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Iraq: The Weapons Hunt: Watching the View from Amman, Jordan
Aired November 19, 2002 - 10:18 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Not surprisingly, the Arab world is watching the maneuverings within Iraq with vested interest. Any serious violations could throw the region into disarray.
Our Jane Arraf is in Amman, Jordan, with the view from there.
Jane, hello.
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn.
Well, this region is pretty well holding its breath, and nowhere more so than in Jordan, Iraq's neighbor. Now, you'll remember Jordan is the country that was perhaps the most affected by the Gulf War and would perhaps stand to lose the most if this all came down to war again.
The Jordanian information minister tells us today that he welcomes, of course, getting the ball rolling on those inspections, and he's urging Iraq to comply fully to avert a war. Now, Jordan is tied economically to Iraq, depends on it for all its oil, as well as the fact that a lot of Jordanians are very supportive of the Iraqi president. All in all, this place far more so than many others in the region would pay the price the most if it did all go horribly wrong -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Jane, how much information do the average Jordanians have in exactly what's taking place in Iraq?
ARRAF: They have quite a lot of information, not only from the press, which is relatively free here, but also because there are a lot of Iraqis here. Now, Jordan does share a border with Iraq, and in recent weeks, it has cracked down on that and makes it hard for Iraqis to travel, and almost sealed it, in fact. But there is still a huge Iraqi population of all kinds of people, penniless people who have come here to try to make a living as well as upper class Iraqis, which is really part of the society here as well. There is quite a large understanding of just not what's in the news, but what's going on in Iraq.
KAGAN: Jane Arraf, in Amman Jordan, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Jordan>
Aired November 19, 2002 - 10:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Not surprisingly, the Arab world is watching the maneuverings within Iraq with vested interest. Any serious violations could throw the region into disarray.
Our Jane Arraf is in Amman, Jordan, with the view from there.
Jane, hello.
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn.
Well, this region is pretty well holding its breath, and nowhere more so than in Jordan, Iraq's neighbor. Now, you'll remember Jordan is the country that was perhaps the most affected by the Gulf War and would perhaps stand to lose the most if this all came down to war again.
The Jordanian information minister tells us today that he welcomes, of course, getting the ball rolling on those inspections, and he's urging Iraq to comply fully to avert a war. Now, Jordan is tied economically to Iraq, depends on it for all its oil, as well as the fact that a lot of Jordanians are very supportive of the Iraqi president. All in all, this place far more so than many others in the region would pay the price the most if it did all go horribly wrong -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Jane, how much information do the average Jordanians have in exactly what's taking place in Iraq?
ARRAF: They have quite a lot of information, not only from the press, which is relatively free here, but also because there are a lot of Iraqis here. Now, Jordan does share a border with Iraq, and in recent weeks, it has cracked down on that and makes it hard for Iraqis to travel, and almost sealed it, in fact. But there is still a huge Iraqi population of all kinds of people, penniless people who have come here to try to make a living as well as upper class Iraqis, which is really part of the society here as well. There is quite a large understanding of just not what's in the news, but what's going on in Iraq.
KAGAN: Jane Arraf, in Amman Jordan, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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