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CNN Sunday Morning

Marines Turn Control of Baghdad Over to Army Forces

Aired April 20, 2003 - 09:06   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Want to go back to Baghdad now. That is where the Marines are giving control of the Iraqi capital to the U.S. Army. Rula Amin is there with the latest on that -- Rula.
RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, U.S. Marines did leave the Iraqi capital, and now, the U.S. Army has taken over. We also saw today the first British troops arrive here in Baghdad. This is as the Christian Iraqis are celebrating Easter Sunday and as Iraqi Shiites are doing, for the first time, their holy pilgrimage to Najaf and Karbala.

At the same time, other Iraqis are trying to go back to their normal lives. More people on the streets, more cars on the streets. And there are no rules. So we have seen people, civilians, trying to direct traffic instead of the old policemen. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't work, because people -- those civilians don't have the authority that a policeman would have, but people are trying to cooperate in order to make things work.

At the same time, the economic cycle here in Baghdad is almost dead. Only basic shopping, shopping for food, for medicine and things people need very desperately, because people are not making money anymore. Most of the people have become unemployed. There were hundreds of thousands of Iraqis employed by the government. There is no more government. They have become unemployed. They don't have their salaries. They don't know when there will be an Iraqi government in place to pay them their salaries, so they're trying to keep whatever money they have, to save it for some kind of necessary items that they will need in the future.

At the same time, we are seeing signs of Iraqis' eagerness to get back to their lives. Today at Saddam's Medical School, students were back at their desks after about six weeks of being absent from their school. Teachers were also back there, although they knew that no one was going to pay them for their teaching. They are used to taking their salaries from the government. The government is not there. So they're now just volunteering, fulfilling their duties, they say.

And one of the first things that the students and the teachers did was to change the name of that medical school. No more is it the Saddam Medical School. Now it's called Iraq's Medical School. So you can see an eagerness on part of the people to get on with their lives and to start a new page -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Since we're talking about money so much this morning, about that large stash of U.S. dollars that was found, what is, right now, being used for the currency among the people? Is it still the Iraqi dinar? Is there a talk, I mean, since all that dinar has Saddam's picture all over it, is there talk of creating a new currency?

AMIN: Well, as it stands now, most Iraqis are still dealing with Iraqi dinars, because that's what they have in their own homes. And each Iraqi dinar -- each dollar now is worth 2,000 Iraqi dinars. It's very cheap, Iraqi dinars. But so in the shops, they have to deal with Iraqi dinars.

Some who are working with foreign journalists or foreign agencies are getting their salaries in dollars, but those are very few. In order to replace these Iraqi notes, there has to be a government in place to do so. And still, we didn't see any signs that such a government is going to be in place very soon. We know that the U.S. officials have been talking about assigning an ex-general to administer Baghdad for a few months, until the different Iraqi groups can come together on one consensus to choose a government that would represent all Iraqis -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Rula Amin in Baghdad, thank you.

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 April 20, 2003 - 09:06   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Want to go back to Baghdad now. That is where the Marines are giving control of the Iraqi capital to the U.S. Army. Rula Amin is there with the latest on that -- Rula.
RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, U.S. Marines did leave the Iraqi capital, and now, the U.S. Army has taken over. We also saw today the first British troops arrive here in Baghdad. This is as the Christian Iraqis are celebrating Easter Sunday and as Iraqi Shiites are doing, for the first time, their holy pilgrimage to Najaf and Karbala.

At the same time, other Iraqis are trying to go back to their normal lives. More people on the streets, more cars on the streets. And there are no rules. So we have seen people, civilians, trying to direct traffic instead of the old policemen. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't work, because people -- those civilians don't have the authority that a policeman would have, but people are trying to cooperate in order to make things work.

At the same time, the economic cycle here in Baghdad is almost dead. Only basic shopping, shopping for food, for medicine and things people need very desperately, because people are not making money anymore. Most of the people have become unemployed. There were hundreds of thousands of Iraqis employed by the government. There is no more government. They have become unemployed. They don't have their salaries. They don't know when there will be an Iraqi government in place to pay them their salaries, so they're trying to keep whatever money they have, to save it for some kind of necessary items that they will need in the future.

At the same time, we are seeing signs of Iraqis' eagerness to get back to their lives. Today at Saddam's Medical School, students were back at their desks after about six weeks of being absent from their school. Teachers were also back there, although they knew that no one was going to pay them for their teaching. They are used to taking their salaries from the government. The government is not there. So they're now just volunteering, fulfilling their duties, they say.

And one of the first things that the students and the teachers did was to change the name of that medical school. No more is it the Saddam Medical School. Now it's called Iraq's Medical School. So you can see an eagerness on part of the people to get on with their lives and to start a new page -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Since we're talking about money so much this morning, about that large stash of U.S. dollars that was found, what is, right now, being used for the currency among the people? Is it still the Iraqi dinar? Is there a talk, I mean, since all that dinar has Saddam's picture all over it, is there talk of creating a new currency?

AMIN: Well, as it stands now, most Iraqis are still dealing with Iraqi dinars, because that's what they have in their own homes. And each Iraqi dinar -- each dollar now is worth 2,000 Iraqi dinars. It's very cheap, Iraqi dinars. But so in the shops, they have to deal with Iraqi dinars.

Some who are working with foreign journalists or foreign agencies are getting their salaries in dollars, but those are very few. In order to replace these Iraqi notes, there has to be a government in place to do so. And still, we didn't see any signs that such a government is going to be in place very soon. We know that the U.S. officials have been talking about assigning an ex-general to administer Baghdad for a few months, until the different Iraqi groups can come together on one consensus to choose a government that would represent all Iraqis -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Rula Amin in Baghdad, thank you.

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