MSNBC - Iraq War - 2003-03-20 - 2:50 a.m. (E)

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:01] restore control of that country to its

[0:03] own people.

[0:05] I know that the families of our military

[0:07] are praying that all those who serve

[0:09] will return safely and soon.

[0:12] Millions of Americans are praying with

[0:14] you

[0:15] for the safety of your loved ones

[0:17] and for the protection of the innocent.

[0:20] For your sacrifice,

[0:22] you have the gratitude and respect of

[0:24] the American people.

[0:26] And you can know

[0:28] that our forces will be coming home as

[0:31] soon as their work is done.

[0:33] Our nation enters this conflict

[0:35] reluctantly,

[0:37] yet our purpose is sure.

[0:39] The people of the United States and our

[0:41] friends and allies will not live at the

[0:43] mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens

[0:46] the peace with weapons of mass murder.

[0:49] We will meet that threat now

[0:51] with our army, Air Force, Navy, Coast

[0:55] Guard, and Marines,

[0:56] so that we do not have to meet it later

[0:58] with armies of firefighters and police

[1:01] and doctors on the streets of our

[1:03] cities.

[1:05] Now that conflict has come,

[1:07] the only way to limit its duration is to

[1:10] apply decisive force.

[1:12] And I assure you,

[1:14] this will not be a campaign of half

[1:16] measures,

[1:17] and we will accept no outcome

[1:19] but victory.

[1:21] My fellow citizens,

[1:23] the dangers to our country

[1:25] and the world

[1:26] will be overcome.

[1:29] We will pass through this time of peril

[1:31] and carry on the work of peace.

[1:34] We will defend our freedom.

[1:36] We will bring freedom to others.

[1:39] And we will prevail.

[1:41] May God bless our country

[1:43] and all who defend her.

[1:46] >> The president spoke, the nation

[1:47] listened, and now the nation is

[1:49] reacting. Don Lemon joins us now live

[1:51] from New York's Times Square, and Don,

[1:53] we've already been hearing reaction

[1:54] coming in from all over the world,

[1:56] different countries. Some in support,

[1:58] some

[2:00] strongly against this military action

[2:01] that started. Let's a localize that

[2:03] reaction though. What are people saying

[2:05] as far as President Bush's speech that

[2:07] they heard and as far as the start of

[2:09] war?

[2:11] >> Well, really the reaction here in Times

[2:12] Square has been mixed and of course the

[2:14] concern was people speaking out against

[2:16] the war. There's been some support, but

[2:18] there's also been some dissent. And the

[2:20] concern was that people may use an air

[2:22] strike against Baghdad to do some sort

[2:24] of terroristic

[2:25] act here in Times Square, here in New

[2:27] York City. And of course the mayor of

[2:29] New York and the police commissioner

[2:30] said they would take care of any of that

[2:32] by putting into place what they call

[2:33] Operation Atlas, which they say is a

[2:35] most comprehensive anti-terrorism

[2:38] operation that any city in America has

[2:40] has undertaken. Operation Atlas calls

[2:43] for increased patrols in certain areas,

[2:45] increased securities at places of

[2:47] worship and tourist spots and also at

[2:49] financial institutions, also increased

[2:51] checkpoints on bridges and other places

[2:53] of entry throughout the city.

[2:55] >> And joining me now two of New York

[2:57] City's finest who are both part of the

[3:01] Operation Atlas. You You guys normally

[3:03] work in the Bronx, right? We have

[3:04] officers Officer Vasquez and Officer

[3:06] Maldonado. You normally work in the

[3:08] Bronx, but you're here now doing this.

[3:09] Tell me what you guys are doing now.

[3:10] You're in a van, you say?

[3:11] >> Right. Right now we part of Cobra team,

[3:14] which is the chemical biological

[3:16] response team. And we we have our omni

[3:18] presence and we going from landmark to

[3:21] landmark, get familiar to area

[3:23] making sure everything's all right.

[3:25] >> You said if anybody had any concerns

[3:26] about coming to New York City about the

[3:27] safety or about terrorism, they

[3:29] shouldn't be.

[3:30] >> Well, the manpower of and police and and

[3:33] and presence of us it's is enormous.

[3:35] There's a lot a lot of manpower down

[3:36] here.

[3:37] I would be safe. I would feel safe.

[3:39] >> Thank you. Officer Maldonado, you said

[3:41] you guys heard about it, you were

[3:42] listening to it where? On the radio?

[3:43] >> Yes.

[3:44] >> What was your reaction when you heard

[3:45] about the air strikes?

[3:46] >> Uh

[3:47] a little bit surprised it was so soon. I

[3:49] was expecting maybe it it was be next

[3:51] few days.

[3:52] But, uh

[3:53] you know, I knew it was

[3:54] it was going to hear about it it was

[3:56] going to come eventually.

[3:57] >> Yeah. So,

[3:59] you said you were surprised by that it

[4:01] happened so quickly. Did it put you on a

[4:02] heightened sense of alert or make you a

[4:04] little bit more anxious about doing your

[4:06] job?

[4:07] >> Uh you know, I it pretty much already

[4:10] right after the president spoke. And you

[4:12] know, I would think

[4:14] you know, it would have been a taken a

[4:16] little more time, but you know, but you

[4:18] know, we're here. We're ready.

[4:20] So, you know, that's why we're out here

[4:21] tonight.

[4:22] >> Yeah, it seems like most people were not

[4:24] concerned about any terrorism because

[4:26] Times Square was full today at rush

[4:27] hour, was full during theater time, and

[4:29] even after the theater, after the

[4:30] president came out, people were watching

[4:32] him on the Jumbotron over there. So, it

[4:34] seems like it didn't affect tourism or

[4:36] people going out to enjoy themselves,

[4:37] and that's probably because of you guys.

[4:39] Thank you very much for joining us.

[4:40] >> It's our pleasure.

[4:41] >> We want to talk about some of the

[4:42] reaction that uh people had earlier

[4:44] tonight. We talked to some people in

[4:45] Times Square. One woman who was from

[4:47] Manhattan, Kansas. She has a son who is

[4:50] away uh in the Middle East now fighting.

