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CNN Live Today
Saddam Hussein Appears in Court
Aired July 01, 2004 - 10:30 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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Lin at the CNN Center.
And a fascinating image tops our headlines this hour. Saddam Hussein appeared before an Iraqi judge today to hear seven preliminary criminal charges against him. The former Iraqi dictator looked thin and tired. Calling himself the president of Iraq, Saddam demanded to know whose jurisdiction the court was under. He also refused to sign a document stating that he understood the proceedings.
New homeland security rules take effect at the nation's ports today. They include tighter surveillance and posting of security guards on ships. The Coast Guard promises the new regulations will be strictly enforced.
And yesterday, the Fed nudged interest rates a quarter point to 1.25 percent. Now commercial banks are boosting the prime to 4.25 percent. It is the first increase in four years. Analysts say credit remains a bargain, while savings accounts will earn a little more.
And we have some new pictures from the Cassini spacecraft this morning, as NASA scientists celebrate another success. Cassini managed a difficult maneuver through Saturn's rings and is now settled into orbit around the planet.
And more than a quarter million people marched through the streets of Hong Kong today demanding direct elections. Hong Kong's mini-constitution provides for free elections as early as 2007, but the Chinese government said in April free elections couldn't be held until after 2008. Today's march came on the seventh anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from the British to Chinese sovereignty.
A new cell phone law takes effect in the nation's capital today. Motorists must use a hands-free device if they want to talk on the phone while driving. There are exceptions for emergencies: Beginning calls or turning phones on or off. A similar law has gone into effect today in New Jersey.
Twenty CBS-owned television stations may be fined $27,500 each for Janet Jackson's breast exposure. That's the recommendation from the FCC staff. A final announcement on the agency's Super Bowl halftime probe is expected in the next few days. CBS stations owned by companies other than Viacom would not be fined.
Good morning. I'm Carol Lin at the CNN Center.
This morning, Saddam Hussein was arraigned on preliminary charges of war crimes. Seven counts in all. His arraignment took place at a place called Camp Victory, a former palace of Saddam Hussein just outside of Baghdad. This is a portion of what he had to say to the judge today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SADDAM HUSSEIN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF IRAQ (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): This is the crux of the matter. You levy charges for action carried under the system whose president was Saddam Hussein, but without any guarantees that are usually given to the presidency.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Then answer formally and this will go into the record.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Then, please, allow me not to sign anything until the lawyers are present. I talk for myself. I speak for myself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): You are a defendant. But this is part of the process.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): No, this is not part of the process.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): No, this is part of the process.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): And anyway, why are you worried I will come again before you with the presence of the lawyers? So why should we act now, and then we say that this was hastened, and was done quickly, and in -- and with haste?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): No, this is not hasty decision or action. This is a record for -- minutes for today's session, so we need to have you sign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Saddam Hussein refusing to accept the charges against him, seven preliminary counts of war crimes, including invading Kuwait, gassing the Kurds, killing members of his opposition political party.
He is also declaring himself still president in Iraq and questioned the court's authority over him.
Our Brent Sadler is standing by in Baghdad. Brent, you've been getting some reaction to Saddam Hussein's appearance, a very defiant former leader of his country.
What did the folks you've been talking to have to say about this?
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Carol, I spent the past few hours in the Shia district of Baghdad, a part of the community long suppressed by Saddam Hussein when he was in power. And these were the pictures they told me they were certainly not expecting to see. Flashback to last December when they saw a disheveled captured Saddam Hussein. This time they saw him being more presidential than prisoner, they said. They're expecting to see a man cornered by the law, a fallen despot. But no, in this court appearance they felt they saw a man who was gaining confidence with every passing minute that he appeared before the judge. They said he appeared provocative, defiant, he was using bad language against the Kuwaitis.
This was not in any way a broken man. They were surprised that most of what they heard, the sound, the audio was not there, that it had been censured. They were surprised that that had happened, because it reminded them of the things that Saddam Hussein's information ministry used to do when they used to cut out sound.
So it really did provoke something of a debate in the families I was with, where some of them were saying that this treatment was too good for Saddam Hussein; he should have been standing; he should have been contained more by the judge; the judge appeared inexperienced.
And they were very dissatisfied with the way that Saddam Hussein was given a free reign to more or less say what he wanted -- Carol.
