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CNN Live At Daybreak

Interview With Lt. Gen. Ali Al-Mumin

Aired April 09, 2003 - 05:50   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: Let's go to Doha, Qatar now to CENTCOM and Tom Mintier. Always has new tidbits of information for us.
What have you got?

TOM MINTIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're sensing a feeling of cautious optimism. They're saying that what we're seeing on the streets of Baghdad, the jubilation, people going into regime locations and taking out what they want, it seems, say this is just a small picture in a larger mosaic, that there is still fighting in areas of the country and they don't have a total picture of celebration.

Interesting when you look at these pictures, apparently it turned so rapidly, some people are still carrying their guns while they're dancing and celebrating, which could be a very dangerous thing to have happen. I saw at least two pictures of men out in the street cheering still having their Kalashnikov over their shoulders and several pictures of men without their shirts, apparently or possibly taking their uniform off and casting it aside and joining in the celebration that's going on in Baghdad.

But, again here at CENTCOM, they are being very, very cautious about the images that you're seeing, saying that this is maybe not representative of everything that's going on in the country, that it is in a localized area, that there are still hostilities going on, there are still shots being exchanged. But we saw these pictures from Irbil a little while ago. It seems that this melting away that we've heard over the past week of the Republican Guard has gone to other parts of the regime.

Reporters in Baghdad saying that their minders, who have shown up for work every single day and are with them constantly, simply did not show up to work today. And that was seen as a sign that possibly the regime has vacated the building, if you will.

Other signs on the streets, policemen not out in plain sight anywhere, people driving the wrong way on one way streets, not stopping for street lights. We saw this in Basra just a couple of days ago. So, again, it is a chaotic situation where people who have been held down under the boot of Saddam Hussein, as they like to call it here at CENTCOM, finally casting off those chains and rising up on the streets and a bit of celebration and a lot of looting, but, again, officials here at CENTCOM say that this may not be representative of what is going on totally inside Iraq, that they're still concerned about hostilities -- Carol, back to you. COSTELLO: And, Tom, just a question for you. You know, these large crowds and they're celebrating and they're joyous. But at some point somebody's going to have to take control of this area of Baghdad and will that be U.S. troops? It probably will be, right?

MINTIER: Well, we've heard that the force inside Baghdad is going to double in the next 48 hours. And with what we've seen in Basra, they were going in and loading up trucks and buses and tractor trailers with foodstuffs that the regime had held in their warehouses. The British troops stopping them on the edge of town, unloading the trucks and then trying to find a proper way to distribute the food to those who needed it. We may be seeing the same scenes from the warehouses in Baghdad later in the day once those are located and people go in and start emptying those out.

What remains to be seen is whether they have the ability, the American troops on the ground in Baghdad, to take control of the situation if it, indeed, starts to turn chaotic.

Again, this increase in force may be an indicator that somebody may have seen this coming and the need to exert civil control may replace military control very quickly.

COSTELLO: Understand.

Tom Mintier, thanks for that update from CENTCOM.

We're going to take a short break.

We'll bring you back to Baghdad after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: If you are just waking up back in the U.S., these are the images we're getting in just over the past two hours, signs of celebration in various Iraqi cities, most notably the eastern part of Baghdad. Also signs of looting under way right now in military complexes, government offices, the U.N., we're told, as well, on the eastern part of the city. All this again news breaking as we see it now.

Back here, meanwhile, here in Kuwait City, you might be seeing right now a live picture on your screen from the northern town of Irbil, Kurdish controlled territory here. These pictures the first time we have seen images like these since the start of the war 21 days ago today. And as we continue to watch those, we want to talk about now only what they mean perhaps to the Iraqi people, but also what happens now in terms of humanitarian aid.

We've got a guest here from HOC, the Humanitarian Operations Center out of Kuwait City.

Lieutenant General Ali Al-Mumin is our guest here now in Kuwait to talk about a number of things so far today.

Good afternoon to you. Thank you for your time.

LT. GEN. ALI AL-MUMIN, HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS CENTER: Thank you for asking me.

HEMMER: What do you want to tell the world about what they're watching right now on television?

AL-MUMIN: Well, obviously this is a sign of celebration. I think there is an early, you know, early, it's an early stage of a taste of freedom. We like to say, you know, we are in full support of the Iraqi people. We are here to help them. Was take their interests at our heart. They're our brothers or they're our neighbors. We have a lot in common. Our national duty, religious duty, neighborhood dictate on your to offer help, the help to make sure that their dignity will be preserved, their well being is well looked after. And we are happy to give them the hand as much as we can.

HEMMER: You came on here today to talk about humanitarian aid. I want to focus on that chiefly, if I could, while the few minutes we have left here. In which part of Iraq do you see the greatest need right now?

AL-MUMIN: Well, I've got a feeling, you know, that we have covered towns closer to our border and now we have moved into Najaf and Karbala, where we felt they had a need. We have to share the aid we have sent them. Now we are going to send them some more.

