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CNN Live Today
U.S. Hopes Photos Will Sway Skeptical Arabs
Aired July 25, 2003 - 10:01 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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And as begin, we do so in Iraq, with the release last hour of new video showing the mangled bodies of two men the U.S. government identifies as Uday and Qusay Hussein. The government hopes the unusual effort of arranging for video will convince skeptics, especially those in the Arab world, that the dead are, indeed, Saddam Hussein's once-feared sons.
Let's go now to Baghdad and CNN's Harris Whitbeck, who has been standing by and trying to monitor any reaction in the -- after the release of that video.
Harris, what's the word from there right now?
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Leon.
Well, these pictures were shown here on the Al Jazeera television network. They were also seen through CNN. About 40 percent of people in Baghdad have access to satellite television. Many saw these pictures from cafes in public and places around the city. And our colleague, Rym Brahimi, was at one of those cafes. She called in and said there were generally three types of reactions. Some said yes, this has convinced me these are Saddam Hussein's sons, we now do believe that they were killed. Others, the other reacted by -- reacted to the gruesomeness of these pictures, and basically turned away because the pictures were so very graphic. And the third reaction was saying, you know what, that's fine, they can be whoever they want to be, but the issue here, is we still don't have security on the streets, we don't have access to electricity and basic services. So that sums up the three different types of reactions seen at one Baghdad cafe.
What we have not heard, Leon, is any celebratory gunfire. And I can tell you that a couple nights ago, when this news first was released, the news of the deaths of Saddam's sons, the entire city was lit up with gunfire, mortar fire; tracer fire was seen. And that is a tradition in this region, every country I've worked in the Middle East, when people want to celebrate something, they start firing their guns into the air. We have heard none of that yet -- Leon.
HARRIS: Interesting. We'll have to wait and see if there is any of that to come. Thanks, Harris. Harris Whitbeck, reporting live for us from Baghdad.
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 - 10:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And as begin, we do so in Iraq, with the release last hour of new video showing the mangled bodies of two men the U.S. government identifies as Uday and Qusay Hussein. The government hopes the unusual effort of arranging for video will convince skeptics, especially those in the Arab world, that the dead are, indeed, Saddam Hussein's once-feared sons.
Let's go now to Baghdad and CNN's Harris Whitbeck, who has been standing by and trying to monitor any reaction in the -- after the release of that video.
Harris, what's the word from there right now?
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Leon.
Well, these pictures were shown here on the Al Jazeera television network. They were also seen through CNN. About 40 percent of people in Baghdad have access to satellite television. Many saw these pictures from cafes in public and places around the city. And our colleague, Rym Brahimi, was at one of those cafes. She called in and said there were generally three types of reactions. Some said yes, this has convinced me these are Saddam Hussein's sons, we now do believe that they were killed. Others, the other reacted by -- reacted to the gruesomeness of these pictures, and basically turned away because the pictures were so very graphic. And the third reaction was saying, you know what, that's fine, they can be whoever they want to be, but the issue here, is we still don't have security on the streets, we don't have access to electricity and basic services. So that sums up the three different types of reactions seen at one Baghdad cafe.
What we have not heard, Leon, is any celebratory gunfire. And I can tell you that a couple nights ago, when this news first was released, the news of the deaths of Saddam's sons, the entire city was lit up with gunfire, mortar fire; tracer fire was seen. And that is a tradition in this region, every country I've worked in the Middle East, when people want to celebrate something, they start firing their guns into the air. We have heard none of that yet -- Leon.
HARRIS: Interesting. We'll have to wait and see if there is any of that to come. Thanks, Harris. Harris Whitbeck, reporting live for us from Baghdad.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
