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CNN Live Today

In Iraq, Inspectors Fan Out

Aired December 11, 2002 - 11:09   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.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's turn to the weapons hunt in Iraq. Inspectors there fanned out, six sites today they checked out, one that's listed in Iraq's recent weapons disclosure to the U.N.
Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is keeping pace with the inspectors. In fact, and as Nic checks in now from Baghdad, Nic, as I hear it, you actually went out with the inspectors to one of those sites that was listed in those documents turned over to the U.N.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Leon.

The first indication we had of that was when the weapons team that we were following pulled over to the side of the road. They were in about five U.N. jeeps. Right behind them, the Iraqi officials that followed them wherever they go and about 10 of their jeeps pulled over at the side of the road. The U.N. official got out his notebook with his pages of information in it, he went to speak with the Iraqi official, and he said, this morning we're going to a site that's been one that you've put on your recent declaration, a new site, and he gave the official the name of the site, Al Fatah (ph).

He said, we know it's around here somewhere, but we need some help to find it. The Iraqi official said, ah, you mean Al Karama (ph), and they pointed, and immediately next to where they were standing, that was the facility.

Incidentally, while that was happening, this is right next to a busy highway, and an Iraqi car slammed into the back of a U.N. jeep. No one was injured, but it did cause a lot of paperwork to get done there. But inside that facility, inspectors spent about 3 1/2 hours there.

When we went in, we were shown around the plant. Now, it is recently built. It was built in 1999, and that's why it wasn't on the previous declarations, and that's why it was on this latest declaration, because it was a new -- not a new site, but a new factory. The previous factory there had been bombed during the Gulf War. They had built a new factory in 1999, and we were told that it made parts for missiles, parts for tanks, but the brigadier in charge of the site there assured us that it didn't make anything that contravened U.N. resolution 1441, that it is an example here perhaps that the inspectors are becoming maybe now there are greater numbers, a little more aggressive where they go to.

HARRIS: That's interesting. Nic, Let me ask you this then, as they become more aggressive and as they go to sites like this one here, have you noticed anything different in the reactions of the Iraqi miners and the Iraqi soldiers and security officials who are actually traveling with them and those who are at these facilities?

ROBERTSON: No, everyone still seems to be really happy. On the Iraqi side they, again, they keep saying good cooperation, good cooperation. There's nothing that we can see going on. We only have a limited view, of course, of the interaction between inspectors and between the Iraqi officials, but even when it's up close and personal, like we saw this morning, it's very civilized, it's very cordial, nobody's getting upset, everyone seems the body language is positive, everyone to want to help each other, so from what we can see, it does seem to be working.

One question that did stand out was, what would happen when you get more U.N. teams going out? What would happen to the Iraqi officials who followed them? Would there be enough? Well, from what we've seen today, five U.N. jeeps and about 10 Iraqi jeeps following them. So it seems that certainly the Iraqi officials are quite prepared, quite ready to cope with this will big influx of U.N. inspectors, 70 here now -- Leon.

HARRIS: I got to ask you, Nic, before we let you go real quickly here, does that indicate anything at all to you. The suspicions amongst many people we talked to here, is that the reason why there's so much cooperation is because they know that nothing will be found, specifically at these sites that they are letting and encouraging the U.N. to come in and inspect.

ROBERTSON: There should be no doubt in the minds of anyone in the Iraqi government or anyone on the Iraqi side of the inspection programs about where the U.N. is going to go, because many times, it's all the sites they went to when they were here in the 1990s. This site they went to today, that was a declared site. So no surprises really in that context, maybe a surprise which day the inspectors show up, but no surprises for the Iraqi officials about which site they're going to so far.

So all we can say from here, Leon, is really what we've seen, that we see good cooperation, we see the inspectors going on to the sites, they're not coming off site and telling us, look, we have problems, we didn't see this, we didn't see that.

What we see here seems to be good cooperation. But again, as you say and from what we see, really the Iraqi officials very much across what the inspectors are doing and very much aware where they're going to go.

HARRIS: Very interesting. Nic Robertson in Baghdad. Thanks, Nic, as always.

