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CNN Live Sunday
Surface-to-Air Missile Fired at U.S. Cargo Plane in Iraq
Aired September 07, 2003 - 10:00 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: More tense moments in Iraq. A surface-to-air missile was fired today at a U.S. cargo plane taking off from the Baghdad Airport. It missed. CNN's Walter Rodgers has a live report now from the Iraqi capital.
Hello to you, Walter.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Actually, it was not one but two missiles that were fired. I believe it was Saturday. A U.S. Air Force C-141 cargo plane was departing Baghdad International Airport, and now the U.S. military here is saying that two missiles were fired.
During the war, when I was in those neighborhoods with the 7th Cavalry, that entire area was a hotbed of Ba'athists, that is Saddam loyalists. So this is not the first time that missiles have been fired at the plane. A military spokesman said the missiles never came close. Those aircraft have more than a few devices to deflect incoming missiles.
Sometimes they fire flares, which, of course, defect heat-seeking missiles, and of course there are electronic countermeasures as well. But during the war that area was such a hotbed of Ba'ath resistance that the 3rd Infantry Division wouldn't even send its helicopters into that particular area for fear they might be shot down.
Now, U.S. military patrols continue around the country throughout this very huge, spacious country known as Iraq. It's not just Baghdad where these patrols go. And a military spokesman said that some of those patrols sometimes see 12 to 15 attacks a day. Still, there have been no U.S. fatalities since September 2nd.
There have been more than a few evidences of Iraqi hostility towards the Americans here. There was a demonstration earlier today with several hundred Iraqi demonstrators who used to work in the Republican Palace here. They are angry because they say they haven't been paid in six months, so they're chanting with their minds and their souls. They called for the return of Saddam Hussein, and this is a typical response in this part of the world, as I said.
One of the things they did was hold up their shoes and showed the soles of their shoes to American military who were present there. That's the ultimate Arab insult to show someone the soles of your shoes -- Heidi.
COLLINS: We are going to hear, Walter, tonight from the president about some of the progress made in Iraq. Interesting, too, what you could probably tell us about the 101st Airborne Division.
RODGERS: I spent the last week with them in northwestern Iraq, and they have been making progress in terms of nation building and peacemaking. Now, tonight it's not a perfect honeymoon, but they have helped bring in the entire wheat crop in that bread basket of Iraq. They have also refurbished schools; they go around to villages every day and they repair wells for villages which have no water.
So they've been very busy in that sense. Still, they, too, encounter hostility. Sometimes they have rocks thrown at them. But in that particular area, there haven't been serious instances of tacks against the 101st since last month -- Heidi.
COLLINS: And not typically the mission for the 101st.
RODGERS: That's an interesting story, because these soldiers are warriors. They're trained for medium and high-intensity conflict, and now they're involved in a bit of an identity crisis. That is to say, they are now involved in nation-building and peacemaking.
I'm working on a story on that. It's a very interesting story to see how they juggle those two roles. Sometimes they're fighters by night and peacemakers by day. It's not easy for those soldiers -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. We will look forward to that. Walter Rodgers coming to us live today. We appreciate it, Walter. Thanks so much.
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 September 7, 2003 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: More tense moments in Iraq. A surface-to-air missile was fired today at a U.S. cargo plane taking off from the Baghdad Airport. It missed. CNN's Walter Rodgers has a live report now from the Iraqi capital.
Hello to you, Walter.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Actually, it was not one but two missiles that were fired. I believe it was Saturday. A U.S. Air Force C-141 cargo plane was departing Baghdad International Airport, and now the U.S. military here is saying that two missiles were fired.
During the war, when I was in those neighborhoods with the 7th Cavalry, that entire area was a hotbed of Ba'athists, that is Saddam loyalists. So this is not the first time that missiles have been fired at the plane. A military spokesman said the missiles never came close. Those aircraft have more than a few devices to deflect incoming missiles.
Sometimes they fire flares, which, of course, defect heat-seeking missiles, and of course there are electronic countermeasures as well. But during the war that area was such a hotbed of Ba'ath resistance that the 3rd Infantry Division wouldn't even send its helicopters into that particular area for fear they might be shot down.
Now, U.S. military patrols continue around the country throughout this very huge, spacious country known as Iraq. It's not just Baghdad where these patrols go. And a military spokesman said that some of those patrols sometimes see 12 to 15 attacks a day. Still, there have been no U.S. fatalities since September 2nd.
There have been more than a few evidences of Iraqi hostility towards the Americans here. There was a demonstration earlier today with several hundred Iraqi demonstrators who used to work in the Republican Palace here. They are angry because they say they haven't been paid in six months, so they're chanting with their minds and their souls. They called for the return of Saddam Hussein, and this is a typical response in this part of the world, as I said.
One of the things they did was hold up their shoes and showed the soles of their shoes to American military who were present there. That's the ultimate Arab insult to show someone the soles of your shoes -- Heidi.
COLLINS: We are going to hear, Walter, tonight from the president about some of the progress made in Iraq. Interesting, too, what you could probably tell us about the 101st Airborne Division.
RODGERS: I spent the last week with them in northwestern Iraq, and they have been making progress in terms of nation building and peacemaking. Now, tonight it's not a perfect honeymoon, but they have helped bring in the entire wheat crop in that bread basket of Iraq. They have also refurbished schools; they go around to villages every day and they repair wells for villages which have no water.
So they've been very busy in that sense. Still, they, too, encounter hostility. Sometimes they have rocks thrown at them. But in that particular area, there haven't been serious instances of tacks against the 101st since last month -- Heidi.
COLLINS: And not typically the mission for the 101st.
RODGERS: That's an interesting story, because these soldiers are warriors. They're trained for medium and high-intensity conflict, and now they're involved in a bit of an identity crisis. That is to say, they are now involved in nation-building and peacemaking.
I'm working on a story on that. It's a very interesting story to see how they juggle those two roles. Sometimes they're fighters by night and peacemakers by day. It's not easy for those soldiers -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. We will look forward to that. Walter Rodgers coming to us live today. We appreciate it, Walter. Thanks so much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
