Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
Strike on Iraq
Aired March 22, 2003 - 17:00 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.
ANNOUNCER: With correspondents from around the world, STRIKE ON IRAQ with Wolf Blitzer starts now.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Dramatic scenes at home and abroad. Crowds of angry demonstrators turn chaotic in the United States. And overseas, our CNN crews captured drama on tape. Here's a live picture of Baghdad, where air raid sirens have been sounding off all night long. And here, live in Kuwait City, citizens heard their share of sirens earlier today. It's now 1:00 AM in this part of the Persian Gulf.
Hello. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting tonight live from Kuwait City.
The war raged on in Iraq today, resulting in stunning scenes of battle along several fronts. A day after Baghdad was rocked by the Pentagon's so-called "Shock and Awe" assault, air raid sirens sounded again and thick clouds of smoke rose over the capital. Some of it may have come from oil-filled trenches set ablaze by Iraqis in an effort to hinder U.S. air strikes.
U.S. Marines called in Cobra attack helicopters as they battled Iraqi forces near the southern city of Basra. Demolition teams used TOW missiles to blow up abandoned Iraqi tanks and other armored vehicles buried in earthworks.
While some oil wells were left in flames, U.S. and British forces have gained control of oil fields in Southern Iraq and the nearby port of Umm Qasr.
Before we go on, let's take a quick look at the big picture. We begin in the south, with the race to Baghdad, the forces coming out of Kuwait. CNN's Walter Rodgers reports the 3rd Squadron of the 7th Cavalry is the furthest along. We're permitted to report it currently is about 160 miles south of the city, slowed after an encounter with Iraqi troops.
CNN's Martin Savidge, embedded with the Marines, watched U.S. troops destroy abandoned Iraqi tanks near Basra in southern Iraq. The battalion also encountered rocket-propelled grenade fire.
And CNN's Christiane Amanpour reports the strategic port of Umm Qasr, after several heated battles, has been captured by coalition forces intact. The U.S. says allied forces have reached Basra and the city of Nasiriyah on the Euphrates River, considered a vital river crossing. The Pentagon reports that Iraq's entire 51st division based in Nasiriyah, up to 10,000 troops, have surrendered to U.S. force. In the west, CNN's Chris Plante reports coalition forces have seized a network of significant air fields known as H2 and H3, considered by U.S. intelligence to be a potential storage site for weapons of mass destruction.
And in central Iraq, the air campaign continues, with Baghdad being hit with more bombs Saturday evening, this roughly 24 hours after the coalition began its Shock and Awe bombing campaign, which includes cities to Baghdad's north, Tikrit, Kirkuk and Mosul. In all the U.S. says it has flown 2,000 sorties, half of which were strikes by sea and air-launched cruise missiles.
The punishing U.S.-led air attacks on Baghdad have reduced many of Saddam Hussein's showcase palaces and key government buildings to rubble. U.S. military officials say there have been 2,000 sorties flown since the start of this Shock and Awe campaign. Key targets include palaces that U.S. officials say are military command centers. Iraqi residents describe the bombing campaign as simply terrifying. Thick clouds of black smoke are rising over the city of some five million people. There also are reports Iraqis may have started some fires to confuse allied warplanes.
The Iraqi government says more than 200 civilians were wounded in yesterday's bombing raids. American officials say they still do not know whether Saddam Hussein is alive or dead.
CNN's Frank Buckley is aboard one of the U.S. aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf the aircraft carrier Constellation. Frank's joining us now live via videophone -- Frank.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, at about this time last night, the first strike packages that had gone into Baghdad from the USS Constellation were arriving back on the aircraft carrier here. What we weren't able to share with you last night was the scene that took place before all of the strike packages left the USS Constellation. Those were the briefings that took place with the pilots. Tonight we are able to show you that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): The flight deck of the USS Constellation roared to life with the first strike fighters bound for Baghdad.
CAPT. MARK FOX, U.S. NAVY: We are the Oscar Bravo Sierra package.
BUCKLEY: Earlier, a briefing, embedded journalists getting a front row seat to a moment in history.
FOX: Some of you have already flown once or twice, but this is a package now that's going to be going downtown here. And it's kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here, gentlemen. I don't think that any of us will ever step away from this and not remember this particular day. BUCKLEY: Ordnance from strike fighters and Tomahawk cruise missiles rained into Baghdad. Anti-aircraft fire flew up. The men who flew over it saw things they'll never forget.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just continuous, constant explosions going off all over the place. We saw the AAA coming up. Occasionally, you'd see mis-hoppers (ph).
CAPT. BILL BARBER, U.S. MARINES: I don't think anything we could have thought of would have prepared us for what we were going to happening on the ground out there.
BUCKLEY: The first strike package was led by a Desert Storm veteran, the carrier air wing's commanding officer, Mark Fox.
FOX: We didn't fly on night vision goggles back then, so everything that you saw then was with the naked eye. And now you've got an ability to see a lot more. So I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing or not, but there was a hell of a lot of stuff to look at.
BUCKLEY: Mike Herbert remembers watching missiles like this one crash into targets on TV during Desert Storm. He was only a teenager.
LIEUTENANT MIKE HERBERT, U.S. NAVY: And to actually do that myself for the first time, when I remember in high school, seeing it on TV, on -- being able to see that now, to actually do it, it's a whole different world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY: And in addition to the air strikes that came from carrier-based aircraft and land-based aircraft, there are also Tomahawk cruise missile launches that came from U.S. Navy warships. We are told by Rear Admiral Barry Costello (ph), the Constellation's battle group commander, that of the 30-plus ships and submarines in this theater that are capable of launching Tomahawks, all of them launched Tomahawks last night -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Out of about 400 or so Tomahawk cruise missiles that were launched. Before I let you go, Frank, what's the scene right now? How much activity is there on the USS Constellation, in terms of planes -- war planes taking off and landing?
BUCKLEY: Well, as you noted earlier, Wolf, air operations are continuing into Iraq. They are also continuing off of other aircraft carriers. And here aboard the Constellation, there have been air operations. They are continuing. It's 1:00 o'clock in the morning, and we expect that, at some point, aircraft will be taking off and landing. You can probably hear the jets behind me. So the level of activity is pretty intense. At various times, other times, quiet. So yes, there -- airplanes are taking off and landing on this aircraft carrier tonight.
BLITZER: All right. Frank Buckley. He's aboard the USS Constellation, one of five U.S. aircraft carriers participating in this war against Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi regime.
Let's go to CNN's Gary Tuchman now. He's embedded with the U.S. Air Force at a base in the Persian Gulf region. He's joining us now live via videophone -- Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the bombs that will be falling in Iraq in a very short time period are about to leave here, this air base where we are right now on the border of Iraq. We can't tell you the exact locations because of the rules set up by the Pentagon for embedded journalists, but we can tell you that this is a very busy air base, where planes are continuously taking off to go to Iraq.
Behind me, the A-10 attack plane. It's known as the Warthog. Partly named the Warthog because it's a rather ugly plane. But it's solidly built. It can survive direct hits from armor-piercing explosives and projectiles. This plane is used to provide air support for the ground troops in Iraq. They have bombs and missiles. They drop them, if necessary. They don't always drop them.
But there are other aircraft here, the F-16. They are the fighters that always drop the bombs and missiles. The F-16s are the aircraft that were used the most during the 1991 Gulf war.
I want to give you a look at one plane that has just come in, that has just come in from Iraq. And you can see it right now. It just landed here, and it's coming in to park. This is one of the A-10 Warthogs that just came from one of its missions. This gives you an idea. We have constant activity here on these taxiways and runways, here at this base, where there are more than 8,000 service men and women right now. They are here from all four branches of the service -- the Army, the Navy, the Marines and the Air Force, but mostly Air Force. There's also a contingent here from Great Britain, a contingent here from Australia.
You can see one of the planes taking off right now, also. You can see, it's 1:00 in the morning here, 1:11 -- [inaudible] -- activity on the runways and the taxiways here at this air base. A short time ago, we talked with the pilot of an A-10 attack Warthog who just completed a mission to Iraq a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LT. COL. MIKE WEBB, U.S. AIR FORCE: I was sent to particular location in Iraq, near the city of Nasiriyah and worked with many other airplanes, A-10 Thunderbolts, and ground troops. And our No. 1 job is to keep our ground troops safe that are on the ground and make sure that their way is clear, as they move forward.
TUCHMAN: What kind of ammunition do you carry? What armaments? What kind of bombs and missiles?
WEBB: The A-101 is built around a seven-barrel Gattling gun. It carries 30-millimeter bullets. We carry almost any flavor of bombs you can imagine and infrared and electro-optical Mavericks (ph).
TUCHMAN: On this mission -- you don't always use them. Did you use them in this mission?
WEBB: On most missions we don't, but on this mission, I cleaned off the jet, so to speak. We found a military compound that had not surrendered. And after 30 to 40 minutes of very significant delays, to ensure that there was no collateral damage and that the target was positively identified, there were no friendlies or any noncombatants in the area, we were given permission to engage and destroy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: Colonel Webb is from Boise, Idaho. He also told us that he had audio evidence in his cockpit that an Iraqi missile was fired in his direction. He took measures to avoid that missile. He acknowledged to us he was scared. He also told us he would have another mission tomorrow. Wolf, back to you.
BLITZER: All right. Gary Tuchman. He's at an air base near Iraq, here in the Persian Gulf.
Let's move on. We have reporters covering this story around the world -- certainly, around all parts of Iraq. CNN's Ben Wedeman is in the Kurdish-controlled northern part of Iraq. He's joining us now via videophone, as well.
I understand, Ben, there's been some significant U.S. military activity in the northern part of Iraq earlier today.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's correct, Wolf. Actually, just about an hour ago, we were watching as tracer fire was coming up from the direction of Mosul, which is 28 miles from here. In fact, I think I'm hearing some thuds, as well. Just a little while ago, we also saw flashes from just north of Mosul, as well. So that city once more coming under bombardment by coalition airplanes.
We also are hearing reports that Kirkuk, another major northern city, was also coming under fire. Now, according to Kurdish intelligence sources -- and of course, the Kurdish groups have their own spies in the northern cities -- several targets were earlier hit in Mosul.
Oh, I'm hearing an airplane also overhead, as well.
The targets hit in Mosul include a palace belonging to Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and major army barracks, as well as the headquarters of military intelligence.
Now, in other action in Northern Iraq today, apparently, a good number of cruise missiles were -- hit the area that is currently occupied by the fundamentalist group Ansar al Islam, that area near the Iranian border. Apparently, there were some casualties there.
And among the casualties was a journalist, an Australian cameraman who was killed, not as a result of this cruise missile attack, but rather in a suicide bombing at a checkpoint, where the journalists were waiting to talk to people who were fleeing the area that was hit by those cruise missiles. Apparently, one taxi was rigged with explosives. And when it reached the Kurdish checkpoint there, it blew up, killed this Australian cameraman, in addition to three Kurdish soldiers and a Kurdish civilian -- Wolf.
BLITZER: This group, Ansar al Islam -- a lot of our viewers have heard about it. They know it's loosely aligned with al Qaeda. But give our viewers a sense, specifically, what their goal is.
