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CNN Live At Daybreak

What Was It Like to be in Middle of it All?

Aired May 02, 2003 - 06:50   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.


ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The gunfire, the bombs, the destruction and the bravery, it all played out on your television during the war in Iraq like never before. That's because for the first time the U.S. military allowed reporters to be embedded with troops on the front lines.
What was it like to be right there in the middle of it all?

Well, the reports, like CNN's Walter Rodgers, witnessed everything and shared it with you at home in moments like this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The smoke is probably no more than a quarter to a third mile behind me and that smoke is pouring up into the air. It appeared to be a stealthful mission by the Iraqis, sneaking up on the U.S. Army unit, which is behind me. The Army saw it, quickly fired on it regularly. But we can hear continuous booming of 120 millimeter mortars in the background, again, attesting that while the U.S. Army controls the Baghdad International Airport, it does not control the hostile areas around the airport.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEVILLE: And Walter Rodgers is back from war duty and he is here to share with -- what he saw in the heat of the battle -- good morning, Walt, and nice to have you back.

I've got to ask you first up, that is, what are some of the memories that you are carrying with you now from this war coverage that will not be deleted from your mind?

RODGERS: You know, there was a humanizing experience in the war coverage which was almost ethereal. There was one point where we had been under fire for about two days and we were sitting in the desert in our Humvee and all four doors were open to let air circulate through. And it was filled with flies.

And all of a sudden this tiny bird, either a chiffchaff (ph) or an Arctic warbler (ph), migrating through, flies in, lands on us as if it's an ethereal spirit from another world, and then it flies around and it picks off flies from one of us, and it flies to the next, and it does this for 20 minutes, just landing on us, using us as a perch, flying all through the inside of the Humvee vehicle, picking flies off us.

And all of a sudden through the blood and the gore and the bang- bang, there was this lovely like spirit from another world, a very small warbler, migrating north into what would be Russia, and it just touched us. And all of a sudden -- my satellite engineer, Jeff Barwise (ph), said to me in an e-mail recently, he said, "Walt, you know, of all the things I remember, that little bird was the highlight of the trip."

It was a very humanizing experience.

NEVILLE: Because it was almost as if saying that, you know, after all, we're all people, it's all about lives, it's all about humanity.

RODGERS: Exactly. That life is important and it was a humanizing experience. And I thought it was lovely that Jeff e-mailed me and said that to you. And, you know, afterwards, when you get out there's a sudden let down after the exhilaration of bang-bang combat for two weeks. And then suddenly you're flooded, just flooded with this emotional wave and you're just profoundly humble and grateful to be alive. And I still am. Life becomes much more precious.

NEVILLE: Yes, because this is it. When you're in the heat of the moment, you're doing your job, you're a professional so you sort of remove yourself from the situation.

RODGERS: That's right.

NEVILLE: And then it hits you.

RODGERS: Exactly. You're always detached.

NEVILLE: But help me understand, Walt, when you, when that moment happens, where are you? Are you at home? You're sitting down reading a book, you're having tea? What happens when you realize whoa, what I just went through again?

RODGERS: You sort of put your fingers to your lips and humbly say I'm grateful to be alive. And it isn't just me. The other embeds, Martin Savidge, Alessio Vinci, Art Harris, each of us with whom I spoke, all of the CNN embeds, albeit with other units, had that same feeling, that you just are humble, that you were spared, because it was very, very dangerous and the embedding process is dangerous.

And I heard yesterday a figure of one in 70 correspondents or journalists who went to that war died, one in 70. And it's going to get worse if the embedding process continues, and that's as it should be. We should be embedded. I totally believe in the commitment to the public's right to know.

NEVILLE: I was just going to ask you that, do you think that that's a good idea?

RODGERS: Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, there's one thing interesting, I was just, I got an e-mail from someone a few seconds ago and they reminded me that when Ronald Reagan invaded Grenada in the Caribbean to drive out the communists or whoever he was driving out at the time, he, the Reagan administration didn't let reporters on the island until three days after the invasion.

The Bush administration, to their credit, was much, much better about this. They said to reporters, you want to see what it's about, you whine a lot, you can go. Bam.

NEVILLE: And then let, let's talk about the idea of keeping everyone honest, the administration -- because you're right there. You're getting the information firsthand so therefore you're not relying on the State Department to say well, this is what happened today.

RODGERS: That's right. I think that's terribly important. And the greatest innovation in this embedding process was twofold. One, the access we had, which it was without precedent. I had more access covering the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry than any White House reporter has covering the White House or any Congressional reporter has covering Capitol Hill or a reporter covering the state legislature. I had fantastic access.

And the other thing is just the standard reportorial relationship that you build with your sources and the people you cover, and that's trust. And the trust was so much important here because it isn't so much that I'm going to embarrass senator so and so with what I write. The trust was important here it was because if I do this wrong and I betray your trust, colonel, I get you killed, I get me killed.

NEVILLE: Very, very fascinating.

Walt, before you go, a very light note here, quickly.

When you got back home, what was the first thing you did? Get out...

RODGERS: Grabbed my wife.

NEVILLE: Oh, of course.

RODGERS: I had a couple of showers in Kuwait first, so I was clean.

NEVILLE: That's a good thing.

Walt Rodgers, thank you very much.

RODGERS: Thanks, Arthel.

NEVILLE: And I appreciate all of your coverage.

RODGERS: Well, thanks. It was fun.

NEVILLE: And I say that with much humility.

RODGERS: It was great fun.

NEVILLE: OK, thank you very much.

