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CNN Live Saturday

Will Iraq Use Scuds Against Israel Again?

Aired March 08, 2003 - 18:15   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.


RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: During the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq scored about three dozen hits on Israeli targets with its Scud missiles. Generally the Scuds caused a lot more anxiety than actual damage, but U.S. intelligence suspects Iraq still has some Scuds scattered throughout the country. So, what happens if Iraq tries it again?
Joining us from Oak Brook, Illinois, as CNN military analyst, Retired Army Brigadier General David Grange.

General Grange, thanks for being with us again.

BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good evening.

SAN MIGUEL: We're hearing an awful lot about the Al Samoud 2 missiles these days, but 12 years ago it was all about the Scuds. Remind us, if you would, what exactly is a Scud and what can it do?

GRANGE: Well, it is a Soviet version of the surface-to-surface missile. The ones that would be fired from Iraq, let's say into Israel, if in fact, they have Scuds left like that, is about 600 to 700 kilometers of range. And it would take about seven minutes to get to Israel fired from western Iraq.

And the thing about '91, they were pretty much on military vehicles, the TEL (ph) system, and now today, it's suspected that they may be in fact camouflaged on civilian vehicles, or integrated in the civilian infrastructure, so that very difficult to find.

In the '91 war they use decoys quite a bit, made in East Germany, and the decoys look very much, especially from the air, very much like the authentic Scud missile. And a lot of the destruction of suspected Scuds were in fact decoys. So, I would imagine that they're even better at deception today.

SAN MIGUEL: And the reason you would know all of this, we need to remind our viewers, that you were the commander of the Scud hunting team, in Iraq, during the Gulf War. And you found most of those in western Iraq, the ones that you did find, right?

GRANGE: Well, we were -- yes, I had one of the task forces, that one of the missions was Scud hunting. And it is not just the Scuds, you also want to destroy or neutralize somehow, causing them to displace the command and control, the communication links between those that give the order to fire a Scud and the Scud missiles themselves. And they're very difficult to find because, again, they're hidden throughout the desert. They're good a deception; they're good at camouflage. And you may find them now, right embedded right into villages and cities that they may use.

But they have to, to reach Israel, unless they've changed their capabilities, would have to be in the western part of Iraq, in what is known as the Scud box.

SAN MIGUEL: OK. So that is where you found them the last time. And I was just going to ask you whether or not the so-called Scud box would be where you would look.

Now, 39 of these struck Israel, from what we understand, most of them targeting Allied forces also in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Israel stayed out of the conflict through a lot of lobbying on the part of then Secretary of State James Baker. And, of course, then President Bush. We're not really expecting that to be the situation this time around are we?

GRANGE: Well, the Israelis I've discussed this with they feel that it is their right to respond and they will. I think part of it depends on the success of stopping the Scuds.

The capability is much greater than it was in '91, because of the Israel Arrow system, they upgraded the American Patriot System to what is known as the Pack 3. And just the integrated systems of knowing that the Scud has been launched and picking it up in the atmosphere as it is on it's way to its target. But they key on the Scud hunting is to get the Scuds before they're launched.

SAN MIGUEL: And the idea with these Arrow systems is to try to -- not -- a lot was said about the Patriot of trying to know down a bullet with a bullet. With the Arrow, it is my understanding that you're just trying to get close enough to the Scud to blow up the Arrow, near it and then take it out that way. You think that will be more effective?

GRANGE: Well, yes, the unclassified answer, of course, is that the new Patriot and the Arrow system has a better chance of knocking out a Scud through the way it engages it.

And then, in fact, even the old Hawk battery system, a shorter- range missile system, could in fact be lucky enough to do something, too. So, there is a layer of defense. There is a very robust system of picking up a Scud firing through satellites and UAVs and fixed-wing aircraft and then pass that off to radar systems.

And Israel is very well organized on their civil defense, in case a Scud gets through, on how to respond to that in the consequence management sense, very similar to what you just discussed about the Czech and -- the Czech unit, for instance, in Kuwait.

SAN MIGUEL: CNN military analyst, Retired General David Grange, thanks for you time tonight. We do appreciate it.

