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CNN Live At Daybreak
New Purported Saddam Tape Airs on Al-Jazeera
Aired August 01, 2003 - 06:02 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Yet another audio tape supposedly made by Saddam Hussein airs on Arab TV. In it, a voice urges Iraqis to be a "gun pointed at the enemy." This tape comes as the United States passes out most-wanted pictures of an altered Saddam.
Live to Baghdad now and Rym Brahimi.
Hello -- Rym.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
Well, this is the sixth tape released in a similar fashion in just a few weeks, purportedly the voice of Saddam Hussein, although, as you know, we have no independent way of verifying that it is indeed the former Iraqi president's voice.
Now, in this tape, basically he's announcing the return soon of the Baath Party that was formerly ruling Iraq, and of the system that was before the regime was toppled on April 9 by U.S. forces. The former Iraqi president is also calling on people to resist, again as he's done in many tapes before. But this time, he's also saying that they should preserve all of the property of the Baath Party and use it in their rebellion.
He's also warning anyone who has been collaborating with U.S. troops. Let's just listen in.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The feeling of defeat and bitterness might leave some to commit treason, an unwanted action. This destructive feeling and the fear of the future will be an aid to the occupying forces instead of being a loaded gun pointed at the enemy.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BRAHIMI: In short, Carol, a very confident Saddam Hussein if indeed it is him, saying that he is sure that with God's help the occupying forces will soon collapse and surrender -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I also want to talk about these pictures that U.S. troops are passing out of an altered Saddam Hussein. Explain that for us.
BRAHIMI: Well, basically what U.S. troops have been doing, according to the Pentagon, is they've been distributing to the 4th Infantry Division, which is mainly based up around the Tikrit and northern area, as well as to the Task Force 20, which is a joint force of special forces unit that have been conducting some of the raids to try and find Saddam Hussein. Now, they've been distributing different pictures of what Saddam Hussein might look like -- some of them are digital pictures, some of them are sketches -- what he might look like after four months basically of not living in the same conditions that he was before the regime was toppled. Basically, one of them would show him with gray hair and a gray mustache, another one with longer hair, another one with a beard, so that people might have an idea.
You remember, Carol, that when the Iraqi former information minister popped up on TV in Abu Dhabi in an interview, he looked very different from the Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf we had seen previously in his briefings during the war -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Rym Brahimi reporting live for us out of 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.
Aired August 1, 2003 - 06:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Yet another audio tape supposedly made by Saddam Hussein airs on Arab TV. In it, a voice urges Iraqis to be a "gun pointed at the enemy." This tape comes as the United States passes out most-wanted pictures of an altered Saddam.
Live to Baghdad now and Rym Brahimi.
Hello -- Rym.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
Well, this is the sixth tape released in a similar fashion in just a few weeks, purportedly the voice of Saddam Hussein, although, as you know, we have no independent way of verifying that it is indeed the former Iraqi president's voice.
Now, in this tape, basically he's announcing the return soon of the Baath Party that was formerly ruling Iraq, and of the system that was before the regime was toppled on April 9 by U.S. forces. The former Iraqi president is also calling on people to resist, again as he's done in many tapes before. But this time, he's also saying that they should preserve all of the property of the Baath Party and use it in their rebellion.
He's also warning anyone who has been collaborating with U.S. troops. Let's just listen in.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The feeling of defeat and bitterness might leave some to commit treason, an unwanted action. This destructive feeling and the fear of the future will be an aid to the occupying forces instead of being a loaded gun pointed at the enemy.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BRAHIMI: In short, Carol, a very confident Saddam Hussein if indeed it is him, saying that he is sure that with God's help the occupying forces will soon collapse and surrender -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I also want to talk about these pictures that U.S. troops are passing out of an altered Saddam Hussein. Explain that for us.
BRAHIMI: Well, basically what U.S. troops have been doing, according to the Pentagon, is they've been distributing to the 4th Infantry Division, which is mainly based up around the Tikrit and northern area, as well as to the Task Force 20, which is a joint force of special forces unit that have been conducting some of the raids to try and find Saddam Hussein. Now, they've been distributing different pictures of what Saddam Hussein might look like -- some of them are digital pictures, some of them are sketches -- what he might look like after four months basically of not living in the same conditions that he was before the regime was toppled. Basically, one of them would show him with gray hair and a gray mustache, another one with longer hair, another one with a beard, so that people might have an idea.
You remember, Carol, that when the Iraqi former information minister popped up on TV in Abu Dhabi in an interview, he looked very different from the Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf we had seen previously in his briefings during the war -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Rym Brahimi reporting live for us out of 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.
