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Raids, Resignations in Iraq

Aired December 11, 2003 - 12:59   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: We begin this hour in Iraq, site of raids, resignations and a third suicide attack against U.S. forces this week. Like the first two attacks, this one, west of Baghdad, appears not to have killed any soldiers. But Iraqi soldiers, members of the new Iraqi army, are said to be hanging up their dog tags by the hundreds.
CNN's Nic Robertson has the latest, joining us from Baghdad.

Nic, why are they all resigning?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, the reason that they're giving is an imbalance in pay. There's a feeling that perhaps the people in the army, who are getting $50 a month, aren't getting as much as the Iraqi police who, in some cases, are getting $100, $120 a month. There's also a feeling that they're not being treated properly, they're not being treated with respect by the U.S. troops, the coalition troops that they're working with. Certainly, when we've seen it, another branch of the Iraqi army, if you will, the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, working with U.S. troops, the relationship there, according to some of these Iraqi civil Defense Corps, could be better.

I've had the same conversation with Iraqi police. They say, look, when we're investigating a case, suddenly, the military police, the U.S. military police, we're working with, they take over the case. So there does seem to be a real issue here, not just over pay, but on a matter of respect, that these people who are perhaps captains, majors, who are sort of now forced to take a back seat, want to get more respect, and that's part of the issue here.

But this is obviously very troubling, Miles, because developing a new Iraqi army and standing it up as a coalition calls it, standing it up quickly, is one of the key pillars of the Pentagon's plans here for Iraq, to transfer security to Iraqi forces -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Nic, is there much second-guessing about the decision, immediately after the end of the thrust into Iraq, the decision to dismiss the entire Iraqi army? Are people openly talking about that at all?

ROBERTSON: It was a real issue when it happened, 350,000 people in that army stood down. The situation was ameliorated slightly, if you will, when coalition chief Paul Bremer decided to pay some salaries to all those Iraqi army staff, at least up to the rank of colonel, who were let go.

But yes, a lot of people here really have seen that as a turning point, when many Iraqis said, look, this has turned over from being a liberation to an occupation. So there is discussion about that. There's discussion about it, because people say, look, there is an army here, there was an army here. It can come back. It can come back in units that are intact that could go through retraining. So it is perhaps a useful tool that the United States, the rest of the coalition, could consider. So it's talked about in those terms as well -- Miles.

COLLINS: CNN's Nic Robertson in Baghdad, thank you 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 December 11, 2003 - 12:59   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN: We begin this hour in Iraq, site of raids, resignations and a third suicide attack against U.S. forces this week. Like the first two attacks, this one, west of Baghdad, appears not to have killed any soldiers. But Iraqi soldiers, members of the new Iraqi army, are said to be hanging up their dog tags by the hundreds.
CNN's Nic Robertson has the latest, joining us from Baghdad.

Nic, why are they all resigning?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, the reason that they're giving is an imbalance in pay. There's a feeling that perhaps the people in the army, who are getting $50 a month, aren't getting as much as the Iraqi police who, in some cases, are getting $100, $120 a month. There's also a feeling that they're not being treated properly, they're not being treated with respect by the U.S. troops, the coalition troops that they're working with. Certainly, when we've seen it, another branch of the Iraqi army, if you will, the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, working with U.S. troops, the relationship there, according to some of these Iraqi civil Defense Corps, could be better.

I've had the same conversation with Iraqi police. They say, look, when we're investigating a case, suddenly, the military police, the U.S. military police, we're working with, they take over the case. So there does seem to be a real issue here, not just over pay, but on a matter of respect, that these people who are perhaps captains, majors, who are sort of now forced to take a back seat, want to get more respect, and that's part of the issue here.

But this is obviously very troubling, Miles, because developing a new Iraqi army and standing it up as a coalition calls it, standing it up quickly, is one of the key pillars of the Pentagon's plans here for Iraq, to transfer security to Iraqi forces -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Nic, is there much second-guessing about the decision, immediately after the end of the thrust into Iraq, the decision to dismiss the entire Iraqi army? Are people openly talking about that at all?

ROBERTSON: It was a real issue when it happened, 350,000 people in that army stood down. The situation was ameliorated slightly, if you will, when coalition chief Paul Bremer decided to pay some salaries to all those Iraqi army staff, at least up to the rank of colonel, who were let go.

But yes, a lot of people here really have seen that as a turning point, when many Iraqis said, look, this has turned over from being a liberation to an occupation. So there is discussion about that. There's discussion about it, because people say, look, there is an army here, there was an army here. It can come back. It can come back in units that are intact that could go through retraining. So it is perhaps a useful tool that the United States, the rest of the coalition, could consider. So it's talked about in those terms as well -- Miles.

COLLINS: CNN's Nic Robertson in Baghdad, thank you 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