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American Morning
Special Edition: War in Iraq
Aired April 05, 2003 - 09:30 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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Bill. Good morning, folks at home. Here's what's happening this hour.
Central Command says, quote, "The fight is far from finished in Baghdad."
Units of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division led the way into the capital overnight. The coalition is trying to secure the city bit by bit to avoid being lured into urban combat.
Now, those troops rolled into Baghdad with substantial air support. Coalition bombers pounded targets in Baghdad for several hours. U.S. defense officials say that most of the 700 sorties overnight targeted Republican Guard positions.
A senior U.S. commander says that he is unaware of any reports of a suicide bombing at Baghdad International Airport. A U.S. Marine gunnery sergeant told Reuters a suicide bomber did attack U.S. soldiers there this morning. Reuters had no word of any casualties, however.
Two U.S. Marines were killed this morning when their Super Cobra attack helicopter crashed in central Iraq. The U.S. Central Command says it does not appear that the hostile fire was involved in that incident.
Nine bodies found during a raid at an Iraqi hospital are those of American soldiers, the Pentagon confirms. Eight were members of PFC Jessica Lynch's unit, which was ambushed near Nasiriyah on March 23. The dead include PFC Lori Piestewa, the first American female soldier killed in the war.
Coming up, the war enters a crucial phase. We will talk strategy with one of our military analysts just ahead.
And Saddam Hussein's fate, U.S. officials already working on a postwar plan. We will have more on that coming up.
Plus, the latest from the battlefield. We'll get live updates from our embedded reporters fanned out across Iraq and Kuwait.
All that and much more ahead as our coverage on the war in Iraq continues right now.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: And it is Saturday again. Welcome back. I'm Bill Hemmer, live in Kuwait City. Heidi, good morning to you.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Bill. And I am here in Atlanta, of course.
U.S. forces are conducting operations around the southern parts of Baghdad, getting closer and closer to the center of the city. Earlier today we heard from Central Command that U.S. forces had actually moved through the center of the city, but that may be a matter of interpretation, It would appear from the route Central Command described that the troops never made it to the actual downtown area, though commanders say the message is they can now move at will throughout the city.
Explaining those troop movements, our Walter Rodgers tells us elements of the 3rd Infantry crossed through the city to replace other units southwest of Baghdad.
The cavalry unit Walt is with had to fight its way through several Iraqi tanks. And there are reports of casualties on both sides.
A lot to cover this morning, and we are going to send it back to Bill.
HEMMER: All right. Listen, thanks, Heidi.
We're checking in again with our reporters throughout the region. Popping up right now in Jordan is Rula Amin, and Rula's been keeping a very close eye on with her sources inside Baghdad as to what the Iraqis are saying, and also the information minister again reading a statement of attributed to Saddam Hussein.
Rula, good afternoon there.
RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, good afternoon.
It's another message from Saddam Hussein, this time read by the information minister, Mohammed Sayeed al-Sahaf. He basically urged Iraqis to help defend the capital. He told them that now the U.S. forces are focused on Baghdad, and that's why they are weakened in other parts of Iraq, and that's why he needs them to attack these forces in the other parts of Iraq to release the pressure on Baghdad. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED SAYEED AL-SAHAF, IRAQI INFORMATION MINISTER (through translator): We tell you what they came with to Baghdad until now is less than what Baghdad can bear, your Baghdad can bear. And God will protect Baghdad as a symbol for virtue and belief in jihad, even if it was attacked, or if it was subjected to added pressure.
But to harm the enemy more and more, go against the enemy and destroy the enemy. And follow the plans that you got in writing. God is great. May the criminals lose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMIN: Now, the information minister had another message in the morning. He was basically saying the Iraqi troops have managed to push U.S. forces out of Baghdad International Airport, and that they are the ones in control now. He said that they have been able to defeat the U.S. forces there, inflict serious damage, kill a number of U.S. soldiers, and take another number as prisoners.
And he says now they are trapped, and that the Iraqis are going to attack them more and more.
It's a different, completely different version of events that we're getting from Baghdad, Bill.
HEMMER: Yes. Rula, about 24 hours ago, when you and I were talking here, you had some contacts inside of Baghdad. I don't know if you've had any contact yet today, but if so, have they talked at all about these tanks that were near the center, the heart of Baghdad, earlier today?
AMIN: Well, most people in Baghdad did not see these troops. However, Nic Robertson, CNN correspondent, did talk to some sources in Baghdad who said there were eyewitnesses who saw the troops in different locations in town. What explains the confusion is the Central Command had said the troops went in and out. So they didn't stay there. They didn't take hold of positions and stay there, they just came in and out.
The Iraqis are denying such movement. They say the Americans did not come into the city. However, the Iraqis did see, regular Iraqis, had a different theme. They saw more presence of the Republican Guards, more presence for the ruling Ba'ath Party militias. There is more security, Iraqi security, on the streets now, almost at every corner, Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Rula, thanks. Rula Amin watching the Iraqi front in Jordan.
Now Heidi again at the CNN Center -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Thanks, Bill.
