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CNN Sunday Morning

Hussein Reacts to U.S. Officials' Meeting With Iraqi Opposition

Aired August 11, 2002 - 07:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: While the debate heats up in this country of a possible war with Iraq, what's the reaction from Iraq? CNN's Jane Arraf is covering that angle of the story from the capital city, Baghdad. She joins us live with the latest -- Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson here in Baghdad the Iraqi government doesn't usually stoop to the level, as it would say, of responding to Iraqi opposition comments or even commenting on this meeting. Generally, though, they say that these people are spies and even though there is a very large gap a lot of times between what the government says the Iraqi people think and what the Iraqi people actually think, in this case, there's not that much daylight. These people do not have a lot of credibility in Iraqi terms.

Here's how most Iraqis see the opposition. Either a bunch of generals who are intimately associated with Saddam Hussein or the last remaining member of the Iraqi monarchy propped up by the British who left here as a child and hasn't been back since, and then there's a businessman who was convicted (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of defrauding a bank in Jordan. So all together, not an appealing lot.

Perhaps the most credible of these are the Iranian based opposition leaders, who actually have been very wary of doing very much with the United States, unlike their counterparts who are constantly in Washington and receiving U.S. money. Now these people do have some credibility, but they don't seem to have a lot of power. The problem here is that Saddam Hussein, all this time later, is still very strong.

As you can see, he looks fit. He's obviously in quite good health. Nothing is going to happen to him of his own making any time soon, and the feeling is that not only is the opposition not ready and able, even with the help of the U.S. to take him on, but that's the only way it would happen. Therefore, there's not a whole lot of hope seen here -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right Jane Arraf, thanks very much from Baghdad.

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