Officials Say Kurds Taking Sensible Precautions
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Americans may feel like war is inevitable at this point. That is pretty much the feeling among the Kurds in northern Iraq, but war is not the only thing they fear. They're also worried about Saddam Hussein's possible reprisals. CNN's Brent Sadler joins us from Erbil to explain. Good morning -- Brent.</s>BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. You're joining me here about 30 minutes from the nearest Iraqi front lines, and already over the past 36 hours or so, we've seen tens of thousands of Iraqi Kurds on the move. This isn't panic movement. It's really a calculated shift of population from the main cities, like Erbil here, to the countryside. The Kurds have always said over many decades of their difficult conditions that the mountains are their friend, and that's where they're heading for right now, many of them. That does not mean that the cities are being turned into ghost towns. Not at all. Many people are still staying behind. But the one thing that's driving people away, according to Kurdish officials, is the fear that there may be a use of chemical weapons by Saddam Hussein if he's attacked in the next 36 to 48 hours or so. That's what's really scaring people. Now, if we take a look at the southern approach road into Erbil, we can see some pictures that were taken earlier this morning along one of the lines occupied by the Iraqi army. This is a conscript division of the Iraqi army, not really serious soldiers here, according to Kurdish officials. In fact, over the past few weeks, Kurdish officials here have claimed that Iraqis have been really telling them through channels of communication that there will be surrenders, and this is an expectation among both the Kurds and the U.S. administration, but in the early hours of campaign, there will be mass surrenders by the Iraqi army. Back to you -- Carol.</s>COSTELLO: Brent Sadler reporting live from northern Iraq this morning -- thank you. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.