There have been many war developments overnight, as you probably know. We want to make sure we share some of them with you.
Some highlights now from our reporters. We begin with Martin Savidge, who's with the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We were passing by a installation of what appeared to have been in the past Iraqi artillery. They were crude large artillery pieces in a row, and they were all blown to pieces at all sorts of weird angles. And clearly they had been aimed down the highway at one time and were traveling. They aren't aiming at anything right now. They are simply, well, in pieces on the ground right now. So it would appear that there had been some fighting in this area.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are seeing developments right now across the northern front areas. We're not getting ground force movement at all, but we are seeing intensified air strike activity now.
Now, I have just come back to my location here. I can't say precisely where I am for operational security reasons. But I have been out with a group of Peshmerga commanders to a front line which leads to an very important northeastern corridor which is still open on the route to Baghdad. I guess it would take about an hour's drive from the location I've just been to to reach the Iraqi capital.
But as things still stand now, those Peshmergas are still facing Iraqi high ground, which is still in the hands, still holding by the Iraqi army. Or, we understand, the Saddam Fedayeen irregulars.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Iraqis have indeed been using unconventional weapons ever since the Army punched up from Kuwait. And by what I -- what -- by unconventional weapons, unconventional tactics, they've assumed guerrilla warfare tactics. Now, those are unconventional warfare tactics.
So there were a number of possibilities when the threat of unconventional warfare was raised by the Iraqi information minister yesterday. One, he could merely have been speaking about more guerrilla warfare. He also referred to at the time -- at that very time that the Iraqis would be resorting to martyrdom.
Now, that, of course, always raised the specter that they would try to line up a group of civilians and move them out in a wave against the U.S. forces, particularly at the Baghdad International Airport. Again, that threat has not materialized.
And the only other possibility for unconventional forces, unconventional weapons, is, of course, chemical and biological warfare. But the Iraqi information minister said they were not going to resort to that.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
COLLINS: CNN's Walter Rodgers.
Coming up, was Private Jessica Lynch injured while in captivity? The Red Cross has not been allowed to see the other American POWs. We will hear from a Red Cross official coming up in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: American troops on Iraqi TV possibly shot in the head. Iraqi POWs shown with bags over their heads. Charges of violations of the Geneva Conventions have flown back and forth.
And there are now questions about the many injuries suffered by Army Private Jessica Lynch. Did they occur in combat, or captivity?
Five members of her unit may still be in Iraqi hands.
The Red Cross checks on prisoners of war. Christophe Girod oversaw POW treatment during the 1991 Gulf War. He joins us now from Washington.
Good morning to you.
CHRISTOPHE GIROD, INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS: Good morning.
COLLINS: Thank you for being here.
You were in charge of POW inspections during the first Gulf War. The Iraqis refused to let you see the POWs they were holding, but you inspected the coalition POW camps. What can you tell us about what you saw?
GIROD: I cannot tell you much about what we saw, since when we are visiting POWs, we are reporting to the detaining power about the conditions of detentions and treatment. An aim of an ICRC visit to a POW camp is to visit the entire facility to assess the conditions of detention. And we visit the showers, the rest rooms, the kitchen, dormitories, everything.
And then we speak to each detainees in private, without witness, to ask him about his treatment, what's going on in the camp. And with all our assessment, we go back to the commander of the camp and tell him about our findings, recommendations, and the like.
COLLINS: Are you allowed to bring anything with you? I'm thinking of food, or any sort of supplies, blankets, anything of the kind?
GIROD: Usually we do not, because we hold the detaining power responsible for feeding, bringing clothes and blankets and everything to the prisoners. The ICRC would bring such assistance only if the detaining power was failing to its obligation.
COLLINS: What do you think are the conditions under which the coalition POWs are being held by the Iraqis? With your experience and with what you know, what comes to mind?
GIROD: Let me first say that my colleagues in Baghdad are trying every day to get access to the coalition POW now held by the Iraqi, and yesterday again we made representations to the Iraqi government to try to get access to the U.S. POW, unfortunately to no avail so far.
What we know is therefore is very little, apart from what everybody knows through press reports. And I don't feel very well about that, but that's the reality.
Now, what we know is what we know from the first Gulf War, and...
COLLINS: That's right. And just one last thing, I was reading in your research, you're saying the two most important questions that a POW Thinks about, number one, Are they going to kill me? and number two, What is this going to do to my family? Some very difficult questions for someone to ask themselves.
Christopher Girod, we appreciate your time this morning.
And for now are going to send it back to Bill in Kuwait.
HEMMER: All right, Heidi.
About two weeks ago, we were talking about this story in the northern part of Kuwait. Two counts of murder right now have been filed against a U.S. Army sergeant accused of turning on his own servicemen. Officials now at Fort Campbell in Kentucky say Hassan Akbar also faces 17 counts of attempted murder and other charges there. He is accused of throwing grenades into tents at Camp Pennsylvania outside of Kuwait City, killing two officers.
Akbar would face the death penalty if he is convicted on any of those charges.
