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CNN Live Today
Talk with CENTCOM Spokesman About Palestine Hotel Tragedy
Aired April 08, 2003 - 11:37 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: We want to get you down to Central Command right now in Qatar and talk with Major Rumi Nielson-Green, a spokesperson for the U.S. military.
Major, good evening to you, and we appreciate your time here.
But explain to us, please,. if you could, what was the U.S. Army seeing inside of that hotel that triggered the launch of a tank round being fired into the Palestine Hotel, which ended up killing two journalists from Reuters and injuring at least three others?
MAJ. RUMI NIELSON-GREEN, CENTCOM SPOKESPERSON: What the forces on the ground have indicated is that they -- as they approached that area, they received significant fire from that structure. The building itself was not a target.
However, in defense of their own forces and protecting themselves as they moved through the area, they returned fire in the direction that it came. Clearly, that was not the goal to target that building. However, they did have a right to defend themselves, and that's precisely what they did.
HEMMER: Do you think there was a better way to do it, knowing that this was the hotbed, the place for international journalists at the time, knowing the greater number of people in that building were noncombatants, they were not Iraqi soldiers?
NIELSON-GREEN: You know, what I would say is that it is a combat zone. The people that are there covering the war and doing their best to provide the world with an objective view are doing noble work.
However, they know that the area is dangerous, and whether or not there was a better way to do it, I don't know. I can't guess or second guess a commander on the ground who has to make life-and-death decisions at a split moment. So I'm not even going to attempt to second guess that. They went in that area. There were specific reasons to go into that area.
HEMMER: Yes, I apologize for the interruption here, but I'm curious to know, how much do you believe -- how intense was the enemy fire? Was it one Iraqi soldier? Was it one sniper? Was it more than one?
NIELSON-GREEN: It's been characterized to me as significant. That indicates to me that it was more than just a sniper. It was more than a lone gunman on top of the building. It was significant enough to draw the attention of the tank and the forces as they were moving through that area.
HEMMER: I know hindsight is perfect, and I don't want to put you in a position to second guess yourself. You already answered that question. But are we going to hear in a day, two days, three days from now Central Command coming out saying that they should have engaged that target in that building in a different way?
NIELSON-GREEN: I can't predict what's going to happen in the future. I would say our commanders here at the highest levels put a lot of trust and confidence in the commanders at the pointy end of the spear. And whatever decisions they make, to accomplish the mission to protect their troops, then we're going to standby those decisions. We're not going to second guess and we're not going to be armchair quarterbacks on this.
HEMMER: Yes, have you put out another warning to journalists in the area since then?
NIELSON-GREEN: We haven't put out anything official. I don't know at this point whether or not that I would recommend that anybody leave, because again, there's danger in that entire area. We are moving about throughout the battlefield, throughout Baghdad, and it is just a dangerous place to be. I would recommend that people stay in one area and try to protect themselves.
HEMMER: Major, thanks for your time today. Major Rumi Nielson- Green with Central Command down in Qatar. This is obviously a story that is making headlines, not only here in Kuwait, but around the world, around the Arab world as well.
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 8, 2003 - 11:37 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We want to get you down to Central Command right now in Qatar and talk with Major Rumi Nielson-Green, a spokesperson for the U.S. military.
Major, good evening to you, and we appreciate your time here.
But explain to us, please,. if you could, what was the U.S. Army seeing inside of that hotel that triggered the launch of a tank round being fired into the Palestine Hotel, which ended up killing two journalists from Reuters and injuring at least three others?
MAJ. RUMI NIELSON-GREEN, CENTCOM SPOKESPERSON: What the forces on the ground have indicated is that they -- as they approached that area, they received significant fire from that structure. The building itself was not a target.
However, in defense of their own forces and protecting themselves as they moved through the area, they returned fire in the direction that it came. Clearly, that was not the goal to target that building. However, they did have a right to defend themselves, and that's precisely what they did.
HEMMER: Do you think there was a better way to do it, knowing that this was the hotbed, the place for international journalists at the time, knowing the greater number of people in that building were noncombatants, they were not Iraqi soldiers?
NIELSON-GREEN: You know, what I would say is that it is a combat zone. The people that are there covering the war and doing their best to provide the world with an objective view are doing noble work.
However, they know that the area is dangerous, and whether or not there was a better way to do it, I don't know. I can't guess or second guess a commander on the ground who has to make life-and-death decisions at a split moment. So I'm not even going to attempt to second guess that. They went in that area. There were specific reasons to go into that area.
HEMMER: Yes, I apologize for the interruption here, but I'm curious to know, how much do you believe -- how intense was the enemy fire? Was it one Iraqi soldier? Was it one sniper? Was it more than one?
NIELSON-GREEN: It's been characterized to me as significant. That indicates to me that it was more than just a sniper. It was more than a lone gunman on top of the building. It was significant enough to draw the attention of the tank and the forces as they were moving through that area.
HEMMER: I know hindsight is perfect, and I don't want to put you in a position to second guess yourself. You already answered that question. But are we going to hear in a day, two days, three days from now Central Command coming out saying that they should have engaged that target in that building in a different way?
NIELSON-GREEN: I can't predict what's going to happen in the future. I would say our commanders here at the highest levels put a lot of trust and confidence in the commanders at the pointy end of the spear. And whatever decisions they make, to accomplish the mission to protect their troops, then we're going to standby those decisions. We're not going to second guess and we're not going to be armchair quarterbacks on this.
HEMMER: Yes, have you put out another warning to journalists in the area since then?
NIELSON-GREEN: We haven't put out anything official. I don't know at this point whether or not that I would recommend that anybody leave, because again, there's danger in that entire area. We are moving about throughout the battlefield, throughout Baghdad, and it is just a dangerous place to be. I would recommend that people stay in one area and try to protect themselves.
HEMMER: Major, thanks for your time today. Major Rumi Nielson- Green with Central Command down in Qatar. This is obviously a story that is making headlines, not only here in Kuwait, but around the world, around the Arab world as well.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
