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CNN Live Sunday
Bomb Attack in Iraq Leaves U.S. Soldier Dead
Aired December 07, 2003 - 10:01 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We begin in Iraq, with more American casualties. This time in a bomb attack in the northern city of Mosul. CNN's Walter Rodgers is in the Iraqi capital.
Good morning to you, Walter.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Heidi. Despite the death of yet another U.S. soldier here in Iraq, the top American soldier on the ground, General Ricardo Sanchez, again declared the American forces are winning in Iraq.
Still, General Sanchez had to acknowledge there remain some 5,000 Iraqi guerrillas in force here. And when he was asked as to how much longer the American troops would be required, an American presence on the ground here, he evaded the question, he could not answer it. And the implication was American forces in Iraq will be here on an open- ended basis. Still, he said his offensive mission is to keep the Iraqi guerrillas off guard, but he also seemed to be warning Americans that there will be increasing violence here in the weeks and months ahead and increasing American casualties.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENERAL RICARDO SANCHEZ: We're going to have some periods where there will be increased violence in the coming months. And in terms of length, you know, whether we're talking years, at this point it would be speculation on my part. But I think clearly through the spring and into the June timeframe, we ought to expect a continued violence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RODGERS: The American soldier who was killed here was with the 101st Airborne. He was in a Humvee with two other soldiers. They were patrolling in northern Mosul. And the improvised explosive device, the roadside bomb went off. One soldier was killed, two others were wounded in that attack.
And in Baghdad, two Iraqis were killed. The circumstances are not entirely clear. But it appears that an attempt was being made by the guerrillas to launch a rocket against U.S. forces here, and somehow the rocket misfired and two Iraqis were killed in that. As for the search for Saddam Hussein, the Americans say that goes on, but they believe he's moving about the country and they've had no success.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: The killing or capturing of Saddam Hussein will have an impact on the level of violence, but it will not end it, at least not immediately. That is not the end-all solution to the problem that we're facing here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RODGERS: Even as the predictions of more and increasing violence continued, the United States still announced it plans to transfer more security responsibility to the indigenous Iraqi forces. That would be the Iraqi army and the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps. The goal for the Americans is to build a new Iraqi defense force of 40,000 soldiers and an additional 40,000 in this Iraqi Civilian Defense Corps. Again, the aim there is to transfer the security responsibility away from Americans who are now very much in the line of fire and to the Iraqis themselves -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Hey, Walt, there's an article in "The New York Times" this morning I wanted to ask you about, talking about the tactics used by the U.S. military now, in specific.
RODGERS: I'm sorry. I can't hear you. There's a technical problem here.
COLLINS: All right. Walt, we're going to have to try to get back to you a little bit later on. Do appreciate that. 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 December 7, 2003 - 10:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We begin in Iraq, with more American casualties. This time in a bomb attack in the northern city of Mosul. CNN's Walter Rodgers is in the Iraqi capital.
Good morning to you, Walter.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Heidi. Despite the death of yet another U.S. soldier here in Iraq, the top American soldier on the ground, General Ricardo Sanchez, again declared the American forces are winning in Iraq.
Still, General Sanchez had to acknowledge there remain some 5,000 Iraqi guerrillas in force here. And when he was asked as to how much longer the American troops would be required, an American presence on the ground here, he evaded the question, he could not answer it. And the implication was American forces in Iraq will be here on an open- ended basis. Still, he said his offensive mission is to keep the Iraqi guerrillas off guard, but he also seemed to be warning Americans that there will be increasing violence here in the weeks and months ahead and increasing American casualties.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENERAL RICARDO SANCHEZ: We're going to have some periods where there will be increased violence in the coming months. And in terms of length, you know, whether we're talking years, at this point it would be speculation on my part. But I think clearly through the spring and into the June timeframe, we ought to expect a continued violence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RODGERS: The American soldier who was killed here was with the 101st Airborne. He was in a Humvee with two other soldiers. They were patrolling in northern Mosul. And the improvised explosive device, the roadside bomb went off. One soldier was killed, two others were wounded in that attack.
And in Baghdad, two Iraqis were killed. The circumstances are not entirely clear. But it appears that an attempt was being made by the guerrillas to launch a rocket against U.S. forces here, and somehow the rocket misfired and two Iraqis were killed in that. As for the search for Saddam Hussein, the Americans say that goes on, but they believe he's moving about the country and they've had no success.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: The killing or capturing of Saddam Hussein will have an impact on the level of violence, but it will not end it, at least not immediately. That is not the end-all solution to the problem that we're facing here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RODGERS: Even as the predictions of more and increasing violence continued, the United States still announced it plans to transfer more security responsibility to the indigenous Iraqi forces. That would be the Iraqi army and the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps. The goal for the Americans is to build a new Iraqi defense force of 40,000 soldiers and an additional 40,000 in this Iraqi Civilian Defense Corps. Again, the aim there is to transfer the security responsibility away from Americans who are now very much in the line of fire and to the Iraqis themselves -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Hey, Walt, there's an article in "The New York Times" this morning I wanted to ask you about, talking about the tactics used by the U.S. military now, in specific.
RODGERS: I'm sorry. I can't hear you. There's a technical problem here.
COLLINS: All right. Walt, we're going to have to try to get back to you a little bit later on. Do appreciate that. 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
