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CNN Live Today

Father of POW Answers Questions

Aired March 25, 2003 - 11:31   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.


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Here is the father of POW David Williams. We'll listen to what he has to say.
DAVID WILLIAMS SR., FATHER OF POW: ... thinking he might be, but he wasn't sure. But I'm very positive, very upbeat.

QUESTION: Have you spoken with his wife today?

WILLIAMS: Not today.

QUESTION: Do you know, how is she holding up? And what have you said to her? What has she said to you? (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

WILLIAMS: Well, you know, we've let each other know that we're there for each other and that our thoughts and prayers go out for each other, that support. And we know that God is on our side and that He will look after my son and her husband.

QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) he have - you said two children?

WILLIAMS: Yes.

QUESTION: Can you tell us their names and ages?

WILLIAMS: He has a little girl. Her name is Madison (ph). She's 5 months. And son Jason (ph) is 2 years.

QUESTION: When was the last time you talked to him or had any sort of correspondence with him?

WILLIAMS: I haven't had any since he left.

QUESTION: When was that?

WILLIAMS: That was mid-February.

QUESTION: And is his wife in the military as well?

WILLIAMS: She's in the military, yes.

QUESTION: What are your impressions, when you see his face on TV being held captive? What are your impressions of his health? And how does he look to you?

WILLIAMS: Well, he seemed to be in good spirits. And, you know, I'm sure he doesn't like being there. But I'm sure, you know, the situation, he'll make the best of it. QUESTION: He didn't appear injured to you?

WILLIAMS: No, no.

QUESTION: What kind of assurances, if any, has the military given to you about what they will do to (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

WILLIAMS: It's an on going process. You know, it's all negotiations and so that's it.

QUESTION: Will you be getting updates from his wife? Or I know that there was a military representative here. How will that work?

WILLIAMS: Well I'll be getting updates from his wife since she is the first in line, so and then naturally she'll call me.

QUESTION: If you could speak to his captors, what would you say? Do you have any message for anybody who's holding your son at the moment?

WILLIAMS: No, because I'm not sure who's holding him, so I can't make a comment on that.

QUESTION: Sire, did you have any misgivings about your son choosing this particular career?

WILLIAMS: No.

QUESTION: What is your hope for how he's treated with regard to all we've heard about?

WILLIAMS: Well, whoever is holding him, I just hope that they follow the laws of the war.

QUESTION: Is it hard now, I mean obviously not knowing what's going to happen, not knowing what's going to come next or what information you'll receive next?

WILLIAMS: Well, it's very difficult. But it's something that I know that I have enough support, through friends and family and through God. I said, for support, that I'll be able to make it along with our families.

QUESTION: What are your fears as the troops move closer to Baghdad? Is there any worry on your part now that your son is (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

WILLIAMS: I'm sure he will be kept safe because the world knows that they have him and - if that's where he's at.

QUESTION: David, have you talked to his sister?

WILLIAMS: His sister? Yes.

QUESTION: What did she have to say about this?

WILLIAMS: She's upset, but - oh, I want to clarify that. She does not live in Orlando. OK?

QUESTION: Sir, do you live in Orlando? Where do you live?

WILLIAMS: I'm not saying. OK?

QUESTION: In the area?

WILLIAMS: I live in the area.

QUESTION: In central Florida?

WILLIAMS: Right.

QUESTION: Can you comment on who, which family members are here besides you? Are you the one that's here or are there other family members?

WILLIAMS: Well, my parents are here.

QUESTION: It's just the three of you that live in this area?

WILLIAMS: Yes, right.

QUESTION: Do you have any photographs of him?

WILLIAMS: I am, but I'm not going to show any right now. I'm not going to show any photographs right now. I hope you understand.

QUESTION: How many years was he living here? How many years was he here, living here?

WILLIAMS: Approximately two years.

QUESTION: About two years?

QUESTION: If you could send a message to President bush, what would it be?

WILLIAMS: I'm sure that he and his cabinet are doing all that they can to negotiate the safe return for all the POWs.

QUESTION: Could you talk a little bit about - I mean, is he a (UNINTELLIGIBLE)? How would you describe and how anxious was he to get over there and fly an Apache Helicopter?

WILLIAMS: Well, he is the type of individual that he will do what's asked of him.

QUESTION: What are some of his hobbies? Did he play sports in high school or college?

WILLIAMS: He played football. He played football because he was a little short, so he didn't play - in Chesapeake, Virginia.

QUESTION: Could you talk about his personality a little bit? What's he like? Is he funny? Is he outgoing? What's his... WILLIAMS: I would say he's more on the quiet side. He likes to observe.

QUESTION: What were his thoughts when you talked to him before he left about going to war?

WILLIAMS: Well, being's that if that's what is called for, then he was prepared for it.

QUESTION: So was he a little nervous going?

WILLIAMS: Well I'm sure everybody would be nervous. I don't know of any individual on earth that wouldn't be nervous going to war. I mean war is uncertain.

QUESTION: Can you tell us how he met his wife and how long they've been married.

WILLIAMS: He met her in military flight school.

QUESTION: Is she a pilot also?

WILLIAMS: No comment.

QUESTION: She in the military as well? Oh, you can't comments on that.

WILLIAMS: We can't comment.

QUESTION: How is she doing?

WILLIAMS: She is doing, considering the situation, doing just fine.

QUESTION: Can you talk about his relationship with his children? You said he has two small children at home? Was he very, very close? Is that a concern?

WILLIAMS: Very close with his children. They're the eyes of him.

QUESTION: Where was his flight school?

WILLIAMS: Fort Rucker, Alabama. And that's all I can give you.

QUESTION: And that was right after he (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

WILLIAMS: I cannot comment.

QUESTION: Can you talk about when - when did you first show interest in the military? Was it right out of high school?

WILLIAMS: Right after - you know, he went into the Reserves right after high school.

QUESTION: So he started that way? WILLIAMS: Right.

QUESTION: Sir, what was your reaction when you saw the first bit of video from Iraqi television?

WILLIAMS: Like I said earlier, I was kind of relieved because that was my first knowledge that he was alive, because up until that point, he had been listed as MIA.

QUESTION: What was your reaction when you saw the jubilation around his downed helicopter? Did it make you mad?

