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CNN Sunday Morning
Rockets Hit Baghdad Hotel
Aired October 26, 2003 - 09:01 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Missiles and mayhem in Iraq, as rockets hit a Baghdad hotel. A top U.S. official was in the building but escaped unharmed. For the very latest, we go to our Baghdad bureau chief, Jane Arraf, standing by for us this morning live.
Good afternoon once again there, Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Heidi. Well, Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy defense secretary, has made a point of saying during his trip to Iraq that U.S. troops are taking the fight to the enemy. Well, this morning. the enemy certainly fought back. This wasn't just any hotel.
Apart from the fact that Wolfowitz was staying there on one of the top floors, it's really a symbol of the occupation authority. It's used by the Coalition Provisional Authority for it's staff, as well as military. And it's one of the most visible targets.
This was a bold and apparently very well executed and longed- planned attack. In fact, it was rockets that were launched just a few hundred meters from here. Now, we are within quite a heavily fortified security cordon just behind us, which includes the Rasheed Hotel, as well as the convention center and the palace, the main part of the coalition authority's base of operations.
Just beyond here is a major street, and that's where a trailer early this morning, about 6:00 local time, launched these rockets, hitting the Rasheed Hotel. Now, the deputy defense secretary says we should not lose sight of the fact that, despite these continuing attacks, there is progress being made as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY: This terrorist act will not deter us from completing our mission, which is to help the Iraqi people free themselves from the type of criminals who did this and to protect the American people from this kind of terrorism. The Americans who are here doing this job, civilians as well as military, are heroes. And I want to express our profound sympathy for the victims of this attack.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARRAF: Clearly, this attack on what is really one of the most visible targets in Baghdad, and on the eve of the holy Muslim month of Ramada, is having an impact -- Heidi. COLLINS: All right. Jane Arraf live this morning in Baghdad. Thanks, Jane.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: As we said, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was in the hotel at the time of the attack, and he vowed it will not deter the U.S. mission. For White House reaction on the day's events, we now go to Kathleen Koch, who is at the White House.
Good morning, Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And at this point, there is still no official White House reaction to this very bold rocket attack. As we speak, obviously administration officials are behind the scenes gathering details on what happened. It is not clear yet at this point whether or not the deputy defense secretary himself was a direct target of the attack. His hotel room was on the same side that the rockets hit, on the north side, but he was up on the 12th floor and out of reach of where they struck.
Now, this is the second close call for Wolfowitz. Just yesterday, a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter was attacked near Tikrit just hours after Wolfowitz left that city by helicopter. It is not clear yet whether or not that was a coincidence, but it is still very unsettling.
The deputy defense secretary, a key architect of the Iraq conflict, was there in the country for a three-day tour. He's been meeting with local leaders, meeting with U.S. troops, thanking them.
The timing of this attack clearly could not be worse. It certainly casts doubt on the administration's claim that it is steadily defeating the guerrillas who have up to this point killed 109 U.S. soldiers since the president on May 1 declared that major combat was over. And it also comes as the administration continues its PR campaign on Iraq, trying to convince Americans that things are going well there, trying to convince them things are getting rapidly back to normal, but this obviously makes that argument a much tougher sell.
Back to you.
COLLINS: OK. Kathleen Koch at the White House for us this morning. Kathleen, 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 October 26, 2003 - 09:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Missiles and mayhem in Iraq, as rockets hit a Baghdad hotel. A top U.S. official was in the building but escaped unharmed. For the very latest, we go to our Baghdad bureau chief, Jane Arraf, standing by for us this morning live.
Good afternoon once again there, Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Heidi. Well, Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy defense secretary, has made a point of saying during his trip to Iraq that U.S. troops are taking the fight to the enemy. Well, this morning. the enemy certainly fought back. This wasn't just any hotel.
Apart from the fact that Wolfowitz was staying there on one of the top floors, it's really a symbol of the occupation authority. It's used by the Coalition Provisional Authority for it's staff, as well as military. And it's one of the most visible targets.
This was a bold and apparently very well executed and longed- planned attack. In fact, it was rockets that were launched just a few hundred meters from here. Now, we are within quite a heavily fortified security cordon just behind us, which includes the Rasheed Hotel, as well as the convention center and the palace, the main part of the coalition authority's base of operations.
Just beyond here is a major street, and that's where a trailer early this morning, about 6:00 local time, launched these rockets, hitting the Rasheed Hotel. Now, the deputy defense secretary says we should not lose sight of the fact that, despite these continuing attacks, there is progress being made as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY: This terrorist act will not deter us from completing our mission, which is to help the Iraqi people free themselves from the type of criminals who did this and to protect the American people from this kind of terrorism. The Americans who are here doing this job, civilians as well as military, are heroes. And I want to express our profound sympathy for the victims of this attack.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARRAF: Clearly, this attack on what is really one of the most visible targets in Baghdad, and on the eve of the holy Muslim month of Ramada, is having an impact -- Heidi. COLLINS: All right. Jane Arraf live this morning in Baghdad. Thanks, Jane.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: As we said, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was in the hotel at the time of the attack, and he vowed it will not deter the U.S. mission. For White House reaction on the day's events, we now go to Kathleen Koch, who is at the White House.
Good morning, Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And at this point, there is still no official White House reaction to this very bold rocket attack. As we speak, obviously administration officials are behind the scenes gathering details on what happened. It is not clear yet at this point whether or not the deputy defense secretary himself was a direct target of the attack. His hotel room was on the same side that the rockets hit, on the north side, but he was up on the 12th floor and out of reach of where they struck.
Now, this is the second close call for Wolfowitz. Just yesterday, a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter was attacked near Tikrit just hours after Wolfowitz left that city by helicopter. It is not clear yet whether or not that was a coincidence, but it is still very unsettling.
The deputy defense secretary, a key architect of the Iraq conflict, was there in the country for a three-day tour. He's been meeting with local leaders, meeting with U.S. troops, thanking them.
The timing of this attack clearly could not be worse. It certainly casts doubt on the administration's claim that it is steadily defeating the guerrillas who have up to this point killed 109 U.S. soldiers since the president on May 1 declared that major combat was over. And it also comes as the administration continues its PR campaign on Iraq, trying to convince Americans that things are going well there, trying to convince them things are getting rapidly back to normal, but this obviously makes that argument a much tougher sell.
Back to you.
COLLINS: OK. Kathleen Koch at the White House for us this morning. Kathleen, 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
