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CNN Live At Daybreak
Iraq's Parliament, Revolution Council Standing Behind Saddam
Aired March 19, 2003 - 05:03 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: OK, let's do an early briefing on the Iraqi crisis. U.S. ally Saudi Arabia is proposing that Saddam Hussein go into exile. A Saudi diplomatic official says the royal family will try to find a safe haven for him and his family. That sandstorm, you just heard Chad mention it, in Kuwait, has reduced visibility for U.S. and coalition troops moving closer to the Iraqi border. And the Turkish government says it will ask parliament to allow U.S. warplanes and missiles to fly over Turkey's air space. A vote on that is likely tomorrow.
As I told you, shots fired in the Persian Gulf. One Iraqi is dead after a Kuwaiti patrol boat fires on an Iraqi vessel suspected of laying mines.
We're going to try to join Frank Buckley aboard the USS Constellation in the Persian Gulf in a bit. But I can tell you a little bit more about what happened.
Apparently some Iraqis were in a boat with large sails. I guess it's a ship with large sails. And apparently they were laying mines in the Gulf. A Kuwaiti ship saw them opened fire. We understand one Iraqi was killed.
Now, this doesn't mean the war has started. This is just a prelude to war. Apparently these kinds of things happen often. Of course, we'll get more information from Frank Buckley, who is aboard the USS Constellation.
Iraq's parliament and Revolution Council are standing behind Saddam Hussein foursquare.
Let's see if there is reaction at the White House and get the latest out of Baghdad.
Our Chris Burns is up early in Washington -- good morning, Chris.
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, the comment from the Iraqi information minister repeatedly saying aggression, aggression, stupid aggression by the U.S.-led coalition, likely to get the same reaction from Ari Fleischer from the day before, who talked about Saddam Hussein missing his final opportunity to leave the country to avoid war. At this point, the Bush administration seeming increasingly likely to wage war against Saddam Hussein. The clock is ticking down. We have less than 15 hours to go before that 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time deadline for Saddam Hussein to leave the country or face armed conflict. President Bush expected to meet with Tom Ridge, the homeland security secretary, and the mayor of New York. The mayor of New York is going to be, or Mr. Bloomberg is going to be meeting with him, as well. They'll be talking about security, about the fact that the security threat level has been raised to orange. That's the second highest level. They will be talking about the possibility that there could be terrorist attacks in response to a U.S.-led attack against Iraq and the measures they're taking to avoid them.
President Bush also having been making phone calls yesterday to the presidents of Russia and China. Those two countries had been very, very much opposed to that war resolution the United States was trying to push through the United Nations and obviously President Bush trying to show that the relations are still virtually intact. President Bush still plans to go to St. Petersburg in Russia in May to see Mr. Putin. So those relations still on track.
President Bush looking past Saddam Hussein to the point where the United Nations and other countries, other organizations will be called upon to help the United States to rebuild Iraq and to police Iraq -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Chris Burns reporting live from Washington.
Many thanks to you.
OK, we do have Frank Buckley on the phone. He is aboard the USS Constellation in the Persian Gulf -- Frank, are you there?
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I am here.
COSTELLO: What happened?
BUCKLEY: Well, what we are being told is that right now there are very few details coming out of the U.S. Navy, but they are confirming through Rear Admiral Barry Costello (ph), who is the Constellation battle group commander, that a doah (ph) coming out of Iraqi waters was, that doah is one of the vessels that is used to transport cargo here in the Persian Gulf, was coming out of Iraqi waters, one of the two waterways that come out of Iraq, was in Kuwaiti territorial waters, as they understand it, and a Kuwaiti vessel radioed to that doah to stop and to turn around or, to do that or the Kuwaitis were attempting to board the doah.
This is one of the operations that coalition ships engage in out here, where they board vessels coming out of Iraqi waters to enforce U.N. sanctions.
Whatever the specific situation was, the bottom line is that according to Admiral Costello, the Kuwaiti vessel fired on the Iraqi doah in what the U.S. officials believed were warning shots and according to Admiral Costello unfortunately an Iraqi was killed as a result.
