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Iraq Concerns

Aired October 31, 2003 - 13:33   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: While security is a constant concern on the streets of Iraq, especially now, the daily violence against U.S. and coalition forces who patrol towns and city has escalated. Some 220 U.S. troops have now died since the end of major combat.
CNN military analyst Don Shepperd join us now live from Tucson, Arizona.

General good to see you.

DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Hi, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We've talked so much about this end to major combat. But I have to ask you, I mean, the major combat it seems, is not over.

SHEPPERD: Well, it's certainly not over for the soldiers that are on the ground there, Kyra, and also the nongovernmental organizations that are being attacked. It is true that the major combat movement of forces through the country is over, but as long as we're there, we are going to be shot at and we're going to have some really tough days coming, Kyra.

This is, I think, indeed, just the beginning of some major attacks we'll see.

PHILLIPS: So how do you know that? Is the intelligence building? Are there more terrorists that are infiltrating? Are resources suffering on the U.S. side?

SHEPPERD: A little bit of some of that. There is more infiltration from the outside, but all the reports that we are getting say that it's in the hundreds, not the thousands, of jihadists coming in. It appears that the former regime loyalists are getting more sophisticated and able to control and coordinate some of these attacks. Clearly, what they're trying to do, by attacking other Iraqis, is give the impression that if the Americans don't leave, if the Americans don't leave, things are never going to get better. And by the way, we're still around. The bad guys are still around, and we're going to take over as soon as they leave. Their strategy is very understandable, and it's very effective right now -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So if you were advising the president right now, general, what would you say? Obviously, the U.S. -- well, maybe it's not obvious. Can the U.S. do it alone, or does the U.S. need help from other countries right now?

SHEPPERD: Well, it would certainly be useful to get help from other countries in the way of troops and money. We're probably getting about as much as that as we're going to get. The picture's fairly stable from that standpoint.

But If I were advising the president, what I would say is, we have to stick this out. There's three keys to this thing. First of all, we can't leave. Second, we must train the Iraqis as rapidly as possible, so we can get out. And third, we have to accelerate the process of forming a government to turn things over to. There has to be a legitimate authority to turn things over to.

Our coalition provisional authority is the sovereign authority in Iraq right now. And so we have to get the constitution written. We have to get the elections taking place -- have the elections take place, so there's somebody to turn it over to. And then, when we turn it over to them, they have to be strong enough that the bad guys can't kick them out when we leave -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: A number of employees here at CNN who have gone back and forth to and from Baghdad have been there in the briefing, military briefings, have been at the Iraqi police station, and the attacks are up. I mean, the attacks on American soldiers are up. The number of criminals that are running free in the streets. I've seen the charts. I've seen the crimes that are taking place, almost every 15 minutes. Yet you've got the administration saying, OK, look, we're going to have problems. It's going to be tough. But we're making progress. I mean, there's only so long you can come forward to the American people and say we're making progress, when we're seeing such deadly results.

SHEPPERD: Yes, Several things about that. There is progress in the country. There's progress in the way of water, and lights and medical. The north and the south are fairly calm, but you can't sell to the American people who are making progress when the number of attacks are increasing.

And clearly, the number of attacks are increasing right now. The security situation, in my opinion is going to continue about like it is right now, with numerous attacks, until the day that we leave. So what you've got to do with the American people is you've got to convince them that it is worth staying, it is worth American security to stay and make things better, to turn this over to the Iraqis.

But it's a really tough sell, because the bad guy, the really bad guys, the Fedayeen Saddam, the Special Republican Guard, the Republican Guard, didn't get killed in the war, they're still there, they're still doing these attacks out there, and they're trying to go for the hearts and minds, just like we are, of the Iraqi people, the international community, and the American people. So this is a very, very tough race and many tough days to come Kyra, before we can say, it's obvious things are better now.

PHILLIPS: Major General Don Shepperd, thank you.

SHEPPERD: Pleasure.

