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CNN Live At Daybreak
Plane Has Landed in Baghdad Carrying Small Team of U.N. Weapons Inspectors
Aired November 18, 2002 - 05:28 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: We, of course, have been talking about it for the past hour. Now it has actually happened. The plane has landed in Baghdad. The plane, of course, carrying a small team of U.N. weapons inspectors, including the chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix.
Let's go live now to that airport in Baghdad and Rym Brahimi -- Rym.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hi there.
Well, the plane has literally landed and it's standing right in front of me. The plane has literally landed two minutes ago and it's starting to get close to the place where Hans Blix and his team of 30 or so inspectors are going to come out. The plane is actually opening up from behind. It's one of those planes that carries cargo so it has this ability of opening up from behind.
People are coming to meet it. There's been now just one or two cars going close to the plane as I'm speaking, and you can just see from where I'm standing the luggage of all these people that's being offloaded very, very slowly from that plane -- back to you.
COSTELLO: Rym, are they being treated as dignitaries? How are they being treated by the Iraqi officials who are waiting to meet them?
BRAHIMI: Well, it looks like they will be treated as dignitaries. The cars that are waiting outside, there is a bus that will probably be to carry most of the, to transport most of the inspection team, the sort of advanced inspection team. It's one of those big white U.N. buses, probably can carry 25 or so people, maybe a little more. But the official cars are those black official cars that we often see with official delegations when ministers come to visit, when various ministers of different countries come to visit Iraqi officials.
So it looks very much like they are being treated as dignitaries -- back to you.
COSTELLO: It seems so strange that they're going back to the same offices they left, what, back in December of 1998. And apparently they're all dusty and were pretty much left as they were when the weapons inspectors were kicked out of Iraq.
BRAHIMI: Yes, that's true. Actually, we were at the U.N. headquarters just yesterday and the cars are still full of dust. They hadn't even had time to change the number plates. As you know, the new U.N. inspection mission will be called UNMOVIC. The previous one was called UNSCOM. And they haven't actually had time to change, take the number plates with UNSCOM off. So that was quite interesting. And I understand they were still refurbishing the offices.
One thing that is new, though, may I point out, is that the inspectors are landing at Saddam International Airport, which is the Baghdad airport. It's about 25 minutes away from center town. And that's a major difference. It used to be that the inspectors would arrive in Iraq and land at an airport which is about an hour and a half away from here called Habaneir (ph), of course, which is, in fact, a military airport.
So that's also a big change -- back to you.
COSTELLO: And what do you suppose that means, Rym?
BRAHIMI: Well, I think it means that maybe, I'm just speculating, really, of maybe a little less tension in the relations, the fact that they're able to fly into the center of, into Baghdad, basically. I mean I think that definitely maybe is a sign of more welcoming.
Let me just interrupt myself here. I'm seeing them walking off the plane and they're walking up to the stairs where they're going to enter the VIP lounge. They're just on their way now -- back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, Rym Brahimi, we're going to leave you at the airport and check in with Nic Robertson again, who is live in Baghdad -- Nic, good morning once again.
The plane has landed. Where will they go from the airport?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Expected probably to go in two directions. Hans Blix and Mohamed El-Baradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, expected to go and check in at the Al Rasheed Hotel (ph), the main hotel in Baghdad for visiting dignitaries and high senior officials.
Now, probably the rest of the team will begin moving some of the equipment on board that aircraft that is a large transport aircraft, begin moving that equipment to the old U.N. headquarters. The offices there have been empty for almost four years.
We know very little about what they're actually taking, except some of those items we understand cleaning equipment, Hoovers for cleaning out the offices to get ready to put in new computers, upgrade the laboratory facilities there and a number of other tasks they have to do -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, it's, I don't know, it just struck me as kind of funny that they're bringing vacuum cleaners into Iraq to clean the offices there. So they're going to use the exact same offices they did before. And what are they going to do this afternoon? Are they going to meet with Iraqi officials just to sort out some logical issues?
ROBERTSON: Well, late last night while they were still in Cypress, a U.N. team was meeting together to discuss exactly what would happen in the coming days. Now, U.N. officials seem to be uncertain of exactly who they would be able to meet with when they arrived here and I think perhaps now they're able to meet with the reception committee at Saddam International Airport. They can perhaps begin to work out now with Iraqi officials who Hans Blix and Mohamed El-Baradei can actually meet with today, which government officials.
Now, the U.N. team expecting perhaps to meet with Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, perhaps to meet with members of their opposite numbers in the Iraqi side of the inspection mission, perhaps also a meeting with Foreign Minister Naji Sabri. But that's something that I believe that the U.N. team is expecting to work out now that they're actually here on the ground in Baghdad.
COSTELLO: Of course, more inspectors are to come. When might they arrive and how many will there be?
ROBERTSON: Well, at any one time there will be up to 100 inspectors on the ground, we are told. The way they worked before on the previous mission was that they would come in with a specific mission, perhaps members, 20, 12, 20 members on a team, head out and do that specific mission. They would be experts, perhaps, in the biological area, the chemical area, the missile area. Then they would analyze some of that data then leave.
Now, that's what's expected again this time.
There is in total about 250 different inspectors that Hans Blix can call upon from some 44 different nations. But at any one time, probably the facilities here that Hans Blix has at his disposal can only handle so many of those members at one time, and that is about a hundred. And we expect, Hans Blix has outlined that he expects the actual inspection missions to begin on the 27th of November. So preparations under way here probably for the next 10 or 11 days.
COSTELLO: All right, Nic Robertson, thank you very much.