RODGERS: Thank you.

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 May 2, 2003 - 06:50   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The gunfire, the bombs, the destruction and the bravery, it all played out on your television during the war in Iraq like never before. That's because for the first time the U.S. military allowed reporters to be embedded with troops on the front lines.
What was it like to be right there in the middle of it all?

Well, the reports, like CNN's Walter Rodgers, witnessed everything and shared it with you at home in moments like this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The smoke is probably no more than a quarter to a third mile behind me and that smoke is pouring up into the air. It appeared to be a stealthful mission by the Iraqis, sneaking up on the U.S. Army unit, which is behind me. The Army saw it, quickly fired on it regularly. But we can hear continuous booming of 120 millimeter mortars in the background, again, attesting that while the U.S. Army controls the Baghdad International Airport, it does not control the hostile areas around the airport.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEVILLE: And Walter Rodgers is back from war duty and he is here to share with -- what he saw in the heat of the battle -- good morning, Walt, and nice to have you back.

I've got to ask you first up, that is, what are some of the memories that you are carrying with you now from this war coverage that will not be deleted from your mind?

RODGERS: You know, there was a humanizing experience in the war coverage which was almost ethereal. There was one point where we had been under fire for about two days and we were sitting in the desert in our Humvee and all four doors were open to let air circulate through. And it was filled with flies.

And all of a sudden this tiny bird, either a chiffchaff (ph) or an Arctic warbler (ph), migrating through, flies in, lands on us as if it's an ethereal spirit from another world, and then it flies around and it picks off flies from one of us, and it flies to the next, and it does this for 20 minutes, just landing on us, using us as a perch, flying all through the inside of the Humvee vehicle, picking flies off us.

And all of a sudden through the blood and the gore and the bang- bang, there was this lovely like spirit from another world, a very small warbler, migrating north into what would be Russia, and it just touched us. And all of a sudden -- my satellite engineer, Jeff Barwise (ph), said to me in an e-mail recently, he said, "Walt, you know, of all the things I remember, that little bird was the highlight of the trip."

It was a very humanizing experience.

NEVILLE: Because it was almost as if saying that, you know, after all, we're all people, it's all about lives, it's all about humanity.

RODGERS: Exactly. That life is important and it was a humanizing experience. And I thought it was lovely that Jeff e-mailed me and said that to you. And, you know, afterwards, when you get out there's a sudden let down after the exhilaration of bang-bang combat for two weeks. And then suddenly you're flooded, just flooded with this emotional wave and you're just profoundly humble and grateful to be alive. And I still am. Life becomes much more precious.

NEVILLE: Yes, because this is it. When you're in the heat of the moment, you're doing your job, you're a professional so you sort of remove yourself from the situation.

RODGERS: That's right.

NEVILLE: And then it hits you.

RODGERS: Exactly. You're always detached.

NEVILLE: But help me understand, Walt, when you, when that moment happens, where are you? Are you at home? You're sitting down reading a book, you're having tea? What happens when you realize whoa, what I just went through again?

RODGERS: You sort of put your fingers to your lips and humbly say I'm grateful to be alive. And it isn't just me. The other embeds, Martin Savidge, Alessio Vinci, Art Harris, each of us with whom I spoke, all of the CNN embeds, albeit with other units, had that same feeling, that you just are humble, that you were spared, because it was very, very dangerous and the embedding process is dangerous.

And I heard yesterday a figure of one in 70 correspondents or journalists who went to that war died, one in 70. And it's going to get worse if the embedding process continues, and that's as it should be. We should be embedded. I totally believe in the commitment to the public's right to know.

NEVILLE: I was just going to ask you that, do you think that that's a good idea?

RODGERS: Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, there's one thing interesting, I was just, I got an e-mail from someone a few seconds ago and they reminded me that when Ronald Reagan invaded Grenada in the Caribbean to drive out the communists or whoever he was driving out at the time, he, the Reagan administration didn't let reporters on the island until three days after the invasion.

The Bush administration, to their credit, was much, much better about this. They said to reporters, you want to see what it's about, you whine a lot, you can go. Bam.

NEVILLE: And then let, let's talk about the idea of keeping everyone honest, the administration -- because you're right there. You're getting the information firsthand so therefore you're not relying on the State Department to say well, this is what happened today.

RODGERS: That's right. I think that's terribly important. And the greatest innovation in this embedding process was twofold. One, the access we had, which it was without precedent. I had more access covering the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry than any White House reporter has covering the White House or any Congressional reporter has covering Capitol Hill or a reporter covering the state legislature. I had fantastic access.

And the other thing is just the standard reportorial relationship that you build with your sources and the people you cover, and that's trust. And the trust was so much important here because it isn't so much that I'm going to embarrass senator so and so with what I write. The trust was important here it was because if I do this wrong and I betray your trust, colonel, I get you killed, I get me killed.

NEVILLE: Very, very fascinating.

Walt, before you go, a very light note here, quickly.

When you got back home, what was the first thing you did? Get out...

RODGERS: Grabbed my wife.

NEVILLE: Oh, of course.

RODGERS: I had a couple of showers in Kuwait first, so I was clean.

NEVILLE: That's a good thing.

Walt Rodgers, thank you very much.

RODGERS: Thanks, Arthel.

NEVILLE: And I appreciate all of your coverage.

RODGERS: Well, thanks. It was fun.

NEVILLE: And I say that with much humility.

RODGERS: It was great fun.

NEVILLE: OK, thank you very much.

RODGERS: Thank you.

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