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CNN Live At Daybreak
Indefinite Stay for U.S. Army Troops in Iraq
Aired July 15, 2003 - 06:04 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: There's no place like home. There is no place like home. Dorothy's mantra has never seemed so true in Iraq. American soldiers yearning for home have to stay even longer in Iraq.
Live to Baghdad now and Rym Brahimi.
Hello -- Rym.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
That's right. That's what we've been hearing. That contrary to some plans that some troops would be going home soon, well, a lot of them now may have to stay longer, including maybe the 3rd Infantry Division which has been out of the United States since last September and that was the first one to come into Baghdad, the spearhead if you will of the U.S. forces that toppled the regime of President Saddam Hussein, the former President Saddam Hussein.
Now, these troops are having quite a difficult time of late. Of course, there are all of these attacks against them in various towns in and out of Baghdad, and there's also the heat. You know, it's summer here, Carol, and summer here means you're talking more than 100 degrees. Sometimes it gets 120, sometimes even more. And they have a lot of equipment to deal with, a lot of -- you know, their armored equipment. They have helmets that they need to wear. They carry heavy equipment as well -- guns. And they have also, you know, boots that are not very light either. So that's difficult.
Another difficulty, of course, they've been yearning for home, as you were saying. It's difficult for them to call abroad. And, of course, a lot of people here have been taking advantage of the situation. They've been charging them a lot of money for phone calls to the United States. A lot of people even hesitate to call abroad among the U.S. soldiers, because they say they hear their wives crying and they still can't give them a date when they're going to see them -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Boy, that would be tough. Rym Brahimi 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 July 15, 2003 - 06:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: There's no place like home. There is no place like home. Dorothy's mantra has never seemed so true in Iraq. American soldiers yearning for home have to stay even longer in Iraq.
Live to Baghdad now and Rym Brahimi.
Hello -- Rym.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
That's right. That's what we've been hearing. That contrary to some plans that some troops would be going home soon, well, a lot of them now may have to stay longer, including maybe the 3rd Infantry Division which has been out of the United States since last September and that was the first one to come into Baghdad, the spearhead if you will of the U.S. forces that toppled the regime of President Saddam Hussein, the former President Saddam Hussein.
Now, these troops are having quite a difficult time of late. Of course, there are all of these attacks against them in various towns in and out of Baghdad, and there's also the heat. You know, it's summer here, Carol, and summer here means you're talking more than 100 degrees. Sometimes it gets 120, sometimes even more. And they have a lot of equipment to deal with, a lot of -- you know, their armored equipment. They have helmets that they need to wear. They carry heavy equipment as well -- guns. And they have also, you know, boots that are not very light either. So that's difficult.
Another difficulty, of course, they've been yearning for home, as you were saying. It's difficult for them to call abroad. And, of course, a lot of people here have been taking advantage of the situation. They've been charging them a lot of money for phone calls to the United States. A lot of people even hesitate to call abroad among the U.S. soldiers, because they say they hear their wives crying and they still can't give them a date when they're going to see them -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Boy, that would be tough. Rym Brahimi 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.