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 December 11, 2002 - 11:09   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's turn to the weapons hunt in Iraq. Inspectors there fanned out, six sites today they checked out, one that's listed in Iraq's recent weapons disclosure to the U.N.
Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is keeping pace with the inspectors. In fact, and as Nic checks in now from Baghdad, Nic, as I hear it, you actually went out with the inspectors to one of those sites that was listed in those documents turned over to the U.N.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Leon.

The first indication we had of that was when the weapons team that we were following pulled over to the side of the road. They were in about five U.N. jeeps. Right behind them, the Iraqi officials that followed them wherever they go and about 10 of their jeeps pulled over at the side of the road. The U.N. official got out his notebook with his pages of information in it, he went to speak with the Iraqi official, and he said, this morning we're going to a site that's been one that you've put on your recent declaration, a new site, and he gave the official the name of the site, Al Fatah (ph).

He said, we know it's around here somewhere, but we need some help to find it. The Iraqi official said, ah, you mean Al Karama (ph), and they pointed, and immediately next to where they were standing, that was the facility.

Incidentally, while that was happening, this is right next to a busy highway, and an Iraqi car slammed into the back of a U.N. jeep. No one was injured, but it did cause a lot of paperwork to get done there. But inside that facility, inspectors spent about 3 1/2 hours there.

When we went in, we were shown around the plant. Now, it is recently built. It was built in 1999, and that's why it wasn't on the previous declarations, and that's why it was on this latest declaration, because it was a new -- not a new site, but a new factory. The previous factory there had been bombed during the Gulf War. They had built a new factory in 1999, and we were told that it made parts for missiles, parts for tanks, but the brigadier in charge of the site there assured us that it didn't make anything that contravened U.N. resolution 1441, that it is an example here perhaps that the inspectors are becoming maybe now there are greater numbers, a little more aggressive where they go to.

HARRIS: That's interesting. Nic, Let me ask you this then, as they become more aggressive and as they go to sites like this one here, have you noticed anything different in the reactions of the Iraqi miners and the Iraqi soldiers and security officials who are actually traveling with them and those who are at these facilities?

ROBERTSON: No, everyone still seems to be really happy. On the Iraqi side they, again, they keep saying good cooperation, good cooperation. There's nothing that we can see going on. We only have a limited view, of course, of the interaction between inspectors and between the Iraqi officials, but even when it's up close and personal, like we saw this morning, it's very civilized, it's very cordial, nobody's getting upset, everyone seems the body language is positive, everyone to want to help each other, so from what we can see, it does seem to be working.

One question that did stand out was, what would happen when you get more U.N. teams going out? What would happen to the Iraqi officials who followed them? Would there be enough? Well, from what we've seen today, five U.N. jeeps and about 10 Iraqi jeeps following them. So it seems that certainly the Iraqi officials are quite prepared, quite ready to cope with this will big influx of U.N. inspectors, 70 here now -- Leon.

HARRIS: I got to ask you, Nic, before we let you go real quickly here, does that indicate anything at all to you. The suspicions amongst many people we talked to here, is that the reason why there's so much cooperation is because they know that nothing will be found, specifically at these sites that they are letting and encouraging the U.N. to come in and inspect.

ROBERTSON: There should be no doubt in the minds of anyone in the Iraqi government or anyone on the Iraqi side of the inspection programs about where the U.N. is going to go, because many times, it's all the sites they went to when they were here in the 1990s. This site they went to today, that was a declared site. So no surprises really in that context, maybe a surprise which day the inspectors show up, but no surprises for the Iraqi officials about which site they're going to so far.

So all we can say from here, Leon, is really what we've seen, that we see good cooperation, we see the inspectors going on to the sites, they're not coming off site and telling us, look, we have problems, we didn't see this, we didn't see that.

What we see here seems to be good cooperation. But again, as you say and from what we see, really the Iraqi officials very much across what the inspectors are doing and very much aware where they're going to go.

HARRIS: Very interesting. Nic Robertson in Baghdad. Thanks, Nic, as always.

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