NBC News - Iraq War - 2003-03-21 - 2 a.m. (E)

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] peninsula. That wasn't too hard to do.

[0:02] They are making significant progress in

[0:04] their efforts to capture Basra itself.

[0:06] Uh Bob Arna told us that there was some

[0:08] fire that had been taken on there and

[0:10] Jack Stradley some Marines involved in

[0:12] that. So um that is an actual fight

[0:14] that's been going on. But on the whole

[0:17] this is being prosecuted in a way that

[0:19] uh the Americans must feel awfully good

[0:21] about. And remember, they are watching

[0:23] very carefully these possible surrender

[0:25] talks with high ranking um members of

[0:29] the Republican Guard, and we will very

[0:31] much like to see how that turns. But for

[0:33] now, I am Forest Sawyer heading toward

[0:36] 2:00 a.m. East Coast time, broad

[0:38] daylight in Iraq. We will be following

[0:40] this 24 hours a day. Do stay with us.

[0:43] For now, this is MSNBC.

[1:01] Good morning to all of you on the East

[1:02] Coast. It is 2:00 in the morning. I'm

[1:04] Alex Wit with our MSNBC continuing

[1:07] coverage of Target Iraq. 11 p.m. Good

[1:09] evening to those of you on the Pacific

[1:11] Coast. We are taking a look right now at

[1:13] a live picture of downtown Baghdad. It

[1:16] is now 10:00 a.m. there local time.

[1:18] There you are seeing some movement on

[1:19] the streets there. Though certainly not

[1:21] what one would expect to see under

[1:23] normal circumstances inside of Iraq, uh

[1:26] the capital city there of that country.

[1:28] Some people going about their daily

[1:30] business and trying to have some sense

[1:33] of normaly to their lives, but it

[1:34] certainly is not as crowded as one would

[1:36] assume assume at 10:00 a.m. on a weekday

[1:40] Friday. We also have a picture there of

[1:43] David Bloom of NBC News. He has been

[1:45] spending the better part of our evening

[1:47] with us. He is traveling there with the

[1:49] third infantry division. They have now

[1:51] moved from their former base in Kuwait

[1:54] through across the border into the

[1:56] southern part of Iraq there in the

[1:57] desert. Uh David, we will be speaking

[2:00] with you, but uh can you give us any

[2:02] sense of your location at all there

[2:04] about how long you've been on the move

[2:06] there once you got into Iraqi territory?

[2:12] Well, the uh the attack began the ground

[2:14] war at 8:00 local time last night, which

[2:18] is uh noon on the east coast, 9:00 a.m.

[2:21] on the uh on the west coast with about

[2:23] 30 minutes of artillery strikes. Then we

[2:26] we moved into Iraq across the Kuwaiti BM

[2:29] through an electrified fence that had

[2:31] been cut and then also uh through the

[2:34] Iraqi burm. Uh we moved up to a forward

[2:37] position here in southern Iraq. That's

[2:38] about all I can say about where we are.

[2:40] And basically what we're doing is we've

[2:42] sort of grabbed the foothold here for

[2:44] the US Army's Third Infantry Division.

[2:46] And then the rest of the troops are

[2:48] going to roll out of Kuwait and are in

[2:50] the process of doing that right now

[2:51] toward this location. When they get here

[2:53] and the force forms up, then they'll

[2:55] make some decisions about what routes

[2:56] they take uh up to Baghdad if indeed

[2:59] that's where they're going. And

[3:00] certainly we know that that's where

[3:02] they're going.

[3:03] >> All right, David, we're going to come

[3:04] back to you in just one moment. First

[3:06] everybody, we're going to get you caught

[3:07] up on the latest headlines. This in

[3:08] Operation Iraqi Freedom, as we are doing

[3:10] every quarter hour for you round the

[3:12] clock, beginning with this. US-led

[3:15] forces continue their ground assault

[3:17] from Kuwait into Iraq after a series of

[3:19] artillery barges. British troops have

[3:22] stormed the Alfal Peninsula at the head

[3:24] of the Persian Gulf. That is a key route

[3:26] for oil tanker traffic. You just heard

[3:28] my colleague NBC's Forest Sawyer telling

[3:30] us that it is believed those British

[3:31] troops have now taken control of the

[3:33] Alpha Peninsula. Meanwhile, huge

[3:36] explosions, they are heard near the

[3:37] southern Iraqi city of Bazra. US

[3:40] officials are saying that intelligence

[3:42] strongly indicates that Saddam was still

[3:44] inside the bunker. Possibly he was

[3:47] injured. All of this when that bunker

[3:49] was hit on Wednesday night. And the

[3:51] Washington Post is reporting that US

[3:53] officials knew that Saddam was making

[3:55] taped statements, all in anticipation of

[3:58] Wednesday's deadline. Pentagon officials

[4:01] say no hostile fire involved in the

[4:03] crash of a US Marine helicopter, much

[4:05] like the one you're going to see shortly

[4:06] on your screen. It was a CH46C

[4:10] Knight. It went down in Kuwait, killing

[4:12] all 16 aboard. to there were four

[4:15] Americans believed to be Marines. Also

[4:17] 12 British uh paratroopers. We believe

[4:21] the CI was assigned to the first Marine

[4:23] Expeditionary Force. We are of course

[4:25] going to recap all the latest headlines

[4:26] on the Iraqi crisis for you every 15

[4:28] minutes or so. You can also get the very

[4:30] latest anytime. To do that, go to the

[4:32] web Iraq.msnbc.com.

[4:34] All complete coverage for you, including

[4:36] the in-depth analysis, slideshows,

[4:38] video. You're going to find it all at

[4:40] iraq.msnbc.com.

[4:42] Just a short while ago, about an hour

[4:44] ago, the air raid sirens went off once

[4:46] again in Kuwait City. The fear a

[4:48] possible missile attack by Iraq. Could

[4:51] be a biological or chemical attack as

[4:53] well. Let's go straight to NBC's Don

[4:55] Teague. He is live in Kuwait City for

[4:57] us. Don, it's good to see you without

[4:58] the gas mask, Dawn, as we have come to

[5:00] see your familiar face behind that mask

[5:02] of late. Tell me what's going on right

[5:03] now.

[5:05] >> Well, trust me, it's good to be here

[5:06] without the gas mask on as well, too.

[5:08] They gave us the all clear about 30

[5:10] minutes ago. Uh, by my count, it's

[5:13] between the eighth and the ninth air

[5:14] raid siren that we've had in about 22

[5:18] hours since around noon yesterday when

[5:20] this all started here. Uh, we've come to

[5:23] learn through experience that sometimes

[5:25] these air raid sirens just go away and

[5:28] then we don't hear the followup and

[5:30] sometimes they did indeed signal the uh

[5:33] arrival of a missile inbound from Iraq.

[5:36] We know that uh the US military has shot

[5:39] down at least two inbound missiles.

[5:41] We're not exactly sure what kind of

[5:43] missiles, but we are sure that it was

[5:45] Patriots that intercepted them

[5:47] successfully and brought them down. Uh a

[5:49] third missile that also was sent into

[5:51] this area. Uh the military won't say or

[5:54] they say they don't know specifically

[5:56] what brought it down, only that it also

[5:59] landed in an area away from any damage

[6:01] to people or um uh equipment. But, uh,

[6:06] you know, clearly we're taking all of

[6:07] these, uh, seriously. When the sirens go

[6:09] off, we're doing what we, uh, have been

[6:11] told to do and what the military does,

[6:13] which is mask up until we get it all

[6:15] clear that there are no chemicals

[6:16] involved.

[6:17] >> Don, what about the people there in

[6:19] Kuwait City? Are they reacting as

[6:21] quickly and as fervently as you are

[6:23] there?

[6:25] >> Well, uh, that's hard to say. We don't

[6:27] see all of the people, but

[6:28] interestingly, the people we do see are

[6:31] probably people who uh either have a

[6:33] great deal of faith or simply have no

[6:35] masks and no way to protect themselves

[6:37] anyway. Because during this last air

[6:39] raid, I watched a cricket game about a

[6:42] half a mile from here. I can see it from

[6:44] my vantage point. They never stopped

[6:45] playing cricket. Uh I don't even know

[6:46] that anyone looked up to see if anything

[6:48] was flying over, but uh I haven't seen I

[6:51] I've actually seen one Kuwaiti of the

[6:53] two million people in this country

[6:55] actually with a gas mask. So, I don't

[6:57] know that there's a lot many can do

[6:58] about it. Uh, we saw over the past few

[7:00] days that uh some were preparing safe

[7:03] rooms in their house, doing what we've

[7:05] been told about with duct tape and uh

[7:07] putting up plastic sheeting and such.

[7:10] And indeed, many people are not out on

[7:12] the streets. It's it's pretty vacant

[7:15] anywhere you go here. So, we assume most

[7:16] people are at home and taking shelter

[7:19] there. But, uh there are some people who

[7:20] are out just doing their thing and the

[7:22] alarms don't seem to bother them at all.

[7:24] Don, what about the weather, the heat

[7:27] there, and most importantly perhaps

[7:29] those sandstorms? Have you been affected

[7:30] there by that?

[7:33] >> No. You know, when the when the military

[7:35] is moving, they tend to sometimes create

[7:37] their own many sandstorms because tanks

[7:39] and Bradley fighting vehicles kick up a

[7:42] tremendous amount of dust. There's also

[7:44] a low cloud ceiling today, which can

[7:47] cause problems for particularly

[7:49] helicopter pilots who are then forced to

[7:51] fly at lower levels. Generally in the

[7:54] military, you fly at low levels anyway,

[7:56] but it takes away some of your options

[7:58] of uh of getting up above the terrain

[8:01] and if you combine sand with low clouds

[8:04] and some other issues, it can be

[8:05] difficult flying out there, particularly

[8:08] at night. Uh heat's not too big of a

[8:10] factor. It's uh short sleeve weather. Uh

[8:12] but we had our jackets on until a couple

[8:14] of hours ago. So, so far the weather's

[8:16] really not that bad in that respect.

