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CNN Live Saturday
Nine of Hearts Captured
Aired May 03, 2003 - 12:10 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: CNN has confirmed that coalition forces have picked up another most-wanted Iraqi leader. U.S. forces say they now have Mizban Khadr Hadi in custody. He was in charge of one of the four military regions set up by Saddam Hussein just before the war. He is the 18th Iraqi captured, the nine of hearts in the coalition card deck.
It is back to school today in Baghdad after the war, but it is not a resounding success. It was just one problem today in the Iraqi capital.
CNN's senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is there.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, a lot of the schools getting ready to reopen and reopening, but a lot of children not showing up. One of the reasons for that, parents saying that they're afraid because of the current security conditions, afraid to let their children go back to school.
And quite a surprise development in the security situation today for the U.S. forces here in Baghdad. The interim police chief in Baghdad, Zumir al-Mahimi (ph), decided to resign.
Now, according to U.S. forces, he decided to resign because he didn't want to implement some of the new changes that he would have to implement in the police force in Baghdad. Some of those changes would make it a more U.S.-style police force.
And according to the Mr. Mahimi (ph), he also didn't want to enforce some new gun safety measures inside the city for his police force. So he has decided to resign. When he resigned, he handed over several hundred thousand dollars and also several kilos of gold -- money and gold he said that had been looted in Baghdad, and he was handing it over to the U.S. forces in a matter of good faith, he said, so that the United States could continue to train the police force in Baghdad.
But filling his shoes will be something that is quite an urgent matter for U.S. forces at this time. The security of Baghdad, still very far from assured at this time.
And perhaps, quite a surprise development that such a key person should, already, at this early stage, show a difference of opinion with the U.S. forces here, a difference of opinion of how to run the city and to decide to resign, rather than to go along with what the United States forces here would like to see happen with the police force in Baghdad.
Also, developments on the humanitarian front. Workers, international workers from the World Health Organization, from the World Food Program, from the U.N.'s development program, and from the U.N.'s children's program, UNICEF, all returned to Baghdad. A spokesman for the group said Iraq is still far from out of the possibility of a crisis. He said the hump is still yet to be covered.
And they will be -- this team will be dedicating their work in the coming days to making a humanitarian assessment of the situation here. There are concerns that there could yet at this time be a humanitarian disaster here -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Well, Nic, if the parents are now expressing that they're concerned about security, ongoing security issues, and now you've got the resignation, at least in Baghdad of the police chief, is this now a precursor to perhaps other unexpected resignations of other interim leaders?
ROBERTSON: Well, I think at this time, as Jay Garner, the retired U.S. general who is heading the civil administration at this time, it certainly is going to pose some conundrums for him. Because as he tries to choose and let the Iraqis here choose who should lead the different government departments, this is clearly setting up some sort of friction between how these government departments should be run, how the United States would like them to run, how the Iraqis would like them to run.
So this will make choosing the people to put in those positions much harder. Because if there are many more resignations like this, and many posts yet to be filled, of course, if there are resignations like this, then it's going to send a very negative message to both sides on this time, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Nic Robertson in Baghdad, thank you very much.
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 May 3, 2003 - 12:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: CNN has confirmed that coalition forces have picked up another most-wanted Iraqi leader. U.S. forces say they now have Mizban Khadr Hadi in custody. He was in charge of one of the four military regions set up by Saddam Hussein just before the war. He is the 18th Iraqi captured, the nine of hearts in the coalition card deck.
It is back to school today in Baghdad after the war, but it is not a resounding success. It was just one problem today in the Iraqi capital.
CNN's senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is there.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, a lot of the schools getting ready to reopen and reopening, but a lot of children not showing up. One of the reasons for that, parents saying that they're afraid because of the current security conditions, afraid to let their children go back to school.
And quite a surprise development in the security situation today for the U.S. forces here in Baghdad. The interim police chief in Baghdad, Zumir al-Mahimi (ph), decided to resign.
Now, according to U.S. forces, he decided to resign because he didn't want to implement some of the new changes that he would have to implement in the police force in Baghdad. Some of those changes would make it a more U.S.-style police force.
And according to the Mr. Mahimi (ph), he also didn't want to enforce some new gun safety measures inside the city for his police force. So he has decided to resign. When he resigned, he handed over several hundred thousand dollars and also several kilos of gold -- money and gold he said that had been looted in Baghdad, and he was handing it over to the U.S. forces in a matter of good faith, he said, so that the United States could continue to train the police force in Baghdad.
But filling his shoes will be something that is quite an urgent matter for U.S. forces at this time. The security of Baghdad, still very far from assured at this time.
And perhaps, quite a surprise development that such a key person should, already, at this early stage, show a difference of opinion with the U.S. forces here, a difference of opinion of how to run the city and to decide to resign, rather than to go along with what the United States forces here would like to see happen with the police force in Baghdad.
Also, developments on the humanitarian front. Workers, international workers from the World Health Organization, from the World Food Program, from the U.N.'s development program, and from the U.N.'s children's program, UNICEF, all returned to Baghdad. A spokesman for the group said Iraq is still far from out of the possibility of a crisis. He said the hump is still yet to be covered.
And they will be -- this team will be dedicating their work in the coming days to making a humanitarian assessment of the situation here. There are concerns that there could yet at this time be a humanitarian disaster here -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Well, Nic, if the parents are now expressing that they're concerned about security, ongoing security issues, and now you've got the resignation, at least in Baghdad of the police chief, is this now a precursor to perhaps other unexpected resignations of other interim leaders?
ROBERTSON: Well, I think at this time, as Jay Garner, the retired U.S. general who is heading the civil administration at this time, it certainly is going to pose some conundrums for him. Because as he tries to choose and let the Iraqis here choose who should lead the different government departments, this is clearly setting up some sort of friction between how these government departments should be run, how the United States would like them to run, how the Iraqis would like them to run.
So this will make choosing the people to put in those positions much harder. Because if there are many more resignations like this, and many posts yet to be filled, of course, if there are resignations like this, then it's going to send a very negative message to both sides on this time, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Nic Robertson in Baghdad, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
