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CNN Live At Daybreak
Rival Ethnic Groups in Mosul Elect Interim Council
Aired May 05, 2003 - 06:08 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: Turning our attention to the new Iraq. It is Election Day in Mosul, and it is a first. Rival ethnic groups are going to choose their leaders.
Our Jane Arraf joins us live from Iraq's northern city of Mosul with details on this election.
And it's going to be democracy Iraq-style, right -- Jane?
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: That's right, Carol. And as of a few minutes ago, Mosul now has a city government. It's a city council that was elected by a variety of groups that make up this incredibly interesting and diverse ethnic composition, and they have voted and elected a city council.
Now, we've got Major General David Petraeus, the commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division, here to tell us about that.
How complicated was it actually putting this together?
MAJ. GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, U.S. ARMY: Well, there was a lot of working together by a lot of people, a lot of negotiations back and forth. But at the end of the day, there was enough cooperation and compromise to bring this day off.
ARRAF: Have you done anything like this before?
PETRAEUS: No. Never.
ARRAF: Are you surprised it worked?
PETRAEUS: Well, actually there was a spirit here that was eager to have interim governance. There is a clear recognition that they need leadership and direction from a government, and that's what carried them forward through this process.
ARRAF: There are a lot of groups here people will never have heard of outside of this region, the Ahidis (ph), the Shibites (ph), all these different ethnic groups. What's the importance of the composition of the city council?
PETRAEUS: Well, again, the members of the group that all sat down -- and it was an expanding group, by the way, during the process -- felt that there should be representation for some of these ethnic minorities at the city council table. The foregone conclusion that the mayor would be an Arab and everyone accepted that as well. But that process produced the composition of the city council, which will have representation for some of these groups that are important in the area, but probably would not have had representation otherwise.
ARRAF: Thank you so much.
PETRAEUS: Thank you.
ARRAF: That was Major General David Petraeus, the commanding general of the 101st Airborne, telling us about what was, just a few minutes ago, really a historical occasion. It was the first democratically-elected city council here in Iraq in a very long time -- Carol.
COSTELLO: We will see how it goes. Jane Arraf reporting from Mosul in northern Iraq this morning.
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 5, 2003 - 06:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Turning our attention to the new Iraq. It is Election Day in Mosul, and it is a first. Rival ethnic groups are going to choose their leaders.
Our Jane Arraf joins us live from Iraq's northern city of Mosul with details on this election.
And it's going to be democracy Iraq-style, right -- Jane?
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: That's right, Carol. And as of a few minutes ago, Mosul now has a city government. It's a city council that was elected by a variety of groups that make up this incredibly interesting and diverse ethnic composition, and they have voted and elected a city council.
Now, we've got Major General David Petraeus, the commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division, here to tell us about that.
How complicated was it actually putting this together?
MAJ. GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, U.S. ARMY: Well, there was a lot of working together by a lot of people, a lot of negotiations back and forth. But at the end of the day, there was enough cooperation and compromise to bring this day off.
ARRAF: Have you done anything like this before?
PETRAEUS: No. Never.
ARRAF: Are you surprised it worked?
PETRAEUS: Well, actually there was a spirit here that was eager to have interim governance. There is a clear recognition that they need leadership and direction from a government, and that's what carried them forward through this process.
ARRAF: There are a lot of groups here people will never have heard of outside of this region, the Ahidis (ph), the Shibites (ph), all these different ethnic groups. What's the importance of the composition of the city council?
PETRAEUS: Well, again, the members of the group that all sat down -- and it was an expanding group, by the way, during the process -- felt that there should be representation for some of these ethnic minorities at the city council table. The foregone conclusion that the mayor would be an Arab and everyone accepted that as well. But that process produced the composition of the city council, which will have representation for some of these groups that are important in the area, but probably would not have had representation otherwise.
ARRAF: Thank you so much.
PETRAEUS: Thank you.
ARRAF: That was Major General David Petraeus, the commanding general of the 101st Airborne, telling us about what was, just a few minutes ago, really a historical occasion. It was the first democratically-elected city council here in Iraq in a very long time -- Carol.
COSTELLO: We will see how it goes. Jane Arraf reporting from Mosul in northern Iraq this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
