Nov 2006

AC: Iraq -- The Endgame

2006_1129_AC

Anderson is in Amman, Jordan... and so is Michael! An unexpected appearance on a new rooftop (possibly an indication that Mick will be out of Iraq for a few weeks) as he joins Anderson in an hour-long discussion of the various options being kicked around for a way out of the (say it with me) civil war in Iraq.

Length: 9:30

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

LDT: Iranian weapons in Baghdad

2006_1128_LDT

Mick shows the tail fin of a mortar round, built this year in Iran and fired last week from a Shia neighborhood in Baghdad into a Sunni one.

Length: 4:40

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

PZN: "...an organization built for regeneration."

2006_1128_PZN

Michael speaks to Paula about the, you know, not-civil war.

Length: 3:22

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

TSR: "Tehran will be looking to press its advantage."

2006_1128_TSR

Michael talks to Wolf about the players in the region and who's benefiting most from the current mess.

Length: 5:06

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

NR: "...a clear statement they're not willing to make."

2006_1128_NR

Michael makes a brief appearance talking to Don Lemon regarding why the military still avoids using the term "civil war."

Length: 1:11

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

AC: ...and Iran says opportunity is knocking.

2006_1127_AC

Anderson has Reza Aslan with him in Turkey and Michael on the video link from Baghdad. They're talking about Iran's involvement in Iraq and why it's bad news for us.

Length: 4:15

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

PZN: You say potato, I say civil war...

2006_1127_PZN


John Roberts talks to Michael as well as Jamie MacIntire on the whole semantics vs reality thing.

Length: 6:29

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

LDT: Is there really an Iraqi government?

2006_1127_LDT

Lou asks Michael about the stability of the Maliki government.

Length: 1:42

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

TSR: "The sound of machine-gun fire"

2006_1127_TSR

Michael keeps trying to convince CNN that it's a civil war. (So why was NBC the first network to get it?)

Length: 4:13

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

NR: It's a damn civil war, people.

2006_1127_NRa2006_1127_NRb

Mick is still trying to convince people it's a civil war. What part of this slaughter are we not understanding?

Length: 3:58 / 2:25

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

TWAW: Another step closer to the brink

2006_1125_TWAW

John Roberts speaks with Michael (in Baghdad), "Spider" Marks (in DC) and Rajiv Chandrasekaran (in LA) about the explosive events of the past few days. The discussion looks to have been filmed yesterday evening, Baghdad time.
 
(I just started reading Chandrasekaran's book yesterday. Another excellent addition to the Iraq bookshelf.)

Length: 6:39

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

LDT: "...just turning that screw."

2006_1124_LDT

Mick talks to Kitty Pilgrim about Muqtada al-Sadr's win-win plan.

Length: 4:31

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

TSR: "...just another day in Baghdad."

2006_1124_TSR

Michael talks to John King about the possible goals of al-Sadr's threat and the spiraling violence.

Length: 4:25

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

NR: "Imagine Manhattan with two different districts shelling and bombing each other"

2006_1124_NRa2006_1124_NRb2006_1124_NRc

Michael discusses the events of the last two days.

Length: 3:32 / 2:16 / 2:24

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

AAM: Muqtada al-Sadr's threat

2006_1124_AAM

Michael speaks with Soledad O'Brien about Muqtada al-Sadr's threat-by-proxy to collapse the Iraqi government if Prime Minister Maliki meets with President Bush next week.

Length: 4:24

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

NR: Baghdad curfew "has locked the city down."

2006_1123_NRd

A final report of the Thanksgiving Day attacks in Sadr City, as Baghdad goes under curfew.

Length: 2:28

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

YWT: "...a vicious blowback to a terrible strike..."

2006_1123_YWT

Michael continues to report on the attacks in and around Sadr City.

