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CNN LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE
War With Iraq: War Drives Down Stocks After Eight Days of Gains
Aired March 24, 2003 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LOU DOBBS CNN HOST: Good evening.
Coalition forces target within 50 miles of Baghdad. Their commander, General Tommy Franks, today said progress has been rapid and in some cases dramatic.
The Army's Third Infantry Division tonight is leading the advance to Baghdad. Marines and British forces are fighting Iraqi forces in the southern cities of Nasiriya and Basra. The 101st Airborne Division has now stepped up its operations deep within Iraq. Special operations forces have been active throughout the western part of Iraq and in the north at least 200 coalition troops are now preparing to engage Iraqi forces. Coalition aircraft have launched heavy strikes today on Republican Guard units in and around Baghdad. Marines equipped with attack helicopters, tanks and armed personnel carriers are involved in heavy fighting tonight in Nasiriya.
Iraqi formations are, we are told, supported by irregular units, many of them dressed in civilian clothes.
The 3rd Infantry's advance to Baghdad was stalled today because of a severe sandstorm, but it didn't stop the Army engineers building an airfield near Najaf that will operate unmanned aircraft. Apache attack helicopters have been in action today against Iraqi units south of Baghdad and one of those helicopters was lost. It is not clear whether it came down because of Iraqi fire or mechanical problems. The Army says the two crew members are missing. Iraqi television showed video of two men it says are the pilots of the Apache helicopter.
The Pentagon said the invasion of Iraq is going as planned, but it said some Iraqi troops are seriously violating the rules of war and doing so by falsely indicating their willingness to surrender.
Our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre joins me live now from the Pentagon -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a charge from the Pentagon that essentially Iraqi forces are fighting dirty and in particular some members of the special Republican Guard and the Fedayeen Sayem -- Fedayeen Saddam, which is a group of very loyal Saddam supporters.
They say by pretending to surrender or posing as civilians they are violating the Geneva Conventions. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICTORIA CLARKE, PENTAGON SPOKESWOMAN: Most of these actions are among the most serious violations of the laws of war. Known as perfidy or treachery, such acts are strictly prohibited because they make it extraordinarily difficult for coalition forces to accept surrendering forces or protect civilians. Some liken these acts to terrorism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCINTYRE: Now, the Pentagon a short time ago said that they had now confirmed the identities of those two Apache helicopter pilots who apparently have been captured and displayed on Iraqi television. They say they are identified as Chief Warrant Officer David Williams of Florida and Chief Warrant Officer Ronald Young of Georgia, both of the 11th Aviation Regiment assigned to the Army's Fifth Corps.
The Pentagon also say that it is continuing to see signs of disarray in the Iraqi military despite the stiff resistance that some troops are facing. In fact, today at the briefing they said, without disclosing exactly what the evidence was, that they had indications that the Iraqi military was issuing orders that then weren't being carried out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Iraqi command and control has a heavy emphasis on control and that is in a negative sense I use the term. It's coercion, in fact. And we are seeing evidence that orders that are being issued are not being executed, in many cases. They may be received. They may not be executed. And that, that, to me, indicates a weakening of their command and coercion system.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCINTYRE: Now, Pentagon sources say half of the air strikes that have been conducted over the past 36 hours have been directed at Republican Guard positions dug in in and around Baghdad, an indication of the shifting nature of the air campaign and also the fact that the U.S. military is on the eve of what could be a decisive battle against the so-called Medina Division of the Republican Guard. That was identified today by the Pentagon as one of Iraq's best Republican Guard divisions and a linchpin to Republican Guard cohesiveness.
If the U.S. could deliver a knockout blow against this division, it would have a demoralizing effect that would run throughout the entire Iraqi military -- Lou.
DOBBS: Jamie, thank you very much.
Jamie McIntyre reporting from the Pentagon.
The president today protested the sale of military equipment by Russia directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin and he met with his joint chiefs of staff.
We turn now to our senior White House correspondent John King, who has the story for us -- John.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And, Lou, we also were told tonight as coalition troops near a critical point in the battle, the president's top ally, the British prime minister, Tony Blair, will be traveling to Washington at midweek. We are told he is due to arrive Wednesday night. Meetings with President Bush on Thursday, according to administration and diplomatic sources. That, of course, a key juncture in the military campaign.
President Bush and Prime Minister Blair are getting together to discuss the war strategy.
On the issue of the dispute, it is with Russia. A president that Mr. Bush in the past has called friend, a tense conversation, we were told, Mr. Bush calling Russian President Vladimir Putin to protest the fact that he says the United States has credible evidence that the Iraqi military has Russian night vision technology, Russian anti-tank missiles and of most concern to the United States, Russian jamming equipment to jam the global positioning satellite systems that the United States military uses for its most sophisticated weapons.
This has been raised in the past by less senior officials as far up as Secretary of State Powell. The Russians have consistently denied it. We are told in the phone conversation today President Bush said there was solid evidence and asked President Putin to look again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We are very concerned that there are reports of ongoing cooperation and support to Iraqi military forces being provided by a Russian company that produces GPS jamming equipment. This is what was discussed in the phone call. There are other causes of concern, as well, involving night vision goggles and anti-tank guided missiles.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Mr. Bush also spent time today with his economic team here at the White House, meeting with his National Economic Council in the White House Cabinet Room. That meeting held just after Mr. Bush had some private time with the Fed Chairman, Alan Greenspan, in the Oval Office. He received the vice president, the president and other members of the Bush economic team. We are told Mr. Bush was told so far so good in terms of how the U.S. economy is handling the war so far.
