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CNN Live Today

Iraq: The Weapons Hunt: Reaction from Egypt

Aired November 14, 2002 - 10:12   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: Let's go now to Ben Wedeman, who's standing by. He is in Cairo, Egypt.
Let's check the scene from there -- Ben.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT; Well, Leon, officially, there has been a great sigh of relief, but unofficially, when you speak to many officials here, both of the Arab League and within the Egyptian government, there's a feeling that Iraq's acceptance of this U.N. Security Council resolution number 1441, allowing the inspectors to return, is really insignificant in the grand scheme of things. People here believe that the United States long ago decided that its goal, vis-a-vis Iraq, is regime change.

And the whole question of arms, weapons of mass destruction, is in a sense immaterial. The United States decided what it's going to do. It would like to window dressing of international legitimacy in the opinion of many people, but the feeling is that war is inevitable and that it will come. It's just a question of later rather than sooner.

Now, one Egyptian intellectual I spoke to this afternoon described the U.N. Security Council resolution and its passage as rape, that the people of the Arab world are being raped by the United States, and it doesn't really matter what they think, Washington will go ahead with its plan, regardless of how people here feel -- Leon.

HARRIS: Ben Wedeman live from Cairo, thanks.

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 14, 2002 - 10:12   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go now to Ben Wedeman, who's standing by. He is in Cairo, Egypt.
Let's check the scene from there -- Ben.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT; Well, Leon, officially, there has been a great sigh of relief, but unofficially, when you speak to many officials here, both of the Arab League and within the Egyptian government, there's a feeling that Iraq's acceptance of this U.N. Security Council resolution number 1441, allowing the inspectors to return, is really insignificant in the grand scheme of things. People here believe that the United States long ago decided that its goal, vis-a-vis Iraq, is regime change.

And the whole question of arms, weapons of mass destruction, is in a sense immaterial. The United States decided what it's going to do. It would like to window dressing of international legitimacy in the opinion of many people, but the feeling is that war is inevitable and that it will come. It's just a question of later rather than sooner.

Now, one Egyptian intellectual I spoke to this afternoon described the U.N. Security Council resolution and its passage as rape, that the people of the Arab world are being raped by the United States, and it doesn't really matter what they think, Washington will go ahead with its plan, regardless of how people here feel -- Leon.

HARRIS: Ben Wedeman live from Cairo, thanks.

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