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CNN Live At Daybreak
Trouble at This Morning's Weapons Inspection
Aired December 13, 2002 - 05:06 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 COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We want to go live now to Baghdad with some late breaking news on trouble at this morning's weapons inspection. Let's get right to CNN's Nic Robertson, who joins us live by phone -- what happened, Nic?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, it's Friday here, Muslim holy day. Most people are off work, but not the weapons inspectors. They were two hours, one team was two hours into an inspection of the communicable disease control center very close to downtown Baghdad. Then we found out that a senior unofficial was being called to the site, followed by a senior Iraqi official from the Iraq's National Monitoring Directorate, who deal with the U.N. here.
The issue apparently some doors that the -- some rooms the inspectors wanted to get into in the facility were locked. Nobody could find the keys. The reason, we were told, the keys couldn't be found was because the employees were off work, it being Friday. The keys were with the employees. The U.N., top unofficial in Iraq called his counterpart, his Iraqi counterpart on a hot line they've got installed to head off problems and issues like this. Both men arrived at the site here and within 15 minutes the issue seemed to be resolved, both of them saying that this was a new site, that it was a tagging issue and that everything was resolved, there were no problems, and both departed from the site.
The team of inspectors left about half an hour later.
Now, what we understand has happened is that the inspectors have put a tag or a seal on the doors of the rooms they couldn't get into and they have now left the site. Both the U.N., however, here, and the Iraqi side, Iraqi officials saying that there is no problem, that everything was resolved.
This is the first time, however, that senior officials from both sides have had to have been called into the site to deal with an issue. It's the first time the telephone hot line that has been installed here has been used in anger to resolve a situation and no doubt it's also called upon a lot of the good will that's been generated over the last few weeks as well -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, at least it's been resolved.
Nic Robertson, thanks.
More now on the hunt for weapons in Iraq. White House officials have delivered their preliminary assessment of Iraq's weapons declaration to U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix. According to one senior official, the declaration omits may details and falls far short of being a complete report. A detailed analysis of the declaration will take place later this month.
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 13, 2002 - 05:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We want to go live now to Baghdad with some late breaking news on trouble at this morning's weapons inspection. Let's get right to CNN's Nic Robertson, who joins us live by phone -- what happened, Nic?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, it's Friday here, Muslim holy day. Most people are off work, but not the weapons inspectors. They were two hours, one team was two hours into an inspection of the communicable disease control center very close to downtown Baghdad. Then we found out that a senior unofficial was being called to the site, followed by a senior Iraqi official from the Iraq's National Monitoring Directorate, who deal with the U.N. here.
The issue apparently some doors that the -- some rooms the inspectors wanted to get into in the facility were locked. Nobody could find the keys. The reason, we were told, the keys couldn't be found was because the employees were off work, it being Friday. The keys were with the employees. The U.N., top unofficial in Iraq called his counterpart, his Iraqi counterpart on a hot line they've got installed to head off problems and issues like this. Both men arrived at the site here and within 15 minutes the issue seemed to be resolved, both of them saying that this was a new site, that it was a tagging issue and that everything was resolved, there were no problems, and both departed from the site.
The team of inspectors left about half an hour later.
Now, what we understand has happened is that the inspectors have put a tag or a seal on the doors of the rooms they couldn't get into and they have now left the site. Both the U.N., however, here, and the Iraqi side, Iraqi officials saying that there is no problem, that everything was resolved.
This is the first time, however, that senior officials from both sides have had to have been called into the site to deal with an issue. It's the first time the telephone hot line that has been installed here has been used in anger to resolve a situation and no doubt it's also called upon a lot of the good will that's been generated over the last few weeks as well -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, at least it's been resolved.
Nic Robertson, thanks.
More now on the hunt for weapons in Iraq. White House officials have delivered their preliminary assessment of Iraq's weapons declaration to U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix. According to one senior official, the declaration omits may details and falls far short of being a complete report. A detailed analysis of the declaration will take place later this month.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