LIN: All right. Thank you very much. Brent Sadler with some reaction out of the Shia community this morning in Baghdad.
We have much more news to cover including more on this historic day of seeing the former president of Iraq before a court. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: This past week, CNN has reported that terrorists out in Iraq who allegedly kidnapped Army Specialist Matt Maupin, Keith Matt Maupin, have said that he is dead. But the family of that soldier has now renewed hope this morning that he is still alive.
CNN's Keith Oppenheim has been talking with the family and he joins us now from Union Township in Ohio.
Good morning, Keith. I hope this is good news. Do they have evidence?
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
We're right here at Glen Este High School where Matt Maupin attended and you can see there are a lot of tributes for him. The family of Specialist Matt Maupin has been keeping a very low profile with the media, but maintaining very close connections with the military.
And yesterday, a team from the Department of Defense briefed the Maupin family. This is a team that's been handling intelligence, as well as dealing with this videotape in question.
But according to Matt Maupin's divisional commander, Brigadier General Michael Beasley, there's no evidence yet to substantiate that Matt Maupin was executed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. MICHAEL BEASLEY, U.S. ARMY: As you all know, there was a videotape released a couple of days ago. As you also know, the Department of Defense and the Department of the Army have stated that the results of that videotape are totally inconclusive with respect to the identity of Specialist Maupin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OPPENHEIM: We're back live on what is sort of a cleverly made tribute to Matt Maupin. It says, "Lighting the way home. Believe." Made with paper cups on this fence of a bus depot.
And there are lots of tributes like that for Matt Maupin in this area. In fact, this weekend, there is going to be a ribbon-making rally in the area, just all part of the hopes of this area that this uncertainty means that there's a possibility that Matt Maupin may still be alive and there are hopes for him to come home.
Just to quickly recap the events of this story.
It was a couple of days ago, on Monday, when the family found out about this videotape. The videotape shows an execution of a man who appears to be a hostage being shot from behind in the head. Al Jazeera, the Arab language network, had reported that the man on that tape was Matt Maupin according to militants.
But so far, as I've stated, the Department of Defense still doesn't know whether or not that's true.
And just to give you the official count, Carol, it is now 83 days since Specialist Matt Maupin was captured, when his fuel convoy was attacked outside of Baghdad.
Back to you.
LIN: Thank you very much, Keith Oppenheim.
We've got more news about the missing soldier in Iraq. The brother of a missing Marine in Iraq denies he deserted before being abducted. Earlier this week, U.S. military officials say Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun was AWOL. The New York Times reported Hassoun deserted the military with the help of Iraqis on his base, but was ultimately turned over to insurgents. Insurgents have threatened to behead Hassoun unless Iraqi prisoners are freed.
All right, we've got much more news. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MARKET UPDATE)
LIN: NASA scientists are beaming with success. The Cassini spacecraft is now in orbit around Saturn after maneuvering through a close encounter with the planet's rings.
CNN space correspondent Miles O'Brien joins us now from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Still early out there, Miles, but I know it's an exciting day.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Bright and early. A lot of people never got some sleep last night, of course, Carol.
That encounter was close, but fortunately not too close. You know, all it would have taken would be a rock about the size of a marble to take the $3.3 billion Cassini spacecraft out. Fortunately, it went through the rings twice without a hitch and sent back some wonderful pictures, which I'm going to show you in just a moment.
But first, let me show you the scene in the control room last night as all this unfolded. You know, some of the people who have been working on Cassini started more than 20 years ago. Imagine all of it coming down to this moment when, in fact, word came in that Cassini was not only through the rings, but sending back high-gain antenna imagery and telemetry.
In other words, good to go for science, good to go to take some of these spectacular pictures, 63 of which have come back picture postcard-style this morning.
We've already gotten a sense of what these rings look like. And watching them with us, Bill Nye "The Science Guy," who is out here because this is the place to be if you're a science guy.
BILL NYE, "THE SCIENCE GUY": This is the place to be. This is the place to be, absolutely.
O'BRIEN: Let's take a look at some of these images and I want you to talk about what the scientists are saying about them. And one of the things that is striking people as they look at these is how distinct those lines are.
What does that tell you?
NYE: Well, they are sharp.
