ABC News - Iraq War - 2003-03-20 - 6:30 p.m. (E)

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] of the war with Iraq.

[0:01] >> Good evening.

[0:02] >> Keeping this city awake if it keeps

[0:04] going on.

[0:14] >> Well, I apologize for that. Uh that was

[0:16] a way for some of our local stations to

[0:18] disengage or re-engage as the case may

[0:20] be. And I thought we were going to go

[0:22] straight to Kuwait. So, we're going to

[0:24] go back to Kuwait now and Mike Vonfra.

[0:25] Mike, sorry for the interruption. Take

[0:27] us through your day.

[0:31] Well, Peter, as I was saying, within the

[0:33] last five minutes, we've had what I

[0:34] believe is the eighth warning sound from

[0:37] the sirens. It's 2:30 in the morning

[0:38] here. If this keeps up, it's going to be

[0:40] a very sleepless night for the people

[0:42] here. It really is nerve-wracking. As I,

[0:44] as you said, it scared the pants off the

[0:46] people here. What they are hoping, I'm

[0:48] sure, is that as the uh US forces make

[0:51] their way across the demilitarized zone,

[0:53] this may come to an end. But for today,

[0:55] there has been uh the uh the the defense

[0:59] uh uh ministry of Kuwait said that there

[1:01] were two missiles that managed to make

[1:03] their way into uh northern Kuwait. That

[1:06] of course was not anticipated. In the

[1:08] end, it didn't do much. Nobody was hurt,

[1:10] but just this constant sirens have

[1:12] really panicked the people here and it's

[1:14] been going on well into the evening and

[1:16] people are having a tough time getting

[1:18] some sleep.

[1:18] >> Thanks, Mike. Appreciate it. Mike von

[1:20] friend who's in Kuwait City and it's

[1:22] true almost every time they've come up

[1:23] in the course of the day somebody's

[1:25] asked them to put on a gas mask in the

[1:26] hotel where they are and go down to the

[1:28] shelters. Now let's go to the White

[1:29] House. Our White House correspondent

[1:30] Terry Moran. Terry, what kind kind of a

[1:33] day may be too general a question for

[1:35] you at the moment? But yes, I be pardon.

[1:39] Oh, we want to go back to John McQuey

[1:40] again. Okay, my apologize. We're going

[1:42] to go back to John McQuey at the

[1:44] Pentagon. John

[1:46] >> Peter u we have been asked to sort of

[1:49] summarize this day and I must say uh US

[1:53] officials say that American ground

[1:55] forces are now poised at the border.

[1:58] Some have already gone across the

[1:59] border. Uh the major offensive by US and

[2:02] British troops is now underway. This is

[2:05] something that American officials have

[2:07] been anticipating for many hours. Uh

[2:11] there has been minimal resistance thus

[2:13] far as the troops begin to pour across

[2:15] that border. Uh and as far as the air

[2:19] campaign is concerned, the United States

[2:21] has borne down in the southern half of

[2:24] Iraq throughout the day. Uh trying to go

[2:27] after targets that may have been missed,

[2:29] the so-called softening of the

[2:30] battlefield, uh preparing the way for

[2:34] this ground invasion. So that is a very

[2:36] brief summary of both the ground and the

[2:38] air war. Okay, John, thank you very much

[2:41] indeed. John McQuey at the Pentagon.

[2:43] We'll get to Terry Moran at the White

[2:44] House uh before too long. Um ABC's Bob

[2:48] Woodruff is with a group of Marines and

[2:50] has been for some time one of the

[2:52] embedded reporters and he is somewhere

[2:54] up near the Kuwaiti Iraqi border as

[2:57] well. Bob,

[3:00] >> things are very rushed. Initially, this

[3:03] invasion was supposed to come out uh

[3:05] come much later, but they moved it up

[3:07] earlier tonight. uh today your time to

[3:11] make it happen a lot sooner and it's not

[3:13] clear exactly why that happened but

[3:14] there is certainly a rush to get this

[3:16] thing moving

[3:17] >> it's quarter to 10 where you are now the

[3:19] US uh Bob has some very sophisticated

[3:22] mine clearing equipment now and before

[3:26] the campaign actually began you hear a

[3:29] lot of talk about minefields in the

[3:30] region

[3:33] >> actually I spoke to an army general

[3:35] actually the general of the third ID who

[3:38] said he had not seen a lot of evidence

[3:40] of Iraqis laying mines, but I can tell

[3:43] you that today we got word early in the

[3:46] morning that there was there were some

[3:48] Iraqis being spotted laying down some

[3:51] mines. And when the engineers looked

[3:54] across the border, they saw they counted

[3:56] just with binoculars about 20 anti-tank

[3:59] mines in the area that we were going to

[4:01] come across. they were very open in and

[4:04] very obvious which means uh they they

[4:07] concluded that they were very hastily

[4:09] laid down. So perhaps in just the very

[4:13] recent couple days or even in recent

[4:15] hours uh they were scrambling to put

[4:18] down some mines when they see exactly

[4:19] where the forces are congregating ready

[4:21] to go in.