In a moment here, we're going to get back to Ken Pollack, who's back with us again today. And the question of the day is, what's the strategy of Saddam Hussein? Why does the information minister continue to come out on a daily basis and put out the information that's completely refuted by CentCom? Where is the special Republican Guard, and what happens right now on the streets of Baghdad?
All that and Ken Pollack in a moment when we continue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: News from Central Command down in Qatar a short time ago, now issuing word that overnight last night, the home of Chemical Ali, a general and a cousin of Saddam Hussein, apparently his home near Basra has been bombed.
Not much else information on it, but the general, Ali Hassan al- Majeed, apparently his home in the southeastern part of Iraq was hit by coalition forces last night. No indication as to whether or not the man known as Chemical Ali was home, but perhaps as we go throughout the day in the Pentagon, Barbara Starr can inform us on that.
He is known as Chemical Ali. He is the man accused 15 years ago, 1988, of gassing the Kurds in northeastern Iraq, the town of Halabja, 5,000 reported killed as a result of that, hence the name.
He was also recently assigned, as early as three weeks ago, to control the southern part of Iraq during the military campaign against the U.S. and British coalition forces. Again, more on that when we get it.
Ken Pollack, the author of "The Threatening Storm," also a former CIA analyst, who knows the ins and the outs of the Iraqi military as well as anyone. Ken's back with us again on this Saturday.
Ken, good to have you back. Always like talking to you to get your perspective. And I guess the perspective I want to know today is this. What's the strategy on behalf of Saddam Hussein, if the videotape from Friday is real, mixing it up among the Iraqis in the afternoon sun there in Baghdad, and now sending the information minister out almost on a daily basis right now to level accusations against the U.S. that appear in reality to be nowhere near the truth? The strategy, in your estimation, is what?
KENNETH POLLACK, CNN ANALYST: Well, Bill, I think that what we are starting to see from the Iraqis is signs of desperation. You're right, Sahaf's statements becoming increasingly fantastic.
The reports of Republican Guards actually deserting, shedding their uniforms, not wanting to fight coalition forces, the fact that U.S. forces were able to push so easily into the city, the sporadic nature of the counterattacks that we have seen at Saddam (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Baghdad International Airport, all that suggests that the Iraqi forces were actually badly disrupted during this retreat.
It seems Saddam and its generals expected this defensive line that they had strung out from Karbala to Al Kut to hold back U.S. forces for much longer than was actually the case. And they were forced to retreat, forced to retreat under U.S. air and ground pressure. And it seems to have badly damaged and disorganized the Republican Guard.
And what he seems to be doing is trying desperately to buy some time, throwing out parcels of Republican Guard units at the U.S. forces to just try to slow the U.S. forces down. And now the latest statement calling on Iraqis all over the country to attack the U.S. forces. Again, they saw the -- two weeks ago, these attacks by the Fedayeen forced the U.S. to hive off some forces, send them to deal with the cities and protect the U.S. supply lines.
That forced something of a delay, at least in Iraqi eyes, of the attack on Baghdad. And so they're once again trying that tactic, hoping that if they can mount some more of these attacks in the U.S. rear, that that too will take the pressure off Baghdad and allow them to reset their defenses.
Because it looks right now like they are not ready for the battle of Baghdad to begin.
HEMMER: All right, Ken, I asked this question a bit earlier with another guest we had on. Put yourself in his shoes right now, Saddam Hussein's shoes, if you can. Get inside of his thinking right now. If he is the leader of a country that has an M-1, A-1 tank roll through the heart of Baghdad earlier today, he, then, is thinking what?
POLLACK: Well, he clearly recognizes that he has a problem. If the U.S. is able to penetrate at will like that, that is clearly a problem for him. He, at least as best we could tell, assumed that the U.S. would be much more reticent of rolling troops through the town, and much more expecting that his own forces would be able to inflict real damage on U.S. forces. Again, I think that he is now beginning to realize that his plans for the battle of Baghdad are not coming off as he expected. And in particular, something that we saw in 1991, U.S. forces are moving faster and are operating and taking decisions and taking actions faster than he can respond to them. And that is a tremendous problem for him.
He's got to buy himself some time. He has got to push back on the United States and allow himself to regroup the Republican Guard units that are still in Baghdad to try to mount some kind of a cohesive defense of that city.
HEMMER: Boy, you wonder if the coordination is even possible at this point. You raise a very interesting point. I want to go back to Central Command, the briefing by General Brooks yesterday. He said, and quoting now, "We believe we got inside the enemy's decision-making process." I think that goes in line with what you were just saying, the U.S. moved much quicker than the Iraqis could ever respond in turn.
POLLACK: Absolutely. This is something we've seen time and again from the Iraqis. Their command and control is very poor. It's very sluggish, and it's very haphazard. And in particular, they do seem to have realized several days ago that that defensive line with the Republican Guard that they had set up from Karbala to Al Kut wasn't going to hold.
But they didn't realize it until the last moment. They started pulling their forces back. And as a result, U.S. ground and air forces were able to really damage and disorganize those units before they got back there.
