CBS News - Iraq War - 2003-03-20 - 5 p.m. (E)
Channel: malgent
Transcript
Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)
[0:04] This CBS News special report is part of
[0:07] our continuing coverage of America at
[0:10] War
[0:12] from CBS News headquarters in New York.
[0:14] Here is Dan Rather.
[0:17] >> 5:00 p.m. in the East, the United
[0:19] States, 100 a.m. Friday in a newly hit
[0:22] Baghdad. Among the top headlines at this
[0:24] hour, US forces launched a second round
[0:27] of air strikes on Baghdad, setting
[0:29] several buildings on fire, sending a
[0:31] huge plume of black smoke over a lot of
[0:34] the city. The Pentagon says Republican
[0:37] Guard barracks on the outskirts of
[0:38] Baghdad were among the targets. Iraqi
[0:41] radio says Saddam Hussein's family home
[0:43] was hit, but with no casualties. No
[0:45] confirmation of that. In the skies over
[0:47] the Persian Gulf state of Qatar,
[0:50] American F-15s and F-16s could be seen
[0:53] roaring through the night on their
[0:54] classified missions where they were
[0:56] going to hit what we do not know. To the
[0:59] south, CBS News correspondent John
[1:01] Roberts with the First Marine Division
[1:03] reports it has crossed the border from
[1:05] Kuwait into Iraq. By south, I mean, of
[1:08] course, south well south of Baghdad. The
[1:10] Pentagon cautious that this is not the
[1:14] start of the big allied ground push or
[1:16] for that matter the big aerial push.
[1:19] They say that is still to come, the
[1:21] so-called shock and awe phase of the
[1:23] campaign. At the White House, President
[1:26] Bush met with his cabinet today. He
[1:28] expressed thanks to US troops for their
[1:30] sacrifice. And in Britain, Prime
[1:32] Minister Tony Blair is addressing his
[1:34] nation. Let's listen to some of what he
[1:36] has to say. On Tuesday night, I gave the
[1:39] order for British forces to take part in
[1:41] military action in Iraq. Tonight,
[1:44] British servicemen and women are engaged
[1:46] from air, land, and sea. Their mission
[1:49] to remove Saddam Hussein from power and
[1:51] disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass
[1:53] destruction.
[1:55] I know this course of action has
[1:57] produced deep divisions of opinion in
[1:59] our country. But I know also the British
[2:02] people will now be united in sending our
[2:05] armed forces our thoughts and prayers.
[2:08] They are the finest in the world and
[2:10] their families and all of Britain can
[2:12] have great pride in them.
[2:14] The threat to Britain today is not that
[2:17] of my father's generation.
[2:20] War between the big powers is unlikely.
[2:22] Europe is at peace. The Cold War already
[2:24] a memory.
[2:26] But this new world faces a new threat.
[2:30] of disorder and chaos born either of
[2:34] brutal states like Iraq armed with
[2:36] weapons of mass destruction or of
[2:38] extreme terrorist groups. Both hate our
[2:42] way of life, our freedom, our democracy.
[2:46] My fear deeply held based in part on the
[2:49] intelligence that I see is that these
[2:51] threats come together and deliver
[2:53] catastrophe to our country and our
[2:56] world.
[2:57] These tyrannical states do not care for
[2:59] the sanctity of human life. The
[3:01] terrorists delight in destroying it.
[3:05] Some say if we act we become a target.
[3:08] The truth is all nations are targets.
[3:11] Bali was never in the front line of
[3:13] action against terrorism. America didn't
[3:15] attack al-Qaeda. They attacked America.
[3:19] Britain has never been a nation to hide
[3:22] at the back. But even if we were, it
[3:25] wouldn't avail us.
[3:27] Should terrorists obtain these weapons
[3:29] now being manufactured and traded around
[3:31] the world, the carnage they could
[3:34] inflict to our economies, our security,
[3:37] to world peace would be beyond our most
[3:40] vivid imagination.
[3:42] My judgment as prime minister is that
[3:44] this threat is real, growing, and of an
[3:48] entirely different nature to any
[3:50] conventional threat to our security that
[3:52] Britain has faced before.
[3:55] For 12 years, the world tried to disarm
[3:57] Saddam after his wars in which hundreds
[4:00] of thousands died. UN weapons inspectors
[4:04] say vast amounts of chemical and
[4:06] biological poisons such as anthrax, VX
[4:10] nerve agent, and mustard gas remain
[4:12] unaccounted for in Iraq.
[4:15] So, our choice is clear. Back down and
[4:19] leave Saddam hugely strengthened or
[4:22] proceed to disarm him by force.
[4:25] retreat might give us a moment of
[4:27] restite, but years of repentance at our
[4:30] weakness would, I believe, follow.
[4:34] It is true Saddam is not the only
[4:35] threat, but it is true also, as we
[4:38] British know, that the best way to deal
[4:41] with future threats peacefully is to
[4:43] deal with present threats with resolve.
[4:47] Removing Saddam will be a blessing to
[4:50] the Iraqi people. 4 million Iraqis are
[4:53] in exile. 60% of the population
[4:55] dependent on food aid. Thousands of
[4:57] children die every year through
[4:59] malnutrition and disease. Hundreds of
[5:02] thousands have been driven from their
[5:04] homes or murdered.
[5:06] I hope the Iraqi people hear this
[5:08] message. We are with you. Our enemy is
[5:11] not you, but your barbarous rulers. Our
[5:15] commitment to the post Saddam
[5:16] humanitarian effort will be total. We
[5:19] shall help Iraq move towards democracy
[5:22] and put the money from Iraqi oil in a UN
[5:25] trust fund so that it benefits Iraq and
[5:29] no one else.
[5:31] Neither should Iraq be our only concern.
[5:33] President Bush and I have committed
[5:35] ourselves to peace in the Middle East
[5:38] based on a secure state of Israel and a
[5:41] viable Palestinian state. We will strive
[5:44] to see it done.
[5:46] But these challenges and others that
[5:48] confront us, poverty, the environment,
[5:51] the ravages of disease, require a world
[5:54] of order and stability.
[5:57] Dictators like Saddam, terrorist groups
[6:00] like Alqaeda threaten the very existence
[6:04] of such a world.
[6:06] That is why I've asked our troops to go
[6:09] into action tonight.
[6:11] As so often before, on the courage and
[6:15] determination of British men and women
[6:17] serving our country, the fate of many
[6:21] nations rests. Thank you.
[6:24] >> British Prime Minister Tony Blair
[6:26] addressing the British people.
[6:29] Now, we'll go to CBS News correspondent
[6:33] and our national security correspondent
[6:35] David Martin at the Pentagon. David,
[6:38] let's review where we are and where this
[6:40] appears to be going.
[6:42] you know, after all day sort of chasing
[6:45] all of the details of a very large
[6:47] military operation, you can finally sort
[6:50] of step back and and try and see uh the
[6:53] big picture. And let me see if I can
[6:54] relate it to you, at least as I
[6:56] understand it. Uh first place, let's
[6:58] take the uh the air campaign. We have
[7:01] not yet seen the great shock and awe air
[7:04] campaign that uh we had talked about in
[7:07] the weeks leading up to this uh to this
[7:09] war. Uh the strikes on Baghdad to date
[7:13] have been relatively small. There was
[7:15] the strike last night which involved
[7:16] about uh uh 36 cruise missiles and uh a
[7:20] couple of 2,000lb bombs in an effort to
[7:23] uh uh get Saddam and the senior
[7:25] leadership. And then there was a strike
[7:27] uh uh today our time again when darkness
[7:30] fell in Baghdad which only involved
[7:31] about two dozen cruise missiles against
[7:33] four targets in Baghdad which is really
[7:36] uh pretty minor stuff compared to the
[7:39] hundreds of cruise missiles that had
[7:41] been talked about uh in the run-up to
[7:43] this uh war. What's going on here is uh
[7:48] that they are just keeping a little
[7:51] pressure on while they conduct secret
[7:54] negotiations which the secretary of
[7:56] defense referred to publicly today. He
[7:58] said they were in uh communication with
[8:01] members not just of the regular army but
[8:03] of the Republican guards and the special
[8:06] republican guards, Saddam's most loyal
[8:08] troops defending Baghdad. So they are
[8:11] not taking out all the targets they
[8:13] could take out in Baghdad while these
[8:15] negotiations are going on. And I'm sure
[8:18] a part of the negotiations
[8:20] uh is uh the American side saying u you
[8:24] see those two dozen cruise missiles that
[8:26] came in well multiply that by 10 and
[8:29] you'll see what's going to happen if you
[8:31] don't surrender. Uh so that's what's
[8:33] going on up uh around Baghdad. And uh
[8:37] the the shock and awe campaign, if you
[8:39] will, has not been uh called off. It's
[8:42] it's simply been delayed. And the ground
[8:45] campaign has now been put in front of
[8:47] the air campaign. That's an exact
[8:49] reversal. It used to be that uh first we
[8:52] were going to have the air campaign to
[8:53] soften up Iraqi defenses and then the
[8:56] ground campaign would uh kick off. But
[8:58] uh now that we've come down to it, it's
[9:00] so clear that the Iraqi defenses are so
[9:04] soft uh that they don't need much
[9:06] preparation from the air. And the ground
[9:08] campaign u is you might say already in
[9:12] progress, but the what you would call
[9:14] the full tilt invasion of Iraq has not
[9:18] yet begun, but that is just hours away.
