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Britain Steps Up Radio Transmissions

Aired March 31, 2003 - 13:02   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.


WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: British troops say Iraqi fighters are indiscriminately firing mortars today inside the city of Basra. That, of course, is in southern Iraq. The Britons have been consolidating their positions near the city and the battle for Basra continues.
CNN's Christiane Amanpour is joining us now live with details -- Christiane.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, indeed. The British, of course, have been on the west side pretty much all along since this ground war began. Now they have consolidated positions on the southern side of Basra, and they're also now saying that their information from inside the city is that the regular Iraqi army units, which have pulled back into the city over the last couple of weeks, are now not fighting so much, and we're being told that the British Army intelligence is telling them that they're perhaps being coerced. Those who are still putting up a fight are being coerced by the irregulars inside. As you say, the battle for Basra continues, and it's not just the battle with the guns, but with all of the weapons at the British disposal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR (voice-over): A mobile radio station in southern Iraq. British Army psychological warfare operations, aimed principally now at Basra.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My fellow soldiers, the Saddam Hussein regime is in its final days.

AMANPOUR: Frustrated by the lack of the expected uprising in the city, the British Army says they are now stepping up transmissions, hoping to turn the people and the tide of this war. There's Jennifer Lopez and other Western music for the youngsters, and traditional Arab music.

And in between, there are these messages...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have entered your country not as enemies of the Iraqi people...

CHRIS VERNON, BRITISH ARMY SPOKESMAN: We have got to control their information flow, what they're receiving. Firstly, primarily, to stop what they're getting out of Baghdad.

AMANPOUR: There is also the ongoing leaflet drop over Basra. This is the most important message the British are trying to sell right now.

(on camera): This is the entrance to the city of Basra, and the British admit they don't know the effect their pys-ops are having inside the city. They admit they're shooting a little blind right now, and they acknowledge that Saddam Hussein has a highly accomplished propaganda machine.

(voice-over): And it still works well. The regime continues to inspire such terror that these people leaving the city didn't want to talk on camera. But many say they do get the leaflets and the radio messages. But they say, what they need is food, water, and respite from the bombing.

Some told us Saddam's party loyalists still control the city. With the fire fights echoing in their ears, some told us they and everyone they know wants to see Saddam gone. But until then, they'll remain silent.

Al-Jazeera Arab television sends out pictures of the wounded in Basra's hospital, and people told us that civilians are being hurt. In the artillery and tank duels between the British and Iraqi forces inside. The British want to deliver humanitarian aid to Basra to improve their chances of winning people's confidence.

But so far, they're having to settle for the towns that they have already secured on the outskirts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: And as they continue the humanitarian push and also the battle that we've been talking about, just an update on the number of prisoners of war that are now in the British control down here. They are telling us now that they have around 3,200 prisoners of war, those who they have captured or who have surrendered -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And Christiane, we're getting word from the Red Cross that they have established contact, they have begun meeting with some of those Iraqi POWs, registering them, according to the Geneva conventions, no indication whatsoever that the Red Cross is about to meet with American POWs being held by Iraqi forces.

Is this POW issue for the coalition forces a serious problem? You have to be deal with 3,000 or 4,000 or 5,000 prisoners of war. Do the British forces have that capability or need reinforcements?

AMANPOUR: Well, so far it is the British who have been dealing with it, and what they have is a very big camp. It is quite near the port of Umm Qasr. Of course, we're not allowed in it, but we've seen it as we've passed. It's very big, it looks like it has got a lot of tents there. They also -- we have been told, regular meal times and regular care. And, of course, they had expected, if not this number, even more. I mean, I remember hearing at the beginning of this war they had actually expected maybe tens of thousands of people to be surrendering and raising the white flag quite early. So at the moment, they are coping. They do have the facilities, and we haven't really heard anything to the contrary. BLITZER: We've heard for the past week or so 4,000 is the number that coalition forces have said the number of Iraqi POWs. That number has not changed dramatically, at least according to the public briefings over at the Central Command or the Pentagon or the British briefings here in Kuwait City. We'll monitor that number as well.

Christiane Amanpour in southern Iraq. Thanks very much for that report.