That doah is believed to have turned around and then returned to Iraq (UNINTELLIGIBLE) as did several other doahs that were coming out at the time.
So that is what we know so far about that situation.
Meanwhile, here on the USS Constellation (UNINTELLIGIBLE) today to talk to the sailors, the Marines of Fort Constellation. He is touring three aircraft carriers that are here in the Persian Gulf. He says he came here to "thank them for what they are probably going to do."
Here's what Admiral Keating had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICE ADM. TIMOTHY KEATING, U.S. NAVY: We have done everything we can to avoid war, we're now going to do everything we can to win war, if and when he tells us to go. Stay ready. The president is counting on you. Mr. President, the men and women of the Connie battle group are by god ready.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUCKLEY: And that's Vice Admiral Timothy Keating, who is the commander of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) forces here in the Persian Gulf. That is the Navy person in charge of the U.S. Navy efforts here in the Persian Gulf in and around Iraq.
So two stories here out of the Persian Gulf with regards to the Navy. Admiral Keating trying to provide a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for the Navy sailors and secondly the story that's still developing, the shooting, apparently, of an Iraqi physicist by a coalition vessel, a Kuwaiti Navy vessel. We're still trying to get information from Kuwait, but that is what we have heard so far from the U.S. Navy -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Frank Buckley, thanks.
Thanks for trying. I know the audio was, well, it was kind of hard to understand, but hopefully you got the gist of that. Apparently an Iraqi doah, which is a sailing ship, went into Kuwaiti waters. The Kuwaitis fired some warning shots and apparently hit the Iraqi vessel in some way. One Iraqi is dead.
Frank Buckley is efforting more information for us and he'll bring that to us as soon as he can. He is on board the USS Constellation with the U.S. Navy, so as you might imagine, it's hard to get information out clearly sometimes.
Now let's check out the extensive military preparations for a war that could be in full swing later tonight.
Our Chris Plante is at the Pentagon this morning -- Chris, good morning.
CHRIS PLANTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
U.S. forces are prepared to go any time President Bush gives the order. It could happen in the next 24 hours, perhaps the next 48 or 72 hours. There are 130,000 or so ground troops in Kuwait poised along the Iraqi border ready to move in. Over the past several days, they've been blitzing these troops with leaflets, propaganda leaflets from the air, encourage them not to engage U.S. forces when they come through the area.
The expectation is that there will be a large number of Iraqi troops that will surrender, at least in the southern areas. The U.S. is expecting to take the city of Basra fairly early on. Basra is, of course, a Shiite city and the population in southern Iraq has suffered under the regime of Saddam Hussein. It's expected that the troops will be greeted there as liberators rather than conquerors and at least that is the hope of the U.S. military.
And they expect that the real fight, if there is going to be a real fight, will likely take place around Baghdad, where the Republican Guard, the best trained, best equipment troops that Iraq has to offer, the most loyal to Saddam Hussein, are placed. These troops have scattered throughout residential areas around Baghdad, but it's expected that they may reassemble and engage U.S. troops when they reach the gates of the city -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Going back to Basra, that southern Iraqi city, chemical weaponry is a real concern in that city. So it won't be as easy as it might have been because of the threat of that, right?
PLANTE: Well, Alqud (ph), actually a city west and slightly south of Baghdad, there have been reports that some chemical munitions have been delivered to troops in the area of Alqud. It's true that artillery down south in the area of Basra that is capable of firing chemical weapons ordinance is down in that area -- but that chemical weapons certainly a major concern. But Basra is expected to fall fairly quickly and with relative ease after, of course, some very serious air bombardment the Pentagon describes as shock and awe. It's expected to come right out of the gates -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Chris Plante reporting live from the Pentagon.
Many thanks to you this morning.
The Turkish government says it will ask parliament to let Washington use its air space in a war with Iraq. Still, the government says it won't seek immediate approval for U.S. troops to be based in Turkey. A vote on allowing flyovers could come tomorrow. A few weeks ago the parliament in Turkey's previous government turned down a plan to base U.S. troops in its country.
