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American Morning

U.S. Troops Head Into Baghdad

Aired April 05, 2003 - 09:03   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: All right, Heidi. Listen, we're getting more perspective again from the battlefield, our embedded journalists throughout the scene, and most of them in and around Baghdad. Again, Walt Rodgers, the Army's 7th Cav, near Baghdad, west of the airport, we're told. Martin Savidge with the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, southeastern suburbs, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta is with the Devil Docs, a MASH-type unit, Navy doctors working on behalf of the Marines just south of the Iraqi capital.
First stop this hour, we're back to Walt Rodgers with the 7th Cav. And Walt, you have firsthand information as to what these recon missions or not recon missions that went into Baghdad earlier today. Good afternoon again there.

WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.

First, the news. A short while ago, the Army commanders in the Iraqi theater briefed their commanders. The word is that the Army commanders here now believe, quote, "they have the Iraqis rocking back on their heels."

The generals urge their soldiers to keep the pressure on just a few more days. The indications being that the mission so far for the U.S. Army has been so successful, they do see a light at the end of the tunnel, although at this point no one is saying what the exact date of that is.

Again, earlier, we reported that the Army has seen convoys of Iraqi soldiers intermixed with civilian convoys in trucks leaving the city, heading on the road northwest, again in the general direction of Jordan and Syria. These are thought to be Ba'athist Party political leaders affiliated with Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist Party, or they were Iraqi army officers, Republican Guards, intermingling their trucks, their army trucks with civilian vehicles so they could not be struck from the air.

Nonetheless, they are fleeing Baghdad. Indeed, one Army officer told me a short while ago intelligence is reporting there is a mass exodus from the Iraqi capital at this point.

Still, this remains a harsh environment. 7th Cavalry went out earlier this morning, took some fire but destroyed five more Iraqi tanks, again proving that while the U.S. Army can control where it wishes, it still does not control all of Baghdad.

Back to you, Bill. HEMMER: Walt, we hear from the Pentagon already that there are casualties on both sides. A bit tough, I know, to get exact numbers on this, but in behalf of the U.S. forces there, what have you heard on that front?

RODGERS: I have heard nothing about U.S. forces, and the 7th Cavalry has, remarkably, suffered no casualties, even though they have been in combat for almost two weeks straight now, constant fire or under daily fire every day. Again, no casualties for the 7th Cavalry. As we rolled around on that reconnaissance mission this morning, the roadsides were littered with Iraqi soldiers, dead Iraqi soldiers, and no one has made any move to clean the bodies up. They have been there a couple of days, Bill.

HEMMER: Walt, thanks. Walt Rodgers west of Baghdad.

Southeast now in the suburbs. Marty Savidge is getting ever so closer to the Baghdad, again, the heart of that city. Marty's with the Marines. Good afternoon again, Marty.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on phone): Hello, Bill.

As you hear, the Army's to the west, and there's some Marines that are to the east of Baghdad, specifically the southeast of there, driving up from there, entering into the extreme suburbs of the city last night and today.

Last night, it was the 5th Marines that went rolling through ahead of us here. They ran into some problems down the road a ways. They got hit by some rocket-propelled grenades, a number of their tanks were hit, we understand that there were some casualties.

Today the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, given the task, go to the same area, clear it out, bring it under control, and bring stability to that particular part of this particular part of the city. That's what they have done, and they have had some fighting up there. It's been described as sporadic fighting.

We also know that they have called in artillery. That we've been hearing going off for the early morning hours, and then again midafternoon, and then just a short while ago, more salvos being fired all around us here.

It's all outgoing, from the Marines, in support of the ground operations that are taking place down the road here. Probably what they are doing is hitting fortifications, bunkers, places where they think there may be either representatives of the Republican Guard or Iraqi regular troops that are dug in. Rather than sending in the troops to go into those bunkers, hit them with artillery first, then clear them out, following up with infantry on the ground.

That's probably the way they are proceeding. The forward element of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, has been doing that all morning and all afternoon, Bill.

HEMMER: Marty, I know (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the Marines, though, but have they talked about or do they know that some members of the U.S. Army, 3rd ID, have actually rumbled through central Baghdad earlier today?

SAVIDGE: Well, we have spread that amongst the people that we have talked to, obviously, hearing that off of CNN. It's welcome news, because for the Marines, they know that the sooner that the U.S. forces get into Baghdad, get that city under control and bring down the Iraqi regime, then the sooner all of these men and women can start thinking about going home. And that is always paramount in their minds, Bill.

HEMMER: So many of them say that time and time again. Marty, thanks. We'll check in a bit later.