WEDEMAN: Just to tell you, we are hearing some planes overhead and more thumps in the background. So it would appear more bombs falling in the area of Mosul.
Now, as far as Ansar al Islam goes, it's a -- basically, it's a breakaway from a Kurdish Islamic party. It holds ideals very much along the lines of the Taliban in Afghanistan. They have had links also believed -- alleged links to al Qaeda, the network, the terrorist network of Osama bin Laden. And the United States has repeatedly made indications that they would be involved. They would also be hitting Ansar al Islam when they began their military campaign against Iraq, as well. And we've heard from Kurdish officials that they intend to also be involved in a ground offensive -- that is, the Kurdish groups -- against Ansar al Islam as soon as the bombing campaign was to begin -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Ben Wedeman. He's in Northern Iraq, not far from Mosul, where there seems to be heavy U.S. bombardment unfolding, even as he is delivering his report. Ben Wedeman, stay safe over there. We'll be getting back to you, of course, throughout the night.
Two British Royal Navy Sea King helicopters collided today over the Persian Gulf, killing all seven crew members. The helicopters involved in the accident were like the one in this picture. The victims included six Britons and one American.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. AL LOCKWOOD, ROYAL AIR FORCE: ... tragically, that the aircraft hit each other. They were over the sea at the time. And I can say that it was not as a result of enemy action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: The collision of the two British helicopters happened before dawn today.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has identified the two Marines killed in combat in Iraq yesterday. They are Second Lieutenant Therel Childers (ph) of Harrison, Mississippi, and Lance Corporal Jose Gutierrez (ph) of Los Angeles. The number of reported U.S. combat deaths stands sat six. There have been 19 accidental deaths in Operation Iraqi Freedom resulting from two helicopter crashes. Fourteen of the dead were British and five were American. Among them, Marines Major Jay Aubin, Captain Ryan Beaupre, Corporal Brian Kennedy and Staff Sergeant Kendall Waters-bey.
The fathers of two of the Marines are sharing some of their grief. One questioned the helicopter that was involved. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM AUBIN, FATHER: He was flying a 30-year-old helicopter. And it had been grounded many, many times, and it was maintenance that killed him. It wasn't his flying or the other boy's flying. And I feel bad for all the others that got killed in that helicopter. It's just...
MICHAEL WATERS-BEY, FATHER: George Bush, take a good look at this man because you took my only son away from me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And our hearts and prayers, of course, go out to the families of all those killed in action so far.
For the most part, the port city of Umm Qasr in Southern Iraq is now in the hands of American and British forces. CNN's Christiane Amanpour went there and spoke with the troops.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A helicopter flight over the port of Umm Qasr reveals the area is relatively quiet. And down below, British soldiers do some war tourism, looking at one of those giant billboards of Saddam Hussein. Taking Umm Qasr was a joint operation. The 15th U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit was under the command of the British Royal Marines Commando Brigade. Now U.S. Marines rest at the port after more than a day on the move. Some, like 21-year-old Corporal Jeremy Archer, had feared the worst.
CPL. JEREMY ARCHER, U.S. MARINES: I expected a big war, I guess, but they're all giving up, so -- so it was easier than I thought.
AMANPOUR: Not all are giving up, though. About three kilometers away from the main port, there are pockets of resistance. The commander of the U.S. Marine unit sent up Cobra helicopters and fired artillery to destroy the Iraqi fire.
COL. THOMAS WALDAUSER, U.S. MARINES: They did resist. But once it appeared that they would have to deal with some overwhelming firepower, they have a tendency then to give up.
AMANPOUR: The British commander says the resistance is isolated.
BRIG. GEN. JAMES DUTTON, BRITISH ROYAL MARINES: It hasn't been a particularly cohesive fighting force. It's been a D-30 (ph) guns firing a few rounds prior to its destruction, or a group of individuals firing.
AMANPOUR: It took longer than expected to secure Umm Qasr, and the military says it's still mopping up small pockets of resistance in the town. Nonetheless, the military says it plans to bring in the first elements of humanitarian aid, perhaps within 48 hours. Umm Qasr is Iraq's main commercial port. It lies at the mouth of the Shat-al-Arab waterway, which flows into the Persian Gulf. This was an important strategic target for allied forces and will be the main port of entry for relief and other humanitarian goods. Just yesterday, Iraqi ministers vowed that Umm Qasr would never fall, but hundreds of soldiers have given themselves up, and now they are POWs under U.S. and British control.
Christiane Amanpour, CNN, at the port of Umm Qasr in Southern Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Thousands of Palestinians marched in Gaza to protest the strike on Iraq. Some called on Iraq to attack Israel. Protesters scuffled with police outside the U.S. embassy in Manama. Manama is the capital of Bahrain, where the U.S. 5th Fleet is based. In Northwestern Africa, Mauritian protesters chanted "Bush is a butcher." Police dispersed them with tear gas. Thousands of Muslims staged marches in India. The Indian government had supported a peaceful resolution to the Iraqi conflict, but it's resisting pressure to condemn America.
In New Zealand, thousands of protesters marched on the U.S. embassy. They also demonstrated outside the mission of Australia, which has some 2,000 troops in the Gulf. Protests also outside the U.S. embassy in Moscow. Russia's foreign minister says U.S. interests, hoping to profit from Iraqi oil, are trying to nullify Russia's oil contracts with Iraq.
Thousands of people, both for and against the war, are taking to the streets across the United States. We're taking you live to three major demonstrations. Maria Hinojosa is in New York, Rusty Dornin is in San Francisco, and in Chicago, our bureau chief there, and Jeff Flock. We begin with Maria in New York -- Maria.
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, well, this started as a demonstration, really, a march that began in midtown Manhattan that was very calm, very peaceful. Of course, organizers and police are having different opinions on the numbers of people out here. The organizers -- some are saying well over 250,000. I have heard a lot of people coming up and saying that they have heard a million. But the police are saying that they will concede that it is well over 100,000.
Now, it was a very calm and peaceful march, a lot of family members. The march was really led off by a group called September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows. These are all people who lost their families on September 11. They were heading off the march, and behind them, the children's contingent, and behind them, the religion contingent -- a very diverse group of people.
Now, they came down to Washington Square Park, which is where they are now. And lot of the protesters were going around and around the park, really in a calm manner. There was no real confrontation that was happening. But just about half an hour ago, there was a confrontation when the police brought in a big truck here and started pushing the protesters down. And over my corner over there, there was some confrontation. The police were saying that some of the demonstrators had brought out gasoline and kerosene and had lit a flag on fire.
But this woman here was saying that you were hit with pepper spray. What happened to you, very quickly?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was holding my brother's arm so we didn't lose each other. We were both sprayed directly in the face by a cop. And I pulled this over my face, but I -- this thing I had on my head over my face. But it got in my eyes. And then these medics came and cleaned it out of my face. And another guy was pushed to the ground and handcuffed. We were dancing. We were playing music.
HINOJOSA: What do you think -- do you -- what do you think that this message of this demonstration, when there's confrontation with police like this, what kind of a message do you think that that sends to the broader American public?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It tells me that the police are in the pocket of the administration right now and that they're acting the same way they're acting internationally, that they're acting irrationally. They're not listening.
HINOJOSA: And when people would say that you coming out to the streets and doing this would be considered somewhat unpatriotic because there are young men and women who are putting their lives on the line...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the most patriotic thing I can possibly do. This is the most patriotic act I can possibly do. I read the 1st Amendment again yesterday!
HINOJOSA: Thank you very much for joining us.
As you can see, a lot of heated emotions here, a lot of tension. The police are trying to get the people to move from this area. They, it seems, are very -- very much stuck on staying here. And once again, there is a lot of anger at the media. There is just a lot of anger. They are continuing to see -- these protesters are saying that the media is not telling the truth on the issue of these people wanting to get their perspective out of being against the war. Back to you.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Maria Hinojosa in New York City.
A huge anti-war protest in San Francisco has been going on for the past two days. CNN's Rusty Dornin is right in the thick of things, and she's joining us now live -- Rusty.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it's a bit of a festival atmosphere right now because the marchers did take off about half hour ago. This is the third day of protests here in San Francisco. Now, there were some radical speeches right before the march, condemning U.S. media, saying that they were spokespersons for the Department of Defense. They also said that it was necessary to start shutting down ports, shutting down military installations in order to really have their voices heard.
Now, this rally was intended -- this march -- to be peaceful, to include families who just want to show -- have their voices heard about peace. But the previous two days were something else. There were signs of civil disobedience, where 2,000 people were arrested.
Now, here with us today -- they've stayed behind from the march -- is a family, Sri (ph) and Vidia Srinka (ph), and they did participate in the protests in the last two days. Why did you feel you needed to go into the streets as an act of civil disobedience?
VIDIA SRINKA: We needed for people to understand that it can't be business as usual when there are people who are being bombed and children who are dying in Baghdad. And so we wanted to make the people feel like, you know, you have to wake up and realize what's going on there.
DORNIN: Now, I understand you did bring your young son, as well, is that right, Sri? Why did you -- I mean, there were some violent things going on in the streets. Did you...
SRI SRINKA: No. We believe that -- we couldn't sleep last night thinking about the children in Iraq and how they must be terrified by bombs, being bombed in their city. Just a part of something similar to our son. We couldn't stand it. We strongly believe in the non- violence of Thoreau, Gandhi and King, and we are here to express our civil disobedience.
DORNIN: Thank you very much for joining us. The marchers should be back. It looks like -- so far, there have been no arrests, and things are going peaceful so far, Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Rusty Dornin in San Francisco. Thanks very much. * BLITZER: In Chicago, huge crowds are in the streets voicing support for and against the war. Our Chicago bureau chief, Jeff Flock, is, of course, right in the middle of things over there -- Jeff.
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: it was quite a day in Chicago today, Wolf, a great day for democracy and for freedom of speech. We heard from both sides. I want to show you the pictures. It's all over now in the Federal Plaza in Chicago, but for much of the day, both those opposed to the war and those who support not only the war but the troops, they say, were separated by only about 40 or 50 feet and Chicago police in riot gear for a time, although it never was in any danger of turning nasty. People are content to make their views known with their words and with their signs and with their flags. Two separate demonstrations, both several thousand people, I guess, when you put them all together. Everyone got their word out.
And perhaps we can take a listen to some of the more articulate of the protesters. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't want there to be a loss of life. But in order for freedom to take place, sometimes there must be a loss of life. And we support whatever America is trying to do. I will not believe a murderous dictator over my own government!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And this war is illegal. United Nations already say it. And I don't like what they doing. I don't like their evil.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... because I think that America has the right to do what it's doing. Bush is right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don't support the troops in their actions. Do I want any of them to be harmed? Oh, no, you know? No way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLOCK: Wolf, the most poignant moment for me was when one side began chanting "USA, USA," and the other started chanting "USA, USA." It seems that both sides are on the same team, they just disagree about what place they're on. That's the latest from Chicago. To you.
BLITZER: All right. Jeff Flock in Chicago, thanks very much.
