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Battlefield's Hot Spots
Aired April 11, 2003 - 12:55 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. troops continue to try to stop any semblance of resistance from the Iraqi military. But where might the fiercest battles still remain? Let's bring in CNN's Renay San Miguel. He's at the military desk in the CNN Newsroom with Retired U.S. Air Force Major General Don Shepperd -- gentlemen.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: And Wolf, we're going to focus on three potential problem areas for the coalition, starting with Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's ancestral hometown. Now General, we have heard that the forces around thee are kind of pulling in tighter to the city. What do you -- do you expect an all-out firefight here or is there going to be more air -- are there going to be more air strikes first?
RET. MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It's being pounded by air right now. All of the deployed forces that the coalition can find being hammered by air big time just as they were in other parts of the country.
It could be that we'll see a final battle. It could be that we'll see a walkover, kind of like Baghdad, where there's no organized resistance, just remnants of pockets in the area.
SAN MIGUEL: We did hear that there was one bridge over the Tigris River destroyed as those forces were pulling back into their defensive positions. A problem for coalition as they advance?
SHEPPERD: That will keep the -- that will keep the Iraqi forces from being able to retreat or use that as an avenue to reinforce. So that's probably a smart move.
SAN MIGUEL: OK.
And then we want to move to the Syrian border -- the border between Syria and Iraq there. And a town we haven't heard a lot of called Qaim. There have been reports of fierce fighting as if the regime there is really trying to protect something, whether it's regime leaders trying to get out of the country or weapons of mass destruction. Why -- why haven't we heard about this?
SHEPPERD: All sorts of possibilities. It may be recent intelligence.
Qaim is located right here on the Euphrates River, just opposite the border from Syria. Probably intelligence or Special Forces have gained information that something wants to be protected there. It could be weapons of mass destruction. It could be leadership. It could be just a crossing point for people fleeing to get into Syria/ To be decided and developed.
SAN MIGUEL: OK. There's still fighting going on there.
And then finally Baghdad and the situation with the unrest and the instability. There are troops, as we've heard from the White House, say today, specializing in security. Are we talking about military police?
SHEPPERD: Yes, you're talking about military police, people specially trained for this. There's ongoing military operations. The coalition cannot stop and act as policemen to bring law and order. Law and order will come, but they have to finish up the pockets. They're brining in other people to do these type of things. I think you'll see stabilization there, like Basra, within the next few days, Renay.
SAN MIGUEL: General Shepperd, thanks as always for your time.
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 11, 2003 - 12:55 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. troops continue to try to stop any semblance of resistance from the Iraqi military. But where might the fiercest battles still remain? Let's bring in CNN's Renay San Miguel. He's at the military desk in the CNN Newsroom with Retired U.S. Air Force Major General Don Shepperd -- gentlemen.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: And Wolf, we're going to focus on three potential problem areas for the coalition, starting with Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's ancestral hometown. Now General, we have heard that the forces around thee are kind of pulling in tighter to the city. What do you -- do you expect an all-out firefight here or is there going to be more air -- are there going to be more air strikes first?
RET. MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It's being pounded by air right now. All of the deployed forces that the coalition can find being hammered by air big time just as they were in other parts of the country.
It could be that we'll see a final battle. It could be that we'll see a walkover, kind of like Baghdad, where there's no organized resistance, just remnants of pockets in the area.
SAN MIGUEL: We did hear that there was one bridge over the Tigris River destroyed as those forces were pulling back into their defensive positions. A problem for coalition as they advance?
SHEPPERD: That will keep the -- that will keep the Iraqi forces from being able to retreat or use that as an avenue to reinforce. So that's probably a smart move.
SAN MIGUEL: OK.
And then we want to move to the Syrian border -- the border between Syria and Iraq there. And a town we haven't heard a lot of called Qaim. There have been reports of fierce fighting as if the regime there is really trying to protect something, whether it's regime leaders trying to get out of the country or weapons of mass destruction. Why -- why haven't we heard about this?
SHEPPERD: All sorts of possibilities. It may be recent intelligence.
Qaim is located right here on the Euphrates River, just opposite the border from Syria. Probably intelligence or Special Forces have gained information that something wants to be protected there. It could be weapons of mass destruction. It could be leadership. It could be just a crossing point for people fleeing to get into Syria/ To be decided and developed.
SAN MIGUEL: OK. There's still fighting going on there.
And then finally Baghdad and the situation with the unrest and the instability. There are troops, as we've heard from the White House, say today, specializing in security. Are we talking about military police?
SHEPPERD: Yes, you're talking about military police, people specially trained for this. There's ongoing military operations. The coalition cannot stop and act as policemen to bring law and order. Law and order will come, but they have to finish up the pockets. They're brining in other people to do these type of things. I think you'll see stabilization there, like Basra, within the next few days, Renay.
SAN MIGUEL: General Shepperd, thanks as always for your time.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
