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CNN Live At Daybreak
Reaction on Streets of Baghdad to Photos
Aired July 25, 2003 - 05:03 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: All right, those videos this morning, the pictures, they're bold steps to try to convince Iraqis that Saddam's sons are really dead. We cannot overstate the caution here. The video will be graphic, as are the pictures you're about to see. Here they are. People around the world have already seen what the U.S. says are pictures of the battered, bloody faces of Uday and Qusay Hussein. But many in the Arab world just don't believe these photographs are real.
Let's get more on the reaction now on the streets of Baghdad.
Live to Baghdad now and Harris Whitbeck.
Will the videotape do it -- Harris?
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, that's certainly what U.S. authorities here hope and that's why they have decided to allow a pool of television and print reporters into the morgue that they have set up at Baghdad International Airport here in the Iraqi capital. Many people on the streets still expressing seeing skepticism over what they have been told by the U.S., that Uday and Qusay were, in fact, killed during this firefight in Mosul a couple of days ago.
Today is Friday, a day of rest, a day of prayer. And it is the first time that many Iraqis will have the opportunity to actually congregate and gather and perhaps debate the question on the fate of Saddam's two older brothers, after having had time to digest the news. So it'll be very interesting to see what the clerics say in their sermons and how people will react, again, after having had a chance to talk things over in bigger groups, if you will.
And, also, since this is a day of prayer, not all newspapers are circulating in Iraq. We've seen about three of them here. And none of those newspapers have the pictures of the dead brothers in them and we don't know if that's because they simply got them past the time that their printing presses were already rolling. But the fact is that perhaps not many people have yet had a chance to see those pictures, and that's why, you know, there is so much skepticism and, of course, the U.S. is very hopeful that once taking the added step of showing the bodies that people might believe that, in fact, these two gentlemen are dead -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So, Harris, you want me to play devil's advocate? If they don't believe the photos and if they believe the photos may be doctored couldn't they think the same exact thing about the videotape? WHITBECK: Well, they certainly could, and that's because there's an awful lot of mistrust here expressed towards the Americans. And that mistrust started back when this country was occupied by the Americans. So the U.S. does not have an easy task here.
I was up in the area around Tikrit yesterday, which is Saddam Hussein's hometown. It's his family's homeland. And, of course, many people there belong to his tribe and are, therefore, somehow related to the Saddam Hussein family. And people there were saying, you know, once they allowed the possibility that Uday and Qusay might, in fact, be dead, their reaction was, well, you know what? Those people are martyrs because they died an honorable death because they went down fighting. They were defending themselves and they weren't allowed to be taken as crowds.
So, you know, in the end this might actually backfire is one analysis that is being done, because two martyrs might have been created for those people who still support the Saddam regime to venerate and to use.
Now, having said that, I can tell you that there are, of course, an awful lot of people in Iraq who are glad that this news has, that this event has taken place. People at the Journalists Union, for example, which was controlled by Uday, say that now, for the first time, they'll be able to run their journalism conference without having to worry about what Saddam Hussein's sons will tell them or force them to say or to do.
So, you know, of course, there are mixed reactions, but I would still say that skepticism is the most prevailing emotion here at this point -- Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, still on the subject of that skepticism, might there be the next step of the Iraqis don't buy the videotape of actually allowing the public to view the bodies? The Intelligence Committee has viewed the bodies.
WHITBECK: Well, I, we haven't heard whether that might be under consideration. I know that the United States is very concerned about how it is perceived in terms of how it handles the bodies of, you know, of enemy killed in action. So I really couldn't tell you whether that would happen or not. I would be very surprised if that were to happen.
COSTELLO: Well, let me ask you this from this angle. The Iraqi people are used to seeing people who have been executed in the flesh, so to speak, because that's how their government always did it. So aren't the Americans thinking like Americans and not like the Iraqis in this case?
WHITBECK: Perhaps they are, Carol. Perhaps they are. And many people would say that that's been part of the problem that the Americans have had here all along, is that they have been thinking too much like Americans and not bringing, taking into account a lot of the cultural differences that exist between Americans and Iraqis. So that might very well be the case. At this point, however, it's just really hard to say. At this point it's hard to say how people are going to react to seeing the videotape of the bodies and what I can tell us is that the Americans are very, very interested in making sure that people believe them, that this, in fact, happened.
COSTELLO: OK, one more question before we go, because I want people to understand the logistics of all of this. I know Rym Brahimi is at the airport right now. Can she get in? Will they let her in? We don't know?
WHITBECK: We don't know. We understand that at this point a television and a print pool have been organized, meaning that representatives from both media, print and television, would be allowed in, and they would then have to distribute the material that is photographed to all the other media outlets. However, of course, Rym Brahimi is there and she is hoping to get in, as are other news organizations.
Again, the U.S. here has decided to have it function as a pool situation. Sometimes that has to do with the amount of space inside the area to be photographed. Sometimes it has to do with crowd control -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, it'll be interesting to see what condition the bodies are in, you know, when we finally get to see that videotape.
Harris Whitbeck, you stay with us throughout the morning. We'll get back to you as the news warrants.
Harris Whitbeck live from Baghdad this morning.
You can get more on the release of the photos, including simmering ethical questions, by logging onto our Web site at cnn.com.
