NBC News - Iraq War - 2003-03-20 - 10 p.m. (E)

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] on NBC.

[0:06] >> Dawn in Baghdad just minutes away and a

[0:10] new day brings unsettling news. An

[0:12] American helicopter down. 16 people on

[0:15] board. No reported survivors.

[0:22] Target Iraq. A dine special. Here now is

[0:26] Tom Brokoff.

[0:28] Good evening. Surgical strikes then

[0:30] pauses more powerful explosions, more

[0:33] pauses. The goal tonight across Iraq to

[0:36] target, taunt, and terrorize Saddam

[0:39] Hussein and his inner circle. The skies

[0:41] over Baghdad are quiet now at dawn, but

[0:44] there is tension. The Pentagon says the

[0:46] attacks of today are but a taste of

[0:48] what's to come. Here are the latest

[0:50] developments tonight. A US Marine

[0:52] helicopter has gone down in Kuwait. 16

[0:55] people on board reported to be dead. The

[0:58] heaviest fighting now is reported to be

[0:59] in the towns of Bazra in the south and

[1:02] Mosul in the north. And bombs did

[1:04] intense damage earlier today on

[1:07] strategic targets in Baghdad. And here

[1:09] at home, the largest anti-war protest

[1:12] the nation has seen. Thousands of people

[1:15] gathered in Chicago, shutting down the

[1:17] city's famous Lakeshore Drive, staging a

[1:20] march in the middle of rush hour.

[1:22] However, at this hour, all of that is

[1:24] overshadowed by the devastating breaking

[1:26] news, the first confirmed coalition

[1:29] casualties of this war. We get the

[1:31] latest on that now from NBC's Jim

[1:33] Mcclashevky, who joins me at the

[1:35] Pentagon. Jim

[1:36] >> Tom, US military officials say it's now

[1:38] believed that all 16 US Marines and

[1:42] British commandos aboard a US Marine

[1:45] troop transport helicopter were killed

[1:47] tonight when their helicopter crashed

[1:49] somewhere near the Iraqi Kuwaiti border.

[1:52] Uh these troops, the Marines and the

[1:54] British commandos uh were returning from

[1:56] a mission offshore in the Persian Gulf

[1:59] when the helicopter went down. At this

[2:01] time, Tom, it's not believed that the

[2:03] helicopter went down due to hostile

[2:06] fire, uh, but may have gone down because

[2:08] of inclement weather. Nevertheless,

[2:11] whatever the cause, 16 believed dead,

[2:13] the first coalition casualties

[2:15] apparently in this war. Tom,

[2:17] >> thanks very much. NBC Jim McClashesky at

[2:19] the Pentagon tonight. Since the first

[2:21] surprising strikes just over 24 hours

[2:23] ago, the battle over Baghdad has

[2:25] unfolded at a furious pace. NBC's Dennis

[2:28] Murphy tonight with an overview of a

[2:30] long day's journey into war.

[2:34] >> Parts of central Baghdad were burning

[2:36] out of control tonight. A government

[2:39] ministry run by one of Saddam Hussein's

[2:41] sons, a presidential palace, a home of

[2:44] one of Saddam's wives, Republican Guard

[2:47] strongholds, all hit in a brief but

[2:49] ferocious assault from US cruise

[2:51] missiles and 2,000 lb penetrating bombs.

[2:55] Peter Arnett, reporting for National

[2:57] Geographic Explorer and NBC News,

[3:00] described the view from his window as

[3:01] thunderous explosions lit up the night

[3:03] sky shortly after 9:00 p.m. Baghdad

[3:06] time.

[3:07] >> Big explosion

[3:09] near the presidential palace. You will

[3:12] hear those explosions now.

[3:14] >> It's the second attack on Baghdad in 16

[3:17] hours. Missiles launched from sea. Smart

[3:21] bombs dropped from stealth war plananes

[3:23] like this one. US officials said they

[3:25] intend to hit the apparatus of Saddam's

[3:28] Stalin estate like a boxer.

[3:31] >> Punch hard, step back, pause, and see if

[3:34] it needs another one. Defense Secretary

[3:37] Donald Rumsfeld said today, "The big

[3:39] violent display is just beginning.

[3:41] >> What will follow will not be a repeat of

[3:43] any other conflict. It will be a of a

[3:46] force and scope and scale that has been

[3:49] beyond what has been seen before.

[3:56] To the south, US Army howitzers slammed

[3:58] shell after shell into Iraq from the

[4:00] Kuwaiti border. And then the ground war

[4:03] was on. US Army and Marine units are in

[4:06] Iraq tonight, pushing north in

[4:08] coordination with British troops.

[4:12] >> Some forces are coming under light fire.

[4:15] So far, one coastal Iraqi town has been

[4:18] taken, and a special forces helicopter

[4:20] made what US officers describe as a safe

[4:23] crash landing in operations near Baghdad

[4:26] early Thursday. The Iraqis claim they

[4:28] shot it down. The crew of six was safely

[4:31] evacuated.

[4:32] The Iraqis also fired some mortar and

[4:35] rockets to no effect at US troops that

[4:37] haven't moved out yet on the Kuwaiti

[4:39] side. NBC's Dana Lewis with 101st

[4:42] Airborne joined the soldiers as they put

[4:45] on gas masks while a horn honked out a

[4:47] warning of another missile attack.

[4:49] Scenes like this were repeated many

[4:51] times today along the Kuwaiti front.

[4:55] The war began yesterday at dawn Iraqi

[4:58] time with the first air raid. A total

[5:00] fake out, a directed lightning attempt

[5:02] to kill Saddam Hussein and his top

[5:05] leaders. Anti-aircraft

[5:07] fire over Baghdad was followed moments

[5:09] later by an orange fireball at what was

[5:12] described as a target of opportunity. A

[5:15] private home outside Baghdad where

[5:17] electronic intelligence gathering had

[5:19] eavesdropped on a meeting of top ranking

[5:22] senior Iraqi military as well as Saddam

[5:24] and possibly both his sons Kus and Uday.

[5:29] The compound was flattened by a barrage

[5:32] of cruise missiles and two bunker buster

[5:34] bombs designed to slam into subterranean

[5:37] chambers and explode.

[5:41] >> A few hours later, Saddam Hussein

[5:43] appeared on tape on Iraqi TV, denouncing

[5:46] the president as Bush Jr., a criminal.

[5:49] But some US officials wondered whether

[5:51] the subdued man with the unfamiliar

[5:53] glasses reading listlessly from a line

[5:55] pad was actually Saddam or a double.

[5:59] Tonight, some analysts believe this is

[6:01] Saddam, but think the message may have

[6:03] been taped before the first air raid.

[6:06] So, the question remains, is Saddam dead

[6:09] or alive? As US-led forces under the

[6:12] cover of artillery barges make their way

[6:14] toward Baghdad and provincial cities,

[6:17] propaganda leaflets explaining to the

[6:19] Iraqis how to surrender are being

[6:21] printed and air dropped by the millions.

[6:24] If the Iraqis do make a stand, it is

[6:26] likely military strategists think that

[6:28] it will happen in Baghdad, the sprawling

[6:30] city of 5 million people, an ancient

[6:33] capital enshrouded tonight in smoke and

[6:36] paralyzed by a fear it's hard to

[6:38] imagine.

[6:40] And I'm joined now by NBC News

[6:42] correspondent David Bloom, who's an

[6:44] embedded journalist with the Third

[6:46] Infantry Division, which went across the

[6:48] line into Iraq. It will be the tip of

[6:50] the spear. David, what can you tell us

[6:52] about what you have seen today?

[6:56] >> Well, Tom, what we've seen in the last

[6:59] uh say 12 hours or so is the following.

[7:02] We the our unit started to fire

[7:05] artillery into Iraq around 8:00 p.m.

[7:09] local time, which would be noon back in

[7:14] New York. For about a half an hour, they

[7:16] fired artillery on two Iraqi observation

[7:20] posts, and then they started to move

[7:22] toward the Iraqi border. They first

[7:25] crossed a burm on the Kuwaiti side. Then

[7:28] they crossed through a electrical fence

[7:30] that their uh earlier scouts had already

[7:34] cut holes through. And then we moved

[7:37] into Iraq itself at about 1010 p.m.

