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American Morning
Pentagon Moving Senior Military Planners to Qatar
Aired January 08, 2003 - 08:03 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We want to get to the Pentagon right now. The Pentagon moving senior military planners to Qatar, getting ready for possible war with Iraq, part of the growing deployment to the region.
And Barbara Starr at the Pentagon's tracking all of this -- Barbara, we say good morning again to you and certainly we want to take a look at the numbers right now. They continue to grow, especially after the new year. Sixty-five thousand right now in the Gulf region alone, 25,000 more set to be deployed this week. By the end of January, 100,000 strong in the region. By mid-February, as many as 250,000, possibly more, could be there.
What's behind the latest troop movements, Barbara, quite the obvious?
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is, Bill, in a way. Now what's really interesting is Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stood in the briefing room here yesterday and said war is not inevitable, that it is a last choice, not a first choice. But General Richard Myers, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, took the opportunity of yesterday's press briefing to remind everyone the buildup does continue and there is no plan to stop it.
Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: The flow of forces to the region continues. We've seen a few units depart for the Gulf and can expect that deliberate force flow to continue. And while there has been no decision about Iraq, we want to ensure that we are prepared to provide the president as much flexibility as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: And that effort is ongoing. This morning, General Tommy Franks, the head of the U.S. Central Command, is in Washington this morning. He will be headed over to the White House shortly to meet with President Bush, brief him on the latest plans for the troop buildup in the Persian Gulf. We are told that one issue on the table is to wrap up the final details on basing and over flight rights with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey.
And as you said, Bill, another key thing that is happening here is the first of about 1,000 senior Central Command war planners are on their way back to Qatar. We are told this time it is not an exercise like it was back month in December. This time they plan to make that command center operational. Everything should be ready to go by mid- February, if the president orders the military to war -- Bill.
HEMMER: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.
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 January 8, 2003 - 08:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We want to get to the Pentagon right now. The Pentagon moving senior military planners to Qatar, getting ready for possible war with Iraq, part of the growing deployment to the region.
And Barbara Starr at the Pentagon's tracking all of this -- Barbara, we say good morning again to you and certainly we want to take a look at the numbers right now. They continue to grow, especially after the new year. Sixty-five thousand right now in the Gulf region alone, 25,000 more set to be deployed this week. By the end of January, 100,000 strong in the region. By mid-February, as many as 250,000, possibly more, could be there.
What's behind the latest troop movements, Barbara, quite the obvious?
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is, Bill, in a way. Now what's really interesting is Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stood in the briefing room here yesterday and said war is not inevitable, that it is a last choice, not a first choice. But General Richard Myers, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, took the opportunity of yesterday's press briefing to remind everyone the buildup does continue and there is no plan to stop it.
Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: The flow of forces to the region continues. We've seen a few units depart for the Gulf and can expect that deliberate force flow to continue. And while there has been no decision about Iraq, we want to ensure that we are prepared to provide the president as much flexibility as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: And that effort is ongoing. This morning, General Tommy Franks, the head of the U.S. Central Command, is in Washington this morning. He will be headed over to the White House shortly to meet with President Bush, brief him on the latest plans for the troop buildup in the Persian Gulf. We are told that one issue on the table is to wrap up the final details on basing and over flight rights with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey.
And as you said, Bill, another key thing that is happening here is the first of about 1,000 senior Central Command war planners are on their way back to Qatar. We are told this time it is not an exercise like it was back month in December. This time they plan to make that command center operational. Everything should be ready to go by mid- February, if the president orders the military to war -- Bill.
HEMMER: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