Here's your chance to weigh in on the strike on Iraq. Our Web question of the day is this: When it comes to the strike on Iraq, whom do you side with most, President Bush or the anti-war protesters? We'll have the results later this hour. Please vote at cnn.com/wolf. While you're there, I'd like to hear from you. Send me your comments. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also, of course, where you can read my daily online column, cnn.com/Wolf.
An Australian cameraman was killed in an apparent suicide bombing at a checkpoint in Northern Iraq today. The Associated Press reports at least four other people were killed. It happened near the camp of a militant group that has been linked to al Qaeda. Reporter Karl Vick of "The Washington Post" witnessed the attack. He's joining us now live on the phone from Northern Iraq.
Karl, thank so much for joining us. Tell our viewers what happened. What did you see?
KARL VICK, "WASHINGTON POST": Well, it was a checkpoint that until this morning that had been held by a group associated with the group under attack, a sort of more moderate Islamic group that was sort of a gateway into this extremist camp called Ansar al Islam.
The important thing is what happened overnight. U.S. cruise missiles hit the extremist camp. There was a barrage of, like, 40 or 50 over the space of a couple hours, and then a warplane came on in the morning and hit them, as well. So things were kind of fluid. We were sort of -- the checkpoint was at the -- at a road that led into Ansar's territory. And we were there, several journalists and this Australian team, as well, just to gather information about what was going on inside that territory from the people who were pouring out, who didn't want to be bombed again. We were there, but it all felt kind of weird. It felt kind of dodgy. It wasn't a stable situation. I mean, the Kurdish militia there was in charge, the U.S. allies, but it just felt like it was all a little sour.
And we -- the journalists who were there, the American journalists I was traveling with, we all decided it wasn't a good place to be and to get out of there. We were doing that when the explosion came, and this Australian team was still there. The cameraman who died -- I passed him as we were leaving, you know, five seconds, maybe, before the explosion. He was not far from where this car bomb went off, filming the scene, and just was in a bad spot.
BLITZER: And he's identified, Karl, as Paul Moran, 39 years old, a cameraman and an Australian.
VICK: Yes. Yes. I didn't know him. Maybe if I had, you know, I might have slowed down and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) but I -- he was just -- he was sort of a face going by me and...
BLITZER: Now, Karl, you and your colleagues there are trying to cover the story independently, in the sense that you're not embedded with any U.S. or British military forces. You're basically on your own, which raises the stakes considerably, as far as your own security is concerned.
VICK: Well, it does. And you know, that's how people get hurt. I mean, we saw this in Afghanistan, where there was no embedding. And now we have, you know, these situations in the south today and this bombing up here. This Ansar group, you know, has been targeting Western journalists, according to the -- our Kurdish hosts up here, and we have been advised to be wary. So we had been, and we got out of there because it just didn't feel right. You know how instinct can be in these situations. And it was right. It was just luck that it -- you know, it timed out the way it did. But this is what we have to rely on in the absence of an armored column (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
BLITZER: Karl Vick of "The Washington Post", good luck to you. Good luck to all your journalistic colleagues over there. Be safe. We'll be reading your material, of course, in "The Washington Post," as we do every day. Thank you very much.
And he witnessed the bombing over Baghdad. We'll check in live with CNN's Nic Robertson. Plus: Where's Saddam Hussein? The latest intelligence on the dictator. And on the front lines, see firsthand as U.S. troops move toward Basra.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: CNN LIVE this hour, WOLF BLITZER REPORTS from Kuwait City, with correspondents from around the world. STRIKE ON IRAQ with Wolf Blitzer starts now.
Welcome back. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting tonight live from Kuwait City. Let's recap the latest developments over the past several hours.
At 7:12 AM, CNN's Barbara Starr reports from the Pentagon that one U.S. Tomahawk missile may have missed its mark during Friday's attack and fallen on Southwest Iran. At 8:30 AM, CNN's Baghdad team crosses into Jordan from Iraq after being thrown out of the country by Iraqi officials yesterday. At 9:45 AM Eastern time, U.S. commander General Tommy Franks tells a briefing in Qatar he doesn't know if Saddam Hussein is alive or dead and it wouldn't change the U.S. mission either way.
At 10:12 AM, CNN's Walter Rodgers reports the 7th Cavalry's advance toward Baghdad is stalled about 160 miles south of Baghdad after an encounter with Iraqi troops. At 11:21 AM Eastern, 7:21 PM in Iraq, in the skies over Baghdad, aircraft are heard and tracer fire begins to flash. At 12:15 PM, sources tell CNN U.S. troops will escort Kuwaiti firefighters to Iraqi oil fields to put out blazes set by the Iraqis. At 3:30 PM Eastern, 11:00 PM Baghdad time, more air raid sirens and explosions in the Iraqi capital, and Reuters reports parts of the city were plunged into darkness.
With U.S. forces running into resistance as they press on toward Baghdad, let's check in with our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, according to the latest word from the Pentagon, U.S. and British troops have now pressed with -- 150 miles into Iraq as they continue their march on Baghdad. They have crossed the Euphrates River. But even as the U.S. continues to make progress in the ground war, U.S. central commander Tommy Franks is warning that victory could still be days, perhaps even weeks away.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Images from the battlefield show the U.S. military is basically having its way with Iraq's poorly-equipped and demoralized front-line forces. Even so, in some southern cities such as Nasiriyah and Basra, U.S. forces have encountered Iraqi troops who are fighting and inflicting casualties before giving up. U.S. commanders believe those Iraqi forces may include Republican Guard elements, designed to stiffen their will. But aside from nine oil well fires set in the Rumaylah oil fields before the ground war began, so far, U.S. troops have encountered no nightmare tactics, including no chemical or biological weapons.
GEN. TOMMY FRANKS, CMDR, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: There will be surprises, but we have not yet -- we have not yet seen them.
MCINTYRE: the psychological campaign appears to be paying off. This satellite photograph released by the U.S. Central Command shows what appears to be 700 Iraqi troops lined up in the desert, just as U.S. leaflets instructed them to do if they wanted to surrender. BRIG. GEN. VINCE BROOKS, CENTRAL COMMAND: Leaders from several regular army divisions surrendered to coalition forces, and their units abandoned their equipment and returned to their homes, just as the coalition had instructed.
MCINTYRE: More details have been provided on how the war unfolded, with U.S. and British special forces taking down Iraqi military outposts and seizing key oil terminals, where weapons and explosives were found. This photograph shows an Iraqi ship that was discovered attempting to lay mines in the Northern Persian Gulf. While here, a U.S. AC-130 gunship sinks an Iraqi patrol boat with a devastating blast of cannon fire.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: But one part of the war plan is lagging behind -- in the north. There is still no northern front. And aside from a small number of U.S. special forces, the U.S. lacks any real northern option, any capabilities to secure the Kirkuk oil fields, like the oil fields in the south have been secured. Pentagon officials say it will take little bit longer to neutralize Iraq's air defense to the point that those troops can be flown up to the north to secure those areas.
Meanwhile, the U.S. strategy to speed the advance toward Baghdad is to avoid taking as many prisoners as possible and avoid entering and taking big cities, instead encircling them, leaving troops around them and continuing on to the north -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. Thanks, Jamie, very much.
Now that the coalition forces do have control of the huge Rumaylah oil field in Southern Iraq, they're getting ready to put out fires. Officials say at least seven wells are burning. A source tells CNN 22 Kuwaiti firefighters will be escorted into the area tomorrow. One expert thinks the fires can be capped within 45 days. Iraq says it's filled trenches with oil and set them on fire to set up a smokescreen, but it denies setting the wells on fire.
President Bush, meanwhile, is at Camp David, Maryland, but he met with his war council, spoke with a key ally and warned the nation that victory may not come all that quickly. Let's go live to our White House correspondent, Dana Bash -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, on that idea of war may not be ending very quickly -- there's a new opinion poll, public opinion poll, out today that says that Americans do think that this war will be short, so the president spent some time today making sure that Americans lower those expectations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No justice, no peace. USA out of the Middle East!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No justice, no peace. USA out of the Middle East!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No justice, no peace. USA out of the Middle East!
BASH (voice-over): A heavy police presence controlled anti-war protesters, now a permanent fixture outside the White House gates. But the commander-in-chief was not home to hear them. As his father did during the 1991 Gulf war, this President Bush is spending the first weekend of war at Camp David, a U.S. Marine facility equipped with the same technology of the White House.
Joining him there, his entire war council, including Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They met for 90 minutes, going over the latest reports from the war front. Concerned about perception the war may be wrapped up quickly, the president used his weekly radio address to brace the country. It could take a while.
GEORGE WALKER BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A campaign on harsh terrain in a vast country could be longer and more difficult than some have predicted. And helping Iraqis achieve a united, stable and free country will require our sustained commitment.
BASH: the president signed off on two major decisions last week, first ordering the broad battle plan, then making the dramatic call to accelerate the campaign and go after top Iraqi leaders. But since then, White House aides say, Mr. Bush is leaving the hour-to-hour direction of the war to his generals.
FRANKS: Our troops are performing as we would expect, magnificently. And indeed, the outcome is not in doubt.
BASH: Senate minority leader Tom Daschle, who denounced Mr. Bush just last week over his, quote, "failed diplomacy" on Iraq, used the Democratic radio address to voice support for the troops and for the president.
SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MINORITY LEADER: Today a quarter of a million Americans are in the Persian Gulf, risking their lives to disarm Saddam Hussein. Our nation is united in gratitude and respect for them and in support for our commander-in-chief.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: Now, the president was also in touch today with his staunchest ally in this effort, Tony Blair, the British prime minister. They spoke, according to a White House spokesman, for about 30 minutes by telephone about the progress of the war. And they talked, we are told, about the huge humanitarian aid conflict and the huge humanitarian aid package that they are going to have to deal with in the future -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Dana Bash at the White House. Thanks, Dana, very much.
And as we've mentioned, the Iraqi government expelled CNN's four- person crew in Baghdad. Yesterday correspondents Nic Robertson and Rym Brahimi, executive producer Ingrid Formanek (ph) and our cameraman, Brian Pucciati (ph). After experiencing the massive bombing of Iraqi capital, they traveled overland to Jordan earlier today, and they're all safe and well. They're joining us -- they're, of course, now in Amman, Jordan. That's where Nic Robertson is joining us now live.
Nic, it was a harrowing or deal, I assume, just to be in Baghdad during those air strikes.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It certainly was a very interesting situation, Wolf. Obviously, we had heard so much about Shock and Awe. We really didn't quite know what to expect. And it certainly was, when it came, very powerful, very impressive and apparently very destructive, as well -- at one point, multiple, multiple high-explosive impacts in a presidential area in down town Baghdad, barely a mile from where we were. And it literally shook the building, rattled the windows, pushed -- knocked plaster off the wall and opened some of the windows. Didn't actually break the windows. There about a quarter of a mile away and some shocks very close to that presidential area did blow out some of the windows there.