And now, the Iraqis are one step behind us, at least one step behind U.S. forces, in some cases maybe two or three. And they are trying desperately to catch up. They've got to find some way to slow the U.S. forces down.
And so what you're seeing them doing is just throwing penny packets of Republican Guard armor to try to slow the U.S. forces down.
HEMMER: Listen, I want to go back to this information minister. I don't have much time for an answer here, Ken, I apologize about that. But who is this message intended for, if the majority of those folks living in Baghdad do not even have television, maybe a radio, but television at a minimum right now? Who is the directed message here?
POLLACK: Well, who really knows exactly what the Iraqis are counting on? But I think the best guess is it's directed at Iraqis outside of Baghdad and maybe even sympathetic Arabs around the region, hoping that if they hear this message, they'll take heart, they'll respond to the call, and they will start attacking U.S. forces in Iraq and U.S. interests outside of Iraq.
HEMMER: Ken, thanks. Ken Pollack, author of "The Threatening Storm," a former CIA analyst whose job at the time was study the Iraqi military. Ken, we'll talk to you a bit later. Thanks again.
POLLACK: Look forward to it, Bill.
HEMMER: And again, here's Heidi Collins at the CNN Center -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Thank you, Bill.
We are just getting word of something interesting that we want to share with you. This is some tape that we are just getting in now of a coalition raid on a palace in Baghdad. You see the soldiers there, their guns drawn, heading in towards one of the palaces.
As I'm sure you know, we have talked many times about not only how many of these palaces there are that Saddam Hussein has and in the Baghdad area alone, how huge they are, and what a huge operation this would be if, in fact, it is taking place.
Again, we are looking at some pictures of a possible coalition raid on a palace in Baghdad. This information just coming to us now.
We continue to look at these pictures. And, of course, if we find out -- Oh, we are rewinding it. If we get more information on it, we, of course, will bring it to you.
For now, we are going to go to Jacqui Jeras, who is going to give us an update on the weather situation. Hi, Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Heidi.
Well, the heat has been the big issue, Saturday topping out into the triple digits, and temperatures as we head into Sunday are going to continue to stay very, very hot, about 95 degrees. And so we are going to have some problems with the soldiers, likely, with that are in their chemical suits, because it's going to be so very hot, and no breathability with those suits.
There is good news, though, on the way, and that's that temperatures are going to be dropping over the next couple of days. There's a pretty strong cold front that's pushing through the area, and that's going to drop the heat on down to the south.
Now, the temperatures aren't going to be dropping all that dramatically into Sunday. We are still talking 95 degrees. However, we will feel some significant difference there for the troops as we head into Tuesday.
So here's some specific temperatures, 95 on Sunday, 90 by Monday, and Tuesday, 86 degrees, with even a chance of rain. So a couple of days, and things are going to be better, Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Jacqui, thanks. Jacqui Jeras watching things at the CNN Center.
We now are on day 17, as we mentioned earlier today, 17 days into this Operation Iraqi Freedom. And today tanks rumbled through the heart of Baghdad.
How did the U.S. get there? Mike Schulder has a look back now on the past 17 days.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE SCHULDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the road to Baghdad. And here's some of what we learned this week on that road.
We learned that a military offensive which seems bogged down on one day can seem like a 100-yard dash the next.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are moving in the direction of Baghdad, shooting targets no more than 200 to 300 meters away.
SHOULDER: American troops tell us they want to move fast to Baghdad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you thinking about (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not too happy about it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would you...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to go.
SHOULDER: They are not aching for a fight. They are aching to finish the war and go home.
"Dear Mom, Dad, Sam, Toni, How are things? I am doing well. I can't wait to visit you guys and everyone in Colorado. It would be like old times." A postcard written on the back of a meals-ready-to- eat carton from Marine Corporal Randall Rosacker. His last.
The road to Baghdad leads past foes in uniform and foes not in uniform. On the road to Baghdad, it's not easy telling friend from foe.
On the road to Baghdad, an Iraqi father lost his arm in a U.S. air raid. His little boy lost his innocence.
Private First Class Jessica Lynch lost her way on the road to Baghdad. Now she is found. Greg Lynch has his daughter back.
Judy Childers will never have her son back, neither will the mother of this Iraqi soldier. While 4-year-old Alex Lucky got a hug from a real baseball player, his father, a fighter pilot, was flying missions over the road to Baghdad. And 6-year-old Tyler Jordan's father was flying home.
We learned that in a proud Islamic city, American troops can indeed be greeted as liberators one day, and as invaders the next.
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is no more striking example of the sensitivities that the U.S. soldiers face here than what is taking place on this street right up from the Ali Mosque right now.
SCHULDER: The city's supreme religious leader had actually invited the Americans in, but word never got to the crowd. So in an effort to transcend the language barrier, the Americans got down on their knees, pointed their weapons to the ground, and respectfully left town.
That was the road to Baghdad.
Michael Schulder, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Well done, Michael, thank you very much. On the road to Baghdad, and what we have learned right now in two and a half weeks.
In a moment here, back to Washington, and the war of words that is still brewing. We will explain that for you and get an update with Leon and Heidi at the CNN Center. Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired April 5, 2003 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Bill. Good morning, folks at home. Here's what's happening this hour.
