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U.S., British Planes Use Base at Incirlik

Aired October 10, 2002 - 14:34   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: If the U.S. does lead air strikes against Baghdad, the planes would probably rely heavily on military bases in the Middle East. A base in Incirlik, Turkey is already being used by coalition forces patrolling the no-fly zone.
But CNN's Jamie McIntyre says, should the showdown with Iraq heat up, Turkey support could grow cold.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Several dozen U.S. and British warplanes roar into the skies from the Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey, in what has evolved in recent years into a full-fledged combat mission, patrolling the U.S.-imposed no-fly zone over northern Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our U.S. pilots are logging combat time.

MCINTYRE: There are Turkish planes supporting the operation as well, but no photography of those planes is permitted. Nor can CNN take pictures of the buildings at Incirlik Air Base or any of the Turkish military personnel. While a close ally of the United States, Turkey remains skittish about advertising the extent of its support for the ongoing U.S. hostilities with Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an enforcement of the no-fly zone. We are not at war.

MCINTYRE: Maybe so, but to the pilots, it's every bit as dangerous.

BRIG. GEN. ROBIN SCOTT, OP. NORTHERN WATCH CMDR.: All they need is, you know, one lucky bullet to find the right place in the sky, and then, we have a man on the ground.

MCINTYRE: These U.S. F-16s were among those that bombed the surface-to-air missile site near the northern Iraqi town of Mosul. The attack, the first in more than a month in the north, occurred as CNN accompanied U.S. and British planes on patrol Wednesday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Smile, you're on CNN.

MCINTYRE: U.S. commanders say the rules of engagement have not changed in the no-fly zones, but recently, the Pentagon ordered more aggressive strikes to send a message to Iraqi gunners to back off. U.S. military officials say, while allied planes were not fired at or actively targeted Wednesday, the very existence of an anti-aircraft missile system in the no-fly zone was deemed a threat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Based on that assessment, we were able to send that up through our chain of command and receive approval to respond against that target, which we did.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And that was our Jamie McIntyre.

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 10, 2002 - 14:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: If the U.S. does lead air strikes against Baghdad, the planes would probably rely heavily on military bases in the Middle East. A base in Incirlik, Turkey is already being used by coalition forces patrolling the no-fly zone.
But CNN's Jamie McIntyre says, should the showdown with Iraq heat up, Turkey support could grow cold.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Several dozen U.S. and British warplanes roar into the skies from the Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey, in what has evolved in recent years into a full-fledged combat mission, patrolling the U.S.-imposed no-fly zone over northern Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our U.S. pilots are logging combat time.

MCINTYRE: There are Turkish planes supporting the operation as well, but no photography of those planes is permitted. Nor can CNN take pictures of the buildings at Incirlik Air Base or any of the Turkish military personnel. While a close ally of the United States, Turkey remains skittish about advertising the extent of its support for the ongoing U.S. hostilities with Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an enforcement of the no-fly zone. We are not at war.

MCINTYRE: Maybe so, but to the pilots, it's every bit as dangerous.

BRIG. GEN. ROBIN SCOTT, OP. NORTHERN WATCH CMDR.: All they need is, you know, one lucky bullet to find the right place in the sky, and then, we have a man on the ground.

MCINTYRE: These U.S. F-16s were among those that bombed the surface-to-air missile site near the northern Iraqi town of Mosul. The attack, the first in more than a month in the north, occurred as CNN accompanied U.S. and British planes on patrol Wednesday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Smile, you're on CNN.

MCINTYRE: U.S. commanders say the rules of engagement have not changed in the no-fly zones, but recently, the Pentagon ordered more aggressive strikes to send a message to Iraqi gunners to back off. U.S. military officials say, while allied planes were not fired at or actively targeted Wednesday, the very existence of an anti-aircraft missile system in the no-fly zone was deemed a threat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Based on that assessment, we were able to send that up through our chain of command and receive approval to respond against that target, which we did.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And that was our Jamie McIntyre.

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