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CNN Live Sunday

A Second Oil Pipeline In Iraq Is Hit

Aired August 17, 2003 - 18:14   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.


ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: Last night, a second pipeline fire broke out, this one northwest of Mosul. CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Plante is following the story. Chris, do we know if this new pipeline fire is also sabotage?
CHRIS PLANTE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're still looking into it at this point. But certainly the rebutable presumption at this time, is that it is another act of sabotage. It would certainly be in keeping with what we've seen over the last couple of days. They did come with the conclusion the attack on the pipeline that took place at 3:00 a.m. Saturday morning was a deliberate act of sabotage. At this point they're assuming this, too, was an act of sabotage and not naturally occurring phenomenon but they are investigating.

KOPPEL: Before the war was over, I was going to say this is kind of ironic, because the U.S. military thought that that's exactly what Saddam Hussein's soldiers were going to do, that they had rigged all of these various oil fields and they were going to explode them. Are they not being protected or is it impossible to protect such a big swathe of territory?

PLANTE: Well, it's pretty much impossible to protect all the many miles and miles of pipeline going across the country. This pipeline that was blown up yesterday morning went from northern Iraq to Turkey, several hundred miles to a coastal city in Turkey, where the oil can be loaded onto transport ships. So just one pipeline, hundreds of miles, certainly it would be a very labor-intensive effort if they're going to try to do that.

KOPPEL: Chris, how concerned are folks at the Pentagon that these former loyalists could significantly hinder the recovery?

PLANTE: Well, they're slowing things down as it is right now. This is a pretty good example of how a relatively small number of people can create a significant level of trouble for the administration in Iraq. Cutting off the flow of oil by blowing up the pipelines is going to cost, as we heard Ambassador Bremer say a couple of minutes ago, many millions of dollars a day. It's going to hinder the boosting of the Iraqi economy which is the key to getting the country back on its feet.

So they're very concerned about it. They're doing everything they can, as they say, to try to round up and get these bad guys out of commission, but there are plenty of them in that region and there's a lot of work. KOPPEL: Well, I was just going to ask you, do you feel like they're making any progress in routing out, as you said, these bad guys?

PLANTE: Well, they say that they're making good progress, that with each arrest, they are getting more information that is leading them to more people that are involved in these attacks on the U.S. troops, involved in the sabotage, involved in efforts to undermine the efforts of the coalition to get Iraq back on its feet.

They certainly insist that they're making good headway, that largely it's a matter of gathering good intelligence, which they get from arresting people in these raids that we hear about everyday, but obviously there's still a good way to go.

KOPPEL: I understand, Chris, that you have some news regarding that Reuters photo journalist who was shot earlier today near one of the Baghdad prisons.

PLANTE: Right. Palestinian photo journalist by the name of Mazen Dana, working for the Reuters news agency was shooting pictures outside of the prison on the outskirts of Baghdad where a mortar attack had taken place and a tragedy, U.S. troops arriving at the scene, apparently under the impression, one soldier, at least, that Mr. Dana was pointing a rocket propelled grenade at their vehicle or some other type of shoulder-launched weapon and the American soldier opened fire on the cameraman and killed him.

It's being categorized as a tragic mistake. They said it was in the heat of the moment, but they have come to the determination that it was an American soldier that killed the cameraman.

KOPPEL: Okay, on that sad note, Chris Plante, thank you again for the update from the Pentagon.

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 August 17, 2003 - 18:14   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: Last night, a second pipeline fire broke out, this one northwest of Mosul. CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Plante is following the story. Chris, do we know if this new pipeline fire is also sabotage?
CHRIS PLANTE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're still looking into it at this point. But certainly the rebutable presumption at this time, is that it is another act of sabotage. It would certainly be in keeping with what we've seen over the last couple of days. They did come with the conclusion the attack on the pipeline that took place at 3:00 a.m. Saturday morning was a deliberate act of sabotage. At this point they're assuming this, too, was an act of sabotage and not naturally occurring phenomenon but they are investigating.

KOPPEL: Before the war was over, I was going to say this is kind of ironic, because the U.S. military thought that that's exactly what Saddam Hussein's soldiers were going to do, that they had rigged all of these various oil fields and they were going to explode them. Are they not being protected or is it impossible to protect such a big swathe of territory?

PLANTE: Well, it's pretty much impossible to protect all the many miles and miles of pipeline going across the country. This pipeline that was blown up yesterday morning went from northern Iraq to Turkey, several hundred miles to a coastal city in Turkey, where the oil can be loaded onto transport ships. So just one pipeline, hundreds of miles, certainly it would be a very labor-intensive effort if they're going to try to do that.

KOPPEL: Chris, how concerned are folks at the Pentagon that these former loyalists could significantly hinder the recovery?

PLANTE: Well, they're slowing things down as it is right now. This is a pretty good example of how a relatively small number of people can create a significant level of trouble for the administration in Iraq. Cutting off the flow of oil by blowing up the pipelines is going to cost, as we heard Ambassador Bremer say a couple of minutes ago, many millions of dollars a day. It's going to hinder the boosting of the Iraqi economy which is the key to getting the country back on its feet.

So they're very concerned about it. They're doing everything they can, as they say, to try to round up and get these bad guys out of commission, but there are plenty of them in that region and there's a lot of work. KOPPEL: Well, I was just going to ask you, do you feel like they're making any progress in routing out, as you said, these bad guys?

PLANTE: Well, they say that they're making good progress, that with each arrest, they are getting more information that is leading them to more people that are involved in these attacks on the U.S. troops, involved in the sabotage, involved in efforts to undermine the efforts of the coalition to get Iraq back on its feet.

They certainly insist that they're making good headway, that largely it's a matter of gathering good intelligence, which they get from arresting people in these raids that we hear about everyday, but obviously there's still a good way to go.

KOPPEL: I understand, Chris, that you have some news regarding that Reuters photo journalist who was shot earlier today near one of the Baghdad prisons.

PLANTE: Right. Palestinian photo journalist by the name of Mazen Dana, working for the Reuters news agency was shooting pictures outside of the prison on the outskirts of Baghdad where a mortar attack had taken place and a tragedy, U.S. troops arriving at the scene, apparently under the impression, one soldier, at least, that Mr. Dana was pointing a rocket propelled grenade at their vehicle or some other type of shoulder-launched weapon and the American soldier opened fire on the cameraman and killed him.

It's being categorized as a tragic mistake. They said it was in the heat of the moment, but they have come to the determination that it was an American soldier that killed the cameraman.

KOPPEL: Okay, on that sad note, Chris Plante, thank you again for the update from the Pentagon.

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