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American Morning
Convoy Ambushed in Central Iraq
Aired March 26, 2003 - 08:54 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: We got some breaking news out of the one of our imbedded reporters, Lisa Rose Weaver, who joins us from someplace in central Iraq at this hour.
Lisa, what's the latest?
LISA ROSE WEAVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, we just have news that northwest of a town called An Jahar, a U.S. forces envoy has been ambushed. That's really all I know at this point. No information on who may have been injured in this or exactly which U.S. forces were involved.
Now, An Jahar is of relevance because it is a city, or a town, rather, that U.S. forces have thought for sometime to be very dangerous, because mainly, of a group called Saddam's Fedayeen. This is an extremely fanatical, loyalist group allied with Saddam Hussein. They operate in small groups, usually in SUVs, or civilian vehicles, using AK-47s, small arms and rocket-propelled grenade.
Now, at the same time, we also have news that in northern Iraq, not clear where exactly, that Iraqi forces there are taking advantage of the bad weather. Very low visibility throughout this entire part of the country, to position their tanks against U.S. forces. The fact that they have been positioned has apparently been detected by U.S. forces.
Again, they're not clear if there have been any engagements or confrontations as a result of that. This extreme low visibility yellow dust storm is -- it spans a large part of the country, certainly central Iraq and parts of the north -- Paula..
ZAHN: Lisa, just very quickly, when you say they're taking advantage of the bad weather, you mean being able to bring their troops closer to the roads where coalition forces might be passing?
WEAVER: Well, presumably. There is very low visibility. It's really hard to see much more than 20 or 30 -- 20 meters ahead of one. So that -- I mean, one would have to assume that they're familiar with these roads. This is their desert after all. They're going to know the route likely better than anyone. So that, again, the details of exactly how the ambush happened and exactly why the Iraqi forces are positioning their tanks is not clear at this point, but the weather definitely has something to do with it -- Paula.
ZAHN: And of course from where you are, do you have any sense of how many coalition forces might have been affected by this ambush? WEAVER: No, it's -- no, I do not. There are a loss of convoys traveling throughout the country. This is a country with a limited road infrastructure, and what little there is in the way of paved roads are being used by coalition forces, as well as other roads in cases where the paved roads are not secure enough to be used. That has been the case a few days back. Air defense drove five days, various air defense units, drove for five days from the Kuwait border to central Iraq because they couldn't use the paved roads. They weren't secure. There has been ambushes there in the past as well. So the overall pattern that we're seeing, I think, is one in which in parts of the country that are certainly occupied to a great degree by coalition forces, meaning that tanks and trucks on the main roads, there are checkpoints and there are various encampments set up. Still, there are pockets of...
ZAHN: Lisa rose weaver, we're losing your signal. We appreciate the update. We'll be getting back to you as soon as you have some more information. Some disturbing news to share with you, not the kind of news we want to report, but Lisa Rose Weaver confirming that she believes part of the coalition convoy ambushed in a town near An Jahar.
We're going to try to get more details for that.
Right now, though, we're going to move on to something else. If we are at war with Iraq to try to prevent another September 11th, is it important to understand the roots of hatred and rage that led to the attacks.
Few American journalists have spent more time listening to the voices of the Arab world and through prize winning columnist Thomas Friedman of "The New York Times." Tonight, a documentary reported by Friedman airs on the Discovery Channel. It is called "Searching for the Roots of 9/11."
Here is a short bit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: America was kicking our butts for 50 years, and really badly. Supporting the bullies in the region, whether it's Israel or our own regimes. Giving us not only a breeding nose, but breaking a lot of our necks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: And Thomas Friedman joins us live from Washington.
Welcome, Tom. Good to see you again.
Help us better understand the depth of the anger of the men and women you interviewed when it came to the United States.
THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Well, you know, what we really identified in this documentary, which we filmed from Jakarta to the Persian Gulf, and to Cairo all the way to the Muslim community in Belgium is the kind of emotional roots of 9/11, Paula, were nourished by what I would call three rivers of rage. One is a river -- the one we've heard the most about -- of anger of the United States for its support for Israel and support for a corrupt dictatorial Arab regimes. That's the one, as I say, we're most familiar with.
