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American Morning
Humanitarian Needs
Aired May 01, 2003 - 09:05 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 COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: More anger and violence in the Iraqi city of Fallujah. Several U.S. soldiers were injured in a grenade attack.
It's the third incident there in less than a week.
Our Rym Brahimi is live in Baghdad, just east of Fallujah, and she brings us up to date.
Good morning, Rym.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Carol.
Well, indeed, five U.S. soldiers slightly wounded, we hear, from these grenade attacks. Two unknown assailants apparently threw those grenades in an area where U.S. troop had made their base.
Now this follows a couple of incidents on Monday. As you know, Carol, 15 people were killed, and 53 were injured, after protesters went to a school where U.S. troops were based, asking them to leave. It turned out into a shootout, and it's not known who started that shootout and who shot first, but the results were all those casualties.
Now on Wednesday, protesters marched to where U.S. troops were, protesting the deaths of the Iraqis a couple of days before that, and that again turned into violence. Two Iraqis were killed then, and another 15 injured.
Now, again, a lot of controversy over who shot first. The Iraqis over there say they didn't shoot first. The U.S. troops said they were fired on and returned fire.
What's interesting is one U.S. officer, Brigadier Daniel Hunt (ph), from the V Corps, well, he says this is not a coincidence. He says that this is part of an orchestrated effort on the part of former members of Baath Party to turn against Americans -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Rym Brahimi, thanks for the update, live from Baghdad this morning.
Later tonight, President Bush is expected it announce the end of major combat in Iraq when he speaks to sailors aboard the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and a national TV audience. Yesterday, here on AMERICAN MORNING, retired General Jay Garner, the interim U.S. administrator of Iraq, praised the American battle plan. He said the plan was so successful that the expected humanitarian crisis never happened.
But humanitarian workers may not agree.
Morton Rostrup of Doctors without Borders joins me now. Good morning.
So is it true? Is there a humanitarian crisis in Iraq?
MORTON ROSTRUP, DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: Well, what we said after assessing the situation in Iraq that we cannot talk about a humanitarian disaster in Iraq. We don't see the massive displacement of people. For instance, we don't see any famine, we don't see any huge epidemic, but of course there are pretty huge needs in the medical field, and we are specifically very concerned about the situation in the hospitals in Baghdad.
COSTELLO: Yes, because we've heard of hospitals without electricity. We've heard of Hospitals being looted, doctors working 24 hours a day, and they don't have anything to work with. Is that still going on?
ROSTRUP: Well, that's not the key, key issue for the time being. It goes more like that during the last part of the war and also the few days after the war, after 9th of April.
What we do see now is that hospitals are not really organized. It's a total lack of leadership. And this in many ways creates problems for the patients.
So I think what is essential now is to get the proper leadership, organization in place. And this is, you know, three weeks after the U.S. took control of Baghdad.
COSTELLO: But the question is, who should administer the hospitals? Who should take the lead? Should it be the United States?
ROSTRUP: Of course. According to the Geneva Convention, it's very clear. The occupying power has the obligation to see that the basic civil services are running, and now after three weeks, it still isn't. And I think it is very clear that the responsibility is with the U.S.
COSTELLO: Why do you think the situation is still the same, as to that aspect of it?
ROSTRUP: I think it seems to me, because I've spent now five, six weeks in Baghdad, that the U.S. was not properly prepared to see that this vacuum of power that occurred, in fact, would lead tie huge problem in the hospitals. So they didn't have any ways of trying to solve these problems.
COSTELLO: So has the United States embraced humanitarian organizations like yours to help it?
ROSTRUP: Well, for the time being, it has not been the case like that. And I think what is needed is not that much humanitarian aid as such as a kind of political organization, and get these hospitals running.
COSTELLO: Well, we know General Jay Garner is certainly trying to do that. He also said that Doctors Without Borders would leave Iraq, is that true?
ROSTRUP: No, that's not true. We will keep a team in Iraq, and also in Baghdad in order to really monitor now the situation in the hospitals.
COSTELLO: You know, something Dr. Sanjay Gupta brought up, he said that there are a number of humanitarian aid groups in Iraq, and now they're all trying to jockey for position. This may make it much harder for Jay Garner if this is true.
ROSTRUP: Well, it doesn't have to be any problem. I think they have to identify clearly the needs, and it is Garner and the occupying power that has a responsibility to sort out these problems. Whether they will use aid agents in this or not, it's up to them to decide, but it's urgent to do something.
COSTELLO: Should they use aid agencies?
ROSTRUP: Well, it's up to them. This is a kind a political question. The point is that the needs are covered, and it should be done, very quickly.
COSTELLO: All right, thanks for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.
