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Jet from USS Kitty Hawk Missing After Departing for Mission
Aired April 03, 2003 - 14:32 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: It has been a tense situation today aboard the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. A jet that flew from the carrier's deck is missing in action, and we know now that it may have been downed by a Patriot missile. The pilot is the subject of a search and rescue mission.
And CNN's Becky Diamond is posted aboard the Kitty Hawk. She's reported the very latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BECKY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The jet took off last night. It was reported missing about midnight. Also reported in the area of where the jet went down were surface-to-air missiles and antiaircraft artillery. The fate of this pilot, the fate of this jet unknown right now. Search and rescue missions are under way, and of course everyone is hoping again for the best here.
Now, jets that are taking off from the Kitty Hawk are flying close air support missions. Those are missions that support U.S. ground forces. And those missions right now are supporting the U.S. Army's 5th Corps, and that group is operating between Karbala and Baghdad.
Again, not sure where this jet went down, but everyone on this ship is hoping that this search and rescue mission will be successful.
And yesterday, this is, again, some backdrop of good news yesterday, where two pilots had ejected over Iraq -- excuse me, a pilot and his radar interception operator -- officer, which is an F-14 Tomcat. They ejected over Iraq, and they were rescued very quickly by search and rescue teams.
So of course people on the Kitty Hawk hoping for the same today.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: Becky Diamond reporting from the Kitty Hawk, the aircraft carrier.
We want to tell you that at the Pentagon briefing just a short time ago, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said, of course, as always, we regret if there has been a friendly fire incident. But he pointed out these things have happened in every war since time immemorial. And he said we are doing everything we can to find out what happened. At this point they just don't have more information to confirm it one way or another.
Well, after a few days in the markets of being where investors were very closely paying attention to this war, Rhonda Schaffler is at the New York Stock Exchange now. It seems to me, Rhonda, they're looking more broadly at the economy as well as at the war today.
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT: A bit, Judy, although we've actually seen the momentum pick up here in the past hour as troops continue their advance on Baghdad. We know that the past two days, there were some impressive gains on Wall Street on news of coalition troop successes in Iraq.
In just this past hour, investors have started buying once again. The Dow Jones industrial average making a modest advance. It's up 39 points. But that is close to the best level of the session. And the Nasdaq is up 12 points.
We had actually seen stocks showing little direction for much of the morning. There is some concern about the economy, and that came today after a surprisingly sharp jump in weekly jobless claims. Tomorrow, we get a very important report, the monthly employment report. And the fear is that could be weaker than expected.
Also, we want to tell you that some economists are starting to say the deadly flulike virus SARS could be the next sore spot for the global economy. Travel and airline sectors are already feeling the impact, with many trips to Hong Kong and other Asian destinations canceled, and the union representing U.S. flight attendants is demanding the FAA take immediate precaution against SARS. They want latex gloves and masks given to the flight attendants, or permission to wear them on their own.
That's the latest from Wall Street. Back to you now, Judy.
WOODRUFF: Thanks, Rhonda. Wouldn't it be interesting if it is this mystery illness, so-called, that does have a -- end up having an effect on the economy, the global economy?
All right. We're, of course, following the progress of that illness, as we have been for the last few days.
Still to come this hour, a central Iraqi town is under control of coalition forces today, but not without a share of controversy. Our Ryan Chilcote live from Najaf after the break.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And also after the break, retired Major General Don Shepperd will be joining us, and he'll answer your e-mails about what's going on in the war.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back to our coverage. I'm Miles O'Brien at the CNN Center in Atlanta. And joining me is Major General Don Shepperd, who, by now, has become quite a familiar face to you. He is our -- one of our military analysts, retired from the U.S. Air Force.
And not only does he answer questions that we pose to him, he also answers the harder questions. And those are the ones from the likes of you. So we appreciate them, by the way, in advance. We only could get to a few of them right now.
But let's look at question number one, Don Shepperd, and see if we can come up with a good answer.
Tamera Grove has this. "It has occurred to me that our enemies in Iraq would consider it quite a coup to kill one of our media persons while they are broadcasting live from their positions. What, if any, steps are taken to protect these men and women?"
While you're answering, Don Shepperd, I'm going to show some of these dramatic pictures that Walt Rodgers has fed in from the 3-7 Cavalry, right at the pointy tip of the spear.
