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Qusay, Uday Pictures Released After Internal Debate
Aired July 24, 2003 - 13:04 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: There was a lot of debate in Washington about making those pictures public, whether to do so or not.
CNN's Barbara Starr has been tracking this story all along. Really, it's a precedent-setting move. She joins us now from the Pentagon to tell us more about what that decision was all about. Really a political decision, wasn't it, Barbara?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Miles.
The photographs were released by the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad. That was a very specific decision. Have them come out of Baghdad, not out of Washington, the Pentagon, where most combat photography is released, of course, in order to have it be the coalition essentially that was releasing these pictures and trying to demonstrate to the Iraqi people that the two men are dead.
The pictures were graphic. They were certainly going to be controversial. That was known. But the reaction will remain to be seen over the next hours and days, of course, about whether these pictures now have any impact, or what impact they may have on the Iraqi people and on the general security situation inside Iraq.
Bush administration officials had hoped putting the pictures out would be further demonstration that the regime had been dismantled, and sort of reduce the opposition, if you will, the number of attack against American soldiers. But just in the last two days, four soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division, of course, have been killed in attacks and, of course, it was the 101st Airborne that conducted this assault against the house in Mosul earlier this week.
And in just about an hour from now, we're going to have a press conference in this room with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and Ambassador Paul Bremer, the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority. We can expect a lot of questions.
O'BRIEN: Barbara, certainly, they've opened themselves up to criticism, given the fact that during the war in Iraq, there were strong condemnation when Iraqi television released pictures of U.S. dead who had been captured initially, the 507th maintenance group. How are they going to respond to that? Do you have any idea? Have you gotten a sense from talking to people there in the halls?
STARR: Well, this is going to be an issue, clearly. You'll remember, there were two cases, one that you mentioned, and of course many years ago, when dead American soldiers were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu and those pictures were broadcast on television. Both -- the U.S. government at that time, in the case of both instances, came down on the international media very hard, saying those pictures -- none of those pictures should be broadcast. At minimum, it was a violation of something known as the rules of war. But at this point, not clear what impact it may have on future incidents, if future American soldiers are killed, how a future administration may now be able to make the case that pictures of war dead should not be shown.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you very much. We'll check in with you later, obviously, as that briefing begins.
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 July 24, 2003 - 13:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: There was a lot of debate in Washington about making those pictures public, whether to do so or not.
CNN's Barbara Starr has been tracking this story all along. Really, it's a precedent-setting move. She joins us now from the Pentagon to tell us more about what that decision was all about. Really a political decision, wasn't it, Barbara?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Miles.
The photographs were released by the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad. That was a very specific decision. Have them come out of Baghdad, not out of Washington, the Pentagon, where most combat photography is released, of course, in order to have it be the coalition essentially that was releasing these pictures and trying to demonstrate to the Iraqi people that the two men are dead.
The pictures were graphic. They were certainly going to be controversial. That was known. But the reaction will remain to be seen over the next hours and days, of course, about whether these pictures now have any impact, or what impact they may have on the Iraqi people and on the general security situation inside Iraq.
Bush administration officials had hoped putting the pictures out would be further demonstration that the regime had been dismantled, and sort of reduce the opposition, if you will, the number of attack against American soldiers. But just in the last two days, four soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division, of course, have been killed in attacks and, of course, it was the 101st Airborne that conducted this assault against the house in Mosul earlier this week.
And in just about an hour from now, we're going to have a press conference in this room with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and Ambassador Paul Bremer, the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority. We can expect a lot of questions.
O'BRIEN: Barbara, certainly, they've opened themselves up to criticism, given the fact that during the war in Iraq, there were strong condemnation when Iraqi television released pictures of U.S. dead who had been captured initially, the 507th maintenance group. How are they going to respond to that? Do you have any idea? Have you gotten a sense from talking to people there in the halls?
STARR: Well, this is going to be an issue, clearly. You'll remember, there were two cases, one that you mentioned, and of course many years ago, when dead American soldiers were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu and those pictures were broadcast on television. Both -- the U.S. government at that time, in the case of both instances, came down on the international media very hard, saying those pictures -- none of those pictures should be broadcast. At minimum, it was a violation of something known as the rules of war. But at this point, not clear what impact it may have on future incidents, if future American soldiers are killed, how a future administration may now be able to make the case that pictures of war dead should not be shown.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you very much. We'll check in with you later, obviously, as that briefing begins.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
