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CNN Live At Daybreak

Security Council to Vote on Revised Resolution

Aired November 08, 2002 - 05:02   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: Weapons inspectors could be back in Iraq in less than two weeks. The United Nations is expected to pass a resolution backed by President Bush.
As CNN's Michael Okwu reports, the final text was tweaked to ensure approval.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Eight weeks after the notion of a resolution on Iraq started floating here at the United Nations, the end game finally on the horizon. On Friday, 10:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time here in the United States, the Security Council will convene to, in all likelihood, send U.N. weapons inspectors back to Iraq for the first time in four years. Diplomatic sources here saying 14 out of 15 member states are likely to vote in favor of the resolution.

Syria, however, is still waiting to hear its marching orders from Damascus.

JOHN NEGROPONTE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: My sense is from the meetings we've been having in the last few days and the meeting we had just now that there is broad support for the resolution that we will be bringing with our co-sponsor, the United Kingdom.

OKWU (voice-over): The United States and Great Britain, cosponsors of the resolution, circulated the fourth version at an evening meeting of the Council. According to French diplomats, the U.S. agreed to change wording in a key paragraph that would declare Iraq in material breach of its U.N. obligations. This latest draft addressed concerns by France, Russia and Syria, as well as other nations, that the original wording would have enabled the U.S. on its own to determine if Iraq had faltered in any way and thereby trigger an attack.

(on camera): Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix says as it stands, the resolution strengthens his hands and he's already planning a return to Baghdad.

HANS BLIX, CHIEF U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: We are chartering a plane and we are going to fly in from Cypress to Baghdad and we anticipate that to be then within seven to 10 days after tomorrow.

OKWU: According to the resolution, Blix and an advanced team of inspectors can return to Iraq seven days after the adoption of the resolution. Forty-five days after the adoption of the resolution, 80 to 100 inspectors are expected to return.

Michael Okwu, CNN, at the United Nations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: So, does this mean the United States will still have to get U.N. approval for any military action against Iraq? A Bush administration official tells CNN nope. And President Bush makes it clear the resolution goes beyond getting weapons inspectors on the ground.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The resolution is a disarmament resolution. That's what it is. It's a statement of intent to once and for all disarm Saddam Hussein. He's a threat. He's a threat to the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: What's the reaction in Iraq to the pending U.N. resolution?

CNN's Rym Brahimi joins us live from Baghdad -- it's looking positive, isn't it, Rym?

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is looking positive, indeed. There have been indications in recent days, particularly yesterday in the main ruling Baath Party's newspaper, saying that it wasn't in Iraq's interests to actually reject the resolution from the United Nations Security Council or to violate the U.N. Security Council resolution, as Iraq says other countries do.

Now, in response to President Bush's statement there, the Iraqis have argued in the past that this is not a resolution about disarmament, and, again, that kind of rhetoric was very present in today's newspapers, saying that the U.S. and Britain only aimed to control the world through controlling the region's oil resources and this was why this resolution was in place, to actually bring some sort of U.N. legitimacy to any military action that the United States might like to take.

Apart from that there's been, interestingly enough, no official comment in the official media, no comment on Baghdad radio this morning, just the usual rhetoric in the newspapers. You can see here that we've got a cartoon in this main ruling Baath Party newspaper today with the U.N. muffled by the U.S. and Britain. This has pretty much been the line in the past few weeks, condemning the U.S. and Britain for trying to pressure other countries, Iraq says, into accepting a resolution that only aims at actually engaging in military action against Iraq.

COSTELLO: All right, Rym Brahimi reporting live from Baghdad this morning.

Thank you. Ahead in the next hour of DAYBREAK, CNN senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth will have a live report previewing the Security Council's vote and former national security adviser joins Paula Zahn on AMERICAN MORNING just about four hours from now.

And, of course, you can follow the Iraq story on our Web site. Besides updates, our special report, "Showdown Iraq," including interactive features on surveillance photos and targets in Iraq. Our address, cnn.com, AOL keyword: CNN.

