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CNN Live Saturday

Paul Bremer Says Funds Needed to Give Iraqi's Control of Over Own Security

Aired November 01, 2003 - 12:00   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.


JONATHAN KARL, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. Administrator Paul Bremer say Iraqis are on the fast track to take over their own security. He says, if Congress approves the emergency funding the size of the Iraqi defense force will double by this time next year. In the meantime, the coalition is on its own in a long hard slog.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL BREMER, U.S. CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR: I expect that these terrorists and Saddam loyalists will continue to attack both our coalition forces and Iraqis in an effort to prevent the consolidation of security and the establishment of freedom and democracy here in Iraq. They believe that they can drain the coalition of its will buy inflicting a steady stream of casualties. They are wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARL: Bremer also said there's no sign former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is behind the recent attacks. He says he believes Hussein is alive and his capture or killing is the coalition's number one priority. Let's get more on the situation in Iraq from our Pentagon correspondent Chris Plante. What's the latest?

CHRIS PLANTE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John. The latest, as you said was coming from Ambassador Bremer in Baghdad who came out and held a press conference today with the Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez in charge of the ground forces there. Ambassador Bremer stressed the perhaps of speeding up the training of the police, security forces, civil defense core and other Iraqi, indigenous Iraqi security forces there in Iraq. He said in fact they planned to double the sizes of the Iraqi civil defense core in March of next year, six months from now and expects to have about 2,000 Iraqis by September of next year involved in the security operations.

As you said, he also talked about Saddam Hussein and whether Saddam Hussein was still alive. He said he does believe Saddam Hussein is alive and inside Iraqi. He said, his words, no clear indication at this point that Saddam Hussein is involved with or behind the orchestration of these attacks against coalition forces inside of Iraq. That contradicts some news reporting from the last couple of days that received some attention. Ambassador Bremer also said, referring to Saddam Hussein, that his days are finished in Iraq.

He described the situation there in Iraq, as being the forefront of the global war on terror and said, we are going to win it here. He also stressed during the course of this press conference, the perhaps of accelerating the creation of a civil Iraqi government and turning over the governance of Iraq to Iraqis themselves. The importance of writing a constitution so they can get on with elections there. And also dropped in a little line about some countries to which Iraq is in debt. The former regime is in debt. The importance of those countries relieving those debts so that Iraq's economy can get back on its feet -- John.

KARL: Bremer, the Pentagon made no secret a top priority is getting the Iraqis trained to take over their own security.

Why do they consider that so important?

PLANTE: It functions on a couple of different levels. Ambassador Bremer today stressed the point Iraqis are more capable out on the street of spotting, as he said, who the bad guys are, spotting the foreign fighters that can detect accents from different parts of the country, different parts of the Arab world. And they're better at finding out who these guys are out on the street. It's also been, been stressed, the more you can lose the American face to this process, stop having the Americans out on the street patrolling neighborhoods, the less Americanized this situation is the more quickly they can move into the future and pay attention to the bad actors, the people behind these attacks -- Jon.

KARL: All right. Chris Plante at the Pentagon. Thanks a lot Chris.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Over Own Security>


Aired November 1, 2003 - 12:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JONATHAN KARL, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. Administrator Paul Bremer say Iraqis are on the fast track to take over their own security. He says, if Congress approves the emergency funding the size of the Iraqi defense force will double by this time next year. In the meantime, the coalition is on its own in a long hard slog.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL BREMER, U.S. CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR: I expect that these terrorists and Saddam loyalists will continue to attack both our coalition forces and Iraqis in an effort to prevent the consolidation of security and the establishment of freedom and democracy here in Iraq. They believe that they can drain the coalition of its will buy inflicting a steady stream of casualties. They are wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARL: Bremer also said there's no sign former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is behind the recent attacks. He says he believes Hussein is alive and his capture or killing is the coalition's number one priority. Let's get more on the situation in Iraq from our Pentagon correspondent Chris Plante. What's the latest?

CHRIS PLANTE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John. The latest, as you said was coming from Ambassador Bremer in Baghdad who came out and held a press conference today with the Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez in charge of the ground forces there. Ambassador Bremer stressed the perhaps of speeding up the training of the police, security forces, civil defense core and other Iraqi, indigenous Iraqi security forces there in Iraq. He said in fact they planned to double the sizes of the Iraqi civil defense core in March of next year, six months from now and expects to have about 2,000 Iraqis by September of next year involved in the security operations.

As you said, he also talked about Saddam Hussein and whether Saddam Hussein was still alive. He said he does believe Saddam Hussein is alive and inside Iraqi. He said, his words, no clear indication at this point that Saddam Hussein is involved with or behind the orchestration of these attacks against coalition forces inside of Iraq. That contradicts some news reporting from the last couple of days that received some attention. Ambassador Bremer also said, referring to Saddam Hussein, that his days are finished in Iraq.

He described the situation there in Iraq, as being the forefront of the global war on terror and said, we are going to win it here. He also stressed during the course of this press conference, the perhaps of accelerating the creation of a civil Iraqi government and turning over the governance of Iraq to Iraqis themselves. The importance of writing a constitution so they can get on with elections there. And also dropped in a little line about some countries to which Iraq is in debt. The former regime is in debt. The importance of those countries relieving those debts so that Iraq's economy can get back on its feet -- John.

KARL: Bremer, the Pentagon made no secret a top priority is getting the Iraqis trained to take over their own security.

Why do they consider that so important?

PLANTE: It functions on a couple of different levels. Ambassador Bremer today stressed the point Iraqis are more capable out on the street of spotting, as he said, who the bad guys are, spotting the foreign fighters that can detect accents from different parts of the country, different parts of the Arab world. And they're better at finding out who these guys are out on the street. It's also been, been stressed, the more you can lose the American face to this process, stop having the Americans out on the street patrolling neighborhoods, the less Americanized this situation is the more quickly they can move into the future and pay attention to the bad actors, the people behind these attacks -- Jon.

KARL: All right. Chris Plante at the Pentagon. Thanks a lot Chris.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Over Own Security>