Length: 3:21

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

NR: All hell breaks loose in Baghdad

2006_1123_NRa2006_1123_NRb2006_1123_NRc

Violence explodes in Sadr City after American forces enter the area in search of the missing soldier. In the hours that followed that raid, nearby Sunni neighborhoods apparently took an opportunity to attack. Carbombs, mortars, small-arms fire... But there's no civil war here, folks.

Length: 2:52 / 2:51 / 3:36

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

AC: Putting a face on the civilian victims

2006_1122_AC

Michael does a heartbreaking report on the civilian casualties of the civil war -- a family searching for a missing son amid the thousands of dead, wounded, and arrested in Baghdad.

Length: 5:03

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

LDT: "...it seems nothing is able to control this violence."

2006_1122_LDT

Mick recaps the UN report and upcoming summit for Kitty Pilgrim.

Length: 2:12

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

TSR: "a sign of how urgently people need things to change here."

2006_1122_TSR

Michael talks to John King about the upcoming meeting between Bush and Maliki.

Length: 2:38

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

YWT: "...the violence will gather its own momentum."

2006_1122_YWT

Michael talks with Stephen Frazier about a new UN report on the number of civilian Iraqi deaths.

Length: 2:57

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

AC: "So much blood has been spilled here..."

2006_1121_ACa2006_1121_ACb

John Roberts speaks to Michael about the Iran/Syria influence in Iraq, and in the second hour, they are joined by Aneesh Raman (in Tehran) for more discussion on Iran's role in the violence.

Length: 2:40 / 4:36

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

PZN: "...very little to be gained by either side."

2006_1121_PZN

Paula Zahn asks Michael about the current round of negotiations supposedly aimed at working towards political solutions.

Length: 2:35

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

TSR: "It's much more than a concern."

2006_1121_TSR

Michael talks to John King about the assassination in Lebanon and the repercussions it might have in Iraq.

Length: 3:23

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

AC: "The U.S. is not achieving victory right now."

2006_1120_AC

Michael talks to John Roberts about the current climate in Iraq, as Henry Kissinger states we cannot win a military-only victory, and as the politics of the region are tipping away from us.

Length: 3:35

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

TSR: "America needs to make a reassessment."

2006_1120_TSR

Michael talks to John King about Iraqi President Talabani's trip to Iran and the strengthening of Iranian influence in Iraq.

Length: 3:25

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

AC: Who took them and why?

2006_1116_AC

Michael and Anderson discuss the reported abduction of four American contractors.

Length: 3:58

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

PZN: More on the missing contractors

2006_1116_PZN

Michael updates the information on the abducted American contractors.

Length: 4:15

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

TSR: Arrest warrant issued; Americans abducted

2006_1116_TSRa2006_1116_TSRb2006_1116_TSRc

Breaking news, first about a potentially explosive warrant issued by the Shia government for the arrest of a major Sunni cleric, and then of the abduction of four American contractors.

Length: 3:58 / 7:07 / 3:21

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

LDT: Are Iraqi forces up to the task?

2006_1115_LDT

Michael responds to a two-part question from Lou involving the Iraqi forces in whom we have invested so much.

Length: 2:48

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

TSR: Timetables, violence, and abductions

2006_1115_TSR

Michael and Wolf discuss the current events in Baghdad and Iraq.
 
(Note: Wolf played the same clip on both shows; I am archiving the second one only.)

Length: 3:06

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

AC: "...some kind of inside operation"

2006_1114_AC

Michael talks to John King about the kidnapping.

Length: 6:26

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

PZN: "...a very illustrative kind of event."

2006_1114_PZN

According to Iraqi government officials, most of the abductees have been released.

Length: 2:51

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

TSR: "An absolutely remarkable affair"

2006_1114_TSRc

Michael talks to Wolf about how the events of the morning reflect on Prime Minister Maliki's control (or lack thereof) of the situation in Iraq.

Length: 2:51

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

LDT: Recap

2006_1114_LDT

Michael's pre-recorded piece explaining the events of the morning.

Length: 2:24

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

TSR: Who did it, and why?

2006_1114_TSRa2006_1114_TSRb

More updates on the kidnapping.