[7:43] local time. So about 2:10 in the

[7:45] afternoon New York time. and we've been

[7:47] moving into Iraq ever since with the

[7:50] lead elements of the Third Infantry

[7:52] Division, the Spartan Brigade. We

[7:54] crossed through an Iraqi minefield uh

[7:57] which had been marked with the uh the

[8:00] chem lights for guidance as we as we

[8:03] walked as we rode through into Iraq. We

[8:06] crossed through unexloded ordinance from

[8:09] the uh 1991 Persian Gulf War that

[8:12] American war plananes had dropped, but

[8:14] that these tanks and Bradley fighting

[8:16] vehicles and other vehicles that form

[8:18] the lead element of the third ID had to

[8:21] be wary of. Those also had been marked

[8:23] with a path through where they could

[8:24] safely travel. At that point, we saw

[8:27] destroyed Iraqi T72 tanks from the first

[8:30] Gulf War. destroyed Iraqi armored

[8:33] personnel carriers from the first Iraq

[8:35] war. I can tell you that this is the the

[8:38] 315 infantry and they were the ones who

[8:41] headed straight for those Iraqi

[8:43] observation posts which each contained

[8:46] roughly 30 or so Iraqis who they had to

[8:49] uh take out, if you will, to make sure

[8:52] that they did not relay messages back to

[8:54] Baghdad as to the pre precise location

[8:57] where this third infantry division was

[8:59] coming through. They encountered some

[9:02] light resistance, but as far as we've

[9:04] been told, no American casualties so

[9:07] far. What they've done is they've moved

[9:08] into Iraq, and the the bull work of the

[9:12] Third Infantry Division will now be

[9:14] rolling in here. But right now, we are

[9:16] literally at the front lines. There are

[9:18] no American units, at least not with the

[9:20] Third Infantry Division. They're ahead

[9:22] of us right here into Iraq. Tom.

[9:24] >> All right, David, final question because

[9:26] I know that you've got other things to

[9:28] do. Have you encountered any resistance

[9:30] or seen any Iraqi troops on the horizon?

[9:36] >> We have not, Tom. Um there there was a

[9:38] report of uh some Iraqis in a vehicle uh

[9:41] that these uh soldiers were giving

[9:44] pursuit to uh because obviously the

[9:47] critical aspect for them is to not let

[9:49] messages get relayed back to Baghdad as

[9:52] to the precise location of this large

[9:55] mechanized infantry division. Uh that's

[9:58] the only opposition that they've seen

[10:00] were at those uh quote unquote Iraqi

[10:02] observation posts. Having said that,

[10:04] they did not expect to encounter any

[10:06] opposition right at the outset. There

[10:08] are three regular army Iraqi divisions

[10:11] here in southern Iraq. They have not

[10:13] confronted them yet. They did not expect

[10:14] to. They're carrying with them what they

[10:16] call capitulation documents, which are

[10:19] forms that those Iraqi commanders can

[10:21] sign if they want to surrender to the

[10:23] American forces rather than fight. But

[10:25] keep in mind, the unit that we're with

[10:27] right now is the vanguard of this third

[10:30] infantry division. It's uh some tanks,

[10:33] some Bradley's, uh some infantrymen, but

[10:36] it's a pretty small force that literally

[10:39] is, as they as they say in the third ID,

[10:41] the tip of the spear. And uh and thus we

[10:44] have not encountered any observation or

[10:46] any opposition whatsoever at this point.

[10:48] Tom,

[10:49] >> thanks very much. Uh NBC's David Bloom

[10:51] with the Third Infantry Division as they

[10:53] move deeper and deeper into Iraq. Thanks

[10:55] very much, David. Be safe.

[10:57] David Bloom, the tip of the spear at

[10:59] 6:10 in the morning in Iraq. Let's go

[11:01] now to Peter Arnett in Baghdad for an

[11:05] assessment of what is going on there.

[11:06] Peter is on assignment for National

[11:07] Geographic Explorer and for NBC News.

[11:10] Peter, what are you seeing from your

[11:12] hotel room tonight?

[11:14] >> Well, Tom, it is dawn in Baghdad in the

[11:17] morning of the second day of the war.

[11:20] What I'm looking at now is smoke rising

[11:22] from the most uh significant target that

[11:24] we know of in this bombing campaign so

[11:27] far. The remains of the offices of Kus

[11:30] Hussein. He is the favorite son of

[11:33] President Saddam Hussein. Uh his office

[11:35] was hit last night at 9:00 in the

[11:38] heaviest wave of bombing here. Fierce

[11:41] fires for the first few hours and now

[11:43] white smoke rising from that building.

[11:45] It is in the heart of downtown Baghdad.

[11:48] To the uh further to the east of that,

[11:51] I'm sorry, to the west of that, there

[11:52] was a second building hit in this

[11:54] sprawling presidential compound. We are

[11:57] not sure what that building was. It

[11:58] burned for a while. There is no smoke

[12:00] now. Now, another significant target

[12:03] about this time yesterday in the first

[12:05] wave was the location, the believed

[12:07] location of the president himself. Iraqi

[12:10] uh officials have since said that one of

[12:13] the targets was the home of Sajjida

[12:15] Hussein, the wife of the president, the

[12:19] the the home of his wife and three

[12:21] daughters. They say, however, that the

[12:23] family did escape from the bombing. The

[12:26] we are still to learn of the actual the

[12:28] the locations and the designations of at

[12:32] least five or six other bombing targets

[12:34] that have happened in the last 24 hours.

[12:36] Tom, they are believed all to be

[12:38] leadership targets because the utilities

[12:40] of Baghdad remain standing. The lights

[12:43] are burning in the city all night. Water

[12:45] is flowing. Tom.

[12:46] >> All right. Thanks very much, Peter.

[12:47] Arnett, we'll ask you to stand by there

[12:49] throughout the evening and into the

[12:52] early morning hours. NBC's Kelly

[12:54] O'Donnell is in Garter where the US

[12:56] Central Military Command is running this

[12:58] war. Kelly, what's next for Operation

[13:00] Iraqi Freedom?

[13:03] Well, Tom, I've just been speaking to

[13:04] some of the officials here who are still

[13:06] trying to sort out details relating to

[13:08] the crash and loss of life of US and UK

[13:10] forces just a couple of hours ago. It

[13:13] has been a very tense time. They have

[13:15] described so far that all of the people

[13:17] who have been in the war room have been

[13:20] to this point calm and professional. I

[13:22] apologize for the wind here. Uh, one of

[13:25] the things they've been indicating to me

[13:26] is that the uh, psychological operations

[13:29] have been a key part of this campaign

[13:32] beyond the leafleting, beyond the radio

[13:34] broadcast that we've been telling you

[13:35] about. The leafleting now numbering

[13:37] about 19 million or so, trying to

[13:39] communicate directly to Iraqi troops and

[13:41] Iraqi civilians to give them

[13:43] instructions about what to do not to

[13:45] engage with US troops. These

[13:47] psychological operations go

[13:48] significantly beyond that, I'm told. and

[13:50] when we are given some briefings perhaps

[13:52] as early as today we may learn more

[13:54] about that. Also, officials say that

[13:56] what they've really been trying to do

[13:58] both in the limited media access that we

[14:00] have had very limited information has

[14:02] been coming out of US Central Command.

[14:04] That along with the strategic operations

[14:07] has been intended to try to create as

[14:09] much chaos within the Iraqi military as

[14:12] possible. That according to a senior

[14:14] USMCON official to make it difficult for

[14:16] them to react. We'll keep you posted,

[14:18] Tom, as we're checking to try and find

[14:20] out the very latest, Tom.

[14:21] >> All right, thanks very much. NBC's Kelly

[14:23] O'Donnell tonight in Gdder. So far, no

[14:26] chemical attacks on US forces, but it is

[14:29] a fear that will not go away. Here's

[14:31] John Hockenberry.

[14:36] It's the signal that tells every US

[14:38] soldier to stop what they're doing.

[14:43] The scenario played out a number of

[14:45] times over the past 24 hours in Qatar

[14:48] and in Kuwait. The 101st Airborne in

[14:51] Kuwait and NBC's Dana Lewis traveling

[14:54] with them heard the sirens for the first

[14:56] time just hours after President Bush

[14:58] announced the start of the war. The

[15:00] troops and the correspondent put on

[15:01] their gas masks and got in bunkers to

[15:03] wait out the first missile attack

[15:05] against Americans of this new war.

[15:07] >> This is considered not to be any kind of

[15:09] a drill. There was no scheduled drill.

[15:11] This is the the real thing.

[15:13] >> The question on every soldier's mind,

[15:15] might they be under a chemical attack?

[15:18] >> Is it unnerving for you?

[15:20] >> Yeah, anytime you going to get

[15:21] insecticide for people on you, it is. I

[15:24] mean, who wouldn't it be unnerving for?

[15:28] >> The troops get the all clear to leave

[15:30] their bunkers. The Al Samood that hit

[15:32] nearby apparently did not disperse toxic

[15:34] chemicals. The masks can come off

[15:37] throughout the region today. Tense

[15:39] drills like these. suspicion that Saddam

[15:41] Hussein may have used chemical weapons.

[15:44] >> US Marine took me by the shoulders,

[15:46] grabbed me, and threw me into a bunker

[15:48] and said, "We're under attack."

[15:50] >> But each time so far, a false alarm.

