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CNN Live At Daybreak
Democracy, Violence in Iraq
Aired February 12, 2004 - 06:30 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: A United Nations team is meeting today in Iraq with the country's leading Shiite cleric to explore the possibility of elections this summer. The move toward a handover of authority continued, along with the insurgent bombings that have killed scores of Iraqis.
Live to Baghdad now and our bureau chief there, Jane Arraf.
Good morning -- Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Carol.
This meeting is absolutely key. Now, it was the meeting between a top U.N. envoy and one of the most influential men in Iraq, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who has thrown a wrench into a U.S. plan to hold caucus-style elections by calling for direct elections.
Now, after this two-hour meeting with Lakhdar Brahimi, the special U.N. envoy, and the Grand Ayatollah Sistani, Brahimi came out and said they supported the call for elections, but he didn't give a timeframe.
Now, we spoke to U.N. spokesman Ahmed Fawzi when this mission started, and he said it was a given that elections would be held. At some point, the thing to determine was when.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AHMED FAWZI, U.N. SPOKESMAN: The question is: Is it feasible to hold elections between now and the end of June, which is the date specified by the November 14 agreement that the Governing Council signed with the CPA?
And the next question is: If the answer to the first question is no, then what kind of mechanism can we help the Iraqis put in place to achieve a restoration of sovereignty as quickly as possible? Because that is really the only agenda that the United Nations has.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARRAF: Now, there's a lot to consider here. One of the main things, of course, is security -- whether, in fact, this country is secure enough to hold elections. And with the recent violence, that's certainly the question of everyone's mind -- Carol.
COSTELLO: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Jane Arraf 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 February 12, 2004 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A United Nations team is meeting today in Iraq with the country's leading Shiite cleric to explore the possibility of elections this summer. The move toward a handover of authority continued, along with the insurgent bombings that have killed scores of Iraqis.
Live to Baghdad now and our bureau chief there, Jane Arraf.
Good morning -- Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Carol.
This meeting is absolutely key. Now, it was the meeting between a top U.N. envoy and one of the most influential men in Iraq, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who has thrown a wrench into a U.S. plan to hold caucus-style elections by calling for direct elections.
Now, after this two-hour meeting with Lakhdar Brahimi, the special U.N. envoy, and the Grand Ayatollah Sistani, Brahimi came out and said they supported the call for elections, but he didn't give a timeframe.
Now, we spoke to U.N. spokesman Ahmed Fawzi when this mission started, and he said it was a given that elections would be held. At some point, the thing to determine was when.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AHMED FAWZI, U.N. SPOKESMAN: The question is: Is it feasible to hold elections between now and the end of June, which is the date specified by the November 14 agreement that the Governing Council signed with the CPA?
And the next question is: If the answer to the first question is no, then what kind of mechanism can we help the Iraqis put in place to achieve a restoration of sovereignty as quickly as possible? Because that is really the only agenda that the United Nations has.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARRAF: Now, there's a lot to consider here. One of the main things, of course, is security -- whether, in fact, this country is secure enough to hold elections. And with the recent violence, that's certainly the question of everyone's mind -- Carol.
COSTELLO: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Jane Arraf 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.
