Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
In Iraq, Two Attacks Overnight
Aired October 29, 2003 - 05:36 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: Let's talk about Iraq right now. Two separate attacks overnight may again test America's resolve there.
CNN's Ben Wedeman live in Baghdad -- and, Ben, two U.S. troops killed. BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's correct. That is just one of a series of attacks that took place overnight in Iraq. In that incident, two soldiers from the 4th Armored Division were killed and one was wounded when their Abrams tank drove over what appears to be possibly an anti-tank mine in that area. Now, that area north of Baghdad has been a persistent trouble spot for coalition forces. It is inside what is known as the Sunni Triangle. And it appears that is the first Abrams tank to be disabled in combat here in Iraq since the end of the war against Saddam Hussein's regime in April.
Meanwhile in Fallujah, that town to the west of Baghdad where yesterday a massive car bomb went off in one of the main streets of that city, the death toll has been increased, according to the mayor's office there, from two to three dead. Six wounded, four of them critically, are in critical condition.
Now, this attack took place in the area of a police station. That just the fourth police station to be hit or possibly targeted by suicide bombers since Monday.
Monday -- Carol.
COSTELLO: You know, there have been so many deaths over the past few days, Ben, you've got to wonder what the mood of the populace is there. What is it?
WEDEMAN: It certainly hasn't had a very good affect on the mood. We had, in fact, been seeing people in recent weeks beginning to get a little more optimistic that life was getting back to normal. But these attacks have really caused a crisis of fear among ordinary Iraqis, who look at these attacks, look at these four deadly car bombings -- actually, five, allow me to correct myself -- five deadly car bombings that have taken place since the beginning of the week, and they see it as humanitarian organizations, Iraqis, Iraqi police who are being targeted. All of these attacks are leaving the Iraqis feeling rather vulnerable.
COSTELLO: You can certainly understand that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to put up with whatever we need to put up with until we see a better future for us and for our children. Those people are totally brainwashed, totally prepared for "martyrdom" feel that the Iraqis have let them down in their struggle against the devils, Americans, whatever they want to call them, and they are now taking their revenge on us. I mean we are now the target.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WEDEMAN: And that certainly, Carol, is a feeling we can understand.
COSTELLO: Certainly so.
Ben Wedeman reporting live from Baghdad.
Ben was talking about the Iraqi police officers on the front lines out there. They're still showing up to work. And we want to talk more about that now with our senior international editor, David Clinch.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes, Carol, good morning.
COSTELLO: Brave people.
CLINCH: They are brave people. I mean there's a lot of talk about what's happening to the United States in Iraq. There's a lot of talk about the attacks on U.S. soldiers. We've seen in the last few days that the Iraqi security officers, the police in particular, have become targets. They are, in some ways, softer targets. They're less well trained. They're less well armed.
But the fact is they are there. Now, they're getting paid to be there. They're part of this new organization. They're part of the framework that's being put in place for a new Iraq when the United States does leave. And the very important part of that -- because we're reminded every day that really none of the progress in these other areas, economics, education or anything else that really counts for that security. And I think that the Iraqi people are looking increasingly at these security forces and any Iraqi military that's put in place to take a greater role because, of course, the Iraqis are telling us that they see themselves as the coming target, not because of what they are, but because the United States is still there.
And, you know, you saw some pictures there of Iraqi police turning up and being given awards at a ceremony being held in Baghdad today. They are being given a high profile by the United States. They are being given high marks for their bravery, if you want to put it that way, for standing in front of the Red Cross building and the U.N. buildings and even the U.S. buildings.
It's got to be a very tough job.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, I want to ask you -- and I don't know if you'll know the answer to this question -- but do we know how many Iraqi police officers there are and if the United States is having problems recruiting new police officers? CLINCH: There certainly are less than there need to be in terms of their being a fully functional police force throughout the whole of Iraq. There are, though, thousands who have already lined up. And, again, they are being paid by the U.S. administration that's there...
COSTELLO: Well, sometimes. Maybe that's not...
CLINCH: They are being paid. There are thousands that have turned up. The real point, though, is that they're not all necessarily properly trained yet. And that's a story we're going to take a look at during the day today. Jane Arraf is going to talk to those Iraqi police and talk about the fact that while they're on the street, they're not necessarily as well trained or as well armed as they need to be. And also the sense of vulnerability that they tell us they feel because of not what they are, but the fact that they are being attacked by proxy, if you want to put it that way, by those who are against the coalition.
COSTELLO: Right. Well, we'll look forward to your next hit.
David Clinch, many thanks.
