Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Potential Saddam Hussein Audiotape Surfaces

Aired July 29, 2003 - 15:00   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.


CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: He may be on the run, as the Pentagon says, but Saddam Hussein seems increasingly able to get his message out. For the second time in a week, an audiotape has surfaced. On it, a voice, purportedly that of the ousted Iraqi leader, mourns the loss of his sons one week ago at the hands of the U.S. Army.
CNN's Nic Robertson is standing by in Baghdad now to tells us what this means -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Candy, the first few people we've been able to talk to here have told us this evening that they think this is just more lies and empty statements from Saddam Hussein. They do accept that the audiotape is him. Many of the people we've asked this evening -- and the audiotape were only released here about 8:00 p.m. or so in the evening. Many of the people we've talked to here say they haven't yet had a chance to hear them.

But there is a general acceptance by those that have, it is his voice. He does tell the Iraqi people that it was honorable that Uday and Qusay were able to fight and take the stand in the way they did, honorable for their family. He said he was very thankful to God that they could fight in this way, that they could die. He described how they fought for six hours against coalition forces, how, in that time, the coalition used aircraft against them.

He described Uday and Qusay as martyrs. And he talked for the first time about his grandson, Mustafa -- that is Qusay, his younger son's son -- saying that Mustafa also died with Uday and Qusay. We knew that four people had been killed in the attack in Mosul. It wasn't clear who the other two people were. The tape purporting to be Saddam Hussein saying that one of them was Mustafa, the former president's grandson.

But telling the Iraqi people that, even if he had 100 sons, he would be happy for them all to become martyrs for Iraq -- Candy.

CROWLEY: Nic, I wanted to ask you about something else that's happened over there. And that is the raid in Tikrit and the capture, apparently, of one of Saddam's closest bodyguards. Does that say anything to us about how close they may or may not be to Saddam Hussein?

ROBERTSON: Well, it certainly speaks to the issue -- and this is something the coalition is telling us right now -- speaks to the issue that they believe they're now getting good, actionable intelligence, intelligence that is time sensitive, that means -- and, in the case of last night, they said that they caught all the three main figures that they wanted to catch.

That was the senior bodyguard. That was a former brigadier general believed have to been a commander in the Fedayeen, the fighters who put up some of the toughest resistance against the coalition forces and who have been believed to be behind many of the attacks against coalition forces and also somebody who is described as being a senior official in charge of security in many of Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces in and around his homeland of Tikrit.

Now, the coalition said that these people were their targets. The reason they were able to get them, because they had that good intelligence, intelligence they had gained through raids in the last few days. They gained in the raids last night more documents, more photographs. Whether or not this means they're actually getting any closer to Saddam Hussein, the coalition says they are. They say that they're hot on his trail. Whether this will lead to his capture, that's not clear.

But it's certainly an indication that they're cutting off many of the places that the former Iraqi leader might choose to hide, Candy.

CROWLEY: Do you have any sense, Nic, from talking to people there, whether on the street or in the U.S. military, they do believe that, for sure, Saddam Hussein is alive, A, and, B, that he still remains in Iraq?

ROBERTSON: I think the indications we get from the coalition are certainly that he remains alive, certainly that he remains in Iraq.

There were indications from Iraqi citizens last week in Mosul, where Uday and Qusay were killed, that Saddam Hussein could have been in Mosul a few days before that attack. There were some sources within the coalition who indicated that may be accurate. Certainly, General Myers' staff over the weekend indicating that the raids in Tikrit were based intelligence Saddam Hussein was in Tikrit, that they perhaps missed him by as little as 24 hours. So the indications are all that he is alive, all apparently at this time indicating that he is in Iraq.

What do the Iraqi people believe? They generally accept that he is around, that he is still making these audiotapes. And they do accept that he is -- many of them accept that he is here inside Iraq. Of course, there are that group of people who also believe that Uday and Qusay aren't dead, that believe Saddam Hussein is part of some conspiracy theory. And rumors abound here, even ones that would seem ridiculous to many people, that Saddam Hussein is alive and well and in the United States, believe it or not -- Candy.

CROWLEY: Thanks, Nic Robertson in Baghdad for us. Thanks, Nic.

A lot of Iraqis say they're less concerned with the hunt for Saddam than the pursuit of a brighter future. In Baghdad today, several hundred Iraqis turned up at coalition headquarters to say they need jobs. Many Iraqis have not been able to work since the war was launched in mid-march.

