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American Morning
Battle Plans
Aired November 11, 2002 - 07:10 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: In Iraq, the disarmament issue is now squarely on the desk of President Saddam Hussein, and the clock is still ticking. Iraq has until Friday to accept the terms called for by the United Nations.
Now, within 30 days, Iraq must send the U.N. a list of its weapons, and then within 45 days, Iraq must let inspections begin.
Any false move could mean that the Bush administration's war plan could get the green light.
Joining us now from Atlanta to describe what an invasion plan might look like is CNN's military analyst, retired Major General Don Shepperd.
Good to see you again -- General Shepperd.
MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): Good morning, Paula.
ZAHN: We know that we have seen the Bush plan, which we have to make very clear this morning is not finalized, but it's a blitzkrieg of a land, sea and air attack. How would it work?
SHEPPERD: Well, first of all, we're all guessing. We're not going to be told exactly what's in this plan.
But it's very logical that if you're going to attack Iraq under the current circumstances, what you're going to see is what's been described as a blitzkrieg plan. It is a massive attack by air, by ground, by Special Operations forces and psychological operations at the same time, designed to bring a quick resolution to this situation, so you don't end up in a bunch of long, house-to-house fighting in Baghdad. That's the purpose of it, Paula.
ZAHN: So, the plan, as we understand it, would start off with air strikes, followed by what?
SHEPPERD: Well, you're going to start off with air strikes, but probably will not just start in a phased session, like the Gulf War did. But rather, you're going to see a simultaneous operation. Psychological operations, leaflet drops, working with partisans (ph) are already beginning. You're going to see air attacks on central command and control, on early-warning facilities, on air defenses, so that other air attacks can take place, and so that things can be flown in. At the same time, you're going to see Special Operations forces going to areas of concern, particular areas where we think there might be weapons of mass destruction or SCUD missiles.
So, it's not going to be an air attack waiting for a ground attack waiting for Special Operations. It's probably all simultaneous, Paula. That's different than the Gulf War.
ZAHN: And once U.S. soldiers burrow themselves deeper into the country, what are they likely to encounter?
SHEPPERD: Well, that's the big unknown, and that's why people that have advocated small forces have, if you will, been overcome. Small forces are a great idea, if it works. On the other hand, if it doesn't work, you have to be prepared to do whatever it takes.
No plan survives the first shot in the military. You launch your plan, and then you must react to what the enemy does. So, you have to have large numbers of forces, reportedly up to around 250,000 in this area, and also another 265,000 guardsmen and reservists called up to help not only in these operations, but provide homeland security at the same time.
So, they're going to encounter what you always encounter, which is military resistance, and they've got to have the equipment, the training and the people to take on whatever is in front of them, because it's unknown.
ZAHN: Now, there is one area of concern among most officials we've talked to, and that would be plans to bomb the secret, underground hiding places that Saddam Hussein apparently has set up all over the country. What would be your concerns there?
SHEPPERD: Well, the concerns, first of all, are to get the good intelligence about where it really is. We have bunker-busting bombs that can go deep, but if you build it deeper than the bombs are capable of going, it's going to survive. You can hit the entrance, but you won't necessarily destroy what's underneath there, if it's people, or if it's weapons of mass destruction, you won't get to it.
And so, you can drop a bomb in an entrance, but it doesn't -- you don't know exactly where the rooms are that things are stored. So, it's a very difficult problem, requiring a lot of intelligence to figure out what's underground, and then how to attack it and where to attack it.
ZAHN: And how do you expect the Iraqis to respond to the first plan -- part of this plan, which would be the air strikes?
SHEPPERD: Well, the idea is that, hopefully, the Iraqi military will become irrelevant, and will basically throw down its arms, and you won't have to engage in the fighting. But that is the fond hopes.
You have to be prepared to engage in very difficult combat here. We don't know how the Iraqi military is going to act. Some of them will surrender, as they did in the Gulf War; others may fight to the death, particularly the Republican Guard, and Saddam's security forces are loyal to him.
ZAHN: Major General Don Shepperd, as always, glad to have your perspective -- appreciate it.
