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CNN Live At Daybreak

Audiotape Purported to be Saddam Hussein Recorded This Week

Aired May 07, 2003 - 06:03   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: A mystery audiotape, one that supposedly was made by Saddam Hussein. On it, a tired-sounding man urging the Iraqi people to reject the invaders. He says victory is coming.
We take you live now to Baghdad and Karl Penhaul.

Karl -- where did this tape come from?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.

The tape itself was delivered by two Iraqi men. They approached the Palestine Hotel. That's the hangout for journalists in Baghdad. They panicked as they got near the hotel -- there's a heavy U.S. troop presence around the hotel -- and handed it over to a Western newspaper journalist and his translator. It seems they may have recognized the translator, because he used to work with the regime. And they handed it to him, saying if you're a true Iraqi, make sure this gets out.

The things we don't know, Carol, we don't know when it was made, we don't know where it was made, but we do know that the speech bears some of the hallmarks of Saddam Hussein's style. It starts with a verse from the Quran. He calls himself the father and brother of all Iraqis, and obviously a number of insults that he's throwing against the Americans there.

Take a listen at some of the things that he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Through this secret means, I'm talking to you from inside Great Iraq, and I say to you, the main task for you, Arab and Kurd, Shia and Sunni, Muslim and Christian, and the whole Iraqi people of all religions, your main task is to keep the enemy out from our country. You have to believe that he who is working with the foreigners is working against you. He is not only a servant for foreigners, he is an enemy of God and an enemy of the people as well. Reject these people and reject anything that will divide you, Iraqi people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PENHAUL: In other parts of the speech, the man on the tape calls for Iraqis to use all forms necessary to resist the Americans, be those passive demonstrations, not selling or buying anything from the Americans to try and hurt them economically, or even taking up guns and trying to destroy American tanks and guns. We took a copy of the tape on to the streets of Baghdad, played it for some ordinary Iraqis to see what they thought of the tape. There was hot debate amongst them. Some of them thought definitely the voice of Saddam; others thought definitely not the voice of Saddam. There was a common agreement, though: very few of them seemed ready to heed the calls that Saddam made in this tape and to rise up with weapons against the Americans -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, you know, on this tape, whoever is talking, talks of an underground struggle. Is there evidence that there is much of that going on inside Iraq?

PENHAUL: Little hard evidence that there's an organized underground struggle. Yes, continuing pockets of resistance. We hear gunfire across Baghdad almost nightly, sometimes very heavy gunfire. Out in the provinces as well American troops continue to be fired on, some continue to be killed. But difficult to talk about an underground guerrilla movement developing in an organized fashion right now -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Interesting, and you're going to let us hear more of the tape in the next half-hour. Karl Penhaul, many thanks -- live from Baghdad 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.




Week>


Aired May 7, 2003 - 06:03   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A mystery audiotape, one that supposedly was made by Saddam Hussein. On it, a tired-sounding man urging the Iraqi people to reject the invaders. He says victory is coming.
We take you live now to Baghdad and Karl Penhaul.

Karl -- where did this tape come from?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.

The tape itself was delivered by two Iraqi men. They approached the Palestine Hotel. That's the hangout for journalists in Baghdad. They panicked as they got near the hotel -- there's a heavy U.S. troop presence around the hotel -- and handed it over to a Western newspaper journalist and his translator. It seems they may have recognized the translator, because he used to work with the regime. And they handed it to him, saying if you're a true Iraqi, make sure this gets out.

The things we don't know, Carol, we don't know when it was made, we don't know where it was made, but we do know that the speech bears some of the hallmarks of Saddam Hussein's style. It starts with a verse from the Quran. He calls himself the father and brother of all Iraqis, and obviously a number of insults that he's throwing against the Americans there.

Take a listen at some of the things that he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Through this secret means, I'm talking to you from inside Great Iraq, and I say to you, the main task for you, Arab and Kurd, Shia and Sunni, Muslim and Christian, and the whole Iraqi people of all religions, your main task is to keep the enemy out from our country. You have to believe that he who is working with the foreigners is working against you. He is not only a servant for foreigners, he is an enemy of God and an enemy of the people as well. Reject these people and reject anything that will divide you, Iraqi people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PENHAUL: In other parts of the speech, the man on the tape calls for Iraqis to use all forms necessary to resist the Americans, be those passive demonstrations, not selling or buying anything from the Americans to try and hurt them economically, or even taking up guns and trying to destroy American tanks and guns. We took a copy of the tape on to the streets of Baghdad, played it for some ordinary Iraqis to see what they thought of the tape. There was hot debate amongst them. Some of them thought definitely the voice of Saddam; others thought definitely not the voice of Saddam. There was a common agreement, though: very few of them seemed ready to heed the calls that Saddam made in this tape and to rise up with weapons against the Americans -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, you know, on this tape, whoever is talking, talks of an underground struggle. Is there evidence that there is much of that going on inside Iraq?

PENHAUL: Little hard evidence that there's an organized underground struggle. Yes, continuing pockets of resistance. We hear gunfire across Baghdad almost nightly, sometimes very heavy gunfire. Out in the provinces as well American troops continue to be fired on, some continue to be killed. But difficult to talk about an underground guerrilla movement developing in an organized fashion right now -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Interesting, and you're going to let us hear more of the tape in the next half-hour. Karl Penhaul, many thanks -- live from Baghdad 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.




Week>