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Prism

A British National, Held For More Than Two Years, Is Released By Iraqi Captors

Aired December 30, 2009 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

HALA GORANI, CNN INT'L. ANCHOR, PRISM: Alive and in good health and now free. A British hostage is released after being held captive in Iraq for more than two and a half years.

Attacking Al Qaeda, the U.S. is looking at potential targets in Yemen for possible retaliatory strikes in the wake of the failed bombing of an airliner on Christmas Day.

And three years ago, Saddam Hussein was executed. In our "Prism Segment" tonight, is Iraq better off today or under its former dictator?

Hello, everyone. From CNN Center in Atlanta this is PRISM, where we take a story and look at it from multiple perspectives. I'm Hala Gorani. Stan Grant is off this week.

Freedom for a British man held captive in Iraq for more than two years. More than years of being a hostage at the hands of an extremist group. Computer expert Peter Moore was among five Britains abducted from the Iraqi finance ministry in Baghdad back in May of 2007. The other four were security guards, three of them later turned up dead. No word on what has happened to the fourth. He is presumed dead.

Moore's father told CNN a short while ago that he was, quote, "absolutely overjoyed" about his son's release. We know have Iraq government spokesperson Ali Al-Dabbagh on the line from Baghdad with more on this release.

Mr. Al-Dabbagh, thanks for being with us. Where is Peter Moore now?

ALI AL-DABBAGH, IRAQI GOV'T. SPOKESMAN: Peter Moore has been handed over to the British embassy here in Baghdad, this morning. And he is alive and he is in good condition. The Iraqi government is happy that Peter Moore will spend the holiday with his family back in the U.K.

GORANI: What were the circumstances of his release?

AL-DABBAGH: Well, this is part of the consideration. Iraqi government was not part of that effort, but was always supportive of all the efforts in order to release Peter Moore. As part of the reconsideration, as part of the national reconsideration (ph) and to include those groups, armored groups, to part of the political process and to give up all the violence and to be part of the political processes through the normal rule of law, which is here in Iraq.

GORANI: So, the Iraq government didn't negotiate with this group, the League of the Righteous, it was the British?

AL-DABBAGH: Never. We are not part of the negotiations. But there are Iraq individuals which they had played a major part in the negotiations. We are aware about all of that negotiations and we were supportive of that negotiations in order to get an end and to get rid of this problem.

GORANI: What concessions were given this group in order to secure the release of this British citizen?

AL-DABBAGH: Well, there is nothing that has been given, only the program of the reconciliation which could include them. To include them in the --

GORANI: They did this for nothing?

AL-DABBAGH: political process.

GORANI: The did this for nothing? They just handed him over?

AL-DABBAGH: No, no. Actually they have been transferred, from the American side they were detainees with the American side. They did a transfer of Iraqi to the (INAUDIBLE) authority and Iraq (INAUDIBLE) authority is going to look individually in their cases and we will release whoever proves that he is not -nothing, there are no criminal evidences against him.

GORANI: OK, so from the American -

(CROSS TALK)

GORANI: Some detainees held by the Americans were transferred back to the Iraqi authorities, in exchange?

AL-DABBAGH: All the detainees. This was going on, an ongoing process, which had been started from the first of this year, the beginning of this year, and to transfer all of the detainees to the Iraqi side. Part of them, that group which they suspect they are participating or they are connected for the kidnapping of Peter Moore.

GORANI: All right. Ali Al-Dabbagh, the government spokesperson, for the Iraqi government. Thanks very much for joining us on the line from Baghdad with more on the circumstances of the release of this British hostage, Peter Moore, who had been held captive by a Shiite group since May of 2007.

We mentioned that three of the men taken hostage with him turn up dead. A fourth is presumed dead but his body has not been found. So those are the latest developments on that story.

Now, authorities investigating the Christmas Day terror plot in the U.S. are focusing on Yemen and its potential to yield targets for a retaliatory strike. Two senior U.S. officials tell CNN the U.S. and Yemen officials are assembling a list of possible Al Qaeda targets. The suspect at the center of the plot has claimed he received training in that country. Yemen's foreign minister says any airstrikes will be carried out by the county's armed forces, not by the United States.

