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CNN Live Today
Hundreds of Iraqi Prisoners to be Released
Aired January 07, 2004 - 10:28 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: There were tearful reunions and hurrays for some hometown heroes in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The Eagles have landed. Two-hundred Screaming Eagles from the 101st Airborne division came home after serving nearly a year in Iraq. Nearly another 400 are due back later this week.
Ed Lavandera is there, and he joins with us the latest.
Ed, good morning.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.
It's been quite a night here. The first round of soldiers arriving in the middle of the night at 2:00 here in the morning. Several hundred family members showing up to welcome that first plane home, and there's also another round of soldiers that landed here just a short while ago, another hundred, another couple hundred more expected to land tomorrow as well. And what these soldiers are here for is to get everyone ready for the return of 101st Airborne Division, back here to Fort Campbell. They'll start laying all the groundwork, to bring all the machinery, all the equipment, all the weaponry that they have taken over to Iraq. They've been there for almost a year.
And this is a true signal for everyone here in this community, this military community, that their soldiers are coming home. And everyone you speak with in these hangars very anxious about all of this. So these families that were here for this first round of soldiers, got an early taste for what many thousands will be experiencing in the next month or so, as many of these soldiers begin their homeward journeys. And many of the soldiers and many of family members here we spoke with just overwhelmed with joy. Many soldiers seeing children for the first time, seeing little kids grow very quickly, as does happen when you're deployed overseas as long as these soldiers have been.
I was also struck by the number of people who didn't know any of the soldiers, people who were involved here in the community who just showed up as well to welcome these soldiers home. It was in the middle of the night, 2:00 in the morning, when that first round of soldiers arrived. And then the hangar that we're in right here, this is where all these homecoming ceremonies will be taking place over the next month.
They've set up a nice stage here, with the American flag in the background, also risers in this open hanger here, where all of these aircraft will be landing and welcoming all these soldiers home. So this is a scene that will be playing out repeatedly over the next month. And a lot of the military officials here at this base says that practice makes perfect. This is one of the things they love to organize as well.
We also want to mention that the 101st Airborne Division, involved in some of the most fierce fighting and dangerous areas in Iraq the last year, 56 soldiers from this division killed in action, 17 of them killed in a helicopter crash, as one of the more newsworthy events that took place while these soldiers were deployed as well. So all of that, of course, in the back of everyone's minds here.
And also struck by the military officials commenting this morning, not only congratulating the soldiers for coming home and thanking them for their duty, but also the military officials here, very careful to point out, thanking all the families that showed up for all the sacrifices that they have made over the last year.
So, Daryn, as you might imagine, a lot of tears and a lot of reason to be very happy here this morning for several hundred soldiers and their families.
KAGAN: Absolutely. And very important note you made there, Ed, to remember those who won't be coming home, because they lost their lives overseas.
Thank you for that, Ed Lavandera.
Now the mission in Iraq and a major announcement this morning. Washington's top administrator in Iraq says coalition forces will begin releasing hundreds of detainees, provided they meet certain requirements.
Our Karl Penhaul joins us with the checklist and the reaction in Baghdad.
Hi, Karl.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn.
Yes, ambassador Paul Bremer saying the first bunch of detainees, about 100 prisoners, could be released as early as tomorrow, with a further 400 released in the course of the week. Now ambassador Bremer described this as a gesture of reconciliation, said it was now the time for Iraqis to come together and work toward their future.
He says the detainees on the list now for being released are not the high-level threats. He's described these as low-level suspects, people that weren't involved in violent arms acts, either against the coalition forces or against the Iraqi people themselves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL BREMER, U.S. CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR: I want to assure you this is not a program eligible for those with blood-stained hands. No person involved in the death of or serious bodily injury to any human beings, an Iraqi, citizen of the coalition, or anyone else, no such people will be released, nor will we release anyone accused of torture or crimes against humanity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PENHAUL: There's a couple of conditions attached to this, Daryn. First of all, that these people must make a public declaration renouncing violence against the coalition, and secondly, that either community, religious or tribal leader must come forward and act as a guarantor for them and ensure their good behavior from now on.
Just to put this in perspective, one should remember the coalition forces are still holding an estimated 12,000 detainees. That's a mixture of prisoners of war captured during the invasion and since the end of major hostilities on May 1st, other detainees who are suspected of carrying out attacks on the coalition forces as part of the ongoing insurgency -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Karl Penhaul in Baghdad with the latest on that. Thank you for that.