[4:22] >> Give us some sense, Bob, of how the guys

[4:24] you're with are doing.

[4:27] >> Well, they're ready to go. I think

[4:28] people are pretty pretty ready. They've

[4:30] been waiting in this desert for a while.

[4:32] There's certainly a certain amount of

[4:34] nervousness on their part. Um when the

[4:37] Scud missiles, what we believe were Scud

[4:39] missiles passed over the top and we had

[4:40] to put chemical gear on. There was quite

[4:43] a bit of apprehension. You know what's

[4:45] coming. You look around, you hear

[4:47] artillery batteries and at first you

[4:49] don't know if it's incoming from the

[4:50] Iraqis or if it's outgoing from the

[4:53] Americans. And in every case we've been

[4:54] able to confirm that they were outgoing

[4:56] from the Americans. there's nervousness

[4:58] but also an excitement to to get in

[5:00] there and try to get this over with.

[5:01] Certainly a lot of these guys, I would

[5:03] say almost all of them want to get it

[5:04] done, get it done quickly and get home

[5:06] to their families.

[5:07] >> Many thanks, Bob. Now, we're joined by

[5:10] uh one of our immensely useful ABC

[5:12] military consultants, General George

[5:14] Dalwan, former NATO commander in uh in

[5:17] Europe. We have a sense, we amateurs

[5:19] today, that things happen to change the

[5:22] original battle plan. Do you think

[5:24] that's true?

[5:25] >> Uh yes, I do. I think that uh the

[5:27] strike, the early strike uh that we had

[5:30] on Baghdad resulted in a necessity to

[5:34] begin the ground attack early. And I I I

[5:38] really must say, Peter, if I may, that I

[5:40] was really taken by the comments of the

[5:42] first uh Marine Division commander, that

[5:44] letter you you wrote as an old armored

[5:47] commander. I can I can side with that.

[5:49] Plus also Mike Siri where he said he's

[5:52] really moving the the tankers and the

[5:54] troops call it haul ass and bypass. So

[5:56] that's not changing. He's moving quite

[5:59] quickly. But I think at the strategic

[6:01] level we we we have we have moved it up

[6:04] and I think that's the agility you need

[6:06] in the plan. You you can't have it

[6:08] scripted. I think you have to go with

[6:10] the flow as they say and what's

[6:12] happening. So we're seeing uh a crossing

[6:15] by the Marines and I believe the third

[6:18] infantry division is also moving at this

[6:21] time and the this is an attempt to try

[6:24] to to get the ground war going. Uh the

[6:26] Turkish decision is

[6:28] >> Can I just ask you a question before you

[6:29] before you leave the battlefield and go

[6:31] up to Turkey? A couple things. Um why do

[6:33] you think it would have changed it? So

[6:35] there was an attack on Baghdad

[6:39] cruise missiles and F-17s up there. Why

[6:41] would that have changed the the the

[6:43] rhythm south?

[6:45] >> Because you had you did have a response,

[6:48] small though it is uh from Iraq. Uh you

[6:52] had uh you had whatever you want to call

[6:54] the missiles, whatever type it was, you

[6:57] had an attack. The the the the chaos in

[7:00] Kuwait uh the uh the possible attack on

[7:05] our own forces that are in now assembly

[7:07] areas waiting across. They're not immune

[7:10] from this. So, in at least my judgment,

[7:13] the decision was made uh to move out of

[7:16] these bunched up assembly areas and

[7:18] cross and begin the ground attack early.

[7:22] Uh I thought it was a good decision,

[7:24] >> but in in truth, the first army, for

[7:26] example, the uh in in in the western

[7:28] side hasn't really moved yet. It's just

[7:30] begun to move as in some respects was

[7:33] originally scheduled. And didn't US

[7:35] forces always know there might be some

[7:37] preemptive strikes by Saddam Hussein

[7:39] sending or by the Iraqis sending

[7:40] missiles across the border? I

[7:42] >> I think so. But again, if placing myself

[7:45] in their position, you don't want to

[7:47] stay in an attack position bunched up

[7:50] along the border very long, particularly

[7:53] if if if there is some shelling. And

[7:55] remember, we heard reports of possible

[7:58] chemical artillery rounds, etc., etc.

