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CNN Live At Daybreak

U.S. Chinook Helicopter Downed Near Fallujah

Aired November 03, 2003 - 06:01   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: Time to heal now. Sixteen injured soldiers are in Germany this morning. They're being treated at Landstuhl Hospital after their chopper went down near Fallujah Sunday.
Sixteen soldiers died, 20 others were wounded.

Witnesses say the Chinook helicopter was hit by a surface-to-air missile. The Army says the cause of the incident is still under investigation.

Security is tight in the Iraqi capital and elsewhere this morning. Troops on a high state of alert, preparing for new violence that officials say is expected in the coming days.

The U.S. Iraq administrator says Iraqis will increasingly be helping with security efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL BREMER, U.S. CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR: We think it's very important for the Iraqis to be much more actively engaged in their security, and that's why you're going to see an acceleration of this in the months ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Now to the investigation. There are many shoulder- fired weapons in Iraq, the kind witnesses say shot down that American Chinook. The question now: Can they all be found and confiscated? And what about American flights over very dangerous territory?

Let's head live to Baghdad and Matthew Chance.

Is the military talking much about this -- Matthew?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the military is making the point that these kinds of shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles are widely available around Iraq. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, that have escaped from the -- have been taken away from the various hundreds of arms dumps around this country after the fall of the former regime of Saddam Hussein.

And, yes, they say that represents a significant threat, not just to U.S. military aircraft flying through the airspace over Iraq, but also to the limited number of civilian aircraft as well that come into Iraq ferrying in diplomats and journalists and aid workers and things like that. So, there is quite a degree of alarm that this kind of weapon may have been used, and we have to stress "may" at this point, because at the moment we only have it from eyewitnesses that it was a surface-to- air missile that was used to bring down this U.S. helicopter, although U.S. officials do say that this looks like the most likely possibility at this stage -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I was just wondering if there will be any change in the way soldiers are transported to Baghdad International Airport. This Chinook is a slow-moving aircraft and relatively easy to shoot down with this kind of weapon.

CHANCE: Right. But as so often in these kinds of intensive close-quarter situations, travel by air is still by far the safest way by which the forces of the United States can move around this territory. Remember that on a daily basis now they come under attack from roadside bombs that are detonated by remote-control as their convoys drive past them.

Indeed, yesterday, at the same time as this helicopter was brought down, three U.S. personnel were also killed in that fashion on the ground by bombs being detonated as their vehicles drove past.

So, I think the simple answer is that there is no safe way to move U.S. forces across this territory and perhaps, you know, the helicopters are the least dangerous way.

COSTELLO: All right, Matthew Chance reporting live from Baghdad for us 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 November 3, 2003 - 06:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time to heal now. Sixteen injured soldiers are in Germany this morning. They're being treated at Landstuhl Hospital after their chopper went down near Fallujah Sunday.
Sixteen soldiers died, 20 others were wounded.

Witnesses say the Chinook helicopter was hit by a surface-to-air missile. The Army says the cause of the incident is still under investigation.

Security is tight in the Iraqi capital and elsewhere this morning. Troops on a high state of alert, preparing for new violence that officials say is expected in the coming days.

The U.S. Iraq administrator says Iraqis will increasingly be helping with security efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL BREMER, U.S. CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR: We think it's very important for the Iraqis to be much more actively engaged in their security, and that's why you're going to see an acceleration of this in the months ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Now to the investigation. There are many shoulder- fired weapons in Iraq, the kind witnesses say shot down that American Chinook. The question now: Can they all be found and confiscated? And what about American flights over very dangerous territory?

Let's head live to Baghdad and Matthew Chance.

Is the military talking much about this -- Matthew?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the military is making the point that these kinds of shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles are widely available around Iraq. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, that have escaped from the -- have been taken away from the various hundreds of arms dumps around this country after the fall of the former regime of Saddam Hussein.

And, yes, they say that represents a significant threat, not just to U.S. military aircraft flying through the airspace over Iraq, but also to the limited number of civilian aircraft as well that come into Iraq ferrying in diplomats and journalists and aid workers and things like that. So, there is quite a degree of alarm that this kind of weapon may have been used, and we have to stress "may" at this point, because at the moment we only have it from eyewitnesses that it was a surface-to- air missile that was used to bring down this U.S. helicopter, although U.S. officials do say that this looks like the most likely possibility at this stage -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I was just wondering if there will be any change in the way soldiers are transported to Baghdad International Airport. This Chinook is a slow-moving aircraft and relatively easy to shoot down with this kind of weapon.

CHANCE: Right. But as so often in these kinds of intensive close-quarter situations, travel by air is still by far the safest way by which the forces of the United States can move around this territory. Remember that on a daily basis now they come under attack from roadside bombs that are detonated by remote-control as their convoys drive past them.

Indeed, yesterday, at the same time as this helicopter was brought down, three U.S. personnel were also killed in that fashion on the ground by bombs being detonated as their vehicles drove past.

So, I think the simple answer is that there is no safe way to move U.S. forces across this territory and perhaps, you know, the helicopters are the least dangerous way.

COSTELLO: All right, Matthew Chance reporting live from Baghdad for us 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.