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Iraqi Scientist Went Public Out of Fears of Saddam, U.S. Military

Aired June 27, 2003 - 10:09   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.


HEIDI COLLINS, ANCHOR: To the Middle East and the war on terrorism.
U.S. and Saudi officials say a key suspect in the May 12 attacks in Riyadh is in custody. They say Ali Abdul Al-Rachman Al-Gamdi turned himself in.

The synchronized attacks targeted three compounds housing westerners. Nine of the 23 people killed were Americans.

Yesterday at this time, we had a CNN exclusive report on an Iraqi scientist coming forward with components critical to a nuclear weapons program. They were literally buried in his back yard.

But it was the trouble on his doorstep that may raise new concerns now.

CNN national correspondent Mike Boettcher explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is why Dr. Mahdi Obeidi, one of Saddam Hussein's top nuclear scientists, went public.

MAHDI OBEIDI, IRAQI SCIENTIST: I was eating breakfast with my wife and I heard some very loud noise outside and the noise started to grow even more. And then we were really scared. We thought somebody was coming to kill us.

BOETTCHER: It was the third of June and it was the U.S. Army. Not there to kill, but searching for Obeidi.

ZAID OBEIDI, SON: They used something, I don't know, but something big, huge. And they broke in this door. Many of the soldiers came here.

BOETTCHER: The family was terrified.

Z. OBEIDI: With a loud voice, you know. "Go, go, go, go."

BOETTCHER: The scene the family describes was similar to other raids witnessed by CNN as the Army searched for evidence of weapons of mass destruction.

But the problem? Obeidi was already cooperating with the U.S. government, the CIA. M. OBEIDI: Because only two days earlier I had given a whole, complete program to the Americans of the centrifuge program. And I've shown my full cooperation with them.

BOETTCHER: He had dug up rose bushes in his yard and turned over what he had hidden there, plans and parts for making a gas centrifuge, a key component for making the fuel for a nuclear bomb.

Obeidi says he was promised protection by the CIA. But now he felt in danger. His handlers, he said, seemed to be reneging. And with the raid on his house, he feared he was not only a target for Saddam loyalists for giving up Iraq secrets but inexplicably, also now a target of the U.S. military.

But fortunately for Obeidi, he was able to reach the one American he really knew, David Albright, a former weapons inspector whom he had met and lied to many times during U.N. inspections in the 1990s. Albright had originally facilitated Obeidi's contact with the U.S. government. But it had not been easy.

DAVID ALBRIGHT, INSTITUTE FOR SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY: I think what happened, unfortunately, is that there is no policy in the U.S. government to allow these scientists to come to the United States. There is no plea bargain policy. And I think there were people in the bureaucracy here who just didn't want to make a deal. So he was trapped. And that's really what I think led he and I to think that this situation had reached a dead end and that his best choice was to go public.

BOETTCHER: And Obeidi contacted CNN. Just two days after U.S. officials learned he had contacted us, Obeidi and his family were whisked out of Iraq by the CIA. That U.S. Army raid, the CIA now admits, was a mistake.

DAVID KAY, CIA CHIEF WEAPONS INSPECTOR: There are many units operating in Baghdad right now, and it was a case, genuine case of lack of full coordination.

BOETTCHER: And, the CIA says, the breakdown in communications was a misunderstanding.

Wednesday, we met Obeidi in a location we promised not to identify, where he told us he hoped lessons could be learned from his attempt to cooperate. Other Iraqi scientists, he said, were closely watching his fate.

OBEIDI: Well, I think the soft touch approach is the best approach.

BOETTCHER: On Thursday, that message resonated at the White House.

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: Well, we're hopeful that this example will lead to other Iraqi scientists stepping forward to provide information. BOETTCHER: So far, few have come forward. Until now, they've told CNN they are unsure of the U.S. policy, wondering if they would be welcomed or treated as criminals or left vulnerable to reprisals by remnants of the Saddam regime.

For example, one scientist we interviewed denied having anything to do with weapons programs and said he wasn't afraid. But as CNN producer Maria Fleet left his home, this note was secretly passed to her by his daughter: "He is afraid of telling the truth because of the dangerous situation Saddam put us in. Please help us and make sure of our safety, and if you could make it possible to leave Iraq forever."

BOETTCHER: Obeidi says he told the truth and he is now safely out of Iraq, after he finally felt he could dig up those top secret papers and parts he'd stashed a dozen years ago under that rose bush.

(on camera) So in the future, Doctor, if you walk by a house that has a rose bush in front, you're going to have a smile on your face?

OBEIDI: Yes, I would.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOETTCHER: We do not know where Dr. Obeidi is right now and frankly, he wasn't even sure where he was going end up, although I do know where he'd like to go. He was a graduate of the Colorado School of Mines back in the 1960s. He enjoyed his time in the United States and he says he'd like to take his family there -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Mike, just wondering now, after all of this has come out, I know that authorities were hoping that when one scientist came forward with the information that he knew, they were hoping that more would feel safe enough to do the very same thing.

What are your thoughts on that? Will that happen?

BOETTCHER: I think it will. He was in contact with other scientists, and I believe that's how he will be utilized by the United States in the near term. Trying to convince the other scientists, "Hey, look, see what happened to me? I'm OK now. The U.S. has taken care of me." And Obeidi was very convinced that the other scientists would follow suit.

