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American Morning

U.S. Forces Getting Ready for Possibility of War

Aired February 14, 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.


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And we begin with what could be a decisive day in the showdown with Iraq.
Chief weapons inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei head to the U.N. for this morning's critical report on Iraq. They are expected to say that Baghdad is not fully complying with Security Council Resolution 1441. They are not expected to say that further inspections will not make a difference.

Meanwhile, U.S. and British officials say they're drafting a resolution for the Security Council. It is expected to stop short of asking members to directly authorize military action, but apparently the way it's being crafted will provide some political coverage for some of those countries that are sitting on the fence.

We're going to go straight back to the Persian Gulf, where U.S. forces are getting ready for the possibility of war.

Bill Hemmer is standing by now with some Marines in Kuwait at a place called Camp Grizzly -- good morning, Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, Paula.

Welcome to Camp Grizzly.

It is really extraordinary if you consider our location. We can show you a different camera position here. As far as the eye can see, it's nothing but desert. Two weeks ago, this was camel country. Since then, 6,000 Marines have come in here strong and with force.

In a moment, we're going to introduce you to the M1A1, the world's finest tank. Also, I want to relay some news quickly. Overnight last night, a Kuwaiti news agency reporting a large convoy, about two kilometers in length, a bit more than a mile and a half, moving south through southern Iraq and positioning themselves just about two miles on the other side of the border from Kuwait. That's the official word from last night.

Not much more information on it right now, but as we get it, we'll certainly pass it along to you.

Much more from the desert in a matter of minutes, Paula.

ZAHN: Stay cool.

Thanks, Bill.

(NEWS ALERT)

ZAHN: Back to our top story this morning, the U.N. weapons inspectors report in just over two hours. But at this hour, the Iraqi National Assembly begins an extraordinary session in Baghdad.

Let's turn to Nic Robertson, who is in Baghdad right now following those developments -- good morning, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.

We still don't know what the assembly is going to be debating today. We certainly know that one of the issues outstanding from the weapons inspectors is that Iraq should pass legislation outlawing weapons of mass destruction. But when we talked to one of the assembly members earlier, he told us that he just didn't know what they were going to debate. We do hope to learn more about that shortly. The newspapers here certainly calling on Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei when they go to the Security Council to be fair and to be professional. The newspapers are saying they don't have to overlook the negative, but don't over emphasize the negative.

One official in Iraq, one official in Iraq here saying that, one official in Iraq here saying that they believe if the report is 80 percent positive then that could be enough to head off war. And just in the last few minutes, we've seen President Saddam Hussein appearing on television here saying that Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction. However, if there is an aggression against Iraq, he said that they would be prepared and the people of Iraq would fight with the spirit of jihad. Those were his words -- Paula.

ZAHN: Nic, we're going to have to leave it there.

And we will be checking in with you throughout the morning for an update of what we think is coming out of the General Assembly.

Thank you.

We're going to get a preview now on those reports that will be presented to the Security Council.

For that, let's turn to Richard Roth, who is standing by at the United Nations -- good morning, Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.

Likely a mixed picture again from Mssrs. Blix and ElBaradei, the lead international arms inspectors on Iraq, similar to their report when it was delivered January 27. In about two hours, Blix and ElBaradei, public session inside the Security Council chamber. Likely points that they might raise regarding increased Iraqi cooperation, the U2 surveillance flights. Iraq, in a letter this week, said it would accept the planes but now seems to have indicated once again that there might be some conditions. Once again, they want to know when the plane will fly, where it's headed. Scientist interviews, the last time Hans Blix was at the Council there had been no private interviews conducted. There have been at least five. However, they've been inside Iraq and not outside, as the United States would like, out of the country.

Areas where Iraq has not cooperated certainly in key areas such as chemical and biological agents, V.X. nerve agent, anthrax, mustard gas, a lot of munitions and shells still unaccounted for, according to the inspectors. And the al-Samoud 2 missile, it's been tested, according to the inspectors, beyond the allowed 93 mile range. Blix may ask for these missiles to be destroyed. Iraq cooperation on that point would be essential and may swing some votes on the Security Council -- Paula.

ZAHN: Richard Roth, we look forward to your input all morning long.

Our special live coverage will get under way at 10:00 this morning. Wolf Blitzer and Christiane Amanpour will join me for our team coverage.

And a little bit later on today, Andrea Koppel will have an exclusive live interview with Secretary of State Colin Powell. That will happen today at 5:15 p.m. Eastern time.