Back to you, Bill.
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 May 1, 2003 - 09:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: More anger and violence in the Iraqi city of Fallujah. Several U.S. soldiers were injured in a grenade attack.
It's the third incident there in less than a week.
Our Rym Brahimi is live in Baghdad, just east of Fallujah, and she brings us up to date.
Good morning, Rym.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Carol.
Well, indeed, five U.S. soldiers slightly wounded, we hear, from these grenade attacks. Two unknown assailants apparently threw those grenades in an area where U.S. troop had made their base.
Now this follows a couple of incidents on Monday. As you know, Carol, 15 people were killed, and 53 were injured, after protesters went to a school where U.S. troops were based, asking them to leave. It turned out into a shootout, and it's not known who started that shootout and who shot first, but the results were all those casualties.
Now on Wednesday, protesters marched to where U.S. troops were, protesting the deaths of the Iraqis a couple of days before that, and that again turned into violence. Two Iraqis were killed then, and another 15 injured.
Now, again, a lot of controversy over who shot first. The Iraqis over there say they didn't shoot first. The U.S. troops said they were fired on and returned fire.
What's interesting is one U.S. officer, Brigadier Daniel Hunt (ph), from the V Corps, well, he says this is not a coincidence. He says that this is part of an orchestrated effort on the part of former members of Baath Party to turn against Americans -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Rym Brahimi, thanks for the update, live from Baghdad this morning.
Later tonight, President Bush is expected it announce the end of major combat in Iraq when he speaks to sailors aboard the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and a national TV audience. Yesterday, here on AMERICAN MORNING, retired General Jay Garner, the interim U.S. administrator of Iraq, praised the American battle plan. He said the plan was so successful that the expected humanitarian crisis never happened.
But humanitarian workers may not agree.
Morton Rostrup of Doctors without Borders joins me now. Good morning.
So is it true? Is there a humanitarian crisis in Iraq?
MORTON ROSTRUP, DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: Well, what we said after assessing the situation in Iraq that we cannot talk about a humanitarian disaster in Iraq. We don't see the massive displacement of people. For instance, we don't see any famine, we don't see any huge epidemic, but of course there are pretty huge needs in the medical field, and we are specifically very concerned about the situation in the hospitals in Baghdad.
COSTELLO: Yes, because we've heard of hospitals without electricity. We've heard of Hospitals being looted, doctors working 24 hours a day, and they don't have anything to work with. Is that still going on?
ROSTRUP: Well, that's not the key, key issue for the time being. It goes more like that during the last part of the war and also the few days after the war, after 9th of April.
What we do see now is that hospitals are not really organized. It's a total lack of leadership. And this in many ways creates problems for the patients.
So I think what is essential now is to get the proper leadership, organization in place. And this is, you know, three weeks after the U.S. took control of Baghdad.
COSTELLO: But the question is, who should administer the hospitals? Who should take the lead? Should it be the United States?
ROSTRUP: Of course. According to the Geneva Convention, it's very clear. The occupying power has the obligation to see that the basic civil services are running, and now after three weeks, it still isn't. And I think it is very clear that the responsibility is with the U.S.
COSTELLO: Why do you think the situation is still the same, as to that aspect of it?
ROSTRUP: I think it seems to me, because I've spent now five, six weeks in Baghdad, that the U.S. was not properly prepared to see that this vacuum of power that occurred, in fact, would lead tie huge problem in the hospitals. So they didn't have any ways of trying to solve these problems.
COSTELLO: So has the United States embraced humanitarian organizations like yours to help it?
ROSTRUP: Well, for the time being, it has not been the case like that. And I think what is needed is not that much humanitarian aid as such as a kind of political organization, and get these hospitals running.
COSTELLO: Well, we know General Jay Garner is certainly trying to do that. He also said that Doctors Without Borders would leave Iraq, is that true?
ROSTRUP: No, that's not true. We will keep a team in Iraq, and also in Baghdad in order to really monitor now the situation in the hospitals.
COSTELLO: You know, something Dr. Sanjay Gupta brought up, he said that there are a number of humanitarian aid groups in Iraq, and now they're all trying to jockey for position. This may make it much harder for Jay Garner if this is true.
ROSTRUP: Well, it doesn't have to be any problem. I think they have to identify clearly the needs, and it is Garner and the occupying power that has a responsibility to sort out these problems. Whether they will use aid agents in this or not, it's up to them to decide, but it's urgent to do something.
COSTELLO: Should they use aid agencies?
ROSTRUP: Well, it's up to them. This is a kind a political question. The point is that the needs are covered, and it should be done, very quickly.
COSTELLO: All right, thanks for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.
Back to you, Bill.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
