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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

U.S. Launches A-Day, Negotiating With Iraqi Military; Uncertainty if Saddam is Alive

Aired March 21, 2003 - 17:00   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.


WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Baghdad bombarded. An incredible and devastating example of the destructive power of U.S.-led forces. Giant fireballs turn night into day.
And here's a live picture of the Iraqi capital where it is now just after 1 in the morning. Five million people live in Baghdad. I doubt any of them were able to sleep through what must have been a traumatic onslaught.

Here in Kuwait, there is a -- there was a scare that came earlier in the day, a scare that came from the sky. But certainly not nearly of the same magnitude.

Welcome to Kuwait City. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting live.

It's unlike anything I have ever seen in my 30 years as a journalist. An aerial attack captured on live television. If you were away, if you didn't see it, here is a sense of what unfolded. Take a look and a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (speaking Arabic)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (speaking Arabic)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And now we're getting our first look at the damage apparently caused by today's bombing of Baghdad. Iraqi television showed these images just a short time ago.

The Iraqi information minister says the so-called peace palace was seriously damaged by the U.S. aerial assault. The peace palace is used for visiting dignitaries. The information minister says a former royal residence, a so-called flower palace, was also hit.

CNN's Bob Franken is embedded at an air base here in the Persian Gulf. He is joining us now live via videophone -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, they're getting ready for an ear-shattering sound. Here comes another one. It's been like that all night. Just a parade of jets screaming out of this air base. Coming back as one is over there right now. Sometimes just to prepare for some sort of future mission.

There has been just steady traffic. Just hundreds of sorties as these jets have been flying out here. Very much a big part of what has been designated as A-Day. You could also call it noise day. It's been, as I said, ear-shattering all night long.

But of course they've been going and causing -- shattering quite a bit of other material when they've gone into Iraq. These have been missions that have gone all over Iraq, through the whole country, the parts that we've seen on television and the parts that we have not.

As I said, this is a base which is a significant part of the operation here, the air force operation here. There are F-16s here, FA-18s here, which are fighters. But they also can be used to bomb, and they have certainly been used in that capacity. They were striking strategic targets, we're told, this evening.

There are also the A-10 airplanes. These are these really vicious anti-tank weapons which have been sent out for the last several days in droves to try and shred whatever tanks are out there, to, quote, "prepare the battlefield."

There are also other airplanes. There is a royal air force group of Harriers here, there are C-130s, there are search and rescue planes. All of them have been put into use and all of them can expect to be put in use. This flight line here has been incredibly busy and exceedingly noisy -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Bob Franken at an air base here in the Persian Gulf, where there is a lot of activity under way right now, as we can see. Bob, thanks very much.

CNN's Frank Buckley is embedded aboard the USS Constellation in the Persian Gulf. That's an aircraft carrier which has also been very busy these past several hours -- Frank.

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the first strike package returning from the USS Constellation has -- all of those naval aviators have returned to the deck here. All of them now going through the process of debriefing. They'll be doing bomb damage assessment.

We've had had an opportunity to talk to many of them. Among them was Captain Mark Fox, who is the commander of the air wing here on the USS Constellation. Earlier, we sat in on his briefing as he talked to his pilots as they were about to go out. Fox is a 1991 Gulf War veteran. He was here, in fact got the first naval shoot-down of the Gulf War in 1991 in Desert Fox -- or not Desert Fox but Desert Storm. He was the first naval aviator to go in and get a shoot-down on the first day of Desert Storm.

He returned here. And before he even had a chance to get out of his flight suit or to go to his debriefings, he spent a few moments with us. Here is a portion of our interview with Captain Mark Fox.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CAPT. MARK FOX, U.S. AIR FORCE: We successfully accomplished our mission. We did everything that we set out to do. Everybody is back safe and sound from the first wave. I've got another wave that's out that's going and another wave that's coming back right now. So we're in this -- we're at hammer and tong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BUCKLEY: Some of those strike fighters that Captain Fox was talking about have, in fact, already returned, but suffice to say that this is not over yet. The strike fighters are, as we said, still flying.

There are now -- the pilots that are returning will go through the process of debriefing. They'll look at their -- the intelligence to see what was hit what wasn't hit. And they'll spend the next several hours talking about those items.

Then they'll be getting some rest and then preparing for the next cycle. Presumably, they will again be going back up, searching for additional targets -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Frank Buckley aboard the USS Constellation in the Persian Gulf. Thanks very much.

Our State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel is in Washington. She has some important new developments on the surrendering -- those Iraqi troops surrendering and perhaps, even more important, on the possibility of a surrender.

What are you hearing, Andrea?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESONDENT: Well, Wolf, in the last day or so, we've heard Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Powell indicate that there were active conversations, negotiations going on between the United States and members of the Iraqi military, the Republican Guard.

Well, CNN has now learned that those negotiations, which are taking place right now within Iraq and have been going on the last 24 to 36 hours, have been facilitated by members of the Iraqi opposition, Iraqi exiles, both Kurdish leaders and former Iraqi military commanders, who had been in contact with members of the Iraqi military, the Iraqi Republican Guard. in the last number of months sending them e-mails. They spam e-mailed them. The U.S. had dropped leaflets and what not.

And those negotiations, as you said, are centering around whether or not and how many Iraqi military forces these guys can deliver. And that is the big question. They still don't know, Wolf, whether or not they can deliver just a small number or whether they speak for large numbers of the Iraqi military. And the question is whether or not these military leaders could also turn over Saddam Hussein and members of his inner circle.

So these are active negotiations that are going on and have been going on the last day and a half inside Iraq in some secret location involving CIA operatives, involving members of the U.S. military special operations forces and also members of the Iraqi exile community, who are facilitating these contacts, Wolf.

BLITZER: Is that the Iraqi National Congress, that opposition group? Or is it other Iraqi opposition groups?

KOPPEL: We -- it's unclear right now. As you know, the INC is an umbrella organization that has six different groups, including the two Kurdish groups, the KDP and the PDK, who are members. And we do know that Kurdish leaders have involved in these negotiations, Wolf.

BLITZER: Andrea Koppel with important information. Andrea, thanks very much.

U.S. and British officials say hundreds of Iraqi troops already have surrendered. The Associated Press describes the prisoners as poorly fed draftees who had been fighting with small arms, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Some Iraqi deserters in Kurdish northern Iraq say they owe nothing to Saddam Hussein.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Defending our country wouldn't be right. They have come to free us from this oppression. Why should we stand in their way?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): My reasons for escaping here to Kurdistan are the same reasons shared by all Iraqis that are against the Iraqi government. And I tell you that all Iraqis wish they could come. And I hope they come so that this regime will fail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: It's been branded shock and awe. The Pentagon says the early U.S. strikes weren't persuasive enough and has unleashed a ferocious air campaign against Iraq on several fronts.

For the latest, let's go live to our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.

JAMIE McINTYRE: Well, Wolf, it wasn't originally designed this way. The original concept was for the air war to start first and then the ground war. But events on the ground and particularly concern about the status of the oil fields in the south and the reluctance of Saddam Hussein's generals to turn on him or surrender themselves prompted the U.S. to go ahead today and kick off the air war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over) The Pentagon calls it A-Day, "a" for the massive air assault that would drop for than 1,500 precision-guided bombs and missiles on hundreds of separate targets across Iraq. The Pentagon says it's a bombardment of historic proportions.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The weapons that are being used today have a degree of precision that no one ever dreamt of in a prior conflict.

McINTYRE: The bombing, designed to shock and awe Iraq's military, centered on Baghdad, but also struck key targets in Mosul and Kirkuk in the north and Basra in the south.

All targets are designed to undermine the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and to convince his generals to turn on him or at least surrender. For instance, this presidential palace was hit, located in downtown Baghdad.

While some Iraqi regular troops are giving up, others are fighting. Two U.S. marines have been killed in action and so far there are few signs the Iraqi military is cracking.

RUMSFELD: It apparently -- what we have done thus far has not been sufficiently persuasive that they would have done that.

McINTYRE: The U.S. has taken some ground in the south including Umm Qasr, a key southern port along with two air fields in western Iraq. The southern oil field have just about been secured and the U.S. ground forces have moved more than 100 miles into Iraq from Kuwait.

But the war is far from won.

RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: Clearly we're moving towards our objectives but we must not get too comfortable. We're basically on our plan and moving towards Baghdad. But there are still many unknowns out there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

McINTYRE: The biggest unknown is what will U.S. and British troops face when they reach Baghdad and the Republican Guard? Will they be ready to surrender or will they be dug in to fight with chemical or biological weapons -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie, before I let you go, I want to let you take a look on the screen and our viewers, as well. These are the presidential palaces that we've documented inside Baghdad, clearly targets. The republican palace, for example and some of the other palaces, as well.

But tell our viewers, because this is significant. When we hear the word palace, you think of something that clearly is not necessarily the case in Baghdad.

McINTYRE: Well, one thing about all of these buildings in Baghdad is that -- including the palaces -- is they have vast bunker complexes and tunnels underneath them. These are the places where it's believed Saddam Hussein may be hiding things that he wants to hide or perhaps even hiding himself.

So those targets are all seen as -- they're not like historical palaces. They're seen as legitimate command and control targets, just like Saddam himself is considered to be a legitimate target -- Wolf. BLITZER: All right. Jamie McIntyre with the latest.

