CNN Employs Global Resources for Fifth Anniversary Coverage of War in Iraq

AC360’s ‘Shock and Awe’ Special on March 19 Provides In-depth Retrospective, Present-Day Impact of War

3/18/2008 -- CNN Worldwide marks the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq with a global cross-platform initiative focusing on the war’s impact upon politics, the military, the economy and humanitarian situation in both Iraq and the United States. For its coverage, CNN draws upon its unrivalled resources and experience garnered from more than 18 years of coverage in region as one of the only international broadcasters to have had a permanent bureau in Iraq since 1990.

CNN’s coverage spans across its programming with special reports airing on Anderson Cooper 360º, the Situation Room and American Morning and on CNN International and CNN.com.

“Shock and Awe: Five Years Later,” an Anderson Cooper 360º special, will be broadcast around the world to more than 310 million households on both CNN/U.S. and CNN International on Wednesday, March 19, at 11 p.m. (ET) This in-depth hour offers retrospective dispatches from those who have covered the war for the past five years, including such CNN journalists as chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour, senior political correspondent Candy Crowley, senior international correspondent Nic Robertson, national correspondent Gary Tuchman and Baghdad correspondent Michael Ware and contributors including Ret. Gen. David Grange.

For the special, newsmakers including Hans Blix and Ari Fleischer relate to CNN their experiences in the development of the war beginning with the role of weapons of mass destruction, the coalition’s “shock and awe” bombing raids, the capture of Saddam Hussein and continuing battles across Iraq. The special will also explore the connection of the war to the upcoming U.S. elections and other political impacts.

Also for the anniversary coverage, chief national correspondent John King reports from the Middle East as he travels with Vice President Dick Cheney for a 10-day trip that includes visits to Oman, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the Palestinian territories and Turkey.

Throughout the coverage, CNN’s Baghdad- and U.S-based correspondents will provide live and in-depth packages examining the war’s impact on the U.S. and Iraqi economies, including the credit crunch and deficit; the fledgling Iraqi fashion industry; the mounting toll of missing people in Iraq, estimated to be 70,000 since the war began; and the estimated 20,000 foreigners fighting for the U.S army in Iraq and Afghanistan.

American Morning on Wednesday, March 19, considers whether expenses for the war drains the economy and contributes to recession or actually pumps up the economy with the infusion of money spent on the war effort. American Morning airs each weekday on CNN/U.S. from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. (ET)

For the Situation Room, anchor Wolf Blitzer and his team will examine the war from all angles. Correspondents will report on the cost to prosecute the war and rebuild Iraq, troop morale, the fate of Iraqi refugees and strategies for fighting insurgents. The Situation Room airs each weekday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. (ET)

On Headline News, Morning Express with Robin Meade will air special salutes to the troops for the war anniversary. Starting today, members of military families can visit www.CNN.com/robin to express how the war has affected their lives, including the triumphs and challenges they've experienced over the past five years. The show will air a sampling of e-mail and photo submissions as a tribute to our troops and their families. Morning Express with Robin Meade airs each weekday on Headline News from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Online, CNN.com will provide special coverage on Wednesday, March 19, and Thursday, March 20, focusing on the impact of the war on military families. Users also can visit the “Salute to Troops” blog at http://www.CNN.com/exchange/blogs/salute/index.html, which includes special audio, photo, video and text messages from families and friends honoring their loved ones in service. All service personnel who have lost their lives in Iraq are remembered in a CNN.com special section at http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties.

iReport.com, CNN’s recently launched user-generated community Web site, features first-hand accounts from military families about how their lives have changed over the past five years at http://www.ireport.com/ir-topic-stories.jspa?topicId=3605. Viewers and users are encouraged to upload their video, photo, audio or text submissions about the anniversary of the war in Iraq to the site. iReport.com contributors also may gain recognition by having the material they submit to the site – once vetted and approved for use – appear on a CNN network or CNN.com.

CNN en Espanol’s prime-time program Panorama Mundial, at 9 p.m. (ET) will broadcast reports from Iraq filed by CNN’s international correspondents.

CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.

Source: CNN

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