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American Morning

American Soldier Died Today From Wounds Suffered Yesterday

Aired July 02, 2003 - 08:03   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.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's move on here and talk about Iraq. An American soldier died today from wounds suffered yesterday during a grenade attack.
Jane Arraf is live in Baghdad this morning with more on the continuing violence there -- Jane.

ARRAF: Well, Miles, the announcement of that latest American soldier's death, as President Bush says that U.S. troops will not be driven out of this country until full freedom is restored. But that could be a long way down the road. Now, this was a soldier who was wounded in one of the latest of the attacks on a major highway, a highway leading to the airport that's been taken over by the military. It's heavily traveled by the U.S. military. His vehicle was attacked by an explosive device yesterday and he died overnight in a military hospital, according to U.S. military officials.

In the troubled town of Fallujah just west of Baghdad, residents there are continuing to mourn the deaths of up to 10 Iraqis who were killed when there was an explosion in a mosque compound. Now, officials insist that the U.S. had nothing to do with that explosion, that it was not in the area at the time. Residents are quite convinced. The mood there certainly is still a bit tense, according to witnesses -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Jane, that mosque explosion, it seems no matter what the U.S. might say about it, people there are blaming the U.S. on it. And I guess that's the rub right now. Is there anything the U.S. can do to dispel people of that notion?

ARRAF: Not a whole lot they can do, no, to be perfectly honest. They are now officially really, officially in the minds of a lot of the people, an occupying force. That period of time when they could have gotten things up and running, when the electricity should have been running, when the water should have been running, when people should have gotten jobs, is the way most people think, they missed that chance. And now what we're in is almost the middle of a long, hot summer with not just these frequent attacks on U.S. soldiers, but the infrastructure not really in place.

As evidence of that fact, another report of a pipeline fire south of the city of Najaf, which is south of Baghdad. That caused, according to people there -- still unconfirmed -- but the reports are that it was caused by people trying to steal the oil. Now, this kind of thing happens when the economy is in shambles, when there really isn't an infrastructure, when there is no police in place. And that's the situation we have now. And in that context, people really are looking to blame someone and they're looking to blame the Americans because they are in charge -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Well, that is good context, then, for this next question. How did Mr. Bush's statements yesterday, rather strong statements about U.S. resolve in Iraq, how did they play in Baghdad, particularly among U.S. troops, I'm curious?

ARRAF: Among U.S. troops, they've certainly had this fear for a long time that they're in it for the long haul and that would certainly have been confirmed by the president's remarks. Now, morale here is not the greatest, as you might imagine, just the soldiers we talk to on the street are dying to go home, desperate to go home. And they're increasingly afraid that they will not be able to for a long, long time. Things just aren't improving as quickly as perhaps people had first thought they were.

In addition, it seems to be a feeling that it's more dangerous out there on these streets. These are young men and women who came here to do some good. They really are happy, most of them say, to be able to do this. They think they're doing their duty. But they're really quite afraid.

In the context of all these attacks in different places, sudden attacks, there's really a feeling of uncertainty here -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Jane Arraf, thank you very much, live from Baghdad.

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Yesterday>


Aired July 2, 2003 - 08:03   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's move on here and talk about Iraq. An American soldier died today from wounds suffered yesterday during a grenade attack.
Jane Arraf is live in Baghdad this morning with more on the continuing violence there -- Jane.

ARRAF: Well, Miles, the announcement of that latest American soldier's death, as President Bush says that U.S. troops will not be driven out of this country until full freedom is restored. But that could be a long way down the road. Now, this was a soldier who was wounded in one of the latest of the attacks on a major highway, a highway leading to the airport that's been taken over by the military. It's heavily traveled by the U.S. military. His vehicle was attacked by an explosive device yesterday and he died overnight in a military hospital, according to U.S. military officials.

In the troubled town of Fallujah just west of Baghdad, residents there are continuing to mourn the deaths of up to 10 Iraqis who were killed when there was an explosion in a mosque compound. Now, officials insist that the U.S. had nothing to do with that explosion, that it was not in the area at the time. Residents are quite convinced. The mood there certainly is still a bit tense, according to witnesses -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Jane, that mosque explosion, it seems no matter what the U.S. might say about it, people there are blaming the U.S. on it. And I guess that's the rub right now. Is there anything the U.S. can do to dispel people of that notion?

ARRAF: Not a whole lot they can do, no, to be perfectly honest. They are now officially really, officially in the minds of a lot of the people, an occupying force. That period of time when they could have gotten things up and running, when the electricity should have been running, when the water should have been running, when people should have gotten jobs, is the way most people think, they missed that chance. And now what we're in is almost the middle of a long, hot summer with not just these frequent attacks on U.S. soldiers, but the infrastructure not really in place.

As evidence of that fact, another report of a pipeline fire south of the city of Najaf, which is south of Baghdad. That caused, according to people there -- still unconfirmed -- but the reports are that it was caused by people trying to steal the oil. Now, this kind of thing happens when the economy is in shambles, when there really isn't an infrastructure, when there is no police in place. And that's the situation we have now. And in that context, people really are looking to blame someone and they're looking to blame the Americans because they are in charge -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Well, that is good context, then, for this next question. How did Mr. Bush's statements yesterday, rather strong statements about U.S. resolve in Iraq, how did they play in Baghdad, particularly among U.S. troops, I'm curious?

ARRAF: Among U.S. troops, they've certainly had this fear for a long time that they're in it for the long haul and that would certainly have been confirmed by the president's remarks. Now, morale here is not the greatest, as you might imagine, just the soldiers we talk to on the street are dying to go home, desperate to go home. And they're increasingly afraid that they will not be able to for a long, long time. Things just aren't improving as quickly as perhaps people had first thought they were.

In addition, it seems to be a feeling that it's more dangerous out there on these streets. These are young men and women who came here to do some good. They really are happy, most of them say, to be able to do this. They think they're doing their duty. But they're really quite afraid.

In the context of all these attacks in different places, sudden attacks, there's really a feeling of uncertainty here -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Jane Arraf, thank you very much, live from Baghdad.

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




Yesterday>