Go ahead.
MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, it might surprise you to know there's no special protection for media personnel. The embedded personnel, of course, are protected because they're with the deployed units out there. But if their car breaks down, if their vehicle breaks down, they have to catch up on their own. And the media that are out there on their own are taking great risks. They are always a target. It's a dangerous business, just like being a soldier, Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right, all right. And it's a risky business, that's all we can say. We've done a lot to protect them. Our -- all of our folks in the field have a with them a dedicated security person, and that, we hope, is helping them out. And we wish them well and safe journeys.
Next question for us. This one comes from Michael in Michigan. "Reports earlier this week stated Syria is siding with Iraq. Is this something that we, the American people, should be worried about?" And, you know, this relationship between Syria and Iraq is a very complex, nuanced relationship. I'll let you dive into those waters.
SHEPPERD: My take is that this is something Syria should be worried about. If Syria is perceived as coming down on the side of Iraq, she has already received warnings from the secretary of defense with his very strong comments. This is difficult stuff and would not be appreciated by the United States, Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. And the relationship is interesting because of the fact that Iraq and Syria are, in fact, trading partners, but there's a lot of complexity to the whole thing, because no one wants to, in the end, be on the side of a loser. All right.
Next e-mail for our general here, our man with the answers. "I see a lot of -- about psychological operations. The military folks call them psy-ops. With computer programs today, why doesn't the coalition take a picture of Saddam Hussein on a stretcher and say that he has been found dead?" That comes from Dan Bates in Barrys Bay.
And while we're talking here, we're going to show you one the psy-ops that we've offered you an animation of in the past. And that is this C-130 which flies over and broadcasts. Well, it's regular AM/FM radio transmissions, correct?
SHEPPERD: Right. Yes, psychological operations are fair game. But one thing we do not do is, we do not lie. We do not fabricate things. We may mislead people or allow them to believe in something that may not be going on by not correcting it. But as soon as you start lying, no one will ever believe you again. It's a one-way street.
O'BRIEN: It's a -- it is a shade of gray, though, as far as errors of omission, as opposed to errors of commission, correct?
SHEPPERD: Yes. That's fair game. Errors of omission are fair game, or not answering a question. Primary example, the big left hook. You know, had somebody come out and said, Are you doing a left hook? There would have been no comment on future operations, but nobody would have said, No, we're not doing a left hook.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. All right. Left hook meaning the possible 101st Airborne...
SHEPPERD: In the Gulf War.
O'BRIEN: Oh, you're talking about the Gulf War.
SHEPPERD: Gulf war, in -- during the Gulf War.
O'BRIEN: All right. Great. All right. Don Shepperd, thanks very much. Appreciate your insights and answers, and we hope the viewers were satisfied by them. We're sure they will. Keep those e- mails coming to us at livefrom@cnn.com, livefrom@cnn.com.
Let's send it back to Judy -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: Miles, you're right, though, the viewers always have better questions than we do.
O'BRIEN: They do, yes.
WOODRUFF: Thanks very much. Thank you both.
Well, there have been a number of developments in and around Iraq's capital city of Baghdad. Just in the last few hours, we know the electricity is down in the city for the last couple of hours. At the Pentagon, they are saying this has not been a target of coalition forces.
We know that U.S. troops are right now said to be within 10 kilometers, or six miles, of the southern rim of Baghdad. We also know that wire services are reporting fighting around Baghdad's international airport. This is some miles southwest of the city. Iraqi forces said to be putting up some resistance there. So a number of things going on.
I want to bring in CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. Barbara, as coalition forces contemplate going into Baghdad, the hardest part of what this war has been all about, I think we've all come to understand, what exactly are they dealing with?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, the first step, as you say, Judy, is taking the airport. That is going on right now. By all accounts, there is fighting around the airport, officials saying that the U.S. forces there are running into elements of four regular Iraqi military divisions.
But here in the Pentagon today, during the news briefing earlier, General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, laid out a strategy where U.S. forces will enter the city, establish a provisional government, and essentially make the regime irrelevant. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. RICHARD MYERS, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: I use the term "irrelevant" because, at this point, they're not going to be able to communicate with the people of Iraq. That will all be shut down. They won't be able to communicate within certain parts of Baghdad. And you'll continue to ensure that happens.
