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Length: 4:58
WOLF BLITZER: The war in Iraq has already taken a
very heavy toll, and there's no end in sight.
The war has already cost the United States $351
billion, according to the Congressional Budget
Office. The death toll is rising. The war has taken
the lives -- take a look at this -- 3,220 U.S. troops
dead. Estimates of Iraqi civilian deaths start at
around 59,000. But by some accounts, they go up way,
way higher than that.
Joining us now from Baghdad is CNN's Michael Ware.
He's covered this war from the very start -- Michael,
as you look into the start of year five, what do you
see?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this is
going to be yet another difficult year. Indeed, if
the American public thinks it's seen the hard yards
already, my great fear is that they are, in fact, yet
to come.
What we're seeing is a level of attacks against
coalition forces that's still almost -- that is more
than two times than what they were two years ago.
We're seeing an array of forces opposing American
troops that were not opposing them before.
We're seeing new mutations. And, indeed, we're seeing
ever increasing sophistication among the insurgents.
Now, there may be splits and spats and factions
within all of America's enemies, but nonetheless, at
the end of the day, it is Iran and al Qaeda who thus
far have been emboldened by this war.
BLITZER: We heard from the president earlier today,
Michael, with a best-case scenario that over the next
few months or several months, things will begin to
fall into place.
But you're there on the ground.
What's the worst-case scenario for the next year?
WARE: The worst-case scenario is that the civil war
reignites to the fever pitch that we've been
experiencing up until lately; that al Qaeda, you
know, consolidates its stranglehold, at least
politically, in Western Anbar Province. There we're
seeing the Americans siding with rather brutal tribes
in any bid to tackle the al Qaeda threat there.
But worst among all fears would be an increase, a
step-up, a rise in the tempo of Iranian intervention
in this country, directly targeting U.S. troops and
significantly undermining the political gains that
the U.S. mission here is desperately hoping to
achieve.
BLITZER: We're also being told -- you're there on the
scene -- that the Iraqi government has now asked the
U.S. to hand over the former Iraqi vice president, a
top aide to Saddam Hussein, Taha Yassin Ramadan, for
execution as early as tomorrow morning your time,
which would be in a few hours from now.
They didn't exactly do a great job executing Saddam
Hussein or another top Iraqi official.
What's your assessment of what's going on?
WARE: Well, it's hard to say. I mean certainly
there's no official comment at this stage. But we've
become accustomed to that for a host of reasons.
Obviously, these events, these executions are
shrouded by a cloud or a veil of tight, tight
security.
So it's no surprise that people would not be
advertising this.
However, what we're hearing from is one of the
defense lawyers that represented Saddam and some of
the other co-defendants. This particular individual
has been accurate in the past. What he is saying is
that the former vice president, Taha Ramadan, has
contacted his family and he has said to them that "I
am going to die at dawn on Tuesday morning."
And, Wolf, that is just a few hours away.
BLITZER: And have they learned how to do it? Because
the other two executions clearly were botched. We saw
the cell phone video and we saw, in one of the
hangings, obviously, a head actually be severed.
WARE: Yeah, well, that's two issues that we have.
Firstly, during Saddam's execution, secret video
taken on cell phones was secreted out or smuggled out
of the execution chamber and quickly received wide
play.
So after the first one, there had to be a security
crackdown.
Then, at the second series of executions, two
individuals, one of them was decapitated during the
hanging.
So, again, measures had to be taken to address that.
At this stage, we honestly don't know what steps, if
any, have been taken, how they're to be implemented
or in what way, if any, that this will be different.
BLITZER: Michael Ware on the scene for us today.
Thank you, Michael.