[8:01] and uh there were some at least right or

[8:04] wrong burning of oil fields and this is

[8:07] I think an intermediate objective of

[8:09] some of our initial forces. So uh I I

[8:13] think that uh that the decision to move

[8:15] early I thought was a was was a proper

[8:17] one. It wasn't as smooth or as scripted

[8:20] as we would like but I I I I truly think

[8:23] it was realistic. Let me ask I I don't

[8:25] know if you've seen the British report,

[8:27] the pool report that we get from our

[8:28] reporters today, but Royal Marine

[8:30] commandos today were involved in their

[8:31] largest operation since the Faulland war

[8:34] and their part of this attack in

[8:36] southern Iraq and it may be the British

[8:39] Marines who have captured Kaser if they

[8:41] say if if it's correct on the on the

[8:43] Shatal Arab there. Do you know can you

[8:46] tell us how the British and the

[8:47] Americans would coordinate in there? I I

[8:49] think there is clearly unity of command

[8:52] and there will be liaison officers

[8:54] between both the British forces and and

[8:57] the US Marine forces and uh

[9:00] communications links between the two

[9:02] very tightly coordinated and I I think

[9:05] some of the reports we're hearing about

[9:07] protecting the unit on our flank is is

[9:10] part of that coordination.

[9:11] >> Interesting. Now, you did want to say

[9:12] something about the northern part of the

[9:14] country and the fact that the Iraq that

[9:15] the Turks are now to give the US at

[9:17] least overflight rights. It's very

[9:18] interesting because as as you as you

[9:21] know an integral part of the earlier

[9:24] plan was a northern axis and the uh

[9:28] delay or at least the refusal of Turkey

[9:30] to give permission to move ground forces

[9:33] into that area I think was a major had a

[9:36] major impact on the overall plan. Now

[9:40] that we can move air through the

[9:43] airspace of Turkey I think that's going

[9:46] to be significant. I'm not I don't know

[9:48] the war plan, but I would predict you're

[9:50] going to see some movement uh by air of

[9:53] forces into the Kurdish area, and you're

[9:56] going to see that pretty quickly.

[9:57] >> And by this, do you mean paratroopers,

[9:58] or do you mean people who will land on

[10:00] the airfields in Kurdish Iraq?

[10:02] >> Uh I I think you'll see people that will

[10:04] land on the airfield in Kurdish Iraq. As

[10:06] you know, that really then puts some of

[10:08] the key objectives north of Baghdad uh

[10:11] within pretty good uh distance or short

[10:14] distance from the Kurdish area. So I

[10:16] think you may see some of that and uh I

[10:19] I was very much interested in the basing

[10:22] that we've received though I know we

[10:24] have not a large coalition as you as you

[10:27] mentioned several times on the ground

[10:29] but the Bulgarians and the Romanians

[10:31] have opened up key bases in Romania and

[10:34] Bulgaria uh to be used in this trans

[10:37] shshipment of of units and forces across

[10:40] Turkey. So all of that I think is going

[10:42] to come into play.

[10:43] >> And and is that the kind of facility in

[10:45] Eastern Europe for example in Bulgaria

[10:47] and in Romania which gives special

[10:49] forces the opportunity to jump off from

[10:51] anywhere the commanders think necessary?

[10:53] Uh absolutely and other and also big

[10:56] logistical uh uh resupply can come

[11:00] through there and trans shshipment of

[11:02] men and material and that's right on the

[11:04] Black Sea and I think it's extremely uh

[11:08] extremely useful uh for the uh for the

[11:10] forces in coming in from the north.

[11:13] >> Okay, I very much appreciate it. Nice to

[11:14] have you, General. Please don't go

[11:16] anywhere. Um we talked to Don Daylor

[11:18] just a few minutes ago live. He did in

[11:20] the course of today manage to put

[11:21] together a videotape package for us of

[11:24] what the day has been like with 101st.

[11:26] And here it is.

[11:28] >> One minute, Lieutenant Colonel Steven

[11:30] Brookke was trying on his protective

[11:32] gear. The next minute, he was using it.

[11:36] >> Part of the brigade had just made it

[11:37] back to camp with the heavy equipment

[11:39] they were supposed to be preparing for

[11:41] combat when the air raid sirens went

[11:43] off.

[11:44] >> They ran for the bunkers and squeezed

[11:46] in. What the hell is this? Marine.

[11:48] >> As his men huddled in their cramped

[11:50] shelters, Colonel Brookke went bunker to

[11:53] bunker to make sure they were okay.

[11:55] >> We're going to take care of each other

[11:56] now.

[11:58] >> Chemical detectors have been placed

[11:59] around the camp within moments of the

[12:01] alert. They registered no gas.

[12:04] >> Come here.

[12:06] >> Check you out.