Very interesting today to get around the city and look around and see what's happening there, Wolf. A lot of Ba'ath Party officials armed with Kalashnikovs and other weapons are around the streets of Baghdad, particularly in the residential suburban areas. They're at main traffic intersections. They're at some of the smaller road junctions around the city. They have small bunkers built. They have small trenches built. Some of the fighters are quite old and some of them quite young, perhaps 15, 16, 17 years old. Clearly in control of the streets.
But once you get out of Baghdad and on the way to Jordan, which is the way we traveled today, you just don't see that many soldiers or fighters or gun positions at all on the road. And it really makes it look as if, Wolf, that Iraqi officials really are planning to only defend, in any substantial way, Baghdad. We just didn't see those heavy defensive measures stretching a long way outside of Baghdad. They do go perhaps 50, 60, 70 miles outside of Baghdad. But after that, there's really -- we saw nothing substantial, Wolf.
BLITZER: And under normal circumstances, would you drive outside of Baghdad, drive from Iraq into Jordan, you would normally see a lot more extensive military capability on that road? Is that what you're suggesting?
ROBERTSON: Really, no, Wolf. What I'm suggesting here is that Iraq is concentrating its current forces and troop deployments in the positions that we saw today, where they do have them on the roads outside of Baghdad, and there aren't that many positions. And the positions aren't that strongly fortified. Those are new positions. Those are positions put in because of the current conflict. But we're just not seeing that extended out.
We're not seeing heavy defensive positions up against the Jordanian border. We're not seeing heavy defensive positions on all the -- on all the high blocks (ph) along the side of the main road that you might expect if you were expecting a military force that progressed towards Baghdad down there to a three-lane highway, a big road that could easily be used by a large, sizable military force. You would expect to see perhaps some heavy machine gun positions, heavy artillery positions ranged on that road. Perhaps, Wolf, they were away. Perhaps they were out of sight, where we couldn't see them. But we certainly didn't see troop movements that might indicate that those positions were being supported or resupplied, Wolf.
BLITZER: Nic Robertson in Amman. Nic, thanks very much. And when we often say CNN is the most trusted name in news, it's thanks to reporters, journalists like you and your three colleagues, for allowing us to make that claim. Thanks very much, Nic Robertson. We're glad you're safe and sound.
Turkey, meanwhile, is proving to be a complicating factor for war planners. It has refused to let U.S. forces open a northern front on the ground, although it's now agreed to overflights. And the Ankara government now may be sending its own troops into Iraq, against U.S. wishes. CNN's Fredricka Whitfield is joining us now live from Turkey, not far away from the Iraqi border.
What's the latest over there, Fredricka?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello there, Wolf. I'm about maybe 15 miles from the Iraqi border. And the latest here from Turkey is -- as you said, it's a very complicated issue for the U.S. military operations, but as you know, the U.S. military is trying to make whatever kind of adaptations it can. For one, since the U.S. is now giving up on any hopes of being able to move any heavy artillery via roads through Turkey, they are now sending about 30 of those cargo ships that were in the Mediterranean, carrying heavy artillery, particularly for the 4th -- the Army's 4th Infantry Division, equipment such as the Abrams tanks, very sophisticated equipment that would have allowed a lot of those troops to be able to talk among themselves from tank to tank, as well as be able to talk to CENTCOM. Well, now all of that is being moved away from the Turkish coast and through the Suez Canal, where it then eventually meet up with those troops from the 4th Infantry Division.
However, the Turkish government is allowing -- and re-emphasized again today -- that it is allowing air space to be open to U.S. military operations. But the U.S. military, as far as we know, has not taken advantage of that invitation still. We've heard nothing, we've seen nothing, and there have been no reports of U.S. military flights either from Europe, where the bombers would be coming from, or any of the fighter jets that may be coming from the carriers in the Mediterranean, have not crossed through Turkish air space in order to begin that northern assault in Iraq.
Now, another bone of contention, though, however, continues to be keeping American and Turkish officials talking, and that is the issue of the Turkish troops who want to cross the border. Earlier, the Turkish ambassador tried to clarify early reports. He says, 1,000 troops have not crossed the border. Instead, they are gathering at the border to anticipate what could be a Kurdish refugee crisis -- Wolf. BLITZER: Fredricka Whitfield in Turkey. Thanks, Fredricka, very much.
Iraq has asked the United Nations to help bring a halt to the allied onslaught. In a statement to the U.N. Security Council read on Iraqi television, the foreign minister, Naji Sabri, called on the U.N. to condemn the invasion, move to stop it immediately and ask the, quote, "U.S. and British aggressors" to withdraw their forces. Commenting on the Iraqi request, a U.S. official at the U.N. said -- and I'm quoting here -- "They're 12-and-a-half years too late."
Iraqi president Saddam Hussein showed up on state television once again today, meeting with top officials. But there's still no definitive word on his fate, and American officials are starting to focus on other concerns. Also, no indication whatsoever that that tape that was shown on Iraqi TV earlier tonight was authentic. It may have been days old, if not weeks or months old.
Let's go to our national security correspondent, David Ensor, in Washington. He has more -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, as you say, U.S. officials would definitely like to get Saddam Hussein, but for the moment, they say, there are also a lot of other issues to deal with.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): With another tape of Saddam Hussein, Iraqi television sought to emphasize that he remains alive and in control. True or not, U.S. intelligence and military leaders say it matters less and less.
FRANKS: I don't know if he's alive or not. But interestingly, the way we're undertaking this military operation, it would not be changed, irrespective of the location or the life of this one man.
ENSOR: U.S. intelligence officials say communications from the Iraqi leadership are dramatically down since the first air strikes of the war, including the one that targeted his compound, suggesting to some Saddam is probably alive and most worried about staying that way.
KENNETH POLLACK, CNN ANALYST: He doesn't know if it was a human who betrayed him or it was a technical system who betrayed him. And so as a result, his MO is always go to ground, go into hiding, rely only on your trusted emissaries.
ENSOR: Besides tracking Iraqi leaders, U.S. intelligence officials say, they have several key goals now: to protect and help U.S. troops, to negotiate surrenders and standdowns of Iraqi units, to watch Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, and not only to keep those weapons from being used against American soldiers.
POLLACK: One of the great concerns that the administration has is that in the collapse of the regime, you may have individuals who will take some of the weapons of mass destruction and transfer them to other countries or to terrorist groups. ENSOR: The U.S. military dealt with one such group Friday, bombing the Northern Iraqi enclave held by Ansar al Islam, a fundamentalist group the U.S. says has ties to al Qaeda. Special forces and U.S. intelligence moved in after the bombs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: Though publicly, U.S. officials are playing down the importance of Saddam Hussein, at this point, they would still very much like to get him. Analysts argue if he dies, there is a good chance the regime would quickly come apart at the seams, potentially saving many lives -- American, Iraqi, British and others -- Wolf.
BLITZER: David Ensor in Washington. Thanks, David, very much.
An exchange of fire caught on camera. We'll show you what CNN's Martin Savidge had to live through earlier today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. We have a breaking news development. Our colleague from our sister publication, "TIME" magazine, Jim Lacey, is covering the 101st Airborne Division. He's joining us now live on the phone.
Jim, what's going on?
JIM LACEY, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Right now, as far as I could tell, about 15 to 20 minutes ago, there was a -- two grenades -- two blasts at Campaign Pennsylvania and New Jersey. At the moment, they believe both of those blasts were grenades. They happened in the tents directly behind me, holding a lot of key members of the 1st Brigade staff here. We've had at least eight wounded, four to six of them seriously. I have not seen anybody that's been killed yet. They're holding two people here, but they may just be contractors. They're not sure if they have the people who did it. Right now, they are saying this is a terrorist attack, and the infantry is now forming up to secure the entire perimeter area. They do not think they have who did this yet.
BLITZER: What you're suggesting -- you're in Kuwait now, at the Camp New Jersey and Camp Pennsylvania. These are U.S. military outposts here in Kuwait. So the suspicion is that there are terrorists on the loose who threw these hand grenades at U.S. troops, members of the 101st Airborne? Is that what you're saying, Jim?
LACEY: It's the middle of the night, here and the suspicion is that two grenades, one in each -- one of -- my mistake. Two tents, two grenades, and the people who did it ran off into the darkness. They've got a three-mile run to the coast here at Camp Pennsylvania -- I mean to the berm. So the area is being secured. They're confident they're going to get whoever did this.
The carnage inside those tents is pretty severe. They are still smoking. I have been in one to carry two soldiers out on a stretcher. Wounds on those two cases looked very severe. They are still loading the ambulance right in front of me, and there's still a bunch of chaos going on here, as they try and get a perimeter set up.
BLITZER: Jim, before I let you go -- just before I let you go, Jim, review once again -- how many U.S. soldiers have been injured?
LACEY: They are now counting eight. They believe six have been seriously injured. I have personally seen five seriously injured, taken onto ambulances, and carried two of them. They are just putting the last seriously wounded person in an ambulance now. There are medics all over the place. There is at least two slightly wounded officers, who are organizing the defense and have not left the area yet.
BLITZER: And how far away were you, Jim, from these soldiers when -- when those hand grenades went off?
LACEY: Oh, I was in the next tent, about 20 yards away.
BLITZER: So you're just lucky that it could -- was it you -- Jim Lacey, embedded -- you're embedded with the 101st Airborne, is that right?
LACEY: I am. And it seems that these two -- whoever did this knew exactly what tents to go for. They got the two leadership tents.
BLITZER: What's been the general reaction among other members of the 101st over the past 15, 20 minutes? I assume you've spoken with a lot of those soldiers.
LACEY: I have talked to at least two dozen of the young soldiers, and they are reacting superbly. I have seen the officers that are here and moving around, doing exactly what you would expect of them. There is a strong sense of urgency, but no sense of panic whatsoever. As a matter of fact, in the last five minutes things have calmed down measurably. From my perspective, the battalion intelligence, the brigade intelligence officer is now running the show and from my perspective of having been in the service it seems like he is doing everything he is supposed to be doing.
BLITZER: Did you get the sense, Jim, that there was significant, what they call force protection security surrounding those two camps, Camp New Jersey, Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait, which is not far of course from the Iraqi border?
LACEY: Right. Until now, I would have said that we had substantial security. We still do. There is at least a full infantry company manning the perimeter of this camp at all times but there is traffic in and out in terms of trucks and busses and contractors coming in. So, it's not a foolproof system but, you know, from all appearances looking from the outside in, it seemed like a very, damn good security system.
BLITZER: Jim Lacey, take care of yourself over there. We'll be checking back with you. Thanks for giving us that information, Jim Lacey from our sister publication "TIME Magazine." Sad words about, what, eight U.S. soldiers injured, six of them seriously in a grenade attack at this base which houses the 101st Airborne, at least elements of the 101st Airborne, originally based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Jim Lacy of "TIME Magazine" thanks very much.
Very quickly, we'll give you the results of our web question of the day. The question is, "When it comes to the strike in Iraq, whom do you side with most, President Bush or the antiwar protesters"? The results so far, 72 percent say President Bush, 28 percent say the protesters.
Thanks very much for spending some time with us. We're having continuing coverage, of course, on the Strike on Iraq. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Kuwait City. I'll be back throughout the night. Let's get to Heidi Collins in Atlanta for a quick check of all the late-breaking developments.
