Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

More U.S. Soldiers Killed as Search Continues for Saddam

Aired July 28, 2003 - 08:02   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.


BILL HEMMER, ANCHOR: Let's get back to Iraq. Tough news again today for the U.S. Military. Two American soldiers killed in Baghdad after a grenade attack again on their convoy.
Rym Brahim is in Baghdad, watching this and more.

Rym, good afternoon there.

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill, indeed a Humvee carrying U.S. soldiers from the 1st Armored Division was attacked. The U.S. military officials say there was an explosion that hit that convoy.

Now, apparently the Humvee was not stationed. It was moving. Eyewitnesses at the scene report -- they said that two soldiers were dead.

U.S. military officials are still investigating. But they also cordoned off the area because they were also trying to find whether there were other explosive devices in that area.

As you know, there was another attack yesterday in which another U.S. soldier was killed, and one wounded.

Now, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, who is the U.S. commander for ground troops here in Iraq, says that the attacks against U.S. soldiers are becoming more sophisticated. He said it's nothing the U.S. military can't handle, but he says they have to be prepared to take more casualties.

Meantime, Bill, they've also been carrying out a series of raids in the efforts to find Saddam Hussein. One such attempt took place yesterday in downtown Baghdad in a very upscale neighborhood of Monsour. The U.S. military raided a commando force, in fact, raided a house belonging to a prominent tribal leader. They believe that Saddam Hussein was hiding there.

The attempt did not turn out to bring out Saddam Hussein, but three Iraqi civilians were killed in that raid -- Bill.

HEMMER: Rym, quick question here. We've been told now for about 24 anywhere is anywhere from two to four hours behind the trail of Saddam Hussein. What evidence did they point to that indicates they could be as close as two hours to the former Iraqi leader?

BRAHIMI: What we've been told, Bill, is that they've acted, for instance, they carried out three raids in Tikrit yesterday at three separate farm houses, but they were simultaneous raids. And they said they were acting on intelligence that Saddam Hussein had been there.

Once they arrived, apparently residents from the area confirmed to them that at least the security chief of Saddam Hussein had been there and left very shortly before the U.S. troops had arrived.

Again, it's very unclear. There are a lot of people that U.S. military says are now coming forward with tips and hints. But again, we're waiting to hear more on that as the raid continues -- Bill.

HEMMER: Thanks. Rym Brahimi in Baghdad.

And now that Uday and Qusay are accounted for, what of Saddam's other close relatives? If the U.S. can locate members of his inner family circle, would they provide clues to Saddam's whereabouts?

A good question right now and one man who's been working on it is with us now live from Baghdad. Brian Bennett from "TIME" magazine is our guest in the same location as Rym Brahimi.

Brian, thanks for coming and joining us today. Who are these relatives and where might they be right now?

BRIAN BENNETT, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Well, Saddam has his first wife, Sajidah (ph), and three daughters, and they are possibly in northern Iraq. Our reports say that immediately following the war, they escaped up to the north of the country, and crossed into Syria, but were then later deported in the beginning of May back into northern Iraq around the area of Mosul, and they might still be there.

His second wife, Samira (ph), our reports say, is now in Beirut, Lebanon, with her family and her grandchildren.

HEMMER: You mentioned the first wife, Sajidah (ph). What information might she be offering? And what's the incentive to talk?

BENNETT: She very -- her incentive to talk would be the money, and to put an end to this whole search and her life of hiding.

The U.S. authorities that I've spoken with don't think that she has all that much to offer, that she doesn't know all that much about where Saddam has been in the last few months and what his movements have been. The authorities I've spoken with think that she has been cut off mostly from the operations around Saddam, and the money and safe houses he's been organizing to hide himself and his two sons, Uday and Qusay.

HEMMER: Brian, some of the reporting also indicates the mood of these family members right now, described as depressed for lack of a better word, I would think. What are you learning about this?

BENNETT: Well, certainly the people who are closest to Uday and Qusay are very sad to hear that they have been killed. I think mostly they feel like the U.S. authorities are finally getting very, very close to capturing all the rest of the family. Especially Saddam Hussein himself. And some family members from Saddam's home village of Ojah (ph) have come forward and made a request for the bodies. The U.S. authorities are still considering whether or not to hand over the bodies. They're concerned that there might be a shrine made to them, or their burial would become a place for members of the resistance to come and put flowers and unite behind a common cause -- Bill.

