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American Morning

Interview With Hassan Fattah

Aired December 12, 2003 - 07:08   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A lot of explosions rocked Iraq's capital early today near the headquarters of the Coalition Provisional Authority. A military source said two projectiles hit inside the green zone, where the U.S.-led coalition has its headquarters, setting off warning sirens. One caused minor damage to a building, but no injuries were reported.
With us this morning from Baghdad to talk a little bit more about the situation there, Hassan Fattah of the English-language newspaper, "Iraq Today."

Hassan, good morning. Nice to see you, as always. And thanks for joining us.

HASSAN FATTAH, "IRAQ TODAY": Good morning. Thanks.

O'BRIEN: Talk a little bit about these attacks early this morning within that green zone. Give me a sense of the impact, maybe more psychological impact that that kind of an attack -- those kinds of attacks have.

FATTAH: Well, to be sure, the impact is really more psychological than anything else. Nobody was hurt in the attacks, and it wasn't actually specified where they hit.

This is becoming a regular affair, of getting mortars landing within the green zone itself. Of course, the green zone is pretty big. It's a pretty wide expanse. So, just because you did get a mortar landing in the zone doesn't necessarily mean that it's a dramatic thing.

But what it underscores is the brazenness of these attacks. In fact, the bravery of these -- I mean, not bravery, but the brazenness of these attackers, thinking that they can do this and get away with it, and in many ways perhaps they are.

O'BRIEN: Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez had said in the past that he expected to see a rise in these kinds of attacks before the summer handover. Is that what we're seeing now? I mean, is this, in your mind, a sense of it's exactly what was predicted?

FATTAH: Well, there's certainly been this sense of this having been a pretty violent week. You may not have seen dramatic death tolls in the same way that you've seen in weeks in which you had several suicide bombings and what have you. But you certainly have seen a significant rise in the number of attacks. Is this a good or is this a bad thing? You know, it underscores that there is a far more organized resistance, and it underscores that there's still an uphill battle to go. This thing is far from over.

O'BRIEN: As you well know, senior "TIME" correspondent Michael Weisskopf suffered serious injury to his arm, along with his photographer, James Nachtwey (ph), also injured. Give me a sense of how journalists perceive, like yourself, who are covering this obviously inherently dangerous area and story. When you hear reports like this, does this change what you do, how you cover the story?

FATTAH: I don't know if it changes things. It's certainly a reminder of the real dangers we face on a daily basis. I mean, they are colleagues of mine and I know them well, and these are veterans of the industry. These guys have seen war before. And it's just food for thought, and it just makes you think about how really dangerous this thing is.

In essence, anything can come out of anywhere, and that's what makes it so dangerous. It could seem very peaceful, and all of a sudden you're attacked.

O'BRIEN: The two were traveling with the military.

FATTAH: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Is there a sense that journalists are being targeted? Or is it more that they're, to some degree, collateral damage when there's crossfire or if they're traveling with a military convoy?

FATTAH: Well, to be fair, I think if you really wanted to hit journalists, it's very easy to do so. It's far easier than having to attack a convoy of U.S. soldiers. I think more than anything, it underscores the real dangers that U.S. troops face on a daily basis. This is still a war zone.

O'BRIEN: Hassan Fattah joining us this morning. Hassan, thanks for your input insight. As always, we appreciate it. And, of course, as we always say, be careful.

FATTAH: Thank you very much.

O'BRIEN: Thanks.

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 December 12, 2003 - 07:08   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A lot of explosions rocked Iraq's capital early today near the headquarters of the Coalition Provisional Authority. A military source said two projectiles hit inside the green zone, where the U.S.-led coalition has its headquarters, setting off warning sirens. One caused minor damage to a building, but no injuries were reported.
With us this morning from Baghdad to talk a little bit more about the situation there, Hassan Fattah of the English-language newspaper, "Iraq Today."

Hassan, good morning. Nice to see you, as always. And thanks for joining us.

HASSAN FATTAH, "IRAQ TODAY": Good morning. Thanks.

O'BRIEN: Talk a little bit about these attacks early this morning within that green zone. Give me a sense of the impact, maybe more psychological impact that that kind of an attack -- those kinds of attacks have.

FATTAH: Well, to be sure, the impact is really more psychological than anything else. Nobody was hurt in the attacks, and it wasn't actually specified where they hit.

This is becoming a regular affair, of getting mortars landing within the green zone itself. Of course, the green zone is pretty big. It's a pretty wide expanse. So, just because you did get a mortar landing in the zone doesn't necessarily mean that it's a dramatic thing.

But what it underscores is the brazenness of these attacks. In fact, the bravery of these -- I mean, not bravery, but the brazenness of these attackers, thinking that they can do this and get away with it, and in many ways perhaps they are.

O'BRIEN: Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez had said in the past that he expected to see a rise in these kinds of attacks before the summer handover. Is that what we're seeing now? I mean, is this, in your mind, a sense of it's exactly what was predicted?

FATTAH: Well, there's certainly been this sense of this having been a pretty violent week. You may not have seen dramatic death tolls in the same way that you've seen in weeks in which you had several suicide bombings and what have you. But you certainly have seen a significant rise in the number of attacks. Is this a good or is this a bad thing? You know, it underscores that there is a far more organized resistance, and it underscores that there's still an uphill battle to go. This thing is far from over.

O'BRIEN: As you well know, senior "TIME" correspondent Michael Weisskopf suffered serious injury to his arm, along with his photographer, James Nachtwey (ph), also injured. Give me a sense of how journalists perceive, like yourself, who are covering this obviously inherently dangerous area and story. When you hear reports like this, does this change what you do, how you cover the story?

FATTAH: I don't know if it changes things. It's certainly a reminder of the real dangers we face on a daily basis. I mean, they are colleagues of mine and I know them well, and these are veterans of the industry. These guys have seen war before. And it's just food for thought, and it just makes you think about how really dangerous this thing is.

In essence, anything can come out of anywhere, and that's what makes it so dangerous. It could seem very peaceful, and all of a sudden you're attacked.

O'BRIEN: The two were traveling with the military.

FATTAH: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Is there a sense that journalists are being targeted? Or is it more that they're, to some degree, collateral damage when there's crossfire or if they're traveling with a military convoy?

FATTAH: Well, to be fair, I think if you really wanted to hit journalists, it's very easy to do so. It's far easier than having to attack a convoy of U.S. soldiers. I think more than anything, it underscores the real dangers that U.S. troops face on a daily basis. This is still a war zone.

O'BRIEN: Hassan Fattah joining us this morning. Hassan, thanks for your input insight. As always, we appreciate it. And, of course, as we always say, be careful.

FATTAH: Thank you very much.

O'BRIEN: Thanks.

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