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Another Ambush of U.S. Forces

Aired September 08, 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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: In the hour after the President Bush's speech, Iraqi insurgents seemed to issue their own response with yet another ambush of U.S. forces.
Let's go to Baghdad for the latest from our CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson.

Nic, hello.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, there's been a response of other sorts here from Iraqi people. A lot of them we talked to, the majority say that they didn't even bother listening to President's Bush's speech. One man said that he felt that the speech was really aimed at a U.S. audience. It was part of a political drive by President Bush, and it really had no direct impact on them.

Other people said, quite critical of it, in fact, said, look, we think President Bush is lying. Indeed one man says that he lies just like Saddam Hussein lies. The reason they say that this is lies, is because they say President Bush said there is progress here. One man told us, look, there's no security, there's no rebuilding. We just don't see progress here, so we don't believe it.

Another issue that President Bush raised in the address was the comparing the war in Iraq now as part of the war on terrorism, and certainly, analysts here have been very critical of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUBHY HADDAD, IRAQI ANALYST: I think it's fabricated. It's created. It's being shifted into a terrorist mecca. Why? The presence of the U.S. troops, the coalition forces in Iraq, is the magnet. It's not Iraq itself. You're talking about -- OK, the terrorists are coming to Iraq, so let's hunt them down here. Is this the idea? it seems to be too naive to me. This is not, I mean, a proper thinking at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: So one man also followed up from that, and he told us, look, he said, if I'm in my house and President Bush invades my house and I resist that invasion, am I a terrorist? People here are saying, look, this is our country. These are occupying forces. Anyone who fights back, therefore, is not a terrorist. So that issue has really touched quite a raw nerve here -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And so sounds like you've got even more international peace keeper, if the deal at the U.N. worked out, that reaction wouldn't change, because these are people that aren't Iraqis trying to guard the country?

ROBERTSON: That's right. It is a force from outside Iraq that's coming in to their country, it's taking over their towns, controlling their councils, their government. That's the way that view goes. So, yes, an international force would perhaps ameliorate some of the anger that's been directed over the past decade by President Saddam at the United States and perhaps reduce the level of contention their might be between some elements of the Iraqi people and the U.S. forces here by having an international force.

But the fact of having an outside force in Iraq, that is something a lot of people here just don't want to have. They do support the coalition on that central issue of replacing all international forces here with Iraqi forces to provide security. There is obviously an element of people here that also recognize if do you that and pull out international forces, there's a potential for civil war. A big diversity of opinion on it -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Nic Robertson in Baghdad. Nic, 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 September 8, 2003 - 10:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: In the hour after the President Bush's speech, Iraqi insurgents seemed to issue their own response with yet another ambush of U.S. forces.
Let's go to Baghdad for the latest from our CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson.

Nic, hello.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, there's been a response of other sorts here from Iraqi people. A lot of them we talked to, the majority say that they didn't even bother listening to President's Bush's speech. One man said that he felt that the speech was really aimed at a U.S. audience. It was part of a political drive by President Bush, and it really had no direct impact on them.

Other people said, quite critical of it, in fact, said, look, we think President Bush is lying. Indeed one man says that he lies just like Saddam Hussein lies. The reason they say that this is lies, is because they say President Bush said there is progress here. One man told us, look, there's no security, there's no rebuilding. We just don't see progress here, so we don't believe it.

Another issue that President Bush raised in the address was the comparing the war in Iraq now as part of the war on terrorism, and certainly, analysts here have been very critical of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUBHY HADDAD, IRAQI ANALYST: I think it's fabricated. It's created. It's being shifted into a terrorist mecca. Why? The presence of the U.S. troops, the coalition forces in Iraq, is the magnet. It's not Iraq itself. You're talking about -- OK, the terrorists are coming to Iraq, so let's hunt them down here. Is this the idea? it seems to be too naive to me. This is not, I mean, a proper thinking at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: So one man also followed up from that, and he told us, look, he said, if I'm in my house and President Bush invades my house and I resist that invasion, am I a terrorist? People here are saying, look, this is our country. These are occupying forces. Anyone who fights back, therefore, is not a terrorist. So that issue has really touched quite a raw nerve here -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And so sounds like you've got even more international peace keeper, if the deal at the U.N. worked out, that reaction wouldn't change, because these are people that aren't Iraqis trying to guard the country?

ROBERTSON: That's right. It is a force from outside Iraq that's coming in to their country, it's taking over their towns, controlling their councils, their government. That's the way that view goes. So, yes, an international force would perhaps ameliorate some of the anger that's been directed over the past decade by President Saddam at the United States and perhaps reduce the level of contention their might be between some elements of the Iraqi people and the U.S. forces here by having an international force.

But the fact of having an outside force in Iraq, that is something a lot of people here just don't want to have. They do support the coalition on that central issue of replacing all international forces here with Iraqi forces to provide security. There is obviously an element of people here that also recognize if do you that and pull out international forces, there's a potential for civil war. A big diversity of opinion on it -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Nic Robertson in Baghdad. Nic, 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