WILLIAMS: No. I mean, it upset me, but I also understand. They had to be - you know - you know, I'm not going to comment on that.

QUESTION: How do you think the war is going so far?

WILLIAMS: That is not my expertise, so I can't comment.

QUESTION: Can you talk about your relationship with your son? Have you guys been real close over the years?

WILLIAMS: Very close. You've got about two more minutes and that's it. OK?

QUESTION: Is it difficult now waiting for the next bit of information? I mean, obviously, you have to be hoping for the best.

WILLIAMS: Correct.

QUESTION: But is it like you're going to be sitting by the phone? Or I mean how do you think your next few days are going to go?

WILLIAMS: No. No, I'm going to stay in a normal routine. I'm going to do what I normally do because dwelling on it is not going to help it. You know, it's out of my hands. It's in the hands of god, and God will make that decision, no one else.

QUESTION: Do you take any meaning, whatsoever, out of the fact that all 23 POWs in the first Gulf War were returned home to their families?

WILLIAMS: It's very encouraging. And that's what I'm hoping is the same here, that all seven, at this point, that I know of, will return. OK?

QUESTION: Is there anything you'd like to add at this point?

WILLIAMS: No, that's it. Just hopefully next time we meet, we're celebrating the war is over and my son's home safe. OK? Thank you.

QUESTION: Thank you very much for your patience. We appreciate it.

ZAHN: That, of course, will be a moment we will all celebrate a very calm and soft spoken father of American POW David Williams. That was David Williams Sr. telling us the last contact he had with his son was back in mid-February.

He talks, for the first time, about seeing pictures of his captive son. He said, based on the snippets of the video he had seen, he seemed to be in pretty good spirits.

He described the close relationships his son has with his two young children, Madison (ph), 5 months, Jason (ph), 2 years old. He said his son's wife is also involved in the military, but didn't say much more about that, and that's quite appropriate.

He didn't have any specific message for captors because he said he wasn't too sure who was holding his son at this hour.

And we are told that the International Red Cross now has made contact with the Iraqis. They've offered some kind of a proposal that would allow for the Red Cross to go and visit the American POWs. They've made the same kind of offer to coalition forces. They'd also like to have access to Iraqi prisoners. No confirmation yet on what the response of either side will be on that one.

Right now, we're going to bring in one of our embedded reporters. CNN's Ryan Chilcote is with the 101st Airborne Division in the Iraqi desert. He joins us now.

Ryan, I know there has been a great deal of concern about the American POWs that have been taken. What kind of impact has that had or has the news really surfaced where you are?

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good question. I think the reaction has been twofold. One, the troops are really sort of - have been surprised to hear about it and have expressed, I guess, grief that that happened.

Two, they've - I think it's hardened a lot of them. A lot of them have said, look, if they're going to take POWs and they're going to treat them like these POWs have been treated, then when I'm in a situation battle and I'm about to go down and be taken POW, I'm not going to let that happen. I'm going to go out with a bang.

So it's really hardened, I think, some of the soldiers and given other soldiers sort of pause to think, Paula.

ZAHN: Tell us what you've been up against weather-wise. We have heard reports from some of our embeds of winds gusting 100 miles an hour during this sandstorm. How bad is it where you are?

CHILCOTE: Oh, its bad. I wish I could be speaking with you via our television satellite right now, but we had to pack that up for fear that it would be completely destroyed.

I'm with the 101st Airborne, and what they do is they specialize in air assault, meaning moving troops to the battlefield via helicopter. And also, they have those Apache attack helicopters, much like you just heard that David Williams was flying. And basically, all of those helicopters have been grounded because of this dust storm. In fact, not only have all of the helicopters been grounded, but some of the helicopters that were already out on missions - and this has now been going on for two days - they had to come down wherever they were inside Iraq when the sandstorm kicked up.

It came up so quickly and so fiercely that the pilots had to come down, even in unsecured locations. So troops have actually gone out, over the last couple of days - the Quick Reaction Forces, it's called - to go and secure helicopters that have had to go down and basically land wherever they could, to make sure that they didn't crash in that dust storm.

So it has had a major impact on the 101st Airborne's ability to launch offensive operations, Paula.

ZAHN: Give us an idea just how bad it is. We know the sun has gone down now and it's dark anyway. But at one point, Walt Rodgers was saying, from where he was, that even in the afternoon, 4:00 in the afternoon, when he took a flashlight out, he couldn't see much further than 40 feet beyond where he was standing.

CHILCOTE: Yes. Real quickly, what happened was I went into a briefing at about 3:00. The weather was - you know, a lot of times, it's just pretty dusty here all of the time. It goes from pretty darn dusty to extremely dusty, like it is right now. And the cloud was this gray sort of soupy gray blah, you know.

And I went into this briefing, came out and the sky was the darkest orange you could possibly imagine, and one of the troops came up to me, one of the soldiers came up and said wow, this is eerie. This is the calm before the storm.

Well, indeed it was. Within 15 minutes that we had 50 mile per hour - I thought they were about 50 mile per hour winds. We were packing everything up, and they were promising really bad rain.

Well, the sandstorm came, and we tried to walk from one point of the camp to another. And I don't know about 40 feet - I don't think I could see 15 feet in front of me.

We actually stopped and tried to head back to where we were to just basically to hunker down and make sure, because if you move in those kind of conditions where you can't see anything, you're likely to get hit by a soldier driving a Humvee. It's really dangerous to move.

The commander of the 187th Infantry Regiment that I'm embedded with, the rocket (UNINTELLIGIBLE), he was telling me he couldn't find his vehicle last night. It's so bad that you just basically can't walk around unless you have a GPS system, basically a sophisticated compass.

It's just - it's unbelievable. I mean, you know, we have this expression, I couldn't see 10 feet - well, you know, we couldn't see 10 feet. And in those conditions, I think what's important for people to realize is every man becomes - or every soldier becomes an island. They can't see beyond their own little world, so it doesn't matter what military might you might have around you, what other soldiers. It's all down to you because you have no idea where anybody else is. And that's the problem, really, facing the U.S. military right now.

I know there's been a lot of talk from the Pentagon about how this weather isn't slowing things down. Well, I have a hard time believing that because, right now - and like I said, the 101st, it really, in terms of its offensive operations with its helicopters, it can't do anything.

