Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Sunday Morning
Valentine's Day in Iraq
Aired February 15, 2004 - 08:07 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.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN ANCHOR: Not even heavy armor and kevlar helmets can shield U.S. troops in Iraq from Cupid's arrows, especially on Valentine's Day. But making that love connection in a war zone can be tricky, as CNN Baghdad bureau Chief Jane Arraf explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): It's hardly a scene from a romantic movie, but this was Valentine's Day. And whether it was a last minute search for a card or a call home, soldiers were reaching out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got my wife back in Germany. I sent her some flowers. Sent a few e-mails.
ARRAF: On an Army base in a war zone so far from home, the key to keeping relationships together, says Chaplain Brian Walker (ph), is talking.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ultimately, intimacy causes a marriage or relationship to get better. The lack of intimacy causes it to decrease and to end. And the key to intimacy is just communication.
ARRAF: E-mail is a huge part of keeping in touch. The people still line up to hear the voices they love. Phoning home has improved a lot, but it's still not so easy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello? I'm trying get that 1-800 number on my calling card. Hello?
ARRAF: Some lucky enough to be deployed in the same unit still only get to see one another every couple of weeks.
(on camera): This unit could, but doesn't, completely ban sex. But you either have to be married to each other or single and not in the same chain of command. You'd also have to find a suitable, private location, which on a military base is extremely tough.
(voice-over): So little things mean a lot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course we're in uniform, and there's public display of affection, especially in this -- you know, it's not allowed. But just the look in each other's eyes and little notes.
ARRAF: As in the non-military world, not everyone has a valentine. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Finding a girlfriend in Baghdad, it depends on what you do. I mean, there are opportunities. If you're one of the guys that's out they're on patrol every day and you're in like a line infantry unit, the odds of finding a girlfriend are pretty slim. But if you work in a job where you're on a staff, there are military females. The chance of meeting one of them, I guess, is possible.
ARRAF: Still, almost everyone is counting the days until they go back home again. After seven months away, Captain Jason Beck recently went home on leave.
CAPT. JASON BECK, U.S. ARMY: Everything seemed in Technicolor. The woman I absolutely love and adore, getting to see her again with my son. The kisses tasted sweeter, the food tasted better, and everything was amazing, in a word.
ARRAF: But here, so many barriers to love. It's the middle of the night in Hawaii, and Corporal Jay Alcatera (ph) declared his devotion to an answering machine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello? Hi, baby, it's me. Just calling to say Happy Valentine's Day. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I love you guys.
ARRAF: Jane Arraf, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 15, 2004 - 08:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN ANCHOR: Not even heavy armor and kevlar helmets can shield U.S. troops in Iraq from Cupid's arrows, especially on Valentine's Day. But making that love connection in a war zone can be tricky, as CNN Baghdad bureau Chief Jane Arraf explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): It's hardly a scene from a romantic movie, but this was Valentine's Day. And whether it was a last minute search for a card or a call home, soldiers were reaching out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got my wife back in Germany. I sent her some flowers. Sent a few e-mails.
ARRAF: On an Army base in a war zone so far from home, the key to keeping relationships together, says Chaplain Brian Walker (ph), is talking.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ultimately, intimacy causes a marriage or relationship to get better. The lack of intimacy causes it to decrease and to end. And the key to intimacy is just communication.
ARRAF: E-mail is a huge part of keeping in touch. The people still line up to hear the voices they love. Phoning home has improved a lot, but it's still not so easy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello? I'm trying get that 1-800 number on my calling card. Hello?
ARRAF: Some lucky enough to be deployed in the same unit still only get to see one another every couple of weeks.
(on camera): This unit could, but doesn't, completely ban sex. But you either have to be married to each other or single and not in the same chain of command. You'd also have to find a suitable, private location, which on a military base is extremely tough.
(voice-over): So little things mean a lot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course we're in uniform, and there's public display of affection, especially in this -- you know, it's not allowed. But just the look in each other's eyes and little notes.
ARRAF: As in the non-military world, not everyone has a valentine. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Finding a girlfriend in Baghdad, it depends on what you do. I mean, there are opportunities. If you're one of the guys that's out they're on patrol every day and you're in like a line infantry unit, the odds of finding a girlfriend are pretty slim. But if you work in a job where you're on a staff, there are military females. The chance of meeting one of them, I guess, is possible.
ARRAF: Still, almost everyone is counting the days until they go back home again. After seven months away, Captain Jason Beck recently went home on leave.
CAPT. JASON BECK, U.S. ARMY: Everything seemed in Technicolor. The woman I absolutely love and adore, getting to see her again with my son. The kisses tasted sweeter, the food tasted better, and everything was amazing, in a word.
ARRAF: But here, so many barriers to love. It's the middle of the night in Hawaii, and Corporal Jay Alcatera (ph) declared his devotion to an answering machine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello? Hi, baby, it's me. Just calling to say Happy Valentine's Day. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I love you guys.
ARRAF: Jane Arraf, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
