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Donald Rumsfeld in Iraq to Salute U.S. Troops
Aired April 30, 2003 - 06:31 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: Cheers and protests greet Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, as he makes his way through Iraq today. Right now, he is in Baghdad.
Rym Brahimi is live there, too.
Hello -- Rym. What's he doing now?
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Carol.
Indeed, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in Baghdad. He is supposed to meet with the retired general, Jay Garner, who is now in charge of the -- who is now the interim administrator of Iraq.
There's a lot that needs to be done, but basically Donald Rumsfeld is here to thank U.S. troops for their work, and also take a view of what Iraq is like now since the regime has changed.
Now, earlier on, he was in Basra. That's where he first landed in Iraq. He was met by British officers, and this is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: When one looks back on this effort, I think, and pray indeed, that what will be significant is that a large number of human beings, intelligent and energetic, have been liberated. And that they are out from under the heel of a truly brutal, vicious regime, and that's a good thing. It's not only a good thing for them, it's a good thing for this region, and it's a good thing for the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRAHIMI: Now, here in Baghdad, though, as far as Iraqi citizens are concerned, whether Donald Rumsfeld and the U.S. coalition at large will be seen as liberators or not will depend on how quickly they can deliver on the high expectations that Iraqis have -- water, electricity, basic services, and above all security. And that was highlighted in the incident that took place in Fallujah.
Now, it appears, according to our correspondent Karl Penhaul who is over there in that western town of Fallujah, two people at least have been killed in Fallujah after U.S. forces opened fire at hundreds of demonstrators protesting the U.S. presence over there.
Now, we're going to bring you more details on exactly who may have shot who first, but that comes on the heels of another incident that took place on Monday evening. Protestors went to a school where U.S. troops were based. There was a shootout. Again, not clear who shot first. But the result then was 15 people dead and 53 injured -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Rym Brahimi, many thanks, bringing us up-to-date live from Baghdad this morning.
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 30, 2003 - 06:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Cheers and protests greet Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, as he makes his way through Iraq today. Right now, he is in Baghdad.
Rym Brahimi is live there, too.
Hello -- Rym. What's he doing now?
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Carol.
Indeed, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in Baghdad. He is supposed to meet with the retired general, Jay Garner, who is now in charge of the -- who is now the interim administrator of Iraq.
There's a lot that needs to be done, but basically Donald Rumsfeld is here to thank U.S. troops for their work, and also take a view of what Iraq is like now since the regime has changed.
Now, earlier on, he was in Basra. That's where he first landed in Iraq. He was met by British officers, and this is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: When one looks back on this effort, I think, and pray indeed, that what will be significant is that a large number of human beings, intelligent and energetic, have been liberated. And that they are out from under the heel of a truly brutal, vicious regime, and that's a good thing. It's not only a good thing for them, it's a good thing for this region, and it's a good thing for the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRAHIMI: Now, here in Baghdad, though, as far as Iraqi citizens are concerned, whether Donald Rumsfeld and the U.S. coalition at large will be seen as liberators or not will depend on how quickly they can deliver on the high expectations that Iraqis have -- water, electricity, basic services, and above all security. And that was highlighted in the incident that took place in Fallujah.
Now, it appears, according to our correspondent Karl Penhaul who is over there in that western town of Fallujah, two people at least have been killed in Fallujah after U.S. forces opened fire at hundreds of demonstrators protesting the U.S. presence over there.
Now, we're going to bring you more details on exactly who may have shot who first, but that comes on the heels of another incident that took place on Monday evening. Protestors went to a school where U.S. troops were based. There was a shootout. Again, not clear who shot first. But the result then was 15 people dead and 53 injured -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Rym Brahimi, many thanks, bringing us up-to-date live from Baghdad this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