Well, bombs could be falling in Baghdad before you go to bed tonight.
We want to get more now in the Iraqi parliament and how Baghdad is handling this day.
Our Rym Brahimi is in Baghdad and joins us now -- and I know, Rym, you were in that press conference earlier this morning. RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol. The minister of information, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, spoke to reporters. He actually told them and told, warned, was issuing a warning to American soldiers and to the American people, saying the U.S. administration is lying to you. It's deceitful, it's lying to you when it says that this campaign will be a picnic. It's lying to you when it says that you can easily take over Baghdad.
He warned the soldiers based in neighboring Kuwait, the U.S. soldiers based there, that this would not be a picnic and that their adventure in Iraq would certainly meet, would be met by a certain death, as he put it.
Now, he also said that Iraq was prepared to face all eventualities, that the entire country was prepared to defend itself and had been preparing in the past few months.
Now, this comes after a session, an extraordinary session at the national assembly here. Members of parliament rallied, another show of loyalty for President Saddam Hussein, a rejection of the ultimatum put forward by President Bush. That's not the only show of support. There were massive demonstrations yesterday broadcast on Iraqi TV and a series of meetings shared by President Saddam Hussein in which the various ministers, leaders of the ruling Baath Party also displayed support for the president.
Now, the atmosphere here in Baghdad, Carol, is very strange, indeed. Last night I wanted to go out to see what it was like, what the mood was like. A lot of shops closed, a lot of shops closed. A lot of shopkeepers have taken things out of the windows. It's very eerie, indeed -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I can only imagine.
Rym Brahimi, you be careful over there.
Rym Brahimi reporting live out of Baghdad this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: With so much focus on Iraq, let's step back now and take a look at Saddam Hussein, his background, his rise to power, his grip on the Iraqi government.
Our State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel brings us that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With Iraq as his stage, for four decades President Saddam Hussein has been its lead actor, director and playwright. Born a simple villager in Tikrit in north-central Iraq, according to Hussein's script, he is an adored leader, the father of five children and a descendent of the Prophet Muhammad.
The truth, say those who escaped Hussein's dictatorship, is a very different story.
KHIDHIR HAMZA, SADDAM'S FORMER BOMB MAKER: Iraq is run by fear. The glue that keeps things together is fear.
KOPPEL: Like his hero, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, Hussein has created a cult of personality. He is cold-blooded, cruel and rules Iraq with an iron fist. He's accused of using chemical weapons to kill thousands of Kurds in northern Iraq. In all, Hussein is believed to have killed as many as one million Iraqis during his reign of terror.
AMATZIA BARAM, EXPERT ON HUSSEIN: Saddam maintains power by a police state of the worst kind in the world today.
KOPPEL: And like his name, which means he who confronts, Hussein's driving ambition since he pushed his uncle out of office in 1979 is absolute power. That, says his former bomb maker, is why Hussein wants a nuclear bomb.
HAMZA: He believes that through power he could control the region and he could be the leader of the whole region and change its fate and its future.
KOPPEL: But when it comes to the battle field, Hussein miscalculates. In 1980, he invaded Iran, convinced its leadership would quickly collapse. Eight years later, Iraq lost that war. In 1990, he made the same mistake in Kuwait, convinced he could defeat U.S. forces. At 65, Hussein hopes to defeat old age, swimming every day to help a bad back and said to dye his hair and mustache black to help him look younger. Hussein is also paranoid about germs and his own security, packing his government with friends and family, surrounding himself with guards from his tribal village, sleeping only four or five hours a night and rarely in the same place.
MARK BOWDEN, "ATLANTIC MONTHLY": Each of his like 20 or more palaces prepares three elaborate meals a cay, as if Saddam were there. And he's moved from place to place sort of like a shell game.
KOPPEL (on camera): Another charade, Hussein prefers Iraqis call him Great Uncle even though most believe he runs Iraq more like Big Brother.
