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CNN SHOWDOWN: IRAQ
British Try to Win Over Trust, Confidence with People in Basra
Aired March 31, 2003 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting today live from Kuwait City. It's Monday evening already here in the Persian Gulf. A day of historic airstrikes in and around Baghdad. And in the words of the U.S. Central Command -- and I'm quoting now -- "Difficulty and danger for the Iraqi Republican Guard."
In the capital today, B-1, B-2, and B-52 bombers converged on the same area at the same time. That was a first in U.S. military history. Al-Jazeera later aired footage of substantial damage to the Iraqi Information Ministry in Baghdad at a transmission site for Iraqi television
For the second time of the war so far, Iraqi TV was knocked off the air for several hours. When it came back up, it aired a video clip of Saddam Hussein, his two sons, and an assortment of military commanders. Among the reported targets of coalition airstrikes today was a Baghdad palace used by the Iraqi leader's younger son, Qusay.
Clean water is flowing today in the southern Iraqi port of Umm Qasr, while just up the road in Basra, British forces remain in a delicate standoff with so-called Iraqi irregulars. CNN's Christiane Amanpour has been there now for several days. She is joining us now live with an update -- Christiane.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the British keep moving towards their aim, and that is to neutralize the resistance inside of Basra. They have now consolidated a position on the southeast of Basra, which they had taken after a pretty much all-day battle yesterday, Sunday, with Iraqi infantry and tanks. So they continue the military push, and they continue to try to win over the trust and confidence of the people with all the tools at their disposal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMANPOUR (voice-over): A mobile radio station in southern Iraq. British Army psychological warfare operations aimed principally now at Basra.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My fellow soldiers, the Saddam Hussein regime is in its final days.
AMANPOUR: Frustrated by the lack of the expected uprising in the city, the British Army says they are now stepping up transmissions, hoping to turn the people and the tide of this war.
There's Jennifer Lopez and other Western music for the youngsters. And traditional Arab music. And in between, there are these messages.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have entered your country not as enemies of the Iraqi people.
COL. CHRIS VERNON, U.K. ARMY SPOKESMAN: We've got to control their information flow, what they are receiving. Firstly, primarily to stop what they're getting out of Baghdad.
AMANPOUR: There is also the ongoing leaflet drop over Basra. This is the most important message the British are trying to sell right now.
(on camera): This is the entrance to the city of Basra. And the British admit they don't know the effect their psy-ops are having inside the city. They admit they're shooting a little blind right now. And they acknowledge that Saddam Hussein has a highly accomplished propaganda machine.
(voice-over): And it still works well. The regime continues to inspire such terror that these people leaving the city didn't want to talk on camera. But many say they do get the leaflets and the radio messages. But they say what they need is food, water, and respite from the bombing.
Some told us Saddam's party loyalists still control the city. With the fire fights echoing in their ears, some told us they and everyone they know wants to see Saddam gone. But until then, they'll remain silent.
Al-Jazeera Arab television sends out pictures of the wounded in Basra's hospital. And people told us that civilians are being hurt in the artillery and tank duels between the British and Iraqi forces inside. The British want to deliver humanitarian aid to Basra to improve their chances of winning people's confidence. But so far, they're having to settle for the towns that they've already secured on the outskirts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AMANPOUR: Now one of the other towns that they've started to bring water to is Umm Qasr, which was essentially the first town in the south, that port town which was secured. But there's still a little bit of confusion over exactly how that water is being delivered to the people. This is fresh drinking water.
Some confusion over whether the people are meant to pay or not. And there's confusion between the American military civil affairs unit, who's hiring the tanker drivers and the tankers to take the water, and the British, who are controlling that area of operation and who brought the pipeline to flow in that part of southern Iraq. And there's a lot of confusion right now for the people as to whether they're meant to pay or not. Of course, they don't want to pay -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Christiane, is it fair to say that the British troops, the British Royal Marines, the others are basically in charge of this whole southern part of Iraq around Umm Qasr, Basra, this area, while the U.S. troops move further north, taking charge of the eventual assault on Baghdad?
AMANPOUR: Yes. In fact, that's been the plan all along. First of all, the British and the Americans were jointly responsible for taking Umm Qasr. In fact, at that time, the Americans were under the command of the Royal Marine commander of that brigade who took Umm Qasr. So that was a joint operation.
But then of course, in the several days that followed, the Americans started to peel off and take off to the west and north to go and join the American push towards Basra. But at the moment in Umm Qasr, there are also Americans there -- mainly civil affairs units from the Army -- to deal with the kind of humanitarian situation that's required. For instance, the water.
BLITZER: Christiane Amanpour in southern Iraq, thanks, Christiane, very much for that report.
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