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CNN Live Saturday
Coalition Shelves Plan to Hand Over Control of Iraq to Interim Authority by June
Aired May 17, 2003 - 16:11 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Six weeks after the fall of Baghdad a sense of security in Iraq is hard to come by, and Ba'ath Party officials still cling to a role in the daily lives of Iraqis.
This is forcing the coalition to shelve plans to hand over the reigns to an interim Iraqi government by June. We'll talk to our guest about law and order in Iraq coming up a little bit later.
But first, CNN's Karl Penhaul is in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another body on the streets of Baghdad, no phone to call the ambulance, no police to hunt down the killers, no government official to register the death.
Since the war, ordinary Iraqis say the capital is in chaos. Chaos may be but not anarchy say coalition authorities now running the country. As crime surges and Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party clings to power in many spheres of daily life, the coalition has shelved plans to hand over Iraq to an interim Iraqi authority anytime soon.
JOHN SAWERS, BRITISH REPRESENTATIVE TO COALITION AUTHORITY: It's quite clear that you can not transfer all powers onto some interim body because it will not have the strength or the resources to carry those responsibilities out.
PENHAUL (on camera): Former coalition administrator for Iraq, Jay Garner, predicted a fledgling government made up of Iraqis would be in place before the start of June, but after less than a week in office, Paul Bremer, the man that President Bush sent to prematurely replace Garner is backing away from any timeline.
(voice-over): In meetings with Iraqi political leaders Friday, coalition administrators committed only to setting up a committee to make plans for a national conference but there's no firm schedule even for that. On a tour of some of Baghdad's poorest neighborhoods Saturday, Bremer said he wouldn't be pegged to "false deadlines."
PAUL BREMER, U.S. CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR FOR IRAQ: But we're going to have to put together a process here that leads towards democracy in a realistic way and that's going to take time, and I think in fact most of the participants last night at the meeting were quite clear in the understanding that we've got to first get law and order back. We've got to get basic services back. We've got to deal with the de-Ba'athification of this country.
PENHAUL: Iraqi politicians, like Kurdish leader Mohammed Barzani, were hoping for a stake in any new regime, don't seem too phased by the delay. "There's no difference of opinion" he says. "There's no difference of opinion." But political analysts suggest they don't represent the views of ordinary Iraqis many of whom are calling for coalition troops to leave Iraq.
The slow process of what the coalition now calls de- Ba'athification continued under U.S. military guard at Baghdad University Saturday, elections for new governors for the university. Bremer says he'll remove up to 30,000 officials above and including mid-ranking Ba'ath Party members in public office across Iraq.
He's also banned the public display of Saddam's picture, though this watch seller doesn't mind flouting that ban to sell international visitors the last regime's models at this regime's dollar prices.
Karl Penhaul, 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
Interim Authority by June>
Aired May 17, 2003 - 16:11 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Six weeks after the fall of Baghdad a sense of security in Iraq is hard to come by, and Ba'ath Party officials still cling to a role in the daily lives of Iraqis.
This is forcing the coalition to shelve plans to hand over the reigns to an interim Iraqi government by June. We'll talk to our guest about law and order in Iraq coming up a little bit later.
But first, CNN's Karl Penhaul is in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another body on the streets of Baghdad, no phone to call the ambulance, no police to hunt down the killers, no government official to register the death.
Since the war, ordinary Iraqis say the capital is in chaos. Chaos may be but not anarchy say coalition authorities now running the country. As crime surges and Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party clings to power in many spheres of daily life, the coalition has shelved plans to hand over Iraq to an interim Iraqi authority anytime soon.
JOHN SAWERS, BRITISH REPRESENTATIVE TO COALITION AUTHORITY: It's quite clear that you can not transfer all powers onto some interim body because it will not have the strength or the resources to carry those responsibilities out.
PENHAUL (on camera): Former coalition administrator for Iraq, Jay Garner, predicted a fledgling government made up of Iraqis would be in place before the start of June, but after less than a week in office, Paul Bremer, the man that President Bush sent to prematurely replace Garner is backing away from any timeline.
(voice-over): In meetings with Iraqi political leaders Friday, coalition administrators committed only to setting up a committee to make plans for a national conference but there's no firm schedule even for that. On a tour of some of Baghdad's poorest neighborhoods Saturday, Bremer said he wouldn't be pegged to "false deadlines."
PAUL BREMER, U.S. CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR FOR IRAQ: But we're going to have to put together a process here that leads towards democracy in a realistic way and that's going to take time, and I think in fact most of the participants last night at the meeting were quite clear in the understanding that we've got to first get law and order back. We've got to get basic services back. We've got to deal with the de-Ba'athification of this country.
PENHAUL: Iraqi politicians, like Kurdish leader Mohammed Barzani, were hoping for a stake in any new regime, don't seem too phased by the delay. "There's no difference of opinion" he says. "There's no difference of opinion." But political analysts suggest they don't represent the views of ordinary Iraqis many of whom are calling for coalition troops to leave Iraq.
The slow process of what the coalition now calls de- Ba'athification continued under U.S. military guard at Baghdad University Saturday, elections for new governors for the university. Bremer says he'll remove up to 30,000 officials above and including mid-ranking Ba'ath Party members in public office across Iraq.
He's also banned the public display of Saddam's picture, though this watch seller doesn't mind flouting that ban to sell international visitors the last regime's models at this regime's dollar prices.
Karl Penhaul, 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
Interim Authority by June>
