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CNN Live At Daybreak

Interview with Col. Steve Pennington

Aired April 04, 2003 - 06:15   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Down to Qatar, Central Command, Colonel Steve Pennington is back with us here on CNN.
Appreciate your time as we await the briefing in about 45 minutes from now. How secure is the airport west of Baghdad right now, Saddam International, which I understand now has had a bit of a name change to Baghdad International Airport?

COL. STEVE PENNINGTON, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: Well two things, first I'd like to make all of your viewers aware that Saddam International, or now as we call it Baghdad International, is about 15 miles to the west, southwest of the city. So if you kind of put yourself in Washington, D.C., it's about as far out as Dulles is. And there's quite a number of U.S. and coalition troops that are there. We like to use the term that we're securing it, which means there may be still some folks firing. But I would -- I would assure you that fairly certainly here within the next 12, 36 hours there'll actually be flights in and out of there by U.S. and coalition forces.

HEMMER: You think within a half day there could be flights into that airport?

PENNINGTON: I think that it all depends upon what we discover as we're securing. As you noticed over the last 12 hours, particularly the last 24, there's been not nearly as much resistance as we anticipated as we came to the outskirts of Baghdad. Were that to continue, there may be able to have helicopter flights or maybe some fixed wing, but most likely helicopter flights, in and out of that area within the next day or two.

HEMMER: Colonel, what does that say about how comfortable you are with the Iraqi ground defense pointed toward your airplanes, your helicopters, your fighter jets and bombers? What does it say about the amount of confidence you have right now in the area around that airport, how secure you believe it will be?

PENNINGTON: Well I think that what it means is we're very comfortable with the air if you're flying at medium altitude. What I think you're really asking me is what does it mean if you fly in at lower altitudes? And we're going to have to clear away corridors before we're able to do that. But again, that is going at a remarkably quick pace, not just because we have great soldiers on the ground and airmen in the air, but secondly, because the resistance has been so light. We like to attribute that to many of the soldiers have simply melted away. They've left their weapons and they've gone back into the city or back to their homes. Don't know that for certain. We won't know that until the conflict is over, but it appears that way.

HEMMER: All right, Colonel, listen, if that's the situation on the west side of Baghdad, what's happening on the east? How close are the Marines there?

PENNINGTON: Well the Marines continue to move between Al Kut and Baghdad. They're moving now. I would hopefully suggest that within the next 24 or 48 hours, at most 72, hopefully we'll also have the east side of the city sealed from folks leaving it and secondly, from folks coming in to it, particularly the forces that are to the southeast of the city.

HEMMER: What explains -- you touched on the amount of resistance and how light it is. What explains right now where this special Republican Guard, said to be a force between 15,000 and 20,000 strong, charged with the responsibility of protecting the interior of Baghdad, where are these troops right now -- Colonel?

PENNINGTON: I don't know that I could tell you where they are, but I'd like to talk about three things that might explain why it's this way. Imagine if you are in your home and people were constantly banging on the front door, holes were being bored through the roof and thirdly, occasionally someone came in and stuck a gun through the window and this had been going on for 12 days, which is in essence what the bombing campaign has been like over the last 12 days with special operations forces operating. And finally, with tanks rolling up on your front yard. Many of those folks, it appears, simply are worn out, have given up on Saddam Hussein.

Secondly, if you hadn't heard from your leader in 12 or 14 days, you might not believe that you really had someone that cared for you.

And then, of course, the final thing is you have an M1-A1 that rolls up on the front yard and says I'm here and that announces that American and coalition forces are no longer in the far south but they're really on the footsteps of Baghdad.

HEMMER: Colonel, I believe that this question will come as no surprise to you, but it appears right now the key to this entire campaign will be how the Iraqi people respond and react, not with the Americans and the Brits coming into their country, but now that they are there, now that they are here, not only in Najaf and Nasiriya and around Basra but in Baghdad, or at least on the outskirts of it, what is your best read right now on how you believe the people of Baghdad are responding to your presence, your show of force, essentially, on the outskirts of their city?

PENNINGTON: Well I think there are two things that go with that. One is we spent a long time explaining to the people of Iraq both in leaflets and in television and finally in radio that we're not here to conquer their country. We're here to relieve them from under the thumb of a terrible oppressor who also put at risk not just the -- this region but the entire world. We've done that for quite a while.

And secondly, the folks that are there are bringing with them, as soon they can, humanitarian relief. And finally, a recognition that this is the Iraqi nation. It is an Iraqi nation that is going to have a new leader relatively soon and will move on to a great future.

So we believe that this is going fairly well. And what do I -- how -- what is the evidence? The evidence is that we are not being sniped at by the Iraqi people in something that would look like a guerrilla war. There are paramilitaries and regime death squads, but that's significantly different than a guerrilla war where the people give aid and comfort to those forces. We do not see that aid and comfort being given to those regime death squads.

HEMMER: Colonel Steve Pennington down there at Central Command in Qatar. Colonel, thanks again for your time today.

