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CNN Live At Daybreak

U.N. Weapons Inspectors Getting Ready to Leave Cyprus

Aired November 25, 2002 - 06:22   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 going to take you now back to Cyprus. We've been telling you about the U.N. weapons inspectors getting ready to leave Cyprus on their way to Baghdad.
CNN's Sheila MacVicar standing by.

I know the inspectors have already boarded the plane, haven't they?

SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think so. We certainly see their luggage go on board. It's about a two hour flight to Baghdad, two hours and a little bit by the time they actually take off. That'll put them into Baghdad just before dusk, dusk this afternoon.

Now, they're scheduled to begin work on Wednesday, going out and actually doing inspections. Of course, they have a lot of other work to do which will not be quite so high profile, but they're scheduled to actually begin the process of inspections on Wednesday.

A list of some 700 sites, Catherine, that they've gathered over the course of the four years that they have been out of Iraq, analyzing satellite images, gathering intelligence on Iraq's procurement network, looking at things that Iraq might be buying that could be used for one of its weapons of mass destruction programs, biological, chemical or nuclear.

So there's a long program of work. They have a game plan, they have been telling us. They know what they intend to do. It's not set in stone. In other words, if something happens or a new piece of intelligence arrives on their doorstep, they could respond very quickly to that. And this new U.N. Security Council resolution, in contrast to the working rules that we've seen before of the inspectors, gives them the right to go anywhere, any time, to literally knock on any door in Iraq that they choose to knock on, and that includes those presidential palaces -- Catherine.

CALLAWAY: We are looking at a live picture, again, of the plane sitting on the tarmac. The back of the plane opened up as they load all the baggage and a great deal of equipment into the back of that plane. I know the advance teams have brought in several tons of equipment in preparation for this -- Sheila.

MACVICAR: The advance teams have taken in everything from very sophisticated communications gear to vacuum cleaners. There's a lot of work to do be done to get those laboratories and the offices up and running after a four year absence. They've been locked up and sealed, and to the best that the inspectors have been able to determine, those logistics people on the ground, the security of those offices does not appear to have been comprised by the Iraqis. That, of course, is one of the issues, that they do have a secure work environment, a place where they are able to meet, to talk, plan and communicate with their headquarters in, at the IAEA and in New York.

Now, just as that plane is getting ready there to start its engines up.

The kinds of equipment that they're taking in now, computers, parts for jeeps, kinds of laboratory equipment, some very sensitive equipment that they will be using. And they also have some new monitoring equipment, some more sophisticated technology than was available when they were last in Iraq four years ago.

One of their first tasks will be to get around and check all of their sensing devices, their air filter sampling devices that sort of check the local environment to see if they can detect any illicit or banned substances, chemical weapons, for example, or chemicals associated with chemical weapons. Those kinds of things, those filters need to be changed. In fact, the devices themselves, after four years of exposure and no maintenance, may need to be changed.

So there's a lot of work that has to be done and a lot of gear that has to be taken into Baghdad in order for the inspectors to carry out their work.

CALLAWAY: Indeed, Sheila. I know, just to be clear for everyone, I know that eventually there will be some 80 to 100 inspectors in Iraq eventually. But on this plane right now, there's 18 inspectors, 12, or six of them actually coming from the Atomic Energy Agency, right?

MACVICAR: That's correct. Six are full-time staff of the International Atomic Energy Agency, 12 are with the

U.N.'s monitoring, verification and inspection commission, that's the U.N. speak for what we call UNMOVIC. And they are what's called the permanent roster of the U.N. commission staff in New York.

Now, as the teams build up and as the work goes forward in Iraq, they expect that they will eventually have something like 80 to 100 people on the ground there. And in order to bring those people together, they'll be coming from what they call their home countries, going, giving up their day jobs, their regular jobs, if you will, and coming in here to Cyprus in order to fly on to Baghdad to join up with inspectors already doing their work there.

Who are these people? Some of them are what they call pure scientists. Some are what they call process engineers, people who look at a facility and are able to determine whether or not that facility is actually manufacturing what the Iraqis say it's manufacturing. There are munitions experts. There are bomb disposal for situations where they may have to deal with warheads or shells that have been filed. There are people who are expert in reading and interpreting satellite images, people who are laboratory technicians, a full range of skills that will be brought together.

And then, of course, there is the basic, if you will, people who have expertise in nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, biological weapons and missile technology.

CALLAWAY: All right, Sheila, as we wait for this plane to take off on its way to Baghdad, expected to arrive there about 9:00 Eastern time, Sheila MacVicar standing by for us in Cyprus.

We'll bring all of the live coverage to you as it comes in.

All eyes are certainly on Baghdad this morning. They are preparing to leave, the weapons inspectors, preparing to leave Cyprus to Iraq and we're going to bring that to you.