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 October 31, 2003 - 13:33   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: While security is a constant concern on the streets of Iraq, especially now, the daily violence against U.S. and coalition forces who patrol towns and city has escalated. Some 220 U.S. troops have now died since the end of major combat.
CNN military analyst Don Shepperd join us now live from Tucson, Arizona.

General good to see you.

DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Hi, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We've talked so much about this end to major combat. But I have to ask you, I mean, the major combat it seems, is not over.

SHEPPERD: Well, it's certainly not over for the soldiers that are on the ground there, Kyra, and also the nongovernmental organizations that are being attacked. It is true that the major combat movement of forces through the country is over, but as long as we're there, we are going to be shot at and we're going to have some really tough days coming, Kyra.

This is, I think, indeed, just the beginning of some major attacks we'll see.

PHILLIPS: So how do you know that? Is the intelligence building? Are there more terrorists that are infiltrating? Are resources suffering on the U.S. side?

SHEPPERD: A little bit of some of that. There is more infiltration from the outside, but all the reports that we are getting say that it's in the hundreds, not the thousands, of jihadists coming in. It appears that the former regime loyalists are getting more sophisticated and able to control and coordinate some of these attacks. Clearly, what they're trying to do, by attacking other Iraqis, is give the impression that if the Americans don't leave, if the Americans don't leave, things are never going to get better. And by the way, we're still around. The bad guys are still around, and we're going to take over as soon as they leave. Their strategy is very understandable, and it's very effective right now -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So if you were advising the president right now, general, what would you say? Obviously, the U.S. -- well, maybe it's not obvious. Can the U.S. do it alone, or does the U.S. need help from other countries right now?

SHEPPERD: Well, it would certainly be useful to get help from other countries in the way of troops and money. We're probably getting about as much as that as we're going to get. The picture's fairly stable from that standpoint.

But If I were advising the president, what I would say is, we have to stick this out. There's three keys to this thing. First of all, we can't leave. Second, we must train the Iraqis as rapidly as possible, so we can get out. And third, we have to accelerate the process of forming a government to turn things over to. There has to be a legitimate authority to turn things over to.

Our coalition provisional authority is the sovereign authority in Iraq right now. And so we have to get the constitution written. We have to get the elections taking place -- have the elections take place, so there's somebody to turn it over to. And then, when we turn it over to them, they have to be strong enough that the bad guys can't kick them out when we leave -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: A number of employees here at CNN who have gone back and forth to and from Baghdad have been there in the briefing, military briefings, have been at the Iraqi police station, and the attacks are up. I mean, the attacks on American soldiers are up. The number of criminals that are running free in the streets. I've seen the charts. I've seen the crimes that are taking place, almost every 15 minutes. Yet you've got the administration saying, OK, look, we're going to have problems. It's going to be tough. But we're making progress. I mean, there's only so long you can come forward to the American people and say we're making progress, when we're seeing such deadly results.

SHEPPERD: Yes, Several things about that. There is progress in the country. There's progress in the way of water, and lights and medical. The north and the south are fairly calm, but you can't sell to the American people who are making progress when the number of attacks are increasing.

And clearly, the number of attacks are increasing right now. The security situation, in my opinion is going to continue about like it is right now, with numerous attacks, until the day that we leave. So what you've got to do with the American people is you've got to convince them that it is worth staying, it is worth American security to stay and make things better, to turn this over to the Iraqis.

But it's a really tough sell, because the bad guy, the really bad guys, the Fedayeen Saddam, the Special Republican Guard, the Republican Guard, didn't get killed in the war, they're still there, they're still doing these attacks out there, and they're trying to go for the hearts and minds, just like we are, of the Iraqi people, the international community, and the American people. So this is a very, very tough race and many tough days to come Kyra, before we can say, it's obvious things are better now.

PHILLIPS: Major General Don Shepperd, thank you.

SHEPPERD: Pleasure.

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