That is to say, people thought from the Voyager spacecraft back in the day 20 years ago that the rings were these layers of rock and ice and they would be blurry; the edges would be -- the rocks and ice would sort of taper off into deep space.
Well, now apparently they're quite sharp. So that means that there's some forces, there's something going on between Saturn and its moons and its rings that make the rings extend to a certain point and then stop. And you can say, well, how does that affect me here on Earth? Why would I care about that?
O'BRIEN: You could say that, yes.
NYE: But I want everybody to stop and think about this. We talk about gravity all day. People catch fly balls. Maybe you spill coffee, that's all gravity. Rain falls out of the sky. But nobody really knows exactly where gravity comes from, and this is just an example.
So there are going to be all these discoveries about the shape of these rings that have to do with gravity and the magnetic field of Saturn. And the more we learn about Saturn, the more we will know about our own world.
The thing I always talk about Saturn, you know, Saturn is so beautiful, it's such a beautiful planet, but no one saw these images of the rings until just a couple of centuries ago, four centuries ago. Who knows what we'll take for granted in the next decade?
O'BRIEN: We're about out of time. But we have a live picture coming down. If we can punch it up very quickly.
NYE: Look at this.
O'BRIEN: I'm not sure what we're seeing. Maybe you can walk me through it real quickly.
NYE: Well, it looks like rings with these spokes.
O'BRIEN: Yes, kind of a spokes effect there.
NYE: So they believe that these curved spokes are caused by the interaction of gravity and the magnetic field of Saturn.
Now, is Saturn a gas giant? Yes, you know, if you had a bathtub big enough, Saturn would float, which is astonishing. But then it has so much motion inside it that it creates these crazy magnetic fields and so it creates these wonderful patterns.
It's just going to get wilder and wilder.
LIN: Miles?
O'BRIEN: All right, Bill Nye "The Science Guy," thank you very much.
NYE: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Carol?
LIN: Coming back to the CNN Center right now, Miles, we're getting a feed now of the entire appearance by Saddam Hussein in a court of law outside of Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): ... the president of the Republic of Iraq. 1937. Profession: former president of the Republic of Iraq.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): No, present. Current. It's the will of the people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): The head of the Baath Party that is dissolved, defunct. The commander in chief of the army -- make -- between brackets, make former. Residence is Iraq.
Your mother's name?
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Sabha.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): He stated the following after positively I.D.ing the defendant. He was present before us.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): May I have a clarification?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Go ahead, please.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): You also have to introduce yourself to me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Mr. Saddam, I am the investigative judge of the central court of Iraq.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): So I have to know, you are the investigative judge of the central court of Iraq -- what law formed this court? Oh, the coalition forces? So you are an Iraqi that -- you are representing the occupying forces?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): No, I am an Iraqi representing Iraq. I was appointed by a presidential decree under the former regime.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): So you are reiterating that every Iraqi should respect the Iraqi law. So the law that was instituted before represents the will of the people, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Yes. God willing.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): So you should not work under the jurisdiction of the coalition forces.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): This is an important point.
I am a judge in the former regime.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I respect the judges.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): And I am resuming and assuming, continuing my work.
You as any other citizen, you have to answer to any accusation or charge that's true. This is an arraignment, a charge. If it can be proven, then you will be convicted. If not, then everything is fine.
The judicial due process is to bring back rights. If there's evidence, you'll be convicted. If there is no evidence, you will not. Until now, you are accused before the judicial system. So according to that...
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): So, please, let me -- I'm not complicating matters. Are you a judge? You are a judge. And judges -- they value the law and they rule by the law, right? Right?
Right is a relative issue. For us, right is our heritage in the Koran sharia, right?
I am not talking about Saddam Hussein, whether he was a citizen or in other capacities. I'm not holding fast to my position, but to respect the will of the people that decided to choose Saddam Hussein as the leader of the revolution.
Therefore, when I say president of the Republic of Iraq, it's not a formality or holding fast to a position, but rather to reiterate to the Iraqi people that I respect its will. This is one.
Number two, you summoned me to levy charges...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): No, I...
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): You call it crimes. The investigative judge, if there is evidence, then I'll defer it to a court of jurisdiction.
Let me understand something. Who is the defendant? Any defendant when he comes to a court, before that there should be investigation. This is not a court. This is an investigation. Let me clarify this point.
Then I hope that you remember are a judge empowered by the people. It doesn't really matter whether you convict me or not. That's not what's important.