[12:06] >> 30 minutes later, the all clear was

[12:09] given. As a sign of the increased

[12:11] tensions, hours after the first air raid

[12:13] siren sounded, the soldiers were running

[12:15] towards the bunkers again with no air

[12:18] raid sirens. This time, the word had

[12:20] spread that more missiles were on their

[12:21] way. It was merely a rumor, but it

[12:24] showed the high level of anxiety at

[12:26] camp. Vehicles and weapons were

[12:28] abandoned until the word was passed it

[12:31] was a false alarm. On this day when they

[12:33] were supposed to ready their vehicles

[12:35] and weapons for war, the 101st Airborne

[12:39] found itself on the defensive. Don

[12:42] Daylor, ABC News, Camp New York, Kuwait.

[12:46] >> Now, let's uh change from the war

[12:47] against Iraq to the war against

[12:49] terrorism for a moment. FBI officials

[12:50] are looking for a man. There's a on the

[12:54] lookout, be on the lookout warrant for

[12:55] him all over the United States who may

[12:57] be, as he's described to us, another

[12:59] Muhammad Ata. That's the man who led the

[13:01] hijackings on September the 11th. This

[13:04] particular man uh carries many passport.

[13:07] ABC's Pierre Thomas is that's his his

[13:10] name. Adnan El Shukra Juma is his name

[13:13] and among among his passports. I believe

[13:16] Pierre Thomas is Saudi and a couple of

[13:18] others as well. What more do we know

[13:19] about him and why are they so concerned?

[13:21] >> Peter, they're extremely concerned

[13:22] tonight and let me be very specific. He

[13:25] is thought to be an al-Qaeda field

[13:26] commander. He's a pilot who once lived

[13:29] in Saudi Arabia. He's also thought to

[13:31] have trained in Afghanistan under 9/11

[13:34] planner Ramsay bin Alshe. The FBI is

[13:37] also investigating whether he was a part

[13:39] of a plot involving Jose Padilla, a

[13:42] so-called dirty bomb plot. And sources

[13:45] say that he has been identified by

[13:47] Khaled Shake Muhammad, the alleged 9/11

[13:50] hijacker planner and mastermind. Peter.

[13:52] >> Okay. Now, uh, do we know how his name

[13:55] suddenly popped up into either computers

[13:57] or into the middle of intelligence

[13:59] circles?

[14:00] >> Peter, what we're told is that his name

[14:02] recently came up as part of an overseas

[14:04] investigation. They went to Khaled Shake

[14:06] Muhammad, asked him about this

[14:08] particular individ individual and he was

[14:10] identified by Khaled Shake Muhammad as

[14:12] one of his main operatives.

[14:14] >> And on the general terrorist alert in

[14:17] the country today, any change since

[14:19] yesterday? Well, Peter, you saw across

[14:21] the country massive security. They're

[14:24] stepping up the security at police

[14:26] locations throughout the country. And

[14:27] also today, the FBI began a campaign to

[14:30] interview 15,000 Iraqi Americans over

[14:33] the next 3 weeks.

[14:34] >> Are these people they've gone out um and

[14:36] actually gone to find for themselves or

[14:38] have they asked Iraqis and I think you

[14:41] said there about 15,000 living in the

[14:42] country, they've asked them to come in

[14:43] and be interviewed. What's the How does

[14:45] the process work?

[14:46] >> Well, it's supposed to be a voluntary

[14:48] interview. They contact these people.

[14:49] They asked them if they will allow uh

[14:52] the FBI to come and talk to them. But

[14:54] again, even though it's voluntary,

[14:56] they're trying to get information about

[14:57] potential attacks. They also say that

[14:59] they want to warn these people and tell

[15:01] them to report any hate crime activity.

[15:03] But the real reason they're doing these

[15:05] interviews is to try to get any hint of

[15:07] terrorism in the US.

[15:08] >> And in various places today, I'm not

[15:10] sure it was all here, Iraqi officials in

[15:12] this and other countries have been told,

[15:14] you can stay here if you want and tell

[15:16] us everything you know about the Saddam

[15:17] Hussein regime. If not, go back to Iraq.

[15:19] Is that correct?

[15:20] >> Well, overseas they did that, Peter. The

[15:22] approach here in the United States will

[15:24] be a bit more subtle than that. But some

[15:26] people that they have identified as

[15:28] being Sodom Hussein sympathizers. They

[15:30] are going to either ask to leave the

[15:31] country or they're going to say, "We're

[15:33] watching you and we know that you

[15:35] support Saddam Hussein."

[15:36] >> Okay. Many thanks, Pierre Thomas. We'll

[15:38] come back to you throughout the evening,

[15:39] of course. But to continue this uh this

[15:41] war against terrorism reporting, ABC's

[15:43] Brian Ross is still with us. There was a

[15:46] there was an arrest today. I believe in

[15:48] France and a seizure, right?

