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CNN STUDENT NEWS For August 2, 2002

Aired August 02, 2002 - 04:00   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.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN STUDENT NEWS seen in schools around the world because learning never stops and neither does the news.

SUSAN FREIDMAN, CO-HOST: The Senate debate on Iraq continues. We'll hear more in "Lead Story." Then in "Chronicle," a Brooklyn beach that's gone to the dogs. Later, we meet up with one of Hollywood's biggest names in "Perspectives." And chugging right along, Student Bureau retraces the tracks of an era gone by.

Welcome to CNN STUDENT NEWS on this Friday, August 2. I'm Susan Freidman.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee wraps up a two-day hearing on Iraq with a look at what would happen if President Saddam Hussein were overthrown. Several experts who testified yesterday said U.S. troops would have to stay in Baghdad for several years to keep the country from chaos. The cost could run into the billions.

The Bush administration has labeled Iraq as part of an "axis of evil," along with North Korea and Iran. And many officials worry that President Hussein is developing weapons of mass destruction. Iraq has repeatedly denied those charges and says it's prepared to defend itself.

CNN's Rym Brahimi reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iraq's air force commander was recently seen on Iraqi TV reporting to the country's president, Saddam Hussein. Since the 1991 Gulf War, the air force he commands is a very diminished one, but he says his men are ready to counter aggressors and defend Iraq's borders.

In the face of U.S. threats, the Iraqi National Assembly has been working on a campaign of its own, calling on its counterparts in the U.S. Congress to visit Iraq.

SALIM AL-KUBAISI, CHAIRMAN, FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE (through translator): We've previously proposed to the U.S. Congress to visit Iraq. Regrettably, there has been no response. In fact, we welcome a visit by the American Congress to Iraq to see for themselves the realities. BRAHIMI: Past weeks have seen public displays of heightened anti-American rhetoric. The speaker of the parliament took the lead on Sunday, writing "down with U.S.A." on the asphalt ground near the assembly meeting place. The event was followed later in the day by a well-orchestrated anti-American demonstration and chants of America is the terrorist.

Beyond the publicity, mainly for domestic consumption, there's another message to the U.S. as the U.S. Senate debates possible American moves against Iraq.

AL-KUBAISI (through translator): If an objective dialog of the case between Iraq and the U.S. takes place, we believe it's a positive thing if they take into consideration the whole case and not part of it. It's important to us that the American public opinion be informed that Iraq does not threaten America or American interests in the region.

BRAHIMI: Iraq's main concern, say officials, is that its sovereignty be respected. And Iraqi public opinion, they say, wants to be respected and to be left alone to choose its leadership.

In the streets of Baghdad, Iraqis will tell you publicly they're not afraid of U.S. threats. And so far, the talk of U.S. military action doesn't seem to have triggered panic shopping. No stocking up of food yet.

(on camera): Behind the bravado, however, many Iraqis admit they do worry. They worry about the uncertainty of what tomorrow may bring. They worry that whatever strategy the U.S. will adopt to try and take out the regime, it'll be accompanied by a war. And they worry that the next war with the U.S. will be worse than the last one.

Rym Brahimi, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: People in Iraq aren't the only ones worried about a possible attack, many Americans are afraid as well.

CNN's Jamie McIntyre looks at the potential toll of a U.S. invasion.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before the 1991 Persian Gulf War, 20,000 body bags were reading for U.S. casualties, but the Iraqi military quickly folded and the total combat deaths numbered only 148. But this time U.S. troops may face a much tougher task, potentially fighting Saddam Hussein's most loyal troops in the d