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 July 25, 2003 - 05:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, those videos this morning, the pictures, they're bold steps to try to convince Iraqis that Saddam's sons are really dead. We cannot overstate the caution here. The video will be graphic, as are the pictures you're about to see. Here they are. People around the world have already seen what the U.S. says are pictures of the battered, bloody faces of Uday and Qusay Hussein. But many in the Arab world just don't believe these photographs are real.
Let's get more on the reaction now on the streets of Baghdad.
Live to Baghdad now and Harris Whitbeck.
Will the videotape do it -- Harris?
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, that's certainly what U.S. authorities here hope and that's why they have decided to allow a pool of television and print reporters into the morgue that they have set up at Baghdad International Airport here in the Iraqi capital. Many people on the streets still expressing seeing skepticism over what they have been told by the U.S., that Uday and Qusay were, in fact, killed during this firefight in Mosul a couple of days ago.
Today is Friday, a day of rest, a day of prayer. And it is the first time that many Iraqis will have the opportunity to actually congregate and gather and perhaps debate the question on the fate of Saddam's two older brothers, after having had time to digest the news. So it'll be very interesting to see what the clerics say in their sermons and how people will react, again, after having had a chance to talk things over in bigger groups, if you will.
And, also, since this is a day of prayer, not all newspapers are circulating in Iraq. We've seen about three of them here. And none of those newspapers have the pictures of the dead brothers in them and we don't know if that's because they simply got them past the time that their printing presses were already rolling. But the fact is that perhaps not many people have yet had a chance to see those pictures, and that's why, you know, there is so much skepticism and, of course, the U.S. is very hopeful that once taking the added step of showing the bodies that people might believe that, in fact, these two gentlemen are dead -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So, Harris, you want me to play devil's advocate? If they don't believe the photos and if they believe the photos may be doctored couldn't they think the same exact thing about the videotape? WHITBECK: Well, they certainly could, and that's because there's an awful lot of mistrust here expressed towards the Americans. And that mistrust started back when this country was occupied by the Americans. So the U.S. does not have an easy task here.
I was up in the area around Tikrit yesterday, which is Saddam Hussein's hometown. It's his family's homeland. And, of course, many people there belong to his tribe and are, therefore, somehow related to the Saddam Hussein family. And people there were saying, you know, once they allowed the possibility that Uday and Qusay might, in fact, be dead, their reaction was, well, you know what? Those people are martyrs because they died an honorable death because they went down fighting. They were defending themselves and they weren't allowed to be taken as crowds.
So, you know, in the end this might actually backfire is one analysis that is being done, because two martyrs might have been created for those people who still support the Saddam regime to venerate and to use.
Now, having said that, I can tell you that there are, of course, an awful lot of people in Iraq who are glad that this news has, that this event has taken place. People at the Journalists Union, for example, which was controlled by Uday, say that now, for the first time, they'll be able to run their journalism conference without having to worry about what Saddam Hussein's sons will tell them or force them to say or to do.
So, you know, of course, there are mixed reactions, but I would still say that skepticism is the most prevailing emotion here at this point -- Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, still on the subject of that skepticism, might there be the next step of the Iraqis don't buy the videotape of actually allowing the public to view the bodies? The Intelligence Committee has viewed the bodies.
WHITBECK: Well, I, we haven't heard whether that might be under consideration. I know that the United States is very concerned about how it is perceived in terms of how it handles the bodies of, you know, of enemy killed in action. So I really couldn't tell you whether that would happen or not. I would be very surprised if that were to happen.
COSTELLO: Well, let me ask you this from this angle. The Iraqi people are used to seeing people who have been executed in the flesh, so to speak, because that's how their government always did it. So aren't the Americans thinking like Americans and not like the Iraqis in this case?
WHITBECK: Perhaps they are, Carol. Perhaps they are. And many people would say that that's been part of the problem that the Americans have had here all along, is that they have been thinking too much like Americans and not bringing, taking into account a lot of the cultural differences that exist between Americans and Iraqis. So that might very well be the case. At this point, however, it's just really hard to say. At this point it's hard to say how people are going to react to seeing the videotape of the bodies and what I can tell us is that the Americans are very, very interested in making sure that people believe them, that this, in fact, happened.
COSTELLO: OK, one more question before we go, because I want people to understand the logistics of all of this. I know Rym Brahimi is at the airport right now. Can she get in? Will they let her in? We don't know?
WHITBECK: We don't know. We understand that at this point a television and a print pool have been organized, meaning that representatives from both media, print and television, would be allowed in, and they would then have to distribute the material that is photographed to all the other media outlets. However, of course, Rym Brahimi is there and she is hoping to get in, as are other news organizations.
Again, the U.S. here has decided to have it function as a pool situation. Sometimes that has to do with the amount of space inside the area to be photographed. Sometimes it has to do with crowd control -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, it'll be interesting to see what condition the bodies are in, you know, when we finally get to see that videotape.
Harris Whitbeck, you stay with us throughout the morning. We'll get back to you as the news warrants.
Harris Whitbeck live from Baghdad this morning.
You can get more on the release of the photos, including simmering ethical questions, by logging onto our Web site at cnn.com.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