And defensively - and this is also important - it hurts them, too, because basically, you know, the threat so far on the ground has been these Iraqi militia forces, groups of three to 15, if you will, Iraqi soldiers armed with nothing more than RPGs.

Well, those guys can now move around pretty freely with this cover of this, you know, that gray soup I was talking about, without the threat of getting blown away by some of these Apache Attack Helicopters.

Under normal conditions, if it was clear out, those Apache Attack Helicopters and Kiowa Warrior Helicopters would be out there, and anybody walking around that those pilots didn't recognize would be toast, because this is - I mean, make no mistake, this is like being on the moon. It is so desolate here that if it's clear, you can see people hundreds of yards away. And there's nowhere to hide; there's no cover.

So that's what's really going on here on the ground. It's like blackout conditions. You know, and like I guess Walter was saying, it got unbelievably dark, and, you know, you just couldn't see a darn thing.

ZAHN: Well, we wish you the best of luck. We do know that there was some confirmation from the Pentagon that this obviously has had some impact on the air support missions.

Keep those goggles on, Ryan. It sounds like you're going to need them. We are told that the storm is expected to last at least another 14 hours.

In the middle of that live shot, you saw a live picture out of Baghdad. And that was just to give you an idea of how the winds are blowing there, not as fiercely as they are as where Ryan Chilcote is, but this gives you an idea, from our camera position, of how windy it actually is.

We had mentioned to you that there was breaking news out of Saudi Arabia just about an hour ago. Saudi Arabia apparently has presented a peace plan, not only to Iraq, but the United States, as well.

Let's go to Andrea Koppel, who's standing by with reaction to that.

Andrea, what have you learned? Good afternoon.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, good afternoon, Paula. It does seem to be that the message is a bit garbled. I can tell you that I've spoken to a Saudi diplomat here in Washington who said that this really isn't a peace plan, but rather it is a call by Saudi Arabia, by the kingdom, to Saddam Hussein to save the Iraqi people more suffering and to leave the country.

Certainly nobody expects, at this stage of the game, that the U.S. is going to withdraw its troops or coalition forces. And we know that two days ago, Secretary of State Powell did speak with both the Saudi foreign minister and with the Egyptian foreign minister. This was ahead of the Arab league meeting that is taking place right now in Cairo. And he appealed to both of these ministers to use their influence, both within the Arab league, but also within Baghdad, to try to get Saddam Hussein and his inner circle to leave.

This is yet another call by the Saudis now, publicly calling for Saddam Hussein to leave the country. As you know, Paula, a lot of people in the Arab world are extremely nervous. Both governments nervous that the Arab Street will rise up, but also nervous to just how this war is going to play out and whether or not there will be lots of pictures of suffering Iraqi women, children and others.

And so it's not unusual to hear this kind of a call coming from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Saddam Hussein to leave. It's difficult to interpret what's being said in Riyadh right now. I can tell you that the Saudi officials that I had spoken with say that this really isn't a peace plan, per se, the kind that they were talking about weeks ago, in which they wanted the U.S. to offer Saddam some kind of amnesty in order for him to leave. That is not my understanding of what the situation is, Paula.

ZAHN: All right. As soon as you get more details, we'd love to have you come back and join us. Thanks so much - Andrea Koppel reporting from the State Department.

Back to my buddy, Bill Hemmer. Bill, a quick question about the weather. We've heard so much about the sandstorms. Walt Rodgers, I think, gave me the best description yet. He said it's like a blizzard. But the only thing good about a blizzard is the snow melts. That not happening with the sand. It keeps coming after them. Are you getting any of that now?

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: I'll tell you what, Paula, I think, so far, based on this storm and what we heard and what the forecast was two days ago, I think we've pretty much dodged it. I don't want to speak too early, certainly. And we're told that conditions are going to stay the way they are, at least to the midday point of tomorrow, which is Wednesday.

But so far here in Kuwait City, we had some rain earlier, some darkened skies, and there was a breeze outside, but it's more pleasant than annoying. And it's certainly not nearly as intense as the weather that Ryan is describing right now, and also Walt Rodgers, based on the pictures we're getting. In the meantime, though, we talked about the weather, the impact on flying. Gary Tuchman is embedded with the U.S. Air Force somewhere around the Kuwaiti-Iraqi border. And Gary now joins us with and update from his position and what's happening, not only on the weather, but also the missions to the north of him.

Gary, hello.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill. We can tell you the weather is very bad here. There has been a big decrease in the number of sorties over Iraq. And that's not because of any war plan. It is because of mother nature.

We are, right now, in the middle of a thunderstorm. The lightning has been striking regularly. The winds have been gusting up to 50 miles per hour, and the rain has been coming down very hard. So we're seeing a big decrease in the number of sorties.

The Air Force is telling us they're estimating 1,400 warplanes will fly into Iraq over the next 24 hours. That's down hundreds from the day before, and it's all because of the weather.

The fear is is that the weather could possibly be riskier than Iraq's paltry air defenses. At this particular base we're at right now near the Iraqi border, there have been 1,120 sorties over the last four days.

This is an amazing fact, at least I think you might find it amazing. Officials here are telling us that 80 percent of those flights, an estimated 80 percent, the pilots report they've had surface-to-air missiles or anti-aircraft artillery fired at them. Of course, none has hit.

I asked the operations commander at this base if they are lucky that none has hit. And his quote to me was this: He said lady luck is always a partner in the cockpit.

We are being told that Iraq has at least 300 fighter planes still in its inventory in the country. The Air Force believes not one of those planes has taken to the skies during the length of this war.

There used to be a northern flight zone, a southern flight zone. Now they say the entire nation of Iraq is a no-flight zone to the government of Saddam Hussein.

We are being told that there are more than 2,000 aircraft in the coalition inventory, Navy, Marines, Air Force, that have been participating in the strikes on the nation of Iraq.

One other thing that we want to mention to you, as the rain starts coming down even heavier - I have to tell you, if I didn't see all these airplanes that we see here and all the bombs and missiles, I might think we're out covering a hurricane right now because this is what it feels like when we covering hurricanes for CNN and the weather starts deteriorating. But one more thing we want to tell you, there was a siren again here at this base a few hours ago. It was a missile alert. People got their gas masks on, went into their bunkers. And, indeed, it's been confirmed that an Iraqi missile was fired, shot down by a Patriot Missile Battery in Kuwait.

