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CNN Saturday Morning News
Interview With Robert Flowers
Aired November 01, 2003 - 07:45 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The news coming out of Iraq is not so good this morning. Two U.S. troops killed, and a day of resistance declared.
But the news isn't all bad, and every week we explore what's going right in Iraq.
With us today to help us, the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lieutenant General Robert Flowers.
Welcome, general.
LT. GEN. ROBERT FLOWERS, ARMY CHIEF OF ENGINEERS: Thanks, Carol. It's great to be with you this morning.
COSTELLO: So should we start with the oil industry and how that's going?
FLOWERS: I think it's a great success story. We've been able to produce more than 2 million barrels a day for several days now, and that's approaching prewar production.
COSTELLO: Well, a lot of Americans think it's going too slowly, and they want it to speed up. What has bee your primary concern there as far as getting oil production up?
FLOWERS: Well, the initial concerns were to get the infrastructure up to where we could recharge the industry's pipelines. And most people don't know that the byproducts from their oil refineries are what drives the rest of the country's economy, benzine for automobiles, gas for cooking, kerosene for heating, and the natural gas for operating the power plants to fuel the electrical grid.
And so getting that started and getting close to prewar production was very, very critical for getting the country's economy restarted.
COSTELLO: Are you at prewar production levels?
FLOWERS: We are very close. I think we've had about 20 days in a row now where we've produced in excess of 2.1 million barrels of oil.
COSTELLO: I know that sabotage has been a big concern as far as the oil industry in Iraq is concerned. Have you been able to tackle that problem more effectively now?
FLOWERS: I think the forces there with the increased number of Iraqi security forces direct attention from the joint task force and coalition forces. I think they're getting on top of the security problem, yes.
COSTELLO: General, what more do you need?
FLOWERS: Well, I think what we need is patience. I think life is getting better every day for the Iraqi people, and I think within the next six months, you'll see a very large difference in the quality of life for Iraqis, in a year, a huge difference. And as that life gets better for the Iraqi people, they will become less tolerant of foreigners coming into their country and attacking Americans. And I think we see that beginning to happen already.
COSTELLO: Can you give us a prediction on when Iraq might be able to support itself without so much financial aid from the United States and other countries?
FLOWERS: Well, we expect that they will be above prewar production in the oil industry, which is one of the prime drivers of their economy, by early next year. And I think beyond that, some rapid progress could be made.
COSTELLO: I know you have a lot of Iraqi engineers working alongside U.S. engineers. How is that going? How is the relationship between the two?
FLOWERS: It's going very, very well. One of the things that impressed me on my visits was the top-quality personnel that are there already in Iraq. You know, they've got some great qualified engineers and technicians. And that's one of the things that gives me great optimism for the future.
COSTELLO: Well, thanks for joining us, General Flowers, to tell us about what's good coming out of Iraq. We appreciate it this morning.
FLOWERS: Thank you, Carol.
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 November 1, 2003 - 07:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The news coming out of Iraq is not so good this morning. Two U.S. troops killed, and a day of resistance declared.
But the news isn't all bad, and every week we explore what's going right in Iraq.
With us today to help us, the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lieutenant General Robert Flowers.
Welcome, general.
LT. GEN. ROBERT FLOWERS, ARMY CHIEF OF ENGINEERS: Thanks, Carol. It's great to be with you this morning.
COSTELLO: So should we start with the oil industry and how that's going?
FLOWERS: I think it's a great success story. We've been able to produce more than 2 million barrels a day for several days now, and that's approaching prewar production.
COSTELLO: Well, a lot of Americans think it's going too slowly, and they want it to speed up. What has bee your primary concern there as far as getting oil production up?
FLOWERS: Well, the initial concerns were to get the infrastructure up to where we could recharge the industry's pipelines. And most people don't know that the byproducts from their oil refineries are what drives the rest of the country's economy, benzine for automobiles, gas for cooking, kerosene for heating, and the natural gas for operating the power plants to fuel the electrical grid.
And so getting that started and getting close to prewar production was very, very critical for getting the country's economy restarted.
COSTELLO: Are you at prewar production levels?
FLOWERS: We are very close. I think we've had about 20 days in a row now where we've produced in excess of 2.1 million barrels of oil.
COSTELLO: I know that sabotage has been a big concern as far as the oil industry in Iraq is concerned. Have you been able to tackle that problem more effectively now?
FLOWERS: I think the forces there with the increased number of Iraqi security forces direct attention from the joint task force and coalition forces. I think they're getting on top of the security problem, yes.
COSTELLO: General, what more do you need?
FLOWERS: Well, I think what we need is patience. I think life is getting better every day for the Iraqi people, and I think within the next six months, you'll see a very large difference in the quality of life for Iraqis, in a year, a huge difference. And as that life gets better for the Iraqi people, they will become less tolerant of foreigners coming into their country and attacking Americans. And I think we see that beginning to happen already.
COSTELLO: Can you give us a prediction on when Iraq might be able to support itself without so much financial aid from the United States and other countries?
FLOWERS: Well, we expect that they will be above prewar production in the oil industry, which is one of the prime drivers of their economy, by early next year. And I think beyond that, some rapid progress could be made.
COSTELLO: I know you have a lot of Iraqi engineers working alongside U.S. engineers. How is that going? How is the relationship between the two?
FLOWERS: It's going very, very well. One of the things that impressed me on my visits was the top-quality personnel that are there already in Iraq. You know, they've got some great qualified engineers and technicians. And that's one of the things that gives me great optimism for the future.
COSTELLO: Well, thanks for joining us, General Flowers, to tell us about what's good coming out of Iraq. We appreciate it this morning.
FLOWERS: Thank you, Carol.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
