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CNN Live At Daybreak

Basra Vital to Coalition Forces

Aired March 24, 2003 - 05:52   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Basra is Iraq's second largest city. It's vital, it's a vital objective for coalition forces.
ITV's Juliet Bremner takes us to the battle for Basra.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIET BREMNER, ITV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the hands of the British Army but far from safe, Basra Airport is now secured. The foot patrols know that the ground around could be mined and the snipers remain a serious threat.

The ultimate goal is a southern port of Basra. But the Iraqis, with their limited weapons, aren't giving up without a fight. The mortars have been busy all day. Their fire is being directed at Iraqi tanks dug in along the main highway. But at one stage the company commander called for more American air support.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris, I'm told we've got a wide eagle mission coming in to have a look in depth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you got it yet?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

BREMNER: It's tougher going than the British expected. Tanks are being targeted by machine guns mounted on the back of civilian pickup trucks.

With their overwhelming combat power, the coalition are winning. The decimated remains of Iraqi armor litters the road. The strikes are so powerful, it melts the tracks.

Progress is sometimes frustratingly slow. The troops are digging in for a lengthy stay as artillery bursts overhead.

Just how long it will take to reach Basra is still impossible to forecast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Difficult to tell at the moment. The situation is quite confused in Basra itself. We're going to the pockets on the outskirts, which we've also been told to try and delay us. They're interfering with us as we try and cross the bridges, using indirect fire, mortars. So we're expecting some opposition in Basra certainly. BREMNER: Iraqi soldiers who've surrendered are brought behind British lines. But all the indications are that many more are still in the city and prepared to fight.

(on camera): The battle for Basra is still raging along this road. The fusiliers have managed to move up a couple of miles in the face of constant enemy fire. But they are now on the outskirts of this strategically important city.

(voice-over): The battle group is closing in on its target. But taking Iraq's second city is proving to be an uphill struggle.

Juliet Bremner, ITV News, Basra.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Very frustrating for coalition forces out there.

We want to get some military expertise here.

For that we turn to our military desk and CNN's Renay San Miguel with Brig. Gen. David Grange.

Welcome to you both.

RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you very much, Carol.

We wanted to give people an idea of exactly the disputed areas that we've been talking about for the last few hours with Bruce Penhaul's reports and then the video that we've seen of the downed Apache helicopter.

General Grange joins us right now.

Let's, it's, to give people the idea of how close we are, the U.S. is getting and the coalition is getting to Baghdad, talk about Karbala in relation to Baghdad.

BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Yes, Karbala is south. This area is about 60 miles, I think, south of Baghdad. Just south of the large southern reservoir or lake, you might say, that kind of guards, geographically, the western approaches into Baghdad. But, so that's pretty far, that's deep. That's up near the southern reaches of Baghdad metropolitan area.

So that's the location that we believe the attacks took place.

SAN MIGUEL: And that reservoir is of concern to coalition planners because if the dam there is dynamited by Iraqi troops, that floods out Karbala and all that valley region there eastward of that?

GRANGE: Yes, I'm not sure exactly what it would flood. It is a danger and I believe that the coalition forces have planned for that contingency, I'm sure. The enemy, they know the terrain, obviously, better than the coalition forces. So they know the impact quite well. Whether they would do something like that, it's hard to say. SAN MIGUEL: Let's take a break the role of the Apache helicopters, the Longbow helicopter that was, that we've seen the video of in the field.

What is its role in situations like what we're talking about here, going up against this Republican Guard Medina Division?

GRANGE: That is the most advanced attack helicopter in the world. And it's mainly a tank killer. But it would go after any kind of hardened vehicles -- tanks, armed personnel carriers, radar sites, air defense weapons. And so what they do is they prepare the battlefield for advancing forces and they would attrit, they would destroy as much as the Republican Guard division, the Medina Republican Guard Division's combat power as possible.

SAN MIGUEL: So it is my understanding that if you have to leave it, you blow it up. You destroy it because of all the high tech equipment in there.

Do you have any idea why that wasn't done or what the situation would have been like?

GRANGE: Well, the, we don't know what actions the pilots took internally in the aircraft. They may just have well done some of the things you're referring to. I'm surprised -- this is an old video and I'm surprised, I'd be surprised if the aircraft is still in one piece right now at that location.

SAN MIGUEL: But I mean it is supposed to be, once you leave it, maybe other helicopters come in. If these were, indeed, rescued by coalition aircraft, other helicopters would come in and blow it up.

GRANGE: Or air strikes.

SAN MIGUEL: Or air strikes, that kind of thing.

We have to go.

We'll be visiting with you throughout the morning.

GRANGE: OK.

SAN MIGUEL: Gen. David Grange, thanks for joining us.

GRANGE: Thank you.

SAN MIGUEL: Carol, Anderson, back to you.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thanks, Renay.

