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Interview With Faith Fippinger

Aired August 11, 2003 - 14:15   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Faith Fippinger. You may not recognize the name but you probably remember what she did and about 300 others did the war with Iraq. They were human. Before the war the U.S. had issued sanctions which prohibited American citizens from engaging in virtually all transactions with Ira, like crossing the Iraqi border.
A Treasury Department spokesperson now says Fippinger and the others broke the law. The retired teacher has been fined at least $10,000. But she says she's not going to pay and that could land her in jail. She joins us now live from Sarasota, Florida. Faith, thanks for being with us.

FAITH FIPPINGER, FRM. HUMAN SHIELD IN IRAQ: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Now I understand if you are anti-war and you want to come forward and voice that opinion, but violating U.S. sanctions and going over as a human shield, tell me why.

FIPPINGER: I went to Iraq for many years that I would elaborate on if we had time. But, mainly, I went in hopes of stopping an illegal, in my opinion, unjust, unnecessary war, to stand by and protect innocent civilians who have suffered greatly under their own leader.

PHILLIPS: Did you know that you were breaking U.S. sanctions when you went to Baghdad?

FIPPINGER: I have heard of sanctions. I didn't know the full extent of what they were and what they entailed. But, yes.

PHILLIPS: Did you think that going over there and being a human shield could really make an impact versus a military action to free the Iraqi people?

FIPPINGER: That's kind of a loaded question. I'm not sure. Yes, Saddam Hussein is gone, and we're all happy of that, and so are they. But our intentions of going over there and our methods of going over there, I have questions with.

And I was about to return to the United States -- I was in India at the time -- to join other patriotic Americans who were protesting what our government was about to do, but decided perhaps I could be more effective by going to Iraq.

PHILLIPS: Do you think you were effective, Faith? FIPPINGER: The sites where the human shields were, all of which had been destroyed totally during the 1991 Gulf War devastating the general population of Iraq. The citizens like you and like me were not hit during this war.

PHILLIPS: Now, you face thousands and thousands of dollars in fines. Are you going to pay?

FIPPINGER: I don't intend to pay. I told the government when they sent me my first letter, along with an explanation of many other things, that if it came to fines or imprisonment, I wanted them to be aware that I will not contribute any money to the continual build-up of America's weapons of mass destruction. Which, as far as I know, far exceed the weapons of all other nations combined, and, in fact, have escalated the buildup of weapons everywhere.

So perhaps they need to think of an alternative.

PHILLIPS: Faith, I know you are a retired schoolteacher. If the U.S. needs to engage in another war, is this how you would want your students or students that you have mentored to protest a war?

FIPPINGER: I would want them to think of human kind, the caring of human beings. I would want them to think of Ghandian principles, yes. Of nonviolence and peaceful resolution. I would want them to think, yes, there is an alternative to war.

PHILLIPS: Faith Fippinger, we thank you very much for your time.

FIPPINGER: Thank you.

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 August 11, 2003 - 14:15   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Faith Fippinger. You may not recognize the name but you probably remember what she did and about 300 others did the war with Iraq. They were human. Before the war the U.S. had issued sanctions which prohibited American citizens from engaging in virtually all transactions with Ira, like crossing the Iraqi border.
A Treasury Department spokesperson now says Fippinger and the others broke the law. The retired teacher has been fined at least $10,000. But she says she's not going to pay and that could land her in jail. She joins us now live from Sarasota, Florida. Faith, thanks for being with us.

FAITH FIPPINGER, FRM. HUMAN SHIELD IN IRAQ: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Now I understand if you are anti-war and you want to come forward and voice that opinion, but violating U.S. sanctions and going over as a human shield, tell me why.

FIPPINGER: I went to Iraq for many years that I would elaborate on if we had time. But, mainly, I went in hopes of stopping an illegal, in my opinion, unjust, unnecessary war, to stand by and protect innocent civilians who have suffered greatly under their own leader.

PHILLIPS: Did you know that you were breaking U.S. sanctions when you went to Baghdad?

FIPPINGER: I have heard of sanctions. I didn't know the full extent of what they were and what they entailed. But, yes.

PHILLIPS: Did you think that going over there and being a human shield could really make an impact versus a military action to free the Iraqi people?

FIPPINGER: That's kind of a loaded question. I'm not sure. Yes, Saddam Hussein is gone, and we're all happy of that, and so are they. But our intentions of going over there and our methods of going over there, I have questions with.

And I was about to return to the United States -- I was in India at the time -- to join other patriotic Americans who were protesting what our government was about to do, but decided perhaps I could be more effective by going to Iraq.

PHILLIPS: Do you think you were effective, Faith? FIPPINGER: The sites where the human shields were, all of which had been destroyed totally during the 1991 Gulf War devastating the general population of Iraq. The citizens like you and like me were not hit during this war.

PHILLIPS: Now, you face thousands and thousands of dollars in fines. Are you going to pay?

FIPPINGER: I don't intend to pay. I told the government when they sent me my first letter, along with an explanation of many other things, that if it came to fines or imprisonment, I wanted them to be aware that I will not contribute any money to the continual build-up of America's weapons of mass destruction. Which, as far as I know, far exceed the weapons of all other nations combined, and, in fact, have escalated the buildup of weapons everywhere.

So perhaps they need to think of an alternative.

PHILLIPS: Faith, I know you are a retired schoolteacher. If the U.S. needs to engage in another war, is this how you would want your students or students that you have mentored to protest a war?

FIPPINGER: I would want them to think of human kind, the caring of human beings. I would want them to think of Ghandian principles, yes. Of nonviolence and peaceful resolution. I would want them to think, yes, there is an alternative to war.

PHILLIPS: Faith Fippinger, we thank you very much for your time.

FIPPINGER: Thank you.

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