[4:52] And here's what she had to say.

[4:56] >> We all pretty much expected that

[4:57] something would probably come down

[4:58] tonight or tomorrow.

[5:00] >> Yeah. What's the reaction of the folks

[5:02] you're with?

[5:03] >> Oh, all surprised, all concerned.

[5:06] Um

[5:07] all of this sort of a sense of

[5:08] inevitability. I think everybody knew

[5:10] that we were headed in this direction.

[5:12] And so, just concerned now for our

[5:14] troops who are there and um for our

[5:16] nation.

[5:17] >> made

[5:19] And obviously that's concern from

[5:20] everyone, concerned about the safety of

[5:21] the people there and concerned about the

[5:23] safety of the nation. Of course, you

[5:25] heard the New York City police officer

[5:26] saying that everything is fine here. Uh

[5:28] the mayor saying just yesterday or just

[5:30] this morning actually at the White House

[5:32] that in any city in America, in any city

[5:35] in the country, if you're going to be

[5:36] safe, it's going to be in New York City

[5:38] because of the amount of manpower and

[5:40] the precautions that they have taken.

[5:41] Back to you, Bianca.

[5:42] >> One quick question. You're talking about

[5:44] the amount of manpower, uh increased

[5:46] patrols in that area. Anything different

[5:49] than what we might have been seeing

[5:50] before in other heightened states of

[5:52] alert, maybe different kind of equipment

[5:54] that they're now using?

[5:56] >> Well, what you see now really in Times

[5:59] Square as well as well as other tourist

[6:01] attractions throughout the city, you see

[6:03] more police presence. You'll see

[6:04] bomb-sniffing dogs, some of the things

[6:06] they have out now. You'll see members of

[6:08] the National Guard on patrol. Also,

[6:10] these are things that you may not see

[6:12] and other ways that the police

[6:14] department and the city of New York is

[6:16] helping. What they're doing is they're

[6:18] providing air monitoring systems at

[6:20] street level throughout the city. And

[6:22] also that those Cobra teams and those

[6:24] Hammer teams that you heard the police

[6:26] officers talk about, those are people

[6:28] who are

[6:29] specialists who are trained in chemical,

[6:31] biological, and radiological attacks.

[6:34] And like as I said, those radiation

[6:36] sensors placed throughout the city.

[6:37] Also, the police officers

[6:39] just telling me this a short while ago

[6:41] that they have

[6:42] radiation sensors in their pagers. So,

[6:44] they have it on their persons and also

[6:46] at certain sites throughout the city.

[6:47] So, you'll see that, you'll see those

[6:49] bomb-sniffing dogs, and really just an

[6:51] increased police presence.

[6:52] >> All right, Don Lemon in Times Square.

[6:54] Thank you very much for that report. And

[6:55] Tim, he was just telling us about local

[6:57] reaction, people who were gathered there

[6:59] watching the president's speech, people

[7:01] feeling, you know, the pressure there.

[7:03] >> Mhm.

[7:04] >> Increased security in New York City,

[7:05] other major cities around the nation. I

[7:07] think it's interesting to hear the

[7:08] reaction coming in from around the

[7:09] world. Indonesia already saying they

[7:12] fiercely oppose this. The UK coming out

[7:14] and saying that Britain had no

[7:16] involvement in this attack at all.

[7:18] Russia's Prime Minister saying that he

[7:19] regrets this military action.

[7:21] >> There is also a word from the

[7:23] top defense official from Great Britain

[7:25] who says it is not long now until there

[7:27] will be a wider attack in Iraq. And as

[7:29] you mentioned, the word is coming out

[7:31] that Great Britain had nothing to do

[7:32] with this initial attack, but we assume,

[7:34] of course, they will be involved in

[7:36] subsequent attacks. And from Indonesia,

[7:37] there is this. Indonesia, by the way, is

[7:39] the world's most populous Muslim nation,

[7:41] and the president of Indonesia has now

[7:43] come out and they are very strongly

[7:45] opposed to this US led attack on Iraq

[7:47] and they now are urging the United

[7:49] Nations to call an emergency meeting and

[7:51] also we are hearing from Germany

[7:53] >> Germany the same thing

[7:54] >> their parliament wants to get together

[7:55] in a very short period of time here on

[7:57] this Thursday and discuss this. They

[7:59] have strong opposition as well. So we

[8:01] are getting world reaction from all

[8:02] around the globe.

[8:03] >> And we will of course continue to

[8:05] monitor this bringing you the very

[8:07] latest stay with MSNBC.

[8:28] >> Those are the latest pictures that we

[8:29] have from the Gulf region and that is

[8:30] quite clearly a missile launch that was

[8:33] headed towards Iraq.

[8:35] Much earlier. It was about 9:30 East

[8:38] Coast time when the bombing began. There

[8:42] was a surprise attack near Baghdad a

[8:44] bunker they had a bunker buster bomb

[8:47] that they dropped a tremendous bomb

[8:49] which is dropped in the skies over

[8:50] Baghdad because at the time US

[8:53] intelligence had indicated that some top

[8:54] Iraqi military officials may have been

[8:57] hunkered down in this bunker. So they

[8:59] decided on a surprise attack. So the war

[9:02] has clearly begun and now we are in the

[9:05] lull. Military officials and analysts

[9:07] now say that there will be another

[9:09] attack very likely will happen within

[9:11] the next hours and it sounds like Bianca

[9:13] it will be a very fierce and awesome

[9:15] attack.

[9:15] >> Okay and let's go and take a look at the

[9:17] latest headlines right now. 90 minutes

[9:20] after the 8:00 p.m. Eastern deadline to

[9:22] Saddam bombs as you saw fell on Baghdad

[9:25] >> [music]

[9:25] >> as the US targeted the Iraqi president

[9:27] and Iraqi leadership. Working on

[9:29] specific intelligence B-117 bombers

[9:32] [music] dropped a bunker busters on a

[9:34] target in Baghdad. No damage assessment

[9:36] as of yet.