Andrea Koppel, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: In the event of war, what can we expect of the Iraqi Army? We'll take a closer look at Iraq's military structure as part of our super day driver on AMERICAN MORNING. That will happen, oh, about an hour and a half from now.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Saddam>
Aired March 19, 2003 - 05:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: OK, let's do an early briefing on the Iraqi crisis. U.S. ally Saudi Arabia is proposing that Saddam Hussein go into exile. A Saudi diplomatic official says the royal family will try to find a safe haven for him and his family. That sandstorm, you just heard Chad mention it, in Kuwait, has reduced visibility for U.S. and coalition troops moving closer to the Iraqi border. And the Turkish government says it will ask parliament to allow U.S. warplanes and missiles to fly over Turkey's air space. A vote on that is likely tomorrow.
As I told you, shots fired in the Persian Gulf. One Iraqi is dead after a Kuwaiti patrol boat fires on an Iraqi vessel suspected of laying mines.
We're going to try to join Frank Buckley aboard the USS Constellation in the Persian Gulf in a bit. But I can tell you a little bit more about what happened.
Apparently some Iraqis were in a boat with large sails. I guess it's a ship with large sails. And apparently they were laying mines in the Gulf. A Kuwaiti ship saw them opened fire. We understand one Iraqi was killed.
Now, this doesn't mean the war has started. This is just a prelude to war. Apparently these kinds of things happen often. Of course, we'll get more information from Frank Buckley, who is aboard the USS Constellation.
Iraq's parliament and Revolution Council are standing behind Saddam Hussein foursquare.
Let's see if there is reaction at the White House and get the latest out of Baghdad.
Our Chris Burns is up early in Washington -- good morning, Chris.
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, the comment from the Iraqi information minister repeatedly saying aggression, aggression, stupid aggression by the U.S.-led coalition, likely to get the same reaction from Ari Fleischer from the day before, who talked about Saddam Hussein missing his final opportunity to leave the country to avoid war. At this point, the Bush administration seeming increasingly likely to wage war against Saddam Hussein. The clock is ticking down. We have less than 15 hours to go before that 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time deadline for Saddam Hussein to leave the country or face armed conflict. President Bush expected to meet with Tom Ridge, the homeland security secretary, and the mayor of New York. The mayor of New York is going to be, or Mr. Bloomberg is going to be meeting with him, as well. They'll be talking about security, about the fact that the security threat level has been raised to orange. That's the second highest level. They will be talking about the possibility that there could be terrorist attacks in response to a U.S.-led attack against Iraq and the measures they're taking to avoid them.
President Bush also having been making phone calls yesterday to the presidents of Russia and China. Those two countries had been very, very much opposed to that war resolution the United States was trying to push through the United Nations and obviously President Bush trying to show that the relations are still virtually intact. President Bush still plans to go to St. Petersburg in Russia in May to see Mr. Putin. So those relations still on track.
President Bush looking past Saddam Hussein to the point where the United Nations and other countries, other organizations will be called upon to help the United States to rebuild Iraq and to police Iraq -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Chris Burns reporting live from Washington.
Many thanks to you.
OK, we do have Frank Buckley on the phone. He is aboard the USS Constellation in the Persian Gulf -- Frank, are you there?
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I am here.
COSTELLO: What happened?
BUCKLEY: Well, what we are being told is that right now there are very few details coming out of the U.S. Navy, but they are confirming through Rear Admiral Barry Costello (ph), who is the Constellation battle group commander, that a doah (ph) coming out of Iraqi waters was, that doah is one of the vessels that is used to transport cargo here in the Persian Gulf, was coming out of Iraqi waters, one of the two waterways that come out of Iraq, was in Kuwaiti territorial waters, as they understand it, and a Kuwaiti vessel radioed to that doah to stop and to turn around or, to do that or the Kuwaitis were attempting to board the doah.
This is one of the operations that coalition ships engage in out here, where they board vessels coming out of Iraqi waters to enforce U.N. sanctions.
Whatever the specific situation was, the bottom line is that according to Admiral Costello, the Kuwaiti vessel fired on the Iraqi doah in what the U.S. officials believed were warning shots and according to Admiral Costello unfortunately an Iraqi was killed as a result.
