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CNN Live At Daybreak

'International News Desk'

Aired November 25, 2002 - 05:34   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.


CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: We're following a number of international stories throughout the day here on CNN.
Joining us now, senior international editor David Clinch, to give us the latest.

Of course, the big story that we are following this morning is, of course, the inspectors heading to Baghdad.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Right. Yes. They won't actually start inspections until later in the week, but this will be an opportunity for us today and over the next couple of days to try and get a sense of how close we will be able to get as reporters there on the ground to the inspectors. And these are the real inspectors. These are the people that will actually be going out to the sites, both the nuclear and the chemical sites.

So we'll get an impression, we hope, over the next couple of days of what kind of access the Iraqis will allow us. We also have to, obviously, test in some degree how close the U.N. will allow us to get to the inspectors and not just in Baghdad, but when they actually go out in the field.

CALLAWAY: Right.

CLINCH: And we talked about this before, we can't actually expect, obviously, to go out on every single inspection. In the past we've had situations where we've been able to sort of run out when there have been situations where they've been held back or blocked. Obviously, that may not happen this time. The Iraqis may not block them. So it's not clear yet exactly how we'll be able to cover the individual inspections, but we need to actually get close to the inspectors themselves in Baghdad. So that's the first thing.

CALLAWAY: And also this weekend big news breaking on possible connections, the money trail, the Saudi money trail, as they're saying.

CLINCH: Yes.

CALLAWAY: A possible connection between donations eventually landing in the hands of two of the hijackers.

CLINCH: Yes, it is. Yes, you're not talking about a huge amount of money and you're not talking about a direct connection to the Saudi royal family, but you are talking about this very sort of symbolic idea of the Saudi royal family which, of course, is huge, but the Saudi royal family in some way condoning or allowing or turning a blind eye or whatever you want to call it, to money that makes its way, directly or indirectly, to terrorists.

This "Newsweek" report was the original report indicating that money made its way indirectly to some of the 9/11 hijackers. We don't really have too much information on the details, but what we are able to do and what we'll do again this morning on AMERICAN MORNING is talk to Saudi officials to see how they feel about it. And they are angry, extremely angry, so...

CALLAWAY: They're saying, also, that they didn't realize anything.

CLINCH: They're denying, obviously, that there was any direct connection. There may have been at some point inadvertent money through charities or whatever else.

CALLAWAY: Right.

CLINCH: That's, I suppose, established fact at this point. But they're certainly angry about these, again, the symbolic suggestion that the royal family and 9/11 hijackers are even in the same sentence, really, you know, does not please them.

CALLAWAY: Right. And on a much lighter note, we...

CLINCH: Yes.

CALLAWAY: ... had a, what was it, a contest of who was the most...

CLINCH: Well, the BBC, our rival normally, but we can talk about them in this sense, the British Broadcasting Corporation held a survey over quite a long period of time, a few months. And they talked to about as many as a million people, I think, sent in their votes to vote for the greatest Britons of all time.

CALLAWAY: Right.

CLINCH: The winner, Winston Churchill. A lot of people here, I think, in the United States would have thought of other people...

CALLAWAY: Princess...

CLINCH: ... Princess Diana.

CALLAWAY: Right.

CLINCH: I don't know, even historically Queen Elizabeth or others. But Churchill won. And I think from the British perspective -- and, again, this was Britons voting -- that's something which is, he and the role he played in WWII is still of immense importance to British people. And I think globally, too, a lot of people, particularly in former colonial countries, would not be that surprised. So he's the winner, Winston Churchill.

CALLAWAY: Congratulations. He's not forgotten.

CLINCH: No.

CALLAWAY: Gone but not forgotten.

Thank you, David.

CLINCH: You're welcome.

CALLAWAY: Another busy day for you.

CLINCH: Absolutely.

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 25, 2002 - 05:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: We're following a number of international stories throughout the day here on CNN.
Joining us now, senior international editor David Clinch, to give us the latest.

Of course, the big story that we are following this morning is, of course, the inspectors heading to Baghdad.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Right. Yes. They won't actually start inspections until later in the week, but this will be an opportunity for us today and over the next couple of days to try and get a sense of how close we will be able to get as reporters there on the ground to the inspectors. And these are the real inspectors. These are the people that will actually be going out to the sites, both the nuclear and the chemical sites.

So we'll get an impression, we hope, over the next couple of days of what kind of access the Iraqis will allow us. We also have to, obviously, test in some degree how close the U.N. will allow us to get to the inspectors and not just in Baghdad, but when they actually go out in the field.

CALLAWAY: Right.

CLINCH: And we talked about this before, we can't actually expect, obviously, to go out on every single inspection. In the past we've had situations where we've been able to sort of run out when there have been situations where they've been held back or blocked. Obviously, that may not happen this time. The Iraqis may not block them. So it's not clear yet exactly how we'll be able to cover the individual inspections, but we need to actually get close to the inspectors themselves in Baghdad. So that's the first thing.

CALLAWAY: And also this weekend big news breaking on possible connections, the money trail, the Saudi money trail, as they're saying.

CLINCH: Yes.

CALLAWAY: A possible connection between donations eventually landing in the hands of two of the hijackers.

CLINCH: Yes, it is. Yes, you're not talking about a huge amount of money and you're not talking about a direct connection to the Saudi royal family, but you are talking about this very sort of symbolic idea of the Saudi royal family which, of course, is huge, but the Saudi royal family in some way condoning or allowing or turning a blind eye or whatever you want to call it, to money that makes its way, directly or indirectly, to terrorists.

This "Newsweek" report was the original report indicating that money made its way indirectly to some of the 9/11 hijackers. We don't really have too much information on the details, but what we are able to do and what we'll do again this morning on AMERICAN MORNING is talk to Saudi officials to see how they feel about it. And they are angry, extremely angry, so...

CALLAWAY: They're saying, also, that they didn't realize anything.

CLINCH: They're denying, obviously, that there was any direct connection. There may have been at some point inadvertent money through charities or whatever else.

CALLAWAY: Right.

CLINCH: That's, I suppose, established fact at this point. But they're certainly angry about these, again, the symbolic suggestion that the royal family and 9/11 hijackers are even in the same sentence, really, you know, does not please them.

CALLAWAY: Right. And on a much lighter note, we...

CLINCH: Yes.

CALLAWAY: ... had a, what was it, a contest of who was the most...

CLINCH: Well, the BBC, our rival normally, but we can talk about them in this sense, the British Broadcasting Corporation held a survey over quite a long period of time, a few months. And they talked to about as many as a million people, I think, sent in their votes to vote for the greatest Britons of all time.

CALLAWAY: Right.

CLINCH: The winner, Winston Churchill. A lot of people here, I think, in the United States would have thought of other people...

CALLAWAY: Princess...

CLINCH: ... Princess Diana.

CALLAWAY: Right.

CLINCH: I don't know, even historically Queen Elizabeth or others. But Churchill won. And I think from the British perspective -- and, again, this was Britons voting -- that's something which is, he and the role he played in WWII is still of immense importance to British people. And I think globally, too, a lot of people, particularly in former colonial countries, would not be that surprised. So he's the winner, Winston Churchill.

CALLAWAY: Congratulations. He's not forgotten.

CLINCH: No.

CALLAWAY: Gone but not forgotten.

Thank you, David.

CLINCH: You're welcome.

CALLAWAY: Another busy day for you.

CLINCH: Absolutely.

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