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CNN Live At Daybreak

International News Desk

Aired January 16, 2003 - 05:52   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: I'm over at the international desk now to check in with senior international editor David Clinch.
And, of course, there is a lot of news on Iraq this morning.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes, not all in Baghdad, as well. We're in Europe. We're tracking the two top U.N. inspectors as they make their way through Europe, finally ending up in Cypress at the end of the week, to both go into Iraq themselves again, Mohamed ElBaradei and Hans Blix.

Baradei, we caught up with in Moscow today and we have an interview with him today. Hans Blix, a little bit more complicated. He's at the E.U. in Brussels today. We're hoping and are hoping to carry a press conference from him, hopefully perhaps in the next hour or so.

It's a little bit complicated. He's at the E.U. and E.U. Television normally puts out these press conferences live. We've been talking to them about that but they're a little bit more interested in putting out the -- I don't know if we can show it now, but they've got a fishing debate that's going on at the European Union right now...

COSTELLO: A fishing debate?

CLINCH: It's more of a priority for them to put that out than the Blix press conference. So we're trying to find another way to get that Blix press conference live.

COSTELLO: And this morning Blix and ElBaradei are saying...

CLINCH: Both saying the same thing, and this is interesting. Both saying that Iraq is not doing enough. They're cooperating, but only passively, they need to switch to active cooperation, which is basically revealing information that they have, coming forward with information and answering the questions that the U.N. still says are unanswered.

COSTELLO: And what do you think those comments mean in light of this January 27th deadline?

CLINCH: Well, again, they're both saying the same thing. If the inspections continue as they are, they need more time to do them. On the other hand, if Iraq were to come forward with the information and answer those questions, it could all be over very soon and Iraq and the U.N. would be able to come to an agreement. So it sounds contradictory, but it's not. Inspections will take a long time if the Iraqis continue doing what they're doing. If they change, it could all turn around very quickly so.

COSTELLO: And another interesting thing going on in Baghdad now with the weapons inspectors, inspectors have actually gone up to two scientists' homes, knocked on the door and said can we come in?

CLINCH: Well, that's not entirely surprising. They've said they want to interview these scientists and they are doing that. They asked the scientists to come forward for interviews. Some of them have not done that. So it's not entirely surprising. But it's also perhaps a sign that the U.N. is acting on specific intelligence. So we'll be watching that very closely.

COSTELLO: And oddly enough, this is the anniversary of when the first shots were fired in Iraq back in '91.

CLINCH: Yes, absolutely. And very interesting.

COSTELLO: Where were you?

CLINCH: Twelve years ago today -- and I actually was working for ITN, which is a television news network in Britain. I had been working there for a few years. I was vaguely aware of CNN, or, you know, they were an affiliate of ours at that time. I remember the moment precisely when CNN started reporting live from Baghdad, Peter Arnett (ph) and the others. I remember my boss at the time at ITN, Stewart Pervis (ph), who is an enormous man, running around ITN like a chicken without his head on saying, "Look at CNN! Look at CNN! Look at CNN!"

Within just a matter of minutes, ITN and every other broadcaster in Britain were showing live pictures of CNN and continued to do so for hours and, in fact, days after that.

So that changed British television and television news. It's also changed my life. About six months later, having realized there was really only one place to work in television news, I came to work here and I've been here ever since so.

COSTELLO: And we're glad you're here.

CLINCH: Thank you.

COSTELLO: That's for sure.

David Clinch, thank you very much for filling us in this morning.

CLINCH: OK.

COSTELLO: We appreciate it.

CLINCH: See you later, Carol.

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 16, 2003 - 05:52   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm over at the international desk now to check in with senior international editor David Clinch.
And, of course, there is a lot of news on Iraq this morning.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes, not all in Baghdad, as well. We're in Europe. We're tracking the two top U.N. inspectors as they make their way through Europe, finally ending up in Cypress at the end of the week, to both go into Iraq themselves again, Mohamed ElBaradei and Hans Blix.

Baradei, we caught up with in Moscow today and we have an interview with him today. Hans Blix, a little bit more complicated. He's at the E.U. in Brussels today. We're hoping and are hoping to carry a press conference from him, hopefully perhaps in the next hour or so.

It's a little bit complicated. He's at the E.U. and E.U. Television normally puts out these press conferences live. We've been talking to them about that but they're a little bit more interested in putting out the -- I don't know if we can show it now, but they've got a fishing debate that's going on at the European Union right now...

COSTELLO: A fishing debate?

CLINCH: It's more of a priority for them to put that out than the Blix press conference. So we're trying to find another way to get that Blix press conference live.

COSTELLO: And this morning Blix and ElBaradei are saying...

CLINCH: Both saying the same thing, and this is interesting. Both saying that Iraq is not doing enough. They're cooperating, but only passively, they need to switch to active cooperation, which is basically revealing information that they have, coming forward with information and answering the questions that the U.N. still says are unanswered.

COSTELLO: And what do you think those comments mean in light of this January 27th deadline?

CLINCH: Well, again, they're both saying the same thing. If the inspections continue as they are, they need more time to do them. On the other hand, if Iraq were to come forward with the information and answer those questions, it could all be over very soon and Iraq and the U.N. would be able to come to an agreement. So it sounds contradictory, but it's not. Inspections will take a long time if the Iraqis continue doing what they're doing. If they change, it could all turn around very quickly so.

COSTELLO: And another interesting thing going on in Baghdad now with the weapons inspectors, inspectors have actually gone up to two scientists' homes, knocked on the door and said can we come in?

CLINCH: Well, that's not entirely surprising. They've said they want to interview these scientists and they are doing that. They asked the scientists to come forward for interviews. Some of them have not done that. So it's not entirely surprising. But it's also perhaps a sign that the U.N. is acting on specific intelligence. So we'll be watching that very closely.

COSTELLO: And oddly enough, this is the anniversary of when the first shots were fired in Iraq back in '91.

CLINCH: Yes, absolutely. And very interesting.

COSTELLO: Where were you?

CLINCH: Twelve years ago today -- and I actually was working for ITN, which is a television news network in Britain. I had been working there for a few years. I was vaguely aware of CNN, or, you know, they were an affiliate of ours at that time. I remember the moment precisely when CNN started reporting live from Baghdad, Peter Arnett (ph) and the others. I remember my boss at the time at ITN, Stewart Pervis (ph), who is an enormous man, running around ITN like a chicken without his head on saying, "Look at CNN! Look at CNN! Look at CNN!"

Within just a matter of minutes, ITN and every other broadcaster in Britain were showing live pictures of CNN and continued to do so for hours and, in fact, days after that.

So that changed British television and television news. It's also changed my life. About six months later, having realized there was really only one place to work in television news, I came to work here and I've been here ever since so.

COSTELLO: And we're glad you're here.

CLINCH: Thank you.

COSTELLO: That's for sure.

David Clinch, thank you very much for filling us in this morning.

CLINCH: OK.

COSTELLO: We appreciate it.

CLINCH: See you later, Carol.

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