That doah is believed to have turned around and then returned to Iraq (UNINTELLIGIBLE) as did several other doahs that were coming out at the time.
So that is what we know so far about that situation.
Meanwhile, here on the USS Constellation (UNINTELLIGIBLE) today to talk to the sailors, the Marines of Fort Constellation. He is touring three aircraft carriers that are here in the Persian Gulf. He says he came here to "thank them for what they are probably going to do."
Here's what Admiral Keating had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICE ADM. TIMOTHY KEATING, U.S. NAVY: We have done everything we can to avoid war, we're now going to do everything we can to win war, if and when he tells us to go. Stay ready. The president is counting on you. Mr. President, the men and women of the Connie battle group are by god ready.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUCKLEY: And that's Vice Admiral Timothy Keating, who is the commander of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) forces here in the Persian Gulf. That is the Navy person in charge of the U.S. Navy efforts here in the Persian Gulf in and around Iraq.
So two stories here out of the Persian Gulf with regards to the Navy. Admiral Keating trying to provide a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for the Navy sailors and secondly the story that's still developing, the shooting, apparently, of an Iraqi physicist by a coalition vessel, a Kuwaiti Navy vessel. We're still trying to get information from Kuwait, but that is what we have heard so far from the U.S. Navy -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Frank Buckley, thanks.
Thanks for trying. I know the audio was, well, it was kind of hard to understand, but hopefully you got the gist of that. Apparently an Iraqi doah, which is a sailing ship, went into Kuwaiti waters. The Kuwaitis fired some warning shots and apparently hit the Iraqi vessel in some way. One Iraqi is dead.
Frank Buckley is efforting more information for us and he'll bring that to us as soon as he can. He is on board the USS Constellation with the U.S. Navy, so as you might imagine, it's hard to get information out clearly sometimes.
Now let's check out the extensive military preparations for a war that could be in full swing later tonight.
Our Chris Plante is at the Pentagon this morning -- Chris, good morning.
CHRIS PLANTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
U.S. forces are prepared to go any time President Bush gives the order. It could happen in the next 24 hours, perhaps the next 48 or 72 hours. There are 130,000 or so ground troops in Kuwait poised along the Iraqi border ready to move in. Over the past several days, they've been blitzing these troops with leaflets, propaganda leaflets from the air, encourage them not to engage U.S. forces when they come through the area.
The expectation is that there will be a large number of Iraqi troops that will surrender, at least in the southern areas. The U.S. is expecting to take the city of Basra fairly early on. Basra is, of course, a Shiite city and the population in southern Iraq has suffered under the regime of Saddam Hussein. It's expected that the troops will be greeted there as liberators rather than conquerors and at least that is the hope of the U.S. military.
And they expect that the real fight, if there is going to be a real fight, will likely take place around Baghdad, where the Republican Guard, the best trained, best equipment troops that Iraq has to offer, the most loyal to Saddam Hussein, are placed. These troops have scattered throughout residential areas around Baghdad, but it's expected that they may reassemble and engage U.S. troops when they reach the gates of the city -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Going back to Basra, that southern Iraqi city, chemical weaponry is a real concern in that city. So it won't be as easy as it might have been because of the threat of that, right?
PLANTE: Well, Alqud (ph), actually a city west and slightly south of Baghdad, there have been reports that some chemical munitions have been delivered to troops in the area of Alqud. It's true that artillery down south in the area of Basra that is capable of firing chemical weapons ordinance is down in that area -- but that chemical weapons certainly a major concern. But Basra is expected to fall fairly quickly and with relative ease after, of course, some very serious air bombardment the Pentagon describes as shock and awe. It's expected to come right out of the gates -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Chris Plante reporting live from the Pentagon.
Many thanks to you this morning.
The Turkish government says it will ask parliament to let Washington use its air space in a war with Iraq. Still, the government says it won't seek immediate approval for U.S. troops to be based in Turkey. A vote on allowing flyovers could come tomorrow. A few weeks ago the parliament in Turkey's previous government turned down a plan to base U.S. troops in its country.
Well, bombs could be falling in Baghdad before you go to bed tonight.