But what's important is that you remember that you're a judge, then don't mention anything occupying forces. This is not good. Then...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I judge in the name of people.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): That's good. Then judge in the name of people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): This is the Iraqi way.
This is an investigation process, an investigative process.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): From the legal standpoint you were notified that I have lawyers, right? Am I not supposed to meet with the lawyers before I come before you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): If you give me just ten minutes, let's finish the formalities and I'll come to that. Then if you wait, then you will see that you have rights that are guaranteed.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): OK. Go ahead.
According to the law, Mr. Saddam, the investigative judge has to give the defendant -- give him the charges that are levied against him.
And then reading the rights of all the charges, according to the law, Article 123, 124 and 125. They first step is -- are these articles, were they not signed by Saddam Hussein?
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Yes. This is the law that was -- that was N-73. So this -- then Saddam Hussein was representing the leadership and signed that law.
So now you are -- you're using the law that Saddam signed against Saddam. Saddam was the people. Please. The constitutional mechanism -- I'm not a lawyer but I understand. I'm originally a man of law.
Can you -- is it allowed to call a president, elected by the people, and -- and charge him according to a law that was enacted under his will and the will of the people? there is some contradiction.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): No. The judicial process -- let me answer this clarification. First, I'm not -- I'm not debilitating a case against you. I'm investigating. I'm investigating with you, interrogating you.
Second, the president is a profession -- is a position As a deputy of the society. That's true. And originally, inherently, he's a citizen. And every citizen, according to the law and the Constitution, if this person violates, then a law has to come before the law. And that law, you know more than I do.
TRANSLATOR: The audio is not there from the source.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: All right. We just lost the last portion of audio.
This is a portion of tape that you actually had not heard the audio before because as the military was feeding out the what we call a pool tape, as all the networks feed out this tape simultaneously, they did not feed the portion of audio on the first three tapes. There are a total of four tapes of this more than 30-minute hearing at which Saddam Hussein is facing seven preliminary charges of war crimes.
This may be the second tape. We're going to air all these tapes in their entirety. Let's listen in. All right. This is still the first tape. No audio yet. We're going to stand by and see if we can pick it up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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 1, 2004 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Lin at the CNN Center.
And a fascinating image tops our headlines this hour. Saddam Hussein appeared before an Iraqi judge today to hear seven preliminary criminal charges against him. The former Iraqi dictator looked thin and tired. Calling himself the president of Iraq, Saddam demanded to know whose jurisdiction the court was under. He also refused to sign a document stating that he understood the proceedings.
New homeland security rules take effect at the nation's ports today. They include tighter surveillance and posting of security guards on ships. The Coast Guard promises the new regulations will be strictly enforced.
And yesterday, the Fed nudged interest rates a quarter point to 1.25 percent. Now commercial banks are boosting the prime to 4.25 percent. It is the first increase in four years. Analysts say credit remains a bargain, while savings accounts will earn a little more.
And we have some new pictures from the Cassini spacecraft this morning, as NASA scientists celebrate another success. Cassini managed a difficult maneuver through Saturn's rings and is now settled into orbit around the planet.
And more than a quarter million people marched through the streets of Hong Kong today demanding direct elections. Hong Kong's mini-constitution provides for free elections as early as 2007, but the Chinese government said in April free elections couldn't be held until after 2008. Today's march came on the seventh anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from the British to Chinese sovereignty.
A new cell phone law takes effect in the nation's capital today. Motorists must use a hands-free device if they want to talk on the phone while driving. There are exceptions for emergencies: Beginning calls or turning phones on or off. A similar law has gone into effect today in New Jersey.
Twenty CBS-owned television stations may be fined $27,500 each for Janet Jackson's breast exposure. That's the recommendation from the FCC staff. A final announcement on the agency's Super Bowl halftime probe is expected in the next few days. CBS stations owned by companies other than Viacom would not be fined.
Good morning. I'm Carol Lin at the CNN Center.