[15:54] >> Thank you. I've just been told that was

[15:56] the all clear.

[15:57] >> A chemical attack. Defense against it

[15:59] does not involve Patriot missiles. It is

[16:02] this and only this. Chemical suits and

[16:04] masks put on in a hurry, no matter what.

[16:08] Will these defenses be put to the test?

[16:10] >> I think we only have to go back in

[16:12] history

[16:13] to know the answer to that.

[16:15] >> Major General John Dozeberg is in charge

[16:17] of the army's chemical and biological

[16:19] warfare defense.

[16:21] >> Sodom Hussein in the past has used

[16:24] chemical agents. He's used chemical

[16:26] agents against Iran and he's used them

[16:28] against the Kurds.

[16:30] That should concern us.

[16:32] >> Troops in the field have been told to

[16:34] expect anything from Saddam's arsenal.

[16:37] Are these suits and masks up to the task

[16:39] of protecting advancing soldiers? The

[16:42] Pentagon says yes.

[16:44] >> We have the best army in the world and

[16:46] we have the best capability in the world

[16:47] to protect them.

[16:49] >> But critics like 1991 Gulf War veteran

[16:52] Steve Robinson aren't so confident,

[16:53] citing a congressional study indicating

[16:56] defects.

[16:57] >> A large percentage of the gas mask were

[16:58] reported to be defective just as uh far

[17:01] back as a year ago. Um, they say that

[17:04] the chemical detectors they use are

[17:05] defective.

[17:07] >> Defense officials say those problems

[17:09] have been corrected and the troops will

[17:11] be adequately protected when the alarm

[17:12] sounds.

[17:15] >> But the only way to really know is in a

[17:18] real attack, an attack which no one

[17:20] wants except perhaps Saddam Hussein.

[17:25] We just saw part of the long day of Dana

[17:27] Lewis who's with 101st Airborne. He

[17:31] joins us now. Uh it's a new day for the

[17:33] 101st and I gather that they're still in

[17:36] their fixed positions. Dana,

[17:39] >> they are Tom. I think that you will see

[17:42] elements of the 101st moving to

[17:44] locations that of course we wouldn't

[17:46] want to uh announce in advance, but I

[17:48] think the plan has always been that as

[17:50] the third infantry moves up, the 101st

[17:52] will move in behind and start to set up

[17:55] some forward refueling bases. First of

[17:57] all, for those Apache attack helicopters

[17:59] that we know have been active overnight,

[18:01] uh the the longer they have to travel,

[18:04] uh you can subtract that from the time

[18:06] that they then have on station that

[18:07] they're able to protect the troops in

[18:09] the field, that they're able to move on

[18:11] radar sites and take those out. So, they

[18:13] want to be able to move forward

[18:15] refueling points uh forward as possible

[18:18] so those helicopters can stay on station

[18:20] as long as they can. Uh it has been a

[18:23] sleepless night here overnight. a number

[18:25] of alarms going off. I think since

[18:27] midnight, we've had about three of them.

[18:29] And I was just talking to one of the

[18:31] commander staff here. And he tells me

[18:33] that in every one of those cases, there

[18:36] were missile launches from Iraq towards

[18:39] us. And in each case, uh the missiles

[18:42] came down in the Kuwaiti desert. In the

[18:44] last case, uh a couple of hours ago,

[18:46] Tom, that missile was intercepted by the

[18:49] uh Patriot anti-missile battery and that

[18:52] missile landed very very close to us. I

[18:55] don't want to say how close because it

[18:56] may help the Iraqis start to determine

[18:58] trajectory and and and improve their

[19:01] aim, which none of us would like to see

[19:03] at this point, but it was very close

[19:05] indeed. Through the night, uh we have

[19:07] also seen some outgoing from here. We've

[19:09] heard the big 155 mm artillery that

[19:12] started to fire just as the third

[19:14] infantry was moving across the border.

[19:16] And then in the middle of the night

[19:18] here, uh we also saw flashes in the sky,

[19:21] light beams that seemed to slowly extend

[19:24] out, hang in the sky in an arc, and then

[19:26] head towards the northeast towards Iraq.

[19:29] We were lo later told that that was the

[19:31] MLRS, the multiple launch rocket system

[19:35] of the US forces uh hitting targets in

[19:38] southern Iraq. Tom.

[19:40] >> All right, thanks very much. Uh Dana

[19:42] Lewis, who's withund first some uh un

[19:45] frightening moments for him. David Bloom

[19:48] is on the move. These are live pictures

[19:49] now as they're moving across the desert.

[19:52] This is the third infantry division.

[19:54] This is the tip of the spear. Uh it's a

[19:57] huge division. It's called the Third

[19:59] Infantry Division, but it's largely

[20:01] mechanized. A lot of armor, Bradley

[20:03] fighting vehicles, Abrams tanks. Uh, and

[20:06] this is the outfit that is expected to

[20:09] get to Baghdad first from the south.

[20:12] Maybe not in advance of special

[20:14] operation forces, but nonetheless, they

[20:16] are moving steadily northward. And based

[20:18] on the earlier report that we had from

[20:21] David Bloom, they did not encounter any

[20:23] resistance after they took out two

[20:26] observation posts. And uh it sounds like

[20:29] there were about 30 casualties there

[20:31] that they uh were forced to wipe out

[20:34] those posts so that they would not

[20:36] communicate back to Baghdad that the

[20:38] third infantry was now on the move. U

[20:41] that's a very flat piece of the desert.

[20:43] Uh it's open space. The question is what

[20:46] happens when they get to a very

[20:48] intricate canal system. Will they use

[20:50] the bridges that are already in place or

[20:52] will they begin to lie down, put down

[20:54] rather their own bridges? As we

[20:56] witnessed earlier during the bombardment

[20:58] today, there was a question that simply

[21:00] has not gone away. Was that really

[21:01] Saddam Hussein who appeared on

[21:03] television last night after the hit on

[21:06] his bunker? He appeared about 3 hours

[21:08] after the surprise attack on Baghdad. Or

[21:11] did he? Here's NBC's Andrea Mitchell.

[21:14] Tom, the US is trying to get Iraq's

[21:16] military to surrender by showing them

[21:18] just how easily the US has been able to

[21:20] track and target Saddam Hussein, but the

[21:22] mystery tonight is, is he alive or dead?

[21:28] It's been said that war is a deceitful

[21:30] game. So, when an image purportedly of

[21:32] Saddam was broadcast over Iraqi airwaves

[21:35] last night,

[21:37] hours after the US tried to kill him,

[21:39] deception was on the minds of many. Was

[21:42] it really Saddam or a body double? Was

[21:45] this a taped address or live? And the

[21:48] money question, had he survived the

[21:50] attack? Defense Secretary Donald

[21:52] Rumsfeld today said analysts are looking

[21:54] at the tape to see if it's real or a

[21:56] fake.

[21:57] >> There's debate about that.

[21:59] >> There are questions about the tape

[22:00] precisely because deception is one of

[22:02] the few military options open to Saddam.

[22:05] He has used body doubles before and he

[22:07] could use a double to conceal his

[22:09] whereabouts or to show that he's in

[22:11] control when he really isn't. But Andrew

[22:13] Coburn, who's written about Saddam, says

[22:15] he doesn't think that's what happened

[22:17] here.

[22:18] >> I believe he does have body doubles, but

[22:20] he would never let I don't think someone

[22:23] else go on the air and in a crucial

[22:26] speech at a crucial moment to the Iraqi

[22:27] people. I mean, you know, that would be

[22:30] seeding control. He will never do that.

[22:33] In fact, Coburn says the televised

[22:35] appearance convinced him it was the real

[22:37] Saddam.

[22:38] >> It's a man who's under pressure. There's

[22:39] a man who's, you know, doing it looks

[22:41] like almost he was doing it in a hurry.

[22:43] >> Still, there are curious details in

[22:45] Saddam's appearance. His posture seems

[22:48] weak. He's almost slouching. Not the

[22:50] strapping Saddam we've seen so often,

[22:52] although he is known to suffer back

[22:54] problems. He's known to wear glasses,

[22:56] but government analysts tell NBC News

[22:58] they've never seen him in these glasses.

[23:00] Buried in all of this might be vital

[23:02] clues for US strategic military planners

[23:04] who need to know as much as they can

[23:06] about where Saddam is and how he's

[23:08] doing. Intelligence analysts pour over

[23:11] every frame of a video like this,

[23:13] searching for clues.

[23:14] >> Was this something prepackaged before uh

[23:16] the war began or was this something that

[23:19] was delivered after the strikes or war

[23:21] which would give some indication about

[23:22] whether he survived it or not?

[23:24] Former CIA officer Michael Vickers says

[23:27] analysts have a number of high-tech

[23:28] tools at their disposal, including

[23:30] software that looks at voice patterns.

