Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Man Who Will Oversee Reconstruction Setting Up Shop in Baghdad

Aired April 21, 2003 - 13:11   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.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The man who will oversee the reconstruction of Iraq is setting up shop in Baghdad. Retired General Jay Garner arrived today, saying he is not there to rule.
CNN's Jim Clancy in the Iraqi capital as well. He joins us with the latest.

Jim Clancy, it seems like General Garner gets the good attitude award of the day, for sure.

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And he said it himself, Miles. He said, I am upbeat, I am confident, we're not just going to think we're going to do it, we're going to do it, get the country back on its feet.

And he said very clearly, it's the Iraqis that are going to do the heavy lifting on this one. It's going to be the U.S. that gives them the support for that.

Now, he came in to Baghdad, this is his first visit here as the postwar administrator. He went right to the core of the problem, infrastructure. He visited a hospital that had been looted, a water treatment plant that had been abandoned, and he also visited an electricity generating station preparing to go back on line, almost ready, all of those things crucial to the infrastructure, so important to this county.

But here is -- he's being tasked with the job of rebuilding a country, while at the same time providing for the humanitarian needs of 24 million people that need just about everything. This is what he had to say after he was finished with his tour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. JAY GARNER, (RET.) OFFICE OF RECONSTRUCTION: We're going to help them where we can, where we can provide them with supplies, where we can get things for them. where we will get them assistance to do that. But they're going to fix their country, and I have all of the faith in the world that's going to happen. In fact, I know it's going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: Now General Garner is not known to most Iraqis. Most Iraqis, though, believe they do need someone to step in here and fill the void. But they're also very clear about one other thing, and that that's they believe whoever is rebuilding Iraq, it should be an Iraqi. General Garner for his part says that he doesn't want to run the show; he just wants to get the show running -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Jim, there's an expression in the Middle East you're familiar with, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. We saw on Friday Shiites and Sunnis banding together in anger against the U.S. To what extent is that something that may last, or was that just a brief moment in time that may fade away as things get in order in Baghdad?

CLANCY: It all depends on the community indication, I think. When you look at the problem, yes, it's going to be easy to blame the United States, to get people to march against the United States in the short term. That's because the propaganda, the media they have been exposed to, has been to all to that end, everything that they have been watching for the last years is to condemn the United States and blame the U.S. for their problems. On the other hand, there are a lot of Iraqis that are going to see the U.S. is helping them to get the job done.

We have many Iraqis telling us they want the U.S. to stay. They want the U.S. to stabilize the security situation. They're nervous about how long the U.S. intends to stay, and they're nervously awaiting the U.S. to unveil what are its plans to fill the political power vacuum -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: So maybe we shouldn't read too much into those protests then. There's a silent majority there at least.

All right, Jim Clancy, thanks very much, always a pleasure..

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




Baghdad>


Aired April 21, 2003 - 13:11   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The man who will oversee the reconstruction of Iraq is setting up shop in Baghdad. Retired General Jay Garner arrived today, saying he is not there to rule.
CNN's Jim Clancy in the Iraqi capital as well. He joins us with the latest.

Jim Clancy, it seems like General Garner gets the good attitude award of the day, for sure.

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And he said it himself, Miles. He said, I am upbeat, I am confident, we're not just going to think we're going to do it, we're going to do it, get the country back on its feet.

And he said very clearly, it's the Iraqis that are going to do the heavy lifting on this one. It's going to be the U.S. that gives them the support for that.

Now, he came in to Baghdad, this is his first visit here as the postwar administrator. He went right to the core of the problem, infrastructure. He visited a hospital that had been looted, a water treatment plant that had been abandoned, and he also visited an electricity generating station preparing to go back on line, almost ready, all of those things crucial to the infrastructure, so important to this county.

But here is -- he's being tasked with the job of rebuilding a country, while at the same time providing for the humanitarian needs of 24 million people that need just about everything. This is what he had to say after he was finished with his tour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. JAY GARNER, (RET.) OFFICE OF RECONSTRUCTION: We're going to help them where we can, where we can provide them with supplies, where we can get things for them. where we will get them assistance to do that. But they're going to fix their country, and I have all of the faith in the world that's going to happen. In fact, I know it's going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: Now General Garner is not known to most Iraqis. Most Iraqis, though, believe they do need someone to step in here and fill the void. But they're also very clear about one other thing, and that that's they believe whoever is rebuilding Iraq, it should be an Iraqi. General Garner for his part says that he doesn't want to run the show; he just wants to get the show running -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Jim, there's an expression in the Middle East you're familiar with, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. We saw on Friday Shiites and Sunnis banding together in anger against the U.S. To what extent is that something that may last, or was that just a brief moment in time that may fade away as things get in order in Baghdad?

CLANCY: It all depends on the community indication, I think. When you look at the problem, yes, it's going to be easy to blame the United States, to get people to march against the United States in the short term. That's because the propaganda, the media they have been exposed to, has been to all to that end, everything that they have been watching for the last years is to condemn the United States and blame the U.S. for their problems. On the other hand, there are a lot of Iraqis that are going to see the U.S. is helping them to get the job done.

We have many Iraqis telling us they want the U.S. to stay. They want the U.S. to stabilize the security situation. They're nervous about how long the U.S. intends to stay, and they're nervously awaiting the U.S. to unveil what are its plans to fill the political power vacuum -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: So maybe we shouldn't read too much into those protests then. There's a silent majority there at least.

All right, Jim Clancy, thanks very much, always a pleasure..

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




Baghdad>