Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Another Soldier Killed in Baghdad Ambush
Aired July 21, 2003 - 14:10 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: Another daylight ambush sent the U.S. death toll in post-Saddam Iraq a little higher today. But the new head of the U.S. Central Command has some new ideas for ending the near constant violence.
CNN's Nic Robertson joining us live now from Baghdad with more on that. Hello, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.
One of those principal ideas is to have more Iraqis involved in the security in of Iraq and one of the principal ways is through a new Iraqi defense core, or defense force. It's envisaged as being about a 7,000 strong force. It's hoped that it -- the beginning, the first elements will be trained within the next 45 days. What those new forces will do will be to go out with U.S. troops on patrols and on raids throughout the country. They will be involved in translating services with the U.S. troops. Initially their role will grow, we're told, and that it will grow into actually performing the raids, performing security operations by themselves around Iraq, allowing U.S. troops to withdraw from the communities to a degree. There's also the Iraqi police force and the new Iraqi army being built along the lines. But this defense corps is supposed to speed up the process of getting U.S. troops out of face-to-face confrontation, if you will, with Iraqis at sometimes on raids and on patrols.
Today, another U.S. soldier dying, another improvised explosive device used to kill him and his interpreter. They were driving along a highway in their Humvee. And explosive device, we're told, probably an artillery shell with a crude timer, attached to a railing at the side of the road as their Humvee and another Humvee went by. The device was detonated remotely, very likely by somebody watching their Humvee past this point. The two Humvees burst into flames.
Now according to one of the officers involved at the scene -- he told us that some Iraqi bystanders had actually come forward and saved the lives of some of the other U.S. soldiers. They told us that the soldiers were stuck in their vehicles. They couldn't get out because their seat belts and the Iraqis watching the situation cut the seat belts, got them out of the vehicle.
Also, we've heard from deputy U.S. defense secretary today, Paul Wolfowitz, who was in Mosul, in the north of Iraq, and there he warned neighboring nations, he said, not to get involved in the affairs of Iraq and he also warned what the people he called as Muslim fighters, foreign Muslim fighters -- he warned them not to come from Iraq -- not to come to Iraq and not to attack U.S. forces here -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Nic, as they try to turn to Iraqis for more of those policing actions and security actions, it's a treacherous course. How are they vetting all these people to assure they have the right people in there and not people who might be loyal to the Ba'ath regime?
ROBERTSON: There is a vetting process and what they're doing is they're not allowing people in who had the rank of lieutenant, colonel or above in the police or the army into any of the new security services. They're also relying to a degree on their co-workers, on the other police officers involved and the other people are being recruited to know that their co-workers, their co-policemen do not have ties to the former Ba'ath Party.
And that's pretty much the way the civil administration here is working through all the different ministries in Iraq, be it health, be it education, be it the oil ministry. The same principal is being applied and that's what they're doing here. They are leaving it to a large degree to the hands of the Iraqis involved to know who is still pro-Saddam and who isn't -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's 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 21, 2003 - 14:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Another daylight ambush sent the U.S. death toll in post-Saddam Iraq a little higher today. But the new head of the U.S. Central Command has some new ideas for ending the near constant violence.
CNN's Nic Robertson joining us live now from Baghdad with more on that. Hello, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.
One of those principal ideas is to have more Iraqis involved in the security in of Iraq and one of the principal ways is through a new Iraqi defense core, or defense force. It's envisaged as being about a 7,000 strong force. It's hoped that it -- the beginning, the first elements will be trained within the next 45 days. What those new forces will do will be to go out with U.S. troops on patrols and on raids throughout the country. They will be involved in translating services with the U.S. troops. Initially their role will grow, we're told, and that it will grow into actually performing the raids, performing security operations by themselves around Iraq, allowing U.S. troops to withdraw from the communities to a degree. There's also the Iraqi police force and the new Iraqi army being built along the lines. But this defense corps is supposed to speed up the process of getting U.S. troops out of face-to-face confrontation, if you will, with Iraqis at sometimes on raids and on patrols.
Today, another U.S. soldier dying, another improvised explosive device used to kill him and his interpreter. They were driving along a highway in their Humvee. And explosive device, we're told, probably an artillery shell with a crude timer, attached to a railing at the side of the road as their Humvee and another Humvee went by. The device was detonated remotely, very likely by somebody watching their Humvee past this point. The two Humvees burst into flames.
Now according to one of the officers involved at the scene -- he told us that some Iraqi bystanders had actually come forward and saved the lives of some of the other U.S. soldiers. They told us that the soldiers were stuck in their vehicles. They couldn't get out because their seat belts and the Iraqis watching the situation cut the seat belts, got them out of the vehicle.
Also, we've heard from deputy U.S. defense secretary today, Paul Wolfowitz, who was in Mosul, in the north of Iraq, and there he warned neighboring nations, he said, not to get involved in the affairs of Iraq and he also warned what the people he called as Muslim fighters, foreign Muslim fighters -- he warned them not to come from Iraq -- not to come to Iraq and not to attack U.S. forces here -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Nic, as they try to turn to Iraqis for more of those policing actions and security actions, it's a treacherous course. How are they vetting all these people to assure they have the right people in there and not people who might be loyal to the Ba'ath regime?
ROBERTSON: There is a vetting process and what they're doing is they're not allowing people in who had the rank of lieutenant, colonel or above in the police or the army into any of the new security services. They're also relying to a degree on their co-workers, on the other police officers involved and the other people are being recruited to know that their co-workers, their co-policemen do not have ties to the former Ba'ath Party.
And that's pretty much the way the civil administration here is working through all the different ministries in Iraq, be it health, be it education, be it the oil ministry. The same principal is being applied and that's what they're doing here. They are leaving it to a large degree to the hands of the Iraqis involved to know who is still pro-Saddam and who isn't -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's 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