Central Command says, quote, "The fight is far from finished in Baghdad."
Units of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division led the way into the capital overnight. The coalition is trying to secure the city bit by bit to avoid being lured into urban combat.
Now, those troops rolled into Baghdad with substantial air support. Coalition bombers pounded targets in Baghdad for several hours. U.S. defense officials say that most of the 700 sorties overnight targeted Republican Guard positions.
A senior U.S. commander says that he is unaware of any reports of a suicide bombing at Baghdad International Airport. A U.S. Marine gunnery sergeant told Reuters a suicide bomber did attack U.S. soldiers there this morning. Reuters had no word of any casualties, however.
Two U.S. Marines were killed this morning when their Super Cobra attack helicopter crashed in central Iraq. The U.S. Central Command says it does not appear that the hostile fire was involved in that incident.
Nine bodies found during a raid at an Iraqi hospital are those of American soldiers, the Pentagon confirms. Eight were members of PFC Jessica Lynch's unit, which was ambushed near Nasiriyah on March 23. The dead include PFC Lori Piestewa, the first American female soldier killed in the war.
Coming up, the war enters a crucial phase. We will talk strategy with one of our military analysts just ahead.
And Saddam Hussein's fate, U.S. officials already working on a postwar plan. We will have more on that coming up.
Plus, the latest from the battlefield. We'll get live updates from our embedded reporters fanned out across Iraq and Kuwait.
All that and much more ahead as our coverage on the war in Iraq continues right now.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: And it is Saturday again. Welcome back. I'm Bill Hemmer, live in Kuwait City. Heidi, good morning to you.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Bill. And I am here in Atlanta, of course.
U.S. forces are conducting operations around the southern parts of Baghdad, getting closer and closer to the center of the city. Earlier today we heard from Central Command that U.S. forces had actually moved through the center of the city, but that may be a matter of interpretation, It would appear from the route Central Command described that the troops never made it to the actual downtown area, though commanders say the message is they can now move at will throughout the city.
Explaining those troop movements, our Walter Rodgers tells us elements of the 3rd Infantry crossed through the city to replace other units southwest of Baghdad.
The cavalry unit Walt is with had to fight its way through several Iraqi tanks. And there are reports of casualties on both sides.
A lot to cover this morning, and we are going to send it back to Bill.
HEMMER: All right. Listen, thanks, Heidi.
We're checking in again with our reporters throughout the region. Popping up right now in Jordan is Rula Amin, and Rula's been keeping a very close eye on with her sources inside Baghdad as to what the Iraqis are saying, and also the information minister again reading a statement of attributed to Saddam Hussein.
Rula, good afternoon there.
RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, good afternoon.
It's another message from Saddam Hussein, this time read by the information minister, Mohammed Sayeed al-Sahaf. He basically urged Iraqis to help defend the capital. He told them that now the U.S. forces are focused on Baghdad, and that's why they are weakened in other parts of Iraq, and that's why he needs them to attack these forces in the other parts of Iraq to release the pressure on Baghdad. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED SAYEED AL-SAHAF, IRAQI INFORMATION MINISTER (through translator): We tell you what they came with to Baghdad until now is less than what Baghdad can bear, your Baghdad can bear. And God will protect Baghdad as a symbol for virtue and belief in jihad, even if it was attacked, or if it was subjected to added pressure.
But to harm the enemy more and more, go against the enemy and destroy the enemy. And follow the plans that you got in writing. God is great. May the criminals lose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMIN: Now, the information minister had another message in the morning. He was basically saying the Iraqi troops have managed to push U.S. forces out of Baghdad International Airport, and that they are the ones in control now. He said that they have been able to defeat the U.S. forces there, inflict serious damage, kill a number of U.S. soldiers, and take another number as prisoners.
And he says now they are trapped, and that the Iraqis are going to attack them more and more.
It's a different, completely different version of events that we're getting from Baghdad, Bill.
HEMMER: Yes. Rula, about 24 hours ago, when you and I were talking here, you had some contacts inside of Baghdad. I don't know if you've had any contact yet today, but if so, have they talked at all about these tanks that were near the center, the heart of Baghdad, earlier today?
AMIN: Well, most people in Baghdad did not see these troops. However, Nic Robertson, CNN correspondent, did talk to some sources in Baghdad who said there were eyewitnesses who saw the troops in different locations in town. What explains the confusion is the Central Command had said the troops went in and out. So they didn't stay there. They didn't take hold of positions and stay there, they just came in and out.
The Iraqis are denying such movement. They say the Americans did not come into the city. However, the Iraqis did see, regular Iraqis, had a different theme. They saw more presence of the Republican Guards, more presence for the ruling Ba'ath Party militias. There is more security, Iraqi security, on the streets now, almost at every corner, Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Rula, thanks. Rula Amin watching the Iraqi front in Jordan.
Now Heidi again at the CNN Center -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Thanks, Bill.
There have been many war developments overnight, as you probably know. We want to make sure we share some of them with you.
