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American Morning
Saddam Bounty
Aired July 04, 2003 - 07:06 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. contends that much of the violence in Iraq is related to the mystery surrounding Saddam Hussein's fate, and now a huge bounty is being offered to settle that issue. Can it work?
With us now from London, the author of, "Instant Empire: Saddam Hussein's Ambition for Iraq," Simon Henderson this morning.
Good morning to you, Mr. Henderson. Thanks for being here on this Fourth of July.
SIMON HENDERSON, AUTHOR, "INSTANT EMPIRE": Good morning.
COLLINS: I want to ask you, will an offer of $25 million be enough of a motivator for some of these Iraqi people to actually give up Saddam Hussein should they know where he is?
HENDERSON: Well, $25 million is a huge amount of money for anybody in Europe or America. In Iraqi terms, it's an astronomic amount. And I would imagine that money could be the thing which will get tongues to wag.
The whole question of where Saddam is now is that I make the assumption and I think most other people make the assumption that he's probably in Iraq and probably being looked after by friendly tribes or relatives. And he's being looked after because he's paid some money and he's promised some more. And if there is alternative sources of revenue for these people who are giving him sanctuary, then he will be worried about that, and they might well be attracted by it.
COLLINS: So, that begs the next question then: Who is it that we're talking about here as far as who could turn him in?
HENDERSON: Well, the person who could turn him in or the tip-off could come from somebody who doesn't really know that he's there at all, but knows that there's something suspicious in his going on in the neighborhood, and he's prepared to tell the American authorities of what he knows. Otherwise, I think, frankly, it's going to be somebody directly linked to where Saddam or one of his sons, Uday and Qusay. They've both got $15 million on their heads. Or, there is a hope perhaps from the American point of view that one of the other playing card characters -- only 32 of the 55 have been accounted for so far -- might well decide that now is the time to trade his freedom and see what he can get out of it by giving them the tip-off.
You know, we've got to this stage, and it's bad luck that we haven't caught Saddam yet. And I think there is a degree of desperation in the reward being offered, but I think it might be the lubricant to success.
COLLINS: Well, the United States has also not caught Osama bin Laden. How is this reward any different than the 25 million that was offered to Afghans for information about Osama bin Laden?
HENDERSON: Well, I think you can ask the question, but there is a different answer for it. Afghanistan is a very different place from Iraq. Osama bin Laden is probably in some remote part of Afghanistan, and, you know, not many people probably know where he is. In Iraq, the -- and Osama bin Laden is sort of cut off. His position is very much more limited. In Iraq, I think it's much more important that not only is Saddam isolated, but he's actually captured as well.
COLLINS: Simon Henderson, thanks so much for coming in this morning. His book is "Instant Empire: Saddam Hussein's Ambition for Iraq." Thank you once again.
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 4, 2003 - 07:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. contends that much of the violence in Iraq is related to the mystery surrounding Saddam Hussein's fate, and now a huge bounty is being offered to settle that issue. Can it work?
With us now from London, the author of, "Instant Empire: Saddam Hussein's Ambition for Iraq," Simon Henderson this morning.
Good morning to you, Mr. Henderson. Thanks for being here on this Fourth of July.
SIMON HENDERSON, AUTHOR, "INSTANT EMPIRE": Good morning.
COLLINS: I want to ask you, will an offer of $25 million be enough of a motivator for some of these Iraqi people to actually give up Saddam Hussein should they know where he is?
HENDERSON: Well, $25 million is a huge amount of money for anybody in Europe or America. In Iraqi terms, it's an astronomic amount. And I would imagine that money could be the thing which will get tongues to wag.
The whole question of where Saddam is now is that I make the assumption and I think most other people make the assumption that he's probably in Iraq and probably being looked after by friendly tribes or relatives. And he's being looked after because he's paid some money and he's promised some more. And if there is alternative sources of revenue for these people who are giving him sanctuary, then he will be worried about that, and they might well be attracted by it.
COLLINS: So, that begs the next question then: Who is it that we're talking about here as far as who could turn him in?
HENDERSON: Well, the person who could turn him in or the tip-off could come from somebody who doesn't really know that he's there at all, but knows that there's something suspicious in his going on in the neighborhood, and he's prepared to tell the American authorities of what he knows. Otherwise, I think, frankly, it's going to be somebody directly linked to where Saddam or one of his sons, Uday and Qusay. They've both got $15 million on their heads. Or, there is a hope perhaps from the American point of view that one of the other playing card characters -- only 32 of the 55 have been accounted for so far -- might well decide that now is the time to trade his freedom and see what he can get out of it by giving them the tip-off.
You know, we've got to this stage, and it's bad luck that we haven't caught Saddam yet. And I think there is a degree of desperation in the reward being offered, but I think it might be the lubricant to success.
COLLINS: Well, the United States has also not caught Osama bin Laden. How is this reward any different than the 25 million that was offered to Afghans for information about Osama bin Laden?
HENDERSON: Well, I think you can ask the question, but there is a different answer for it. Afghanistan is a very different place from Iraq. Osama bin Laden is probably in some remote part of Afghanistan, and, you know, not many people probably know where he is. In Iraq, the -- and Osama bin Laden is sort of cut off. His position is very much more limited. In Iraq, I think it's much more important that not only is Saddam isolated, but he's actually captured as well.
COLLINS: Simon Henderson, thanks so much for coming in this morning. His book is "Instant Empire: Saddam Hussein's Ambition for Iraq." Thank you once again.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