This morning, Saddam Hussein was arraigned on preliminary charges of war crimes. Seven counts in all. His arraignment took place at a place called Camp Victory, a former palace of Saddam Hussein just outside of Baghdad. This is a portion of what he had to say to the judge today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SADDAM HUSSEIN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF IRAQ (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): This is the crux of the matter. You levy charges for action carried under the system whose president was Saddam Hussein, but without any guarantees that are usually given to the presidency.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Then answer formally and this will go into the record.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Then, please, allow me not to sign anything until the lawyers are present. I talk for myself. I speak for myself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): You are a defendant. But this is part of the process.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): No, this is not part of the process.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): No, this is part of the process.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): And anyway, why are you worried I will come again before you with the presence of the lawyers? So why should we act now, and then we say that this was hastened, and was done quickly, and in -- and with haste?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): No, this is not hasty decision or action. This is a record for -- minutes for today's session, so we need to have you sign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Saddam Hussein refusing to accept the charges against him, seven preliminary counts of war crimes, including invading Kuwait, gassing the Kurds, killing members of his opposition political party.
He is also declaring himself still president in Iraq and questioned the court's authority over him.
Our Brent Sadler is standing by in Baghdad. Brent, you've been getting some reaction to Saddam Hussein's appearance, a very defiant former leader of his country.
What did the folks you've been talking to have to say about this?
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Carol, I spent the past few hours in the Shia district of Baghdad, a part of the community long suppressed by Saddam Hussein when he was in power. And these were the pictures they told me they were certainly not expecting to see. Flashback to last December when they saw a disheveled captured Saddam Hussein. This time they saw him being more presidential than prisoner, they said. They're expecting to see a man cornered by the law, a fallen despot. But no, in this court appearance they felt they saw a man who was gaining confidence with every passing minute that he appeared before the judge. They said he appeared provocative, defiant, he was using bad language against the Kuwaitis.
This was not in any way a broken man. They were surprised that most of what they heard, the sound, the audio was not there, that it had been censured. They were surprised that that had happened, because it reminded them of the things that Saddam Hussein's information ministry used to do when they used to cut out sound.
So it really did provoke something of a debate in the families I was with, where some of them were saying that this treatment was too good for Saddam Hussein; he should have been standing; he should have been contained more by the judge; the judge appeared inexperienced.
And they were very dissatisfied with the way that Saddam Hussein was given a free reign to more or less say what he wanted -- Carol.
LIN: All right. Thank you very much. Brent Sadler with some reaction out of the Shia community this morning in Baghdad.
We have much more news to cover including more on this historic day of seeing the former president of Iraq before a court. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: This past week, CNN has reported that terrorists out in Iraq who allegedly kidnapped Army Specialist Matt Maupin, Keith Matt Maupin, have said that he is dead. But the family of that soldier has now renewed hope this morning that he is still alive.
CNN's Keith Oppenheim has been talking with the family and he joins us now from Union Township in Ohio.
Good morning, Keith. I hope this is good news. Do they have evidence?
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
We're right here at Glen Este High School where Matt Maupin attended and you can see there are a lot of tributes for him. The family of Specialist Matt Maupin has been keeping a very low profile with the media, but maintaining very close connections with the military.
And yesterday, a team from the Department of Defense briefed the Maupin family. This is a team that's been handling intelligence, as well as dealing with this videotape in question.
But according to Matt Maupin's divisional commander, Brigadier General Michael Beasley, there's no evidence yet to substantiate that Matt Maupin was executed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. MICHAEL BEASLEY, U.S. ARMY: As you all know, there was a videotape released a couple of days ago. As you also know, the Department of Defense and the Department of the Army have stated that the results of that videotape are totally inconclusive with respect to the identity of Specialist Maupin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OPPENHEIM: We're back live on what is sort of a cleverly made tribute to Matt Maupin. It says, "Lighting the way home. Believe." Made with paper cups on this fence of a bus depot.
And there are lots of tributes like that for Matt Maupin in this area. In fact, this weekend, there is going to be a ribbon-making rally in the area, just all part of the hopes of this area that this uncertainty means that there's a possibility that Matt Maupin may still be alive and there are hopes for him to come home.
Just to quickly recap the events of this story.
It was a couple of days ago, on Monday, when the family found out about this videotape. The videotape shows an execution of a man who appears to be a hostage being shot from behind in the head. Al Jazeera, the Arab language network, had reported that the man on that tape was Matt Maupin according to militants.
But so far, as I've stated, the Department of Defense still doesn't know whether or not that's true.
And just to give you the official count, Carol, it is now 83 days since Specialist Matt Maupin was captured, when his fuel convoy was attacked outside of Baghdad.