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 April 4, 2003 - 06:15   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Down to Qatar, Central Command, Colonel Steve Pennington is back with us here on CNN.
Appreciate your time as we await the briefing in about 45 minutes from now. How secure is the airport west of Baghdad right now, Saddam International, which I understand now has had a bit of a name change to Baghdad International Airport?

COL. STEVE PENNINGTON, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: Well two things, first I'd like to make all of your viewers aware that Saddam International, or now as we call it Baghdad International, is about 15 miles to the west, southwest of the city. So if you kind of put yourself in Washington, D.C., it's about as far out as Dulles is. And there's quite a number of U.S. and coalition troops that are there. We like to use the term that we're securing it, which means there may be still some folks firing. But I would -- I would assure you that fairly certainly here within the next 12, 36 hours there'll actually be flights in and out of there by U.S. and coalition forces.

HEMMER: You think within a half day there could be flights into that airport?

PENNINGTON: I think that it all depends upon what we discover as we're securing. As you noticed over the last 12 hours, particularly the last 24, there's been not nearly as much resistance as we anticipated as we came to the outskirts of Baghdad. Were that to continue, there may be able to have helicopter flights or maybe some fixed wing, but most likely helicopter flights, in and out of that area within the next day or two.

HEMMER: Colonel, what does that say about how comfortable you are with the Iraqi ground defense pointed toward your airplanes, your helicopters, your fighter jets and bombers? What does it say about the amount of confidence you have right now in the area around that airport, how secure you believe it will be?

PENNINGTON: Well I think that what it means is we're very comfortable with the air if you're flying at medium altitude. What I think you're really asking me is what does it mean if you fly in at lower altitudes? And we're going to have to clear away corridors before we're able to do that. But again, that is going at a remarkably quick pace, not just because we have great soldiers on the ground and airmen in the air, but secondly, because the resistance has been so light. We like to attribute that to many of the soldiers have simply melted away. They've left their weapons and they've gone back into the city or back to their homes. Don't know that for certain. We won't know that until the conflict is over, but it appears that way.

HEMMER: All right, Colonel, listen, if that's the situation on the west side of Baghdad, what's happening on the east? How close are the Marines there?

PENNINGTON: Well the Marines continue to move between Al Kut and Baghdad. They're moving now. I would hopefully suggest that within the next 24 or 48 hours, at most 72, hopefully we'll also have the east side of the city sealed from folks leaving it and secondly, from folks coming in to it, particularly the forces that are to the southeast of the city.

HEMMER: What explains -- you touched on the amount of resistance and how light it is. What explains right now where this special Republican Guard, said to be a force between 15,000 and 20,000 strong, charged with the responsibility of protecting the interior of Baghdad, where are these troops right now -- Colonel?

PENNINGTON: I don't know that I could tell you where they are, but I'd like to talk about three things that might explain why it's this way. Imagine if you are in your home and people were constantly banging on the front door, holes were being bored through the roof and thirdly, occasionally someone came in and stuck a gun through the window and this had been going on for 12 days, which is in essence what the bombing campaign has been like over the last 12 days with special operations forces operating. And finally, with tanks rolling up on your front yard. Many of those folks, it appears, simply are worn out, have given up on Saddam Hussein.

Secondly, if you hadn't heard from your leader in 12 or 14 days, you might not believe that you really had someone that cared for you.

And then, of course, the final thing is you have an M1-A1 that rolls up on the front yard and says I'm here and that announces that American and coalition forces are no longer in the far south but they're really on the footsteps of Baghdad.

HEMMER: Colonel, I believe that this question will come as no surprise to you, but it appears right now the key to this entire campaign will be how the Iraqi people respond and react, not with the Americans and the Brits coming into their country, but now that they are there, now that they are here, not only in Najaf and Nasiriya and around Basra but in Baghdad, or at least on the outskirts of it, what is your best read right now on how you believe the people of Baghdad are responding to your presence, your show of force, essentially, on the outskirts of their city?

PENNINGTON: Well I think there are two things that go with that. One is we spent a long time explaining to the people of Iraq both in leaflets and in television and finally in radio that we're not here to conquer their country. We're here to relieve them from under the thumb of a terrible oppressor who also put at risk not just the -- this region but the entire world. We've done that for quite a while.

And secondly, the folks that are there are bringing with them, as soon they can, humanitarian relief. And finally, a recognition that this is the Iraqi nation. It is an Iraqi nation that is going to have a new leader relatively soon and will move on to a great future.

So we believe that this is going fairly well. And what do I -- how -- what is the evidence? The evidence is that we are not being sniped at by the Iraqi people in something that would look like a guerrilla war. There are paramilitaries and regime death squads, but that's significantly different than a guerrilla war where the people give aid and comfort to those forces. We do not see that aid and comfort being given to those regime death squads.

HEMMER: Colonel Steve Pennington down there at Central Command in Qatar. Colonel, thanks again for your time today.

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