TSR: "This country is
being held together by sticky tape."
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Length: 4:28
LARGE (51.8 MB)
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SMALL (5.5 MB)
Domestic finally gets Michael on the air, with
Wolf Blitzer asking about today's bombings and next
week's implementation of the SOFA. Jack Cafferty
has his own comment at the end of the piece.
WOLF
BLITZER: There's other breaking news that's happening
right now not far away from Iran. A packed outdoor
market in Baghdad the target of a deadly bombing
attack today. At least 62 people were killed. The
attack comes only days before U.S. troops are due to
withdraw from all major Iraqi cities.
Let's go to Baghdad.
CNN's Michael Ware is back on the scene for us --
Michael, 60-odd people killed, more than 100 injured.
A deadly clash -- a deadly bombing only days before
U.S. troops are supposed to leave Baghdad.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, but, Wolf, this
is just one of several. That's only a fragment of the
picture.
I mean, despite the historic and tumultuous events
happening just across the border in Iran, Iraq
doesn't look like a war zone, it is a war zone. Women
aren't being beaten in the streets here, they're
being blown apart by the dozens.
Just a few hours ago, we had the bombing in the
densely populated Shia neighborhood of Sadr City. A
motor bike laden with explosives detonated in that
marketplace at 7:00 p.m. when it's most packed with
-- guess who -- women and children. Many among the 62
dead reported and the more than 150 wounded, we're
being told by government officials, are women and
children.
And this is just event. There was two other bombings
here this evening -- much, much smaller.
But what I can tell you, in the past five days alone,
Wolf, more than 180 Iraqi civilians have lost their
lives in bombings and assassinations and other
violent attacks.
All of this as the clock is ticking down -- six days
left until the American-led war in Iraq comes to an
end and the Iraqi war in Iraq begins. This is going
to be a very tense time. A lot is hanging in the
balance here in Iraq right now and it's all but
happening in a public vacuum -- Wolf.
BLITZER: I know a lot of officials here in
Washington, Michael, are really worried. June 30th is
the deadline for U.S. military forces to leave major
Iraqi cities and they're really worried that the
violence is about to escalate.
WARE: Well, the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Al-Maliki,
has long been warning about a rising tide of violence
leading up to June 30. We're certainly seeing some
evidence of that.
But I've got to tell you, these past five days have
been bloody, but they haven't been extraordinary. We
don't have the levels of violence we had a year or
certainly two years ago. But the blood just doesn't
stop flowing here.
Now, the extremists on both sides of the sectarian
divide here still seem intent on provoking
instability. Al Qaeda, on one hand, keeps repeatedly,
almost endlessly attacking and slaughtering the Shia
community, hoping to provoke a violent response and a
return to civil war.
Meanwhile, you have Shia extremists who continue to
fire missiles and rockets on the U.S. embassy and the
seat of the Iraqi government power here.
Fortunately enough, most of the major players -- the
great actors in this country, for now, are holding
their fire. But this country is being held together
by sticky tape. And as of next Tuesday, America can
no longer wage the war it may want to here in this
country.
Iraq, from that point on, has the whip hand and
American troops can only enter Iraqi cities at the
invitation of this government -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Michael, we'll be staying in close touch
with you.
Good to know you're back in Baghdad for us.
As I always tell you, be careful over there.
Thank you, Michael Ware.
We're not going to ignore what's happening in Iraq,
even as we continue to follow the breaking news in
Iran. We won't ignore the war in Afghanistan, either.
Let's go to Jack Cafferty right now. He's got "The
Cafferty File."
It's amazing. It's almost breathtaking to see what's
happening in the world right now. And you can't
ignore what North Korea says it's up to -- getting
ready to launch some sort of missile around July 4th.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: It makes you wonder why
anybody would want to be president of the United
States.
Is Michael Ware any good?
BLITZER: Yeah, he's pretty good.
CAFFERTY: Man. He's got it nailed down -- 'this
country being held together by sticky tape.' What a
line.