHUNG: That's right, and there are people living near by. Phil Anderson, thanks for being with us.
ANDERSON: My pleasure.
CHUNG: Still ahead, how war in Iraq will change life in America. Your life. Stay with us.
ANNOUNCER: Next, the war plan. What is the strategy as the clock ticks down it a war with Iraq? CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT returns in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: U.S. troops expect to see a notable difference between the Iraqi at Iraq's borders and in Baghdad. President Saddam Hussein Elite Fight Force, the Special Republican Guard, consist of 26,000 soldiers charged with protecting Baghdad and President Hussein, specifically. It's in Baghdad that the U.S. expects to meet the greatest resistance.
Joining us is CNNI military analyst Lieutenant General Dan Christman, who advised the Army chief of staff on strategy during the first Gulf War; and, in Colorado Springs, Colonel Mike Turner, briefed General Norman Schwarzkopf daily prior to and during the first Gulf War.
Thank you, gentlemen, both for being with us.
LT. GEN. DAN CHRISTMAN, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Thank you, Connie.
RET. COL. MIKE TURNER, U.S. AIR FORCE: Thank you, Connie.
CHUNG: General Christman, what are the main goals that the U.S. is trying to achieve in just the first few days?
CHRISTMAN: Sure.
I think, cutting through all the chaff, Connie, the goals are very simple: first of all, to decapitate the Iraqi military leadership, to go after Saddam and his critical subordinates, his sons, his brigade, corps and guard commander, separate the elite commanders from the forces themselves and force, thereby, a collapse of those forces, who do not have the kind of independence of thought that most Western armies have.
CHUNG: So doesn't that mean getting to Baghdad?
CHRISTMAN: It does, right from the get-go.
CHUNG: Well, how long will that take?
CHRISTMAN: Well, we suspect that we will have boots on the ground, forces in Baghdad, in the very, very early phases of this campaign, in the initial hours, perhaps, of the campaign, with our special-ops personnel, to include insertion in the very, very earliest phases of the campaign.
CHUNG: But the troops that are marching towards Baghdad, marching north, that would be what, three days, four days, are you guessing?
CHRISTMAN: Perhaps, yes. The key on this is synchronization, though, to launch from Kuwait and then see the soldiers, the special- ops personnel, in the capital from the very, very first moments.
CHUNG: Colonel Turner, everyone keeps talking about a quick war. How long do you think this will go?
TURNER: Well, of course, Connie, there's the question mark.
A number of variables weigh heavily in our favor. This is a rump army from what it was in 1991. From what I have seen on television, the technology -- they had a shot of Central Command headquarters just the other day -- it's unrecognizable from what it was 12 years ago. And this will be a fundamentally different war.
At the same time, there's a number of extraordinarily dangerous variables in play in this scenario that were probably not in play in 1991. He had a deployed conventional army, made more vulnerable by its limited operational area and its fixed positions, and very vulnerable to air attack. As this war collapses down into the urban areas, that becomes a much more difficult problem for U.S. forces to solve.
And because it's probably going to be a combined air-land battle this time, rather than in separate phases, even though we have the greater technology, it's still a pretty significant challenge that our commanders are going to have to deal with.
CHUNG: General Christman, the unknown, the great unknown is biological warfare. Is that the worst-case scenario?
CHRISTMAN: I think so, Connie. That's probably what worries us the most, chem and bio.
It's why the second objective, besides decapitating leadership, is to go after those so-called WMD sites from the very, very first, again to do that with our special-operations personnel, so that we can secure them, control them, and, if necessary, eventually destroy them.
CHUNG: Colonel Turner, we were talking -- our producers were talking to you earlier. I was surprised. You said that you thought that the United States had a cavalier attitude towards its capabilities, the military capabilities. What do you mean?
TURNER: I don't know that I said a cavalier attitude.