COLLINS: Mike Boettcher live in Beirut for us. Thanks so much, Mike.

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




Military>


Aired June 27, 2003 - 10:09   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, ANCHOR: To the Middle East and the war on terrorism.
U.S. and Saudi officials say a key suspect in the May 12 attacks in Riyadh is in custody. They say Ali Abdul Al-Rachman Al-Gamdi turned himself in.

The synchronized attacks targeted three compounds housing westerners. Nine of the 23 people killed were Americans.

Yesterday at this time, we had a CNN exclusive report on an Iraqi scientist coming forward with components critical to a nuclear weapons program. They were literally buried in his back yard.

But it was the trouble on his doorstep that may raise new concerns now.

CNN national correspondent Mike Boettcher explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is why Dr. Mahdi Obeidi, one of Saddam Hussein's top nuclear scientists, went public.

MAHDI OBEIDI, IRAQI SCIENTIST: I was eating breakfast with my wife and I heard some very loud noise outside and the noise started to grow even more. And then we were really scared. We thought somebody was coming to kill us.

BOETTCHER: It was the third of June and it was the U.S. Army. Not there to kill, but searching for Obeidi.

ZAID OBEIDI, SON: They used something, I don't know, but something big, huge. And they broke in this door. Many of the soldiers came here.

BOETTCHER: The family was terrified.

Z. OBEIDI: With a loud voice, you know. "Go, go, go, go."

BOETTCHER: The scene the family describes was similar to other raids witnessed by CNN as the Army searched for evidence of weapons of mass destruction.

But the problem? Obeidi was already cooperating with the U.S. government, the CIA. M. OBEIDI: Because only two days earlier I had given a whole, complete program to the Americans of the centrifuge program. And I've shown my full cooperation with them.

BOETTCHER: He had dug up rose bushes in his yard and turned over what he had hidden there, plans and parts for making a gas centrifuge, a key component for making the fuel for a nuclear bomb.

Obeidi says he was promised protection by the CIA. But now he felt in danger. His handlers, he said, seemed to be reneging. And with the raid on his house, he feared he was not only a target for Saddam loyalists for giving up Iraq secrets but inexplicably, also now a target of the U.S. military.

But fortunately for Obeidi, he was able to reach the one American he really knew, David Albright, a former weapons inspector whom he had met and lied to many times during U.N. inspections in the 1990s. Albright had originally facilitated Obeidi's contact with the U.S. government. But it had not been easy.

DAVID ALBRIGHT, INSTITUTE FOR SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY: I think what happened, unfortunately, is that there is no policy in the U.S. government to allow these scientists to come to the United States. There is no plea bargain policy. And I think there were people in the bureaucracy here who just didn't want to make a deal. So he was trapped. And that's really what I think led he and I to think that this situation had reached a dead end and that his best choice was to go public.

BOETTCHER: And Obeidi contacted CNN. Just two days after U.S. officials learned he had contacted us, Obeidi and his family were whisked out of Iraq by the CIA. That U.S. Army raid, the CIA now admits, was a mistake.

DAVID KAY, CIA CHIEF WEAPONS INSPECTOR: There are many units operating in Baghdad right now, and it was a case, genuine case of lack of full coordination.

BOETTCHER: And, the CIA says, the breakdown in communications was a misunderstanding.

Wednesday, we met Obeidi in a location we promised not to identify, where he told us he hoped lessons could be learned from his attempt to cooperate. Other Iraqi scientists, he said, were closely watching his fate.

OBEIDI: Well, I think the soft touch approach is the best approach.

BOETTCHER: On Thursday, that message resonated at the White House.

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: Well, we're hopeful that this example will lead to other Iraqi scientists stepping forward to provide information. BOETTCHER: So far, few have come forward. Until now, they've told CNN they are unsure of the U.S. policy, wondering if they would be welcomed or treated as criminals or left vulnerable to reprisals by remnants of the Saddam regime.

For example, one scientist we interviewed denied having anything to do with weapons programs and said he wasn't afraid. But as CNN producer Maria Fleet left his home, this note was secretly passed to her by his daughter: "He is afraid of telling the truth because of the dangerous situation Saddam put us in. Please help us and make sure of our safety, and if you could make it possible to leave Iraq forever."

BOETTCHER: Obeidi says he told the truth and he is now safely out of Iraq, after he finally felt he could dig up those top secret papers and parts he'd stashed a dozen years ago under that rose bush.

(on camera) So in the future, Doctor, if you walk by a house that has a rose bush in front, you're going to have a smile on your face?

OBEIDI: Yes, I would.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOETTCHER: We do not know where Dr. Obeidi is right now and frankly, he wasn't even sure where he was going end up, although I do know where he'd like to go. He was a graduate of the Colorado School of Mines back in the 1960s. He enjoyed his time in the United States and he says he'd like to take his family there -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Mike, just wondering now, after all of this has come out, I know that authorities were hoping that when one scientist came forward with the information that he knew, they were hoping that more would feel safe enough to do the very same thing.

What are your thoughts on that? Will that happen?

BOETTCHER: I think it will. He was in contact with other scientists, and I believe that's how he will be utilized by the United States in the near term. Trying to convince the other scientists, "Hey, look, see what happened to me? I'm OK now. The U.S. has taken care of me." And Obeidi was very convinced that the other scientists would follow suit.

COLLINS: Mike Boettcher live in Beirut for us. Thanks so much, Mike.

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




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