Also, coming up, we're going to beat them to Baghdad for a live report on the weapons hunt.

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 - 06:22   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 going to take you now back to Cyprus. We've been telling you about the U.N. weapons inspectors getting ready to leave Cyprus on their way to Baghdad.
CNN's Sheila MacVicar standing by.

I know the inspectors have already boarded the plane, haven't they?

SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think so. We certainly see their luggage go on board. It's about a two hour flight to Baghdad, two hours and a little bit by the time they actually take off. That'll put them into Baghdad just before dusk, dusk this afternoon.

Now, they're scheduled to begin work on Wednesday, going out and actually doing inspections. Of course, they have a lot of other work to do which will not be quite so high profile, but they're scheduled to actually begin the process of inspections on Wednesday.

A list of some 700 sites, Catherine, that they've gathered over the course of the four years that they have been out of Iraq, analyzing satellite images, gathering intelligence on Iraq's procurement network, looking at things that Iraq might be buying that could be used for one of its weapons of mass destruction programs, biological, chemical or nuclear.

So there's a long program of work. They have a game plan, they have been telling us. They know what they intend to do. It's not set in stone. In other words, if something happens or a new piece of intelligence arrives on their doorstep, they could respond very quickly to that. And this new U.N. Security Council resolution, in contrast to the working rules that we've seen before of the inspectors, gives them the right to go anywhere, any time, to literally knock on any door in Iraq that they choose to knock on, and that includes those presidential palaces -- Catherine.

CALLAWAY: We are looking at a live picture, again, of the plane sitting on the tarmac. The back of the plane opened up as they load all the baggage and a great deal of equipment into the back of that plane. I know the advance teams have brought in several tons of equipment in preparation for this -- Sheila.

MACVICAR: The advance teams have taken in everything from very sophisticated communications gear to vacuum cleaners. There's a lot of work to do be done to get those laboratories and the offices up and running after a four year absence. They've been locked up and sealed, and to the best that the inspectors have been able to determine, those logistics people on the ground, the security of those offices does not appear to have been comprised by the Iraqis. That, of course, is one of the issues, that they do have a secure work environment, a place where they are able to meet, to talk, plan and communicate with their headquarters in, at the IAEA and in New York.

Now, just as that plane is getting ready there to start its engines up.

The kinds of equipment that they're taking in now, computers, parts for jeeps, kinds of laboratory equipment, some very sensitive equipment that they will be using. And they also have some new monitoring equipment, some more sophisticated technology than was available when they were last in Iraq four years ago.

One of their first tasks will be to get around and check all of their sensing devices, their air filter sampling devices that sort of check the local environment to see if they can detect any illicit or banned substances, chemical weapons, for example, or chemicals associated with chemical weapons. Those kinds of things, those filters need to be changed. In fact, the devices themselves, after four years of exposure and no maintenance, may need to be changed.

So there's a lot of work that has to be done and a lot of gear that has to be taken into Baghdad in order for the inspectors to carry out their work.

CALLAWAY: Indeed, Sheila. I know, just to be clear for everyone, I know that eventually there will be some 80 to 100 inspectors in Iraq eventually. But on this plane right now, there's 18 inspectors, 12, or six of them actually coming from the Atomic Energy Agency, right?

MACVICAR: That's correct. Six are full-time staff of the International Atomic Energy Agency, 12 are with the

U.N.'s monitoring, verification and inspection commission, that's the U.N. speak for what we call UNMOVIC. And they are what's called the permanent roster of the U.N. commission staff in New York.

Now, as the teams build up and as the work goes forward in Iraq, they expect that they will eventually have something like 80 to 100 people on the ground there. And in order to bring those people together, they'll be coming from what they call their home countries, going, giving up their day jobs, their regular jobs, if you will, and coming in here to Cyprus in order to fly on to Baghdad to join up with inspectors already doing their work there.

Who are these people? Some of them are what they call pure scientists. Some are what they call process engineers, people who look at a facility and are able to determine whether or not that facility is actually manufacturing what the Iraqis say it's manufacturing. There are munitions experts. There are bomb disposal for situations where they may have to deal with warheads or shells that have been filed. There are people who are expert in reading and interpreting satellite images, people who are laboratory technicians, a full range of skills that will be brought together.

And then, of course, there is the basic, if you will, people who have expertise in nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, biological weapons and missile technology.

CALLAWAY: All right, Sheila, as we wait for this plane to take off on its way to Baghdad, expected to arrive there about 9:00 Eastern time, Sheila MacVicar standing by for us in Cyprus.

We'll bring all of the live coverage to you as it comes in.

All eyes are certainly on Baghdad this morning. They are preparing to leave, the weapons inspectors, preparing to leave Cyprus to Iraq and we're going to bring that to you.

Also, coming up, we're going to beat them to Baghdad for a live report on the weapons hunt.

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