Meet Saddam's Chemical Weapon
March 28, 2003— -- Peter Gowin (Former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq): This tape was made by the Iraqi security services.
A tape that may help to explain a lot about what's happening today in Iraq.
Peter Gowin: Mass killers do turn out to be bureaucrats. Nazi Germany kept its records; Saddam Hussein has kept its records.
And this is one of those records. A tape of the execution of Kurdish dissidents. One of the countless acts of brutality ordered by Iraq's most feared general. The general who is now leading the resistance to U.S. forces in the south of Iraq.
Peter Gowin: His nickname is "Chemical Ali."
Chemical Ali, swearing allegiance to Saddam Hussein, and so named because he is the general who, with great zeal, carried out chemical attacks years ago against Saddam's opponents.
Peter Gowin: He is Saddam Hussein's cousin. He's Saddam Hussein's right-hand man.
Former U.S. Ambassador Peter Gowin first turned up the evidence of Chemical Ali's activities more than 12 years ago when he went to Iraq.
Peter Gowin: This is an incredibly cruel figure. This is a man who knows how to martial all the instruments of terror and cruelty to promote his objectives. And I think he's doing it today in the south of Iraq.
And people throughout Iraq know what Chemical Ali will do to those who stand in his way.
Peter Gowin: You can see here the crowd that's been forced to turn out for these executions. Brian Ross: Children in the crowd? Peter Gowin: Yes, there are children watching this.
A message not to defy Saddam's rule. After the executions, a final indignity.
Peter Gowin: All the officials come to each of them and put a bullet into the body. Everybody then bonds together in committing these acts. This video is just the tip of the iceberg.
But it was the chemical attacks ordered by the General which forever altered the scale of evil in Iraq, and now serve as a warning to U.S. and British troops.
Katrine Michael (Former Iraqi Citizen): Children, women, men vomiting screaming, crying with swollen eyes.