SHEPPERD: Thanks.
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 November 11, 2002 - 07:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: In Iraq, the disarmament issue is now squarely on the desk of President Saddam Hussein, and the clock is still ticking. Iraq has until Friday to accept the terms called for by the United Nations.
Now, within 30 days, Iraq must send the U.N. a list of its weapons, and then within 45 days, Iraq must let inspections begin.
Any false move could mean that the Bush administration's war plan could get the green light.
Joining us now from Atlanta to describe what an invasion plan might look like is CNN's military analyst, retired Major General Don Shepperd.
Good to see you again -- General Shepperd.
MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): Good morning, Paula.
ZAHN: We know that we have seen the Bush plan, which we have to make very clear this morning is not finalized, but it's a blitzkrieg of a land, sea and air attack. How would it work?
SHEPPERD: Well, first of all, we're all guessing. We're not going to be told exactly what's in this plan.
But it's very logical that if you're going to attack Iraq under the current circumstances, what you're going to see is what's been described as a blitzkrieg plan. It is a massive attack by air, by ground, by Special Operations forces and psychological operations at the same time, designed to bring a quick resolution to this situation, so you don't end up in a bunch of long, house-to-house fighting in Baghdad. That's the purpose of it, Paula.
ZAHN: So, the plan, as we understand it, would start off with air strikes, followed by what?
SHEPPERD: Well, you're going to start off with air strikes, but probably will not just start in a phased session, like the Gulf War did. But rather, you're going to see a simultaneous operation. Psychological operations, leaflet drops, working with partisans (ph) are already beginning. You're going to see air attacks on central command and control, on early-warning facilities, on air defenses, so that other air attacks can take place, and so that things can be flown in. At the same time, you're going to see Special Operations forces going to areas of concern, particular areas where we think there might be weapons of mass destruction or SCUD missiles.
So, it's not going to be an air attack waiting for a ground attack waiting for Special Operations. It's probably all simultaneous, Paula. That's different than the Gulf War.
ZAHN: And once U.S. soldiers burrow themselves deeper into the country, what are they likely to encounter?
SHEPPERD: Well, that's the big unknown, and that's why people that have advocated small forces have, if you will, been overcome. Small forces are a great idea, if it works. On the other hand, if it doesn't work, you have to be prepared to do whatever it takes.
No plan survives the first shot in the military. You launch your plan, and then you must react to what the enemy does. So, you have to have large numbers of forces, reportedly up to around 250,000 in this area, and also another 265,000 guardsmen and reservists called up to help not only in these operations, but provide homeland security at the same time.
So, they're going to encounter what you always encounter, which is military resistance, and they've got to have the equipment, the training and the people to take on whatever is in front of them, because it's unknown.
ZAHN: Now, there is one area of concern among most officials we've talked to, and that would be plans to bomb the secret, underground hiding places that Saddam Hussein apparently has set up all over the country. What would be your concerns there?
SHEPPERD: Well, the concerns, first of all, are to get the good intelligence about where it really is. We have bunker-busting bombs that can go deep, but if you build it deeper than the bombs are capable of going, it's going to survive. You can hit the entrance, but you won't necessarily destroy what's underneath there, if it's people, or if it's weapons of mass destruction, you won't get to it.
And so, you can drop a bomb in an entrance, but it doesn't -- you don't know exactly where the rooms are that things are stored. So, it's a very difficult problem, requiring a lot of intelligence to figure out what's underground, and then how to attack it and where to attack it.
ZAHN: And how do you expect the Iraqis to respond to the first plan -- part of this plan, which would be the air strikes?
SHEPPERD: Well, the idea is that, hopefully, the Iraqi military will become irrelevant, and will basically throw down its arms, and you won't have to engage in the fighting. But that is the fond hopes.
You have to be prepared to engage in very difficult combat here. We don't know how the Iraqi military is going to act. Some of them will surrender, as they did in the Gulf War; others may fight to the death, particularly the Republican Guard, and Saddam's security forces are loyal to him.
ZAHN: Major General Don Shepperd, as always, glad to have your perspective -- appreciate it.
SHEPPERD: Thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
