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CNN Live At Daybreak
Two Car Bombings in Baghdad
Aired December 15, 2003 - 05:01 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The latest out of Baghdad -- two car bombings, both aimed at Iraqi police stations. One target is in the northern suburbs, the other in western Baghdad. Both explosions apparently were aimed to discourage Iraqi police recruits. In the incident you see here, at least seven officers were injured and an unknown number of civilians killed in western Baghdad. The other bombing, as I said, north of the city, killed six officers.
Now to the story the entire world is talking about, the ace in the hole. We've now learned that Saddam Hussein's dramatic capture from an underground hiding place in Tikrit was the direct result of intelligence obtained just a few hours earlier in Baghdad.
CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh was embedded with the union that captured Saddam.
CNN's Nic Robertson is there, too.
Which one is joining us from Iraq now?
Alfonso is joining us from Tikrit now -- good morning, Alfonso.
ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Good morning.
Now that the word is out that the former Iraqi leader is in in U.S. custody, now some of the very U.S. troops that took part in that historic raid are talking a little bit about their experience. They say that the reality of what they did is still kind of settling in and they're talking about how they left the 4th Infantry Division raider base and worked their way down to Ad-Dawr. And that's where the U.S. military, as you mentioned, said they found the former Iraqi leader hiding in a hole in the ground between these two farmhouses.
Now, it's important to remember that these images have been provided by the U.S. military and today is one of the first opportunities that the CNN crew is going to be able to get on down there and check out the place for itself.
Now, certainly one place of interest is going to be here. This is the six to eight foot hole that the U.S. military says that they found the former Iraqi leader and as soon as our CNN crew gets back with those images, we're going to bring them on to you. It certainly looks like it's another interesting day in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's ancestral homeland. COSTELLO: Alfonso, can you tell us more about this fox hole that Saddam Hussein was found in? We understand there were rats down there and mice. It wasn't very sanitary, etc., etc.
VAN MARSH: Well, I'm guessing if you're a former Iraqi leader on the run, you're probably not going to be looking for someplace similar to the Ritz Carlton. And the details we are getting from U.S. military officials is that there was kind of a spider hole. That was one of the giveaways when they got there. It was an area that had an air vent and a fan. And on top, this spider hole was covered with dirt and some materials. And so when the U.S. military kind of peeled that away, in there they found him with a big beard and even bigger hair. And, as you mentioned earlier, he had then announced that he was Saddam Hussein.
COSTELLO: Well, he's in custody somewhere now. What will happen to him next, Alfonso?
VAN MARSH: That's a very, very good question. Even in terms of knowing exactly where the former Iraqi leader is is a matter of mystery. The United States military says that he is at an undisclosed location. What happens next is probably anybody's guess, except for those that are probably interrogating him as we speak.
COSTELLO: Absolutely.
Alphonso Van Marsh reporting live from Tikrit this morning.
Our sister news organization, "Time" magazine, has some interesting exclusive details of the first interrogation of Saddam. "Time's" Brian Bennett was told Saddam was mostly uncooperative and filled with rote answers. When asked how he was, Saddam reportedly said, "I am sad because my people are in bondage." When offered a glass of water he said, "If I drink water, I will have to go to the bathroom and how can I use the bathroom when my people are in bondage?"
"Saddam will face the justice he's denied to millions of people," those words from President Bush. However, the president's address to the nation has also come with a word of caution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I thank the members of our armed forces and I congratulate them. I also have a message for all Americans. The capture of Saddam Hussein does not mean the end of all violence in Iraq. We still face terrorists who would rather go on killing the innocent than accept the rise of liberty in the heart of the Middle East. Such men are a direct threat to the American people and they will be defeated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The president went on to say the war on terror is waged capture by capture, cell by cell and victory by victory.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was not impressed with the way Saddam Hussein gave up.
He had this to say on the capture during an interview on CBS' "60 Minutes."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, FROM CBS' "60 MINUTES")
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Here was a man who was photographed hundreds of times shooting off rifles and showing how tough he was. And, in fact, he wasn't very tough. He is, he was cowering in a hole in the ground and had a pistol and didn't use it and certainly did not put up any fight at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Oh, pictures out of Iraq. Saddam's capture triggered impromptu celebrating among some Iraqis. These Baghdad residents celebrated with drums and bugles. Elsewhere, though, Iraqis celebrated by firing pistols and rifles into the air.
World leaders are congratulating President Bush for the capture of Saddam Hussein.
Live to London now and our bureau chief there, Robin Oakley, for more on the international reaction -- hello, Robin.
