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CNN Saturday Morning News

Saddam Executed, Country Mourns President Ford

Aired December 30, 2006 - 08:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: A hangman's noose placed around a former dictator's neck. This is CNN, breaking news coverage, the execution of Saddam Hussein. A once powerful and ruthless leader meets his end after decades of brutality.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm T.J. Holmes, and this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Melissa Long, in today for Betty.

Thanks for being with us on an extraordinary day for Iraqi history.

T. HOLMES: Yes.

LONG: Here are some of the events leading up to the execution of Saddam Hussein.

At some point Friday afternoon, the former Iraqi dictator was transferred from U.S. custody in the fortified Green Zone to the custody of the Iraqi government. An attorney for Hussein filed a last-minute plea in a U.S. court for a stay of execution. That petition was denied. The ruling said since Hussein was no longer in U.S. custody the court had no jurisdiction.

T. HOLMES: And then not long after that, a red card is issued by the Iraqi justice minister. It's the same type of card handed out during Saddam's regime to let people know their death sentence was official and ready to be carried out.

A witness to the execution says Hussein carried a copy of the Koran to the gallows with him. He refused a hood, saying, "I don't need that," as one final act of defiance.

Then just before sunrise in Baghdad, 10:00 p.m. on the East Coast of the United States, a noose was slipped around his neck. And moments later, Saddam Hussein was dead.

We want to get more details now on the execution of Saddam Hussein. You're just looking at video that was leading up to his execution. We do have more video we want to show you now, more new video from this morning. But it's video you might find disturbing.

It's video of Saddam Hussein's dead body. This video was shown on Iraqi TV today. There you see the former Iraqi dictator with a white shroud around his body, his head and neck uncovered, his head turned sharply to one side. This video, no doubt, will be shown as -- and used to show evidence, proof that, in fact, the former dictator is dead.

We do want to go life to Baghdad and CNN's Ryan Chilcote, who has been monitoring, keeping an eye on things for us there.

Ryan, good morning to you again.

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, T.J.

Well, Saddam Hussein is dead. That is the news that Iraqis are waking up to today, news that is all over Iraqi TV, accompanied by that video you were just describing of Saddam being led into the gallows, and later some video of Saddam's body, the man that ruled Iraq for more than two decades with an iron fist.

That video has prompted and the news of Saddam's execution has prompted celebrations around Iraq, in particular right here in the Iraqi capital, in the mostly Shiite neighborhood known as Sadr City. Also in the south of Iraq, in another Shiite area called -- in the city of Najaf.

Of course, Shiites suffered greatly under Saddam Hussein. They took no time in getting out onto the streets today to celebrate his death.

There are some areas in Iraq where people are not as happy. Some Sunnis believe that Saddam's execution was unjust, that it was carried out by a Shiite-led government that is pursuing its own sectarian Shiite agenda, and that Saddam was simply a Sunni victim in their -- in their quest for vengeance.

Now, more violence in Iraq, violence that never seems to be far away. This time coming in the southern city of Kufa. The Iraqi police telling us that a car bomb went off at a very busy marketplace, a massive car bomb at that, killing at least 30 Iraqis, wounding more than 45 more Iraqis.

T. HOLMES: All right. Our Ryan Chilcote for us in Baghdad.

Ryan, thank you so much.

LONG: We want to continue to get reaction now from the Middle East as the execution of Saddam Hussein.

CNN's Anthony Mills joins us now live from Beirut, Lebanon -- Anthony.

Anthony, are you able to hear me?

ANTHONY MILLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... of the execution of Saddam Hussein here in Lebanon. Certainly he was a notorious figure, and the Lebanese knew him very well. He had both foe and friend alike here. But the Lebanese have a political crisis of their own, and so they really are paying attention to that. There's been a big standoff here for the past few weeks. So this has been treated by the Lebanese media in rather a matter of fact way. The Lebanese are still paying a lot of attention to their own political crisis. There is, of course, concern that with sectarian tensions rising here, Melissa, that the effect of this execution in Iraq possibly the fueling of further Shia-Muslim, Sunni-Muslim violence, could have a spillover effect here in Lebanon.

Now, as far as broader reaction across the Middle East, well, we have seen differing reactions. In Iran, for example, there's been a sense of satisfaction. Iran fought a particularly bloody war against Iraq from 1980 to 1988, and there's a sense that justice has been done.

Also in Kuwait, which was incited by Saddam Hussein in 1990. There, too, a sense that justice has been done.