[8:18] >> All right, thank you so much NBC's Dig.

[8:20] We appreciate the live report. We will

[8:21] check in with you again there in Kuwait

[8:23] City. Now, let's go back to NBC's David

[8:25] Bloom. He is traveling with the Third

[8:27] Infantry Division there. He is somewhere

[8:29] in the southern regions of Iraq, not too

[8:32] far beyond the Kuwaiti border where he's

[8:33] been on the move as he described for

[8:35] probably about 14 hours now. Good uh

[8:38] well, morning to you. I guess it must be

[8:40] approaching afternoon there. Well, no,

[8:41] it's shortly after 10 o'clock in the

[8:42] morning, I believe. David, tell me what

[8:44] is the latest from there. Describe the

[8:45] setting for us.

[8:49] Well, Alice, I mean, we're out in the

[8:50] middle of the desert is basically the

[8:52] setting. Uh, what this is is the this is

[8:55] the lead element of the US Army's Third

[8:57] Infantry Division, which has about

[8:59] 20,000 soldiers in it. But we're with

[9:02] the 315 infantry of the second brigade

[9:04] of the Third ID, which basically means

[9:06] these are the guys who were the first

[9:08] ones across the border into Iraq.

[9:11] Because, as I've said, their mission was

[9:13] to hit two observation posts, first with

[9:16] artillery, then with infantrymen to make

[9:18] sure that they could not uh relay a

[9:21] message back to Baghdad as to where the

[9:23] Third ID would be rolling into southern

[9:26] Iraq from because obviously if they know

[9:28] where they're coming in from, they can

[9:29] anticipate what routes they might take.

[9:31] And this force obviously doesn't want

[9:32] them to do that. Right now, we're

[9:34] stopped and basically waiting for the

[9:36] rest of the force to catch up with us

[9:39] because obviously when you've got uh

[9:41] 6,000 7,000 vehicles, 20,000 soldiers,

[9:44] it takes a long time to move them

[9:47] through those lanes into into southern

[9:50] Iraq. So basically we're at a staging

[9:52] area here uh inside Iraq where the rest

[9:55] of the force will then catch up with us

[9:56] and then depending upon what's going on

[9:58] in Baghdad with Saddam Hussein and his

[10:01] uh possible injury or you know maybe

[10:04] even death. We don't know what happened

[10:05] with him, but based upon what's

[10:07] happening on the ground, both in terms

[10:09] of Baghdad and in terms of the forces of

[10:11] the Republican Guard and the special

[10:13] Republican Guard array against them,

[10:15] then they'll make choices about how

[10:17] quickly they make a beline for Baghdad.

[10:20] >> David, how successful was that mission

[10:23] to clear the way? Was there any sort of

[10:26] significant encounters on behalf of

[10:28] those uh gentlemen there in the Third

[10:30] Infantry Division?

[10:33] No, they've encountered only light

[10:35] opposition so far. What they were doing

[10:36] is they were hitting these two command

[10:38] posts which each contained between 10

[10:40] and 30 Iraqi soldiers and um you know

[10:43] not to be glib about it but I mean from

[10:46] their perspective they wiped them out

[10:47] and and they felt like they had to do

[10:49] that because obviously they don't want a

[10:51] message getting relayed back to Baghdad

[10:53] as to their whereabouts. So they hit it

[10:56] hard for with artillery for the first

[10:58] half hour. We were told, we were

[10:59] listening on the military radio that uh

[11:01] they they started the bomb the we we

[11:04] could see the pictures and maybe you

[11:05] guys have those and maybe you don't. We

[11:07] could see the artillery strikes going

[11:08] off in the distance and we were told

[11:10] that at 8:07 7 minutes later those two

[11:12] command posts were wiped out. When we

[11:14] finally got up to them after the

[11:16] infantry soldiers had been there as

[11:17] well, all we saw was smoldering remains

[11:20] of those two command posts. So, as I

[11:22] say, they've encountered only light

[11:23] opposition thus far. We're also hearing

[11:25] reports that uh the 11th uh regular army

[11:29] division of the Iraqi army has

[11:31] capitulated, has surrendered, and that

[11:33] uh that other Iraqi regular army

[11:36] divisions may be either contemplating or

[11:38] actively engaged in surrendering as

[11:40] well. If that's the case, and again, we

[11:42] don't know that definitively. We're

[11:43] hearing that over the military radio,

[11:44] but of course, we're standing out here

[11:46] in the middle of the desert. But if that

[11:47] is the case, that's a not surprising

[11:50] because the regular Iraqi army was not

[11:52] seen as a formidable fighting force, but

[11:54] b it's also good news because obviously

[11:57] it suggests that some component of the

[11:59] Iraqi military structure is surrendering

[12:02] to the US forces, which is exactly what

[12:04] they'd hope for. David, might some of

[12:06] those come and surrender to your group

[12:09] there, the third infantry division,

[12:10] because you have moved into Iraq right

[12:12] now, and the reports are that Iraq's

[12:15] 11th division there is moving southern.

[12:17] So, it would seem that your two forces

[12:19] might meet up. Was that to be expected?

[12:24] >> Uh, it it could be. Uh again, I I don't

[12:28] want to say too much about where they

[12:30] are and where we might be, but uh but

[12:32] the fact of the matter is is that and I

[12:34] tried in my discussion with Forest

[12:36] Sawyer a little while earlier to sort of

[12:38] allude to this as cryptically as I

[12:40] could. There were on treaties made long

[12:42] before this conflict began to those

[12:45] regular army commanders to say, "Look,

[12:48] uh here's a capitulation document that

[12:49] you can sign and if you sign this

[12:51] capitulation document, you won't have to

[12:53] fight. You can surrender. You can put

[12:55] your men in garrison. You can put your

[12:56] vehicles in a square. You can be

[12:58] separated from them and we won't engage

[13:01] in hostilities. In fact, you can be in

[13:02] charge of your men and we'll disarm you

[13:05] obviously. But uh they're going to leave

[13:07] a very light force behind and keep on

[13:09] rolling. But whether this particular

[13:11] element of the third infantry division

[13:13] has been in contact with them as yet, I

[13:15] can't say.

[13:16] >> David, do you know how long you expect

[13:18] to be stationary there as you wait for

[13:20] the other troops to come and join you?

[13:24] Uh interesting that you should ask that

[13:25] question because I think that we're

[13:27] going to get rolling here uh

[13:28] momentarily. We'll try to show you some

[13:30] live pictures of that as we're moving

[13:31] along. But uh I got to wrap this up

[13:33] pretty quick. So if you've got maybe one

[13:34] more question and then we've got to get

[13:36] going.

[13:37] >> All right, David, one thing. How safe do

[13:39] you feel right now there in the middle

[13:40] of the desert? I see nothing but sand in

[13:43] the picture that we're looking at with

[13:44] you there on the phone to hear my

[13:46] questions. I've seen a couple of tanks

[13:48] off in the distance a bit, but they are

[13:50] not in a large grouping. So, do you feel

[13:53] like you're could be any kind of a

[13:55] target or are you just so alone and

[13:56] isolated that absolutely not?

[14:00] >> Yeah, I think that right now we feel

[14:02] pretty alone and isolated. I mean,

[14:03] having said that, there's artillery that

[14:05] they could certainly rain down upon us,

[14:07] which is uh notoriously inaccurate, but

[14:10] still deadly if by happens to hit you.

[14:13] There's also the possibility that that

[14:14] artillery could be loaded with chemical

[14:16] munitions, biological agents, which is

[14:18] why we're in these uh these chem suits,

[14:20] what they call MOP one, which means that

[14:22] you've got the chem pants on, you've got

[14:24] the chem uh top on, but you don't have

[14:26] your gas mask on, you don't have your g

[14:29] boots on, you don't have your gloves on.

[14:30] So, I mean, it's certainly the case that

[14:32] there are potential threats out here.

[14:34] Having said that, uh we're we're

[14:36] comparatively safe. The the the fight

[14:37] that they anticipate fighting uh isn't

[14:39] here. It's much closer to Baghdad.

[14:42] >> All right. NBC's David Bloom, you've

[14:44] said you have to get uh rolling there

[14:46] with the Third Infantry Division. We do

[14:47] appreciate your live report, David. Do

[14:49] say stay safe, David. We'll check in

[14:51] with you again as soon as we can.

[14:54] >> Thanks, Alice.

[14:56] >> All right, let's go now to Central

[14:57] Command. The very latest on the Marine

[14:59] helicopter crash and also the situation

[15:01] in the Iraqi city of Bosra. To do that,

[15:03] we're joined by NBC's David Schuster. He

[15:05] is live at Sankcom and Gutter with all

[15:07] of that. Good morning to you, David.

[15:10] >> Alex, good morning. And the numbers seem

[15:12] to be changing a little bit regarding

[15:13] that CH 46EC knight. Our British

[15:16] colleagues are now reporting that

[15:18] they've been told that uh there were

[15:19] only eight British soldiers that were on

[15:21] board that aircraft. Earlier, Central

[15:23] Command had said that there were 12 uh

[15:25] and that there were four Americans. In

[15:27] any case, four Americans apparently

[15:28] killed, eight or 12 depending on what

[15:31] the information is that were on board

[15:33] the uh on board that helicopter. In any

[15:35] case, the information is that that

[15:37] chopper went down at about 3:00 in the

[15:39] morning local time here. It was uh in

[15:41] route back from Iraq. It was 8 miles

[15:43] apparently across the border into

[15:45] Kuwait. Uh when according to officials

[15:48] here, there was no evidence uh no

[15:50] indication whatsoever of any hostile or

[15:52] enemy fire, but rather that this was a

[15:54] weather related problem. Uh this

[15:56] particular kind of helicopter has two

[15:58] rotors which can tend to kick up a lot

[15:59] of dust. And remember also that the

[16:01] pilot was using night vision uh goggles

[16:03] at the time and that can make a judgment

[16:05] very difficult as far as trying to

[16:06] figure out where the ground is and

[16:08] looking at the horizon. And that seems

[16:09] to have at least uh there's some

[16:11] indications that that may have

[16:12] contributed to this crash. But again,

[16:14] everybody on board that uh on board that

[16:16] chopper was killed. Uh British and

[16:18] American authorities are apparently now

[16:20] on the scene. It apparently took them a

[16:21] couple hours to get there, but they are

[16:22] reviewing what happened. Uh as this is

[16:25] going on, of course, there's also more

[16:26] information coming out now about uh uh

[16:28] about what's happening in southern Iraq.

