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American Morning

Security Council Members to Receive Unedited Copies of Report

Aired December 09, 2002 - 07:04   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: More on Iraq now, and the story really shifts to the U.N. here in New York today.
Michael Okwu there with the latest on the eastern edge of Manhattan.

Michael -- good morning to you. What are they saying thus far today?

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you this much, Bill, a lot of activity here last night as the nearly 12-year odyssey to disarm Iraq ended a whole new chapter.

As you mentioned, Bill, the five permanent members of the Security Council will be receiving unsanitized or unedited versions of the Iraqi declaration. The five countries, those with veto power on the 15-member Security Council, are Russia, France, the United States, China and Great Britain.

The decision came after the United States pressured the president of the Security Council, Colombian U.N. Ambassador Alfonso Valdivieso. In a statement, Valdivieso said, and I'm quoting now -- "After consulting with the members of the Security Council, the presidency decided to allow access to the Iraqi declaration to those members with the expertise to assess the risks of proliferation and other sensitive information to begin its immediate review."

We want to show you pictures again now of last night of the documents arriving here at the United Nations, acting on behalf of the Security Council.

Chief U.N. inspector Hans Blix last week told reporters he would review the document and edit out sections referring to the making of weapons of mass destruction before sharing it with members of the Council. Clearly, that has changed. Blix will now be doing this in consultation with the P5 countries of the Council, as well as the IAEA -- Bill.

HEMMER: Michael, just to clarify. Was it the pressure alone, or were there other factors involved?

OKWU: Well, we knew all along. In fact, last week, there was a lot of talk that the United States wanted this to happen. It is clear at this point that it is U.S. pressure. It could also very well be, Bill -- and we're speculating now -- that perhaps there were some backroom deals going on that perhaps the United States might be considering providing intelligence information to Hans Blix and his office.

So, there's a to-and-fro, a quid pro quo, if you will -- Bill.

HEMMER: Thank you, Michael -- Michael Okwu at the U.N.

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




Report>


Aired December 9, 2002 - 07:04   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: More on Iraq now, and the story really shifts to the U.N. here in New York today.
Michael Okwu there with the latest on the eastern edge of Manhattan.

Michael -- good morning to you. What are they saying thus far today?

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you this much, Bill, a lot of activity here last night as the nearly 12-year odyssey to disarm Iraq ended a whole new chapter.

As you mentioned, Bill, the five permanent members of the Security Council will be receiving unsanitized or unedited versions of the Iraqi declaration. The five countries, those with veto power on the 15-member Security Council, are Russia, France, the United States, China and Great Britain.

The decision came after the United States pressured the president of the Security Council, Colombian U.N. Ambassador Alfonso Valdivieso. In a statement, Valdivieso said, and I'm quoting now -- "After consulting with the members of the Security Council, the presidency decided to allow access to the Iraqi declaration to those members with the expertise to assess the risks of proliferation and other sensitive information to begin its immediate review."

We want to show you pictures again now of last night of the documents arriving here at the United Nations, acting on behalf of the Security Council.

Chief U.N. inspector Hans Blix last week told reporters he would review the document and edit out sections referring to the making of weapons of mass destruction before sharing it with members of the Council. Clearly, that has changed. Blix will now be doing this in consultation with the P5 countries of the Council, as well as the IAEA -- Bill.

HEMMER: Michael, just to clarify. Was it the pressure alone, or were there other factors involved?

OKWU: Well, we knew all along. In fact, last week, there was a lot of talk that the United States wanted this to happen. It is clear at this point that it is U.S. pressure. It could also very well be, Bill -- and we're speculating now -- that perhaps there were some backroom deals going on that perhaps the United States might be considering providing intelligence information to Hans Blix and his office.

So, there's a to-and-fro, a quid pro quo, if you will -- Bill.

HEMMER: Thank you, Michael -- Michael Okwu at the U.N.

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




Report>