I get the feeling Basra might need a lot of water.

HEMMER: What do they need? Just water? Or is it food in addition to that? Because the reports sometimes vary. What is your best indication of that?

AL-MUMIN: Well, you see, I have reports where, you know, food might not be a big issue. Water and medicine is a big issue. But the demand is coming for everything. I think they might like the meals we are providing them. It is, has something like to be with the Middle Eastern sort of requirement for human consumption.

But, you know, whatever we have for, I think they need it. But we are, you know, we started with food and water. Now we are concentrating on water and medicine.

HEMMER: There are those in the military ranks who believe this war might over at this point. The Pentagon's not going that far. Central Command in Qatar is not going that far, as well. But if it is over, how do you gauge right now the level of security to move humanitarian aid into these cities in large amounts and large quantities at this point right now?

AL-MUMIN: Well, I'm under the impression now when this is over and the steam is taken away from it, I think the dust will settle and people will, you know, come back to their senses and think about their security, and their -- you know, going to schools, having medical treatment, having, you know, good living. And I think the Iraqis have suffered so much. I am very optimistic that they will take the security side, you know, in their mind and settle down. And they have everybody on their side, you know, if you look at everybody talking about the humanitarian help, I think less about (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the military of the operational side, obviously I think the operational side, you know...

HEMMER: Do you feel safe, though, driving your convoys into Iraq right now and distributing what you have on hand?

AL-MUNIN: If I was a Kuwaiti, I'd say yes. If I am a member of the international community doing it in the international method, I would say no, because we have taken ourselves to take this, because we cannot wait. Now, it's been just over 10 days, and if we have waited that long, we don't know what could have happened.

So we have (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of foreign help. We are taking a risk. We are moving our, you know, help right deep into Iraq. Of course, we are helped by our security forces and the security measures. But we are distributing our, you know, help with some risk.

HEMMER: Got it. Listen, good to talk to you, Lieutenant General Al-Munin, head of the humanitarian operations here in Kuwait City. I wish you the best of luck getting all of your supplies moving north, OK? And perhaps the images we're seeing today might open the doors even wider for you in Iraq.

AL-MUNIN: I tell you our government has been very generous. Our people want to prove to the Iraqi people whatever has happened is beyond us now, and we want to look into the future.

HEMMER: All right.

Again, the live pictures from Erbil continue to come in. We'll monitor it and let you know what's happening there, and also in Baghdad as well.

Carol -- back to you now at the CNN Center.

COSTELLO: All right, thanks so much, Bill.

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 9, 2003 - 05:50   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go to Doha, Qatar now to CENTCOM and Tom Mintier. Always has new tidbits of information for us.
What have you got?

TOM MINTIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're sensing a feeling of cautious optimism. They're saying that what we're seeing on the streets of Baghdad, the jubilation, people going into regime locations and taking out what they want, it seems, say this is just a small picture in a larger mosaic, that there is still fighting in areas of the country and they don't have a total picture of celebration.

Interesting when you look at these pictures, apparently it turned so rapidly, some people are still carrying their guns while they're dancing and celebrating, which could be a very dangerous thing to have happen. I saw at least two pictures of men out in the street cheering still having their Kalashnikov over their shoulders and several pictures of men without their shirts, apparently or possibly taking their uniform off and casting it aside and joining in the celebration that's going on in Baghdad.

But, again here at CENTCOM, they are being very, very cautious about the images that you're seeing, saying that this is maybe not representative of everything that's going on in the country, that it is in a localized area, that there are still hostilities going on, there are still shots being exchanged. But we saw these pictures from Irbil a little while ago. It seems that this melting away that we've heard over the past week of the Republican Guard has gone to other parts of the regime.

Reporters in Baghdad saying that their minders, who have shown up for work every single day and are with them constantly, simply did not show up to work today. And that was seen as a sign that possibly the regime has vacated the building, if you will.

Other signs on the streets, policemen not out in plain sight anywhere, people driving the wrong way on one way streets, not stopping for street lights. We saw this in Basra just a couple of days ago. So, again, it is a chaotic situation where people who have been held down under the boot of Saddam Hussein, as they like to call it here at CENTCOM, finally casting off those chains and rising up on the streets and a bit of celebration and a lot of looting, but, again, officials here at CENTCOM say that this may not be representative of what is going on totally inside Iraq, that they're still concerned about hostilities -- Carol, back to you. COSTELLO: And, Tom, just a question for you. You know, these large crowds and they're celebrating and they're joyous. But at some point somebody's going to have to take control of this area of Baghdad and will that be U.S. troops? It probably will be, right?

MINTIER: Well, we've heard that the force inside Baghdad is going to double in the next 48 hours. And with what we've seen in Basra, they were going in and loading up trucks and buses and tractor trailers with foodstuffs that the regime had held in their warehouses. The British troops stopping them on the edge of town, unloading the trucks and then trying to find a proper way to distribute the food to those who needed it. We may be seeing the same scenes from the warehouses in Baghdad later in the day once those are located and people go in and start emptying those out.