Some highlights now from our reporters. We begin with Martin Savidge, who's with the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We were passing by a installation of what appeared to have been in the past Iraqi artillery. They were crude large artillery pieces in a row, and they were all blown to pieces at all sorts of weird angles. And clearly they had been aimed down the highway at one time and were traveling. They aren't aiming at anything right now. They are simply, well, in pieces on the ground right now. So it would appear that there had been some fighting in this area.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are seeing developments right now across the northern front areas. We're not getting ground force movement at all, but we are seeing intensified air strike activity now.
Now, I have just come back to my location here. I can't say precisely where I am for operational security reasons. But I have been out with a group of Peshmerga commanders to a front line which leads to an very important northeastern corridor which is still open on the route to Baghdad. I guess it would take about an hour's drive from the location I've just been to to reach the Iraqi capital.
But as things still stand now, those Peshmergas are still facing Iraqi high ground, which is still in the hands, still holding by the Iraqi army. Or, we understand, the Saddam Fedayeen irregulars.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Iraqis have indeed been using unconventional weapons ever since the Army punched up from Kuwait. And by what I -- what -- by unconventional weapons, unconventional tactics, they've assumed guerrilla warfare tactics. Now, those are unconventional warfare tactics.
So there were a number of possibilities when the threat of unconventional warfare was raised by the Iraqi information minister yesterday. One, he could merely have been speaking about more guerrilla warfare. He also referred to at the time -- at that very time that the Iraqis would be resorting to martyrdom.
Now, that, of course, always raised the specter that they would try to line up a group of civilians and move them out in a wave against the U.S. forces, particularly at the Baghdad International Airport. Again, that threat has not materialized.
And the only other possibility for unconventional forces, unconventional weapons, is, of course, chemical and biological warfare. But the Iraqi information minister said they were not going to resort to that.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
COLLINS: CNN's Walter Rodgers.
Coming up, was Private Jessica Lynch injured while in captivity? The Red Cross has not been allowed to see the other American POWs. We will hear from a Red Cross official coming up in just a moment.
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COLLINS: American troops on Iraqi TV possibly shot in the head. Iraqi POWs shown with bags over their heads. Charges of violations of the Geneva Conventions have flown back and forth.
And there are now questions about the many injuries suffered by Army Private Jessica Lynch. Did they occur in combat, or captivity?
Five members of her unit may still be in Iraqi hands.
The Red Cross checks on prisoners of war. Christophe Girod oversaw POW treatment during the 1991 Gulf War. He joins us now from Washington.
Good morning to you.
CHRISTOPHE GIROD, INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS: Good morning.
COLLINS: Thank you for being here.
You were in charge of POW inspections during the first Gulf War. The Iraqis refused to let you see the POWs they were holding, but you inspected the coalition POW camps. What can you tell us about what you saw?
GIROD: I cannot tell you much about what we saw, since when we are visiting POWs, we are reporting to the detaining power about the conditions of detentions and treatment. An aim of an ICRC visit to a POW camp is to visit the entire facility to assess the conditions of detention. And we visit the showers, the rest rooms, the kitchen, dormitories, everything.
And then we speak to each detainees in private, without witness, to ask him about his treatment, what's going on in the camp. And with all our assessment, we go back to the commander of the camp and tell him about our findings, recommendations, and the like.
COLLINS: Are you allowed to bring anything with you? I'm thinking of food, or any sort of supplies, blankets, anything of the kind?
GIROD: Usually we do not, because we hold the detaining power responsible for feeding, bringing clothes and blankets and everything to the prisoners. The ICRC would bring such assistance only if the detaining power was failing to its obligation.
COLLINS: What do you think are the conditions under which the coalition POWs are being held by the Iraqis? With your experience and with what you know, what comes to mind?
GIROD: Let me first say that my colleagues in Baghdad are trying every day to get access to the coalition POW now held by the Iraqi, and yesterday again we made representations to the Iraqi government to try to get access to the U.S. POW, unfortunately to no avail so far.
What we know is therefore is very little, apart from what everybody knows through press reports. And I don't feel very well about that, but that's the reality.
Now, what we know is what we know from the first Gulf War, and...
COLLINS: That's right. And just one last thing, I was reading in your research, you're saying the two most important questions that a POW Thinks about, number one, Are they going to kill me? and number two, What is this going to do to my family? Some very difficult questions for someone to ask themselves.
Christopher Girod, we appreciate your time this morning.
And for now are going to send it back to Bill in Kuwait.
HEMMER: All right, Heidi.
About two weeks ago, we were talking about this story in the northern part of Kuwait. Two counts of murder right now have been filed against a U.S. Army sergeant accused of turning on his own servicemen. Officials now at Fort Campbell in Kentucky say Hassan Akbar also faces 17 counts of attempted murder and other charges there. He is accused of throwing grenades into tents at Camp Pennsylvania outside of Kuwait City, killing two officers.
Akbar would face the death penalty if he is convicted on any of those charges.
