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AMERICAN MORNING

Interview with Michael Ware

Aired December 8, 2003 - 07:10   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Attacks on coalition forces in Iraq are expected to increase, leading up to the transfer of power in July. That is according to America's top commander in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez.
It's believed that the resistance is getting better organized, and "TIME" magazine has gained exclusive access to some of the insurgents. They even turned over videotape, which they say shows them in action.

It's the cover story in the issue of "TIME" that is out today, and the reporter who spent three months interviewing the insurgents is Michael Ware. He joins us from Baghdad this morning.

Michael, good morning. It's nice to have you.

MICHAEL WARE, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Good morning. It's a pleasure to be with you.

O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.

Three months with the insurgents. How did you gain access? And were they initially fearful about talking to you?

WARE: Very much so. It's been a very slow process, a lot of gum shoe journalism, establishing one contact, gaining trust with that person, and then going on from one to the next. And this large network, this sophisticated unit that we have found, came to me asking specifically for me on a recommendation, I'm thinking, from another resistance group.

O'BRIEN: At the same time, they must have assumed as a reporter that you would then take this story and make it public. Or, are you now worried about reprisals as the story is the cover story in "TIME," and you are making the rounds talking about this?

WARE: Well, this was the purpose for which they invited me in. They made this very clear. They said, we want you to see everything. Come and watch, listen, report everything that you see and hear. They want to tell the world what's going on.

And what I saw was the first taste of what the American military has been hinting at -- a greater degree of sophistication, an evolution in the guerrilla war. We're seeing now a hard edge to some of the resistance fighters.

O'BRIEN: That's the second time you've used the word, "sophistication." And you write a lot in this article. And I have to say, Michael, it is a truly fascinating article. You write about the organization and the hierarchy. Is it loosely organized? Or give me a sense of exactly how it works from the inside.

WARE: Over the months, I have spent a lot of time with a wide number of resistance groups. Some of them are very small and ad hoc, almost amateurish. This network -- and I say network stands out -- this isn't just one cell. This is at least eight cells with individual commanders, probably more, answering up a chain of command that leads to a mysterious figure from the regime, and perhaps indirectly even to Saddam. They operate in a coordinated fashion. They gather intelligence. They will do surveillance. And when they go out in the field, nothing is left to chance. Everything is finely organized, and they are really well-supplied.

O'BRIEN: So, who are these guys? Are they the Saddam Fedayeen, as we have heard? Are they Baathists? Are they foreign fighters? Are they a combination of them? And if it's a bunch of these different groups working together in concert, who is in charge in the hierarchy?

WARE: The large network that I've just been with eschews working with any foreign fighters. They say we can't trust them. And, quite tellingly, they say they're not trained enough. They're not skilled enough. These guys, some of them are from the Fedayeen. Indeed, the leader of this unit is a former Fedayeen. They're very cutthroat. These guys mean business, and they're bloodthirsty.

But the bulk of the commanders and the bulk of the fighters are former military, former intelligence, former security staff. These men are well-trained and committed.

The Fedayeen are fighting for revenge and for the dream that one day, perhaps, Saddam fantastically might come back. However, the ex- military officers, they're fighting, as they say, for Iraq. Saddam or not, they want foreign occupiers off their soil, and they're going about it with some precision -- certainly a lot more than we've seen before.

O'BRIEN: It is the cover story in "TIME" magazine today. Michael Ware joining us from Baghdad. Michael, it is a fascinating article. Thanks for talking with us this morning about it.

WARE: It's a great pleasure. Thank you.

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