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U.S. Reduces Fallujah Police Post
Aired July 11, 2003 - 14:03 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: And they're Baghdad bound, 1,300 Spanish peacekeepers. Spain's defense minister says the troops will be part of an international military force, operating just south of the city. The first of Spain's troops will leave tomorrow. All of them should be in Iraq by early September.
Let's go to Iraq now, where ever day it seems we are reminded just how dangerous it still is, but there's also hopes of more peaceful times.
CNN's Nic Robertson joins us live now from Baghdad with the latest from there.
Hello, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.
Certainly late this afternoon in Baghdad, again, a reminder for the troops based here that there is a potential for attacks. In fact, I'm listening to gunfire over my shoulder from the center of the city right now, but they were attacked at their guardpost outside the Ministry of Justice in Baghdad. They were in their Bradley Armored Vehicle. A car drove by. A couple of grenades were thrown at them. One soldier was slightly wounded in his shoulder.
There was also a mortar attack at a base about 70 miles north of Baghdad, Samarrah (ph). Two soldiers were wounded in that mortar attack on their base. Another mortar attack the base of Ramani (ph).
The police station in Fallujah has also been the center of much attention this day, not because there's been a violent incident there, but because the U.S. troops of the Third Infantry Division are downscaling their presence there. The reason they're doing that, they're dropping their presence there from 30 soldiers down to six soldiers. The reason they're doing that, the police in Fallujah yesterday had a protest. They protested because they didn't want so many U.S. troops there. They said that they could do the job by themselves.
And perhaps it's key to remember here that just about 30 miles from Fallujah in Ramadi last weekend, there was an attack on police cadets there who were working with the U.S. troops. So perhaps the police are now in that close by town of Fallujah very aware of that and perhaps playing to local sensitivities by wanting to put some distance, or some sense of distance between them and the U.S. troops who they regularly work with in Fallujah and Ramadi. Suddenly the incidents in Baghdad today, and the incidents elsewhere remind some of the troops here that they could be attacked anywhere at any time, and never to let their guard down -- Miles.
BLITZER: Sort of a perilous transition, though, isn't it, Nic. As U.S. troops pull out and turn off the power to Iraqi nationals, they have to be careful about who they are turning power over to.
ROBERTSON: That's something that's very critical, and it's something that they have been addressing. The troops have been stationed in that particular police station in Fallujah, have been working with the mayor, have been working with the police chief, local religious leaders, local tribal leaders, and one of the issues is, are the people who they're beginning to work with, are they trusted by the community? Are they former Baathists? Are they going to be a bad influence in the communities? And certainly, Fallujah has had a particularly strained and troubled past recently with U.S. troops. So it's something the soldiers here are very, very aware of, the local sensitivities.
Many people here in Iraq see the best way to handle the security now in some of the cities outside of Baghdad is to pass the control over to the Iraqis, to remove the U.S. troops from the equation. They see that as perhaps a better way of managing the situation, but it will be critical for the U.S. troops there to watch how the Iraqi officials do it by themselves and exactly who is taking control -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Nic Robertson in Baghdad, thanks 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 July 11, 2003 - 14:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And they're Baghdad bound, 1,300 Spanish peacekeepers. Spain's defense minister says the troops will be part of an international military force, operating just south of the city. The first of Spain's troops will leave tomorrow. All of them should be in Iraq by early September.
Let's go to Iraq now, where ever day it seems we are reminded just how dangerous it still is, but there's also hopes of more peaceful times.
CNN's Nic Robertson joins us live now from Baghdad with the latest from there.
Hello, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.
Certainly late this afternoon in Baghdad, again, a reminder for the troops based here that there is a potential for attacks. In fact, I'm listening to gunfire over my shoulder from the center of the city right now, but they were attacked at their guardpost outside the Ministry of Justice in Baghdad. They were in their Bradley Armored Vehicle. A car drove by. A couple of grenades were thrown at them. One soldier was slightly wounded in his shoulder.
There was also a mortar attack at a base about 70 miles north of Baghdad, Samarrah (ph). Two soldiers were wounded in that mortar attack on their base. Another mortar attack the base of Ramani (ph).
The police station in Fallujah has also been the center of much attention this day, not because there's been a violent incident there, but because the U.S. troops of the Third Infantry Division are downscaling their presence there. The reason they're doing that, they're dropping their presence there from 30 soldiers down to six soldiers. The reason they're doing that, the police in Fallujah yesterday had a protest. They protested because they didn't want so many U.S. troops there. They said that they could do the job by themselves.
And perhaps it's key to remember here that just about 30 miles from Fallujah in Ramadi last weekend, there was an attack on police cadets there who were working with the U.S. troops. So perhaps the police are now in that close by town of Fallujah very aware of that and perhaps playing to local sensitivities by wanting to put some distance, or some sense of distance between them and the U.S. troops who they regularly work with in Fallujah and Ramadi. Suddenly the incidents in Baghdad today, and the incidents elsewhere remind some of the troops here that they could be attacked anywhere at any time, and never to let their guard down -- Miles.
BLITZER: Sort of a perilous transition, though, isn't it, Nic. As U.S. troops pull out and turn off the power to Iraqi nationals, they have to be careful about who they are turning power over to.
ROBERTSON: That's something that's very critical, and it's something that they have been addressing. The troops have been stationed in that particular police station in Fallujah, have been working with the mayor, have been working with the police chief, local religious leaders, local tribal leaders, and one of the issues is, are the people who they're beginning to work with, are they trusted by the community? Are they former Baathists? Are they going to be a bad influence in the communities? And certainly, Fallujah has had a particularly strained and troubled past recently with U.S. troops. So it's something the soldiers here are very, very aware of, the local sensitivities.
Many people here in Iraq see the best way to handle the security now in some of the cities outside of Baghdad is to pass the control over to the Iraqis, to remove the U.S. troops from the equation. They see that as perhaps a better way of managing the situation, but it will be critical for the U.S. troops there to watch how the Iraqi officials do it by themselves and exactly who is taking control -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Nic Robertson in Baghdad, thanks 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