[9:20] Uh what you're seeing now is uh the uh
[9:24] the preparation of the uh battlefield
[9:27] clearing out uh Iraqi observation posts
[9:31] and any trench lines or other obstacles
[9:33] that are on the uh Iraqi side of the
[9:36] border. The Marines are already in uh
[9:39] Kuwait. I don't know if we've had a
[9:41] report yet from John Roberts, but he's
[9:43] with the First Marine Division and
[9:46] reporters there are are saying that they
[9:48] are already inside. Uh
[9:50] >> Excuse me, David. I hate to interrupt
[9:51] you, but um it would be confusing for
[9:53] our viewers while you were away checking
[9:55] your sources, doing what reporters do,
[9:57] doing your leg work. We had an extended
[10:00] series of reports from John Roberts with
[10:02] the US Marines inside Iraq.
[10:05] >> Well, then I'll leave the Marines alone.
[10:07] Let's let's uh let's uh concentrate on
[10:10] the uh the army, the uh the third
[10:12] infantry division. The reason I think
[10:15] that their uh push into Iraq has been uh
[10:18] accelerated is the desire to get to
[10:22] those oil fields before they're torched.
[10:24] Uh at the briefing this morning, uh the
[10:27] Secretary of Defense said that he had
[10:30] seen a report that three or four were
[10:33] torched. Well, that's uh that's
[10:34] relatively minor damage if certainly if
[10:37] you compare it to what happened to the
[10:38] oil fields in Kuwait when the Iraqis
[10:40] pulled out of Kuwait 12 years ago. So
[10:43] they have they are moving up the uh the
[10:46] uh ground campaign in order to get to
[10:48] those oil fields and then uh hopefully
[10:52] in the meantime further uh surrender
[10:55] negotiations will uh produce a a sort of
[10:58] rolling surrender northward so that the
[11:00] the third infantry division and the
[11:02] 101st airborne division can can just
[11:05] sort of leaprog up to Baghdad without
[11:07] encountering any stiff resistance.
[11:10] That's the plan. We'll of course uh uh
[11:13] see if it works. Now on uh casualties
[11:16] and losses, I am still not aware of any
[11:21] uh American uh servicemen who have been
[11:24] killed or wounded in this operation. Uh
[11:27] we we have now have two helicopters that
[11:30] I I know of that have gone down. Uh
[11:33] they've both gone down uh on hard
[11:35] landings. uh one uh so hard that it
[11:39] could not fly again and had to be
[11:40] destroyed in place. The other an Apache
[11:43] helicopter uh also went down with a hard
[11:46] landing in Iraq, but that could fly
[11:49] again and uh was able to get back to a
[11:53] safe area. That helicopter may have been
[11:57] uh brought down by enemy fire. It had an
[11:59] onboard uh fire which forced it to land
[12:02] and it's not clear whether the onboard
[12:04] fire was called caused by small arms
[12:07] fire from the ground or whether it was
[12:09] simply a problem on board the aircraft.
[12:12] So that's the uh the latest from here.
[12:15] >> David, I want to go back to something.
[12:17] Uh as far as I can make out, this is
[12:19] breaking news that there are these what
[12:22] I will call backdoor negotiations
[12:24] underway.
[12:25] >> Yeah. uh with uh the Iraqis, including
[12:28] uh some in the uh elite Republican
[12:30] guards. Can you expand on that some? And
[12:32] do we know whether that's happening with
[12:34] people close in in around Saddam Hussein
[12:36] himself?
[12:38] >> I don't know how how close it is to his
[12:41] inner circle. Of course, uh we're still
[12:43] trying to figure out if that cruise
[12:45] missile attack of the night before
[12:47] killed his inner circle. So I doubt that
[12:49] they're going on with the uh uh the
[12:51] inner circle who seem to have uh gone to
[12:53] ground either one way or the other. Uh
[12:56] so I think what we're talking about here
[12:58] is is the commanders of individual uh
[13:01] Republican guards divisions or brigades
[13:04] uh uh general officers uh people of that
[13:08] rank. Um
[13:10] >> David, excuse me. Excuse me for one
[13:12] moment.
[13:13] >> Got it. And we're going to go to Kuwait
[13:15] City and Mark Phillips where there's
[13:16] another gas attack alert. We don't know
[13:18] whether it's attack but the alert. Mark
[13:20] Phillips, are you there? Gas mask and
[13:22] all.
[13:23] >> Yes, I am, Dan. It's just an alert this
[13:26] time. The sirens started their warbling
[13:29] whale here about 30 seconds or so ago.
[13:32] Uh, we've gone these gas masks again.
[13:34] >> Excuse me, Mark, if you'd be kind
[13:36] enough, please, to hold that microphone
[13:37] up. That That's it.
[13:39] >> All right.
[13:39] >> Better.
[13:40] >> Okay. As I say, this is the sixth time
[13:42] today that we've been under one of these
[13:44] alerts. You can, I'm sure, hear the uh
[13:46] sirens wailing uh in the background. Uh
[13:49] we haven't yet had any kind of impact
[13:51] either on this one or any of the earlier
[13:53] ones in Kuwait City itself. Although
[13:56] there was one reported hits hit on the
[13:59] outskirts of Kuwait. Uh the sixth time
[14:02] today that this harassing attacks uh
[14:05] have happened. Uh we have received uh
[14:09] news of about eight of eight missiles
[14:12] having been launched in the direction of
[14:15] Allied forces in Kuwait and in the
[14:17] general direction of Kuwait City and one
[14:20] the last one two missiles flying down
[14:22] the coast in the general direction of an
[14:24] oil refinery we now know uh just south
[14:27] uh of Kuwait city itself. Uh it's almost
[14:30] become routine here for these things to
[14:32] happen. Uh but there's a real danger and
[14:34] a sense of uh complacency. The sirens
[14:37] have stopped now. We'll be under this
[14:39] alert and we'll just stand by here to
[14:41] report to you uh if in fact this turns
[14:43] out to be something more than just a
[14:46] scare. Dan,
[14:47] >> uh Mark Phillips, any panic in Kuwait
[14:49] City?
[14:52] >> There isn't any panic. Uh there's a lot
[14:54] of excitement of course when this
[14:55] happens and with each successive uh
[14:58] going over again of this routine, people
[15:00] uh seem to know what to do more quickly.
[15:04] We dawn our masks more quickly. People
[15:06] head to various shelters around the town
[15:08] more quickly. I will say though that not
[15:11] everybody in this town is protected in
[15:13] the same way that we are uh in this
[15:16] population here of just over 2 million.
[15:19] Basically twothirds of the people here
[15:21] are foreign workers. Many of them coming
[15:23] from the Philippines or from India and
[15:26] Pakistan and Sri Lanka. They aren't
[15:28] equipped uh with this kind of equipment.
[15:31] Uh earlier indications today were that
[15:34] they hadn't been very well trained.
[15:36] There hadn't been drills here uh telling
[15:38] people where to go. But each time this
[15:41] has happened today, the streets empty
[15:43] out a little more quickly and people
[15:45] seem to find shelter somewhere or other.
