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CNN Live At Daybreak

U.N. Experts Taking to Skies Over Iraq

Aired January 07, 2003 - 05:07   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.


JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's go to Iraq now. The U.S. has struck again. The Pentagon says an Air Force Predator spy plane had bombed an Iraqi radar site in the southern no fly zone. It's the third such strike in recent weeks. Authorities say a second radar site was also struck yesterday, but it's not clear if the Predator was involved or it was the work of a different coalition aircraft.
U.N. experts are taking to the skies over Iraq today for the first time inspectors are using helicopters as part of their hunt for weapons of mass destruction.

Our Rym Brahimi joins us now from Baghdad with the latest -- good morning, Rym.

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

Well, as you can see, they're stepping up their search, these U.N. inspectors. Clearly, not really affected by President Saddam Hussein's televised address to the nation in which he accused the inspectors of spying. Now, the inspectors have been hard at work to meet that 27th of January deadline when they have to report to the U.N. Security Council. They even worked yesterday, which was actually a national holiday. Iraq celebrating the 82nd anniversary of its armed forced.

We were shown pictures on Iraqi TV of President Saddam Hussein greeting the various commanders of all the different armed forces, clearly a big display of allegiance there.

Now, as you mentioned, the inspectors have been going out and about today on a helicopter for the first time. They left from the military air base called Al-Rasheed (ph). They left a couple of helicopters at least. They went west to a place that's near the border with Syria. It's a place where the main facility there is actually a phosphate mine. It used to be, a long time ago it used to be the main place from which Iraq used to get its natural uranium. So that's a place of interest, a very obvious site to visit for inspectors.

It's about a four and a half hour drive if you were to drive there from the Iraqi capital. But, of course, it was destroyed in 1991 during the Gulf War and then it was totally cemented by the nuclear inspectors back then. So there's been some different activities, phosphate mines, sulfur mines, stuff like that. But from what the Iraqis say, nothing else. That's what the inspectors are going to check -- John. VAUSE: Rym, reports here today in the "Washington Times" talking about a new defense strategy that the Iraqis are building around Baghdad. It's a two layer defense ring.

What can you tell us about that? Have you seen any evidence of this from your perspective?

BRAHIMI: You know, John, these things are very, very difficult to see when you're on the ground. They're probably things that are more obvious if you were looking at them from the sky. We have heard from some diplomatic sources that it is a very distinct possibility that they may have started that kind of defense. Iraqi officials have been telling us on a regular basis that they are preparing, they are -- their line is basically we are hoping to avoid war, we're cooperating as much as we can with the inspectors to avert war, but we are also preparing for the worst -- John.

VAUSE: OK, Rym Brahimi for us there in Baghdad.

Thank you, Rym.

For more on the Iraq crisis, log onto our Web site. The lead story there, U.N. nuclear experts have found no evidence that Iraq has nuclear weapons programs. That and a whole lot more on Iraq at cnn.com. The AOL keyword, CNN.

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 January 7, 2003 - 05:07   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's go to Iraq now. The U.S. has struck again. The Pentagon says an Air Force Predator spy plane had bombed an Iraqi radar site in the southern no fly zone. It's the third such strike in recent weeks. Authorities say a second radar site was also struck yesterday, but it's not clear if the Predator was involved or it was the work of a different coalition aircraft.
U.N. experts are taking to the skies over Iraq today for the first time inspectors are using helicopters as part of their hunt for weapons of mass destruction.

Our Rym Brahimi joins us now from Baghdad with the latest -- good morning, Rym.

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

Well, as you can see, they're stepping up their search, these U.N. inspectors. Clearly, not really affected by President Saddam Hussein's televised address to the nation in which he accused the inspectors of spying. Now, the inspectors have been hard at work to meet that 27th of January deadline when they have to report to the U.N. Security Council. They even worked yesterday, which was actually a national holiday. Iraq celebrating the 82nd anniversary of its armed forced.

We were shown pictures on Iraqi TV of President Saddam Hussein greeting the various commanders of all the different armed forces, clearly a big display of allegiance there.

Now, as you mentioned, the inspectors have been going out and about today on a helicopter for the first time. They left from the military air base called Al-Rasheed (ph). They left a couple of helicopters at least. They went west to a place that's near the border with Syria. It's a place where the main facility there is actually a phosphate mine. It used to be, a long time ago it used to be the main place from which Iraq used to get its natural uranium. So that's a place of interest, a very obvious site to visit for inspectors.

It's about a four and a half hour drive if you were to drive there from the Iraqi capital. But, of course, it was destroyed in 1991 during the Gulf War and then it was totally cemented by the nuclear inspectors back then. So there's been some different activities, phosphate mines, sulfur mines, stuff like that. But from what the Iraqis say, nothing else. That's what the inspectors are going to check -- John. VAUSE: Rym, reports here today in the "Washington Times" talking about a new defense strategy that the Iraqis are building around Baghdad. It's a two layer defense ring.

What can you tell us about that? Have you seen any evidence of this from your perspective?

BRAHIMI: You know, John, these things are very, very difficult to see when you're on the ground. They're probably things that are more obvious if you were looking at them from the sky. We have heard from some diplomatic sources that it is a very distinct possibility that they may have started that kind of defense. Iraqi officials have been telling us on a regular basis that they are preparing, they are -- their line is basically we are hoping to avoid war, we're cooperating as much as we can with the inspectors to avert war, but we are also preparing for the worst -- John.

VAUSE: OK, Rym Brahimi for us there in Baghdad.

Thank you, Rym.

For more on the Iraq crisis, log onto our Web site. The lead story there, U.N. nuclear experts have found no evidence that Iraq has nuclear weapons programs. That and a whole lot more on Iraq at cnn.com. The AOL keyword, CNN.

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