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Why Hasn't Republican Guard Put Up Greater Resistance?
Aired April 07, 2003 - 15:39 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: U.S. Marines destroy a bridge that had been damaged over the Tigris River. The Marines decided to destroy it so that the Iraqis couldn't use it. But they can rebuild a temporary bridge very, very quickly. More activity going on in Baghdad.
Coalition moves on the Iraqi capital could be described as almost breathtaking. Right now, today, we've seen images of U.S. troops in Saddam Hussein's main presidential palace. U.S. military vehicles were parked in the heart of the city, and some of Saddam Hussein's most visible icons have been dramatically toppled.
CNN's Nic Robertson is joining us now from Ruwaished in Jordan, along the border with Iraq, to discuss these developments. Nic, am I going too far in calling these developments almost breathtaking?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They certainly have been for the residents of Baghdad. It's been a surprise, according to our sources, a number of sources have talked with people in Baghdad today. It's been a great surprise for the residents of the city who, early in the morning, had been going about their business as normal, going to bus stations and other areas of the city, to see suddenly coalition forces right in the heart of the city.
And the question that they've been asking is, where were the Republican Guard? Why didn't they put up a greater resistance? Why were the coalition forces able to come into the center of the city so quickly?
And certainly what we were able to see across the river from that main presidential compound, the U.S. tanks and armored personnel carriers went into right on the banks of the Tigris, some soldiers, Iraqi soldiers appears to run away. Some of them, according to witnesses on the scene, appearing to try and swim across the river to get away. And that is what we've been hearing from our sources in Baghdad today.
They believe that some of the Republican Guard in the city are, at this time, giving up and running away. Certainly on the streets, the militia that they're seeing, about 50 percent uniformed officers, perhaps of the Republican Guard and armed. About 50 percent unarmed militia, Fedayeen, Ba'ath Party volunteers as well. Roughly a 50-50 split.
They report going about the streets late in the day today, just before dusk. The situation quite tense, hearing sporadic gunfire in some places. But not an indication of exchanges of gunfire with coalition forces. But that there are militia on the streets feeling the situation quite tense.
Also, journalists were able to go and see late in the day today an area in an up-market area of Baghdad, just outside the west of the center, Al Mansoor (ph) District, and there they saw a huge crater surrounded by two demolished apartment buildings. According to people in the area, nine people have been killed, about 13 injured. The crater was some 25 feet across, about 20 or so feet deep, and houses, buildings within about 100 or so feet of the crater had been quite heavily destroyed.
Now, according to residents, this was because of a coalition bomb. But we don't have independent verification of that or the figures of the numbers of injured at this time. Certainly, Iraq's minister of information, again, trying to say that the coalition forces are facing defeat. Today saying that U.S. soldiers were beginning to commit suicide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED SAEED AL-SAHAF, IRAQI INFORMATION MINISTER (through translator): It's been reported to me they are beginning to commit suicide on the walls of Baghdad. And we will, in fact, encourage them to commit more suicides.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: It's very interesting talking to our sources today. They say while the minister of information was giving statements to journalists like this, even some of the junior representatives of the Ministry of Information present were saying, this can't be true, we just don't believe this. Because right at the time the minister of information, Mohammed al-Sahaf, was giving one of his press conferences, the gunfire and fighting was erupting in the presidential palace just about a half a mile away.
So already some lack of belief by sort of government underlings, if you will towards the minister of information. And that, coupled with the fact some Republican Guard fighters beginning to desert, perhaps an indication that the leadership here is becoming increasingly isolated, at least in their view -- Wolf.
BLITZER: And very quickly, Nic, the fact that Mohammed Saeed al- Sahaf, the information minister, did his little briefing outside the Palestine Hotel, as opposed to inside there, the Ministry of Information, what does that say to our viewers?
ROBERTSON: Wolf, I think he's trying to take advantage of that's where some of the live camera positions are outside the building. He also had taken journalists on a tour of parts of the city. He'd even apologized when they came close to an area that there was some heavy machine gunfire going on at the time.
Apologized, then saying he didn't want to put them in danger, but this was the situation in the city at this time. I think trying really here to get the journalists outside to try to prove to them that what he's saying is right. But it's increasingly apparent to those around him, even those that work for him, that what he is saying is blatantly untrue at this time -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Nic Robertson with the latest from inside Baghdad. Nic is monitoring the situation along the border there. Thanks very much, Nic, for the 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 April 7, 2003 - 15:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. Marines destroy a bridge that had been damaged over the Tigris River. The Marines decided to destroy it so that the Iraqis couldn't use it. But they can rebuild a temporary bridge very, very quickly. More activity going on in Baghdad.
