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Will Inspectors be Allowed Access to Presidential Sites?

Aired October 08, 2002 - 11:32   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.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: As the U.S. moves toward the possibility of war with Iraq, the U.N. is weighing whether its inspectors will return. Will they be allowed access to the presidential sites?
John Barry is the national security correspondent for "Newsweek" magazine, and he cowrote an article in this week's issue on palace intrigue, Saddam's secrets. He joins us now from Washington.

Good morning, sir. How are you?

JOHN BARRY, "NEWSWEEK" MAGAZINE: Good to be with you.

HARRIS: Very curious about, first of all, how many of these so- called presidential sites are there around Iraq?

BARRY: The number varies. Somewhere between 36 and 50. It's really eight big ones around Baghdad that everyone is concerned about, because those are the eight that are under special restrictions as far as U.N. inspectors are concerned, and have been since 1998.

HARRIS: We've heard varying reports about how big these particular eight are. What do you know about them?

BARRY: The total -- I mean they vary in size. The total area is about 12 square miles. And so they are essentially compounds and they contain, you know, some cases scores of buildings. The biggest one in Baghdad has about 80 or 90 separate structures in it.

HARRIS: Have inspectors ever been inside any of them?

BARRY: Oh, yes, sure. The inspectors went inside I think all of the palaces up to the mid '90s, and then access got more and more difficult, and in the end, the Iraqis said this was trespassing on Iraqi sovereignty and there were restrictions on what the inspectors could do, but before that, the inspectors had been in numerous times.

HARRIS: Right now, let's look at some of the ones the magazine is featuring, some identification now or photos of, along with the article that you cowrote here. This is the compound that is in Baghdad, correct?

BARRY: As far as I can see, yes.

HARRIS: What can you tell, but all these different things on here. In particular, which particular site on this site is where inspectors believe there may be some sort of weapons program that's being concealed?

BARRY: I'm not sure that anybody does. This is part of the problem. There are very big divisions here. I mean, the palaces are largely symbolic, I think, for both sides. For the Iraqis, they are symbols of sovereignty, kind of like the White House or Mt. Vernon, and for the inspectors, for the U.N. and for the United States now, access, guaranteed, unfettered access is a symbolic matter showing that the U.N. does have power to get anywhere and do anything in Iraq under the terms of the cease-fire negotiation at the end of the Gulf War. So it's symbolic more than anything else I believe.

HARRIS: I believe that readers, if they pick up the magazine and take a look at some of the photographs, like this one that are included, they might be surprised to see how many different elements are contained within each of these sites.

BARRY: Yes, the Baghdad palace is essentially the central government. It contains several ministries. It contains the presidential palace itself. It contains the executive office buildings. It contains a huge auditorium. You know, you have to, when it comes to Baghdad, you have to see this as being a seat of government rather than a palace in some European sense.

HARRIS: Are there any of these compounds that may be more intriguing or more interesting to the inspectors than any others? Which one, if they have only one or two to choose to go to, do you know which ones they would be?

BARRY: The ones in Baghdad, simply because they are the biggest, if Saddam is hiding any elements of his programs and weapons of mass destruction anywhere, it is almost certainly in Baghdad. Special troops can move out of them.

HARRIS: I'm sorry to cut you off, but how about to Crete, because from what I understand, that is Saddam's hometown, and it may be that he believes that could be perhaps the safest place for him if there is a need for him to have a make a high-tailing run out of Baghdad, because at least in his hometown, he would probably have more supporters that would actually to cover for him.

BARRY: Yes, that's possibly the case. But that's a rather different proposition from where weapons of mass destruction may be. It's possible if and when an invasion of Iraq happens, it's possible that he would decide to make a last stand in his hometown of Crete, and the palace is not nearly as big as the one in Baghdad and doesn't have as many special structures, but it's reasonable to think it would be well defended.

HARRIS: These people have been suffering for the last decade, because of the embargoes and because they've had trouble with water shortages and whatnot. And when you look at these compounds, it's quite clear that Saddam is not suffering at all. Do the people of Iraq hold any resentment for him having all these compounds around the country and perhaps basically rubbing it in the faces of those who are suffering? BARRY: It's completely possible to say. Free expression is not allowed in Iraq, and nobody is taking public opinion polls, but who knows. I'd think that some in Iraq are Iraqi nationalists, who are proud of these palaces, proud of the wealth that they display, and I imagine others are, as you postulate, furious and resentful of this wasteful expenditure.

HARRIS: John Barry, very interesting article.

Folks, encourage you to read it. It's in this week's "Newsweek" magazine. Thank you for your time today.

