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CNN LIVE AT DAYBREAK

How Are Iraqis Reacting to Bin Laden Tape?

Aired February 12, 2003 - 05:34   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: So, how is this all playing in Iraq? We want to take you live to Baghdad now to see how the Iraqis are reacting to Osama bin Laden, who's allegedly on that tape.
Rym Brahimi, as usual, is there for us to tell us -- do the Iraqis connect with Osama bin Laden? I mean the people in Iraq.

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it's very difficult to tell, of course. What's interesting with what's happened, if this is, indeed, a genuine tape of course it does play into the hands of those people who would advocate a preemptive strike against Iraq. But it does also confirm the fears of many people, Muslims and especially Arab or Iraqi Christians in particular, that if there is a war against Iraq that it might quickly translate, end up being translated into a Christian versus Muslim conflict.

Now, of course, President Saddam Hussein has sought to distance himself very much from bin Laden, from al Qaeda since the September 11 attacks in particular. President Saddam Hussein and the government continue to assert they have no links whatsoever. But, of course, the government here is a secular government. It's ruled by the secular Baath Party and it has sought to also keep a very close eye on Islam in the trend, in the current trend in the region that has seen many people turn to a more militant Islam. Well, here in Iraq, things have been quite different because the government has actually been launching this return to the faith campaign, maybe keeping, anxious to monitor Islam to make sure it doesn't fall into the hands of more militant people -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So, bottom line here, Rym, does this tape hurt Iraq, help it? What is the general consensus?

BRAHIMI: Well, in a way it sort of, in a way it sort of hurts Iraq in the sense that it might encourage many people to say well, you see, this is what we're going to see, more people getting, people like al Qaeda and the Iraqi people, an alliance between them. And so it could hurt Iraq in one way.

On the other hand, of course, it's up to many people to see that people should maybe be looking at facts and look for the facts of the matter and see if there are genuinely any links, if this tape is genuine. That's also something very important in this process -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Rym Brahimi reporting live from Baghdad.

Many thanks to you. In Iraq's southern no fly zone, coalition aircraft struck an Iraqi surface to surface missile system that had been moved into the area. The strike happened 245 miles south of Baghdad. It's the second such incident in the past three days.

For more on the showdown Iraq, just log onto our Web site. You can get all the latest updates at your fingertips. That's cnn.com, AOL keyword: CNN.

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




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