[23:32] >> Anyone with a known voice print where

[23:34] you can have a library of that, then

[23:36] you've got a database to match.

[23:37] >> But it's not just how he sounds.

[23:42] >> It's also the intricacies of what he's

[23:43] saying. There may be clues about whether

[23:46] it was pre-taped or broadcast live. That

[23:48] could say a lot about whether Saddam is

[23:50] still in command. a leader of a country

[23:52] under attack has got to try to rally his

[23:55] his his population and army. And so it's

[23:57] very important once the war begins to

[23:59] say, you know, I'm in charge.

[24:02] >> NBC News has learned that early voice

[24:03] recognition studies support the theory

[24:05] that it is Saddam. Although it's not

[24:08] conclusive, but there is still doubt

[24:10] about when the tape was made, before or

[24:12] after the first US attack. For now, we

[24:15] have to wait and see. And tonight, there

[24:17] is increased chatter among top Iraqi

[24:19] officials indicating if the US did not

[24:21] get Saddam, they may well have gotten

[24:23] other top leaders, possibly even his

[24:26] powerful son. Tom,

[24:28] >> NBC's Andrea Mitchell, thank you very

[24:29] much. Um, there is more on last night's

[24:32] attack on Saddam thanks to some late

[24:34] reporting by the Washington Post team.

[24:36] We're joined now by the Post Dana

[24:38] Priest. What have you learned about uh

[24:40] what they knew about where Saddam was

[24:43] when the president said, "Go ahead and

[24:45] do it." Well, Tom, US government

[24:47] officials have told the Washington Post

[24:49] today that while we might have been

[24:50] surprised to see the videotape, they

[24:52] weren't because they actually knew that

[24:55] he had made some videotapes this week.

[24:57] And in each one of them, he used a

[24:59] different date just for this purpose so

[25:01] that he could deceive us in the event

[25:02] that there was a strike and put off the

[25:05] uh inevitable conclusion about whether

[25:07] he was dead or alive. What's more

[25:09] interesting though also is that after 24

[25:11] hours of looking at the building they

[25:13] struck and listening to things coming

[25:15] out of there, they believe that he still

[25:18] was in the building when it was hit by

[25:20] those 42 bombs and missiles. So the big

[25:22] question is if he was still there, what

[25:25] condition is he in? And that's where the

[25:27] great debate is. There are indications

[25:29] that he was injured, although there are

[25:31] some people that say possibly he was

[25:33] not. just to cover their bases on the

[25:35] tapes. However, they did bring in a

[25:38] former mistress of Saddam Hussein who

[25:41] looked at them and she doesn't think

[25:43] that that's who it is.

[25:44] >> Donna, what about the sons U and Kus? Do

[25:47] they think that they were there as well?

[25:49] >> Yes, they do. And of course, they they

[25:51] also probably met the same fate. They

[25:53] were all in a bunker and they believe

[25:55] they demolished the bunker. That's one

[25:57] of the hardest targets to hit and that's

[25:59] why they used 2,000 pound bunker busting

[26:01] bombs that they actually had never used

[26:03] before.

[26:04] >> All right, thanks very much Dana Priest

[26:05] part of the crack Washington Post

[26:07] reporting team who developed that story

[26:09] overnight. Now we're now we're now

[26:11] joined by the commander of the first

[26:12] Gulf War, General Norman Schwarzoff who

[26:14] is an analyst for NBC News. Norman, what

[26:17] do you make of all all of this about

[26:18] Saddam Hussein and having him pinpointed

[26:20] and trying to determine whether he's

[26:22] alive or not? Well, you know, the old

[26:24] Clausowitzian theory of center of

[26:26] gravity, once it's destroyed, the nation

[26:28] will lose its will to fight. And Saddam

[26:30] certainly is a center of gravity for the

[26:32] Kuwaitis. I mean, for the Iraqis. So, if

[26:35] he was hit and he's finished, it's not

[26:37] going to be long before it's all over.

[26:39] >> Based on what you're seeing in terms of

[26:41] how the American battle plan is being

[26:43] executed and the absence of response or

[26:46] a very anemic response on the part of

[26:48] the Iraqis, does that tell you anything?

[26:50] >> Not really. You know, the third ID had a

[26:53] huge artillery prep before they went

[26:55] ahead and launched the attack. Uh that

[26:57] could have caused whatever forces were

[26:58] out there to withdraw and get out get

[27:00] out of the way as quickly as they

[27:01] possibly could. But but the fact that

[27:03] the uh that the El Fall Peninsula is

[27:06] occupied, the fact that the Third ID is

[27:08] moving at will at the present time, the

[27:10] fact that the air attacks are going off

[27:12] not as we expected, but certainly with a

[27:14] great deal of success, all of it sounds

[27:16] pretty good at this stage of the game.

[27:18] You're aware of those reports as well

[27:20] that senior American officials have

[27:22] contacted senior Republican Guard

[27:24] officials and there are some preliminary

[27:26] discussions we're told about the

[27:28] possibility of surrender terms.

[27:30] >> Yeah, that I got to tell you that one

[27:31] blows my mind. Uh you know, Saddam

[27:34] hasn't been very successful with his

[27:36] generals and he doesn't trust any of

[27:37] them other than the Republican Guard

[27:39] generals that are supposedly personally

[27:41] selected by him. uh if these folks are

[27:44] in fact engaged in secret talks and he

[27:47] finds out they're as good as dead in a

[27:49] big hurry. So I really surprised me that

[27:50] we made the announcement that that those

[27:53] talks were in fact going on.

[27:55] >> All right. Thank you very much, General

[27:57] Norman Schwarzoff. By the way, are you

[27:59] surprised by all despite all the talk

[28:01] about shock and awe that the battle plan

[28:03] is unfolding the way it is?

[28:05] >> Well, yeah. I I I I think we all were

[28:08] surprised last night that when we were

[28:09] all sitting there together and and the

[28:11] first strike came in uh and it was as

[28:13] small as it was and now it continues to

[28:15] be that way. But but you know, you can't

[28:17] can't argue with success and so far

[28:18] they've been pretty successful.

[28:20] >> Well, shock and awe can come in small

[28:22] packages as long as they're effective.

[28:24] >> Definitely.

[28:25] >> Thank you very much, General Norman

[28:27] Schwarzoff, who was commander of course

[28:28] during Operation Desert Storm. For

[28:30] weeks, the drum beat of war has included

[28:32] that phrase shock and awe to describe

[28:34] the first major assault. What was

[28:36] perhaps shocking was that's not quite

[28:39] how it turned out. It began instead with

[28:41] a surgical strike aimed directly at

[28:43] Saddam Hussein. So, what more can we

[28:46] expect from this unique military

[28:48] strategy? Victoria Corderi tonight with

[28:51] a man behind it.

[28:54] It will be a of a force and scope and

[28:57] scale that has been beyond what has been

[29:01] seen before.

[29:04] Shock and awe is designed to stun the

[29:06] opposition into submission. First by

[29:08] psychological propaganda, then by an

[29:11] overwhelming and precise use of force,

[29:14] striking multiple strategic targets,

[29:16] disrupting communication and command

[29:18] centers, and creating confusion and

[29:21] fear.

[29:22] What you do is by through this

[29:24] simultaneous effort so intimidate so

[29:26] overwhelm the adversary they look around

[29:28] and say oh my god there's better things

[29:30] to do than fight a war.

[29:31] >> Harlon man helped conceive the strategy

[29:34] and coined the term shock and awe. He

[29:36] says no one from the administration has

[29:38] consulted him directly but the former

[29:41] naval officer once taught Secretary of

[29:43] State Colon Powell at the National War

[29:45] College. and he says Secretary of

[29:47] Defense Donald Rumsfeld was briefly part

[29:50] of the group that formulated the

[29:51] strategy a decade ago.

[29:54] Man says yesterday's surprise attack on

[29:56] Hussein, while not massive in scope,

[29:58] fits neatly into this philosophy

[30:01] developed by others long ago. The goal

[30:03] is to decapitate the enemy.

[30:05] >> How did this concept originate? Well,

[30:07] actually the roots of this concept go

[30:09] back to China several thousand years ago

[30:10] when SunSu, the famous military

[30:12] philosopher, wrote that the best way to

[30:14] win a battle is to win it without

[30:15] fighting it.

[30:16] >> Man says the ultimate example of shock

[30:19] and awe was the dropping of the atomic

[30:21] bomb during World War II.

[30:23] >> Two nuclear weapons, Hiroshima and

[30:25] Nagasaki, caused the Japanese to quit.

[30:27] Now, that was shock and awe. And every

[30:28] time I use that analogy, people say,

[30:30] "Well, you're going to destroy Baghdad."

[30:31] No, that's not what we want to do. What

[30:33] you're trying to do in essence is to get

[30:36] an enemy who was suicidal in the extreme

[30:39] to quit. That's shock and awe.