And Mr. Bush also just wrapping up a meeting with key members of Congress. Tomorrow, the president will officially unveil the emergency spending plan, the emergency bill he is asking for to help pay for the war costs so far. CNN is told the president is asking for just under $75 billion. $62 billion of it, as you see here, would go to the Defense Department. You would have another $3.5 billion that would go to emergency grants to homeland security, obviously a concern as the United States prepares for the possibility of terrorist attacks here at home, and another $5 billion to $10 billion in a mix of humanitarian aid to help pay the initial humanitarian costs in Iraq, also some foreign aid to countries like Israel and Jordan, who have hardships imposed on them because of this war.
Mr. Bush just trying to sell this package to key members of Congress. Already some Democrats saying there's not enough money to pay for this war, let alone other costs for the Defense Department. They believe Mr. Bush is low balling the costs, believing that Congress will drive up the money sooner -- up higher, excuse me. Mr. Bush will officially unveil that proposal tomorrow at the Pentagon. On Wednesday, Lou, he travels to the Central Command headquarters in Tampa to meet and thank the troops at the command center down there. And, again, we are told on Thursday he will meet with the British prime minister, Tony Blair. That meeting all but certain to be up at the Camp David retreat -- Lou.
DOBBS: John, thank you very much.
John King, our senior White House correspondent.
Today, Saddam Hussein appeared on television, but it remains unclear whether it was a live statement or recorded. The Iraqi leader told his people that victory is coming and Iraq's deputy prime minister, Tariq Aziz, also went on television today.
Wolf Blitzer joins me now live from Kuwait City -- Wolf, tell us more what all of this means about the Iraqi leadership and these television appearances.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we did learn for sure, Lou, that Tariq Aziz, the deputy prime minister, who's become such a well known figure to all of us going back to his days as the foreign minister during the first Persian Gulf War, he, in fact, is alive and well. There had been rumors circulating throughout these past several days that he might be dead.
He is alive. He was at a news conference earlier today. He was seen on Iraqi television answering very specific questions about contemporary events, events unfolding over the past few days.
At the same time, Saddam Hussein was also seen on Iraqi television. That was clearly a videotape, though, and there was no specific references that would have confirmed for sure that this was not a pre-taped interview with -- a pre-taped statement, that is, by the Iraqi leader. He made sort of generic statements and there also were some references to certain Iraqi military units, he said, who were fighting, but weren't fighting, according to U.S. officials.
So he hasn't by any means, the appearance by Saddam Hussein on Iraqi television today has not cleared up in any way whether, in fact, he's alive or dead, in control, not in control. That still remains very much a mystery -- Lou.
DOBBS: Wolf, an attempted bomb attack today in Kuwait City.
Do we have any more information on that?
BLITZER: This is what we know about that incident. Kuwaiti police, local law enforcement, they spotted a mysterious car. They went and inspected this car. They arrested the driver, the owner of the car. Inside they found a briefcase. There was a briefcase. There was a bomb inside the briefcase. They took it elsewhere. They detonated it. There was no trouble. It all occurred outside the Marriott Hotel here in Kuwait City. No one was injured.
The driver, the owner of the car is under arrest. He's not a Kuwaiti, he's described as a European national. We don't have more details on that. But for a time it tied up traffic sort of big time here in Kuwait City. The were a lot of nervous people. In the end, it turned out to be pretty much of a scare.
DOBBS: Well, nervousness nothing unusual in the region. In Bahrain today, an explosion near the U.S. Navy headquarters.
What can you tell us about that?
BLITZER: Well, that was certainly a serious scare, as well. And remember, the Fifth Fleet, the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet is in a Persian Gulf, is headquartered in Bahrain, about 4,000 or so U.S. troops at any one time based in Bahrain. And outside of the base, about a half a mile or so from the base, there was a huge explosion. It was deemed to be a propane gas tank. What's unclear is whether that was some sort of demonstration by anti-war protesters, which have been going on for several days in Bahrain, designed to underscore their opposition to the war, or if it was some sort of accident. They're still trying to investigate that.
But I can tell you that among those U.S. troops in Bahrain, there was a serious scare. They could hear the windows rattling. They could hear a loud, loud boom in Bahrain. So that was a serious problem, at least for a while. They're investigating what was the cause of that propane gas explosion, if you will.
DOBBS: Wolf, thank you very much.
Wolf Blitzer from Kuwait City.
Well, yesterday the U.S. Central Command said that a U.S. Army supply convoy of six vehicles was ambushed by Iraqi forces in southern Iraq near Nasiriya and that 12 soldiers could not be accounted for. Later in the day, Al Jazeera, the Arab language satellite television network, transmitted video from state run Iraqi television showing gruesome pictures of several dead U.S. soldiers and interviews with five captured Americans.