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
Well, certainly the British media is jubilant about the capture of Saddam Hussein. This morning, very similar front pages everywhere -- "Ace In the Hole" in "The Mirror;" "The Tyrant Is Now A Prisoner," "The Independent;" and, of course, "We Got Him!," which is the theme of just about all the British media.
But Tony Blair has been very careful not to be too triumphant. The tone of his remarks to the nation yesterday was really reconciliation, peace and unity, seeing this as a chance to step forward with new initiatives in the Middle East, for everybody to get together in post-conflict Iraq, appealing even to the people who had been in Saddam Hussein's Baathist Party, by force rather than by conviction, to come and help create the new Iraq.
And Tony Blair clearly hoping that there's a psychological move forward here because he's had eight very rough months with the British public and with his own party. Many people who took to the streets objecting to a war in Iraq, his own party not keen on it, and, of course, Tony Blair took the country to war on the basis of the need to get rid of those weapons of mass destruction. So for him, it's not quite such good news as it is for President Bush, who always wanted regime change. What Tony Blair needed was for Saddam Hussein to have been discovered sitting on a stockpile of those weapons of mass destruction. That issue still remains open for him -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes. And they certainly want more information about that.
What are the British people saying about this, Robin? OAKLEY: Well, the British people, I think, in general have certainly warmed to the theme of Saddam Hussein being captured. There was a lot of chiding of the government saying come on, you go in for this war in Iraq and you don't even manage to catch Saddam Hussein. So at least for Tony Blair and his government, that feeling has been removed.
There is a genuine sense, I think, of pleasure in the British public that such a tyrant has now been captured. There is a hope that the violence which has afflicted British forces in the coalition in Iraq will now diminish. And, of course, all across Europe there has been a welcome significantly from former opponents of the war. President Jacques Chirac in France welcoming the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, but, of course, saying this is a chance for more democracy in Iraq. Chancellor Gerhardt Schroeder of Germany sending a letter to President Bush congratulating him, talking about how happy he is at the capture of Saddam Hussein. And then, of course, coalition compatriots, like Jose Maria Aznar of Spain saying the tyrant has been removed, this is good for the security of the world. And the Russians, too. Igor Ivanov, their foreign minister, saying this is good for security in Iraq.
So a widespread welcome, really, across Europe -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Robin Oakley reporting live from London this morning.
We've got coverage from A to Z on Saddam Hussein's capture. Check it out on our Web site, cnn.com, AOL keyword: 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 - 05:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The latest out of Baghdad -- two car bombings, both aimed at Iraqi police stations. One target is in the northern suburbs, the other in western Baghdad. Both explosions apparently were aimed to discourage Iraqi police recruits. In the incident you see here, at least seven officers were injured and an unknown number of civilians killed in western Baghdad. The other bombing, as I said, north of the city, killed six officers.
Now to the story the entire world is talking about, the ace in the hole. We've now learned that Saddam Hussein's dramatic capture from an underground hiding place in Tikrit was the direct result of intelligence obtained just a few hours earlier in Baghdad.
CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh was embedded with the union that captured Saddam.
CNN's Nic Robertson is there, too.
Which one is joining us from Iraq now?
Alfonso is joining us from Tikrit now -- good morning, Alfonso.
ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Good morning.
Now that the word is out that the former Iraqi leader is in in U.S. custody, now some of the very U.S. troops that took part in that historic raid are talking a little bit about their experience. They say that the reality of what they did is still kind of settling in and they're talking about how they left the 4th Infantry Division raider base and worked their way down to Ad-Dawr. And that's where the U.S. military, as you mentioned, said they found the former Iraqi leader hiding in a hole in the ground between these two farmhouses.
Now, it's important to remember that these images have been provided by the U.S. military and today is one of the first opportunities that the CNN crew is going to be able to get on down there and check out the place for itself.
Now, certainly one place of interest is going to be here. This is the six to eight foot hole that the U.S. military says that they found the former Iraqi leader and as soon as our CNN crew gets back with those images, we're going to bring them on to you. It certainly looks like it's another interesting day in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's ancestral homeland. COSTELLO: Alfonso, can you tell us more about this fox hole that Saddam Hussein was found in? We understand there were rats down there and mice. It wasn't very sanitary, etc., etc.
VAN MARSH: Well, I'm guessing if you're a former Iraqi leader on the run, you're probably not going to be looking for someplace similar to the Ritz Carlton. And the details we are getting from U.S. military officials is that there was kind of a spider hole. That was one of the giveaways when they got there. It was an area that had an air vent and a fan. And on top, this spider hole was covered with dirt and some materials. And so when the U.S. military kind of peeled that away, in there they found him with a big beard and even bigger hair. And, as you mentioned earlier, he had then announced that he was Saddam Hussein.
