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American Morning
Analysis: Baghdad Surrounded
Aired April 06, 2003 - 09:12 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, ANCHOR: Heidi again in Atlanta.
HEIDI COLLINS, ANCHOR: Thanks, Bill. We are going to go ahead now get a strategic look at the latest war developments. We're joined once again from Denver by retired Air Force Colonel Mike Turner.
Colonel Turner, you may have just heard our Walter Rodgers reporting that all roads into and out of Baghdad have been sealed off. This is big news. What's your take on it?
COL. MIKE TURNER, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): Absolutely big news. Critical breakthrough. The fact that it's coming, what, only two, three days after we really began to come in contact with Baghdad proper is Frankly astounding.
It's again more evidence of the fact that U.S. -- I'm sorry, coalition forces are moving with relative impunity in and around and through Baghdad. It creates enormous problems and again will accelerate this cascading effect for the command and control structure and the Iraqi leadership. It dramatically increases the likelihood that we will capture many of the senior officials that are still prosecuting the war effort in downtown Baghdad.
It's really very, very large event and a major step forward in the reduction of Baghdad.
COLLINS: About how much coalition troops do you think are actually involved in this? And would they need back-up? I would imagine so.
TURNER: Yes, but remember now, we've implemented urban close air support. And by controlling the entry points and exit points, they can actually control those roads out away from the city. So that your requirement for force structure at these checkpoints if you will, is probably substantially lower since we have urban close air support sorties available 4/7 overhead.
If they encounter any particular resistance, it's an easy matter to withdraw and instantly call in air strikes on whatever movement is occurring at those checkpoints out and away from the city. So there's a dramatic reduction in the threat to civilians as long as long as these checkpoints are far enough out of the city proper.
So it really, it's one more card in our favor on the table right now, I think.
COLLINS: On that same point, how do you think the Iraqi civilians are reacting to this?
TURNER: Based on everything I've seen on the news reports, I think very well. I think the coalition forces are doing an extraordinarily good effort at discriminating and segmenting the war to limit the impact on the civilian population.
And this, of course, will accelerate the process whereby the civilian population begins to recognize that Saddam Hussein is gone, that they are no longer threatened from win, and we're beginning to see reports now of increased instances of civilians assisting coalition forces.
So I think there's been a terrific job in discriminating and segmenting that -- the ongoing war effort to protect the civilian population. I think the civilian population will respond in kind.
COLLINS: Very good. All right, Colonel Mike Turner from Denver this morning, thank you once again.
TURNER: Thank you.
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 6, 2003 - 09:12 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, ANCHOR: Heidi again in Atlanta.
HEIDI COLLINS, ANCHOR: Thanks, Bill. We are going to go ahead now get a strategic look at the latest war developments. We're joined once again from Denver by retired Air Force Colonel Mike Turner.
Colonel Turner, you may have just heard our Walter Rodgers reporting that all roads into and out of Baghdad have been sealed off. This is big news. What's your take on it?
COL. MIKE TURNER, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): Absolutely big news. Critical breakthrough. The fact that it's coming, what, only two, three days after we really began to come in contact with Baghdad proper is Frankly astounding.
It's again more evidence of the fact that U.S. -- I'm sorry, coalition forces are moving with relative impunity in and around and through Baghdad. It creates enormous problems and again will accelerate this cascading effect for the command and control structure and the Iraqi leadership. It dramatically increases the likelihood that we will capture many of the senior officials that are still prosecuting the war effort in downtown Baghdad.
It's really very, very large event and a major step forward in the reduction of Baghdad.
COLLINS: About how much coalition troops do you think are actually involved in this? And would they need back-up? I would imagine so.
TURNER: Yes, but remember now, we've implemented urban close air support. And by controlling the entry points and exit points, they can actually control those roads out away from the city. So that your requirement for force structure at these checkpoints if you will, is probably substantially lower since we have urban close air support sorties available 4/7 overhead.
If they encounter any particular resistance, it's an easy matter to withdraw and instantly call in air strikes on whatever movement is occurring at those checkpoints out and away from the city. So there's a dramatic reduction in the threat to civilians as long as long as these checkpoints are far enough out of the city proper.
So it really, it's one more card in our favor on the table right now, I think.
COLLINS: On that same point, how do you think the Iraqi civilians are reacting to this?
TURNER: Based on everything I've seen on the news reports, I think very well. I think the coalition forces are doing an extraordinarily good effort at discriminating and segmenting the war to limit the impact on the civilian population.
And this, of course, will accelerate the process whereby the civilian population begins to recognize that Saddam Hussein is gone, that they are no longer threatened from win, and we're beginning to see reports now of increased instances of civilians assisting coalition forces.
So I think there's been a terrific job in discriminating and segmenting that -- the ongoing war effort to protect the civilian population. I think the civilian population will respond in kind.
COLLINS: Very good. All right, Colonel Mike Turner from Denver this morning, thank you once again.
TURNER: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
