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Wedeman: Front Moves Closer to Mosul

Aired April 02, 2003 - 13:40   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.


JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: We've been telling you about the fast-moving developments on the battlefield in Iraq today. Near Baghdad to the south, coalition forces pushing ever closer to the capital city.
Meanwhile, in northern Iraq, Iraqi troops are said to be on the run, under a fierce coalition bombardment from the air, the Iraqis are described as retreating from position that they held near Kalak.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is live now with us in northern Iraq. Ben, bring us up to date.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Judy, really we can say on the move rather than on the run. What happened was this evening, just before sunset, we were here in our position overlooking the ridge previously occupied by the Iraqi Army, when we noticed a group of people on the road leading up to the Iraqi positions. Now, we rushed down there thinking that those were Iraqi soldiers surrendering, but it turns out that they were Pesh Murga Kurdish fighters who were going up the hill.

They were going up the hill to discover that there are no Iraqi soldiers there any more, that they apparently have pulled back, some time today, to a position about seven kilometers to the west of here in the direction of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Now this does come after more than 10 days of after almost daily intense air strikes, targeting those very positions on the ridge. And we've heard from deserters who have come over to the Kurdish side, that these air strikes destroyed morale, really made life miserable for those soldiers.

Some of them surrendered, but it appears that some command decision has been taken to pull those Iraqi troops back. Now, in addition to what has happened in Kalak, to the north of Mosul, there was another Iraqi pull back, this one much larger, going more than 13 miles from the north to the southern - to the south, in the direction of Mosul. Now, this involved some fighting between Kurdish and Iraqi forces and the Kurds were supported, in this case, by U.S. troops, who were directing American air strikes on the Iraqi positions.

Now, we saw three Iraqi Army trucks that had been carrying anti- aircraft guns and ammunition and those trucks were blown to smithereens by American missiles. Another interesting thing we saw was that the local inhabitants, the people who had lived under Iraqi rule, these are Kurds, in this case, were delighted to see the Iraqis leave. They were celebrating; they were clapping; they were cheering us.

One man telling me that the dictator, Saddam Hussein, is gone. Now he can live in freedom. They also told me that one of the first things these Kurdish villagers did when the Iraqis pulled out was to rip down all the posters and pictures, which are mandatory in Iraq, of Saddam Hussein, they ripped them up and stomped on them - Judy.

WOODRUFF: Ben, we heard at the Pentagon a short time ago, General McChrystal describing how some of the Republican Guards south of Baghdad, in his words are no longer an effective fighting force. Based on what you can tell in talking with coalition sources near where you are, you're describing movement, but you're not saying these are not still effective fighting forces. Is that right?

WEDEMAN: Well, it would appear that, certainly, the people in the front lines, in those areas that have been massively pounded by air strikes, they have been reduced somewhat in their effectiveness. Certainly, that's what we're hearing from deserters from the Iraqi side. But we do know, for instance, that the main force in northern Iraq, of Iraqi soldiers, which is about 120,000, is not on the front lines, it is in rear positions.

And those forces are also concentrated inside the cities - the cities of Kirkuk and Mosul - because those are the areas, as we've seen happening in the south, where they're much more effective in fighting the coalition rather than out in the open in a place like Kalak where there aren't any trees to hide behind. The terrain is not favorable to a force that simply doesn't have any air cover whatsoever and is exposed to B-52s and other coalition aircraft pound them at will around the clock - Judy.

WOODRUFF: So I guess you'd call it a tactical retreat, a retreat that they believe may put them in a stronger position.

WEDEMAN: Well, as I said, it's a little bit of both. They have pulled back to positions that are more easily defendable, but at the same time we know that their morale has been damaged, that their equipment has been destroyed, in many cases. But, yes, fundamentally, they aren't being challenged militarily on the ground. Of course, they're being pounded from the air. But there is no ground offensive going on here. There are just lightly armed Kurdish fighters, who are very quick to move in and take advantage of their withdrawal. But they are not actually involved in ground battles at the moment - Judy.

WOODRUFF: All right, Ben Wedeman, reporting for us from northern Iraq. And, Wolf, as I come back to you, it looks -- it sounds as if a great deal left to unfold there in the north, in the areas in the towns that he's describing, Kirkuk and Kalak.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: By no means a done deal yet up there, although significant progress seems to be made. U.S. and Kurdish forces clearly working very closely together.