But in Libya, for example, there three days of official mourning have been declared, and their defense is that this was an unfair trial, it was unjust, and that Saddam Hussein was actually something of a hero because he did actually, Melissa, have a lot of admirers also across the Arab world. They admired him for, in their view, standing up to the United States and to Israel.

Now, as far as major political leaders, heads of state in the Arab world are concerned, there hasn't been much reaction. They have kept fairly quiet -- Melissa.

LONG: Anthony, we have been showing the new video this morning of Saddam Hussein's dead body, a very grainy, almost black and white video. What has been the reaction in Lebanon to that video?

MILLS: Well, Melissa, we have been out in the streets here just a short while ago, and there were a lot of Lebanese who did say that this is a man who got what he deserved. They felt no pity for him. They said -- they said he was a killer, he was a criminal, and he deserved what he got.

However, all of this was in certain cases tinted with a sense that there were double standards employed. This all came back again in the mind of many to the role the United States has been playing in the region.

They are perceived very negatively by a lot of Lebanese with what's going on in Iraq, all the deaths in Iraq, and so on. And so there are really two views of the whole issue.

Yes, Saddam deserved what he got, but at the same time there's a sense that possibly the trial wasn't fair. It all happened very, very fast. And, of course, key in all of this is the fact that it happened on a very special Muslim religious holiday, and there was a lot of anger we encountered in the streets about that, saying the timing should have been different -- Melissa.

LONG: Anthony Mills live from Beirut.

Anthony, thank you.

T. HOLMES: We do want to tell you now -- word we're just getting word about another car bombing that has happened in Iraq, this time in Baghdad. Word is that at least seven have been killed, another 19 wounded.

We told you earlier about another bombing that happened in the southern Shiite town of Kufa, where some 30 were killed there by a car bombing. Of course, the concern had been whether or not there would be an uptick in violence after the execution of Saddam Hussein.

However, car bombings are a common occurrence, and no sign, no signal right now that any of this violence was triggered by the execution of Saddam Hussein. But it all meshed together because you just don't know.

The violence there, these are common occurrences, unfortunately, really day in, day out in Iraq, in and around Baghdad. But again, at least one bombing we were telling you about earlier in Kufa, a southern Shiite town, where at least 30 people were killed at a market when a car bomb exploded there. But now getting word of a second car bombing today, this one in Baghdad, seven people killed and another 19 wounded.

We will continue to follow that and bring you the details as we get them.

Meanwhile, still talking about Iraq, U.S. troops in Iraq again on the frontlines, this time ready for what comes next after the execution of Saddam Hussein.

And CNN's Kathleen Koch live for us at the Pentagon this morning.

Good morning, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, T.J.

And certainly this was an event that the U.S. Military knew would eventually occur, so there was this plan in place for a ratcheting up of readiness for U.S. troops to be on high alert. No official reaction though from the Pentagon to Saddam Hussein's execution. Although certainly the U.S. military, the U.S. coalition did have custody of the Iraqi leader until he was handed over to Iraqi authorities for his death sentence to be carried out.

Now, when it comes to U.S. forces in Iraq, a very sad milestone has been reached this weekend with the deaths of two U.S. soldiers in Iraq on Friday. The death toll for the month of December has now hit 108. That makes it the deadliest month this year for U.S. forces in Iraq.

When it comes to official U.S. reaction to Saddam Hussein's execution, that is coming solely from the White House at this point. President Bush, at his ranch near Crawford, Texas, was already asleep when the execution was carried out, though he had been informed earlier in the evening that Iraqi authorities had told the U.S. that Saddam Hussein would be executed in a matter of hours.

And the White House put out a lengthy statement. It read in part, "Fair trials were unimaginable under Saddam Hussein's tyrannical rule. It is a testament to the Iraqi people's resolve to move forward after decades of oppression that, despite his terrible crimes against his own people, Saddam Hussein received a fair trial."

"This would not have been possible without the Iraqi people's determination to create a society governed by the rule of law. Saddam Hussein's execution comes at the end of a difficult year for the Iraqi people and for our troops. Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not end the violence in Iraq, but it is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain and defend itself, and be an ally in the war on terror."

And at this point, aides, White House aides say that's all to expect right now from the president. He is not expected to come out and make any further public statements, at least today, on the execution -- T.J.

