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Kurdish Troops Enter Kirkuk
Aired April 10, 2003 - 14:25 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: Well, another major Iraqi city, we are told, has fallen. Backed by U.S. Special Forces, Kurdish troops have overrun the city of Kirkuk, the oil-rich area in the north. Their entry into the city sparked wild celebrations earlier today, and some fairly frantic diplomacy between the United States and Turkey, which -- whose citizens, frankly, shudder at the thought of the Kurds securing power.
Of course, we know there are a number of Kurds in Turkey. CNN's Brent Sadler is in the nearby city of Kalar to report on the Iraqi regime's quick collapse over parts of the north today. Brent, the last time we talked with you, events were very fast moving where you are.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed, Judy, that is right. You're talking about Kirkuk here. And obviously, Turkish concerns about how long its tens of thousands of Iraqi Kurdish fighters now reported to be in that oil capital of northern Iraq.
The plans were, according to Kurdish leaders I was speaking to, before the onset of conflict, that if they did get the chance to go in there, they would really be there for the first hours or days to prevent anarchy breaking out in these northern cities, and then pretty soon hand over to an administration headed, they hoped, by the United States.
Let me just take a look now with you at one of the liberated towns. In fact, the first of the major northern towns to fall to Iraqi Kurdish fighters under the banner of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, a new face in this town called Khanaqin (ph), about 80 miles north of Baghdad. Jalal Talibani, the face of one of the chief Kurdish leaders had been paraded through the town. The town overrun by Peshmerga fighters, and really a day of happiness, many of them tell me. Coming up, really, some of these people kissing us and saying thank you, thank you for liberating us. And indeed, specific praise and thanks to President George W. Bush. Many Iraqi Kurds in this town are praising the U.S. president for bringing about these monumental changes.
Now, as the monumental changes I'm referring to take place in a ripple effect right across the country, we need to look at -- focus what's happening in terms of stabilizing these newly liberated areas. Now, when I went into Khanaqin (ph) earlier today, very soon after it came under Kurdish Peshmerga control, I saw U.S. Special Forces moving into position, one of them on a machine -- truck-mounted machine gun, really speeding into the town. These are the same troops who have been, for the past several weeks, bringing in air strikes against Iraqi military targets in many parts of the northern front.
Now, the problem we have on the ground here is that these U.S. forces are spread very thinly indeed, and I saw them take up positions in the center of Khanaqin (ph) around the former governor's office, and really they were just setting up communications, observing scenes in which I saw some of the citizens disputing property rights, arguing and really looking to the American soldiers to act as adjudicators.
But you know, Judy, the soldiers on the ground here have no political role, and at the moment, there is an administrative vacuum on the streets of many of these northern, newly liberated areas -- back to you, Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right. Brent Sadler reporting for us from northern Iraq, the city of Kalar.
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 10, 2003 - 14:25 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Well, another major Iraqi city, we are told, has fallen. Backed by U.S. Special Forces, Kurdish troops have overrun the city of Kirkuk, the oil-rich area in the north. Their entry into the city sparked wild celebrations earlier today, and some fairly frantic diplomacy between the United States and Turkey, which -- whose citizens, frankly, shudder at the thought of the Kurds securing power.
Of course, we know there are a number of Kurds in Turkey. CNN's Brent Sadler is in the nearby city of Kalar to report on the Iraqi regime's quick collapse over parts of the north today. Brent, the last time we talked with you, events were very fast moving where you are.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed, Judy, that is right. You're talking about Kirkuk here. And obviously, Turkish concerns about how long its tens of thousands of Iraqi Kurdish fighters now reported to be in that oil capital of northern Iraq.
The plans were, according to Kurdish leaders I was speaking to, before the onset of conflict, that if they did get the chance to go in there, they would really be there for the first hours or days to prevent anarchy breaking out in these northern cities, and then pretty soon hand over to an administration headed, they hoped, by the United States.
Let me just take a look now with you at one of the liberated towns. In fact, the first of the major northern towns to fall to Iraqi Kurdish fighters under the banner of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, a new face in this town called Khanaqin (ph), about 80 miles north of Baghdad. Jalal Talibani, the face of one of the chief Kurdish leaders had been paraded through the town. The town overrun by Peshmerga fighters, and really a day of happiness, many of them tell me. Coming up, really, some of these people kissing us and saying thank you, thank you for liberating us. And indeed, specific praise and thanks to President George W. Bush. Many Iraqi Kurds in this town are praising the U.S. president for bringing about these monumental changes.
Now, as the monumental changes I'm referring to take place in a ripple effect right across the country, we need to look at -- focus what's happening in terms of stabilizing these newly liberated areas. Now, when I went into Khanaqin (ph) earlier today, very soon after it came under Kurdish Peshmerga control, I saw U.S. Special Forces moving into position, one of them on a machine -- truck-mounted machine gun, really speeding into the town. These are the same troops who have been, for the past several weeks, bringing in air strikes against Iraqi military targets in many parts of the northern front.
Now, the problem we have on the ground here is that these U.S. forces are spread very thinly indeed, and I saw them take up positions in the center of Khanaqin (ph) around the former governor's office, and really they were just setting up communications, observing scenes in which I saw some of the citizens disputing property rights, arguing and really looking to the American soldiers to act as adjudicators.
But you know, Judy, the soldiers on the ground here have no political role, and at the moment, there is an administrative vacuum on the streets of many of these northern, newly liberated areas -- back to you, Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right. Brent Sadler reporting for us from northern Iraq, the city of Kalar.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