[30:41] >> Still, Olman admits much could go wrong.

[30:44] Some of the new high-tech weapons are

[30:46] untested in battle. There could be

[30:48] serious collateral damage, destruction

[30:50] and loss of innocent life.

[30:52] >> Couldn't part of that collateral damage

[30:54] also be unwittingly hitting chemical or

[30:57] biological weapons?

[30:58] >> Sure. And that was a problem in 1991.

[31:01] But I think we're going to be very

[31:02] sensitive to what we aim for if we think

[31:03] it's WMD, weapons of mass destruction.

[31:06] >> But we don't even know where they are.

[31:07] >> Well, I don't know. I hope we do.

[31:08] >> Despite the risks, Alman says shock and

[31:11] awe is far better than search and

[31:13] destroy and may end up saving many more

[31:15] lives on both sides of this conflict.

[31:18] >> And we just hope that by doing it this

[31:20] way that the Iraqi military and

[31:22] political leadership will understand the

[31:24] desperate situation they're in and do

[31:26] the smart thing, which is surrender. But

[31:28] at this stage, who knows? One hopes.

[31:32] >> And of course, with the war underway,

[31:34] there is increased concern about

[31:36] security here at home. My colleague

[31:38] Stone Phillips has been tracking that.

[31:41] Tom, the war against terrorism continues

[31:43] even as the war against Iraq

[31:45] intensified. Tonight, some disquing

[31:47] news. An FBI bulletin has gone out to

[31:50] law enforcement agencies across the

[31:52] country to be on the lookout for a man

[31:54] believed to be a top al-Qaeda field

[31:56] commander who may be planning new terror

[31:58] attacks here. Joining us now from

[32:00] Washington with the latest on this,

[32:01] NBC's Pete Williams. Pete. Well, Stone,

[32:04] he is someone the FBI is very concerned

[32:06] about tonight. The bureau sent out a

[32:08] worldwide bulletin today asking for help

[32:10] in finding him. We know his name, Adnan

[32:13] GL Shukrra Juma. He's 27 from Saudi

[32:16] Arabia and officials believe he could be

[32:18] the leader of an al-Qaeda terrorist cell

[32:21] just as Muhammad Ata was the key

[32:23] operative behind the 9/11 attacks. FBI

[32:26] agents today searched a house in

[32:28] Myiramar, Florida, which is Shukrajuma's

[32:30] last known address. While they were

[32:32] there, they interviewed his parents. His

[32:34] family says he's no terrorist and that

[32:36] he's living in Morocco. But

[32:38] investigators say captured al-Qaeda

[32:39] operatives have told them that Shukr

[32:42] Juma would be central to the planning

[32:43] for any further terrorist attacks

[32:45] against Americans either here or

[32:47] overseas. There's also some intelligence

[32:49] that he's a pilot, but the FBI tonight

[32:51] says it's still trying to verify that

[32:53] stone.

[32:56] >> 15,000 Iraqis living in this country. Is

[33:00] this on a voluntary basis, Pete? Yes, it

[33:03] is very much so voluntary in the sense

[33:05] that no one has to talk to the FBI. The

[33:07] FBI justifies this publicly by saying

[33:09] they want to make sure there are no hate

[33:10] crimes against any Iraqis here. But

[33:12] nonetheless, it's clear they're very

[33:14] interested in hearing from Iraqis about

[33:16] anything unusual they may see in the

[33:18] Arab community, anything they may hear

[33:19] at home from relatives still in Iraq

[33:22] about potential threats against the US.

[33:24] There have been some protests about this

[33:26] civil liberties group saying it's not

[33:27] really voluntary when the FBI comes

[33:29] knocking at the door, but the FBI

[33:31] believes it really has no choice and has

[33:33] started to do this very explicitly

[33:35] because of the combat in Iraq.

[33:37] >> And a closed door hearing on Capitol

[33:39] Hill today on how to protect commercial

[33:41] airliners from terrorists using those

[33:43] shoulder fired missiles. A growing

[33:45] concern, isn't it?

[33:46] >> Very much so about that threat,

[33:48] especially to US airliners that operate

[33:50] not so much domestically but overseas.

[33:53] Now, at that hearing, the Transportation

[33:55] Security Administration said there are

[33:56] no credible threats involving shoulder

[33:59] fired missiles. Nothing specific that

[34:01] they know of, but nonetheless, as you

[34:03] say, some members of Congress are very

[34:05] worried that these weapons are

[34:06] widespread around the world, and they

[34:08] want Congress to help airlines that fly

[34:10] overseas develop some kind of defenses,

[34:13] some kind of counter measures that would

[34:14] help limit the effectiveness of these

[34:16] missile stones.

[34:17] >> Pete Williams tonight from Washington.

[34:18] Thanks, Pete.

[34:19] >> Yes, sir. As US troops moved into Iraq

[34:22] today, a kind of security umbrella was

[34:24] opening over the h homeront from coast

[34:26] to coast. In Arizona, National Guard

[34:29] troops were sent to the nation's biggest

[34:31] commercial nuclear power plant following

[34:33] an apparent threat there. Maybe you've

[34:35] noticed increased security where you

[34:36] live. But nowhere was it more apparent,

[34:39] and many say more essential than here in

[34:41] New York. Chris Hansen is here with that

[34:43] story. Chris

[34:46] >> terminal. As you can see, it's a very

[34:49] busy place. And the mood was rather

[34:51] jittery today as the millions of people

[34:54] who depend on subways and trains to get

[34:57] in and out of and around New York City

[35:00] went on their way. But you need to know

[35:03] a couple of things. They're taking a lot

[35:04] of precautions today. And even though

[35:06] we've known for a long time that in fact

[35:09] the terrorist threat potential in New

[35:11] York's transit system is high, they are

[35:13] putting a number of very heavyduty

[35:16] security measures in place.

[35:20] If the lifeblood of New York City is its

[35:23] mass transit system, this is its heart,

[35:27] the majestic Grand Central Terminal. And

[35:30] tonight, as explosions are heard in

[35:32] Baghdad, it is also considered a prime

[35:35] terrorist target.

[35:38] It's a major hub in a massive system

[35:40] that moves 7 million people around this

[35:42] city every day and nearly a million more

[35:45] on commuter trains connecting the city

[35:47] and the suburbs. Today, signs of the

[35:50] heightened wartime alert were

[35:51] everywhere. Vehicle searches on the

[35:54] outside, bomb sniffing dogs and national

[35:56] guardsmen on the inside, and longtime

[35:59] transit workers suddenly had pouches

[36:02] containing gas masks strapped to their

[36:04] bodies.

[36:05] >> What has a world come to where you have

[36:06] to carry a gas mask with you just to

[36:08] work in Grand Central Terminal here in

[36:10] New York?

[36:10] >> It's crazy, but that's the sign of the

[36:12] times. Officials are so concerned about

[36:15] mass transit being a target that the

[36:17] governors of New York, Connecticut, and

[36:19] New Jersey made an unprecedented

[36:21] announcement that they had agreed to let

[36:23] each other's law enforcement officers

[36:25] operate in all three states in order to

[36:28] protect commuters.

[36:29] >> We are working to upgrade security

[36:31] across our state and in particular today

[36:34] we're focusing on mass transit

[36:36] >> and so are the police who are

[36:38] responsible for the majority of New York

[36:40] subways. This is a hub of activity for

[36:44] people who have to come and go through

[36:46] New York City.

[36:48] >> New York City Police Chief Bill Calhoun

[36:50] is responsible for making sure the

[36:52] millions who ride the subways have a

[36:54] safe trip. One of the busiest subway

[36:57] lines in town runs in and out of Grand

[36:59] Central.

[37:00] >> You see bomb sniffing dogs. You see New

[37:02] York police officers, National

[37:04] Guardsmen. What's the purpose of all

[37:06] that? Why is that so important?

[37:08] >> Definition of your question. You see

[37:10] them. Let me also tell you, there are

[37:12] some things you don't see,

[37:14] >> like undercover officers riding on the

[37:16] subways. Sensors that Calhoun says can

[37:19] detect a chemical, biological, or

[37:22] radioactive attack placed throughout the

[37:24] 700 m of subway track. There's also

[37:27] surveillance at 31 entrances where

[37:30] subway tunnels go under rivers. At each

[37:33] one of those portals, I have assigned

[37:35] officers constantly, 24 hours, 7 days a

[37:39] week.

[37:40] >> For commuters, it's all part of the new

[37:43] reality molded by 9/11, hardened by war.

[37:47] >> I'm not particularly anxious.

[37:48] >> You don't think there's much of a risk

[37:50] for you to to take mass transport?

[37:51] >> Um, I think there's just as much risk as

[37:53] I get hit by a truck.

[37:54] >> It makes me a little more anxious,

[37:56] actually.

