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American Morning

Interview With Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, Dan Senor

Aired February 10, 2004 - 07:03   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Three deadly attacks have been aimed at police today in Iraq. Dozens of people were killed in an explosion outside a police station about 25 miles south of Baghdad. That news just crossing an hour and 30 minutes ago.
Also four police officers were gunned down in separate attacks -- two in west Baghdad, two others in east Baghdad. That news crossing earlier today as well.

This morning's violence now comes a day after we learned of a plot to initiate civil war in Iraq with the help of al Qaeda.

From coalition headquarters in central Baghdad, Deputy Operations Director Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt is with us, and so too is Dan Senor, senior advisor to Ambassador Paul Bremer.

Gentlemen, thank you for your time.

And to the general first. Tell us more about the violence that we have been reporting for the past hour and a half here on CNN?

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: Well, I think you've got it right. We've got three reports of different incidents happening throughout the country. One was a bomb attack on a police station down in Iscandaria (ph), about 25 miles south of Baghdad, and the two other reports that you identified, some drive-by shootings and some other violence as well.

HEMMER: Consistently, we hear both gentlemen, the general and Mr. Senor, talk about progress moving forward steadily. And to Mr. Senor on this question. How is it possible to make that claim almost daily, in almost every interview you conduct, when we see the number of Iraqis who cooperate with the coalition die on a daily rate?

DAN SENOR, SENIOR ADVISOR TO AMBASSADOR PAUL BREMER: Well, first of all, there are far more Iraqis that cooperate with the coalition than there are Iraqis who cooperate with the coalition and get killed. The fact is we have a lot of good days here, but we've also had a lot of bad days -- bad days like today when 40 Iraqis -- or many more possibly -- are killed.

The important point is the good days outnumber the bad days. There are more days when Iraqis are stepping forward to play a role in our security services, in the Iraqi security services. Over 150,000 Iraqis today are serving in security services. Iraqis are stepping forward to participate in town hall meetings, to play roles of political leaders. There are far more days populated with those events than there are these tragic terrorist attacks.

HEMMER: In the past 24 hours, the news back here in the U.S. is what you revealed just yesterday about this time in Baghdad about Zarqawi trying to initiate some sort of cooperation with al Qaeda. To the general, where is this man, al-Zarqawi?

KIMMITT: We suspect he's still in Iraq. We have a long- standing program to try to pick him up, and we're getting closer every day.

HEMMER: How much is he a priority for you, General?

KIMMITT: Oh, he's a significant priority. Anybody who is attacking the coalition, attacking Iraqi people, trying to foment more terrorism and violence inside of Iraq is a high priority for us.

HEMMER: How much violence do you believe he's responsible for at this point?

KIMMITT: Well, by his own admission, he was responsible for at least 25 attacks here within Iraq. Some of the more significant attacks we possibly can associate him with is the U.N. bombing, perhaps the assassin's gate bombing, perhaps the assassination of Grand Ayatollah Hakim (ph) in Najaf. He is a serious criminal, a serious terrorist, and we are going after him.

HEMMER: One final thought here. The U.N. team, Mr. Senor, is on the ground now in Iraq, trying to assess elections possibly in June, maybe in July. How much cooperation do you have with that team? And how flexible is the U.S. plan, depending on what the U.N. team determines?

SENOR: Bill, we are moving forward with the June 30 handover date. We are implementing the plan. The U.N. team is operating here independently. We've told them we'll make available logistical support, technical support and security support. But they're here independently working towards that plan.

And with regard to the letter that was released in the last couple of days from Zarqawi, what we've learned over the last couple of days is that terrorists recognize, too, the importance of the June 30 hand-off date. They're very worried that their ability to conduct terrorist operations in Iraq will be that much more difficult if Iraqis are in charge of their own sovereignty.

HEMMER: That's Dan Senior and Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt live in Baghdad. Appreciate your time gentlemen, and stay safe out there. Thank you.

SENOR: Thank you.

