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American Morning

Update on War Progress

Aired March 27, 2003 - 08:00   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, ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome. Glad to have you with us this morning. I'm Paula Zahn in New York.
We've heard from U.S. military commanders in Qatar within the past hour about the progress of the war in Iraq. CENTCOM says the Iraqi forces are becoming degraded by sustained coalition advances that are now going on all across the country.

Now geographically speaking, northern Iraq became a bigger part of the picture overnight. Check out these amazing pictures as 1,000 troops from the Army's 173rd Army Brigade parachuted into the country on a moonless night. The troops are setting up into an airfield there to receive heavy fire equipment. What they found once they got to the ground was heavy, heavy mud.

CENTCOM says it will not commit to a specific mission for these troops, but Brigadier General Vincent Brooks says the forces may possess capabilities that are, quote, "more than meets the eye," whatever that means.

The U.S. paratroopers in Kurdish controlled territory about 40 miles from where Iraqi troops are dug in. As U.S. reinforcements arrive, this could open up a northern front and further stretch out Iraqi forces. The U.S. presence in northern Iraq is seen as a key component keeping order in that volatile area where the Turks, the Kurds and the Iraqis are all at odds.

Time to bring in my colleague, Bill Hemmer, who is standing by in Kuwait City. Good morning, Bill.

BILL HEMMER, ANCHOR: Hello again, Paula. And middle of the day right here. And I know I mentioned it last hour, but just so our viewers know, behind me is the haze of yet another sandstorm here in Kuwait City.

All this rolled in about noontime local. Before that, it was quite clear and quite nice. When this gets out of here, we don't know. You're going to need some breeze, you're going to need some moisture in the air. But for now, this is what we have.

A few other developments throughout the area, Paula. We talked about that humanitarian aid. The first relief ship that was supposed to go into Umm Qasr, the port city in southeastern Iraq, delayed again another 24 hours, maybe longer. It depends now on what we're hearing there.

Coalition forces said they've, again, detected mines in the water. They want to make sure the waters are safe before they head on in there.

Also, the commander of British forces in the war says southern Iraq's oil fields are in bad shape, worse than we thought before, apparently. He says it could take three months, maybe a billion dollars in repairs before the oil flows again. He says that while only nine oil wells were set on fire, others were wired with explosives and that certainly is going to take some time before they get it cleaned out.

More in a moment, Paula. We're going to check in with our embedded reporters throughout the morning here, but for now, back to you now in New York.

ZAHN: Thanks, Bill. And as we bring you the latest news from Iraq, we'll be seeing the view from our reporters traveling with U.S. forces. Among them, Martin Savidge. He is with the Marines in Southern Iraq. Walter Rodgers is with the 7th Cav, and Ryan Chilcote, who is with the 101st Airborne in central Iraq.

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 27, 2003 - 08:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome. Glad to have you with us this morning. I'm Paula Zahn in New York.
We've heard from U.S. military commanders in Qatar within the past hour about the progress of the war in Iraq. CENTCOM says the Iraqi forces are becoming degraded by sustained coalition advances that are now going on all across the country.

Now geographically speaking, northern Iraq became a bigger part of the picture overnight. Check out these amazing pictures as 1,000 troops from the Army's 173rd Army Brigade parachuted into the country on a moonless night. The troops are setting up into an airfield there to receive heavy fire equipment. What they found once they got to the ground was heavy, heavy mud.

CENTCOM says it will not commit to a specific mission for these troops, but Brigadier General Vincent Brooks says the forces may possess capabilities that are, quote, "more than meets the eye," whatever that means.

The U.S. paratroopers in Kurdish controlled territory about 40 miles from where Iraqi troops are dug in. As U.S. reinforcements arrive, this could open up a northern front and further stretch out Iraqi forces. The U.S. presence in northern Iraq is seen as a key component keeping order in that volatile area where the Turks, the Kurds and the Iraqis are all at odds.

Time to bring in my colleague, Bill Hemmer, who is standing by in Kuwait City. Good morning, Bill.

BILL HEMMER, ANCHOR: Hello again, Paula. And middle of the day right here. And I know I mentioned it last hour, but just so our viewers know, behind me is the haze of yet another sandstorm here in Kuwait City.

All this rolled in about noontime local. Before that, it was quite clear and quite nice. When this gets out of here, we don't know. You're going to need some breeze, you're going to need some moisture in the air. But for now, this is what we have.

A few other developments throughout the area, Paula. We talked about that humanitarian aid. The first relief ship that was supposed to go into Umm Qasr, the port city in southeastern Iraq, delayed again another 24 hours, maybe longer. It depends now on what we're hearing there.

Coalition forces said they've, again, detected mines in the water. They want to make sure the waters are safe before they head on in there.

Also, the commander of British forces in the war says southern Iraq's oil fields are in bad shape, worse than we thought before, apparently. He says it could take three months, maybe a billion dollars in repairs before the oil flows again. He says that while only nine oil wells were set on fire, others were wired with explosives and that certainly is going to take some time before they get it cleaned out.

More in a moment, Paula. We're going to check in with our embedded reporters throughout the morning here, but for now, back to you now in New York.

ZAHN: Thanks, Bill. And as we bring you the latest news from Iraq, we'll be seeing the view from our reporters traveling with U.S. forces. Among them, Martin Savidge. He is with the Marines in Southern Iraq. Walter Rodgers is with the 7th Cav, and Ryan Chilcote, who is with the 101st Airborne in central Iraq.

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