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CNN Live At Daybreak
Iraq's Former Defense Minister Has Surrendered
Aired September 19, 2003 - 05:07 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: We got word overnight that Iraq's former defense minister has surrendered to U.S. forces.
For the latest, let's take you live to Baghdad and Walter Rodgers -- hello, Walter.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Sultan Hashim Ahmad has, indeed, surrounded, according to a human rights advocate in Mosul. The surrender took place earlier in the day, although the negotiations have apparently been going on for some time. One of the aspects of the negotiations that the former Iraqi defense minister demanded was that he be treated with the utmost respect and dignity. That was agreed to by Major General David Patraeus, commander of the 101st Airborne Regiment or 101st Airborne Division.
He agreed to the terms and, of course, the former Iraqi defense minister has turned himself in. He was number 27 on the U.S. list of most wanted, but he was, indeed, a professional soldier, a professional general. General Hashim Ahmed is the man who, by the way, turned him -- was the man who signed the cease-fire immediately after the Gulf War, signed it for Saddam Hussein.
There was more bad news for the Americans overnight, more bloodshed in the town of Tikrit. That's Saddam Hussein's hometown. U.S. soldiers were on a raid, checking out a position thought to be a launch site for rocket propelled grenades against U.S. forces. Three U.S. soldiers killed, two others wounded. Again, the toll for U.S. soldiers, particularly in the area of the Sunni Triangle, continues to be rather high. It's a very, very dangerous area -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Walter, I was just wondering, this Iraqi defense minister, might he be behind any of the attacks on American troops?
RODGERS: Not likely. Again, this is a man who has a fine reputation as a professional general. He's -- as a professional soldier. He's well thought of in this country. Indeed, he was a Saddam loyalist through the years but that, in this country, was often merely a matter of survival, protecting one's own family.
We do not know, the U.S. intelligence services really don't know who's behind the attacks on U.S. soldiers. They're believed to be Saddam loyalists, but that's a rather shadowy description of them. These are faceless people. They are Saddam holdouts, Baathist Party members who've lost their political power and would like to regain it. But, again, no evidence of any connection between Sultan Hashim Ahmad and the people who are killing U.S. soldiers at this point -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Walter Rodgers reporting live from 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 September 19, 2003 - 05:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We got word overnight that Iraq's former defense minister has surrendered to U.S. forces.
For the latest, let's take you live to Baghdad and Walter Rodgers -- hello, Walter.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Sultan Hashim Ahmad has, indeed, surrounded, according to a human rights advocate in Mosul. The surrender took place earlier in the day, although the negotiations have apparently been going on for some time. One of the aspects of the negotiations that the former Iraqi defense minister demanded was that he be treated with the utmost respect and dignity. That was agreed to by Major General David Patraeus, commander of the 101st Airborne Regiment or 101st Airborne Division.
He agreed to the terms and, of course, the former Iraqi defense minister has turned himself in. He was number 27 on the U.S. list of most wanted, but he was, indeed, a professional soldier, a professional general. General Hashim Ahmed is the man who, by the way, turned him -- was the man who signed the cease-fire immediately after the Gulf War, signed it for Saddam Hussein.
There was more bad news for the Americans overnight, more bloodshed in the town of Tikrit. That's Saddam Hussein's hometown. U.S. soldiers were on a raid, checking out a position thought to be a launch site for rocket propelled grenades against U.S. forces. Three U.S. soldiers killed, two others wounded. Again, the toll for U.S. soldiers, particularly in the area of the Sunni Triangle, continues to be rather high. It's a very, very dangerous area -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Walter, I was just wondering, this Iraqi defense minister, might he be behind any of the attacks on American troops?
RODGERS: Not likely. Again, this is a man who has a fine reputation as a professional general. He's -- as a professional soldier. He's well thought of in this country. Indeed, he was a Saddam loyalist through the years but that, in this country, was often merely a matter of survival, protecting one's own family.
We do not know, the U.S. intelligence services really don't know who's behind the attacks on U.S. soldiers. They're believed to be Saddam loyalists, but that's a rather shadowy description of them. These are faceless people. They are Saddam holdouts, Baathist Party members who've lost their political power and would like to regain it. But, again, no evidence of any connection between Sultan Hashim Ahmad and the people who are killing U.S. soldiers at this point -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Walter Rodgers reporting live from 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
