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Marines Preventing Tikriti Arabs From Leaving

Aired April 14, 2003 - 11:41   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.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And now we go back to Tikrit, a point about a couple of hundred miles north of Basra there. And again, moments ago, we were watching a scene unfold there on the streets where Marines were stopping vehicles and pulling people out and interrogating them and searching vehicles and we're still trying to get a good handle on what is happening there because Tikrit is nowhere near as secure right now as Basra is.
Joining us right now is Michael Ware. And Michael is a "TIME" magazine reporter who is in Tikrit. And Michael is joining us on the telephone to give us a sense of what's happening there.

Michael, what can you tell us about what you're seeing and hearing there?

MICHAEL WARE, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Well, the Marines arrived in Tikrit at nightfall last night, which is almost 24 hours ago. They met light resistance, however, they're still in mopping up operations. They're still bombing. There's is still a small amount of city and trying to secure the city by establishing checkpoints throughout to monitor traffic coming and going. They're also preventing large numbers of Arabs who live in Tikrit from returning to their homes for the time being until the situation is far more secure.

HARRIS: So basically, Michael, the people are staying out of the streets and not interfering in any way or putting themselves in harm's way?

WARE: Well, there's very few people who have remained in Tikrit. Those who have are now out on the street. And by and large they're getting the impression of welcoming the American troops. They're standing by the sides of the road. They're waving. They're talking freely with the Americans.

However, there is some tide of the emotion from the Saddam Hussein regime that remains. When I was in the Baath Party headquarters in Tikrit, there was a fallen Iraqi flag on the ground. When I picked it up, a man stepped in and snatched it from my hands. He kissed it and told me Saddam, good and then he walked out of the room. So it's a mixed bag that the Marines are dealing with.

HARRIS: What are the marines telling you about whether or not they're surprised about the level of resistance or lack thereof that they're running into there? The expectation going in was that perhaps this could be the last big battle and it does not seem as though there's one shaping up right now. WARE: No, there's not.

Last night or yesterday afternoon when I was in Tikrit, there was still much firing. There was gangs and patrols of Fedayeen Saddam, the Saddam loyalists who were running the streets. However, when the Marines arrived, most of these men retreated when they came under fire. There was some shooting, but the loyalists backed off every time they engaged a Marine.

HARRIS: Well are the Marines -- are they saying that they're surprised about that. Are they concerned that this is a tactic that, you know, to lure them into another part of the area or that perhaps these people who are retreating may reappear at some other time?

WARE: The Marines were markedly surprised. They expected a big fight. They didn't get it.

However, I've been on the outskirts of Tikrit and inside Tikrit for four days now. The people of Tikrit say that three days ago Saddam Hussein's clan and his family and the senior members of the regime who had hidden there left the city of Tikrit before the Americans arrived. They pressed on to a village in the desert northwest of Tikrit where they are hiding now.

Two days ago, two carloads of Kurdish police disappeared inside that village and have not been seen again since.

HARRIS: Michael, let me ask you one final question. There's talk as well about the appearance in other cities around Iraq of fighters coming in from outside of the country, perhaps Syrian or Jordanian fighters coming in. Is there any evidence of anything like that around Tikrit?

WARE: Absolutely. The bulk of those who remained in Tikrit to fight the Americans, a small group of perhaps several hundred Fedayeen Saddam, under the leadership of the governor of Tikrit were primarily foreigners. As the marines said to me, we are fighting more Syrians and Jordanians than we are Iraqis.

From the march from Kuwait, the Marines say they've barely fought an Iraqi soldier. So it was in Tikrit.

HARRIS: One -- I'm sorry, Michael. I do have one more question. This one I have to ask you. Has anyone heard or seen any evidence there at all about Saddam Hussein's family, whether or not they are still in the area or they have actually left and gone on to Syria as some reports have said?

WARE: That's very much a topic of conversation here.

There are two school of thoughts among the locals of Tikrit and the members of the Arab tribes that surround the city. They say that Saddam himself has gone to Syria sometime ago. However, the bulk of his clan, the bulk of his hard-line supporters have pushed on to this village northeast of Tikrit. If that village falls they still have easy escape routes to Syria. HARRIS: Michael Ware, "TIME" magazine, we thank you so much for that report. Be careful and be safe and we sure hope to talk with you quite soon down the road.