CLINCH: OK.
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 October 29, 2003 - 05:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk about Iraq right now. Two separate attacks overnight may again test America's resolve there.
CNN's Ben Wedeman live in Baghdad -- and, Ben, two U.S. troops killed. BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's correct. That is just one of a series of attacks that took place overnight in Iraq. In that incident, two soldiers from the 4th Armored Division were killed and one was wounded when their Abrams tank drove over what appears to be possibly an anti-tank mine in that area. Now, that area north of Baghdad has been a persistent trouble spot for coalition forces. It is inside what is known as the Sunni Triangle. And it appears that is the first Abrams tank to be disabled in combat here in Iraq since the end of the war against Saddam Hussein's regime in April.
Meanwhile in Fallujah, that town to the west of Baghdad where yesterday a massive car bomb went off in one of the main streets of that city, the death toll has been increased, according to the mayor's office there, from two to three dead. Six wounded, four of them critically, are in critical condition.
Now, this attack took place in the area of a police station. That just the fourth police station to be hit or possibly targeted by suicide bombers since Monday.
Monday -- Carol.
COSTELLO: You know, there have been so many deaths over the past few days, Ben, you've got to wonder what the mood of the populace is there. What is it?
WEDEMAN: It certainly hasn't had a very good affect on the mood. We had, in fact, been seeing people in recent weeks beginning to get a little more optimistic that life was getting back to normal. But these attacks have really caused a crisis of fear among ordinary Iraqis, who look at these attacks, look at these four deadly car bombings -- actually, five, allow me to correct myself -- five deadly car bombings that have taken place since the beginning of the week, and they see it as humanitarian organizations, Iraqis, Iraqi police who are being targeted. All of these attacks are leaving the Iraqis feeling rather vulnerable.
COSTELLO: You can certainly understand that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to put up with whatever we need to put up with until we see a better future for us and for our children. Those people are totally brainwashed, totally prepared for "martyrdom" feel that the Iraqis have let them down in their struggle against the devils, Americans, whatever they want to call them, and they are now taking their revenge on us. I mean we are now the target.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WEDEMAN: And that certainly, Carol, is a feeling we can understand.
COSTELLO: Certainly so.
Ben Wedeman reporting live from Baghdad.
Ben was talking about the Iraqi police officers on the front lines out there. They're still showing up to work. And we want to talk more about that now with our senior international editor, David Clinch.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes, Carol, good morning.
COSTELLO: Brave people.
CLINCH: They are brave people. I mean there's a lot of talk about what's happening to the United States in Iraq. There's a lot of talk about the attacks on U.S. soldiers. We've seen in the last few days that the Iraqi security officers, the police in particular, have become targets. They are, in some ways, softer targets. They're less well trained. They're less well armed.
But the fact is they are there. Now, they're getting paid to be there. They're part of this new organization. They're part of the framework that's being put in place for a new Iraq when the United States does leave. And the very important part of that -- because we're reminded every day that really none of the progress in these other areas, economics, education or anything else that really counts for that security. And I think that the Iraqi people are looking increasingly at these security forces and any Iraqi military that's put in place to take a greater role because, of course, the Iraqis are telling us that they see themselves as the coming target, not because of what they are, but because the United States is still there.
And, you know, you saw some pictures there of Iraqi police turning up and being given awards at a ceremony being held in Baghdad today. They are being given a high profile by the United States. They are being given high marks for their bravery, if you want to put it that way, for standing in front of the Red Cross building and the U.N. buildings and even the U.S. buildings.
It's got to be a very tough job.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, I want to ask you -- and I don't know if you'll know the answer to this question -- but do we know how many Iraqi police officers there are and if the United States is having problems recruiting new police officers? CLINCH: There certainly are less than there need to be in terms of their being a fully functional police force throughout the whole of Iraq. There are, though, thousands who have already lined up. And, again, they are being paid by the U.S. administration that's there...
COSTELLO: Well, sometimes. Maybe that's not...
CLINCH: They are being paid. There are thousands that have turned up. The real point, though, is that they're not all necessarily properly trained yet. And that's a story we're going to take a look at during the day today. Jane Arraf is going to talk to those Iraqi police and talk about the fact that while they're on the street, they're not necessarily as well trained or as well armed as they need to be. And also the sense of vulnerability that they tell us they feel because of not what they are, but the fact that they are being attacked by proxy, if you want to put it that way, by those who are against the coalition.
COSTELLO: Right. Well, we'll look forward to your next hit.
David Clinch, many thanks.
CLINCH: OK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
