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CNN Live At Daybreak

Home Video of Saddam

Aired April 24, 2003 - 05:32   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: Now let's go to Baghdad, where General Jay Garner is overseeing a town hall type meeting, another attempt to restore a working government there. And home video of Saddam, an opulent ceremony and many bodyguards.
Let's check in with Rula Amin -- good morning, Rula.

RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Carol, the man in charge of running Iraq, Jay Garner, today returned to Baghdad and he's here to stay. He first had a meeting with about 60 different Iraqis. Some of them were academics, politicians, engineers, all kind of Iraqis, people who would be involved and can help in getting Baghdad up and running. He says his priority is to restore law and order and basic services to the capital.

Still problems with the power and clean running water. This is what Jay Garner says he is going to work hard to accomplish, but it will need time.

Now, regarding those home videos, CNN has obtained tapes of, documenting private moments in Saddam Hussein's life. Some of them you can tell, you can describe as home videos. In those videos you can see now it's on his 50th birthday. It was always a very elaborate occasion celebrated all over the country, organized celebrations, most of the time. And the palaces were built, most were built to mark the occasion.

On this 50th birthday you can see him cutting the cake, you can hear the children chanting that he is like the love in the heart, like the light to the eyes and calling him Father Saddam.

Behind him, you see his military aides, including his private secretary, Abed Hamoud. And next to Abed Hamoud you see Saddam Khamel. This is Saddam Hussein's son-in-law, the husband of his daughter Renna (ph). This person was later killed, along with his other brother, Hussein Khamel, who was also Saddam Hussein's son-in- law. They were killed after they returned from Jordan after they had fled Iraq and exposed some of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs.

In a different video, you see Saddam Hussein with his wife Sajida. This is rare, rare footage. Usually his wife Sajida is kept off the screens of the public TV, off the pages of the headlines in the newspapers. And we only saw her very few times on Iraqi television, very formal occasions. In this, you see him having a walk with his wife in the northern part of the country during the winter of 1989. And they were there holding hands. Again, these are pictures that Iraqis have not seen before. They have not seen similar, even, pictures on Iraqi television. Never such intimate moments.

On a different tape, we have found pictures of him saying good- bye to his wife at the airport as she was leaving for a visit to Cairo. In that footage, you can see him saying good-bye to her, even giving her a kiss on the cheek. People in Iraq have never seen Saddam Hussein giving his wife a kiss on the cheek before on their own televisions. And behind him you can see his son at the site, also saying good-bye to his mother, along with other family members.

She went on an official trip to Cairo and you see her there afterwards coming down from the plane in Cairo. It was an official visit and she was received there by the Egyptian first lady.

Now, again, these are very rare footage, especially the ones with his wife. His birthday, we always saw pictures of his birthday on television, but the ones we saw were unedited versions and we are going to show you more -- Carol.

COSTELLO: It's just, it's a fascinating look for all we know about Saddam Hussein to see pictures like of normal family life seem almost bizarre.

Do we know where his wife is now?

AMIN: We don't know where his wife is. We know where her palace is and we know it has been looted and there, it's almost deserted there. He hadn't had a very good marriage with her. We know that he got married afterwards to a different woman and he had different mistresses. And Saddam Hussein himself, we don't know where he is. We don't know where the sons are. And this is a question that many Iraqis are asking, where is he and what is he up to?

Carol.

COSTELLO: OK, and as you said, you're going to show us more in the next half hour.

AMIN: We will have more.

COSTELLO: Thanks very much.

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






Aired April 24, 2003 - 05:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now let's go to Baghdad, where General Jay Garner is overseeing a town hall type meeting, another attempt to restore a working government there. And home video of Saddam, an opulent ceremony and many bodyguards.
Let's check in with Rula Amin -- good morning, Rula.

RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Carol, the man in charge of running Iraq, Jay Garner, today returned to Baghdad and he's here to stay. He first had a meeting with about 60 different Iraqis. Some of them were academics, politicians, engineers, all kind of Iraqis, people who would be involved and can help in getting Baghdad up and running. He says his priority is to restore law and order and basic services to the capital.

Still problems with the power and clean running water. This is what Jay Garner says he is going to work hard to accomplish, but it will need time.

Now, regarding those home videos, CNN has obtained tapes of, documenting private moments in Saddam Hussein's life. Some of them you can tell, you can describe as home videos. In those videos you can see now it's on his 50th birthday. It was always a very elaborate occasion celebrated all over the country, organized celebrations, most of the time. And the palaces were built, most were built to mark the occasion.

On this 50th birthday you can see him cutting the cake, you can hear the children chanting that he is like the love in the heart, like the light to the eyes and calling him Father Saddam.

Behind him, you see his military aides, including his private secretary, Abed Hamoud. And next to Abed Hamoud you see Saddam Khamel. This is Saddam Hussein's son-in-law, the husband of his daughter Renna (ph). This person was later killed, along with his other brother, Hussein Khamel, who was also Saddam Hussein's son-in- law. They were killed after they returned from Jordan after they had fled Iraq and exposed some of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs.

In a different video, you see Saddam Hussein with his wife Sajida. This is rare, rare footage. Usually his wife Sajida is kept off the screens of the public TV, off the pages of the headlines in the newspapers. And we only saw her very few times on Iraqi television, very formal occasions. In this, you see him having a walk with his wife in the northern part of the country during the winter of 1989. And they were there holding hands. Again, these are pictures that Iraqis have not seen before. They have not seen similar, even, pictures on Iraqi television. Never such intimate moments.

On a different tape, we have found pictures of him saying good- bye to his wife at the airport as she was leaving for a visit to Cairo. In that footage, you can see him saying good-bye to her, even giving her a kiss on the cheek. People in Iraq have never seen Saddam Hussein giving his wife a kiss on the cheek before on their own televisions. And behind him you can see his son at the site, also saying good-bye to his mother, along with other family members.

She went on an official trip to Cairo and you see her there afterwards coming down from the plane in Cairo. It was an official visit and she was received there by the Egyptian first lady.

Now, again, these are very rare footage, especially the ones with his wife. His birthday, we always saw pictures of his birthday on television, but the ones we saw were unedited versions and we are going to show you more -- Carol.

COSTELLO: It's just, it's a fascinating look for all we know about Saddam Hussein to see pictures like of normal family life seem almost bizarre.

Do we know where his wife is now?

AMIN: We don't know where his wife is. We know where her palace is and we know it has been looted and there, it's almost deserted there. He hadn't had a very good marriage with her. We know that he got married afterwards to a different woman and he had different mistresses. And Saddam Hussein himself, we don't know where he is. We don't know where the sons are. And this is a question that many Iraqis are asking, where is he and what is he up to?

Carol.

COSTELLO: OK, and as you said, you're going to show us more in the next half hour.

AMIN: We will have more.

COSTELLO: Thanks very much.

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