[15:48] Mark Phillips in Kuwait City where
[15:49] there's another alert. Uh, eight
[15:52] missiles have been directed toward
[15:54] Kuwait City and Northern Kuwait in
[15:56] general during the day. At least two of
[15:59] them believed to been knocked down by US
[16:01] Patriot missiles. We don't know whether
[16:02] it was the so-called pack three, the
[16:04] most advanced Patriot missile or some
[16:06] others, but at least two of the eight
[16:08] are believed to been knocked down by the
[16:10] Patriots and perhaps more. One came down
[16:13] with a sort of anticlimactic thud in the
[16:15] general area of some US Marines earlier
[16:16] in the day. No casualties anywhere,
[16:19] nothing, no damage had even been done uh
[16:21] by the Scud. Uh we don't know it was a
[16:23] Scud by whatever missile it was fired
[16:25] out of Iraq. Now, we're going to go back
[16:27] to the Pentagon uh because uh David
[16:30] Martin, our national security
[16:31] correspondent, uh has been doing leg
[16:34] work, doing telephone work, and was just
[16:36] unloading a motherload of uh new
[16:39] information. David, we were talking
[16:41] about this information that the
[16:42] Secretary of Defense uh had mentioned uh
[16:46] that some uh deals were in the process
[16:49] of perhaps being cut. This raises the
[16:51] possibility rightly or wrongly in some
[16:53] people's mind. They may be saying, "Wait
[16:55] a minute, didn't we go through this
[16:56] before? We thought victory, total
[16:59] victory, nothing but victory and
[17:01] complete victory uh was the goal this
[17:03] time. Now we hear the Secretary of
[17:05] Defense talking about, well, we're
[17:07] thinking of striking some deals.
[17:10] Well, the the goal is regime change. Um,
[17:14] and uh so that does not require you to
[17:16] defeat the military uh in depth. Um if
[17:21] if they want to uh uh change sides, that
[17:24] that's fine with the United States. And
[17:27] what's been going on here for months
[17:29] really is a psychological warfare
[17:32] campaign uh directed at the officers of
[17:35] the Republican guards and the special
[17:38] Republican guards. Uh intelligence
[17:41] officers have made uh uh cold phone
[17:43] calls to the homes of uh some of these
[17:46] uh uh commanding uh generals uh telling
[17:50] them they should defect or calling the
[17:52] families and and saying, you know, if
[17:55] your life could be so much better if
[17:57] your husband would uh uh just come over
[17:59] to our side. Uh they would send uh
[18:02] emails. Um, so they've been in in
[18:05] contact for quite some time and I think
[18:08] that uh when the the secret history of
[18:12] uh this war is written, we are going to
[18:14] find that there was a lot uh going on uh
[18:18] in the way of CIA operations inside uh
[18:22] Iraq um on leading up to this war. And
[18:27] uh in particular, I would think that
[18:29] that that operation last night in which
[18:32] the uh US suddenly got uh uh good
[18:35] intelligence on the whereabouts of
[18:37] Saddam Hussein was a CIA operation. And
[18:42] I'll bet you it was a fairly gutsy CIA
[18:44] operation if uh if someone for the CIA
[18:47] was able to uh lay eyes on Saddam
[18:50] Hussein and and report his whereabouts.
[18:52] David, I know you believe as strongly as
[18:54] I do that one should never let one's
[18:56] skepticism lap over uh and harden into
[18:59] cynicism, but when you say uh we know
[19:02] that was good information, I don't think
[19:04] we know yet how good the information
[19:06] was. I take your point, it probably was
[19:07] gathered uh in some gutsy way and it was
[19:11] good reason to believe, but we haven't
[19:12] confirmed uh that the people who were
[19:16] advertised as being there were actually
[19:18] there.
[19:19] >> That's true. Um and actually you would
[19:21] have to say that uh during the course of
[19:24] this day uh optimism uh that
[19:30] Saddam Hussein and his senior leaders
[19:33] were at that place has has not collapsed
[19:36] but it's decreased. if if uh people were
[19:39] a seven on a scale of 10 uh at the
[19:42] beginning of the day that uh in the
[19:44] belief that they really did get him or
[19:46] some of his senior leaders, I think
[19:48] we're probably down to a a five or a six
[19:51] or maybe even a four depending on who
[19:53] you talk to. Some so some of the some of
[19:55] the uh the glow has gone off that
[19:58] strike, but the verdict is still out on
[20:00] on who they got in that. Well, indeed,
[20:02] in fact, the verdict is still out on
[20:03] whether Saddam Hussein appeared uh on
[20:06] live television via videotape, and
[20:08] there's still some skepticism, some
[20:10] questioning about, well, was that one of
[20:12] his doubles or Saddam Hussein himself?
[20:14] David, you raised an interesting point
[20:16] about the negotiations. You think when
[20:17] the history of this period is written
[20:19] that we will find out that there were a
[20:21] lot of things going on behind the scenes
[20:23] trying to get uh the Iraqis to give up
[20:27] at least those outside at least those
[20:30] outside the extreme inner circle of
[20:32] Saddam Hussein. And u retired Air Force
[20:36] General Perry Smith is uh also a
[20:38] distinguished military historian. And uh
[20:41] General Smith, you raise a possible
[20:43] parallel with Mussolini in Italy during
[20:46] World War II. There was a long
[20:48] negotiation and it wound up uh with the
[20:51] Italians capitulating. The Italian army
[20:53] actually surrendered to us even though
[20:55] Kessle Ring who was the military
[20:57] commander for the Germans and the
[20:58] Italians didn't want them to do it. It
[21:00] was after Mussolini had been deposed,
[21:02] but there was a surrender. There had
[21:04] been a lot of combat up to that time,
[21:05] but we negotiated a surrender. There may
[21:07] be some similarities here historically
[21:09] between that situation in Italy toward
[21:11] the end of World War II and what we see
[21:13] here.
[21:13] >> And uh for those who weren't alive at
[21:15] the time or weren't of me memory of age,
[21:17] I was alive in a memory age, but I knew
[21:19] nothing of this or very little of it.
[21:21] What happened? The Italian army looked
[21:23] at the reality of the battlefield and
[21:24] said there's nothing but slaughter and
[21:26] carnage for us and we want to surrender.
[21:29] Whereas bonito Mussolini, the fascist
[21:31] leader of the country was saying you
[21:33] know stand up for the greater honor and
[21:35] glory of Italy. The army negotiated a
[21:37] backroom deal, if you want to call it
[21:39] that, and uh well, the rest is history.
[21:42] Mousolini was slain by his own people.
[21:44] >> They were indeed. And in fact, the
[21:46] Italian army switched and in some cases
[21:48] fought on our side against the Germans
[21:50] at the very end.
[21:53] >> Let me ask you, General, we have a few
[21:54] minutes here before the cutaway.
[21:56] In your judgment, what's the story of
[21:58] the day?
[22:00] >> The story of the day is what everybody's
[22:02] asking. I've been doing some radio
[22:03] interviews, Dan. Why aren't these armed
[22:05] men who are up there in this vulnerable
[22:07] positions, why aren't they going
[22:08] forward? What's holding them back? And I
[22:10] think the answer is we don't want to
[22:12] send them too early. We want to make
[22:14] sure that when they go forward, they're
[22:16] in the best possible shape. So, there
[22:17] has to be a bit of an air campaign ahead
[22:20] of this major operation that easily
[22:23] could take place at first light or at
[22:25] first light in another another day or
[22:26] two. Uh so it's where it's been for a
[22:30] while. The so-called shock and all
[22:32] campaign, both the air section of that
[22:35] and the ground section are still to
[22:37] come. Could come in hours, but could be
[22:40] delayed for another day or two.
[22:41] >> That's correct. And the shock and all
[22:43] will be air power, special forces, and
[22:46] ground power all working in combination.
[22:48] And it's going to be pretty shocking.
[22:50] And it's going to be a fast run for
[22:52] Baghdad as we go forward because so much
[22:54] of the preliminary work's been done as
[22:56] far as surrendering units, isolating
[22:58] units, working out the the uh the lines
[23:02] of communications, getting the field set
[23:04] up, getting the intelligence. There's a
[23:06] lot of work that's been done ahead of
[23:07] time, and when they go, they're going to
[23:09] be really ready. Thank you, General.
[23:12] Well, at this hour, we're soon to be 25
[23:16] minutes. We're about 23 minutes after
[23:17] the hour of 5:00 here in the eastern
[23:19] part of the United States. And it's
[23:21] clear uh that although the Persian Gulf
[23:25] War, the new Persian Gulf War is still
[23:27] in its early stages, uh this much that
[23:30] was advertised turns out to be true.
[23:33] It's nothing like the start of the Gulf
[23:36] War one. It's starting much more
[23:39] gradually than had been widely expected.
