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American Morning
War in Iraq: Pentagon Update
Aired April 08, 2003 - 08:15 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: We're going to go straight to the Pentagon now where Barbara Starr is standing by. She has the very latest from there, including reaction to this morning's CENTCOM briefing.
Good morning -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
Well much of the focus of the briefing at Central Command was on two attacks that involved the news media in Baghdad. One tank attack on the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad where one journalist from Reuters was killed, four were wounded. And another attack on the Al Jazeera offices in Baghdad. In a separate incident, another journalist for Al Jazeera killed there.
Now both of these locations were in fact generally known to the U.S. military as being areas where reporters were operating. At the U.S. Central Command, they said they were not targeting journalists but they were targeting areas where they believed there was Iraqi leadership or military activity.
Here's what Central Command had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. VINCENT BROOKS, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: When we have a known location that is used for multiple purposes, including regime purposes, command and control or otherwise, and certainly when we potentially take fire from those locations, decisions have to be made at a very low tactical level. I think in all cases, mosques, other buildings, hotels, things that are obviously at least or are apparently not military facilities, there's a decision that has to be made always on a tactical level.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Now already a State Department official in the region has called these attacks on journalists facilities -- quoting -- "a grave mistake." There are certainly likely to be more questions of the Bush administration throughout the day -- Paula.
ZAHN: Barbara, do you have any better sense, from what you're being told at the Pentagon, just what is the status of Iraq's military capability at this hour?
STARR: Well, officials here are now saying that the Republican Guard is virtually destroyed as an effective conventional force, as an armored force. Still some infantry essentially, some soldiering capability, but as an armed force, it is gone. Two statistics that illustrate this, they tell us just 19 of 800 Republican Guard tanks left and 40 of 550 artillery pieces, all that they had before this conflict began -- Paula.
ZAHN: And yet they still, as you say, represent a threat in a soldier form with light arms?
STARR: Indeed, that is the concern in Baghdad right now that they are operating individual soldiers on foot, guerrilla tactics, against U.S. forces in Baghdad. They believe that was what happened at the Palestine Hotel, for example, that there was a sniper in the hotel firing at U.S. forces. A U.S. tank sent a round back through the hotel. As we said, one journalist killed, four injured. The military warning that more of this could happen.
ZAHN: Barbara Starr, thanks so much. We'll be getting back to you a little bit later on this morning.
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 8, 2003 - 08:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to go straight to the Pentagon now where Barbara Starr is standing by. She has the very latest from there, including reaction to this morning's CENTCOM briefing.
Good morning -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
Well much of the focus of the briefing at Central Command was on two attacks that involved the news media in Baghdad. One tank attack on the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad where one journalist from Reuters was killed, four were wounded. And another attack on the Al Jazeera offices in Baghdad. In a separate incident, another journalist for Al Jazeera killed there.
Now both of these locations were in fact generally known to the U.S. military as being areas where reporters were operating. At the U.S. Central Command, they said they were not targeting journalists but they were targeting areas where they believed there was Iraqi leadership or military activity.
Here's what Central Command had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. VINCENT BROOKS, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: When we have a known location that is used for multiple purposes, including regime purposes, command and control or otherwise, and certainly when we potentially take fire from those locations, decisions have to be made at a very low tactical level. I think in all cases, mosques, other buildings, hotels, things that are obviously at least or are apparently not military facilities, there's a decision that has to be made always on a tactical level.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Now already a State Department official in the region has called these attacks on journalists facilities -- quoting -- "a grave mistake." There are certainly likely to be more questions of the Bush administration throughout the day -- Paula.
ZAHN: Barbara, do you have any better sense, from what you're being told at the Pentagon, just what is the status of Iraq's military capability at this hour?
STARR: Well, officials here are now saying that the Republican Guard is virtually destroyed as an effective conventional force, as an armored force. Still some infantry essentially, some soldiering capability, but as an armed force, it is gone. Two statistics that illustrate this, they tell us just 19 of 800 Republican Guard tanks left and 40 of 550 artillery pieces, all that they had before this conflict began -- Paula.
ZAHN: And yet they still, as you say, represent a threat in a soldier form with light arms?
STARR: Indeed, that is the concern in Baghdad right now that they are operating individual soldiers on foot, guerrilla tactics, against U.S. forces in Baghdad. They believe that was what happened at the Palestine Hotel, for example, that there was a sniper in the hotel firing at U.S. forces. A U.S. tank sent a round back through the hotel. As we said, one journalist killed, four injured. The military warning that more of this could happen.
ZAHN: Barbara Starr, thanks so much. We'll be getting back to you a little bit later on this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
