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American Morning

Deployment Extended for Some U.S. Troops in Iraq

Aired July 15, 2003 - 07:15   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Post-war Iraq has taken a deadly toll on U.S. forces there, and it's now raising questions about whether the Bush administration jumped the gun by declaring combat operations over back in May.
Barbara Starr joins us from the Pentagon this morning.

Barbara -- good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

Well, you know, now nearly three dozen U.S. troops are dead in Iraq since major combat was declared over on May 1 by President Bush, all at the hands of the enemy, all by hostile fire. So, the question that's being asked here is, indeed: Did the war end too soon? Was it declared over too soon?

And the answer that's beginning to emerge is not when the war was declared -- major combat was declared to be over, but basically how the war ended. There is a growing understanding here at the Pentagon by strategy planners that they didn't really defeat key elements of the Iraqi regime when they declared major combat was over. That the regime simply collapsed so quickly, as one will remember, when U.S. forces approached Baghdad and that key elements of the regime took the strategy of deciding simply not to fight. That now forcing the U.S. into these offensive operations throughout Iraq, around Baghdad and other key opposition areas, offensive operations to seek out these people and try and finally destroy the opposition.

Last week on Capitol Hill Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld spoke extensively about this strategy question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: In Iraq, coalition forces drove the country's leaders from power, but unlike traditional adversaries in wars past that sign a surrender document and hand over their weapons, the remnants of the Baath regime, Fedayeen death squads and the Special Republican forces did not surrender.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: So, the fact that there was no surrender, maybe major combat is over, but for the U.S. military forces there, it is still definitely combat -- Soledad. O'BRIEN: Barbara, let's talk for a moment about how long the troops will have to stay. The 3rd Infantry Division getting word that now the planned departure in September is off. Do they have a new date?

STARR: Well, they don't at the moment. And here at the Pentagon, this is an extraordinarily sensitive question this morning. Yesterday, the 3rd Infantry Division put out a press release saying that key elements would indeed stay in Iraq for some time to come.

We asked about that here at the Pentagon this morning and got this very carefully worded answer. A senior Pentagon official saying, it was still the intent -- and he's very careful about using that word -- the intent of the senior leadership to try and have the 3rd Infantry Division home by fall. So, we asked, well, is that press release that the division put out yesterday wrong? If you're saying they're home by fall, was their press release yesterday wrong? And he said, Well, I won't tell you that they're wrong, but I'll tell you that I'm right, it is still the intent, he says, of the Pentagon to have the division home by fall.

Whether they can successfully meet that intent given the opposition in Iraq still remains to be seen -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, that sounds very complicated. CNN's Barbara Starr from the Pentagon for us this morning. Barbara, thanks.

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 July 15, 2003 - 07:15   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Post-war Iraq has taken a deadly toll on U.S. forces there, and it's now raising questions about whether the Bush administration jumped the gun by declaring combat operations over back in May.
Barbara Starr joins us from the Pentagon this morning.

Barbara -- good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

Well, you know, now nearly three dozen U.S. troops are dead in Iraq since major combat was declared over on May 1 by President Bush, all at the hands of the enemy, all by hostile fire. So, the question that's being asked here is, indeed: Did the war end too soon? Was it declared over too soon?

And the answer that's beginning to emerge is not when the war was declared -- major combat was declared to be over, but basically how the war ended. There is a growing understanding here at the Pentagon by strategy planners that they didn't really defeat key elements of the Iraqi regime when they declared major combat was over. That the regime simply collapsed so quickly, as one will remember, when U.S. forces approached Baghdad and that key elements of the regime took the strategy of deciding simply not to fight. That now forcing the U.S. into these offensive operations throughout Iraq, around Baghdad and other key opposition areas, offensive operations to seek out these people and try and finally destroy the opposition.

Last week on Capitol Hill Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld spoke extensively about this strategy question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: In Iraq, coalition forces drove the country's leaders from power, but unlike traditional adversaries in wars past that sign a surrender document and hand over their weapons, the remnants of the Baath regime, Fedayeen death squads and the Special Republican forces did not surrender.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: So, the fact that there was no surrender, maybe major combat is over, but for the U.S. military forces there, it is still definitely combat -- Soledad. O'BRIEN: Barbara, let's talk for a moment about how long the troops will have to stay. The 3rd Infantry Division getting word that now the planned departure in September is off. Do they have a new date?

STARR: Well, they don't at the moment. And here at the Pentagon, this is an extraordinarily sensitive question this morning. Yesterday, the 3rd Infantry Division put out a press release saying that key elements would indeed stay in Iraq for some time to come.

We asked about that here at the Pentagon this morning and got this very carefully worded answer. A senior Pentagon official saying, it was still the intent -- and he's very careful about using that word -- the intent of the senior leadership to try and have the 3rd Infantry Division home by fall. So, we asked, well, is that press release that the division put out yesterday wrong? If you're saying they're home by fall, was their press release yesterday wrong? And he said, Well, I won't tell you that they're wrong, but I'll tell you that I'm right, it is still the intent, he says, of the Pentagon to have the division home by fall.

Whether they can successfully meet that intent given the opposition in Iraq still remains to be seen -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, that sounds very complicated. CNN's Barbara Starr from the Pentagon for us this morning. Barbara, thanks.

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