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 8, 2002 - 11:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: As the U.S. moves toward the possibility of war with Iraq, the U.N. is weighing whether its inspectors will return. Will they be allowed access to the presidential sites?
John Barry is the national security correspondent for "Newsweek" magazine, and he cowrote an article in this week's issue on palace intrigue, Saddam's secrets. He joins us now from Washington.

Good morning, sir. How are you?

JOHN BARRY, "NEWSWEEK" MAGAZINE: Good to be with you.

HARRIS: Very curious about, first of all, how many of these so- called presidential sites are there around Iraq?

BARRY: The number varies. Somewhere between 36 and 50. It's really eight big ones around Baghdad that everyone is concerned about, because those are the eight that are under special restrictions as far as U.N. inspectors are concerned, and have been since 1998.

HARRIS: We've heard varying reports about how big these particular eight are. What do you know about them?

BARRY: The total -- I mean they vary in size. The total area is about 12 square miles. And so they are essentially compounds and they contain, you know, some cases scores of buildings. The biggest one in Baghdad has about 80 or 90 separate structures in it.

HARRIS: Have inspectors ever been inside any of them?

BARRY: Oh, yes, sure. The inspectors went inside I think all of the palaces up to the mid '90s, and then access got more and more difficult, and in the end, the Iraqis said this was trespassing on Iraqi sovereignty and there were restrictions on what the inspectors could do, but before that, the inspectors had been in numerous times.

HARRIS: Right now, let's look at some of the ones the magazine is featuring, some identification now or photos of, along with the article that you cowrote here. This is the compound that is in Baghdad, correct?

BARRY: As far as I can see, yes.

HARRIS: What can you tell, but all these different things on here. In particular, which particular site on this site is where inspectors believe there may be some sort of weapons program that's being concealed?

BARRY: I'm not sure that anybody does. This is part of the problem. There are very big divisions here. I mean, the palaces are largely symbolic, I think, for both sides. For the Iraqis, they are symbols of sovereignty, kind of like the White House or Mt. Vernon, and for the inspectors, for the U.N. and for the United States now, access, guaranteed, unfettered access is a symbolic matter showing that the U.N. does have power to get anywhere and do anything in Iraq under the terms of the cease-fire negotiation at the end of the Gulf War. So it's symbolic more than anything else I believe.

HARRIS: I believe that readers, if they pick up the magazine and take a look at some of the photographs, like this one that are included, they might be surprised to see how many different elements are contained within each of these sites.

BARRY: Yes, the Baghdad palace is essentially the central government. It contains several ministries. It contains the presidential palace itself. It contains the executive office buildings. It contains a huge auditorium. You know, you have to, when it comes to Baghdad, you have to see this as being a seat of government rather than a palace in some European sense.

HARRIS: Are there any of these compounds that may be more intriguing or more interesting to the inspectors than any others? Which one, if they have only one or two to choose to go to, do you know which ones they would be?

BARRY: The ones in Baghdad, simply because they are the biggest, if Saddam is hiding any elements of his programs and weapons of mass destruction anywhere, it is almost certainly in Baghdad. Special troops can move out of them.

HARRIS: I'm sorry to cut you off, but how about to Crete, because from what I understand, that is Saddam's hometown, and it may be that he believes that could be perhaps the safest place for him if there is a need for him to have a make a high-tailing run out of Baghdad, because at least in his hometown, he would probably have more supporters that would actually to cover for him.

BARRY: Yes, that's possibly the case. But that's a rather different proposition from where weapons of mass destruction may be. It's possible if and when an invasion of Iraq happens, it's possible that he would decide to make a last stand in his hometown of Crete, and the palace is not nearly as big as the one in Baghdad and doesn't have as many special structures, but it's reasonable to think it would be well defended.

HARRIS: These people have been suffering for the last decade, because of the embargoes and because they've had trouble with water shortages and whatnot. And when you look at these compounds, it's quite clear that Saddam is not suffering at all. Do the people of Iraq hold any resentment for him having all these compounds around the country and perhaps basically rubbing it in the faces of those who are suffering? BARRY: It's completely possible to say. Free expression is not allowed in Iraq, and nobody is taking public opinion polls, but who knows. I'd think that some in Iraq are Iraqi nationalists, who are proud of these palaces, proud of the wealth that they display, and I imagine others are, as you postulate, furious and resentful of this wasteful expenditure.

HARRIS: John Barry, very interesting article.

Folks, encourage you to read it. It's in this week's "Newsweek" magazine. Thank you for your time today.

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