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Inspectors Fan Out in Search of Forbidden Weapons

Aired December 12, 2002 - 11:10   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: Iraq admitted in the 1990s that it had manufactured tons of VX. Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is in Baghdad this morning, where inspectors fanned out once again today across the country searching for such forbidden weapons.
Let's get the latest report from Nic. Hello.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Leon.

At least half a dozen sites visited by inspectors today. We know also a briefing that comes essentially at the end of the week for the -- this group of inspectors. They will likely take Friday off this week, being the Muslim holy day. This is the day, Thursday, when Iraq's main interlocutor with the inspectors, General Hassam Amin, from Iraq's National Monitoring Directorate, briefs journalists.

Today, he sounded quite positive in tone about the work of the inspectors so far, saying that they were being professional in going about their work, and quite positive about the outlook for their work as well, essentially saying that under the terms of the current resolution, 1441, and the previous resolution, 1284, that he thought that the inspectors' work here could be wrapped up within eight months.

When it came to dealing with the United States, he was very critical of United States acquisition of Iraq's declaration over the weekend, saying that this was an insult to the U.N., and he was also very critical, guided by the results of the inspection so far, he said, of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. HOSSAM AMIN, IRAQ MONITORING DIRECTORATE: Ten of the sites which had been inspected were accused by so-called Blair Report, and they were allegedly safe to practice and conduct some prohibitive activities. And the visits of the inspection teams brought that those allegations are groundless, and the report is absolutely -- was just a lie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Now, some of the other interesting details coming out of this press conference, Leon, he said that whenever the U.N. inspectors take samples at a site, so will the Iraqi officials accompanying them, taking the same samples. He said that would get around any issues arising in the future should there be a discrepancy about exactly what was going on at that site, about exactly what the samples may have been taken.

And on another issue that is very keen and important to U.N. inspectors right now, the fact that they've asked Iraqi officials for a list of Iraqi scientists whose have worked in the weapons production area over the last years. The U.N. inspectors have asked for that list of scientists. General Hassom Amin saying so far, they haven't quite finished the list, but they could finish it very soon, and the letter could be delivered soon to the U.N., but the U.n. still waiting for the letter to arrive -- Leon.

HARRIS: That's very interesting, Nic, I was going to ask you about that exact point, because as you know, that has been perhaps the most important new tool that these inspectors are actually are taking back with them to Iraq, this ability to take any inspector -- any person, any expert inside that country that may have any knowledge about any weapons systems out of the country.

Do you know at all whether or not the inspectors have been contacted or if they've actually set up a mechanism by which they can interview anyone they get like that, without any Iraqis around, any minders or any soldiers or any kind of intelligence people from Iraq around?

ROBERTSON: So far, there is no mechanism set up. The U.N. are waiting to have that list delivered to them. The Iraqi officials we talked to, the scientists out on the ground, say that they're happy to be interviewed, but they don't want to do it outside of Iraq. They say when the inspectors come, they talk to them, and there's no issues there. But as for a mechanism, that hasn't been dealt with.

The basic understanding is is that any key Iraqi scientists who have worked in the weapons industry in the past will have the inside knowledge, the inside details, that if Iraq is perhaps hiding something in its declaration so far or whatever it shows the U.N. inspectors when they show up, that this scientists who could defect or come out of the country for questioning would have that key information that could show everything up possibly to be a sham. And the feeling is, certainly for the U.S. administration, that once you get one Iraqi scientists, so to speak, to spill the beans, then the floodgates open and the rest might come forward as well.

So it is a very, very key issue for all those standing on the sidelines waiting to see how the U.N. and the Iraqi officials here play out this very thorny issue.

HARRIS: Nic Robertson, reporting live from Baghdad. Thanks, Nic.

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 12, 2002 - 11:10   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Iraq admitted in the 1990s that it had manufactured tons of VX. Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is in Baghdad this morning, where inspectors fanned out once again today across the country searching for such forbidden weapons.
Let's get the latest report from Nic. Hello.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Leon.

At least half a dozen sites visited by inspectors today. We know also a briefing that comes essentially at the end of the week for the -- this group of inspectors. They will likely take Friday off this week, being the Muslim holy day. This is the day, Thursday, when Iraq's main interlocutor with the inspectors, General Hassam Amin, from Iraq's National Monitoring Directorate, briefs journalists.

Today, he sounded quite positive in tone about the work of the inspectors so far, saying that they were being professional in going about their work, and quite positive about the outlook for their work as well, essentially saying that under the terms of the current resolution, 1441, and the previous resolution, 1284, that he thought that the inspectors' work here could be wrapped up within eight months.

When it came to dealing with the United States, he was very critical of United States acquisition of Iraq's declaration over the weekend, saying that this was an insult to the U.N., and he was also very critical, guided by the results of the inspection so far, he said, of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. HOSSAM AMIN, IRAQ MONITORING DIRECTORATE: Ten of the sites which had been inspected were accused by so-called Blair Report, and they were allegedly safe to practice and conduct some prohibitive activities. And the visits of the inspection teams brought that those allegations are groundless, and the report is absolutely -- was just a lie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Now, some of the other interesting details coming out of this press conference, Leon, he said that whenever the U.N. inspectors take samples at a site, so will the Iraqi officials accompanying them, taking the same samples. He said that would get around any issues arising in the future should there be a discrepancy about exactly what was going on at that site, about exactly what the samples may have been taken.

And on another issue that is very keen and important to U.N. inspectors right now, the fact that they've asked Iraqi officials for a list of Iraqi scientists whose have worked in the weapons production area over the last years. The U.N. inspectors have asked for that list of scientists. General Hassom Amin saying so far, they haven't quite finished the list, but they could finish it very soon, and the letter could be delivered soon to the U.N., but the U.n. still waiting for the letter to arrive -- Leon.

HARRIS: That's very interesting, Nic, I was going to ask you about that exact point, because as you know, that has been perhaps the most important new tool that these inspectors are actually are taking back with them to Iraq, this ability to take any inspector -- any person, any expert inside that country that may have any knowledge about any weapons systems out of the country.

Do you know at all whether or not the inspectors have been contacted or if they've actually set up a mechanism by which they can interview anyone they get like that, without any Iraqis around, any minders or any soldiers or any kind of intelligence people from Iraq around?

ROBERTSON: So far, there is no mechanism set up. The U.N. are waiting to have that list delivered to them. The Iraqi officials we talked to, the scientists out on the ground, say that they're happy to be interviewed, but they don't want to do it outside of Iraq. They say when the inspectors come, they talk to them, and there's no issues there. But as for a mechanism, that hasn't been dealt with.

The basic understanding is is that any key Iraqi scientists who have worked in the weapons industry in the past will have the inside knowledge, the inside details, that if Iraq is perhaps hiding something in its declaration so far or whatever it shows the U.N. inspectors when they show up, that this scientists who could defect or come out of the country for questioning would have that key information that could show everything up possibly to be a sham. And the feeling is, certainly for the U.S. administration, that once you get one Iraqi scientists, so to speak, to spill the beans, then the floodgates open and the rest might come forward as well.

So it is a very, very key issue for all those standing on the sidelines waiting to see how the U.N. and the Iraqi officials here play out this very thorny issue.

HARRIS: Nic Robertson, reporting live from Baghdad. Thanks, Nic.

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