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Winning the Peace: U.S. Troops Attacked

Aired July 07, 2003 - 14:14   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: Sabotage is on the increase and so are attacks on American troops in Iraq in what is becoming the very bloody job of winning the peace.
CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is in Baghdad to bring us up to date on the tapes and the peace keeping and he joins us now live from Baghdad.

Hello, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.

Well, it was certainly the opinion of the Iraqis that we talked to the night that audiotape was broadcast that it was more likely than not, in their opinion as well, the voice of Saddam Hussein. He warned Iraqis not to cooperate with the coalition and he warned that there might be more attacks coming, and that's certainly is what we have seen happen since that tape was broadcast in the last 24 hours.

Several U.S. soldiers dying, one in a shoot-out with Iraqi after dark last night on the streets of Baghdad, another being killed when a patrol was ambushed with an explosive device, and one soldier shot at close range in the head on Sunday. Died of his injuries today and another U.S. patrol in a particularly troublesome town for the United States at this time west of Baghdad, 60 miles west of Baghdad, Ramadi. A U.S. patrol there came under attack from a group with an explosive device. Four soldiers wounded there in that particular town over the weekend. Seven police cadets who had been being trained by U.S. troops were killed over the weekend but in the last week or so U.S. troops at that base in Ramadi have been mortared --had mortared attacks on at least five occasions, we were told when we were there over the weekend. So perhaps that tape, even if it wasn't Saddam Hussein's voice, it seems to be the actions -- seems to be carried out by some people staying faithful to the message on that particularly tape.

We've also seen today the first meeting of the Baghdad Council, inaugurated by the top U.S. administrator here, Paul Bremer. He said it was an important step in the democracy for Iraq. Now this particular council is made up of nominated Iraqi representatives from around Baghdad. They do not have true power as a city council might normally have but they do have the power to make recommendations to the coalition provisional authority here and Paul Bremer them -- promised these delegates that they would be listened to carefully. Also Paul Bremer announced on Iraqi television tonight that the Iraqi bank note would be phased out. That's the dinar note that has Saddam Hussein's face on it would be beginning to be phased out by the middle of October. It will be replaced by the old Iraqi dinar that the coalition would begin printing and it would have new security measures on it to make it harder to counterfeit that particular note -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Nic, could you bring us up to date on that rather odd story about U.S. troops arresting Turkish troops in the north? The allegation is those Turkish troops last week were involved in some sort of plot to harm civilians. That's entered a diplomatic phase right now. The U.S. and Turkey ironing that one out?

ROBERTSON: It has been ironed out to the degree that those special forces troops and some Iraqis who were working in the same building in Sulamania (ph) in northeastern Iraq when the -- when there was a raid by coalition troops on that building -- 34 people arrested in that raid and detained. Now those Turkish special forces troops have been let go. That's followed telephone discussions between Secretary of State Colin Powell and Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and also conversations between Vice President Dick Cheney and the Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and so that -- to that degree it's been ironed out. But it has, as far as the Turkish media been concerned, been a high spat, if you will, between the two countries. But at least the soldiers have been released. So it does appear that whatever diplomatic rift opened up over the weekend on that particular issue, it is beginning, at least, to be laid to rest to some degree, Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. Nic Robertson, thanks very much. Appreciate it. Live from Baghdad.

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 July 7, 2003 - 14:14   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Sabotage is on the increase and so are attacks on American troops in Iraq in what is becoming the very bloody job of winning the peace.
CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is in Baghdad to bring us up to date on the tapes and the peace keeping and he joins us now live from Baghdad.

Hello, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.

Well, it was certainly the opinion of the Iraqis that we talked to the night that audiotape was broadcast that it was more likely than not, in their opinion as well, the voice of Saddam Hussein. He warned Iraqis not to cooperate with the coalition and he warned that there might be more attacks coming, and that's certainly is what we have seen happen since that tape was broadcast in the last 24 hours.

Several U.S. soldiers dying, one in a shoot-out with Iraqi after dark last night on the streets of Baghdad, another being killed when a patrol was ambushed with an explosive device, and one soldier shot at close range in the head on Sunday. Died of his injuries today and another U.S. patrol in a particularly troublesome town for the United States at this time west of Baghdad, 60 miles west of Baghdad, Ramadi. A U.S. patrol there came under attack from a group with an explosive device. Four soldiers wounded there in that particular town over the weekend. Seven police cadets who had been being trained by U.S. troops were killed over the weekend but in the last week or so U.S. troops at that base in Ramadi have been mortared --had mortared attacks on at least five occasions, we were told when we were there over the weekend. So perhaps that tape, even if it wasn't Saddam Hussein's voice, it seems to be the actions -- seems to be carried out by some people staying faithful to the message on that particularly tape.

We've also seen today the first meeting of the Baghdad Council, inaugurated by the top U.S. administrator here, Paul Bremer. He said it was an important step in the democracy for Iraq. Now this particular council is made up of nominated Iraqi representatives from around Baghdad. They do not have true power as a city council might normally have but they do have the power to make recommendations to the coalition provisional authority here and Paul Bremer them -- promised these delegates that they would be listened to carefully. Also Paul Bremer announced on Iraqi television tonight that the Iraqi bank note would be phased out. That's the dinar note that has Saddam Hussein's face on it would be beginning to be phased out by the middle of October. It will be replaced by the old Iraqi dinar that the coalition would begin printing and it would have new security measures on it to make it harder to counterfeit that particular note -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Nic, could you bring us up to date on that rather odd story about U.S. troops arresting Turkish troops in the north? The allegation is those Turkish troops last week were involved in some sort of plot to harm civilians. That's entered a diplomatic phase right now. The U.S. and Turkey ironing that one out?

ROBERTSON: It has been ironed out to the degree that those special forces troops and some Iraqis who were working in the same building in Sulamania (ph) in northeastern Iraq when the -- when there was a raid by coalition troops on that building -- 34 people arrested in that raid and detained. Now those Turkish special forces troops have been let go. That's followed telephone discussions between Secretary of State Colin Powell and Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and also conversations between Vice President Dick Cheney and the Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and so that -- to that degree it's been ironed out. But it has, as far as the Turkish media been concerned, been a high spat, if you will, between the two countries. But at least the soldiers have been released. So it does appear that whatever diplomatic rift opened up over the weekend on that particular issue, it is beginning, at least, to be laid to rest to some degree, Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. Nic Robertson, thanks very much. Appreciate it. Live from Baghdad.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com