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CNN Live Today
Iraqi TV Shows Address by Saddam Hussein
Aired April 04, 2003 - 10:46 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Rula Amin has been to Baghdad. She's working in Jordan right now.
Rula, as we bring you into this discussion tonight, good evening to you there in Jordan. Have you heard as to whether or not there is much communication with the Iraqi people, especially inside the city limits of Baghdad, that may have been able to hear the address that we all witnessed here about 15 minutes ago?
RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, the last time we called Baghdad and spoke to people there on the phone, there were still no electricity in the capital. Nowhere in the capital did people have power, except in those wealthy neighborhoods where people have their own generators, but not many. Most of the people in Iraq are without electricity now, and without any TV. So they haven't been able to see him on television. They may have been able to hear him on the radio, because most Iraqis have stored batteries. They all have the radios, because they expected this war to last for a while. They had the possibility there will be no power. So they probably most have radios that they tune in, not only to the -- to listen to the Iraqi government radio, but also to search for news in other outlets in Arabic, for example, the BBC in Arabic, Middle East Broadcasting in Arabic Radio.
They are trying to search for the truth, trying to listen to as many outlets as possible in order to put the picture together -- Bill.
HEMMER: Rula, here's another question. Try and answer this as best you can. Mohammed Saeed Sahaf, the information minister, has spoken really with one single voice for the past week running. He's been the only high-ranking official in Baghdad we've heard from publicly.
Why is it you believe that now Saddam Hussein is appearing, if indeed this tape is fresh and has been done either today or yesterday, or possibly within the last 48 hours, why come out now, as opposed to earlier in the week when he knew that the Republican Guard was taking a heavy pounding, destroyed, according to CENTCOM, and wait until this point, now Friday evening in Baghdad?
AMIN: Well, this is the third time he appears on television. This is the third time that he gives an address to the Iraqi people himself. There were other times, like yesterday, when Sahaf, the information minister, did it on his behalf. It seems today, the fact that the U.S. troops are at Saddam International Airport, or "Baghdad International Airport," as the coalition forces have called it, it's so close to Baghdad, and such a significant move, only less than half an hour's drive from Baghdad. A lot of people are fleeing the city. We're hearing reports of people loading their trucks, loading their cars, trying to run away to the eastern part and the northeastern part of Baghdad.
So it seems he's trying to reissue people that he is still in control, and this is a very important message if he's trying to keep the people rallying around him, not just regular citizens, but also Republican Guard members, ruling Baath Party activists, and paramilitary forces that belong to his son, Uday. So this is important, because this is a very crucial moment as the troops are so close to Baghdad -- Bill.
HEMMER: Rula, also with the contacts you're making inside of Baghdad, what are they saying about security on the streets? How strong is it? How large is the force?
AMIN: There is security on the streets, but it's not tanks. People don't say that -- I haven't spoken to one person who said that they see Republican Guards on the street or in their tanks. Most of what they see is police -- Iraqi police with AK-47s. They see paramilitary forces. They see Baath Party activists, especially in areas, poor neighborhoods, they say there is very strong presence on every corner and every street. But it's not the heavy military armored vehicles, or armored personnel, that you would think the Iraqis will need to fight back the U.S. Army. So it seems that the preparations so far have been for an urban warfare, something in the streets of Baghdad, using less heavy artillery, using rocket propelled grenades more, RPGs and M-16 maybe as ambushes.
But people are not talking or speaking of any heavy artillery or tanks inside the streets of Baghdad -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Rula, thanks. Rula Amin. watching the front in Jordan, just west of Iraq.
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 April 4, 2003 - 10:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Rula Amin has been to Baghdad. She's working in Jordan right now.
Rula, as we bring you into this discussion tonight, good evening to you there in Jordan. Have you heard as to whether or not there is much communication with the Iraqi people, especially inside the city limits of Baghdad, that may have been able to hear the address that we all witnessed here about 15 minutes ago?
RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, the last time we called Baghdad and spoke to people there on the phone, there were still no electricity in the capital. Nowhere in the capital did people have power, except in those wealthy neighborhoods where people have their own generators, but not many. Most of the people in Iraq are without electricity now, and without any TV. So they haven't been able to see him on television. They may have been able to hear him on the radio, because most Iraqis have stored batteries. They all have the radios, because they expected this war to last for a while. They had the possibility there will be no power. So they probably most have radios that they tune in, not only to the -- to listen to the Iraqi government radio, but also to search for news in other outlets in Arabic, for example, the BBC in Arabic, Middle East Broadcasting in Arabic Radio.
They are trying to search for the truth, trying to listen to as many outlets as possible in order to put the picture together -- Bill.
HEMMER: Rula, here's another question. Try and answer this as best you can. Mohammed Saeed Sahaf, the information minister, has spoken really with one single voice for the past week running. He's been the only high-ranking official in Baghdad we've heard from publicly.
Why is it you believe that now Saddam Hussein is appearing, if indeed this tape is fresh and has been done either today or yesterday, or possibly within the last 48 hours, why come out now, as opposed to earlier in the week when he knew that the Republican Guard was taking a heavy pounding, destroyed, according to CENTCOM, and wait until this point, now Friday evening in Baghdad?
AMIN: Well, this is the third time he appears on television. This is the third time that he gives an address to the Iraqi people himself. There were other times, like yesterday, when Sahaf, the information minister, did it on his behalf. It seems today, the fact that the U.S. troops are at Saddam International Airport, or "Baghdad International Airport," as the coalition forces have called it, it's so close to Baghdad, and such a significant move, only less than half an hour's drive from Baghdad. A lot of people are fleeing the city. We're hearing reports of people loading their trucks, loading their cars, trying to run away to the eastern part and the northeastern part of Baghdad.
So it seems he's trying to reissue people that he is still in control, and this is a very important message if he's trying to keep the people rallying around him, not just regular citizens, but also Republican Guard members, ruling Baath Party activists, and paramilitary forces that belong to his son, Uday. So this is important, because this is a very crucial moment as the troops are so close to Baghdad -- Bill.
HEMMER: Rula, also with the contacts you're making inside of Baghdad, what are they saying about security on the streets? How strong is it? How large is the force?
AMIN: There is security on the streets, but it's not tanks. People don't say that -- I haven't spoken to one person who said that they see Republican Guards on the street or in their tanks. Most of what they see is police -- Iraqi police with AK-47s. They see paramilitary forces. They see Baath Party activists, especially in areas, poor neighborhoods, they say there is very strong presence on every corner and every street. But it's not the heavy military armored vehicles, or armored personnel, that you would think the Iraqis will need to fight back the U.S. Army. So it seems that the preparations so far have been for an urban warfare, something in the streets of Baghdad, using less heavy artillery, using rocket propelled grenades more, RPGs and M-16 maybe as ambushes.
But people are not talking or speaking of any heavy artillery or tanks inside the streets of Baghdad -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Rula, thanks. Rula Amin. watching the front in Jordan, just west of Iraq.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
