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Rumsfeld in Iraq

Aired September 04, 2003 - 14:00   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: Up first this hour, target: Tikrit. This was not your typical hit-and-run by Iraqi guerrillas. It was an all-out firefight following a mortar attack on the former presidential palace that now houses U.S. soldiers in Saddam Hussein's hometown. No G.I.s were hurt.
Bagpipes in Baghdad all part of a pomp-and-circumstance affair, as more than 200 Iraqis graduated today from police academy. Most were police under Saddam Hussein, too, but "Now," says one, "we'll interrogates suspects without torturing them."

Also in Baghdad today, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, almost five months after the U.S. goal of the regime change was accomplished, Rumsfeld says he wants a firsthand sense of how things are going.

CNN's Ben Wedeman gets exactly that on a daily basis. He joins us live with the latest.

Ben, what is the latest from there?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Miles.

Well, Secretary Rumsfeld arrived this afternoon, precisely when, we don't know, because the details of his visit are a tightly held secret for obvious security reasons. However, before he touched down in Baghdad, he flew over the city. And probably what he saw is a city that looked pretty normal from the air. From the ground, however, things do look a bit different.

Electricity and water services are still sporadic. Crime is still a profound problem here, top of most Iraqis' agendas. But Mr. Rumsfeld is coming here to meet with the troops, to meet with Iraqi political leaders and American military leaders, as well as American civilian leaders. He's going to be talking about, among other things, what the troops need here on the ground.

Now, as the British have been discussing the possibility of increasing the number of their troops here, Mr. Rumsfeld has held pretty firm, insisting that there is no need for additional American forces. He is stressing that what is needed, Miles, is more international troops to complement the 130,000 American soldiers here and also more Iraqis involved in security.

At the moment, there's about 50,000 police and other guards who are keeping an eye on the infrastructure, the oil pipelines. Mr. Rumsfeld wants to see an Iraqi army of about 40,000 strong, 12,000 within the first year, and working up from there. But there's still an awfully long way to go -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Ben, I know you don't know precise details for security reasons, but do you know at all what the secretary will be seeing on his visit?

WEDEMAN: No, I'm afraid I cannot answer that question, not because I know, because I simply don't know.

These are details that are not being let out. You have to remember that, in the last month, four massive car bombings have occurred here. The security situation is very dicey. So I'm afraid, Miles, that's a question I just can't answer.

O'BRIEN: Well, let me ask you this, Ben. If you had the power to take the secretary to one place in Baghdad, where would you take him?

WEDEMAN: It's a good question.

I'd just take him on a drive through the city, maybe down Rashid Street, which is the old commercial heart of the city, where you see a contrast. You see a lot of business going on. You see more goods than ever before. But you also see that every store owner has a gun. And I'm not talking about a handgun. I'm talking about an AK-47 assault rifle. Every night, they have break-ins down there.

Every night, including this night, we hear gunfire going off from that direction, as thieves try to break their ways into the store. So, really, that's where you see the potential for this place being a great economic commercial potential. But the crime, the law-and-order problem, is very vivid in that area. So if I had my way, that's where I would send Mr. Rumsfeld -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right, good answer. Ben Wedeman, thanks very much. Keep us posted from Baghdad -- Kyra.

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 September 4, 2003 - 14:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Up first this hour, target: Tikrit. This was not your typical hit-and-run by Iraqi guerrillas. It was an all-out firefight following a mortar attack on the former presidential palace that now houses U.S. soldiers in Saddam Hussein's hometown. No G.I.s were hurt.
Bagpipes in Baghdad all part of a pomp-and-circumstance affair, as more than 200 Iraqis graduated today from police academy. Most were police under Saddam Hussein, too, but "Now," says one, "we'll interrogates suspects without torturing them."

Also in Baghdad today, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, almost five months after the U.S. goal of the regime change was accomplished, Rumsfeld says he wants a firsthand sense of how things are going.

CNN's Ben Wedeman gets exactly that on a daily basis. He joins us live with the latest.

Ben, what is the latest from there?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Miles.

Well, Secretary Rumsfeld arrived this afternoon, precisely when, we don't know, because the details of his visit are a tightly held secret for obvious security reasons. However, before he touched down in Baghdad, he flew over the city. And probably what he saw is a city that looked pretty normal from the air. From the ground, however, things do look a bit different.

Electricity and water services are still sporadic. Crime is still a profound problem here, top of most Iraqis' agendas. But Mr. Rumsfeld is coming here to meet with the troops, to meet with Iraqi political leaders and American military leaders, as well as American civilian leaders. He's going to be talking about, among other things, what the troops need here on the ground.

Now, as the British have been discussing the possibility of increasing the number of their troops here, Mr. Rumsfeld has held pretty firm, insisting that there is no need for additional American forces. He is stressing that what is needed, Miles, is more international troops to complement the 130,000 American soldiers here and also more Iraqis involved in security.

At the moment, there's about 50,000 police and other guards who are keeping an eye on the infrastructure, the oil pipelines. Mr. Rumsfeld wants to see an Iraqi army of about 40,000 strong, 12,000 within the first year, and working up from there. But there's still an awfully long way to go -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Ben, I know you don't know precise details for security reasons, but do you know at all what the secretary will be seeing on his visit?

WEDEMAN: No, I'm afraid I cannot answer that question, not because I know, because I simply don't know.

These are details that are not being let out. You have to remember that, in the last month, four massive car bombings have occurred here. The security situation is very dicey. So I'm afraid, Miles, that's a question I just can't answer.

O'BRIEN: Well, let me ask you this, Ben. If you had the power to take the secretary to one place in Baghdad, where would you take him?

WEDEMAN: It's a good question.

I'd just take him on a drive through the city, maybe down Rashid Street, which is the old commercial heart of the city, where you see a contrast. You see a lot of business going on. You see more goods than ever before. But you also see that every store owner has a gun. And I'm not talking about a handgun. I'm talking about an AK-47 assault rifle. Every night, they have break-ins down there.

Every night, including this night, we hear gunfire going off from that direction, as thieves try to break their ways into the store. So, really, that's where you see the potential for this place being a great economic commercial potential. But the crime, the law-and-order problem, is very vivid in that area. So if I had my way, that's where I would send Mr. Rumsfeld -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right, good answer. Ben Wedeman, thanks very much. Keep us posted from Baghdad -- Kyra.

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