Back to you.
LIN: Thank you very much, Keith Oppenheim.
We've got more news about the missing soldier in Iraq. The brother of a missing Marine in Iraq denies he deserted before being abducted. Earlier this week, U.S. military officials say Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun was AWOL. The New York Times reported Hassoun deserted the military with the help of Iraqis on his base, but was ultimately turned over to insurgents. Insurgents have threatened to behead Hassoun unless Iraqi prisoners are freed.
All right, we've got much more news. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MARKET UPDATE)
LIN: NASA scientists are beaming with success. The Cassini spacecraft is now in orbit around Saturn after maneuvering through a close encounter with the planet's rings.
CNN space correspondent Miles O'Brien joins us now from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Still early out there, Miles, but I know it's an exciting day.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Bright and early. A lot of people never got some sleep last night, of course, Carol.
That encounter was close, but fortunately not too close. You know, all it would have taken would be a rock about the size of a marble to take the $3.3 billion Cassini spacecraft out. Fortunately, it went through the rings twice without a hitch and sent back some wonderful pictures, which I'm going to show you in just a moment.
But first, let me show you the scene in the control room last night as all this unfolded. You know, some of the people who have been working on Cassini started more than 20 years ago. Imagine all of it coming down to this moment when, in fact, word came in that Cassini was not only through the rings, but sending back high-gain antenna imagery and telemetry.
In other words, good to go for science, good to go to take some of these spectacular pictures, 63 of which have come back picture postcard-style this morning.
We've already gotten a sense of what these rings look like. And watching them with us, Bill Nye "The Science Guy," who is out here because this is the place to be if you're a science guy.
BILL NYE, "THE SCIENCE GUY": This is the place to be. This is the place to be, absolutely.
O'BRIEN: Let's take a look at some of these images and I want you to talk about what the scientists are saying about them. And one of the things that is striking people as they look at these is how distinct those lines are.
What does that tell you?
NYE: Well, they are sharp.
That is to say, people thought from the Voyager spacecraft back in the day 20 years ago that the rings were these layers of rock and ice and they would be blurry; the edges would be -- the rocks and ice would sort of taper off into deep space.
Well, now apparently they're quite sharp. So that means that there's some forces, there's something going on between Saturn and its moons and its rings that make the rings extend to a certain point and then stop. And you can say, well, how does that affect me here on Earth? Why would I care about that?
O'BRIEN: You could say that, yes.
NYE: But I want everybody to stop and think about this. We talk about gravity all day. People catch fly balls. Maybe you spill coffee, that's all gravity. Rain falls out of the sky. But nobody really knows exactly where gravity comes from, and this is just an example.
So there are going to be all these discoveries about the shape of these rings that have to do with gravity and the magnetic field of Saturn. And the more we learn about Saturn, the more we will know about our own world.
The thing I always talk about Saturn, you know, Saturn is so beautiful, it's such a beautiful planet, but no one saw these images of the rings until just a couple of centuries ago, four centuries ago. Who knows what we'll take for granted in the next decade?
O'BRIEN: We're about out of time. But we have a live picture coming down. If we can punch it up very quickly.
NYE: Look at this.
O'BRIEN: I'm not sure what we're seeing. Maybe you can walk me through it real quickly.
NYE: Well, it looks like rings with these spokes.
O'BRIEN: Yes, kind of a spokes effect there.
NYE: So they believe that these curved spokes are caused by the interaction of gravity and the magnetic field of Saturn.
Now, is Saturn a gas giant? Yes, you know, if you had a bathtub big enough, Saturn would float, which is astonishing. But then it has so much motion inside it that it creates these crazy magnetic fields and so it creates these wonderful patterns.
It's just going to get wilder and wilder.
LIN: Miles?
O'BRIEN: All right, Bill Nye "The Science Guy," thank you very much.
NYE: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Carol?
LIN: Coming back to the CNN Center right now, Miles, we're getting a feed now of the entire appearance by Saddam Hussein in a court of law outside of Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): ... the president of the Republic of Iraq. 1937. Profession: former president of the Republic of Iraq.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): No, present. Current. It's the will of the people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): The head of the Baath Party that is dissolved, defunct. The commander in chief of the army -- make -- between brackets, make former. Residence is Iraq.
