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Interview with Ahmed Chalabi, Head of Iraqi National Congress

Aired March 19, 2003 - 15:52   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.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: As the talk about war continues, the question comes up many times as to what will happen in Iraq post- Saddam Hussein. Well, thousands of Kurds once again flee across the border into Turkey, when the fighting starts. What about the post-war government?
A U.S. envoy just met with some of the top Iraqi opposition leaders a short time ago in Ankara, Turkey. And joining us from there is Ahmed Chalabi, who is head of the Iraqi National Congress.

Mr. Chalabi, good to have you with us.

AHMED CHALABI, IRAQI NATIONAL CONGRESS: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: First of all, if you could just give us the gist of that meeting and what the U.S. is telling the various opposition groups.

CHALABI: We came here to meet with Mr. Khalizad (ph), the special envoy to the Iraqis and also to meet with the Turkish government. We came here to resolve some issues that were outstanding, and we had very successful talks here.

Mr. Khalizad (ph) also outlined for us the program that the United States government has decided to adopt for post-Iraq governments. We are glad to say that they have taken into account our thoughts and ideas about how the future of Iraq should look like. And the United States envisions an Iraqi interim authority to take control of many functions of state in Iraq while preserving for the United States the functions that they are going to war...

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Well, Mr. Chalabi...

CHALABI: ... of the weapons of mass destruction.

O'BRIEN: Mr. Chalabi, that idea of an interim U.S. government, it does not sit well with many of the opposition leaders.

CHALABI: It is not a U.S. interim government. It is not a U.S. interim government. It is an Iraqi interim government by Iraqis.

The U.S. will not be involved in the Iraqi interim authority. It is not a government. It's an Iraqi interim authority, not a U.S. government.

O'BRIEN: How will that work then? There are...

CHALABI: The United States hasn't responded.

O'BRIEN: How will that work? There are so many opposition groups and so many competing ideas on how to run the country.

CHALABI: The opposition is united. There was a conference in London, and the conference in London selected a follow-up committee which met in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) back in February. That committee has chosen a leadership for the Iraqi opposition, and that leadership of the Iraqi opposition has established excellent relations with the United States government.

And that leadership will play a central role in forming the interim Iraqi authority. And we hope to convene a conference in Baghdad so that we will have a council which will select the interim authority. All Iraqis of all walks of life and communities will be represented.

O'BRIEN: Mr. Chalabi, when you say all Iraqis will be represented, the issue of the Kurds comes up. And the Kurds are the largest -- excuse me, sir -- the Kurds are the largest ethnic group in the world without a country. Can you envision some sort of independent Kurdistan across the territory where Kurds are located in Iraq and parts of Iran and Turkey as part of what comes out of this post-Saddam Hussein?

CHALABI: All Iraqi opposition groups, including the Kurds, have pledged their support for the unity territorial integrity and independence of Iraq. The Iraqi Kurdish parties are part and parcel of the Iraqi opposition. They are committed to the unity and territorial integrity of Iraq within a democratic federal structure in Iraq that would be decided by all the Iraqi people in a free referendum on a constitution that would be drafted by the -- through the interim Iraqi authority.

So the idea...

O'BRIEN: Go ahead and finish your point, sir.

CHALABI: Yes. My point is that this idea that there will be an independent Kurdish state as a result of this military action to remove Saddam from power is not on the cards at all. We are all committed to the unity territorial integrity and independence of Iraq. All the communities of Iraq, the Kurd, Turkmen, Syrians, and the Arabs, of course, who are the majority, Shiites and Sunnis, all of them are committed to the unity of Iraq.

O'BRIEN: Ahmed Chalabi, who heads the Iraqi National Congress, one of dozens of opposition groups meeting there in Ankara, Turkey with U.S. representatives trying to chart a course post-Saddam Hussein, thank you very much for being with us, sir. We apologize for that delay on that satellite as well.

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





Congress>


Aired March 19, 2003 - 15:52   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: As the talk about war continues, the question comes up many times as to what will happen in Iraq post- Saddam Hussein. Well, thousands of Kurds once again flee across the border into Turkey, when the fighting starts. What about the post-war government?
A U.S. envoy just met with some of the top Iraqi opposition leaders a short time ago in Ankara, Turkey. And joining us from there is Ahmed Chalabi, who is head of the Iraqi National Congress.

Mr. Chalabi, good to have you with us.

AHMED CHALABI, IRAQI NATIONAL CONGRESS: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: First of all, if you could just give us the gist of that meeting and what the U.S. is telling the various opposition groups.

CHALABI: We came here to meet with Mr. Khalizad (ph), the special envoy to the Iraqis and also to meet with the Turkish government. We came here to resolve some issues that were outstanding, and we had very successful talks here.

Mr. Khalizad (ph) also outlined for us the program that the United States government has decided to adopt for post-Iraq governments. We are glad to say that they have taken into account our thoughts and ideas about how the future of Iraq should look like. And the United States envisions an Iraqi interim authority to take control of many functions of state in Iraq while preserving for the United States the functions that they are going to war...

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Well, Mr. Chalabi...

CHALABI: ... of the weapons of mass destruction.

O'BRIEN: Mr. Chalabi, that idea of an interim U.S. government, it does not sit well with many of the opposition leaders.

CHALABI: It is not a U.S. interim government. It is not a U.S. interim government. It is an Iraqi interim government by Iraqis.

The U.S. will not be involved in the Iraqi interim authority. It is not a government. It's an Iraqi interim authority, not a U.S. government.

O'BRIEN: How will that work then? There are...

CHALABI: The United States hasn't responded.

O'BRIEN: How will that work? There are so many opposition groups and so many competing ideas on how to run the country.

CHALABI: The opposition is united. There was a conference in London, and the conference in London selected a follow-up committee which met in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) back in February. That committee has chosen a leadership for the Iraqi opposition, and that leadership of the Iraqi opposition has established excellent relations with the United States government.

And that leadership will play a central role in forming the interim Iraqi authority. And we hope to convene a conference in Baghdad so that we will have a council which will select the interim authority. All Iraqis of all walks of life and communities will be represented.

O'BRIEN: Mr. Chalabi, when you say all Iraqis will be represented, the issue of the Kurds comes up. And the Kurds are the largest -- excuse me, sir -- the Kurds are the largest ethnic group in the world without a country. Can you envision some sort of independent Kurdistan across the territory where Kurds are located in Iraq and parts of Iran and Turkey as part of what comes out of this post-Saddam Hussein?

CHALABI: All Iraqi opposition groups, including the Kurds, have pledged their support for the unity territorial integrity and independence of Iraq. The Iraqi Kurdish parties are part and parcel of the Iraqi opposition. They are committed to the unity and territorial integrity of Iraq within a democratic federal structure in Iraq that would be decided by all the Iraqi people in a free referendum on a constitution that would be drafted by the -- through the interim Iraqi authority.

So the idea...

O'BRIEN: Go ahead and finish your point, sir.

CHALABI: Yes. My point is that this idea that there will be an independent Kurdish state as a result of this military action to remove Saddam from power is not on the cards at all. We are all committed to the unity territorial integrity and independence of Iraq. All the communities of Iraq, the Kurd, Turkmen, Syrians, and the Arabs, of course, who are the majority, Shiites and Sunnis, all of them are committed to the unity of Iraq.

O'BRIEN: Ahmed Chalabi, who heads the Iraqi National Congress, one of dozens of opposition groups meeting there in Ankara, Turkey with U.S. representatives trying to chart a course post-Saddam Hussein, thank you very much for being with us, sir. We apologize for that delay on that satellite as well.

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





Congress>