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 January 7, 2004 - 10:28 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: There were tearful reunions and hurrays for some hometown heroes in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The Eagles have landed. Two-hundred Screaming Eagles from the 101st Airborne division came home after serving nearly a year in Iraq. Nearly another 400 are due back later this week.
Ed Lavandera is there, and he joins with us the latest.
Ed, good morning.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.
It's been quite a night here. The first round of soldiers arriving in the middle of the night at 2:00 here in the morning. Several hundred family members showing up to welcome that first plane home, and there's also another round of soldiers that landed here just a short while ago, another hundred, another couple hundred more expected to land tomorrow as well. And what these soldiers are here for is to get everyone ready for the return of 101st Airborne Division, back here to Fort Campbell. They'll start laying all the groundwork, to bring all the machinery, all the equipment, all the weaponry that they have taken over to Iraq. They've been there for almost a year.
And this is a true signal for everyone here in this community, this military community, that their soldiers are coming home. And everyone you speak with in these hangars very anxious about all of this. So these families that were here for this first round of soldiers, got an early taste for what many thousands will be experiencing in the next month or so, as many of these soldiers begin their homeward journeys. And many of the soldiers and many of family members here we spoke with just overwhelmed with joy. Many soldiers seeing children for the first time, seeing little kids grow very quickly, as does happen when you're deployed overseas as long as these soldiers have been.
I was also struck by the number of people who didn't know any of the soldiers, people who were involved here in the community who just showed up as well to welcome these soldiers home. It was in the middle of the night, 2:00 in the morning, when that first round of soldiers arrived. And then the hangar that we're in right here, this is where all these homecoming ceremonies will be taking place over the next month.
They've set up a nice stage here, with the American flag in the background, also risers in this open hanger here, where all of these aircraft will be landing and welcoming all these soldiers home. So this is a scene that will be playing out repeatedly over the next month. And a lot of the military officials here at this base says that practice makes perfect. This is one of the things they love to organize as well.
We also want to mention that the 101st Airborne Division, involved in some of the most fierce fighting and dangerous areas in Iraq the last year, 56 soldiers from this division killed in action, 17 of them killed in a helicopter crash, as one of the more newsworthy events that took place while these soldiers were deployed as well. So all of that, of course, in the back of everyone's minds here.
And also struck by the military officials commenting this morning, not only congratulating the soldiers for coming home and thanking them for their duty, but also the military officials here, very careful to point out, thanking all the families that showed up for all the sacrifices that they have made over the last year.
So, Daryn, as you might imagine, a lot of tears and a lot of reason to be very happy here this morning for several hundred soldiers and their families.
KAGAN: Absolutely. And very important note you made there, Ed, to remember those who won't be coming home, because they lost their lives overseas.
Thank you for that, Ed Lavandera.
Now the mission in Iraq and a major announcement this morning. Washington's top administrator in Iraq says coalition forces will begin releasing hundreds of detainees, provided they meet certain requirements.
Our Karl Penhaul joins us with the checklist and the reaction in Baghdad.
Hi, Karl.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn.
Yes, ambassador Paul Bremer saying the first bunch of detainees, about 100 prisoners, could be released as early as tomorrow, with a further 400 released in the course of the week. Now ambassador Bremer described this as a gesture of reconciliation, said it was now the time for Iraqis to come together and work toward their future.
He says the detainees on the list now for being released are not the high-level threats. He's described these as low-level suspects, people that weren't involved in violent arms acts, either against the coalition forces or against the Iraqi people themselves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL BREMER, U.S. CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR: I want to assure you this is not a program eligible for those with blood-stained hands. No person involved in the death of or serious bodily injury to any human beings, an Iraqi, citizen of the coalition, or anyone else, no such people will be released, nor will we release anyone accused of torture or crimes against humanity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PENHAUL: There's a couple of conditions attached to this, Daryn. First of all, that these people must make a public declaration renouncing violence against the coalition, and secondly, that either community, religious or tribal leader must come forward and act as a guarantor for them and ensure their good behavior from now on.
Just to put this in perspective, one should remember the coalition forces are still holding an estimated 12,000 detainees. That's a mixture of prisoners of war captured during the invasion and since the end of major hostilities on May 1st, other detainees who are suspected of carrying out attacks on the coalition forces as part of the ongoing insurgency -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Karl Penhaul in Baghdad with the latest on that. Thank you for that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