[9:37] >> [music]

[9:38] >> And now Sky News in London reporting

[9:40] that troops in North Kuwait, they've

[9:42] been [music] instructed to put on gas

[9:43] masks in that area.

[9:45] Short time after the first strike,

[9:47] President Bush addressed the nation

[9:48] saying the bombing had started. He also

[9:50] warned that the conflict with Iraq would

[9:52] be longer and more difficult [music]

[9:54] than some people had predicted.

[9:56] Meanwhile, Iraqis heard from a defiant

[9:59] Saddam Hussein. He went on Iraqi

[10:00] television to accuse the US of

[10:03] committing a shameful crime. And he also

[10:05] [music] called on the people of Iraq to

[10:07] draw their sword and confront the

[10:09] invaders. We will of course recap the

[10:11] latest headlines in the [music] Iraq

[10:12] crisis for you every 15 minutes at the

[10:15] top of the hour. Sam.

[10:16] >> Thanks a lot, Bianca. And while those

[10:18] attacks were being conducted, just one

[10:20] note before we head to Carl Rochelle

[10:22] over at the Pentagon, about a thousand

[10:23] US troops in southern Afghanistan were

[10:25] conducting raids looking for members of

[10:27] Al-Qaeda. This was almost transpiring at

[10:29] about the same time the bombing began in

[10:32] Iraq. So US troops very, very busy all

[10:35] across the globe. Let's head to the

[10:36] Pentagon right now. Carl Rochelle

[10:38] standing by and Carl, we are presumably

[10:40] in the lull right now, are we not?

[10:42] >> Sam, that is the case. Apparently in the

[10:44] lull now, although I was cautioned that

[10:46] don't rule out any daytime attacks

[10:48] because of course you can fire uh cruise

[10:50] missiles either air-launched cruise

[10:52] missiles or Tomahawk cruise missiles in

[10:53] the daytime. They're unmanned. Uh puts

[10:55] no one at risk. If they can be seen,

[10:57] extremely difficult to shoot down. You

[10:59] can see them, but they're very small

[11:00] targets and move at about the speed of

[11:03] an airliner. It uses a air-breathing jet

[11:05] engine to to run them. And so some

[11:07] attacks could occur during the daylight.

[11:09] We quite frankly expect there to be a

[11:11] little bit of a lull in between. Sam,

[11:13] also a government source I talked to

[11:15] just a a few moments ago uh confirmed

[11:17] for us that uh in fact here's here's the

[11:20] way this all came down, the attack. Uh

[11:22] CIA Director George Tenet went to the

[11:25] White House uh yesterday afternoon and

[11:28] briefed President Bush, told him that

[11:30] they knew where Saddam and some of his

[11:32] top military leaders were, told him that

[11:34] they thought that he would be in this

[11:36] position in this house in Baghdad for

[11:39] quite some time, and they hurriedly

[11:42] changed a battle plan that had been

[11:44] carefully laid out and carefully

[11:45] orchestrated to add this one particular

[11:47] target in to hit it in Baghdad. Now, we

[11:50] now know that the target was hit with

[11:53] about three dozen Tomahawk cruise

[11:55] missiles fired from uh cruisers,

[11:57] destroyers, and submarines in both the

[11:59] Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Also, two

[12:03] F-117s dropping EGBU 2,000-lb

[12:07] uh

[12:08] bunker buster Boy, that's a mouthful.

[12:10] Bunker buster 2,000-lb bombs. Uh they

[12:13] are guided by global positioning

[12:15] satellite systems. Also, the Tomahawk

[12:17] cruise missiles are guided by uh the the

[12:21] global positioning system also. Now, uh

[12:23] you saw Saddam Hussein making his speech

[12:26] on Iraqi television after all of this,

[12:29] and I was told by this official that it

[12:32] is likely that they may have missed him,

[12:34] but here here was the caution. Don't

[12:37] completely rule it out for a couple of

[12:39] reasons. Number one, uh this was clearly

[12:41] a tape. There is no reference in Saddam

[12:44] Hussein's address to the events that

[12:46] just happened, even though there's a

[12:48] dated reference in it. It could clearly

[12:49] have been ahead of date added into it.

[12:51] And you know, they wouldn't rule out a

[12:53] double. They said it probably is Saddam,

[12:55] but uh note that he was wearing glasses.

[12:57] He doesn't usually wear them. He was

[12:59] reading off of a steno pad, flipping the

[13:01] pages off as he read. He typically works

[13:03] off of a teleprompter, a very slick uh

[13:06] presentation, and uh this was not a

[13:08] slick presentation. It was sort of slow

[13:11] and steady. They say, "Don't rule out a

[13:13] a body double." Uh they didn't believe

[13:15] that's the case. They believe they

[13:16] likely is still alive, but don't base

[13:18] your decision that he escaped on the

[13:21] tape that you saw on the air of him

[13:23] making the address. So, still out there

[13:25] looking at battle damage assessment yet

[13:28] to come when the skies clear in there

[13:29] and they can get the the U-2 spy planes

[13:32] over or take a look down from one of the

[13:33] satellites and get a little closer look

[13:35] at it, but hard to tell exactly. Saddam

[13:38] Hussein is known to have had a number of

[13:40] body doubles, known to have

[13:42] spent the nights in different places.

[13:44] Very often during the last war, escaped

[13:48] any damage or any harm by staying in

[13:51] private residences instead of staying in

[13:52] his palaces. So, that is the way the the

[13:55] operation came down, Sam. That's that's

[13:57] what we're told by a high highly placed

[14:00] government source.

[14:00] >> Well, and Carl, what some may find a

[14:02] rather cruel and odd twist in all of

[14:05] this is the question now, and we've been

[14:07] asking this question about Osama bin

[14:09] Laden, is he indeed alive? And now after

[14:12] this initial attack and the video tape

[14:14] that we have seen within the past few

[14:15] hours of Saddam Hussein, that question

[14:18] arises again for him. So, now we are all

[14:21] debating whether or not Saddam Hussein

[14:22] is alive, whether or not Osama bin Laden

[14:24] is alive.

