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U.S. Officials Deny Contact With Uday Hussein
Aired May 23, 2003 - 14:04 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: We begin this hour with the uncertain future of Uday Hussein and his infamous father, of course. Many others from the inner-most circle of the power circle, pre-war Iraq. U.S. officials tell CNN there is nothing to a report in the "Wall Street Journal" we have been telling you about indicating Saddam Hussein's volatile elder son, No. 3 on that deck of cards, is trying to negotiate a surrender. The "Journal" says Americans pretty much assume they will eventually capture Saddam's sons anyway, and for the record, U.S. officials say they don't accept anything less than unconditional surrenders.
Now here is who is who on Uday. Born in 1964, eldest son of Saddam, said to have taken part in the killings of his brothers-in-law in 1996, but that is just the tip of the iceberg for Uday -- Kyra.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Uday Hussein was passed over as his father's heir apparent, but he still headed up Saddam's personal enforcement squad, and CENTCOM is very interested in finding him. CNN's Jane Arraf now live from Baghdad. Jane, what do you know?
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, U.S. officials say it seems to be a case of wishful thinking in that Uday has been found, and he is communicating with the Americans. The top U.S. military man here, General David McKiernan, told reporters, when asked, that there were no negotiations, no talks whatsoever. They had just not been in contact. Let's listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. DAVID MCKIERNAN, COMMANDER, U.S. FORCES: I can tell you that from day one, and it continues today, we're searching for everybody that's on the black list, to include his family.
I have -- nobody has brought an offer from Uday to me, and I would facilitate his coming on in, but it would be unconditional. There are no negotiations. There's a lot of intel. There's a lot of reports that we follow up on, on locations, but there are no negotiations going on. Nor would we.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARRAF: Now as for his father, Saddam Hussein, of course, there are reports every day of people who claim to have seen him. Now that isn't unusual. He has such a hold on this country that most people refuse to believe he's dead, and would probably even refuse to believe it, even if they saw the body. But for now, he's popping up at least in people's imaginations all over the place -- Kyra. PHILLIPS: So, Jane, just to make things clear, listening to the general there, he is being straightforward in saying no negotiations at all.
ARRAF: He was even more straightforward after that. The thought occurred that perhaps these could be termed as talks, but asked about it later, when I tried to clarify this with him, he said no talks whatsoever. No negotiations, no talks, no contact had been made.
Now, there remains the possibility, of course, that there has been an intermediary who is trying to send a message from Uday Saddam Hussein. What's clear is he would be in a very tough spot. There aren't too many places he could hide. There are thought to be other leaders, other parts of the leadership, other parts of the family, perhaps, that have gone to other countries and will be found eventually. But as for Uday Saddam Hussein, he is a pretty high- profile target, and it really would be tough for him to actually fade away somewhere and seek refuge. That's -- that's the reason, perhaps, for the confidence of American officials that they will eventually find him -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And we'll continue to follow that story, and of course, that search. Jane Arraf, live from Baghdad. Thanks, Jane.
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 May 23, 2003 - 14:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this hour with the uncertain future of Uday Hussein and his infamous father, of course. Many others from the inner-most circle of the power circle, pre-war Iraq. U.S. officials tell CNN there is nothing to a report in the "Wall Street Journal" we have been telling you about indicating Saddam Hussein's volatile elder son, No. 3 on that deck of cards, is trying to negotiate a surrender. The "Journal" says Americans pretty much assume they will eventually capture Saddam's sons anyway, and for the record, U.S. officials say they don't accept anything less than unconditional surrenders.
Now here is who is who on Uday. Born in 1964, eldest son of Saddam, said to have taken part in the killings of his brothers-in-law in 1996, but that is just the tip of the iceberg for Uday -- Kyra.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Uday Hussein was passed over as his father's heir apparent, but he still headed up Saddam's personal enforcement squad, and CENTCOM is very interested in finding him. CNN's Jane Arraf now live from Baghdad. Jane, what do you know?
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, U.S. officials say it seems to be a case of wishful thinking in that Uday has been found, and he is communicating with the Americans. The top U.S. military man here, General David McKiernan, told reporters, when asked, that there were no negotiations, no talks whatsoever. They had just not been in contact. Let's listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. DAVID MCKIERNAN, COMMANDER, U.S. FORCES: I can tell you that from day one, and it continues today, we're searching for everybody that's on the black list, to include his family.
I have -- nobody has brought an offer from Uday to me, and I would facilitate his coming on in, but it would be unconditional. There are no negotiations. There's a lot of intel. There's a lot of reports that we follow up on, on locations, but there are no negotiations going on. Nor would we.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARRAF: Now as for his father, Saddam Hussein, of course, there are reports every day of people who claim to have seen him. Now that isn't unusual. He has such a hold on this country that most people refuse to believe he's dead, and would probably even refuse to believe it, even if they saw the body. But for now, he's popping up at least in people's imaginations all over the place -- Kyra. PHILLIPS: So, Jane, just to make things clear, listening to the general there, he is being straightforward in saying no negotiations at all.
ARRAF: He was even more straightforward after that. The thought occurred that perhaps these could be termed as talks, but asked about it later, when I tried to clarify this with him, he said no talks whatsoever. No negotiations, no talks, no contact had been made.
Now, there remains the possibility, of course, that there has been an intermediary who is trying to send a message from Uday Saddam Hussein. What's clear is he would be in a very tough spot. There aren't too many places he could hide. There are thought to be other leaders, other parts of the leadership, other parts of the family, perhaps, that have gone to other countries and will be found eventually. But as for Uday Saddam Hussein, he is a pretty high- profile target, and it really would be tough for him to actually fade away somewhere and seek refuge. That's -- that's the reason, perhaps, for the confidence of American officials that they will eventually find him -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And we'll continue to follow that story, and of course, that search. Jane Arraf, live from Baghdad. Thanks, Jane.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