T. HOLMES: And Kathleen, we -- you may have hit on this or talked about this just a tad there, but, of course, the Pentagon, the White House trying to come up with another plan, a better plan for Iraq. The administration has been criticized before for not planning for all contingencies and issues when it comes to what's happening in Iraq.

So, in the planning, in the conversations for what's next in Iraq, was there a discussion or is there a discussion about what if just all heck breaks loose in Iraq even more so after the death of Saddam Hussein? Is that a part of the conversation?

KOCH: Well, certainly, T.J., as I said, they knew that this was coming. Iraqi leaders had been making it very clear that this was an execution that they wanted to happen once the appeals court there in Iraq upheld it. They wanted it to happen sooner versus later. So they were prepared for all eventualities.

And certainly Iraq is a place where every member of the U.S. military is really on high alert 24/7, despite -- whether there was the execution of a former leader or not, because you let down your guard at your -- at your own peril. So, certainly this is something that had to have been factored into the discussions, though the U.S. military leaders, the White House are keeping those discussions very close to the chest right now, with President Bush expected next month to make his final announcement on what his administration is calling a new way forward in Iraq

T. HOLMES: All right. Kathleen Koch for us at the Pentagon.

Thank you so much, Kathleen.

KOCH: You bet.

LONG: If you are just waking up, just after 8:00 in the morning Eastern Time, and the big story today, Saddam Hussein's execution. It happened just before first light Baghdad time, just before 6:00 in the morning. That would have been 10:00 p.m. Eastern. The big story we are following for you today on CNN SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LONG: Just waking up today, here are some of the stories making news on this Saturday.

A somber milestone for American troops in Iraq. The military says 108 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq this month. That makes December the deadliest month of the year for Americans.

2,997 U.S. troops have been killed since the war started.

The nation's capital will honor the late president Gerald Ford today. Ford's body is being flown from California to Washington, D.C., where it will lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda.

Yesterday, mourners paid their respects at a church in Palm Desert, California, where Ford and his family worshipped after leaving office. Ford's funeral is Tuesday in Washington.

Family and friends of the "Godfather of Soul" are remembering him in a private service in his hometown of Augusta, Georgia. A public funeral for James Brown is scheduled there a little later in the day. The music icon died of heart failure on Christmas morning. He was 73.

T. HOLMES: A car bomb rattling Madrid's airport this morning. The bomb detonated in a parking lot near a terminal building. Police were warned, allowing them to evacuate the area. We're now learning from the Spanish government that the Basque separatist group Eta is taking responsibility for that bombing.

A second winter storm now rolling east across the Great Plains. Denver escaped the worst of it, with about 8 inches of fresh snow. It's been much more manageable than the blizzard that paralyzed the city last week. The Denver airport remains open despite some canceled flights.

Meanwhile, the same weather system kicked up tornadoes in Texas. This one passed just yards in front of storm chasers. One person was killed in Limestone County when a tornado hit an assisted living facility.

A Firestone store in Waco, Texas, shows the heavy damage caused by a twister there.

Meanwhile, President and Mrs. Bush were briefly hustled to an armored vehicle near a storm shelter on their Crawford, Texas, ranch because of a nearby tornado warning. They returned to their house after about 10 minutes.

Bonnie Schneider keeping an eye on all of it for us.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LONG: More now on the execution of Saddam Hussein.

The execution comes 56 days after his conviction for crimes against humanity.

Greg Kehoe is a former adviser to the Iraq Special Tribunal. He joins us now live from Tampa, Florida.

Good morning, Greg. Thanks for your time.

GREG KEHOE, FMR. ADVISER TO IRAQ SPECIAL TRIBUNAL: Good morning.

LONG: Earlier in the morning I spoke with Mike Newton of Vanderbilt University, also a former adviser to the tribunal. He said the system, the legal system that has emerged in Iraq is sophisticated.

Why is it sophisticated?

KEHOE: It's sophisticated because it's deeply rooted. I mean, if they have had a legal system there for thousands of years, coming in their own legally after some missteps over the past several decades has made it a little bit easy because they can draw back on their history. The whole rule of law is not something that is unique to Iraq, although during the Baathist regime it has been put on hold.

LONG: In the last weeks we have heard a request for an appeal, it was denied by the judge. And when you compare the legal systems, it seems that the Iraqi system moves swift.

Can you compare why the U.S. system seems so different for Americans to the Iraqi system?

