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CNN Live Today

Search for Weapons in Iraq

Aired November 25, 2002 - 11:00   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 LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Up first on CNN, the search for weapons in Iraq. The team of U.N. inspectors arrived in Baghdad today on a critical mission. The first weapons inspections in four years are set to begin Wednesday.
Our CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joins us live from Baghdad with more details.

Nic, do you know any of the first sites that they're going to be going to on Wednesday?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, that's still a secret, and the U.N. says it plans to keep it that way. The inspections are known as no-notice inspections, which means they won't give the Iraqi government any clues where they intend to go. We have been learning some new information however.

This team constitutes 11. Previously we've been told it was 12, but actually 11 missile, chemical, biological experts, six nuclear experts, and for the first time, we've seen with this team, unlike those previous U.N. missions in the 1990s, this team has an armed uniformed U.N. guard with them. We saw those guards when they were checking into their hotel here. Now, we're told by a spokesman that there are Russians that makeup this team, Europeans, and inspectors from the United States. We're also told that the next group of supporters will arrive on December 8th, the day Iraq has to fully declared its weapons of mass destruction. There will be 35 inspectors on that team expected to ramp up their work, but this team due to get to work Wednesday.

We don't know the sites. We do know they'll split up into different teams, likely going out to check sites that were monitored by the previous weapons inspectors, and he's getting some of those sites, where they had kept monitoring cameras in the late 1990s -- Carol.

LIN: Nic, you mentioned the armed U.N. security guards. What specifically do the U.N. inspectors think the threat will come from?

ROBERTSON: There were incidents when the previous weapons inspections teams were here, where they were confronted by Iraqi guards at sites who were armed. Indeed, shots were fired, in the past. Obviously nobody was killed. These incidents were not that serious, per se.

But certainly this is an indication of how serious this mission is about protecting the security of the inspectors, and also of about how tough this new mandate is. Hans Blix has said his mandate is tougher, giving them greater rights of access not only to the sites, but also to scientists. They were able, according to the resolution, at least, to be able to take Iraqi scientists out of the country and interview them. This is a major step forward, because the inspectors believe that those scientists are the key to finding out exactly what's been going on in these chemical and biological industries here -- Carol.

LIN: Are there rules of engagement, though, on the ground as to when these security guards can actually draw their weapons?

ROBERTSON: That's something that hasn't been made clear to us. The security, as far as we've been told, and it wasn't until we saw these guards today we actually knew they were going to be armed, the security issue is essentially being a closely guarded secret.

It would seem, however, that it would been likely that the U.N. intends to get into any kind of shootout here. They would be grossly outnumbered. Iraq has a very, very large army, most of whom are armed, and certainly some of the sites that will be visited, the U.N. inspectors can expect to find armed guards. So it seems unlikely anybody is going to be going to try to get into a shootout, but it's an indication of how seriously the U.N. takes the protection of these inspectors.

LIN: You bet. All right, thank you very much, Nic Robertson live in Baghdad.

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 - 11:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Up first on CNN, the search for weapons in Iraq. The team of U.N. inspectors arrived in Baghdad today on a critical mission. The first weapons inspections in four years are set to begin Wednesday.
Our CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joins us live from Baghdad with more details.

Nic, do you know any of the first sites that they're going to be going to on Wednesday?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, that's still a secret, and the U.N. says it plans to keep it that way. The inspections are known as no-notice inspections, which means they won't give the Iraqi government any clues where they intend to go. We have been learning some new information however.

This team constitutes 11. Previously we've been told it was 12, but actually 11 missile, chemical, biological experts, six nuclear experts, and for the first time, we've seen with this team, unlike those previous U.N. missions in the 1990s, this team has an armed uniformed U.N. guard with them. We saw those guards when they were checking into their hotel here. Now, we're told by a spokesman that there are Russians that makeup this team, Europeans, and inspectors from the United States. We're also told that the next group of supporters will arrive on December 8th, the day Iraq has to fully declared its weapons of mass destruction. There will be 35 inspectors on that team expected to ramp up their work, but this team due to get to work Wednesday.

We don't know the sites. We do know they'll split up into different teams, likely going out to check sites that were monitored by the previous weapons inspectors, and he's getting some of those sites, where they had kept monitoring cameras in the late 1990s -- Carol.

LIN: Nic, you mentioned the armed U.N. security guards. What specifically do the U.N. inspectors think the threat will come from?

ROBERTSON: There were incidents when the previous weapons inspections teams were here, where they were confronted by Iraqi guards at sites who were armed. Indeed, shots were fired, in the past. Obviously nobody was killed. These incidents were not that serious, per se.

But certainly this is an indication of how serious this mission is about protecting the security of the inspectors, and also of about how tough this new mandate is. Hans Blix has said his mandate is tougher, giving them greater rights of access not only to the sites, but also to scientists. They were able, according to the resolution, at least, to be able to take Iraqi scientists out of the country and interview them. This is a major step forward, because the inspectors believe that those scientists are the key to finding out exactly what's been going on in these chemical and biological industries here -- Carol.

LIN: Are there rules of engagement, though, on the ground as to when these security guards can actually draw their weapons?

ROBERTSON: That's something that hasn't been made clear to us. The security, as far as we've been told, and it wasn't until we saw these guards today we actually knew they were going to be armed, the security issue is essentially being a closely guarded secret.

It would seem, however, that it would been likely that the U.N. intends to get into any kind of shootout here. They would be grossly outnumbered. Iraq has a very, very large army, most of whom are armed, and certainly some of the sites that will be visited, the U.N. inspectors can expect to find armed guards. So it seems unlikely anybody is going to be going to try to get into a shootout, but it's an indication of how seriously the U.N. takes the protection of these inspectors.

LIN: You bet. All right, thank you very much, Nic Robertson live in Baghdad.

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