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CNN Live At Daybreak

Leaders of Iraqi Opposition Groups Meet With Top Bush Administration Officials Today

Aired August 09, 2002 - 05:07   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 COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Turning our attention now to Iraq, leaders of Iraqi opposition groups meet with top Bush administration officials today to discuss deposing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi president is warning the United States would be defeated if it launched an attack.

And as our Patty Davis tells us, opposition groups caution he may be preparing to fight on a different field of battle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Pentagon dismisses Saddam Hussein's warning that any U.S. attack would fail, with heavy U.S. casualties, a view echoed across the Bush administration.

PHILIP REEKER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: Saddam's comments are bluster from an internationally isolated dictator.

DAVIS: Planning for a possible U.S. military invasion continues at the Pentagon. Iraqi opposition leaders, in Washington to meet with senior Pentagon and State Department officials on ousting Saddam Hussein, say unlike the Gulf War, the Iraqi leader is preparing to fight U.S. troops not in the desert, but on the streets of Baghdad.

SHARIF ALI BIN AL HUSSEIN, IRAQI NATIONAL CONGRESS: He is positioning himself so that there would be no significant battles in the field. He is preparing for street fighting and to take on any Allied troops inside Iraq.

DAVIS: Pentagon officials say urban combat carries the highest risk of U.S. troop casualties and could result in significant civilian deaths, as well. The military, a senior Pentagon official said, is familiar with the difficulties of urban warfare and there are ways to get around it. Military analysts aren't so sure.

MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: It's going to involve Iraqis hiding behind civilian populations, ambushing us from the basements and roofs of various buildings, trying to use shoulder launched weaponry against our helicopters and making life difficult. We will win, but we could lose 1,000 or more people if things go badly. DAVIS (on camera): The U.S. is weighing the risks as it forges ahead with war planning. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice meet next week with President Bush at his Crawford, Texas ranch to discuss how best to deal with Saddam Hussein.

Patty Davis, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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