And as you were speaking we were getting some word of air raid sirens going off in Mosul in the northern part of Iraq. That's been the target for several U.S. air strikes over the last several hours. We'll continue to monitor that, as well.

Official reaction to the start of the so-called shock and awe campaign came from Iraq's information minister, who lashed out at the United States.

All right. I want to leave that videotape, which clearly was not the right videotape. CNN's Kyra Phillips is aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Persian Gulf, one of three U.S. aircraft carriers on station right now -- Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, joint chief Richard Myers said yesterday that the U.S. is approaching large-scale operations. Well, welcome to shock and awe from the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Take a look at these pictures of strike fighter pilots ready to take off on their missions not long ago. This is what strike fighter pilots here have been training for, massive air strikes fast and furious.

After Tomahawk missiles were launched, strike fighters off this ship engaged their targets: military sites, air defense systems, government buildings, Iraqi leadership compounds and air bases, all targets. As you've been talking about recently, there were also restricted strike areas, Wolf, mosques, schools, water and electricity, chemical storage areas.

I've been told that Saddam Hussein is hiding weapons in these areas. They will be taken care of by other means.

Now, pilots say they were fired upon constantly. When they got back and I had a chance to talk to them, they were up against SAMs, surface-to-air missile, old Soviet MiG-25s, and a lot of triple A fire.

Now, some other video that we had for you is the strike briefs that we were able to observe, lots of talk about preventing collateral damage. This took place in a number of ways, one of which, precision weapons. Between the F-18 and F-14 yet, weapons included J-DAMs, the GPS guided bombs, the LGB, the laser guided bombs, sidewinder heat- seeking missiles, Phoenix and AMRAM radar-guided missiles.

Now the squadron that led the strike package off the USS Abraham Lincoln tonight, VF-31, the F-15 tomcatters. Before the strike, the squadron commander, Karl Haas (ph), stressed to his men situational awareness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of lights. You'll get mesmerized by that. Concentrate on what you need to do. Each and every one of you are extremely good at what it is that we do. Trained very, very well all our careers, whether that's 18 years or six years. You're going to do great up there. Don't get blinded by the lights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: But once the strike's over, Baghdad began. As you can imagine, other members of the squadron remained pinned to their seats in the ready room, watching the air campaign as it went down live on CNN, as they observed the air strikes they were not surprised. So far, they say, shock and awe is underway as planned -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And we heard earlier from the chairman of the joint chiefs, hundreds of more strikes anticipated in the coming hours. I assume the pilots aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln will be involved in that. Kyra Phillips reporting. We'll get back to you, Kyra. Thanks very much.

President Bush, meanwhile, briefed congressional leaders on the war in Iraq, and U.S. officials say the Iraqi leadership at the same time is rapidly falling apart.

Let's go live to our senior White House correspondent, John King -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, one official said complete disarray, complete confusion in the Iraqi leadership. Ari Fleischer, the White House press secretary, saying at the briefing today, there is no evidence at all, the United States has no evidence at least, that since the Wednesday strike on that key compound outside Baghdad, that Saddam Hussein or either of his sons are trying to direct the Iraqi military or their special security forces on a minute-by-minute basis.

Behind the scenes here, they say the Iraqi leadership is certainly in disarray, yet because there is no widespread surrender agreement, it was decided by the military planners, with the president's approval to go ahead with this now most aggressive phase of the campaign as yet.

As you noted Mr. Bush gave an update on day three of this campaign, the bipartisan congressional leadership coming down for a morning meeting with the president at the Oval Office. He did not take any questions from reporters. He refused to do so. But he did deliver a brief statement in which he said from his perspective, when it comes to the military campaign, so far so good.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're making progress. We will stay on task until we've achieved our objective, which is to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction and free the Iraqi people so they can live in a society that is hopeful and democratic and at peace in this neighborhood.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KING: The president left the White House later in the afternoon. You see him here walking out from the Oval Office to Marine One. He is joined by first lady Laura Bush on the south grounds there on Marine One up to Camp David at the presidential retreat.

On the president's agenda tomorrow, a full meeting of his war council. Most of the members will travel up to Camp David for that meeting. Others can participate through a secure video link the president has up at the Camp David retreat.

CNN is also told by administration and congressional sources that on Monday the Mr. Bush will have key members of Congress back here at the White House to give them the emergency spending request he will make to pay for this war and its immediate aftermath. We are told they're still working on the final numbers. It is somewhere in the area of $75 billion to $90 billion.

Also, Wolf, quickly, a rare look at the situation room here at the White House, the most secure house in the above ground or just below ground facilities here at the White House, where the president had his national security meeting this morning. Here you see the president at the end of the table. The full Bush National Security Council. Again, they now publicly call it the War Council here.

Mr. Bush getting an update on the military campaign. And it was at this meeting early in this morning the president was told because in the view of the White House time was up, there had been no widespread surrenders inside Iraq. Time to go ahead with shock and awe -- Wolf.

BLITZER: John King at the White House. John, thanks very much.

And this note, as Ari Fleischer, the White House press secretary, pointed out, the president can stay in touch with everyone from Camp David, which after all is effectively a military base run by the military, has outstanding communications capabilities from Camp David.

John King at the White House, thanks very much.

With a stunning display of power and startling speed, the U.S.- led campaign against Iraq has moved into full gear in the air and on the ground. Here is an hour-by-hour war update.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over) It's just after sundown. Huge explosions rock Iraq. The first major wave of a massive U.S.-led bombing campaign has arrived, following what had already been an eventual day.

9:30 a.m. eastern, 2:30 p.m. here in the Gulf. The steel wave of the 7th Calvary continues to roll through Iraq.

11:41 a.m. eastern. As U.S. and British troops gain control of oil fields burning in southern Iraq, all four remaining CNN journalists are ordered to leave Baghdad. 12:05 eastern. Just after sundown in Baghdad, air raid sirens go off, followed by anti-aircraft fire in the skies over the Iraqi capital.

12:15 p.m. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on the second and third combat casualty of this strike on Iraq.

9 p.m. in Baghdad. The full force of the coalition shock and awe campaign is felt on a day the Pentagon is calling A-Day, "a" for air assault.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And this important note. Just want to update our viewers. Our four journalists are CNN journalists who have been forced to leave Iraq, closed down by the Iraqi government earlier today, are all fine.

Just want to express our appreciation to Nic Robertson, Rym Brahimi, Ingrid Froehman (ph), our producer and our photographer Brian Fuccotti (ph). All of them have done an outstanding job for our viewers around the world over these past several months. Thanks to all of them.

Saddam Hussein has been seen again on Iraqi television: maybe. There are still many questions -- many more questions than answers about the fate of the Iraqi leader.

Let's go live to our national security correspondent David Ensor. He's got some details -- David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this latest appearance by Saddam Hussein on Iraqi television raises the same basic question as the last couple of appearances. Is it new stuff, or not?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over) This time, Iraqi television showed Saddam Hussein with his son Qusay, saying he remains firmly in control. But U.S. officials said the pictures could just as easily be old. Such meetings are a staple of Iraqi TV. U.S. intelligence officials say Saddam could be injured or even dead.

Whether or not he's alive, Bush administration officials say his grip on power is slipping.

RUMSFELD: The regime is starting to lose control of their country. The confusion of Iraqi officials is growing. Their ability to see what is happening on the battlefield, to communicate with their forces and to control the country is slipping away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Secretary, do you believe Saddam Hussein is currently in control of Iraq?

RUMSFELD: I don't know.

ENSOR: Sources say since the strikes Thursday morning against Saddam Hussein's compound, intelligence headquarters and a Republican Guard facility, there has been a marked drop in Iraqi leadership communications monitored by U.S. intelligence.

Saddam Hussein, a knowledgeable official says, is not communicating orders and can no longer trust anybody. Even deciding where and whether to sleep at night, he said, is a fateful choice for the Iraqi leader.

As for the tape released hours after the attack on his compound, in which Saddam mentions the date of attack, it is Saddam, the White House says. The question is, when.

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: The tape has been analyzed by the Central Intelligence Agency. And their analysis has led them to believe that the tape is indeed the voice of Saddam Hussein. But no conclusions have been reached about whether it was canned ahead of time or not.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: A senior intelligence official tells CNN he believes Saddam Hussein was in the compound early Thursday morning, along with at least one of his sons, when the U.S. dropped tons of munitions on that compound.

But the official says the U.S. simply does not know whether Saddam survived and if so, whether he's injured. Welcome, that official said, to the fog of war -- Wolf.

BLITZER: David Ensor with the latest. David, thanks very much.

And as we've been reporting, today was indeed A-Day. That's the Pentagon label for the start of the massive air strikes in Iraq. It's a campaign aimed at bringing what the Pentagon officials are calling shock and awe, directly to the Iraqi leadership.

Let's turn now to CNN analyst, the former NATO supreme allied commander, retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark.

General Clark, first of all, talk to our viewers a little bit about the bombs that were used today on the first day of A-Day.

GEN. WESLEY CLARK, FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Wolf, these are all precision bombs. So unlike other campaigns where unguided ordnance has been used, every one of these bombs was targeted exactly at a precise point on the ground and guided to it, either by lasers or by the global positioning system satellite guidance. And as far as we know, they all struck at the intended target.

These are 2,000-pound bombs. They are big, heavy ordnance. Some of them may have had delayed fusing and other features which have enabled them to go into the ground before they exploded.