[16:30] Uh British military officials are

[16:32] suggesting that uh that the Alfar

[16:34] Peninsula, a key peninsula of southern

[16:36] Iraq, is now completely uh controlled by

[16:39] coalition forces and that these

[16:40] coalition forces are marching towards

[16:42] Basra. Basra, a very important city in

[16:45] southern Iraq. It's the second largest

[16:46] city in Iraq. It's a mostly Shiite

[16:48] population uh that has now no great love

[16:50] for Saddam Hussein after rebellion there

[16:53] 12 years ago, was brutally crushed by

[16:55] forces loyal to Saddam. There's every

[16:57] expectation here at Central Command that

[16:59] when coalition forces take the city of

[17:00] Bazra, there'll be some sort of

[17:02] jubilation and celebration in the

[17:03] streets that the coalition forces will

[17:05] be seen as liberators. And Central

[17:07] Command very eager to have those sort of

[17:09] pictures transmitted across the Middle

[17:11] East, but also across the rest of Iraq

[17:13] in the hopes that somehow that will

[17:14] crush the spirits of Iraqi soldiers

[17:16] perhaps still putting up a fight towards

[17:18] Baghdad. The other important thing that

[17:20] we're being told by again British

[17:22] military officials here is that uh some

[17:24] key oil equipment, some oil pumping

[17:26] equipment, which is essentially Saddam

[17:28] Hussein's pipeline into the Persian

[17:29] Gulf, that that is now in control of

[17:31] coalition forces and that this pipeline

[17:34] had the potential if Saddam wanted to

[17:36] cause some trouble or try to slow down

[17:38] coalition forces that he could have uh

[17:39] either lit the pumping equipment on fire

[17:42] or he could have simply pumped a lot of

[17:43] oil into the Persian Gulf uh to make

[17:45] matters uh worse and sort of get rid of

[17:47] his oil that way. That has not happened.

[17:49] Military officials very satisfied that

[17:52] this oil pumping equipment, some of the

[17:53] oil fields in southern Iraq are now in

[17:55] coalition control. No fires at least in

[17:57] these particular oil fields and the oil

[17:59] pumping equipment closest to the Persian

[18:01] Gulf. And again, every indication that

[18:03] Bazra uh is a key city that where

[18:06] coalition forces clearly marching

[18:07] towards Bazra, they clearly have an

[18:09] objective of trying to take it perhaps

[18:11] very soon. Alex. All right, David, but I

[18:13] want you to once again reiterate the

[18:14] numbers we were talking about in terms

[18:16] of the fatalities in that chopper crash.

[18:19] You say that we are amending those

[18:20] numbers downward now.

[18:23] >> Well, British military officials now

[18:24] apparently saying that there were only

[18:26] eight British uh Royal Marines, Royal

[18:29] Marine Commandos who were on that

[18:30] chopper. We had initially been told by

[18:31] US Central Command that there were 12,

[18:34] but now that figure has apparently

[18:35] changed to eight British uh Royal

[18:38] Marines on board. And then the number of

[18:40] Americans on board has not changed.

[18:41] We're still being told four Marines.

[18:43] That would be the crew of this transport

[18:45] helicopter. Four Marines killed on

[18:47] board.

[18:48] >> All right, NBC's David Schuster at

[18:49] Sentcom and Gutter. Thank you very much

[18:51] for that live report. We will check in

[18:52] with you again as well, David. And now

[18:54] it is just about quarter past the hour

[18:56] of 2 a.m. here on the East Coast. Let's

[18:58] get you caught up with the very latest

[19:00] headlines as we do round the clock here

[19:01] in our coverage of Target Iraq. These

[19:03] headlines in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

[19:05] Now, US and British military officials

[19:07] report that oil fires in southern Iraq.

[19:09] The cause of those fires is unknown at

[19:12] this time. Also, NBC News's David Bloom

[19:14] is reporting that the Iraqi 11th Army

[19:17] Division may have surrendered to

[19:19] coalition forces. US Central Command has

[19:22] not yet confirmed this information.

[19:24] However, if true, this surrender would

[19:26] mark a major setback for Saddam

[19:28] Hussein's defense capability. There is

[19:31] also some evidence this morning that

[19:33] Saddam may have been injured.

[19:35] Intelligence sources are saying that

[19:36] emergency medical personnel were sent to

[19:39] the bunker after it was hit on Wednesday

[19:41] night. Intelligence officials believe

[19:43] that Saddam as well as family members,

[19:45] notably two of his sons. Also, other

[19:47] Iraqi leaders were still in the bunker

[19:49] at the time of that strike. San

[19:52] Francisco police have arrested more than

[19:54] 1,000 people in anti-war protests. It is

[19:58] the most taken into custody on a single

[20:00] day in that city in decades. Thousands

[20:03] of anti-war protesters have swarmed

[20:05] around ramps onto San Francisco's Bay

[20:08] Bridge. We are now going to go to our

[20:11] Bianca Sorzano. She is at the listening

[20:13] post with a recap of what's going on and

[20:15] how the news headlines are playing out

[20:17] around the world. Good morning to you,

[20:19] Bianca.

[20:19] >> Good morning to you, Alex. Well, this is

[20:21] interesting. Our viewers have been

[20:23] watching coverage here in the United

[20:24] States, seeing how we here in the US are

[20:26] covering this war. But we're looking

[20:28] around the world now, seeing how other

[20:30] countries are covering this war war. Our

[20:33] first stop for you right now, headlines

[20:35] out of Japan. This comes from Manichi

[20:37] Daily News. There's an article here.

[20:38] They're expressing fear about one of the

[20:40] human shields. Right now in Baghdad,

[20:42] there's supposed to be 30 Japanese.

[20:44] About 17 of those 30 reporters and six

[20:47] human shields. as well. Foreign Ministry

[20:50] officials say that um since the bombing

[20:52] started, they cannot get in contact with

[20:54] one of those human shields. They're

[20:55] trying to track him down, but of course,

[20:57] they are now worried for his life,

[20:59] worried for his safety. That's one of

[21:00] the stories. Moving from human shields

[21:02] to TV ratings in Japan. I'm going to

[21:05] read this from here. The headline says,

[21:07] "War a boon for NHK." That's a Japanese

[21:11] broadcasting company. Taxpayer funded

[21:13] broadcasting company. and HK can expect

[21:15] a ratings boom after being swamped by

[21:18] callers regarding the war in Iraq. So

[21:21] they're talking about how people there

[21:23] want to watch and know what's going on

[21:25] with this war in Japan. They said that

[21:27] on the night when the bomb started to

[21:28] drop, they originally were going to show

[21:30] a a drama called Osheen, which was being

[21:33] screened to commemorate the 50th

[21:34] anniversary of television broadcast in

[21:36] Japan. And ironically, it was enormously

[21:39] popular when it first aired 20 years

[21:41] ago, especially in the Middle East,

[21:43] especially in Iraq. But they pulled that

[21:45] off air that night, showed war coverage,

[21:47] and people were watching. So, those are

[21:50] just some of the uh headlines beyond the

[21:52] basics in Japan, how they are covering

[21:54] this war right now. And Alex, next time

[21:56] around, I'll tell you some stories that

[21:59] are um making the papers, making the

[22:01] headlines in this war from Australia.

[22:04] >> All right, we'll look forward to that.

[22:05] Thank you so much. Our Bianca Serloano

[22:06] at the listening post. Let's go right

[22:08] now to the Pentagon. That is where NBC's

[22:10] Carl Relle is standing by with the

[22:12] latest from there. Carl, I understand we

[22:14] have some new video we can bring to our

[22:16] viewers on that raid from Baghdad last

[22:19] night. Look at the lighting up of the

[22:20] sky right there with some direct hits.

[22:22] Certainly.

[22:24] >> Yeah. Flying some some hardware in

[22:26] there. And uh it looks to me like what

[22:28] we're seeing there, Alex, is some

[22:30] Tomahawk cruise missiles launched in

[22:31] there. But we are not getting

[22:33] operational information on that right

[22:34] now, it's still uh it's still out there.

[22:36] We're still trying to check it out.

[22:37] We're trying to check out a number of

[22:38] things. Uh one is the discrepancy in the

[22:41] figures on the casualties from the CH46

[22:44] helicopter that went down. And David

[22:46] Schuster was reporting now that the the

[22:48] British were saying eight. The last

[22:50] figures we have uh from the from the US

[22:53] side is that there were four US Marines

[22:56] uh on that chopper that went down that

[22:57] did die and there apparently is some

[22:59] discrepancy in the numbers. We're

[23:01] hearing both eight uh British Marines or

[23:04] British soldiers or and also we're

[23:06] hearing 12 which would make the uh the

[23:08] casualty totals either 12 or 16

[23:11] depending on how you do it. So we're

[23:12] still trying to sort out those. We do

[23:14] know that it was flying at 3:00 a.m.