[23:41] That's one thing. Uh the slow start uh
[23:45] reflects uh the enormous psychological
[23:49] component as US officials continue to
[23:51] bombard the Iraqis with leaflets, make
[23:54] these disrupting telephone calls, and as
[23:56] we've now heard from David Martin,
[23:58] actually uh the United States government
[24:00] is involved with some negotiations with
[24:02] the Iraqis about the Iraqi army at least
[24:05] about possibly surrendering. Uh the
[24:08] bombardment of selected Baghdad targets
[24:10] has happened twice. once last night and
[24:12] then with a little more force uh today,
[24:14] but still the overall tremendous aerial
[24:18] campaign has uh yet to appear. Now,
[24:22] you're watching CBS News coverage of
[24:24] America at war. Want to tell you that
[24:26] we've been continuously on the air since
[24:28] uh the early morning hours when it
[24:30] became clear that US ground forces were
[24:33] beginning to move and in subsequent
[24:35] hours, we've had the attack on Baghdad.
[24:37] We've had Scott P, our CBS news
[24:39] correspondent, reporting of a helicopter
[24:41] attacks inside Iraq. We've had Jim
[24:43] Axelrod report about the Third Infantry
[24:46] Division ground attacks. And we've had
[24:49] uh John Roberts with the Marines inside
[24:50] Iraq. CBS News coverage will continue in
[24:53] a moment.
[25:06] Pardon me for just a moment. We're
[25:08] gathering ourselves here. CBS News
[25:11] coverage of the war in Iraq rolls on now
[25:13] as we reach 5:25 in the afternoon in the
[25:16] eastern part of the United States. Jane
[25:18] Clayson is in Flemington, New Jersey
[25:20] with some more domestic reaction to the
[25:23] war's onset. Jay,
[25:26] >> Dan, we're about an hour and a half
[25:27] outside New York City. as you say,
[25:29] Flemington, New Jersey. It's a small
[25:31] town, about 8,000 people. We've spent
[25:33] this morning here gauging reaction,
[25:35] getting a sense of how people feel about
[25:37] the start of the war. There's been a lot
[25:39] of activity in Flemington over the last
[25:42] uh 24 hours. I think we have some
[25:44] videotape to show you last night here in
[25:46] Flemington. There was a peace rally and
[25:50] there was also um a peace demonstration.
[25:52] And there was also a rally, a show of
[25:54] support for President Bush and for the
[25:57] war in Iraq, members of the Veterans of
[26:00] Foreign Wars, neighbors, friends, young
[26:02] and old, took part. People were quite
[26:04] opinionated and heated at at times on
[26:06] both sides. But interestingly, Dan, once
[26:09] people here heard about the first
[26:10] strikes in Baghdad, this town pulled
[26:13] together. And today, I can tell you that
[26:16] people collectively here are holding
[26:17] their breath in solidarity with the
[26:19] troops that are fighting right now. uh
[26:22] in in Iraq. Let me introduce you to you
[26:25] quickly, Dan. Uh Michael Proapas, he
[26:27] owns the cafe here on Main Street in
[26:29] Flemington. We've been here all morning.
[26:31] Michael, tell us how the feeling has
[26:33] shifted here in the last 24 hours.
[26:35] >> Well, from a business point of view, we
[26:38] will be quiet one moment, hectic the
[26:41] next moment. It's very
[26:44] hard to expect anything to be at a
[26:47] normal pace. Is there a sense of
[26:50] anxiety, would you say, in town?
[26:52] >> Yes, there is. Yes.
[26:53] >> And a sense of fear. You're so close to
[26:55] New York City.
[26:56] >> Yes.
[26:58] We're You can see people's face that
[27:00] they're not they're uncertain of what's
[27:03] to be expected.
[27:04] >> Mhm. I can also tell you, Dan, I just
[27:06] spoke with one father here uh a few
[27:09] minutes ago, and his son is a Marine
[27:12] somewhere in Kuwait. I asked him how
[27:14] he's holding up uh in these moments
[27:17] after the the air strikes in Iraq and he
[27:20] told me well he broke down and he told
[27:21] me that his biggest fear is chemical
[27:24] weapons. He says he can accept
[27:26] conventional warfare but it's the
[27:27] chemical weapons the biological weapons
[27:29] that keeps him up at night. Bottom line
[27:32] here from Main Street Cafe, from Michael
[27:34] to the rest of the folks here in the
[27:36] cafe, American flags are flying high
[27:39] proudly on this very very solemn day in
[27:42] America. Dan
[27:43] >> Shane, thanks. And tell Michael there at
[27:45] the cafe at when this some of the smoke
[27:47] clears is like to drop by for coffee and
[27:50] maybe half a donut or so.
[27:52] >> Okay, we'll do. We'll do.
[27:53] >> Jane Clayson reporting from New Jersey.
[27:58] The US ground operation is now in better
[28:01] context. We're talking about the ground
[28:02] operation inside Iraq, the one reported
[28:04] on by CBS News White House correspondent
[28:07] John Roberts, who's now detached in a
[28:09] combat correspondent inside Iraq. John
[28:12] Roberts was with a Marine reconnaissance
[28:14] outfit inside Iraq. Uh he said they had
[28:17] not engaged in any contact, which is to
[28:19] mean any any firefight. One group of
[28:22] Marines, not with John, uh had done some
[28:24] shooting earlier in the day, and they're
[28:26] believed to have been some Iraqi
[28:27] casualties from that. We don't know the
[28:29] full details. The US Army Third Division
[28:31] Infantry has moved inside Iraq at least
[28:34] a bit and so have some British ground
[28:36] forces. None of this to be confused with
[28:38] special forces or special operations.
[28:40] These are in effect full force units.
[28:42] But that does not mean that the full
[28:45] force ground invasion has started yet.
[28:47] Well, one of the reasons if you're
[28:49] saying to yourself, why did they go into
[28:51] Iraq if it isn't run to Baghdad and to
[28:53] get this thing done? Well, part of it is
[28:56] protection of the force, force
[28:57] protection. If you stay in a static
[28:59] position, the Iraqis might launch
[29:01] artillery or some missile. So force
[29:04] protection may have dictated may have
[29:05] dictated to some of the commanders
[29:07] particularly Tommy Franks who's the
[29:09] overall US commander of this mission uh
[29:12] to get up and move move inside Iraq and
[29:14] push the Iraqis back a little bit also
[29:16] to do a little reconnaissance in there
[29:18] still preparing for the overall big
[29:20] ground invasion which is at uh seemingly
[29:23] at least hours and maybe as General
[29:25] Smith said a few while ago maybe won't
[29:27] come until tomorrow perhaps wouldn't
[29:29] even come until Saturday and David
[29:31] Martin has revealed that there are some
[29:33] u back channel negotiations underway
[29:35] trying to get at least portions of the
[29:37] Iraqi army to surrender. So that's one
[29:40] reason that the air attack has been uh
[29:42] so particularly focused on certain
[29:44] targets and has not been full throttle.
[29:48] We're going to pause with our CBS News
[29:50] coverage of America at War.
[30:06] This CBS News special report is part of
[30:08] our continuing coverage of America at
[30:11] War.
[30:13] From CBS News headquarters in New York,
[30:16] here is Dan Rather.
[30:18] >> And here are some of the latest
[30:19] headlines. The United States launched a
[30:21] second air strike against Baghdad today.
[30:23] CBS News correspondent David Martin says
[30:26] the quote precision and quote bombing
[30:28] targets uh included Republican Guard
[30:30] positions and other so-called command
[30:33] centers. David Martin reports there are
[30:35] backdoor negotiations underway trying to
[30:38] convince Iraqi troops to desert Saddam
[30:40] Hussein. Of course, the United
[30:42] States-led forces would uh like to get
[30:44] an overall surrender of the Iraqi
[30:46] military. US and British troops have
[30:49] captured the small Iraqi town of Om
[30:51] Casar. It's a very small port town right
[30:53] on the border between Kuwait uh and uh
[30:57] Iraq, not to be confused with the larger
[30:59] Iraqi port of Bashra, which is to the
[31:01] north uh and to the east. CBS News
[31:04] correspondent John Roberts reports the
[31:06] First Marine Division has crossed over
[31:08] from Kuwait into Iraq. Roberts is with
[31:10] them. He's filed reports from inside
[31:12] Iraq. He reports that the early part of
[31:15] the Marine uh incursion there, invasion,
[31:18] if you want to use the word, uh has met
[31:21] no active resistance. That's the
[31:24] situation at the moment. Baghdad was hit
[31:26] again today. It was hit heavier than it
[31:28] was last night. But again, the US is at
[31:30] some pains to say that it's still not a
[31:33] shock at all aerial campaign that only
[31:35] specific targets uh were hit, including
[31:39] one what is believed to be elite
[31:40] Republican Guard outfit. Scott P, CBS
[31:43] News correspondent with 60 Minutes 2, is
[31:45] on the Iraqi border uh where there was
[31:47] some active firing earlier in the day.