KEHOE: Well, the Iraqi system is swift, and that is deeply rooted in the legal mores of that society. And I hearken back to some history for the United States. If we go back to individuals who were executed after the assassination of President Lincoln, that execution was quite swift after the final resolution as well.

The United States has gotten much more detailed with habeas corpus petitions and appeals when death sentences are issued, and it's obviously been much more protracted, going on to years and years. That type of litigation hasn't hit the Middle East.

LONG: The tribunal has other business to take care of. There is, of course, another trial as well with Saddam Hussein and six co- defendants.

How does this suggestion affect that other trial?

KEHOE: The only way it will affect it is that Saddam Hussein is not going to be there. I think that everybody, especially the West, looks at these crimes as committed just by Saddam Hussein. And there are many, many people involved within the Baathist infrastructure that were involved in these crimes.

If you look at the trial that's under way right now, which is the trial involving the Anfal campaign against the Kurds in 1987 and 1988, a major player in that trial is Ali Hassan al-Majid. You know him as "Chemical Ali."

He is the one who was responsible for implementing what would be called the "Kurdish Solution," and he's the one that is -- was taped saying, "Oh, I didn't kill 140,000 Kurds, I only killed 100,000 Kurds." So this is a very, very important player, and also a cousin of Saddam Hussein.

LONG: The trial over the Dujail massacre of 1982 was criticized by some as being a bit circus-like.

What is your perspective on that?

KEHOE: The trial -- Were there mistakes in the trial, was it a perfect trial? Of course it wasn't a perfect trial. But I hasten to say that I don't think any court in the world could have withstood the scrutiny that that court was put under, as well it should given what was going on.

That being said, we have to look at exactly what transpired. Saddam Hussein was brought in front of a court for the world to see, all the evidence was there for the world to see. He was allowed to comment on the evidence, he was represented by counsel.

He had his say in court. He got that which he never gave to all the people that went through his secret courts and all the decades he was in power.

LONG: You just...

KEHOE: Can this court do better? Yes, and I think it will in the future.

LONG: Well, you just mentioned that mistakes were made, but what lessons have been learned that will be applied to future trials?

KEHOE: I think that, you know, keeping individual defendants under control, having a little bit more order in the court. If you go through courts that have some age to them, there are no spontaneous outbursts in the courtroom by defendants or counsel. It's done in a much more orderly fashion. But this court needs to grow into this.

I was at the war crimes tribunal in The Hague, and some mistakes were made early on in that court as well. But as we look at it down the line, 10 years down the line, the court is a very sophisticated legal organ, and I think that we will judge this court in 10 years and see how it transpired and see how it grew and see how it matured as a court implementing humanitarian laws throughout the world.

LONG: Greg Kehoe, former adviser to the Iraq Special Tribunal.

Thank you so much for joining us on your Saturday. We appreciate it..

KEHOE: You're welcome. T. HOLMES: Now, what does Saddam think about his death? In a farewell message posted this week on the Internet, Hussein said he faces "martyrdom" with a content and peaceful soul. He also reflected publicly back in October of 1990, three months after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

CNN's Bernard Shaw interviewed the then Iraqi dictator about his legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNARD SHAW, FMR. CNN ANCHOR: President Saddam, we are all mortal beings. When you die, how do you want to be remembered?

SADDAM HUSSEIN, FMR. IRAQI DICTATOR (through translator): My overriding preoccupation is how I'm going to face God. And the true believer is always dreaming that God almighty is satisfied with him. And it is important to me that good people on this land will have understood me in the right way and as sufficiently (INAUDIBLE) as possible.

And I'm confident, indeed, I believe that people -- the great people of Iraq and the people of the glorious Arab nations will remember us with -- favorably. Will remember us favorably. With good memories.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LONG: That news clip again from a 1990 interview.

Let's talk about -- more about the weather worries all around the country. We have been talking about the snow out in Denver, and the rain that could be coming to New Orleans. But now worries of a tornado and the damage.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

T. HOLMES: Well, we are joined now by CNN correspondent Michael Holmes, who has reported extensively from Iraq, also anchors CNN International -- or "YOUR WORLD TODAY" on CNN International.

LONG: He joins us now to offer his insight and perspective on the execution of Saddam Hussein.

This morning a lot of Americans, Iraqis as well, waking up to see that grainy, black and white video of a dead Saddam Hussein.

How important is it for the Iraqis to see that?

