Verbatim Special: Gulf War II By John T. Correll, Contributing Editor “I can’t tell you if all 10 fingers are off the throat, but Mohsen Khalil, Iraq’s ambassador to the Arab League, finger by finger [Saddam’s grip is] coming off.”—Presi- reported by Associated Press in Ha’aretz Daily, Is- dent Bush, press conference in Belfast, Northern Ire- rael, April 7. land, April 8. “The United States is going to leave Iraq with its tail “We’re dealing with a country in which everybody has a between its legs, defeated. It is a war we cannot win. weapon, and when they fire them all into the air at the We do not have the military means to take over same time, it’s tough.”—Lt. Gen. William S. Wallace, Baghdad, and for this reason I believe the defeat of commander of US Army V Corps, March 27, reported the United States in this war is inevitable. Every time in Washington Post, April 12. we confront Iraqi troops we may win some tactical battles, as we did for 10 years in Vietnam, but we will “The Republican Guard is in full control. We have not be able to win this war, which in my opinion is defeated them; in fact, we have crushed them. We already lost.”—Scott Ritter, former UN arms inspec- have pushed them outside the whole area of the air- tor, TSF Radio Lisbon, Portugal, March 25, cited by port.”—Muhammad Said al-Sahhaf, Iraq’s informa- Internet commentator Andrew Sullivan. tion minister, April 5, reported in New York Times, April 6. “I believe the Americans have so far been unable to capture a single large locality because the Iraqis orga- “Don’t believe these invaders and these liars. There are nized their defense using the combat experience of the none of their troops in Baghdad.”—Said al-Sahhaf on Soviet Army, obtained during World War II.”—Retired Iraqi television, reported in New York Times, April 8. Col. Gen. Vladislav Achalov, former Soviet deputy minister of defense (and recent military advisor to “Iraq will not be defeated. ... Iraq has now already Saddam), Interfax-Military News Agency, reported by achieved victory—apart from some technicalities.”— Associated Press in Moscow Times, April 7. Sanctions, Then and Now “Now that Iraq is liberated, the United Nations should lift “But in proposing merely to suspend, rather than lift, economic sanctions on that country.”—President Bush, sanctions, the French also suggested leaving the UN in speech in St. Louis, April 16. control of Iraqi oil revenues. ... At least the French are smoother spin-artists than the Russians, who don’t even “This decision cannot be automatic. For the Security Coun- bother to conceal their Iraq agenda. ... The two coun- cil to take this decision, we need to be certain whether tries that did the most to erode sanctions against Saddam Iraq has weapons of mass destruction or not.”—Russian Hussein’s dictatorship are now joined at the pocketbook Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, April 17, on lifting sanc- in attempting to maintain them in some form on a newly tions, reported in Washington Post, April 18. free Iraq.”—Editorial, Wall Street Journal, April 23. “During the 1990s, when Hussein was concealing his “After the fall of Baghdad, it stretches credulity that weapons of mass destruction, the Russians did every- the sanctions and the UN–administered oil-for-food thing they could to lift sanctions. Indeed, in 1999, Russia program are even being debated. Ending the sanc- refused to support the resolution renewing weapons in- tions should be undertaken as a simple acceptance of spections. ... But now that Iraq is run not by a local mass the war’s outcome, in preparation for Iraq’s recon- murderer but by an American President, Russia has ac- struction. ... What Russia and France are trying to do quired a sudden concern about Iraq’s WMDs.”—Charles is help the UN maintain legitimacy in Iraqi affairs, so Krauthammer, Washington Post, April 21. that they might gain a toehold on how the country is run and perhaps a small say in how contracts are “The question of lifting of sanctions has been raised, awarded and debts paid.”—Editorial, Long Island’s and I think sanctions have to be lifted some day.”—UN Newsday, April 29. Secretary–General Kofi Annan, press encounter in Vienna, April 22. “There is no doubt that the sanctions will have to be lifted and the oil-for-food will have to be phased out. The “I have proposed that the decision should be taken to question is, when and how it is done, and this is an issue immediately suspend the civilian sanctions.”—Jean–Marc that the member states are discussing. ... I don’t think de La Sabliere, French ambassador to the United one can pick an arbitrary date. ... [I]t is linked with other Nations, quoted by UPI, April 22. issues.”