[23:16] Apparently would be using night vision

[23:18] goggles, night vision equipment at that

[23:20] time of evening. Uh absolutely no one

[23:22] confirming that for us here at this

[23:25] point. And also we are told that it was

[23:28] an accident that it did not go down as a

[23:30] result of friendly fire. Looking at

[23:32] those pictures of Baghdad, I can tell

[23:33] you uh one thing that uh we are told by

[23:36] government sources that uh that

[23:38] emergency medical equipment was rolled

[23:40] into that bunker in Baghdad that Saddam

[23:43] Hussein was believed to have been in uh

[23:45] late uh early Thursday morning, Iraqi

[23:48] time, late Wednesday evening, US time,

[23:50] uh Eastern time, uh when uh three dozen

[23:53] Tomahawk cruise missiles hit that area

[23:55] and the bombs, the bunker buster bombs

[23:57] from those two F-17s hit it. Still no

[24:00] readout for sure on whether Saddam

[24:02] Hussein was taken out or not. Uh we are

[24:04] told that he did in fact make videotapes

[24:07] uh believed to have made videotapes in

[24:09] advance of the attack. Uh the reason why

[24:11] you know that is because uh they believe

[24:14] there were no direct references to any

[24:16] of the strikes that took place on Iraq.

[24:18] Even though the date was mentioned, the

[24:19] date was easy to come up with because

[24:21] President George Bush had set a deadline

[24:23] date. So you could factor a date in, but

[24:25] not a time. is still trying to determine

[24:27] when those tapes were made and trying to

[24:29] determine whether Saddam Hussein is

[24:30] still alive or not. But we are told by

[24:33] these government sources that the

[24:34] presence of him on Iraqi television is

[24:36] not is not a confirmation that he's

[24:38] still alive. Alex

[24:39] >> uh Carl, interestingly the Washington

[24:42] Post has an article which is going to

[24:43] post in just a short while in the

[24:45] morning when it comes out. And there is

[24:47] a woman who claims that she was Saddam

[24:49] Hussein's mistress in a in Iraq for many

[24:52] years. She is among the people who have

[24:54] looked at Saddam Hussein on this tape.

[24:57] She does not believe that the person in

[24:59] that tape is Saddam Hussein. And in

[25:01] fact, this is a woman who has worked

[25:02] with officials before in intelligence

[25:04] and has led them to the evidence of a

[25:07] double acting as Saddam Hussein. Is

[25:10] there any reaction to that inside the

[25:12] Pentagon at all? Uh I was told, Alex, by

[25:15] uh my sources that don't go too hard on

[25:18] the body double idea, but there were

[25:19] some serious questions raised about

[25:21] whether this was in fact Saddam Hussein.

[25:23] And the the reasons they pointed out are

[25:25] he is wearing glasses in this picture.

[25:27] He is reading from what appears to be a

[25:29] stenopad that is quite different from

[25:31] the normal appearances of Saddam Hussein

[25:34] on TV. Typically, he uh does not wear

[25:36] glasses. He uses a teleprompter. uh he

[25:39] puts on a very slick presentation, if

[25:42] you will, a very professional

[25:43] presentation. He could uh be an Iraqi TV

[25:45] anchor almost. His presentation is that

[25:47] professional. And that's one of the

[25:49] reasons they say Saddam Hussein, they're

[25:51] not really sure whether it is him or is

[25:54] not him. They are trying to determine

[25:55] that. They're looking at the tape to see

[25:57] when it was made, if they can figure

[25:59] that out. They're also doing a

[26:01] comparison with a voice print, a voice

[26:03] analysis of that to see if it does in

[26:05] fact match uh the uh you know the way

[26:08] they work those things up, the lines on

[26:10] graphs on certain words that will tell

[26:11] you uh speech patterns to try to see if

[26:14] in fact it is Saddam Hussein. But uh we

[26:16] don't know quite frankly whether he's

[26:17] alive, whether he's wounded or injured

[26:20] or whether he is dead. Uh we're still

[26:22] trying to find that out and so is the US

[26:23] government by the way, Alex.

[26:25] >> All right, Carl, we will look to you for

[26:26] the answers once those uh questions have

[26:28] been answered. Thank you so much. Do

[26:29] appreciate your time. NBC's Carl

[26:31] Rashelle at the Pentagon. Well, instead

[26:33] of unleashing a full air assault, the US

[26:35] and Britain launched precision strikes

[26:37] into Baghdad several hours ago. It was

[26:39] the second time that the capital city

[26:40] was struck. With me now in our war room

[26:42] to discuss what's going on right now is

[26:44] retired Marine Major Jack Stradley and

[26:46] Dan Ger, the vice president of the

[26:48] Lexington Institute. That is a nonprofit

[26:50] public policy research organization.

[26:52] Dan, by the way, was also a former

[26:53] defense department official during the

[26:54] Persian Gulf War. Gentlemen, glad to

[26:56] have you both, Major and Jan. Let's talk

[26:58] about these first of all to you, Major.

[27:00] Now, these were precision strikes, were

[27:02] they not?

[27:03] >> Absolutely. They were tomahawk missiles.

[27:05] Uh also probably F-17 stealth fighters

[27:08] dropping uh uh uh precision guided

[27:12] ordinance.

[27:13] >> Mhm. And how does this differ from the

[27:15] kind of precision strikes that we were

[27:16] able to do 12 years ago in the first

[27:18] Gulf War?

[27:19] >> Well, the the similar weapon systems. We

[27:21] had the tomahawk missiles then, we had

[27:22] the stealth fighters then. It's just

[27:24] several generations more advanced,

[27:26] better guidance system, more pinpoint

[27:28] accuracy where we were uh coming

[27:30] accurate to dozens of yards back then,

[27:32] we're coming down to literally feet now.

[27:35] >> So, how how do they hone in on these

[27:37] sites? Is it a GPS guided system?

[27:40] >> Well, it it depends. Yes, the Tomahawk

[27:43] uses a combination of inertial guidance

[27:45] and GPS and several other things,

[27:46] terrain following features, uh to take

[27:49] it to its actual target, what's

[27:52] programmed in. And it can also be

[27:53] adjusted once it's in flight.

[27:55] >> Okay. I want to ask you, Dan, about

[27:57] these precision uh bombings. Do we know

[28:00] first of all why we've decided to go

[28:02] this route instead of do the shock and

[28:04] awe, the unleashing of everything that

[28:05] we've got in the initial stages of this

[28:07] campaign?

[28:08] >> One has to assume that this was intended

[28:12] from the beginning, not driven by the

[28:15] target of opportunity. That's too

[28:16] simple. That means we had to have had

[28:18] contacts and probably intelligence

[28:20] sources inside the Iraqi high command,

[28:23] inside the military that suggested that

[28:26] with a little push in the right

[28:27] direction, we might get this system to

[28:29] collapse from inside. And there's at

[28:30] least some indications, you've been

[28:32] hearing it from David Bloom and others,

[28:33] that this might be true. We might be

[28:34] seeing a wholesale uh defection or

[28:36] surrender of Iraqi units.

[28:38] >> Would that mean that we would never have

[28:40] to launch the shock and awe strategy?

[28:42] >> That's right. One might not have to do

[28:44] that or we would do it in very selected

[28:46] areas for example against some of the

[28:48] Republican Guard units if they persist

[28:50] in resisting. So it would not be you

[28:51] know global shock and eye across Iraq.

[28:54] It would be if you will precision shock.

[28:56] >> And indeed major one of these locations

[28:58] was the Iraqi Republican Guard was it

[29:01] not one of their headquarters?

[29:02] >> It was their headquarters in Baghdad. So

[29:04] we're going after we we're consistently

[29:06] going after significant targets. targets

[29:08] of command and control, air defense

[29:10] facilities, communications facilities,

[29:13] very consistent campaign uh to again

[29:15] decapitate the Iraqi government, the

[29:18] military leadership.

[29:19] >> And how crucial is the Iraqi Republican

[29:21] Guard to any sort of success militarily

[29:23] for Saddam Hussein?

[29:24] >> Well, it's it's absolutely crucial. The

[29:26] Republican Guard, the Special Republican

[29:28] Guard, the Special Security Services are

[29:30] the most well-trained, the most loyal

[29:31] troops there. They're the only ones that

[29:33] we expect to really put up a fight. uh

[29:35] they're not a match for the forces that

[29:37] they're facing from the US and

[29:38] coalition, but they are in fact uh

[29:41] probably going to fight to some degree.

[29:43] >> All right, Dan, I'm also being told

[29:44] MSNBC has learned that a special

[29:46] security organization in Baghdad was

[29:49] also struck. What do you know about

[29:50] that? And are these the same kinds of

[29:52] things again that were struck back in

[29:53] '91?

[29:54] >> Yes, actually they were. The special

[29:55] security organization is run by Saddam's

[29:58] youngest son, Kusay. It is really the

[30:00] guardians of the guardians, if you will.

[30:02] It is there to keep an eye on the the

[30:05] Republican Guard and the other security

[30:07] organizations. It is about uh somewhere

[30:10] around 5,000 troops. They do special

[30:13] communications which is probably why

[30:14] they were struck. They do uh some of the

[30:17] security service stuff. They're really

[30:19] in a sense the the ultimate goon squad,

[30:21] perhaps the Gustapo of Iraq.

[30:23] >> So these are all facilities that have

[30:24] been wiped out 12 years ago and rebuilt

[30:27] from the ground up.

[30:28] >> Well, they were struck. Some of them

[30:29] were struck very heavily and essentially

[30:30] the buildings were destroyed. In other

[30:32] cases, they were only damaged. Uh it

[30:35] varied rather rather widely, but it

[30:37] turns out that the Iraqis, bless their

[30:38] little hearts, went right back and

[30:40] rebuilt these facilities and went right

[30:41] back to business. So to a certain

[30:43] extent, you know, we it's known sites.

[30:46] We've done this before.

