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CNN Live Sunday
Interview With Vernon Loeb
Aired December 14, 2003 - 16:56 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.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: As we have been reporting, Saddam Hussein captured yesterday in a lightning raid near his hometown of Tikrit in Iraq. With us now from "The Washington Post," reporter Vernon Loeb, who was with the soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division 1st Brigade, just a matter of weeks ago. These were the soldiers who took part in that raid yesterday. Vernon Loeb, you have talked to some of those soldiers today, what they have told you?
VERNON LOEB, WASHINGTON POST WRITER: I actually haven't talked to them today. They have been pretty busy today in Iraq. But basically the way they took down Saddam is what they have been doing all fall. Day after day after day, they would stage these raids. This is the break they were hoping for. They felt they had missed him many times throughout the fall. On numerous other raids they -- they'd found food, they'd found clothing they they believed belonged to Saddam. So as I said, this is the break they were really waiting for.
WOODRUFF: Why was this so hard to do? This is someone very powerful, very high profile, at least he was powerful, why was it so hard to find him?
LOEB: Well, as we saw from today's raid, this guy was an expert at hiding. I mean, he spent even the years he was in power hiding. And it's almost a miracle that they found this little spider hole, as they called it today in this farm. Again, this was a guy who had a lot of protectors, he had a lot of money. I mean, he had $750,000 in cash with him today. And he was -- he was very good at hiding. And you know, probably they had come very close before without even knowing it.
WOODRUFF: Any sense of why this had a different outcome than the raid that -- that took the lives of his two sons, Uday and Qusay, Saddam Hussein himself coming out alive, his sons obviously went out -- and died.
LOEB: Well, his sons resisted, and I think if Saddam, who apparently had a pistol with him, if he had resisted, I think he would have met the same fate. The American soldiers basically are, you know, they would rather take people alive, but as soon as they start taking fire, they fire back and they fire back with extreme, overwhelming force. So I have no doubt had he fired today, I don't think Saddam would have made it out alive.
WOODRUFF: All right, Vernon Loeb, having spent some time with the soldiers of the Army's 4th Infantry Division, 1st Brigade, many of those troops took part in the raid yesterday near Tikrit that captured Saddam Hussein. Vernon Loeb, thanks you very much. We appreciate it.
LOEB: Sure.
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 December 14, 2003 - 16:56 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: As we have been reporting, Saddam Hussein captured yesterday in a lightning raid near his hometown of Tikrit in Iraq. With us now from "The Washington Post," reporter Vernon Loeb, who was with the soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division 1st Brigade, just a matter of weeks ago. These were the soldiers who took part in that raid yesterday. Vernon Loeb, you have talked to some of those soldiers today, what they have told you?
VERNON LOEB, WASHINGTON POST WRITER: I actually haven't talked to them today. They have been pretty busy today in Iraq. But basically the way they took down Saddam is what they have been doing all fall. Day after day after day, they would stage these raids. This is the break they were hoping for. They felt they had missed him many times throughout the fall. On numerous other raids they -- they'd found food, they'd found clothing they they believed belonged to Saddam. So as I said, this is the break they were really waiting for.
WOODRUFF: Why was this so hard to do? This is someone very powerful, very high profile, at least he was powerful, why was it so hard to find him?
LOEB: Well, as we saw from today's raid, this guy was an expert at hiding. I mean, he spent even the years he was in power hiding. And it's almost a miracle that they found this little spider hole, as they called it today in this farm. Again, this was a guy who had a lot of protectors, he had a lot of money. I mean, he had $750,000 in cash with him today. And he was -- he was very good at hiding. And you know, probably they had come very close before without even knowing it.
WOODRUFF: Any sense of why this had a different outcome than the raid that -- that took the lives of his two sons, Uday and Qusay, Saddam Hussein himself coming out alive, his sons obviously went out -- and died.
LOEB: Well, his sons resisted, and I think if Saddam, who apparently had a pistol with him, if he had resisted, I think he would have met the same fate. The American soldiers basically are, you know, they would rather take people alive, but as soon as they start taking fire, they fire back and they fire back with extreme, overwhelming force. So I have no doubt had he fired today, I don't think Saddam would have made it out alive.
WOODRUFF: All right, Vernon Loeb, having spent some time with the soldiers of the Army's 4th Infantry Division, 1st Brigade, many of those troops took part in the raid yesterday near Tikrit that captured Saddam Hussein. Vernon Loeb, thanks you very much. We appreciate it.
LOEB: Sure.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
