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U.S. Cuts Off Flow of Iraqi Oil to Syria
Aired April 15, 2003 - 15:07 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Kyra.
The Pentagon's daily briefing wrapped up just about an hour ago. You saw it here live on CNN.
Let's check in with our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre for the latest from there -- hello, Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, a lot of subjects touched on in today's briefing.
One thing they revealed, for instance, is the U.S. has cut down, cut off the flow of oil from Iraq to Syria along a pipeline. At least they believe they've done that. A lot of discussion about the security situation as well in Baghdad and the future of the country, the United States saying again that the future of Iraq will have to be decided by the Iraqi people.
There was a meeting today of newly liberated Iraqis in Nasiriyah to talk about some of the principles. And the U.S. says it remained committed to putting Iraqis in charge of Iraq as soon as possible.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The specific institutions of a new Iraqi government will be decided by Iraqis. A free society should really not be imposed from the outside. We can help by bringing Iraqis together and by helping to create conditions of stability and security that are necessary for a free society to take root. But building a free Iraq is the right and indeed the responsibility of the Iraqi people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCINTYRE: Now, the United States said today, the Pentagon said today that it was, while it regretted sincerely the damage to the Iraqi museum, the loss of some antiquities, it denied that an inadequate U.S. war plan was in any way responsible for that. The U.S. said its war plan essentially had to take care of fighting combat first.
However, the U.S. pledged to try to recover as many of the antiquities from the national museum as possible, perhaps even offering rewards for some of them. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld also said he believed that some of the museum's more valuable items had been hidden and were safe. He also noted that none of the damage came from allied bombing.
Another criticism or concern by some people is the state of medical care in Iraq. And the United States today said it is not concentrating on trying to fly very seriously injured Iraqis out of the country. Instead, its emphasis is on trying to bring Iraq's hospitals and medical facilities back up to speed. Another shipment of medical supplies came into the Baghdad Hospital today. The U.S. is trying to get some of the bigger hospitals in Baghdad up and operating to provide care there, rather than trying to evacuate Iraqi citizens to other countries or even to the U.S. hospital ship Comfort, which is operating in the Persian Gulf -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon, thank you very much.
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 15, 2003 - 15:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Kyra.
The Pentagon's daily briefing wrapped up just about an hour ago. You saw it here live on CNN.
Let's check in with our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre for the latest from there -- hello, Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, a lot of subjects touched on in today's briefing.
One thing they revealed, for instance, is the U.S. has cut down, cut off the flow of oil from Iraq to Syria along a pipeline. At least they believe they've done that. A lot of discussion about the security situation as well in Baghdad and the future of the country, the United States saying again that the future of Iraq will have to be decided by the Iraqi people.
There was a meeting today of newly liberated Iraqis in Nasiriyah to talk about some of the principles. And the U.S. says it remained committed to putting Iraqis in charge of Iraq as soon as possible.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The specific institutions of a new Iraqi government will be decided by Iraqis. A free society should really not be imposed from the outside. We can help by bringing Iraqis together and by helping to create conditions of stability and security that are necessary for a free society to take root. But building a free Iraq is the right and indeed the responsibility of the Iraqi people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCINTYRE: Now, the United States said today, the Pentagon said today that it was, while it regretted sincerely the damage to the Iraqi museum, the loss of some antiquities, it denied that an inadequate U.S. war plan was in any way responsible for that. The U.S. said its war plan essentially had to take care of fighting combat first.
However, the U.S. pledged to try to recover as many of the antiquities from the national museum as possible, perhaps even offering rewards for some of them. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld also said he believed that some of the museum's more valuable items had been hidden and were safe. He also noted that none of the damage came from allied bombing.
Another criticism or concern by some people is the state of medical care in Iraq. And the United States today said it is not concentrating on trying to fly very seriously injured Iraqis out of the country. Instead, its emphasis is on trying to bring Iraq's hospitals and medical facilities back up to speed. Another shipment of medical supplies came into the Baghdad Hospital today. The U.S. is trying to get some of the bigger hospitals in Baghdad up and operating to provide care there, rather than trying to evacuate Iraqi citizens to other countries or even to the U.S. hospital ship Comfort, which is operating in the Persian Gulf -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
