On August 2, 1990, Ba'athist Iraq forces and tanks roll into Kuwait City, as the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait begins. In Atlanta, CNN picks Robert Wiener and his crew to go to Baghdad and cover the invasion. At Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, Wiener meets his colleague and producer Ingrid Formanek. Wiener and his crew arrive in Baghdad on August 23, and stay at the Al-Rasheed Hotel.