Posted on 04/15/2003 2:29:56 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
As U.S. and British troops advanced slowly toward Baghdad--set back by sandstorms, skirmishes and suicide bombers--President George W. Bush urged patience, but warned that the day of reckoning for Iraq was "drawing near." When that day will come exactly is not clear, though it appears to be farther away than some strategists initially anticipated. Some military leaders acknowledged this week that unpredicted Iraqi troop tactics (which include changing in and out of uniform, using civilians as human shields and threatening death to force Iraqi regular troops to fight) could result in a longer war than the pundits, at least, had expected. On Wednesday, April 2, at noon EST Martha Brant joined us for a talk on the war in Iraq. Brant will take questions from her current posting at the military's central command at Camp Doha in Qatar. Read the transcript below.
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Martha Brant: Hello. I'm Martha Brant. I'm here in Doha, Qatar, covering Central Command. I'm happy to take your questions.
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[Question from] Orange, CA: During the Gulf War, our leaders estimated our losses were expected to be 20,000--thank god there were only 200. What has this administration estimated the losses to be this time? Thank you for your time.
Martha Brant: Thanks for the question. They have not given an exact number. They've learned not to do that. But the other day reporters here met with a top military official who said they were prepared to pay a "high price." So far, they believe, the casualties have been low. One official recalled that in WW2, 1,000 might die in a day.
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[Question from] Harrisburg, PA: Why can't Newsweek be accurate? The article you contributed to said that two M1A1 Abrams tanks were destroyed. They were in fact disabled. This may seem like a splitting of hairs but it is factual, the tanks are repairable. The article further stated that 30 Apaches were "shot up." What does that mean? All destroyed, every pilot killed? In fact, all but one returned. In fact, 30 Apaches received fire and ALL but one returned, not as dramatic but at least accurate. Is Peter Arnett your copy editor?
Martha Brant: And you are General Who? How do you know? Do you get the battle-damage assessments straight from General Franks? It is very hard to get precise information and we try very very hard to be accurate.
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