BLITZER: How is the bombing today different than the bombing was in 1991? CLARK: In 1991, we had the laser-guided bombs, but we had to see the target with clear air space, put the laser spot on the target. And then we would guide the bomb into the target with the laser.

This is different. These bombs strike a target regardless of whether there is smoke or obscuration or dust. It's programmed in by the geographic coordinates and it goes in.

We've got B-2s now in addition. So we've got a platform that can drop 16 precision guided bombs in a single pass over a target area, every one of them going at a separate aiming point. We didn't have the capability to deliver that kind of precision mass in 1991.

BLITZER: Any idea how much longer these kinds of air raids, these intensive air raids might continue?

CLARK: Well, the military would tell you as long as is necessary, Wolf. My guess would be three, four, five more days.

It's a matter of going through the targeting process. They're going to have to go back and look at actually the impact of the bomb. Not just did it strike the target but did it disable the target, did it knock out the command post, destroy the radars or whatever.

They'll go back, they'll do the assessment of this, and some targets may be struck again. They'll be another family of targets. No doubt there are more targets than the number of aim points that were hit tonight.

And so we would expect, as a minimum, three or four more days of this. And it could be that this campaign will continue right up until...

BLITZER: All right. General Clark, I just want to interrupt. General Clark, I just want to interrupt. Mohammed Aldouri, the Iraqi ambassador to the U.N. is speaking.

(INTERRUPTED BY LIVE EVENT)

BLITZER: Mohammed Aldouri, the Iraqi ambassador to the United Nations, refusing to answer reporters' questions, reading a statement, railing against the United States and Britain, railing against the United Nations, directly taking a swipe at the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan himself for failing to prevent the United States and Britain from moving in against Iraq.

Mohammed Aldouri, Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations, still very loyal to the Iraqi regime of President Saddam Hussein.

Here's your chance to weigh in on the strike on Iraq. "Our Web Question of the Day" is this: Do you think the strike on Iraq will last days, weeks, or months? We'll have the results later this hour. Please vote at cnn.com/wolf.

While you're there, I'd like to hear from you. Send me your comments. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also where you can also read my daily online column, cnn.com/wolf.

The bombardment of Baghdad. The U.S. blasts the city with deafening force. See how it unfolded on live television around the world.

Also, will U.S. troops really be able to just walk into Baghdad? A look at the extreme danger of urban combat.

And America reacts to it all. It all continues right now.

ANNOUNCER: CNN live this hour. Wolf Blitzer reports from Kuwait City, with correspondents from around the world. STRIKE ON IRAQ With Wolf Blitzer starts now.

BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN's continuing coverage of the U.S. Strike on Iraq. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting live tonight from Kuwait City.

And you're looking at live pictures...

(AUDIO GAP)

BLITZER: ... so-called shock-and-awe campaign began around 9:00 p.m. local time. The long-anticipated shock-and-awe campaign began over Iraq as coalition forces began a heavy air assault on Iraq.

Here's a look at the bombing of Baghdad.

Listen to this, Jamie. These are shots being fired now in Baghdad. I want our viewers to listen in.

Devastation. Devastation in Baghdad.

Iraqi officials say one building hit during the air strikes was what they call the peace palace. Iraq's information minister says the palace is now in ruins. Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf said the palace is used for visiting dignitaries. He also said a museum, what they call the flower palace, was also severely damaged.

Visibly upset, he lashed out directly at President Bush, calling him -- and I'm quoting now -- "that murderer sitting in the White House."

CNN's Gary Tuchman is standing by. He's here in Kuwait City as well.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, highly placed Defense Department officials are telling us here in Kuwait that, between 1:00 Eastern Time today and 1:00 Eastern Time tomorrow, there will be in excess of 2,000 Air Force sorties.

Of those 2,000 flights, approximately 1,000 will be involved in actual strikes with missiles or bombs. The other thousand will be involved in support responsibilities such as reconnaissance and defense. We're told there are 1,500 different aim points. Now aim points are different than targets. Some targets have multiple aim points. These officials are telling us there have been absolutely no resistance from Iraqi aircraft, with one of them adding, "That's a smart decision by the Iraqis," and that's a quote. There have certainly been anti-aircraft artillery, but no Iraqi planes and no coalition casualties.

The bombing runs are occurring in Baghdad and Mosul and Kirkuk in the North and also notably the City of Tikrit, which is Saddam Hussein's ancestral home.

We're told the Air Force is utilizing at least 37 different operating locations, including 30 air bases in a dozen countries in the Middle East, very interestingly places like Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. Bombers are actually flying from there and back, a 32-hour roundtrip. Also, Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Five different carriers and the Fairford Royal Air Force Base in England.

Now different planes are being used, the B-1, the B-2, the B-52 long-range heavy bombers, the F-117 Stealth aircraft, the F-15 tactical fighter. We are also told by these officials that every single munition dropped was a precision satellite-guided munition.

We are told all the targets are strategic, including regime leadership targets, regime security, command and control targets, and also notably weapons of mass destruction targets.

Finally, we want to emphasize that, once again, all pilots so far have returned safely.

Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: Gary Tuchman with important information from here in Kuwait.

Gary, thanks very much.

The U.S.-led strike on Iraq is not being well received in much of the world. Here's a brief look at some of the protests that are unfolding right now.

About 4,000 Palestinians marched in Gaza pledging support for Saddam Hussein. Two Hamas leaders called on Iraqis to use suicide bombings against Americans.

In Yemen, at least three people were killed in clashes between police and protesters outside the U.S. Embassy.

Thousands of people demonstrated in Cairo, the Arab world's largest city. Dozens of police officers and protesters were hurt.

In Indonesia, the world's most populist Muslim country, crowds through eggs at the British embassy and besieged U.S. fast-food restaurants and banks.

There were clashes in Beirut as police tried to keep demonstrators from marching on the U.S. mission there.

And, in Italy, which officially is backing the war, thousands of people marched in the streets of Rome.

Demonstrations also were held in several other major European cities.

Meanwhile, the French President Jacques Chirac is offering new opposition to the U.S.-led strike in Iraq. At a European Union meeting earlier today, he said France would veto any U.N. resolution putting the U.S. and Britain in charge of post-war Iraq. Chirac said that would, quote, "legitimize the military intervention."

It's been a day of very, very vivid images. Iraqi TV showed pictures of a Baghdad military briefing aimed -- amid the sounds of war and the window curtains shaking in the background.

Here's a look at a helicopter over Umm Qasr, an Iraqi port city, that was captured by U.S. and British forces earlier in the day. Officials say the port will be used to ship in humanitarian aid.

And here are the Marines rolling through Southern Iraq, traveling right past a billboard honoring the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Although U.S. and British forces have met with limited resistance so far, there is no guarantee that will be the case as they move directly on Baghdad.

Joining me now live from Washington to talk about that, CNN Security Analyst Kelly McCann, himself once a Marine special- operations sol -- special operator.

Kelly, thanks very much.

Your concern that the U.S. Marines, the soldiers, the British Marines, as they move in, could be lured into thinking it's going to be a picnic as they get towards Baghdad.

KELLY MCCANN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I'm not sure. I don't think so. I think that they have assessed the battlefield and understand that in the open areas that we're depicting with the embedded journalists, you know, the areas they're moving through, that's of no strategic or tactical value.

So, undoubtedly, the war planners -- you know, they recognize that, Wolf, and I think that everybody is keen on Baghdad and the approach as you get closer to Baghdad and expecting, as Ken Pollack pointed out today on our network, increased resistance at that point.

BLITZER: Well, do you think the shock-and-awe bombing campaign which we saw live on television earlier today is going to have an impact in softening up the Iraqi military, in effect, not resisting as significantly as they might otherwise?

MCCANN: It certainly could. I mean, in real terms, it could also fall under the military terminology of a demonstration. I mean it could have been much worse. They could have flown more sorties. They could have dropped more ordnance.

So, although it was very, very effective and they, obviously, have it down to just unbelievable precision, it also demonstrated the kind of power that we have over a less technical, less trained, and less well-equipped force.

So I think everybody is wanting for them to reach out and let's avoid the next couple of steps. But the good news is that the U.S. troops and the other coalition troops are very well trained in military operations and urban trained and will engage.

BLITZER: Well, assume the -- assuming the elite Republican Guard, their special units, fight and are willing to die for Saddam Hussein. What's the biggest problem going into a huge city, an urban center like Baghdad with some five-million people?

MCCANN: Well, there's many, many problems, Wolf. But to name a few, if you think about it, just behind you in your landscape of Kuwait City, you've got three plains.

In other words, you've got subterranean levels you have to worry about where people can move equipment, hide, cache things, et cetera. You've got the surface that has many, many different kinds of surfaces, some that can be used for concealment and for cover and places where people can lay ambush, et cetera. And then you've got what's above your head. You've got that whole superlevel, if you will.

People can actually move building to building without ever coming down into what's colloquially called the killing zone down in the street. Most recent experience, including Grozny, didn't have, I don't believe, the level of buildings that we find in Baghdad.

And add to that, after significant damage is caused, the kind of structural problems where people could still hide and still be in, but you still may have to enter, and structurally the building may be not sound. So there will be some very complex problems here.

BLITZER: And, presumably, one of the biggest problems down the road which, we can discuss at another occasion, Kelly, terrorism, terrorist attacks...

MCCANN: Absolutely.

