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CNN Live At Daybreak
Voices of Dissent Overseas
Aired March 06, 2003 - 05:38 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: And now for the voices of dissent overseas. Syria has been an uneasy neighbor of Iraq, but now fears a war against Saddam Hussein could unleash a flood of refugees.
As part of her series on gauging opinion in the Arab world, CNN's Sheila MacVicar spoke with Syrian officials and people in the streets for a rare insight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For years there has been a cold peace between Damascus and Baghdad. The billboards here bear the faces of the Assads, father and son, strong men opposed to their Iraqi neighbor. The people here have heard the tales of Saddam Hussein. They are under no illusions about his cruelty. As they sit and smoke and drink their tea, there is only one conversation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George Bush wants Saddam Hussein, but if the war takes place, it would be against all the Iraqi people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Saddam Hussein is not going to be standing there waiting for them to shoot him. He'll disappear. It's the people who will be hurt.
MACVICAR: That very strong feeling that Iraq's people may have to pay once more, caught again between their leadership and the United States, is one reason why Syria will not vote in the U.N. to support war.
BOUTHAINA SHAABAN, SYRIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL: Any attack at the moment will not serve the region, will not serve peace, will not serve security.
MACVICAR: And in the end, warn the Syrians, it may not serve U.S. interests either. Officials say Syria's government has privately warned the U.S. of the impact of floods of refugees fleeing Iraq and the cost of human catastrophe on U.S. credibility.
(on camera): International aid agencies say they are quietly stockpiling food and supplies, preparing to care for perhaps as many as 400,000 Iraqis on Syria's borders and many thousands more trapped inside Iraq.
(voice-over): Syria is a place of contradictions. The U.S. State Department has Syria on its list of state sponsor of terror. But Secretary of State Powell has publicly praised the cooperation of the Syrian government since September 11. Syria is known to be holding at least one key al Qaeda recruiter and sharing his interrogations with U.S. officials.
(on camera): Does the United States risk losing or jeopardizing Syria's support in combating terrorism?
SHAABAN: I think it is jeopardizing everybody's support of terror, of combating terrorism.
MACVICAR (voice-over): The message from Damascus, from government offices to the bazaars, this war threatens to bring instability, anger and ultimately, they say, may bring more hate, more extremism and even more terror.
Sheila MacVicar, CNN, Damascus.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: "Showdown Iraq" has the latest news from the Gulf region plus enough background material to make you an expert. Go to cnn.com, AOL keyword: CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired March 6, 2003 - 05:38 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And now for the voices of dissent overseas. Syria has been an uneasy neighbor of Iraq, but now fears a war against Saddam Hussein could unleash a flood of refugees.
As part of her series on gauging opinion in the Arab world, CNN's Sheila MacVicar spoke with Syrian officials and people in the streets for a rare insight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For years there has been a cold peace between Damascus and Baghdad. The billboards here bear the faces of the Assads, father and son, strong men opposed to their Iraqi neighbor. The people here have heard the tales of Saddam Hussein. They are under no illusions about his cruelty. As they sit and smoke and drink their tea, there is only one conversation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George Bush wants Saddam Hussein, but if the war takes place, it would be against all the Iraqi people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Saddam Hussein is not going to be standing there waiting for them to shoot him. He'll disappear. It's the people who will be hurt.
MACVICAR: That very strong feeling that Iraq's people may have to pay once more, caught again between their leadership and the United States, is one reason why Syria will not vote in the U.N. to support war.
BOUTHAINA SHAABAN, SYRIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL: Any attack at the moment will not serve the region, will not serve peace, will not serve security.
MACVICAR: And in the end, warn the Syrians, it may not serve U.S. interests either. Officials say Syria's government has privately warned the U.S. of the impact of floods of refugees fleeing Iraq and the cost of human catastrophe on U.S. credibility.
(on camera): International aid agencies say they are quietly stockpiling food and supplies, preparing to care for perhaps as many as 400,000 Iraqis on Syria's borders and many thousands more trapped inside Iraq.
(voice-over): Syria is a place of contradictions. The U.S. State Department has Syria on its list of state sponsor of terror. But Secretary of State Powell has publicly praised the cooperation of the Syrian government since September 11. Syria is known to be holding at least one key al Qaeda recruiter and sharing his interrogations with U.S. officials.
(on camera): Does the United States risk losing or jeopardizing Syria's support in combating terrorism?
SHAABAN: I think it is jeopardizing everybody's support of terror, of combating terrorism.
MACVICAR (voice-over): The message from Damascus, from government offices to the bazaars, this war threatens to bring instability, anger and ultimately, they say, may bring more hate, more extremism and even more terror.
Sheila MacVicar, CNN, Damascus.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: "Showdown Iraq" has the latest news from the Gulf region plus enough background material to make you an expert. Go to cnn.com, AOL keyword: CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