[31:49] Scott, uh what's going on there now?
[31:54] Well, at this moment, Dan, I can report
[31:56] that it's all quiet on the southern
[31:58] front, but I wouldn't expect that to
[32:00] last very long. Certainly, the tempo of
[32:02] what we've seen this evening has
[32:04] decreased mightily. I'm still hearing
[32:07] some artillery being fired on occasion
[32:09] over my shoulder. That's Iraq right
[32:12] behind me. But earlier this evening, you
[32:14] just had rolling thunder of artillery.
[32:17] Big 155 mm howitzers firing continually
[32:22] into Iraq. Big MLRS, multiple launch
[32:25] rocket system rockets being fired into
[32:28] Iraq and and literally shaking the earth
[32:31] with their power. What started all of
[32:34] this as nightfell here was a helicopter
[32:37] assault very near the position where I
[32:39] am. And we have some video tape of that
[32:41] helicopter assault. Even our night
[32:43] vision camera could not make out the
[32:45] outlines of the helicopter, but when it
[32:47] launched its Hellfire missiles, you
[32:49] could see those fly, and they would fly
[32:51] for about 6 seconds and then hit their
[32:54] targets.
[32:58] All in all, we counted about nine
[33:00] Hellfire missiles fired from what was
[33:03] apparently one American attack
[33:05] helicopter.
[33:07] The region where the missiles were being
[33:09] fired included a communications tower
[33:13] which was on a hill behind me. We expect
[33:16] that when the sun rises here tomorrow
[33:18] that tower will be gone. This has all
[33:20] seemed to be mostly a scout and cavalry
[33:23] exercise. Dan moving across the border
[33:27] to probe the enemy defenses to take out
[33:30] as many enemy observation posts as
[33:33] possible and as you have said this
[33:35] evening to prepare the ground for a
[33:37] later invasion. Just off to my right and
[33:41] in front of me is an array of American
[33:43] forces, American armor. British forces
[33:46] are off to my left. Iraq is behind me.
[33:49] We have not seen a large movement of all
[33:53] of this armor yet. So, we believe that
[33:56] what we've been experiencing over the
[33:57] last six hours or so has been an attempt
[34:00] to look at the Iraqi force on the
[34:03] ground, test their defenses, soften
[34:06] those defenses, and prepare the ground
[34:08] for a later invasion. Dan,
[34:10] >> you will. When you point to your left,
[34:12] you are pointing to the east.
[34:16] You said that some forces were to
[34:18] >> Dan, this
[34:19] >> go ahead.
[34:22] >> Uh that that's correct. Uh it's it's
[34:25] actually this battlefield where we've
[34:27] been reporting from uh all all afternoon
[34:30] uh is just loaded with troops and armor.
[34:33] Uh it it it covers an arc all the way
[34:37] across the Kuwaiti border. Of course, we
[34:39] don't want to be too specific about
[34:41] where we are because of operational
[34:43] security. Suffice to say that we are
[34:45] right on top of the Iraqi border. The
[34:47] armor has come forward and is standing
[34:49] by. It is ready. We saw a lot of
[34:52] American troops today who were sitting
[34:54] inside their tanks, sitting inside their
[34:56] armored personnel carriers waiting for
[34:59] word to go forward. Uh that word
[35:01] obviously has not come quite yet, but it
[35:03] could come at any time.
[35:05] >> And Scott, we don't want to give up
[35:06] anything with security. When you said
[35:07] the Marines are to your left, that would
[35:09] be to the east of where you are. and
[35:12] some US Army troops are to the west of
[35:14] where you are.
[35:17] >> That's essentially correct, uh, Dan. Uh,
[35:19] the, uh, in fact, I'm now hearing the
[35:22] howitzers going off again. You might be
[35:24] able to hear those in the background.
[35:26] Uh, I believe Jim Axelrod reported
[35:28] earlier this evening that elements of
[35:30] the third infantry division were firing
[35:33] their howitzers. And I believe that
[35:36] those are 155 mm howitzers we're
[35:39] hearing. And I'm hearing a large noise
[35:41] coming at me right now.
[35:44] It is another helicopter. Uh it is dark
[35:48] here obviously and I can't make out the
[35:49] helicopter. I don't know if it's an
[35:51] attack helicopter or not. We have seen
[35:53] quite a few attack helicopters attacking
[35:56] the position just immediately behind me,
[35:59] but we will know more about what this is
[36:01] all about in a couple of minutes, I'm
[36:02] sure.
[36:03] >> Thank you, Scott P. live from the Kuwait
[36:05] Iraqi border. We go now to Senator John
[36:07] Warner in Washington. Uh, Senator, what
[36:11] can you tell us about these back channel
[36:12] negotiations that uh with Republican
[36:15] Guard officials that uh our
[36:17] correspondent David Martin has been
[36:18] reporting?
[36:20] >> Dan, I've been on the floor of the
[36:22] Senate now for 4 hours managing the
[36:25] debate which just moments ago concluded
[36:29] with a unanimous vote by the Senate of
[36:32] the United States in support of the
[36:34] president, the men and women of the
[36:35] armed forces and their families. So I
[36:38] don't have anything to add to your your
[36:41] question there.
[36:42] >> Well, I know that uh you of course are
[36:44] kept a breast of things uh consistent
[36:46] with security. Did the United States get
[36:49] Saddam Hussein last night to your
[36:51] knowledge?
[36:52] >> Um Dan, we have received briefings here
[36:56] during the course of the day. We are
[36:57] about to receive another one here in an
[36:59] hour, but uh we have no facts to add to
[37:03] that situation. It would be my strongest
[37:07] recommendation that only the information
[37:09] that comes from the Department of
[37:12] Defense uh should be regarded as the
[37:14] credible answer to that question.
[37:17] Senator, you said you just came out of a
[37:19] long debate about support. How did that
[37:21] go? Give us some highlights and
[37:23] lowlights. Well, it was a very strong
[37:25] debate, probably uh close to 40 to 50
[37:28] senators and there'd be others debating
[37:30] with it later on today. Uh but it it
[37:34] clearly showed across the aisle strong
[37:38] support and that's owing to our majority
[37:40] leader Frist and Senator Dashel. He
[37:44] united in writing this resolution. and I
[37:46] had a hand in it too with Senator Levan
[37:49] of the Armed Services Committee and
[37:52] we're very heartened by the
[37:54] reconciliation of the Senate of the
[37:56] United States unanimously behind our
[38:00] president and the men and women of the
[38:01] armed forces and their families.
[38:03] >> And it was unanimous vote, Senator,
[38:05] >> that is correct. Republican Senator John
[38:08] Warner, who is chairman of the Armed
[38:09] Services Committee, thank you for being
[38:10] with us this evening.
[38:12] >> Thank you, Dan. Thank you for your hard
[38:13] work on this important subject. Thank
[38:16] you very much, Senator. After fighting
[38:18] Saddam Hussein for more than 12 years,
[38:20] the United States last night targeted
[38:22] him directly, trying to kill him. Now,
[38:26] you know, Saddam Hussein, anybody's ever
[38:28] been around him knows that the very
[38:30] essence of this man is survival,
[38:33] personal survival. He's lived a life
[38:35] dedicated to the proposition uh that if
[38:38] he survives, he wins. You may have heard
[38:41] him make the argument that he believed
[38:43] he had won Gulf War uh the first Gulf
[38:46] War because he remained in power. He was
[38:49] still there. Never mind if you will, he
[38:51] didn't say this of course, but never
[38:53] mind that literally tens of if not
[38:56] hundreds of thousands of his own people
[38:58] were killed or maimed. So to understand
[39:01] Saddam Hussein, one must understand how
[39:03] deep in his marrow is the survival
[39:06] instinct. and he will sometimes play the
[39:08] fox, sometimes play in his own mind at
[39:10] least the proverbial line, anything to
[39:12] survive. He's never had to fight for
[39:15] survival as he is in these hours. Now,
[39:18] with that in mind, Anthony Mason takes a
[39:20] look at this man who is now dead on in
[39:23] the crosshairs of a enormous US
[39:28] military. Anthony,
[39:29] >> Dan, of course, the last look we had at
[39:31] Saddam was apparently in the early hours
[39:33] of this morning, our time, last night,
[39:35] actually in the morning, Iraqi time. He
[39:37] looked puffy in in those images. He
[39:39] looked somewhat pale on Iraqi
[39:41] television. So, the question is, was
[39:43] that the real Saddam? We heard from
[39:45] Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld this
[39:47] morning, Secretary of Defense, rather
[39:48] Don Rumsfeld, who said there is debate
[39:50] about that. White House spokesman Ari
[39:52] Fleer said, "We've reached no
[39:54] conclusions. We do know that officials
[39:56] have been studying this tape and the
[39:57] voice patterns very carefully. We also
[39:59] know that Saddam has doubles, at least
[40:01] three of them, who serve as decoys at
[40:03] times and have been used frequently. So,
[40:05] was this one of them? Saddam wore thick
[40:08] rimmed glasses that you see there. Now,
[40:10] that's unusual for a man as vain as
[40:11] Saddam, and some people say they've
[40:13] never seen him appear in those before.