CNN has made the decision not to show the video of those dead soldiers and instead we will air these two images with no identifiable features. In the video transmitted, it was apparent some soldiers had been shot. Some of them had been shot in the forehead. CNN has decided not to air any video of the captured soldiers until the network is certain the families of the POWs have been contacted. The Pentagon has asked those interviews not be shown. But CNN has decided, as we learn that families have been notified, that we would air brief audio and video from the POWs because coverage of their treatment is an important part of the coverage of the war in Iraq.
The mother of Army Specialist Joseph Hudson, who is Anecita Hudson, says that she saw the video of the interviews with the captured soldiers on a Filipino television channel to which she subscribes. Mrs. Hudson told CNN she had just found out from her daughter-in-law that her son had been moved out of Kuwait.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANECITA HUDSON, POW'S MOTHER: I asked her, I said, Nat, is Joe OK? You talked to him. And said yes, they're OK, but they moved him from Kuwait to somewhere else. They're not saying it on the telephone because it's against the rules. And then now I find out that he's been captured in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOBBS: Today, CNN has learned that two more of the families of the five POWs have been notified -- Private First Class Patrick Miller, Army Specialist Shawna Johnson.
PFC MILLER: PFC Miller, PFC Miller, Private First Class Miller.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your name?
SHAWNA: Shawna.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shawna?
SHAWNA: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where are do you come from?
SHAWNA: Texas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOBBS: Miller's family, in Kansas, say they heard from the military that their son and brother was a POW. His brother and sister say the family is scared, but they remain hopeful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS HERSHBERGER, POW'S HALF-BROTHER: Even now I try to stay optimistic. Instead of being killed, he was captured. And with him being captured, he's not on the field to be killed.
KIMBERLY MILLER, POW'S SISTER: My brother is a fighter and always has been. I mean he'd give up his life for anybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP) DOBBS: So Shawna Johnson's family told NBC's "Today Show" that she is from Port Bliss. She's a single mother with a 2-year-old daughter and that she's a chef in the Army and loves to cook. Reacting to the release of the video by the Iraqis, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the Iraqis are in violation of the Geneva Conventions. That agreement prohibits nations from humiliating and degrading prisoners of war. Later the Iraqis issued a statement saying that they would honor the Geneva Conventions and treat all POWs humanely.
It's not just the television networks who are bringing you footage of this war in Iraq. Navy pilots have done an incredible job documenting the war from their perspective. The pilots from the aircraft USS Constellation have shared some extraordinary footage with us.
Frank Buckley and photographer Greg Keynes (ph) are aboard the Constellation in the Persian Gulf.
And Frank joins us now via video phone -- Frank.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Lou, we are aboard the USS Constellation, where it is very loud at times, because the flight operations are continuing. And today we got to see firsthand what some of the pilots have been describing to us about their first strikes into Iraq, their first strike packages that went into Baghdad.
This is video that was shot by a RIO, that is, a radar intercept officer. He's the back seater in an F-14 Tomcat. He had his own home video camera. And as we look at some of these spectacular images that this RIO was able to shoot, we can tell you that there are U.S. Navy assets over Iraq 24 hours a day right now from the five aircraft carriers that are in the region.
Flights from F-14 Tomcats and f18 Hornet strike fighters continue their patrols. They are including involved in close air support of coalition ground troops as they advance. But Rear Admiral Barry Costello, the Constellation battle group commander, has told us that as the troops get closer to Baghdad itself and become involved in urban warfare, if it comes to that, it may become quite a challenge to provide close air support.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REAR ADMIRAL BARRY COSTELLO, COMMANDER CONSTELLATION BATTLE GROUP: If it was an urban environment, it would be less appropriate significantly to be providing cass (ph), because you've got the collateral damage issue. Plus you don't have the clarity of target necessarily. And so it's much more challenging.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUCKLEY: But as we say, the aircraft are increasingly involved in close air support right now, that is, they fly into what the pilots call a kill box. That's how they describe a certain quadrant that they're assigned. When they get there, a forward air controller will call in air support if it's required.
In the most recent 24 hour period that we were briefed on here aboard the Constellation, aircraft from the Constellation serviced, as the Rear Admiral put it, some 25 different targets, including targets in and around Saddam International Airport -- Lou.
DOBBS: Frank, it sounds as though the aircraft carrier is running 24 hour operations.
Is that, in fact, the case?
BUCKLEY: Well, each aircraft carrier is obviously up 24 hours a day. It isn't necessarily providing flights off of its particular deck 24 hours a day. With five aircraft carriers in the region, three just here in the Persian Gulf alone, they do sort of a hand off kind of a situation. One may be flying mostly night hours, one may be flying mostly day hours or they rotate the hours around a bit to maintain that 24 hour a day coverage over Iraq.
DOBBS: Frank Buckley, thank you very much.
Frank Buckley aboard the USS Constellation.
An American warplane taking part in the invasion accidentally bombed a civilian bus on a bridge about 100 miles from the border with Syria. Five Syrian workers on that bus were killed. Others were wounded.
Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joins us now live from Amman, Jordan with the story -- Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Lou, that road is the main highway from Baghdad to Syria. The Syrian bus, according to Syrian officials, was carrying Syrian civilian workers on their way back from Baghdad, on their way home to Syria. Now, Syrian officials have also called this a criminal act. The Pentagon says that when the pilot dropped his bombs on a bridge on that main highway, he didn't see the bus. When the bombs were falling the bus came into view and that's how the bus came to be hit.
