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CNN Live Today

The Hunt for Saddam

Aired August 01, 2003 - 11:01   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A speaker from a new audio tape attributed to Saddam is promising that he will be back in power. Let's go to Baghdad to our Rym Brahimi who is standing by with that story.
Rym, hello.

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

Well, indeed, this is the sixth audio tape now being released, purportedly the voice of Saddam Hussein, and there are several things here, some of them very new, in fact, to what was -- in regards to what he has been saying previously. One of them is obviously -- this is a slightly longer tape than the previous one, in which he was mourning the death of his two sons, maybe trying to give the impression by there that he is talking comfortably, and he is not on the run as many people believe him to be.

The other interesting factor is, of course, he is again calling on Iraqis to rise up and fight the U.S. occupation in Iraq, but this time, he is taking it a step further. He is actually talking about when things will return to normal, when the Baath Party, that was ruling before, will return to power, and he is basically saying now the military balance of power has shifted in his favor.

KAGAN: Rym, what about any kind of indication of timing on this tape? The last tape that came out, that had been apparently authenticated, he refers to the death of his sons. But are there any references on this tape that would indicate it reflects a current event he's aware of?

BRAHIMI: He doesn't specify a current event that would have taken place in the past few days. He does say this was recorded on Sunday. He does specify the date, so the 27th of July.

But what's interesting is he also refers to events in the past few weeks, or indeed months, since the toppling of his regime. He mentions, for instance, the looting, and he calls on people not to take vengeance from looters. And he even says that people should safeguard the property of the state and preserve it for when things return to normal, when the situation becomes as it was before, and he even says that a lot of people who have taken such property are welcomed to keep it. Those who will return it will be thanked by God. So there's a whole sort of projection here into a future state that he envisions of when things will return to when the Baath Party was in power -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Rym Brahimi in Baghdad, Iraq, thank you for that.

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 - 11:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A speaker from a new audio tape attributed to Saddam is promising that he will be back in power. Let's go to Baghdad to our Rym Brahimi who is standing by with that story.
Rym, hello.

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

Well, indeed, this is the sixth audio tape now being released, purportedly the voice of Saddam Hussein, and there are several things here, some of them very new, in fact, to what was -- in regards to what he has been saying previously. One of them is obviously -- this is a slightly longer tape than the previous one, in which he was mourning the death of his two sons, maybe trying to give the impression by there that he is talking comfortably, and he is not on the run as many people believe him to be.

The other interesting factor is, of course, he is again calling on Iraqis to rise up and fight the U.S. occupation in Iraq, but this time, he is taking it a step further. He is actually talking about when things will return to normal, when the Baath Party, that was ruling before, will return to power, and he is basically saying now the military balance of power has shifted in his favor.

KAGAN: Rym, what about any kind of indication of timing on this tape? The last tape that came out, that had been apparently authenticated, he refers to the death of his sons. But are there any references on this tape that would indicate it reflects a current event he's aware of?

BRAHIMI: He doesn't specify a current event that would have taken place in the past few days. He does say this was recorded on Sunday. He does specify the date, so the 27th of July.

But what's interesting is he also refers to events in the past few weeks, or indeed months, since the toppling of his regime. He mentions, for instance, the looting, and he calls on people not to take vengeance from looters. And he even says that people should safeguard the property of the state and preserve it for when things return to normal, when the situation becomes as it was before, and he even says that a lot of people who have taken such property are welcomed to keep it. Those who will return it will be thanked by God. So there's a whole sort of projection here into a future state that he envisions of when things will return to when the Baath Party was in power -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Rym Brahimi in Baghdad, Iraq, thank you for that.

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