Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
Saddam Hussein's Palaces May Harbor Weapons
Aired October 17, 2002 - 10:47 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.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now, we continue our look inside Iraq.
More specifically, we try to part the lush curtains and drapes of Saddam Hussein's palaces. Weapons inspectors have long suspected that the opulent surroundings harbor a forbidden treasure trove of weapons, but like much of this complex issue, things are often what they seem.
CNN's Garrick Utley explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARRICK UTLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Call it the lifestyle of the richest and most famous of Iraqis, President Saddam Hussein. There's plenty of room to entertain, to impress guests with the Italian marble and crystal chandeliers and the man-made lakes, but what else is the Iraqi leader hiding behind the palace walls? That's what United Nations weapons inspectors want to know.
Of Saddam Hussein's many residences, inspectors think eight have been used for developing weapons. They want to search them when they return to Iraq. Satellite photographs show large complexes of buildings on hundreds of acres of land which are heavily defended and are believed to have hidden underground facilities. That's why United Nations inspectors tried to enter the presidential complexes in the 1990s.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See that guard. That's a violation.
UTLEY: And as soon as the inspectors tried to inspect them, they ran into big trouble.
MARTIN INDYK, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBER: He basically said these are, you know, my palaces. You insult the dignity of Iraq if you insist on inspecting these and declared them off limits.
UTLEY: At least one weapons inspector later admitted that some of the UN team members were gathering intelligence information for the United States.
Four years ago, Saddam Hussein did allow a one-time search of his properties. Documents suggesting weapons development were found, but otherwise --
INDYK: The places were stripped bare -- absolutely had been cleaned out, so there was nothing for them to see.
UTLEY: The Iraqi government has allowed journalists to have a limited view of the presidential compounds to show that the palaces are only a home.
TARIQ AZIZ, IRAQI FOREIGN MINISTER: Guests are allowed. Inspectors are not allowed. Very simple.
UTLEY: Why has Saddam Hussein indulged himself with so many residences? He frequently moves from one to another for his own personal security, and then there is the suspicion that, behind the opulence, he always intended them to be his private preserve for building weapons. So, what will inspectors find if they are finally allowed to enter?
INDYK: I would be extremely surprised if they found anything at all. He's had four years to build facilities that are probably buried and probably not in these palace compounds, because he fears that's the first place that we're going to come and look.
UTLEY: What they will find is how far the man, who was born in a house made of mud, has moved up in the world.
Garrick Utley, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Aired October 17, 2002 - 10:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now, we continue our look inside Iraq.
More specifically, we try to part the lush curtains and drapes of Saddam Hussein's palaces. Weapons inspectors have long suspected that the opulent surroundings harbor a forbidden treasure trove of weapons, but like much of this complex issue, things are often what they seem.
CNN's Garrick Utley explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARRICK UTLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Call it the lifestyle of the richest and most famous of Iraqis, President Saddam Hussein. There's plenty of room to entertain, to impress guests with the Italian marble and crystal chandeliers and the man-made lakes, but what else is the Iraqi leader hiding behind the palace walls? That's what United Nations weapons inspectors want to know.
Of Saddam Hussein's many residences, inspectors think eight have been used for developing weapons. They want to search them when they return to Iraq. Satellite photographs show large complexes of buildings on hundreds of acres of land which are heavily defended and are believed to have hidden underground facilities. That's why United Nations inspectors tried to enter the presidential complexes in the 1990s.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See that guard. That's a violation.
UTLEY: And as soon as the inspectors tried to inspect them, they ran into big trouble.
MARTIN INDYK, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBER: He basically said these are, you know, my palaces. You insult the dignity of Iraq if you insist on inspecting these and declared them off limits.
UTLEY: At least one weapons inspector later admitted that some of the UN team members were gathering intelligence information for the United States.
Four years ago, Saddam Hussein did allow a one-time search of his properties. Documents suggesting weapons development were found, but otherwise --
INDYK: The places were stripped bare -- absolutely had been cleaned out, so there was nothing for them to see.
UTLEY: The Iraqi government has allowed journalists to have a limited view of the presidential compounds to show that the palaces are only a home.
TARIQ AZIZ, IRAQI FOREIGN MINISTER: Guests are allowed. Inspectors are not allowed. Very simple.
UTLEY: Why has Saddam Hussein indulged himself with so many residences? He frequently moves from one to another for his own personal security, and then there is the suspicion that, behind the opulence, he always intended them to be his private preserve for building weapons. So, what will inspectors find if they are finally allowed to enter?
INDYK: I would be extremely surprised if they found anything at all. He's had four years to build facilities that are probably buried and probably not in these palace compounds, because he fears that's the first place that we're going to come and look.
UTLEY: What they will find is how far the man, who was born in a house made of mud, has moved up in the world.
Garrick Utley, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