When we traveled that highway just a couple of days ago, there was at least one bridge at that time that had already been hit by a missile and a number of vehicles on that road that were shot up and burnt out. Those vehicles all appeared to be Iraqi military vehicles. The highway apparently is getting particularly dangerous and is also very close to two air strips known as H2 and H3. now, U.S. special forces have recently taken control of those air strips in the western Iraqi desert, likely before they head eastwards towards Baghdad.
Also, Tariq Aziz, the deputy prime minister, has been speaking in Iraq, again trying to put the view forward that President Saddam Hussein is perfectly well, saying that the leadership is still firmly in control of Iraq. Also going on to say that it's taken a long time for coalition forces to take control of the southern port city of Umm Qasr and saying if it's taken them so long to take control of that small port city, then how long will it take them to take control of Basra, a much larger town in the south?
President Saddam Hussein in his address just reemphasizing to the Iraqi people, if you will, that he is OK, that he hasn't been injured and that he hasn't been killed. He also picked up the same theme about Umm Qasr, commending the Iraqi commander who put up a spirited defense there, according to President Saddam Hussein, and also extolling and pushing other Iraqi commanders in Basra, in Baghdad and in Mosul, to do the same thing, saying that victory will be theirs and that the brave soldiers should fight with all their strength.
What has also been interesting about President Saddam Hussein's speech is essentially to try and tell the Iraqi people that they are as much under threat, if you will, as the leadership are at this time by saying that Iraq, the family of Iraq, the nation of Iraq is a fair and honest and peaceful people and that they are hated by the evildoers. Trying to tell the Iraqi people that they're the ones that are under threat, not the leadership of Iraq, that it is the people of Iraq who are under threat from coalition forces.
And President Saddam Hussein emphasized that by saying that the Iraqi leadership would fight off the evil aggressors at this time, fight and defend Iraq for the people of Iraq -- Lou.
DOBBS: Nic, thank you very much.
Nic Robertson from Amman, Jordan.
We have just received from Abu Dhabi Television, video of the two U.S. helicopter pilots who were downed last night over Iraq. Their families have been notified by the Department of Defense. We can now, as is the policy of this network, tell you their names, David S. Williams of Florida and Ronald Young, Jr. of Georgia.
Both men are chief warrant officers and, as we reported earlier, they went down on that helicopter, the Apache helicopter. Still no word tonight on the fate of the two men.
Coming up next, we'll continue to bring you the latest developments in the war in Iraq. Ben Wedeman will report from the north. In the south, U.S. troops are engaged in another fierce firefight in Nasiriya tonight. And coalition forces continue the advance on Baghdad. Those forces now, elements of them, 50 miles from the capital city.
General David Grange will be here to assess the coalition's ground campaign. And coalition aircraft have launched another round of massive air strikes against Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard. General Don Shepperd will be here to assess the air operations.
All of that and more still ahead.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Coming up, a report from Ben Wedeman in northern Iraq. We will be talking with General David Grange about ground operations and the advance of coalition forces to within 50 miles of Baghdad.
But here first, the latest developments in the war.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Recapping major developments in the past few hours, 3:04 a.m., Iraqi TV broadcasts a speech by Saddam Hussein. He praises the Iraqi armed forces, urges Iraqis to fight coalition forces and predicts Iraqi victory. There's no indication that the speech was broadcast live.
3:45 a.m., CNN's Walter Rodgers, embedded with the 3rd Squadron 7th Cavalry, reports that the unit's progress is slowed because, sources say, Iraqi forces are using civilians as human shields.
4:00 a.m., Iraqi TV shows pictures of what it says is a downed coalition helicopter south of Baghdad. CNN's Tom Mintier reports that U.S. Central Command confirms one Apache helicopter is missing in Iraq. No word from chopper pilots.
4:20 a.m., 12 injured U.S. troops arrive at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and are transported to the hospital on the NATO base.
6:05 a.m., Bill Hemmer reports Kuwaiti air space was penetrated half an hour before by an Iraqi missile, which was shot down by a Kuwaiti Patriot missile. He later reports Patriots shot down two more Iraqi missiles and a fourth missile failed to reach Kuwaiti air space.
6:20 a.m., British Defense Secretary Geoff Hune says today's speech by Saddam Hussein was definitely on tape and analysts are studying it to determine if it's really the Iraqi president.
7:15 a.m., CNN's Alessio Vinci, traveling with the Second Marine Division, reports a second day of heavy fighting around the southern city of Nasiriya. Today, the Marines exchanged mortar fire with several Iraqi units and called in air support from Cobra helicopters.
9:05 Eastern, U.S. Commander General Tommy Franks says despite sporadic resistance, coalition forces are making rapid progress. He also shows targets being destroyed and says small special operations teams are "accomplishing wonderful things in northern and western Iraq."
And at 11:05 a.m. Eastern, 7:05 p.m. in Baghdad, new explosions heard in the Iraqi capital, indicating another wave of coalition air strikes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: As we reported, we have just received pictures from Abu Dhabi Television. These pictures of the two U.S. helicopter pilots downed last night over Iraq. CNN policy, we have decided not to air any video of captured soldiers until this network is certain that their families have been notified.
