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Bush Trying to Impress Upon NATO Leaders Need to Stand Strong Against Iraq

Aired November 20, 2002 - 10:35   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: President Bush is trying to impress upon NATO leaders the need to stand strong against Iraq. Meanwhile, the U.N.'s chief weapons inspector says that Baghdad is vowing full cooperation.
Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is in Baghdad with more on the meeting with the inspectors..

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello.

Well, one of the characteristics that the spokesmen have told us about here about these meetings and how they went, they said they were good and they were useful. But we have gotten more information now about those meetings, and they say really what was different was Iraqis really wanted to get down to business, that in the past inspection teams have had to listen to long diatribes from Iraqi officials about all of the problems that Iraq perceives with the United Nations, with the U.N. sanctions, but this time, they said those Iraqi officials wanted to know the details of how they could comply with the resolution, of what they would need to put down and submit by December 8 on their declaration of weapons of mass destruction.

Of course, Iraqis have to declare as well what civilian industries use a lot of chemical components, biological plants may be covered as well for civilian or possible other use. So they were asking a lot of questions about those issues, about what type of plants should be put down. Apparently they're concerned, they don't want to miss anything. The inspectors have taken this as a indication that Iraqis are operating at least right now with good faith and good intentions so far.

KAGAN: Nic, this sounds like a slightly different tack from the Iraqis who just last week were saying, weapons, what weapons, we don't have any, we'll comply, but now it sounds like they're saying, what would you consider this type of weapon?

ROBERTSON: Well, yes, it does absolutely sound as if it's contradictory here, and perhaps Hans Blix addressed this quite well when he was talking to the press just before he left. What he said was that he'd urged the Iraqis to look through their stocks and look through their inventories and make sure that they didn't miss anything, and he also said he felt that Iraq did have things it needed to put down, that it hadn't made a full account of its nuclear capability, of its chemical capability and biological capability in the past. So he made it very clear he did expect them to put forward very strong evidence, if indeed they were going to continue to say they had no weapons of mass destruction. He did say he didn't want to prejudge them at this time as well, but he made it very clear that the bar is set very, very high on this declaration, that if they are going to stick by this line that they don't have anything, they really need to account for all of the things that the United Nations still feels are outstanding from the last mission, such as VX nerve agents, such as precursor chemicals for chemical weapons. A lot of things outstanding in the eyes of Hans Blix.

ZAHN: And so Hans Blix has gone back to Cyprus. What was the purpose of leaving Iraq?

ROBERTSON: Well, his mission here was to come in and have those meetings. He met with the foreign minister, that was perhaps more symbolic that there is cooperation at a high level here. Perhaps the more nuts and bolts issues discussed with General Amir Al-Sad (ph), President Saddam Hussein's top scientific adviser. Of course he has left people here in place, about 20 people who will be continuing to prepare for those inspection teams that are going to start arriving next week. The first inspection team actually arrives here in five days' time. Two days after that, they'll get to work.

So, the team, advanced team left behind, communications specialist, logistics specialist have a lot of work. And number one, they have to re-establish the secure communications that the inspectors would use when they're here. They would go out, gather data around Iraq, and they're going to need to transmit some of the data back to U.N. headquarters in Vienna for the nuclear experts, and in New York as well, so that other experts around the world can analyze the data while they are again out following up on other inspections here. So there is a lot of work to be done, and really quite a short space of time to get the ball rolling before the first team actually gets the work.

KAGAN: Nic Robertson, 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




Strong Against Iraq>


Aired November 20, 2002 - 10:35   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is trying to impress upon NATO leaders the need to stand strong against Iraq. Meanwhile, the U.N.'s chief weapons inspector says that Baghdad is vowing full cooperation.
Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is in Baghdad with more on the meeting with the inspectors..

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello.

Well, one of the characteristics that the spokesmen have told us about here about these meetings and how they went, they said they were good and they were useful. But we have gotten more information now about those meetings, and they say really what was different was Iraqis really wanted to get down to business, that in the past inspection teams have had to listen to long diatribes from Iraqi officials about all of the problems that Iraq perceives with the United Nations, with the U.N. sanctions, but this time, they said those Iraqi officials wanted to know the details of how they could comply with the resolution, of what they would need to put down and submit by December 8 on their declaration of weapons of mass destruction.

Of course, Iraqis have to declare as well what civilian industries use a lot of chemical components, biological plants may be covered as well for civilian or possible other use. So they were asking a lot of questions about those issues, about what type of plants should be put down. Apparently they're concerned, they don't want to miss anything. The inspectors have taken this as a indication that Iraqis are operating at least right now with good faith and good intentions so far.

KAGAN: Nic, this sounds like a slightly different tack from the Iraqis who just last week were saying, weapons, what weapons, we don't have any, we'll comply, but now it sounds like they're saying, what would you consider this type of weapon?

ROBERTSON: Well, yes, it does absolutely sound as if it's contradictory here, and perhaps Hans Blix addressed this quite well when he was talking to the press just before he left. What he said was that he'd urged the Iraqis to look through their stocks and look through their inventories and make sure that they didn't miss anything, and he also said he felt that Iraq did have things it needed to put down, that it hadn't made a full account of its nuclear capability, of its chemical capability and biological capability in the past. So he made it very clear he did expect them to put forward very strong evidence, if indeed they were going to continue to say they had no weapons of mass destruction. He did say he didn't want to prejudge them at this time as well, but he made it very clear that the bar is set very, very high on this declaration, that if they are going to stick by this line that they don't have anything, they really need to account for all of the things that the United Nations still feels are outstanding from the last mission, such as VX nerve agents, such as precursor chemicals for chemical weapons. A lot of things outstanding in the eyes of Hans Blix.

ZAHN: And so Hans Blix has gone back to Cyprus. What was the purpose of leaving Iraq?

ROBERTSON: Well, his mission here was to come in and have those meetings. He met with the foreign minister, that was perhaps more symbolic that there is cooperation at a high level here. Perhaps the more nuts and bolts issues discussed with General Amir Al-Sad (ph), President Saddam Hussein's top scientific adviser. Of course he has left people here in place, about 20 people who will be continuing to prepare for those inspection teams that are going to start arriving next week. The first inspection team actually arrives here in five days' time. Two days after that, they'll get to work.

So, the team, advanced team left behind, communications specialist, logistics specialist have a lot of work. And number one, they have to re-establish the secure communications that the inspectors would use when they're here. They would go out, gather data around Iraq, and they're going to need to transmit some of the data back to U.N. headquarters in Vienna for the nuclear experts, and in New York as well, so that other experts around the world can analyze the data while they are again out following up on other inspections here. So there is a lot of work to be done, and really quite a short space of time to get the ball rolling before the first team actually gets the work.

KAGAN: Nic Robertson, 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




Strong Against Iraq>