Bill, back to you.

HEMMER: All right, Gary, thanks. And clearly, Gary's description shows you the contrast of the difference in being in the city and urban environment during weather conditions like these and being out in the desert, when that sand can kick up in an instant, as many of our reporters have described.

More difficulties on this from the military standpoint, Renay San Miguel is standing by at the CNN Center, checking in once again with a military analyst.

Renay, good morning, and good evening from Kuwait City.

RENAY SAN MIGUEL: And thank you very much, Bill. Yes, we're going to get a reaction here from our military analyst, retired Army General David Grange, to some breaking news, and also talk about the kind of tactics that are being used, different maybe than what some folks in our audience might have expected with the Iraq situation.

But first, this F-16 firing on a Patriot Missile Battery about 30 miles south of Najaf, you know, considering all that is going on, that is being thrown into this country, are you surprised something like this might happen?

GEN. DAVID GRANGE, U.S. ARMY (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: No. I mean there's going to be some fratricide issues. Luckily, nothing was destroyed. It may have been, obviously, a mistaken identity, and they may have pulled up at the last minute and that's why the missiles did not hit the battery.

SAN MIGUEL: A lot of different radars maybe going off and being sent back and forth at the same time?

GRANGE: A busy sky.

SAN MIGUEL: A very busy sky. Speaking of busy skies, at the Central command briefing about two hours ago, U.S. officials showed a video of a parachute assault that happened overnight. And this would be a good time to get into what we've been talking about here, the idea of maneuver warfare versus what you might be expecting, attrition warfare. Talk a little bit about that.

GRANGE: Yes. What you're just seeing is forces that have moved out of the Kuwait area, like the 3rd Infantry Division...

SAN MIGUEL: Yes.

GRANGE: They've done basically a wider sweep up towards Najaf and Karbala area. At the same time, you're seeing the airborne operations somewhere in Iraq, again a maneuver type maneuver, vertical envelopment somewhere maybe behind defenses of the Iraqi army.

SAN MIGUEL: Let's try to bring this to broaden out the entire country here, in terms of the operation. Let's show the map table that we're at right now and talk a little about this, because the viewers may have heard a few days ago, the coalition has Nasiriya, the coalition has Basra. And then having heard, you know, recently, there still are some battles to be mopped up in those cities.

So what we've been looking at here is kind of a sweep on the part of some of the coalition forces. What are we talking about here? It's not a trench-by-trench, battle-by-battle situation, is it?

GRANGE: They're not clearing every square foot of ground, trench-by-trench, fox hole-by-fox hole, but outmaneuvering forces and then containing other critical areas to be mopped up later.

SAN MIGUEL: OK. Well, we'll talk more about that this later. General Grange, thanks for your time. Bill, back on over to you.

HEMMER: All right. Renay, thank you very much.

Coming up on the top of the hour right now, quickly out to Kyra Phillips, yet again aboard the USS Lincoln. We had to cut her off last time.

Kyra, promise we won't do it this time. At least we'll try not to anyway. Good evening again.

All right, maybe I spoke too soon. Kyra, we're going to try it yet again here. Are you there?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Can you hear me OK, bill?

HEMMER: Sure can. Go ahead.

PHILLIPS: All right, terrific. We're live aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. Right now, it's quiet, luckily - knock on wood - here on the flight deck right now. Flight operations continuing through the day and through the night.

A big focus on the troops right now, Bill. Strike fighter pilots extremely concerned about the troops on the ground in Iraq, about their safety. So the type of missions that have increased around here are the CAS missions, control air support. And it's happening through the day and through the night, and the purpose is to be able to be in touch with the troops, find out what the threats are, and hopefully be able to de-escalate that threat.

Lieutenant Commander Scott Snow has been conducting those CAS missions since this morning. I'm going to bring him in and have him talk about that.

Let's talk about the CAS missions and the importance of them right now, specifically because of the POW situation that's happened.

LT. COM. SCOTT SNOW, USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN: Well, with the CAS missions, we are there to protect the ground troops. We are their eyes and their weapons up in the air to take care of any enemy threats that are out nearby that could cause them any harm and/or take any prisoners at that time.

PHILLIPS: And I've got to ask you, when the POW situation happened, how did it affect you personally? How did it affect the other strike fighters here on the ship? And how has it impacted the mission, specifically the CAS missions right now that are taking place?

SNOW: Well, I think it strengthened the resolve of every fighting man and woman in the United States military. They tried to exploit the POWs and put them on TV and show us pictures of dead Marines in the roadway and soldiers. That really strengthens our resolve to get rid of Saddam Hussein and crush the rest of his regime.

PHILLIPS: Lieutenant Commander Scott Snow, thank you very much.

So, Bill, those types of missions continuing here on the USS Abraham Lincoln. They're not going to stop. We will probably see more of those types of missions taking place, big focus on those ground troops and protecting those ground troops and trying to prevent another POW situation.

The weather also a very tough thing for pilots right now. You've seen the sandstorms taking place in Iraq. Here, right now behind me - I don't know if you can see it - we have a lot of lightning, a lot of rain, pilots having to deal with the weather, but still continuing the missions without fail - Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Kyra, thanks - Kyra Phillips' video phone aboard the USS Lincoln. Quite interesting to note, not only from the U.S. perspective, also the British perspective, how the military strategy is changing.

We were told at the outset, Tommy Franks said this was a plan that had maximum flexibility. And it appears, right now, that that flexibility is still being worked into the strategy in Iraq.

It is almost 8:00 here in Kuwait. That means it's almost 8:00 in Baghdad, Noon on the East Coast. And, Paula, with that, I will say adieu to you. I'll see you again on Wednesday, tomorrow. Wolf's going to step in next here, in a matter of seconds - Paula.

ZAHN: The good news for you, Bill, my colleague, is that when you're on the road, you don't have to endure those 3:30 wake-up calls anymore. You're on a more routine schedule over there.

HEMMER: It's so true, so true. That's the one good thing, I'll tell.

ZAHN: I look forward to seeing you at the beginning of the day tomorrow. Take care. Thanks, Bill.