[30:47] >> All right, gentlemen. I'm going to ask

[30:48] you to stand by just for a moment. We

[30:49] want to reset for all of you. We are

[30:50] rapidly approaching the bottom of the

[30:52] hour. I'm Alex Whit and as promised, we

[30:54] are giving you the latest headlines

[30:56] every quarter hour. This in Operation

[30:58] Iraqi Freedom. Let's bring you up to

[30:59] date right now on Target Iraq. A British

[31:01] military spokesman says coalition forces

[31:04] have taken control of the Alfar

[31:06] Peninsulas in southern Iraq. The

[31:08] official also says that forces are

[31:10] making significant progress in their

[31:12] efforts to capture the key southern

[31:14] Iraqi city of Bosra. Also the BBC news

[31:18] now reporting that scores of Iraqi

[31:20] troops have surrendered to British Royal

[31:22] Marine commandos operating in southern

[31:25] Iraq. Officials at US Central Command

[31:28] now say that 12 casualties in the crash

[31:30] of a US Marine helicopter in Kuwait are

[31:33] confirmed. The Pentagon officials say,

[31:35] however, no hostile fire was involved in

[31:37] that crash of the CH46. That cite went

[31:41] down, killing all 12 on board, four

[31:43] Americans and eight British. The CIT was

[31:46] assigned to the first Marine

[31:48] Expeditionary Force. Meanwhile, the US

[31:51] Senate unanimously approved a resolution

[31:53] in support of all those forces. This

[31:55] resolution expressed gratitude to the

[31:57] troops, their families, also offered

[32:00] support for the president as our

[32:01] commander-in-chief. It also thanked

[32:03] British Prime Minister Tony Blair and

[32:05] his government in the UK for their

[32:07] support. We will recap the latest

[32:09] headlines on the Iraqi crisis for you

[32:10] every 15 minutes. And you can also get

[32:12] the very latest anytime on our web. To

[32:14] do that, go to Iraq.msnbc.com.

[32:18] Gentlemen, I want to get back with you.

[32:19] Retired Marine Major Jack Stradley, also

[32:21] Dan Ger. Let's get back to the attacks,

[32:23] the assaults on Iraq. Again, the

[32:25] question being no more the shock and

[32:27] awe. It's not necessarily a crucial part

[32:30] to success if things go as expected,

[32:32] Dan.

[32:33] >> Absolutely. It may be that we don't have

[32:35] to inflict the kind of destruction or

[32:37] casualties that we once thought we would

[32:39] have to do. Or it'll be restricted. It

[32:41] may involve only attacks upon the

[32:43] Republican Guard, special Republican

[32:44] Guard, very selective, and we will be

[32:46] able to occupy essentially most of Iraq

[32:49] uh without much of uh a conflict being

[32:52] uh conducted. What about presidential

[32:54] palaces major? Presidential palaces and

[32:56] the like being a place to target in

[32:59] advance of allowing Saddam Hussein to

[33:02] get there. In other words, eradicate

[33:03] that kind of a safe house which he might

[33:05] go to.

[33:06] >> Well, very legitimate targets. And and

[33:07] you have to understand those

[33:08] presidential palaces are actually

[33:10] military encamp encampments. There are

[33:13] troops there. There are communications

[33:15] facilities there, bunkers, things like

[33:17] that. So targeting those things is is

[33:19] essential to the prosecution of this

[33:21] campaign and they are legitimate target

[33:23] targets. I'm sure they're on a target

[33:24] list and will be executed in due course.

[33:27] >> Now you said it was tomahawk missiles

[33:28] that were launched into that Ministry of

[33:31] Information I believe building where

[33:32] Saddam Hussein is believed to have been

[33:34] with perhaps his sons underneath. How

[33:36] far deep down do those Tomahawk missiles

[33:39] go? Well, normally a tomahawk missile or

[33:42] a cruise missile is is generally a

[33:44] conventional one carries about 2,000 lbs

[33:45] of high explosives. Uh, and so they go

[33:48] in and can take out the buildings fairly

[33:50] easily. Uh, level those, create

[33:52] shrapnel, kill people on the ground. Um,

[33:54] what happened after that though was the

[33:57] two F-17 stealth fighters dropped bunker

[34:00] buster bombs, 2,000lb bombs with special

[34:02] fusing that allows them to uh delay,

[34:05] penetrate concrete, penetrate earth, and

[34:08] explode much deeper in the ground. And

[34:10] so the idea was is to to come in uh

[34:13] knock out the things on the ground,

[34:14] maybe create a little bit of uh of a

[34:16] hole, if you will, and then come in and

[34:18] with a precision guided, laserg guided

[34:20] munition, specifically target what was

[34:23] thought to be the bunker and drive it

[34:25] deep and try and create uh a shock

[34:27] effect down there. Uh blow it up.

[34:29] >> And in what kind of rapid succession

[34:31] would the first the tomahawks then lead

[34:33] to those that were dropped the bunker

[34:34] busters?

[34:35] >> They would be right on top of each

[34:36] other. the the coordination of that kind

[34:37] of thing can be down to literally within

[34:39] seconds. The the F-17s on t are on

[34:43] station standing by as the tomahawks

[34:45] start to explode. There's a a timeline

[34:47] and they would roll in literally seconds

[34:49] after the last explosion uh went off of

[34:52] the of the tomahawk missiles.

[34:53] >> Dan, is it believed that all these

[34:55] presidential palaces and these important

[34:57] buildings, official buildings of the

[34:58] Iraqi government inside Baghdad have

[35:01] these sort of bunkers underneath them

[35:02] that have been built for security, for

[35:04] safe houses? Oh, lots of them have it

[35:06] for a whole variety of reasons. Look,

[35:08] this this was going on well before even

[35:10] the first Gulf War. The Iraqis have been

[35:12] at war for well over two decades. You

[35:14] put these bunkers under all kinds of

[35:15] buildings. They learned, of course,

[35:17] after the first Gulf War, the importance

[35:19] of trying to dig deep as a way of

[35:20] defending against US weapons.

[35:23] >> Also, Major, I want to ask you about the

[35:25] explosions that have been heard in

[35:26] Mosul. Can you tell me what you believe

[35:28] is going on there right now and why?

[35:30] Well, you know, we have some some oil

[35:32] feeds fields up in the area of Mosul uh

[35:34] and and in northern Iraq there. Not real

[35:37] sure. We haven't got a lot of really

[35:38] good reports of what might be going on

[35:40] up there. Uh there's some information

[35:42] about the Kurds up there possibly moving

[35:44] into that area. Uh there's also the

[35:46] potential for some light uh light

[35:48] infantry either airmobile or airborne uh

[35:50] moving up to the north potentially to

[35:52] secure the area of the oil fields there.

[35:54] Uh but really, I don't know. Uh I I'm

[35:57] just purely speculating right now. Is it

[35:59] possible that these explosions are not

[36:01] as a result of US artillery strikes that

[36:04] this would be something perhaps as you

[36:06] said the Kurds are there? This could be

[36:08] something localized that way.

[36:09] >> It could be any number of things. Yes.

[36:11] >> Okay, gentlemen. I want to thank you

[36:12] very much. We'll have you back and and

[36:14] discuss a little more about what's going

[36:15] on right now. Dan Gray and Major

[36:17] Strowley, thank you so much. All right,

[36:19] let's head right now to the White House.

[36:21] Let's get right now to our Jessica

[36:22] Yellen who is covering things from there

[36:24] for us. And Jessica, tell us the

[36:26] reaction of the president today to the

[36:28] day's events.

[36:29] >> Hi, Alex. Well, from the White House,

[36:31] there was very cautious comment about uh

[36:34] the progress of the war so far, but in

[36:36] private administration officials seemed

[36:38] pleased with that progress. The

[36:40] battlefield reports they say, were

[36:42] encouraging. They say they even had

[36:43] signs that top Iraqi leadership may

[36:46] already be crumbling. Now, of course,

[36:47] that mood was dampened by news that 16

[36:50] US and British troops died in the crash

[36:53] of that Marine helicopter we've been

[36:54] reporting about. So far, the president

[36:57] did not comment on that, but I wouldn't

[36:59] be surprised if you see him express his

[37:01] condolences to their families later

[37:03] today. Now, at the end of this evening,

[37:05] the president retired to the residence.

[37:07] Before he went to sleep, he got late

[37:09] night briefings by both Defense

[37:10] Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his

[37:12] national security adviser, Condisa Rice.

[37:15] He plans to depart for Camp David later

[37:17] today. Now, if you listen overall to the

[37:20] messages coming out of all branches of

[37:22] the administration, you'll hear a

[37:23] continued message of the inevitability

[37:25] of coalition victory. You keep hearing

[37:28] it. They are insistent that Saddam

[37:29] Hussein will be overthrown if in fact he

[37:32] hasn't been killed already. Of course,

[37:34] officials still are not saying if they

[37:36] believe Saddam is dead or alive and

[37:38] again cautious with their comments on

[37:39] that topic as well. Now again, admin

[37:42] administration officials confirmed that

[37:43] discussions are ongoing with members of

[37:46] the Iraqi Republican Guard, that

[37:48] country's elite military force. You've

[37:49] been discussing that with the military

[37:51] experts there. Of course, there are

[37:53] obvious psychological and strategic

[37:55] advantages of high level defections as

[37:57] you've been discussing, but it also

[37:59] would be a great political victory for

[38:01] the White House as well. And we could

[38:03] talk a bit more about that if you like,

[38:05] Alex.

[38:05] >> Yeah, abs. Absolutely. Let's talk about

[38:07] that.

[38:08] >> Uh, okay. The Republican Guard, as I

[38:10] said, not only defends um Saddam

[38:12] Hussein, but they also protect the city

[38:14] of Baghdad itself. And if this

[38:17] Republican Guard were to crumble in any

[38:19] significant way, it means that the US

[38:21] could possibly avoid a pitched battle

[38:23] over Baghdad, which has been a great

[38:26] concern for a number of reasons. partly

[38:28] because from the beginning of war

[38:30] planning uh there have been worries that

[38:32] coalition troops might get drawn into

[38:34] very ugly street fighting in Baghdad

[38:36] with high casualties both among allies

[38:39] and Iraqi civilians and all of it quite

[38:42] possibly caught on US and Arab

[38:44] television um both uh would be a tragedy

[38:47] and very bad in terms of public

[38:49] perception. So if these top guard

[38:51] members defect and that weakens defenses

[38:53] for Baghdad, it could be a great

[38:55] political victory for the White House.