In a moment here, we're going to get back to Ken Pollack, who's back with us again today. And the question of the day is, what's the strategy of Saddam Hussein? Why does the information minister continue to come out on a daily basis and put out the information that's completely refuted by CentCom? Where is the special Republican Guard, and what happens right now on the streets of Baghdad?
All that and Ken Pollack in a moment when we continue.
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HEMMER: News from Central Command down in Qatar a short time ago, now issuing word that overnight last night, the home of Chemical Ali, a general and a cousin of Saddam Hussein, apparently his home near Basra has been bombed.
Not much else information on it, but the general, Ali Hassan al- Majeed, apparently his home in the southeastern part of Iraq was hit by coalition forces last night. No indication as to whether or not the man known as Chemical Ali was home, but perhaps as we go throughout the day in the Pentagon, Barbara Starr can inform us on that.
He is known as Chemical Ali. He is the man accused 15 years ago, 1988, of gassing the Kurds in northeastern Iraq, the town of Halabja, 5,000 reported killed as a result of that, hence the name.
He was also recently assigned, as early as three weeks ago, to control the southern part of Iraq during the military campaign against the U.S. and British coalition forces. Again, more on that when we get it.
Ken Pollack, the author of "The Threatening Storm," also a former CIA analyst, who knows the ins and the outs of the Iraqi military as well as anyone. Ken's back with us again on this Saturday.
Ken, good to have you back. Always like talking to you to get your perspective. And I guess the perspective I want to know today is this. What's the strategy on behalf of Saddam Hussein, if the videotape from Friday is real, mixing it up among the Iraqis in the afternoon sun there in Baghdad, and now sending the information minister out almost on a daily basis right now to level accusations against the U.S. that appear in reality to be nowhere near the truth? The strategy, in your estimation, is what?
KENNETH POLLACK, CNN ANALYST: Well, Bill, I think that what we are starting to see from the Iraqis is signs of desperation. You're right, Sahaf's statements becoming increasingly fantastic.
The reports of Republican Guards actually deserting, shedding their uniforms, not wanting to fight coalition forces, the fact that U.S. forces were able to push so easily into the city, the sporadic nature of the counterattacks that we have seen at Saddam (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Baghdad International Airport, all that suggests that the Iraqi forces were actually badly disrupted during this retreat.
It seems Saddam and its generals expected this defensive line that they had strung out from Karbala to Al Kut to hold back U.S. forces for much longer than was actually the case. And they were forced to retreat, forced to retreat under U.S. air and ground pressure. And it seems to have badly damaged and disorganized the Republican Guard.
And what he seems to be doing is trying desperately to buy some time, throwing out parcels of Republican Guard units at the U.S. forces to just try to slow the U.S. forces down. And now the latest statement calling on Iraqis all over the country to attack the U.S. forces. Again, they saw the -- two weeks ago, these attacks by the Fedayeen forced the U.S. to hive off some forces, send them to deal with the cities and protect the U.S. supply lines.
That forced something of a delay, at least in Iraqi eyes, of the attack on Baghdad. And so they're once again trying that tactic, hoping that if they can mount some more of these attacks in the U.S. rear, that that too will take the pressure off Baghdad and allow them to reset their defenses.
Because it looks right now like they are not ready for the battle of Baghdad to begin.
HEMMER: All right, Ken, I asked this question a bit earlier with another guest we had on. Put yourself in his shoes right now, Saddam Hussein's shoes, if you can. Get inside of his thinking right now. If he is the leader of a country that has an M-1, A-1 tank roll through the heart of Baghdad earlier today, he, then, is thinking what?
POLLACK: Well, he clearly recognizes that he has a problem. If the U.S. is able to penetrate at will like that, that is clearly a problem for him. He, at least as best we could tell, assumed that the U.S. would be much more reticent of rolling troops through the town, and much more expecting that his own forces would be able to inflict real damage on U.S. forces. Again, I think that he is now beginning to realize that his plans for the battle of Baghdad are not coming off as he expected. And in particular, something that we saw in 1991, U.S. forces are moving faster and are operating and taking decisions and taking actions faster than he can respond to them. And that is a tremendous problem for him.
He's got to buy himself some time. He has got to push back on the United States and allow himself to regroup the Republican Guard units that are still in Baghdad to try to mount some kind of a cohesive defense of that city.
HEMMER: Boy, you wonder if the coordination is even possible at this point. You raise a very interesting point. I want to go back to Central Command, the briefing by General Brooks yesterday. He said, and quoting now, "We believe we got inside the enemy's decision-making process." I think that goes in line with what you were just saying, the U.S. moved much quicker than the Iraqis could ever respond in turn.
POLLACK: Absolutely. This is something we've seen time and again from the Iraqis. Their command and control is very poor. It's very sluggish, and it's very haphazard. And in particular, they do seem to have realized several days ago that that defensive line with the Republican Guard that they had set up from Karbala to Al Kut wasn't going to hold.
But they didn't realize it until the last moment. They started pulling their forces back. And as a result, U.S. ground and air forces were able to really damage and disorganize those units before they got back there.
And now, the Iraqis are one step behind us, at least one step behind U.S. forces, in some cases maybe two or three. And they are trying desperately to catch up. They've got to find some way to slow the U.S. forces down.