I'm concerned that there's a tendency for us to view this as a second Desert Storm. And, naturally, given the historic victory of Desert Storm, it's easy for us to fall into this mind-set that we can expect virtually a carbon-copy repeat of Desert Storm. This is a fundamentally different war than Desert Storm. In fact, I think I heard another commentator yesterday allude to the fact that this is completely different and potentially much more dangerous in some regards.
So, it isn't a necessarily cavalier attitude. But we really need to guard against overestimating perhaps our own ease with which this will go down and underestimating Saddam Hussein's capacity to create unknown situations on the battlefield.
CHUNG: General Christman, a quick question about Turkey: Apparently, Turkey will vote again Wednesday or Thursday. How important is Turkey?
CHRISTMAN: Turkey's very important, Connie, really for two reasons.
First of all, it's important to have the Turkish airspace to stress Iraqi air defenses from multiple axes. Secondly, it's important to put troops on the ground in a northern front. We have talked about some options if Turkey is not available, to do that with light forces. But it's much better for us to have heavier forces in numbers, not only to stress the Iraqi land defenses, but also to provide an interposition force between the Kurds and the Turks, a very important objective.
CHUNG: All right, Colonel Turner, just one quick question before we go.
TURNER: Sure.
CHUNG: President Bush actually addressed the Iraqi soldiers and asked them to lay down their arms. What are the chances of anything like that happening?
TURNER: Oh, I think it's very high. Based on historical evidence from Desert Storm, we were really surprised at the numbers of enemy prisoners of war that we encountered and picked up along the way. I'm sure General Franks and his staff have planned to handle that level of prisoners of war. I think morale is considerably lower even now than it was then.
I think President Bush's message was an excellent tactic at this point, because it was an address directly to each individual soldier: You can avoid the harshest consequence. And I think that will have a real effect on the number of enemy prisoners of war that we see. And then that may change as we get further into Baghdad. We'll just have to see.
CHUNG: All right, Colonel Turner, thank you so much for being with us, and General Christman as well.
CHRISTMAN: Thank you, Connie.
TURNER: Thank you.
CHUNG: A poll out today reveals the level of unfavorable opinion of the U.S. A Pew Research Center poll surveyed how people in other countries feel about America.
In Russia, three years ago, 37 percent of those polled had a favorable view of America. Now it's 28 percent. In France, three years ago, it was 62 percent. Today, it's 31 percent. And, in Turkey, an ally of paramount strategic importance, the number of people viewing America favorably fell from 52 percent three years ago to only 12 percent now.
We'll be back with more news in just a moment.
ANNOUNCER: Next: From the streets, the harbors and airports, to gas prices, travel plans and even what's on television, how will war affect Americans on the home front?
CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT returns in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: While domestic security officials get Operation Liberty Shield under way to defend against attacks on American soil, a lot of questions remain about what life will be like behind that shield as the nation goes to war. There are questions about how several high- profile events will proceed. And just tonight, Major League Baseball canceled the season-opening series in Japan, due to the threat of war.
CNN's Jamie Colby reports on life for all of us during wartime.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE COLBY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Americans are concerned about how war will affect them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would be scared to come into Manhattan. That's for sure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Financially, I would be burdened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Traveling's going to be kind of hard.
COLBY: Enhanced airport security is already tighter.
RIDGE: We've enhanced airport security outside the perimeter. There will be additional random inspections of vehicles.
COLBY: That is, if you can find a flight. Airlines, hard hit post-9/11, plan to cut 2,200 to 3,800 flights a day if we're at war.
And airlines aren't offering refunds, but have instituted more lenient change policies for flights that are flying. With U.S. Air's peace-of-mind plan, you can apply unused tickets to future travel within 90 days of war or a code red alert. United and Delta will waive some change fees. And a drop in international travel to the U.S. is expected to leave reservations to U.S. tourist destinations wide open.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can find some real deals out there. The bookings at a Grand Canyon, at the big lodges there, or in Yosemite or in Yellowstone, there are some openings there where, in the past, you wouldn't necessarily expect to see them.