Their families have been notified and now we can tell you their names, as I said, David S. Williams of Florida, Ronald Young, Jr. of Georgia, both men, as you can see there, appear to be in good shape. They are chief warrant officers. And as we reported, they went down on an Apache Longbow helicopter. There is still at this point no word on what caused that crash.
We want to go to Gary Strieker now aboard the USS Roosevelt.
GARY STRIEKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Lou.
We reported earlier today that the air wing on the carrier USS Roosevelt was going to switch today from attack strikes to close air support for ground troops in Iraq. There's been a hitch in that plan because of bad weather and I think we're going to have to wait for a while before that actually gets started.
There are two carriers here in the eastern Mediterranean and if the Roosevelt does not launch today, the Harry S. Truman, the other carrier in the Med, could very well start that same policy of close air support launches later tomorrow.
As you know, the concept of close air support is basically that the planes will leave, go out into Iraqi air space, and patrol in coordinate boxes at a high altitude in readiness, in case ground troops call for their assistance. While they're moving within those boxes, they can take out targets of opportunity if they see them.
Lou, this could indicate, you know, a couple of things. One is that, obviously, the ground troops in Iraq are making progress and they may need close air support more than they did before.
And it could also mean, according to sources, that the kinds of targets that the attack strike -- the fighters are targeting from the aircraft carriers out here may be diminishing, the easy targets. The policy of this campaign is to avoid destruction of Iraqi infrastructure as much as possible, except for military targets.
So for perhaps both of those reasons, the fighters on board this carrier, at least, will be switching to close air support as soon as the weather clears -- Lou.
DOBBS: Gary, thank you very much. Gary Strieker reporting from aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, suggesting a change in mission for at least the air wing of one carrier, that's the USS Roosevelt.
Well, Coalition aircraft have flown more than 1,000 sorties since yesterday. Some of those aircraft are based near Iraq's border. Gary Tuchman is at that air base and his photographer is Dhamir Loretec (ph). Gary joins us now -- Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Dhamir (ph) and I were actually just inside the Lounge where fighter pilots go before they fly, to get their intelligence reports after they fly, to tell authorities what they saw.
And while we were there, the pilots were sitting on chairs watching big screen TV, watching satellite news coverage of the Apache pilots who have now been taken prisoner. And you watch them, and you see so much going through their minds as they take a look at that.
And with us right now is one of the pilots who was in the room while the coverage was on, a pilot who just finished his mission over Iraq aboard one of these A-10 planes right behind me. This is the pilot. His name is J.R., he is Idaho. We've been talking to a lot of pilots from the Idaho National Guard who are here, participating in Gulf War II.
First of all, J.R., when you were watching the coverage on television, what was going through your mind?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I was interested to see how they were treating our prisoners, or their prisoners. It just makes us angry. It makes our will to fight all that much stronger and harder. And we'll get back at them when we can.
TUCHMAN: You just came back from a mission aboard your A-10, which is behind us right now. Tell me what your mission just was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was a forward air controller to work with the Army as it's moving their way north. On the way, when we were heading up there, we got re-rolled into a close air support mission a little further south of Baghdad. So we rolled in and worked with the Army folks who were down there.
TUCHMAN: What does that actually mean when you're giving the ground support? Tell me what they actually asked you to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, they called and said here's where they were hunkered down at and that they were taking some fire from a certain area. So they wanted us to go overhead and look at what's happening there. We fly over, look at the area, and if we see something down there, we can target it for them.
TUCHMAN: Did you on this mission have to fire any of your bombs or missiles?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I didn't. I didn't release anything today. Went out -- sometimes just our presence in there is enough to quiet them down and move them out of the area.
TUCHMAN: On your first mission of the war, you had to. Tell me about that mission.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had some enemy forces who were trying to do a blocking maneuver of our convoy that's moving up. They would actually drive onto the road there. As they drove onto the road, I rolled in with our gun and shot the truck that was on the highway there.
TUCHMAN: What did you actually shoot?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a gun. It's a 30 millimeter. It was a high incendiary rounds. So I just shot them with that.
TUCHMAN: Did you hit it? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I did.
TUCHMAN: Let me ask you now: do you ever have any fear that you will hit something or someone that you're not supposed to?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I Don't -- I Don't lose a lot of sleep worrying about that. We're trained very, very hard to know what we're shooting at, to have 100 percent target identification. And if I roll down the chute to employ, that's what I want to hit.
TUCHMAN: You've gone on seven missions in the last five days. Do you ever have any butterflies in your stomach as you're flying over Iraq and as you're about to do what you're supposed to do?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I think everybody gets a little nervous when they go out there and fly. It is combat. It is risky. They're trying to shoot at us. And that does get your adrenaline going. I was on a search and rescue mission the other day, and my adrenaline was going very high on that mission, so...
TUCHMAN: When's your next mission?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That would be tomorrow day. Tomorrow afternoon, I suppose.
TUCHMAN: Get some sleep. Thanks for talking to us, J.R.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks very much. Thank you.
TUCHMAN: Appreciate it. At this base alone, and this is one of 30 different bases in the Persian Gulf region, where war planes are taking off from -- at this base alone, we have a flight coming right now. We'll wait. (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
DOBBS: Gary Tuchman is trying to talk over the thunderous roar of an A-10 or an F-16 attack aircraft. So I will, if I may, close out for him from that air base in northern Iraq, Gary Tuchman reporting.
