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CNN Live At Daybreak

War in Iraq: The Latest From Baghdad

Aired April 14, 2003 - 05:39   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: Let's go to Baghdad right now. Tom Mintier was talking about a political process maybe getting started. It's sort of starting in Baghdad, but looting is still going on and there are still some political unrest from the people of Iraq who are protesting U.S. forces there now.
Good morning -- Michael Holmes.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol, nice to see you.

Well that's right, the protests are still continuing, even at this hour, and so, too, the security problems. A building just behind our position here, northwest Baghdad, just erupted in flames. Can't show you the picture at the moment, but we'll get some to you shortly. Billowing smoke coming from that building, and that's probably part of the looters that are going on -- the looting that's going on around Baghdad. It does continue, not as badly as it has before, but some of them are setting fires as they go and destroying government buildings that are going to be needed.

The demonstrations I mentioned are generally concerning things like that, security, also the fact that there's no electricity and that nobody's stopping these looters. Part of that has been to get the police back to work. That's happening on a very small scale, at the moment, and hopefully those police, according to the U.S. Marines, will take over rolls like manning some of the checkpoints, checkpoints which have been deadly both for U.S. Marines and Iraqi civilians.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is happening all over the city.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, are you carrying any weapons today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No weapons?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

HOLMES: The atmosphere friendly, the questions deadly serious. Several coalition soldiers died at checkpoints like this at the hand of suicide bombers. A U.S. Marine killed just this week. So, too, have civilians died. Adults, children, even infants shot after drivers approached checkpoints too fast or didn't stop at all. Marines say they have no choice if people don't follow the rules.

CAPT. JOE PLENZLER, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Once you're coming to a checkpoint, I -- what I would recommend is that you approach slowly, you know show that you're not armed, in no way threaten coalition forces here. Proceed carefully and follow the directions of the Marines at the checkpoint.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys carrying any weapons today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No weapons?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Can we check your trunk?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. OK. OK.

HOLMES: Problem is, most Iraqis don't speak English, don't know the rules, have never encountered checkpoints before and ignorance on these streets can mean death.

The Marines say they are now spreading the word in the Arab media. Iraqis we spoke to are resigned, even accepting of the risks of the road.

Some people get nervous when they drive up to the checkpoint so they behave abnormally, these men tell me. The Iraqi drivers are worried, American soldiers are worried, but it is the duty of the soldiers to check for guns.

Another checkpoint and these Marines go on guard. The man in the truck wants to drive through, he insists. The Marines have no Arabic speaker. Our translator becomes the go-between, telling him the Marines won't allow it. The Marines have their M-16s ready to fire. They've been told any vehicles approaching closer than this truck are to be, in military slang, lit up, hit by a hail of bullets. The man and his passengers are eventually convinced.

About 300 meters away, an example of the dangers and the firepower in Baghdad right now, we heard small arms fire. Within minutes, two attack helicopters break the banks of the Tigris with rockets and machine gun fire.

On the nearby bridge, the checkpoint continues.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No weapons?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Have a good day. HOLMES: Marines and drivers almost oblivious to the firefight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Carol, as I said earlier, they are trying to get police to eventually take over some of that checkpoint duty. One of the problems, even as police start to patrol today, is that they're not armed and they're being accompanied by a U.S. military escort to do their job. Also, the fact that many of them are not trusted by locals because they are associated with the previous regime. But with security the way it is here, the locals will take anything -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Understand. Michael Holmes reporting live from Baghdad.

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 14, 2003 - 05:39   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go to Baghdad right now. Tom Mintier was talking about a political process maybe getting started. It's sort of starting in Baghdad, but looting is still going on and there are still some political unrest from the people of Iraq who are protesting U.S. forces there now.
Good morning -- Michael Holmes.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol, nice to see you.

Well that's right, the protests are still continuing, even at this hour, and so, too, the security problems. A building just behind our position here, northwest Baghdad, just erupted in flames. Can't show you the picture at the moment, but we'll get some to you shortly. Billowing smoke coming from that building, and that's probably part of the looters that are going on -- the looting that's going on around Baghdad. It does continue, not as badly as it has before, but some of them are setting fires as they go and destroying government buildings that are going to be needed.

The demonstrations I mentioned are generally concerning things like that, security, also the fact that there's no electricity and that nobody's stopping these looters. Part of that has been to get the police back to work. That's happening on a very small scale, at the moment, and hopefully those police, according to the U.S. Marines, will take over rolls like manning some of the checkpoints, checkpoints which have been deadly both for U.S. Marines and Iraqi civilians.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is happening all over the city.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, are you carrying any weapons today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No weapons?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

HOLMES: The atmosphere friendly, the questions deadly serious. Several coalition soldiers died at checkpoints like this at the hand of suicide bombers. A U.S. Marine killed just this week. So, too, have civilians died. Adults, children, even infants shot after drivers approached checkpoints too fast or didn't stop at all. Marines say they have no choice if people don't follow the rules.

CAPT. JOE PLENZLER, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Once you're coming to a checkpoint, I -- what I would recommend is that you approach slowly, you know show that you're not armed, in no way threaten coalition forces here. Proceed carefully and follow the directions of the Marines at the checkpoint.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys carrying any weapons today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No weapons?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Can we check your trunk?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. OK. OK.

HOLMES: Problem is, most Iraqis don't speak English, don't know the rules, have never encountered checkpoints before and ignorance on these streets can mean death.

The Marines say they are now spreading the word in the Arab media. Iraqis we spoke to are resigned, even accepting of the risks of the road.

Some people get nervous when they drive up to the checkpoint so they behave abnormally, these men tell me. The Iraqi drivers are worried, American soldiers are worried, but it is the duty of the soldiers to check for guns.

Another checkpoint and these Marines go on guard. The man in the truck wants to drive through, he insists. The Marines have no Arabic speaker. Our translator becomes the go-between, telling him the Marines won't allow it. The Marines have their M-16s ready to fire. They've been told any vehicles approaching closer than this truck are to be, in military slang, lit up, hit by a hail of bullets. The man and his passengers are eventually convinced.

About 300 meters away, an example of the dangers and the firepower in Baghdad right now, we heard small arms fire. Within minutes, two attack helicopters break the banks of the Tigris with rockets and machine gun fire.

On the nearby bridge, the checkpoint continues.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No weapons?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Have a good day. HOLMES: Marines and drivers almost oblivious to the firefight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Carol, as I said earlier, they are trying to get police to eventually take over some of that checkpoint duty. One of the problems, even as police start to patrol today, is that they're not armed and they're being accompanied by a U.S. military escort to do their job. Also, the fact that many of them are not trusted by locals because they are associated with the previous regime. But with security the way it is here, the locals will take anything -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Understand. Michael Holmes reporting live from Baghdad.

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