What remains to be seen is whether they have the ability, the American troops on the ground in Baghdad, to take control of the situation if it, indeed, starts to turn chaotic.

Again, this increase in force may be an indicator that somebody may have seen this coming and the need to exert civil control may replace military control very quickly.

COSTELLO: Understand.

Tom Mintier, thanks for that update from CENTCOM.

We're going to take a short break.

We'll bring you back to Baghdad after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: If you are just waking up back in the U.S., these are the images we're getting in just over the past two hours, signs of celebration in various Iraqi cities, most notably the eastern part of Baghdad. Also signs of looting under way right now in military complexes, government offices, the U.N., we're told, as well, on the eastern part of the city. All this again news breaking as we see it now.

Back here, meanwhile, here in Kuwait City, you might be seeing right now a live picture on your screen from the northern town of Irbil, Kurdish controlled territory here. These pictures the first time we have seen images like these since the start of the war 21 days ago today. And as we continue to watch those, we want to talk about now only what they mean perhaps to the Iraqi people, but also what happens now in terms of humanitarian aid.

We've got a guest here from HOC, the Humanitarian Operations Center out of Kuwait City.

Lieutenant General Ali Al-Mumin is our guest here now in Kuwait to talk about a number of things so far today.

Good afternoon to you. Thank you for your time.

LT. GEN. ALI AL-MUMIN, HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS CENTER: Thank you for asking me.

HEMMER: What do you want to tell the world about what they're watching right now on television?

AL-MUMIN: Well, obviously this is a sign of celebration. I think there is an early, you know, early, it's an early stage of a taste of freedom. We like to say, you know, we are in full support of the Iraqi people. We are here to help them. Was take their interests at our heart. They're our brothers or they're our neighbors. We have a lot in common. Our national duty, religious duty, neighborhood dictate on your to offer help, the help to make sure that their dignity will be preserved, their well being is well looked after. And we are happy to give them the hand as much as we can.

HEMMER: You came on here today to talk about humanitarian aid. I want to focus on that chiefly, if I could, while the few minutes we have left here. In which part of Iraq do you see the greatest need right now?

AL-MUMIN: Well, I've got a feeling, you know, that we have covered towns closer to our border and now we have moved into Najaf and Karbala, where we felt they had a need. We have to share the aid we have sent them. Now we are going to send them some more.

I get the feeling Basra might need a lot of water.

HEMMER: What do they need? Just water? Or is it food in addition to that? Because the reports sometimes vary. What is your best indication of that?

AL-MUMIN: Well, you see, I have reports where, you know, food might not be a big issue. Water and medicine is a big issue. But the demand is coming for everything. I think they might like the meals we are providing them. It is, has something like to be with the Middle Eastern sort of requirement for human consumption.

But, you know, whatever we have for, I think they need it. But we are, you know, we started with food and water. Now we are concentrating on water and medicine.

HEMMER: There are those in the military ranks who believe this war might over at this point. The Pentagon's not going that far. Central Command in Qatar is not going that far, as well. But if it is over, how do you gauge right now the level of security to move humanitarian aid into these cities in large amounts and large quantities at this point right now?

AL-MUMIN: Well, I'm under the impression now when this is over and the steam is taken away from it, I think the dust will settle and people will, you know, come back to their senses and think about their security, and their -- you know, going to schools, having medical treatment, having, you know, good living. And I think the Iraqis have suffered so much. I am very optimistic that they will take the security side, you know, in their mind and settle down. And they have everybody on their side, you know, if you look at everybody talking about the humanitarian help, I think less about (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the military of the operational side, obviously I think the operational side, you know...

HEMMER: Do you feel safe, though, driving your convoys into Iraq right now and distributing what you have on hand?

AL-MUNIN: If I was a Kuwaiti, I'd say yes. If I am a member of the international community doing it in the international method, I would say no, because we have taken ourselves to take this, because we cannot wait. Now, it's been just over 10 days, and if we have waited that long, we don't know what could have happened.

So we have (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of foreign help. We are taking a risk. We are moving our, you know, help right deep into Iraq. Of course, we are helped by our security forces and the security measures. But we are distributing our, you know, help with some risk.

HEMMER: Got it. Listen, good to talk to you, Lieutenant General Al-Munin, head of the humanitarian operations here in Kuwait City. I wish you the best of luck getting all of your supplies moving north, OK? And perhaps the images we're seeing today might open the doors even wider for you in Iraq.

AL-MUNIN: I tell you our government has been very generous. Our people want to prove to the Iraqi people whatever has happened is beyond us now, and we want to look into the future.

HEMMER: All right.

Again, the live pictures from Erbil continue to come in. We'll monitor it and let you know what's happening there, and also in Baghdad as well.

Carol -- back to you now at the CNN Center.

COSTELLO: All right, thanks so much, Bill.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com