We're going to get back to you throughout the morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Weapons Inspectors>
Aired November 18, 2002 - 05:28 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We, of course, have been talking about it for the past hour. Now it has actually happened. The plane has landed in Baghdad. The plane, of course, carrying a small team of U.N. weapons inspectors, including the chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix.
Let's go live now to that airport in Baghdad and Rym Brahimi -- Rym.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hi there.
Well, the plane has literally landed and it's standing right in front of me. The plane has literally landed two minutes ago and it's starting to get close to the place where Hans Blix and his team of 30 or so inspectors are going to come out. The plane is actually opening up from behind. It's one of those planes that carries cargo so it has this ability of opening up from behind.
People are coming to meet it. There's been now just one or two cars going close to the plane as I'm speaking, and you can just see from where I'm standing the luggage of all these people that's being offloaded very, very slowly from that plane -- back to you.
COSTELLO: Rym, are they being treated as dignitaries? How are they being treated by the Iraqi officials who are waiting to meet them?
BRAHIMI: Well, it looks like they will be treated as dignitaries. The cars that are waiting outside, there is a bus that will probably be to carry most of the, to transport most of the inspection team, the sort of advanced inspection team. It's one of those big white U.N. buses, probably can carry 25 or so people, maybe a little more. But the official cars are those black official cars that we often see with official delegations when ministers come to visit, when various ministers of different countries come to visit Iraqi officials.
So it looks very much like they are being treated as dignitaries -- back to you.
COSTELLO: It seems so strange that they're going back to the same offices they left, what, back in December of 1998. And apparently they're all dusty and were pretty much left as they were when the weapons inspectors were kicked out of Iraq.
BRAHIMI: Yes, that's true. Actually, we were at the U.N. headquarters just yesterday and the cars are still full of dust. They hadn't even had time to change the number plates. As you know, the new U.N. inspection mission will be called UNMOVIC. The previous one was called UNSCOM. And they haven't actually had time to change, take the number plates with UNSCOM off. So that was quite interesting. And I understand they were still refurbishing the offices.
One thing that is new, though, may I point out, is that the inspectors are landing at Saddam International Airport, which is the Baghdad airport. It's about 25 minutes away from center town. And that's a major difference. It used to be that the inspectors would arrive in Iraq and land at an airport which is about an hour and a half away from here called Habaneir (ph), of course, which is, in fact, a military airport.
So that's also a big change -- back to you.
COSTELLO: And what do you suppose that means, Rym?
BRAHIMI: Well, I think it means that maybe, I'm just speculating, really, of maybe a little less tension in the relations, the fact that they're able to fly into the center of, into Baghdad, basically. I mean I think that definitely maybe is a sign of more welcoming.
Let me just interrupt myself here. I'm seeing them walking off the plane and they're walking up to the stairs where they're going to enter the VIP lounge. They're just on their way now -- back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, Rym Brahimi, we're going to leave you at the airport and check in with Nic Robertson again, who is live in Baghdad -- Nic, good morning once again.
The plane has landed. Where will they go from the airport?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Expected probably to go in two directions. Hans Blix and Mohamed El-Baradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, expected to go and check in at the Al Rasheed Hotel (ph), the main hotel in Baghdad for visiting dignitaries and high senior officials.
Now, probably the rest of the team will begin moving some of the equipment on board that aircraft that is a large transport aircraft, begin moving that equipment to the old U.N. headquarters. The offices there have been empty for almost four years.
We know very little about what they're actually taking, except some of those items we understand cleaning equipment, Hoovers for cleaning out the offices to get ready to put in new computers, upgrade the laboratory facilities there and a number of other tasks they have to do -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, it's, I don't know, it just struck me as kind of funny that they're bringing vacuum cleaners into Iraq to clean the offices there. So they're going to use the exact same offices they did before. And what are they going to do this afternoon? Are they going to meet with Iraqi officials just to sort out some logical issues?
ROBERTSON: Well, late last night while they were still in Cypress, a U.N. team was meeting together to discuss exactly what would happen in the coming days. Now, U.N. officials seem to be uncertain of exactly who they would be able to meet with when they arrived here and I think perhaps now they're able to meet with the reception committee at Saddam International Airport. They can perhaps begin to work out now with Iraqi officials who Hans Blix and Mohamed El-Baradei can actually meet with today, which government officials.
Now, the U.N. team expecting perhaps to meet with Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, perhaps to meet with members of their opposite numbers in the Iraqi side of the inspection mission, perhaps also a meeting with Foreign Minister Naji Sabri. But that's something that I believe that the U.N. team is expecting to work out now that they're actually here on the ground in Baghdad.
COSTELLO: Of course, more inspectors are to come. When might they arrive and how many will there be?
ROBERTSON: Well, at any one time there will be up to 100 inspectors on the ground, we are told. The way they worked before on the previous mission was that they would come in with a specific mission, perhaps members, 20, 12, 20 members on a team, head out and do that specific mission. They would be experts, perhaps, in the biological area, the chemical area, the missile area. Then they would analyze some of that data then leave.
Now, that's what's expected again this time.
There is in total about 250 different inspectors that Hans Blix can call upon from some 44 different nations. But at any one time, probably the facilities here that Hans Blix has at his disposal can only handle so many of those members at one time, and that is about a hundred. And we expect, Hans Blix has outlined that he expects the actual inspection missions to begin on the 27th of November. So preparations under way here probably for the next 10 or 11 days.
COSTELLO: All right, Nic Robertson, thank you very much.
We're going to get back to you throughout the morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Weapons Inspectors>