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 22, 2003 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: With correspondents from around the world, STRIKE ON IRAQ with Wolf Blitzer starts now.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Dramatic scenes at home and abroad. Crowds of angry demonstrators turn chaotic in the United States. And overseas, our CNN crews captured drama on tape. Here's a live picture of Baghdad, where air raid sirens have been sounding off all night long. And here, live in Kuwait City, citizens heard their share of sirens earlier today. It's now 1:00 AM in this part of the Persian Gulf.
Hello. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting tonight live from Kuwait City.
The war raged on in Iraq today, resulting in stunning scenes of battle along several fronts. A day after Baghdad was rocked by the Pentagon's so-called "Shock and Awe" assault, air raid sirens sounded again and thick clouds of smoke rose over the capital. Some of it may have come from oil-filled trenches set ablaze by Iraqis in an effort to hinder U.S. air strikes.
U.S. Marines called in Cobra attack helicopters as they battled Iraqi forces near the southern city of Basra. Demolition teams used TOW missiles to blow up abandoned Iraqi tanks and other armored vehicles buried in earthworks.
While some oil wells were left in flames, U.S. and British forces have gained control of oil fields in Southern Iraq and the nearby port of Umm Qasr.
Before we go on, let's take a quick look at the big picture. We begin in the south, with the race to Baghdad, the forces coming out of Kuwait. CNN's Walter Rodgers reports the 3rd Squadron of the 7th Cavalry is the furthest along. We're permitted to report it currently is about 160 miles south of the city, slowed after an encounter with Iraqi troops.
CNN's Martin Savidge, embedded with the Marines, watched U.S. troops destroy abandoned Iraqi tanks near Basra in southern Iraq. The battalion also encountered rocket-propelled grenade fire.
And CNN's Christiane Amanpour reports the strategic port of Umm Qasr, after several heated battles, has been captured by coalition forces intact. The U.S. says allied forces have reached Basra and the city of Nasiriyah on the Euphrates River, considered a vital river crossing. The Pentagon reports that Iraq's entire 51st division based in Nasiriyah, up to 10,000 troops, have surrendered to U.S. force. In the west, CNN's Chris Plante reports coalition forces have seized a network of significant air fields known as H2 and H3, considered by U.S. intelligence to be a potential storage site for weapons of mass destruction.
And in central Iraq, the air campaign continues, with Baghdad being hit with more bombs Saturday evening, this roughly 24 hours after the coalition began its Shock and Awe bombing campaign, which includes cities to Baghdad's north, Tikrit, Kirkuk and Mosul. In all the U.S. says it has flown 2,000 sorties, half of which were strikes by sea and air-launched cruise missiles.
The punishing U.S.-led air attacks on Baghdad have reduced many of Saddam Hussein's showcase palaces and key government buildings to rubble. U.S. military officials say there have been 2,000 sorties flown since the start of this Shock and Awe campaign. Key targets include palaces that U.S. officials say are military command centers. Iraqi residents describe the bombing campaign as simply terrifying. Thick clouds of black smoke are rising over the city of some five million people. There also are reports Iraqis may have started some fires to confuse allied warplanes.
The Iraqi government says more than 200 civilians were wounded in yesterday's bombing raids. American officials say they still do not know whether Saddam Hussein is alive or dead.
CNN's Frank Buckley is aboard one of the U.S. aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf the aircraft carrier Constellation. Frank's joining us now live via videophone -- Frank.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, at about this time last night, the first strike packages that had gone into Baghdad from the USS Constellation were arriving back on the aircraft carrier here. What we weren't able to share with you last night was the scene that took place before all of the strike packages left the USS Constellation. Those were the briefings that took place with the pilots. Tonight we are able to show you that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): The flight deck of the USS Constellation roared to life with the first strike fighters bound for Baghdad.
CAPT. MARK FOX, U.S. NAVY: We are the Oscar Bravo Sierra package.
BUCKLEY: Earlier, a briefing, embedded journalists getting a front row seat to a moment in history.
FOX: Some of you have already flown once or twice, but this is a package now that's going to be going downtown here. And it's kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here, gentlemen. I don't think that any of us will ever step away from this and not remember this particular day. BUCKLEY: Ordnance from strike fighters and Tomahawk cruise missiles rained into Baghdad. Anti-aircraft fire flew up. The men who flew over it saw things they'll never forget.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just continuous, constant explosions going off all over the place. We saw the AAA coming up. Occasionally, you'd see mis-hoppers (ph).
CAPT. BILL BARBER, U.S. MARINES: I don't think anything we could have thought of would have prepared us for what we were going to happening on the ground out there.
BUCKLEY: The first strike package was led by a Desert Storm veteran, the carrier air wing's commanding officer, Mark Fox.
FOX: We didn't fly on night vision goggles back then, so everything that you saw then was with the naked eye. And now you've got an ability to see a lot more. So I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing or not, but there was a hell of a lot of stuff to look at.
BUCKLEY: Mike Herbert remembers watching missiles like this one crash into targets on TV during Desert Storm. He was only a teenager.
LIEUTENANT MIKE HERBERT, U.S. NAVY: And to actually do that myself for the first time, when I remember in high school, seeing it on TV, on -- being able to see that now, to actually do it, it's a whole different world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY: And in addition to the air strikes that came from carrier-based aircraft and land-based aircraft, there are also Tomahawk cruise missile launches that came from U.S. Navy warships. We are told by Rear Admiral Barry Costello (ph), the Constellation's battle group commander, that of the 30-plus ships and submarines in this theater that are capable of launching Tomahawks, all of them launched Tomahawks last night -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Out of about 400 or so Tomahawk cruise missiles that were launched. Before I let you go, Frank, what's the scene right now? How much activity is there on the USS Constellation, in terms of planes -- war planes taking off and landing?
BUCKLEY: Well, as you noted earlier, Wolf, air operations are continuing into Iraq. They are also continuing off of other aircraft carriers. And here aboard the Constellation, there have been air operations. They are continuing. It's 1:00 o'clock in the morning, and we expect that, at some point, aircraft will be taking off and landing. You can probably hear the jets behind me. So the level of activity is pretty intense. At various times, other times, quiet. So yes, there -- airplanes are taking off and landing on this aircraft carrier tonight.
BLITZER: All right. Frank Buckley. He's aboard the USS Constellation, one of five U.S. aircraft carriers participating in this war against Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi regime.
Let's go to CNN's Gary Tuchman now. He's embedded with the U.S. Air Force at a base in the Persian Gulf region. He's joining us now live via videophone -- Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the bombs that will be falling in Iraq in a very short time period are about to leave here, this air base where we are right now on the border of Iraq. We can't tell you the exact locations because of the rules set up by the Pentagon for embedded journalists, but we can tell you that this is a very busy air base, where planes are continuously taking off to go to Iraq.
Behind me, the A-10 attack plane. It's known as the Warthog. Partly named the Warthog because it's a rather ugly plane. But it's solidly built. It can survive direct hits from armor-piercing explosives and projectiles. This plane is used to provide air support for the ground troops in Iraq. They have bombs and missiles. They drop them, if necessary. They don't always drop them.
But there are other aircraft here, the F-16. They are the fighters that always drop the bombs and missiles. The F-16s are the aircraft that were used the most during the 1991 Gulf war.
I want to give you a look at one plane that has just come in, that has just come in from Iraq. And you can see it right now. It just landed here, and it's coming in to park. This is one of the A-10 Warthogs that just came from one of its missions. This gives you an idea. We have constant activity here on these taxiways and runways, here at this base, where there are more than 8,000 service men and women right now. They are here from all four branches of the service -- the Army, the Navy, the Marines and the Air Force, but mostly Air Force. There's also a contingent here from Great Britain, a contingent here from Australia.
You can see one of the planes taking off right now, also. You can see, it's 1:00 in the morning here, 1:11 -- [inaudible] -- activity on the runways and the taxiways here at this air base. A short time ago, we talked with the pilot of an A-10 attack Warthog who just completed a mission to Iraq a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LT. COL. MIKE WEBB, U.S. AIR FORCE: I was sent to particular location in Iraq, near the city of Nasiriyah and worked with many other airplanes, A-10 Thunderbolts, and ground troops. And our No. 1 job is to keep our ground troops safe that are on the ground and make sure that their way is clear, as they move forward.
TUCHMAN: What kind of ammunition do you carry? What armaments? What kind of bombs and missiles?
WEBB: The A-101 is built around a seven-barrel Gattling gun. It carries 30-millimeter bullets. We carry almost any flavor of bombs you can imagine and infrared and electro-optical Mavericks (ph).
TUCHMAN: On this mission -- you don't always use them. Did you use them in this mission?
WEBB: On most missions we don't, but on this mission, I cleaned off the jet, so to speak. We found a military compound that had not surrendered. And after 30 to 40 minutes of very significant delays, to ensure that there was no collateral damage and that the target was positively identified, there were no friendlies or any noncombatants in the area, we were given permission to engage and destroy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: Colonel Webb is from Boise, Idaho. He also told us that he had audio evidence in his cockpit that an Iraqi missile was fired in his direction. He took measures to avoid that missile. He acknowledged to us he was scared. He also told us he would have another mission tomorrow. Wolf, back to you.
BLITZER: All right. Gary Tuchman. He's at an air base near Iraq, here in the Persian Gulf.
Let's move on. We have reporters covering this story around the world -- certainly, around all parts of Iraq. CNN's Ben Wedeman is in the Kurdish-controlled northern part of Iraq. He's joining us now via videophone, as well.
I understand, Ben, there's been some significant U.S. military activity in the northern part of Iraq earlier today.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's correct, Wolf. Actually, just about an hour ago, we were watching as tracer fire was coming up from the direction of Mosul, which is 28 miles from here. In fact, I think I'm hearing some thuds, as well. Just a little while ago, we also saw flashes from just north of Mosul, as well. So that city once more coming under bombardment by coalition airplanes.
We also are hearing reports that Kirkuk, another major northern city, was also coming under fire. Now, according to Kurdish intelligence sources -- and of course, the Kurdish groups have their own spies in the northern cities -- several targets were earlier hit in Mosul.
Oh, I'm hearing an airplane also overhead, as well.
The targets hit in Mosul include a palace belonging to Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and major army barracks, as well as the headquarters of military intelligence.
Now, in other action in Northern Iraq today, apparently, a good number of cruise missiles were -- hit the area that is currently occupied by the fundamentalist group Ansar al Islam, that area near the Iranian border. Apparently, there were some casualties there.
And among the casualties was a journalist, an Australian cameraman who was killed, not as a result of this cruise missile attack, but rather in a suicide bombing at a checkpoint, where the journalists were waiting to talk to people who were fleeing the area that was hit by those cruise missiles. Apparently, one taxi was rigged with explosives. And when it reached the Kurdish checkpoint there, it blew up, killed this Australian cameraman, in addition to three Kurdish soldiers and a Kurdish civilian -- Wolf.
BLITZER: This group, Ansar al Islam -- a lot of our viewers have heard about it. They know it's loosely aligned with al Qaeda. But give our viewers a sense, specifically, what their goal is.