You know, there's -- we would control the water, the electricity, things like that. I'm not suggesting any of that would be turned off, turned on. It just would depend on the tactical situation. So they become an entity, perhaps, if there is anybody left, if they haven't all run.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: So Judy, General Myers raising the possibility that U.S. forces will simply enter the city and declare themselves in charge, Judy.
WOODRUFF: Barbara, what about this notion that as coalition forces get closer, worries that the Saddam Hussein regime may somehow lash out, lash back?
STARR: That is what the sort of fly in the ointment, so to speak, is here, because they can declare themselves in charge, they can declare the regime irrelevant, but there is a great deal of concern that in those last minutes, hours, days, the Saddam Hussein regime would become desperate.
One of the issues they raised today was that the regime may attack the very large Shi'a population on the eastern side of Baghdad, in a place called Saddam City, that the regime may launch artillery strikes against them, blame the United States.
Also, of course, continuing concern about possible use of chemical weapons.
So while they think maybe this strategy works, there is still a lot of concern that the Saddam Hussein regime would make a desperate last move, Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right. Barbara Starr helping us understand what the Pentagon, what coalition forces may have in mind as they get closer to the city center.
So, Wolf, back to you, as we continue to look at these live nightscope pictures of Baghdad, because, as we've been saying, the electricity is out, apparently, in most of the city.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It seems it may be out in all of the city, Judy, based on eyewitness accounts. You can only imagine what those 5 million or so residents of Baghdad, two weeks into this war, must be going through, no power, no electricity, unless they have their own generators. It's going to be difficult, obviously, for all of them. No word on who may be responsible. The Pentagon insisting the U.S. Central command did not target the power grid of the Iraqi capital.
We'll continue to monitor what's happening in Baghdad.
Meanwhile, one of the U.S. Army's most elite units is said to have control of the city of Najaf, but not necessarily its residents.
CNN's Ryan Chilcote was with the 101st Airborne Division, 3rd Brigade, when it ventured into the city.
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, well, Najaf, I wanted to start by telling you, Najaf has very little, little to no electricity and light as well, with the exception, perhaps, of the light on our camera and the lights lighting up the Imam Ali Mosque.
But first, earlier today, the day was supposed to begin with what was supposed to be a pretty uneventful patrol, the goal to link up the soldiers' commander here, the soldiers of the No Slack Battalion and the 101st Airborne's 1st Brigade, with the Grand Ayatollah Sisteini (ph). He is the spiritual leader of the Shi'a people. And he was to meet with the soldiers' commander.
Now, the soldiers got about halfway to his compound when the Grand Ayatollah called them via radio and said, Before we meet, I would like the soldiers to secure my compound. Well, the soldiers said, No problem. That was their intention to do that.
The problem was that his compound was located about halfway down the road from where the soldiers were to the Imam Ali Mosque, a mosque that is very -- one -- considered one of the holiest shrines in the entire Shi'a Muslim face, and -- faith, and it is obviously not a place where many Muslims are comfortable with Christians or non -- at least, non-Muslims being nearer.
The soldiers started moving out that way. The crowd was not at all, apparently, aware of this -- of the ayatollah's request for the soldiers to come to his house. Chaos ensued. And some very quick action from both the ayatollah's representatives, who were on hand, and the soldiers' commander, really saved the day.
The soldiers' commander telling the men to step back, to take a knee, to point their weapons at the ground, and to be as friendly as possible with the local Shi'a population there in front of them.
They did have some success. I have to say it was the most commendable effort by the commander. A lot of the people, a lot of the Iraqis in the crowd, who had been very upset, also sat down. It was real amazing defusion, if you will, of a very tense situation.
But not everyone sat down, so the commander decided to pull his troops back. He decided to wait for cooler heads to prevail, Wolf.
BLITZER: OK. Ryan Chilcote, thanks very much for that report. Ryan Chilcote is with the 101st Airborne Division covering that story.
The British have been battling to take control of the southern city of Basra since the opening days of the war. Britain's defense secretary says his forces have seized suburbs around the city, and are consolidating their advances. British reporters were able to broadcast live from the outskirts of Basra earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD GAISFORD: Well, I think it's fair to say that for the first time, we are broadcasting live from the city of Basra. The Desert Rats have made a move into the city this morning, and certainly you can see what has happened behind me. As the Iraqi troops retreated, they set a light to an oil trench, and a pipe is feeding that.