A Marine corps general has arrived in northern Iraq to take command of coalition forces that are now massing in that area. Ben Wedeman reports from northern Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Smoke rises over an Iraqi Army front line position, hit by coalition aircraft as the northern front begins to smolder.
"Planes came and started bombing," says this Kurdish fighter. "We didn't see them because they were so high. But we saw the Iraqi military bases that were hit, and we saw Iraqi soldiers were killed."
The strikes took place outside the Kurdish town of Chamchamal, not far from the oil rich region around Kirkuk under Baghdad's control. Also under Baghdad's sway, Mosul, a city now shrouded in smoke. Mosul continues to take a pounding, American bombs demolish demolishing presidential palaces, military targets and intelligence facilities.
After several false starts, U.S. forces are finally beginning to arrive. They're essentially military mission coupled with humanitarian goals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First, to assist in the deconfliction of military activities. Second, to synchronize humanitarian assistance and military operations. And, third, assist in the coordination of relief operations in northern Iraq.
WEDEMAN: Kurdish authorities worked feverishly to prepare two airstrips for American troops. Those troops began arriving in the north Sunday. When they're deployed, they'll be assisted by more than 60,000 Kurdish men, lightly armed, but enthusiastic troops with plenty of experience fighting the Iraqi Army.
(on camera) Exasperated by diplomatic delays and complications, Kurdish officials now hope the Americans will bring their air power to bear on Iraqi forces, finally uniting a northern front which till now has only smoldered.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Kala (ph), northern Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Well, there are more wounded troops arriving in Germany for medical treatment at the U.S. military hospital there. Twelve troops arrived today, 8 of them have combat related injuries. They include six Marines, two soldiers. They join two Marines who arrived Sunday.
Casualties, of course, are a fact of war. Taking care of the injured immediately is critical in this war. That job falls to the Devil Docs. They're a special group of military surgeons near the front lines. They work in makeshift hospitals.
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta and photographer Mark Biello (ph) are with the Devil Docs in their unit known as FRSS. Sanjay joins us now via videophone -- Sanjay.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Lou, we are here. It's 2 in the morning. And let me point something out. There are helicopters flying overhead, two of them. They're going to be bringing in six Marines, three that involved in a gun fight, and three that were involved in a convoy.
Behind me, you may be able to see some Marines already lining up, getting ready to actually see these patients, bring them into the FRSS, which is forward resuscitative surgical suite.
Lou, these are operating rooms. These are true to life operating rooms here in the middle of the desert. They're set up, they're sanitary, they're efficient. We have now had a chance to see them work four times, and we're going to see them work throughout the next several days.
I will tell you one thing: these doctors are working around the clock. Several of the doctors I just spoke with, 24 hours they've been working already, and you can hear the helos in the distance. Even more patients coming in.
So very busy here, but the Devil Docs are certainly up to the task and taking care of everyone, both Iraqis as well as coalition force members that are arriving here -- Lou.
DOBBS: Sanjay, let me ask you. You call it the FRSS. Is this what, from the Korean era and television fame, might be considered a MASH Unit?
GUPTA: It is very similar to a MASH unit. But Lou, there's an important difference. MASH units were stationary medical units. The FRSS is a completely mobile unit. These operating rooms can be torn down in an hour and built back up in an hour, designed to be mobile. Why? So they can actually move with the troops.
The particular FRSSs that are behind me here actually have moved a couple of times already and are planning to move again within the next several days. So that's the crucial difference. Instead of taking the injured back to a stationary unit, they bring the units up to the injured. That's the difference -- Lou.
DOBBS: Sanjay, thank you very much. Sanjay Gupta reporting. And Sanjay, we hope the workload for those surgeons is very light, indeed.
Joining me now to discuss the ongoing operation in northern Iraq and prosecution of the land war is General David Grange, CNN Center in Atlanta.
General, good to have you with us.
GEN. DAVID GRANGE, CNN ANALYST: Thank you, Lou.
DOBBS: Ben Wedeman reporting U.S. Marine Corps general now in northern Iraq to take command there of, if you will, the irregular Kurds, as well as troops that are obviously U.S. troops being flown in. What do you expect up there?
GRANGE: Lou, I think we're going to have a rapid buildup now. We're going to start piling on the different types of military units required to do the tasks that he mentioned: humanitarian assistance, to start taking on the Iraqi forces by directing air strikes, coordinating the movements of Kurdish units that would work with U.S. forces to go ahead and take down Iraqi strongholds.
And I think that will just continue to build up, now that the command presence is there. And they gave a sense of hope to the Kurds. DOBBS: It sounds like that hope is based on what, at least as it was described by Ben Wedeman in his report, significant air strikes in the north for the first time.
Let me ask you this, general, just a question of language. The Marine general used the expression deconfliction of military activity. What does that mean?
GRANGE: Deconfliction also can mean synchronization of activities. In other words, to ensure that the sides -- they use the word blue forces, if the Iraqis are the red forces -- the blue forces to synchronize their movements, the coordination of liaison between elements so friendly units aren't bombed, so there's not fratricide.
So their efforts support the overall objectives set by operations in the north by the U.S. commander. That the needs of the Kurdish military are met and those logistics required to do the operation are distributed appropriately.