We want to get more now in the Iraqi parliament and how Baghdad is handling this day.
Our Rym Brahimi is in Baghdad and joins us now -- and I know, Rym, you were in that press conference earlier this morning. RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol. The minister of information, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, spoke to reporters. He actually told them and told, warned, was issuing a warning to American soldiers and to the American people, saying the U.S. administration is lying to you. It's deceitful, it's lying to you when it says that this campaign will be a picnic. It's lying to you when it says that you can easily take over Baghdad.
He warned the soldiers based in neighboring Kuwait, the U.S. soldiers based there, that this would not be a picnic and that their adventure in Iraq would certainly meet, would be met by a certain death, as he put it.
Now, he also said that Iraq was prepared to face all eventualities, that the entire country was prepared to defend itself and had been preparing in the past few months.
Now, this comes after a session, an extraordinary session at the national assembly here. Members of parliament rallied, another show of loyalty for President Saddam Hussein, a rejection of the ultimatum put forward by President Bush. That's not the only show of support. There were massive demonstrations yesterday broadcast on Iraqi TV and a series of meetings shared by President Saddam Hussein in which the various ministers, leaders of the ruling Baath Party also displayed support for the president.
Now, the atmosphere here in Baghdad, Carol, is very strange, indeed. Last night I wanted to go out to see what it was like, what the mood was like. A lot of shops closed, a lot of shops closed. A lot of shopkeepers have taken things out of the windows. It's very eerie, indeed -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I can only imagine.
Rym Brahimi, you be careful over there.
Rym Brahimi reporting live out of Baghdad this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: With so much focus on Iraq, let's step back now and take a look at Saddam Hussein, his background, his rise to power, his grip on the Iraqi government.
Our State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel brings us that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With Iraq as his stage, for four decades President Saddam Hussein has been its lead actor, director and playwright. Born a simple villager in Tikrit in north-central Iraq, according to Hussein's script, he is an adored leader, the father of five children and a descendent of the Prophet Muhammad.
The truth, say those who escaped Hussein's dictatorship, is a very different story.
KHIDHIR HAMZA, SADDAM'S FORMER BOMB MAKER: Iraq is run by fear. The glue that keeps things together is fear.
KOPPEL: Like his hero, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, Hussein has created a cult of personality. He is cold-blooded, cruel and rules Iraq with an iron fist. He's accused of using chemical weapons to kill thousands of Kurds in northern Iraq. In all, Hussein is believed to have killed as many as one million Iraqis during his reign of terror.
AMATZIA BARAM, EXPERT ON HUSSEIN: Saddam maintains power by a police state of the worst kind in the world today.
KOPPEL: And like his name, which means he who confronts, Hussein's driving ambition since he pushed his uncle out of office in 1979 is absolute power. That, says his former bomb maker, is why Hussein wants a nuclear bomb.
HAMZA: He believes that through power he could control the region and he could be the leader of the whole region and change its fate and its future.
KOPPEL: But when it comes to the battle field, Hussein miscalculates. In 1980, he invaded Iran, convinced its leadership would quickly collapse. Eight years later, Iraq lost that war. In 1990, he made the same mistake in Kuwait, convinced he could defeat U.S. forces. At 65, Hussein hopes to defeat old age, swimming every day to help a bad back and said to dye his hair and mustache black to help him look younger. Hussein is also paranoid about germs and his own security, packing his government with friends and family, surrounding himself with guards from his tribal village, sleeping only four or five hours a night and rarely in the same place.
MARK BOWDEN, "ATLANTIC MONTHLY": Each of his like 20 or more palaces prepares three elaborate meals a cay, as if Saddam were there. And he's moved from place to place sort of like a shell game.
KOPPEL (on camera): Another charade, Hussein prefers Iraqis call him Great Uncle even though most believe he runs Iraq more like Big Brother.
Andrea Koppel, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: In the event of war, what can we expect of the Iraqi Army? We'll take a closer look at Iraq's military structure as part of our super day driver on AMERICAN MORNING. That will happen, oh, about an hour and a half from now.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Saddam>