Coalition moves on the Iraqi capital could be described as almost breathtaking. Right now, today, we've seen images of U.S. troops in Saddam Hussein's main presidential palace. U.S. military vehicles were parked in the heart of the city, and some of Saddam Hussein's most visible icons have been dramatically toppled.
CNN's Nic Robertson is joining us now from Ruwaished in Jordan, along the border with Iraq, to discuss these developments. Nic, am I going too far in calling these developments almost breathtaking?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They certainly have been for the residents of Baghdad. It's been a surprise, according to our sources, a number of sources have talked with people in Baghdad today. It's been a great surprise for the residents of the city who, early in the morning, had been going about their business as normal, going to bus stations and other areas of the city, to see suddenly coalition forces right in the heart of the city.
And the question that they've been asking is, where were the Republican Guard? Why didn't they put up a greater resistance? Why were the coalition forces able to come into the center of the city so quickly?
And certainly what we were able to see across the river from that main presidential compound, the U.S. tanks and armored personnel carriers went into right on the banks of the Tigris, some soldiers, Iraqi soldiers appears to run away. Some of them, according to witnesses on the scene, appearing to try and swim across the river to get away. And that is what we've been hearing from our sources in Baghdad today.
They believe that some of the Republican Guard in the city are, at this time, giving up and running away. Certainly on the streets, the militia that they're seeing, about 50 percent uniformed officers, perhaps of the Republican Guard and armed. About 50 percent unarmed militia, Fedayeen, Ba'ath Party volunteers as well. Roughly a 50-50 split.
They report going about the streets late in the day today, just before dusk. The situation quite tense, hearing sporadic gunfire in some places. But not an indication of exchanges of gunfire with coalition forces. But that there are militia on the streets feeling the situation quite tense.
Also, journalists were able to go and see late in the day today an area in an up-market area of Baghdad, just outside the west of the center, Al Mansoor (ph) District, and there they saw a huge crater surrounded by two demolished apartment buildings. According to people in the area, nine people have been killed, about 13 injured. The crater was some 25 feet across, about 20 or so feet deep, and houses, buildings within about 100 or so feet of the crater had been quite heavily destroyed.
Now, according to residents, this was because of a coalition bomb. But we don't have independent verification of that or the figures of the numbers of injured at this time. Certainly, Iraq's minister of information, again, trying to say that the coalition forces are facing defeat. Today saying that U.S. soldiers were beginning to commit suicide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED SAEED AL-SAHAF, IRAQI INFORMATION MINISTER (through translator): It's been reported to me they are beginning to commit suicide on the walls of Baghdad. And we will, in fact, encourage them to commit more suicides.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: It's very interesting talking to our sources today. They say while the minister of information was giving statements to journalists like this, even some of the junior representatives of the Ministry of Information present were saying, this can't be true, we just don't believe this. Because right at the time the minister of information, Mohammed al-Sahaf, was giving one of his press conferences, the gunfire and fighting was erupting in the presidential palace just about a half a mile away.
So already some lack of belief by sort of government underlings, if you will towards the minister of information. And that, coupled with the fact some Republican Guard fighters beginning to desert, perhaps an indication that the leadership here is becoming increasingly isolated, at least in their view -- Wolf.
BLITZER: And very quickly, Nic, the fact that Mohammed Saeed al- Sahaf, the information minister, did his little briefing outside the Palestine Hotel, as opposed to inside there, the Ministry of Information, what does that say to our viewers?
ROBERTSON: Wolf, I think he's trying to take advantage of that's where some of the live camera positions are outside the building. He also had taken journalists on a tour of parts of the city. He'd even apologized when they came close to an area that there was some heavy machine gunfire going on at the time.
Apologized, then saying he didn't want to put them in danger, but this was the situation in the city at this time. I think trying really here to get the journalists outside to try to prove to them that what he's saying is right. But it's increasingly apparent to those around him, even those that work for him, that what he is saying is blatantly untrue at this time -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Nic Robertson with the latest from inside Baghdad. Nic is monitoring the situation along the border there. Thanks very much, Nic, for the 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