[38:57] Alex

[38:57] >> Jessica, let's also talk about uh these

[38:59] more countries now that have been added

[39:01] to the list of nations supporting the

[39:03] war effort. I told 15 more just today.

[39:07] Can you tell us a little bit more

[39:08] details about that?

[39:09] >> Right. It's the so-called coalition of

[39:11] the willing that the White House has

[39:13] been talking about. Um some of those new

[39:15] countries include places like Costa

[39:16] Rica, Mongolia, the Solomon Islands, all

[39:19] places where support is really symbolic

[39:22] more than anything else. But the White

[39:23] House continues to hammer home on this

[39:26] point that um there is broad support

[39:28] internationally for this war effort that

[39:30] every major religion and ethnicity is

[39:32] represented. But as you know many

[39:34] traditional US allies still do remain

[39:36] fiercely opposed to the war effort. Alex

[39:39] >> indeed thank you so much for the live

[39:40] report there from Washington. MSNBC's

[39:43] Jessica Yellen. Thanks Jessica. We'll

[39:44] check in with you again as well. We're

[39:46] getting some news right now everyone

[39:47] from Reuters Wire Service. They are

[39:49] quoting the BBC and telling us that the

[39:51] Kirkook oil fields in Iraq have now been

[39:54] secured. We're not sure if they've been

[39:56] secured by British or US forces, but

[39:59] certainly by the coalition forces there.

[40:01] Once again, Reuters wire service telling

[40:03] us according to the BBC, the Kirkook oil

[40:07] fields have now been secured. Of course,

[40:09] all this on the heels of southern Iraqi

[40:12] oil fields being lit on fire supposedly.

[40:15] We've had some NASA intelligence

[40:16] gathering the information for us from

[40:18] satellites way up high in the sky. And

[40:20] we were told that there were two oil

[40:22] fields on fire. There has yet to be uh

[40:25] concrete confirmation on the number of

[40:26] oil fields that could be on fire, but we

[40:28] know there are some there in the south.

[40:30] Kirkook oil fields being there in the

[40:32] north. Again, once again, we do believe

[40:33] they have been secured. Let's go right

[40:36] now uh from the this information to the

[40:39] Arab nation of Jordan right now. That is

[40:41] where relief workers they are bracing

[40:43] for a flood of refugees fleeing Iraq.

[40:46] NBC's Mike Taibbei, he joins us live

[40:48] near the Jordanian Iraqi border with

[40:50] more on this impending crisis. Good

[40:52] morning to you.

[40:54] Hi Alex, how are you doing? And the word

[40:56] impending is the correct one here. The

[40:58] crisis hasn't really arrived yet. Not

[41:00] that there haven't been difficulties.

[41:01] This is the camp behind me, one of the

[41:03] two here. It's called Camp B, Camp

[41:04] Bravo. for third country nationals, that

[41:07] is non Iraqis living in Iraq who have

[41:09] left Iraq because of the war and want to

[41:11] go back to their home countries or need

[41:13] to go back to their home countries. As I

[41:14] say, not without problems. It's always

[41:16] the young and the old who are most

[41:17] affected, most profoundly affected by

[41:19] this type of trauma, having to uproot

[41:21] and move. We have information that one

[41:23] older man and one infant, one newborn,

[41:25] as it was described to us, were taken to

[41:26] hospital. The older man had a heart

[41:28] attack. We don't know the status of

[41:30] either his medical condition or that of

[41:31] the child. About 440 people were kept

[41:35] overnighted in this camp. They got up

[41:37] this morning at first light. We were

[41:38] here at that point. Everybody seemed in

[41:40] reasonably good shape at that point. Uh

[41:42] some kids were playing soccer, other

[41:44] people were gathering their goods,

[41:46] bringing their suitcases out in front of

[41:47] their tent because the the plan is the

[41:49] second part of the plan is to leave from

[41:51] here via bus and go back to Oman to

[41:54] arrange transportation from there back

[41:56] to their home country. We spoke uh a

[41:58] little bit earlier with Sebastian

[42:00] Carlier who's with the International Red

[42:02] Crescent Red Cross and he explained the

[42:04] circumstances of the travel for the

[42:06] people who had to spend the night here.

[42:08] >> The things are are looking better now.

[42:10] It's still very cold. Uh about maybe 5°,

[42:14] so it's people are not really used to

[42:15] that kind of temperature here, but but

[42:17] things are okay now. From the time on

[42:20] average from the time that they left

[42:21] Baghdad, got on that bus until the time

[42:23] they were situated in a shelter here,

[42:25] you say it was at least a 12-h hour

[42:26] drive. How long in total was it that

[42:28] they had to spend before they could

[42:30] finally sit down and be situated here?

[42:32] >> According to some of some of them, I

[42:34] mean uh uh they they for instance, I

[42:36] talked to to somebody like a couple of

[42:38] minutes ago. He said that they left

[42:40] Baghdad yesterday at 12 uh:00 noon at

[42:43] noon. So, and they came they came today

[42:45] at at 7:00. So this this trip was really

[42:47] long, but some other people said

[42:49] yesterday that it took them like 12 or

[42:51] 15 hours.

[42:53] >> Now, we use generic terms to describe

[42:55] this part of the crisis. Refugees on the

[42:58] move, having to get transportation. You

[42:59] can see behind me that the buses are

[43:01] ready to take most of the people who are

[43:03] here, about 200 of the 300 or so who are

[43:05] still here off to Aman. But they're all

[43:07] individual stories. And we spoke with a

[43:09] number of those families. One in

[43:10] particular, a man about my age, 52 years

[43:13] old with a wife and one child, same

[43:15] circumstance I have, who has built a

[43:16] life and a career and has a bank account

[43:18] and apartment or had those things

[43:20] because he decided as soon as President

[43:22] Bush gave his ultimatum to Saddam

[43:23] Hussein that he himself and his name is

[43:25] Moi Muhammad had himself been given an

[43:28] ultimatum and he decided to go to his

[43:30] embassy and to arrange to leave to

[43:32] become a refugee now on the way back to

[43:34] Oman. This is Mike Taibbe reporting back

[43:36] to you, Alex. All right, Mike, I do want

[43:38] to ask you though, certainly Jordan is

[43:40] not very keen on having a rush, a flood

[43:43] of refugees come their way. And in fact,

[43:46] uh, Secretary Donald Rumsfeld earlier

[43:48] this evening said that people in Iraq

[43:50] should stay in their country. Aren't

[43:52] there provisions being made to help

[43:54] refugees or people who are displaced by

[43:56] any possible military activity to stay

[43:59] there? Get them get them food, get them

[44:01] shelter, get them water, get them

[44:03] medical supplies, but staying within the

[44:05] country of Iraq.

[44:07] Yeah, actually a lot of those plans have

[44:09] been discussed, but they're always in

[44:10] flux. Presumably on the other side of

[44:12] the border in the no man's land or just

[44:14] east of that, still in Iraq. Uh there

[44:16] are plans of uh maybe housing some

[44:18] people there and getting shelter kits in

[44:19] position there. But Jordan as a

[44:21] contiguous country on the other side of

[44:23] the border is preparing for an

[44:24] onslaught, a flood as you described it

[44:26] before, perhaps as many as 100,000

[44:28] 200,000 refugees if the be the bombing

[44:31] becomes so intense that that flood

[44:33] starts. it kind of feeds on itself and

[44:35] people are not going to want to stay in

[44:36] Iraq because they feel it still is a

[44:38] target and it's the individual refugee

[44:40] who makes a decision that I'm going to

[44:41] become one. I'm going to leave and

[44:42] that's what these people have done.

[44:44] Leaving lives that have been established

[44:45] that's what tens of thousands, hundreds

[44:47] of thousands are thinking of doing at

[44:49] that point of decision right now as the

[44:51] war is in its third day.

[44:53] >> And any kind of creature comforts there?

[44:55] I mean, how how hard is it to live under

[44:57] those conditions for any length of time,

[44:59] Mike?

[45:01] Well, this is this is not, you know, a

[45:02] couple of days of light roughing it in

[45:04] the country, the camping trips that some

[45:05] of us might remember from our childhood.

[45:07] This is uh you get on a bus, you travel

[45:09] for 15, 19 hours, you get processed at

[45:11] several points, and you find yourself in

[45:12] a cold place. He was talking about 5° 5°

[45:15] centiggrade before uh about 40°. It felt

[45:17] colder than that this morning. You sleep

[45:19] in a tent, which may be reasonable

[45:21] enough, but there's the dust was blowing

[45:23] in. You get up and you uh you take a

[45:25] walk across the cold to a latrine that's

[45:27] been set up. you can wash in these

[45:29] spigots that have been set up because

[45:30] there is running water. Uh hopefully

[45:32] there's enough food. And I say hopefully

[45:33] because there've been problems with some

[45:35] of the NOS's running these camps and

[45:37] getting enough money to provide all the

[45:38] resources. They say they they do it.

[45:40] They can do it. They can handle 5,000 at

[45:42] present. More than that if necessary and

[45:44] more than that again if the third step

[45:46] uh arrives where they have 20,000

[45:48] filling this one camp to capacity. Um

[45:50] but it's it's not an easy life. And you

[45:52] know the kids were laughing this

[45:53] morning. We talked to some of them uh

[45:55] and and they seemed okay. It's one

[45:57] night, but if it goes on for two nights,

[45:59] three nights, four nights, and the

[46:00] uncertainty on the other end of where

[46:02] they're going to go, it wears you down.

[46:04] And as I said, the stress was enough

[46:05] that one man had a heart attack, and we

[46:07] don't know the medical problem that sent

[46:08] the newborn to the hospital, but it's

[46:10] difficult. It really is.