[15:49] >> A seizure of a piece of luggage at a

[15:52] train station in Paris. Uh authorities

[15:54] in France believe they may have

[15:55] disrupted the plot to use Ryson or other

[15:58] poisons against US targets in France or

[16:01] Italy. They'd had this particular selfch

[16:03] check locker in the train station under

[16:05] surveillance for many days and uh they

[16:08] hoped somebody would come to pick up the

[16:09] luggage. That never happened. They

[16:11] seized it on Monday. They've done

[16:12] chemical analysis, Peter, and they now

[16:14] believe that the Ryson found in that

[16:16] luggage matches Ryson found in raids

[16:18] late last year and early this year in

[16:20] London.

[16:21] >> They believe this is one big sale that

[16:23] is operated based in Paris and was

[16:26] connected loosely to al-Qaeda and also

[16:28] to the Alansar group which operated in

[16:30] northern Iraq. Follow all that. That's

[16:32] the group that President Bush was

[16:33] alleging was connected to Saddam Hussein

[16:35] and al-Qaeda. Although this is a group

[16:37] that really detests Saddam Hussein.

[16:39] Before you go on, before we go on to

[16:40] that for a second, remind us how

[16:42] dangerous Ryson is.

[16:43] >> Extremely dangerous. It's a It's made

[16:44] from caster beans, but it's a small

[16:46] amount. It's not really used as a weapon

[16:48] of mass destruction, but more suitable

[16:50] for individual poisonings or

[16:52] assassinations. Nevertheless, highly

[16:54] toxic and uh thought to be in the hands

[16:56] of al-Qaeda operatives. They found two

[16:58] vials of that, also two bottles of a

[17:00] black powder used in explosives and one

[17:03] bottle of material that had traces of

[17:05] cyanide. So, a a deadly brew was

[17:07] intended there. Apparently,

[17:08] >> it's also a reminder today, is it not,

[17:10] of even the people who've been critical

[17:11] of the war effort have been extremely

[17:13] important and cooperative in the

[17:14] campaign against terrorism.

[17:15] >> Absolutely. The terrorism coalition was

[17:17] depends highly on France and Germany and

[17:21] they have led the way in many ways in

[17:22] disrupting al-Qaeda cells operating in

[17:24] Germany and France that had targeted the

[17:27] US. So that continues. There is, as we

[17:29] reported before on World News, some

[17:31] strains on that terror coalition because

[17:33] of the prospects of the war with Iraq.

[17:35] But nevertheless, the the French

[17:37] continue to lead the way in disrupting

[17:39] some of these terrorist cells.

[17:40] >> Many thanks, Brian. Brian Ross on the

[17:42] campaign against terrorism while we're

[17:44] while we're still overseas. Uh even as

[17:46] you recall, President Bush's approval

[17:48] rating in terms of handling the war in

[17:50] the United Nations has gone up in the

[17:51] last several days. There continues to be

[17:53] a huge body of opinion and and despite

[17:55] too the coalition of the willing that

[17:57] the administration has talked about

[17:58] today, there's a huge body of public

[18:00] opinion in other parts of the world that

[18:02] thought and may still think indeed that

[18:04] this war is a very bad idea. With a

[18:07] report on that today, here's ABC's Dean

[18:09] Reynolds.

[18:11] >> WE WANT IT.

[18:13] >> They failed to keep the war from

[18:14] starting, but demonstrators took to the

[18:16] streets today in groups large and small

[18:18] in this country and abroad. THE WHOLE

[18:21] WORLD IS WATCHING,

[18:22] >> hoping to end it as quickly as possible.

[18:24] >> This war IS GOING TO BE THE LAST.

[18:26] >> Downtown San Francisco was tied in knots

[18:29] by bands of robing protesters clashing

[18:31] with police this morning.

[18:35] >> Hundreds were arrested.

[18:39] >> Philadelphia's protesters numbering in

[18:41] the dozens demonstrated in the rain. And

[18:43] a steady downpour fell on the war's

[18:45] opponents in the nation's capital, too.

[18:47] >> We're going to live through this. The

[18:48] Iraqis won't. It's totally worth it.

[18:50] >> There were protests in Austin near where

[18:52] one of the president's daughters attends

[18:54] college and similar scenes at state

[18:56] capitals in Michigan and in New

[18:58] Hampshire. Students walked out of

[19:00] classrooms in colleges and high schools.

[19:03] These were in Chicago. I don't think

[19:05] Bush is going to listen to any of this,

[19:06] but we want someone to hear us. Most of

[19:09] the demonstrators in this country said

[19:10] they were angry with the president and

[19:12] were not trying to undermine American

[19:14] troops, but get them home safely.

[19:17] Overseas though, the US armed forces

[19:20] were seen as agents of a grand scheme to

[19:22] impose America's will on the Middle

[19:24] East.

[19:24] >> American and British troops get out of

[19:26] Iraq.

[19:27] >> Thousands marched in Egypt, which gets

[19:29] more US foreign aid than any country but

[19:31] Israel.