WEDEMAN: Just to tell you, we are hearing some planes overhead and more thumps in the background. So it would appear more bombs falling in the area of Mosul.
Now, as far as Ansar al Islam goes, it's a -- basically, it's a breakaway from a Kurdish Islamic party. It holds ideals very much along the lines of the Taliban in Afghanistan. They have had links also believed -- alleged links to al Qaeda, the network, the terrorist network of Osama bin Laden. And the United States has repeatedly made indications that they would be involved. They would also be hitting Ansar al Islam when they began their military campaign against Iraq, as well. And we've heard from Kurdish officials that they intend to also be involved in a ground offensive -- that is, the Kurdish groups -- against Ansar al Islam as soon as the bombing campaign was to begin -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Ben Wedeman. He's in Northern Iraq, not far from Mosul, where there seems to be heavy U.S. bombardment unfolding, even as he is delivering his report. Ben Wedeman, stay safe over there. We'll be getting back to you, of course, throughout the night.
Two British Royal Navy Sea King helicopters collided today over the Persian Gulf, killing all seven crew members. The helicopters involved in the accident were like the one in this picture. The victims included six Britons and one American.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. AL LOCKWOOD, ROYAL AIR FORCE: ... tragically, that the aircraft hit each other. They were over the sea at the time. And I can say that it was not as a result of enemy action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: The collision of the two British helicopters happened before dawn today.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has identified the two Marines killed in combat in Iraq yesterday. They are Second Lieutenant Therel Childers (ph) of Harrison, Mississippi, and Lance Corporal Jose Gutierrez (ph) of Los Angeles. The number of reported U.S. combat deaths stands sat six. There have been 19 accidental deaths in Operation Iraqi Freedom resulting from two helicopter crashes. Fourteen of the dead were British and five were American. Among them, Marines Major Jay Aubin, Captain Ryan Beaupre, Corporal Brian Kennedy and Staff Sergeant Kendall Waters-bey.
The fathers of two of the Marines are sharing some of their grief. One questioned the helicopter that was involved. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM AUBIN, FATHER: He was flying a 30-year-old helicopter. And it had been grounded many, many times, and it was maintenance that killed him. It wasn't his flying or the other boy's flying. And I feel bad for all the others that got killed in that helicopter. It's just...
MICHAEL WATERS-BEY, FATHER: George Bush, take a good look at this man because you took my only son away from me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And our hearts and prayers, of course, go out to the families of all those killed in action so far.
For the most part, the port city of Umm Qasr in Southern Iraq is now in the hands of American and British forces. CNN's Christiane Amanpour went there and spoke with the troops.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A helicopter flight over the port of Umm Qasr reveals the area is relatively quiet. And down below, British soldiers do some war tourism, looking at one of those giant billboards of Saddam Hussein. Taking Umm Qasr was a joint operation. The 15th U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit was under the command of the British Royal Marines Commando Brigade. Now U.S. Marines rest at the port after more than a day on the move. Some, like 21-year-old Corporal Jeremy Archer, had feared the worst.
CPL. JEREMY ARCHER, U.S. MARINES: I expected a big war, I guess, but they're all giving up, so -- so it was easier than I thought.
AMANPOUR: Not all are giving up, though. About three kilometers away from the main port, there are pockets of resistance. The commander of the U.S. Marine unit sent up Cobra helicopters and fired artillery to destroy the Iraqi fire.
COL. THOMAS WALDAUSER, U.S. MARINES: They did resist. But once it appeared that they would have to deal with some overwhelming firepower, they have a tendency then to give up.
AMANPOUR: The British commander says the resistance is isolated.
BRIG. GEN. JAMES DUTTON, BRITISH ROYAL MARINES: It hasn't been a particularly cohesive fighting force. It's been a D-30 (ph) guns firing a few rounds prior to its destruction, or a group of individuals firing.
AMANPOUR: It took longer than expected to secure Umm Qasr, and the military says it's still mopping up small pockets of resistance in the town. Nonetheless, the military says it plans to bring in the first elements of humanitarian aid, perhaps within 48 hours. Umm Qasr is Iraq's main commercial port. It lies at the mouth of the Shat-al-Arab waterway, which flows into the Persian Gulf. This was an important strategic target for allied forces and will be the main port of entry for relief and other humanitarian goods. Just yesterday, Iraqi ministers vowed that Umm Qasr would never fall, but hundreds of soldiers have given themselves up, and now they are POWs under U.S. and British control.
Christiane Amanpour, CNN, at the port of Umm Qasr in Southern Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Thousands of Palestinians marched in Gaza to protest the strike on Iraq. Some called on Iraq to attack Israel. Protesters scuffled with police outside the U.S. embassy in Manama. Manama is the capital of Bahrain, where the U.S. 5th Fleet is based. In Northwestern Africa, Mauritian protesters chanted "Bush is a butcher." Police dispersed them with tear gas. Thousands of Muslims staged marches in India. The Indian government had supported a peaceful resolution to the Iraqi conflict, but it's resisting pressure to condemn America.
In New Zealand, thousands of protesters marched on the U.S. embassy. They also demonstrated outside the mission of Australia, which has some 2,000 troops in the Gulf. Protests also outside the U.S. embassy in Moscow. Russia's foreign minister says U.S. interests, hoping to profit from Iraqi oil, are trying to nullify Russia's oil contracts with Iraq.
Thousands of people, both for and against the war, are taking to the streets across the United States. We're taking you live to three major demonstrations. Maria Hinojosa is in New York, Rusty Dornin is in San Francisco, and in Chicago, our bureau chief there, and Jeff Flock. We begin with Maria in New York -- Maria.
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, well, this started as a demonstration, really, a march that began in midtown Manhattan that was very calm, very peaceful. Of course, organizers and police are having different opinions on the numbers of people out here. The organizers -- some are saying well over 250,000. I have heard a lot of people coming up and saying that they have heard a million. But the police are saying that they will concede that it is well over 100,000.
Now, it was a very calm and peaceful march, a lot of family members. The march was really led off by a group called September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows. These are all people who lost their families on September 11. They were heading off the march, and behind them, the children's contingent, and behind them, the religion contingent -- a very diverse group of people.
Now, they came down to Washington Square Park, which is where they are now. And lot of the protesters were going around and around the park, really in a calm manner. There was no real confrontation that was happening. But just about half an hour ago, there was a confrontation when the police brought in a big truck here and started pushing the protesters down. And over my corner over there, there was some confrontation. The police were saying that some of the demonstrators had brought out gasoline and kerosene and had lit a flag on fire.
But this woman here was saying that you were hit with pepper spray. What happened to you, very quickly?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was holding my brother's arm so we didn't lose each other. We were both sprayed directly in the face by a cop. And I pulled this over my face, but I -- this thing I had on my head over my face. But it got in my eyes. And then these medics came and cleaned it out of my face. And another guy was pushed to the ground and handcuffed. We were dancing. We were playing music.
HINOJOSA: What do you think -- do you -- what do you think that this message of this demonstration, when there's confrontation with police like this, what kind of a message do you think that that sends to the broader American public?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It tells me that the police are in the pocket of the administration right now and that they're acting the same way they're acting internationally, that they're acting irrationally. They're not listening.
HINOJOSA: And when people would say that you coming out to the streets and doing this would be considered somewhat unpatriotic because there are young men and women who are putting their lives on the line...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the most patriotic thing I can possibly do. This is the most patriotic act I can possibly do. I read the 1st Amendment again yesterday!
HINOJOSA: Thank you very much for joining us.
As you can see, a lot of heated emotions here, a lot of tension. The police are trying to get the people to move from this area. They, it seems, are very -- very much stuck on staying here. And once again, there is a lot of anger at the media. There is just a lot of anger. They are continuing to see -- these protesters are saying that the media is not telling the truth on the issue of these people wanting to get their perspective out of being against the war. Back to you.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Maria Hinojosa in New York City.
A huge anti-war protest in San Francisco has been going on for the past two days. CNN's Rusty Dornin is right in the thick of things, and she's joining us now live -- Rusty.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it's a bit of a festival atmosphere right now because the marchers did take off about half hour ago. This is the third day of protests here in San Francisco. Now, there were some radical speeches right before the march, condemning U.S. media, saying that they were spokespersons for the Department of Defense. They also said that it was necessary to start shutting down ports, shutting down military installations in order to really have their voices heard.
Now, this rally was intended -- this march -- to be peaceful, to include families who just want to show -- have their voices heard about peace. But the previous two days were something else. There were signs of civil disobedience, where 2,000 people were arrested.
Now, here with us today -- they've stayed behind from the march -- is a family, Sri (ph) and Vidia Srinka (ph), and they did participate in the protests in the last two days. Why did you feel you needed to go into the streets as an act of civil disobedience?
VIDIA SRINKA: We needed for people to understand that it can't be business as usual when there are people who are being bombed and children who are dying in Baghdad. And so we wanted to make the people feel like, you know, you have to wake up and realize what's going on there.
DORNIN: Now, I understand you did bring your young son, as well, is that right, Sri? Why did you -- I mean, there were some violent things going on in the streets. Did you...
SRI SRINKA: No. We believe that -- we couldn't sleep last night thinking about the children in Iraq and how they must be terrified by bombs, being bombed in their city. Just a part of something similar to our son. We couldn't stand it. We strongly believe in the non- violence of Thoreau, Gandhi and King, and we are here to express our civil disobedience.
DORNIN: Thank you very much for joining us. The marchers should be back. It looks like -- so far, there have been no arrests, and things are going peaceful so far, Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Rusty Dornin in San Francisco. Thanks very much. * BLITZER: In Chicago, huge crowds are in the streets voicing support for and against the war. Our Chicago bureau chief, Jeff Flock, is, of course, right in the middle of things over there -- Jeff.
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: it was quite a day in Chicago today, Wolf, a great day for democracy and for freedom of speech. We heard from both sides. I want to show you the pictures. It's all over now in the Federal Plaza in Chicago, but for much of the day, both those opposed to the war and those who support not only the war but the troops, they say, were separated by only about 40 or 50 feet and Chicago police in riot gear for a time, although it never was in any danger of turning nasty. People are content to make their views known with their words and with their signs and with their flags. Two separate demonstrations, both several thousand people, I guess, when you put them all together. Everyone got their word out.
And perhaps we can take a listen to some of the more articulate of the protesters. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't want there to be a loss of life. But in order for freedom to take place, sometimes there must be a loss of life. And we support whatever America is trying to do. I will not believe a murderous dictator over my own government!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And this war is illegal. United Nations already say it. And I don't like what they doing. I don't like their evil.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... because I think that America has the right to do what it's doing. Bush is right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don't support the troops in their actions. Do I want any of them to be harmed? Oh, no, you know? No way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLOCK: Wolf, the most poignant moment for me was when one side began chanting "USA, USA," and the other started chanting "USA, USA." It seems that both sides are on the same team, they just disagree about what place they're on. That's the latest from Chicago. To you.
BLITZER: All right. Jeff Flock in Chicago, thanks very much.
