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Still Fighting Going on at What's Now Baghdad International Airport

Aired April 04, 2003 - 12:13   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: In Baghdad meanwhile, U.S. forces may control the international airport, but CNN's Walter Rodgers is telling us from his vantage point in the 3-7th Cavalry, that areas beyond are definitely, in his words, "hostile territory." Let's check in with our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. She's got an update on what's happening, the bigger war plan -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the latest pictures from the airport region clearly show there's still plenty of fighting going on there. U.S. forces still struggling to get the security situation under control. They have run in to some continued opposition sporadically throughout this very large airport complex today.

And what this is really underscoring, according to U.S. Central Command, is that there's still plenty of danger ahead. Earlier today, at the Central Command briefing, General Brooks gave his assessment about the possibility of fighting still in the days ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG GEN. VINCENT BROOKS, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: We still anticipate that Special Republican Guard forces are operating from within Baghdad or on the outskirts of Baghdad. Some of those we may have encountered near the airport today, with some very uncoordinated small unit attacks. I won't even call them counterattacks. They certainly came after we had possession of the terrain, they were soundly defeated in each case.

Not well integrated, not well coordinated. But nevertheless, there's a presence of force that's out there still.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: But, Wolf, what officials are emphasizing here is still there is a bigger picture. And that is, they feel they are on the road to success, and that increasingly the regime of Saddam Hussein will be irrelevant. That simply the U.S. will be able to begin operating in portions of Baghdad, secure certain sites, certain areas in the days and weeks ahead, and that increasingly it simply won't matter if Saddam Hussein is dead or alive -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And as far as moving more quickly from the airport other positions around Baghdad, actually into the city, the city center, are they going to wait? Are they going to move? Is there a sense that you're getting of what the next step might be?

STARR: Well, there certainly is still going to be a consolidation of U.S. forces on the ground. The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force today we are told is continuing to move on the eastern flank from Al Kut towards Baghdad. They are encountering elements of the Al Nayda (ph) Republican Guard Division.

There is going to be an effort to put more U.S. force into the region. They will begin to assess the security situation in Baghdad. The concern, of course, is that some Republican Guard units have withdrawn into the city. There is still Special Republican Guard there, security forces. Still plenty of possibility for danger.

They also don't know the reception that U.S. forces might get from the five million residents of Baghdad. So all of this will be done carefully in stages. No big rush at the moment.

U.S. officials making it clear they see no reason to lay siege to Baghdad. They can wait. They can be patient. They think the outcome is inevitable -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara, we're waiting for the White House briefing that's about to begin. As we wait in the next few seconds, let me just ask you about the international airport now called "Baghdad International Airport," formerly known as Saddam International Airport.

General Brooks this morning said that they had destroyed some of the runways so that Iraqis couldn't escape from Baghdad. But it wouldn't take the Corp of Engineers, the U.S. military a long time to make those runways fit for C-17s and other U.S. planes, would it?

STARR: It would not, Wolf. This is a very strategic objective for the United States military. Seizing the airport is basically the same as seizing a military airhead.

The U.S., when the situation is secure, will begin operating out of this area with fixed wing, but probably with helicopters first, according to some officials, running troops in and out of the city as they see fit. Possibly using these runways as a staging area for helicopter-born Special Operations Forces as they move around Baghdad.

The concern, however, will be to really secure the situation. As long as there is the possibility of Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery, surface-to-air missile batteries, that sort of threat in the regions of Baghdad, around the airport, the possibility that these types of weapons could be laumpbled against aircraft operating at the airport, you're probably not going to see lot of U.S. military air operations for some time yet.

BLITZER: And as we wait for this White House briefing, Barbara, to begin, I assume there's going to be a Pentagon briefing later today, too. That's been the normal pattern through these two weeks plus of the war.

STARR: Right. We do expect an operational update here later today. One of the questions that is beginning to emerge here that officials even across the administration are struggling to address is this issue of an interim provisional government.

Will, in fact, the Pentagon fulfill its plan to install a civilian interim administrator in Baghdad to run the country? Will there be a group of exiles and opposition leaders installed in Baghdad to take over if there can be a sufficient population to rally around them politically?

A lot of undercurrent in Washington throughout the White House, the Pentagon, and the State Department about this issue right now. Of course the Pentagon has a team on standby in Kuwait ready to move in and basically establish an interim government in Baghdad even before Saddam Hussein is gone. But in the last 24 to 48 hours, an awful lot of chatter in the political corridors of Washington about the role that the exile and opposition Iraqi community, especially the Iraqi National Congress, might play in this interim government -- Wolf.

BLITZER: I know that retired General Jay Garner is here in Kuwait, not far away from where I am. He's the individual that the administration has designated as sort of to take charge of this transitional authority, this administrative authority. He's putting together a team of other retired officers, State Department officials and others.

