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CNN Live At Daybreak

'International News Desk'

Aired October 01, 2002 - 05:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And Iraq is sure to be on the agenda at our international desk. It's time to see what CNN is covering across the globe.
Our senior international editor David Clinch joins us now, as usual.

Good morning, David.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Good morning, Carol.

Iraq is on the agenda, but I'm going to build up to it today, because we're just always talking about Iraq. So some other things were dealing with today. Our first, one of our first tasks this morning will be to wake our Havana bureau up. They had a long day yesterday dealing with an angry business fair that was going on there yesterday.

COSTELLO: But today?

CLINCH: But today hurricane Lili is coming. It's actually not going to hit Havana, but in some ways that's an advantage for us news gathering wise because we're going to be using video phones for live coverage today from Cuba as the storm goes over the tip of the island there. But luckily for us, Havana isn't really in the eye of the storm, so therefore the video phone will work. You know, it would be great in theory to rush down to where the hurricane is crossing, but we wouldn't be able to do anything. We'd be lucky to get a phone line and we certainly wouldn't be able to use the video phone, so...

COSTELLO: What if it hits the Cayman Islands, as it's expected to do?

CLINCH: Well, it drenched them already, I mean, or is drenching them already, and we're on the phone with the hurricane people there and talking to them. It's certainly, I mean these things, it's a very thin line. Sometimes it's going to build up, they say, to a hurricane level three. That's a serious storm.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes.

CLINCH: And these small islands can be absolutely devastated in a very, very short period of time. The part of Cuba that it's going over is not heavily populated as such, but it's already been drenched by the previous hurricane. So that certainly could be a problem for them.

COSTELLO: Understand. OK, and you're also covering things in the Middle East.

CLINCH: Yes, well, I just wanted to talk about this because, you know, there was a sort of a sea change when the Israelis moved back from the Arafat compound the other day. And it's very interesting. I mean they say, and they said it absolutely publicly today, that they moved back from the Arafat compound because the Americans told them to move back, because, in the Israelis' view, the Americans were one track minded at the moment on Iraq.

COSTELLO: Iraq.

CLINCH: And the surrounding of Arafat's compound was just a distraction, an annoyance. It was a hot button issue for the Russians, the French, all the others who they're trying to deal with in regard to Iraq. And so the Israelis pulled back. It was quite embarrassing for them because they don't like to do things under pressure from anybody.

But on the other hand it opens up a whole new aspect of the story for us to cover of, you know, where the war process -- there is no peace process -- goes in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza. So we've got a number of reporters there. It might not be as dramatic but it's just as interesting.

COSTELLO: Of course, the final day of talks in Vienna between Hans Blix and...

CLINCH: Well, we hope it's the final day of talks in Vienna.

COSTELLO: Yes.

CLINCH: It probably is. They're talking about logistics. But I did want to clarify something. We talked yesterday about how they were talking about logistics based on the previous U.N. resolutions and that still is the case. They're not renegotiating any of the previous agreements. But they do seem to be saying today that they're dealing with the reality, the U.N., Blix, Hans Blix saying he knows basically that there will be a new U.N. resolution at some point which will change things. And he says he's talking to the Iraqis today about not just the previous agreements, but the reality, whatever that may be, that will come with the new U.N. resolution.

COSTELLO: So he may not send the weapons inspectors back in if the Iraqis agree to the old resolution because he knows that the United States will interfere?

CLINCH: Well, he won't, basically. I mean the Americans have said don't go until there's a new resolution. So he's saying look, we've sorted out everything based on the old resolutions, we are talking about the various problems that could come up with new resolutions, not renegotiating, but being aware of them.

So that's a subtle change. It's good to be aware of the reality but there probably will be a new resolution by the time they go in.

COSTELLO: Well, we'll see what happens today, and if this is, indeed, the final day of talks.

CLINCH: Yes.

COSTELLO: Thank you, David Clinch. We appreciate it.

CLINCH: OK.

COSTELLO: We'll get back to you tomorrow.

