Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Marines Push Into Hussein's Ancestral Home

Aired April 14, 2003 - 05:30   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: Good morning.
I'm Carol Costello.

5:30 Eastern time.

Now Tikrit, the last stronghold for Saddam Hussein's loyalists, appears close to falling right now. An embedded journalist says U.S. Marines are in the heart of Tikrit, but there is still sporadic gun fighting. Marines occupy the center of the city and attack helicopters control the skies.

The seven U.S. service members rescued in Iraq could be back in the States soon. They were taken to a medical facility in Kuwait just hours after being found near Samarah. None required hospitalization. Five of the ex-POWs are from the Army's 507th Maintenance Company. Two others are Apache helicopter pilots.

Saddam Hussein's half brother, Watban Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti, has been captured. He was taken into custody while trying to flee across the border into Syria. He is on the U.S. government's most wanted list of Iraqis.

President Bush has a blunt warning for Syria -- do not harbor leaders of Iraq's fallen government. Mr. Bush also accuses Syria of having chemical weapons. When asked yesterday if Syria could face military action, Mr. Bush simply said, "They just need to cooperate."

(OTHER NEWS HEADLINES)

COSTELLO: Let's get a quick look now at what we've got coming up.

America got a chance to smile when word came down that seven Army POWs had, indeed, been rescued. We'll see how some family members celebrated in the United States. Another celebration, but for how long? What's next for Iraq? Our Candy Crowley updates us on the potholes lining the road to a new Iraq. And from Hong Kong, we'll get an update on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and fallout from that mystery ailment.

Hello and welcome.

I'm Carol Costello at CNN global headquarters in Atlanta.

Today is Monday, April 14 and you are about to look right now at a picture of downtown Baghdad, where it's 1:30 in the afternoon. This is a live picture. We want to give you an early briefing now.

President Bush has postponed a state visit to Canada that had been scheduled for May 5. No word on when that visit will take place. U.S. Central Command takes the spotlight 90 minutes from now when it updates the war in Iraq. That's at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. Of course, CNN will have that live. And at Arlington National Cemetery, funeral services this morning for Marine First Lieutenant Frederick Pokorney, Jr., killed in a March 23 ambush near Nasiriya.

We have told you about the major U.S. Marine push to secure the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit.

CNN's Kathleen Koch has more on that for us from the Pentagon live -- good morning, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

You know, the concern initially was that this could have been a bloody last stand. But now it's turning out to be anything but that, as members of Task Force Tripoli, the U.S. Marines, are pushing very quickly deep into the heart of Saddam Hussein's ancestral home of Tikrit. U.S. forces, tanks, armed personnel carriers are in the central part of the city, occupying now a large palace complex there. That as aerial assets from Cobra attack helicopters to F-18s kept watch very carefully in the skies overhead, providing any combat support in case those troops on the ground encountered any resistance. They have encountered some, but it hasn't been severe, we're told.

Now, as action continues there, the U.S. has made some gains in capturing some of those on its most wanted list, some of those faces that popped up on those cards that were passed out to U.S. forces, one of the being Saddam Hussein's half brother. Watban Ibrahim Hasan al- Tikriti was captured Sunday. He was apprehended while he was trying to cross the border into Syria. And then on Saturday, Saddam Hussein's science adviser turned himself over to U.S. authorities, to U.S. forces, saying that he believed to his knowledge he'd been entirely honest with arms inspectors, the U.N. arms inspectors, and saying that Iraq does not own, had not developed any weapons of mass destruction.

Now, the remains where is Saddam Hussein, the most wanted on the list, and what happened to him? Was he killed in either of the two coalition strikes targeting him?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. TOMMY FRANKS, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND:

The appropriate people with the appropriate forensics are doing checks you would find appropriate in each of the places where we think we may have killed regime leadership.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you have DNA of Saddam Hussein and his sons?

FRANKS: Oh, of course. Of course. BLITZER: You do?

FRANKS: Of course.

BLITZER: So you'll be able to confirm, make a positive confirmation...

FRANKS: Of course.

BLITZER: ... if, in fact, he was in that building?

