Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Saturday Morning News
Rumsfeld Visits Iraq
Aired December 06, 2003 - 07:32 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.
JIM MORET, CNN ANCHOR: And turning now to Iraq and the U.S. military's ongoing raids in the Baghdad area, our Nic Robertson is just back from one of those raids and is standing by live in Baghdad. He brings us a report of his trip with the 82nd Airborne and Secretary Rumsfeld's visit to Iraq -- good morning, or good day.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is good day, Jim.
Secretary Rumsfeld flew in earlier in the day. He met for breakfast with members of the 173rd Airborne. That was in the north of Iraq, in the Kirkuk area. After that, he then met with the local governor, the mayor of Kirkuk, the deputy mayor of Kirkuk and several other local officials before getting a briefing from Major General Raymond Odierno, who is the commander of the 4th Infantry Division in control of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, the whole, the sort of northern center of Iraq. He had a briefing there before being flown to the 82nd Airborne's brigade headquarters just south of Baghdad.
I was there when he arrived. Very heavy security. Black Hawk helicopters sweeping in low, surveillance helicopters, and Apache attack helicopters, as well. Very tight security around that base just south of Baghdad.
What Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was shown there were members of Iraq's Civil Defense Corps training, marching in, around a square and other training exercises. And when we were, when I was out a little earlier in the day with the 82nd Airborne, that's what we were seeing. We were seeing Iraq's Civil Defense Corps in action on a cordon and search mission with the 82nd Airborne.
The reason they chose this area south of Baghdad to go into for this reach, a number of attacks have been coming out of that area, according to troops. Indeed, the coalition's headquarters in the center of Baghdad has been mortared from right around that location. The raid this morning started off with the 82nd Airborne firing mortars right into that particular fire position.
Perhaps because Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was in Baghdad, was close to that area, that's where a lot of scrutiny focused on there. But what we saw with the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps today, providing translate for the U.S. troops, but certainly not yet anyways close to providing full security as envisaged here for them -- Jim.
MORET: Thank you.
That was CNN's Nic Robertson reporting live 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 December 6, 2003 - 07:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM MORET, CNN ANCHOR: And turning now to Iraq and the U.S. military's ongoing raids in the Baghdad area, our Nic Robertson is just back from one of those raids and is standing by live in Baghdad. He brings us a report of his trip with the 82nd Airborne and Secretary Rumsfeld's visit to Iraq -- good morning, or good day.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is good day, Jim.
Secretary Rumsfeld flew in earlier in the day. He met for breakfast with members of the 173rd Airborne. That was in the north of Iraq, in the Kirkuk area. After that, he then met with the local governor, the mayor of Kirkuk, the deputy mayor of Kirkuk and several other local officials before getting a briefing from Major General Raymond Odierno, who is the commander of the 4th Infantry Division in control of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, the whole, the sort of northern center of Iraq. He had a briefing there before being flown to the 82nd Airborne's brigade headquarters just south of Baghdad.
I was there when he arrived. Very heavy security. Black Hawk helicopters sweeping in low, surveillance helicopters, and Apache attack helicopters, as well. Very tight security around that base just south of Baghdad.
What Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was shown there were members of Iraq's Civil Defense Corps training, marching in, around a square and other training exercises. And when we were, when I was out a little earlier in the day with the 82nd Airborne, that's what we were seeing. We were seeing Iraq's Civil Defense Corps in action on a cordon and search mission with the 82nd Airborne.
The reason they chose this area south of Baghdad to go into for this reach, a number of attacks have been coming out of that area, according to troops. Indeed, the coalition's headquarters in the center of Baghdad has been mortared from right around that location. The raid this morning started off with the 82nd Airborne firing mortars right into that particular fire position.
Perhaps because Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was in Baghdad, was close to that area, that's where a lot of scrutiny focused on there. But what we saw with the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps today, providing translate for the U.S. troops, but certainly not yet anyways close to providing full security as envisaged here for them -- Jim.
MORET: Thank you.
That was CNN's Nic Robertson reporting live 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