[19:32] >> The American occupation of Iraq is the

[19:34] occupation of the entire Arab world.

[19:39] >> There were clashes with police in Soul,

[19:41] South Korea. Anger over the war could be

[19:43] seen in Japan, in the Philippines, and

[19:46] in Australia, all US allies. In Jordan,

[19:50] the government said this must stop or

[19:52] protesters will be dealt with swiftly

[19:54] and harshly. A huge crowd confronted the

[19:56] US embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, and

[19:59] big anti-American protests were recorded

[20:01] in Berlin, as well as in Moscow.

[20:03] Protesters were there too in the shadow

[20:05] of London's Big Ben today, just a few

[20:07] feet from where the British Parliament

[20:09] approved their nation's military role in

[20:11] the conflict.

[20:13] And in Paris tonight, the strains over

[20:16] this war were vividly on display as a

[20:18] crowd mounted an attack on a symbol of

[20:20] America. Not an embassy, a McDonald's.

[20:24] Dean Reynolds, ABC News, Chicago.

[20:27] >> McDonald's always gets it when uh when

[20:29] people are angry at America. It is the

[20:31] ubiquitous symbol of America in so many

[20:32] parts of the world. Now, it's also

[20:34] happening here in New York City as well

[20:36] as in many other parts of the country

[20:38] today. ABC's Chris Cromo is in New

[20:40] York's Time Square. Chris,

[20:43] >> hello Peter. Uh, we're here at Times

[20:45] Square. As you just said, it's quiet

[20:46] now, but what made this protest very

[20:49] interesting is how quickly it started.

[20:51] At first, there were a couple of dozen

[20:52] people in the rain protesting, and it

[20:54] soon grew to hundreds and then closer to

[20:57] a thousand to maybe 2,000. And it was

[21:00] also interesting in how it was done as

[21:01] almost of a strategic attack protest.

[21:04] They came from the south and from the

[21:06] north, squeezing the police in the

[21:08] middle, right between 42nd and 43rd

[21:10] Street. Three blocks below, three blocks

[21:13] above. They were shouting, "This is what

[21:15] democracy looks like." But soon it

[21:18] turned from peaceful protest into anger

[21:21] and disruption. But to give the police

[21:23] their credit, they held themselves in

[21:25] check and acted very reasonably. more

[21:28] repelling force than actively engaging

[21:30] the crowd. When you talk to these people

[21:33] once the anger subsided, the main point

[21:35] with them seemed to be that they don't

[21:37] understand what the war is about. They

[21:39] were saying no blood for oil, but that

[21:42] was a little bit of a simplistic

[21:43] explanation. Once you went beyond that,

[21:45] they were more in terms of puzzled about

[21:48] why we're at war than having problems

[21:49] with the specific reasons.

[21:52] >> Okay, thanks. Anything else, Chris,

[21:54] there that you say it's gone quiet now,

[21:55] has it?

[21:57] Well, there are still about a thousand

[21:59] people below 42nd Street in organized

[22:02] protest, but the police are marching

[22:04] them downtown slowly.

[22:06] >> Okay, many thanks, Chris Cuomo, and

[22:08] undoubtedly one of our local stations

[22:09] will follow them downtown. By the way,

[22:10] no blood for oil from many people who

[22:13] are opposed to the war is is not

[22:15] complicated at all. They believe the

[22:17] United States wishes to occupy Iraq in

[22:19] the long term to have the oil just to to

[22:22] we understand why they wear those little

[22:23] buttons, no blood for oil. Um, now we're

[22:26] going to go back out uh uh to the region

[22:29] again. You saw a little while earlier or

[22:31] you heard a little while earlier, Mike

[22:32] Surere. Uh he is, I think I mentioned

[22:35] before, a former Marine from California.

[22:37] He went overseas with the Marines. He's

[22:38] been with the battalion company Fox 25

[22:42] uh ever since they were deployed

[22:44] overseas. And here is a report that he

[22:46] put together a little earlier.

[22:50] There's no indication of any chemical

[22:52] weapons being used at this time, but we

[22:54] are in full chemical suits. And before

[22:57] we launched the invasion, we had to dawn

[22:59] our masks at least six times over a

[23:02] 4hour period. We are with the fifth

[23:04] Marine regiment now approximately 2

[23:08] miles inside.

[23:10] We just crossed the border. We are in

[23:12] southern Iraq. They're trying to get as

[23:14] far north as they can before the moon

[23:16] gets too bright.