[46:11] >> All right, Mike Ty, thank you very much

[46:13] for that live report from the refugee

[46:14] camp there along the Jordanian Iraqi

[46:16] border. We'll check in with you again as

[46:18] well. We are now at 45 the hour. As

[46:21] promised, the very latest headlines now

[46:23] in Operation Iraqi Freedom for you. US

[46:25] and British military officials report

[46:28] oil fires in southern Iraq. The cause of

[46:30] these fires unknown at this time. Also,

[46:33] NBC News's David Bloom is reporting that

[46:35] the Iraqi 11th Army Division may, I

[46:38] repeat, may have surrendered to

[46:40] coalition forces. US Central Command has

[46:42] not yet confirmed this information.

[46:44] However, if true, this surrender would

[46:47] mark a major setback for Saddam

[46:49] Hussein's defense capability. There is

[46:51] also evidence that Saddam himself may

[46:54] have been injured. Intelligence sources

[46:55] are saying that emergency medical

[46:57] personnel were sent to the bunker that

[46:59] Saddam Hussein and his two sons were

[47:01] believed to have been in in downtown

[47:02] Baghdad. This after was hit on Wednesday

[47:05] night. Intelligence officials believe

[47:07] Saddam and other Iraqi leaders were

[47:09] still in that bunker at the time of the

[47:12] strike. Back domestically, San Francisco

[47:14] police arresting more than 1,000 people

[47:17] in anti-war protests. It is the most

[47:20] taken into custody on any single day in

[47:23] that city in decades. Thousands of

[47:25] anti-war protesters swarmed around ramps

[47:28] onto San Francisco's Bay Bridge. We're

[47:31] going to recap the latest headlines on

[47:32] the Iraqi crisis for you every 15

[47:34] minutes right here on MSNBC. You can

[47:36] also get the very latest anytime on the

[47:37] web. To do that, you go to

[47:39] Iraq.msnbc.com

[47:41] for complete coverage, the in-depth

[47:43] analysis slideshows, also video. Once

[47:45] again, go to rock.msnbc.com

[47:47] for that. Let's go right now to MSNBC's

[47:50] Bob Arnod. He is somewhere along the uh

[47:54] northern Kuwait border there. We're told

[47:56] he's with the expeditionary forces.

[47:57] You've been riding on choppers. Bob,

[47:59] tell me what you know about the chopper

[48:01] that went down earlier that killed at

[48:03] least four US servicemen.

[48:08] >> Well, this was the most dramatic. It was

[48:09] really the boldest military foray of the

[48:12] war so far. A dramatic insertion into

[48:14] Iraq to secure some of the oil producing

[48:17] fields. We do not want to tell you

[48:18] where. Tremendous amount of fire. AC130

[48:21] gunships laying down fire. Fire being

[48:23] returned. The Cobras from our base here

[48:26] were able to suppress a great deal of

[48:27] that fire. They are still in action. Our

[48:29] mission was to take British commandos

[48:32] into that region. We were with one

[48:34] squad. I do not want to give the name,

[48:36] but uh unfortunately one of our kilos

[48:38] did go down. We'll just take a moment

[48:40] and just tell you how privileged and and

[48:42] honored we were to know these men here

[48:44] at our base. We saw them enter their

[48:47] helicopter. Four Americans. We saw eight

[48:49] British commandos enter this helicopter.

[48:51] The flight conditions at the time we

[48:52] took off were reasonable. Thick sort of

[48:54] haze, but probably 2 to three miles of

[48:56] visibility. East of our camp. The

[48:58] visibility went down to between a

[49:00] quarter and a half of a mile. Uh with

[49:02] night vision goggles, it's impossible to

[49:04] see that kind of visibility. Sand

[49:05] spewing in the air, a wind enough to get

[49:08] a good deal of sand there. Uh the report

[49:09] is that uh I witness account is that the

[49:12] helicopter kicks down and that there was

[49:14] a fireball on impact. Uh our condolences

[49:17] to these families. I think those words

[49:19] probably are not strong enough to

[49:20] express the feelings that we have for

[49:22] these men that we know other Marines in

[49:24] this this base do. It's a tremendous

[49:26] tragedy. Uh we were the trap aircraft.

[49:28] This is a recovery aircraft. We were

[49:31] sent actually to recover these

[49:33] individuals hoping they were still

[49:34] alive. We were called off and we found

[49:37] that they they had not survived. Uh the

[49:40] mission itself said to be a success. Uh

[49:42] British troops are engaged at this

[49:43] point. They have been able to secure all

[49:45] the major targets and it's an ongoing

[49:47] operations. I don't want to tell you

[49:48] where it is. It does have to do with a

[49:50] major part of the oil uh distilling and

[49:54] distribution business uh in Iraq.

[49:57] Strategically, here we are at a base

[49:59] tremendous air assets here. As I was

[50:01] lying down in the desert last night when

[50:03] we said we're getting predators go

[50:05] overhead. Very loud engine. The C130s

[50:08] come in overhead. Large kilos up the 46

[50:11] and 53s the coers to command cumul. A

[50:14] very very dramatic scene last night. Not

[50:17] much resistance being met by the

[50:18] mechanized units going up over the

[50:20] border. But this was a deep deep

[50:21] conversion. A very bold move by the US

[50:24] Marines here who like to think that they

[50:26] are first and foremost and often are.

[50:27] They had to use night vision goggles. I

[50:29] was able to use some of the goggles and

[50:31] it really does sort of bring a a day to

[50:33] night except in that circumstance where

[50:36] you have a tremendous amount of sand and

[50:38] very very low visibility. At that point,

[50:41] the rest of the mission was called off,

[50:42] brought back. We are back here at base

[50:44] and we are ready to resupply units that

[50:47] are in there and on standby here at the

[50:50] intelligence headquarters here where

[50:51] intelligence is being gathered on a

[50:53] minute-by-minute basis on operations

[50:56] inside Iraq. Back to you,

[50:57] >> Bob. Can you tell us with whom those

[50:59] British troops are right now engaged in

[51:01] combat that you referred to? Is it

[51:03] members of Iraq's 11th Infantry Division

[51:06] or do you know?

[51:10] >> We've very specifically been asked not

[51:12] to communicate division numbers. What we

[51:14] know is that there is a real firefight

[51:16] ongoing. This is a a strategic target.

[51:19] The Iraqis are dug in deep. Uh they

[51:22] fired back at Cobra gunships. Not a

[51:24] really smart move. Usually they fire

[51:26] back at the AC130s. They have a unit you

[51:28] hear a lot about which is the DSU23

[51:31] mm anti-aircraft gun. These are

[51:33] ubiquitous, the anti-aircraft weapon of

[51:36] choice out southern Iraq. Could use

[51:38] radar but often used without radar.

[51:40] They're firing US forces there. Real

[51:43] firefights. But despite this, the

[51:44] British commanders have been able to

[51:46] form a major blocking action so that the

[51:48] Republican guard cannot escape out of

[51:50] that region to try and protect Baghdad.

[51:52] has been a very very important move in

[51:54] this war. He had a tremendous dramatic

[51:57] mission and our our hearts really go out

[51:59] to those crew members. I think we got to

[52:02] to know and uh love their

[52:04] >> and and and Bob, my final question to

[52:06] you on a personal note for those

[52:08] soldiers who have lost their comrades,

[52:10] how difficult is it for them to

[52:12] understand they have lost their friends,

[52:14] their compatriots, and yet have to move

[52:16] on? How well can they do that?

[52:20] >> Well, it was interesting. I was speaking

[52:21] to one of our Cuban things, Fuel. He was

[52:24] best friends with the pilot of the

[52:25] aircraft. I actually was down yesterday

[52:27] morning with the pilot, what they call

[52:28] the comfort trailer where you you shave

[52:30] and you you have a shower. And uh I

[52:33] asked him there's you know it's steely

[52:35] resolved there. I mean he was bitterly

[52:37] disappointed. He was uh clearly uh

[52:40] suffering greatly but like so many other

[52:43] members of the crew. Just one last

[52:46] thought before you buy it. We've heard

[52:47] so far that this is a mission that we've

[52:49] got to do. It's changed for them. What's

[52:51] happened? People are now saying we're

[52:53] going to go out and we're going to kick

[52:54] some butt. We're angry now. We're going

[52:56] to get back. These Marines are charged

[52:58] up and they're ready to retaliate to

[53:00] what happens to their federal.

[53:03] >> All right, Bob Arnot there somewhere in

[53:04] northern Kuwait. We will not divulge

[53:06] your location for security reasons.

[53:07] Thank you very much for the live report,

[53:09] Rob. Much appreciated. Well, a very key

[53:11] part of the military strategy has been

[53:13] to prevent the Scud missile attacks on

[53:16] Israel. Of course, Iraq fired dozens of

[53:18] the Scuds at Israel back in the 1991

[53:20] Gulf War. There is now fear of course of

[53:23] chemical or biological weapons being

[53:24] associated with any kind of incoming

[53:26] missiles into Israel. Let's go right now

[53:28] to Keith Miller. He's in Tel Aviv with

[53:30] the very latest for us on that front.

[53:32] Good morning to you, Keith.

[53:35] >> Good morning, Alex. Well, I can tell you

[53:36] that here the uh stress level, if you

[53:38] will, has gone down remarkably. The

[53:40] government had held out all along of the

[53:42] first 48 hours of this conflict uh were

[53:45] crucial to Israel's interests in the

[53:47] sense that they thought that Saddam

[53:48] Hussein if he had the capability would

[53:51] go ahead and fire Scud missiles towards

[53:53] Israel perhaps loaded with chemical or

[53:55] biological agents. That has not

[53:57] happened. Still the alert here remains

[54:00] very very high. Everybody in Israel has

[54:02] been issued with a gas mask. You can

[54:04] still see people on the streets carrying

[54:06] their individual gas masks with them.