FRANKS: Well, unless remains were removed. I mean, one wouldn't ever want to say for sure a hundred percent, you know, you can do anything. But what you should know is that we have the forensic capability to chase these things down and we will chase them down, every one of them, all the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: And the Pentagon continues urging Syria not to allow entry by fleeing members of Saddam Hussein's regime. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld saying on Sunday that the U.S. hopes that Syria does not become "a haven for war criminals and terrorists."

The Pentagon has complained throughout the Iraqi conflict that Iraq's neighbor to the west has been notably unhelpful, allowing, for instance, military assets, military equipment, to flow into Iraq. But informed Western sources in the Syrian capital of Damascus say that to their knowledge no one from Saddam Hussein's family or regime is being harbored in Syria -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I understand.

Back to Saddam Hussein's DNA for just a second. General Tommy Franks said yesterday that he was going to go himself to Baghdad. Any update on that?

KOCH: Yes, the general is going to be going there, visiting with U.S. troops. We don't know if he's going to be going to any of these, the sites that were struck, the one initially when the war first began and then the second one more recently. But obviously giving a boost to the troops and checking out the situation on the ground, which still is a bit dangerous -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I understand. Let's talk more about that right now with Tom Mintier at CENTCOM.

Let's go live to Doha, Qatar -- good morning, Tom.

TOM MINTIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

As of Monday morning (AUDIO GAP) still here at CENTCOM, still operations centered here.

Joining us now is Captain Frank Thorp, public affairs officer for CENTCOM. The battle for Tikrit, American troops are inside the city. Is the battle over?

CAPT. FRANK THORP, CENTCOM SPOKESMAN: The battle isn't over yet, Tom. We have forces operating around the city as well as inside the city at this point. We're seeing a variety of different things in the city. We're seeing abandoned military equipment, Republican Guard, perhaps special Republican Guard, just quite frankly abandoned.

We also are seeing some level of fighting, like we've seen in the past week or so, small, fierce, but a very localized kind of fighting. For those soldiers on the ground, though, it's got to be pretty tough.

MINTIER: There have been reports this morning of a negotiated surrender by tribal leaders to coalition forces. Is that happening?

THORP: No, it's not happening. There was discussion on again off again, that kind of discussion, negotiations. Right now the latest report we have is those negotiations are not going on and fighting continues.

MINTIER: Fighting does continue.

Let's go to the list of 55. Over the weekend, two were taken off the list, one Saturday, one Sunday.

THORP: Yes, I think a lot of people saw General al-Saadi taken on Saturday and we're confirming now that we have Watban Ibrahim Hasan in our custody. We also, we're not going to go through every time we get one of these 55 of announcing it. So we're kind of leaving it up in the air as to if those are the only two of the 55 we have or we may, perhaps, have some others.

MINTIER: How significant is the information you're getting from them? Are they cooperating?

THORP: That information is still coming in. We have seen some level of cooperation, ranging from the folks on the, soldiers on the battlefield as well as Iraqi civilians. I think yesterday's example, when the POWs were pointed out by Iraqis there in the street, they pointed us a little farther forward you're going to come across Americans. We're seeing some of that and we're hearing that we're going to see even more of that as time goes on.

MINTIER: Tomorrow there is going to be a political meeting in Nasiriya. How important is this political process starting?

THORP: It's important that the political process is starting. The meeting itself is the first of many. We expect that there will be a lot of meetings like this throughout the country of Iraq. And so tomorrow's meeting, a mixture of individuals who have been in Iraq for the recent past as well as Iraqis who are coming back to Iraq for the first time in a long time.

But it's really, it's one of the first of many type of meetings. So as far as the significance of it in and of itself, not that significant as this meeting, but significant that these meetings are happening for the first time in the country.

MINTIER: All right, Captain Thorp, thank you very much.

So expectations for something rapidly moving from this political meeting not very high, at least not yet -- Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: Yes, thanks very much.

Tom Mintier reporting live from CENTCOM.

And a reminder for you, don't miss the next national briefing at U.S. Central Command. It's at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. That's about, oh, an hour and a half from now. Of course, CNN will bring you live coverage.

