ABC 'Good Morning America' with Diane Sawyer Interview Transcript (Ken O'Keefe & Faith Fippinger)

Diane Sawyer introduced her satellite interviews:
“Turning back to Iraq now, there is news today about the 200 so-called human shields in Iraq, many of them Americans who say they're glad to try to help Saddam Hussein protect strategic installations because they're opposed to the war. Well, we wanted to know more about who these people are and why they think this is the way to protest, and joining us now from Baghdad is the main organizer, Ken O'Keefe, a former U.S. Marine who became disaffected with the United States after fighting in the Gulf War, and Faith Fippinger, who's being deployed to her position in Iraq today, and we say good morning to both of you. Ken O'Keefe, I want to start with you. You are the leader of the group. Do you think this is going to stop the war?"

O'Keefe: "Well, I know that it can stop the war, but we need thousands of people to get down here forthwith, and I want make clear that we're not here to support Saddam Hussein and the military installations. We're here to support the Iraqi people and the last thing they need is bombs dropped on them. If we really cared about them, we'd get rid of the sanctions that have affected them so horrendously."

Sawyer: "But you say you're not there to support Saddam Hussein, but the Iraqi ambassador has said you will be put at vital and strategic installations and you can only go where he wants you to go in that country, as we all well know, and you've been given visas in 48 hours to be moved in quickly. You can't go where he doesn't want you to go, right?"

O'Keefe: "Well, let's make this real clear. If the Iraqi government is any way implying that we are forced to go anywhere, we will pull out immediately. We're going where we intend to go, which is water treatment facilities, electrical power plants, food storage areas -- these are the areas that were hit first in the first Gulf War, and if hit again, they're going to have a critically, horribly effect on the Iraqi people. That is what we're here for, not to protect the Iraqi government."

Sawyer: "Miss Fippinger, just a few questions about you, if I can. You're 62 years old, I believe. How did you decide to do this? Do you have a family? Do you have children?"

Fippinger: "I don't have children, but I do have a dear family. I believe in non-violence and in peaceful resolution to problems, and I believe in decreasing rather than increasing human suffering. War isn't the answer. I was traveling in India on my way back to America to do something about this war, and I heard of Human Shields, and I can't think of any other place I'd rather be."

Sawyer: "I want to play devil's advocate for a minute and ask you the question people ask, which is what would you do? Let Saddam Hussein just continue to defy the United Nations endlessly?"

O'Keefe: "Well, how is it possible to say that he's defying the United Nations endlessly? Let's look at the record of Israel and the hypocrisy of the policies with regard to Iraq. The Israeli government has defied the UN resolutions for 35-plus years and there's no action on behalf of the UN. Yet the UN is catering to U.S. power and politics and backroom deals to basically try and justify an unjust war that's not supported around the world. There is such hypocrisy here, it's glaring to all of us who have our eyes open."

Sawyer: "That's a long debate. As we know, one member of your group left, saying there's no training, no plan for water, no plan for communication. If you all change your mind, can everybody get out?"

O'Keefe: "Well, let's make this clear. This was only an idea in my mind two months ago. It's grown phenomenally, the numbers continue to grow, and if I had my way, I would have come with the idea longer ago and we would have had more organization, but the fact is those who would dwell on the negatives will disregard the power and the strength and power of a movement that is in fact growing globally. So with all the negatives that people can point out and those who are discontented with what they didn't see, I would have said to them why didn't you help initiate more of the organizational structure, because that's what those of us who are here are doing?"

Sawyer: "Mr. O'Keefe and Miss Fippinger, again, thank you for joining us this morning. I know you're hoping to have a thousand people there ultimately, and we thank you for joining us from Baghdad."