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CNN Live At Daybreak

Drone Downed

Aired December 24, 2002 - 06:06   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.


CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to the U.N. weapons inspections in Iraq. Iraq has shot down an U.N.manned drone surveillance aircraft. That comes as inspectors began getting access to U.S. intelligence on suspected sites in Iraq. And investigators with the International Atomic Energy Agency say that they have begU.N. interviewing Iraqi scientists about weapons programs.
Let's get more now on the downing of that U.S. drone aircraft and the inspectors' work. Let's turn to Rym Brahimi, who is following the inspections, as well as Iraq's shooting down of the drone aircraft.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Video shot at night, the ruins of a U.S. aircraft broadcast on Iraqi TV. "The American enemy," says the commentator, "uses these planes to spy on our civilian and military installations."

Iraq confirmed its air force down an U.N.manned U.S. drone over southern Iraq, five hours after it first entered Iraqi airspace in what Baghdad says was a precise and planned operation. This latest military confrontation comes even as U.N. weapons inspectors continued their mission on the groU.N.d.

Biological experts visited what Iraq says is a baby milk factory outside Baghdad, checking tags placed on some of the equipment there during previous inspections. The factory, once the site of widely publicized controversy during the 1991 Gulf War, when it was destroyed by the U.S., who said at the time it was a dual-use facility, potentially producing biological weapons, while Iraq maintained all along it only made dried baby milk.

Inspectors have now been searching sites throughout the coU.N.try for almost four weeks, a rough total of 150 inspections so far, interviewing some Iraqi scientists, the U.N. informally at the sites. More formal interviews are still in process, as the U.N. continues to finesse the details of what the U.S. insists could bring forward valuable information.

HIRO DEKI, U.N. INSPECTORS SPOKESMAN: As far as those private interviews are concerned, all I can say is, preparations are U.N.der way, and we are looking at various modalities, particularly those who might wish to go out of this coU.N.try.

BRAHIMI: Iraq says it will submit a list of scientists for U.N. review by the end of the year. Then, the U.N. will choose those to be interviewed formally by inspectors. But addressing an Arab solidarity conference, Iraq's deputy prime minister said the U.S. was not interested in disarmament, only in dominating the region.

U.N.IDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This mobilization is a strategic (ph) one, at the level of a world war that in this particular moment targets all of the Arab world from east to west.

BRAHIMI: As for the coU.N.try's besieged president, he was shown on state-rU.N. Iraqi TV, smiling and apparently relaxed, giving the coU.N.try's ambassadors guidelines on what message to send to the world.

(on camera): President Saddam Hussein's latest response to a very public display of U.S. forces in the Gulf, but called for his diplomats to expose what he says was an U.N.just American-British- Zionist aggression.

Rym Brahimi, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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 24, 2002 - 06:06   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to the U.N. weapons inspections in Iraq. Iraq has shot down an U.N.manned drone surveillance aircraft. That comes as inspectors began getting access to U.S. intelligence on suspected sites in Iraq. And investigators with the International Atomic Energy Agency say that they have begU.N. interviewing Iraqi scientists about weapons programs.
Let's get more now on the downing of that U.S. drone aircraft and the inspectors' work. Let's turn to Rym Brahimi, who is following the inspections, as well as Iraq's shooting down of the drone aircraft.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Video shot at night, the ruins of a U.S. aircraft broadcast on Iraqi TV. "The American enemy," says the commentator, "uses these planes to spy on our civilian and military installations."

Iraq confirmed its air force down an U.N.manned U.S. drone over southern Iraq, five hours after it first entered Iraqi airspace in what Baghdad says was a precise and planned operation. This latest military confrontation comes even as U.N. weapons inspectors continued their mission on the groU.N.d.

Biological experts visited what Iraq says is a baby milk factory outside Baghdad, checking tags placed on some of the equipment there during previous inspections. The factory, once the site of widely publicized controversy during the 1991 Gulf War, when it was destroyed by the U.S., who said at the time it was a dual-use facility, potentially producing biological weapons, while Iraq maintained all along it only made dried baby milk.

Inspectors have now been searching sites throughout the coU.N.try for almost four weeks, a rough total of 150 inspections so far, interviewing some Iraqi scientists, the U.N. informally at the sites. More formal interviews are still in process, as the U.N. continues to finesse the details of what the U.S. insists could bring forward valuable information.

HIRO DEKI, U.N. INSPECTORS SPOKESMAN: As far as those private interviews are concerned, all I can say is, preparations are U.N.der way, and we are looking at various modalities, particularly those who might wish to go out of this coU.N.try.

BRAHIMI: Iraq says it will submit a list of scientists for U.N. review by the end of the year. Then, the U.N. will choose those to be interviewed formally by inspectors. But addressing an Arab solidarity conference, Iraq's deputy prime minister said the U.S. was not interested in disarmament, only in dominating the region.

U.N.IDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This mobilization is a strategic (ph) one, at the level of a world war that in this particular moment targets all of the Arab world from east to west.

BRAHIMI: As for the coU.N.try's besieged president, he was shown on state-rU.N. Iraqi TV, smiling and apparently relaxed, giving the coU.N.try's ambassadors guidelines on what message to send to the world.

(on camera): President Saddam Hussein's latest response to a very public display of U.S. forces in the Gulf, but called for his diplomats to expose what he says was an U.N.just American-British- Zionist aggression.

Rym Brahimi, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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