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CNN Live At Daybreak

Regional Tensions

Aired November 19, 2002 - 06:31   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: Big things like war and peace do hang in the balance, as U.N. weapons inspectors resume their work in Iraq, and that could, of course, cause tensions among Iraq's neighbors. In fact, it already has.
CNN's Jane Arraf has some inside on how this is viewed by people in Jordan, and she joins us live from Amman.

Good morning -- Jane.

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Carol.

This is really being seen as both an opportunity and a danger, as this countdown gets under way for inspections to begin in Iraq to report what it has and it doesn't have.

Now, this is what people are reading this morning in "Addustour," almost buried among the other headlines, an editorial saying that this is an opportunity to avoid war, a small opportunity, though. And in there is a real skepticism that the United States genuinely does want to avoid war.

Now, Jordan's information minister, Mohammed al-Adwan, tells us that Jordan, of course, welcomes the return of the inspectors, and calls on Iraq to cooperate fully to avoid a U.S. military strike.

There's really nowhere in the region that would be harder-hit than Jordan in terms of Iraq's neighbors. Now, this is a very small country, still very tied economically to Iraq. It gets pretty well all of its oil there, and it's still a major trading partner. But even more than that, there's a huge sympathy here on the streets for the Iraqi people, if not the Iraqi leader. And that does put Jordan, once again, in a very delicate position -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Jane Arraf bringing us up-to-date from Jordan -- thank you.

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 19, 2002 - 06:31   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Big things like war and peace do hang in the balance, as U.N. weapons inspectors resume their work in Iraq, and that could, of course, cause tensions among Iraq's neighbors. In fact, it already has.
CNN's Jane Arraf has some inside on how this is viewed by people in Jordan, and she joins us live from Amman.

Good morning -- Jane.

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Carol.

This is really being seen as both an opportunity and a danger, as this countdown gets under way for inspections to begin in Iraq to report what it has and it doesn't have.

Now, this is what people are reading this morning in "Addustour," almost buried among the other headlines, an editorial saying that this is an opportunity to avoid war, a small opportunity, though. And in there is a real skepticism that the United States genuinely does want to avoid war.

Now, Jordan's information minister, Mohammed al-Adwan, tells us that Jordan, of course, welcomes the return of the inspectors, and calls on Iraq to cooperate fully to avoid a U.S. military strike.

There's really nowhere in the region that would be harder-hit than Jordan in terms of Iraq's neighbors. Now, this is a very small country, still very tied economically to Iraq. It gets pretty well all of its oil there, and it's still a major trading partner. But even more than that, there's a huge sympathy here on the streets for the Iraqi people, if not the Iraqi leader. And that does put Jordan, once again, in a very delicate position -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Jane Arraf bringing us up-to-date from Jordan -- thank you.

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