[54:08] All of the children who attend school

[54:09] must bring, of course, a gas mask with

[54:11] them. Meanwhile, I must point out that

[54:13] the Israeli government is saying that

[54:14] they think the possibility of an attack

[54:16] from Iraq is been reduced greatly after

[54:19] the first 48 hours of conflict. Um, at

[54:22] the same time, we have a 24-hour

[54:24] overflight intercept fighters uh flying

[54:26] over Israel in case the Iraqis launch a

[54:29] drone or or plan some sort of attack

[54:31] from the air. But again, that's

[54:33] marginal. At the same point, they've got

[54:35] concrete rings, if you will, around this

[54:37] country, principally with anti-missile

[54:40] missiles. They have their own, the

[54:41] Israelis called the Aerrow missile

[54:43] killer. Then there are batteries of

[54:45] patriots manned by American soldiers.

[54:47] So, basically, the people of Israel are

[54:49] sitting tight, feeling at this

[54:51] particular moment, Alex, that perhaps

[54:53] the first wave of fear has passed them

[54:55] by. Uh the streets here still active,

[54:58] but not as much as normal. Certainly,

[55:00] many people deciding just, you know,

[55:01] we'll sit it out. They're only 300 miles

[55:03] or less from the Iraqi border sitting in

[55:06] Israel. So, it's not like they're that

[55:07] far away. So, people are staying home,

[55:10] keeping their kids out of school. We

[55:11] were told that school attendance

[55:12] yesterday was about 10 to 20% maximum.

[55:16] That may be going up today again with

[55:17] that first sense of fear, if you will,

[55:19] in this country diminished somewhat.

[55:21] Alex,

[55:22] >> Keith, how resolute is the uh Israeli

[55:24] military or government to responding to

[55:26] any sort of incoming missiles? As you're

[55:28] well aware, the Bush administration was

[55:30] hoping that they would not launch their

[55:32] own attacks and get involved into the

[55:34] frey under those kinds of circumstances,

[55:36] yet understanding that they would want

[55:37] to protect and defend their country. Do

[55:40] you believe that there will be launched

[55:42] attacks from Israel should they come

[55:44] under attack as well?

[55:47] >> Well, Alex, we're getting a public and

[55:48] then I can also fill you in on the

[55:50] private conversations going on in

[55:52] Israel. Publicly, the prime minister,

[55:54] Ariel Chiron, says that they will

[55:55] retaliate if there is an attack by Iraq.

[55:58] Uh, I think that's mostly for public

[56:00] consumption. The Americans have gone to

[56:02] extraordinary lengths to make sure that

[56:04] Israel does not get involved in this

[56:06] conflict. They don't want this to be

[56:07] seen as an Israeli American conquest of

[56:10] Iraq. Mind you, if the uh Israelis are

[56:13] hit with chemical or biological weapons,

[56:16] then I think all bets are off and you

[56:17] can expect the Israelis to retaliate

[56:19] with vigor. In the meantime, the

[56:21] Americans have set up special command

[56:23] centers here. Uh they're filling in the

[56:25] Israelis almost hour by hour. In fact,

[56:27] I'll take it moment by moment. They're

[56:29] letting the Israelis know what the

[56:30] progress is is in Iraq, and they really

[56:32] don't want the Israelis involved in

[56:34] this, and they're doing all they can to

[56:36] stop them. Go ahead, Alex.

[56:38] >> All right, Keith Miller, I want to thank

[56:39] you for that live report from Tel Aviv.

[56:41] We will check in with you again as well.

[56:43] Everyone, we are following all the

[56:44] latest developments for you all day.

[56:46] Now, dateline NBC's Dennis Murphy takes

[56:48] a look back at day one. A very busy day

[56:51] here in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Take a

[56:53] look.

[56:58] >> Parts of central Baghdad were burning

[57:00] out of control tonight. A government

[57:02] ministry run by one of Saddam Hussein's

[57:04] sons, a presidential palace, a home of

[57:07] one of Saddam's wives, Republican Guard

[57:10] strongholds, all hit in a brief but

[57:13] ferocious assault from US cruise

[57:14] missiles and 2,000 lb penetrating bombs.

[57:18] Peter Arnett, reporting for National

[57:20] Geographic Explorer and NBC News,

[57:23] described the view from his window as

[57:25] thunderous explosions lit up the night

[57:27] sky shortly after 9:00 p.m. Baghdad

[57:29] time. Big explosion

[57:33] near the presidential palace. You will

[57:35] hear those explosions now.

[57:38] >> It's the second attack on Baghdad in 16

[57:40] hours. Missiles launched from sea. Smart

[57:44] bombs dropped from stealth war plananes

[57:46] like this one.

[57:48] >> US officials said they intend to hit the

[57:50] apparatus of Saddam's Stalin estate like

[57:52] a boxer.

[57:54] >> Punch hard, step back, pause, and see if

[57:57] it needs another one. Defense Secretary

[58:00] Donald Rumsfeld said today the big

[58:02] violent display is just beginning.

[58:04] >> What will follow will not be a repeat of

[58:06] any other conflict. It will be a of a

[58:09] force and scope and scale that has been

[58:13] beyond what has been seen before.

[58:19] >> To the south, US Army howitzers slam

[58:22] shell after shell into Iraq from the

[58:24] Kuwaiti border. And then the ground war

[58:27] was on. US Army and Marine units are in

[58:30] Iraq tonight, pushing north in

[58:32] coordination with British troops.

[58:34] >> Hey, commission.

[58:36] >> Some forces are coming under light fire.

[58:38] So far, one coastal Iraqi town has been

[58:41] taken and a special forces helicopter

[58:44] made what US officers describe as a safe

[58:46] crash landing in operations near Baghdad

[58:49] early Thursday. The Iraqis claim they

[58:52] shot it down. The crew of six was safely

[58:54] evacuated.

[58:56] The Iraqis also fired some mortar and

[58:58] rockets to no effect at US troops that

[59:01] haven't moved out yet on the Kuwaiti

[59:02] side. NBC's Dana Lewis with 101st

[59:06] Airborne joined the soldiers as they put

[59:08] on gas masks while a horn honked out a

[59:11] warning of another missile attack.

[59:13] Scenes like this were repeated many

[59:15] times today along the Kuwaiti front.

[59:19] >> The war began yesterday at dawn Iraqi

[59:21] time with the first air raid. A total

[59:24] fake out, a directed lightning attempt

[59:26] to kill Saddam Hussein and his top

[59:28] leaders.

[59:30] Anti-aircraft fire over Baghdad was

[59:32] followed moments later by an orange

[59:34] fireball at what was described as a

[59:36] target of opportunity. A private home

[59:39] outside Baghdad where electronic

[59:41] intelligence gathering had eaves dropped

[59:43] on a meeting of top ranking senior Iraqi

[59:46] military as well as Saddam and possibly

[59:49] both his sons Kus and Uday.

[59:53] The compound was flattened by a barrage

[59:55] of cruise missiles and two bunker buster

[59:58] bombs designed to slam into subterranean

[60:00] chambers and explode.

[60:04] A few hours later, Saddam Hussein

[60:06] appeared on tape on Iraqi TV, denouncing

[60:09] the president as Bush Jr., a criminal.

[60:12] But some US officials wondered whether

[60:14] the subdued man with the unfamiliar

[60:16] glasses reading listlessly from a line

[60:19] pad was actually Saddam or a double.

[60:22] Tonight, some analysts believe this is

[60:25] Saddam, but think the message may have

[60:27] been taped before the first air raid.

[60:29] So, the question remains, is Saddam dead

[60:32] or alive? As US-led forces under the

[60:36] cover of artillery barges make their way

[60:38] toward Baghdad in provincial cities,

[60:40] propaganda leaflets explaining to the

[60:42] Iraqis how to surrender are being

[60:44] printed and air dropped by the millions.

[60:47] If the Iraqis do make a stand, it is

[60:49] likely military strategists think that

[60:52] it will happen in Baghdad, the sprawling

[60:54] city of 5 million people, an ancient

[60:56] capital enshrouded tonight in smoke and

[60:59] paralyzed by a fear it's hard to

[61:01] imagine.

[61:15] and good morning to all of you. It is

[61:17] 300 a.m. in the east. It is midnight,

[61:20] just past Pacific time. You're looking

[61:22] at a live picture being provided to us

[61:24] by the camera traveling with NBC's David

[61:27] Bloom. David is traveling with the Third

[61:29] Infantry Division. As you can well see,

[61:31] they are on the move. We can tell you

[61:33] they are in southern Iraq at this point,

[61:35] having been on the move for the better

[61:37] part of the last 14 hours or so. David

[61:40] Bloom was telling us earlier as he spoke

[61:42] with us in our last hour before being

[61:44] taken on the road, that their mission

[61:47] was successful. He was along with the

[61:50] troops that had gone in, those Marines,

[61:52] to secure the route through which the

[61:55] remainder of the third infantry division

[61:58] would follow behind David and those

[62:00] Marines. What they had to do literally

[62:03] was, in David's words, not to be glib,

[62:05] he said, but they had to take out Iraqi

[62:08] posts there, of which there were

[62:10] anywhere from 10 to 30 or so Iraqi

[62:14] military units there in those posts.

[62:17] They were completely wiped out,

[62:19] destroyed. You can take from that what

[62:21] that would mean. They had to do that in

[62:23] order to keep those posts from reporting

[62:26] back to Baghdad or for their military

[62:28] operation central command. that indeed

[62:30] the United States and coalition forces

[62:32] had passed through that way. They did

[62:35] encounter some mines that needed to be

[62:37] removed along the way as well. Again,

[62:40] with this is with the third infantry

[62:41] division, all Marines as they have been

[62:44] progressing northwards towards Bosra, we

[62:48] believe, but that is a very vast expanse

[62:50] of desert. They could be in any specific

[62:53] sort of uh geographical