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American Troops Preparing for Combat in Kuwait

Aired March 13, 2003 - 15:35   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: Well they are strangers in a strange land, American troops preparing for combat in Kuwait. They are learning important lessons from away from the firing range. Our Alessio Vinci with U.S. Marines in the Kuwaiti desert takes us to class.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Training for war in the Kuwaiti desert, it is not just about guns and military toys. Sometimes, it is simply about knowing the language...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He raised his hands up. All right? He's got a weapon.

VINCI: ... and the culture.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll go over it again. You don't want to point your shoes at anybody. You don't want to put your feet up on the table. You don't want to give the thumb's up or the A-OK sign, because that's derogatory in this part of the world.

VINCI: Sergeant Nasir Monasterly (ph) was born in Lebanon before moving to the U.S. He speaks fluent Arabic; one of a few in his entire battalion. He spent most of this morning teaching several platoons the basics of Arabic and Islamic culture.

SGT. NASIR MONASTERLY: I think it's a cultural shock for them to be out here because of the different attitudes and the culture. But they're slowly picking it up and they're accepting it. They want to learn as much as possible, what they can, because the more they know, knowledge is power.

VINCI: The class includes learning phrases like "raise your hands" or "put your weapon down." Or, more simply, "stop" or "don't move". All key words to help diffuse a potentially dangerous situation with Iraqi soldiers or even civilians.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And, also, if we're like in an environment and we have to search them, we'll have to let them know that we're searching them.

VINCI (on camera): How do you say, "I want to search you?"

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, that is...

VINCI (voice-over): Clearly, in a few short classes they won't be able to turn these Marines into fluent Arabic speakers.

(on camera): And what if one of the Marines does not remember the right word or communication breaks down? Well, said one of them, pointing at his weapon, "I also speak M-16, and everyone understands it." Alessio Vinci, CNN, with the U.S. Marines in the Kuwaiti desert.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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 13, 2003 - 15:35   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well they are strangers in a strange land, American troops preparing for combat in Kuwait. They are learning important lessons from away from the firing range. Our Alessio Vinci with U.S. Marines in the Kuwaiti desert takes us to class.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Training for war in the Kuwaiti desert, it is not just about guns and military toys. Sometimes, it is simply about knowing the language...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He raised his hands up. All right? He's got a weapon.

VINCI: ... and the culture.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll go over it again. You don't want to point your shoes at anybody. You don't want to put your feet up on the table. You don't want to give the thumb's up or the A-OK sign, because that's derogatory in this part of the world.

VINCI: Sergeant Nasir Monasterly (ph) was born in Lebanon before moving to the U.S. He speaks fluent Arabic; one of a few in his entire battalion. He spent most of this morning teaching several platoons the basics of Arabic and Islamic culture.

SGT. NASIR MONASTERLY: I think it's a cultural shock for them to be out here because of the different attitudes and the culture. But they're slowly picking it up and they're accepting it. They want to learn as much as possible, what they can, because the more they know, knowledge is power.

VINCI: The class includes learning phrases like "raise your hands" or "put your weapon down." Or, more simply, "stop" or "don't move". All key words to help diffuse a potentially dangerous situation with Iraqi soldiers or even civilians.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And, also, if we're like in an environment and we have to search them, we'll have to let them know that we're searching them.

VINCI (on camera): How do you say, "I want to search you?"

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, that is...

VINCI (voice-over): Clearly, in a few short classes they won't be able to turn these Marines into fluent Arabic speakers.

(on camera): And what if one of the Marines does not remember the right word or communication breaks down? Well, said one of them, pointing at his weapon, "I also speak M-16, and everyone understands it." Alessio Vinci, CNN, with the U.S. Marines in the Kuwaiti desert.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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