[40:15] One thing, one other thing that has the
[40:17] US suspicious, and that is this.
[40:18] According to the Associated Press, um an
[40:21] AP military source said that military
[40:24] intelligence has been picking up signs
[40:26] that uh Saddam and his senior leadership
[40:28] were either incapacitated or out of
[40:31] communication with their battlefield
[40:33] commanders for a time. But as others
[40:35] have pointed out, whether or not that
[40:37] was in fact Saddam on television uh in
[40:39] the early hours of the morning, there
[40:41] may still be the real Saddam out there
[40:43] somewhere. Dan
[40:44] >> Anthony Mason, you may want to note,
[40:46] those of you who are riding along with
[40:48] us here, that the Iraqi military has
[40:50] appeared uh unable to muster a co a
[40:55] coordinated response to the air attacks
[40:58] last night and today. uh that would uh
[41:02] raise the possibility that whether
[41:04] Saddam Hussein is alive or hurt or dead.
[41:09] Uh that one mission is already pretty
[41:11] far along and that is decapitating,
[41:14] disconnecting, if you will, his ability
[41:16] to communicate with his people as a
[41:18] whole and perhaps more importantly key
[41:21] members of his bath party, the Stalinist
[41:23] operation that has helped keep him in
[41:25] power and with his own military
[41:27] commanders. Now with all that in mind,
[41:28] let's go to our CBS News consultant and
[41:31] expert on this region of the world,
[41:33] Fuadami, professor at John's Hopkins
[41:35] University. Uh Fuad, good to see you
[41:37] again. Uh can Iraq rule itself without
[41:41] Saddam?
[41:43] >> Well, that's a that's a fundamentally
[41:45] and this is raised by the by the
[41:46] question of the secret negotiations with
[41:48] some of these commanders of of uh these
[41:52] Republican Guard and others. I don't
[41:54] think we're going to opt for Saddamism
[41:56] without Saddam. I don't think we just
[41:58] will decapitate Saddam and then leave
[42:00] the apparatus in place. There are
[42:03] extensive lists, perhaps maybe even up
[42:04] to 2,000 people who will be wanted uh by
[42:08] uh military tribunals in uh in in the
[42:12] aftermath of this war. So, we may
[42:14] negotiate with the Iraqis. We may allow
[42:16] them the chance to surrender, but I
[42:18] don't think we're going to cut a deal
[42:19] with them. We've always asked this
[42:21] question about societies that are ruled
[42:23] by dictators. Can they survive their
[42:25] dictators? They survive them. They are
[42:27] better governed in their aftermath. They
[42:29] hold together. And so I think good
[42:31] riddance to him when he is removed. I
[42:34] think they will be the rudiments there
[42:35] in place for a better order for the
[42:38] Iraqis.
[42:40] >> Provided he's still alive.
[42:42] >> Yes.
[42:43] >> You know Iraq well in the ancient city
[42:46] of Babylon. And I'm reminded uh what a
[42:50] mystical image Babylon forms in the
[42:54] minds of many Arabs uh throughout the
[42:58] world. But is it possible Saddam Hussein
[43:01] can pull an Osama bin Laden and that is
[43:04] fade into the population particularly up
[43:06] near Tit where he was born and make it
[43:09] very difficult not impossible to find
[43:11] him?
[43:11] >> Well, I love this question because I
[43:13] actually have a very straight answer to
[43:15] this one. I think the right analogy for
[43:18] Saddam Hussein is not going to be Osama
[43:20] bin Laden, but it's going to be a man
[43:23] named Nuri Sed who governed Iraq. He was
[43:25] the strong man of Iraq in 1958 when the
[43:28] Onion regime when the monarchy was
[43:31] overthrown and the crowd caught up with
[43:33] Nur on July 15, 1958 found him in the
[43:38] streets dressed in a woman's abaya and
[43:40] they cut him to pieces. I think
[43:42] fundamentally for Saddam there is no
[43:45] escape. He rules a country that hates
[43:47] him. He rules a country that 70 to 80%
[43:50] of it are people who are unalterably
[43:53] opposed to him and would wish to see him
[43:55] done. There's really no no room for him
[43:58] to escape. There is no Tora Bora.
[44:00] There's no Karachi. There is no there's
[44:02] no country into which he could somehow
[44:05] flee. I think his people will find him
[44:07] if we don't ourselves uh take care of
[44:10] him.
[44:11] >> Fouad Ajami speaking to us live from our
[44:14] Washington bureau. Thanks Fuad. We're
[44:15] going to go now with CBS News
[44:17] correspondent Byron Pittz who is
[44:19] somewhere in northern Kuwait at an air
[44:21] base which we will not describe further.
[44:23] Byron.
[44:26] >> Well Dan, we're at a US air base uh not
[44:30] far from the Iraqi border. Uh we're here
[44:32] with a Marine attack helicopter squadron
[44:35] from Camp Pendleton,
[44:38] Camp Pendleton, California, HMLA 169,
[44:41] the Vipers. Dan, thus far this evening,
[44:43] we have had five
[44:47] alarm alerts. What that means is five
[44:50] times a siren has sounded and everyone's
[44:52] been ordered to rush to one of the
[44:54] bunkers here. According to the military,
[44:56] what that means is five times this
[44:58] evening, the radar has picked up some
[45:00] indication of a bomb uh headed in this
[45:03] direction. As a precaution, we've all
[45:06] been told to assume the worst and assume
[45:09] that that bomb might contain chemical
[45:11] weapons. Thus, all of us are required to
[45:14] wear these mop suits, these chemical uh
[45:16] weapon suits. Also, we're required to
[45:18] keep our gas mask close by. When the
[45:21] siren goes off, each of us has about
[45:23] nine seconds to put on our gas mask,
[45:25] which we do, and then make our way to
[45:27] the uh shelter. You put your hood on,
[45:30] you zip up. There's a buddy system here.
[45:32] So, I'm matched with my colleague from
[45:34] CVS News, Chuck Rainey. We go over
[45:36] together. Marines go over
[45:39] >> together uh and they map up each other.
[45:43] >> I'm sorry, Dan. You asking me a
[45:44] question?
[45:49] >> Double check that. Go ahead, Byron.
[45:53] >> Oh, yes, sir. Sorry. At this point that
[45:57] we have hit five of those alerts. Again,
[45:59] an indication of exp of an of a bomb in
[46:02] this vicinity. Earlier, a number of us
[46:04] heard at least two explosions off in the
[46:07] distance. The military told us, quote,
[46:09] "A bomb exploded in the vicinity, but
[46:12] nothing directly close. No damage to any
[46:15] of the equipment here. None of the
[46:17] Marines have been injured. HMLA 169, the
[46:21] Vipers, they will provide close air
[46:24] support for Marines on the ground with
[46:26] their Cobra attack helicopters. They
[46:28] have a weapon system that includes the
[46:29] Hellfire rocket, which can uh take out
[46:32] tanks, the tow missile system, which
[46:34] they would use against light armored
[46:36] vehicles, and a a system called the
[46:39] Fchette rocket. it it's a a rocket that
[46:42] will go out, explode over the
[46:43] battlefield and release shrapnel,
[46:45] killing or maming anyone on the ground.
[46:48] So Dan, that is the situation here at
[46:50] this point. We've had five of those uh
[46:52] alerts each time. Everyone moves
[46:55] quickly. Uh either you walk fast or you
[46:57] run to get there. We spend anywhere from
[47:00] 10 to 15 minutes, in one case, 45
[47:02] minutes in the bunkers before we're
[47:04] finally given the all clear to return.
