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Iraqis, U.S. Troops Raise Pre-Gulf War Iraqi Flag

Aired April 09, 2003 - 11:19   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.


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We've got Rula Amin now joining us from the Jordanian-Iraqi border with some thoughts about what just we've been watching over the last couple of hours. Rula, of course, headed up our Baghdad bureau for a number of years -- Rula.
RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, I was watching how the Arab satellite channels were carrying those pictures live and how most of the comments were actually focused on the fact that it was the U.S. troops who brought Saddam Hussein down. Most of their comments as the Iraqis were trying to bring the statue down were, will the Iraqis be able to bring it down on their own or will they need the U.S. troops' help? And in the end it was the U.S. troops who brought it down. And that was a focal point in most of the commentary that we heard because most of them have become very cynical on the way this war have unfolded.

At the same time, if you look at the picture there, there are not a large number of Iraqis at that statue cheering and welcoming the troops. And it's significant because we were wondering where are the other residents of Baghdad? Baghdad is a city of 5 million people. So some, it seems, have stayed at home.

The streets are still dangerous in their perspective as they hear the firefights. At the same time they're probably trying to deal with the aftermath of the war. A lot of destruction. A lot of damage in Baghdad. And a lot of casualties in the hospitals. So residents there will have to cope with all these elements. The fact that the U.S. troops are in control now, Saddam Hussein is gone, the damage, the destruction, what's next? It seems that there's probably a lot of confusion now as people will try to assess for themselves what is happening, what will happen, and what stance should they take, should they welcome the troops, should they take an active role in resisting the troops, or just wait and see -- Paula.

ZAHN: Let's talk about how Arab television represented the very brief moment when the American flag was raised on top of the statue's head to be very quickly replaced by the pre-Gulf War Iraqi flag being wrapped around the statue's neck.

AMIN: Well, you know, Paula, before it was quickly brought down, one of the anchors who were commenting on this scene, he did say, how come it is the U.S. flag that's on top of Saddam Hussein's head and it's not an Iraqi flag? And just shortly afterwards you saw the American flag coming down and the Iraqi flag coming instead. So it seems that everyone was focused on this same point. We do know that when the U.S. Troops raised the U.S. flag in Al- Faw Peninsula as they entered Iraq in the beginning of the war, that got a lot of attention from the Arab media, a lot of focus because they considered that as a sign, as a proof that the U.S. was coming to control Iraq and to occupy it. So that was a very smart move, to bring the flag down very quickly -- Paula.

ZAHN: And let me ask you this -- you were talking about the portrayal in the Arab press about this not being a significant number of Iraqis that showed up today. Our Simon Robinson from "TIME" magazine was in the square, and he put the crowd around -- at about 1500. Tell us a little bit about the lingering fears Iraqi civilians must have, not being clear about the status of the Saddam -- the Saddam status himself and the regime.

AMIN: Well, we can safely say that most people are probably relieved that Saddam Hussein is gone. However, many will be concerned on what's next. Because when even we were in Baghdad, and people will tell us that they don't care if Saddam Hussein goes, actually, they would welcome his removal. But they were concerned on what will happen to Iraq after he is gone. Who will rule Iraq? Will they have a say in ruling Iraq? Will they be in control of their lives, or will the American troops actually be in control? And will Iraq disintegrate? Who will control Iraq's wealth?

They are very proud people, and they feel they have a lot of potential. They have two rivers. They have the second largest oil reserves in the world. There are only 24 million of them, many of them educated. So they feel that they have a lot of potential to emerge as a prosperous society, as a regional power, and they feel that Saddam Hussein was putting them down, that the sanctions were putting them down. So probably now they're looking for a sign that this is going to be a new era where they're going to flourish. They probably are waiting for the day when the sanctions will be lifted, waiting for the day when they'll see who is going to rule Iraq and whether it's going to be a Democratic rule or not -- Paula.

ZAHN: Rula Amin, please stand by.

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 - 11:19   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We've got Rula Amin now joining us from the Jordanian-Iraqi border with some thoughts about what just we've been watching over the last couple of hours. Rula, of course, headed up our Baghdad bureau for a number of years -- Rula.
RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, I was watching how the Arab satellite channels were carrying those pictures live and how most of the comments were actually focused on the fact that it was the U.S. troops who brought Saddam Hussein down. Most of their comments as the Iraqis were trying to bring the statue down were, will the Iraqis be able to bring it down on their own or will they need the U.S. troops' help? And in the end it was the U.S. troops who brought it down. And that was a focal point in most of the commentary that we heard because most of them have become very cynical on the way this war have unfolded.

At the same time, if you look at the picture there, there are not a large number of Iraqis at that statue cheering and welcoming the troops. And it's significant because we were wondering where are the other residents of Baghdad? Baghdad is a city of 5 million people. So some, it seems, have stayed at home.

The streets are still dangerous in their perspective as they hear the firefights. At the same time they're probably trying to deal with the aftermath of the war. A lot of destruction. A lot of damage in Baghdad. And a lot of casualties in the hospitals. So residents there will have to cope with all these elements. The fact that the U.S. troops are in control now, Saddam Hussein is gone, the damage, the destruction, what's next? It seems that there's probably a lot of confusion now as people will try to assess for themselves what is happening, what will happen, and what stance should they take, should they welcome the troops, should they take an active role in resisting the troops, or just wait and see -- Paula.

ZAHN: Let's talk about how Arab television represented the very brief moment when the American flag was raised on top of the statue's head to be very quickly replaced by the pre-Gulf War Iraqi flag being wrapped around the statue's neck.

AMIN: Well, you know, Paula, before it was quickly brought down, one of the anchors who were commenting on this scene, he did say, how come it is the U.S. flag that's on top of Saddam Hussein's head and it's not an Iraqi flag? And just shortly afterwards you saw the American flag coming down and the Iraqi flag coming instead. So it seems that everyone was focused on this same point. We do know that when the U.S. Troops raised the U.S. flag in Al- Faw Peninsula as they entered Iraq in the beginning of the war, that got a lot of attention from the Arab media, a lot of focus because they considered that as a sign, as a proof that the U.S. was coming to control Iraq and to occupy it. So that was a very smart move, to bring the flag down very quickly -- Paula.

ZAHN: And let me ask you this -- you were talking about the portrayal in the Arab press about this not being a significant number of Iraqis that showed up today. Our Simon Robinson from "TIME" magazine was in the square, and he put the crowd around -- at about 1500. Tell us a little bit about the lingering fears Iraqi civilians must have, not being clear about the status of the Saddam -- the Saddam status himself and the regime.

AMIN: Well, we can safely say that most people are probably relieved that Saddam Hussein is gone. However, many will be concerned on what's next. Because when even we were in Baghdad, and people will tell us that they don't care if Saddam Hussein goes, actually, they would welcome his removal. But they were concerned on what will happen to Iraq after he is gone. Who will rule Iraq? Will they have a say in ruling Iraq? Will they be in control of their lives, or will the American troops actually be in control? And will Iraq disintegrate? Who will control Iraq's wealth?

They are very proud people, and they feel they have a lot of potential. They have two rivers. They have the second largest oil reserves in the world. There are only 24 million of them, many of them educated. So they feel that they have a lot of potential to emerge as a prosperous society, as a regional power, and they feel that Saddam Hussein was putting them down, that the sanctions were putting them down. So probably now they're looking for a sign that this is going to be a new era where they're going to flourish. They probably are waiting for the day when the sanctions will be lifted, waiting for the day when they'll see who is going to rule Iraq and whether it's going to be a Democratic rule or not -- Paula.

ZAHN: Rula Amin, please stand by.

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