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CNN Live Today
Inspectors Arrive as Baghdad Blasts Mission
Aired November 25, 2002 - 10:00 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: A new day dawns in Baghdad, but all eyes are on the horizon. A short time ago, the first U.N. weapons inspectors arrived in the Iraqi capital to set the stage for Wednesday's planned resumption of searches. And as the milestone looms, Iraq fires off bitter accusations about the mission and its goals.
CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is in Baghdad with the latest.
Nic -- have the inspectors arrived yet?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They have indeed. They touched down about an hour and 10 minutes ago. We understand they're already arriving at their hotel in downtown Baghdad.
They touched down just before dusk. It's already dark here now, so they're not expected to get down to any work tonight. They're likely not expected even to visit their offices on the outskirts of Baghdad.
Now, we're told, of all of the preparation work that's been going on there for them, they should at least have a couple of offices to work out of, a couple of offices that have been cleaned out of the dust. Not clear yet if the laboratories are up and running.
Now, their real work is going to begin on Wednesday. Tuesday will be a day of familiarization for them in their new headquarters. But Wednesday is when they're going to head out.
We know that there are 12 missile, chemical and biological weapons experts and 6 nuclear weapons experts. They're going to split into different teams on Wednesday morning, head out of their compound. They'll be followed by Iraqi officials who will follow them to whichever sites they go to.
Now, they're expected to go to some of what are known as dual-use sites. These are the sites where there are civilian industries for, where in the past, the U.N. weapons inspectors have believed that possibly this equipment has been put to alternate use to be involved in weapons of mass destruction.
Now, the last U.N. monitoring teams here left cameras and other monitoring equipment behind at those sites. These new teams will be going out to see if that equipment is still working. If it's not, they plan to replace it. But what they really want to do in the next few weeks and months is find out exactly what has happened in Iraq at all of these different sites previously inspected over the last four years, essentially draw a new operational baseline, if you will -- Carol.
LIN: Nic, there was some question as to whether these inspectors would have security with them and whether that security would be armed. Any information there?
ROBERTSON: Still no clarity on the issue of arming the security members with those teams. We are told they will have a security element with them. We're not told whether this will be a uniformed element, or whether these members will just appear to be part of the inspection teams. We may not even recognize them as they go out in their vehicles. But we're told -- and it is stipulated in the Resolution 1441, the resolution these inspectors are working under -- that they can have their own security and they do intend to provide that. That's been made clear to us by a spokesman here.
Probably in these early days as they begin to get to work, the communication systems that will be up and running later that will help augment that security. That's going to be built on.
So, perhaps these early days, their security structure, perhaps not as solid as it will become. And the issue again of arming, we don't know if those security elements with these teams will have weapons -- Carol.
LIN: Perhaps we'll find out on Wednesday. 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 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: A new day dawns in Baghdad, but all eyes are on the horizon. A short time ago, the first U.N. weapons inspectors arrived in the Iraqi capital to set the stage for Wednesday's planned resumption of searches. And as the milestone looms, Iraq fires off bitter accusations about the mission and its goals.
CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is in Baghdad with the latest.
Nic -- have the inspectors arrived yet?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They have indeed. They touched down about an hour and 10 minutes ago. We understand they're already arriving at their hotel in downtown Baghdad.
They touched down just before dusk. It's already dark here now, so they're not expected to get down to any work tonight. They're likely not expected even to visit their offices on the outskirts of Baghdad.
Now, we're told, of all of the preparation work that's been going on there for them, they should at least have a couple of offices to work out of, a couple of offices that have been cleaned out of the dust. Not clear yet if the laboratories are up and running.
Now, their real work is going to begin on Wednesday. Tuesday will be a day of familiarization for them in their new headquarters. But Wednesday is when they're going to head out.
We know that there are 12 missile, chemical and biological weapons experts and 6 nuclear weapons experts. They're going to split into different teams on Wednesday morning, head out of their compound. They'll be followed by Iraqi officials who will follow them to whichever sites they go to.
Now, they're expected to go to some of what are known as dual-use sites. These are the sites where there are civilian industries for, where in the past, the U.N. weapons inspectors have believed that possibly this equipment has been put to alternate use to be involved in weapons of mass destruction.
Now, the last U.N. monitoring teams here left cameras and other monitoring equipment behind at those sites. These new teams will be going out to see if that equipment is still working. If it's not, they plan to replace it. But what they really want to do in the next few weeks and months is find out exactly what has happened in Iraq at all of these different sites previously inspected over the last four years, essentially draw a new operational baseline, if you will -- Carol.
LIN: Nic, there was some question as to whether these inspectors would have security with them and whether that security would be armed. Any information there?
ROBERTSON: Still no clarity on the issue of arming the security members with those teams. We are told they will have a security element with them. We're not told whether this will be a uniformed element, or whether these members will just appear to be part of the inspection teams. We may not even recognize them as they go out in their vehicles. But we're told -- and it is stipulated in the Resolution 1441, the resolution these inspectors are working under -- that they can have their own security and they do intend to provide that. That's been made clear to us by a spokesman here.
Probably in these early days as they begin to get to work, the communication systems that will be up and running later that will help augment that security. That's going to be built on.
So, perhaps these early days, their security structure, perhaps not as solid as it will become. And the issue again of arming, we don't know if those security elements with these teams will have weapons -- Carol.
LIN: Perhaps we'll find out on Wednesday. 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.