Here's your chance to weigh in on the strike on Iraq. Our Web question of the day is this: When it comes to the strike on Iraq, whom do you side with most, President Bush or the anti-war protesters? We'll have the results later this hour. Please vote at cnn.com/wolf. While you're there, I'd like to hear from you. Send me your comments. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also, of course, where you can read my daily online column, cnn.com/Wolf.
An Australian cameraman was killed in an apparent suicide bombing at a checkpoint in Northern Iraq today. The Associated Press reports at least four other people were killed. It happened near the camp of a militant group that has been linked to al Qaeda. Reporter Karl Vick of "The Washington Post" witnessed the attack. He's joining us now live on the phone from Northern Iraq.
Karl, thank so much for joining us. Tell our viewers what happened. What did you see?
KARL VICK, "WASHINGTON POST": Well, it was a checkpoint that until this morning that had been held by a group associated with the group under attack, a sort of more moderate Islamic group that was sort of a gateway into this extremist camp called Ansar al Islam.
The important thing is what happened overnight. U.S. cruise missiles hit the extremist camp. There was a barrage of, like, 40 or 50 over the space of a couple hours, and then a warplane came on in the morning and hit them, as well. So things were kind of fluid. We were sort of -- the checkpoint was at the -- at a road that led into Ansar's territory. And we were there, several journalists and this Australian team, as well, just to gather information about what was going on inside that territory from the people who were pouring out, who didn't want to be bombed again. We were there, but it all felt kind of weird. It felt kind of dodgy. It wasn't a stable situation. I mean, the Kurdish militia there was in charge, the U.S. allies, but it just felt like it was all a little sour.
And we -- the journalists who were there, the American journalists I was traveling with, we all decided it wasn't a good place to be and to get out of there. We were doing that when the explosion came, and this Australian team was still there. The cameraman who died -- I passed him as we were leaving, you know, five seconds, maybe, before the explosion. He was not far from where this car bomb went off, filming the scene, and just was in a bad spot.
BLITZER: And he's identified, Karl, as Paul Moran, 39 years old, a cameraman and an Australian.
VICK: Yes. Yes. I didn't know him. Maybe if I had, you know, I might have slowed down and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) but I -- he was just -- he was sort of a face going by me and...
BLITZER: Now, Karl, you and your colleagues there are trying to cover the story independently, in the sense that you're not embedded with any U.S. or British military forces. You're basically on your own, which raises the stakes considerably, as far as your own security is concerned.
VICK: Well, it does. And you know, that's how people get hurt. I mean, we saw this in Afghanistan, where there was no embedding. And now we have, you know, these situations in the south today and this bombing up here. This Ansar group, you know, has been targeting Western journalists, according to the -- our Kurdish hosts up here, and we have been advised to be wary. So we had been, and we got out of there because it just didn't feel right. You know how instinct can be in these situations. And it was right. It was just luck that it -- you know, it timed out the way it did. But this is what we have to rely on in the absence of an armored column (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
BLITZER: Karl Vick of "The Washington Post", good luck to you. Good luck to all your journalistic colleagues over there. Be safe. We'll be reading your material, of course, in "The Washington Post," as we do every day. Thank you very much.
And he witnessed the bombing over Baghdad. We'll check in live with CNN's Nic Robertson. Plus: Where's Saddam Hussein? The latest intelligence on the dictator. And on the front lines, see firsthand as U.S. troops move toward Basra.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: CNN LIVE this hour, WOLF BLITZER REPORTS from Kuwait City, with correspondents from around the world. STRIKE ON IRAQ with Wolf Blitzer starts now.
Welcome back. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting tonight live from Kuwait City. Let's recap the latest developments over the past several hours.
At 7:12 AM, CNN's Barbara Starr reports from the Pentagon that one U.S. Tomahawk missile may have missed its mark during Friday's attack and fallen on Southwest Iran. At 8:30 AM, CNN's Baghdad team crosses into Jordan from Iraq after being thrown out of the country by Iraqi officials yesterday. At 9:45 AM Eastern time, U.S. commander General Tommy Franks tells a briefing in Qatar he doesn't know if Saddam Hussein is alive or dead and it wouldn't change the U.S. mission either way.
At 10:12 AM, CNN's Walter Rodgers reports the 7th Cavalry's advance toward Baghdad is stalled about 160 miles south of Baghdad after an encounter with Iraqi troops. At 11:21 AM Eastern, 7:21 PM in Iraq, in the skies over Baghdad, aircraft are heard and tracer fire begins to flash. At 12:15 PM, sources tell CNN U.S. troops will escort Kuwaiti firefighters to Iraqi oil fields to put out blazes set by the Iraqis. At 3:30 PM Eastern, 11:00 PM Baghdad time, more air raid sirens and explosions in the Iraqi capital, and Reuters reports parts of the city were plunged into darkness.
With U.S. forces running into resistance as they press on toward Baghdad, let's check in with our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, according to the latest word from the Pentagon, U.S. and British troops have now pressed with -- 150 miles into Iraq as they continue their march on Baghdad. They have crossed the Euphrates River. But even as the U.S. continues to make progress in the ground war, U.S. central commander Tommy Franks is warning that victory could still be days, perhaps even weeks away.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Images from the battlefield show the U.S. military is basically having its way with Iraq's poorly-equipped and demoralized front-line forces. Even so, in some southern cities such as Nasiriyah and Basra, U.S. forces have encountered Iraqi troops who are fighting and inflicting casualties before giving up. U.S. commanders believe those Iraqi forces may include Republican Guard elements, designed to stiffen their will. But aside from nine oil well fires set in the Rumaylah oil fields before the ground war began, so far, U.S. troops have encountered no nightmare tactics, including no chemical or biological weapons.
GEN. TOMMY FRANKS, CMDR, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: There will be surprises, but we have not yet -- we have not yet seen them.
MCINTYRE: the psychological campaign appears to be paying off. This satellite photograph released by the U.S. Central Command shows what appears to be 700 Iraqi troops lined up in the desert, just as U.S. leaflets instructed them to do if they wanted to surrender. BRIG. GEN. VINCE BROOKS, CENTRAL COMMAND: Leaders from several regular army divisions surrendered to coalition forces, and their units abandoned their equipment and returned to their homes, just as the coalition had instructed.
MCINTYRE: More details have been provided on how the war unfolded, with U.S. and British special forces taking down Iraqi military outposts and seizing key oil terminals, where weapons and explosives were found. This photograph shows an Iraqi ship that was discovered attempting to lay mines in the Northern Persian Gulf. While here, a U.S. AC-130 gunship sinks an Iraqi patrol boat with a devastating blast of cannon fire.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: But one part of the war plan is lagging behind -- in the north. There is still no northern front. And aside from a small number of U.S. special forces, the U.S. lacks any real northern option, any capabilities to secure the Kirkuk oil fields, like the oil fields in the south have been secured. Pentagon officials say it will take little bit longer to neutralize Iraq's air defense to the point that those troops can be flown up to the north to secure those areas.
Meanwhile, the U.S. strategy to speed the advance toward Baghdad is to avoid taking as many prisoners as possible and avoid entering and taking big cities, instead encircling them, leaving troops around them and continuing on to the north -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. Thanks, Jamie, very much.
Now that the coalition forces do have control of the huge Rumaylah oil field in Southern Iraq, they're getting ready to put out fires. Officials say at least seven wells are burning. A source tells CNN 22 Kuwaiti firefighters will be escorted into the area tomorrow. One expert thinks the fires can be capped within 45 days. Iraq says it's filled trenches with oil and set them on fire to set up a smokescreen, but it denies setting the wells on fire.
President Bush, meanwhile, is at Camp David, Maryland, but he met with his war council, spoke with a key ally and warned the nation that victory may not come all that quickly. Let's go live to our White House correspondent, Dana Bash -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, on that idea of war may not be ending very quickly -- there's a new opinion poll, public opinion poll, out today that says that Americans do think that this war will be short, so the president spent some time today making sure that Americans lower those expectations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No justice, no peace. USA out of the Middle East!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No justice, no peace. USA out of the Middle East!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No justice, no peace. USA out of the Middle East!
BASH (voice-over): A heavy police presence controlled anti-war protesters, now a permanent fixture outside the White House gates. But the commander-in-chief was not home to hear them. As his father did during the 1991 Gulf war, this President Bush is spending the first weekend of war at Camp David, a U.S. Marine facility equipped with the same technology of the White House.
Joining him there, his entire war council, including Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They met for 90 minutes, going over the latest reports from the war front. Concerned about perception the war may be wrapped up quickly, the president used his weekly radio address to brace the country. It could take a while.
GEORGE WALKER BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A campaign on harsh terrain in a vast country could be longer and more difficult than some have predicted. And helping Iraqis achieve a united, stable and free country will require our sustained commitment.
BASH: the president signed off on two major decisions last week, first ordering the broad battle plan, then making the dramatic call to accelerate the campaign and go after top Iraqi leaders. But since then, White House aides say, Mr. Bush is leaving the hour-to-hour direction of the war to his generals.
FRANKS: Our troops are performing as we would expect, magnificently. And indeed, the outcome is not in doubt.
BASH: Senate minority leader Tom Daschle, who denounced Mr. Bush just last week over his, quote, "failed diplomacy" on Iraq, used the Democratic radio address to voice support for the troops and for the president.
SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MINORITY LEADER: Today a quarter of a million Americans are in the Persian Gulf, risking their lives to disarm Saddam Hussein. Our nation is united in gratitude and respect for them and in support for our commander-in-chief.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: Now, the president was also in touch today with his staunchest ally in this effort, Tony Blair, the British prime minister. They spoke, according to a White House spokesman, for about 30 minutes by telephone about the progress of the war. And they talked, we are told, about the huge humanitarian aid conflict and the huge humanitarian aid package that they are going to have to deal with in the future -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Dana Bash at the White House. Thanks, Dana, very much.
And as we've mentioned, the Iraqi government expelled CNN's four- person crew in Baghdad. Yesterday correspondents Nic Robertson and Rym Brahimi, executive producer Ingrid Formanek (ph) and our cameraman, Brian Pucciati (ph). After experiencing the massive bombing of Iraqi capital, they traveled overland to Jordan earlier today, and they're all safe and well. They're joining us -- they're, of course, now in Amman, Jordan. That's where Nic Robertson is joining us now live.
Nic, it was a harrowing or deal, I assume, just to be in Baghdad during those air strikes.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It certainly was a very interesting situation, Wolf. Obviously, we had heard so much about Shock and Awe. We really didn't quite know what to expect. And it certainly was, when it came, very powerful, very impressive and apparently very destructive, as well -- at one point, multiple, multiple high-explosive impacts in a presidential area in down town Baghdad, barely a mile from where we were. And it literally shook the building, rattled the windows, pushed -- knocked plaster off the wall and opened some of the windows. Didn't actually break the windows. There about a quarter of a mile away and some shocks very close to that presidential area did blow out some of the windows there.
Very interesting today to get around the city and look around and see what's happening there, Wolf. A lot of Ba'ath Party officials armed with Kalashnikovs and other weapons are around the streets of Baghdad, particularly in the residential suburban areas. They're at main traffic intersections. They're at some of the smaller road junctions around the city. They have small bunkers built. They have small trenches built. Some of the fighters are quite old and some of them quite young, perhaps 15, 16, 17 years old. Clearly in control of the streets.