Your mother's name?
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Sabha.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): He stated the following after positively I.D.ing the defendant. He was present before us.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): May I have a clarification?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Go ahead, please.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): You also have to introduce yourself to me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Mr. Saddam, I am the investigative judge of the central court of Iraq.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): So I have to know, you are the investigative judge of the central court of Iraq -- what law formed this court? Oh, the coalition forces? So you are an Iraqi that -- you are representing the occupying forces?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): No, I am an Iraqi representing Iraq. I was appointed by a presidential decree under the former regime.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): So you are reiterating that every Iraqi should respect the Iraqi law. So the law that was instituted before represents the will of the people, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Yes. God willing.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): So you should not work under the jurisdiction of the coalition forces.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): This is an important point.
I am a judge in the former regime.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I respect the judges.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): And I am resuming and assuming, continuing my work.
You as any other citizen, you have to answer to any accusation or charge that's true. This is an arraignment, a charge. If it can be proven, then you will be convicted. If not, then everything is fine.
The judicial due process is to bring back rights. If there's evidence, you'll be convicted. If there is no evidence, you will not. Until now, you are accused before the judicial system. So according to that...
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): So, please, let me -- I'm not complicating matters. Are you a judge? You are a judge. And judges -- they value the law and they rule by the law, right? Right?
Right is a relative issue. For us, right is our heritage in the Koran sharia, right?
I am not talking about Saddam Hussein, whether he was a citizen or in other capacities. I'm not holding fast to my position, but to respect the will of the people that decided to choose Saddam Hussein as the leader of the revolution.
Therefore, when I say president of the Republic of Iraq, it's not a formality or holding fast to a position, but rather to reiterate to the Iraqi people that I respect its will. This is one.
Number two, you summoned me to levy charges...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): No, I...
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): You call it crimes. The investigative judge, if there is evidence, then I'll defer it to a court of jurisdiction.
Let me understand something. Who is the defendant? Any defendant when he comes to a court, before that there should be investigation. This is not a court. This is an investigation. Let me clarify this point.
Then I hope that you remember are a judge empowered by the people. It doesn't really matter whether you convict me or not. That's not what's important.
But what's important is that you remember that you're a judge, then don't mention anything occupying forces. This is not good. Then...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I judge in the name of people.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): That's good. Then judge in the name of people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): This is the Iraqi way.
This is an investigation process, an investigative process.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): From the legal standpoint you were notified that I have lawyers, right? Am I not supposed to meet with the lawyers before I come before you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): If you give me just ten minutes, let's finish the formalities and I'll come to that. Then if you wait, then you will see that you have rights that are guaranteed.
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): OK. Go ahead.
According to the law, Mr. Saddam, the investigative judge has to give the defendant -- give him the charges that are levied against him.
And then reading the rights of all the charges, according to the law, Article 123, 124 and 125. They first step is -- are these articles, were they not signed by Saddam Hussein?
HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Yes. This is the law that was -- that was N-73. So this -- then Saddam Hussein was representing the leadership and signed that law.
So now you are -- you're using the law that Saddam signed against Saddam. Saddam was the people. Please. The constitutional mechanism -- I'm not a lawyer but I understand. I'm originally a man of law.
Can you -- is it allowed to call a president, elected by the people, and -- and charge him according to a law that was enacted under his will and the will of the people? there is some contradiction.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): No. The judicial process -- let me answer this clarification. First, I'm not -- I'm not debilitating a case against you. I'm investigating. I'm investigating with you, interrogating you.
Second, the president is a profession -- is a position As a deputy of the society. That's true. And originally, inherently, he's a citizen. And every citizen, according to the law and the Constitution, if this person violates, then a law has to come before the law. And that law, you know more than I do.
TRANSLATOR: The audio is not there from the source.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: All right. We just lost the last portion of audio.
This is a portion of tape that you actually had not heard the audio before because as the military was feeding out the what we call a pool tape, as all the networks feed out this tape simultaneously, they did not feed the portion of audio on the first three tapes. There are a total of four tapes of this more than 30-minute hearing at which Saddam Hussein is facing seven preliminary charges of war crimes.
This may be the second tape. We're going to air all these tapes in their entirety. Let's listen in. All right. This is still the first tape. No audio yet. We're going to stand by and see if we can pick it up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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