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very important. It's the same when Saddam Hussein's sons were killed. It was very important for the coalition that they got photographic evidence out there. Otherwise, people wouldn't believe it had taken place. So, yes, the government was always going to release some sort of photographic evidence that he was dead.

T. HOLMES: Well, Iraqis went to bed last night, woke up this morning, Saddam is dead. How is their life different when they wake up this morning?

M. HOLMES: Not a lot. Not a lot.

I mean, a lot of people, particularly Shiites, obviously, are going to be glad that he's gone, but they don't really care. Their day-to-day life is one of survival, just trying to get through the day.

Let's remember that on any given day -- and we talk a lot about U.S. military casualties approaching 3,000, and that's valid for that to be discussed. Let's remember that at least 100 Iraqi civilians are killed every day in and around Baghdad --100. Tortured bodies dumped in the streets, and that also includes car bombs and the like.

So, for them, whether Saddam Hussein is around or not doesn't really matter. And it's not just the risk to their lives. It's their daily life.

Electricity, they are lucky if they get four hours of electricity a day, which is much worse than it was under Saddam. And the irony of the video being shown was most Iraqis wouldn't have seen it because there was yet another power outage at the time.

HOLMES: Wow. Wow.

MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: Life is obviously very different with - outside of his regime. The last half an hour or so, we shared a video clip from a 1990 interview with Saddam Hussein, speaking with Bernard Shaw of CNN. And he said, and I'm paraphrasing here, I believe the great people of Iraq and the Arab nation will remember us favorably and with good memories.

How will the people remember Saddam Hussein?

M. HOLMES: Well, he was a megalomaniac. So he would say that. But the people of Iraq generally speaking are going to - the vast majority are going to remember him as a brutal dictator. Absolutely. And they never liked him. And there's an element of Baathist and Sunnis who will miss him because they were patronized by him.

But the vast majority are not going to miss him at all. It's going to be great that he's gone.

But bear in mind that you to Iraqis today, and over the last four years, they will tell you today yes, we're glad Saddam's gone. But is life better for us now? No, it is not. Life now is much worse.

And I've had an Iraqi who said we wish Saddam was back. At least we could go out at night. At least we could go to our jobs and not face bombs and executions.

LONG: And next week, you'll be back telling your stories in Iraq.

M. HOLMES: Heading back in, yes. Next time.

LONG: Thank you.

T. J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you so much. And you stay safe. Appreciate you hanging out with us this morning.

And stick around with us here, folks, because our coverage continues of the execution of Saddam Hussein. We've, of course, got reaction coming in from all over the place. And we're going to have reaction early from Washington to even Michigan I need to tell you about. And also, the Mideast - reaction coming in from there.

So stay with us for our continuing coverage here with CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LONG: If you are just waking up, good morning to you. We are following extraordinary developments from overnight -- the execution of Saddam Hussein.

These new pictures released this morning of Hussein's final moments as the executioners prepare to carry out his sentence.

He was hanged for crimes against humanity just before sunrise Baghdad time. In some Shiite areas, people danced in the streets and fired guns in the air to celebrate the former dictator's death. In a statement, President Bush said bringing Saddam Hussein to justice marks an important milestone on Iraq's course to democracy.

T. HOLMES: And the Saddam Hussein execution being watched closely as well in Jordan, not only by his attorneys there, but also two of his daughters, loyal to the end.

CNN's Matthew Chance live now for us in Amman, Jordan. Hello to you, Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, T.J. That's right. Two of Saddam's surviving family members, namely his two daughters, are living here in the neighboring country of Jordan, in the capitol city of Amman. Obviously, they've been campaigning hard here over the course of the past several months since Saddam's trial has been underway for him to receive, for instance, a better legal team, a better platform from their point of view from which he could try and plead his innocence to the charges against him.

The focus of that family has now shifted very much to the idea of funeral arrangements. We've recently spoken to the lawyers. They're saying that it's still very much unclear when the burial of Saddam Hussein will take place as far as they're concerned. And at the moment, those family members, for them this execution was a very personal tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHANCE (voice-over): Saddam Hussein presided not only over a broken nation, but a broken family as well. On Thursday, he bid farewell to his two half brothers from his prison cell, but he never even asked to see anyone else, not even his wife, say his lawyers, the mother of his five children.

Two of his daughters, Ragad and Rana, are in Amman, Jordan, where they've lived in asylum since the U.S. invasion in 2003. Raghad had hoped to see their father in Iraq before his death sentence, but their petition to enter the country was denied.

