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CNN Live At Daybreak

International News Desk

Aired January 27, 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 have wandered over to our international desk because we just heard a long press conference out of Baghdad from Iraq's foreign minister and I wanted to, I wanted you to kind of like analyze it for people in the audience...
DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Right.

COSTELLO: ... because, you know, Iraq's foreign minister had a lot of tough things to say.

CLINCH: Well, he had a lot of things to say. But very simple, really, the things that we've heard before. The Iraqis are saying they've given full cooperation. He described it as super cooperation. I've never heard him say that before.

COSTELLO: Yes.

CLINCH: But super cooperation. He says they have no weapons of mass destruction. He says they have no links with al Qaeda. He says -- and the United States wants war. The same things that they've said. But it's interesting today, as we're about to hear from the inspectors at the U.N., to get a sense of what the Iraqis are thinking. And it's interesting. It's somewhere between fear and resignation that they will be attacked and a certain sense of if not enjoyment, then certainly interest in the fact that the United States is having to work so hard to sell its case.

So there is, there is interest in listening to the Iraqis because...

COSTELLO: I found some of the things really interesting in the way they're interpreting what they call America's aggression. For example, they said America's true interest really is in oil now and protecting Israel.

CLINCH: Well, to a certain degree I suppose they could be right from whichever side. The United States certainly has made it clear they're interested in securing oil supplies from the region and they certainly support Israel. So it's hard to argue with that, although, of course, the Iraqis a little bit more aggressive in the way they interpret that than Americans.

COSTELLO: And he also said that the United States wants to take over the Arab world and occupy lands there.

CLINCH: Yes. Well, I don't really have anything to say on that, except for the fact that, you know, he says it, we put it out there and the audience can make up their own minds. We have great faith in our audience all over the world in terms of interpreting and understanding what both the Iraqis and the United States has to say on this story, and...

COSTELLO: And I liked Rym Brahimi's question in there when she asked him, Naji Sabri, who are Iraq's friends? Who will join Iraq if the United States does go to war with Iraq? And he really didn't answer the question.

CLINCH: Well, there isn't really a clear answer on that. They do have some peace activists who are there and other countries who hope there will not be a war regionally. It's hard to see anybody lining up next to them militarily, though so.

COSTELLO: That's true.

Well, we'll see what happens.

CLINCH: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: And we're going to get to Rym Brahimi pretty soon, right?

CLINCH: Absolutely. It's one of those all you can eat news days today, Iraq and everything else. We're all over the world today.

COSTELLO: All right.

Thank you very much, David Clinch.

CLINCH: OK.

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 27, 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 have wandered over to our international desk because we just heard a long press conference out of Baghdad from Iraq's foreign minister and I wanted to, I wanted you to kind of like analyze it for people in the audience...
DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Right.

COSTELLO: ... because, you know, Iraq's foreign minister had a lot of tough things to say.

CLINCH: Well, he had a lot of things to say. But very simple, really, the things that we've heard before. The Iraqis are saying they've given full cooperation. He described it as super cooperation. I've never heard him say that before.

COSTELLO: Yes.

CLINCH: But super cooperation. He says they have no weapons of mass destruction. He says they have no links with al Qaeda. He says -- and the United States wants war. The same things that they've said. But it's interesting today, as we're about to hear from the inspectors at the U.N., to get a sense of what the Iraqis are thinking. And it's interesting. It's somewhere between fear and resignation that they will be attacked and a certain sense of if not enjoyment, then certainly interest in the fact that the United States is having to work so hard to sell its case.

So there is, there is interest in listening to the Iraqis because...

COSTELLO: I found some of the things really interesting in the way they're interpreting what they call America's aggression. For example, they said America's true interest really is in oil now and protecting Israel.

CLINCH: Well, to a certain degree I suppose they could be right from whichever side. The United States certainly has made it clear they're interested in securing oil supplies from the region and they certainly support Israel. So it's hard to argue with that, although, of course, the Iraqis a little bit more aggressive in the way they interpret that than Americans.

COSTELLO: And he also said that the United States wants to take over the Arab world and occupy lands there.

CLINCH: Yes. Well, I don't really have anything to say on that, except for the fact that, you know, he says it, we put it out there and the audience can make up their own minds. We have great faith in our audience all over the world in terms of interpreting and understanding what both the Iraqis and the United States has to say on this story, and...

COSTELLO: And I liked Rym Brahimi's question in there when she asked him, Naji Sabri, who are Iraq's friends? Who will join Iraq if the United States does go to war with Iraq? And he really didn't answer the question.

CLINCH: Well, there isn't really a clear answer on that. They do have some peace activists who are there and other countries who hope there will not be a war regionally. It's hard to see anybody lining up next to them militarily, though so.

COSTELLO: That's true.

Well, we'll see what happens.

CLINCH: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: And we're going to get to Rym Brahimi pretty soon, right?

CLINCH: Absolutely. It's one of those all you can eat news days today, Iraq and everything else. We're all over the world today.

COSTELLO: All right.

Thank you very much, David Clinch.

CLINCH: OK.

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