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CNN Live At Daybreak
Baghdad Vows to Fight to Finish
Aired March 19, 2003 - 06:03 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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The White House has yet another warning for Saddam Hussein.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Saddam Hussein has led Iraq to many mistakes in the past, principally by developing weapons of mass destruction. Saddam Hussein, if he doesn't leave the country, will make his final mistake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, Saddam Hussein has his own coalition of the willing, and it's called the Iraqi parliament. They met within the past few hours, and they vowed to not go down without a fight.
CNN's Rym Brahimi checks in now. She's standing by in Baghdad. She's got the very latest for us.
Good morning, good afternoon to you -- Rym.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon here, good morning to you, Leon.
We actually heard from the information minister of Iraq just a short while ago. He spoke to reporters, saying that the Americans should be warned that the U.S. administration is lying to them. He especially warned the soldiers based -- the U.S. soldiers based in neighboring Kuwait, saying the U.S. administration was not presenting them with the reality of things, that when they enter Iraq if they did so, they would be faced with a strong fight.
Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED SA'EED AL-SAHAF, IRAQI INFORMATION MINISTER: They are deceiving their soldiers and their officers that aggression against Iraq and invading Iraq will be like a picnic. Well, this is a very stupid lie they are telling their soldiers. What they are facing is a definite death.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRAHIMI: The minister of information, Mohammed Sa'eed al-Sahaf, also told reporters that they would be dealing -- the Iraqi government would be dealing with the media very transparently and informing it of the facts in order to expose the lies of the U.S. administration if it commits what he calls "this aggression."
Now, this followed shortly a meeting, an extraordinary session at the national assembly. About 250 members of parliament gathered in their pledge of allegiance to President Saddam Hussein, one of many we've seen in the past 24 hours. Several meetings were shown on television chaired by President Saddam Hussein dressed in a military uniform; a lot of ministers, a lot of members of the ruling Baath Party, a lot of officers, all making very public displays of loyalty to President Saddam Hussein.
This, of course, at a very, very tense moment when the streets of Baghdad are eerily quiet at times in the evening. Last evening it was very quiet. All you could see at certain areas, there were sand bags being put up again at corners of streets where there are government buildings. Other than that, shop windows are very empty right now. It's changed a lot from what it was even just a week ago. Children are not going to school anymore. They're sometimes playing in the street and maybe more and more are being told to stay home -- Leon.
HARRIS: Well, Rym, in addition to that, have you had a chance to listen to any of the talk of the people there in the street? Any idea of what they're talking about while theyre out there?
BRAHIMI: Well, people are very worried, Leon. They are afraid. They say that now with less hesitation than they used to. The bravado where people used to say, oh, what can the Americans do that they haven't done to us before? Well, that seems to have gone away slightly, and more people are seriously worried, not only at the bombing, at the U.S. bombing, because they say that they've seen the bombing before, but they're worried that with the aim of the U.S. administration being to overthrow the regime, well, they worry at the consequences of that. What would happen if there were a void here? They're very worried at the variety of scenarios that could play out.
Of course, many people also say, well, there's nothing else we can do. We have to turn to God. It's all in his hands now. We're just staying where we are. This is our home. We can't be asked to leave our home and our country. This is why a lot of people are staying for the time being.
Of course, some of them are leaving, but only those who can afford to do it. It's not just Baghdad; some of them are even leaving the country. But again, that's not the majority of the population, Leon. That's really those who can afford to leave -- Leon.
HARRIS: And that's the scene right now on the threshold of any activity there. Thanks, Rym. Be careful. We'll check back with you later on. Rym Brahimi in Baghdad.
BRAHIMI: OK, thank you.
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 19, 2003 - 06:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The White House has yet another warning for Saddam Hussein.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Saddam Hussein has led Iraq to many mistakes in the past, principally by developing weapons of mass destruction. Saddam Hussein, if he doesn't leave the country, will make his final mistake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, Saddam Hussein has his own coalition of the willing, and it's called the Iraqi parliament. They met within the past few hours, and they vowed to not go down without a fight.
CNN's Rym Brahimi checks in now. She's standing by in Baghdad. She's got the very latest for us.
Good morning, good afternoon to you -- Rym.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon here, good morning to you, Leon.
We actually heard from the information minister of Iraq just a short while ago. He spoke to reporters, saying that the Americans should be warned that the U.S. administration is lying to them. He especially warned the soldiers based -- the U.S. soldiers based in neighboring Kuwait, saying the U.S. administration was not presenting them with the reality of things, that when they enter Iraq if they did so, they would be faced with a strong fight.
Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED SA'EED AL-SAHAF, IRAQI INFORMATION MINISTER: They are deceiving their soldiers and their officers that aggression against Iraq and invading Iraq will be like a picnic. Well, this is a very stupid lie they are telling their soldiers. What they are facing is a definite death.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRAHIMI: The minister of information, Mohammed Sa'eed al-Sahaf, also told reporters that they would be dealing -- the Iraqi government would be dealing with the media very transparently and informing it of the facts in order to expose the lies of the U.S. administration if it commits what he calls "this aggression."
Now, this followed shortly a meeting, an extraordinary session at the national assembly. About 250 members of parliament gathered in their pledge of allegiance to President Saddam Hussein, one of many we've seen in the past 24 hours. Several meetings were shown on television chaired by President Saddam Hussein dressed in a military uniform; a lot of ministers, a lot of members of the ruling Baath Party, a lot of officers, all making very public displays of loyalty to President Saddam Hussein.
This, of course, at a very, very tense moment when the streets of Baghdad are eerily quiet at times in the evening. Last evening it was very quiet. All you could see at certain areas, there were sand bags being put up again at corners of streets where there are government buildings. Other than that, shop windows are very empty right now. It's changed a lot from what it was even just a week ago. Children are not going to school anymore. They're sometimes playing in the street and maybe more and more are being told to stay home -- Leon.
HARRIS: Well, Rym, in addition to that, have you had a chance to listen to any of the talk of the people there in the street? Any idea of what they're talking about while theyre out there?
BRAHIMI: Well, people are very worried, Leon. They are afraid. They say that now with less hesitation than they used to. The bravado where people used to say, oh, what can the Americans do that they haven't done to us before? Well, that seems to have gone away slightly, and more people are seriously worried, not only at the bombing, at the U.S. bombing, because they say that they've seen the bombing before, but they're worried that with the aim of the U.S. administration being to overthrow the regime, well, they worry at the consequences of that. What would happen if there were a void here? They're very worried at the variety of scenarios that could play out.
Of course, many people also say, well, there's nothing else we can do. We have to turn to God. It's all in his hands now. We're just staying where we are. This is our home. We can't be asked to leave our home and our country. This is why a lot of people are staying for the time being.
Of course, some of them are leaving, but only those who can afford to do it. It's not just Baghdad; some of them are even leaving the country. But again, that's not the majority of the population, Leon. That's really those who can afford to leave -- Leon.
HARRIS: And that's the scene right now on the threshold of any activity there. Thanks, Rym. Be careful. We'll check back with you later on. Rym Brahimi in Baghdad.
BRAHIMI: OK, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