A brief programming note here. British Defense Secretary Geoffrey Hoon is expected to have a press conference in about, well, about three minutes or so, six o'clock Eastern time here. We will bring that to you live. That's the British defense secretary, Geoffrey Hoon, and he's speaking from London to foreign reporters. All right, before we get to that, Sanjay, Dr. Sanjay Gupta was on hand yesterday when a patient was brought in who needed emergency surgery.

Now, as we've mentioned before, the patient was an Iraqi soldier who had been shot in the abdomen.

Here's Sanjay's report on that operation -- Sanjay, you're there.

What can you, what's happening where you are?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Anderson, we are in what's called FRSS4. That stands for Forward Resuscitative Surgical Suite Number 4. This is a revolutionary thing in the way that we take care of injured military personnel in the field.

Just to give you a sense, we are supporting the front line here in Iraq right now. This is the place where that's happening in terms of soldiers being injured, and as you mentioned, both Iraqi and coalition forces.

I had a chance last night to witness the first operation performed at this particular

FRSS. This is what I saw.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: We are here just behind the front line in an FRSS, Front Line Resuscitative Surgical Suite. Right behind me, for the first time ever, an operation has been done on the abdomen for a gunshot wound. It's the first time it's ever been done here at this Front Line Resuscitative Surgical Suite.

Just to give you a sense, we're in the middle of a desert here. We're in a tent. Behind me is an operating room where there is a floor on the tent, there is double layers to the tent to try and keep this clean, try and keep this sterile.

The patient behind it, interestingly, is what is known as an EPW, an enemy prisoner of war. Now, the doctors here have an obligation to operate on enemy prisoners of war just as they coalition forces. This particular patient an enemy prisoner of war.

But all these equipment as far as the surgical tools themselves are the same. They're brought over and put here in the desert. They obviously don't have some of the things that they would like to have, but they're able to do an operation that's very sophisticated. Again, a gunshot wound to the abdomen, a very sophisticated operation, doing that very well here in the desert.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: Yes, really amazing, too. This particular patient you just were seeing and hearing about is now in an intensive care unit, which is also located here in the desert. Very austere conditions, as you can imagine. You can look at me and you can probably see that. It's hot. It is sandy. It's very, very windy, as well. All that is blowing around. Yet the operation you just saw was able to be done, performed successfully, again, right here in the desert -- Anderson, back to you.

COOPER: Sanjay, it is just amazing. I wish we had time, more time to talk about it. We hope to come back to you later on.

Sanjay Gupta live, thanks very much.

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 24, 2003 - 05:52   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Basra is Iraq's second largest city. It's vital, it's a vital objective for coalition forces.
ITV's Juliet Bremner takes us to the battle for Basra.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIET BREMNER, ITV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the hands of the British Army but far from safe, Basra Airport is now secured. The foot patrols know that the ground around could be mined and the snipers remain a serious threat.

The ultimate goal is a southern port of Basra. But the Iraqis, with their limited weapons, aren't giving up without a fight. The mortars have been busy all day. Their fire is being directed at Iraqi tanks dug in along the main highway. But at one stage the company commander called for more American air support.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris, I'm told we've got a wide eagle mission coming in to have a look in depth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you got it yet?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

BREMNER: It's tougher going than the British expected. Tanks are being targeted by machine guns mounted on the back of civilian pickup trucks.

With their overwhelming combat power, the coalition are winning. The decimated remains of Iraqi armor litters the road. The strikes are so powerful, it melts the tracks.

Progress is sometimes frustratingly slow. The troops are digging in for a lengthy stay as artillery bursts overhead.

Just how long it will take to reach Basra is still impossible to forecast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Difficult to tell at the moment. The situation is quite confused in Basra itself. We're going to the pockets on the outskirts, which we've also been told to try and delay us. They're interfering with us as we try and cross the bridges, using indirect fire, mortars. So we're expecting some opposition in Basra certainly. BREMNER: Iraqi soldiers who've surrendered are brought behind British lines. But all the indications are that many more are still in the city and prepared to fight.

(on camera): The battle for Basra is still raging along this road. The fusiliers have managed to move up a couple of miles in the face of constant enemy fire. But they are now on the outskirts of this strategically important city.

(voice-over): The battle group is closing in on its target. But taking Iraq's second city is proving to be an uphill struggle.

Juliet Bremner, ITV News, Basra.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Very frustrating for coalition forces out there.

We want to get some military expertise here.

For that we turn to our military desk and CNN's Renay San Miguel with Brig. Gen. David Grange.

Welcome to you both.

RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you very much, Carol.

We wanted to give people an idea of exactly the disputed areas that we've been talking about for the last few hours with Bruce Penhaul's reports and then the video that we've seen of the downed Apache helicopter.

General Grange joins us right now.

Let's, it's, to give people the idea of how close we are, the U.S. is getting and the coalition is getting to Baghdad, talk about Karbala in relation to Baghdad.

BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Yes, Karbala is south. This area is about 60 miles, I think, south of Baghdad. Just south of the large southern reservoir or lake, you might say, that kind of guards, geographically, the western approaches into Baghdad. But, so that's pretty far, that's deep. That's up near the southern reaches of Baghdad metropolitan area.

So that's the location that we believe the attacks took place.

SAN MIGUEL: And that reservoir is of concern to coalition planners because if the dam there is dynamited by Iraqi troops, that floods out Karbala and all that valley region there eastward of that?

GRANGE: Yes, I'm not sure exactly what it would flood. It is a danger and I believe that the coalition forces have planned for that contingency, I'm sure. The enemy, they know the terrain, obviously, better than the coalition forces. So they know the impact quite well. Whether they would do something like that, it's hard to say. SAN MIGUEL: Let's take a break the role of the Apache helicopters, the Longbow helicopter that was, that we've seen the video of in the field.

What is its role in situations like what we're talking about here, going up against this Republican Guard Medina Division?

GRANGE: That is the most advanced attack helicopter in the world. And it's mainly a tank killer. But it would go after any kind of hardened vehicles -- tanks, armed personnel carriers, radar sites, air defense weapons. And so what they do is they prepare the battlefield for advancing forces and they would attrit, they would destroy as much as the Republican Guard division, the Medina Republican Guard Division's combat power as possible.

SAN MIGUEL: So it is my understanding that if you have to leave it, you blow it up. You destroy it because of all the high tech equipment in there.

Do you have any idea why that wasn't done or what the situation would have been like?

GRANGE: Well, the, we don't know what actions the pilots took internally in the aircraft. They may just have well done some of the things you're referring to. I'm surprised -- this is an old video and I'm surprised, I'd be surprised if the aircraft is still in one piece right now at that location.

SAN MIGUEL: But I mean it is supposed to be, once you leave it, maybe other helicopters come in. If these were, indeed, rescued by coalition aircraft, other helicopters would come in and blow it up.

GRANGE: Or air strikes.

SAN MIGUEL: Or air strikes, that kind of thing.

We have to go.

We'll be visiting with you throughout the morning.

GRANGE: OK.

SAN MIGUEL: Gen. David Grange, thanks for joining us.

GRANGE: Thank you.

SAN MIGUEL: Carol, Anderson, back to you.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thanks, Renay.

A brief programming note here. British Defense Secretary Geoffrey Hoon is expected to have a press conference in about, well, about three minutes or so, six o'clock Eastern time here. We will bring that to you live. That's the British defense secretary, Geoffrey Hoon, and he's speaking from London to foreign reporters. All right, before we get to that, Sanjay, Dr. Sanjay Gupta was on hand yesterday when a patient was brought in who needed emergency surgery.

Now, as we've mentioned before, the patient was an Iraqi soldier who had been shot in the abdomen.

Here's Sanjay's report on that operation -- Sanjay, you're there.

What can you, what's happening where you are?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Anderson, we are in what's called FRSS4. That stands for Forward Resuscitative Surgical Suite Number 4. This is a revolutionary thing in the way that we take care of injured military personnel in the field.

Just to give you a sense, we are supporting the front line here in Iraq right now. This is the place where that's happening in terms of soldiers being injured, and as you mentioned, both Iraqi and coalition forces.

I had a chance last night to witness the first operation performed at this particular

FRSS. This is what I saw.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: We are here just behind the front line in an FRSS, Front Line Resuscitative Surgical Suite. Right behind me, for the first time ever, an operation has been done on the abdomen for a gunshot wound. It's the first time it's ever been done here at this Front Line Resuscitative Surgical Suite.

Just to give you a sense, we're in the middle of a desert here. We're in a tent. Behind me is an operating room where there is a floor on the tent, there is double layers to the tent to try and keep this clean, try and keep this sterile.

The patient behind it, interestingly, is what is known as an EPW, an enemy prisoner of war. Now, the doctors here have an obligation to operate on enemy prisoners of war just as they coalition forces. This particular patient an enemy prisoner of war.

But all these equipment as far as the surgical tools themselves are the same. They're brought over and put here in the desert. They obviously don't have some of the things that they would like to have, but they're able to do an operation that's very sophisticated. Again, a gunshot wound to the abdomen, a very sophisticated operation, doing that very well here in the desert.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: Yes, really amazing, too. This particular patient you just were seeing and hearing about is now in an intensive care unit, which is also located here in the desert. Very austere conditions, as you can imagine. You can look at me and you can probably see that. It's hot. It is sandy. It's very, very windy, as well. All that is blowing around. Yet the operation you just saw was able to be done, performed successfully, again, right here in the desert -- Anderson, back to you.

COOPER: Sanjay, it is just amazing. I wish we had time, more time to talk about it. We hope to come back to you later on.

Sanjay Gupta live, thanks very much.

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