Many Kuwaitis Feel Safe With U.S. Troops
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Kuwait. That is the staging area for troops readying themselves for the battle for Baghdad, and let's go there now. Bill Hemmer is standing by in Kuwait City. Let's check in with him to see how everyone's holding up there.</s>BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Leon. The story of the day so far is the weather. It has been unbelievable for the past seven, eight hours here. A sand storm has moved in. These winds kick up and blow through the desert. I'll show you a camera shot here high on top of our hotel right along the water in Kuwait City. Leon, if you look in the upper right- hand corner that is where those water towers quite prominent in the backdrop of every live shot you have seen at CNN. Normally, you can see them. Today, they're essentially in a white out. That building you see in the middle of the picture, Leon, that's about 500 yards from our hotel location. Beyond that, you can see virtually nothing. Visibility is severely limited, perhaps less than half-a-mile. We expect these conditions to continue well into the night and after midnight tonight; expecting clearness, though, coming tomorrow on Thursday with diminishing winds. Once the winds die down, the sand settles down as well. You can only imagine what's happening with the U.S. military right now, as they gather out in the Kuwaiti desert trying to deal with these conditions yet again. Let's talk about Kuwait quickly again on war footing. We saw for the first time in this conflict the National Guard come out in force -- some videotape to show you here. On the streets of Kuwait City we're told about 100 National Guard armored vehicles now patrolling the streets in this city and other streets in the major cities here in Kuwait; 1,000 National Guard troops along with them. About two hours ago, the deputy prime minister in Kuwait came on national television offering his assurance to the Kuwaiti people, telling them that they are not the same country it was in 1990, his words, when Iraq invaded Kuwait in August of that year. He says the allied forces -- British, U.S., Australia and others -- are here now to protect us. He says Kuwait does not want war, but in his words, "Iraq has brought this on itself." Let's take you back out in the desert, some nighttime video from last evening, and talk about the U.S. military buildup right now. The descriptions we're getting are extensive in terms of the convoys that are now seen on Highway 80 that runs north right into the Iraqi border -- Humvees, M1-A1 tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles. One eyewitness says the convoy right now goes as far as the eye can see. Rally points too numerous to count. A similar scene from yesterday afternoon, when we were getting these reports as well. So, the military buildup, the move toward the northern border with Kuwait and Iraq does continue. On the watch, Leon, we're about 14 hours in the local countdown to that ultimatum when that deadline will come up issued by President Bush a day-and-a-half ago. Much more from Kuwait throughout the morning. Leon -- back to you.</s>HARRIS: Well, if only someone could give that weather a deadline as well. All right, good deal. Thanks, Bill. We'll be checking back with you in just a few minutes for sure. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.