But once you get out of Baghdad and on the way to Jordan, which is the way we traveled today, you just don't see that many soldiers or fighters or gun positions at all on the road. And it really makes it look as if, Wolf, that Iraqi officials really are planning to only defend, in any substantial way, Baghdad. We just didn't see those heavy defensive measures stretching a long way outside of Baghdad. They do go perhaps 50, 60, 70 miles outside of Baghdad. But after that, there's really -- we saw nothing substantial, Wolf.
BLITZER: And under normal circumstances, would you drive outside of Baghdad, drive from Iraq into Jordan, you would normally see a lot more extensive military capability on that road? Is that what you're suggesting?
ROBERTSON: Really, no, Wolf. What I'm suggesting here is that Iraq is concentrating its current forces and troop deployments in the positions that we saw today, where they do have them on the roads outside of Baghdad, and there aren't that many positions. And the positions aren't that strongly fortified. Those are new positions. Those are positions put in because of the current conflict. But we're just not seeing that extended out.
We're not seeing heavy defensive positions up against the Jordanian border. We're not seeing heavy defensive positions on all the -- on all the high blocks (ph) along the side of the main road that you might expect if you were expecting a military force that progressed towards Baghdad down there to a three-lane highway, a big road that could easily be used by a large, sizable military force. You would expect to see perhaps some heavy machine gun positions, heavy artillery positions ranged on that road. Perhaps, Wolf, they were away. Perhaps they were out of sight, where we couldn't see them. But we certainly didn't see troop movements that might indicate that those positions were being supported or resupplied, Wolf.
BLITZER: Nic Robertson in Amman. Nic, thanks very much. And when we often say CNN is the most trusted name in news, it's thanks to reporters, journalists like you and your three colleagues, for allowing us to make that claim. Thanks very much, Nic Robertson. We're glad you're safe and sound.
Turkey, meanwhile, is proving to be a complicating factor for war planners. It has refused to let U.S. forces open a northern front on the ground, although it's now agreed to overflights. And the Ankara government now may be sending its own troops into Iraq, against U.S. wishes. CNN's Fredricka Whitfield is joining us now live from Turkey, not far away from the Iraqi border.
What's the latest over there, Fredricka?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello there, Wolf. I'm about maybe 15 miles from the Iraqi border. And the latest here from Turkey is -- as you said, it's a very complicated issue for the U.S. military operations, but as you know, the U.S. military is trying to make whatever kind of adaptations it can. For one, since the U.S. is now giving up on any hopes of being able to move any heavy artillery via roads through Turkey, they are now sending about 30 of those cargo ships that were in the Mediterranean, carrying heavy artillery, particularly for the 4th -- the Army's 4th Infantry Division, equipment such as the Abrams tanks, very sophisticated equipment that would have allowed a lot of those troops to be able to talk among themselves from tank to tank, as well as be able to talk to CENTCOM. Well, now all of that is being moved away from the Turkish coast and through the Suez Canal, where it then eventually meet up with those troops from the 4th Infantry Division.
However, the Turkish government is allowing -- and re-emphasized again today -- that it is allowing air space to be open to U.S. military operations. But the U.S. military, as far as we know, has not taken advantage of that invitation still. We've heard nothing, we've seen nothing, and there have been no reports of U.S. military flights either from Europe, where the bombers would be coming from, or any of the fighter jets that may be coming from the carriers in the Mediterranean, have not crossed through Turkish air space in order to begin that northern assault in Iraq.
Now, another bone of contention, though, however, continues to be keeping American and Turkish officials talking, and that is the issue of the Turkish troops who want to cross the border. Earlier, the Turkish ambassador tried to clarify early reports. He says, 1,000 troops have not crossed the border. Instead, they are gathering at the border to anticipate what could be a Kurdish refugee crisis -- Wolf. BLITZER: Fredricka Whitfield in Turkey. Thanks, Fredricka, very much.
Iraq has asked the United Nations to help bring a halt to the allied onslaught. In a statement to the U.N. Security Council read on Iraqi television, the foreign minister, Naji Sabri, called on the U.N. to condemn the invasion, move to stop it immediately and ask the, quote, "U.S. and British aggressors" to withdraw their forces. Commenting on the Iraqi request, a U.S. official at the U.N. said -- and I'm quoting here -- "They're 12-and-a-half years too late."
Iraqi president Saddam Hussein showed up on state television once again today, meeting with top officials. But there's still no definitive word on his fate, and American officials are starting to focus on other concerns. Also, no indication whatsoever that that tape that was shown on Iraqi TV earlier tonight was authentic. It may have been days old, if not weeks or months old.
Let's go to our national security correspondent, David Ensor, in Washington. He has more -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, as you say, U.S. officials would definitely like to get Saddam Hussein, but for the moment, they say, there are also a lot of other issues to deal with.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): With another tape of Saddam Hussein, Iraqi television sought to emphasize that he remains alive and in control. True or not, U.S. intelligence and military leaders say it matters less and less.
FRANKS: I don't know if he's alive or not. But interestingly, the way we're undertaking this military operation, it would not be changed, irrespective of the location or the life of this one man.
ENSOR: U.S. intelligence officials say communications from the Iraqi leadership are dramatically down since the first air strikes of the war, including the one that targeted his compound, suggesting to some Saddam is probably alive and most worried about staying that way.
KENNETH POLLACK, CNN ANALYST: He doesn't know if it was a human who betrayed him or it was a technical system who betrayed him. And so as a result, his MO is always go to ground, go into hiding, rely only on your trusted emissaries.
ENSOR: Besides tracking Iraqi leaders, U.S. intelligence officials say, they have several key goals now: to protect and help U.S. troops, to negotiate surrenders and standdowns of Iraqi units, to watch Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, and not only to keep those weapons from being used against American soldiers.
POLLACK: One of the great concerns that the administration has is that in the collapse of the regime, you may have individuals who will take some of the weapons of mass destruction and transfer them to other countries or to terrorist groups. ENSOR: The U.S. military dealt with one such group Friday, bombing the Northern Iraqi enclave held by Ansar al Islam, a fundamentalist group the U.S. says has ties to al Qaeda. Special forces and U.S. intelligence moved in after the bombs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: Though publicly, U.S. officials are playing down the importance of Saddam Hussein, at this point, they would still very much like to get him. Analysts argue if he dies, there is a good chance the regime would quickly come apart at the seams, potentially saving many lives -- American, Iraqi, British and others -- Wolf.
BLITZER: David Ensor in Washington. Thanks, David, very much.
An exchange of fire caught on camera. We'll show you what CNN's Martin Savidge had to live through earlier today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. We have a breaking news development. Our colleague from our sister publication, "TIME" magazine, Jim Lacey, is covering the 101st Airborne Division. He's joining us now live on the phone.
Jim, what's going on?
JIM LACEY, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Right now, as far as I could tell, about 15 to 20 minutes ago, there was a -- two grenades -- two blasts at Campaign Pennsylvania and New Jersey. At the moment, they believe both of those blasts were grenades. They happened in the tents directly behind me, holding a lot of key members of the 1st Brigade staff here. We've had at least eight wounded, four to six of them seriously. I have not seen anybody that's been killed yet. They're holding two people here, but they may just be contractors. They're not sure if they have the people who did it. Right now, they are saying this is a terrorist attack, and the infantry is now forming up to secure the entire perimeter area. They do not think they have who did this yet.
BLITZER: What you're suggesting -- you're in Kuwait now, at the Camp New Jersey and Camp Pennsylvania. These are U.S. military outposts here in Kuwait. So the suspicion is that there are terrorists on the loose who threw these hand grenades at U.S. troops, members of the 101st Airborne? Is that what you're saying, Jim?
LACEY: It's the middle of the night, here and the suspicion is that two grenades, one in each -- one of -- my mistake. Two tents, two grenades, and the people who did it ran off into the darkness. They've got a three-mile run to the coast here at Camp Pennsylvania -- I mean to the berm. So the area is being secured. They're confident they're going to get whoever did this.
The carnage inside those tents is pretty severe. They are still smoking. I have been in one to carry two soldiers out on a stretcher. Wounds on those two cases looked very severe. They are still loading the ambulance right in front of me, and there's still a bunch of chaos going on here, as they try and get a perimeter set up.
BLITZER: Jim, before I let you go -- just before I let you go, Jim, review once again -- how many U.S. soldiers have been injured?
LACEY: They are now counting eight. They believe six have been seriously injured. I have personally seen five seriously injured, taken onto ambulances, and carried two of them. They are just putting the last seriously wounded person in an ambulance now. There are medics all over the place. There is at least two slightly wounded officers, who are organizing the defense and have not left the area yet.
BLITZER: And how far away were you, Jim, from these soldiers when -- when those hand grenades went off?
LACEY: Oh, I was in the next tent, about 20 yards away.
BLITZER: So you're just lucky that it could -- was it you -- Jim Lacey, embedded -- you're embedded with the 101st Airborne, is that right?
LACEY: I am. And it seems that these two -- whoever did this knew exactly what tents to go for. They got the two leadership tents.
BLITZER: What's been the general reaction among other members of the 101st over the past 15, 20 minutes? I assume you've spoken with a lot of those soldiers.
LACEY: I have talked to at least two dozen of the young soldiers, and they are reacting superbly. I have seen the officers that are here and moving around, doing exactly what you would expect of them. There is a strong sense of urgency, but no sense of panic whatsoever. As a matter of fact, in the last five minutes things have calmed down measurably. From my perspective, the battalion intelligence, the brigade intelligence officer is now running the show and from my perspective of having been in the service it seems like he is doing everything he is supposed to be doing.
BLITZER: Did you get the sense, Jim, that there was significant, what they call force protection security surrounding those two camps, Camp New Jersey, Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait, which is not far of course from the Iraqi border?
LACEY: Right. Until now, I would have said that we had substantial security. We still do. There is at least a full infantry company manning the perimeter of this camp at all times but there is traffic in and out in terms of trucks and busses and contractors coming in. So, it's not a foolproof system but, you know, from all appearances looking from the outside in, it seemed like a very, damn good security system.
BLITZER: Jim Lacey, take care of yourself over there. We'll be checking back with you. Thanks for giving us that information, Jim Lacey from our sister publication "TIME Magazine." Sad words about, what, eight U.S. soldiers injured, six of them seriously in a grenade attack at this base which houses the 101st Airborne, at least elements of the 101st Airborne, originally based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Jim Lacy of "TIME Magazine" thanks very much.
Very quickly, we'll give you the results of our web question of the day. The question is, "When it comes to the strike in Iraq, whom do you side with most, President Bush or the antiwar protesters"? The results so far, 72 percent say President Bush, 28 percent say the protesters.
Thanks very much for spending some time with us. We're having continuing coverage, of course, on the Strike on Iraq. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Kuwait City. I'll be back throughout the night. Let's get to Heidi Collins in Atlanta for a quick check of all the late-breaking developments.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
