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Iraqi Command, Control Failing

Aired April 07, 2003 - 10:24   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: Colonel Mike Turner back in Denver. Pick up on Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, on this outdoor press conference he held, he looked like he was off a main street in Baghdad. What does it say right now, regime that is under siege, in its capital city and you resort to measures like the ones we heard earlier today, command and control at this point is what?
COL. MIKE TURNER (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Command and control has seriously begun to collapse. As laughable as his press conference seems to us, remember his objective as information minister to raise doubt in the minds civilian population that the United States isn't in control in any way he can do that and remember, this is civilian population has been spoon-fed very, very propagandized communications for a long time. So as long as they see him in any capacity on air, there is doubt in their mind, and our job is to try and accelerate the process whereby the civilian population can pass across that psychological threshold which indicates that the regime is dead and they can now begin to look to the Americans for support.

And there was a very interesting report, I think from Nic Robertson this morning that talked about some civilians feeling like they were in the crossfire. As long as that feeling exists within the civilian population, then we have more work to do in order to convince the civilian population that we are there to stay.

HEMMER: I wonder how successful he's been, some videotape hours ago that showed Iraqi soldiers, running along the Tigris, stripping themselves of their uniform on camera, stripping of their weapons, trying to hide them in trees. Can you measure how much his word, how much his message is getting out right now?

TURNER: Well, you really can't and I haven't heard latest reports about how much Iraqi television is still broadcasting and how much that information is being disseminated. I think there is probably different types of communication different levels of communication between the civilian population and regime and between the regime and other elements of the regime which would be soldiers and those sorts of units. It's so spotty and sporadic right now very difficult to assess who is getting what information. But those Iraqi soldiers looking down barrels M1 tanks that tends to be fairly persuasive.

HEMMER: I would imagine. Listen, Chemical Ali, his whereabouts, his life, his death, conflicting reports, when you look at what is happening in Basra right now how big a blow in the southeast part country and perhaps spreading to other parts?

TURNER: I think it's pretty tremendous, Bill. The effect has to be fairly telling why within the regime, it's communicated to members of the regime remaining now, as we will find you, we will hunt you down, you will be brought to justice, one way or another. For those waffling and who don't consider themselves culpable in the atrocities of the last 30 years that will accelerate their process to step across psychological threshold and recognize it's over. For those culpable in those atrocities it could drive them to extreme measures. We'll have to wait and see but I think it's a very important message for the remnants of regime.

HEMMER: Thank you. Colonel Mike Turner live in Denver. See you again next hour.

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 7, 2003 - 10:24   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Colonel Mike Turner back in Denver. Pick up on Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, on this outdoor press conference he held, he looked like he was off a main street in Baghdad. What does it say right now, regime that is under siege, in its capital city and you resort to measures like the ones we heard earlier today, command and control at this point is what?
COL. MIKE TURNER (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Command and control has seriously begun to collapse. As laughable as his press conference seems to us, remember his objective as information minister to raise doubt in the minds civilian population that the United States isn't in control in any way he can do that and remember, this is civilian population has been spoon-fed very, very propagandized communications for a long time. So as long as they see him in any capacity on air, there is doubt in their mind, and our job is to try and accelerate the process whereby the civilian population can pass across that psychological threshold which indicates that the regime is dead and they can now begin to look to the Americans for support.

And there was a very interesting report, I think from Nic Robertson this morning that talked about some civilians feeling like they were in the crossfire. As long as that feeling exists within the civilian population, then we have more work to do in order to convince the civilian population that we are there to stay.

HEMMER: I wonder how successful he's been, some videotape hours ago that showed Iraqi soldiers, running along the Tigris, stripping themselves of their uniform on camera, stripping of their weapons, trying to hide them in trees. Can you measure how much his word, how much his message is getting out right now?

TURNER: Well, you really can't and I haven't heard latest reports about how much Iraqi television is still broadcasting and how much that information is being disseminated. I think there is probably different types of communication different levels of communication between the civilian population and regime and between the regime and other elements of the regime which would be soldiers and those sorts of units. It's so spotty and sporadic right now very difficult to assess who is getting what information. But those Iraqi soldiers looking down barrels M1 tanks that tends to be fairly persuasive.

HEMMER: I would imagine. Listen, Chemical Ali, his whereabouts, his life, his death, conflicting reports, when you look at what is happening in Basra right now how big a blow in the southeast part country and perhaps spreading to other parts?

TURNER: I think it's pretty tremendous, Bill. The effect has to be fairly telling why within the regime, it's communicated to members of the regime remaining now, as we will find you, we will hunt you down, you will be brought to justice, one way or another. For those waffling and who don't consider themselves culpable in the atrocities of the last 30 years that will accelerate their process to step across psychological threshold and recognize it's over. For those culpable in those atrocities it could drive them to extreme measures. We'll have to wait and see but I think it's a very important message for the remnants of regime.

HEMMER: Thank you. Colonel Mike Turner live in Denver. See you again next hour.

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