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American Morning
Restoring Order
Aired May 15, 2003 - 09:31 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: In the meantime, heard from Paul Bremer 30 minutes ago, talking about the situation in Iraq. The new civil administrator in charge of rebuilding that country gave his first press conference, and despite some reports, he says Baghdad is not in a state of Anarchy, but security is still the main priority.
John Vause reports on the ground now in Baghdad with more on what was spoken there.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you in New York, Bill.
Well, Paul Bremer finished that news conference just moments ago, and it's been a busy day for Mr. Bremer.
Earlier, he was out touring a hospital and talking with patients and doctors at that hospital, but at the press conference, which he just held, he emphasized that security remains a number one issue, especially here in Baghdad, and he pointed to a number of facts and figures.
He said last night, for instance, there had been as many as 300 patrols on the streets of Baghdad. They arrested 92 people. He said there will be thousands more MPs on the streets in the coming days. And he said the situation is improving hour.
He also talked about the electricity. He said a team will be arriving tomorrow to address the problem with Baghdad's power grid. He said right now, electricity running at about 60 percent, and he also addressed the issue of the Ba'ath Party. There is concern amongst Iraqis that many former Ba'ath Party officials have taken up there jobs, they're working with the coalition, but he vowed that any former Ba'ath Party officials will be removed from power.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
L. PAUL BREMER, CIVIL ADMINISTRATOR: We have and will aggressively move to seek to identify these people and remove them from office. We have hunted down and will continue to deal with those members of the old regime who are sabotaging the country and the coalition's efforts. We will ensure that representations of Saddam Hussein and other Ba'athist symbols are removed systematically from public display. And we will work with the Iraqis to set up a process of bringing Ba'athist officials to justice for their past crimes.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: And one last point, he said a deal had been struck with the U.N. to use the oil-for-food money to buy this year's cereal crop from farmers. Normally the state, the government here in Iraq, under Saddam Hussein would buy all that produce, but now that money will be used from the oil-for-food program, much needed money for the farmers in this community -- Bill.
HEMMER: John Vause, reporting in Baghdad.
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 15, 2003 - 09:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: In the meantime, heard from Paul Bremer 30 minutes ago, talking about the situation in Iraq. The new civil administrator in charge of rebuilding that country gave his first press conference, and despite some reports, he says Baghdad is not in a state of Anarchy, but security is still the main priority.
John Vause reports on the ground now in Baghdad with more on what was spoken there.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you in New York, Bill.
Well, Paul Bremer finished that news conference just moments ago, and it's been a busy day for Mr. Bremer.
Earlier, he was out touring a hospital and talking with patients and doctors at that hospital, but at the press conference, which he just held, he emphasized that security remains a number one issue, especially here in Baghdad, and he pointed to a number of facts and figures.
He said last night, for instance, there had been as many as 300 patrols on the streets of Baghdad. They arrested 92 people. He said there will be thousands more MPs on the streets in the coming days. And he said the situation is improving hour.
He also talked about the electricity. He said a team will be arriving tomorrow to address the problem with Baghdad's power grid. He said right now, electricity running at about 60 percent, and he also addressed the issue of the Ba'ath Party. There is concern amongst Iraqis that many former Ba'ath Party officials have taken up there jobs, they're working with the coalition, but he vowed that any former Ba'ath Party officials will be removed from power.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
L. PAUL BREMER, CIVIL ADMINISTRATOR: We have and will aggressively move to seek to identify these people and remove them from office. We have hunted down and will continue to deal with those members of the old regime who are sabotaging the country and the coalition's efforts. We will ensure that representations of Saddam Hussein and other Ba'athist symbols are removed systematically from public display. And we will work with the Iraqis to set up a process of bringing Ba'athist officials to justice for their past crimes.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: And one last point, he said a deal had been struck with the U.N. to use the oil-for-food money to buy this year's cereal crop from farmers. Normally the state, the government here in Iraq, under Saddam Hussein would buy all that produce, but now that money will be used from the oil-for-food program, much needed money for the farmers in this community -- Bill.
HEMMER: John Vause, reporting in Baghdad.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