—Annan, press encounter, April 30. 40 AIR FORCE Magazine / June 2003 “Opinions Vary on Worth of Hussein Dead or Alive”— Headline, Dallas Morning News, April 9. CNN and Saddam “I picked up a newspaper today and I couldn’t believe it. “Over the last dozen years, I made 13 trips to I read eight headlines that talked about chaos, violence, Baghdad to lobby the government to keep CNN’s unrest. ... And here is a country that’s being liberated, Baghdad bureau open and to arrange interviews here are people who are going from being repressed with Iraqi leaders. Each time I visited, I became and held under the thumb of a vicious dictator, and more distressed by what I saw and heard—awful they’re free. And all this newspaper could do, with eight things that could not be reported because doing so or 10 headlines, they showed a man bleeding, a civilian, would have jeopardized the lives of Iraqis, particu- who they claimed we had shot—one thing after another. larly those on our Baghdad staff. ... I felt awful It’s just unbelievable how people can take that away having these stories bottled up inside me. Now that from what is happening in that country!”—Secretary of Saddam Hussein’s regime is gone, I suspect we Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Pentagon news brief- will hear many, many more gut-wrenching tales ing, April 11. from Iraqis about the decades of torment. At last, these stories can be told freely.”—Eason Jordan, “I appreciate their efforts, but I’m afraid it’s not working. chief news executive at CNN, New York Times, This feed-and-kill policy—throwing bombs in Baghdad April 11. and throwing food at the people—is not winning hearts and minds.”—Khaled Abdelkariem, Middle East News Agency correspondent, reported in New York Times, “Doesn’t CNN have a journalistic obligation to re- April 5. port these kinds of details or to make their report- ers aware of them? You can bet if CNN made “Peter Arnett is a professional correspondent and is known discoveries about, say, a conservative Administra- for his coverage of the 1991 Gulf War. His presence is a tion, they would share them.”—Sean Hannity, Fox good thing.”—Salah Nejm, news editor of Al Arabiya News channel and ABC radio host, quoted by televison in Dubai, after signing up Arnett, who had Washington Times, April 12. been fired by NBC, reported by Reuters, New York Times, April 5. “For nearly a decade, the network [CNN] gave credu- lous treatment to orchestrated anti–US protests. “This war is going to prove that, despite precision bomb- When Saddam won his most recent ‘election,’ CNN’s ing and technology, there comes a time when you need Baghdad reporter Jane Arraf treated the event as heavy tank divisions. ... The view that heavy tank divi- meaningful: ‘The point is that this really is a huge sions are antiquated is about as correct as the predictions show of support’ and ‘a vote of defiance against that machine guns would make foot soldiers irrelevant in the United States.’ After Saddam granted amnesty World War I.”—Rep. Chet Edwards (D–Tex.), whose to prisoners in October, she reported this ‘really district includes the Ft. Hood Army post, reported by does diffuse one of the strongest criticisms over Congressional Quarterly Weekly, April 5. the past decades of Iraq’s human rights records.’ ”— Franklin Foer, Wall Street Journal, April 14. “I figured the less classified sessions I go to, the bet- ter.”—Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D–Ariz.), opponent of the war, saying he preferred to get his information “The idea that a camera crew could go to Baghdad from CNN, reported by New York Times, April 5. University, for example, and gather candid opin- ions from the students is ludicrous. By now, it should “Had it been possible to know on March 20 that in just 17 be clear that no Iraqi facing a TV camera would days, US forces would have captured Baghdad’s inter- speak his mind while Saddam was in power. Yet, national airport, destroyed most of the Republican Guard, just weeks ago, such reports were shown on televi- and secured Iraq’s vital oil infrastructure, all at a cost of sion and passed off as a genuine reflection of the fewer than 75 American lives, most people in this coun- students’ views.”—Peter Collins, former reporter try would have been elated at the prospect of seemingly for CNN, Washington Times, April 16. overwhelming military success.”—Editorial, Washing- ton Post, April 6. “In particular, my thought goes to Iraq and to all those being dignified as infotainment.”—British Air Marshal involved in the war that rages there.