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Why Did Power Go Out in Baghdad?

Aired April 18, 2003 - 14:09   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: Jim Clancy, I'm curious, I've never had it straight in my head exactly why the power went out there. Was it as a result of U.S. bombing, or was it something that the Iraqis did in the waning days of the Saddam regime?
JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It seems to be a combination of factors. There was some damage to the power grid in some parts of the country. There were damage to gas lines. Some of the electric plants are fired by natural gas coming from Kirkuk. There were problems with oil deliveries. Other plants are oil or diesel driven. There was a combination factors, and there was an imbalance in the system.

At the same time, there was the political crisis, and it appears that the last man out of the power station going home simply threw the switch. There was nobody to mind the store, if you will, Miles. It wasn't ordered, as far as we can tell. It wasn't ordered by the regime to be shut down. It was just that the maintenance, everything else was giving out at the same time. They had no choice but to shut it down. Now it's a big problem trying to get it restarted.

O'BRIEN: Tell us a little bit about these protests. Big numbers on the streets, interesting that it's both Shiite and Sunni, I think. I want you comment a little on that. But how much of this is rooted in some kind of ideological or philosophical concerns about having the U.S. there, and how much of it is just practical feelings of anxiety, not having simple things like electricity and enough food?

CLANCY: Well, there's a couple of answers. I think that you have to understand, the demonstrations, the protests in the street were very impressive. More than 10,000 people out there. But this is a mosque, where it was centered, where these people came from really, that has long pushed the message of an Islamic republic, pushed a very anti-U.S. line.

All of this is coming, Miles, in a power vacuum. Who is going to be the next leader? Who is going to be in charge of the country? There are many people who are pushing political agendas or religious agendas, or the mixture of two, that they haven't been able to do in a long, long time. It's very obvious in the absence of any multi- political party system here, religious leaders have a role to play, and they are playing that role. You see it very clearly. We also see the Iraqi National Congress coming in here with a well-oiled machine, trying to push it from their side.

But Iraqis, I'm told this protest does not represent nearly a majority of people, that it has been a political force in the capital for some time. And that calls for perhaps undue alarm that suddenly the U.S. is going to be booted out. But suddenly, a lot of people trying to find their way to fill the political vacuum that exists today.

O'BRIEN: Quickly, Jim, I want to ask you quickly, do you think it's likely some sort of Islamic fundamentalism movement will come to the top here and attempt to seize the rings of power?

CLANCY: Well, it is a possibility. I think that the Shia Muslims have shown in the last 10 days or so they are deeply divided. There's a lot of people push different messages, and it's to their benefit to say, U.S. troops out. Well, that's a message that resonates with all Iraqis, but they are not saying exactly when.

On the other hand, I think you have what has been a very secular society, that doesn't want to see Islamic fundamentalism, vis-a-vis Iran, come into their country. So you have competing forces here. We have to wait and see how it plays out in the days and months and weeks ahead.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jim Clancy, thank you for shedding light on that for us, probably not a good choice of words, given that the power is still out there. But thank you very much for joining us live from Baghdad.

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 April 18, 2003 - 14:09   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Jim Clancy, I'm curious, I've never had it straight in my head exactly why the power went out there. Was it as a result of U.S. bombing, or was it something that the Iraqis did in the waning days of the Saddam regime?
JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It seems to be a combination of factors. There was some damage to the power grid in some parts of the country. There were damage to gas lines. Some of the electric plants are fired by natural gas coming from Kirkuk. There were problems with oil deliveries. Other plants are oil or diesel driven. There was a combination factors, and there was an imbalance in the system.

At the same time, there was the political crisis, and it appears that the last man out of the power station going home simply threw the switch. There was nobody to mind the store, if you will, Miles. It wasn't ordered, as far as we can tell. It wasn't ordered by the regime to be shut down. It was just that the maintenance, everything else was giving out at the same time. They had no choice but to shut it down. Now it's a big problem trying to get it restarted.

O'BRIEN: Tell us a little bit about these protests. Big numbers on the streets, interesting that it's both Shiite and Sunni, I think. I want you comment a little on that. But how much of this is rooted in some kind of ideological or philosophical concerns about having the U.S. there, and how much of it is just practical feelings of anxiety, not having simple things like electricity and enough food?

CLANCY: Well, there's a couple of answers. I think that you have to understand, the demonstrations, the protests in the street were very impressive. More than 10,000 people out there. But this is a mosque, where it was centered, where these people came from really, that has long pushed the message of an Islamic republic, pushed a very anti-U.S. line.

All of this is coming, Miles, in a power vacuum. Who is going to be the next leader? Who is going to be in charge of the country? There are many people who are pushing political agendas or religious agendas, or the mixture of two, that they haven't been able to do in a long, long time. It's very obvious in the absence of any multi- political party system here, religious leaders have a role to play, and they are playing that role. You see it very clearly. We also see the Iraqi National Congress coming in here with a well-oiled machine, trying to push it from their side.

But Iraqis, I'm told this protest does not represent nearly a majority of people, that it has been a political force in the capital for some time. And that calls for perhaps undue alarm that suddenly the U.S. is going to be booted out. But suddenly, a lot of people trying to find their way to fill the political vacuum that exists today.

O'BRIEN: Quickly, Jim, I want to ask you quickly, do you think it's likely some sort of Islamic fundamentalism movement will come to the top here and attempt to seize the rings of power?

CLANCY: Well, it is a possibility. I think that the Shia Muslims have shown in the last 10 days or so they are deeply divided. There's a lot of people push different messages, and it's to their benefit to say, U.S. troops out. Well, that's a message that resonates with all Iraqis, but they are not saying exactly when.

On the other hand, I think you have what has been a very secular society, that doesn't want to see Islamic fundamentalism, vis-a-vis Iran, come into their country. So you have competing forces here. We have to wait and see how it plays out in the days and months and weeks ahead.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jim Clancy, thank you for shedding light on that for us, probably not a good choice of words, given that the power is still out there. But thank you very much for joining us live from Baghdad.

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