In the meantime, Amsterdam's airport is ramping up security. Schiphol Airport will begin using body scanners on all passengers taking flights to the United States. The suspect, you'll remember, in that Christmas Day plot changed planes at Schiphol. The scanners will be installed within three weeks. Dutch officials gave a chilling assessment of what could have happened on the Christmas Day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUUSJE TER HORST, DUTCH INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): I think it is not exaggerated to state that the world has escaped a disaster. Thinking what could have happened with the flight from Schiphol to Detroit on the 25th of December. How many lives who would have been bombed and how shocked the world would have been, by yet another Al Qaeda attack. But fortunately, the failed attack had been prepared professionally, but carried out amateurishly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: All right. Prepared professionally, carried out amateurishly. Regardless of how you look at it, a chilling near miss. The trail of this investigation has taken officials from Nigeria to Dubai. CNN is covering the story in both places and we turn now to the UAE. Mohammed Jamjoom is in Dubai, where the suspect, Abdulmutallab studied before going to Yemen.

You went to this university he attended for a few months, Mohammed, and you spoke to the president of that university. What did he tell you about the suspect?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: That is right, Hala, today we went to Wollongong University, here in Dubai. We spoke to Robert Whalen, he is the university president. And the most remarkable thing about it was he said it was pretty much uneventful, Abdulmutallab's tenure at the university.

He enrolled in January in a masters in international business program. We were told that he was a good student, a diligent student. And really that the only reason that he left was because he was kicked out because he couldn't continue to pay his tuition. That would have been in about July. Now, the president of the university also told us why exactly they were so shocked to hear about this news about the suspect. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT WHALEN, PRESIDENT, WOLLONGONG UNIV.: Well, the university actually has quite small class sizes, and very much of the reputation of very good and close relationships between our tutors and the faculty members and the students. And despite that close connection nobody noticed anything out of the ordinary. He was diligent, perhaps shy student, and the diligence was reflected in good grades, in the subjects that he took with us during the brief time he was here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JAMJOOM: Now, I should add that we did want to talk to students today. We were not allowed to do so. We saw the dorm where he lived. But we go no indication from anybody that we spoke with today that he was radicalized in any way or that anybody had suspected him of having this ideology, Hala.

GORANI: All right. Mohammed Jamjoom, live in Dubai there, covering that angle of the story.

To Iran, now, where hundreds of thousands of government supporters jammed the streets of Tehran today, in response to anti-government rallies we saw over the last few days. And especially over the weekend. Our Shirzad Bozorgmehr is in Tehran right now, tracking today's developments and joins us by phone.

What was it like, Shirzad, today in the streets of Tehran?

SHIRZAD BOZORGMEHR, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Hala, you just said, huge crowds of Iranians in Teheran, the capital, all converged on Revolution Square, one of the main squares in Tehran, in support of Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme leader, and also denounced the protests that took place against the government on Sunday. The Ashura, the holy day of Ashura, they denounced those people and called them heretics for making the holy day into a demonstration. And they chanted slogans, especially against the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Israel. And even called for the defrocking of former President Mohammed Khatami for his part in the disturbance, the recent disturbances in Teheran; they also denounced the Khatami -- Karroubi and Mousavi, the two leaders of the opposition, and called them tools of foreign powers.

GORANI: And, Shirzad.

BOZORGMEHR: Go ahead.

GORANI: Who organized this demonstration? How were the demonstrators -how did they make their way to these meeting points, these central meeting points inside of Tehran, today?

BOZORGMEHR: According to news reports, yesterday and today, several dozens of organizations, Islamic organizations, student organizations, cultural organizations, they all had demanded such a demonstration. And they had said that there were six routes that people could take from all parts of Tehran to converge on Revolution Street. This was well-publicized ahead of time, yesterday, and the day before. And yesterday, actually, there were demonstrations taking place as well. So, this was -could be government could have something to do with it, but to say that hundreds of thousands of people could have been bussed to the main square, is a little bit unrealistic.

GORANI: All right. Shirzad Bozorgmehr, reporting to us from inside Iran, live in Tehran. Thank you very much.

Also in Iran, the nephew of the main opposition leader, Mir Hussein Mousavi, you'll remember he was killed over the weekend. He was buried Wednesday. Seyed Ali Mousavi was among those killed in Sunday's demonstrations. It is not clear how he died, though. His uncle's web site says he was shot to death during the protests. Iranian state-run news agencies say the bullet came from a terror team operating inside Tehran and says he was killed far away from the scene of the disturbances.