BLITZER: ... against U.S. military personnel, if, in fact, it comes down to that.

Kelly McCann, our security analyst.

Thanks very much.

Allied forces in lightning raids. They captured two key airfields in Western Iraq. American intelligence officials consider one of these air bases as a potential site of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. CNN's Jane Arraf is just back from another airfield in Northern Iraq. She's with us via video phone in Dohuk. That's in Northern Iraq -- Jane.

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we're in Dohuk, as you mentioned, just about 40, 50 kilometers from Mosul.

Now, tonight, we were seeing over Mosul explosions and tracer fire that accompanies Iraqi anti-aircraft fire, explosions over the northern oil city of Kirkuk as well, an indication that this war in Iraq has, indeed, moved North.

Now the Pentagon has said that it has been using Turkish airspace to launch some of the attacks in Iraq. That's after a dispute was -- a logjam was broken between Turkey and the United States over whether they could use the airspace following the Turkish refusal to let the United States use their bases.

Now, also, the latest development, we have news from our affiliate station CNN Turk that Turkish troops are moving into Northern Iraq. Now this does not mean an invasion, but it does mean that the Turkish government has apparently made the decision that it will send the troops in to form the buffer zone that it has been talking about.

This has been a major source of concern with the Kurds here in Northern Iraq who say that they would, in fact, fight Turkish troops -- Wolf.

BLITZER: This is a significant development, I believe, Jane, the Turks moving into northern Iraq, given the animosity over the years between the Kurds...

ARRAF: I'm sorry. We just lost...

BLITZER: ... in Northern Iraq and the Turks.

Can you hear me, Jane?

I think, unfortunately, we've lost Jane Arraf. We'll get back to her. Jane Arraf reporting from Northern Iraq.

But I was suggesting that the Turkish move into Northern Iraq could be a problem, given the animosity, the longtime tension between the Turks and the Kurds in Northern Iraq. A significant development. The Turks allowing earlier today U.S. -- the U.S. and British warplanes to have rights to fly through Turkish airspace. That could be a significant development as well.

Meanwhile, U.S. and British forces seize control of two strategic airfields in Iraq earlier today. The airfields, known as H2 and H3 were taken in lightning raids.

CNN's Miles O'Brien is at the CNN Center in Atlanta with a look at why those two specific airfields are so critically important -- Miles. MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Strategic, to say the least, Wolf.

Let's take a look at some map imagery for you from our earthviewer.com with some imagery from our friends at DigitalGlobe. Actually, that's not what I want to put on the TV right now. If I could just show you where we are first before we go into that.

Let's go to the keyhole graphic, please, first, if we could. GR- 101 for those of you keeping score at home. There you go. And I'll show you exactly what we're talking about strategically.

See this little corner here of Iraq? That is the strategic portion, and the reason is it is as close as any part of Iraq is to Israel, which is right out here. Let's put this in motion. and I'll give you a sense of where H2 and H3 is and why they're particularly important. They also have two very significant airfields there. Lots of runway space. Lots of direction.

We're going to come in a little closer and tell you exactly why these fields were among the first targets in -- on any sort of ground activity when it comes to this particular invasion. Once again, we're right down here. There you see the H2, and then the H3 is a little bit out of frame there.

Once again, about a 300-mile -- 200- to 300-mile Scud missile run to Israel. Those Scud missiles which were shot in 1991 -- they came right out of this Scud box, this little piece of Iraq right by the Jordanian border.

Let's go down, show you what's at H2. This is why it is of interest as well, not just because -- to prevent Scuds, but that is a very significant airfield with runways in three directions, nice, long paved runways, can be used as a refueling site, can take a lot of pressure off the U.S. Air Force tankers, which are absolutely strapped to the maximum right now supporting all of these multiple missions from aircraft carriers and from land bases all throughout the region.

Once again, that H3, another significant place with a significant long runway, good refueling locations, and that is why you're seeing the focus there.

So how do you take an airfield? We have some animation there, which we showed -- gave you a little preview of just a few moments ago. We'll tell you again how this works.

You come into the airfield, and the key here is, first of all, you want to get some good reconnaissance. You have some special- operations people there. They get the lay of the land, if you will. They see where the hardened targets are. They see where the planes are stored in that case, get a sense of how it works, report back using special forces communications capability, and then, in addition to that, bring in some initial air assaults using laser-guided bombs.

You saw that special forces person using that laser designator there. In come the F-15s, and down come the laser-guided munitions. This causes, obviously, the -- takes out the defensive capability, which is depicted here underneath some camouflage netting there at the airfield, takes out those defensive capabilities so that airfield suddenly is much more vulnerable.

In come the Black Hawk helicopters, which are -- in this case, perhaps a Pavelow, which has a longer range. You see it has that big refueling boom there.

BLITZER: All right.

O'BRIEN: Down it goes, off come the troops, and the process of seizing that field begins. Of course, just having people on the ground, in and of itself, is not enough. You need some heavy equipment.

Once those troops are able to seize a perimeter, in come a couple of series of aircraft, the C-130, which has lighter equipment on it. That's a four-engine turbo prop.

BLITZER: All right.

O'BRIEN: I'm sorry, Wolf. Do you have to go?

BLITZER: Miles, I was going to interrupt because we're getting some new information from Jane Arraf. But, Miles, I'm going to have to cut you short. I apologize.

Right now, the upshot of what you're reporting, though, very significant. People presumably in Israel can breathe a lot easier tonight as a result of the U.S. taking those two air bases in the western part of Iraq.

CNN's Miles O'Brien with important information over there.

CNN's Jane Arraf is back with us. She's got important information on the Turks beginning to move into Northern Iraq.

This -- I was saying, Jane, this is a source of potential tension, given the animosity that exists between the Turkish military forces and the Kurds of Northern Iraq.

ARRAF: It is, Wolf. It's, as you know, an extraordinarily complicated region. We were at a base this evening with Kurdish forces right next to a Turkish military base, in fact. The Turks have taken over an airfield. They did some time ago, unrelated to this current conflict. But they have taken over an airfield with tanks there.

Right next to them are Kurdish forces, and it was quite clear that there really is a very deep animosity and a very deep mistrust that runs through Kurdish military towards the Turks.

Now this development tonight follows weeks of negotiations with the United States and Turkey, with the U.S. trying to convince Turkey that it should not enter unilaterally.

Now the way this was left was a phone call between U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and the Turkish prime minister, which resulted in Turkey saying that it agreed to let the United States use its airspace unconditionally and that they would further discuss the Turkish issue of the Turkish troops entering.

Now the Turkish troops do appear to be entering, but what they have said before is that they do not plan to enter combat. They want to provide a buffer zone. Now the Kurds have said they're opposed to even that, there's no need for it. So we'll have to see what actually happens here on the ground -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Jane Arraf in Northern Iraq.

Jane, thanks very much.

And we're getting this interesting development in from "The New York Times" reporter Michael Gordon.

He's reporting now that a top Iraqi military commander has surrendered to U.S. Marines, surrendering to U.S. Marines earlier today in Southern Iraq, the commander in charge of Iraq's 51st division. The first division commander to surrender to U.S. troops since the start of this war. An Iraqi division consisting of about 6,000 to 8,000 military personnel.

Michael Gordon, the military affairs correspondent for "The New York Times," reporting that.

Just in, a top Iraqi military commander surrendering, together with his troops, to U.S. military forces. Marines -- specifically -- to Marines in specific to -- earlier today.

Here in Kuwait, it's quiet right now. That was not necessarily the case earlier in the day.

CNN's Daryn Kagan takes a look at what happened here right outside Kuwait City.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The Iraqi al-Fatah rocket was still smoldering in the Kuwaiti desert hours after the Kuwaitis shot it down with Patriot missiles. The Kuwaiti Air Force brought us to the site, they say, to make a point about Iraq, their enemy to the North.

COL. YOUSEF AL-MULLA, KUWAITI AIR FORCE: When we show this to everybody, it's just to reach a point that they are attacking us.

KAGAN: Kuwaiti has met experts determined that this rocket carried no biological or chemical materials but say they are positive it is Iraqi from the name al-Fatah stenciled on the side, and, frankly, says Kuwaiti Air Force pilot Colonel Al-Mulla, the thing is cheap.

AL-MULLA: I'm a pilot, and I know -- I saw lots of missiles. I know when I see a missile which is made by professional top company. You can tell the difference.

KAGAN (on camera): And this isn't?

AL-MULLA: And this is not top quality.

KAGAN (voice-over): The Kuwaitis gave us close access to the rocket, but there is much they don't want told.

AL-MULLA: If we pinpoint the area, then we are giving free information for the enemy.

KAGAN (on camera): You don't want to say because you don't want to help Iraq with more information that might give them the more exact...

AL-MULLA: This will lead to more casualties, and I think you'll respect that.

KAGAN (voice-over): Indeed, we will. Let's just saying this landed outside Kuwait City.

Daryn Kagan, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Here's how you're relating to "Our Web Question of the Day." Remember we've been asking you this question, do you think the strike on Iraq will last days, weeks or months?

Take a look at the results: 36 percent of you say days, 44 percent weeks, 20 percent say months. You can find the exact vote tally, continue to vote by the way, go to our Web site, cnn.com/wolf.

Remember, this is not a scientific poll.