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 November 8, 2002 - 05:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Weapons inspectors could be back in Iraq in less than two weeks. The United Nations is expected to pass a resolution backed by President Bush.
As CNN's Michael Okwu reports, the final text was tweaked to ensure approval.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Eight weeks after the notion of a resolution on Iraq started floating here at the United Nations, the end game finally on the horizon. On Friday, 10:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time here in the United States, the Security Council will convene to, in all likelihood, send U.N. weapons inspectors back to Iraq for the first time in four years. Diplomatic sources here saying 14 out of 15 member states are likely to vote in favor of the resolution.

Syria, however, is still waiting to hear its marching orders from Damascus.

JOHN NEGROPONTE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: My sense is from the meetings we've been having in the last few days and the meeting we had just now that there is broad support for the resolution that we will be bringing with our co-sponsor, the United Kingdom.

OKWU (voice-over): The United States and Great Britain, cosponsors of the resolution, circulated the fourth version at an evening meeting of the Council. According to French diplomats, the U.S. agreed to change wording in a key paragraph that would declare Iraq in material breach of its U.N. obligations. This latest draft addressed concerns by France, Russia and Syria, as well as other nations, that the original wording would have enabled the U.S. on its own to determine if Iraq had faltered in any way and thereby trigger an attack.

(on camera): Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix says as it stands, the resolution strengthens his hands and he's already planning a return to Baghdad.

HANS BLIX, CHIEF U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: We are chartering a plane and we are going to fly in from Cypress to Baghdad and we anticipate that to be then within seven to 10 days after tomorrow.

OKWU: According to the resolution, Blix and an advanced team of inspectors can return to Iraq seven days after the adoption of the resolution. Forty-five days after the adoption of the resolution, 80 to 100 inspectors are expected to return.

Michael Okwu, CNN, at the United Nations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: So, does this mean the United States will still have to get U.N. approval for any military action against Iraq? A Bush administration official tells CNN nope. And President Bush makes it clear the resolution goes beyond getting weapons inspectors on the ground.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The resolution is a disarmament resolution. That's what it is. It's a statement of intent to once and for all disarm Saddam Hussein. He's a threat. He's a threat to the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: What's the reaction in Iraq to the pending U.N. resolution?

CNN's Rym Brahimi joins us live from Baghdad -- it's looking positive, isn't it, Rym?

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is looking positive, indeed. There have been indications in recent days, particularly yesterday in the main ruling Baath Party's newspaper, saying that it wasn't in Iraq's interests to actually reject the resolution from the United Nations Security Council or to violate the U.N. Security Council resolution, as Iraq says other countries do.

Now, in response to President Bush's statement there, the Iraqis have argued in the past that this is not a resolution about disarmament, and, again, that kind of rhetoric was very present in today's newspapers, saying that the U.S. and Britain only aimed to control the world through controlling the region's oil resources and this was why this resolution was in place, to actually bring some sort of U.N. legitimacy to any military action that the United States might like to take.

Apart from that there's been, interestingly enough, no official comment in the official media, no comment on Baghdad radio this morning, just the usual rhetoric in the newspapers. You can see here that we've got a cartoon in this main ruling Baath Party newspaper today with the U.N. muffled by the U.S. and Britain. This has pretty much been the line in the past few weeks, condemning the U.S. and Britain for trying to pressure other countries, Iraq says, into accepting a resolution that only aims at actually engaging in military action against Iraq.

COSTELLO: All right, Rym Brahimi reporting live from Baghdad this morning.

Thank you. Ahead in the next hour of DAYBREAK, CNN senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth will have a live report previewing the Security Council's vote and former national security adviser joins Paula Zahn on AMERICAN MORNING just about four hours from now.

And, of course, you can follow the Iraq story on our Web site. Besides updates, our special report, "Showdown Iraq," including interactive features on surveillance photos and targets in Iraq. Our address, cnn.com, AOL keyword: CNN.

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