[14:26] Uh it it it is rather an interesting

[14:28] twist on this whole this whole story,

[14:30] this whole war, is it not?

[14:32] >> It it is, and I would suggest to you

[14:33] that it is extremely difficult to pin

[14:36] something like that down. Go back to the

[14:38] operation in Panama and Manuel Noriega

[14:41] and how difficult it was to pin him

[14:43] down. Smaller country, less people, a

[14:45] lot of forces in there, forces that had

[14:48] known that area for years and years. The

[14:50] US had a base in Panama. Still very

[14:52] difficult to pin Noriega down. Extremely

[14:54] difficult to pin pin Saddam Hussein

[14:56] down. He stays moving from house to

[14:58] house.

[14:59] >> Carl, when you describe that visit by

[15:00] George Tenet to the White House a week

[15:02] prior to the bombing, it gives you an

[15:04] indication the level of intelligence,

[15:06] and surprising maybe for many in the

[15:08] United States, the level of intelligence

[15:11] that the US has on the whereabouts of

[15:13] Osama bin Laden. It sounds as if the

[15:15] special ops forces are alive and really

[15:18] kicking within side Iraq's borders.

[15:21] >> Uh they are indeed, the special

[15:23] operations forces and some special units

[15:25] that operate with the Central

[15:27] Intelligence Agency. I I will tell you

[15:29] from a perspective, at one point, uh,

[15:32] many years ago, the CIA, the the current

[15:35] head of the CIA at that time, and I

[15:37] believe it was Admiral Stansfield

[15:38] Turner, decided that the way to go with

[15:40] gathering intelligence was to use

[15:41] satellites, overhead imaging, U-2

[15:43] planes, SR-71s, and that HUMINT, or

[15:46] human intelligence, was not that

[15:48] valuable. And they found during the Iran

[15:50] hostage taking that human intelligence

[15:52] was extremely valuable, and they needed

[15:54] to restructure it and recreate it. And

[15:56] the intelligence community has been

[15:57] trying to rebuild that intelligence

[15:59] component for some time. You may see

[16:02] some of this at work here. You may see,

[16:04] uh, US operatives operating in that

[16:05] area, but suffice to say that the

[16:08] intelligence operation, the special

[16:10] forces, people like the black berets,

[16:11] people like the, uh, the Delta Force

[16:14] that, uh, no one in the military will

[16:15] ever acknowledge exists, but in fact it

[16:17] does, uh, SEAL Team Six, uh, the, uh,

[16:20] special SEAL Team units, they have

[16:22] people all over. They've been in there

[16:23] for some time, and they've been

[16:24] operating for some time covertly. So,

[16:27] someone, you're absolutely right, is

[16:28] tracking Saddam Hussein, has a pretty

[16:31] good idea of where he is. And actually,

[16:33] that may be the indication of whether

[16:35] the person that they thought was Saddam

[16:37] Hussein was in that bunker escaped

[16:39] alive. Is that same intel that pointed

[16:40] where he was may ultimately be able to

[16:43] tell you that they did or did not get

[16:45] him.

[16:45] >> Carl, finally, I want to ask you this

[16:47] because we all expected to see the shock

[16:48] and awe campaign right off the bat, and

[16:51] that clearly did not happen. Is there

[16:52] any indication that, A, it will indeed

[16:54] take place, and B, when it might take

[16:56] place?

[16:57] >> I I think you will see a shock and awe

[16:59] campaign at some point, but, uh,

[17:01] one of the characteristics of this is is

[17:04] the military is trying to move forward

[17:06] and not telegraph what it's going to do.

[17:08] So, all the public information that they

[17:11] leaked out, if you will, about the way

[17:12] this campaign was going to go down, that

[17:14] the first strike would be, uh, just a a

[17:16] big bang with everything being knocked

[17:18] down. You know, and actually there was

[17:21] part of a plan that was put into effect

[17:22] today. It wasn't just this place in

[17:24] Baghdad they took down. They also hit

[17:26] targets in northern, southern, and

[17:28] western Iraq. They took down some

[17:30] airfield areas. They took down some

[17:31] units who were in there, more radar

[17:33] sites. So,

[17:34] a strike was apparently planned for this

[17:37] evening or last evening

[17:39] local time here in in Washington that

[17:42] took place. And what they did after CIA

[17:44] director Tenet briefed President Bush on

[17:47] the possibility of getting Saddam

[17:49] Hussein is that they diverted a couple

[17:51] of resources. They diverted a few

[17:53] Tomahawk cruise missiles and the F-117s.

[17:56] Easily direct redirecting the F-117s and

[18:00] with the the Tomahawk cruise missiles

[18:02] fairly easy to redirect them now because

[18:04] you program GPS coordinates in them,

[18:07] latitude, longitude of the target, and

[18:09] fire it in that direction. So, they

[18:11] reprogrammed and sent them in to hit

[18:13] this particular bungalow in Baghdad to

[18:15] take him down. So, something was in the

[18:17] works already and it wasn't that big

[18:20] splash that we had been looking for.

[18:21] >> All right, Carl Rochelle at the

[18:22] Pentagon. Thank you very much for

[18:24] getting us up-to-date. A number of

[18:25] developments to report for you at this

[18:27] hour. Number one, from the State

[18:28] Department, there is another warning

[18:30] that is going out to US citizens here

[18:32] and particularly abroad about the

[18:34] potential for terrorist attacks with

[18:35] regards to this. Also, I wanted to throw

[18:37] this in, Bianca. Uh Pakistan, once

[18:40] again, we know Pakistan has been

[18:41] opposed, but they are reiterating that

[18:43] from Reuters. They do not support this

[18:45] war with Iraq. They are now pushing for

[18:46] peace. And of course, there has been a

[18:48] call by a number of officials to have

[18:49] another meeting at the United Nations

[18:51] with regards to what is now a war in

[18:53] Iraq.

[18:54] >> That is Pakistan's reaction. This just

[18:55] came in from the president of Greece

[18:57] saying he does regrets that this could

[19:00] not have been solved peacefully.

