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Gen. Grange Discusses Presidents' Appearance at McDill Air Force Base

Aired March 26, 2003 - 11:09   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: Let's check in with David Grange, General David Grange, who joins us from CNN Center, our military analyst, to talk a little about the president's appearance at McDill Air Force Base, and we'll keep our cameras trained on him as he wades through the crowd.
General Grange, the president's speech comes at a time when the coalition forces are suffering battle deaths and casualties. And at a time when many pointed questions are being asked about the effectiveness of the battle plan, how will a speech like this affect morale?

GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, Paula, it's the president of the United States, but also, as was stated, the commander in chief of the armed forces of the United States of America, and so that's the senior military leader for the armed forces, and when there's a coalition involved also responsible to some extent for the lives of coalition forces involved in this war as well.

So when the troops from all services and nations hear a talk like this of commitment -- you see, the biggest problem in past wars is that there's no resolve for commitment that convinces the troops if someone dies, they do not die in vain. So it's very important that leader expresses accomplishment of the mission that you set out to accomplish.

ZAHN: General, where do you sense the morale is right now, all across the armed forces?

GRANGE: I believe the morale is high. There's going to be pockets where morale was low. That's to be expected. But when you're in a unit that experiences death or injury, or periodic letdowns in the operation, it affects your morale. But the units pick up pretty quick and continue to drive on to their objectives if the leadership expresses resolve and commitment to the cause.

ZAHN: General, the president doing something that he's very comfortable doing, having one-on-one contact, not only with the people who are serving in the military, but the family members as well. You always see the degree of comfort he has in working crowds.

You talk about the impact battle deaths obviously have on the morale of troops that are fighting. I wanting to share with you some statistics just released by the Pew Research Group, the center, and they showed a big difference in opinion, a big swing from Friday to just Monday. On Monday when polled, just 38 percent of the American public said the conflict was going well. Now, that is compared to 71 percent on Friday.

What kind of challenge does the president have in convincing the American public, as you say, that this is a true commitment?

GRANGE: Well, the United States is a nation of expectations that objectives are accomplished swiftly. In other words, we have a 100- meter dash mentality, instead of a marathon mentality, especially when it comes to conflict, when it comes to war.

And these commitments, at times, take a while. I believe the combat phase won't take a long time, but there will be hostile requirements that must be taken care of probably for some time to come, just like they are in Afghanistan, just like they are in peacekeeping operations in the Balkans, and it's hard to grasp that sometimes in America's society. But it's important for the president and other senior leadership of the United States of America to continually explain that to the American people.

ZAHN: David Grange, thanks so much.

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




Force Base>


Aired March 26, 2003 - 11:09   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's check in with David Grange, General David Grange, who joins us from CNN Center, our military analyst, to talk a little about the president's appearance at McDill Air Force Base, and we'll keep our cameras trained on him as he wades through the crowd.
General Grange, the president's speech comes at a time when the coalition forces are suffering battle deaths and casualties. And at a time when many pointed questions are being asked about the effectiveness of the battle plan, how will a speech like this affect morale?

GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, Paula, it's the president of the United States, but also, as was stated, the commander in chief of the armed forces of the United States of America, and so that's the senior military leader for the armed forces, and when there's a coalition involved also responsible to some extent for the lives of coalition forces involved in this war as well.

So when the troops from all services and nations hear a talk like this of commitment -- you see, the biggest problem in past wars is that there's no resolve for commitment that convinces the troops if someone dies, they do not die in vain. So it's very important that leader expresses accomplishment of the mission that you set out to accomplish.

ZAHN: General, where do you sense the morale is right now, all across the armed forces?

GRANGE: I believe the morale is high. There's going to be pockets where morale was low. That's to be expected. But when you're in a unit that experiences death or injury, or periodic letdowns in the operation, it affects your morale. But the units pick up pretty quick and continue to drive on to their objectives if the leadership expresses resolve and commitment to the cause.

ZAHN: General, the president doing something that he's very comfortable doing, having one-on-one contact, not only with the people who are serving in the military, but the family members as well. You always see the degree of comfort he has in working crowds.

You talk about the impact battle deaths obviously have on the morale of troops that are fighting. I wanting to share with you some statistics just released by the Pew Research Group, the center, and they showed a big difference in opinion, a big swing from Friday to just Monday. On Monday when polled, just 38 percent of the American public said the conflict was going well. Now, that is compared to 71 percent on Friday.

What kind of challenge does the president have in convincing the American public, as you say, that this is a true commitment?

GRANGE: Well, the United States is a nation of expectations that objectives are accomplished swiftly. In other words, we have a 100- meter dash mentality, instead of a marathon mentality, especially when it comes to conflict, when it comes to war.

And these commitments, at times, take a while. I believe the combat phase won't take a long time, but there will be hostile requirements that must be taken care of probably for some time to come, just like they are in Afghanistan, just like they are in peacekeeping operations in the Balkans, and it's hard to grasp that sometimes in America's society. But it's important for the president and other senior leadership of the United States of America to continually explain that to the American people.

ZAHN: David Grange, thanks so much.

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




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