WEBVTT

00:00.140 --> 00:02.362
Well , let's talk about the situation ,

00:02.362 --> 00:04.630
Iraq joining us from . I'd stop in Iraq

00:04.640 --> 00:06.990
are Lieutenant Douglas ross Lipman and

00:06.990 --> 00:09.550
Captain lindsey nelson . Good to have

00:09.550 --> 00:11.772
you both here , Lieutenant , let me ask

00:11.772 --> 00:13.717
you the first question . Tell us a

00:13.717 --> 00:15.661
little bit if you could about your

00:15.661 --> 00:17.828
current mission , where you are . Well

00:17.828 --> 00:19.494
here in Al assad , we're just

00:19.494 --> 00:21.606
supporting the troops on the ground .

00:21.606 --> 00:23.772
Uh everybody is working together to as

00:23.772 --> 00:25.939
you said promote democracy and to make

00:25.939 --> 00:27.883
this uh government here in Iraq as

00:27.883 --> 00:31.180
stable as it can be . So our job as an

00:31.180 --> 00:33.580
aircrew as a squadron is to do whatever

00:33.580 --> 00:35.580
it takes to support the guys on the

00:35.580 --> 00:38.240
ground . Captain nelson , how would you

00:38.240 --> 00:42.120
say it's going ? It's going very well .

00:42.130 --> 00:43.963
The Iraqi people have made great

00:43.963 --> 00:46.074
strides in the past month since we've

00:46.074 --> 00:48.000
been here . The difference in the

00:48.010 --> 00:50.121
december elections and constitutional

00:50.121 --> 00:52.170
referendum back in october was

00:52.180 --> 00:54.840
monumental . There were people that

00:54.840 --> 00:57.007
were able to see coming out to vote on

00:57.007 --> 00:59.118
election day , all of them walking to

00:59.118 --> 01:01.007
the polls , the lines were huge .

01:01.007 --> 01:03.940
Turnout was great . Lieutenant back to

01:03.940 --> 01:06.107
you . I understand you've been there a

01:06.107 --> 01:08.107
matter of months now , what changes

01:08.107 --> 01:10.051
have you noticed in Iraq since you

01:10.051 --> 01:12.530
first arrived ? The confidence of the

01:12.530 --> 01:15.030
Iraqi people in the area that we are in .

01:15.030 --> 01:17.710
Obviously we're in Western Iraq and

01:17.720 --> 01:19.990
there were pockets of insurgency here

01:19.990 --> 01:23.450
where the local population was subdued

01:23.450 --> 01:25.920
by fear and intimidation . And you saw

01:25.920 --> 01:27.587
that sometimes in the october

01:27.587 --> 01:30.190
referendum where some towns would have

01:30.200 --> 01:32.790
absolutely no one go to the polls only

01:32.790 --> 01:34.957
two months later in december . You see

01:34.957 --> 01:37.012
thousands and thousands of people in

01:37.012 --> 01:39.123
these relatively small towns going to

01:39.123 --> 01:41.068
the polls , meaning that they're ,

01:41.068 --> 01:43.123
they're not subject to the same fear

01:43.123 --> 01:45.123
and intimidation , meaning that the

01:45.123 --> 01:47.234
insurgency has been severely weakened

01:47.234 --> 01:49.290
in those areas . Captain nelson , Do

01:49.290 --> 01:51.401
you see the Iraqis becoming more self

01:51.401 --> 01:54.470
sufficient in the New Year ? You seem

01:54.470 --> 01:56.581
to be becoming more self sufficient .

01:56.581 --> 01:58.637
More and more of the Iraqi units are

01:58.637 --> 02:01.190
taking control of their destiny .

02:01.380 --> 02:03.602
They're working well with the coalition

02:03.602 --> 02:05.824
forces and our forces are teaching them

02:05.824 --> 02:08.047
all we can and trying to help them take

02:08.047 --> 02:11.010
control and lieutenant one last one for

02:11.010 --> 02:12.843
you . How's the morale among the

02:12.843 --> 02:15.750
american troops ? I think it's very

02:15.750 --> 02:18.028
high . I think people see a difference .

02:18.028 --> 02:21.180
Um , I mean every day , every , every

02:21.180 --> 02:24.340
time you have some kind of uh thing

02:24.340 --> 02:26.396
that you can look at and measure the

02:26.396 --> 02:28.430
progress , it's overwhelmingly in

02:28.430 --> 02:31.090
support of our mission here . So I

02:31.090 --> 02:33.090
don't think anybody really down . I

02:33.090 --> 02:35.201
think people miss their families back

02:35.201 --> 02:37.312
home , but that's normal . But as far

02:37.312 --> 02:39.423
as the mission here , I think it's an

02:39.423 --> 02:41.646
overwhelming success And I think people

02:41.646 --> 02:43.590
know that Lieutenant and Captain ,

02:43.590 --> 02:45.701
great to talk with you this morning .

02:45.701 --> 02:47.868
Thank you very much . Happy New Year .

02:47.868 --> 02:48.410
Thank you