And so what you're seeing them doing is just throwing penny packets of Republican Guard armor to try to slow the U.S. forces down.
HEMMER: Listen, I want to go back to this information minister. I don't have much time for an answer here, Ken, I apologize about that. But who is this message intended for, if the majority of those folks living in Baghdad do not even have television, maybe a radio, but television at a minimum right now? Who is the directed message here?
POLLACK: Well, who really knows exactly what the Iraqis are counting on? But I think the best guess is it's directed at Iraqis outside of Baghdad and maybe even sympathetic Arabs around the region, hoping that if they hear this message, they'll take heart, they'll respond to the call, and they will start attacking U.S. forces in Iraq and U.S. interests outside of Iraq.
HEMMER: Ken, thanks. Ken Pollack, author of "The Threatening Storm," a former CIA analyst whose job at the time was study the Iraqi military. Ken, we'll talk to you a bit later. Thanks again.
POLLACK: Look forward to it, Bill.
HEMMER: And again, here's Heidi Collins at the CNN Center -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Thank you, Bill.
We are just getting word of something interesting that we want to share with you. This is some tape that we are just getting in now of a coalition raid on a palace in Baghdad. You see the soldiers there, their guns drawn, heading in towards one of the palaces.
As I'm sure you know, we have talked many times about not only how many of these palaces there are that Saddam Hussein has and in the Baghdad area alone, how huge they are, and what a huge operation this would be if, in fact, it is taking place.
Again, we are looking at some pictures of a possible coalition raid on a palace in Baghdad. This information just coming to us now.
We continue to look at these pictures. And, of course, if we find out -- Oh, we are rewinding it. If we get more information on it, we, of course, will bring it to you.
For now, we are going to go to Jacqui Jeras, who is going to give us an update on the weather situation. Hi, Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Heidi.
Well, the heat has been the big issue, Saturday topping out into the triple digits, and temperatures as we head into Sunday are going to continue to stay very, very hot, about 95 degrees. And so we are going to have some problems with the soldiers, likely, with that are in their chemical suits, because it's going to be so very hot, and no breathability with those suits.
There is good news, though, on the way, and that's that temperatures are going to be dropping over the next couple of days. There's a pretty strong cold front that's pushing through the area, and that's going to drop the heat on down to the south.
Now, the temperatures aren't going to be dropping all that dramatically into Sunday. We are still talking 95 degrees. However, we will feel some significant difference there for the troops as we head into Tuesday.
So here's some specific temperatures, 95 on Sunday, 90 by Monday, and Tuesday, 86 degrees, with even a chance of rain. So a couple of days, and things are going to be better, Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Jacqui, thanks. Jacqui Jeras watching things at the CNN Center.
We now are on day 17, as we mentioned earlier today, 17 days into this Operation Iraqi Freedom. And today tanks rumbled through the heart of Baghdad.
How did the U.S. get there? Mike Schulder has a look back now on the past 17 days.
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MIKE SCHULDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the road to Baghdad. And here's some of what we learned this week on that road.
We learned that a military offensive which seems bogged down on one day can seem like a 100-yard dash the next.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are moving in the direction of Baghdad, shooting targets no more than 200 to 300 meters away.
SHOULDER: American troops tell us they want to move fast to Baghdad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you thinking about (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not too happy about it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would you...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to go.
SHOULDER: They are not aching for a fight. They are aching to finish the war and go home.
"Dear Mom, Dad, Sam, Toni, How are things? I am doing well. I can't wait to visit you guys and everyone in Colorado. It would be like old times." A postcard written on the back of a meals-ready-to- eat carton from Marine Corporal Randall Rosacker. His last.
The road to Baghdad leads past foes in uniform and foes not in uniform. On the road to Baghdad, it's not easy telling friend from foe.
On the road to Baghdad, an Iraqi father lost his arm in a U.S. air raid. His little boy lost his innocence.
Private First Class Jessica Lynch lost her way on the road to Baghdad. Now she is found. Greg Lynch has his daughter back.
Judy Childers will never have her son back, neither will the mother of this Iraqi soldier. While 4-year-old Alex Lucky got a hug from a real baseball player, his father, a fighter pilot, was flying missions over the road to Baghdad. And 6-year-old Tyler Jordan's father was flying home.
We learned that in a proud Islamic city, American troops can indeed be greeted as liberators one day, and as invaders the next.
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is no more striking example of the sensitivities that the U.S. soldiers face here than what is taking place on this street right up from the Ali Mosque right now.
SCHULDER: The city's supreme religious leader had actually invited the Americans in, but word never got to the crowd. So in an effort to transcend the language barrier, the Americans got down on their knees, pointed their weapons to the ground, and respectfully left town.
That was the road to Baghdad.
Michael Schulder, CNN.
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HEMMER: Well done, Michael, thank you very much. On the road to Baghdad, and what we have learned right now in two and a half weeks.
In a moment here, back to Washington, and the war of words that is still brewing. We will explain that for you and get an update with Leon and Heidi at the CNN Center. Back in a moment.
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