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CNN Live At Daybreak

U.S. Troops Can Pull Nine of Hearts From Deck

Aired May 02, 2003 - 05:33   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.


ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: U.S. troops in Iraq can pull the nine of hearts from their deck of cards of most wanted Iraqis. The cards show one of Saddam Hussein's most trusted aides, who is now in U.S. custody.
CNN's Rym Brahimi joins us now from Baghdad with more -- hi, Rym.

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Arthel.

And his name is Mizban Khadr Hadi. Now, he was, as you mentioned, a very trusted aide of President Saddam Hussein. He was a member of the Revolution Command Council, which was basically the highest authority in the country at the time of the previous regime, a member of the ruling Baath Party, and he was also made in charge, as of March, right before the war, of the central Euphrates region at the time when Iraq had divided the country in four military regions in order to better defend it.

Now, of course, we asked a few people here in the streets. Some people said that they were happy this arrest had been made because it would bring more stability to the country. The reason for that is not that they're rid with the old, they want to see something new. But they're still suffering from the power vacuum.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRAHIMI (voice-over): Nada Aballi (ph) is 11 years old. Eight months ago, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor and sent to Norway, where she has relatives, for treatment. Her condition, says her father, never improved.

HIKMAT ABALLI: They told me that she is now between death and life and she'd like to see me and to see her brother. And there is no way.

BRAHIMI: Nada's father, Hikmat Aballi, says the issue isn't money. His family has enough. The problem is leaving Iraq, a country with no government and no civil administration.

ABALLI: Forty days now from the war and the American people are, is here and there is no place we can go.

BRAHIMI: Having received no answer, he says, from the U.S. military or the Red Cross, Aballi came with his 8-year-old son to where most of the international media is based in Baghdad to tell his story, a last ditch effort to get help. Part of his problem is this. The passport office, like most administrative buildings, was looted, so he can't get a passport for his son to travel with him.

Aballi invited to his house.

ABALLI: This is Nada.

BRAHIMI: He shows us pictures of his daughter Nada.

ABALLI: The water over the, at the morning time, at the flowers, this is the meaning of her name.

BRAHIMI: His son Fami (ph), he says, wants to be an engineer or a doctor when he grows up. Like many Iraqis, Aballi, a retired oil engineer, asks if this is the better life they were promised after the U.S. toppled the regime.

ABALLI: I am sitting here. I don't know what to do. I need to leave. I need to see her. I have a passport, but who will give me a stamp to remove, to cross the border? It's very hard. Really, it's very hard.

BRAHIMI: And most of all, he asks whether he will ever see his daughter again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRAHIMI: Arthel, you can see this is just one person, but at a time when President Bush is announcing the end of the major combat operations, well, a lot of people here have similar situations. A lot of people here come and ask when is the situation going to improve, when are we going to be able to really move forward in their lives, have security, send the kids back to school and have electricity? -- Arthel.

NEVILLE: OK, Rym Brahimi, thank you very much for that report.

And if you happen to be away from the TV, stay informed on the new Iraq by going to cnn.com. That's where you'll find the latest headlines plus an interactive gallery of pictures and maps. The AOL keyword is CNN.

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 May 2, 2003 - 05:33   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: U.S. troops in Iraq can pull the nine of hearts from their deck of cards of most wanted Iraqis. The cards show one of Saddam Hussein's most trusted aides, who is now in U.S. custody.
CNN's Rym Brahimi joins us now from Baghdad with more -- hi, Rym.

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Arthel.

And his name is Mizban Khadr Hadi. Now, he was, as you mentioned, a very trusted aide of President Saddam Hussein. He was a member of the Revolution Command Council, which was basically the highest authority in the country at the time of the previous regime, a member of the ruling Baath Party, and he was also made in charge, as of March, right before the war, of the central Euphrates region at the time when Iraq had divided the country in four military regions in order to better defend it.

Now, of course, we asked a few people here in the streets. Some people said that they were happy this arrest had been made because it would bring more stability to the country. The reason for that is not that they're rid with the old, they want to see something new. But they're still suffering from the power vacuum.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRAHIMI (voice-over): Nada Aballi (ph) is 11 years old. Eight months ago, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor and sent to Norway, where she has relatives, for treatment. Her condition, says her father, never improved.

HIKMAT ABALLI: They told me that she is now between death and life and she'd like to see me and to see her brother. And there is no way.

BRAHIMI: Nada's father, Hikmat Aballi, says the issue isn't money. His family has enough. The problem is leaving Iraq, a country with no government and no civil administration.

ABALLI: Forty days now from the war and the American people are, is here and there is no place we can go.

BRAHIMI: Having received no answer, he says, from the U.S. military or the Red Cross, Aballi came with his 8-year-old son to where most of the international media is based in Baghdad to tell his story, a last ditch effort to get help. Part of his problem is this. The passport office, like most administrative buildings, was looted, so he can't get a passport for his son to travel with him.

Aballi invited to his house.

ABALLI: This is Nada.

BRAHIMI: He shows us pictures of his daughter Nada.

ABALLI: The water over the, at the morning time, at the flowers, this is the meaning of her name.

BRAHIMI: His son Fami (ph), he says, wants to be an engineer or a doctor when he grows up. Like many Iraqis, Aballi, a retired oil engineer, asks if this is the better life they were promised after the U.S. toppled the regime.

ABALLI: I am sitting here. I don't know what to do. I need to leave. I need to see her. I have a passport, but who will give me a stamp to remove, to cross the border? It's very hard. Really, it's very hard.

BRAHIMI: And most of all, he asks whether he will ever see his daughter again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRAHIMI: Arthel, you can see this is just one person, but at a time when President Bush is announcing the end of the major combat operations, well, a lot of people here have similar situations. A lot of people here come and ask when is the situation going to improve, when are we going to be able to really move forward in their lives, have security, send the kids back to school and have electricity? -- Arthel.

NEVILLE: OK, Rym Brahimi, thank you very much for that report.

And if you happen to be away from the TV, stay informed on the new Iraq by going to cnn.com. That's where you'll find the latest headlines plus an interactive gallery of pictures and maps. The AOL keyword is CNN.

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