[19:01] >> We will see that for the rest of this

[19:03] day, I am sure, more reaction.

[19:05] >> And before all of this started, all of

[19:07] the bombing started, there was warning

[19:09] given to Israel by the United States.

[19:11] Secretary of State Colin Powell

[19:13] telephone Israeli Prime Minister Ariel

[19:15] Sharon saying that the bombing was going

[19:17] to start. He told him that there was a

[19:19] specific target that was going to be

[19:21] attacked in Baghdad before the more

[19:23] comprehensive attack started. So, Israel

[19:26] did have warning of this before it all

[19:28] started. Keith Miller joins us now live

[19:31] from our Tel Aviv bureau and

[19:33] Keith we're talking about a place that

[19:34] was hit by 39 Iraqi Scud missiles during

[19:37] the Gulf War. How are the people there

[19:39] preparing this time around?

[19:43] >> Well, they're very well prepared in fact

[19:44] Bianca. I mean this country has been

[19:45] gearing up for this particular conflict

[19:48] for I would say months. In fact every

[19:50] person in the country all 6 million of

[19:52] them each have their own individual gas

[19:54] mask. They were warned about 24 hours

[19:56] ago to seal rooms within their homes

[19:59] using masking tape and plastic sheeting.

[20:02] And the same time they've also set up

[20:03] civil defense units within the well, I

[20:05] should say throughout the entire country

[20:07] to deal with any eventuality. At the

[20:09] same time they've got extraordinary air

[20:11] defenses here. Something called the

[20:13] Arrow missile killer which is an Israeli

[20:15] weapon which intercepts rockets almost

[20:17] above the earth's atmosphere. That's

[20:20] backed up by American man Patriot

[20:22] missile batteries. They're located in

[20:23] all the major population centers. So, I

[20:26] think many people in Israel probably had

[20:27] a pretty sleepless night last night once

[20:29] they understood that the war had in fact

[20:31] gone underway.

[20:33] Nothing here no air raid sirens no

[20:35] indication that there was any sort of

[20:36] Scud attack imminent in any way.

[20:39] You Today in fact the government telling

[20:41] everybody go about your life as normal.

[20:43] The schools are open. Some children are

[20:45] attending schools not many and the ones

[20:48] that are attending school are carrying

[20:49] their own individualized gas mask with

[20:52] them just for precautions. So, you have

[20:54] basically a nation very well prepared

[20:56] for any eventuality. At the same time

[20:58] very nervous. Iraq is not that far away

[21:00] and remains a very critical enemy of

[21:02] Israel. Bianca.

[21:04] >> For the everyday person how he and she

[21:07] is prepared uh carrying gas masks around

[21:09] sadly become a way of life there. And

[21:11] you also talked about this arrow missile

[21:14] killer system, that's a weapon. What

[21:16] about ground troops? Any reservists

[21:18] called up, prepared just in case?

[21:22] >> They have the reservists called up, but

[21:23] not primarily in terms of ground troops,

[21:25] but certainly to aid in any civil

[21:27] defense actions necessary in case of an

[21:30] attack. Also, they called up reservists

[21:32] to man those missile

[21:35] sites, backup crews if you will for

[21:37] those as well. But the civil defense

[21:39] units here in Israel, I mean, they've

[21:41] they've had 50 years of experience. This

[21:43] is an ongoing situation in this country.

[21:45] In fact, if there was any threat to

[21:46] Israel that I would think would be

[21:48] perhaps the most prominent would be a

[21:50] terrorist attack coming somewhere from

[21:52] Islamic Jihad or Hamas, one of the more

[21:54] radical Islamic groups. They always pose

[21:57] a threat to Israel and have for the last

[21:59] 28 months, more than 700 Israelis killed

[22:03] in in suicide bombing attacks from the

[22:06] Islamic groups. So, I think probably

[22:08] their biggest concern is in fact a

[22:10] terrorist strike in Israel. But of

[22:13] course, it would be going going with the

[22:14] the conflict with Israel, but I suspect

[22:16] what you'd have is some sort of

[22:18] declaration that this was for the people

[22:20] of Iraq somehow pig piggybacking onto

[22:22] that conflict, a conflict that is

[22:24] ongoing here in Israel.

[22:26] >> Keith, if you could discuss this, we saw

[22:27] Israel kind of stay by the sidelines

[22:29] during the '91 war, but this time around

[22:32] they have said they do have the right to

[22:34] retaliate. Could you comment on that?

[22:38] >> Well, I think they they they would

[22:39] always have to say that just to show

[22:40] that they are a sovereign state and that

[22:42] they are not a puppet of the United

[22:43] States. At the at the same time, I can

[22:45] assure you there is tremendous pressure

[22:47] on the part of the US government to keep

[22:49] Israel out of this conflict. They don't

[22:51] want the world which is you've just been

[22:53] reporting, which is already

[22:54] predominantly opposed to the American

[22:56] invasion of Iraq. They don't want this

[22:58] to be seen as an American-Israeli

[23:00] alliance against an Arab state. So, I

[23:02] think there's a lot of behind-the-scenes

[23:04] pressure on the government here not to

[23:05] react. I will say, however, that if this

[23:08] country is hit with a chemical or

[23:09] biological agent by Iraq, I'm not sure

[23:12] how the United States will be try to or

[23:13] will be able to contain the Israeli

[23:15] government from some sort of

[23:17] retaliation. I think at the same time we

[23:19] should remember back in '91, 39 SCUD

[23:21] attacks, the Israelis just kind of

[23:23] swallowed it, they kept their mouths

[23:25] shut, they kept their fingers off the

[23:26] buttons, no retaliation in that

[23:28] particular conflict. Again, because of

[23:30] American pressure not to give the

[23:32] impression that this is some sort of

[23:34] Israeli-American

[23:36] initiative against an Arab state.

[23:38] >> Okay, Keith Miller reporting for us from

[23:40] our NBC bureau in Tel Aviv. Thank you

[23:42] very much.