But there are actually two other rivers, and they're quite important, as you follow this Iraq war. One is deep sense of humiliation, what I call the poverty of dignity, a sense that that part of the world is deeply falling behind. As one of the playwrights we interviewed in this documentary says, the young men of 09/11 felt like dwarfs, and dwarfs search out tall towers to bring down to feel tall themselves. And the third is how much they have their own governments. Their own governments are keeping them powerless and voiceless. And 09/11 was really fed by all three of these.
So when you understand how ferocious these feelings are, what do you expect will be the impact of this war on those attitudes?
FRIEDMAN: Well, it's going to be really complicated, because the war is going to affect what is a conversation already started since 9/11 in their Arab Muslim world about, you know, where are we going? 9/11, they understand, yes, it was nice to give America a punch in the face, many people feel, but they also understand that it exposed some real problems in their own societies, and so this war is very much going to shape that conversation, which is why, Paula, it's critical that what we build in Iraq, post-Saddam, be something that America can point to and people, fair-minded people in the neighborhood can point to and say, it's something better, it's something that's improved the neighborhood.
Remember, there's not just a war on the ground going on; there's a war of ideas going on, a war of ideas over hearts and minds, and that's why how we behave in Iraq, what we produce there, and ensuring that what we produce there doesn't intensify the sense of humiliation that is already widespread, it's going to be really important.
ZAHN: Finally, this morning, a number of government officials have said they fear that this war will make Americans much more vulnerable at home. Do you feel that?
FRIEDMAN: Well, you know, there was a debate before this war, in which some of us really argued, those of us who are also in favor of the war, why it was so important to do it under U.N. legitimacy, and the fact that the administration chose to do this war in defiance of the U.N., without U.N. cover is something that, I think, is -- the problems with that are now apparent, because so much of the world is rooting against us, and that, no doubt, is emboldening and encouraging the Iraqis as well.
ZAHN: Tom, we are going to have to leave it there. I'm sorry we had to cut this short, because of that breaking news from Lisa Rose Weaver, confirming that part of the U.S. convoy ambushed. We're trying to get more details. Again, Tom Friedman of "The New York Times." Thanks for you time this morning.
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 - 08:54 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We got some breaking news out of the one of our imbedded reporters, Lisa Rose Weaver, who joins us from someplace in central Iraq at this hour.
Lisa, what's the latest?
LISA ROSE WEAVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, we just have news that northwest of a town called An Jahar, a U.S. forces envoy has been ambushed. That's really all I know at this point. No information on who may have been injured in this or exactly which U.S. forces were involved.
Now, An Jahar is of relevance because it is a city, or a town, rather, that U.S. forces have thought for sometime to be very dangerous, because mainly, of a group called Saddam's Fedayeen. This is an extremely fanatical, loyalist group allied with Saddam Hussein. They operate in small groups, usually in SUVs, or civilian vehicles, using AK-47s, small arms and rocket-propelled grenade.
Now, at the same time, we also have news that in northern Iraq, not clear where exactly, that Iraqi forces there are taking advantage of the bad weather. Very low visibility throughout this entire part of the country, to position their tanks against U.S. forces. The fact that they have been positioned has apparently been detected by U.S. forces.
Again, they're not clear if there have been any engagements or confrontations as a result of that. This extreme low visibility yellow dust storm is -- it spans a large part of the country, certainly central Iraq and parts of the north -- Paula..
ZAHN: Lisa, just very quickly, when you say they're taking advantage of the bad weather, you mean being able to bring their troops closer to the roads where coalition forces might be passing?
WEAVER: Well, presumably. There is very low visibility. It's really hard to see much more than 20 or 30 -- 20 meters ahead of one. So that -- I mean, one would have to assume that they're familiar with these roads. This is their desert after all. They're going to know the route likely better than anyone. So that, again, the details of exactly how the ambush happened and exactly why the Iraqi forces are positioning their tanks is not clear at this point, but the weather definitely has something to do with it -- Paula.
