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CNN Live At Daybreak

Missing U.S. Pilot's Initials Found Scratched in Iraqi Prison

Aired April 24, 2003 - 06:37   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 talk about the new home video that CNN has obtained. It's of Saddam Hussein, a giant cake, dozens of security guards.
Also, initials scratched on an Iraqi prison wall. Are they Michael Scott Speicher's?

Rula Amin is in Baghdad to sort it all out for us this morning.

Good morning -- Rula.

RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, it was U.S. specialists who found the initials, "M.S.S.," in one of the cells at one of Baghdad's prisons. Now, they seem to have enough clues to make them suspect that these were the initials for U.S. pilot Michael Scott Speicher.

His plane was shot down during the last Gulf War in 1991. It was at the beginning of the war. In the beginning, he was believed to have been killed. Later on, there was some information that -- actually the Pentagon changed his status from killed to missing in action.

And now, it seems that the U.S. is suspecting that these initials may belong to Michael Speicher.

Now, what does that mean? It means that at some point he had survived the crash, but then he was brought into Baghdad, was in that cell. Does that mean that he is still alive? Those initials don't say that, but it's more clues on where he might be -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks for that part of the story, Rula.

Are you going to show us some of that home video that CNN obtained, too?

AMIN: Yes, we will. CNN obtained some videos that document part of Saddam Hussein's private life. Now, usually we have seen him a lot on television. It's usually edited material.

In one of these videos, you see him celebrating his 50th birthday. Usually, this is a big occasion in Iraq, celebrated by so many organized celebrations, festivities, a lot of money spent. You can see there the big cake. He is surrounded by his military aides, including his private secretary, Abed Mahmoud, and one of his son-in- laws, Saddam Kamel (ph). He is the husband of his daughter, Ranelle (ph).

He was later killed when he fled Iraq with another Saddam Hussein son-in-law, who is Saddam Kamel's (ph) brother. They were two brothers married to Saddam Hussein's two daughters. They fled to Jordan, exposed some of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs. Then, somehow, they returned back to Iraq and were killed.

So, we can see him there in part of that video, and you can hear the children chanting, calling Saddam Hussein "Father, Saddam," that he was like the love in the heart, the light of the eyes. He seems very happy with all that attention.

In a different video, we'll show you more rare footage. This is footage with him with his wife, Sajida, in the northern part of the country in the winter of 1989. Sajida, his wife, as he has been married to her for over 30 years now, rarely did we see her on Iraqi television. Iraqis saw her very seldom, usually in very formal official occasions and very rarely.

In this footage, it seems like they were having an intimate walk, they were holding hands. And again, this is a scene that Iraqis have never seen before.

Another video, you see Saddam Hussein actually saying goodbye to Sajida at one of the -- at the airport here in Baghdad. She was heading toward Cairo in a visit. He is there at the airport saying goodbye, giving her a kiss on the cheek, along with other members of the family.

Again, it's the first time we've seen Saddam Hussein giving a kiss to his wife. This may be a regular scene in the West, but not in Iraq, although it doesn't mean that this was a religious family, because you can see there that Sajida didn't have her hair covered or that she was wearing the traditional long gowns. She's wearing modern clothes and her hair was not covered. Actually it's blonde.

So this is, again, home video shot for their own personal use.

The final video I'll share with you is of Queen Noor of Jordan. She's the wife of the late King Hussein of Jordan. This video was taken on one of her visits to Baghdad. She came, you can see here there, coming at the airport, arriving at the airport, being greeted by different Iraqi officials, including Saddam Hussein's wife, Sajida. It looks like it was a rainy day with umbrellas there.

And this visit comes at the time we know that there were real deep distances between Sajida and her husband, Saddam Hussein, who later married another woman, Samira Shahbandar (ph) -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks for sharing that -- Rula Amin live from Baghdad sharing pictures, a glimpse into the private life of a dictator. Rula Amin live from Baghdad.

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




Prison>


Aired April 24, 2003 - 06:37   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 talk about the new home video that CNN has obtained. It's of Saddam Hussein, a giant cake, dozens of security guards.
Also, initials scratched on an Iraqi prison wall. Are they Michael Scott Speicher's?

Rula Amin is in Baghdad to sort it all out for us this morning.

Good morning -- Rula.

RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, it was U.S. specialists who found the initials, "M.S.S.," in one of the cells at one of Baghdad's prisons. Now, they seem to have enough clues to make them suspect that these were the initials for U.S. pilot Michael Scott Speicher.

His plane was shot down during the last Gulf War in 1991. It was at the beginning of the war. In the beginning, he was believed to have been killed. Later on, there was some information that -- actually the Pentagon changed his status from killed to missing in action.

And now, it seems that the U.S. is suspecting that these initials may belong to Michael Speicher.

Now, what does that mean? It means that at some point he had survived the crash, but then he was brought into Baghdad, was in that cell. Does that mean that he is still alive? Those initials don't say that, but it's more clues on where he might be -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks for that part of the story, Rula.

Are you going to show us some of that home video that CNN obtained, too?

AMIN: Yes, we will. CNN obtained some videos that document part of Saddam Hussein's private life. Now, usually we have seen him a lot on television. It's usually edited material.

In one of these videos, you see him celebrating his 50th birthday. Usually, this is a big occasion in Iraq, celebrated by so many organized celebrations, festivities, a lot of money spent. You can see there the big cake. He is surrounded by his military aides, including his private secretary, Abed Mahmoud, and one of his son-in- laws, Saddam Kamel (ph). He is the husband of his daughter, Ranelle (ph).

He was later killed when he fled Iraq with another Saddam Hussein son-in-law, who is Saddam Kamel's (ph) brother. They were two brothers married to Saddam Hussein's two daughters. They fled to Jordan, exposed some of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs. Then, somehow, they returned back to Iraq and were killed.

So, we can see him there in part of that video, and you can hear the children chanting, calling Saddam Hussein "Father, Saddam," that he was like the love in the heart, the light of the eyes. He seems very happy with all that attention.

In a different video, we'll show you more rare footage. This is footage with him with his wife, Sajida, in the northern part of the country in the winter of 1989. Sajida, his wife, as he has been married to her for over 30 years now, rarely did we see her on Iraqi television. Iraqis saw her very seldom, usually in very formal official occasions and very rarely.

In this footage, it seems like they were having an intimate walk, they were holding hands. And again, this is a scene that Iraqis have never seen before.

Another video, you see Saddam Hussein actually saying goodbye to Sajida at one of the -- at the airport here in Baghdad. She was heading toward Cairo in a visit. He is there at the airport saying goodbye, giving her a kiss on the cheek, along with other members of the family.

Again, it's the first time we've seen Saddam Hussein giving a kiss to his wife. This may be a regular scene in the West, but not in Iraq, although it doesn't mean that this was a religious family, because you can see there that Sajida didn't have her hair covered or that she was wearing the traditional long gowns. She's wearing modern clothes and her hair was not covered. Actually it's blonde.

So this is, again, home video shot for their own personal use.

The final video I'll share with you is of Queen Noor of Jordan. She's the wife of the late King Hussein of Jordan. This video was taken on one of her visits to Baghdad. She came, you can see here there, coming at the airport, arriving at the airport, being greeted by different Iraqi officials, including Saddam Hussein's wife, Sajida. It looks like it was a rainy day with umbrellas there.

And this visit comes at the time we know that there were real deep distances between Sajida and her husband, Saddam Hussein, who later married another woman, Samira Shahbandar (ph) -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks for sharing that -- Rula Amin live from Baghdad sharing pictures, a glimpse into the private life of a dictator. Rula Amin live from Baghdad.

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




Prison>