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American Morning
Saddam's Bodyguard Captured in Predawn Raid
Aired July 29, 2003 - 07:03 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: Back or Iraq right now, the hunt for Saddam. One of his longtime bodyguards is now in U.S. custody. Military officials say he was the prime target of an early-morning raid in Tikrit, Saddam's hometown.
CNN's Harris Whitbeck live again in Tikrit with more.
And, Harris, at the outset with this capture, are coalition forces telling you about any optimism they might have right now as to getting closer to the ace of spades, Saddam Hussein?
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.
They do feel they are getting closer, and they feel that every raid that they stage gives them more information that they can act upon. The raid this morning not only netted people who are important because they are very close to Saddam Hussein, but these people also have information that they will gather from them. They're being interrogated, and that could lead them to stage further raids in this area.
Again, they continue to concentrate on Tikrit, because this is Saddam's homeland. They feel that if he were looking for a place to hide, this might be one of those places -- Bill.
HEMMER: What are you hearing, Harris, from U.S. military officials, maybe Iraqis as well on the streets, as to what happens if Saddam is apprehended or possibly even killed in Iraq? How does the landscape now change between the Iraqi people and the U.S. military?
WHITBECK: Well, I think the U.S. military is hoping that that will prevent more attacks or make for a decrease in the number of attacks on their forces. But if you look at what happened after Saddam's two elder sons were killed, that didn't happen. In fact, there were even more attacks.
So, while the U.S. military hopes that that would kind of bring stabilization to the country, not many people here think that's the case. You've got to remember, a lot of people in Iraq weren't very happy with the deaths of Uday and Qusay, those who supported him, particularly around Tikrit, which is his homeland.
So, even if Saddam were killed or captured, the feeling is that they would still be in Iraq for quite a while. They'd still have a lot of work to do in terms of stabilization.
HEMMER: Harris Whitbeck live in Tikrit. 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 29, 2003 - 07:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Back or Iraq right now, the hunt for Saddam. One of his longtime bodyguards is now in U.S. custody. Military officials say he was the prime target of an early-morning raid in Tikrit, Saddam's hometown.
CNN's Harris Whitbeck live again in Tikrit with more.
And, Harris, at the outset with this capture, are coalition forces telling you about any optimism they might have right now as to getting closer to the ace of spades, Saddam Hussein?
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.
They do feel they are getting closer, and they feel that every raid that they stage gives them more information that they can act upon. The raid this morning not only netted people who are important because they are very close to Saddam Hussein, but these people also have information that they will gather from them. They're being interrogated, and that could lead them to stage further raids in this area.
Again, they continue to concentrate on Tikrit, because this is Saddam's homeland. They feel that if he were looking for a place to hide, this might be one of those places -- Bill.
HEMMER: What are you hearing, Harris, from U.S. military officials, maybe Iraqis as well on the streets, as to what happens if Saddam is apprehended or possibly even killed in Iraq? How does the landscape now change between the Iraqi people and the U.S. military?
WHITBECK: Well, I think the U.S. military is hoping that that will prevent more attacks or make for a decrease in the number of attacks on their forces. But if you look at what happened after Saddam's two elder sons were killed, that didn't happen. In fact, there were even more attacks.
So, while the U.S. military hopes that that would kind of bring stabilization to the country, not many people here think that's the case. You've got to remember, a lot of people in Iraq weren't very happy with the deaths of Uday and Qusay, those who supported him, particularly around Tikrit, which is his homeland.
So, even if Saddam were killed or captured, the feeling is that they would still be in Iraq for quite a while. They'd still have a lot of work to do in terms of stabilization.
HEMMER: Harris Whitbeck live in Tikrit. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