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 - 05:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
I'm Carol Costello.

5:30 Eastern time.

Now Tikrit, the last stronghold for Saddam Hussein's loyalists, appears close to falling right now. An embedded journalist says U.S. Marines are in the heart of Tikrit, but there is still sporadic gun fighting. Marines occupy the center of the city and attack helicopters control the skies.

The seven U.S. service members rescued in Iraq could be back in the States soon. They were taken to a medical facility in Kuwait just hours after being found near Samarah. None required hospitalization. Five of the ex-POWs are from the Army's 507th Maintenance Company. Two others are Apache helicopter pilots.

Saddam Hussein's half brother, Watban Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti, has been captured. He was taken into custody while trying to flee across the border into Syria. He is on the U.S. government's most wanted list of Iraqis.

President Bush has a blunt warning for Syria -- do not harbor leaders of Iraq's fallen government. Mr. Bush also accuses Syria of having chemical weapons. When asked yesterday if Syria could face military action, Mr. Bush simply said, "They just need to cooperate."

(OTHER NEWS HEADLINES)

COSTELLO: Let's get a quick look now at what we've got coming up.

America got a chance to smile when word came down that seven Army POWs had, indeed, been rescued. We'll see how some family members celebrated in the United States. Another celebration, but for how long? What's next for Iraq? Our Candy Crowley updates us on the potholes lining the road to a new Iraq. And from Hong Kong, we'll get an update on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and fallout from that mystery ailment.

Hello and welcome.

I'm Carol Costello at CNN global headquarters in Atlanta.

Today is Monday, April 14 and you are about to look right now at a picture of downtown Baghdad, where it's 1:30 in the afternoon. This is a live picture. We want to give you an early briefing now.

President Bush has postponed a state visit to Canada that had been scheduled for May 5. No word on when that visit will take place. U.S. Central Command takes the spotlight 90 minutes from now when it updates the war in Iraq. That's at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. Of course, CNN will have that live. And at Arlington National Cemetery, funeral services this morning for Marine First Lieutenant Frederick Pokorney, Jr., killed in a March 23 ambush near Nasiriya.

We have told you about the major U.S. Marine push to secure the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit.

CNN's Kathleen Koch has more on that for us from the Pentagon live -- good morning, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

You know, the concern initially was that this could have been a bloody last stand. But now it's turning out to be anything but that, as members of Task Force Tripoli, the U.S. Marines, are pushing very quickly deep into the heart of Saddam Hussein's ancestral home of Tikrit. U.S. forces, tanks, armed personnel carriers are in the central part of the city, occupying now a large palace complex there. That as aerial assets from Cobra attack helicopters to F-18s kept watch very carefully in the skies overhead, providing any combat support in case those troops on the ground encountered any resistance. They have encountered some, but it hasn't been severe, we're told.

Now, as action continues there, the U.S. has made some gains in capturing some of those on its most wanted list, some of those faces that popped up on those cards that were passed out to U.S. forces, one of the being Saddam Hussein's half brother. Watban Ibrahim Hasan al- Tikriti was captured Sunday. He was apprehended while he was trying to cross the border into Syria. And then on Saturday, Saddam Hussein's science adviser turned himself over to U.S. authorities, to U.S. forces, saying that he believed to his knowledge he'd been entirely honest with arms inspectors, the U.N. arms inspectors, and saying that Iraq does not own, had not developed any weapons of mass destruction.

Now, the remains where is Saddam Hussein, the most wanted on the list, and what happened to him? Was he killed in either of the two coalition strikes targeting him?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. TOMMY FRANKS, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND:

The appropriate people with the appropriate forensics are doing checks you would find appropriate in each of the places where we think we may have killed regime leadership.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you have DNA of Saddam Hussein and his sons?

FRANKS: Oh, of course. Of course. BLITZER: You do?

FRANKS: Of course.

BLITZER: So you'll be able to confirm, make a positive confirmation...

FRANKS: Of course.

BLITZER: ... if, in fact, he was in that building?

