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CNN Live At Daybreak

Saddam Hussein Captured: New Details

Aired December 15, 2003 - 06:42   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 want to take you live to Tikrit now where Nic Robertson is standing by. He just came back from that farm where that spider hole was where Saddam Hussein was found.
Tell us more about that -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, I went down into the spider hole. It's a very, very tiny space. As you go down into the -- into the tiny hole, once you are inside about four to five feet down, there is another space in front of you. It's about six feet long, about two feet across and three feet high, and that's the space Saddam Hussein was hiding in. Not very big at all for a man of his size, and we understand he was around about six feet tall. It would have been a very, very cramped space.

We were shown how it was hooked up for a light in the -- inside that chamber. And we were shown as well, by the coalition troops today how it was hooked up to an air vent system as well.

But the whole area that Saddam Hussein was living in there was really ramshackle. A bedroom with clothes strewn across the floor, books still in wrappers, clothes still in wrappers, a few picture frames lying around, a refrigerator, a heater in the room. And again in the kitchen, rotting fruit lying around, Turkish delight on the floor. Tins of Spam in cupboard, jars of jam on the shelves. A very ramshackle, very ramshackle small farm house very close to the Tigris River, very close to some of the other communities down there -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And, Nic, we're finding out more about what Saddam Hussein said to U.S. soldiers as they pointed their guns down into that spider hole. Apparently he put his hands up and said in English, I want to negotiate.

ROBERTSON: That's right. That's what we understand. When the cover was pulled away, and what the troops told us very interestingly was that soldiers were actually standing on the cover for this hole before they realized of course. This was happening in night and they had their night vision goggles on before they realized that there was a hole beneath them.

And when they pulled back the cover, then the first thing they saw was this pair of hands coming up. And that was essentially Saddam Hussein surrendering. He said I am Saddam Hussein. I am the president of Iraq, and I want to negotiate. To which, we are told, the troops who were about to detain him said President Bush sends his regards. And then with that, he was literally whisked out of the hole, given a short debrief and then taken away for -- to a helicopter, taken away for further processing elsewhere -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Nic Robertson reporting live for us this morning. Much new information coming out in the hours ahead right here on CNN.

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 15, 2003 - 06:42   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We want to take you live to Tikrit now where Nic Robertson is standing by. He just came back from that farm where that spider hole was where Saddam Hussein was found.
Tell us more about that -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, I went down into the spider hole. It's a very, very tiny space. As you go down into the -- into the tiny hole, once you are inside about four to five feet down, there is another space in front of you. It's about six feet long, about two feet across and three feet high, and that's the space Saddam Hussein was hiding in. Not very big at all for a man of his size, and we understand he was around about six feet tall. It would have been a very, very cramped space.

We were shown how it was hooked up for a light in the -- inside that chamber. And we were shown as well, by the coalition troops today how it was hooked up to an air vent system as well.

But the whole area that Saddam Hussein was living in there was really ramshackle. A bedroom with clothes strewn across the floor, books still in wrappers, clothes still in wrappers, a few picture frames lying around, a refrigerator, a heater in the room. And again in the kitchen, rotting fruit lying around, Turkish delight on the floor. Tins of Spam in cupboard, jars of jam on the shelves. A very ramshackle, very ramshackle small farm house very close to the Tigris River, very close to some of the other communities down there -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And, Nic, we're finding out more about what Saddam Hussein said to U.S. soldiers as they pointed their guns down into that spider hole. Apparently he put his hands up and said in English, I want to negotiate.

ROBERTSON: That's right. That's what we understand. When the cover was pulled away, and what the troops told us very interestingly was that soldiers were actually standing on the cover for this hole before they realized of course. This was happening in night and they had their night vision goggles on before they realized that there was a hole beneath them.

And when they pulled back the cover, then the first thing they saw was this pair of hands coming up. And that was essentially Saddam Hussein surrendering. He said I am Saddam Hussein. I am the president of Iraq, and I want to negotiate. To which, we are told, the troops who were about to detain him said President Bush sends his regards. And then with that, he was literally whisked out of the hole, given a short debrief and then taken away for -- to a helicopter, taken away for further processing elsewhere -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Nic Robertson reporting live for us this morning. Much new information coming out in the hours ahead right here on CNN.

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