HEMMER: Sure. Thanks. Bye-bye.

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Aired March 25, 2003 - 11:31   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Here is the father of POW David Williams. We'll listen to what he has to say.
DAVID WILLIAMS SR., FATHER OF POW: ... thinking he might be, but he wasn't sure. But I'm very positive, very upbeat.

QUESTION: Have you spoken with his wife today?

WILLIAMS: Not today.

QUESTION: Do you know, how is she holding up? And what have you said to her? What has she said to you? (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

WILLIAMS: Well, you know, we've let each other know that we're there for each other and that our thoughts and prayers go out for each other, that support. And we know that God is on our side and that He will look after my son and her husband.

QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) he have - you said two children?

WILLIAMS: Yes.

QUESTION: Can you tell us their names and ages?

WILLIAMS: He has a little girl. Her name is Madison (ph). She's 5 months. And son Jason (ph) is 2 years.

QUESTION: When was the last time you talked to him or had any sort of correspondence with him?

WILLIAMS: I haven't had any since he left.

QUESTION: When was that?

WILLIAMS: That was mid-February.

QUESTION: And is his wife in the military as well?

WILLIAMS: She's in the military, yes.

QUESTION: What are your impressions, when you see his face on TV being held captive? What are your impressions of his health? And how does he look to you?

WILLIAMS: Well, he seemed to be in good spirits. And, you know, I'm sure he doesn't like being there. But I'm sure, you know, the situation, he'll make the best of it. QUESTION: He didn't appear injured to you?

WILLIAMS: No, no.

QUESTION: What kind of assurances, if any, has the military given to you about what they will do to (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

WILLIAMS: It's an on going process. You know, it's all negotiations and so that's it.

QUESTION: Will you be getting updates from his wife? Or I know that there was a military representative here. How will that work?

WILLIAMS: Well I'll be getting updates from his wife since she is the first in line, so and then naturally she'll call me.

QUESTION: If you could speak to his captors, what would you say? Do you have any message for anybody who's holding your son at the moment?

WILLIAMS: No, because I'm not sure who's holding him, so I can't make a comment on that.

QUESTION: Sire, did you have any misgivings about your son choosing this particular career?

WILLIAMS: No.

QUESTION: What is your hope for how he's treated with regard to all we've heard about?

WILLIAMS: Well, whoever is holding him, I just hope that they follow the laws of the war.

QUESTION: Is it hard now, I mean obviously not knowing what's going to happen, not knowing what's going to come next or what information you'll receive next?

WILLIAMS: Well, it's very difficult. But it's something that I know that I have enough support, through friends and family and through God. I said, for support, that I'll be able to make it along with our families.

QUESTION: What are your fears as the troops move closer to Baghdad? Is there any worry on your part now that your son is (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

WILLIAMS: I'm sure he will be kept safe because the world knows that they have him and - if that's where he's at.

QUESTION: David, have you talked to his sister?

WILLIAMS: His sister? Yes.

QUESTION: What did she have to say about this?

WILLIAMS: She's upset, but - oh, I want to clarify that. She does not live in Orlando. OK?

QUESTION: Sir, do you live in Orlando? Where do you live?

WILLIAMS: I'm not saying. OK?

QUESTION: In the area?

WILLIAMS: I live in the area.

QUESTION: In central Florida?

WILLIAMS: Right.

QUESTION: Can you comment on who, which family members are here besides you? Are you the one that's here or are there other family members?

WILLIAMS: Well, my parents are here.

QUESTION: It's just the three of you that live in this area?

WILLIAMS: Yes, right.

QUESTION: Do you have any photographs of him?

WILLIAMS: I am, but I'm not going to show any right now. I'm not going to show any photographs right now. I hope you understand.

QUESTION: How many years was he living here? How many years was he here, living here?

WILLIAMS: Approximately two years.

QUESTION: About two years?

QUESTION: If you could send a message to President bush, what would it be?

WILLIAMS: I'm sure that he and his cabinet are doing all that they can to negotiate the safe return for all the POWs.

QUESTION: Could you talk a little bit about - I mean, is he a (UNINTELLIGIBLE)? How would you describe and how anxious was he to get over there and fly an Apache Helicopter?

WILLIAMS: Well, he is the type of individual that he will do what's asked of him.

QUESTION: What are some of his hobbies? Did he play sports in high school or college?

WILLIAMS: He played football. He played football because he was a little short, so he didn't play - in Chesapeake, Virginia.

QUESTION: Could you talk about his personality a little bit? What's he like? Is he funny? Is he outgoing? What's his... WILLIAMS: I would say he's more on the quiet side. He likes to observe.

QUESTION: What were his thoughts when you talked to him before he left about going to war?

WILLIAMS: Well, being's that if that's what is called for, then he was prepared for it.

QUESTION: So was he a little nervous going?

WILLIAMS: Well I'm sure everybody would be nervous. I don't know of any individual on earth that wouldn't be nervous going to war. I mean war is uncertain.

QUESTION: Can you tell us how he met his wife and how long they've been married.

WILLIAMS: He met her in military flight school.

QUESTION: Is she a pilot also?

WILLIAMS: No comment.

QUESTION: She in the military as well? Oh, you can't comments on that.

WILLIAMS: We can't comment.

QUESTION: How is she doing?

WILLIAMS: She is doing, considering the situation, doing just fine.

QUESTION: Can you talk about his relationship with his children? You said he has two small children at home? Was he very, very close? Is that a concern?

WILLIAMS: Very close with his children. They're the eyes of him.

QUESTION: Where was his flight school?

WILLIAMS: Fort Rucker, Alabama. And that's all I can give you.

QUESTION: And that was right after he (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

WILLIAMS: I cannot comment.

QUESTION: Can you talk about when - when did you first show interest in the military? Was it right out of high school?

WILLIAMS: Right after - you know, he went into the Reserves right after high school.

QUESTION: So he started that way? WILLIAMS: Right.

QUESTION: Sir, what was your reaction when you saw the first bit of video from Iraqi television?

WILLIAMS: Like I said earlier, I was kind of relieved because that was my first knowledge that he was alive, because up until that point, he had been listed as MIA.

QUESTION: What was your reaction when you saw the jubilation around his downed helicopter? Did it make you mad?

