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Length: 4:02
JOHN ROBERTS: Today in
Baghdad, police found 60 more bodies, all showing
signs of torture. The U.S. military says these
killings, and many more like them, are the result of
fighting between religious groups.
But a good number of Americans believe something else
is happening. According to a new CNN poll, nearly
two-thirds of Americans believe Iraq is in a civil
war.
For the latest on what's happening there, we turn now
to CNN's Michael Ware. He's in Baghdad.
Michael, first thing I wanted to ask you about was
this new audiotape message from the new leader of al
Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, very chilling,
talking about kidnapping Americans, and also trying
to recruit nuclear scientists.
What is that all about?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is the
new leader who stepped into the shoes of Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi, the famous al Qaeda leader, who was
killed in a U.S. airstrike in June, making his own
mark.
This is essentially the first chapter of his
manifesto, putting his imprint on the organization.
And he's begun with a call to arms. It's a reversion,
perhaps, back to a bit more classic style al Qaeda.
But he says that he's now launching a military
campaign to uproot the infidel. He's called on the
free mujahedeen to take a Western infidel as a
prisoner, hopefully in exchange for the blind Muslim
cleric being held in New York for the 1993 World
Trade Center bombing.
And he calls for these scientists. So, really, he's
taking things up a notch, saying, "We want to go on
the offensive."
ROBERTS: Yes, this trying to recruit nuclear
scientists, this would seem to be the ultimate
nightmare that this administration keeps talking
about. Is that just him trying to be bigger than
life? Or do you think he's got some chance of
actually recruiting one of these scientists?
WARE: Well, there certainly are a number of weapons
scientists floating around this country.
In the wake of Saddam's WMD program or weapons
program, whichever way you want to look at it, there
certainly is a degree of expertise in this country.
Now, I know that some of that expertise has bled into
the insurgency. And U.S. military intelligence picks
up some of these people or see signs of their work.
We have also known that the insurgency has dabbled
with very crude chemical weapons. So, we do know that
they have had an interest in this. However, I really
think this is more rhetoric than anything else. They
definitely will pick these people up, though.
ROBERTS: You know, we mentioned some polls at the top
of this, Michael. And there are new polls out there
that would seem to find support for what al-Masri is
talking about. There is support for attacks against
American-led forces -- a majority of Iraqis now
favoring them.
And, also, about three-quarters of Iraqis believe
that U.S. forces are provoking more conflict than
they are preventing in Iraq, and should be withdrawn
within a year.
So, is that really the case, Michael? Is that what
you are picking up on the streets there, that the
majority of Iraqis are saying, United States, it's
time to get out of Iraq?
WARE: Well, people back home need to realize that
U.S. forces are simply unpopular in this country.
They have been since the very beginning.
In the wake of invasion, people said, "OK, you
removed Saddam's regime." And, almost immediately,
they were then asking, "So, when are you leaving?
And middle Iraq, the ordinary people of this country,
in the beginning, they gave the U.S. forces and the
U.S. mission a chance. They were looking for
prosperity, development, reconstruction, and a whole
new way. But they said, "I gave you one year. I gave
you two years. I have given you three. It's gotten
worse, not better, and I still have no services."
ROBERTS: Right.
And, then, there are people, of course, Michael, who
are predicting that, when the U.S. pulls out, that
the whole place will devolve into civil war.
Michael Ware, in Baghdad, thanks very
much.