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American Morning
7th Cav Under Fire
Aired April 03, 2003 - 09:33 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: Walt Rogers back by way of video phone. I believe there is an extended delay on this, but Walt's back up now. Let's check in with him 7th Cav somewhere moving toward Baghdad, perhaps on the outskirts. Not quite sure.
Walt, what's happening now?
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill. We have been under some rather erratic, but at times heavy small arms fire. You just saw the tank in front of us shoot a 120 millimeter projectile up the road ahead of us. We have to stay fairly tight on that tank. We cannot show you where we are. That is we cannot disclose the landscape or topographical features according to the Pentagon's rules, but you get a pretty good idea of what's been going on since you lost us about an hour ago. There have been Iraqi soldiers in pockets beside the road firing rocket-propelled grenades in the direction of the convoy.
A short while ago my cameraman Charlie Miller who is shooting the pictures of the tank ahead of us. Charlie and I were sitting in our vehicle and I saw sparks about 20 feet beside us in the dirt. It was obviously an AK-47, some Iraqi soldier in the distance tried to creep up behind us and was shooting. Again, I saw two or three small arms projectiles hit the road beside us, causing sparks, injuring none of us at this point, but it has been very, ah, very heavy fire off and on. We are now being told we have to back up. Whatever the tank in front of us was shooting at apparently was not hit.
So, again, we are pulling back just some distance. About a mile or so up. I see a very large plume of black smoke. Again, we can't be very sure of what's happening around us, except that we are with the 7th Cavalry and they are shooting in rather sporadically in all directions and you saw the .128 millimeter shell go off -- Bill.
HEMMER: Walt, stick with us a second here. Prior to your last report which came about 90 minutes ago, had you taken any fire at all as you moved along that road?
RODGERS: Sure, the whole time. We've been under fire for two hours, Bill. Mostly small arms and rocket propelled grenades and I believe -- I believe we saw mortar as well. Go ahead.
HEMMER: No, I understand that Walt, but just to be specific here, you were moving I'm not quite sure how long you were moving prior to the two-hour period, but should shooting 120 minutes ago, 90 minutes ago, did it begin at that point or had you taken on fire prior to? RODGERS: I think the 90 minutes ago you refer to was the beginning of it. As soon as we came up on the video phone we were under fire and have been under fire off and on ever since and that fire is light machine gun, AK-47 small arms, automatic rifles, rocket propelled grenades and the occasional mortar -- Bill.
HEMMER: Yes Walt, also with regard to the Republican Guard divisions right now, we are told two have been destroyed. That still leaves the open issue as to what's happening with the other four. As you travel with those soldiers, how much do they talk about the possibility that the Republican Guard or even the Special Republican Guard may be laying in wait in Baghdad Walt?
RODGERS: Talking with the officers of the 3rd Squadron 7th Cavalry over the last week and a half, it was always generally known the position of the Adnan (ph) division, the Hammurabi division, the Nebacanezer (ph) and one other division. And throughout that period of time we have generally known and seen on the maps where these divisions were. So, yes, the army has been aware of those divisions -- where they too, may have folded into the city. Are you still there?
HEMMER: Yes, sure am, Walt. Keep going, please.
RODGERS: Bill, are you still there?
HEMMER: Sure am, Walt. I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can we'll take the delay here and allow you to continue.
RODGERS: OK, we're moving right okay, well because of some of the topography around us, some of the landmarks, Charles Miller has put the camera back on me in the backseat of our vehicle. Again, you can see how cramped we are in here and as I say for an hour and a half at least we've been under small arms fire intermittently, but what the Iraqis do they build bunkers in the middle of a road or on the edge of the road and then they commence firing at the convoy as it comes up the road. We are now rolling over one of those bunkers. You've just heard a shot go off close to us.
That may have been from a burned out .20 millimeter -- at the convoy as it came up the road and there's been burning ammunition going on like a huge fireworks display, again for the better part of an hour or so. We're not sure where we're going now or the direction, but there has been fairly stiff resistance not on any force level, that is to say, nothing larger than a few squads, but the Iraqis are trying to put up resistance and block the northward passage of the 7th Cavalry. Again, rocket-propelled grenades coming at the vehicle and at the tank in front of us. Also we've seen mortars and small arms fire, there's another rifle that's that's...
HEMMER: I'm -- all right. I'm not sure if Walt's still with us if he is, let me know and we'll get back to him. I'm going to try a question here Walt if you can still hear me. He's gone, our apologies. We'll try to get Walt back.
Oftentimes we have seen when the Army or the Marines move, often times they'll pick a place to especially dig in for the night around sunset which should be about an hour from now, local time in Baghdad and I am curious to know from Walt if they were digging in last night if they were going to move as much as they had or if this movement was a complete surprise. Once we get that signal back we'll get them back as soon as we can.