[37:56] >> Really?

[37:57] >> Yeah.

[37:57] >> Why so?

[37:58] >> Well, maybe they know more than they're

[37:59] letting on. Maybe the threat is more

[38:01] real than they're willing to share with

[38:02] us.

[38:03] >> What can you say that will make people

[38:06] comfortable taking the mass transit

[38:09] system you're in charge of protecting?

[38:12] >> I got here by train. What can I tell

[38:14] you? There's a man who practices what he

[38:17] preaches. Just to give you a sense of

[38:18] how busy this building gets on any given

[38:21] day, 700,000 people will pass through

[38:24] this building. And just to give you an

[38:26] idea of just how tight security is, we

[38:28] saw a police officer today on a thirdf

[38:31] flooror catwalk with a bomb sniffing

[38:33] dog. An unusual sight in cautious times.

[38:36] Stone Chris Hansen tonight at the

[38:38] terminal that never sleeps and the city

[38:40] that never sleeps. Grand Central

[38:41] Station. Thanks, Chris. Protest, prayer,

[38:44] however they choose to express

[38:46] themselves. It's clear the events in

[38:48] Iraq are giving Americans plenty to

[38:50] ponder. So, what's the mood of the

[38:52] country on this second day of war? Maria

[38:54] Shrivever has been taking the pulse of

[38:56] the nation.

[38:58] >> The nation may be on high alert, but

[39:01] most Americans are trying to go about

[39:02] their normal lives while still

[39:04] expressing the wide variety of opinions

[39:07] that have always characterized this

[39:09] nation.

[39:12] Across the country, the headlines were

[39:14] the same. In Chicago, in Atlanta, and

[39:18] Charlotte, North Carolina, the war had

[39:20] begun. But Americans dealt with that

[39:23] news in very different ways. At the New

[39:26] York Stock Exchange, a moment of silence

[39:29] to start the day. But then it was

[39:31] business as usual. Upbeat, in fact, as

[39:33] the markets ended the day higher.

[39:37] In San Francisco's financial district,

[39:39] anti-war protesters linked themselves

[39:41] with metal pipes and blocked the

[39:43] streets. 500 people were arrested.

[39:46] Demonstrators also lined the streets in

[39:48] Tampa, Florida.

[39:52] while students at more than 30 high

[39:54] schools throughout Minnesota walked out

[39:56] of classes to voice opposition to the

[39:59] war.

[40:02] >> Despite the protest polls show a

[40:03] majority of Americans support the war,

[40:06] about 2,000 people rallied behind the

[40:08] government in Jackson, Mississippi.

[40:11] But perhaps no one supports the war more

[40:13] than the people in the central

[40:15] California town of Siribad.

[40:18] It is home to a large Iraqi exile

[40:20] community.

[40:21] >> I'm very happy and u because we this is

[40:24] the moment we've been waiting for.

[40:25] >> Janet Schumann runs a small television

[40:28] station operated by the Iraqi exiles.

[40:30] They have been broadcasting war news

[40:32] nonstop since the first bombs fell. Both

[40:35] in their native Arabic

[40:38] and in English. George Bush.

[40:41] Congratulations. This is the moment that

[40:43] the Iraqi people finally will be free

[40:45] and they can live u freely in our

[40:50] homeland.

[40:50] >> But just down the road in Modesto, the

[40:52] war brought out different emotions. A

[40:55] chain of French dry cleaners actually

[40:57] owned by a Lebanese American was shot at

[40:59] and set on fire. But for most Americans,

[41:03] the day has not been filled with protest

[41:05] or anger or fear. Life has just gone

[41:08] forward as always. In Las Vegas, casinos

[41:12] report their rooms are full and golf

[41:14] courses are booked. The NCAA college

[41:17] basketball tournament in Arizona went

[41:20] on. The stands were filled and people

[41:22] tuned in.

[41:24] In Sacramento, more than a hundred

[41:26] people lined up to get bobblehead dolls

[41:29] of their favorite local sports heroes.

[41:32] In Pittsburgh, life moved on in a big

[41:34] way. Aaron Ross and her husband Joe gave

[41:37] birth to sectuplets, six babies.

[41:40] >> Um, I was able to watch them, you know,

[41:44] be delivered. It's amazing.

[41:46] >> If we change our lives here, if we stop

[41:49] living normally, if we stop being free

[41:51] and able to go about our business, then

[41:53] they succeed.

[41:55] >> Barry Glasner is a professor of

[41:56] sociology and author of the bestseller,

[41:59] The Culture of Fear.

[42:00] >> People I've talked to say they feel

[42:02] conflicted. They don't want to look

[42:04] frivolous like they're out having a

[42:06] great time going to a game or going to a

[42:09] movie or going to a dance or a party

[42:11] when people are dying and their families

[42:13] are in turmoil.

[42:14] >> We really don't contribute anything to

[42:16] the government's effort or to the war

[42:18] effort or if we're on the other side to

[42:20] the peace effort simply by sitting

[42:22] around um and doing nothing and

[42:24] canceling our normal activities. Experts

[42:26] say keeping an eye on both the war and

[42:29] everyday life is crucial to keeping your

[42:32] anxiety low and your pulse down.

[42:36] Thanks, Maria. And tonight in Chicago,

[42:39] police on foot and on horseback faced

[42:41] thousands of protesters in one of the

[42:43] largest anti-war demonstrations the

[42:45] nation has seen in years. The

[42:47] demonstrators swarmed onto Lakeshore

[42:49] Drive, one of the city's main arteries,

[42:52] shutting down the street at the height

[42:53] of rush hour.

[42:55] That's it from here, Tom. Back to you.

[42:57] >> Thanks very much, Stone Phillips. Now,

[43:00] let's go back to NBC's David Bloom, who

[43:02] is moving with the Third Infantry. You

[43:04] can see him there. He's deep in Iraq, or

[43:07] at least as deep as any other American

[43:09] unit. Where are you at this point,

[43:10] David? Can you give us a general idea?

[43:13] >> Uh, we're in southern Iraq, Tom, and

[43:15] that's about all we're permitted to say.

[43:18] Uh, I understand that there's some video

[43:20] tape though that we fed in with the last

[43:22] several minutes which will show you what

[43:24] it's been like for us these past several

[43:27] hours. You recour hours. You recall that

[43:29] near the top of the broadcast I

[43:31] described that we left from the Kuwaiti

[43:35] side of the border around 8:30 local

[43:37] time around 12:30 in the afternoon New

[43:40] York time. But that was preceded by

[43:42] about a half hour of artillery shelling

[43:45] on two Iraqi observation posts. They

[43:48] were trying to destroy those observation

[43:50] posts and the 30 or so Iraqi soldiers

[43:54] who were inside those each of those

[43:56] observation posts because they wanted to

[43:58] make sure that they could not relay

[44:00] information back to Baghdad as to the

[44:03] precise location of this large movement

[44:06] by the US Army's Third Infantry

[44:08] Division. That was followed by us moving

[44:10] into Iraq. We crossed the Kuwaiti burm,

[44:13] which is about a 30 foot high wall of

[44:15] sand that had been cut through. Then we

[44:18] cut through electrical fences and then

[44:20] we were onto the Iraqi side through a a

[44:22] burm on the Iraqi side which is also

[44:24] about 30 ft high. I can't tell Tom

[44:26] exactly what video you're seeing right

[44:28] now, obviously. But in addition to that,

[44:30] we went through minefields and we also

[44:32] went through unexloited ordinance from

[44:35] the first Persian Gulf War. And what you

[44:38] may see are these orange or yellow or

[44:40] green lights which allow us to make a

[44:43] track through there safely that the

[44:45] scouts had laid down so that these

[44:47] vehicles which were the first vehicles

[44:49] to go through could move through safely.

[44:52] So Tom, right now we're into southern

[44:54] Iraq. We're with the, as I say, the

[44:56] second brigade, the Spartan Brigade of

[44:58] the US Army's Third Infantry Division.

[45:01] We're also with what's called the 315

[45:03] infantry which are mostly the Bradley's

[45:05] and the tank platoon as well carrying

[45:08] infantrymen who are out ahead leading

[45:10] the charge if you will for the other

[45:13] larger mechanized units to follow on

[45:16] Tom.

[45:17] >> All right, thanks very much David Bloom.

[45:19] We're going to go to Carrie Sanders the

[45:21] first we've heard from him as well. He's

[45:23] with the second battalion eighth

[45:25] Marines. I think I've got the units

[45:26] right. Carrie, where are you and what

[45:28] can you tell us? Tom.

[45:30] >> Well, I can tell you that we're just

[45:31] south of David. We can't give too much

[45:33] specific information because of the

[45:35] sensitive nature of it, but we had a

[45:36] tremendous light show here last night.

