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American Morning

Iraq Violence

Aired December 26, 2003 - 09:16   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: Explosions overnight in Baghdad. The U.S. military says that some mortars or rockets were fired into what's known as the green zone, where the U.S.-led coalition has its headquarters. There were no reports of injuries from the blasts. But in the last day, four U.S. soldiers were killed in the area north and west of Baghdad, called the Sunni Triangle.
For more this morning, we are joined by "Newsweek" correspondent Babak Dehghanpisheh. He is in the Iraqi capital for us this morning.

Babak, good morning. Thanks for being with us.

Give me a sense of how it went over the holidays, specifically Christmas Day, it was not a quiet day in Baghdad.

BABAK DEHGHANPISHEH, "NEWSWEEK" CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you.

O'BRIEN: No, it wasn't a very quiet day at all here in Baghdad. There was a number of attacks across the city, most notably at the Sheraton Hotel, which is just here beside us, and also, there was rocket attacks at several embassy facilities -- the Turkish, the German, the Iranian embassy. And also within the green zone, the headquarters of the Coalition Provisional authority.

O'BRIEN: Was anything specifically damaged within that green zone, or, as some people often say when there are attacks inside that green zone, it was more of a psychological effect than anything else?

DEHGHANPISHEH: I think it really was more of a symbolic attack. There's been no clear explanation of what was hit. There were no serious injuries reported, no deaths. But again, it seems to be a symbolic attack to show that yes, we can reach you from the insurgents to the Americans, and that's the message that we can reach you, even in the heart of your base.

O'BRIEN: Operation Iron Grip is well under way. Give me a sense of how successful U.S. military authorities think it has been thus far?

DEHGHANPISHEH: Well, it does seem to have been pretty successful. Residents of the neighborhoods in southern Baghdad, where this operation has been carried out over the past couple of nights, do report a lot of heavy gunfire, airplanes, helicopters, and the U.S. military reports that they nabbed eight key individuals during those raids that were carried out in those neighborhoods, and coupled with some raids that have been taking place north of Baghdad, especially in the area around Samarra, it seems that, you know, the effectiveness of these operations are based on some of the intelligence that was collected in the capture of Saddam Hussein.

O'BRIEN: What about the morale of the U.S. troops? Obviously, the holiday time must be an incredibly difficult time for anyone over there, as opposed to being back here with the family members. Have you spoke to many of the troops? And what are they telling you?

DEHGHANPISHEH: I have. I have. I don't think there are that many that are happy to be here in Iraq. But overall, I think the capture of Saddam Hussein was a huge morale booster. They, sort of, see a light at the end of the tunnel now, and -- but most of them are very resigned to complete their task, and they know they probably aren't going to get out any sooner because of the capture of Saddam Hussein.

Another thing that may ease their, you know, difficulty of being here over the holidays, is that many of the troops do have access to e-mail and telephone at the moment, so they probably are in contact with their families in one form or another.

O'BRIEN: Maybe it's making things a little less difficult at this time. Babak Dehghanpisheh, thanks for being with us. We appreciate it, joining us from Baghdad 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 December 26, 2003 - 09:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Explosions overnight in Baghdad. The U.S. military says that some mortars or rockets were fired into what's known as the green zone, where the U.S.-led coalition has its headquarters. There were no reports of injuries from the blasts. But in the last day, four U.S. soldiers were killed in the area north and west of Baghdad, called the Sunni Triangle.
For more this morning, we are joined by "Newsweek" correspondent Babak Dehghanpisheh. He is in the Iraqi capital for us this morning.

Babak, good morning. Thanks for being with us.

Give me a sense of how it went over the holidays, specifically Christmas Day, it was not a quiet day in Baghdad.

BABAK DEHGHANPISHEH, "NEWSWEEK" CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you.

O'BRIEN: No, it wasn't a very quiet day at all here in Baghdad. There was a number of attacks across the city, most notably at the Sheraton Hotel, which is just here beside us, and also, there was rocket attacks at several embassy facilities -- the Turkish, the German, the Iranian embassy. And also within the green zone, the headquarters of the Coalition Provisional authority.

O'BRIEN: Was anything specifically damaged within that green zone, or, as some people often say when there are attacks inside that green zone, it was more of a psychological effect than anything else?

DEHGHANPISHEH: I think it really was more of a symbolic attack. There's been no clear explanation of what was hit. There were no serious injuries reported, no deaths. But again, it seems to be a symbolic attack to show that yes, we can reach you from the insurgents to the Americans, and that's the message that we can reach you, even in the heart of your base.

O'BRIEN: Operation Iron Grip is well under way. Give me a sense of how successful U.S. military authorities think it has been thus far?

DEHGHANPISHEH: Well, it does seem to have been pretty successful. Residents of the neighborhoods in southern Baghdad, where this operation has been carried out over the past couple of nights, do report a lot of heavy gunfire, airplanes, helicopters, and the U.S. military reports that they nabbed eight key individuals during those raids that were carried out in those neighborhoods, and coupled with some raids that have been taking place north of Baghdad, especially in the area around Samarra, it seems that, you know, the effectiveness of these operations are based on some of the intelligence that was collected in the capture of Saddam Hussein.

O'BRIEN: What about the morale of the U.S. troops? Obviously, the holiday time must be an incredibly difficult time for anyone over there, as opposed to being back here with the family members. Have you spoke to many of the troops? And what are they telling you?

DEHGHANPISHEH: I have. I have. I don't think there are that many that are happy to be here in Iraq. But overall, I think the capture of Saddam Hussein was a huge morale booster. They, sort of, see a light at the end of the tunnel now, and -- but most of them are very resigned to complete their task, and they know they probably aren't going to get out any sooner because of the capture of Saddam Hussein.

Another thing that may ease their, you know, difficulty of being here over the holidays, is that many of the troops do have access to e-mail and telephone at the moment, so they probably are in contact with their families in one form or another.

O'BRIEN: Maybe it's making things a little less difficult at this time. Babak Dehghanpisheh, thanks for being with us. We appreciate it, joining us from Baghdad 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