COSTELLO: Well, he's in custody somewhere now. What will happen to him next, Alfonso?
VAN MARSH: That's a very, very good question. Even in terms of knowing exactly where the former Iraqi leader is is a matter of mystery. The United States military says that he is at an undisclosed location. What happens next is probably anybody's guess, except for those that are probably interrogating him as we speak.
COSTELLO: Absolutely.
Alphonso Van Marsh reporting live from Tikrit this morning.
Our sister news organization, "Time" magazine, has some interesting exclusive details of the first interrogation of Saddam. "Time's" Brian Bennett was told Saddam was mostly uncooperative and filled with rote answers. When asked how he was, Saddam reportedly said, "I am sad because my people are in bondage." When offered a glass of water he said, "If I drink water, I will have to go to the bathroom and how can I use the bathroom when my people are in bondage?"
"Saddam will face the justice he's denied to millions of people," those words from President Bush. However, the president's address to the nation has also come with a word of caution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I thank the members of our armed forces and I congratulate them. I also have a message for all Americans. The capture of Saddam Hussein does not mean the end of all violence in Iraq. We still face terrorists who would rather go on killing the innocent than accept the rise of liberty in the heart of the Middle East. Such men are a direct threat to the American people and they will be defeated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The president went on to say the war on terror is waged capture by capture, cell by cell and victory by victory.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was not impressed with the way Saddam Hussein gave up.
He had this to say on the capture during an interview on CBS' "60 Minutes."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, FROM CBS' "60 MINUTES")
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Here was a man who was photographed hundreds of times shooting off rifles and showing how tough he was. And, in fact, he wasn't very tough. He is, he was cowering in a hole in the ground and had a pistol and didn't use it and certainly did not put up any fight at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Oh, pictures out of Iraq. Saddam's capture triggered impromptu celebrating among some Iraqis. These Baghdad residents celebrated with drums and bugles. Elsewhere, though, Iraqis celebrated by firing pistols and rifles into the air.
World leaders are congratulating President Bush for the capture of Saddam Hussein.
Live to London now and our bureau chief there, Robin Oakley, for more on the international reaction -- hello, Robin.
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
Well, certainly the British media is jubilant about the capture of Saddam Hussein. This morning, very similar front pages everywhere -- "Ace In the Hole" in "The Mirror;" "The Tyrant Is Now A Prisoner," "The Independent;" and, of course, "We Got Him!," which is the theme of just about all the British media.
But Tony Blair has been very careful not to be too triumphant. The tone of his remarks to the nation yesterday was really reconciliation, peace and unity, seeing this as a chance to step forward with new initiatives in the Middle East, for everybody to get together in post-conflict Iraq, appealing even to the people who had been in Saddam Hussein's Baathist Party, by force rather than by conviction, to come and help create the new Iraq.
And Tony Blair clearly hoping that there's a psychological move forward here because he's had eight very rough months with the British public and with his own party. Many people who took to the streets objecting to a war in Iraq, his own party not keen on it, and, of course, Tony Blair took the country to war on the basis of the need to get rid of those weapons of mass destruction. So for him, it's not quite such good news as it is for President Bush, who always wanted regime change. What Tony Blair needed was for Saddam Hussein to have been discovered sitting on a stockpile of those weapons of mass destruction. That issue still remains open for him -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes. And they certainly want more information about that.
What are the British people saying about this, Robin? OAKLEY: Well, the British people, I think, in general have certainly warmed to the theme of Saddam Hussein being captured. There was a lot of chiding of the government saying come on, you go in for this war in Iraq and you don't even manage to catch Saddam Hussein. So at least for Tony Blair and his government, that feeling has been removed.
There is a genuine sense, I think, of pleasure in the British public that such a tyrant has now been captured. There is a hope that the violence which has afflicted British forces in the coalition in Iraq will now diminish. And, of course, all across Europe there has been a welcome significantly from former opponents of the war. President Jacques Chirac in France welcoming the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, but, of course, saying this is a chance for more democracy in Iraq. Chancellor Gerhardt Schroeder of Germany sending a letter to President Bush congratulating him, talking about how happy he is at the capture of Saddam Hussein. And then, of course, coalition compatriots, like Jose Maria Aznar of Spain saying the tyrant has been removed, this is good for the security of the world. And the Russians, too. Igor Ivanov, their foreign minister, saying this is good for security in Iraq.
So a widespread welcome, really, across Europe -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Robin Oakley reporting live from London this morning.
We've got coverage from A to Z on Saddam Hussein's capture. Check it out on our Web site, cnn.com, AOL keyword: 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