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 April 14, 2003 - 11:41   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And now we go back to Tikrit, a point about a couple of hundred miles north of Basra there. And again, moments ago, we were watching a scene unfold there on the streets where Marines were stopping vehicles and pulling people out and interrogating them and searching vehicles and we're still trying to get a good handle on what is happening there because Tikrit is nowhere near as secure right now as Basra is.
Joining us right now is Michael Ware. And Michael is a "TIME" magazine reporter who is in Tikrit. And Michael is joining us on the telephone to give us a sense of what's happening there.

Michael, what can you tell us about what you're seeing and hearing there?

MICHAEL WARE, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Well, the Marines arrived in Tikrit at nightfall last night, which is almost 24 hours ago. They met light resistance, however, they're still in mopping up operations. They're still bombing. There's is still a small amount of city and trying to secure the city by establishing checkpoints throughout to monitor traffic coming and going. They're also preventing large numbers of Arabs who live in Tikrit from returning to their homes for the time being until the situation is far more secure.

HARRIS: So basically, Michael, the people are staying out of the streets and not interfering in any way or putting themselves in harm's way?

WARE: Well, there's very few people who have remained in Tikrit. Those who have are now out on the street. And by and large they're getting the impression of welcoming the American troops. They're standing by the sides of the road. They're waving. They're talking freely with the Americans.

However, there is some tide of the emotion from the Saddam Hussein regime that remains. When I was in the Baath Party headquarters in Tikrit, there was a fallen Iraqi flag on the ground. When I picked it up, a man stepped in and snatched it from my hands. He kissed it and told me Saddam, good and then he walked out of the room. So it's a mixed bag that the Marines are dealing with.

HARRIS: What are the marines telling you about whether or not they're surprised about the level of resistance or lack thereof that they're running into there? The expectation going in was that perhaps this could be the last big battle and it does not seem as though there's one shaping up right now. WARE: No, there's not.

Last night or yesterday afternoon when I was in Tikrit, there was still much firing. There was gangs and patrols of Fedayeen Saddam, the Saddam loyalists who were running the streets. However, when the Marines arrived, most of these men retreated when they came under fire. There was some shooting, but the loyalists backed off every time they engaged a Marine.

HARRIS: Well are the Marines -- are they saying that they're surprised about that. Are they concerned that this is a tactic that, you know, to lure them into another part of the area or that perhaps these people who are retreating may reappear at some other time?

WARE: The Marines were markedly surprised. They expected a big fight. They didn't get it.

However, I've been on the outskirts of Tikrit and inside Tikrit for four days now. The people of Tikrit say that three days ago Saddam Hussein's clan and his family and the senior members of the regime who had hidden there left the city of Tikrit before the Americans arrived. They pressed on to a village in the desert northwest of Tikrit where they are hiding now.

Two days ago, two carloads of Kurdish police disappeared inside that village and have not been seen again since.

HARRIS: Michael, let me ask you one final question. There's talk as well about the appearance in other cities around Iraq of fighters coming in from outside of the country, perhaps Syrian or Jordanian fighters coming in. Is there any evidence of anything like that around Tikrit?

WARE: Absolutely. The bulk of those who remained in Tikrit to fight the Americans, a small group of perhaps several hundred Fedayeen Saddam, under the leadership of the governor of Tikrit were primarily foreigners. As the marines said to me, we are fighting more Syrians and Jordanians than we are Iraqis.

From the march from Kuwait, the Marines say they've barely fought an Iraqi soldier. So it was in Tikrit.

HARRIS: One -- I'm sorry, Michael. I do have one more question. This one I have to ask you. Has anyone heard or seen any evidence there at all about Saddam Hussein's family, whether or not they are still in the area or they have actually left and gone on to Syria as some reports have said?

WARE: That's very much a topic of conversation here.

There are two school of thoughts among the locals of Tikrit and the members of the Arab tribes that surround the city. They say that Saddam himself has gone to Syria sometime ago. However, the bulk of his clan, the bulk of his hard-line supporters have pushed on to this village northeast of Tikrit. If that village falls they still have easy escape routes to Syria. HARRIS: Michael Ware, "TIME" magazine, we thank you so much for that report. Be careful and be safe and we sure hope to talk with you quite soon down the road.

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