[23:43] >> Just about 3 hours after the first

[23:46] strike was launched in Baghdad, Saddam

[23:49] Hussein appeared on Iraqi state TV and

[23:51] he said during his speech, and I quote,

[23:53] "The criminal little Bush has committed

[23:55] a crime against humanity." That was

[23:57] during the speech that we heard and he

[23:59] attacked attacked, of course, the

[24:01] president of the United States. He said,

[24:02] of course, that Iraq would be

[24:03] victorious. With that, we want to head

[24:05] now to Washington, D.C. and Jessica

[24:07] Yellin who joins us right now. And

[24:09] Jessica, I want to tick off a few of the

[24:10] countries. We know Germany, Russia,

[24:12] France, of course, so they've been

[24:13] opposed to this from the get-go, but

[24:15] we're getting word now from a number of

[24:17] countries across the globe responding.

[24:19] China, Pakistan, Indonesia, Greece, just

[24:22] among a few who are condemning all of

[24:24] this and some even calling for a special

[24:26] meeting at the United Nations. What does

[24:28] the White House have to do on this day

[24:30] in addition to running a war in terms of

[24:33] trying to patch up this situation?

[24:35] >> Sam, you you hit the on the head. For

[24:37] the White House, there is a second

[24:39] battle. Of course, their focus first

[24:41] will be on the war itself and military

[24:43] action, but the president will also have

[24:46] to focus on the fight over public

[24:48] opinion both at home and abroad. You

[24:51] mentioned all those countries that have

[24:52] denounced this war effort. So, first

[24:54] let's look overseas. Now, the president

[24:57] demonstrated just how severely concerned

[24:59] he is about international opinion in his

[25:01] address to the nation last night. If you

[25:04] take a look at the tape of his address,

[25:06] it was in the first 20 seconds of that

[25:08] speech that he underscored international

[25:11] support. He said that 35 countries are

[25:14] giving crucial support from the use of

[25:17] their naval and air bases to help with

[25:18] intelligence, etc. Um his message here

[25:22] that despite international opposition,

[25:23] the US is not going it alone. Now, you

[25:27] ticked off the list of some of those

[25:28] countries that have already say they

[25:30] fiercely oppose this uh fight. Um and

[25:34] the president will have a struggle. He

[25:36] will have to win these countries back

[25:39] over by showing that

[25:41] Saddam Hussein is in fact a threat that

[25:43] the president has said he is all along.

[25:45] Specifically, he will have to show that

[25:48] Saddam does have the weapons of mass

[25:50] destruction that the Bush administration

[25:52] has been claiming he has. The president

[25:54] will need that to justify this war. And

[25:57] so, that will be a clear priority for US

[26:00] troops uh if they are able to overtake

[26:02] Baghdad if and when that happens. Now,

[26:04] that's overseas. Back at home though,

[26:06] there is another fight for public

[26:08] opinion, a message to the American

[26:10] people. In uh the lead-up to this uh

[26:13] struggle, there has been an assumption

[26:14] that this will be a quick battle and

[26:16] painless for folks here in the United

[26:18] States. The president tried to lower

[26:20] expectations there, saying the terrain

[26:23] in Iraq is hard and the campaign could

[26:25] be, quote, longer and more difficult

[26:27] than people expect. In other words,

[26:30] don't plan for this to be over by the

[26:31] end of the weekend. The president also

[26:34] reminded people the US presence in Iraq

[26:36] will last well beyond the battle stages.

[26:40] So, at the White House, uh there'll be

[26:42] many calls and um in the days and

[26:45] perhaps weeks ahead, they'll have to

[26:47] maintain a big public relations push

[26:49] throughout Operation Iraqi Freedom to

[26:51] get their message out, Sam.

[26:53] >> Well, quite clearly heading into this

[26:55] conflict, of course, the polls were very

[26:56] much in favor of the president and the

[26:58] White House, but time is not on their

[27:00] side. The more time passes in this

[27:02] conflict, of course, they suspect that

[27:04] support will erode. Let's talk about the

[27:06] members of Congress. There are some who

[27:08] are suggesting that a no war was

[27:10] officially declared by Congress here,

[27:12] that may be a violation of the

[27:14] Constitution, some may argue. And then

[27:16] there are those in Congress who are a

[27:17] bit critical. Senator Kerry, of course,

[27:19] who intends to run for president has

[27:21] been critical. Jessica, are you aware of

[27:23] anybody in Congress, any members of

[27:25] Congress who may have been brought on

[27:26] board prior to this? Do you know if the

[27:28] president made any phone calls?

[27:30] >> As far as the phone calls go, we

[27:32] understand the only person who actually

[27:34] received a phone call notifying them

[27:36] that the attack was going to happen

[27:37] isn't even a US citizen. It was Prime

[27:39] Minister Tony Blair of Britain. So,

[27:42] while many members of the Republican

[27:44] Party have been in close consultation

[27:46] with the president, as far as we know,

[27:48] no no specific calls to members of

[27:50] Congress.

[27:51] But the president was required to send a

[27:54] letter to Congress telling them that he

[27:57] planned to to attack. And that letter

[28:01] went out, it's dated March 18th.

[28:04] And that was required under the terms of

[28:06] a resolution that Congress passed

[28:08] authorizing this war. And the president

[28:10] said, I'll just read you a bit of it. He

[28:12] said that um

[28:14] he's determined that further diplomatic

[28:15] and peaceful means will not adequately

[28:17] protect the national security of the

[28:19] United States. That's his legal

[28:21] justification for this.

[28:23] You can bet this will play large in the

[28:26] presidential elections ahead. Already

[28:28] two Democratic contenders have made

[28:30] statements. Dennis Representative Dennis

[28:33] Kucinich denouncing the war, saying that

[28:35] it is not justified. And Senator John

[28:37] Edwards speaking out in support of it.

[28:40] And I'm sure we'll hear much more from

[28:43] various members of Congress in the

[28:44] coming days.

[28:45] >> Indeed, resolution or no resolution, you

[28:47] can bet constitutional scholars will be

[28:49] arguing this one for years. And you are

[28:51] very right about this, Jessica. This

[28:52] will be a political football come

[28:54] election time.

