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U.S. Troops Attacked at Power Station in Fallujah
Aired June 24, 2003 - 06:06 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: It has happened again in Fallujah, U.S. troops coming under attack.
Live to Baghdad now and Ben Wedeman.
What happened this time -- Ben?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CAIRO BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Carol, well, more trouble overnight in Fallujah, that town 60 miles to the west of Baghdad, which has been a flashpoint of problems for the U.S. forces in Iraq.
Apparently there were two separate incidents, the details of which are not yet clear. But apparently one U.S. patrol was fired upon with a rocket-propelled grenade. Whether that was near a power plant or the mayor's office, it's not altogether clear. What is clear, however, is that one Iraqi was killed when U.S. forces fired back.
Now, Fallujah really has been a flashpoint for quite some time for the U.S. forces, which have been carrying out for the last week- and-a-half this Operation Desert Scorpion in which the Americans have been using this stick at night going out and trying to round up the people they believe were involved in these attacks on U.S. forces. And during the day using the carrot, so to speak, carrying out public works, cleaning up empty lots, fixing up schools, but it appears that both the carrot and the stick aren't having an awful lot of impact in Fallujah.
Now, meanwhile, in another part of Iraq about 12 miles to the south of Baghdad, the Greenpeace environmental group went to the area around the Tuwaitha nuclear facility. Now, this facility was severely looted by local Iraqis during the chaos that accompanied the collapse of the Saddam Hussein regime. Apparently villagers made up -- made off with -- excuse me -- several barrels of what used to contain uranium, one of the derivatives of uranium known as "yellow cake." And they were using some of those barrels to store water in them.
Now, according to some doctors in the area around the Tuwaitha nuclear site, some people are now coming down with illnesses that do look like they may be similar to radiation sickness.
Now, Greenpeace is calling on the U.S. to come in as the occupying authority and to clean up that site and take responsibility for it. Now, the Americans earlier did allow a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency to come and clean up one part of that site, but that apparently, according to Greenpeace, is not enough -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Understand. Ben Wedeman 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 June 24, 2003 - 06:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It has happened again in Fallujah, U.S. troops coming under attack.
Live to Baghdad now and Ben Wedeman.
What happened this time -- Ben?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CAIRO BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Carol, well, more trouble overnight in Fallujah, that town 60 miles to the west of Baghdad, which has been a flashpoint of problems for the U.S. forces in Iraq.
Apparently there were two separate incidents, the details of which are not yet clear. But apparently one U.S. patrol was fired upon with a rocket-propelled grenade. Whether that was near a power plant or the mayor's office, it's not altogether clear. What is clear, however, is that one Iraqi was killed when U.S. forces fired back.
Now, Fallujah really has been a flashpoint for quite some time for the U.S. forces, which have been carrying out for the last week- and-a-half this Operation Desert Scorpion in which the Americans have been using this stick at night going out and trying to round up the people they believe were involved in these attacks on U.S. forces. And during the day using the carrot, so to speak, carrying out public works, cleaning up empty lots, fixing up schools, but it appears that both the carrot and the stick aren't having an awful lot of impact in Fallujah.
Now, meanwhile, in another part of Iraq about 12 miles to the south of Baghdad, the Greenpeace environmental group went to the area around the Tuwaitha nuclear facility. Now, this facility was severely looted by local Iraqis during the chaos that accompanied the collapse of the Saddam Hussein regime. Apparently villagers made up -- made off with -- excuse me -- several barrels of what used to contain uranium, one of the derivatives of uranium known as "yellow cake." And they were using some of those barrels to store water in them.
Now, according to some doctors in the area around the Tuwaitha nuclear site, some people are now coming down with illnesses that do look like they may be similar to radiation sickness.
Now, Greenpeace is calling on the U.S. to come in as the occupying authority and to clean up that site and take responsibility for it. Now, the Americans earlier did allow a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency to come and clean up one part of that site, but that apparently, according to Greenpeace, is not enough -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Understand. Ben Wedeman 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.