Let's have a quick word with Major Tom Scott of the British Royal Engineers. Tom, what exactly is going on now behind us?
MAJ. TOM SCOTT, BRITISH ROYAL ENGINEERS: Right. We came across the trench, which is on fire, obviously, in front of our position. That causing a bit of obscuration. So what my guys have actually done from 3-1 Armored Engineer Squadron is to actually cut the flow of oil into the oil trench itself. And then we're in the process of basically extinguishing the flames and therefore allowing us to basically proceed forward into Basra.
GAISFORD: We are on the front line here. This is dangerous work.
SCOTT: Well, everything is dangerous, isn't it? But the guys are well trained, they're up for it. And there should be no problem. We have got a ring of steel from (UNINTELLIGIBLE) battle group out front, so it's not too bad.
GAISFORD: Now, the Desert Rats have moved into Basra today. This isn't going to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) take the city, I know, but it's a good foothold, isn't it?
SCOTT: Yes. We're across the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Basra, and we're very, very close now.
GAISFORD: And if you wanted to launch operations, you couldn't really get a better place.
SCOTT: I suppose so.
GAISFORD: Not willing to say too much. Tom Scott, thank you very much indeed.
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) significant know that this morning they have moved into Basra. This is the first time you can actually see houses now, right on the city, and you can see how close we are. The Royal Engineers not only wanting to put the smoke out to help British military operations here, but also the people of Basra, because this toxic fumes going right over the city itself. And I think everyone will be pleased when they've done their job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: British reporters on the outskirts of Basra earlier today, doing some dramatic reporting around that second-largest city of Iraq.
Judy, back to you.
WOODRUFF: That's right, Wolf. British forces struggling with Basra for days now, so we do see them making some progress this day.
Still to come this hour, an alleged Iraqi torture chamber found. It is a disturbing sight. We're going to take you inside after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOODRUFF: Always sobering numbers, the update on casualties in the war in Iraq.
Well, meantime, on the front lines in southern Iraq, British forces say they have found sobering evidence of Iraqi torture chambers. Reporter Clive Myire is with the Royal Marines, and he takes us into the Iraqi police station, which is now in the hands of British troops.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLIVE MYIRE (voice-over): Outside a police station in southern Iraq stands a mural of this country's leader. Saddam Hussein's dreaded internal security police were based here.
This cabinet is locked.
Saddam's portrait adorned every room. Not anymore.
And downstairs, cells, this one barely four feet by eight, with no windows and a filthy pillow and mattress. In other rooms, hooks hang from the ceiling. This room is bare but for two old tires and an electricity cable. We're later told the torturer might use the tires to stand on while water is poured on the floor and the prisoner electrocuted.
And in this room are the identity cards of scores of Iraqi men aged between 20 and 40. It's a crime here not to have your ID card with you at all times. Why do these men no longer need theirs?
We later found one man who didn't want to be identified, who gave up some of the secrets of the police stations. He tells me there was a tariff system. If you committed a crime but paid enough money, you wouldn't be tortured.
We spent days trying to find more people willing to speak on the record about torture in Saddam Hussein's Iraq. This man would only talk to us within the safety of a Royal Marines commando base. And if he was a prison guard and Saddam Hussein walked into his jail, "I'd cut him into 50 pieces," he tells me.
In the distance, the smoke rises from a battlefield. Iraq's tools of repression are being taken away.
Clive Myire, Abu al-Qasib (ph), southern Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: The kinds of things that none of us ever want to know about, but it is the reality of what has been going on in part of that country.
Still to come this hour, images of the war, photos from the front line.
CNN's coverage of the war in Iraq continues after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOODRUFF: A thank-you now for the sacrifices and the service, from America's commander in chief. Today, President Bush traveled to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, a base that has suffered a number of the U.S. war casualties.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a time of hardship for many military families. Some of you have been separated from your loved ones for quite a while because of long deployments. All of America is grateful for your sacrifice. And Laura and I are here to thank each one of you.
No one who falls will be forgotten by this grateful nation. We honor their service to America, and we pray their families will receive God's comfort and God's grace.