[28:55] >> It sure will.

[28:55] >> Okay, thanks so much for that. It is a

[28:57] 19 minutes past the hour, Bianca.

[28:59] >> All right, Sam. When we look at these

[29:01] attacks, we've seen them centering near

[29:03] Baghdad, also in the southern part of

[29:05] Iraq. Northern Iraq has been a big area

[29:08] of discussion in recent days, especially

[29:10] with uh Turkey's involvement in that

[29:11] area, seeing whether or not we could use

[29:13] airspace to enter Iraq through the

[29:15] north. Also, if we could ever get ground

[29:18] troops, more than 62,000 into northern

[29:21] Iraq through Turkey. Uh Preston

[29:23] Mendenhall joins us now from northern

[29:25] Iraq. Preston, what can you tell us of

[29:27] what what's going on in that area of

[29:28] Iraq right now?

[29:31] >> Bianca, the streets of northern Iraq are

[29:33] largely deserted right now. Uh you might

[29:36] be able to see a bit behind me. The city

[29:37] we're in is about 30 miles from the

[29:39] front line between the Iraqi troops and

[29:42] the Kurdish opposition forces, a front

[29:44] line that has been there for a dozen

[29:45] years, very well-established. What we

[29:48] have seen in the last few days, this is

[29:50] a war that the Kurds here, the minority

[29:53] in Iraq that occupy most of northern

[29:56] Iraq, it's a war that they have longed

[29:58] for for many years, but also feared at

[30:00] the same time. There have been thousands

[30:03] of them leaving areas controlled by

[30:05] Saddam Hussein's forces and fleeing

[30:08] north to try and put some distance

[30:09] between them and any potential conflict.

[30:12] They also fear, of course, the Kurds a

[30:15] chemical attack. One happened in 1988,

[30:18] it's a very well-known one

[30:20] in Halabja, in which 5,000 people were

[30:22] killed in one single attack. There were

[30:24] other similar ones as Saddam Hussein has

[30:27] sought to eliminate the Kurdish

[30:28] opposition over the years. Now, there

[30:31] are some developments here that we had

[30:33] expected uh once the bombs started

[30:36] falling, but obviously

[30:38] the decision to target Saddam Hussein

[30:40] early in this campaign and then a pause

[30:43] right now has meant that some of the

[30:45] developments we expected not happening

[30:47] right now, but let me go over with you

[30:49] some of the ones that we'll see probably

[30:52] when the massive the brunt of the US air

[30:55] assault and and land invasion begins.

[30:59] Notably, based on their Gulf War

[31:01] experience, Kurdish officials Kurdish

[31:03] military officials tell us that they

[31:05] would expect tens of thousands

[31:07] potentially of Iraqi soldiers and

[31:10] regular army divisions to surrender when

[31:14] the massive amount of bombs do start

[31:17] falling. That was the experience in

[31:18] 1991. They expect it to happen again.

[31:21] The front line I was describing to you

[31:23] between the Kurds forces and the Iraqi

[31:26] forces is largely manned on the Iraqi

[31:28] side by

[31:30] divisions of the Iraqi army, regular

[31:32] divisions, not the elite Republican

[31:34] Guard, but soldiers there's a low level

[31:37] of morale. They're demoralized, not well

[31:39] nourished, not well clothed. It's still

[31:41] is the spring here and quite cold. There

[31:45] have been reports of some of the Iraqi

[31:46] soldiers trying to get clothes from

[31:50] people who have been leaving Iraq. It's

[31:52] a fairly desperate situation and for

[31:54] that reason the Kurds here, the Kurdish

[31:56] military forces believe that they will

[31:58] see those thousands, perhaps tens of

[31:59] thousands of Iraqi soldiers surrendering

[32:02] once the larger campaign begins. Now,

[32:05] along the front lines also across just

[32:09] across them rather is the city of

[32:10] Kirkuk, about 60 miles from where I am.

[32:13] Kirkuk is the oil-rich city in Iraq's

[32:16] north, controlled by Saddam Hussein, but

[32:19] historically a Kurdish city. And it's a

[32:21] city where Kurds have been forced out of

[32:23] for years as part of a campaign by

[32:25] Saddam to Arabize Kirkuk and take

[32:28] control of it for himself and get rid of

[32:31] the Kurdish opposition.

[32:33] We would expect from sources we hear

[32:35] that special forces would go in and take

[32:37] Kirkuk and secure that right away in the

[32:40] next phase of a US mission. Back to you.

[32:42] >> Okay, Preston Mendenhall reporting for

[32:44] us from northern Iraq, an area

[32:46] full of Kurds that have left that area

[32:49] because of fear. They know all too well

[32:51] what can happen going back to their

[32:52] memories of 1988 when they were attacked

[32:55] by Saddam Hussein. Sam?

[32:57] >> Bianca, 3:23 on the East Coast, 12:23 on

[33:00] this Thursday morning on the West Coast

[33:01] and this just in from NBC's David Bloom.

[33:04] US commanders now say that the real air

[33:06] war has not yet begun. They tell David

[33:08] that the cruise missile strike Wednesday

[33:10] night on the East Coast and of course

[33:12] was Thursday morning in Baghdad was just

[33:14] a precursor preliminary. So again

[33:17] confirming what we have heard all along

[33:18] from Cutter and of course from the

[33:20] Pentagon that there is much more to

[33:22] come. Let's head now to our Middle East

[33:24] expert, Professor Walid Fares, who joins

[33:26] us now to talk more about this.

[33:28] Professor Fares, Saddam Hussein, no

[33:31] doubt you saw his speech. Very

[33:33] interesting discussion that took place

[33:35] here just a little bit ago about whether

[33:37] or not this tape is legitimate. And of

[33:39] course we have talked, you and I, I

[33:41] remember the discussion about Osama bin

[33:43] Laden's tapes, whether they were

[33:45] legitimate and now we are entering into

[33:47] this discussion and I know that this is

[33:49] hypothetical and maybe it's just

[33:50] something that we do at cocktail parties

[33:52] now. But whether or not this is real and

[33:55] whether or not he is alive after this

[33:57] initial bomb.

