Briefing on Military Operations in Iraq
| Presenter: General Tommy R. Franks | March 22, 2003 |
GEN. FRANKS: Well, good afternoon. Let me begin by saying that my heart and the prayers of this coalition go out to the families of those who have already made the ultimate sacrifice. Because of the courage and the dedication of these heroes, the mission of Operation Iraqi Freedom will be achieved.
As President Bush said, as a last resort, we must be willing to use military force. We are willing, and we're using military force.
I'm pleased to be joined today by Air Marshall Bryan Burridge, Great Britain; Brigadier Maurie McNarn of Australia; Rear Admiral Per Tidemand from Denmark; Lieutenant Colonel Jan Blom from the Netherlands -- four coalition partners represented here with us. And as many of you would know, we have at our home in Tampa, Florida, the home of Central Command, 52 nations represented. What many of you may not know is that many of these nations are also represented in the command posts of our component commands, located in a number of countries in the region.
（為了節省篇幅及網頁空間，中間省略，有興趣的讀者請自行上網查閱）
GEN. FRANKS: I think it's -- well, of course we're concerned. And we'll remain concerned. I think that there are two ways to look at an enemy, and one way is to try to anticipate what he might think or what he might do. That's not the way that I think we choose to do it. What we try to do is determine his military capacity and then prepare our forces and and prepare ourselves to meet the weapon of mass destruction use if he should choose to do so.
You know, I think the President said the other day that there will be people, and there have been -- there have been people, who have believed that through the use of terrorism, potentially through the use of weapons of mass destruction, that we can -- that we, this coalition, can be driven away from our goals. Simply not gonna happen. Someone asked me not too long ago, "What happens if this regime uses weapons of mass destruction?" And my response was, we win. And that's because we have -- we have a commitment to this operation, and our people have a commitment. And so, I would give you the same answer.
We would be hopeful that those with their triggers on these weapons understand what Secretary Don Rumsfeld said in his comments yesterday -- don't use it. Don't use it, sir.
Q This is Li Jingxian (ph) from Shanghai TV, China. General Franks, it was reported that more than 200 Iraqi civilians have been killed or injured ever since the war began. Do you have any comment on that? And what kind of measurements has the coalition taken or is going to take in order to minimize the civilian casualties during the military action? Thank you very much.
GEN. FRANKS: All right. With respect to a question of, you know, how do you feel about that, I think that the nature of war -- which is why my own president said it's a last resort, it's final option -- is that noncombatants are injured and killed in a war. That's why the members of this coalition go literally to extraordinary lengths in order to be able to be precise in our targeting. We've done that and will continue to do that, because there is no assurance that this operation, Operation Iraqi Freedom, ends in a matter of hours, or that it ends in a matter of days. I think what we do is we remain guided by principles. And the principles involve the accomplishment of our mission on the shortest timeline possible, protecting innocent lives, both our own and the lives of innocent civilians. Sir, that's the best I can give you. Sir.
Q (Off mike.) There's an impression here in the region that you're having more trouble than you're willing to admit, that you're meeting stiffer resistance than you're willing to admit. One case being brought to mind is Umm Qasr. If you can talk about that.
And yesterday, following the air strikes, the Iraqi information minister said that your forces are going to be decapitated and routed. If you can comment on that. Thank you.
GEN. FRANKS: Sure. I think there might be an expected response to that question, which actually you won't get from me. I don't think it's appropriate for senior military people to wave their arms in response to the sort of hype that was described, and so I won't do that.
I'll simply say that we have been and will remain deadly serious about our business, and all in this room should remain convinced that what we say from this podium -- myself or my staff -- or what we say from the various press centers associated with this coalition, will be absolute truth as we know it. Please, sir.
（為了節省篇幅及網頁空間，中間省略，有興趣的讀者請自行上網查閱）
Q (Off mike) -- from the Daily Telegraph in London. Do you think it was an error that the Stars and Stripes were raised in Iraqi territory yesterday? And what kind of military government beckons for post-war Iraq?
GEN. FRANKS: Actually -- actually, I don't -- I don't know. I think that is -- that depends on the eye of the beholder. I think that in zeal, people will want to represent that they have -- that they have achieved a certain milestone. And if you're from our country, then one of the first things that can pop into the young man's mind is to raise his national colors.
I suppose I found it to be much more instructive that immediately following that, and recognizing that his job had to do with liberation and not occupation, that he quickly brought down his colors.
Please.
Q This is News Channel from Shanghai TV, China. Mr. Franks. Could you please tell me why this news conference was delayed --
GEN. FRANKS: Sure.
Q -- because, you know, this is quite unusual. Everybody expect that there's going to be a news conference at the first night of the air strike, so lots of rumors were confirmed by not Central Command but the Pentagon.
GEN. FRANKS: A very good question, and having to do with why the timing of this press conference and why not yesterday or the day before or whatever. Actually, the -- many of the media embedded with coalition forces would tell you that we're a bit sensitive about the possibility of leaking information that risks the lives of our people who are engaged in this work. I could give you an example.
Were we to have a press conference here, or in fact a press conference in Washington, that described what might happen on S Day or answered questions, the nature of which you've asked me here today, all very good questions, then the risk of providing just that one piece of information that winds up risking the mission or winds up risking the lives of the people who have been -- who have been put to this task, it seems to me, just isn't worth it. And so the decision has been that we would move through the first few days of this before our command here made any comment. We'll try our best to provide fact-based information on a daily basis to the press center here. I feel very good about that. But I will also tell you that I feel very good about the work that's been done up to this point.
Last question, please. Sir.
Q General, Chas Henry from WTOP Radio. Operationally, what's the greatest surprise you've encountered to this date, a circumstance with the outcome that you least expected?
GEN. FRANKS: Actually -- actually, my greatest surprise was when I -- when I got up this morning and I looked at my computer and I realized that my wife had sent me a "happy anniversary" note this morning that I had -- and I had forgotten to send her one.
(Laughter.)
Actually, there have been no surprises in the way that you -- in the way that you asked the question. One is surprised, I think, when one has not had a year to think through the possibilities. Much has been said and written about this business of one plan good enough and another not, and so forth. And the fact of the matter is that for a period of about a year, a great deal of intense planning and a great deal of what-iffing by all of us has gone into this so that we prepare ourselves and prepare our subordinates in a way that we minimize the number of surprises. There will be surprises, but we have not yet -- we have not yet seen them.
Thanks a lot. Best to you.