And the timing of that, Bill, will be quite interesting, because that will come after some of the closed hearings that will be going on, or closed door meetings between some of the foreign ministers, the Security Council and Colin Powell.

Boy, wouldn't I, wouldn't you love to be eavesdropping on those meetings that come after the weapons inspectors' reports.

HEMMER: Yes, you'd have a heck of a story after that one, Paula. And really, many people believe by the end of the day today we're going to at least get some direction for this story, some direction for movement either toward war or away from it. So we all await to see what happens at the U.N. today.

Listen, it's called the M1A1. It's the Abrams tank. It's described as the finest in the world. Let's find out why.

Sergeant Jeffrey Peeler from the Marine Corps is our tour guide.

Good afternoon to you, Marine.

SGT. JEFFREY PEELER, TANK COMMANDER, 5TH MARINE REGIMENT: Good afternoon.

HEMMER: Nice to see you.

The world's best? Tell us why.

PEELER: Well, it's the world's best because we have the ability to move, at the same time shoot over uneven terrain, in day or night, at ranges up to 3,000 meters with a good chance of hitting and killing...

HEMMER: Three thousand meters is how far?

PEELER: Oh, up to around two miles.

HEMMER: You say move. How fast?

PEELER: Well, we can move over open terrain, flat terrain, probably about 40 miles an hour. Over rough terrain about 10 to 15 miles an hour.

HEMMER: Did you say 40 miles an hour?

PEELER: Yes.

HEMMER: For a tank that weighs how much?

PEELER: Sixty-eight tons.

HEMMER: Sixty-eight tons?

PEELER: Yes.

HEMMER: All right, you talked about firing ability earlier in discussions with me.

PEELER: Yes.

HEMMER: What does it fire?

PEELER: It fires, the main gun is a 120 millimeter round, and we have two types of rounds. We have Sabo (ph), which is our primary anti-armor round. And then we have our Impact, which is a secondary armor and a primary bunker or PC round.

HEMMER: Got to back up just a little bit.

PEELER: OK.

HEMMER: A hundred and twenty millimeters is what kind of size?

PEELER: About roughly about five inches in diameter.

HEMMER: About a softball, a little larger than a softball?

PEELER: Yes.

HEMMER: This is equipped with heavy armor, too.

PEELER: Yes, it's.

HEMMER: What happened with this tank in the Persian Gulf War?

PEELER: Well, there were accounts of us taking main gun fire and their rounds bouncing off our armor.

HEMMER: So this tank was not touched or penetrated in the first Persian Gulf War?

PEELER: No.

HEMMER: Quickly, a crew of four, right?

PEELER: Yes, four crewmen.

HEMMER: Let's start down here on the bottom. Who do we have here?

PEELER: Right here is the driver. This is PFC Lake. He's responsible for moving the tank, trying to provide a steady gun platform, as steady a ride as he can. He's responsible for the overall movement, the speed and control of the tank.

HEMMER: Got it.

Upper left hand is what?

PEELER: It's going to be the gunner. He sits right next to the main gun and he's responsible for acquiring the targets and destroying them.

HEMMER: Yes, and to his right?

PEELER: That's the loader. He's responsible for loading the main gun ammunition and all that com. He's responsible for mainly the com of the tank so.

HEMMER: Tell us, when it comes to the Marines and the duties you might be called upon to perform in the event of war, what purpose does this tank serve for you?

PEELER: Mainly as an anti-armor. We're there to destroy any armor capabilities that Iraq may have.

HEMMER: And in a force like the size you have out here, how many of these are in here?

PEELER: Well, roughly about 60 tanks from us at the appropriate time.

HEMMER: Wow.

Who was Abrams, by the way?

PEELER: Well, he was a general that designed the start of the program for these tanks.

HEMMER: Got it.

Thank you, Sergeant.

PEELER: Thank you.

HEMMER: You're a good tour guide. Good luck to you, OK?

PEELER: Thank you.

HEMMER: Stay safe, all right?

PEELER: Yes.

HEMMER: Much more to come, Paula.

The Kuwaiti desert tour continues. Six thousand Marines in this camp alone and it is extremely impressive to drive out here and see the amount of hardware and the amount of men and women who have been transported half a world away. And that buildup continues yet again today.

Back to you.

ZAHN: Yes, especially, like you said, when you take into consideration how quickly this has all come about and the creation of this camp.

HEMMER: Oh, it's so true. With lightning speed, really.

ZAHN: Thanks, Bill.

