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Does This Apparent Lull in Bomb Mean a Change of War Plans?
Aired March 20, 2003 - 14:00 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.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good afternoon, everyone. For those of you who are just joining us, you've now got a brief overview of where we are. Nic Robertson is in Baghdad on the phone.
Nic, give us a sense of two things now. Is this wall of anti- aircraft fire that you talked about a minute ago, is that still going on?
We're having a little trouble finding Nic's phone. Nic is in a hotel -- and...
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm here again.
BROWN: There we go. Nic, are you able to still here this wall that you -- what you described as a wall of anti-aircraft fire? Is it still going on?
ROBERTSON: It does seem to have subsided at the moment. It picked up about 10, 15 minutes ago towards the edge of the city we're looking towards. Now it seems to have subsided. We didn't seem to hear any impacts associated with that. And now it appears to have subsided again. We seem to be in another lull at this particular -- at this particular moment.
OK. Nic, stay with me here for a second.
To the Pentagon. Barbara Starr has been developing some information -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, the picture is very confused here. But what Nic just said about being in a lull at the moment might indicate that this entire campaign has not yet unfolded. As we have always understood it, the notion of "shock and awe," of hundreds of missiles and bombs falling on Baghdad in a coordinated air and ground campaign from the south in that kind of scenario, there would be no lull in the bombing. There are indications at the moment from what Nic is seeing in Baghdad, of course, that there is a lull. Now, we've talked to any number of military officials in the last several minutes. And they have told us even for them the picture is confused at the moment. They have always said to us that we would, quote, "know it when we see it," that the war is fully under way. That we would have no questions. And we are getting indications if we are uncertain, if we have questions about it, perhaps the war is not fully under way. This may simply be another phase in the so-called preparation of the battlefield. The goal had always been, of course, to take out Iraqi leadership targets in Baghdad, give Saddam Hussein and his closest advisers nowhere to run -- Aaron.
BROWN: Do you have any sense that the plan itself for any reason or any reason you can tell us has changed or are you -- well, no or anything.
Do you have any sense that the plan has changed?
STARR: Well, let's tell people the little that we do know here, which is administration officials, Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld, for one, says there's still some debate about whether that was Saddam Hussein himself on the tape. The intelligence community still struggling with this notion. So then we ask the question, if you thought in the administration that Saddam Hussein was dead, would the plan have changed? Officials say, not very clear. Don't jump to that assumption. Not at all clear at the moment that the plan is being changed.
But, Aaron, events are unfolding very quickly. There's always that old saying, no plan survives first contact with the enemy and we're seeing a very fluid environment.
BROWN: It is that. Barbara, thank you. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Plans?>
Aired March 20, 2003 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good afternoon, everyone. For those of you who are just joining us, you've now got a brief overview of where we are. Nic Robertson is in Baghdad on the phone.
Nic, give us a sense of two things now. Is this wall of anti- aircraft fire that you talked about a minute ago, is that still going on?
We're having a little trouble finding Nic's phone. Nic is in a hotel -- and...
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm here again.
BROWN: There we go. Nic, are you able to still here this wall that you -- what you described as a wall of anti-aircraft fire? Is it still going on?
ROBERTSON: It does seem to have subsided at the moment. It picked up about 10, 15 minutes ago towards the edge of the city we're looking towards. Now it seems to have subsided. We didn't seem to hear any impacts associated with that. And now it appears to have subsided again. We seem to be in another lull at this particular -- at this particular moment.
OK. Nic, stay with me here for a second.
To the Pentagon. Barbara Starr has been developing some information -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, the picture is very confused here. But what Nic just said about being in a lull at the moment might indicate that this entire campaign has not yet unfolded. As we have always understood it, the notion of "shock and awe," of hundreds of missiles and bombs falling on Baghdad in a coordinated air and ground campaign from the south in that kind of scenario, there would be no lull in the bombing. There are indications at the moment from what Nic is seeing in Baghdad, of course, that there is a lull. Now, we've talked to any number of military officials in the last several minutes. And they have told us even for them the picture is confused at the moment. They have always said to us that we would, quote, "know it when we see it," that the war is fully under way. That we would have no questions. And we are getting indications if we are uncertain, if we have questions about it, perhaps the war is not fully under way. This may simply be another phase in the so-called preparation of the battlefield. The goal had always been, of course, to take out Iraqi leadership targets in Baghdad, give Saddam Hussein and his closest advisers nowhere to run -- Aaron.
BROWN: Do you have any sense that the plan itself for any reason or any reason you can tell us has changed or are you -- well, no or anything.
Do you have any sense that the plan has changed?
STARR: Well, let's tell people the little that we do know here, which is administration officials, Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld, for one, says there's still some debate about whether that was Saddam Hussein himself on the tape. The intelligence community still struggling with this notion. So then we ask the question, if you thought in the administration that Saddam Hussein was dead, would the plan have changed? Officials say, not very clear. Don't jump to that assumption. Not at all clear at the moment that the plan is being changed.
But, Aaron, events are unfolding very quickly. There's always that old saying, no plan survives first contact with the enemy and we're seeing a very fluid environment.
BROWN: It is that. Barbara, thank you. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Plans?>
