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CNN Live Event/Special

America's New War: Arab Solidarity

Aired September 28, 2001 - 05:21   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: To the west to the south today in Iraq, well, leaders there accuse the United States of seeking to enforce what they're calling the law of the jungle as it tries to build an international terror coalition.

Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, is marking the first anniversary of last year's Palestinian intifada to say military action by the United States will only bring more destruction in the Middle East.

CNN's Rula Amin reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A protest of American policy. It's in Baghdad, but the demonstrators are not Iraqis. They are Arab students, workers, families living in Baghdad. Some from Sudan; others from Somalia -- Palestinians, Egyptians.

They marched in solidarity with the Palestinians on the first anniversary of the intifada with a message.

"Why is it that when Americans were hurt in New York, the whole world sympathized with them?" asked this Jordanian student. "But when Palestinians are killed every day, nobody steps in to support them?"

Many here blame the United States for what they say is Israel's continued occupation of Palestinian lands.

"It's American who is the terrorist," says this man, "liberation is a human call."

(on camera): Declarations for these rallies have been going on for weeks, way before the September 11 attacks on America. Iraqi officials say Muslim development makes it more urgent for them to make their point.

(voice-over): Baghdad says America's new war is not against terrorism -- that the U.S. is using the attack as an excuse.

TARIQ AZIZ, IRAQI DEPARTMENT PRIME MINISTER: They want to create false pretext to attack Iraq or to hurt Iraq in any way.

AMIN: And Baghdad rejects the U.S. position that countries are with the United States or they are with terrorism. AZIZ: There are scores of countries who are neither with the United States nor with the terrorists and hundreds of millions of people who are in the same position.

Mr. Bush wants to divide the world either with him or against him. That's not a correct and a moral division of the world. We do not condone terrorism, but at the same time, we are not with the American government.

AMIN: Iraq continues to deny any links to Osama bin Laden or Afghanistan's present leadership.

AZIZ: These are false reports. As I said, we don't know Mr. bin Laden. We don't have any contact with him. We don't have any relationship with the Taliban government.

AMIN: In fact, the Afghan ambassador here represents the same government the Taliban overthrew.

Rula Amin, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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