Having traveled hundreds of miles, we will now go the last 200 yards. The course is set. We're on the advance. Our destination is Baghdad, and we will accept nothing less than complete and final victory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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Mission>
Aired April 3, 2003 - 14:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: It has been a tense situation today aboard the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. A jet that flew from the carrier's deck is missing in action, and we know now that it may have been downed by a Patriot missile. The pilot is the subject of a search and rescue mission.
And CNN's Becky Diamond is posted aboard the Kitty Hawk. She's reported the very latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BECKY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The jet took off last night. It was reported missing about midnight. Also reported in the area of where the jet went down were surface-to-air missiles and antiaircraft artillery. The fate of this pilot, the fate of this jet unknown right now. Search and rescue missions are under way, and of course everyone is hoping again for the best here.
Now, jets that are taking off from the Kitty Hawk are flying close air support missions. Those are missions that support U.S. ground forces. And those missions right now are supporting the U.S. Army's 5th Corps, and that group is operating between Karbala and Baghdad.
Again, not sure where this jet went down, but everyone on this ship is hoping that this search and rescue mission will be successful.
And yesterday, this is, again, some backdrop of good news yesterday, where two pilots had ejected over Iraq -- excuse me, a pilot and his radar interception operator -- officer, which is an F-14 Tomcat. They ejected over Iraq, and they were rescued very quickly by search and rescue teams.
So of course people on the Kitty Hawk hoping for the same today.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: Becky Diamond reporting from the Kitty Hawk, the aircraft carrier.
We want to tell you that at the Pentagon briefing just a short time ago, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said, of course, as always, we regret if there has been a friendly fire incident. But he pointed out these things have happened in every war since time immemorial. And he said we are doing everything we can to find out what happened. At this point they just don't have more information to confirm it one way or another.
Well, after a few days in the markets of being where investors were very closely paying attention to this war, Rhonda Schaffler is at the New York Stock Exchange now. It seems to me, Rhonda, they're looking more broadly at the economy as well as at the war today.
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT: A bit, Judy, although we've actually seen the momentum pick up here in the past hour as troops continue their advance on Baghdad. We know that the past two days, there were some impressive gains on Wall Street on news of coalition troop successes in Iraq.
In just this past hour, investors have started buying once again. The Dow Jones industrial average making a modest advance. It's up 39 points. But that is close to the best level of the session. And the Nasdaq is up 12 points.
We had actually seen stocks showing little direction for much of the morning. There is some concern about the economy, and that came today after a surprisingly sharp jump in weekly jobless claims. Tomorrow, we get a very important report, the monthly employment report. And the fear is that could be weaker than expected.
Also, we want to tell you that some economists are starting to say the deadly flulike virus SARS could be the next sore spot for the global economy. Travel and airline sectors are already feeling the impact, with many trips to Hong Kong and other Asian destinations canceled, and the union representing U.S. flight attendants is demanding the FAA take immediate precaution against SARS. They want latex gloves and masks given to the flight attendants, or permission to wear them on their own.
That's the latest from Wall Street. Back to you now, Judy.
WOODRUFF: Thanks, Rhonda. Wouldn't it be interesting if it is this mystery illness, so-called, that does have a -- end up having an effect on the economy, the global economy?
All right. We're, of course, following the progress of that illness, as we have been for the last few days.
Still to come this hour, a central Iraqi town is under control of coalition forces today, but not without a share of controversy. Our Ryan Chilcote live from Najaf after the break.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And also after the break, retired Major General Don Shepperd will be joining us, and he'll answer your e-mails about what's going on in the war.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back to our coverage. I'm Miles O'Brien at the CNN Center in Atlanta. And joining me is Major General Don Shepperd, who, by now, has become quite a familiar face to you. He is our -- one of our military analysts, retired from the U.S. Air Force.
And not only does he answer questions that we pose to him, he also answers the harder questions. And those are the ones from the likes of you. So we appreciate them, by the way, in advance. We only could get to a few of them right now.
But let's look at question number one, Don Shepperd, and see if we can come up with a good answer.
Tamera Grove has this. "It has occurred to me that our enemies in Iraq would consider it quite a coup to kill one of our media persons while they are broadcasting live from their positions. What, if any, steps are taken to protect these men and women?"
While you're answering, Don Shepperd, I'm going to show some of these dramatic pictures that Walt Rodgers has fed in from the 3-7 Cavalry, right at the pointy tip of the spear.
Go ahead.
MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, it might surprise you to know there's no special protection for media personnel. The embedded personnel, of course, are protected because they're with the deployed units out there. But if their car breaks down, if their vehicle breaks down, they have to catch up on their own. And the media that are out there on their own are taking great risks. They are always a target. It's a dangerous business, just like being a soldier, Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right, all right. And it's a risky business, that's all we can say. We've done a lot to protect them. Our -- all of our folks in the field have a with them a dedicated security person, and that, we hope, is helping them out. And we wish them well and safe journeys.
Next question for us. This one comes from Michael in Michigan. "Reports earlier this week stated Syria is siding with Iraq. Is this something that we, the American people, should be worried about?" And, you know, this relationship between Syria and Iraq is a very complex, nuanced relationship. I'll let you dive into those waters.
SHEPPERD: My take is that this is something Syria should be worried about. If Syria is perceived as coming down on the side of Iraq, she has already received warnings from the secretary of defense with his very strong comments. This is difficult stuff and would not be appreciated by the United States, Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. And the relationship is interesting because of the fact that Iraq and Syria are, in fact, trading partners, but there's a lot of complexity to the whole thing, because no one wants to, in the end, be on the side of a loser. All right.
Next e-mail for our general here, our man with the answers. "I see a lot of -- about psychological operations. The military folks call them psy-ops. With computer programs today, why doesn't the coalition take a picture of Saddam Hussein on a stretcher and say that he has been found dead?" That comes from Dan Bates in Barrys Bay.
And while we're talking here, we're going to show you one the psy-ops that we've offered you an animation of in the past. And that is this C-130 which flies over and broadcasts. Well, it's regular AM/FM radio transmissions, correct?
SHEPPERD: Right. Yes, psychological operations are fair game. But one thing we do not do is, we do not lie. We do not fabricate things. We may mislead people or allow them to believe in something that may not be going on by not correcting it. But as soon as you start lying, no one will ever believe you again. It's a one-way street.
O'BRIEN: It's a -- it is a shade of gray, though, as far as errors of omission, as opposed to errors of commission, correct?
SHEPPERD: Yes. That's fair game. Errors of omission are fair game, or not answering a question. Primary example, the big left hook. You know, had somebody come out and said, Are you doing a left hook? There would have been no comment on future operations, but nobody would have said, No, we're not doing a left hook.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. All right. Left hook meaning the possible 101st Airborne...
SHEPPERD: In the Gulf War.
O'BRIEN: Oh, you're talking about the Gulf War.
SHEPPERD: Gulf war, in -- during the Gulf War.
O'BRIEN: All right. Great. All right. Don Shepperd, thanks very much. Appreciate your insights and answers, and we hope the viewers were satisfied by them. We're sure they will. Keep those e- mails coming to us at livefrom@cnn.com, livefrom@cnn.com.
Let's send it back to Judy -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: Miles, you're right, though, the viewers always have better questions than we do.
O'BRIEN: They do, yes.
WOODRUFF: Thanks very much. Thank you both.
Well, there have been a number of developments in and around Iraq's capital city of Baghdad. Just in the last few hours, we know the electricity is down in the city for the last couple of hours. At the Pentagon, they are saying this has not been a target of coalition forces.
We know that U.S. troops are right now said to be within 10 kilometers, or six miles, of the southern rim of Baghdad. We also know that wire services are reporting fighting around Baghdad's international airport. This is some miles southwest of the city. Iraqi forces said to be putting up some resistance there. So a number of things going on.
I want to bring in CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. Barbara, as coalition forces contemplate going into Baghdad, the hardest part of what this war has been all about, I think we've all come to understand, what exactly are they dealing with?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, the first step, as you say, Judy, is taking the airport. That is going on right now. By all accounts, there is fighting around the airport, officials saying that the U.S. forces there are running into elements of four regular Iraqi military divisions.
But here in the Pentagon today, during the news briefing earlier, General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, laid out a strategy where U.S. forces will enter the city, establish a provisional government, and essentially make the regime irrelevant. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. RICHARD MYERS, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: I use the term "irrelevant" because, at this point, they're not going to be able to communicate with the people of Iraq. That will all be shut down. They won't be able to communicate within certain parts of Baghdad. And you'll continue to ensure that happens.