ZAHN: And of course from where you are, do you have any sense of how many coalition forces might have been affected by this ambush? WEAVER: No, it's -- no, I do not. There are a loss of convoys traveling throughout the country. This is a country with a limited road infrastructure, and what little there is in the way of paved roads are being used by coalition forces, as well as other roads in cases where the paved roads are not secure enough to be used. That has been the case a few days back. Air defense drove five days, various air defense units, drove for five days from the Kuwait border to central Iraq because they couldn't use the paved roads. They weren't secure. There has been ambushes there in the past as well. So the overall pattern that we're seeing, I think, is one in which in parts of the country that are certainly occupied to a great degree by coalition forces, meaning that tanks and trucks on the main roads, there are checkpoints and there are various encampments set up. Still, there are pockets of...
ZAHN: Lisa rose weaver, we're losing your signal. We appreciate the update. We'll be getting back to you as soon as you have some more information. Some disturbing news to share with you, not the kind of news we want to report, but Lisa Rose Weaver confirming that she believes part of the coalition convoy ambushed in a town near An Jahar.
We're going to try to get more details for that.
Right now, though, we're going to move on to something else. If we are at war with Iraq to try to prevent another September 11th, is it important to understand the roots of hatred and rage that led to the attacks.
Few American journalists have spent more time listening to the voices of the Arab world and through prize winning columnist Thomas Friedman of "The New York Times." Tonight, a documentary reported by Friedman airs on the Discovery Channel. It is called "Searching for the Roots of 9/11."
Here is a short bit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: America was kicking our butts for 50 years, and really badly. Supporting the bullies in the region, whether it's Israel or our own regimes. Giving us not only a breeding nose, but breaking a lot of our necks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: And Thomas Friedman joins us live from Washington.
Welcome, Tom. Good to see you again.
Help us better understand the depth of the anger of the men and women you interviewed when it came to the United States.
THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Well, you know, what we really identified in this documentary, which we filmed from Jakarta to the Persian Gulf, and to Cairo all the way to the Muslim community in Belgium is the kind of emotional roots of 9/11, Paula, were nourished by what I would call three rivers of rage. One is a river -- the one we've heard the most about -- of anger of the United States for its support for Israel and support for a corrupt dictatorial Arab regimes. That's the one, as I say, we're most familiar with.
But there are actually two other rivers, and they're quite important, as you follow this Iraq war. One is deep sense of humiliation, what I call the poverty of dignity, a sense that that part of the world is deeply falling behind. As one of the playwrights we interviewed in this documentary says, the young men of 09/11 felt like dwarfs, and dwarfs search out tall towers to bring down to feel tall themselves. And the third is how much they have their own governments. Their own governments are keeping them powerless and voiceless. And 09/11 was really fed by all three of these.
So when you understand how ferocious these feelings are, what do you expect will be the impact of this war on those attitudes?
FRIEDMAN: Well, it's going to be really complicated, because the war is going to affect what is a conversation already started since 9/11 in their Arab Muslim world about, you know, where are we going? 9/11, they understand, yes, it was nice to give America a punch in the face, many people feel, but they also understand that it exposed some real problems in their own societies, and so this war is very much going to shape that conversation, which is why, Paula, it's critical that what we build in Iraq, post-Saddam, be something that America can point to and people, fair-minded people in the neighborhood can point to and say, it's something better, it's something that's improved the neighborhood.
Remember, there's not just a war on the ground going on; there's a war of ideas going on, a war of ideas over hearts and minds, and that's why how we behave in Iraq, what we produce there, and ensuring that what we produce there doesn't intensify the sense of humiliation that is already widespread, it's going to be really important.
ZAHN: Finally, this morning, a number of government officials have said they fear that this war will make Americans much more vulnerable at home. Do you feel that?
FRIEDMAN: Well, you know, there was a debate before this war, in which some of us really argued, those of us who are also in favor of the war, why it was so important to do it under U.N. legitimacy, and the fact that the administration chose to do this war in defiance of the U.N., without U.N. cover is something that, I think, is -- the problems with that are now apparent, because so much of the world is rooting against us, and that, no doubt, is emboldening and encouraging the Iraqis as well.
ZAHN: Tom, we are going to have to leave it there. I'm sorry we had to cut this short, because of that breaking news from Lisa Rose Weaver, confirming that part of the U.S. convoy ambushed. We're trying to get more details. Again, Tom Friedman of "The New York Times." Thanks for you time this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