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 April 3, 2003 - 09:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Walt Rogers back by way of video phone. I believe there is an extended delay on this, but Walt's back up now. Let's check in with him 7th Cav somewhere moving toward Baghdad, perhaps on the outskirts. Not quite sure.
Walt, what's happening now?
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill. We have been under some rather erratic, but at times heavy small arms fire. You just saw the tank in front of us shoot a 120 millimeter projectile up the road ahead of us. We have to stay fairly tight on that tank. We cannot show you where we are. That is we cannot disclose the landscape or topographical features according to the Pentagon's rules, but you get a pretty good idea of what's been going on since you lost us about an hour ago. There have been Iraqi soldiers in pockets beside the road firing rocket-propelled grenades in the direction of the convoy.
A short while ago my cameraman Charlie Miller who is shooting the pictures of the tank ahead of us. Charlie and I were sitting in our vehicle and I saw sparks about 20 feet beside us in the dirt. It was obviously an AK-47, some Iraqi soldier in the distance tried to creep up behind us and was shooting. Again, I saw two or three small arms projectiles hit the road beside us, causing sparks, injuring none of us at this point, but it has been very, ah, very heavy fire off and on. We are now being told we have to back up. Whatever the tank in front of us was shooting at apparently was not hit.
So, again, we are pulling back just some distance. About a mile or so up. I see a very large plume of black smoke. Again, we can't be very sure of what's happening around us, except that we are with the 7th Cavalry and they are shooting in rather sporadically in all directions and you saw the .128 millimeter shell go off -- Bill.
HEMMER: Walt, stick with us a second here. Prior to your last report which came about 90 minutes ago, had you taken any fire at all as you moved along that road?
RODGERS: Sure, the whole time. We've been under fire for two hours, Bill. Mostly small arms and rocket propelled grenades and I believe -- I believe we saw mortar as well. Go ahead.
HEMMER: No, I understand that Walt, but just to be specific here, you were moving I'm not quite sure how long you were moving prior to the two-hour period, but should shooting 120 minutes ago, 90 minutes ago, did it begin at that point or had you taken on fire prior to? RODGERS: I think the 90 minutes ago you refer to was the beginning of it. As soon as we came up on the video phone we were under fire and have been under fire off and on ever since and that fire is light machine gun, AK-47 small arms, automatic rifles, rocket propelled grenades and the occasional mortar -- Bill.
HEMMER: Yes Walt, also with regard to the Republican Guard divisions right now, we are told two have been destroyed. That still leaves the open issue as to what's happening with the other four. As you travel with those soldiers, how much do they talk about the possibility that the Republican Guard or even the Special Republican Guard may be laying in wait in Baghdad Walt?
RODGERS: Talking with the officers of the 3rd Squadron 7th Cavalry over the last week and a half, it was always generally known the position of the Adnan (ph) division, the Hammurabi division, the Nebacanezer (ph) and one other division. And throughout that period of time we have generally known and seen on the maps where these divisions were. So, yes, the army has been aware of those divisions -- where they too, may have folded into the city. Are you still there?
HEMMER: Yes, sure am, Walt. Keep going, please.
RODGERS: Bill, are you still there?
HEMMER: Sure am, Walt. I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can we'll take the delay here and allow you to continue.
RODGERS: OK, we're moving right okay, well because of some of the topography around us, some of the landmarks, Charles Miller has put the camera back on me in the backseat of our vehicle. Again, you can see how cramped we are in here and as I say for an hour and a half at least we've been under small arms fire intermittently, but what the Iraqis do they build bunkers in the middle of a road or on the edge of the road and then they commence firing at the convoy as it comes up the road. We are now rolling over one of those bunkers. You've just heard a shot go off close to us.
That may have been from a burned out .20 millimeter -- at the convoy as it came up the road and there's been burning ammunition going on like a huge fireworks display, again for the better part of an hour or so. We're not sure where we're going now or the direction, but there has been fairly stiff resistance not on any force level, that is to say, nothing larger than a few squads, but the Iraqis are trying to put up resistance and block the northward passage of the 7th Cavalry. Again, rocket-propelled grenades coming at the vehicle and at the tank in front of us. Also we've seen mortars and small arms fire, there's another rifle that's that's...
HEMMER: I'm -- all right. I'm not sure if Walt's still with us if he is, let me know and we'll get back to him. I'm going to try a question here Walt if you can still hear me. He's gone, our apologies. We'll try to get Walt back.
Oftentimes we have seen when the Army or the Marines move, often times they'll pick a place to especially dig in for the night around sunset which should be about an hour from now, local time in Baghdad and I am curious to know from Walt if they were digging in last night if they were going to move as much as they had or if this movement was a complete surprise. Once we get that signal back we'll get them back as soon as we can.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
