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CNN Sunday Morning
U.S. Soldiers Under Attack in Fallujah
Aired June 08, 2003 - 10:34 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now, post-war Iraq. U.S. soldiers coming under attack again, this time west of Baghdad. It happened in Fallujah, a town that has proven to be a hotbed of violence against U.S. force there. CNN's Jane Arraf joins us now from the Iraqi capital. Jane?
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, there's still tension in that town about 30 miles west from here. Now, that has been, as you know, a trouble spot. And the U.S. Army has been pouring troops into there. The Third I.D., the Third Infantry Division, about 4,000 of them, trying to quell this violence.
But it happened again last night. According to witnesses, just before midnight, and according to U.S. soldiers, someone appeared to have opened fire on them. Now, they fired back, killing an Iraqi. And in the aftermath, people are saying that there could be more violence to come.
Now, people are extremely upset in Fallujah, not just at this violence that has claimed the lives of U.S. soldiers as well as their own people, but it goes back really to just after the war, when U.S. forces opened fire on a group of demonstrators, some of whom they say were firing, killing about 15 of them and wounding dozens. Now, those feelings run pretty deep.
This is also a Sunni Muslim stronghold, in which many people feel really cut out by a country in which Shiahs are getting more power, Kurds are getting more power, and they're only losing power. A lot of problems there, and a lot of work still to be done. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: Jane, knowing that Fallujah has become a hotbed of resentment for the coalition forces, does this mean that the coalition forces have thinned or even cut back their presence in Fallujah as a result?
ARRAF: They've actually increased their presence in an effort to stop that violence and stop the -- calm the town. They have poured in these troops. Now, the Third I.D., were some of the first into Baghdad. They thought they'd be going home. Instead they're going into possibly the most anti-U.S. force sentiment that exists in Iraq.
Now, the theory seems to be that if you put enough troops there, enough night patrols, things will calm down. In fact, in some sense, it's having an opposite effect. People there really do not like seeing American soldiers in the streets. They don't like seeing them patrolling. And there is a real tension there between the townspeople and the U.S. forces.
Now, the U.S. officials have said that these attacks are not coordinated. And in that sense, it's perhaps even harder to fight because there is a general anti-U.S. sentiment in this town. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: All right. Difficult for them to figure out who is sparking those sentiments then. Thanks very much, Jane Arraf 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
Aired June 8, 2003 - 10:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now, post-war Iraq. U.S. soldiers coming under attack again, this time west of Baghdad. It happened in Fallujah, a town that has proven to be a hotbed of violence against U.S. force there. CNN's Jane Arraf joins us now from the Iraqi capital. Jane?
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, there's still tension in that town about 30 miles west from here. Now, that has been, as you know, a trouble spot. And the U.S. Army has been pouring troops into there. The Third I.D., the Third Infantry Division, about 4,000 of them, trying to quell this violence.
But it happened again last night. According to witnesses, just before midnight, and according to U.S. soldiers, someone appeared to have opened fire on them. Now, they fired back, killing an Iraqi. And in the aftermath, people are saying that there could be more violence to come.
Now, people are extremely upset in Fallujah, not just at this violence that has claimed the lives of U.S. soldiers as well as their own people, but it goes back really to just after the war, when U.S. forces opened fire on a group of demonstrators, some of whom they say were firing, killing about 15 of them and wounding dozens. Now, those feelings run pretty deep.
This is also a Sunni Muslim stronghold, in which many people feel really cut out by a country in which Shiahs are getting more power, Kurds are getting more power, and they're only losing power. A lot of problems there, and a lot of work still to be done. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: Jane, knowing that Fallujah has become a hotbed of resentment for the coalition forces, does this mean that the coalition forces have thinned or even cut back their presence in Fallujah as a result?
ARRAF: They've actually increased their presence in an effort to stop that violence and stop the -- calm the town. They have poured in these troops. Now, the Third I.D., were some of the first into Baghdad. They thought they'd be going home. Instead they're going into possibly the most anti-U.S. force sentiment that exists in Iraq.
Now, the theory seems to be that if you put enough troops there, enough night patrols, things will calm down. In fact, in some sense, it's having an opposite effect. People there really do not like seeing American soldiers in the streets. They don't like seeing them patrolling. And there is a real tension there between the townspeople and the U.S. forces.
Now, the U.S. officials have said that these attacks are not coordinated. And in that sense, it's perhaps even harder to fight because there is a general anti-U.S. sentiment in this town. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: All right. Difficult for them to figure out who is sparking those sentiments then. Thanks very much, Jane Arraf 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