See you in a little bit.

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 February 14, 2003 - 08:03   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And we begin with what could be a decisive day in the showdown with Iraq.
Chief weapons inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei head to the U.N. for this morning's critical report on Iraq. They are expected to say that Baghdad is not fully complying with Security Council Resolution 1441. They are not expected to say that further inspections will not make a difference.

Meanwhile, U.S. and British officials say they're drafting a resolution for the Security Council. It is expected to stop short of asking members to directly authorize military action, but apparently the way it's being crafted will provide some political coverage for some of those countries that are sitting on the fence.

We're going to go straight back to the Persian Gulf, where U.S. forces are getting ready for the possibility of war.

Bill Hemmer is standing by now with some Marines in Kuwait at a place called Camp Grizzly -- good morning, Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, Paula.

Welcome to Camp Grizzly.

It is really extraordinary if you consider our location. We can show you a different camera position here. As far as the eye can see, it's nothing but desert. Two weeks ago, this was camel country. Since then, 6,000 Marines have come in here strong and with force.

In a moment, we're going to introduce you to the M1A1, the world's finest tank. Also, I want to relay some news quickly. Overnight last night, a Kuwaiti news agency reporting a large convoy, about two kilometers in length, a bit more than a mile and a half, moving south through southern Iraq and positioning themselves just about two miles on the other side of the border from Kuwait. That's the official word from last night.

Not much more information on it right now, but as we get it, we'll certainly pass it along to you.

Much more from the desert in a matter of minutes, Paula.

ZAHN: Stay cool.

Thanks, Bill.

(NEWS ALERT)

ZAHN: Back to our top story this morning, the U.N. weapons inspectors report in just over two hours. But at this hour, the Iraqi National Assembly begins an extraordinary session in Baghdad.

Let's turn to Nic Robertson, who is in Baghdad right now following those developments -- good morning, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.

We still don't know what the assembly is going to be debating today. We certainly know that one of the issues outstanding from the weapons inspectors is that Iraq should pass legislation outlawing weapons of mass destruction. But when we talked to one of the assembly members earlier, he told us that he just didn't know what they were going to debate. We do hope to learn more about that shortly. The newspapers here certainly calling on Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei when they go to the Security Council to be fair and to be professional. The newspapers are saying they don't have to overlook the negative, but don't over emphasize the negative.

One official in Iraq, one official in Iraq here saying that, one official in Iraq here saying that they believe if the report is 80 percent positive then that could be enough to head off war. And just in the last few minutes, we've seen President Saddam Hussein appearing on television here saying that Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction. However, if there is an aggression against Iraq, he said that they would be prepared and the people of Iraq would fight with the spirit of jihad. Those were his words -- Paula.

ZAHN: Nic, we're going to have to leave it there.

And we will be checking in with you throughout the morning for an update of what we think is coming out of the General Assembly.

Thank you.

We're going to get a preview now on those reports that will be presented to the Security Council.

For that, let's turn to Richard Roth, who is standing by at the United Nations -- good morning, Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.

Likely a mixed picture again from Mssrs. Blix and ElBaradei, the lead international arms inspectors on Iraq, similar to their report when it was delivered January 27. In about two hours, Blix and ElBaradei, public session inside the Security Council chamber. Likely points that they might raise regarding increased Iraqi cooperation, the U2 surveillance flights. Iraq, in a letter this week, said it would accept the planes but now seems to have indicated once again that there might be some conditions. Once again, they want to know when the plane will fly, where it's headed. Scientist interviews, the last time Hans Blix was at the Council there had been no private interviews conducted. There have been at least five. However, they've been inside Iraq and not outside, as the United States would like, out of the country.

Areas where Iraq has not cooperated certainly in key areas such as chemical and biological agents, V.X. nerve agent, anthrax, mustard gas, a lot of munitions and shells still unaccounted for, according to the inspectors. And the al-Samoud 2 missile, it's been tested, according to the inspectors, beyond the allowed 93 mile range. Blix may ask for these missiles to be destroyed. Iraq cooperation on that point would be essential and may swing some votes on the Security Council -- Paula.

ZAHN: Richard Roth, we look forward to your input all morning long.

Our special live coverage will get under way at 10:00 this morning. Wolf Blitzer and Christiane Amanpour will join me for our team coverage.

And a little bit later on today, Andrea Koppel will have an exclusive live interview with Secretary of State Colin Powell. That will happen today at 5:15 p.m. Eastern time.