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




International Airport>


Aired April 4, 2003 - 12:13   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: In Baghdad meanwhile, U.S. forces may control the international airport, but CNN's Walter Rodgers is telling us from his vantage point in the 3-7th Cavalry, that areas beyond are definitely, in his words, "hostile territory." Let's check in with our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. She's got an update on what's happening, the bigger war plan -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the latest pictures from the airport region clearly show there's still plenty of fighting going on there. U.S. forces still struggling to get the security situation under control. They have run in to some continued opposition sporadically throughout this very large airport complex today.

And what this is really underscoring, according to U.S. Central Command, is that there's still plenty of danger ahead. Earlier today, at the Central Command briefing, General Brooks gave his assessment about the possibility of fighting still in the days ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG GEN. VINCENT BROOKS, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: We still anticipate that Special Republican Guard forces are operating from within Baghdad or on the outskirts of Baghdad. Some of those we may have encountered near the airport today, with some very uncoordinated small unit attacks. I won't even call them counterattacks. They certainly came after we had possession of the terrain, they were soundly defeated in each case.

Not well integrated, not well coordinated. But nevertheless, there's a presence of force that's out there still.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: But, Wolf, what officials are emphasizing here is still there is a bigger picture. And that is, they feel they are on the road to success, and that increasingly the regime of Saddam Hussein will be irrelevant. That simply the U.S. will be able to begin operating in portions of Baghdad, secure certain sites, certain areas in the days and weeks ahead, and that increasingly it simply won't matter if Saddam Hussein is dead or alive -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And as far as moving more quickly from the airport other positions around Baghdad, actually into the city, the city center, are they going to wait? Are they going to move? Is there a sense that you're getting of what the next step might be?

STARR: Well, there certainly is still going to be a consolidation of U.S. forces on the ground. The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force today we are told is continuing to move on the eastern flank from Al Kut towards Baghdad. They are encountering elements of the Al Nayda (ph) Republican Guard Division.

There is going to be an effort to put more U.S. force into the region. They will begin to assess the security situation in Baghdad. The concern, of course, is that some Republican Guard units have withdrawn into the city. There is still Special Republican Guard there, security forces. Still plenty of possibility for danger.

They also don't know the reception that U.S. forces might get from the five million residents of Baghdad. So all of this will be done carefully in stages. No big rush at the moment.

U.S. officials making it clear they see no reason to lay siege to Baghdad. They can wait. They can be patient. They think the outcome is inevitable -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara, we're waiting for the White House briefing that's about to begin. As we wait in the next few seconds, let me just ask you about the international airport now called "Baghdad International Airport," formerly known as Saddam International Airport.

General Brooks this morning said that they had destroyed some of the runways so that Iraqis couldn't escape from Baghdad. But it wouldn't take the Corp of Engineers, the U.S. military a long time to make those runways fit for C-17s and other U.S. planes, would it?

STARR: It would not, Wolf. This is a very strategic objective for the United States military. Seizing the airport is basically the same as seizing a military airhead.

The U.S., when the situation is secure, will begin operating out of this area with fixed wing, but probably with helicopters first, according to some officials, running troops in and out of the city as they see fit. Possibly using these runways as a staging area for helicopter-born Special Operations Forces as they move around Baghdad.

The concern, however, will be to really secure the situation. As long as there is the possibility of Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery, surface-to-air missile batteries, that sort of threat in the regions of Baghdad, around the airport, the possibility that these types of weapons could be laumpbled against aircraft operating at the airport, you're probably not going to see lot of U.S. military air operations for some time yet.

BLITZER: And as we wait for this White House briefing, Barbara, to begin, I assume there's going to be a Pentagon briefing later today, too. That's been the normal pattern through these two weeks plus of the war.

STARR: Right. We do expect an operational update here later today. One of the questions that is beginning to emerge here that officials even across the administration are struggling to address is this issue of an interim provisional government.

Will, in fact, the Pentagon fulfill its plan to install a civilian interim administrator in Baghdad to run the country? Will there be a group of exiles and opposition leaders installed in Baghdad to take over if there can be a sufficient population to rally around them politically?

A lot of undercurrent in Washington throughout the White House, the Pentagon, and the State Department about this issue right now. Of course the Pentagon has a team on standby in Kuwait ready to move in and basically establish an interim government in Baghdad even before Saddam Hussein is gone. But in the last 24 to 48 hours, an awful lot of chatter in the political corridors of Washington about the role that the exile and opposition Iraqi community, especially the Iraqi National Congress, might play in this interim government -- Wolf.

BLITZER: I know that retired General Jay Garner is here in Kuwait, not far away from where I am. He's the individual that the administration has designated as sort of to take charge of this transitional authority, this administrative authority. He's putting together a team of other retired officers, State Department officials and others.

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




International Airport>