That's all the time we have right now. CNN's Heidi Collins, though, is going to update us now on all the latest developments in the strike on Iraq.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Uncertainty if Saddam is Alive>


Aired March 21, 2003 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Baghdad bombarded. An incredible and devastating example of the destructive power of U.S.-led forces. Giant fireballs turn night into day.
And here's a live picture of the Iraqi capital where it is now just after 1 in the morning. Five million people live in Baghdad. I doubt any of them were able to sleep through what must have been a traumatic onslaught.

Here in Kuwait, there is a -- there was a scare that came earlier in the day, a scare that came from the sky. But certainly not nearly of the same magnitude.

Welcome to Kuwait City. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting live.

It's unlike anything I have ever seen in my 30 years as a journalist. An aerial attack captured on live television. If you were away, if you didn't see it, here is a sense of what unfolded. Take a look and a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (speaking Arabic)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (speaking Arabic)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And now we're getting our first look at the damage apparently caused by today's bombing of Baghdad. Iraqi television showed these images just a short time ago.

The Iraqi information minister says the so-called peace palace was seriously damaged by the U.S. aerial assault. The peace palace is used for visiting dignitaries. The information minister says a former royal residence, a so-called flower palace, was also hit.

CNN's Bob Franken is embedded at an air base here in the Persian Gulf. He is joining us now live via videophone -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, they're getting ready for an ear-shattering sound. Here comes another one. It's been like that all night. Just a parade of jets screaming out of this air base. Coming back as one is over there right now. Sometimes just to prepare for some sort of future mission.

There has been just steady traffic. Just hundreds of sorties as these jets have been flying out here. Very much a big part of what has been designated as A-Day. You could also call it noise day. It's been, as I said, ear-shattering all night long.

But of course they've been going and causing -- shattering quite a bit of other material when they've gone into Iraq. These have been missions that have gone all over Iraq, through the whole country, the parts that we've seen on television and the parts that we have not.

As I said, this is a base which is a significant part of the operation here, the air force operation here. There are F-16s here, FA-18s here, which are fighters. But they also can be used to bomb, and they have certainly been used in that capacity. They were striking strategic targets, we're told, this evening.

There are also the A-10 airplanes. These are these really vicious anti-tank weapons which have been sent out for the last several days in droves to try and shred whatever tanks are out there, to, quote, "prepare the battlefield."

There are also other airplanes. There is a royal air force group of Harriers here, there are C-130s, there are search and rescue planes. All of them have been put into use and all of them can expect to be put in use. This flight line here has been incredibly busy and exceedingly noisy -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Bob Franken at an air base here in the Persian Gulf, where there is a lot of activity under way right now, as we can see. Bob, thanks very much.

CNN's Frank Buckley is embedded aboard the USS Constellation in the Persian Gulf. That's an aircraft carrier which has also been very busy these past several hours -- Frank.

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the first strike package returning from the USS Constellation has -- all of those naval aviators have returned to the deck here. All of them now going through the process of debriefing. They'll be doing bomb damage assessment.

We've had had an opportunity to talk to many of them. Among them was Captain Mark Fox, who is the commander of the air wing here on the USS Constellation. Earlier, we sat in on his briefing as he talked to his pilots as they were about to go out. Fox is a 1991 Gulf War veteran. He was here, in fact got the first naval shoot-down of the Gulf War in 1991 in Desert Fox -- or not Desert Fox but Desert Storm. He was the first naval aviator to go in and get a shoot-down on the first day of Desert Storm.

He returned here. And before he even had a chance to get out of his flight suit or to go to his debriefings, he spent a few moments with us. Here is a portion of our interview with Captain Mark Fox.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CAPT. MARK FOX, U.S. AIR FORCE: We successfully accomplished our mission. We did everything that we set out to do. Everybody is back safe and sound from the first wave. I've got another wave that's out that's going and another wave that's coming back right now. So we're in this -- we're at hammer and tong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BUCKLEY: Some of those strike fighters that Captain Fox was talking about have, in fact, already returned, but suffice to say that this is not over yet. The strike fighters are, as we said, still flying.

There are now -- the pilots that are returning will go through the process of debriefing. They'll look at their -- the intelligence to see what was hit what wasn't hit. And they'll spend the next several hours talking about those items.

Then they'll be getting some rest and then preparing for the next cycle. Presumably, they will again be going back up, searching for additional targets -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Frank Buckley aboard the USS Constellation in the Persian Gulf. Thanks very much.

Our State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel is in Washington. She has some important new developments on the surrendering -- those Iraqi troops surrendering and perhaps, even more important, on the possibility of a surrender.

What are you hearing, Andrea?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESONDENT: Well, Wolf, in the last day or so, we've heard Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Powell indicate that there were active conversations, negotiations going on between the United States and members of the Iraqi military, the Republican Guard.

Well, CNN has now learned that those negotiations, which are taking place right now within Iraq and have been going on the last 24 to 36 hours, have been facilitated by members of the Iraqi opposition, Iraqi exiles, both Kurdish leaders and former Iraqi military commanders, who had been in contact with members of the Iraqi military, the Iraqi Republican Guard. in the last number of months sending them e-mails. They spam e-mailed them. The U.S. had dropped leaflets and what not.

And those negotiations, as you said, are centering around whether or not and how many Iraqi military forces these guys can deliver. And that is the big question. They still don't know, Wolf, whether or not they can deliver just a small number or whether they speak for large numbers of the Iraqi military. And the question is whether or not these military leaders could also turn over Saddam Hussein and members of his inner circle.

So these are active negotiations that are going on and have been going on the last day and a half inside Iraq in some secret location involving CIA operatives, involving members of the U.S. military special operations forces and also members of the Iraqi exile community, who are facilitating these contacts, Wolf.

BLITZER: Is that the Iraqi National Congress, that opposition group? Or is it other Iraqi opposition groups?

KOPPEL: We -- it's unclear right now. As you know, the INC is an umbrella organization that has six different groups, including the two Kurdish groups, the KDP and the PDK, who are members. And we do know that Kurdish leaders have involved in these negotiations, Wolf.

BLITZER: Andrea Koppel with important information. Andrea, thanks very much.

U.S. and British officials say hundreds of Iraqi troops already have surrendered. The Associated Press describes the prisoners as poorly fed draftees who had been fighting with small arms, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Some Iraqi deserters in Kurdish northern Iraq say they owe nothing to Saddam Hussein.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Defending our country wouldn't be right. They have come to free us from this oppression. Why should we stand in their way?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): My reasons for escaping here to Kurdistan are the same reasons shared by all Iraqis that are against the Iraqi government. And I tell you that all Iraqis wish they could come. And I hope they come so that this regime will fail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: It's been branded shock and awe. The Pentagon says the early U.S. strikes weren't persuasive enough and has unleashed a ferocious air campaign against Iraq on several fronts.

For the latest, let's go live to our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.

JAMIE McINTYRE: Well, Wolf, it wasn't originally designed this way. The original concept was for the air war to start first and then the ground war. But events on the ground and particularly concern about the status of the oil fields in the south and the reluctance of Saddam Hussein's generals to turn on him or surrender themselves prompted the U.S. to go ahead today and kick off the air war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over) The Pentagon calls it A-Day, "a" for the massive air assault that would drop for than 1,500 precision-guided bombs and missiles on hundreds of separate targets across Iraq. The Pentagon says it's a bombardment of historic proportions.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The weapons that are being used today have a degree of precision that no one ever dreamt of in a prior conflict.

McINTYRE: The bombing, designed to shock and awe Iraq's military, centered on Baghdad, but also struck key targets in Mosul and Kirkuk in the north and Basra in the south.

All targets are designed to undermine the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and to convince his generals to turn on him or at least surrender. For instance, this presidential palace was hit, located in downtown Baghdad.

While some Iraqi regular troops are giving up, others are fighting. Two U.S. marines have been killed in action and so far there are few signs the Iraqi military is cracking.

RUMSFELD: It apparently -- what we have done thus far has not been sufficiently persuasive that they would have done that.

McINTYRE: The U.S. has taken some ground in the south including Umm Qasr, a key southern port along with two air fields in western Iraq. The southern oil field have just about been secured and the U.S. ground forces have moved more than 100 miles into Iraq from Kuwait.

But the war is far from won.

RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: Clearly we're moving towards our objectives but we must not get too comfortable. We're basically on our plan and moving towards Baghdad. But there are still many unknowns out there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

McINTYRE: The biggest unknown is what will U.S. and British troops face when they reach Baghdad and the Republican Guard? Will they be ready to surrender or will they be dug in to fight with chemical or biological weapons -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie, before I let you go, I want to let you take a look on the screen and our viewers, as well. These are the presidential palaces that we've documented inside Baghdad, clearly targets. The republican palace, for example and some of the other palaces, as well.

But tell our viewers, because this is significant. When we hear the word palace, you think of something that clearly is not necessarily the case in Baghdad.

McINTYRE: Well, one thing about all of these buildings in Baghdad is that -- including the palaces -- is they have vast bunker complexes and tunnels underneath them. These are the places where it's believed Saddam Hussein may be hiding things that he wants to hide or perhaps even hiding himself.

So those targets are all seen as -- they're not like historical palaces. They're seen as legitimate command and control targets, just like Saddam himself is considered to be a legitimate target -- Wolf. BLITZER: All right. Jamie McIntyre with the latest.