WILLIAMS: No. I mean, it upset me, but I also understand. They had to be - you know - you know, I'm not going to comment on that.

QUESTION: How do you think the war is going so far?

WILLIAMS: That is not my expertise, so I can't comment.

QUESTION: Can you talk about your relationship with your son? Have you guys been real close over the years?

WILLIAMS: Very close. You've got about two more minutes and that's it. OK?

QUESTION: Is it difficult now waiting for the next bit of information? I mean, obviously, you have to be hoping for the best.

WILLIAMS: Correct.

QUESTION: But is it like you're going to be sitting by the phone? Or I mean how do you think your next few days are going to go?

WILLIAMS: No. No, I'm going to stay in a normal routine. I'm going to do what I normally do because dwelling on it is not going to help it. You know, it's out of my hands. It's in the hands of god, and God will make that decision, no one else.

QUESTION: Do you take any meaning, whatsoever, out of the fact that all 23 POWs in the first Gulf War were returned home to their families?

WILLIAMS: It's very encouraging. And that's what I'm hoping is the same here, that all seven, at this point, that I know of, will return. OK?

QUESTION: Is there anything you'd like to add at this point?

WILLIAMS: No, that's it. Just hopefully next time we meet, we're celebrating the war is over and my son's home safe. OK? Thank you.

QUESTION: Thank you very much for your patience. We appreciate it.

ZAHN: That, of course, will be a moment we will all celebrate a very calm and soft spoken father of American POW David Williams. That was David Williams Sr. telling us the last contact he had with his son was back in mid-February.

He talks, for the first time, about seeing pictures of his captive son. He said, based on the snippets of the video he had seen, he seemed to be in pretty good spirits.

He described the close relationships his son has with his two young children, Madison (ph), 5 months, Jason (ph), 2 years old. He said his son's wife is also involved in the military, but didn't say much more about that, and that's quite appropriate.

He didn't have any specific message for captors because he said he wasn't too sure who was holding his son at this hour.

And we are told that the International Red Cross now has made contact with the Iraqis. They've offered some kind of a proposal that would allow for the Red Cross to go and visit the American POWs. They've made the same kind of offer to coalition forces. They'd also like to have access to Iraqi prisoners. No confirmation yet on what the response of either side will be on that one.

Right now, we're going to bring in one of our embedded reporters. CNN's Ryan Chilcote is with the 101st Airborne Division in the Iraqi desert. He joins us now.

Ryan, I know there has been a great deal of concern about the American POWs that have been taken. What kind of impact has that had or has the news really surfaced where you are?

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good question. I think the reaction has been twofold. One, the troops are really sort of - have been surprised to hear about it and have expressed, I guess, grief that that happened.

Two, they've - I think it's hardened a lot of them. A lot of them have said, look, if they're going to take POWs and they're going to treat them like these POWs have been treated, then when I'm in a situation battle and I'm about to go down and be taken POW, I'm not going to let that happen. I'm going to go out with a bang.

So it's really hardened, I think, some of the soldiers and given other soldiers sort of pause to think, Paula.

ZAHN: Tell us what you've been up against weather-wise. We have heard reports from some of our embeds of winds gusting 100 miles an hour during this sandstorm. How bad is it where you are?

CHILCOTE: Oh, its bad. I wish I could be speaking with you via our television satellite right now, but we had to pack that up for fear that it would be completely destroyed.

I'm with the 101st Airborne, and what they do is they specialize in air assault, meaning moving troops to the battlefield via helicopter. And also, they have those Apache attack helicopters, much like you just heard that David Williams was flying. And basically, all of those helicopters have been grounded because of this dust storm. In fact, not only have all of the helicopters been grounded, but some of the helicopters that were already out on missions - and this has now been going on for two days - they had to come down wherever they were inside Iraq when the sandstorm kicked up.

It came up so quickly and so fiercely that the pilots had to come down, even in unsecured locations. So troops have actually gone out, over the last couple of days - the Quick Reaction Forces, it's called - to go and secure helicopters that have had to go down and basically land wherever they could, to make sure that they didn't crash in that dust storm.

So it has had a major impact on the 101st Airborne's ability to launch offensive operations, Paula.

ZAHN: Give us an idea just how bad it is. We know the sun has gone down now and it's dark anyway. But at one point, Walt Rodgers was saying, from where he was, that even in the afternoon, 4:00 in the afternoon, when he took a flashlight out, he couldn't see much further than 40 feet beyond where he was standing.

CHILCOTE: Yes. Real quickly, what happened was I went into a briefing at about 3:00. The weather was - you know, a lot of times, it's just pretty dusty here all of the time. It goes from pretty darn dusty to extremely dusty, like it is right now. And the cloud was this gray sort of soupy gray blah, you know.

And I went into this briefing, came out and the sky was the darkest orange you could possibly imagine, and one of the troops came up to me, one of the soldiers came up and said wow, this is eerie. This is the calm before the storm.

Well, indeed it was. Within 15 minutes that we had 50 mile per hour - I thought they were about 50 mile per hour winds. We were packing everything up, and they were promising really bad rain.

Well, the sandstorm came, and we tried to walk from one point of the camp to another. And I don't know about 40 feet - I don't think I could see 15 feet in front of me.

We actually stopped and tried to head back to where we were to just basically to hunker down and make sure, because if you move in those kind of conditions where you can't see anything, you're likely to get hit by a soldier driving a Humvee. It's really dangerous to move.

The commander of the 187th Infantry Regiment that I'm embedded with, the rocket (UNINTELLIGIBLE), he was telling me he couldn't find his vehicle last night. It's so bad that you just basically can't walk around unless you have a GPS system, basically a sophisticated compass.

It's just - it's unbelievable. I mean, you know, we have this expression, I couldn't see 10 feet - well, you know, we couldn't see 10 feet. And in those conditions, I think what's important for people to realize is every man becomes - or every soldier becomes an island. They can't see beyond their own little world, so it doesn't matter what military might you might have around you, what other soldiers. It's all down to you because you have no idea where anybody else is. And that's the problem, really, facing the U.S. military right now.

I know there's been a lot of talk from the Pentagon about how this weather isn't slowing things down. Well, I have a hard time believing that because, right now - and like I said, the 101st, it really, in terms of its offensive operations with its helicopters, it can't do anything.