DOBBS: General, half of the sorties flown today, strikes against the -- over the past 24 hours, half of them apparently against the Republican Guard, the Medina Republican Guard division south of Baghdad, apparently engaged with the 3rd Army. Tell us what you can about that.
GRANGE: Yes. If we could go to the table map, Lou.
South of Baghdad, you have the Medina Republican Guard Division and it's set up just south of Baghdad, and what we're having with the 3rd Infantry Division, their lead elements, to include attack helicopter elements, are encountering these defensive locations of the Medina division.
And then, of course, all of Baghdad is circled by Republican Guard divisions, the Hamurabi (ph), the Alnaida (ph), but right now they're encountering the Medina division.
And these are forces that went ahead and bypassed some of the close combat operations going on in Nasiriyah and Basra with maneuver. They continued north, and now they're encountering these hard-core Republican Guard units.
DOBBS: This Medina division, General, is considered to be, if not the toughest, certainly one of the very toughest of the Republican Guard units, right?
GRANGE: That's right. It's one -- these Republican Guard divisions that I mentioned are their first class units for the Iraqi army. When you -- when I use the word first class, I'm using that relative to the Iraqi army.
But they have the most modern equipment, T-72 tanks, the most advanced personnel carriers. And these are -- these are better units than what's been encountered down here. It doesn't mean that the units down here cannot cause great harm. They can. Because of the tactics they're using. But these are tougher units, and I believe today, with the air strikes that took place, especially in this area as well as up north between Baghdad and Tikrit, attrited many of these Republican Guard units to soften it up. So the 3rd Infantry Division and future operations, let's say of the 101st Airborne Division, can take place.
DOBBS: The 101st airborne division, now that you bring it up, General, has been operating behind the 3rd Army, 7th Cav. Now that they are established near Baghdad, is it expected that the 101st will leap frog, then, the 3rd Army and the 7th Cav?
GRANGE: I think what you'll see, Lou, is you'll see the 101st advance to -- by helicopter assaults to take down key objectives in support of the 3rd Infantry Division and possibly even some of the operations putting pressure on, soon, from the north.
I hope we're surprised, because surprise is what the 101st needs for their type of operations.
DOBBS: And the capacity of the Medina division and the top elite Republican Guard divisions -- and I Don't use "elite" in the 1991 sense, but the current sense of the best equipped, best trained Republican Guard divisions.
GRANGE: Yes. That's correct. I mean, they are the best, but I think that they'll be taken down rapidly.
The air support that's being provided to the ground forces right now is essential to that takedown because of the number of enemy units compared to the U.S. and British units. And up in this area, it's the U.S. units. 3rd infantry division, an awesome force, very powerful. But they need the air support to combine arms effort in order to attrit these units down to continue north.
DOBBS: A great deal of attention appropriately paid to the casualties that we are suffering in this conflict. We do not have battlefield assessments from General Franks in Qatar, or from the Pentagon in terms of the damage that's being inflicted against the Republican Guards, the forces of the Iraqis.
Give us your best assessment of the damage that is being inflicted by the U.S. and coalition military.
GRANGE: Well, with the operations that I know about and those that I assume are taking place with attack helicopters, with air strikes from fixed wing aircraft, with the movements of the 3rd Infantry Division, with those Abram tanks, those Bradley fighting vehicles, I would think that they're inflicting great damage on the Medina division.
However, a good question would be what's the percentage of strength of these units now? Can you give us an assessment, CENTCOM, of the damage done to the Republican Guard units?
I mean, we've been looking at Baghdad quite awhile. I think it's very important to focus on these ground units right now and get an assessment out to the American people of where that damage has occurred.
DOBBS: General David Grange, as always, thank you very much.
GRANGE: My pleasure.
DOBBS: Coming up next, ground troops are moving toward Baghdad from the north, the south, and the west. Heavy backing from coalition war planes. General Don Shepperd will be here in just a moment to assess the air operations against Saddam Hussein.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: You're looking at live pictures of Baghdad, where it is almost 3 in the morning, 2:49 a.m. Coalition forces, obviously, continue their strikes against Baghdad but are making significant progress in their march to Baghdad.
U.S. and coalition forces, 50 miles from the capital city. Those forces have sidestepped many Iraqi formations, particularly near urban areas.
Joining me now from CNN's center in Atlanta, military analyst General Don Shepperd.
General, good to have you with us.
GEN. DON SHEPPERD, CNN ANALYST: Good to be here, Lou.
DOBBS: A startling number, I think perhaps, to some is that half of the sorties flown over the course of the past 24 hours, about a thousand of them, against Republican Guard forces. Give us your judgment of the strategy that is being taken here.
SHEPPERD: You bet. Well, General Grange was just on and gave you a good run-down on the ground campaign. I'm going to refer also to the map here, if I can, and point out the some of the things going on from an air standpoint.
Basically, it's turning into a combined arms battle now as the forces move from the south up north toward Baghdad, they're going to require more and more air support.
We saw the helicopter gun battle that took place yesterday down to the west -- to the east of Karbala and the results of some of that. A lot of shooting going on.
So what's being employed now is the United States air power from carriers and air bases all across the Gulf to begin to weaken the Republican Guard forces that will clearly be north, south, east, and west of Baghdad.
