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CNN Live At Daybreak

Tape Allegedly of Fedayeen Saddam Punishment

Aired October 31, 2003 - 05:31   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: To Iraq now and a gruesome tape of torture. CNN has obtained a copy of a very disturbing videotape.
Let's head live to Baghdad and our bureau chief there, Jane Arraf, and she's going to take us through the pictures.

Where did this tape come from -- Jane?

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Carol, it came from the same place that a lot of these tapes over the past few months, and over the past few years in fact, have come from -- from voluminous archives all over the country.

Now, this one was apparently obtained by the military in April, obtained by us and others through independent means. But, as you mentioned, these are gruesome pictures.

What they seem to show are Saddam's Fedayeen, which was a group of fighters that was formed in the mid'90s under Saddam's eldest son -- now dead -- Uday. This was a feared paramilitary force. They were above and beyond the law, and they were perhaps among the most feared in Iraq. Now, this was obviously their way of imposing a very gruesome sort of discipline.

On this tape are scenes of people having their tongues cut out. One man is having his arm broken by very gruesome means. There appears to be a beheading and someone being thrown off a building.

Now, indescribable almost these scenes and the impression behind them that this was their very effective way not only to maintain order within their ranks, but to instill fear outside of it. But we have to remember, Carol, that this is the same regime that has been substantially unchanged for the past 30 years.

Now, just because we're seeing these pictures it doesn't mean that these practices were new or this is new. This essentially is the way that this regime managed to impose order through all those years, although it seems to have refined them a little bit in the past few of them -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, you know -- I mean, all of us know how cruel the Saddam Hussein regime was, but seeing the pictures is a whole different story. It certainly brings it home. And I was hoping we'd (UNINTELLIGIBLE) those pictures, and we did.

It also brings up the question on Saddam Hussein and the search for him. Where does it stand? ARRAF: Well, there are so many elements to this, Carol. It was indeed the same Saddam Hussein through all of these years, including those years when the United States backed the Iraqi regime against the Iranians during the Iran-Iraq war. Now, of course, we're seeing graphically some of the practices that some people say they always knew about.

And that search for Saddam Hussein, that's still stalled. Now, there have been some suggestions recently from some officials, military officials, that Saddam may indeed have a more active role in these ongoing attacks on U.S. forces. But there is still a real divergence of views on this among the intelligence community, it seems.

And the way -- the search for Saddam is the way that it has stood for the past several months: that some military officials suggest that they're on his trail, but still not close enough behind him to actually know where he is. They say, though, that they are continuing to get more and better intelligence that will eventually lead them to Saddam. We're just not there yet -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Before you go, we must talk about these rumors of a day of resistance in Baghdad. What is that about? And is there a real danger to Americans there because of that?

ARRAF: Well, the U.S. government seems to feel there might be some danger. The U.S. consul here has issued a warning to American citizens, Carol, asking them to remain vigilant and to maintain increased security. It's quite an eerie atmosphere here, I must say.

At night when most Americans who are here, working for the coalition or they're part of the American military, at night there is the frequent sound of explosions and perhaps increasing more lately. People are generally confined to where they're staying. The coalition particularly has been maintaining what appears to be increased security. And Iraqis, as well, are on edge. Some people are keeping their children out of school.

Now, there are apparently rumors going around, which the U.S. consul has responded to, saying that indeed November 1 will be a day of hell with more attacks expected -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, you stay safe. Jane Arraf 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 October 31, 2003 - 05:31   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: To Iraq now and a gruesome tape of torture. CNN has obtained a copy of a very disturbing videotape.
Let's head live to Baghdad and our bureau chief there, Jane Arraf, and she's going to take us through the pictures.

Where did this tape come from -- Jane?

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Carol, it came from the same place that a lot of these tapes over the past few months, and over the past few years in fact, have come from -- from voluminous archives all over the country.

Now, this one was apparently obtained by the military in April, obtained by us and others through independent means. But, as you mentioned, these are gruesome pictures.

What they seem to show are Saddam's Fedayeen, which was a group of fighters that was formed in the mid'90s under Saddam's eldest son -- now dead -- Uday. This was a feared paramilitary force. They were above and beyond the law, and they were perhaps among the most feared in Iraq. Now, this was obviously their way of imposing a very gruesome sort of discipline.

On this tape are scenes of people having their tongues cut out. One man is having his arm broken by very gruesome means. There appears to be a beheading and someone being thrown off a building.

Now, indescribable almost these scenes and the impression behind them that this was their very effective way not only to maintain order within their ranks, but to instill fear outside of it. But we have to remember, Carol, that this is the same regime that has been substantially unchanged for the past 30 years.

Now, just because we're seeing these pictures it doesn't mean that these practices were new or this is new. This essentially is the way that this regime managed to impose order through all those years, although it seems to have refined them a little bit in the past few of them -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, you know -- I mean, all of us know how cruel the Saddam Hussein regime was, but seeing the pictures is a whole different story. It certainly brings it home. And I was hoping we'd (UNINTELLIGIBLE) those pictures, and we did.

It also brings up the question on Saddam Hussein and the search for him. Where does it stand? ARRAF: Well, there are so many elements to this, Carol. It was indeed the same Saddam Hussein through all of these years, including those years when the United States backed the Iraqi regime against the Iranians during the Iran-Iraq war. Now, of course, we're seeing graphically some of the practices that some people say they always knew about.

And that search for Saddam Hussein, that's still stalled. Now, there have been some suggestions recently from some officials, military officials, that Saddam may indeed have a more active role in these ongoing attacks on U.S. forces. But there is still a real divergence of views on this among the intelligence community, it seems.

And the way -- the search for Saddam is the way that it has stood for the past several months: that some military officials suggest that they're on his trail, but still not close enough behind him to actually know where he is. They say, though, that they are continuing to get more and better intelligence that will eventually lead them to Saddam. We're just not there yet -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Before you go, we must talk about these rumors of a day of resistance in Baghdad. What is that about? And is there a real danger to Americans there because of that?

ARRAF: Well, the U.S. government seems to feel there might be some danger. The U.S. consul here has issued a warning to American citizens, Carol, asking them to remain vigilant and to maintain increased security. It's quite an eerie atmosphere here, I must say.

At night when most Americans who are here, working for the coalition or they're part of the American military, at night there is the frequent sound of explosions and perhaps increasing more lately. People are generally confined to where they're staying. The coalition particularly has been maintaining what appears to be increased security. And Iraqis, as well, are on edge. Some people are keeping their children out of school.

Now, there are apparently rumors going around, which the U.S. consul has responded to, saying that indeed November 1 will be a day of hell with more attacks expected -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, you stay safe. Jane Arraf 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.