[45:38] Lieutenant Colonel Royal Mortonson with

[45:40] the 28 is here with me. First of all,

[45:42] that light show we saw last night, we're

[45:44] going to look at some pictures of this.

[45:45] What was that?

[45:46] >> Um, it appeared to us to be um um MLRS

[45:50] or ATACMS. Uh obviously fires going

[45:54] emanating from this area going towards

[45:56] the north.

[45:57] >> And we didn't see any return fire at

[45:59] all.

[46:00] >> Uh not that we could see either. I mean

[46:01] the Marines were dug in around here. Uh

[46:03] dug in last night. We didn't see

[46:05] anything coming back this way at all.

[46:06] Just saw a lot of outgoing.

[46:08] >> Now as the Marines were here last night

[46:10] and dug in, as you say, uh they're

[46:12] waking up now as the sun is just getting

[46:14] up. What is in the mind of a Marine

[46:17] right now?

[46:18] Well, uh, they might not have gotten

[46:20] much sleep last night. Uh, even though

[46:22] they may have been tired, uh, that light

[46:24] show was a first for most of them. Um,

[46:27] and I'm sure it energized some of their

[46:29] thoughts about what, uh, what may lie

[46:30] ahead. Um, they're making mental

[46:33] preparations for what they know to be

[46:36] potentially be uh, be combat operations,

[46:39] if you will. And, uh, each one of them

[46:41] will handle individually and and on

[46:42] their own their own personal way.

[46:44] >> You gave them sort of a pep a pep talk

[46:46] yesterday. Uh what was the highlight?

[46:49] The thing that stuck in my mind is what

[46:50] you told them about uh you make a

[46:53] decision and stick with your decision if

[46:54] you feel threatened.

[46:56] >> Basically what I'm trying to I always

[46:57] try to drive home with him is that uh

[47:00] they're professionals. Um and a

[47:02] professional uh while he has the option

[47:04] of uh of um shooting he he makes that

[47:07] decision with um um experience and

[47:12] knowledge. But I I try to impress upon

[47:14] them that I won't second guess them.

[47:16] That uh it's a tough decision for anyone

[47:18] to make. A 1920 20-y old 22-y old Marine

[47:21] when he makes that decision to shoot. Um

[47:23] it's based on the information he has at

[47:25] the moment. And it's important for them

[47:26] to know that that their chain of command

[47:28] and and and the military in general in

[47:29] their country will support them in that

[47:31] decision and not second guess them. Uh

[47:33] they'll have tough decisions out there.

[47:34] There's going to be non-combatants.

[47:35] There's going to be enemy. There's going

[47:36] to be friendlies. Uh it's uh you know

[47:40] night day tough decisions.

[47:42] >> Okay. One thing I wanted to point out

[47:43] here Tom as you can see the lieutenant

[47:45] colonel is in what they call mop gear.

[47:47] In fact we'll be asked to get into this

[47:48] shortly. There's sort of a deadline

[47:49] approaching and that is this gear here.

[47:52] And that mop gear is designed as a

[47:53] chemical protection suit.

[47:54] >> Yes it is. It's a charcoal lined and uh

[47:57] protects you against chemical and

[47:59] biological uh agents if you will. And uh

[48:01] as you moved yesterday uh on your

[48:04] journey, there were at least three uh

[48:06] three warnings as it were, three alerts

[48:08] to put the gas masks on, is there just

[48:10] sort of a hair trigger right now or was

[48:12] there a real good reason to think there

[48:13] may be a gas or biological agent in the

[48:14] area?

[48:15] >> Well, anytime there's a a report um of a

[48:18] potential scud of a Scud launch or what

[48:20] may have been a potential Scud launch,

[48:21] it's just precautionary measures to

[48:23] quickly go into gas mass even when

[48:24] you're on the move. Um, and you're

[48:26] right, when we were we were moving to

[48:28] these positions. Yesterday, we did get a

[48:29] few reports. Uh, and it's it's

[48:31] precautionary. The Marines are used to

[48:32] doing it, so it uh I mean, they even do

[48:34] it while they're drive while they're

[48:35] moving down the road. Happens very

[48:37] quickly. Um, hair trigger. I don't know.

[48:39] I think it's just better to be safe than

[48:41] sorry.

[48:41] >> Absolutely. Well, we certainly put our

[48:43] gas masks on without any question at

[48:45] all. I can tell you though when we put

[48:46] our masks on, unlike the Marines who've

[48:48] had a lot of training at this, uh it

[48:50] gets particularly hot and if you haven't

[48:51] spent a whole lot of time in those

[48:53] masks, uh and uh it really takes a

[48:56] little bit out of you as the day

[48:57] progresses. Uh one thing I wanted to

[48:59] point out is just a short uh well I

[49:02] can't really reveal that. Um what I can

[49:04] say is that we do know that there has

[49:06] been a uh battle reported for the Ramala

[49:09] oil fields and uh we also know that uh

[49:13] hiding in amongst the scrapyards from

[49:16] the old Gulf War 12 years ago, there

[49:18] have been some T72 tanks that have been

[49:20] spotted and at least one has been taken

[49:23] out, but uh the Iraqi military has

[49:26] apparently hidden some of their forces

[49:28] in those scrapyards. Tom. All right,

[49:30] thanks very much, Carrie Sanders, who's

[49:32] uh with the Eighth Marines, and it looks

[49:33] like they're getting ready to move into

[49:35] some fairly serious territory. And we're

[49:37] joined now by retired Army General Monty

[49:39] Migs, who 12 years ago was in a very

[49:42] similar situation. He was in the Army,

[49:44] not the Marines at the time. He was

[49:45] leading an armored brigade across the

[49:48] desert at that time. Uh we've been

[49:50] talking a lot about what happened in

[49:52] Baghdad in the last 24 hours. How

[49:54] critical are the attacks in Baghdad to

[49:58] these young Marines who are moving up

[49:59] and the guys with the first rather with

[50:01] the third infantry division that David

[50:03] Bloom has been reporting on?

[50:04] >> Okay, Tom, we'll go into downtown

[50:06] Baghdad and show you some potential

[50:08] targets and then extrapolate it back.

[50:10] We're going to be in the western part of

[50:12] the city where Peter Arnett was telling

[50:14] us last night there were a bunch of

[50:15] targets hit. And the targets we're going

[50:17] to show are are nominal. We don't know

[50:20] for sure that these were ones, but these

[50:21] are all having to do with the Republican

[50:24] Guard and the intelligence system. You

[50:26] take those out, you deny the enemy his

[50:28] eyes to some extent, he's losing some of

[50:31] his command and control. And while it

[50:33] doesn't have an immediate impact for

[50:34] those Marines and troopers in the Martin

[50:37] division, it does have an impact as they

[50:39] come closer and closer to Baghdad. And

[50:41] of course, this is part of the shock and

[50:42] awe idea of tearing down the enemy's

[50:44] will by destroying his command and

[50:45] control structure. So, what happens next

[50:48] for the guys down south as they're

[50:50] moving up. They're hearing about bomb

[50:52] damage assessment about what's happened

[50:53] there in Baghdad.

[50:54] >> Probably not. Uh, they're pretty well

[50:56] occupied at this time, and we'll go down

[50:58] here into the south and, uh, and give

[51:00] you a glimpse of that. They're pretty

[51:01] much focused on what they're doing. You

[51:03] can see that the the they're moving out

[51:05] into these general areas nominally, and

[51:08] David Bloom gave us a really good uh

[51:10] report here when he said they moved out

[51:12] at 12:30. we can calculate basically

[51:14] they've had about 8 hours of running

[51:16] time and so they're not along the border

[51:19] anymore. They're out in this general

[51:21] area. Interestingly enough, the port

[51:23] about Al Raya oil field, we're going to

[51:26] slip here to a picture of the last

[51:28] battle that occurred at Almaya Royal

[51:30] Field and when David gets out farther,

[51:32] perhaps he'll run into one of these uh

[51:34] tank battles and you'll get a chance to

[51:37] see what it looks like. It's a It's a

[51:39] pretty uh spectacular event. And uh this

[51:43] is what you get to see. These uh

[51:45] vehicles were taken out at uh anywhere

[51:48] between 4,000 and 2,000 uh meters. And

[51:51] that is actually about 500 meters south

[51:54] of the location that you heard on the on

[51:56] the air. Tom,

[51:58] >> uh very briefly, a lot of concern in

[51:59] Israel obviously about whether or not

[52:01] they'll come under attack that he'll try

[52:03] to ferment something in the wider Arab

[52:05] world. How secure is Israel tonight? Uh,

[52:07] I think they're pretty secure. If we go

[52:09] out here to the western desert, you can

[52:11] see the problem. Saddam Hussein has to

[52:14] put his Scuds in this general area if

[52:16] he's going to range over here to Israel.

