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CNN Live At Daybreak
Baghdad in Transition
Aired December 29, 2003 - 05:34 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 relentless violence underscores a central question for Iraq and its people. While many were glad to see the end of the former government, many also are now concerned about what the future holds.
In Baghdad, CNN's Rym Brahimi explains more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Iraqis, the trauma of the past, invasion, liberation and occupation, all squeezed into a few short weeks. The transformation of their country is overwhelming, almost incredible, the symbols and ironies everywhere.
This was Victory Arch in central Baghdad, the monument inaugurated by Saddam Hussein to the so-called victory over Iran after eight years of war. And this was the Arch just weeks after he was disposed, hosts to a kite festival.
A year ago, the Iraqi Cabinet was commemorating another war anniversary at the Martyrs' Monument. Today, U.S. troops have set up base at that same spot, a national landmark created by one of Iraq's most famous artists.
Not so long, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Saddam's powerful deputy, announced that in a referendum, 100 percent of the population had voted "yes" to Saddam, in the same room where U.S. administrator Paul Bremer mad a very different announcement this month.
PAUL BREMER, U.S. CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR IN IRAQ: Ladies and gentlemen, we got him.
BRAHIMI: A year ago, Baghdad families sat quietly in Fidel Square (ph), in the shadow of their master. In April, that authority was unceremoniously dragged off its pedestal. But what would replace it?
GAILAN MAHMOOD RAMIZ, IRAQI POLITICAL SCIENTIST: The paradox facing the Iraqi people, I believe, is to be able to live with their past and, at the same time, with the future.
BRAHIMI: So pervasive was Saddam's presence that it has taken to demolish the thousands of statues and tributes to this rule.
But, ironies are everywhere. Iraqis, of course, could never approach Saddam's palaces in Baghdad. Now, they can't approach the coalition authority that has taken over and turned the main palace, known as "The Four-Headed Palace," into its secure headquarters.
There are signs of vacuum everywhere. The Trade Ministry, that used to boast a picture of Saddam with a rationing card, was looted after the war and is not in use today. Squatters now live in the once-feared Defense Ministry.
This is a city and a country still coming to terms with its transformation.
(on camera): In Baghdad today, scars from the war and signs from the occupation live side-by-side, with indications that a new era is under way.
(voice-over): What would have been unthinkable a year ago is now part of the landscape: satellite dishes on buildings, a vibrant press, mobile phones (UNINTELLIGIBLE) with a variety of political parties to choose from.
But whether and how soon the people of Iraq will enjoy a normal life will depend on many things: the coalition's ability to provide stability, to end the violence and the lines at the gas stations.
More crucial still: the transition from occupation to a newly sovereign Iraq. And what replaces the man who fell to Earth?
Rym Brahimi, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 29, 2003 - 05:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The relentless violence underscores a central question for Iraq and its people. While many were glad to see the end of the former government, many also are now concerned about what the future holds.
In Baghdad, CNN's Rym Brahimi explains more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Iraqis, the trauma of the past, invasion, liberation and occupation, all squeezed into a few short weeks. The transformation of their country is overwhelming, almost incredible, the symbols and ironies everywhere.
This was Victory Arch in central Baghdad, the monument inaugurated by Saddam Hussein to the so-called victory over Iran after eight years of war. And this was the Arch just weeks after he was disposed, hosts to a kite festival.
A year ago, the Iraqi Cabinet was commemorating another war anniversary at the Martyrs' Monument. Today, U.S. troops have set up base at that same spot, a national landmark created by one of Iraq's most famous artists.
Not so long, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Saddam's powerful deputy, announced that in a referendum, 100 percent of the population had voted "yes" to Saddam, in the same room where U.S. administrator Paul Bremer mad a very different announcement this month.
PAUL BREMER, U.S. CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR IN IRAQ: Ladies and gentlemen, we got him.
BRAHIMI: A year ago, Baghdad families sat quietly in Fidel Square (ph), in the shadow of their master. In April, that authority was unceremoniously dragged off its pedestal. But what would replace it?
GAILAN MAHMOOD RAMIZ, IRAQI POLITICAL SCIENTIST: The paradox facing the Iraqi people, I believe, is to be able to live with their past and, at the same time, with the future.
BRAHIMI: So pervasive was Saddam's presence that it has taken to demolish the thousands of statues and tributes to this rule.
But, ironies are everywhere. Iraqis, of course, could never approach Saddam's palaces in Baghdad. Now, they can't approach the coalition authority that has taken over and turned the main palace, known as "The Four-Headed Palace," into its secure headquarters.
There are signs of vacuum everywhere. The Trade Ministry, that used to boast a picture of Saddam with a rationing card, was looted after the war and is not in use today. Squatters now live in the once-feared Defense Ministry.
This is a city and a country still coming to terms with its transformation.
(on camera): In Baghdad today, scars from the war and signs from the occupation live side-by-side, with indications that a new era is under way.
(voice-over): What would have been unthinkable a year ago is now part of the landscape: satellite dishes on buildings, a vibrant press, mobile phones (UNINTELLIGIBLE) with a variety of political parties to choose from.
But whether and how soon the people of Iraq will enjoy a normal life will depend on many things: the coalition's ability to provide stability, to end the violence and the lines at the gas stations.
More crucial still: the transition from occupation to a newly sovereign Iraq. And what replaces the man who fell to Earth?
Rym Brahimi, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