Length: 3:44 / 3:22

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

NR: More news on the abductions

2006_1114_AAMa2006_1114_AAMb2006_1114_AAMc

Michael continues to update the situation on the mass-abduction.

Length: 3:40 / 2:10 / 2:41

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

AAM: Massive abduction in Baghdad

2006_1114_AAMa2006_1114_AAMb 2006_1114_AAMc

Michael begins a long day of reporting about the brazen abduction of 100 - 150 men from a government building. The abductors wore Iraqi army/police uniforms and pulled off a highly organized raid in broad daylight.
 
Length: 1:44 / 2:48 / 2:40

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

AC: "...the currency of political power is still men at arms."

2006_1113_AC

Anderson asks Michael whether more troops would help the situation in Iraq.

Length: 2:32

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

SAT: Tape summation

2006_1111_SAM

Michael does a prerecorded summation of the tape from al Qaeda in Iraq.

Length: 1:34

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

AC: Reality check

2006_1110_AC

Anderson plays some clips from today's insurgency message and discusses the actual capability of the groups to carry out their threats.

Length: 3:57

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

TSR: More on the tape

2006_1110_TSR

Wolf talks to Michael about today's propaganda tape from al-Qaeda in Iraq, threatening to blow up the White House, etc etc.

Length: 3:13

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

YWT: New threats

2006_1110_YWT

Hala talks to Mick about the audiotape released today by the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, in which he taunts Bush and Rumsfeld.

Length: 3:02

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

AC: "What may emerge is less of a vision of democracy..."

2006_1109_AC

Anderson asks Peter Bergen and Michael about insurgent claims that the election results are a victory for them.

Length: 6:38

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

TSR: How many civilian deaths?

2006_1109_TSR

Wolf asks Michael about new figures calculating the number of civilian Iraqi deaths.

Length: 2:59

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

TSR: Rumsfeld resigns

2006_1108_TSRa2006_1108_TSRb

In the first clip, Michael discusses the Rumsfeld resignation with Wolf Blitzer. In the second clip, two hours later, Michael discusses the effect of the election results and the SecDef resignation with Lou Dobbs.

Length: 3:19 / 2:31

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

PZN: Whose democracy?

2006_1106_PZN

Michael describes the Iraqi perspective on the US election.

Length: 2:13

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

TSR: Reactions

2006_1106_TSRaMW_2006_1106_PZN

Michael discusses the verdict and the reaction of the Iraqi people.
 
(Note: these clips were actually part of the "America Votes" series, but aired during the normal TSR times.)

Length: 2:30 / 3:04

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

SUN: More on the Saddam verdict

2006_1105_SUN

Michael sums up reaction to the verdict throughout Iraq.

Length: 4:42

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

BN: The Saddam verdict

2006_1105_BNa2006_1105_BNb2006_1105_BNc2006_1105_BNd2006_1105_BNe2006_1105_BNf2006_1105_BNg

The verdicts are announced in the trial of Saddam Hussein and his cohorts. Michael discusses the news on CNN International in several clips over the space of three hours.
 
(There were some earlier interviews he did that I was unable to record; unfortunately, the video service CNN uses does not record Breaking News.)

Length: 6:52 / 1:29 / 1:36 / 7:15 / 5:21 / 4:08 / 7:11

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

AAM: "...an enormous power base."

2006_1103_AAM

Michael speaks to Soledad about the Mahdi Army and the on-going search for the kidnapped American soldier.

Length: 2:44

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

TSR: More on Sadr City and the Mahdi Army

2006_1102_TSRa2006_1102_TSRb

Michael speaks with Wolf Blitzer and Paula Zahn about the Mahdi Army.

Length: 3:40 / 5:38

Watch the clip, read the transcript...

TSR: "The most gripping emotion among ordinary people is fear."

2006_1101_TSR

Michael discusses the graph run by the NYT today, which shows Iraq moving closer to chaos.

Length: 4:09

Watch the clip, read the transcript...