World News Tonight (ABC) - 1991-01-16 - Desert Storm begins
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Read a transcript preview of “World News Tonight (ABC) - 1991-01-16 - Desert Storm begins” from malgent, uploaded on 2026-01-16.
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Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)
[0:00] Six
[0:04] >> from ABC. This is World News Tonight
[0:07] with Peter Jennings.
[0:08] >> Good evening. The deadline has come and
[0:09] gone. The Iraqis are living on what
[0:11] President Bush calls borrowed time. It
[0:13] is no longer whether the war will start,
[0:15] but when. They know that in Baghdad as
[0:18] well as in Washington, there is a rumor
[0:21] every hour. Our first report is from
[0:22] Saudi Arabia. Here's ABC's Bill Ricker
[0:28] >> on the battleship Wisconsin. Coordinated
[0:30] sea air operations with British fighter
[0:32] jets. The firing of the ship's 5-in
[0:35] guns. The testing of its anti-missile
[0:38] system.
[0:40] Preparations for war.
[0:42] >> Ready for war, sir. Ready for war.
[0:45] That's what this ship came over here to
[0:46] do.
[0:47] >> General quarter hand battle stations. As
[0:50] the deadline approached, the commander
[0:52] announced the Wisconsin have been placed
[0:54] on DEFCON 2 alert, defensive condition
[0:57] two, one not short of war.
[1:00] >> We should consider that hostilities are
[1:02] imminent.
[1:04] >> What does that mean?
[1:06] >> That means that we need to get ready to
[1:08] fight.
[1:11] >> Ready? also means that the Wisconsin has
[1:13] begun launching its miniature unmanned
[1:16] planes that can transmit remote
[1:18] television pictures of Iraqi ships and
[1:20] other targets. The Army's 82nd Airborne
[1:23] also practiced today, storming and
[1:26] securing buildings.
[1:30] >> The firing of assault weapons and
[1:32] explosion of grenades increase the
[1:34] realism of what many here believe is the
[1:36] last step before battle.
[1:38] >> Of course, you know, everybody's
[1:40] nervous. It's just like playing a big
[1:42] game. Until the first blow, you won't
[1:44] know what's going to happen to the