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CNN Live At Daybreak

Interview with Captain Frank Thorp, CENTCOM Spokesman

Aired April 10, 2003 - 06:05   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're now just under an hour of the next briefing at CENTCOM, Central Command headquarters in Doha, Qatar, but I understand there is news coming out of there even before the briefing.
Our Tom Mintier has that for us and joins us now.

Tom -- hello.

TOM MINTIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

Yes, yesterday as the images of the Saddam Hussein statue being toppled were broadcast around the world, there were soldiers fighting in and around Baghdad, and there was a caution from military officials here at CENTCOM, saying that it was not over. Despite what you saw on television, there were still military operations going on, and that's true this morning in north-central Baghdad, a fierce firefight within the last few hours.

Captain Frank Thorp, a public affairs officer with CENTCOM is here.

Is there a misperception that this is over? I mean, this firefight was apparently a pretty big thing.

CAPT. FRANK THORP, CENTCOM SPOKESMAN: There is no perception on our part. We were saying, and we continue to say, that there are many fierce battles to follow. Yesterday was a small snapshot of an uprising, which we saw, but cautious optimism is pretty much the tone around here.

MINTIER: Now, you had the intelligence this morning that there was potentially a leadership meeting or a gathering at one location in Baghdad, and went there.

THORP: That's exactly right. As we've done in the past, we've continued to identify leadership command and control facilities, leadership -- regime leadership meetings and such.

We had information that there was going to be a meeting there in the north-central area of the city, and Marines from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force went into the area to determine what was going on there. They came under fire there from the area around the Imam mosque. It's a very large mosque there with a large wall around it, and there was some fierce fighting. We do have reports of a small number of casualties there in the area.

MINTIER: What about the leadership? Any location?

THORP: The fighting there in that exact area has ended, and at this point we're assessing the situation as to what is in and around that area.

MINTIER: All right, so a good indication, Daryn, that what we may hear in the next hour here at the CENTCOM briefing is reaffirmation that while there was celebration on the streets of Baghdad yesterday, there were other areas of the city that are not under coalition control, areas that when they do go into, they're involved in fierce firefights. We saw that at Baghdad University yesterday; seeing it again around a mosque this morning.

Daryn -- back to you.

KAGAN: And, Tom, let me just ask you to give us a little bit more information about something I just read in our headlines, and that is the U.S. military bringing MOAB, mother of all bombs, a 21,000-pound bomb into this area. Have they explained why they needed to do that?

MINTIER: Well, all they've said was that it's in theater. Let me ask Captain Thorp that.

MOAB, the mother of all bombs, is supposedly in theater now. Why was it necessary to bring that in theater? Does it go along with that this is not over and you may need it against a target?

THORP: Tom, we've never identified what exact weapons are in the area, so we sure wouldn't confirm that weapon or any other weapon.

But I can say what you say this would indicate is exactly the case regardless of that weapon system. This isn't over. It's not over until the regime is gone and until the people of Iraq are away from the grip of fear and torture they have.

So, no, I won't confirm whether that weapon or any weapon is in the area. I will say what you think it means is exactly the case.

MINTIER: All right, so if you can read between the lines, that will give you a good indication as they have been saying here for the past 24 hours, despite the jubilation on the street, despite the statues coming down, resistance is still there and still being met. And this morning, as we saw, indications of senior leadership of the regime coming together in a location, a location that was then targeted by the coalition -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Got it. Tom Mintier at the CENTCOM headquarters, thank you so much. We'll look forward to that briefing coming up at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. You'll see it live here on CNN.

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 10, 2003 - 06:05   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're now just under an hour of the next briefing at CENTCOM, Central Command headquarters in Doha, Qatar, but I understand there is news coming out of there even before the briefing.
Our Tom Mintier has that for us and joins us now.

Tom -- hello.

TOM MINTIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

Yes, yesterday as the images of the Saddam Hussein statue being toppled were broadcast around the world, there were soldiers fighting in and around Baghdad, and there was a caution from military officials here at CENTCOM, saying that it was not over. Despite what you saw on television, there were still military operations going on, and that's true this morning in north-central Baghdad, a fierce firefight within the last few hours.

Captain Frank Thorp, a public affairs officer with CENTCOM is here.

Is there a misperception that this is over? I mean, this firefight was apparently a pretty big thing.

CAPT. FRANK THORP, CENTCOM SPOKESMAN: There is no perception on our part. We were saying, and we continue to say, that there are many fierce battles to follow. Yesterday was a small snapshot of an uprising, which we saw, but cautious optimism is pretty much the tone around here.

MINTIER: Now, you had the intelligence this morning that there was potentially a leadership meeting or a gathering at one location in Baghdad, and went there.

THORP: That's exactly right. As we've done in the past, we've continued to identify leadership command and control facilities, leadership -- regime leadership meetings and such.

We had information that there was going to be a meeting there in the north-central area of the city, and Marines from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force went into the area to determine what was going on there. They came under fire there from the area around the Imam mosque. It's a very large mosque there with a large wall around it, and there was some fierce fighting. We do have reports of a small number of casualties there in the area.

MINTIER: What about the leadership? Any location?

THORP: The fighting there in that exact area has ended, and at this point we're assessing the situation as to what is in and around that area.

MINTIER: All right, so a good indication, Daryn, that what we may hear in the next hour here at the CENTCOM briefing is reaffirmation that while there was celebration on the streets of Baghdad yesterday, there were other areas of the city that are not under coalition control, areas that when they do go into, they're involved in fierce firefights. We saw that at Baghdad University yesterday; seeing it again around a mosque this morning.

Daryn -- back to you.

KAGAN: And, Tom, let me just ask you to give us a little bit more information about something I just read in our headlines, and that is the U.S. military bringing MOAB, mother of all bombs, a 21,000-pound bomb into this area. Have they explained why they needed to do that?

MINTIER: Well, all they've said was that it's in theater. Let me ask Captain Thorp that.

MOAB, the mother of all bombs, is supposedly in theater now. Why was it necessary to bring that in theater? Does it go along with that this is not over and you may need it against a target?

THORP: Tom, we've never identified what exact weapons are in the area, so we sure wouldn't confirm that weapon or any other weapon.

But I can say what you say this would indicate is exactly the case regardless of that weapon system. This isn't over. It's not over until the regime is gone and until the people of Iraq are away from the grip of fear and torture they have.

So, no, I won't confirm whether that weapon or any weapon is in the area. I will say what you think it means is exactly the case.

MINTIER: All right, so if you can read between the lines, that will give you a good indication as they have been saying here for the past 24 hours, despite the jubilation on the street, despite the statues coming down, resistance is still there and still being met. And this morning, as we saw, indications of senior leadership of the regime coming together in a location, a location that was then targeted by the coalition -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Got it. Tom Mintier at the CENTCOM headquarters, thank you so much. We'll look forward to that briefing coming up at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. You'll see it live here on CNN.

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