And defensively - and this is also important - it hurts them, too, because basically, you know, the threat so far on the ground has been these Iraqi militia forces, groups of three to 15, if you will, Iraqi soldiers armed with nothing more than RPGs.

Well, those guys can now move around pretty freely with this cover of this, you know, that gray soup I was talking about, without the threat of getting blown away by some of these Apache Attack Helicopters.

Under normal conditions, if it was clear out, those Apache Attack Helicopters and Kiowa Warrior Helicopters would be out there, and anybody walking around that those pilots didn't recognize would be toast, because this is - I mean, make no mistake, this is like being on the moon. It is so desolate here that if it's clear, you can see people hundreds of yards away. And there's nowhere to hide; there's no cover.

So that's what's really going on here on the ground. It's like blackout conditions. You know, and like I guess Walter was saying, it got unbelievably dark, and, you know, you just couldn't see a darn thing.

ZAHN: Well, we wish you the best of luck. We do know that there was some confirmation from the Pentagon that this obviously has had some impact on the air support missions.

Keep those goggles on, Ryan. It sounds like you're going to need them. We are told that the storm is expected to last at least another 14 hours.

In the middle of that live shot, you saw a live picture out of Baghdad. And that was just to give you an idea of how the winds are blowing there, not as fiercely as they are as where Ryan Chilcote is, but this gives you an idea, from our camera position, of how windy it actually is.

We had mentioned to you that there was breaking news out of Saudi Arabia just about an hour ago. Saudi Arabia apparently has presented a peace plan, not only to Iraq, but the United States, as well.

Let's go to Andrea Koppel, who's standing by with reaction to that.

Andrea, what have you learned? Good afternoon.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, good afternoon, Paula. It does seem to be that the message is a bit garbled. I can tell you that I've spoken to a Saudi diplomat here in Washington who said that this really isn't a peace plan, but rather it is a call by Saudi Arabia, by the kingdom, to Saddam Hussein to save the Iraqi people more suffering and to leave the country.

Certainly nobody expects, at this stage of the game, that the U.S. is going to withdraw its troops or coalition forces. And we know that two days ago, Secretary of State Powell did speak with both the Saudi foreign minister and with the Egyptian foreign minister. This was ahead of the Arab league meeting that is taking place right now in Cairo. And he appealed to both of these ministers to use their influence, both within the Arab league, but also within Baghdad, to try to get Saddam Hussein and his inner circle to leave.

This is yet another call by the Saudis now, publicly calling for Saddam Hussein to leave the country. As you know, Paula, a lot of people in the Arab world are extremely nervous. Both governments nervous that the Arab Street will rise up, but also nervous to just how this war is going to play out and whether or not there will be lots of pictures of suffering Iraqi women, children and others.

And so it's not unusual to hear this kind of a call coming from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Saddam Hussein to leave. It's difficult to interpret what's being said in Riyadh right now. I can tell you that the Saudi officials that I had spoken with say that this really isn't a peace plan, per se, the kind that they were talking about weeks ago, in which they wanted the U.S. to offer Saddam some kind of amnesty in order for him to leave. That is not my understanding of what the situation is, Paula.

ZAHN: All right. As soon as you get more details, we'd love to have you come back and join us. Thanks so much - Andrea Koppel reporting from the State Department.

Back to my buddy, Bill Hemmer. Bill, a quick question about the weather. We've heard so much about the sandstorms. Walt Rodgers, I think, gave me the best description yet. He said it's like a blizzard. But the only thing good about a blizzard is the snow melts. That not happening with the sand. It keeps coming after them. Are you getting any of that now?

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: I'll tell you what, Paula, I think, so far, based on this storm and what we heard and what the forecast was two days ago, I think we've pretty much dodged it. I don't want to speak too early, certainly. And we're told that conditions are going to stay the way they are, at least to the midday point of tomorrow, which is Wednesday.

But so far here in Kuwait City, we had some rain earlier, some darkened skies, and there was a breeze outside, but it's more pleasant than annoying. And it's certainly not nearly as intense as the weather that Ryan is describing right now, and also Walt Rodgers, based on the pictures we're getting. In the meantime, though, we talked about the weather, the impact on flying. Gary Tuchman is embedded with the U.S. Air Force somewhere around the Kuwaiti-Iraqi border. And Gary now joins us with and update from his position and what's happening, not only on the weather, but also the missions to the north of him.

Gary, hello.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill. We can tell you the weather is very bad here. There has been a big decrease in the number of sorties over Iraq. And that's not because of any war plan. It is because of mother nature.

We are, right now, in the middle of a thunderstorm. The lightning has been striking regularly. The winds have been gusting up to 50 miles per hour, and the rain has been coming down very hard. So we're seeing a big decrease in the number of sorties.

The Air Force is telling us they're estimating 1,400 warplanes will fly into Iraq over the next 24 hours. That's down hundreds from the day before, and it's all because of the weather.

The fear is is that the weather could possibly be riskier than Iraq's paltry air defenses. At this particular base we're at right now near the Iraqi border, there have been 1,120 sorties over the last four days.

This is an amazing fact, at least I think you might find it amazing. Officials here are telling us that 80 percent of those flights, an estimated 80 percent, the pilots report they've had surface-to-air missiles or anti-aircraft artillery fired at them. Of course, none has hit.

I asked the operations commander at this base if they are lucky that none has hit. And his quote to me was this: He said lady luck is always a partner in the cockpit.

We are being told that Iraq has at least 300 fighter planes still in its inventory in the country. The Air Force believes not one of those planes has taken to the skies during the length of this war.

There used to be a northern flight zone, a southern flight zone. Now they say the entire nation of Iraq is a no-flight zone to the government of Saddam Hussein.

We are being told that there are more than 2,000 aircraft in the coalition inventory, Navy, Marines, Air Force, that have been participating in the strikes on the nation of Iraq.

One other thing that we want to mention to you, as the rain starts coming down even heavier - I have to tell you, if I didn't see all these airplanes that we see here and all the bombs and missiles, I might think we're out covering a hurricane right now because this is what it feels like when we covering hurricanes for CNN and the weather starts deteriorating. But one more thing we want to tell you, there was a siren again here at this base a few hours ago. It was a missile alert. People got their gas masks on, went into their bunkers. And, indeed, it's been confirmed that an Iraqi missile was fired, shot down by a Patriot Missile Battery in Kuwait.