COLBY: Americans are being told with almost certainty, if there's war, there will be terrorism.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is the certainty that terrorists will attempt to launch multiple attacks against their enemy, which is us and our allies.
COLBY: Several public events hang in the balance, at least until airtime. The Oscar telecast is still on for March 23.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you're a betting man, the show is going to be on Sunday.
COLBY: But without the traditional red carpet, due to obvious concerns.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If someone's intelligent to stand upwind and let go of a chemical or a biological agent and it just continues downwind into the venue, you've got a contamination issue.
COLBY: And the NCAA basketball finals may, says a high-level NCAA official, be postponed if there's war.
(on camera): The biggest change could be at home. We'll be watching more TV, following news coverage, and right alongside comfort foods. Americans are expected to add more feel-good foods to their shopping lists. And grocers are already stocking up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: During the first Gulf War, you did see shoppers staying at home and watching television more. Apple pie, mashed potatoes, a lot of the traditional comfort foods are going to taste awfully good during that period.
COLBY (voice-over): Comfort and concern. If there's war, safety will be on everyone's mind and color everything we do.
Jamie Colby, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Next: All three of their children have left home, now ready for war against Iraq -- the story of one family's commitment to protecting their country -- when CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Two hundred and ninety-three Americans died in the first Gulf War pushing Iraqi troops out of Kuwait. This time, the U.S. troops will have to invade Iraq outright, a country of 24 million people, defeat an army of more than 350,000 troops on home turf, and face the possibility of booby traps and street-fighting in Baghdad. Parents sending their children into battle know that some of them may not return.
William and Mary Staun have three children, all of them in the Army; 24-year-old Rose Marie (ph) is a lieutenant in the Transportation Corps; 22-year-old William (ph) is a tank gunner; 19- year-old Margaret (ph), Peggy (ph) to her families and friends, is an M.P. Two are in the Middle East. One will be soon. And son-in-law Holland Sutton (ph) is already there.
The parents, William and Mary, join us now from Cincinnati.
Bill and Mary, I thank you so much for being with us.
WILLIAM STAUN, FATHER OF THREE U.S. SOLDIERS: Thank you.
MARY STAUN, MOTHER OF THREE U.S. SOLDIERS: You're welcome.
CHUNG: You know, when I think about you, I think my heart skips a beat, because, honestly, it's so hard to think about the position that you're in.
Mary, give me a sense, on the eve of war or what we believe to be the eve of war, what are your feelings?
M. STAUN: To say that my stomach is flip-flopping is to put it mildly. I'm tense. I'm on edge. I'm nervous. I want to sit down in the corner by myself and cry. But I have a job to do and I have others I have to take care of, so I can't do that.
CHUNG: Bill, I know your son had told you both that he may be with one of the first companies in Baghdad. Now, that's got to heighten your anxiety.
W. STAUN: Well, of course it heightens your anxiety. You would prefer he be the last one into Baghdad. But, again, it's...
M. STAUN: Or not at all.
W. STAUN: Or not at all, as Mary says.
But I understand his camaraderie and I understand his bravado. And I think, when you're in his position and you're talking with your comrades, you want to be that person who has that confidence to be that second or third tank in Baghdad.
CHUNG: Mary, do you think the U.S. is doing the right thing?
M. STAUN: I can't help but think that we are. If not, I'm not so sure about going after Saddam, per se. But to free Iraq and let the people there have the same freedoms that we have, or at least get a little closer to it -- I don't know how those women survive over there, being almost chained, in the sense of not being allowed to practice what they should be able to do.
CHUNG: I know, William -- or, Bill, your father had died. And everyone came home for the funeral, which had to be a blessing in disguise?