And as you were speaking we were getting some word of air raid sirens going off in Mosul in the northern part of Iraq. That's been the target for several U.S. air strikes over the last several hours. We'll continue to monitor that, as well.

Official reaction to the start of the so-called shock and awe campaign came from Iraq's information minister, who lashed out at the United States.

All right. I want to leave that videotape, which clearly was not the right videotape. CNN's Kyra Phillips is aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Persian Gulf, one of three U.S. aircraft carriers on station right now -- Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, joint chief Richard Myers said yesterday that the U.S. is approaching large-scale operations. Well, welcome to shock and awe from the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Take a look at these pictures of strike fighter pilots ready to take off on their missions not long ago. This is what strike fighter pilots here have been training for, massive air strikes fast and furious.

After Tomahawk missiles were launched, strike fighters off this ship engaged their targets: military sites, air defense systems, government buildings, Iraqi leadership compounds and air bases, all targets. As you've been talking about recently, there were also restricted strike areas, Wolf, mosques, schools, water and electricity, chemical storage areas.

I've been told that Saddam Hussein is hiding weapons in these areas. They will be taken care of by other means.

Now, pilots say they were fired upon constantly. When they got back and I had a chance to talk to them, they were up against SAMs, surface-to-air missile, old Soviet MiG-25s, and a lot of triple A fire.

Now, some other video that we had for you is the strike briefs that we were able to observe, lots of talk about preventing collateral damage. This took place in a number of ways, one of which, precision weapons. Between the F-18 and F-14 yet, weapons included J-DAMs, the GPS guided bombs, the LGB, the laser guided bombs, sidewinder heat- seeking missiles, Phoenix and AMRAM radar-guided missiles.

Now the squadron that led the strike package off the USS Abraham Lincoln tonight, VF-31, the F-15 tomcatters. Before the strike, the squadron commander, Karl Haas (ph), stressed to his men situational awareness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of lights. You'll get mesmerized by that. Concentrate on what you need to do. Each and every one of you are extremely good at what it is that we do. Trained very, very well all our careers, whether that's 18 years or six years. You're going to do great up there. Don't get blinded by the lights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: But once the strike's over, Baghdad began. As you can imagine, other members of the squadron remained pinned to their seats in the ready room, watching the air campaign as it went down live on CNN, as they observed the air strikes they were not surprised. So far, they say, shock and awe is underway as planned -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And we heard earlier from the chairman of the joint chiefs, hundreds of more strikes anticipated in the coming hours. I assume the pilots aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln will be involved in that. Kyra Phillips reporting. We'll get back to you, Kyra. Thanks very much.

President Bush, meanwhile, briefed congressional leaders on the war in Iraq, and U.S. officials say the Iraqi leadership at the same time is rapidly falling apart.

Let's go live to our senior White House correspondent, John King -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, one official said complete disarray, complete confusion in the Iraqi leadership. Ari Fleischer, the White House press secretary, saying at the briefing today, there is no evidence at all, the United States has no evidence at least, that since the Wednesday strike on that key compound outside Baghdad, that Saddam Hussein or either of his sons are trying to direct the Iraqi military or their special security forces on a minute-by-minute basis.

Behind the scenes here, they say the Iraqi leadership is certainly in disarray, yet because there is no widespread surrender agreement, it was decided by the military planners, with the president's approval to go ahead with this now most aggressive phase of the campaign as yet.

As you noted Mr. Bush gave an update on day three of this campaign, the bipartisan congressional leadership coming down for a morning meeting with the president at the Oval Office. He did not take any questions from reporters. He refused to do so. But he did deliver a brief statement in which he said from his perspective, when it comes to the military campaign, so far so good.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're making progress. We will stay on task until we've achieved our objective, which is to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction and free the Iraqi people so they can live in a society that is hopeful and democratic and at peace in this neighborhood.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KING: The president left the White House later in the afternoon. You see him here walking out from the Oval Office to Marine One. He is joined by first lady Laura Bush on the south grounds there on Marine One up to Camp David at the presidential retreat.

On the president's agenda tomorrow, a full meeting of his war council. Most of the members will travel up to Camp David for that meeting. Others can participate through a secure video link the president has up at the Camp David retreat.

CNN is also told by administration and congressional sources that on Monday the Mr. Bush will have key members of Congress back here at the White House to give them the emergency spending request he will make to pay for this war and its immediate aftermath. We are told they're still working on the final numbers. It is somewhere in the area of $75 billion to $90 billion.

Also, Wolf, quickly, a rare look at the situation room here at the White House, the most secure house in the above ground or just below ground facilities here at the White House, where the president had his national security meeting this morning. Here you see the president at the end of the table. The full Bush National Security Council. Again, they now publicly call it the War Council here.

Mr. Bush getting an update on the military campaign. And it was at this meeting early in this morning the president was told because in the view of the White House time was up, there had been no widespread surrenders inside Iraq. Time to go ahead with shock and awe -- Wolf.

BLITZER: John King at the White House. John, thanks very much.

And this note, as Ari Fleischer, the White House press secretary, pointed out, the president can stay in touch with everyone from Camp David, which after all is effectively a military base run by the military, has outstanding communications capabilities from Camp David.

John King at the White House, thanks very much.

With a stunning display of power and startling speed, the U.S.- led campaign against Iraq has moved into full gear in the air and on the ground. Here is an hour-by-hour war update.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over) It's just after sundown. Huge explosions rock Iraq. The first major wave of a massive U.S.-led bombing campaign has arrived, following what had already been an eventual day.

9:30 a.m. eastern, 2:30 p.m. here in the Gulf. The steel wave of the 7th Calvary continues to roll through Iraq.

11:41 a.m. eastern. As U.S. and British troops gain control of oil fields burning in southern Iraq, all four remaining CNN journalists are ordered to leave Baghdad. 12:05 eastern. Just after sundown in Baghdad, air raid sirens go off, followed by anti-aircraft fire in the skies over the Iraqi capital.

12:15 p.m. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on the second and third combat casualty of this strike on Iraq.

9 p.m. in Baghdad. The full force of the coalition shock and awe campaign is felt on a day the Pentagon is calling A-Day, "a" for air assault.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And this important note. Just want to update our viewers. Our four journalists are CNN journalists who have been forced to leave Iraq, closed down by the Iraqi government earlier today, are all fine.

Just want to express our appreciation to Nic Robertson, Rym Brahimi, Ingrid Froehman (ph), our producer and our photographer Brian Fuccotti (ph). All of them have done an outstanding job for our viewers around the world over these past several months. Thanks to all of them.

Saddam Hussein has been seen again on Iraqi television: maybe. There are still many questions -- many more questions than answers about the fate of the Iraqi leader.

Let's go live to our national security correspondent David Ensor. He's got some details -- David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this latest appearance by Saddam Hussein on Iraqi television raises the same basic question as the last couple of appearances. Is it new stuff, or not?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over) This time, Iraqi television showed Saddam Hussein with his son Qusay, saying he remains firmly in control. But U.S. officials said the pictures could just as easily be old. Such meetings are a staple of Iraqi TV. U.S. intelligence officials say Saddam could be injured or even dead.

Whether or not he's alive, Bush administration officials say his grip on power is slipping.

RUMSFELD: The regime is starting to lose control of their country. The confusion of Iraqi officials is growing. Their ability to see what is happening on the battlefield, to communicate with their forces and to control the country is slipping away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Secretary, do you believe Saddam Hussein is currently in control of Iraq?

RUMSFELD: I don't know.

ENSOR: Sources say since the strikes Thursday morning against Saddam Hussein's compound, intelligence headquarters and a Republican Guard facility, there has been a marked drop in Iraqi leadership communications monitored by U.S. intelligence.

Saddam Hussein, a knowledgeable official says, is not communicating orders and can no longer trust anybody. Even deciding where and whether to sleep at night, he said, is a fateful choice for the Iraqi leader.

As for the tape released hours after the attack on his compound, in which Saddam mentions the date of attack, it is Saddam, the White House says. The question is, when.

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: The tape has been analyzed by the Central Intelligence Agency. And their analysis has led them to believe that the tape is indeed the voice of Saddam Hussein. But no conclusions have been reached about whether it was canned ahead of time or not.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: A senior intelligence official tells CNN he believes Saddam Hussein was in the compound early Thursday morning, along with at least one of his sons, when the U.S. dropped tons of munitions on that compound.

But the official says the U.S. simply does not know whether Saddam survived and if so, whether he's injured. Welcome, that official said, to the fog of war -- Wolf.

BLITZER: David Ensor with the latest. David, thanks very much.

And as we've been reporting, today was indeed A-Day. That's the Pentagon label for the start of the massive air strikes in Iraq. It's a campaign aimed at bringing what the Pentagon officials are calling shock and awe, directly to the Iraqi leadership.

Let's turn now to CNN analyst, the former NATO supreme allied commander, retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark.

General Clark, first of all, talk to our viewers a little bit about the bombs that were used today on the first day of A-Day.

GEN. WESLEY CLARK, FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Wolf, these are all precision bombs. So unlike other campaigns where unguided ordnance has been used, every one of these bombs was targeted exactly at a precise point on the ground and guided to it, either by lasers or by the global positioning system satellite guidance. And as far as we know, they all struck at the intended target.

These are 2,000-pound bombs. They are big, heavy ordnance. Some of them may have had delayed fusing and other features which have enabled them to go into the ground before they exploded.

