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CNN Sunday Morning

Will Ba'ath Party Return to Power in Iraq?

Aired May 04, 2003 - 09:04   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: In Iraq, as U.S. forces hunt down top Ba'ath Party officials, people are wondering whether Saddam Hussein's old party will fade away or return to power with a new leader. For more, let's go live to Baghdad and check in with CNN's Rym Brahimi. Good morning, Rym.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Anderson. Well, that's exactly the question that a lot of people are asking here. You know, the Ba'ath Party came to power in 1968, on July 17 after a revolution, so for 35 years this is the only system that everybody knew here in Iraq. And, of course, it wasn't only the Revolutionary Command Council, meaning the aides that were immediately around Saddam Hussein and his tight circle just ruling the country, but they had all obviously formed groups of people at very different levels in the society, students, workers at every level.

Some people were obliged to enroll into the Ba'ath Party, whether they liked it or not, and so there's a really -- there is a real sense here of questioning are these people really gone or are they still here? And people are worried in an area known as Azamia (ph), which is the last place that President Saddam Hussein is believed to have been seen, according to some people. Well, there is great fear that there is still a lot of remnants of the Ba'ath Party present. There is great fear that they are lurking in the -- in somewhere, hiding, waiting to regain power when there is an opportunity -- Anderson.

COOPER: Is there anyone actually searching? I mean, we know about this high profile search for the 55 top leaders of the former Iraqi regime. What about the lower level figures? I mean, is there anyone or the U.S. military actively searching them out?

BRAHIMI: Well, it seems that there are searchers on the way. Interesting point, Anderson, that deck of cards that has been distributed only at certain levels among the U.S. military, well, there are Xerox copies that are circulating among Iraqis. We found some Iraqis just selling Xerox copies of those cards for 250 dinars, that's less than a cent, basically, and some people are saying that they are looking to bring some of these people to justice. Maybe some of them would have had someone in their family who was either tortured or thrown in jail because of someone and their looking for him to bring him to justice or her. Well, it really, really varies, but yes, there are people looking about, but maybe not as much order in the search as among the Iraqis, at any rate, as we could imagine.

But, again, there is also the fear, interestingly enough, among people who think, you know, that they'll still be in power but nobody will recognize them. So, a lot of questions there -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Rym Brahimi, 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 May 4, 2003 - 09:04   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: In Iraq, as U.S. forces hunt down top Ba'ath Party officials, people are wondering whether Saddam Hussein's old party will fade away or return to power with a new leader. For more, let's go live to Baghdad and check in with CNN's Rym Brahimi. Good morning, Rym.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Anderson. Well, that's exactly the question that a lot of people are asking here. You know, the Ba'ath Party came to power in 1968, on July 17 after a revolution, so for 35 years this is the only system that everybody knew here in Iraq. And, of course, it wasn't only the Revolutionary Command Council, meaning the aides that were immediately around Saddam Hussein and his tight circle just ruling the country, but they had all obviously formed groups of people at very different levels in the society, students, workers at every level.

Some people were obliged to enroll into the Ba'ath Party, whether they liked it or not, and so there's a really -- there is a real sense here of questioning are these people really gone or are they still here? And people are worried in an area known as Azamia (ph), which is the last place that President Saddam Hussein is believed to have been seen, according to some people. Well, there is great fear that there is still a lot of remnants of the Ba'ath Party present. There is great fear that they are lurking in the -- in somewhere, hiding, waiting to regain power when there is an opportunity -- Anderson.

COOPER: Is there anyone actually searching? I mean, we know about this high profile search for the 55 top leaders of the former Iraqi regime. What about the lower level figures? I mean, is there anyone or the U.S. military actively searching them out?

BRAHIMI: Well, it seems that there are searchers on the way. Interesting point, Anderson, that deck of cards that has been distributed only at certain levels among the U.S. military, well, there are Xerox copies that are circulating among Iraqis. We found some Iraqis just selling Xerox copies of those cards for 250 dinars, that's less than a cent, basically, and some people are saying that they are looking to bring some of these people to justice. Maybe some of them would have had someone in their family who was either tortured or thrown in jail because of someone and their looking for him to bring him to justice or her. Well, it really, really varies, but yes, there are people looking about, but maybe not as much order in the search as among the Iraqis, at any rate, as we could imagine.

But, again, there is also the fear, interestingly enough, among people who think, you know, that they'll still be in power but nobody will recognize them. So, a lot of questions there -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Rym Brahimi, 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