Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Iraq-Al Qaeda Link?

Aired December 31, 2003 - 08:34   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: Let's get back to Iraq right now. where an emergency official says there are many casualties from a car bombing in a crowded area of Baghdad. We are told that no U.S. troops reported injured in that blast. More details as we get it on that story. Meanwhile, a member of the U.S.-appointed governing council says Saddam Hussein is now providing information, critical information.
Dr. Ayad Lowry is with us from Amman, Jordan. He is one who says based on various reports that Saddam is giving this information away. And we appreciate your time doctor, live there from the Jordanian capital.

There are some reports that say he took $2 billion out of banks a week after the war. Others say he has $40 billion stashed around the world. The Syrians are saying it's more like millions, and not billions. Whatever the case, can this money be tracked and traced?

DR. AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI GOVERNING COUNCIL: Some of it is already being tracked. Some of the money have been located in Iraq. We have documents which goes back to two weeks before the liberation war to about a week after the war started, with Saddam's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) siphoning money from the Central Bank of Iraq. It totals just over $2 billion, some of it in euro currency, some of it in U.S. dollars. Most of it is in U.S. dollars. So some of the money have been traced, have been captured, including the $750,000 U.S. dollars which was found on him when he was captured, and that was part of the money was interest, but still there are a lot missing so far.

HEMMER: Doctor, you also claim that he's giving up information on weapons caches stored around the country. You claim that he's giving information, naming specific people who were involved right now in the resistance. How has that information, if verified and if true, now helping to thwart the resistance in Iraq today?

ALLAWI: Well, frankly, I would like to start by pointing out, that this is not resistance. These are criminal activities, these are terrorist activities. Saddam have betrayed his people, have betrayed his family, and now is betraying those criminals who supported him. We have been having people coming to our headquarters, important, significant people in the last 10 days after his arrest, surrendering to us because their names were mentioned by Saddam in the investigation which is taking place.

HEMMER: There's a recent report that says al Qaeda videotapes, al Qaeda literature have been found inside of a building somewhere inside the Sunni Triangle. About a month ago, a U.S. general said only 40 foreign fighters had been picked up in the current campaign operating in the Sunni Triangle. You're suggesting again that there are more foreign fighters in your country. What's the truth? How many are there? Do you know the answer here? And where do you find them in Iraq today?

ALLAWI: There are no accurate figures for the foreign fighters, and the terrorists. But, they are definitely there. Some of them are -- have been in prison. Some of them are still at large, trying to sabotage and undermine Iraq. There are no really specific numbers. We know that the Ansar of Islam, which is al Qaeda-style organization, totals just over 1,000. Now this is the current numbers. There are definitely some other sleepers that we don't know about. So really nobody could give an accurate figure of those foreign fighters in Iraq.

HEMMER: But you're saying 1,000 related to al Qaeda.

ALLAWI: Yes, more than 1,000. Yes, this is an established figure. Those were present in Iraq, they came and they were active in Iraq before the war of liberation. They were inflicting a lot of problems on the -- and inflaming the situation in northern Iraq, in Iraq Kurdistan. They killed once about a year and a half ago 42 worshipers in one of the mosques in Harachi (ph) in a very ugly way. Those people have had the backing of Saddam prior to liberation, and they remained in Iraq after the collapse, and after the vacuum was created. After the way, they remained in Iraq. Many joined them since then.

HEMMER: Dr. Ayad Allawi, live from Amman, Jordan, with his latest take on what they believe they're getting right now from Saddam Hussein.

Thank you, doctor.

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 December 31, 2003 - 08:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get back to Iraq right now. where an emergency official says there are many casualties from a car bombing in a crowded area of Baghdad. We are told that no U.S. troops reported injured in that blast. More details as we get it on that story. Meanwhile, a member of the U.S.-appointed governing council says Saddam Hussein is now providing information, critical information.
Dr. Ayad Lowry is with us from Amman, Jordan. He is one who says based on various reports that Saddam is giving this information away. And we appreciate your time doctor, live there from the Jordanian capital.

There are some reports that say he took $2 billion out of banks a week after the war. Others say he has $40 billion stashed around the world. The Syrians are saying it's more like millions, and not billions. Whatever the case, can this money be tracked and traced?

DR. AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI GOVERNING COUNCIL: Some of it is already being tracked. Some of the money have been located in Iraq. We have documents which goes back to two weeks before the liberation war to about a week after the war started, with Saddam's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) siphoning money from the Central Bank of Iraq. It totals just over $2 billion, some of it in euro currency, some of it in U.S. dollars. Most of it is in U.S. dollars. So some of the money have been traced, have been captured, including the $750,000 U.S. dollars which was found on him when he was captured, and that was part of the money was interest, but still there are a lot missing so far.

HEMMER: Doctor, you also claim that he's giving up information on weapons caches stored around the country. You claim that he's giving information, naming specific people who were involved right now in the resistance. How has that information, if verified and if true, now helping to thwart the resistance in Iraq today?

ALLAWI: Well, frankly, I would like to start by pointing out, that this is not resistance. These are criminal activities, these are terrorist activities. Saddam have betrayed his people, have betrayed his family, and now is betraying those criminals who supported him. We have been having people coming to our headquarters, important, significant people in the last 10 days after his arrest, surrendering to us because their names were mentioned by Saddam in the investigation which is taking place.

HEMMER: There's a recent report that says al Qaeda videotapes, al Qaeda literature have been found inside of a building somewhere inside the Sunni Triangle. About a month ago, a U.S. general said only 40 foreign fighters had been picked up in the current campaign operating in the Sunni Triangle. You're suggesting again that there are more foreign fighters in your country. What's the truth? How many are there? Do you know the answer here? And where do you find them in Iraq today?

ALLAWI: There are no accurate figures for the foreign fighters, and the terrorists. But, they are definitely there. Some of them are -- have been in prison. Some of them are still at large, trying to sabotage and undermine Iraq. There are no really specific numbers. We know that the Ansar of Islam, which is al Qaeda-style organization, totals just over 1,000. Now this is the current numbers. There are definitely some other sleepers that we don't know about. So really nobody could give an accurate figure of those foreign fighters in Iraq.

HEMMER: But you're saying 1,000 related to al Qaeda.

ALLAWI: Yes, more than 1,000. Yes, this is an established figure. Those were present in Iraq, they came and they were active in Iraq before the war of liberation. They were inflicting a lot of problems on the -- and inflaming the situation in northern Iraq, in Iraq Kurdistan. They killed once about a year and a half ago 42 worshipers in one of the mosques in Harachi (ph) in a very ugly way. Those people have had the backing of Saddam prior to liberation, and they remained in Iraq after the collapse, and after the vacuum was created. After the way, they remained in Iraq. Many joined them since then.

HEMMER: Dr. Ayad Allawi, live from Amman, Jordan, with his latest take on what they believe they're getting right now from Saddam Hussein.

Thank you, doctor.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com