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American Morning

Hunt for Saddam

Aired March 19, 2003 - 09:34   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: He is on borrowed time and defiant as ever. So when coalition forces get the order to invade, how difficult will it be for them to find Iraqi President Saddam Hussein? Former senior Army intelligence officer retired Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy joins us to talk about the hunt for Hussein.
Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

LT. GEN. CLAUDIA KENNEDY, (RET.) U.S. ARMY: It's my pleasure.

ZAHN: I wanted to start off today with a front-page story in "USA Today" that suggests that commando teams from the Army's elite Delta Force have been assigned to hunt and, if necessary, kill Saddam Hussein.

How successful might they be?

KENNEDY: Well, those teams have a long tradition of success in battle. They have been well-trained. They are very well-equipped. They are our most elite forces in the U.S. military, and so I expect that they will accomplish their mission.

ZAHN: There's a quote in there from the Pentagon official in the same "USA Today" piece that says -- quote -- "The expectation is to kill him within days of the start of the war. It's what Delta has been training 24/7 to do." How tough is this training?

KENNEDY: Well, the training is very rigorous, and the qualifications to become a member of Delta Force require that a soldier be mature, be physically fit, be mentally fit, be very determined to be trained to the highest level of discipline possible. You know, the other part of this, Paula, is that we have been in that region for a full decade now. And should be much better situated to have relationships with people in the region that will also give us some assistance about locating him.

ZAHN: Do you believe that U.S. intelligence or our allies intelligence is sophisticated enough to know where Saddam Hussein is on any given day at any given hour?

KENNEDY: I would be -- I would stop short of that. I don't think it's possible to make a claim that at any hour, any day, we would know.

But you know, this is a very tumultuous time for him. He is having to adjust his normal way of operating, and there is no way in a situation that is of such a crisis to him that he is not giving out information under normal circumstances he would not give out.

ZAHN: We have been reporting all morning long, it's believed the U.S. military now has dropped several million leaflets on Iraq, encouraging military leaders to surrender. We know that President Bush himself has called for them to do the same, saying do not fight for a dying regime. Do you think these techniques will really soften resistance?

KENNEDY: In my opinion, Paula, the resistance is probably already softened. The experience 12 years ago for the Iraqi army was one of very rapid capitulation. And this army that we face 12 years later is smaller, less capable, and probably the psychological buildup to this has been even more daunting. So I think the leaflets are very good idea in order to give them specific behaviors they need to engage in to save their own lives and to live in a better country after this is over. But I don't think it's the entire story.

ZAHN: Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy, thanks for your time this morning. Love to have you back and get into this in greater detail.

KENNEDY: Thank you, Paula.

ZAHN: Appreciate your perspective.

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 March 19, 2003 - 09:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: He is on borrowed time and defiant as ever. So when coalition forces get the order to invade, how difficult will it be for them to find Iraqi President Saddam Hussein? Former senior Army intelligence officer retired Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy joins us to talk about the hunt for Hussein.
Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

LT. GEN. CLAUDIA KENNEDY, (RET.) U.S. ARMY: It's my pleasure.

ZAHN: I wanted to start off today with a front-page story in "USA Today" that suggests that commando teams from the Army's elite Delta Force have been assigned to hunt and, if necessary, kill Saddam Hussein.

How successful might they be?

KENNEDY: Well, those teams have a long tradition of success in battle. They have been well-trained. They are very well-equipped. They are our most elite forces in the U.S. military, and so I expect that they will accomplish their mission.

ZAHN: There's a quote in there from the Pentagon official in the same "USA Today" piece that says -- quote -- "The expectation is to kill him within days of the start of the war. It's what Delta has been training 24/7 to do." How tough is this training?

KENNEDY: Well, the training is very rigorous, and the qualifications to become a member of Delta Force require that a soldier be mature, be physically fit, be mentally fit, be very determined to be trained to the highest level of discipline possible. You know, the other part of this, Paula, is that we have been in that region for a full decade now. And should be much better situated to have relationships with people in the region that will also give us some assistance about locating him.

ZAHN: Do you believe that U.S. intelligence or our allies intelligence is sophisticated enough to know where Saddam Hussein is on any given day at any given hour?

KENNEDY: I would be -- I would stop short of that. I don't think it's possible to make a claim that at any hour, any day, we would know.

But you know, this is a very tumultuous time for him. He is having to adjust his normal way of operating, and there is no way in a situation that is of such a crisis to him that he is not giving out information under normal circumstances he would not give out.

ZAHN: We have been reporting all morning long, it's believed the U.S. military now has dropped several million leaflets on Iraq, encouraging military leaders to surrender. We know that President Bush himself has called for them to do the same, saying do not fight for a dying regime. Do you think these techniques will really soften resistance?

KENNEDY: In my opinion, Paula, the resistance is probably already softened. The experience 12 years ago for the Iraqi army was one of very rapid capitulation. And this army that we face 12 years later is smaller, less capable, and probably the psychological buildup to this has been even more daunting. So I think the leaflets are very good idea in order to give them specific behaviors they need to engage in to save their own lives and to live in a better country after this is over. But I don't think it's the entire story.

ZAHN: Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy, thanks for your time this morning. Love to have you back and get into this in greater detail.

KENNEDY: Thank you, Paula.

ZAHN: Appreciate your perspective.

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