[23:18] Okay, we know from this is now 6:15 GMT

[23:23] time. We know approximately 12 hours

[23:26] ago. Some Okay, that's a BM. We're

[23:29] through the BM through another BM. We

[23:31] did have a report that an estimated 30

[23:34] Iraqis surrendered at the border about

[23:37] 11 hours ago to one of the

[23:39] reconnaissance patrols as they were

[23:41] making their way and scouting the border

[23:46] for over 12 hours. We've had four gas

[23:49] masks and chemical warnings where we've

[23:51] had to go to full gas mask and full

[23:53] chemical gear. Although there's been no

[23:55] confirmation of any chemical weapons so

[23:58] far, there have been three or four

[23:59] missile launchings that have made us all

[24:01] d our gear and take cover. Uh, and I

[24:04] think those were the incidents that led

[24:07] up to us doing an early invasion. Once

[24:09] they figured we were on the line on the

[24:11] border and started firing missiles and

[24:13] intelligence indicated that there were

[24:15] tanks up there, the decision was made to

[24:17] go about 12 hours earlier than planned.

[24:21] Uh I would estimate that we're going

[24:23] about 20 mph which is pretty good speed

[24:25] at night. It is nighttime now and with

[24:28] all the indications there's a full moon

[24:29] has come up now and we are trying to

[24:31] move as quickly as we can before the

[24:33] moon gets too much higher. It

[24:34] illuminates our position. We are having

[24:36] a hard time having the other vehicles

[24:38] keep up with us because they are running

[24:40] into ditches and ravines. They're using

[24:43] their night vision goggles and are

[24:44] moving as quickly as they can. We are

[24:47] spread out across the desert. uh all

[24:49] kinds of tanks, armored assault vehicles

[24:52] and uh Humpies with uh uh anti-tank

[24:56] weaponry on it. So it is a it has a bit

[24:58] of a rush across the desert. I look to

[25:01] my left, I look to my right, I can see

[25:03] the shadows of vehicles just in the

[25:04] moonlight. I cannot give you our

[25:07] location. Uh the main thing though is we

[25:09] got through we got through we breached

[25:11] the line went through the concertina

[25:13] wire and got through rather quickly and

[25:15] did not get any opposition until just

[25:17] about 15 minutes ago. We're still moving

[25:19] forward here

[25:21] as we accelerate. I may have to get

[25:23] under cover here maybe engaging a couple

[25:25] of the tanks here. This is Mike for ABC

[25:28] News.

[25:30] >> This is what General Jawan discovered.

[25:31] Uh Mike on the move and moving very

[25:34] quickly about 25 or 30 mph today, which

[25:37] if you think about it is being done

[25:38] wearing night vision goggles with the

[25:40] driver uh going over natural obstacles

[25:42] on the ground uh as they go across the

[25:45] line of departure into Iraq. Not a very

[25:48] uh easy challenge or a very difficult

[25:51] challenge for people in the field at

[25:52] this point. Just a a couple of other

[25:54] issues here about the degree to which

[25:57] people were surprised by this. on board

[25:59] the USS Cowpens which is at sea today.

[26:01] We just had a dispatch saying that they

[26:03] fired 11 Tomahawk missiles from the ship

[26:05] and many of the crew members on board

[26:07] actually woke up when the tomahawk

[26:08] missiles were being fired. So it will

[26:10] tell you how few people were privy to

[26:12] that attack on the leadership compound

[26:15] as it has been described in Baghdad. Um

[26:17] earlier today speaking of Baghdad and

[26:19] speaking of the opposition to the war

[26:21] which you've just seen, we had a chance

[26:22] to talk to Dr. Hans Blicks, uh, the

[26:24] Swedish diplomat who was in charge of

[26:26] the chemical and biological weapons

[26:28] inspection program in Iraq. He dropped

[26:30] by here to the newsroom a little while

[26:31] ago. And here is a brief excerpt of our

[26:34] conversation. Then

[26:37] >> we did not find any weapons of mass

[26:39] destruction. They may be there. Our

[26:41] analysis shows that it's possible, but

[26:43] our analysis do not show that it that

[26:45] they necessarily have it. Uh, so we

[26:48] would all like to have certainty about

[26:50] that. And now that we have gone out and

[26:52] the US is going in, uh we do hope that

[26:54] the specialists who the United States

[26:55] are bringing that they will bring

[26:57] clarity about it. I

[26:58] >> want to ask you one instinct question,

[27:00] >> please.

[27:00] >> Having been through everything you've

[27:02] been through, do you think there are

[27:04] weapons of mass destruction somewhere in

[27:06] Iraq?

[27:07] >> It would be strange if they did not have

[27:08] it. On the other hand, seeing the Iraqi

[27:10] conduct when they have been almost

[27:13] frantic lately and showering us with

[27:15] letters and and explanations and

[27:17] explorations of how do you dig up,

[27:19] measure antrax in the ground, etc. It's

[27:22] puzzling. Of course, there's only been

[27:24] one truth at any given time in Iraq and

[27:26] that's the one set by Saddam Hussein.