You know, there's -- we would control the water, the electricity, things like that. I'm not suggesting any of that would be turned off, turned on. It just would depend on the tactical situation. So they become an entity, perhaps, if there is anybody left, if they haven't all run.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: So Judy, General Myers raising the possibility that U.S. forces will simply enter the city and declare themselves in charge, Judy.
WOODRUFF: Barbara, what about this notion that as coalition forces get closer, worries that the Saddam Hussein regime may somehow lash out, lash back?
STARR: That is what the sort of fly in the ointment, so to speak, is here, because they can declare themselves in charge, they can declare the regime irrelevant, but there is a great deal of concern that in those last minutes, hours, days, the Saddam Hussein regime would become desperate.
One of the issues they raised today was that the regime may attack the very large Shi'a population on the eastern side of Baghdad, in a place called Saddam City, that the regime may launch artillery strikes against them, blame the United States.
Also, of course, continuing concern about possible use of chemical weapons.
So while they think maybe this strategy works, there is still a lot of concern that the Saddam Hussein regime would make a desperate last move, Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right. Barbara Starr helping us understand what the Pentagon, what coalition forces may have in mind as they get closer to the city center.
So, Wolf, back to you, as we continue to look at these live nightscope pictures of Baghdad, because, as we've been saying, the electricity is out, apparently, in most of the city.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It seems it may be out in all of the city, Judy, based on eyewitness accounts. You can only imagine what those 5 million or so residents of Baghdad, two weeks into this war, must be going through, no power, no electricity, unless they have their own generators. It's going to be difficult, obviously, for all of them. No word on who may be responsible. The Pentagon insisting the U.S. Central command did not target the power grid of the Iraqi capital.
We'll continue to monitor what's happening in Baghdad.
Meanwhile, one of the U.S. Army's most elite units is said to have control of the city of Najaf, but not necessarily its residents.
CNN's Ryan Chilcote was with the 101st Airborne Division, 3rd Brigade, when it ventured into the city.
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, well, Najaf, I wanted to start by telling you, Najaf has very little, little to no electricity and light as well, with the exception, perhaps, of the light on our camera and the lights lighting up the Imam Ali Mosque.
But first, earlier today, the day was supposed to begin with what was supposed to be a pretty uneventful patrol, the goal to link up the soldiers' commander here, the soldiers of the No Slack Battalion and the 101st Airborne's 1st Brigade, with the Grand Ayatollah Sisteini (ph). He is the spiritual leader of the Shi'a people. And he was to meet with the soldiers' commander.
Now, the soldiers got about halfway to his compound when the Grand Ayatollah called them via radio and said, Before we meet, I would like the soldiers to secure my compound. Well, the soldiers said, No problem. That was their intention to do that.
The problem was that his compound was located about halfway down the road from where the soldiers were to the Imam Ali Mosque, a mosque that is very -- one -- considered one of the holiest shrines in the entire Shi'a Muslim face, and -- faith, and it is obviously not a place where many Muslims are comfortable with Christians or non -- at least, non-Muslims being nearer.
The soldiers started moving out that way. The crowd was not at all, apparently, aware of this -- of the ayatollah's request for the soldiers to come to his house. Chaos ensued. And some very quick action from both the ayatollah's representatives, who were on hand, and the soldiers' commander, really saved the day.
The soldiers' commander telling the men to step back, to take a knee, to point their weapons at the ground, and to be as friendly as possible with the local Shi'a population there in front of them.
They did have some success. I have to say it was the most commendable effort by the commander. A lot of the people, a lot of the Iraqis in the crowd, who had been very upset, also sat down. It was real amazing defusion, if you will, of a very tense situation.
But not everyone sat down, so the commander decided to pull his troops back. He decided to wait for cooler heads to prevail, Wolf.
BLITZER: OK. Ryan Chilcote, thanks very much for that report. Ryan Chilcote is with the 101st Airborne Division covering that story.
The British have been battling to take control of the southern city of Basra since the opening days of the war. Britain's defense secretary says his forces have seized suburbs around the city, and are consolidating their advances. British reporters were able to broadcast live from the outskirts of Basra earlier today.
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RICHARD GAISFORD: Well, I think it's fair to say that for the first time, we are broadcasting live from the city of Basra. The Desert Rats have made a move into the city this morning, and certainly you can see what has happened behind me. As the Iraqi troops retreated, they set a light to an oil trench, and a pipe is feeding that.
