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Length: 2:24
LOU DOBBS: We turn first to Michael Ware -- Michael.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, in the hours
that have followed this stunning kidnap operation
conducted under the very noses of the tens of
thousands of American and Iraqi troops in the
capital, Baghdad, a number of Iraqi police commanders
responsible for this part of the city are now being
interrogated. And perhaps, some might say, for good
reason.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WARE (voice-over): Iraqi security forces move into to
seal off a Baghdad university building, but like so
much in Iraq, it's too little too late. Just a short
time earlier, about 80 gunmen in similar army or
police uniforms had also set up a cordon before
pouring inside this four-story research institute
claiming to be on official business, segregating men
from women, and within 20 minutes, escaping in a
convoy of more than 20 vehicles, taking the men
hostage. The exact number, unknown; police saying as
many as 60, a government minister saying it's up to
100. The only ones left behind, the distraught women.
This sophisticated raid, executed at 10:00 a.m., just
after rush hour, was audacious. So many gunmen, so
many hostages, possibly the largest mass kidnapping
of the war. All within the heart of the capital, with
more than 60,000 American and Iraqi troops on the
streets.
The breathtaking scale of the kidnapping a
counterpoint to the previous day's visit by America's
top commander in the region, General John Abizaid.
Preparing to brief Congress, the general's quick trip
was designed to show U.S. support for Iraq's ailing
government. And according to Iraqi officials, to
press for rehabilitation of the country's security
forces.
Need for that rehabilitation illustrated by the next
morning's kidnappings. A clear sign of either the
government's inability to control its own forces or
its weakness in the face of an unwavering and robust
insurgency, that in the first 13 days of November has
already claimed the lives of more than 30 American
servicemen.
Michael Ware, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)