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ANDERSON COOPER: Welcome
back, we are in Baquba, Iraq. There is a -- the
elections yesterday were truly historic. Millions of
Iraqis turning out to vote, voter turnout among the
Sunnis was far higher, of course, than it has ever
been before. CNN -- man! I did it again. "Time"
magazine's Baghdad Bureau Chief Michael Ware joins us
from Baghdad.
Michael Ware, every time I introduce you, I say you
work for CNN. But you don't, I don't know why I'm
obsessed with that.
Uh, I have to ask you Michael about what CNN has
learned about Abu Musab al Zarqawi, we have learned
today, Nic Robertson reporting, that he was, at one
point, was in Iraqi custody back in 2004. And they
let him go because they didn't recognize him. What
have you heard about it?
MICHAEL WARE, BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF, "TIME": Well, I
haven't heard anything specific on it yet. And I have
to say, anything that is sourced out of this Iraqi
government, particularly as it pertains to Abu Musab
al Zarqawi, I'm particularly dubious of. However, any
of this is plausible. I mean, I have no doubt
whatsoever that Zarqawi himself will have passed
through countless American checkpoints.
We know that there has been several near misses. In
fact, some of the special task force that almost
nabbed him in February, American Special Forces, very
elite commandos, said to me, you've got to respect
this guy. His tradecraft is number one. So anything
is possible, Anderson.
COOPER: I don't understand, though, how can he have
alluded capture -- if in fact he has -- how can he
have alluded capture for so long. I mean, everyone
around must -- wherever he is living -- must know
he's there, no?
WARE: I suspect they don't. In fact, I would imagine,
that Zarqawi travels with a very small coterie. It
wouldn't be like a bin Laden of old, moving about
with a phalanx of body guards -- not at all. That's
not Abu Musab al Zarqawi.
As U.S. intelligence says, this guy is a
professional. His tradecraft in the covert, spying
business is well etched. He has had professional
training, some U.S. intelligence officials believe,
so you could be right next to this guy and you
wouldn't have a clue. His appearance constantly
changes. He rarely stays in the one place for very
long. I think he could be sleeping in the next room
and you wouldn't know it, to be honest, Anderson.
COOPER: Michael, you recently interviewed some
insurgents. What did they say about Abu Musab al
Zarqawi, about their relationship to these foreign
fighters?
WARE: Well, what the senior Baathist commanders and
Iraqi nationalist commanders, and Iraqi Islamists
commanders, all did was paint a picture of a shift
within the insurgency. The tectonic plates have moved
yet again.
One year ago, Zarqawi ruled supreme. His influence
was so great that he could dictate the momentum in
many, many ways. And he would confront the home-grown
Iraqi groups who could not stand up to him. Now,
however, Zarqawi's group has been Iraqified. Iraqis
who joined in the lower ranks have risen up the
channels, to the point, according to a Baathist
liaison with Zarqawi's group, that should he be
killed today, he would be replaced by an Iraqi. This
means that Zarqawi's al Qaeda is listening much more
to the Iraqi nationalist groups. And that's why we
saw so little violence on election day today in Iraq,
Anderson.
COOPER: "Time" magazine's Michael Ware. Michael,
thanks very much. Appreciate it.
WARE: My pleasure.