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 April 2, 2003 - 13:40   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: We've been telling you about the fast-moving developments on the battlefield in Iraq today. Near Baghdad to the south, coalition forces pushing ever closer to the capital city.
Meanwhile, in northern Iraq, Iraqi troops are said to be on the run, under a fierce coalition bombardment from the air, the Iraqis are described as retreating from position that they held near Kalak.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is live now with us in northern Iraq. Ben, bring us up to date.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Judy, really we can say on the move rather than on the run. What happened was this evening, just before sunset, we were here in our position overlooking the ridge previously occupied by the Iraqi Army, when we noticed a group of people on the road leading up to the Iraqi positions. Now, we rushed down there thinking that those were Iraqi soldiers surrendering, but it turns out that they were Pesh Murga Kurdish fighters who were going up the hill.

They were going up the hill to discover that there are no Iraqi soldiers there any more, that they apparently have pulled back, some time today, to a position about seven kilometers to the west of here in the direction of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Now this does come after more than 10 days of after almost daily intense air strikes, targeting those very positions on the ridge. And we've heard from deserters who have come over to the Kurdish side, that these air strikes destroyed morale, really made life miserable for those soldiers.

Some of them surrendered, but it appears that some command decision has been taken to pull those Iraqi troops back. Now, in addition to what has happened in Kalak, to the north of Mosul, there was another Iraqi pull back, this one much larger, going more than 13 miles from the north to the southern - to the south, in the direction of Mosul. Now, this involved some fighting between Kurdish and Iraqi forces and the Kurds were supported, in this case, by U.S. troops, who were directing American air strikes on the Iraqi positions.

Now, we saw three Iraqi Army trucks that had been carrying anti- aircraft guns and ammunition and those trucks were blown to smithereens by American missiles. Another interesting thing we saw was that the local inhabitants, the people who had lived under Iraqi rule, these are Kurds, in this case, were delighted to see the Iraqis leave. They were celebrating; they were clapping; they were cheering us.

One man telling me that the dictator, Saddam Hussein, is gone. Now he can live in freedom. They also told me that one of the first things these Kurdish villagers did when the Iraqis pulled out was to rip down all the posters and pictures, which are mandatory in Iraq, of Saddam Hussein, they ripped them up and stomped on them - Judy.

WOODRUFF: Ben, we heard at the Pentagon a short time ago, General McChrystal describing how some of the Republican Guards south of Baghdad, in his words are no longer an effective fighting force. Based on what you can tell in talking with coalition sources near where you are, you're describing movement, but you're not saying these are not still effective fighting forces. Is that right?

WEDEMAN: Well, it would appear that, certainly, the people in the front lines, in those areas that have been massively pounded by air strikes, they have been reduced somewhat in their effectiveness. Certainly, that's what we're hearing from deserters from the Iraqi side. But we do know, for instance, that the main force in northern Iraq, of Iraqi soldiers, which is about 120,000, is not on the front lines, it is in rear positions.

And those forces are also concentrated inside the cities - the cities of Kirkuk and Mosul - because those are the areas, as we've seen happening in the south, where they're much more effective in fighting the coalition rather than out in the open in a place like Kalak where there aren't any trees to hide behind. The terrain is not favorable to a force that simply doesn't have any air cover whatsoever and is exposed to B-52s and other coalition aircraft pound them at will around the clock - Judy.

WOODRUFF: So I guess you'd call it a tactical retreat, a retreat that they believe may put them in a stronger position.

WEDEMAN: Well, as I said, it's a little bit of both. They have pulled back to positions that are more easily defendable, but at the same time we know that their morale has been damaged, that their equipment has been destroyed, in many cases. But, yes, fundamentally, they aren't being challenged militarily on the ground. Of course, they're being pounded from the air. But there is no ground offensive going on here. There are just lightly armed Kurdish fighters, who are very quick to move in and take advantage of their withdrawal. But they are not actually involved in ground battles at the moment - Judy.

WOODRUFF: All right, Ben Wedeman, reporting for us from northern Iraq. And, Wolf, as I come back to you, it looks -- it sounds as if a great deal left to unfold there in the north, in the areas in the towns that he's describing, Kirkuk and Kalak.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: By no means a done deal yet up there, although significant progress seems to be made. U.S. and Kurdish forces clearly working very closely together.

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