W. STAUN: Oh, it was a great blessing.
It was not a joyous event when my father died. And yet, to use that opportunity or have that opportunity for everyone, all three of the children, to come home, especially when Will had been in Kuwait for over two months and the girls knowing that they would be deploying soon, yes, that was a tremendous family reunion. Yes, it was under sad circumstances, but it was a tremendous family get-together.
CHUNG: Mary, would you ever bring yourself to say to your children: Don't go. Don't do this?
M. STAUN: I would love to, but I can't do that, because we raised them to follow their conscience. We raised them to be independent. We raised them to be conscientious adults. And that's what they're doing.
CHUNG: Mary, I admire you. How do you stay so grounded?
M. STAUN: A lot of prayer.
(LAUGHTER)
M. STAUN: Very much prayer. Believe me. My new year's resolution was to pray more. And I'm telling you, the lord sure is taking care of that.
CHUNG: Now, Bill, I know that Rose Marie, your daughter, had seen the president speak. What did she think?
W. STAUN: Well, we have not gotten an e-mail or a reply, so I really don't know what she is thinking. I can go by past references from her, from how I know her and how I think she would respond.
Perhaps if I just gave you one quote from the last e-mail that she sent us. And that was simply, "We are over our fear now and ready to do the job."
CHUNG: Oh, my gosh.
W. STAUN: Yes.
CHUNG: Bill and Mary Staun, kudos to you for being so strong.
M. STAUN: Thank you.
CHUNG: And we'll be thinking about you and we'll be praying for your children as well.
M. STAUN: Thank you.
W. STAUN: Thank you so much, Connie.
M. STAUN: Don't just pray for our children. Pray for all of the soldiers.
CHUNG: You're so right.
M. STAUN: Thank you.
CHUNG: You are so right.
Still ahead: a quick update of today's developments in Washington, Baghdad and around the globe, as the countdown to war continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Still ahead: more on the U.S. on the brink of war, but, first, tonight's "Snapshot" of some of the other stories we want to tell you about.
We begin with charges filed against the couple accused of holding Elizabeth Smart for more than nine months.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG (voice-over): Brian Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, were charged with six felony counts, including sexual assault in the abduction of Elizabeth Smart. Authorities say Mitchell raped the teenager with Barzee's help.
Anti-abortion activist James Kopp has been convicted of second- degree murder in the shooting death of a doctor who performed abortions. Sentencing is set for May 9.
Baton Rouge police confirm LSU student Carrie Lynn Yoder is the latest victim of a serial killer. They say DNA evidence links her case to the death of four other women. The killer remains at large.
A decorated Gulf War veteran died by the needle today at a federal prison in Indiana as death penalty opponents protested outside. Louis Jones had claimed Iraqi nerve gas damaged his brain, causing him to rape and kill a female soldier.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: And when we return: a final look at the U.S. on the brink of war.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Before we go: a quick look at where we are tonight, as the nation stands poised on the brink of war with Iraq.
It's now 23 hours until President Bush's deadline for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his two sons to leave the country. Iraqi officials replied with one voice today: No.
Today, hundreds of U.S. armored vehicles, tanks and other military vehicles, have been seen streaming north through Kuwait toward the Iraqi border. U.N. inspectors have evacuated Iraq. And a U.N. ministerial meeting is set for tomorrow.
Here at home, President Bush spoke with world leaders and his top military planners. With the nation at orange alert, domestic defense officials heightened security measures at potential terrorist targets around the country.
The bottom line: Short of an Iraqi reversal, it appears there's nothing left that could stop this war from happening.
Tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, it will be exactly 48 hours since President Bush issued his ultimatum, zero hour. Will Saddam Hussein be gone or will the U.S. forces be going in? Do join us tomorrow.
And coming up next on "LARRY KING LIVE": former British Prime Minister John Major; plus, in his first U.S. interview, Robin Cook, the British Cabinet minister who resigned in protest to Prime Minister Blair's policy toward Iraq.
And that's our program for tonight. Thank you so much for joining us. And for all of us at CNN, good night and we'll see you tomorrow.
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