[27:27] >> That's a very good point. You had a huge

[27:29] amount of experience with the Iraqis.

[27:30] Did you ever think you knew Saddam

[27:31] Hussein at all? No, we never met him.

[27:34] And I think that he probably figures

[27:36] himself as a sort of emperor of

[27:37] Mesopotamia and that that he would not

[27:40] uh descend to talk to lowly creatures

[27:43] like an a chief inspector.

[27:46] >> It's in some respects is one of the

[27:48] phrases of the day. Dr. Huns, the only

[27:50] truth in Iraq is Saddam Hussein's truth.

[27:52] And of course, it is that which the

[27:54] United States is going to make every

[27:56] effort now to change. Um, a brief review

[28:00] of some of the other days developments

[28:02] coming along in the moment, but the

[28:03] third infantry division, I'm told, is

[28:05] now on the move. And Jack McQuey at the

[28:07] Pentagon has some sense of precisely

[28:09] what's happening in the field. Jack,

[28:11] >> Peter, when the third infantry moves, it

[28:14] is the heart of the American force. Uh,

[28:17] that and the Marine Corps, of course,

[28:19] the two columns that are likely to move

[28:21] north uh in north towards Baghdad. So

[28:25] when the third infantry finally goes,

[28:27] you have this uh massive attack force,

[28:30] lots of helicopters and tanks, uh the

[28:32] heaviest and the toughest that the US

[28:34] has right now. Uh and they are what is

[28:37] called the tip of the spear. So when

[28:40] they are moving, the offensive on the

[28:42] ground has really begun.

[28:43] >> Now I have a note handed to me, Jack,

[28:45] that says there major explosives and

[28:46] bombing reported in Iraq as they go

[28:49] forward. Can you tell us more? Um, I

[28:52] can't, Peter. Uh, one can certainly

[28:54] imagine what that is, but I do not have

[28:57] the facts as to what it is. When a a

[29:00] division like this starts moving, it

[29:01] puts its Apache helicopters out in

[29:03] front. Uh, and anything that gets in

[29:06] their way, they start uh hammering. Uh,

[29:09] in addition to that, there is some

[29:11] closeair support that has been working

[29:13] around the city of Basra uh all day and

[29:16] into the night uh trying to soften that

[29:19] part of the battlefield. for the

[29:21] advancing forces

[29:22] >> in your building. Jack, do they believe

[29:24] that um Kaser, which is just one of the

[29:26] port cities just below Basra, has

[29:28] actually been captured either by the

[29:30] British or by the US.

[29:32] >> They are refusing to comment. Peter, um

[29:36] there has been a dispute between the

[29:38] press and central command for the last

[29:40] several hours. Uh Tommy Franks has been

[29:43] upset with uh some of the things that

[29:45] have been reported in the press and he

[29:47] is stopping providing us with details.

[29:49] Okay, thanks very much John McCarthy.

[29:51] That's Colonel Tommy Franks in Qatar at

[29:53] the commanding officer of the entire

[29:55] operation. This is ABC News continuing

[29:58] live coverage of the war with Iraq.

[30:09] I'm Peter Jennings at ABC News

[30:11] headquarters in New York. You are seeing

[30:13] what would normally be for some parts of

[30:15] the country. ABC's World News Tonight.

[30:16] But as you can tell, our coverage has uh

[30:19] been continuing for many hours and will

[30:21] continue for many hours more. But just

[30:24] to begin this particular period at 7:00

[30:26] Eastern time, um 4:00 in the Pacific

[30:31] time zone, a brief review of the day's

[30:34] developments and the US war against

[30:36] Iraq. As of now, US and British forces

[30:39] launched a new round of cruise missile

[30:41] attacks at government facilities in

[30:44] Baghdad. They were launched both from

[30:46] the Persian Gulf and from the Red Sea,

[30:49] both by ships and by submarines, both by

[30:52] the American forces and by the British

[30:55] forces as well. And then US-led forces

[30:58] in Kuwait launched a ground assault

[30:59] against Iraq. We've most recently heard

[31:01] that the Third Infantry Division has

[31:03] begun to move within the last few

[31:05] moments. There are or last few minutes

[31:07] anyway. And there are reports denied by

[31:10] Iraq and not confirmed by US command

[31:13] that the Iraqi port town of Um Kaser,

[31:15] which is just below Basra on your map

[31:17] there, has been captured. That's the FA

[31:19] Peninsula as they call it there. That is

[31:21] Iraq's only access to the sea. US

[31:25] artillery units, we do know from Kuwait

[31:27] and on the line of departure, as it's

[31:29] called, fired on Iraqi positions during

[31:31] this initial assault and we are told

[31:33] from our reporters in the field there

[31:34] was reportedly not much opposition. The

[31:38] US is still updating and trying to

[31:40] assess the damage.