KIMMITT: 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 February 10, 2004 - 07:03   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Three deadly attacks have been aimed at police today in Iraq. Dozens of people were killed in an explosion outside a police station about 25 miles south of Baghdad. That news just crossing an hour and 30 minutes ago.
Also four police officers were gunned down in separate attacks -- two in west Baghdad, two others in east Baghdad. That news crossing earlier today as well.

This morning's violence now comes a day after we learned of a plot to initiate civil war in Iraq with the help of al Qaeda.

From coalition headquarters in central Baghdad, Deputy Operations Director Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt is with us, and so too is Dan Senor, senior advisor to Ambassador Paul Bremer.

Gentlemen, thank you for your time.

And to the general first. Tell us more about the violence that we have been reporting for the past hour and a half here on CNN?

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: Well, I think you've got it right. We've got three reports of different incidents happening throughout the country. One was a bomb attack on a police station down in Iscandaria (ph), about 25 miles south of Baghdad, and the two other reports that you identified, some drive-by shootings and some other violence as well.

HEMMER: Consistently, we hear both gentlemen, the general and Mr. Senor, talk about progress moving forward steadily. And to Mr. Senor on this question. How is it possible to make that claim almost daily, in almost every interview you conduct, when we see the number of Iraqis who cooperate with the coalition die on a daily rate?

DAN SENOR, SENIOR ADVISOR TO AMBASSADOR PAUL BREMER: Well, first of all, there are far more Iraqis that cooperate with the coalition than there are Iraqis who cooperate with the coalition and get killed. The fact is we have a lot of good days here, but we've also had a lot of bad days -- bad days like today when 40 Iraqis -- or many more possibly -- are killed.

The important point is the good days outnumber the bad days. There are more days when Iraqis are stepping forward to play a role in our security services, in the Iraqi security services. Over 150,000 Iraqis today are serving in security services. Iraqis are stepping forward to participate in town hall meetings, to play roles of political leaders. There are far more days populated with those events than there are these tragic terrorist attacks.

HEMMER: In the past 24 hours, the news back here in the U.S. is what you revealed just yesterday about this time in Baghdad about Zarqawi trying to initiate some sort of cooperation with al Qaeda. To the general, where is this man, al-Zarqawi?

KIMMITT: We suspect he's still in Iraq. We have a long- standing program to try to pick him up, and we're getting closer every day.

HEMMER: How much is he a priority for you, General?

KIMMITT: Oh, he's a significant priority. Anybody who is attacking the coalition, attacking Iraqi people, trying to foment more terrorism and violence inside of Iraq is a high priority for us.

HEMMER: How much violence do you believe he's responsible for at this point?

KIMMITT: Well, by his own admission, he was responsible for at least 25 attacks here within Iraq. Some of the more significant attacks we possibly can associate him with is the U.N. bombing, perhaps the assassin's gate bombing, perhaps the assassination of Grand Ayatollah Hakim (ph) in Najaf. He is a serious criminal, a serious terrorist, and we are going after him.

HEMMER: One final thought here. The U.N. team, Mr. Senor, is on the ground now in Iraq, trying to assess elections possibly in June, maybe in July. How much cooperation do you have with that team? And how flexible is the U.S. plan, depending on what the U.N. team determines?

SENOR: Bill, we are moving forward with the June 30 handover date. We are implementing the plan. The U.N. team is operating here independently. We've told them we'll make available logistical support, technical support and security support. But they're here independently working towards that plan.

And with regard to the letter that was released in the last couple of days from Zarqawi, what we've learned over the last couple of days is that terrorists recognize, too, the importance of the June 30 hand-off date. They're very worried that their ability to conduct terrorist operations in Iraq will be that much more difficult if Iraqis are in charge of their own sovereignty.

HEMMER: That's Dan Senior and Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt live in Baghdad. Appreciate your time gentlemen, and stay safe out there. Thank you.

SENOR: Thank you.

KIMMITT: 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.