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CNN Sunday Morning
Hussein Divides Iraq Into Military Regions
Aired March 16, 2003 - 08:59 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.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Saddam Hussein, fearing war is imminent, has apparently put his country on a war footing. He's divided the country into four military regions and given his chief lieutenants an order to destroy foreign aggression.
Let's get the latest from CNN's Nic Robertson in Baghdad. He will be coming up later on in the program. Actually, Nic Robertson is standing by. Nic, Are you there?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Anderson. The situation here in Baghdad for the residents beginning to make them feel that the situation is getting a lot closer to war. Now what we have seen here, the division of the country into four different areas, the Iraqi government did this back in 1998 just before Operation Desert Fox.
What the division of the country does is it puts the north under one commander, under one politician, Isaac Ibrahim (ph), the vice chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, very close and loyal to President Saddam Hussein. It puts the south of the country, Basra, the region right next to Kuwait, under the control of Ali Hassan Al Majeed, the president's cousin. It puts the middle Euphrates area under another Revolutionary Command Council member; and it puts the center of Iraq, including Baghdad, under the command of President Saddam Hussein's younger son, Qusay Saddam Hussein.
The situation is that the country appears to be being divided. If command and control needs to be devolved to these region if communications are damaged through the course of the war. Interestingly, this new decree puts Iraq's offensive capability very firmly in the hands of President Saddam Hussein.
He will remain in charge, directed command, of the air force, the military airborne division, the helicopters, the ground-to-air missiles and the ground-to-ground missiles will remain under direct control of President Saddam Hussein.
The effect that it's had on Iraq is last night, some were out buying fuel at the gas stations, hearing that this step closer to war has happened. In the up market, neighborhoods of Baghdad, some electronics stores selling items such as televisions, high tech equipment, they have been seen moving stocks from stores, moving them somewhere else and getting ready to close up their stores.
In the markets as well, generators, water pumps, a necessary commodity of water, it is hard to get, has to be pumped from wells; sales of those going up significantly today.
We have seen further cooperation from Iraq towards the U.N. inspectors here. The Iraqi officials have given the U.N. a number of photographs and videos detailing what they say are mobile laboratories, but these are mobile laboratories for transporting bodies, for transporting ice, for transporting medical equipment and for transporting other items that need to be cooled and kept under laboratory conditions, not only in the military sector, but also in the civilian sector.
Again a number of Al Samoud missiles destroyed today. Two more of the Al Samoud 2 missiles destroyed this day, bringing the number destroyed to 70 -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Nic Robertson live in Baghdad, thanks very much.
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 March 16, 2003 - 08:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Saddam Hussein, fearing war is imminent, has apparently put his country on a war footing. He's divided the country into four military regions and given his chief lieutenants an order to destroy foreign aggression.
Let's get the latest from CNN's Nic Robertson in Baghdad. He will be coming up later on in the program. Actually, Nic Robertson is standing by. Nic, Are you there?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Anderson. The situation here in Baghdad for the residents beginning to make them feel that the situation is getting a lot closer to war. Now what we have seen here, the division of the country into four different areas, the Iraqi government did this back in 1998 just before Operation Desert Fox.
What the division of the country does is it puts the north under one commander, under one politician, Isaac Ibrahim (ph), the vice chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, very close and loyal to President Saddam Hussein. It puts the south of the country, Basra, the region right next to Kuwait, under the control of Ali Hassan Al Majeed, the president's cousin. It puts the middle Euphrates area under another Revolutionary Command Council member; and it puts the center of Iraq, including Baghdad, under the command of President Saddam Hussein's younger son, Qusay Saddam Hussein.
The situation is that the country appears to be being divided. If command and control needs to be devolved to these region if communications are damaged through the course of the war. Interestingly, this new decree puts Iraq's offensive capability very firmly in the hands of President Saddam Hussein.
He will remain in charge, directed command, of the air force, the military airborne division, the helicopters, the ground-to-air missiles and the ground-to-ground missiles will remain under direct control of President Saddam Hussein.
The effect that it's had on Iraq is last night, some were out buying fuel at the gas stations, hearing that this step closer to war has happened. In the up market, neighborhoods of Baghdad, some electronics stores selling items such as televisions, high tech equipment, they have been seen moving stocks from stores, moving them somewhere else and getting ready to close up their stores.
In the markets as well, generators, water pumps, a necessary commodity of water, it is hard to get, has to be pumped from wells; sales of those going up significantly today.
We have seen further cooperation from Iraq towards the U.N. inspectors here. The Iraqi officials have given the U.N. a number of photographs and videos detailing what they say are mobile laboratories, but these are mobile laboratories for transporting bodies, for transporting ice, for transporting medical equipment and for transporting other items that need to be cooled and kept under laboratory conditions, not only in the military sector, but also in the civilian sector.
Again a number of Al Samoud missiles destroyed today. Two more of the Al Samoud 2 missiles destroyed this day, bringing the number destroyed to 70 -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Nic Robertson live in Baghdad, thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