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 31, 2003 - 13:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: British troops say Iraqi fighters are indiscriminately firing mortars today inside the city of Basra. That, of course, is in southern Iraq. The Britons have been consolidating their positions near the city and the battle for Basra continues.
CNN's Christiane Amanpour is joining us now live with details -- Christiane.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, indeed. The British, of course, have been on the west side pretty much all along since this ground war began. Now they have consolidated positions on the southern side of Basra, and they're also now saying that their information from inside the city is that the regular Iraqi army units, which have pulled back into the city over the last couple of weeks, are now not fighting so much, and we're being told that the British Army intelligence is telling them that they're perhaps being coerced. Those who are still putting up a fight are being coerced by the irregulars inside. As you say, the battle for Basra continues, and it's not just the battle with the guns, but with all of the weapons at the British disposal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR (voice-over): A mobile radio station in southern Iraq. British Army psychological warfare operations, aimed principally now at Basra.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My fellow soldiers, the Saddam Hussein regime is in its final days.

AMANPOUR: Frustrated by the lack of the expected uprising in the city, the British Army says they are now stepping up transmissions, hoping to turn the people and the tide of this war. There's Jennifer Lopez and other Western music for the youngsters, and traditional Arab music.

And in between, there are these messages...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have entered your country not as enemies of the Iraqi people...

CHRIS VERNON, BRITISH ARMY SPOKESMAN: We have got to control their information flow, what they're receiving. Firstly, primarily, to stop what they're getting out of Baghdad.

AMANPOUR: There is also the ongoing leaflet drop over Basra. This is the most important message the British are trying to sell right now.

(on camera): This is the entrance to the city of Basra, and the British admit they don't know the effect their pys-ops are having inside the city. They admit they're shooting a little blind right now, and they acknowledge that Saddam Hussein has a highly accomplished propaganda machine.

(voice-over): And it still works well. The regime continues to inspire such terror that these people leaving the city didn't want to talk on camera. But many say they do get the leaflets and the radio messages. But they say, what they need is food, water, and respite from the bombing.

Some told us Saddam's party loyalists still control the city. With the fire fights echoing in their ears, some told us they and everyone they know wants to see Saddam gone. But until then, they'll remain silent.

Al-Jazeera Arab television sends out pictures of the wounded in Basra's hospital, and people told us that civilians are being hurt. In the artillery and tank duels between the British and Iraqi forces inside. The British want to deliver humanitarian aid to Basra to improve their chances of winning people's confidence.

But so far, they're having to settle for the towns that they have already secured on the outskirts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: And as they continue the humanitarian push and also the battle that we've been talking about, just an update on the number of prisoners of war that are now in the British control down here. They are telling us now that they have around 3,200 prisoners of war, those who they have captured or who have surrendered -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And Christiane, we're getting word from the Red Cross that they have established contact, they have begun meeting with some of those Iraqi POWs, registering them, according to the Geneva conventions, no indication whatsoever that the Red Cross is about to meet with American POWs being held by Iraqi forces.

Is this POW issue for the coalition forces a serious problem? You have to be deal with 3,000 or 4,000 or 5,000 prisoners of war. Do the British forces have that capability or need reinforcements?

AMANPOUR: Well, so far it is the British who have been dealing with it, and what they have is a very big camp. It is quite near the port of Umm Qasr. Of course, we're not allowed in it, but we've seen it as we've passed. It's very big, it looks like it has got a lot of tents there. They also -- we have been told, regular meal times and regular care. And, of course, they had expected, if not this number, even more. I mean, I remember hearing at the beginning of this war they had actually expected maybe tens of thousands of people to be surrendering and raising the white flag quite early. So at the moment, they are coping. They do have the facilities, and we haven't really heard anything to the contrary. BLITZER: We've heard for the past week or so 4,000 is the number that coalition forces have said the number of Iraqi POWs. That number has not changed dramatically, at least according to the public briefings over at the Central Command or the Pentagon or the British briefings here in Kuwait City. We'll monitor that number as well.

Christiane Amanpour in southern Iraq. Thanks very much for that report.

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