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Franks: Security in Iraq Key to Success

Aired May 09, 2003 - 13:18   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: Keeping the peace in Iraq was the focus of a Pentagon briefing today. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and General Tommy Franks briefed reporters on security, the overall situation in Iraq.
Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr joins me now live with the latest. Among the big questions, Barbara, being asked, is how long will U.S. troops be there on the ground? It seems like a year is the absolute bare minimum.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, General Franks was asked about that here at the Pentagon news briefing, and he said he really couldn't put a timetable on it. Secretary Rumsfeld saying the same thing. They are both sticking to the notion that U.S. troops will be there, along with coalition troops, they hope, for as long as it takes to establish a secure environment in Iraq.

Now this press conference, Rumsfeld and Franks, was the first joint appearance the two men had made here in the Pentagon since the war. They did review the war, the security situation, and for the first time since it all ended, General Franks addressed the criticism that had come his way during the war, that the plan had been flawed. Some people saying there weren't enough troops on the ground to conduct the war as it should have been. He talked about that criticism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. TOMMY FRANKS, COMMANDER, CENTCOM: It was a plan that was flexible, adaptable, and provides the opportunity to respond to weather, to respond to -- if we believe that we'll find an enemy circumstance set in a certain way, and we find when we get there that the enemy circumstance is arranged in a bit of a different way.

The flexibility and ability to adapt is what's really, really critical to this. And so did I ever second guess the plan? No, did not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: General Franks, a pretty confident guy about the success during this war, but he did say there are still problems. Security remains an issue, stability. He said there will be pockets of resistance that remain. There will be conflict for U.S. troops ahead. Even though the major combat is over, they still will run into pockets of trouble, and he said restoring security is going to be key to getting Iraq back on the road to stability. Both men were also asked about why some of the disasters that had been predicted did not happen. No weapons of mass destruction, no massive sabotage of the oil wells, no massive humanitarian crisis, and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld said nobody was really sure why. It may be one for the history books, he says. When it's all over and written, we may know more about just why this war was so successful -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. That's a book I want to buy. I'm sure you'll be reading it, too, Barbara Starr, if not writing it. Thank you very much, appreciate 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 May 9, 2003 - 13:18   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Keeping the peace in Iraq was the focus of a Pentagon briefing today. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and General Tommy Franks briefed reporters on security, the overall situation in Iraq.
Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr joins me now live with the latest. Among the big questions, Barbara, being asked, is how long will U.S. troops be there on the ground? It seems like a year is the absolute bare minimum.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, General Franks was asked about that here at the Pentagon news briefing, and he said he really couldn't put a timetable on it. Secretary Rumsfeld saying the same thing. They are both sticking to the notion that U.S. troops will be there, along with coalition troops, they hope, for as long as it takes to establish a secure environment in Iraq.

Now this press conference, Rumsfeld and Franks, was the first joint appearance the two men had made here in the Pentagon since the war. They did review the war, the security situation, and for the first time since it all ended, General Franks addressed the criticism that had come his way during the war, that the plan had been flawed. Some people saying there weren't enough troops on the ground to conduct the war as it should have been. He talked about that criticism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. TOMMY FRANKS, COMMANDER, CENTCOM: It was a plan that was flexible, adaptable, and provides the opportunity to respond to weather, to respond to -- if we believe that we'll find an enemy circumstance set in a certain way, and we find when we get there that the enemy circumstance is arranged in a bit of a different way.

The flexibility and ability to adapt is what's really, really critical to this. And so did I ever second guess the plan? No, did not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: General Franks, a pretty confident guy about the success during this war, but he did say there are still problems. Security remains an issue, stability. He said there will be pockets of resistance that remain. There will be conflict for U.S. troops ahead. Even though the major combat is over, they still will run into pockets of trouble, and he said restoring security is going to be key to getting Iraq back on the road to stability. Both men were also asked about why some of the disasters that had been predicted did not happen. No weapons of mass destruction, no massive sabotage of the oil wells, no massive humanitarian crisis, and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld said nobody was really sure why. It may be one for the history books, he says. When it's all over and written, we may know more about just why this war was so successful -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. That's a book I want to buy. I'm sure you'll be reading it, too, Barbara Starr, if not writing it. Thank you very much, appreciate 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