FRANKS: Well, unless remains were removed. I mean, one wouldn't ever want to say for sure a hundred percent, you know, you can do anything. But what you should know is that we have the forensic capability to chase these things down and we will chase them down, every one of them, all the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: And the Pentagon continues urging Syria not to allow entry by fleeing members of Saddam Hussein's regime. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld saying on Sunday that the U.S. hopes that Syria does not become "a haven for war criminals and terrorists."

The Pentagon has complained throughout the Iraqi conflict that Iraq's neighbor to the west has been notably unhelpful, allowing, for instance, military assets, military equipment, to flow into Iraq. But informed Western sources in the Syrian capital of Damascus say that to their knowledge no one from Saddam Hussein's family or regime is being harbored in Syria -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I understand.

Back to Saddam Hussein's DNA for just a second. General Tommy Franks said yesterday that he was going to go himself to Baghdad. Any update on that?

KOCH: Yes, the general is going to be going there, visiting with U.S. troops. We don't know if he's going to be going to any of these, the sites that were struck, the one initially when the war first began and then the second one more recently. But obviously giving a boost to the troops and checking out the situation on the ground, which still is a bit dangerous -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I understand. Let's talk more about that right now with Tom Mintier at CENTCOM.

Let's go live to Doha, Qatar -- good morning, Tom.

TOM MINTIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

As of Monday morning (AUDIO GAP) still here at CENTCOM, still operations centered here.

Joining us now is Captain Frank Thorp, public affairs officer for CENTCOM. The battle for Tikrit, American troops are inside the city. Is the battle over?

CAPT. FRANK THORP, CENTCOM SPOKESMAN: The battle isn't over yet, Tom. We have forces operating around the city as well as inside the city at this point. We're seeing a variety of different things in the city. We're seeing abandoned military equipment, Republican Guard, perhaps special Republican Guard, just quite frankly abandoned.

We also are seeing some level of fighting, like we've seen in the past week or so, small, fierce, but a very localized kind of fighting. For those soldiers on the ground, though, it's got to be pretty tough.

MINTIER: There have been reports this morning of a negotiated surrender by tribal leaders to coalition forces. Is that happening?

THORP: No, it's not happening. There was discussion on again off again, that kind of discussion, negotiations. Right now the latest report we have is those negotiations are not going on and fighting continues.

MINTIER: Fighting does continue.

Let's go to the list of 55. Over the weekend, two were taken off the list, one Saturday, one Sunday.

THORP: Yes, I think a lot of people saw General al-Saadi taken on Saturday and we're confirming now that we have Watban Ibrahim Hasan in our custody. We also, we're not going to go through every time we get one of these 55 of announcing it. So we're kind of leaving it up in the air as to if those are the only two of the 55 we have or we may, perhaps, have some others.

MINTIER: How significant is the information you're getting from them? Are they cooperating?

THORP: That information is still coming in. We have seen some level of cooperation, ranging from the folks on the, soldiers on the battlefield as well as Iraqi civilians. I think yesterday's example, when the POWs were pointed out by Iraqis there in the street, they pointed us a little farther forward you're going to come across Americans. We're seeing some of that and we're hearing that we're going to see even more of that as time goes on.

MINTIER: Tomorrow there is going to be a political meeting in Nasiriya. How important is this political process starting?

THORP: It's important that the political process is starting. The meeting itself is the first of many. We expect that there will be a lot of meetings like this throughout the country of Iraq. And so tomorrow's meeting, a mixture of individuals who have been in Iraq for the recent past as well as Iraqis who are coming back to Iraq for the first time in a long time.

But it's really, it's one of the first of many type of meetings. So as far as the significance of it in and of itself, not that significant as this meeting, but significant that these meetings are happening for the first time in the country.

MINTIER: All right, Captain Thorp, thank you very much.

So expectations for something rapidly moving from this political meeting not very high, at least not yet -- Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: Yes, thanks very much.

Tom Mintier reporting live from CENTCOM.

And a reminder for you, don't miss the next national briefing at U.S. Central Command. It's at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. That's about, oh, an hour and a half from now. Of course, CNN will bring you live coverage.

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