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CNN Live At Daybreak
Some Money Spent in Iraq Isn't Ours
Aired December 12, 2003 - 05:23 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 LIN, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. is spending a lot of money in Iraq, no question. But CNN Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf found out that some of the money isn't ours.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is how the U.S. military in northern Iraq goes shopping. Captain Harper Cook and his team are in the market of Erbil, trying to outfit new Iraqi police in Mosul.
CAPT. HARPER COOK., U.S. ARMY: Like $4, $4 or $5 apiece.
ARRAF: If they waited for money from the interior ministry or the U.S. government, they'd be waiting a long time. Instead they're using cash from seized Iraqi assets put directly back into the community.
COOK: For a 45 man SWAT team we're setting up from the police and just black. Just everything all black.
ARRAF: There's usually a bit of bargaining involved.
COOK: Twenty-five dollars for a flashlight?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's better if you get them from the (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
COOK: We can do better than that, see?
ARRAF: The cash itself is carried in an ordinary black backpack, up to $300,000 at a time. You try not to draw attention to yourself, says the captain carrying it.
COOK: So you're going to pay for them when you pick them up?
ARRAF: On this day, the supplies aren't ready yet, so they pay middleman Sidhi Han (ph) a $1,200 bill, including a 20 percent commission. So far, the 101st Airborne Division says it has spent more than $30 million of what's known as the commander's emergency response fund. In this city, which was looted and burned after the war, it's paid government salaries, fixed roads and helped start small businesses.
(on camera): A lot of military officials agree if there's one thing that will improve security in this area, it's reviving the economy. And in this economy every job counts. (voice-over): One of the projects has revived a trade school for the mentally and physically challenged which was completely looted after the war. But with $22,000 of repairs, dozens of men and women who otherwise probably couldn't make a living are getting a salary. For the Army as well as the community, that's money well spent.
Jane Arraf, CNN, Mosul, Iraq.
(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
Aired December 12, 2003 - 05:23 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. is spending a lot of money in Iraq, no question. But CNN Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf found out that some of the money isn't ours.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is how the U.S. military in northern Iraq goes shopping. Captain Harper Cook and his team are in the market of Erbil, trying to outfit new Iraqi police in Mosul.
CAPT. HARPER COOK., U.S. ARMY: Like $4, $4 or $5 apiece.
ARRAF: If they waited for money from the interior ministry or the U.S. government, they'd be waiting a long time. Instead they're using cash from seized Iraqi assets put directly back into the community.
COOK: For a 45 man SWAT team we're setting up from the police and just black. Just everything all black.
ARRAF: There's usually a bit of bargaining involved.
COOK: Twenty-five dollars for a flashlight?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's better if you get them from the (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
COOK: We can do better than that, see?
ARRAF: The cash itself is carried in an ordinary black backpack, up to $300,000 at a time. You try not to draw attention to yourself, says the captain carrying it.
COOK: So you're going to pay for them when you pick them up?
ARRAF: On this day, the supplies aren't ready yet, so they pay middleman Sidhi Han (ph) a $1,200 bill, including a 20 percent commission. So far, the 101st Airborne Division says it has spent more than $30 million of what's known as the commander's emergency response fund. In this city, which was looted and burned after the war, it's paid government salaries, fixed roads and helped start small businesses.
(on camera): A lot of military officials agree if there's one thing that will improve security in this area, it's reviving the economy. And in this economy every job counts. (voice-over): One of the projects has revived a trade school for the mentally and physically challenged which was completely looted after the war. But with $22,000 of repairs, dozens of men and women who otherwise probably couldn't make a living are getting a salary. For the Army as well as the community, that's money well spent.
Jane Arraf, CNN, Mosul, Iraq.
(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