Now, there are many developments today involving the opposition movement. Including disturbing new video from Sunday's deadly protests. Let's go right to Rosemary Church, she is at our Iran Desk, monitoring all the new developments and the new images coming in -Rosemary.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Hala. We have seen some of the worst violence on the streets of Iran since the disputed June 12 election. I want bring up this video now. Just take a look at this. This is from Sunday, in Tehran. You can see here, protestors throwing stones at members of the Basij, Iran's paramilitary forces. Worth noting, eight people were killed, more than 500 protestors arrested following these anti-government demonstrations on Sunday.

Have to say, though, CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of this video. And then, of course, this harsh message from police chief, General Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, he says there will be no mercy for the protestors. Let's take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. ISMAIL AHMADI MOGHADDAM, IRAN POLICE CHIEF (through translator): The time of moderateness is over. I have repeatedly said that before but they thought I was joking. From now on anyone who participates in such demonstrations and gets involved in fundamentalist and destructive actions will see no leniency. The crackdown will be harsher in comparison to this Sunday. The judicial prosecution will also be harsher. You will see that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: So, very firm words there. Big warning, too, anti government protestors there.

Now, we mentioned this amateur video coming in. I want you to look at this. And a warning to some, some people may find this way too graphic.

You can see that this a police van there. It has mowed into that crowd and then it has reversed out from that crowd, you take the -you pan to the left now, and there is another police van. This police van then gears and drives over the top of that person lying there in the road.

And then we have this other video that has come into us. There is a man, on the ground, we just see it there. Now, we don't know whether there is any link necessarily between the video you just saw and this video. Then, again, we pan over to the right, and there is another man, on the side there, on the footpath. He is screaming. He is in pain. We don't know why. We don't know the circumstances. Again, I do have to emphasize, CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of this video, or any of these amateur videos coming in to us. But you can see and get, certainly, an idea that we are dealing with probably even a higher level of violence that we saw, and the aftermath, of those June disputed elections in Iran.

Hala, back to you.

GORANI: All right. Rosemary Church, at the Iran Desk.

Afghan investigators say 10 civilians were killed in a U.S. led operation in Kunar Province. The weekend raid has sparked protests in Kabul. And Afghan presidential panel says eight of the victims were children. But the U.S. military claims all of those killed were militants and says it has the pictures to prove it.

A U.S. officials tells CNN that the raid was a joint operation with Afghan forces, targeting a group of insurgents planting roadside bombs.

It has been three years since the execution of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. In tonight's "Prism Segment" we'll focus Iraq. Is the country better off since the long-time dictator's fall.

Plus, firefighters battle massive wildfires down under. We'll bring you the latest after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: A series of bombings in Iraq's western Anbar Province targeted the provincial government there in Anbar, leaving the governor and others critically wounded. At least 23 people were killed in the blast and another 57 were injured. Two car bombs exploded in Ramadi near police headquarters and the governor's office, as the governor went outside to assist the injured, that is when a suicide bomber approached him and detonated his vest.

Despite today's bombings in Ramadi violence in Iraq has dropped to its lowest level since the U.S. invasion in 2003. So, in our "Prism Segment" we are asking, is Iraq better off without Saddam Hussein? It depends who you ask and what measurements you use.

First listen to what former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney had to say earlier this year on CNN's "State of the Union".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, FMR. VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: my general sense of where we are, with respect to Iraq, and at the end of now, what, nearly six years, is that we have accomplished nearly everything that we set out to do. I don't hear much talk about that. But the fact is that violence level is down 90 percent, the numbers of casualties among Iraqis and Americans is significantly diminished. There has been elections, a constitution, they are about to have another presidential election here in the near future. We have succeeded in creating, in the heart of the Middle East, a democratically governed Iraq. And that is a big deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Dick Cheney, there, saying Iraq is a success story in the end. According to official numbers compiled by Agence France-Presse, 3,114 Iraqi civilians, soldiers and policemen were killed as a result of violence in the first 11 months of 2009. By comparison, 6,798 people died from attacks in 2008. And check out the numbers for '07 and '06; 17,783 for '07, 34,452 in 2006.

The numbers are declining, there is no question. Security in Iraq is an important and consistent gauge. There are other quality of life issues like the availability of water, electricity, fuel. Oil revenues are up significantly but electricity remains spotty or non-existent in many places in Iraq. From Baghdad Diana Magnay has how Iraqis feel about life after Saddam.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Nowadays, Baghdad's Shorja market bustles with shoppers buying everything from stationary to prayer beads, to spices which fill the narrow alleyways with their pungent smell. It is the commercial heart of Baghdad.