In rare interviews, the daughters have spoken of deep admiration, even affection for a man so reviled in Iraq by so many.

RANA HUSSEIN ,SADDAM HUSSEIN'S DAUGHTER (through translator): He has so many feelings. And he was very tender with all of us to the point we will go to our father for many issues or problems. He taught us to tell him what's going on. But we were the one who usually go to him. He was our friend. He taught us the right way.

CHANCE: And these women know how their father could behave. Both their husbands accused of treachery in Iraq were allegedly ordered to be killed by Saddam Hussein himself.

Unlike his three daughters, Saddam's two notorious sons, Uday and Qusay, never survived to witness their father's downfall. They were killed in a firefight with U.S. forces in 2003.

It's not clear if the public images of his sons' corpses were seen by a rough and bearded Saddam before he was captured, but his peaceful surrender and apparent obedience infuriated his daughters. These images were meant to break the Arab spirit, one of them said. Her father was "a lion, sedated by his captors."

RAGAD HUSSEIN, SADDAM HUSSEIN'S DAUGHTER (through translator): Anyone with insight could tell from the first instance that my father was not fully conscious. As a daughter, I told them from the start my father is drugged. I'm 100 percent convinced. And until now, I have been reading all the analysis and newspapers which indicate other things, but I'm convinced my father was drugged.

CHANCE: But for their father, his loyal daughters wanted a fair trial in an international court, not the Iraqi one that sentenced him to death. They say they wanted a more neutral platform for him to answer the charges he faced, one Saddam never gave to those he condemned.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: Well, Saddam's two daughters are not alone in being Iraqi expatriates here in the Jordanian capitol Amman. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have fled here over the course of the past several years since the U.S. led invasion of the country to escape the appalling security situation there.

And what we haven't seen though amongst that expatriate community over the course of the last day or several hours since Saddam was executed are any of those big, public protests or big, public celebrations that we've seen elsewhere, particularly in Iraq following the execution. Back to you.

T. HOLMES: You're saying you're not seeing the protests and big celebrations and what not. So what are you seeing? How are people there taking the news of Saddam's execution?

CHANCE: Well, they're taking it very much in their stride, T.J. I mean, there are lots of different sort of types of Iraqis here. We've got Sunnis, we've got Shiites, we've got Kurds, people who were opposed vigorously to Saddam Hussein and people who were his natural supporters as well.

And all of them, it seems, are taking this execution in their stride. It was, remember, an expected measure for them. The ones that we've spoken to over the course of the past several hours since this morning when the execution happened local time, they've expressed a degree of sadness whether or not they agreed with Saddam Hussein or not.

This is a figure, remember, who ruled Iraq for 24 years. And he was very much a symbol of that country for many people from Iraq. And so, his execution very much represents an end to that era.

HOLMES: All right, our Matthew Chance for us in Amman, Jordan. Matthew, thank you so much.

LONG: Now let's take a look at reaction in the U.S. from Iraqis living in the U.S. CNN's Allan Chernoff joins us now live from Dearborn, Michigan, a community with a large Iraqi population. Good morning, Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPNDENT: Good morning to you, Melissa. And this was party central last night. As a matter of fact, it's sort of a miniature version of what Times Square may look like early Monday morning, early after New Year's Eve because what you've got over here, you've got lots of candy wrappers. It's a tradition in the Middle East, of course, to throw candy at celebrations. And it was a huge celebration last night.

It started hours before the actual execution. Men dancing, singing, cheering, waving Iraqi flags, kissing, hugging. And when the announcement actually came, the word that the execution had finally gone through, this gas station right behind me just filled up. No gas being pumped, but it was the biggest traffic jam I've ever seen at a gas station, cars honking, honking, people out in the streets. It was just a huge celebration here.

I spoke to several dozen people. And it seemed almost everyone had in some way been personally affected by Saddam's reign of terror.

One man told me that 16 family members had been killed by the regime. Another said his brother had been killed. Another, his brother-in-law. One man had spent, he said, 7 1/2 years in prison. So everyone here, it seemed, felt personal vengeance, personal satisfaction. They also all argue that they believe that Iraq will now become a more peaceful country, even though Saddam had been in jail for more than three years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have been sharing them the happiness and the celebration because tonight is a night of happiness, a night of justice, a night of relief, a night of revenge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tonight, millions of Iraqis feel relieved because they've been waiting for a night like tonight. Because as long as Saddam is alive, there is no hope for Iraq. There is no hope for the future of Iraq.

