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CNN Live At Daybreak

U.S. Troops in Kuwait Counting Down to War

Aired March 18, 2003 - 05:53   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: We want to take you to the front lines once again for a look at how U.S. troops in Kuwait are counting down to war.
CNN's Jason Bellini joins us live by video phone from Camp Bull Rush in Kuwait. He's with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit -- good morning.

JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, we didn't have to hear the president's speech last night. In fact, moist people here didn't hear the president's speech last night because it was 4:00 a.m. and people were getting a good night's rest because of all the preparations that are going on. We've been here for about a week now. You're seeing the preparations, the level of preparedness being upped in very subtle ways.

One not so subtle way yesterday, there was training going on with how to deal with EPWs, enemy prisoners of war. They went to rehearsals where Marines acted out the part of EPWs. They practiced frisking. They practiced taking off -- they practiced tagging them, getting them ready to bring them to the rear, in the case that they have to, that they have to take them to the rear.

Some of the talk that's been going on around here is that you don't know what's going to happen when they actually go in, whether there will be quite a few people surrendering or whether people will have to be taken by force. So they're getting themselves ready for either situation -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Oh, it's hard to see.

Jason Bellini, many thanks to you, live from Camp Bull Rush in Kuwait.

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 18, 2003 - 05:53   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We want to take you to the front lines once again for a look at how U.S. troops in Kuwait are counting down to war.
CNN's Jason Bellini joins us live by video phone from Camp Bull Rush in Kuwait. He's with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit -- good morning.

JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, we didn't have to hear the president's speech last night. In fact, moist people here didn't hear the president's speech last night because it was 4:00 a.m. and people were getting a good night's rest because of all the preparations that are going on. We've been here for about a week now. You're seeing the preparations, the level of preparedness being upped in very subtle ways.

One not so subtle way yesterday, there was training going on with how to deal with EPWs, enemy prisoners of war. They went to rehearsals where Marines acted out the part of EPWs. They practiced frisking. They practiced taking off -- they practiced tagging them, getting them ready to bring them to the rear, in the case that they have to, that they have to take them to the rear.

Some of the talk that's been going on around here is that you don't know what's going to happen when they actually go in, whether there will be quite a few people surrendering or whether people will have to be taken by force. So they're getting themselves ready for either situation -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Oh, it's hard to see.

Jason Bellini, many thanks to you, live from Camp Bull Rush in Kuwait.

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