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CNN Live At Daybreak

Interview with Baria Alamuddin

Aired April 09, 2003 - 06:43   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: Yes, it's easy to assume the fighting is just about over, but it is certainly not.
But we do want to talk about the celebrations going on in east central Baghdad right now. And we want to bring in Baria Alamuddin from the "Al Hayat" newspaper to get some Arab reaction to all of this.

Good morning.

BARIA ALAMUDDIN, FOREIGN EDITOR, "AL HAYAT": Good morning to you.

COSTELLO: I was just wondering, when Arabs see the celebrations in parts of Baghdad, what are they thinking?

ALAMUDDIN: Our feelings are running very high this morning, and I should say this afternoon, in the Arab world. And it is a mixed kind of feelings and emotions and also thinking. They must be feeling relieved that we are finally getting rid of this dictator. They must be feeling great pain looking at the pictures of the people begging for water, the wounded, the dead.

They also must be feeling a lot of shame and despair because Saddam Hussein had again and again lied to Arab people and to his own people indeed. He had promised before the liberation of Palestine. He had promised to crush the invaders, meaning the Americans and the -- and the British as far as he's concerned. He has delivered none of that.

Many Arabs -- you know many Arab people who wanted to go and fight alongside the Iraqis thinking you know that they can actually indeed have an impact on the fighting are disillusioned and are feeling well, again and again you know this guy has lied to us. So it's a mixture of feeling. Relief that we got rid of Saddam Hussein would be probably the most dominant feeling I would imagine.

COSTELLO: And having said that, do you think that because of the way they're feeling about Saddam Hussein right now that the Arab world might be feeling better about the United States and Britain?

ALAMUDDIN: I think no. I cannot say yes because of one thing. You know the Americans and the British, because they went in not as part of a U.N. force, as unilaterally they decided to go in, and as I told you in many parts they were looked upon as invaders. However, I think they must be feeling better about them today, to a certain degree, but the feeling will not change in the Arab world about the American stance and the American position before we see a real movement towards peace in Palestine.

I think it must be that many people are feeling today hopefully soon we will be feeling and seeing pictures coming out of Kaiser (ph), coming out of Ramallah, coming out of Nablus of the invaders, meaning the Israelis, getting out of their own land. So the Americans have to bee seen more to be fair and just.

People in that part of the world are longing for peace, indeed in Iraq, in Palestine, in other parts of the Arab world, but it has to be seen as a just peace. People in the Arab world are tired of being treated like third or fourth class citizens, if you like, and many of them feel like that. Many of them feel that they're not being treated justly and fairly and squarely by the Americans, and indeed the American administration is being seen as more a lie to the Israelis than to the Arab force or the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) force.

COSTELLO: Well let me ask you this, when Arabs see fellow Arabs beating a picture...

ALAMUDDIN: Yes.

COSTELLO: ... of Saddam Hussein with a shoe and spitting on the poster, doesn't that tell them that they didn't want this man leading their country and he should be overthrown?

ALAMUDDIN: Absolutely. Absolutely. But remember, Saddam Hussein was never a loved man in the Arab world. The only time that we saw him being revered was the next week of the war when indeed he was seen to be crushing the Americans as he was saying to everyone. So Saddam Hussein is not a loved leader, not by the people in the Arab streets and not by the government in the Arab -- in the Arab world. So that feeling quickly went when he was seen to be gaining momentum against the British and U.S. forces. No, no, Saddam Hussein is not loved and he is not somebody that will be missed in the Arab world and indeed in Iraq.

COSTELLO: Yes, you know all of these conflicting emotions, I am sure are very difficult for many Americans to understand.

ALAMUDDIN: Yes.

COSTELLO: But we thank you for your insight and we appreciate it.

ALAMUDDIN: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Baria Alamuddin from the "Al Hayat" newspaper.

ALAMUDDIN: 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 April 9, 2003 - 06:43   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, it's easy to assume the fighting is just about over, but it is certainly not.
But we do want to talk about the celebrations going on in east central Baghdad right now. And we want to bring in Baria Alamuddin from the "Al Hayat" newspaper to get some Arab reaction to all of this.

Good morning.

BARIA ALAMUDDIN, FOREIGN EDITOR, "AL HAYAT": Good morning to you.

COSTELLO: I was just wondering, when Arabs see the celebrations in parts of Baghdad, what are they thinking?

ALAMUDDIN: Our feelings are running very high this morning, and I should say this afternoon, in the Arab world. And it is a mixed kind of feelings and emotions and also thinking. They must be feeling relieved that we are finally getting rid of this dictator. They must be feeling great pain looking at the pictures of the people begging for water, the wounded, the dead.

They also must be feeling a lot of shame and despair because Saddam Hussein had again and again lied to Arab people and to his own people indeed. He had promised before the liberation of Palestine. He had promised to crush the invaders, meaning the Americans and the -- and the British as far as he's concerned. He has delivered none of that.

Many Arabs -- you know many Arab people who wanted to go and fight alongside the Iraqis thinking you know that they can actually indeed have an impact on the fighting are disillusioned and are feeling well, again and again you know this guy has lied to us. So it's a mixture of feeling. Relief that we got rid of Saddam Hussein would be probably the most dominant feeling I would imagine.

COSTELLO: And having said that, do you think that because of the way they're feeling about Saddam Hussein right now that the Arab world might be feeling better about the United States and Britain?

ALAMUDDIN: I think no. I cannot say yes because of one thing. You know the Americans and the British, because they went in not as part of a U.N. force, as unilaterally they decided to go in, and as I told you in many parts they were looked upon as invaders. However, I think they must be feeling better about them today, to a certain degree, but the feeling will not change in the Arab world about the American stance and the American position before we see a real movement towards peace in Palestine.

I think it must be that many people are feeling today hopefully soon we will be feeling and seeing pictures coming out of Kaiser (ph), coming out of Ramallah, coming out of Nablus of the invaders, meaning the Israelis, getting out of their own land. So the Americans have to bee seen more to be fair and just.

People in that part of the world are longing for peace, indeed in Iraq, in Palestine, in other parts of the Arab world, but it has to be seen as a just peace. People in the Arab world are tired of being treated like third or fourth class citizens, if you like, and many of them feel like that. Many of them feel that they're not being treated justly and fairly and squarely by the Americans, and indeed the American administration is being seen as more a lie to the Israelis than to the Arab force or the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) force.

COSTELLO: Well let me ask you this, when Arabs see fellow Arabs beating a picture...

ALAMUDDIN: Yes.

COSTELLO: ... of Saddam Hussein with a shoe and spitting on the poster, doesn't that tell them that they didn't want this man leading their country and he should be overthrown?

ALAMUDDIN: Absolutely. Absolutely. But remember, Saddam Hussein was never a loved man in the Arab world. The only time that we saw him being revered was the next week of the war when indeed he was seen to be crushing the Americans as he was saying to everyone. So Saddam Hussein is not a loved leader, not by the people in the Arab streets and not by the government in the Arab -- in the Arab world. So that feeling quickly went when he was seen to be gaining momentum against the British and U.S. forces. No, no, Saddam Hussein is not loved and he is not somebody that will be missed in the Arab world and indeed in Iraq.

COSTELLO: Yes, you know all of these conflicting emotions, I am sure are very difficult for many Americans to understand.

ALAMUDDIN: Yes.

COSTELLO: But we thank you for your insight and we appreciate it.

ALAMUDDIN: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Baria Alamuddin from the "Al Hayat" newspaper.

ALAMUDDIN: 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