BLITZER: How is the bombing today different than the bombing was in 1991? CLARK: In 1991, we had the laser-guided bombs, but we had to see the target with clear air space, put the laser spot on the target. And then we would guide the bomb into the target with the laser.

This is different. These bombs strike a target regardless of whether there is smoke or obscuration or dust. It's programmed in by the geographic coordinates and it goes in.

We've got B-2s now in addition. So we've got a platform that can drop 16 precision guided bombs in a single pass over a target area, every one of them going at a separate aiming point. We didn't have the capability to deliver that kind of precision mass in 1991.

BLITZER: Any idea how much longer these kinds of air raids, these intensive air raids might continue?

CLARK: Well, the military would tell you as long as is necessary, Wolf. My guess would be three, four, five more days.

It's a matter of going through the targeting process. They're going to have to go back and look at actually the impact of the bomb. Not just did it strike the target but did it disable the target, did it knock out the command post, destroy the radars or whatever.

They'll go back, they'll do the assessment of this, and some targets may be struck again. They'll be another family of targets. No doubt there are more targets than the number of aim points that were hit tonight.

And so we would expect, as a minimum, three or four more days of this. And it could be that this campaign will continue right up until...

BLITZER: All right. General Clark, I just want to interrupt. General Clark, I just want to interrupt. Mohammed Aldouri, the Iraqi ambassador to the U.N. is speaking.

(INTERRUPTED BY LIVE EVENT)

BLITZER: Mohammed Aldouri, the Iraqi ambassador to the United Nations, refusing to answer reporters' questions, reading a statement, railing against the United States and Britain, railing against the United Nations, directly taking a swipe at the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan himself for failing to prevent the United States and Britain from moving in against Iraq.

Mohammed Aldouri, Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations, still very loyal to the Iraqi regime of President Saddam Hussein.

Here's your chance to weigh in on the strike on Iraq. "Our Web Question of the Day" is this: Do you think the strike on Iraq will last days, weeks, or months? We'll have the results later this hour. Please vote at cnn.com/wolf.

While you're there, I'd like to hear from you. Send me your comments. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also where you can also read my daily online column, cnn.com/wolf.

The bombardment of Baghdad. The U.S. blasts the city with deafening force. See how it unfolded on live television around the world.

Also, will U.S. troops really be able to just walk into Baghdad? A look at the extreme danger of urban combat.

And America reacts to it all. It all continues right now.

ANNOUNCER: CNN live this hour. Wolf Blitzer reports from Kuwait City, with correspondents from around the world. STRIKE ON IRAQ With Wolf Blitzer starts now.

BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN's continuing coverage of the U.S. Strike on Iraq. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting live tonight from Kuwait City.

And you're looking at live pictures...

(AUDIO GAP)

BLITZER: ... so-called shock-and-awe campaign began around 9:00 p.m. local time. The long-anticipated shock-and-awe campaign began over Iraq as coalition forces began a heavy air assault on Iraq.

Here's a look at the bombing of Baghdad.

Listen to this, Jamie. These are shots being fired now in Baghdad. I want our viewers to listen in.

Devastation. Devastation in Baghdad.

Iraqi officials say one building hit during the air strikes was what they call the peace palace. Iraq's information minister says the palace is now in ruins. Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf said the palace is used for visiting dignitaries. He also said a museum, what they call the flower palace, was also severely damaged.

Visibly upset, he lashed out directly at President Bush, calling him -- and I'm quoting now -- "that murderer sitting in the White House."

CNN's Gary Tuchman is standing by. He's here in Kuwait City as well.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, highly placed Defense Department officials are telling us here in Kuwait that, between 1:00 Eastern Time today and 1:00 Eastern Time tomorrow, there will be in excess of 2,000 Air Force sorties.

Of those 2,000 flights, approximately 1,000 will be involved in actual strikes with missiles or bombs. The other thousand will be involved in support responsibilities such as reconnaissance and defense. We're told there are 1,500 different aim points. Now aim points are different than targets. Some targets have multiple aim points. These officials are telling us there have been absolutely no resistance from Iraqi aircraft, with one of them adding, "That's a smart decision by the Iraqis," and that's a quote. There have certainly been anti-aircraft artillery, but no Iraqi planes and no coalition casualties.

The bombing runs are occurring in Baghdad and Mosul and Kirkuk in the North and also notably the City of Tikrit, which is Saddam Hussein's ancestral home.

We're told the Air Force is utilizing at least 37 different operating locations, including 30 air bases in a dozen countries in the Middle East, very interestingly places like Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. Bombers are actually flying from there and back, a 32-hour roundtrip. Also, Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Five different carriers and the Fairford Royal Air Force Base in England.

Now different planes are being used, the B-1, the B-2, the B-52 long-range heavy bombers, the F-117 Stealth aircraft, the F-15 tactical fighter. We are also told by these officials that every single munition dropped was a precision satellite-guided munition.

We are told all the targets are strategic, including regime leadership targets, regime security, command and control targets, and also notably weapons of mass destruction targets.

Finally, we want to emphasize that, once again, all pilots so far have returned safely.

Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: Gary Tuchman with important information from here in Kuwait.

Gary, thanks very much.

The U.S.-led strike on Iraq is not being well received in much of the world. Here's a brief look at some of the protests that are unfolding right now.

About 4,000 Palestinians marched in Gaza pledging support for Saddam Hussein. Two Hamas leaders called on Iraqis to use suicide bombings against Americans.

In Yemen, at least three people were killed in clashes between police and protesters outside the U.S. Embassy.

Thousands of people demonstrated in Cairo, the Arab world's largest city. Dozens of police officers and protesters were hurt.

In Indonesia, the world's most populist Muslim country, crowds through eggs at the British embassy and besieged U.S. fast-food restaurants and banks.

There were clashes in Beirut as police tried to keep demonstrators from marching on the U.S. mission there.

And, in Italy, which officially is backing the war, thousands of people marched in the streets of Rome.

Demonstrations also were held in several other major European cities.

Meanwhile, the French President Jacques Chirac is offering new opposition to the U.S.-led strike in Iraq. At a European Union meeting earlier today, he said France would veto any U.N. resolution putting the U.S. and Britain in charge of post-war Iraq. Chirac said that would, quote, "legitimize the military intervention."

It's been a day of very, very vivid images. Iraqi TV showed pictures of a Baghdad military briefing aimed -- amid the sounds of war and the window curtains shaking in the background.

Here's a look at a helicopter over Umm Qasr, an Iraqi port city, that was captured by U.S. and British forces earlier in the day. Officials say the port will be used to ship in humanitarian aid.

And here are the Marines rolling through Southern Iraq, traveling right past a billboard honoring the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Although U.S. and British forces have met with limited resistance so far, there is no guarantee that will be the case as they move directly on Baghdad.

Joining me now live from Washington to talk about that, CNN Security Analyst Kelly McCann, himself once a Marine special- operations sol -- special operator.

Kelly, thanks very much.

Your concern that the U.S. Marines, the soldiers, the British Marines, as they move in, could be lured into thinking it's going to be a picnic as they get towards Baghdad.

KELLY MCCANN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I'm not sure. I don't think so. I think that they have assessed the battlefield and understand that in the open areas that we're depicting with the embedded journalists, you know, the areas they're moving through, that's of no strategic or tactical value.

So, undoubtedly, the war planners -- you know, they recognize that, Wolf, and I think that everybody is keen on Baghdad and the approach as you get closer to Baghdad and expecting, as Ken Pollack pointed out today on our network, increased resistance at that point.

BLITZER: Well, do you think the shock-and-awe bombing campaign which we saw live on television earlier today is going to have an impact in softening up the Iraqi military, in effect, not resisting as significantly as they might otherwise?

MCCANN: It certainly could. I mean, in real terms, it could also fall under the military terminology of a demonstration. I mean it could have been much worse. They could have flown more sorties. They could have dropped more ordnance.

So, although it was very, very effective and they, obviously, have it down to just unbelievable precision, it also demonstrated the kind of power that we have over a less technical, less trained, and less well-equipped force.

So I think everybody is wanting for them to reach out and let's avoid the next couple of steps. But the good news is that the U.S. troops and the other coalition troops are very well trained in military operations and urban trained and will engage.

BLITZER: Well, assume the -- assuming the elite Republican Guard, their special units, fight and are willing to die for Saddam Hussein. What's the biggest problem going into a huge city, an urban center like Baghdad with some five-million people?

MCCANN: Well, there's many, many problems, Wolf. But to name a few, if you think about it, just behind you in your landscape of Kuwait City, you've got three plains.

In other words, you've got subterranean levels you have to worry about where people can move equipment, hide, cache things, et cetera. You've got the surface that has many, many different kinds of surfaces, some that can be used for concealment and for cover and places where people can lay ambush, et cetera. And then you've got what's above your head. You've got that whole superlevel, if you will.

People can actually move building to building without ever coming down into what's colloquially called the killing zone down in the street. Most recent experience, including Grozny, didn't have, I don't believe, the level of buildings that we find in Baghdad.

And add to that, after significant damage is caused, the kind of structural problems where people could still hide and still be in, but you still may have to enter, and structurally the building may be not sound. So there will be some very complex problems here.

BLITZER: And, presumably, one of the biggest problems down the road which, we can discuss at another occasion, Kelly, terrorism, terrorist attacks...

MCCANN: Absolutely.

BLITZER: ... against U.S. military personnel, if, in fact, it comes down to that.

