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CNN Live At Daybreak
Sandstorms Pose More Problems Today
Aired March 26, 2003 - 06:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go to our Bob Franken, who joins us from an air base near the border with Iraq.
Is the weather still pretty nasty out there -- Bob?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The weather has been pretty nasty. If you'd look right now, you'd think we were at Miami Beach or something. The winds have subsided just a little bit, apparently from what I was hearing from you just a moment ago. That's true throughout the area. But they're predicting that the winds are going to pick up for the next 24 hours at least.
And it seriously has inhibited, and will continue to inhibit as long as there is this storm, the air operations from this base and others. It's cut by about a third, we're told, from the planned 300 or so to 200 or so the missions that have flown from here. They expect similar inhibitions.
And, of course, that affects everything, in the words of the wing commander, Tom Jones (ph), from takeoffs to recovery and rescue to targets. And by targets, they mean a concern that because the visibility is so bad they could make a mistake and by accident have what they call residual damage, which of course, means civilian casualties.
So it has seriously inhibited things here, has inhibited operations like the one, at least indirectly, the one we attempted 27 hours' worth in the days before. Because of the weather and other factors, they were not able to land planes in an air base taken from the Iraqis in the southern part of that country.
So the Air Force struck out on ground on a mission. We went along with them, but had to be turned back because of heavy fire in the area. It is affecting everything, including, I regret to tell you, Carol, the ability to cover news -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I understand that. You know, you brought us some fascinating information before about the instruments they use to check out the weather in that part of the world. In fact, you introduced us to two of the meteorologists at that air base.
FRANKEN: That's right. And unlike so many of their television counterparts, they were right on with this particular forecast for the last several days. They've been reporting that there was going to be a sandstorm.
The one thing he missed a little bit, not that there would be rain, which of course is very unusual here, but that there would be so much rain. It really did mess things up, including our little convoy. One of the problems among many that we had is that we tried to make our way through the desert. We got stuck in mud.
COSTELLO: And, of course, we understand why that may pose a problem. Bob Franken reporting live at an air base near the Iraq border. Thank you, Bob.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired March 26, 2003 - 06:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go to our Bob Franken, who joins us from an air base near the border with Iraq.
Is the weather still pretty nasty out there -- Bob?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The weather has been pretty nasty. If you'd look right now, you'd think we were at Miami Beach or something. The winds have subsided just a little bit, apparently from what I was hearing from you just a moment ago. That's true throughout the area. But they're predicting that the winds are going to pick up for the next 24 hours at least.
And it seriously has inhibited, and will continue to inhibit as long as there is this storm, the air operations from this base and others. It's cut by about a third, we're told, from the planned 300 or so to 200 or so the missions that have flown from here. They expect similar inhibitions.
And, of course, that affects everything, in the words of the wing commander, Tom Jones (ph), from takeoffs to recovery and rescue to targets. And by targets, they mean a concern that because the visibility is so bad they could make a mistake and by accident have what they call residual damage, which of course, means civilian casualties.
So it has seriously inhibited things here, has inhibited operations like the one, at least indirectly, the one we attempted 27 hours' worth in the days before. Because of the weather and other factors, they were not able to land planes in an air base taken from the Iraqis in the southern part of that country.
So the Air Force struck out on ground on a mission. We went along with them, but had to be turned back because of heavy fire in the area. It is affecting everything, including, I regret to tell you, Carol, the ability to cover news -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I understand that. You know, you brought us some fascinating information before about the instruments they use to check out the weather in that part of the world. In fact, you introduced us to two of the meteorologists at that air base.
FRANKEN: That's right. And unlike so many of their television counterparts, they were right on with this particular forecast for the last several days. They've been reporting that there was going to be a sandstorm.
The one thing he missed a little bit, not that there would be rain, which of course is very unusual here, but that there would be so much rain. It really did mess things up, including our little convoy. One of the problems among many that we had is that we tried to make our way through the desert. We got stuck in mud.
COSTELLO: And, of course, we understand why that may pose a problem. Bob Franken reporting live at an air base near the Iraq border. Thank you, Bob.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