Bill, back to you.

HEMMER: All right, Gary, thanks. And clearly, Gary's description shows you the contrast of the difference in being in the city and urban environment during weather conditions like these and being out in the desert, when that sand can kick up in an instant, as many of our reporters have described.

More difficulties on this from the military standpoint, Renay San Miguel is standing by at the CNN Center, checking in once again with a military analyst.

Renay, good morning, and good evening from Kuwait City.

RENAY SAN MIGUEL: And thank you very much, Bill. Yes, we're going to get a reaction here from our military analyst, retired Army General David Grange, to some breaking news, and also talk about the kind of tactics that are being used, different maybe than what some folks in our audience might have expected with the Iraq situation.

But first, this F-16 firing on a Patriot Missile Battery about 30 miles south of Najaf, you know, considering all that is going on, that is being thrown into this country, are you surprised something like this might happen?

GEN. DAVID GRANGE, U.S. ARMY (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: No. I mean there's going to be some fratricide issues. Luckily, nothing was destroyed. It may have been, obviously, a mistaken identity, and they may have pulled up at the last minute and that's why the missiles did not hit the battery.

SAN MIGUEL: A lot of different radars maybe going off and being sent back and forth at the same time?

GRANGE: A busy sky.

SAN MIGUEL: A very busy sky. Speaking of busy skies, at the Central command briefing about two hours ago, U.S. officials showed a video of a parachute assault that happened overnight. And this would be a good time to get into what we've been talking about here, the idea of maneuver warfare versus what you might be expecting, attrition warfare. Talk a little bit about that.

GRANGE: Yes. What you're just seeing is forces that have moved out of the Kuwait area, like the 3rd Infantry Division...

SAN MIGUEL: Yes.

GRANGE: They've done basically a wider sweep up towards Najaf and Karbala area. At the same time, you're seeing the airborne operations somewhere in Iraq, again a maneuver type maneuver, vertical envelopment somewhere maybe behind defenses of the Iraqi army.

SAN MIGUEL: Let's try to bring this to broaden out the entire country here, in terms of the operation. Let's show the map table that we're at right now and talk a little about this, because the viewers may have heard a few days ago, the coalition has Nasiriya, the coalition has Basra. And then having heard, you know, recently, there still are some battles to be mopped up in those cities.

So what we've been looking at here is kind of a sweep on the part of some of the coalition forces. What are we talking about here? It's not a trench-by-trench, battle-by-battle situation, is it?

GRANGE: They're not clearing every square foot of ground, trench-by-trench, fox hole-by-fox hole, but outmaneuvering forces and then containing other critical areas to be mopped up later.

SAN MIGUEL: OK. Well, we'll talk more about that this later. General Grange, thanks for your time. Bill, back on over to you.

HEMMER: All right. Renay, thank you very much.

Coming up on the top of the hour right now, quickly out to Kyra Phillips, yet again aboard the USS Lincoln. We had to cut her off last time.

Kyra, promise we won't do it this time. At least we'll try not to anyway. Good evening again.

All right, maybe I spoke too soon. Kyra, we're going to try it yet again here. Are you there?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Can you hear me OK, bill?

HEMMER: Sure can. Go ahead.

PHILLIPS: All right, terrific. We're live aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. Right now, it's quiet, luckily - knock on wood - here on the flight deck right now. Flight operations continuing through the day and through the night.

A big focus on the troops right now, Bill. Strike fighter pilots extremely concerned about the troops on the ground in Iraq, about their safety. So the type of missions that have increased around here are the CAS missions, control air support. And it's happening through the day and through the night, and the purpose is to be able to be in touch with the troops, find out what the threats are, and hopefully be able to de-escalate that threat.

Lieutenant Commander Scott Snow has been conducting those CAS missions since this morning. I'm going to bring him in and have him talk about that.

Let's talk about the CAS missions and the importance of them right now, specifically because of the POW situation that's happened.

LT. COM. SCOTT SNOW, USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN: Well, with the CAS missions, we are there to protect the ground troops. We are their eyes and their weapons up in the air to take care of any enemy threats that are out nearby that could cause them any harm and/or take any prisoners at that time.

PHILLIPS: And I've got to ask you, when the POW situation happened, how did it affect you personally? How did it affect the other strike fighters here on the ship? And how has it impacted the mission, specifically the CAS missions right now that are taking place?

SNOW: Well, I think it strengthened the resolve of every fighting man and woman in the United States military. They tried to exploit the POWs and put them on TV and show us pictures of dead Marines in the roadway and soldiers. That really strengthens our resolve to get rid of Saddam Hussein and crush the rest of his regime.

PHILLIPS: Lieutenant Commander Scott Snow, thank you very much.

So, Bill, those types of missions continuing here on the USS Abraham Lincoln. They're not going to stop. We will probably see more of those types of missions taking place, big focus on those ground troops and protecting those ground troops and trying to prevent another POW situation.

The weather also a very tough thing for pilots right now. You've seen the sandstorms taking place in Iraq. Here, right now behind me - I don't know if you can see it - we have a lot of lightning, a lot of rain, pilots having to deal with the weather, but still continuing the missions without fail - Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Kyra, thanks - Kyra Phillips' video phone aboard the USS Lincoln. Quite interesting to note, not only from the U.S. perspective, also the British perspective, how the military strategy is changing.

We were told at the outset, Tommy Franks said this was a plan that had maximum flexibility. And it appears, right now, that that flexibility is still being worked into the strategy in Iraq.

It is almost 8:00 here in Kuwait. That means it's almost 8:00 in Baghdad, Noon on the East Coast. And, Paula, with that, I will say adieu to you. I'll see you again on Wednesday, tomorrow. Wolf's going to step in next here, in a matter of seconds - Paula.

ZAHN: The good news for you, Bill, my colleague, is that when you're on the road, you don't have to endure those 3:30 wake-up calls anymore. You're on a more routine schedule over there.

HEMMER: It's so true, so true. That's the one good thing, I'll tell.

ZAHN: I look forward to seeing you at the beginning of the day tomorrow. Take care. Thanks, Bill.

HEMMER: Sure. Thanks. Bye-bye.

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