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Troop Buildup in Qatar
Aired December 05, 2002 - 14:12 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: At the moment, Qatar is temporary headquarters for the Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Persian Gulf, and what an operation it's becoming.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer is in Doha.
Hi -- Wolf.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The U.S. military is methodically putting finishing touches in place for a possible war with Iraq.
A dozen years ago, following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, it took the Pentagon and its coalition partners six months to deploy half-a-million forces in the Persian Gulf. This time, the process is moving along much more quickly, in part because current U.S. war plans call for far fewer troops. That's in part the result of more sophisticated, high-tech firepower.
(on camera): The planning is currently at an advanced stage with commanding General Tommy Franks preparing in the coming days to lead a simulated war game, code named Internal Look. By all accounts, it's a rehearsal for the real thing.
(voice-over): He will be here at the As Sayliyah base in Qatar with 1,000 of his Central Command troops. They're being joined by a modular command and control operation that's been airlifted from their headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. Another 3,000 U.S. troops were already in place in Qatar.
General Franks, who commanded the Afghan war, will be in constant communication with other U.S. forces in the region and back in Florida and the Pentagon.
Quietly, without a whole lot of fanfare, U.S. troops are getting in place to surround Iraq, in Kuwait, where some 12,000 U.S. ground forces are training along the border with Iraq, in Saudi Arabia, where nearly 7,000 U.S. mostly Air Force personnel are based at the Prince Sultan Air Base near Riyadh, in Bahrain, where nearly 5,000 U.S. sailors from the 5th Fleet are based, in Oman, where some 2,000 U.S. Air Force troops operate two dozen fighter aircraft poised to strike, in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, where an air base has been reconfigured to accommodate B-2 Stealth bombers, and in Turkey, where nearly 4,000 U.S. troops operate out of the Incirlik Air Base. Beyond that, the U.S. Navy shortly will have four aircraft carrier battle groups in the region. That, by the way, is what the Navy had in place during the first Gulf War as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: U.S. military officials are not saying how long they'll keep this command and control headquarters facility operating here in Qatar once the exercise ends, but the betting is it will be indefinitely -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Wolf Blitzer, thank you so much. We'll check in with you again tomorrow.
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 5, 2002 - 14:12 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: At the moment, Qatar is temporary headquarters for the Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Persian Gulf, and what an operation it's becoming.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer is in Doha.
Hi -- Wolf.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The U.S. military is methodically putting finishing touches in place for a possible war with Iraq.
A dozen years ago, following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, it took the Pentagon and its coalition partners six months to deploy half-a-million forces in the Persian Gulf. This time, the process is moving along much more quickly, in part because current U.S. war plans call for far fewer troops. That's in part the result of more sophisticated, high-tech firepower.
(on camera): The planning is currently at an advanced stage with commanding General Tommy Franks preparing in the coming days to lead a simulated war game, code named Internal Look. By all accounts, it's a rehearsal for the real thing.
(voice-over): He will be here at the As Sayliyah base in Qatar with 1,000 of his Central Command troops. They're being joined by a modular command and control operation that's been airlifted from their headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. Another 3,000 U.S. troops were already in place in Qatar.
General Franks, who commanded the Afghan war, will be in constant communication with other U.S. forces in the region and back in Florida and the Pentagon.
Quietly, without a whole lot of fanfare, U.S. troops are getting in place to surround Iraq, in Kuwait, where some 12,000 U.S. ground forces are training along the border with Iraq, in Saudi Arabia, where nearly 7,000 U.S. mostly Air Force personnel are based at the Prince Sultan Air Base near Riyadh, in Bahrain, where nearly 5,000 U.S. sailors from the 5th Fleet are based, in Oman, where some 2,000 U.S. Air Force troops operate two dozen fighter aircraft poised to strike, in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, where an air base has been reconfigured to accommodate B-2 Stealth bombers, and in Turkey, where nearly 4,000 U.S. troops operate out of the Incirlik Air Base. Beyond that, the U.S. Navy shortly will have four aircraft carrier battle groups in the region. That, by the way, is what the Navy had in place during the first Gulf War as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: U.S. military officials are not saying how long they'll keep this command and control headquarters facility operating here in Qatar once the exercise ends, but the betting is it will be indefinitely -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Wolf Blitzer, thank you so much. We'll check in with you again tomorrow.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