Kelly McCann, our security analyst.

Thanks very much.

Allied forces in lightning raids. They captured two key airfields in Western Iraq. American intelligence officials consider one of these air bases as a potential site of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. CNN's Jane Arraf is just back from another airfield in Northern Iraq. She's with us via video phone in Dohuk. That's in Northern Iraq -- Jane.

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we're in Dohuk, as you mentioned, just about 40, 50 kilometers from Mosul.

Now, tonight, we were seeing over Mosul explosions and tracer fire that accompanies Iraqi anti-aircraft fire, explosions over the northern oil city of Kirkuk as well, an indication that this war in Iraq has, indeed, moved North.

Now the Pentagon has said that it has been using Turkish airspace to launch some of the attacks in Iraq. That's after a dispute was -- a logjam was broken between Turkey and the United States over whether they could use the airspace following the Turkish refusal to let the United States use their bases.

Now, also, the latest development, we have news from our affiliate station CNN Turk that Turkish troops are moving into Northern Iraq. Now this does not mean an invasion, but it does mean that the Turkish government has apparently made the decision that it will send the troops in to form the buffer zone that it has been talking about.

This has been a major source of concern with the Kurds here in Northern Iraq who say that they would, in fact, fight Turkish troops -- Wolf.

BLITZER: This is a significant development, I believe, Jane, the Turks moving into northern Iraq, given the animosity over the years between the Kurds...

ARRAF: I'm sorry. We just lost...

BLITZER: ... in Northern Iraq and the Turks.

Can you hear me, Jane?

I think, unfortunately, we've lost Jane Arraf. We'll get back to her. Jane Arraf reporting from Northern Iraq.

But I was suggesting that the Turkish move into Northern Iraq could be a problem, given the animosity, the longtime tension between the Turks and the Kurds in Northern Iraq. A significant development. The Turks allowing earlier today U.S. -- the U.S. and British warplanes to have rights to fly through Turkish airspace. That could be a significant development as well.

Meanwhile, U.S. and British forces seize control of two strategic airfields in Iraq earlier today. The airfields, known as H2 and H3 were taken in lightning raids.

CNN's Miles O'Brien is at the CNN Center in Atlanta with a look at why those two specific airfields are so critically important -- Miles. MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Strategic, to say the least, Wolf.

Let's take a look at some map imagery for you from our earthviewer.com with some imagery from our friends at DigitalGlobe. Actually, that's not what I want to put on the TV right now. If I could just show you where we are first before we go into that.

Let's go to the keyhole graphic, please, first, if we could. GR- 101 for those of you keeping score at home. There you go. And I'll show you exactly what we're talking about strategically.

See this little corner here of Iraq? That is the strategic portion, and the reason is it is as close as any part of Iraq is to Israel, which is right out here. Let's put this in motion. and I'll give you a sense of where H2 and H3 is and why they're particularly important. They also have two very significant airfields there. Lots of runway space. Lots of direction.

We're going to come in a little closer and tell you exactly why these fields were among the first targets in -- on any sort of ground activity when it comes to this particular invasion. Once again, we're right down here. There you see the H2, and then the H3 is a little bit out of frame there.

Once again, about a 300-mile -- 200- to 300-mile Scud missile run to Israel. Those Scud missiles which were shot in 1991 -- they came right out of this Scud box, this little piece of Iraq right by the Jordanian border.

Let's go down, show you what's at H2. This is why it is of interest as well, not just because -- to prevent Scuds, but that is a very significant airfield with runways in three directions, nice, long paved runways, can be used as a refueling site, can take a lot of pressure off the U.S. Air Force tankers, which are absolutely strapped to the maximum right now supporting all of these multiple missions from aircraft carriers and from land bases all throughout the region.

Once again, that H3, another significant place with a significant long runway, good refueling locations, and that is why you're seeing the focus there.

So how do you take an airfield? We have some animation there, which we showed -- gave you a little preview of just a few moments ago. We'll tell you again how this works.

You come into the airfield, and the key here is, first of all, you want to get some good reconnaissance. You have some special- operations people there. They get the lay of the land, if you will. They see where the hardened targets are. They see where the planes are stored in that case, get a sense of how it works, report back using special forces communications capability, and then, in addition to that, bring in some initial air assaults using laser-guided bombs.

You saw that special forces person using that laser designator there. In come the F-15s, and down come the laser-guided munitions. This causes, obviously, the -- takes out the defensive capability, which is depicted here underneath some camouflage netting there at the airfield, takes out those defensive capabilities so that airfield suddenly is much more vulnerable.

In come the Black Hawk helicopters, which are -- in this case, perhaps a Pavelow, which has a longer range. You see it has that big refueling boom there.

BLITZER: All right.

O'BRIEN: Down it goes, off come the troops, and the process of seizing that field begins. Of course, just having people on the ground, in and of itself, is not enough. You need some heavy equipment.

Once those troops are able to seize a perimeter, in come a couple of series of aircraft, the C-130, which has lighter equipment on it. That's a four-engine turbo prop.

BLITZER: All right.

O'BRIEN: I'm sorry, Wolf. Do you have to go?

BLITZER: Miles, I was going to interrupt because we're getting some new information from Jane Arraf. But, Miles, I'm going to have to cut you short. I apologize.

Right now, the upshot of what you're reporting, though, very significant. People presumably in Israel can breathe a lot easier tonight as a result of the U.S. taking those two air bases in the western part of Iraq.

CNN's Miles O'Brien with important information over there.

CNN's Jane Arraf is back with us. She's got important information on the Turks beginning to move into Northern Iraq.

This -- I was saying, Jane, this is a source of potential tension, given the animosity that exists between the Turkish military forces and the Kurds of Northern Iraq.

ARRAF: It is, Wolf. It's, as you know, an extraordinarily complicated region. We were at a base this evening with Kurdish forces right next to a Turkish military base, in fact. The Turks have taken over an airfield. They did some time ago, unrelated to this current conflict. But they have taken over an airfield with tanks there.

Right next to them are Kurdish forces, and it was quite clear that there really is a very deep animosity and a very deep mistrust that runs through Kurdish military towards the Turks.

Now this development tonight follows weeks of negotiations with the United States and Turkey, with the U.S. trying to convince Turkey that it should not enter unilaterally.

Now the way this was left was a phone call between U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and the Turkish prime minister, which resulted in Turkey saying that it agreed to let the United States use its airspace unconditionally and that they would further discuss the Turkish issue of the Turkish troops entering.

Now the Turkish troops do appear to be entering, but what they have said before is that they do not plan to enter combat. They want to provide a buffer zone. Now the Kurds have said they're opposed to even that, there's no need for it. So we'll have to see what actually happens here on the ground -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Jane Arraf in Northern Iraq.

Jane, thanks very much.

And we're getting this interesting development in from "The New York Times" reporter Michael Gordon.

He's reporting now that a top Iraqi military commander has surrendered to U.S. Marines, surrendering to U.S. Marines earlier today in Southern Iraq, the commander in charge of Iraq's 51st division. The first division commander to surrender to U.S. troops since the start of this war. An Iraqi division consisting of about 6,000 to 8,000 military personnel.

Michael Gordon, the military affairs correspondent for "The New York Times," reporting that.

Just in, a top Iraqi military commander surrendering, together with his troops, to U.S. military forces. Marines -- specifically -- to Marines in specific to -- earlier today.

Here in Kuwait, it's quiet right now. That was not necessarily the case earlier in the day.

CNN's Daryn Kagan takes a look at what happened here right outside Kuwait City.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The Iraqi al-Fatah rocket was still smoldering in the Kuwaiti desert hours after the Kuwaitis shot it down with Patriot missiles. The Kuwaiti Air Force brought us to the site, they say, to make a point about Iraq, their enemy to the North.

COL. YOUSEF AL-MULLA, KUWAITI AIR FORCE: When we show this to everybody, it's just to reach a point that they are attacking us.

KAGAN: Kuwaiti has met experts determined that this rocket carried no biological or chemical materials but say they are positive it is Iraqi from the name al-Fatah stenciled on the side, and, frankly, says Kuwaiti Air Force pilot Colonel Al-Mulla, the thing is cheap.

AL-MULLA: I'm a pilot, and I know -- I saw lots of missiles. I know when I see a missile which is made by professional top company. You can tell the difference.

KAGAN (on camera): And this isn't?

AL-MULLA: And this is not top quality.

KAGAN (voice-over): The Kuwaitis gave us close access to the rocket, but there is much they don't want told.

AL-MULLA: If we pinpoint the area, then we are giving free information for the enemy.

KAGAN (on camera): You don't want to say because you don't want to help Iraq with more information that might give them the more exact...

AL-MULLA: This will lead to more casualties, and I think you'll respect that.

KAGAN (voice-over): Indeed, we will. Let's just saying this landed outside Kuwait City.

Daryn Kagan, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Here's how you're relating to "Our Web Question of the Day." Remember we've been asking you this question, do you think the strike on Iraq will last days, weeks or months?

Take a look at the results: 36 percent of you say days, 44 percent weeks, 20 percent say months. You can find the exact vote tally, continue to vote by the way, go to our Web site, cnn.com/wolf.

Remember, this is not a scientific poll.

That's all the time we have right now. CNN's Heidi Collins, though, is going to update us now on all the latest developments in the strike on Iraq.

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Uncertainty if Saddam is Alive>