GRANGE: Thank you. 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 March 8, 2003 - 18:15   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: During the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq scored about three dozen hits on Israeli targets with its Scud missiles. Generally the Scuds caused a lot more anxiety than actual damage, but U.S. intelligence suspects Iraq still has some Scuds scattered throughout the country. So, what happens if Iraq tries it again?
Joining us from Oak Brook, Illinois, as CNN military analyst, Retired Army Brigadier General David Grange.

General Grange, thanks for being with us again.

BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good evening.

SAN MIGUEL: We're hearing an awful lot about the Al Samoud 2 missiles these days, but 12 years ago it was all about the Scuds. Remind us, if you would, what exactly is a Scud and what can it do?

GRANGE: Well, it is a Soviet version of the surface-to-surface missile. The ones that would be fired from Iraq, let's say into Israel, if in fact, they have Scuds left like that, is about 600 to 700 kilometers of range. And it would take about seven minutes to get to Israel fired from western Iraq.

And the thing about '91, they were pretty much on military vehicles, the TEL (ph) system, and now today, it's suspected that they may be in fact camouflaged on civilian vehicles, or integrated in the civilian infrastructure, so that very difficult to find.

In the '91 war they use decoys quite a bit, made in East Germany, and the decoys look very much, especially from the air, very much like the authentic Scud missile. And a lot of the destruction of suspected Scuds were in fact decoys. So, I would imagine that they're even better at deception today.

SAN MIGUEL: And the reason you would know all of this, we need to remind our viewers, that you were the commander of the Scud hunting team, in Iraq, during the Gulf War. And you found most of those in western Iraq, the ones that you did find, right?

GRANGE: Well, we were -- yes, I had one of the task forces, that one of the missions was Scud hunting. And it is not just the Scuds, you also want to destroy or neutralize somehow, causing them to displace the command and control, the communication links between those that give the order to fire a Scud and the Scud missiles themselves. And they're very difficult to find because, again, they're hidden throughout the desert. They're good a deception; they're good at camouflage. And you may find them now, right embedded right into villages and cities that they may use.

But they have to, to reach Israel, unless they've changed their capabilities, would have to be in the western part of Iraq, in what is known as the Scud box.

SAN MIGUEL: OK. So that is where you found them the last time. And I was just going to ask you whether or not the so-called Scud box would be where you would look.

Now, 39 of these struck Israel, from what we understand, most of them targeting Allied forces also in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Israel stayed out of the conflict through a lot of lobbying on the part of then Secretary of State James Baker. And, of course, then President Bush. We're not really expecting that to be the situation this time around are we?

GRANGE: Well, the Israelis I've discussed this with they feel that it is their right to respond and they will. I think part of it depends on the success of stopping the Scuds.

The capability is much greater than it was in '91, because of the Israel Arrow system, they upgraded the American Patriot System to what is known as the Pack 3. And just the integrated systems of knowing that the Scud has been launched and picking it up in the atmosphere as it is on it's way to its target. But they key on the Scud hunting is to get the Scuds before they're launched.

SAN MIGUEL: And the idea with these Arrow systems is to try to -- not -- a lot was said about the Patriot of trying to know down a bullet with a bullet. With the Arrow, it is my understanding that you're just trying to get close enough to the Scud to blow up the Arrow, near it and then take it out that way. You think that will be more effective?

GRANGE: Well, yes, the unclassified answer, of course, is that the new Patriot and the Arrow system has a better chance of knocking out a Scud through the way it engages it.

And then, in fact, even the old Hawk battery system, a shorter- range missile system, could in fact be lucky enough to do something, too. So, there is a layer of defense. There is a very robust system of picking up a Scud firing through satellites and UAVs and fixed-wing aircraft and then pass that off to radar systems.

And Israel is very well organized on their civil defense, in case a Scud gets through, on how to respond to that in the consequence management sense, very similar to what you just discussed about the Czech and -- the Czech unit, for instance, in Kuwait.

SAN MIGUEL: CNN military analyst, Retired General David Grange, thanks for you time tonight. We do appreciate it.

GRANGE: Thank you. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com