(On camera): This is a market that sells mainly wholesale goods, so even though this is just a small shop front, there will be a warehouse back outside somewhere selling millions of dinars worth of goods.

(voice over): Shorja first opened 200 years ago. Many of the store holders still remember life under Saddam Hussein. Then at the peak of the sectarian violence, Shorja was targeted dozens of times by insurgents bombs and customers stopped coming.

Ramzee Mustafa kept his stall open through those difficult years, but he says he hardly made anything.

RAMZEE MUSTAFA, SHOP OWNER (through translator): There was a big difference. During the sectarian violence I used to make nothing, 3,000 to 5,000 Iraqi dinar a day. Now, I making 200,000 to 500,000 dinar a day.

MAGNAY: He still doesn't feel safe at Shorja, but he believe it is a price worth paying to be rid of the dictator.

MUSTAFA (through translator): Now it is better. Although security was better before under Saddam, at least now we have our freedom.

MAGNAY: Next door, Ali Al-Saffar, who sells spices, refuses to be drawn on whether life was better then or now.

ALI AL-SAFFAR, SHOP OWNER (through translator): Nothing has changed. This is my life. My life continues in the same way.

MAGNAY: Saddam Hussein's regime is a sensitive subject and many of the shopkeepers here are scared, worried, about who is listening to their opinions.

ABU KAREEM, SHOP OWNER (through translator): I'm a secular man. I don't care about this issue or the sectarian issue. I'm secular and I like all people. Business is business, and that's it.

MAGNAY: Thousands of people took to the streets in a number of Sunni provinces to protest against Saddam Hussein's execution three years ago. The way it was done left a bad taste in the mouths of many, even those who hated him.

Ali Abdullah, who sells watches at Shorja, refused to watch the execution video.

ALI ABDULLAH, SHOP OWNER (through translator): Maybe he deserved more than execution. But Iraqis don't like to see killing and executions on TV.

MAGNAY: These shops will shutter around 3 p.m. Back in Saddam's time they used stay open until around 10. Most of the shopkeepers here say that business was much better back then, but it is a price they are prepared to pay for freedom. Diana Magnay, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, earlier this year, D3 Systems, in the U.S. and KA Research Limited of Istanbul, the names of the company, sampled Iraqi public opinion from multiple media outlets. More than 2,000 Iraqis were asked, how they feel things are going in their lives? Their responses: 21 percent said very good; 44 percent said quite good; 19 percent said bad and 16 percent said very bad.

Let's compare that to the same question asked in 2004. Fewer said very good, but fewer people also offered negative responses. And there you have it; 57 percent, quite good, bad, 14 percent.

I have been asking for your opinion on my Twitter page. Here is what some of you are saying at Hala Gorani.

Tim Cooke, in Australia writes: "I feel Iraqis are better off in regards to human rights, but the security and safety of the people is now questionable."

Suzie in Slovakia Tweets, "Worse now. Iraq is a destabilized country with millions of refugees and Al Qaeda now has a base there."

Finally, Shawn in London Tweets: "Your question implies Saddam's impact on Iraq ended in 2003, but his mentality lives on in the actions of many Iraqi politicians today."

And interesting point to make there. That is just some of the opinions expressed in our "Prism Segment" today, on the question: Is Iraq better off without Saddam Hussein?

Summer is the season for bush fires in Australia. And in the West they are battling fierce blazes that have sent hundreds of people packing. We will bring you the latest. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Bush fires in Western Australia have been declared a natural disaster. The declaration by state premier Colin Barnett frees up emergency funds for those affected. More than 30 homes have already been destroyed by these fires burning in farmland north of Perth.

Let's take a look at the global weather picture. Mari Ramos is at the CNN World Weather Center for that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

GORANI: New York, of course, is a big place to be, a popular place to be for New Year's. It is getting ready for the event with a confetti air worthiness test, in Times Square. That is what it is called.

Of course, there will be a lot more confetti than this in the air on Thursday night. And some of it will carry holiday wishes made by people around the world. Millions of -oh, I recognize her. She is on one of our networks.

Millions of people are expected to pack Times Square for the annual New Year's Eve celebration. It is going to be chilly.

That's it for me, Hala Gorani. News headlines coming up next, followed by a CNN special, "Sports Summit" Pedro Pinto talks to legends about the games and the year's top stories in the world of sports.

END