CLINCH: All right.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired October 1, 2002 - 05:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And Iraq is sure to be on the agenda at our international desk. It's time to see what CNN is covering across the globe.
Our senior international editor David Clinch joins us now, as usual.

Good morning, David.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Good morning, Carol.

Iraq is on the agenda, but I'm going to build up to it today, because we're just always talking about Iraq. So some other things were dealing with today. Our first, one of our first tasks this morning will be to wake our Havana bureau up. They had a long day yesterday dealing with an angry business fair that was going on there yesterday.

COSTELLO: But today?

CLINCH: But today hurricane Lili is coming. It's actually not going to hit Havana, but in some ways that's an advantage for us news gathering wise because we're going to be using video phones for live coverage today from Cuba as the storm goes over the tip of the island there. But luckily for us, Havana isn't really in the eye of the storm, so therefore the video phone will work. You know, it would be great in theory to rush down to where the hurricane is crossing, but we wouldn't be able to do anything. We'd be lucky to get a phone line and we certainly wouldn't be able to use the video phone, so...

COSTELLO: What if it hits the Cayman Islands, as it's expected to do?

CLINCH: Well, it drenched them already, I mean, or is drenching them already, and we're on the phone with the hurricane people there and talking to them. It's certainly, I mean these things, it's a very thin line. Sometimes it's going to build up, they say, to a hurricane level three. That's a serious storm.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes.

CLINCH: And these small islands can be absolutely devastated in a very, very short period of time. The part of Cuba that it's going over is not heavily populated as such, but it's already been drenched by the previous hurricane. So that certainly could be a problem for them.

COSTELLO: Understand. OK, and you're also covering things in the Middle East.

CLINCH: Yes, well, I just wanted to talk about this because, you know, there was a sort of a sea change when the Israelis moved back from the Arafat compound the other day. And it's very interesting. I mean they say, and they said it absolutely publicly today, that they moved back from the Arafat compound because the Americans told them to move back, because, in the Israelis' view, the Americans were one track minded at the moment on Iraq.

COSTELLO: Iraq.

CLINCH: And the surrounding of Arafat's compound was just a distraction, an annoyance. It was a hot button issue for the Russians, the French, all the others who they're trying to deal with in regard to Iraq. And so the Israelis pulled back. It was quite embarrassing for them because they don't like to do things under pressure from anybody.

But on the other hand it opens up a whole new aspect of the story for us to cover of, you know, where the war process -- there is no peace process -- goes in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza. So we've got a number of reporters there. It might not be as dramatic but it's just as interesting.

COSTELLO: Of course, the final day of talks in Vienna between Hans Blix and...

CLINCH: Well, we hope it's the final day of talks in Vienna.

COSTELLO: Yes.

CLINCH: It probably is. They're talking about logistics. But I did want to clarify something. We talked yesterday about how they were talking about logistics based on the previous U.N. resolutions and that still is the case. They're not renegotiating any of the previous agreements. But they do seem to be saying today that they're dealing with the reality, the U.N., Blix, Hans Blix saying he knows basically that there will be a new U.N. resolution at some point which will change things. And he says he's talking to the Iraqis today about not just the previous agreements, but the reality, whatever that may be, that will come with the new U.N. resolution.

COSTELLO: So he may not send the weapons inspectors back in if the Iraqis agree to the old resolution because he knows that the United States will interfere?

CLINCH: Well, he won't, basically. I mean the Americans have said don't go until there's a new resolution. So he's saying look, we've sorted out everything based on the old resolutions, we are talking about the various problems that could come up with new resolutions, not renegotiating, but being aware of them.

So that's a subtle change. It's good to be aware of the reality but there probably will be a new resolution by the time they go in.

COSTELLO: Well, we'll see what happens today, and if this is, indeed, the final day of talks.

CLINCH: Yes.

COSTELLO: Thank you, David Clinch. We appreciate it.

CLINCH: OK.

COSTELLO: We'll get back to you tomorrow.

CLINCH: All right.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com