Now Saddam is dead, there is a brighter future. And there is a hope and there is a good tomorrow. So I hope the whole world will help us to build a new Iraq, because the Iraq without Saddam is much safer than Iraq with Saddam.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHERNOFF: Lots of the celebrants from last night are promising to come back here. There's a central mosque in this area. This morning, we do have a few police officers stationed here. They're not anticipating any problem whatsoever. Melissa?

LONG: Allan Chernoff live in Dearborn, Michigan. Allan, thank you.

T. HOLMES: President Bush says Saddam Hussein received the kind of justice he denied the victims of his brutal regime. And joining us now to talk about the legal aspects of Hussein's execution, Mark Ellis, executive director of the International Bar Association. It's comprised of associations and attorneys from around the world.

Thank you so much for lending us your expertise once again. This is quick justice, certainly us here in the U.S. not used to seeing someone who is sentenced to death. It takes 20 years sometimes to get them actually to a death chamber

Is that the way it should work? In some -- we're just used to it one way. Is it OK for somebody else?

MARK ELLIS, INTERNATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION: Well, I think many of us were a bit surprised. Because once the appeals court took this case, and it was an automatic appeal to that court, that court could have spent as much time that it wanted.

And it had a pretty major job to review the trial transcripts to see if there were mistakes made. But it turned it around in a pretty fast way. And again, not surprising if you look closely in the context of Iraqi procedural law. But I think for the international viewers, I think we would have been more comfortable with seeing a longer period of time. So you don't get the perception that this was a rush to judgment.

T. HOLMES: So is that going to taint this all now? Are there going to be claiming in the international community who think maybe they didn't get this thing right. As bad as the guy -- anybody might agree that Saddam is, this is just going to taint that end result?

ELLIS: It will be interesting to see the written decision of the appeals court, because with the trial chamber's decision, there were also criticisms about the flaws that existed.

But once you sat down and read the trial manuscripts, the decision itself, you realize that it was a legally sound, very compelling decision, and with sufficient evidence to show that the defendants were, in fact, guilty as charged.

So the appeals court decision, I hope, will show the same -- same kind of justification in its final decision. That will be important.

T. HOLMES: Let's talk as well here. Saddam's gone, but there are a lot of trials and charges pending against him. Is this going to in a way deny justice at a lot of people? What happens to the later trials, which the one going on now, a lot would say is the big one, the genocide trial, he's not around for that.

ELLIS: Yes, I think that's a very good point. That would have been the reason to stay this execution, to allow the Anfal trial, which is the major trial of genocide to move forward with Saddam Hussein there as a defendant.

That case now ends in relation to Saddam Hussein. It does go forward with the other defendants. I think that's important because genocide and crimes against humanity are not done by an individual. Those crimes are done through a state apparatus. It's a state policy.

So there are a number of other high-ranking officials that were involved with those crimes that need to be held accountable. That is what I hope will occur in the Anfal case and cases that will follow that.

T. HOLMES: All right. We certainly got a lot more we want to talk to you about. Thank you, as always. Again, Mark Ellis, hope to chat with you a little more here.

We're going to take a quick break, though. Of course, we're going to continue our coverage - continuing coverage here of the execution of Saddam Hussein. You're watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Got a quick break. Stick around.

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LONG: The last couple of days, we've been talking about rain being a problem in New Orleans, but now it's a tornado.

T. HOLMES: We got all kinds of issues going on. Bonnie Schneider keeping an eye on it. What's happening now?

SCHNEIDER: Well, T.J., Melissa, we had the threat of severe weather yesterday in Texas. It's now shifted to the east. And according to the National Weather Service in Acadia Parish, a sheriff is reporting tornado damage. This is in the Churchpoint area. We can zoom in on GoogleEarth right now and give you a better perspective of where this occurred, because we're still getting that severe weather in the region right now.

So we're zooming right into the region, the Churchpoint area, near Brow Bridge, and also Appaloosa. It's just to the south of that, north over the I-10 region.

Now we're going to go to the radar picture. I want to show you the tornado watch. This goes until noon today Central Time.

Now even though we don't have a tornado warning issued, we do have severe thunderstorm warnings issued right through central Louisiana. And this means that at any time, we could see a tornado pop up because these thunderstorms are severe.

We're also getting reports that these thunderstorms may contain winds as strong as 60 miles per hour. Those are some very damaging winds.