HEMMER: Brian, also, there's a report in the "L.A. Times" extensive reporting, and CNN was on this story over the weekend, too, General Richard Myers saying that there's been a surge in tips on behalf of the Iraqis trying to track down Saddam. Pretty much the same story that we heard last Tuesday with Uday and Qusay being located in Mosul.

How good are the tips, do the U.S. believe right now?

BENNETT: Well, so far they haven't been quite good enough. The raids that have been made haven't been successful. There was a raid here in Baghdad and a large raid in Tikrit over the weekend.

But they're getting much more accurate. The commander in Tikrit felt like he was just hours away from capturing Saddam. And that is possibly a good indication of much better intelligence, much more pinpointed intelligence than they were getting before. I think people are feeling much more confident now that Uday and Qusay are captured, about coming forward and that they'll receive the protection from the U.S. authorities that they need -- Bill.

HEMMER: Brian, I've just got a couple seconds left here, but this guerrilla war campaign continues. We had the reports from Rym about U.S. soldiers being hit by another grenade earlier today.

There's a report out there this morning that says the bounty on a U.S. soldier has increased from $300 for a U.S. service member to $5,000, which tells the U.S. authorities, according to some reports, anyway, that the guerrilla resistance is getting desperate right now, to continue this drum beat of dead Americans every day.

Have you followed this story? And if so, do they believe with the death of Saddam that the guerrilla war campaign ends?

BENNETT: Unfortunately with the death of Saddam only a certain part of the guerrilla campaign will end. The Ba'ath loyalists, I believe, according to my sources, will be demoralized.

However, there's another part of the guerrilla movement, tribal elders who are disenfranchised and feel like the Americans aren't treating them properly, and also some of my sources tell me that members from countries outside of Iraq, Syria, Iran, possibly even Saudi Arabia, are interested in seeing this American experiment not work and have been funneling money into the resistance and offering bounties for the lives of American soldiers -- Bill.

HEMMER: Well into the afternoon in Baghdad. Another day and another week on this Monday.

Brian Bennett, thanks, from "TIME" magazine.

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 28, 2003 - 08:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, ANCHOR: Let's get back to Iraq. Tough news again today for the U.S. Military. Two American soldiers killed in Baghdad after a grenade attack again on their convoy.
Rym Brahim is in Baghdad, watching this and more.

Rym, good afternoon there.

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill, indeed a Humvee carrying U.S. soldiers from the 1st Armored Division was attacked. The U.S. military officials say there was an explosion that hit that convoy.

Now, apparently the Humvee was not stationed. It was moving. Eyewitnesses at the scene report -- they said that two soldiers were dead.

U.S. military officials are still investigating. But they also cordoned off the area because they were also trying to find whether there were other explosive devices in that area.

As you know, there was another attack yesterday in which another U.S. soldier was killed, and one wounded.

Now, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, who is the U.S. commander for ground troops here in Iraq, says that the attacks against U.S. soldiers are becoming more sophisticated. He said it's nothing the U.S. military can't handle, but he says they have to be prepared to take more casualties.

Meantime, Bill, they've also been carrying out a series of raids in the efforts to find Saddam Hussein. One such attempt took place yesterday in downtown Baghdad in a very upscale neighborhood of Monsour. The U.S. military raided a commando force, in fact, raided a house belonging to a prominent tribal leader. They believe that Saddam Hussein was hiding there.

The attempt did not turn out to bring out Saddam Hussein, but three Iraqi civilians were killed in that raid -- Bill.

HEMMER: Rym, quick question here. We've been told now for about 24 anywhere is anywhere from two to four hours behind the trail of Saddam Hussein. What evidence did they point to that indicates they could be as close as two hours to the former Iraqi leader?

BRAHIMI: What we've been told, Bill, is that they've acted, for instance, they carried out three raids in Tikrit yesterday at three separate farm houses, but they were simultaneous raids. And they said they were acting on intelligence that Saddam Hussein had been there.

Once they arrived, apparently residents from the area confirmed to them that at least the security chief of Saddam Hussein had been there and left very shortly before the U.S. troops had arrived.

