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CNN Live At Daybreak
U.S. Meets With Opponents of Saddam Hussein
Aired April 15, 2003 - 06:15 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: And now that the U.S. has declared the war all but over in Iraq, it has invited handpicked Iraqi opposition leaders to Nasiriya for talks on shaping a new government.
CNN's John Vause joins us live from Nasiriya with more.
Good morning -- John.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good afternoon from Nasiriya, Carol.
This is in fact the first of those U.S.-sponsored meetings. They're regional meetings. They're called big tent gatherings, and they're basically a chance to hear the views -- in the words of the United States' administration -- "the views of those who have struggled inside the country and those who have struggled outside the country."
Now that is a clear reference that Iraqi exiles will be included in this process. But we know that Ahmed Chalabi, the leader of the Iraqi National Congress, is not attending this meeting, he is sending a delegate, and that is a sign of those deep divisions.
Also, that list of who is attending, it's just not known. The White House isn't saying and that's causing a great deal of concern here, especially among the people of Nasiriya. There was a protest earlier today, thousands of people marching through the streets. They were the Shiite Muslims. They were carrying banners saying we want to be included in this process. Kind of ironic given the fact that the Shiite Muslims are now boycotting this meeting. So word of that boycott now getting down to the streets and the people of Nasiriya. Their big concern, though, is that they will be locked out of that process.
We also asked these people what did they want, did they want the United States to stay, how long, what kind of government did they want? It was a very, very divided opinion. Some people said yes, we want the United States, we want the British to stay while we rebuild, while we reconstruct this country. Others were saying United States out right now. We are Iraqis. We can handle our own affairs. So deep division there.
Also, deep division about what role the former Baath Party officials should play in any future government.
Now these meetings that will take place throughout Iraq will basically lead up to forming an Iraqi interim authority. That, the United States wants to happen as soon as possible -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, two questions for you. This is just a first step. Creating an interim government will take weeks, months, we just don't know, and those protests seemed rather large. We've seen protests in Baghdad, but they're rather small. In Nasiriya, it appears there were thousands and thousands of people in that protest. Am I seeing it right?
VAUSE: Next -- yes, that's right, Carol. You got to remember Nasiriya was probably the scene of the most fierce fighting of the war. This is where the U.S. inflicted -- took heavy casualties. This was about the only place where there was an organized military resistance to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. So feelings are running quite deep here. And what the people of Nasiriya are now saying is that they do not want to be locked out of this process, they want a part of it. And their great fear, as we spoke to some people in town, is that their fear now is that one dictator, Saddam Hussein, will be replaced by another.
COSTELLO: And as far as how long will the creation of this interim government take, is there any timetable attached to this?
VAUSE: I guess the best example or the best way of looking at this is, if you look at what happened in Afghanistan, that took many, many months. So many different groups in Afghanistan had to come together. They had to find a charismatic leader like Hamid Karzai.
Now whether that Ahmed Chalabi is still unknown at this stage. Certainly had some support in Nasiriya. Others do not want him. So they've got to find a leader, they've got to find a process to pull this all together. It certainly looks as if it will take many, many months before anything like an interim authority begins to take shape.
COSTELLO: All right. John Vause, thanks for bringing us up to date. Of course we'll get back to you as warranted throughout the morning. Many thanks to 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 15, 2003 - 06:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And now that the U.S. has declared the war all but over in Iraq, it has invited handpicked Iraqi opposition leaders to Nasiriya for talks on shaping a new government.
CNN's John Vause joins us live from Nasiriya with more.
Good morning -- John.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good afternoon from Nasiriya, Carol.
This is in fact the first of those U.S.-sponsored meetings. They're regional meetings. They're called big tent gatherings, and they're basically a chance to hear the views -- in the words of the United States' administration -- "the views of those who have struggled inside the country and those who have struggled outside the country."
Now that is a clear reference that Iraqi exiles will be included in this process. But we know that Ahmed Chalabi, the leader of the Iraqi National Congress, is not attending this meeting, he is sending a delegate, and that is a sign of those deep divisions.
Also, that list of who is attending, it's just not known. The White House isn't saying and that's causing a great deal of concern here, especially among the people of Nasiriya. There was a protest earlier today, thousands of people marching through the streets. They were the Shiite Muslims. They were carrying banners saying we want to be included in this process. Kind of ironic given the fact that the Shiite Muslims are now boycotting this meeting. So word of that boycott now getting down to the streets and the people of Nasiriya. Their big concern, though, is that they will be locked out of that process.
We also asked these people what did they want, did they want the United States to stay, how long, what kind of government did they want? It was a very, very divided opinion. Some people said yes, we want the United States, we want the British to stay while we rebuild, while we reconstruct this country. Others were saying United States out right now. We are Iraqis. We can handle our own affairs. So deep division there.
Also, deep division about what role the former Baath Party officials should play in any future government.
Now these meetings that will take place throughout Iraq will basically lead up to forming an Iraqi interim authority. That, the United States wants to happen as soon as possible -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, two questions for you. This is just a first step. Creating an interim government will take weeks, months, we just don't know, and those protests seemed rather large. We've seen protests in Baghdad, but they're rather small. In Nasiriya, it appears there were thousands and thousands of people in that protest. Am I seeing it right?
VAUSE: Next -- yes, that's right, Carol. You got to remember Nasiriya was probably the scene of the most fierce fighting of the war. This is where the U.S. inflicted -- took heavy casualties. This was about the only place where there was an organized military resistance to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. So feelings are running quite deep here. And what the people of Nasiriya are now saying is that they do not want to be locked out of this process, they want a part of it. And their great fear, as we spoke to some people in town, is that their fear now is that one dictator, Saddam Hussein, will be replaced by another.
COSTELLO: And as far as how long will the creation of this interim government take, is there any timetable attached to this?
VAUSE: I guess the best example or the best way of looking at this is, if you look at what happened in Afghanistan, that took many, many months. So many different groups in Afghanistan had to come together. They had to find a charismatic leader like Hamid Karzai.
Now whether that Ahmed Chalabi is still unknown at this stage. Certainly had some support in Nasiriya. Others do not want him. So they've got to find a leader, they've got to find a process to pull this all together. It certainly looks as if it will take many, many months before anything like an interim authority begins to take shape.
COSTELLO: All right. John Vause, thanks for bringing us up to date. Of course we'll get back to you as warranted throughout the morning. Many thanks to 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