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 29, 2003 - 15:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: He may be on the run, as the Pentagon says, but Saddam Hussein seems increasingly able to get his message out. For the second time in a week, an audiotape has surfaced. On it, a voice, purportedly that of the ousted Iraqi leader, mourns the loss of his sons one week ago at the hands of the U.S. Army.
CNN's Nic Robertson is standing by in Baghdad now to tells us what this means -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Candy, the first few people we've been able to talk to here have told us this evening that they think this is just more lies and empty statements from Saddam Hussein. They do accept that the audiotape is him. Many of the people we've asked this evening -- and the audiotape were only released here about 8:00 p.m. or so in the evening. Many of the people we've talked to here say they haven't yet had a chance to hear them.

But there is a general acceptance by those that have, it is his voice. He does tell the Iraqi people that it was honorable that Uday and Qusay were able to fight and take the stand in the way they did, honorable for their family. He said he was very thankful to God that they could fight in this way, that they could die. He described how they fought for six hours against coalition forces, how, in that time, the coalition used aircraft against them.

He described Uday and Qusay as martyrs. And he talked for the first time about his grandson, Mustafa -- that is Qusay, his younger son's son -- saying that Mustafa also died with Uday and Qusay. We knew that four people had been killed in the attack in Mosul. It wasn't clear who the other two people were. The tape purporting to be Saddam Hussein saying that one of them was Mustafa, the former president's grandson.

But telling the Iraqi people that, even if he had 100 sons, he would be happy for them all to become martyrs for Iraq -- Candy.

CROWLEY: Nic, I wanted to ask you about something else that's happened over there. And that is the raid in Tikrit and the capture, apparently, of one of Saddam's closest bodyguards. Does that say anything to us about how close they may or may not be to Saddam Hussein?

ROBERTSON: Well, it certainly speaks to the issue -- and this is something the coalition is telling us right now -- speaks to the issue that they believe they're now getting good, actionable intelligence, intelligence that is time sensitive, that means -- and, in the case of last night, they said that they caught all the three main figures that they wanted to catch.

That was the senior bodyguard. That was a former brigadier general believed have to been a commander in the Fedayeen, the fighters who put up some of the toughest resistance against the coalition forces and who have been believed to be behind many of the attacks against coalition forces and also somebody who is described as being a senior official in charge of security in many of Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces in and around his homeland of Tikrit.

Now, the coalition said that these people were their targets. The reason they were able to get them, because they had that good intelligence, intelligence they had gained through raids in the last few days. They gained in the raids last night more documents, more photographs. Whether or not this means they're actually getting any closer to Saddam Hussein, the coalition says they are. They say that they're hot on his trail. Whether this will lead to his capture, that's not clear.

But it's certainly an indication that they're cutting off many of the places that the former Iraqi leader might choose to hide, Candy.

CROWLEY: Do you have any sense, Nic, from talking to people there, whether on the street or in the U.S. military, they do believe that, for sure, Saddam Hussein is alive, A, and, B, that he still remains in Iraq?

ROBERTSON: I think the indications we get from the coalition are certainly that he remains alive, certainly that he remains in Iraq.

There were indications from Iraqi citizens last week in Mosul, where Uday and Qusay were killed, that Saddam Hussein could have been in Mosul a few days before that attack. There were some sources within the coalition who indicated that may be accurate. Certainly, General Myers' staff over the weekend indicating that the raids in Tikrit were based intelligence Saddam Hussein was in Tikrit, that they perhaps missed him by as little as 24 hours. So the indications are all that he is alive, all apparently at this time indicating that he is in Iraq.

What do the Iraqi people believe? They generally accept that he is around, that he is still making these audiotapes. And they do accept that he is -- many of them accept that he is here inside Iraq. Of course, there are that group of people who also believe that Uday and Qusay aren't dead, that believe Saddam Hussein is part of some conspiracy theory. And rumors abound here, even ones that would seem ridiculous to many people, that Saddam Hussein is alive and well and in the United States, believe it or not -- Candy.

CROWLEY: Thanks, Nic Robertson in Baghdad for us. Thanks, Nic.

A lot of Iraqis say they're less concerned with the hunt for Saddam than the pursuit of a brighter future. In Baghdad today, several hundred Iraqis turned up at coalition headquarters to say they need jobs. Many Iraqis have not been able to work since the war was launched in mid-march.

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