And the timing of that, Bill, will be quite interesting, because that will come after some of the closed hearings that will be going on, or closed door meetings between some of the foreign ministers, the Security Council and Colin Powell.

Boy, wouldn't I, wouldn't you love to be eavesdropping on those meetings that come after the weapons inspectors' reports.

HEMMER: Yes, you'd have a heck of a story after that one, Paula. And really, many people believe by the end of the day today we're going to at least get some direction for this story, some direction for movement either toward war or away from it. So we all await to see what happens at the U.N. today.

Listen, it's called the M1A1. It's the Abrams tank. It's described as the finest in the world. Let's find out why.

Sergeant Jeffrey Peeler from the Marine Corps is our tour guide.

Good afternoon to you, Marine.

SGT. JEFFREY PEELER, TANK COMMANDER, 5TH MARINE REGIMENT: Good afternoon.

HEMMER: Nice to see you.

The world's best? Tell us why.

PEELER: Well, it's the world's best because we have the ability to move, at the same time shoot over uneven terrain, in day or night, at ranges up to 3,000 meters with a good chance of hitting and killing...

HEMMER: Three thousand meters is how far?

PEELER: Oh, up to around two miles.

HEMMER: You say move. How fast?

PEELER: Well, we can move over open terrain, flat terrain, probably about 40 miles an hour. Over rough terrain about 10 to 15 miles an hour.

HEMMER: Did you say 40 miles an hour?

PEELER: Yes.

HEMMER: For a tank that weighs how much?

PEELER: Sixty-eight tons.

HEMMER: Sixty-eight tons?

PEELER: Yes.

HEMMER: All right, you talked about firing ability earlier in discussions with me.

PEELER: Yes.

HEMMER: What does it fire?

PEELER: It fires, the main gun is a 120 millimeter round, and we have two types of rounds. We have Sabo (ph), which is our primary anti-armor round. And then we have our Impact, which is a secondary armor and a primary bunker or PC round.

HEMMER: Got to back up just a little bit.

PEELER: OK.

HEMMER: A hundred and twenty millimeters is what kind of size?

PEELER: About roughly about five inches in diameter.

HEMMER: About a softball, a little larger than a softball?

PEELER: Yes.

HEMMER: This is equipped with heavy armor, too.

PEELER: Yes, it's.

HEMMER: What happened with this tank in the Persian Gulf War?

PEELER: Well, there were accounts of us taking main gun fire and their rounds bouncing off our armor.

HEMMER: So this tank was not touched or penetrated in the first Persian Gulf War?

PEELER: No.

HEMMER: Quickly, a crew of four, right?

PEELER: Yes, four crewmen.

HEMMER: Let's start down here on the bottom. Who do we have here?

PEELER: Right here is the driver. This is PFC Lake. He's responsible for moving the tank, trying to provide a steady gun platform, as steady a ride as he can. He's responsible for the overall movement, the speed and control of the tank.

HEMMER: Got it.

Upper left hand is what?

PEELER: It's going to be the gunner. He sits right next to the main gun and he's responsible for acquiring the targets and destroying them.

HEMMER: Yes, and to his right?

PEELER: That's the loader. He's responsible for loading the main gun ammunition and all that com. He's responsible for mainly the com of the tank so.

HEMMER: Tell us, when it comes to the Marines and the duties you might be called upon to perform in the event of war, what purpose does this tank serve for you?

PEELER: Mainly as an anti-armor. We're there to destroy any armor capabilities that Iraq may have.

HEMMER: And in a force like the size you have out here, how many of these are in here?

PEELER: Well, roughly about 60 tanks from us at the appropriate time.

HEMMER: Wow.

Who was Abrams, by the way?

PEELER: Well, he was a general that designed the start of the program for these tanks.

HEMMER: Got it.

Thank you, Sergeant.

PEELER: Thank you.

HEMMER: You're a good tour guide. Good luck to you, OK?

PEELER: Thank you.

HEMMER: Stay safe, all right?

PEELER: Yes.

HEMMER: Much more to come, Paula.

The Kuwaiti desert tour continues. Six thousand Marines in this camp alone and it is extremely impressive to drive out here and see the amount of hardware and the amount of men and women who have been transported half a world away. And that buildup continues yet again today.

Back to you.

ZAHN: Yes, especially, like you said, when you take into consideration how quickly this has all come about and the creation of this camp.

HEMMER: Oh, it's so true. With lightning speed, really.

ZAHN: Thanks, Bill.

See you in a little bit.

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