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CNN Live At Daybreak

U.S. Troops Begin Military Operation in Iraq

Aired June 16, 2003 - 06:07   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: Operation Desert Scorpion now, it is a major-league effort to root out those still loyal to Saddam Hussein. You know, those Iraqis who have made things rough and sometimes deadly for American troops.
Live to the phone lines right now, Ben Wedeman in Fallujah.

Ben -- is it working?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CAIRO BUREAU CHIEF: Well, it's hard to gauge it. It's really basically the second day of the operation, Carol, so certainly we have seen U.S. forces fairly active.

Today, for instance -- or rather overnight, U.S. forces focused their efforts on two areas. One is basically a suburb of Fallujah called Halladia (ph), where helicopters and troops and Bradley Armored Vehicles and Humvees went into that town. They arrested nine men suspected of involvement in attacks on U.S. forces in the area.

Now, my colleague, Dave Rust (ph), also spoke to the commander who led that operation, and he told Dave that they found as many as 70 tank rounds that were being used there to make explosives. In addition to that, they found a large number of AK-47 assault rifles, as well as a sniper rifle. So, if you gauge that as a success, certainly they seem to be doing well there.

In a nearby town called Ramadi (ph) about 60 kilometers to the west of here, a number of men were also arrested for involvement -- or rather detained for involvement in these attacks on U.S. personnel. Now, since the beginning of May, 40 American troops have been killed in attacks on U.S. personnel in Baghdad and the western and central parts of the country.

Now, this very big stick that the Americans wield at night, Carol, becomes a carrot by day. We were just a little while ago watching as a group of U.S. soldiers with bulldozers and other heavy earthmoving equipment were clearing a vacant lot of garbage and rubble. They said they were preparing it and making it into a football field for the local children.

The local people aren't altogether enthusiastic about all of this. They say that what they need is not municipal beautification. They need jobs, they need electricity, they need water, and they simply need to get back to life as normal -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Ben Wedeman live on the phone from Fallujah, Iraq, 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 June 16, 2003 - 06:07   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Operation Desert Scorpion now, it is a major-league effort to root out those still loyal to Saddam Hussein. You know, those Iraqis who have made things rough and sometimes deadly for American troops.
Live to the phone lines right now, Ben Wedeman in Fallujah.

Ben -- is it working?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CAIRO BUREAU CHIEF: Well, it's hard to gauge it. It's really basically the second day of the operation, Carol, so certainly we have seen U.S. forces fairly active.

Today, for instance -- or rather overnight, U.S. forces focused their efforts on two areas. One is basically a suburb of Fallujah called Halladia (ph), where helicopters and troops and Bradley Armored Vehicles and Humvees went into that town. They arrested nine men suspected of involvement in attacks on U.S. forces in the area.

Now, my colleague, Dave Rust (ph), also spoke to the commander who led that operation, and he told Dave that they found as many as 70 tank rounds that were being used there to make explosives. In addition to that, they found a large number of AK-47 assault rifles, as well as a sniper rifle. So, if you gauge that as a success, certainly they seem to be doing well there.

In a nearby town called Ramadi (ph) about 60 kilometers to the west of here, a number of men were also arrested for involvement -- or rather detained for involvement in these attacks on U.S. personnel. Now, since the beginning of May, 40 American troops have been killed in attacks on U.S. personnel in Baghdad and the western and central parts of the country.

Now, this very big stick that the Americans wield at night, Carol, becomes a carrot by day. We were just a little while ago watching as a group of U.S. soldiers with bulldozers and other heavy earthmoving equipment were clearing a vacant lot of garbage and rubble. They said they were preparing it and making it into a football field for the local children.

The local people aren't altogether enthusiastic about all of this. They say that what they need is not municipal beautification. They need jobs, they need electricity, they need water, and they simply need to get back to life as normal -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Ben Wedeman live on the phone from Fallujah, Iraq, 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.