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American Morning
U.S. Plans to Handover Power to Iraqi-Formed Government in Only Five Months
Aired February 10, 2004 - 09:07 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: The U.S. plans to hand over power to an Iraqi formed government in only five months time.
A bit earlier today I talked with Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt. He's deputy director for operations; and Dan Senor, senior advisor to the Ambassador Paul Bremer.
Mr. Senor consistently talks about progress in Iraq. I asked him how that's possible when Iraqis who cooperate with the coalition are dying every day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SENOR, SENIOR ADVISOR TO AMBASSADOR PAUL BREMER: There are far more Iraqis that cooperate with the coalition than there are Iraqis who cooperate with the coalition and get killed. The fact is we have a lot of good days here. But we've also had a lot of bad days, bad days like today, when 40 Iraqis, or many more, possibly, are killed. The important point is the good days outnumber the bad days. There are more days when Iraqis are stepping forward to play a role in our security services and the Iraqi security services. Over 150,000 Iraqis today serving in security services. Iraqis stepping forward to participate in town hall meetings, to play roles as political leaders. There are far more days populated with those events than there are with these tragic terrorist attacks.
HEMMER: In the past 24 hours, the news back here in the U.S. is what you revealed just yesterday about this time in Baghdad, about Zarqawi trying to initiate some sort of cooperation with al Qaeda.
To the general, where is this man, al-Zarqawi?
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR COALITION OPERATIONS: We suspect he's still in Iraq. We have a longstanding program to try to pick him up and we're getting closer every day.
HEMMER: How much is he a priority for you, General?
KIMMITT: Oh, he's a significant priority. Anybody who is attacking the coalition, attacking Iraqi people, trying to foment more terrorism and violence inside of Iraq, is a high priority for us.
HEMMER: How much violence do you believe he's responsible for at this point?
KIMMITT: Well, by his own admission, he was responsible for at least 25 attacks here within Iraq. Some of the more significant attacks we possibly can associate him with is the U.N. bombing, perhaps the Assassin's Gate bombing, perhaps the assassination of Grand Ayatollah Hakeem in al-Najaf. He is a serious criminal, a serious terrorist and we're going after him.
ak HEMMER: One final thought here. The U.N. team, Mr. Senor, is on the ground now in Iraq trying to assess elections, possibly in June, maybe in July.
How much cooperation do you have with that team and how flexible is the U.S. plan depending on what the U.N. team determines?
SENOR: Bill, we're moving forward with the June 30th handover date. We're implementing the plan. The U.N. team is operating here independently. We've told them we'll make available logistical support, technical support, security support. But they're here independently working towards that plan.
And with regard to the letter that was released the last couple of days from Zarqawi, what we've learned over the last couple of days is that terrorists recognize, too, the importance of the June 30th handoff date. They're very worried that their ability to conduct terrorist operations in Iraq will be that much more difficult if Iraqis are in charge of their own sovereignty.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Dan Senor and General Kimmitt earlier today live 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
Only Five Months>
Aired February 10, 2004 - 09:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. plans to hand over power to an Iraqi formed government in only five months time.
A bit earlier today I talked with Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt. He's deputy director for operations; and Dan Senor, senior advisor to the Ambassador Paul Bremer.
Mr. Senor consistently talks about progress in Iraq. I asked him how that's possible when Iraqis who cooperate with the coalition are dying every day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SENOR, SENIOR ADVISOR TO AMBASSADOR PAUL BREMER: There are far more Iraqis that cooperate with the coalition than there are Iraqis who cooperate with the coalition and get killed. The fact is we have a lot of good days here. But we've also had a lot of bad days, bad days like today, when 40 Iraqis, or many more, possibly, are killed. The important point is the good days outnumber the bad days. There are more days when Iraqis are stepping forward to play a role in our security services and the Iraqi security services. Over 150,000 Iraqis today serving in security services. Iraqis stepping forward to participate in town hall meetings, to play roles as political leaders. There are far more days populated with those events than there are with these tragic terrorist attacks.
HEMMER: In the past 24 hours, the news back here in the U.S. is what you revealed just yesterday about this time in Baghdad, about Zarqawi trying to initiate some sort of cooperation with al Qaeda.
To the general, where is this man, al-Zarqawi?
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR COALITION OPERATIONS: We suspect he's still in Iraq. We have a longstanding program to try to pick him up and we're getting closer every day.
HEMMER: How much is he a priority for you, General?
KIMMITT: Oh, he's a significant priority. Anybody who is attacking the coalition, attacking Iraqi people, trying to foment more terrorism and violence inside of Iraq, is a high priority for us.
HEMMER: How much violence do you believe he's responsible for at this point?
KIMMITT: Well, by his own admission, he was responsible for at least 25 attacks here within Iraq. Some of the more significant attacks we possibly can associate him with is the U.N. bombing, perhaps the Assassin's Gate bombing, perhaps the assassination of Grand Ayatollah Hakeem in al-Najaf. He is a serious criminal, a serious terrorist and we're going after him.
ak HEMMER: One final thought here. The U.N. team, Mr. Senor, is on the ground now in Iraq trying to assess elections, possibly in June, maybe in July.
How much cooperation do you have with that team and how flexible is the U.S. plan depending on what the U.N. team determines?
SENOR: Bill, we're moving forward with the June 30th handover date. We're implementing the plan. The U.N. team is operating here independently. We've told them we'll make available logistical support, technical support, security support. But they're here independently working towards that plan.
And with regard to the letter that was released the last couple of days from Zarqawi, what we've learned over the last couple of days is that terrorists recognize, too, the importance of the June 30th handoff date. They're very worried that their ability to conduct terrorist operations in Iraq will be that much more difficult if Iraqis are in charge of their own sovereignty.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Dan Senor and General Kimmitt earlier today live 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
Only Five Months>