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 5, 2003 - 09:03   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Heidi. Listen, we're getting more perspective again from the battlefield, our embedded journalists throughout the scene, and most of them in and around Baghdad. Again, Walt Rodgers, the Army's 7th Cav, near Baghdad, west of the airport, we're told. Martin Savidge with the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, southeastern suburbs, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta is with the Devil Docs, a MASH-type unit, Navy doctors working on behalf of the Marines just south of the Iraqi capital.
First stop this hour, we're back to Walt Rodgers with the 7th Cav. And Walt, you have firsthand information as to what these recon missions or not recon missions that went into Baghdad earlier today. Good afternoon again there.

WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.

First, the news. A short while ago, the Army commanders in the Iraqi theater briefed their commanders. The word is that the Army commanders here now believe, quote, "they have the Iraqis rocking back on their heels."

The generals urge their soldiers to keep the pressure on just a few more days. The indications being that the mission so far for the U.S. Army has been so successful, they do see a light at the end of the tunnel, although at this point no one is saying what the exact date of that is.

Again, earlier, we reported that the Army has seen convoys of Iraqi soldiers intermixed with civilian convoys in trucks leaving the city, heading on the road northwest, again in the general direction of Jordan and Syria. These are thought to be Ba'athist Party political leaders affiliated with Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist Party, or they were Iraqi army officers, Republican Guards, intermingling their trucks, their army trucks with civilian vehicles so they could not be struck from the air.

Nonetheless, they are fleeing Baghdad. Indeed, one Army officer told me a short while ago intelligence is reporting there is a mass exodus from the Iraqi capital at this point.

Still, this remains a harsh environment. 7th Cavalry went out earlier this morning, took some fire but destroyed five more Iraqi tanks, again proving that while the U.S. Army can control where it wishes, it still does not control all of Baghdad.

Back to you, Bill. HEMMER: Walt, we hear from the Pentagon already that there are casualties on both sides. A bit tough, I know, to get exact numbers on this, but in behalf of the U.S. forces there, what have you heard on that front?

RODGERS: I have heard nothing about U.S. forces, and the 7th Cavalry has, remarkably, suffered no casualties, even though they have been in combat for almost two weeks straight now, constant fire or under daily fire every day. Again, no casualties for the 7th Cavalry. As we rolled around on that reconnaissance mission this morning, the roadsides were littered with Iraqi soldiers, dead Iraqi soldiers, and no one has made any move to clean the bodies up. They have been there a couple of days, Bill.

HEMMER: Walt, thanks. Walt Rodgers west of Baghdad.

Southeast now in the suburbs. Marty Savidge is getting ever so closer to the Baghdad, again, the heart of that city. Marty's with the Marines. Good afternoon again, Marty.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on phone): Hello, Bill.

As you hear, the Army's to the west, and there's some Marines that are to the east of Baghdad, specifically the southeast of there, driving up from there, entering into the extreme suburbs of the city last night and today.

Last night, it was the 5th Marines that went rolling through ahead of us here. They ran into some problems down the road a ways. They got hit by some rocket-propelled grenades, a number of their tanks were hit, we understand that there were some casualties.

Today the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, given the task, go to the same area, clear it out, bring it under control, and bring stability to that particular part of this particular part of the city. That's what they have done, and they have had some fighting up there. It's been described as sporadic fighting.

We also know that they have called in artillery. That we've been hearing going off for the early morning hours, and then again midafternoon, and then just a short while ago, more salvos being fired all around us here.

It's all outgoing, from the Marines, in support of the ground operations that are taking place down the road here. Probably what they are doing is hitting fortifications, bunkers, places where they think there may be either representatives of the Republican Guard or Iraqi regular troops that are dug in. Rather than sending in the troops to go into those bunkers, hit them with artillery first, then clear them out, following up with infantry on the ground.

That's probably the way they are proceeding. The forward element of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, has been doing that all morning and all afternoon, Bill.

HEMMER: Marty, I know (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the Marines, though, but have they talked about or do they know that some members of the U.S. Army, 3rd ID, have actually rumbled through central Baghdad earlier today?

SAVIDGE: Well, we have spread that amongst the people that we have talked to, obviously, hearing that off of CNN. It's welcome news, because for the Marines, they know that the sooner that the U.S. forces get into Baghdad, get that city under control and bring down the Iraqi regime, then the sooner all of these men and women can start thinking about going home. And that is always paramount in their minds, Bill.

HEMMER: So many of them say that time and time again. Marty, thanks. We'll check in a bit later.

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