[33:58] >> Well, with Osama bin Laden it was where

[34:01] is Waldo? With Saddam Hussein, is he

[34:04] Waldo? That's the question today.

[34:06] Basically the assumption I go with is he

[34:08] is still alive until proven dead, not

[34:10] the other way around. And

[34:13] Saddam Hussein has also another reason

[34:15] not to accept that a clone would appear.

[34:17] It's ego. He he had eliminated so many

[34:20] people from public scene so he could

[34:22] take over. So psychologically speaking I

[34:24] would find it very difficult that he

[34:26] would accept the idea that a clone would

[34:28] would would take over. He would use

[34:30] those

[34:31] uh uh

[34:32] to uh to protect him on security level,

[34:34] but I I really doubt, psychologically

[34:37] speaking, and I may be wrong, that he

[34:38] would accept that somebody would go and

[34:40] take the lead.

[34:41] >> Uh correct me if I'm wrong. I've heard

[34:42] he's had like three or four body doubles

[34:45] that he uses very often. Uh

[34:47] is that true? And and and you talk talk

[34:49] a little bit about that. How realistic

[34:52] are they in terms of voice, appearance,

[34:53] so on?

[34:55] >> Basically, the the the body doubles, as

[34:57] they are called, it's not just three or

[34:59] four, there are even more than that. Uh

[35:02] many more. In fact, they are not used

[35:04] for close-ups. It's not somebody who

[35:05] looks exactly like him who could lead

[35:08] meetings or

[35:09] uh have

[35:10] normal activities very close to camera.

[35:13] These are people who would basically

[35:16] drive or are escorted or are sent as

[35:19] decoys in convoys whenever he wants to

[35:22] leave his palace, three convoys would

[35:24] leave at the same time, and you have

[35:26] these

[35:27] decoys in these convoys. This is the the

[35:29] the real reason why he has all these

[35:31] these

[35:32] models.

[35:33] >> I heard a very interesting interview

[35:35] earlier tonight with the General Norman

[35:36] Schwarzkopf who indicated that at the

[35:39] end of the Gulf War in the early 1990s,

[35:42] that apparently Saddam Hussein had a

[35:44] airplane fueled up and ready to go. He

[35:47] was ready to fly out of that country and

[35:49] go into exile. What do you know about

[35:51] that?

[35:51] >> Well, yeah, I I've heard the same story.

[35:53] It was confirmed by others as well.

[35:56] Let me put it that way, Saddam Hussein

[35:58] today has a plane, has a train, has a

[36:01] tunnel, has all the connections to exit.

[36:04] This is not someone who would want to

[36:07] really die. He wants to project the idea

[36:10] that he would be a martyr, but at the at

[36:11] the last minute, he what he hopes some

[36:14] sort of ceasefire, he is surrounded in

[36:16] his palace in the city. It's the model

[36:18] of West Beirut and Arafat, and suddenly

[36:20] the United Nations finally arrange for a

[36:22] ceasefire, and that would be his his

[36:25] honorable exit. He not someone who was

[36:27] really going to go all the way to die

[36:30] for for a for a regime that he has

[36:32] established.

[36:33] >> Do you think under any circumstances he

[36:34] would leave that country?

[36:37] >> 2% when he will see defections in the

[36:40] beginning of the campaign and he get

[36:43] real advice from his real allies

[36:46] across the Middle East and into Europe

[36:48] and Russia that we're not going to be

[36:49] able to do anything for you. 20% when

[36:53] large segments of Iraq would be freed or

[36:55] liberated in the north and the south as

[36:57] I said earlier. When he is going to see

[37:00] large Iraqi cities with Iraqi flag, with

[37:03] Iraqi Arab and Muslim and Kurds and

[37:06] others forming some sort of beginning of

[37:08] a cabinet and a criticizing him calling

[37:11] on the international community on the

[37:12] United Nations to basically try Saddam

[37:15] Hussein. This is the nightmare of Saddam

[37:16] Hussein, not shelling, not bombardment.

[37:19] And finally 80% when he is being

[37:21] surrounded in his palaces, one of his

[37:23] palaces, at this point uh he he will

[37:26] make arrangements for his allies to

[37:29] basically put some pressure to find an

[37:31] exit for him at that point.

[37:32] >> And Professor, I want to touch upon

[37:33] something that you and I talked about

[37:35] about 45 minutes ago with regards to

[37:37] that video tape that we saw of his

[37:38] speech earlier,

[37:41] uh about 2 or 3 hours ago as a matter of

[37:42] fact. You think uh this is him and you

[37:45] think that he is pretty shaken up by

[37:47] this first attack.

[37:50] >> Yes. I'm not the great expert in

[37:53] psychology of leaders, but when I look

[37:55] at this picture, first of all, someone

[37:57] said, you know, he doesn't wear glasses.

[37:59] In fact, maybe because now he needs to

[38:01] put his glasses, he basically needs to

[38:03] read Usually everything is scripted

[38:05] before.

[38:06] Uh this is his voice, Saddam Hussein's

[38:08] voice, and indeed I can recognize that

[38:10] this is after a shock. I may be wrong,

[38:13] but this is after a shock. And what gave

[38:15] me the impression that it was the case

[38:17] because this was broadcasted also on Al

[38:19] Jazeera. And after that, there were a

[38:22] number of ministers in his government

[38:24] really, really very upset and emotional

[38:26] talking about, you know, attack against

[38:28] Saddam Hussein and a crime. You know,

[38:30] when they talk about the crime, they

[38:32] meant, you know, Saddam Hussein to be

[38:34] killed.

[38:35] >> Uh one quick question. I don't have a

[38:36] lot of time, but I I've read something

[38:39] and and correct me again if I'm wrong

[38:40] about this man. Uh he's a street

[38:43] fighter. He he grew up on the streets.

[38:45] He knows how to duke it out a bit. Is is

[38:47] that his history?

[38:49] >> He's someone who's a survivor. Uh he's

[38:51] always this fighter.