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Garner in Charge

Aired April 21, 2003 - 12:08   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: Let's go to Baghdad in the meantime. A major development under way. Of course the arrival of retired General Jay Garner.
Our Jim Clancy is standing by live in the Iraqi capital.

Jim, tell us what's happening today in Baghdad.

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jay Garner, you could be called day one on the job in Baghdad. It was a day that was really spent surveying the situation here as could be expected. General Garner wanting to get a feel for what was needed. Of course, that's going to be his job as the post-war administrator. He visited a hospital today. He talked with some of the doctors and nurses. He also went out to a water-treatment plant and a sewage treatment plant to see how they were running. Of course, that's a major health issue in this city of more than 5 million people. He also visited one of the electrical-generating plants here in Baghdad, one of many, the south Baghdad power plant. The residents of this city say they've had enough. They want the power turned back on.

So much about this city's life, of course, depends on that, and General Garner is going to have to come through, although he says he's not going to be drawn, he's not going to set any deadlines. He's not going to set a schedule for himself. He just promises he's going to get the job done as quickly as possible. Iraqis on the street reacting to his visit, most of them say we don't know who he is.

At the same time, they think that they need someone and they're going to give him a chance in the view of many. On the other hand, there are some Iraqis that believe it's an Iraqi that should be taking that up post, not a U.S. retired general.

On that front, General Garner himself says he's not here to run the show. He's just here to get the show running -- Wolf.

BLITZER: The whole issue of security, stability, looting, electricity, water in Baghdad, how much of a problem is all of that right now a couple weeks or so since U.S. troops basically moved in and took control?

CLANCY: Well, I think that the looting problem has gotten better, although you've probably seen there are still some incidents, even in broad daylight, that happen. Still some incidents where homes are subject to looting overnight in the darkness. But the situation is gradually getting better.

I think the electricity is one of the key problems that has to be solved here, Wolf.

There's a lot of problems on his plate. Getting this city, getting this country back on its feet isn't going to be an easy job, and it's going to be made particularly difficult because of the political power vacuum, and what you have are people who have never had the experience of working within political parties, no experience with a multiparty democracy. You have religious leaders taking up political duties, as well as security duties. All of this is going to come into play. It's going to be a delicate balancing act indeed.

BLITZER: All right, difficult job for Jay Garner and everyone else. Jim Clancy, our man on the scene in Baghdad, thanks very much for that report.

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 21, 2003 - 12:08   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go to Baghdad in the meantime. A major development under way. Of course the arrival of retired General Jay Garner.
Our Jim Clancy is standing by live in the Iraqi capital.

Jim, tell us what's happening today in Baghdad.

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jay Garner, you could be called day one on the job in Baghdad. It was a day that was really spent surveying the situation here as could be expected. General Garner wanting to get a feel for what was needed. Of course, that's going to be his job as the post-war administrator. He visited a hospital today. He talked with some of the doctors and nurses. He also went out to a water-treatment plant and a sewage treatment plant to see how they were running. Of course, that's a major health issue in this city of more than 5 million people. He also visited one of the electrical-generating plants here in Baghdad, one of many, the south Baghdad power plant. The residents of this city say they've had enough. They want the power turned back on.

So much about this city's life, of course, depends on that, and General Garner is going to have to come through, although he says he's not going to be drawn, he's not going to set any deadlines. He's not going to set a schedule for himself. He just promises he's going to get the job done as quickly as possible. Iraqis on the street reacting to his visit, most of them say we don't know who he is.

At the same time, they think that they need someone and they're going to give him a chance in the view of many. On the other hand, there are some Iraqis that believe it's an Iraqi that should be taking that up post, not a U.S. retired general.

On that front, General Garner himself says he's not here to run the show. He's just here to get the show running -- Wolf.

BLITZER: The whole issue of security, stability, looting, electricity, water in Baghdad, how much of a problem is all of that right now a couple weeks or so since U.S. troops basically moved in and took control?

CLANCY: Well, I think that the looting problem has gotten better, although you've probably seen there are still some incidents, even in broad daylight, that happen. Still some incidents where homes are subject to looting overnight in the darkness. But the situation is gradually getting better.

I think the electricity is one of the key problems that has to be solved here, Wolf.

There's a lot of problems on his plate. Getting this city, getting this country back on its feet isn't going to be an easy job, and it's going to be made particularly difficult because of the political power vacuum, and what you have are people who have never had the experience of working within political parties, no experience with a multiparty democracy. You have religious leaders taking up political duties, as well as security duties. All of this is going to come into play. It's going to be a delicate balancing act indeed.

BLITZER: All right, difficult job for Jay Garner and everyone else. Jim Clancy, our man on the scene in Baghdad, thanks very much for that report.

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