[47:06] The Marines return to their space. We
[47:09] return to our job. These mobs suit dans,
[47:12] everyone, all of the troops who are at
[47:14] the border making their way into Iraq
[47:17] tonight have similar uniforms on these
[47:21] mobs suits. These chemical weapon suits
[47:23] meant to protect them if chemical
[47:25] weapons are used in this fight. Dan
[47:28] >> Byron Pittz reporting live from an
[47:29] airfield somewhere in North Kuwait. uh
[47:31] northern Kuwait uh where the US Marine
[47:34] unit with with the nickname Vipers waits
[47:37] to provide close helicopter inair
[47:39] support to advancing Marine units. Now
[47:42] CBS News correspondent John Roberts uh
[47:45] has reported earlier in the day, we may
[47:47] have him up shortly for all I know again
[47:49] from inside Iraq with a Marine ground
[47:53] reconnaissance unit. They had uh they
[47:56] encountered no opposition. Therefore,
[47:58] they didn't have to call for helicopter
[48:00] and for that matter fixed wing air
[48:02] support, which is of the kind that Byron
[48:05] Pit is standing by with not too far
[48:07] away. We want to turn now to retired US
[48:12] Air Force General Perry Smith. Harry,
[48:14] uh, General, I have a question for you.
[48:16] But before that, thought occurs to me.
[48:19] There was a school of thought that said
[48:21] the last Gulf War, the first Gulf War
[48:24] was the last war of the machine age, and
[48:27] that this is the first big war of the
[48:32] information age. When we hear about
[48:34] these leaflets being dropped, radio
[48:36] communications intercepted and all kinds
[48:39] of back channel psychological warfare
[48:41] going on including getting the army
[48:44] possibly to surrender. That may be true.
[48:46] What do you think?
[48:47] >> That's true in that dimension, but it's
[48:48] also true in the targeting and the
[48:50] technology relating to airplanes because
[48:52] of information. We're able to retarget
[48:54] bombers for instance with bunch of bombs
[48:56] hanging on these airplanes. the pilots
[48:59] can get a target at the very last minute
[49:00] and retarget each one of those bombs to
[49:03] go at the right place at the very last
[49:04] time. So, it's not just psychological
[49:06] operations where information is
[49:08] important, information warfare, but it's
[49:10] a whole fusing of intelligence and
[49:12] getting information from the sensor to
[49:15] the shooter very quickly. And that is is
[49:18] another very powerful part of the story.
[49:20] >> General, let's talk about the big ground
[49:22] push, the main ground invasion. uh while
[49:26] reconnaissance and uh force protection
[49:28] ground units have already gone into
[49:30] Iraq, the major ground invasion, the
[49:32] full force of it is not hit.
[49:35] Give us an analysis of when you think
[49:37] that is most likely to occur and is it
[49:40] likely to occur under darkness or in the
[49:42] daylight?
[49:43] >> Well, I I don't want to predict what
[49:44] we're going to do, but I would like to
[49:46] talk in kind of generic terms about
[49:47] darkness and and light. If you are going
[49:50] against a strong enemy and you have very
[49:53] good night vision capability and that
[49:55] enemy doesn't, then it's much to your
[49:57] advantage to go at night. If you're
[49:59] going against a weak enemy, then there
[50:02] is advantages of going in the daytime
[50:04] because one of the problems of going at
[50:05] night is even though you have night
[50:07] vision goggles, it's easier to get
[50:09] disoriented. It's easy to get confused
[50:11] on whether it's an enemy tank or it's a
[50:13] a friendly tank, it's it's harder for
[50:15] the air guys to differentiate. And so
[50:18] you're going to have more likelihood of
[50:19] friendly fire at night than you are in
[50:21] the daytime. So as a result of that, the
[50:23] commander, General Franks, has to make
[50:25] the decision. Is it better to go at
[50:27] night or is it better to go in the
[50:28] daytime? It's a fairly close call
[50:30] between the two uh as we go forward. So
[50:33] that's the decision process they're
[50:34] going through and they'll make that
[50:36] decision. Probably have already have
[50:37] made that decision and we're just going
[50:39] to have to see how it comes out.
[50:41] General, would you agree or disagree
[50:42] that the so far as we can look ahead,
[50:46] the next most critical time for viewers
[50:49] to be alert and be watching would be
[50:51] roughly between 9 and 10 p.m. Eastern
[50:55] time tonight or 8 to 9 the central time
[50:58] zone because uh that's when we attacked
[51:02] the first time Baghdad uh the other
[51:05] night and uh that's a time of evening
[51:09] when we would uh it's still dark in
[51:14] Baghdad about to get light we could
[51:16] still use the stealth bombers and so do
[51:19] you agree or disagree well that would be
[51:22] at least among the key hours to watch
[51:24] between 9 and 10 Eastern time. That
[51:26] would be roughly what? Between 4 and
[51:29] 6:00 in the morning in Baghdad.
[51:30] >> If you look historically, Dan, Hours
[51:32] have almost always been very very early
[51:35] in the morning. Hours in D-Day, Hours in
[51:38] the in the Pacific. So that's the kind
[51:40] of historical thing. Early early in the
[51:42] morning so you can take advantage of the
[51:43] full day of light to get the most combat
[51:46] power out there and make the most
[51:48] progress. But General Franks may want to
[51:50] deceive somebody. He may decide no,
[51:52] they're expecting it then they might go
[51:54] at another time. But I I think uh this
[51:56] this evening could be pretty interesting
[51:58] or if not this evening perhaps tomorrow
[52:00] evening. Date line the United Nations
[52:03] Iraq says that it will ask the UN
[52:05] Security Council to respond to the
[52:07] US-led war. I now quote uh the Iraqi
[52:11] state u statement. It calls the attack
[52:14] an illegal act of aggression by a quote
[52:17] terrorist state. That quote terrorist
[52:19] state is in the Iraqis opinion the
[52:21] United States of America. Iraq is also
[52:24] demanding that the US be held
[52:25] accountable before international
[52:27] tribunals for trying to assassinate
[52:29] Saddam Hussein in the first hours of the
[52:32] war. Iraq's UN mission is urging all
[52:34] countries to strongly condemn the war
[52:37] and for people around the world to
[52:38] demonstrate against what it calls quote
[52:40] colonialism, domination, and imperialism
[52:43] quote unquote. Let me pause and say
[52:45] there may be people who say, "Well, you
[52:47] shouldn't be reporting that kind of
[52:48] thing." But the essence of a free and
[52:51] democratic country, uh, is that citizens
[52:53] are entitled to information, even
[52:55] information that may irritate them, uh,
[52:58] to give a full picture. This is what the
[53:00] Iraqis are saying. This is what they're
[53:02] asking for at the UN. What their chances
[53:04] are of getting uh, the UN Security
[53:06] Council to respond to this remains to be
[53:09] seen. John Roberts has filed this report
[53:12] after crossing the border from Kuwait
[53:15] into Iraq in one of the southernmost
[53:16] points uh with the First Marine
[53:19] Division. Let's take a listen and look.
[53:22] >> We have just crossed the border into
[53:25] southern Iraq. Uh we are the the lead
[53:27] element of of what will be a a major
[53:30] push into Iraq from the southern. And uh
[53:34] this was supposed to happen, I should
[53:35] tell you, not until about 10:00 your
[53:38] time, 6:00 a.m. our time, but it all got
[53:40] pushed ahead. And and this push across
[53:43] the border into southern Iraq was
[53:45] followed by some pounding artillery
[53:47] barges. Shells were falling at the rate
[53:49] of of 1 second for 30 minutes at a time.
[53:52] And there were at least three of those
[53:53] before we pushed across the border. We
[53:55] had been staged about 10 kilometers uh
[53:58] south of the Kuwaiti side of the border.
[54:00] But just a few moments ago, Dan, the US
[54:02] Marines pushed across the border into
[54:04] southern Iraq.
[54:05] >> What is the objective of this Marine
[54:08] ground operation inside Iraq? because of
[54:10] operational security. I can't too talk
[54:12] too much about uh what will be coming up
[54:15] in the in the next few hours, but
[54:17] sufficient to say, Dan, I think it's
[54:18] been well reported that one of the main
[54:20] objectives of uh US forces when that
[54:23] once they get inside Iraq is to secure
[54:25] the southern oil field, the Romela oil
[54:27] fields, to make sure that Saddam Hussein
[54:30] does not make good on on what
[54:32] intelligence said was a threat to blow
[54:33] those oil fields. Uh, so that will be
[54:36] one of the main objectives is to get a
[54:38] hold of those and and and then of course
[54:40] obviously the ultimate objective is
[54:41] going to be to to get to Baghdad.
