Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=04/03/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=IRAQ WRAP (L-O)

NUMBER=2-301714

BYLINE=JIM MALONE

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

CONTENT=

INTRO: U-S forces are on the outskirts of Baghdad, with some units only about 20-kilometers away from the city center. U-S military officials say there is increasing evidence that Saddam Hussein's regime is losing control of both the Iraqi military and the civilian population. Correspondent Jim Malone has the latest on the war in Iraq.

TEXT: U-S military officials say coalition troops continue to press on toward Baghdad with some units in the vicinity of Saddam Hussein International Airport, only about 20-kilometers from the city center.

Army Brigadier General Vincent Brooks told reporters at Central Command headquarters in Qatar that there are increasing signs that the Saddam Hussein regime is losing control of both the Iraqi military and the civilian population:

/// 1ST BROOKS ACT ///

We can not tell who is in charge. I do not think the Iraqi people can tell who is in charge either. And we have indications that the Iraqi forces do not know who is in charge.

/// END ACT ///

U-S troops have faced lighter than expected resistance from Iraq's vaunted Republican Guard divisions. But there are concerns that some Republican Guard units may have retreated to Baghdad with the hope of engaging coalition troops in urban warfare.

/// OPT /// General Brooks says U-S troops are evaluating the situation as they draw closer to the Iraqi capital:

/// 2ND BROOKS ACT ///

We know that we have inflicted some damage. There is no question about that. We know that there are some that have pulled out of position and tried to move in different places. Whether it is melting away, as you stated, by choosing not to fight anymore, or whether it is repositioning, there is some movement that is ongoing. Some of those movements have been attacked.

/// END ACT // END OPT ///

/// OPT /// General Brooks also says U-S special operations forces raided a presidential palace about 90-kilometers from Baghdad that has been used by Saddam Hussein and his two sons. U-S troops did not find any Iraqi leaders there but seized some documents. /// END OPT ///

In London, British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon told parliament that British troops have taken key suburbs around the southern city of Basra.

/// OPT /// Two U-S military aircraft were reported downed. A U-S Navy F-18 jet fighter was shot down near Karbala and the pilot is missing. Military officials are investigating whether the plane was accidentally hit by a U-S Patriot missile. A U-S Blackhawk helicopter also went down near Karbala. Six U-S soldiers were killed in that incident. /// END OPT ///

Meanwhile, President Bush gave an upbeat assessment of the war in a speech at a U-S Marine base in North Carolina:

/// BUSH ACT ///

Yet no scheme of this enemy, no crime of a dying regime will divert us from our mission. We will not stop until Iraq is free (cheers)

/// END ACT ///

The president went to Camp Lejeune to comfort relatives of some of the Marines who have been killed in the fighting in Iraq.

Even with U-S troops on their doorstep, Iraqi government officials are still attempting to deny coalition gains. Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed al-Sahaf told reporters in Baghdad that there are no coalition forces within 150-kilometers of the capital:

/// AL-SAHAF ACT ///

They are not in any place. They hold no place in Iraq. This is an illusion.

/// END ACT ///

As coalition forces close in Baghdad, discussions are intensifying in diplomatic circles about what happens to Iraq once the shooting stops.

Secretary of State Colin Powell met with officials from NATO and the European Union in Brussels as part of an effort to build international consensus on building a post-war Iraq:

/// POWELL ACT ///

We now must move forward and align ourselves again with the need to serve the Iraqi people. The people of Iraq deserve a government that is responsive to its needs, that reflects all the dreams and hopes and aspirations of the Iraqi people.

/// END ACT ///

Secretary Powell says the United States will seek a partnership with the United Nations to rebuild Iraq once the Saddam Hussein regime is toppled. (SIGNED)

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