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CNN Live At Daybreak
Update From Baghdad International Airport
Aired April 09, 2003 - 06:38 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to head now to southwest of Baghdad, to the international airport there. That's where Lisa Rose Weaver joins us by phone.
And, Lisa, tell us what the mood is like there.
LISA ROSE WEAVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it's very quiet here really. All day there have been some airplanes passing overhead, some indication of continued battles in Baghdad, but far quieter and far more remote from my perspective than a couple of days ago when there were major battles going on.
What's really happening around me at the moment is I am embedded with an air defense unit, a Patriot missile unit. It and others are digging in, literally building sandbags, building mounds of earth. They plan to be here for the next -- at least the next coming weeks in the general Baghdad area.
You know, Patriot missile batteries were utilized very differently in this conflict than they usually are. Normally, they are static. They stay pretty much in one place. They intercept Scud or other missiles from afar. In this campaign, they were pushed closer to the front line than they ever had been.
Now, they have arrived at what they believe to be their final destination in this country, and they're settling in.
The purpose of them being here would not be so much to defend against missiles coming from Baghdad, but rather from farther afield. The Patriots are designed to deal with -- again, they deal better with distance when there is more distance between the Patriot itself and the target that it intercepts -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Lisa, is there a sense, though, that the unit that you're with knows what's going on in Baghdad? And is there a sense if they do that this thing is wrapping up evermore quickly?
WEAVER: I'm sorry? You just broke up there. I didn't hear.
COSTELLO: I was just wondering if the unit you're with is aware of what's happening in parts of Baghdad with the huge celebrations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The call could not completed successfully.
COSTELLO: Well, that says it all, doesn't it? That's it with Lisa Rose Weaver. We'll try to get her up again.
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 9, 2003 - 06:38 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to head now to southwest of Baghdad, to the international airport there. That's where Lisa Rose Weaver joins us by phone.
And, Lisa, tell us what the mood is like there.
LISA ROSE WEAVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it's very quiet here really. All day there have been some airplanes passing overhead, some indication of continued battles in Baghdad, but far quieter and far more remote from my perspective than a couple of days ago when there were major battles going on.
What's really happening around me at the moment is I am embedded with an air defense unit, a Patriot missile unit. It and others are digging in, literally building sandbags, building mounds of earth. They plan to be here for the next -- at least the next coming weeks in the general Baghdad area.
You know, Patriot missile batteries were utilized very differently in this conflict than they usually are. Normally, they are static. They stay pretty much in one place. They intercept Scud or other missiles from afar. In this campaign, they were pushed closer to the front line than they ever had been.
Now, they have arrived at what they believe to be their final destination in this country, and they're settling in.
The purpose of them being here would not be so much to defend against missiles coming from Baghdad, but rather from farther afield. The Patriots are designed to deal with -- again, they deal better with distance when there is more distance between the Patriot itself and the target that it intercepts -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Lisa, is there a sense, though, that the unit that you're with knows what's going on in Baghdad? And is there a sense if they do that this thing is wrapping up evermore quickly?
WEAVER: I'm sorry? You just broke up there. I didn't hear.
COSTELLO: I was just wondering if the unit you're with is aware of what's happening in parts of Baghdad with the huge celebrations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The call could not completed successfully.
COSTELLO: Well, that says it all, doesn't it? That's it with Lisa Rose Weaver. We'll try to get her up again.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