Let's have a quick word with Major Tom Scott of the British Royal Engineers. Tom, what exactly is going on now behind us?
MAJ. TOM SCOTT, BRITISH ROYAL ENGINEERS: Right. We came across the trench, which is on fire, obviously, in front of our position. That causing a bit of obscuration. So what my guys have actually done from 3-1 Armored Engineer Squadron is to actually cut the flow of oil into the oil trench itself. And then we're in the process of basically extinguishing the flames and therefore allowing us to basically proceed forward into Basra.
GAISFORD: We are on the front line here. This is dangerous work.
SCOTT: Well, everything is dangerous, isn't it? But the guys are well trained, they're up for it. And there should be no problem. We have got a ring of steel from (UNINTELLIGIBLE) battle group out front, so it's not too bad.
GAISFORD: Now, the Desert Rats have moved into Basra today. This isn't going to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) take the city, I know, but it's a good foothold, isn't it?
SCOTT: Yes. We're across the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Basra, and we're very, very close now.
GAISFORD: And if you wanted to launch operations, you couldn't really get a better place.
SCOTT: I suppose so.
GAISFORD: Not willing to say too much. Tom Scott, thank you very much indeed.
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) significant know that this morning they have moved into Basra. This is the first time you can actually see houses now, right on the city, and you can see how close we are. The Royal Engineers not only wanting to put the smoke out to help British military operations here, but also the people of Basra, because this toxic fumes going right over the city itself. And I think everyone will be pleased when they've done their job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: British reporters on the outskirts of Basra earlier today, doing some dramatic reporting around that second-largest city of Iraq.
Judy, back to you.
WOODRUFF: That's right, Wolf. British forces struggling with Basra for days now, so we do see them making some progress this day.
Still to come this hour, an alleged Iraqi torture chamber found. It is a disturbing sight. We're going to take you inside after the break.
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WOODRUFF: Always sobering numbers, the update on casualties in the war in Iraq.
Well, meantime, on the front lines in southern Iraq, British forces say they have found sobering evidence of Iraqi torture chambers. Reporter Clive Myire is with the Royal Marines, and he takes us into the Iraqi police station, which is now in the hands of British troops.
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CLIVE MYIRE (voice-over): Outside a police station in southern Iraq stands a mural of this country's leader. Saddam Hussein's dreaded internal security police were based here.
This cabinet is locked.
Saddam's portrait adorned every room. Not anymore.
And downstairs, cells, this one barely four feet by eight, with no windows and a filthy pillow and mattress. In other rooms, hooks hang from the ceiling. This room is bare but for two old tires and an electricity cable. We're later told the torturer might use the tires to stand on while water is poured on the floor and the prisoner electrocuted.
And in this room are the identity cards of scores of Iraqi men aged between 20 and 40. It's a crime here not to have your ID card with you at all times. Why do these men no longer need theirs?
We later found one man who didn't want to be identified, who gave up some of the secrets of the police stations. He tells me there was a tariff system. If you committed a crime but paid enough money, you wouldn't be tortured.
We spent days trying to find more people willing to speak on the record about torture in Saddam Hussein's Iraq. This man would only talk to us within the safety of a Royal Marines commando base. And if he was a prison guard and Saddam Hussein walked into his jail, "I'd cut him into 50 pieces," he tells me.
In the distance, the smoke rises from a battlefield. Iraq's tools of repression are being taken away.
Clive Myire, Abu al-Qasib (ph), southern Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: The kinds of things that none of us ever want to know about, but it is the reality of what has been going on in part of that country.
Still to come this hour, images of the war, photos from the front line.
CNN's coverage of the war in Iraq continues after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOODRUFF: A thank-you now for the sacrifices and the service, from America's commander in chief. Today, President Bush traveled to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, a base that has suffered a number of the U.S. war casualties.
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GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a time of hardship for many military families. Some of you have been separated from your loved ones for quite a while because of long deployments. All of America is grateful for your sacrifice. And Laura and I are here to thank each one of you.
No one who falls will be forgotten by this grateful nation. We honor their service to America, and we pray their families will receive God's comfort and God's grace.
Having traveled hundreds of miles, we will now go the last 200 yards. The course is set. We're on the advance. Our destination is Baghdad, and we will accept nothing less than complete and final victory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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