[54:44] >> You're watching continuing CBS News
[54:47] coverage of America at War. Dan Rather
[54:50] at CBS News World Headquarters.
[55:03] Dan Rather back at CBS News World
[55:05] Headquarters in New York. Steven Black,
[55:07] who's a former um armament inspector
[55:11] inside Iraq. You know the country pretty
[55:13] well. You know the people and the
[55:15] geography. You've been listening and
[55:18] watching. What strikes you the most
[55:20] about what we've been reporting over the
[55:22] last 3 or four hours? Well, the thing
[55:24] that I have big questions about are
[55:25] these references to hitting Saddam's
[55:27] resident.
[55:32] >> We interrupt CBS's coverage of America
[55:34] at War to bring you up to date on some
[55:35] events right here at home. At this hour,
[55:37] there is a peace rally going on in
[55:39] downtown Nashville at the federal
[55:41] courthouse. News Channel 5's Barry
[55:42] Simmons is there. Barry,
[55:47] in the past hour, several hundred
[55:49] people. Let's give you a look. Right in
[55:50] front of the US courthouse, you can see
[55:52] the signs. There are a lot of armbands.
[55:55] People are wearing armbands with yellow
[55:57] uh ribbons signifying their their
[56:00] support and their their opposition to
[56:02] the war. Let's give you a look for our
[56:03] mobile sky cam. You can see the extent
[56:06] they chose the US courthouse uh to send
[56:09] a message to the federal government that
[56:11] they feel that this war is unjust. Now,
[56:14] for the past hour, we have heard a lot
[56:16] of horns. You could probably hear some
[56:18] of them. they are in support of this
[56:20] opposition. Uh, also one thing we have
[56:23] noticed is that there are a lot of
[56:24] security around here. In addition to the
[56:27] US courthouse, there are some Metro
[56:29] Police officers, also some on uh mounted
[56:31] horses. They are here just to keep an
[56:33] eye on things, but so far Amy, we have
[56:35] not seen anything uh that's looks like
[56:38] it's going to cause any trouble. Back to
[56:40] you.
[56:40] >> All right, quite a crowd there at this
[56:41] hour. Thanks very much, Barry Simmons
[56:43] reporting. News Channel 5's Dana Kay is
[56:45] on assignment with the 1001st in Kuwait.
[56:47] Just a short time ago, News Channel 5's
[56:49] Vicky Yates got a chance to speak to
[56:51] her.
[56:52] >> We are embedded with the Rocket and and
[56:54] we don't see any other journalists. I
[56:55] mean, this is our group and this is the
[56:57] group of soldiers we travel with. And
[57:00] again, I feel very protected with them
[57:01] and very safe and um very ready to
[57:05] continue on.
[57:06] >> As far as the soldiers are concerned,
[57:07] what is the best case scenario? what
[57:09] could happen that would make them come
[57:10] home quickly
[57:12] >> to get into Iraq and accomplish their
[57:16] mission and uh make sure that uh the
[57:19] people of Iraq can be free and that uh
[57:24] we come home with absolutely no American
[57:26] casualties. The soldiers here are ready
[57:30] to get this over with and get home.
[57:34] Dana Kay on assignment with the 101st.
[57:37] Families of Fort Campbell soldiers are
[57:38] keeping their eyes on all the action.
[57:40] News Channel 5 Sabril Bennett is in
[57:42] Clarksville tonight. Sabril, is everyone
[57:44] gathered around the TV? I can imagine
[57:45] that's just what they're doing.
[57:47] >> There are TVs everywhere. If you take a
[57:49] look around at Ruby Tuesday on Fort
[57:50] Campbell Boulevard and the TV is on here
[57:52] and people are watching, trying to pay
[57:54] attention to what's going on. Now, a
[57:55] little while ago, I spoke to Fort
[57:57] Campbell officials on the phone, and
[57:58] they said at this point, it is their
[58:00] belief and understanding that the 101st
[58:02] has not been any in any contact with the
[58:05] enemy. They are also watching the media
[58:06] to find out what's going on because
[58:08] information is coming quicker through
[58:09] the television than it is at this point,
[58:11] coming through their sources. Now, they
[58:13] are honoring the orange alert, which is
[58:14] nationwide right now. The only gates
[58:16] that are open are gates 4, 7, and 10.
[58:19] They are taking every security measure.
[58:20] If you try to get on post, your car will
[58:22] be thoroughly searched. you'll be
[58:24] stopped so that they make sure that
[58:25] everything is safe here. But at this
[58:27] point, all eyes are on the television.
[58:29] Everyone's just waiting and watching.
[58:30] Amy,
[58:31] >> all right, thanks very much, Sabril.
[58:32] Sabril Bennett reporting tonight. The
[58:34] war is prompting a lot of changes here
[58:35] at home. News Channel 5 Scott Couch is
[58:37] live out on Interstate 24 at Vessel's
[58:39] Lane to tell us what those changes are.
[58:41] Scott,
[58:42] >> Amy, big changes announced today by
[58:44] Metro Police. You know, in a city this
[58:45] size, it's not uncommon to maybe see a
[58:47] half dozen cars out on the side of the
[58:49] interstate that are broken down. Let's
[58:51] roll some videotape we shot earlier
[58:53] today and I'll try to further explain
[58:54] those changes. Now, for years, Metro
[58:56] Police have been pretty lenient. If your
[58:58] car broke down, they'd give you several
[59:00] days before they would tow it. Not
[59:02] anymore. Brand new ball game. Because of
[59:04] concerns over homeland security, Metro
[59:06] Police say if your car is broken down,
[59:09] they will tow it away just as quickly if
[59:11] they see it as long as you're not there.
[59:14] So, if you don't want your car towed,
[59:16] don't leave it sitting on the side of
[59:17] the road.
[59:20] It's like the troops are overseas
[59:22] fighting. They're protecting us here at
[59:24] home. And him to do something like that
[59:26] made me feel a whole lot better that,
[59:27] you know, they are watching out for us.
[59:29] >> Amy, motorists we talked to this
[59:31] afternoon were very, very supportive. So
[59:33] far, Metro Police are the only ones
[59:35] doing this. The first of many changes
[59:37] here locally since the war broke out.
[59:39] Amy,
[59:39] >> thanks a lot, Scott. Let's get a quick
[59:41] check of the weather now with chief
[59:42] meteorologist Ron House. Ron,
[59:43] >> well, thanks Amy. 74 degrees now in
[59:45] Nashville. Our sky cam picture shows
[59:47] that some clouds have moved in. Storm
[59:49] target 5 shows a fairly large area of
[59:51] rain back to our northwest. A few little
[59:54] showers have been kind of drifting
[59:55] through our area and it for a while we
[59:58] thought we might have some severe
[59:59] thunderstorm activity this afternoon,
[60:01] but the severe thunderstorm watch has
[60:02] been cancelled. Looks like some more
[60:04] showers tomorrow then dry for the
[60:06] weekend. Amy,
[60:07] >> thanks very much, Ron. That's our time
[60:08] for now. We now return you to CBS's
[60:10] coverage of America at War.
[60:12] >> CBS News headquarters in New York. Here
[60:15] is Dan Rather.
[60:17] >> Light is fading at 6 p.m. in the eastern
[60:19] part of the United States. It's dark 2
[60:22] a.m. in Baghdad. Top stories of this
[60:24] hour include CBS News national security
[60:27] correspondent David Martin reports back
[60:29] channel negotiations are underway and
[60:31] have been for some time with some Iraqi
[60:34] officers including what are said to be
[60:36] commanders of some of the most uh elite
[60:39] military units Saddam Hussein has. No
[60:41] indication of how those negotiations are
[60:43] going. some indication that that may be
[60:46] one reason that US ground forces already
[60:48] inside Iraq are not uh doing all they
[60:51] can to advance deeper further into the
[60:54] country. One possible reason the US
[60:56] message to the Iraqi commanders with
[60:59] whom they're negotiating, save
[61:01] yourselves, break with Saddam and
[61:03] cooperate with Allied forces. View them
[61:05] as an army of liberation, not an army of
[61:09] occupation.