Again, it's very unclear. There are a lot of people that U.S. military says are now coming forward with tips and hints. But again, we're waiting to hear more on that as the raid continues -- Bill.

HEMMER: Thanks. Rym Brahimi in Baghdad.

And now that Uday and Qusay are accounted for, what of Saddam's other close relatives? If the U.S. can locate members of his inner family circle, would they provide clues to Saddam's whereabouts?

A good question right now and one man who's been working on it is with us now live from Baghdad. Brian Bennett from "TIME" magazine is our guest in the same location as Rym Brahimi.

Brian, thanks for coming and joining us today. Who are these relatives and where might they be right now?

BRIAN BENNETT, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Well, Saddam has his first wife, Sajidah (ph), and three daughters, and they are possibly in northern Iraq. Our reports say that immediately following the war, they escaped up to the north of the country, and crossed into Syria, but were then later deported in the beginning of May back into northern Iraq around the area of Mosul, and they might still be there.

His second wife, Samira (ph), our reports say, is now in Beirut, Lebanon, with her family and her grandchildren.

HEMMER: You mentioned the first wife, Sajidah (ph). What information might she be offering? And what's the incentive to talk?

BENNETT: She very -- her incentive to talk would be the money, and to put an end to this whole search and her life of hiding.

The U.S. authorities that I've spoken with don't think that she has all that much to offer, that she doesn't know all that much about where Saddam has been in the last few months and what his movements have been. The authorities I've spoken with think that she has been cut off mostly from the operations around Saddam, and the money and safe houses he's been organizing to hide himself and his two sons, Uday and Qusay.

HEMMER: Brian, some of the reporting also indicates the mood of these family members right now, described as depressed for lack of a better word, I would think. What are you learning about this?

BENNETT: Well, certainly the people who are closest to Uday and Qusay are very sad to hear that they have been killed. I think mostly they feel like the U.S. authorities are finally getting very, very close to capturing all the rest of the family. Especially Saddam Hussein himself. And some family members from Saddam's home village of Ojah (ph) have come forward and made a request for the bodies. The U.S. authorities are still considering whether or not to hand over the bodies. They're concerned that there might be a shrine made to them, or their burial would become a place for members of the resistance to come and put flowers and unite behind a common cause -- Bill.

HEMMER: Brian, also, there's a report in the "L.A. Times" extensive reporting, and CNN was on this story over the weekend, too, General Richard Myers saying that there's been a surge in tips on behalf of the Iraqis trying to track down Saddam. Pretty much the same story that we heard last Tuesday with Uday and Qusay being located in Mosul.

How good are the tips, do the U.S. believe right now?

BENNETT: Well, so far they haven't been quite good enough. The raids that have been made haven't been successful. There was a raid here in Baghdad and a large raid in Tikrit over the weekend.

But they're getting much more accurate. The commander in Tikrit felt like he was just hours away from capturing Saddam. And that is possibly a good indication of much better intelligence, much more pinpointed intelligence than they were getting before. I think people are feeling much more confident now that Uday and Qusay are captured, about coming forward and that they'll receive the protection from the U.S. authorities that they need -- Bill.

HEMMER: Brian, I've just got a couple seconds left here, but this guerrilla war campaign continues. We had the reports from Rym about U.S. soldiers being hit by another grenade earlier today.

There's a report out there this morning that says the bounty on a U.S. soldier has increased from $300 for a U.S. service member to $5,000, which tells the U.S. authorities, according to some reports, anyway, that the guerrilla resistance is getting desperate right now, to continue this drum beat of dead Americans every day.

Have you followed this story? And if so, do they believe with the death of Saddam that the guerrilla war campaign ends?

BENNETT: Unfortunately with the death of Saddam only a certain part of the guerrilla campaign will end. The Ba'ath loyalists, I believe, according to my sources, will be demoralized.

However, there's another part of the guerrilla movement, tribal elders who are disenfranchised and feel like the Americans aren't treating them properly, and also some of my sources tell me that members from countries outside of Iraq, Syria, Iran, possibly even Saudi Arabia, are interested in seeing this American experiment not work and have been funneling money into the resistance and offering bounties for the lives of American soldiers -- Bill.

HEMMER: Well into the afternoon in Baghdad. Another day and another week on this Monday.

Brian Bennett, thanks, from "TIME" magazine.

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