Here's the line of storms, running right over I-10. This is not the time to be driving in that region because the roads are definitely going to get pounded with water. So the storms are moving into the Baton Rouge area. Eventually, they will push further east towards New Orleans. And we'll be watching it very closely throughout the day. Melissa?

LONG: Bonnie, thank you so much for the update.

We're also going to keep everybody you up to date on the weather out west in Denver.

T. HOLMES: In Denver. And actually, some of that weather out there providing some relief. A winter storm that swept through there, the Rockies yesterday, was threatening travel chaos. Well, it lost some of its punch, but that doesn't mean our Reynolds Wolf still didn't take a good shot in the face from this weather. How's it? You said it was frozen earlier. Are you doing better, buddy?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's warming up a little bit.

T. HOLMES: Yes.

WOLF: It's going to be a beautiful day here in Denver. In fact, we can expect a lot of sunshine. Off the horizon, you can see the sun just starting to come up. The snow is completely stopped. There is still a slight chance of snowfall in the forecast around Denver, but we're looking at less than a half an inch. So I mean, for all intents and purposes, it is over.

The official snowfall total, easy for me to say, it is cold out here, the official snowfall total for the Denver area is going to be seven inches at Stapleton International Airport, the former international airport.

However, many places around the Denver metro area had well over two feet of snowfall. Evergreen would be a perfect example. They finished up with 28 inches of snowfall.

But I've got to tell you, I've got to hand it to the city of Denver as well as the airport, they handled this beautifully. They stayed on top of it the entire time. Even during the height of the storm, we could look out on I-70 and still see those salt trucks and those snow plows moving. And the roads were, for the most part, relatively clear. It's true, there were some closures at times. But still, traffic for the most part in Denver was just fine.

Out at the airport at this time, we've got everything working 100 percent operational. There's only about a five-minute delay now going through security checkpoints.

The other airports farther back out into the mountains, places like Steamboat, they're 100 percent operational. So they're moving beautifully as well. So it is a vastly better situation now than it was just, say, 24 to 48 hours ago, no question. Back to you.

T. HOLMES: All right. And what's the temperature like now?

WOLF: Right now, temperatures are probably about the mid-20s, but it feels much, much colder

T. HOLMES: Oh, mid-20s. It's warming up for you out there then. What are you talking about?

WOLF: Thank you, T.J.

T. HOLMES: Yes.

WOLF: Thank you so much, man. Just get that knife and twist a little bit.

T. HOLMES: Oh, you know, we love you, Buddy. Be careful out there.

WOLF: Love you guys, too.

T. HOLMES: We'll see you.

WOLF: Indeed. Happy New Year.

LONG: Happy New Year to you as well.

It is chilly out there. Well below freezing there. Yes.

T. HOLMES: And we give him a hard time, but -- sorry about that.

LONG: He can take it.

T. HOLMES: He can take it, of course. Well, of course, stay here with us. Our big story all morning, talking some weather, of course. But the big story, no doubt, the execution of Saddam Hussein.

Much more to come on that all morning long. You are watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

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LONG: Big story this morning, if you are just waking up, the execution of Saddam Hussein just before sunrise in Baghdad.

Now Iran and the U.S. rarely agree. The U.S. and Afghanistan rarely disagree. But the execution of Saddam Hussein is an exception in both cases. Iran praised the hanging as a fitting punishment for a tyrant. Afghan President Hamid Karzai was critical of the timing, because it comes at the start of the Muslim festival of Eid.

T. HOLMES: Here now the official White House statement issued just after Saddam Hussein's execution. "It is testament to the Iraqi people's resolve," it reads, "to move forward after decades of oppression, that despite his terrible crimes against his own people, Saddam Hussein received a fair trial. This would not have been possible without the Iraqi people's determination to create a society governed by the rule of law.

Saddam Hussein's execution comes at the end of a difficult year for the Iraqi people and our troops. Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not end the violence in Iraq, but it is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain, and defend itself, and be an ally in the War on Terror."

Again, that the statement, the official statement coming from the White House and from President Bush.

LONG: Well, stories making news today in addition, of course, to the Saddam Hussein execution. Later in the day, we'll be following services for the late President Gerald Ford.

T. HOLMES: Yes, that. And also services today as well for the godfather of soul, James Brown. A lot of news happening today, but no doubt, big story, the execution of Saddam Hussein.

Stay here with CNN for continuing coverage. You are watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

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