The things being employed are, you're continuing to have stealth fighters and B-2 bombers and B-52 standoff bombers fire missiles, standoff missiles, and also bombs against the Baghdad area, against re-striking targets and against deploying forces in this area, and they're supported by EA-6 jamming aircraft. You also have F-18 aircraft off the carrier, F-15s providing air support, you have F-16s, you have AV8-V Harriers, you have A-10 aircraft, and you have AC-130 gunships. All of it is designed now to start putting pressure on these deployed forces.
Now many of these aircraft will be setting up geographical square boxes here. Those square boxes are will be watched by J-STARs aircraft that are stationed down here, that are flying over Saudi Arabia. They'll be brought back into southern Iraq later on. They're watching for movement of ground forces.
When they see ground forces moving, this air power, from the carriers, from the land based, and close air support will be supported.
We'll also be working with ground air controllers embedded with all the army units that are down here, Lou.
DOBBS: General, we just heard from Gary Strieker reporting that at least one of its carriers has moved its missions to close air support. Give us a sense of what that means practically here and what it may suggest about the strategy of the air operation.
SHEPPERD: Now think of it this way. First of all, the standoff -- the strategic air power that's been employed so far has been against targets in the Baghdad area. The other strikes across there have been interdiction strikes, strikes against things that we know are deployed.
Close air support has to be closely coordinated because it's in the vicinity of ground forces that are employing combat power. So you have to know where our ground forces are, as well as where the enemy is, and you've got to make sure that you're striking the enemy and not our troops. So that's what close air support is.
It has to be under the control of forward air controllers. These are Air Force forward air controllers and Marine forward air controllers embedded with the army units on the ground. They make the calls. They call out the targets. Sometimes they mark the targets with lasers, though, Lou.
DOBBS: The Apache helicopter that went down, the two pilots we now know, POW's held by the Iraqis, that Apache Longbow, the most advanced of these attack helicopters, one question does occur. With a sophisticated weaponry and avionics on that plane, why would it not be destroyed by the forces there?
SHEPPERD: It very likely will be. In fact, it may have been as we are talking here.
Normally, when an aircraft goes down, whether it's a sophisticated helicopter or any kind of machine from the United States, we bomb it to make sure it cannot be exploited. I suspect that will be done, Lou.
DOBBS: Our cameras continue, as we've just said before, coming to get your analysis of the air operations, General. We showed that picture of Baghdad, of where there have been explosions, but nothing of the -- of the impact of the so-called "shock and awe" campaign that many people thought would focus entirely, perhaps, on Baghdad.
Where do you think the bombing is taking place? Will the -- do you anticipate further bombing of the scope that we saw in Baghdad in the first couple of days? Rather, couple of nights.
SHEPPERD: I doubt that you will see the scope in downtown Baghdad in the republican palace area that we saw the first night, because most of the targets there have been destroyed. You will see re-strike of those areas.
In addition, you will be starting to see strikes on the outskirts of Baghdad, and that is as Republican Guard forces start to move into battle formations that are identifiable. Right now, a lot of them are in the populated areas. As they move into battle formations, as they establish headquarters, command and control facilities, bunkers that can be identified, those will begin to be struck on the outskirts of Baghdad.
Meanwhile, throughout the rest of the country, we're trying to identify any military equipment, north, south, east, and west, that can and should be hit to soften things up as the coalition ground forces move up in that direction, Lou.
DOBBS: General Don Shepperd, thank you. We'll ask you back here in just a moment for a few concluding thoughts.
We'll also take a look at what happened on Wall Street today.
The war, not going unnoticed in Hollywood last night. And we'll tell you what some of those at the Oscar ceremony said and didn't say. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: A number of celebrities who have spoken out previously against the war were silent at last night's Academy Awards. Actress Susan Sarandon bowed and flashed a peace sign to the crowd as she walked on stage. She kept the script, though, as did fellow presenter Barbara Streisand.
Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore did speak out, accepting his Oscar. He received a mixed reaction, however, from the Hollywood crowd.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL MOORE, ACADEMY AWARD WINNER: We live in a time where we have fictitious election results that elect a fictitious presidents. We live in a time where we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons, whether it's the fictition of duct tape or the fictitious of orange alerts. We are against this war, Mr. Bush! Shame on you, Mr. Bush! Shame on you!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOBBS: Early numbers show the Oscars the lowest rated in history.
Developments in the war in Iraq drove stock prices down today after historic gains last week. Christine Romans is at the New York Stock Exchange -- Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, it was the biggest one-day drop for the Dow in six months. This sell-off wiped away 30 percent of that monster eight-day rally, but today's selling came on a third less volume than Friday's big gains.
All 30 of the Dow stocks tumbled and retail, airline, and hotel stocks led the decline. Delta Airlines will cut capacity 12 percent. Wal-Mart reported a CNN effect that kept buyers glued to their televisions. And federated said sales are below planned. Starwood withdrew guidance until it can better predict how war will hurt its business.
Many got into the market that suffered the most last week. Oil surging from four month lows. Gold rose $3, and bond prices recovered from last week's relentless selling. Lou, the yield on the 10-year note is now back below 4 percent. Back to you.
DOBBS: Thanks very much, Christine. Christine Romans.
Aaron Brown will be leading the coverage here on CNN over the course of the next four or five hours, and let's turn to Aaron right now -- Aaron.
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