[52:19] And you can bet that there's people on

[52:22] the ground looking for those Scuds,

[52:23] satellites paying attention to it.

[52:25] You've got UAVs up looking for them, and

[52:28] you've got fighters ready to take them

[52:29] out the minute they're seen.

[52:30] >> All right. Thanks very much, retired

[52:32] General Monty Migs, who as I say was

[52:34] leading an armored brigade across the

[52:37] desert 12 years ago. Let's go to the

[52:39] White House now. Uh NBC's Campbell

[52:41] Brown. It's been a very busy there. What

[52:42] can we expect overnight and tomorrow,

[52:45] Campbell?

[52:46] >> Well, Tom, I'll tell you the mood here

[52:47] this evening has gone from being

[52:49] cautiously pleased with the way things

[52:51] were going to a little more restrained

[52:53] with the news of the helicopter crash

[52:55] tonight and what appears to be the first

[52:56] American casualties. The president is in

[52:59] the residence this evening. He is

[53:01] getting evening phone calls with the

[53:03] latest developments, military

[53:04] developments from Secretary of Defense

[53:06] Donald Rumsfeld and then speaking with

[53:08] his national security adviser, who's

[53:11] really the closest to him personally uh

[53:13] to get the final update before he goes

[53:15] to bed at night. Uh we are not expecting

[53:18] him to have anything on his public

[53:20] schedule tomorrow. But he does have a

[53:22] meeting with congressional leaders and

[53:23] given the developments I wouldn't be

[53:25] surprised if he had some words tomorrow

[53:26] for uh the families of those soldiers.

[53:29] Administration officials I'll tell you

[53:30] also tonight are confirming what Jim

[53:32] Mccloeki has been reporting for much of

[53:34] the evening that there are conversations

[53:36] going on with some of the Iraqi

[53:38] leadership uh possibly surrender talks.

[53:41] Uh not a lot of more detail from the

[53:44] administration though. One official

[53:45] telling me tonight there is nothing we

[53:47] would love more than to win this without

[53:49] a massive fight. So for now, they're

[53:51] keeping the president's schedule fairly

[53:53] flexible, though we do know he will

[53:54] leave the White House tomorrow and go to

[53:56] Camp David for the weekend. Tom.

[53:59] >> All right, thanks very much, Campbell

[54:00] Brown, who's at the White House tonight.

[54:02] The reference she made was to a seite, a

[54:05] marine helicopter that went down. All 16

[54:08] people on board were killed. I think it

[54:10] was within the borders of Kuwait when it

[54:12] did go down. Uh that's a a visual uh

[54:16] look at the Seahawk and it has all the

[54:20] dimensions for it as well. It's a

[54:22] transport helicopter for the Marines.

[54:25] The Chinook is used by the Army and

[54:27] other services, but that's a very

[54:29] popular helicopter. Tragic accident

[54:31] tonight. 16 people dead. It may be a

[54:33] half a world away, but this war is

[54:35] reaching into the heart and heartland

[54:38] tonight. During the course of the war,

[54:39] NBC News is focusing on one small

[54:41] community where everyone knows someone

[54:44] whose life has been changed by this

[54:46] conflict. For them, there really is no

[54:48] other topic of conversation. Ed Magnus

[54:51] now in our town, Ashland, Alabama.

[55:09] Now with more and the president

[55:16] >> the Turkey parliament will allow US

[55:18] military to use Turkeykey's airspace for

[55:20] the war with Iraq close call the

[55:22] American side of night

[55:25] >> and his thought

[55:26] >> one minute you're playing in a sandbox

[55:28] next minute they're over there in a big

[55:29] sandbox you know

[55:31] >> Leon's son Brandon is 19 and a marine

[55:34] the first marine in his family stationed

[55:36] with the purple foxes in Kuwait.

[55:38] >> You know, I love my son and we've always

[55:45] we got to understand it.

[55:47] >> The first bombs have fallen as the

[55:49] United States wages war in

[55:51] >> and all day long they piled into

[55:53] Little's Exxon to fill up on gas,

[55:55] coffee, and the latest from Baghdad.

[55:58] >> Josh Nelson works for the water

[56:00] department.

[56:01] >> I hope all our boys will be safe, but

[56:05] I'm thankful we got a president to stand

[56:06] up and do what he says.

[56:09] >> That sentiment is widespread here. The

[56:11] area is very promilitary. It has the

[56:14] highest percentage of National Guard

[56:16] volunteers in the country. Anyone who's

[56:19] not already there may be called up soon.

[56:21] The

[56:21] >> United States is the only superpower

[56:24] left with the policemen of the world.

[56:27] >> If you got a problem with that, you got

[56:28] a bad problem. But believe it or not,

[56:31] even here there are those who don't

[56:33] share the hardline view. Ashlin's lone

[56:36] Democratic judge, Johnny Rochester, is

[56:39] not afraid to disagree.

[56:40] >> I think I'm the yellow dog foaming at

[56:42] the mouth.

[56:44] >> He just does it when they're not around.

[56:46] >> I think at this point in time, you don't

[56:47] question anything. You say, "Here we

[56:50] are. Uh, the president's made his

[56:52] decision." And at the National Guard

[56:54] Armory, a group as keenly interested as

[56:57] anybody in the minute-by-minute

[56:59] developments overseas.

[57:01] >> These are the folks whose National Guard

[57:03] unit is on high alert and may get the

[57:06] word to pick up and go anytime.

[57:08] >> How many of you watched President Bush

[57:10] last night on television?

[57:11] >> There may not have been a television in

[57:13] the schools, but the children were very

[57:16] tuned in to today's events. The second

[57:18] graders in Lisa McNat's class, she's the

[57:21] mayor's wife, were worried.

[57:23] >> What if some of Iraq's troops kind of

[57:25] like come over here and try to like bomb

[57:28] some of the houses or like shoot some of

[57:31] the missiles and stuff like that?

[57:33] >> Well, that's why not all of our troops

[57:35] are over there. We still have a lot

[57:36] here.

[57:41] >> In the first grade, the kids rallied

[57:43] around seven-year-old Hannah Smith.

[57:46] Hannah's father, Ashlin's Chief Deputy

[57:48] Sheriff, Jamie Smith, is in a National

[57:51] Guard unit that's already overseas.

[58:01] >> That's Edie Magnus in Ashlin, Alabama.

[58:04] We're going to go by phone now to Dexter

[58:06] Filkins of the New York Times, who's

[58:08] moving into Iraq with a unit of British

[58:11] tanks. Uh Dexter Filkins, what have you

[58:13] been seeing today?

[58:16] Well, uh, as you noted, we're with a

[58:18] bunch of a bunch of tanks, uh, moving

[58:20] into Iraq and, uh, the bombardment is,

[58:24] uh, continuing here and, uh, uh, there's

[58:26] been Apache helicopters, uh, in the sky

[58:29] and there's been troops moving across,

[58:31] uh, and I think they're they're all

[58:32] headed in the direction of Basra. U,

[58:35] >> you saw last night a show that even

[58:38] shocked you, even though you're a

[58:39] veteran of Afghanistan. Has any of that

[58:41] been repeated in the daylight hours?

[58:45] Well, I it just continued uh through

[58:47] through the nighttime here. I'm I was

[58:49] amazed. Um I mean, even as late, it's

[58:52] it's going on right now and it's just

[58:55] continued intermittently uh for hours.

[58:57] Um you know, the the the range of the

[59:00] guns um most of these guns isn't more

[59:02] than 20 or 25 miles. And so, um it it

[59:06] makes you wonder what they're shooting

[59:07] at. Uh but but they sure are laying down

[59:10] quite a barrage even now. All right,

[59:12] Dexter Falcon, thanks very much for

[59:13] checking in. We hope that uh we can stay

[59:15] in touch with you during the course of

[59:17] the next couple of days or so because it

[59:19] sounds like everything is moving north

[59:21] fairly swiftly, fairly swiftly at this

[59:24] hour. A reminder, so much of what is

[59:27] going on is what we cannot see or cannot

[59:30] hear. That's military action and

[59:33] possibly negotiation going on between

[59:35] the highest levels of this government

[59:37] and some officers of the Republican

[59:40] Guard. And where is Saddam Hussein and

[59:43] his sons tonight? The leadership. It's

[59:45] dawn of a new day in Baghdad. Is it just

[59:49] one more day or is it the dawn of a new

[59:52] era? That's all for this edition of

[59:54] Deline for late developments in this

[59:56] fast-pacing story. MSNBC on cable

[59:59] and.com.

[60:00] I'm Tom Brokoff. Good night for all of

[60:02] us, including Stone Phillips here at

[60:04] Date Line and NBC News.

[60:08] Tonight,

[60:13] there's a lot happening in the Middle

[60:15] East and Middle Tennessee.

[60:17] When he pointed the gun at me, I

[60:19] screamed as loud.