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CNN Live At Daybreak

Inspectors Express Hope of More Iraqi Cooperation

Aired February 10, 2003 - 05:09   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: It's time to see how Iraq is feeling about all of the breaking developments today, and also about the Blix- ElBaradei meeting over the weekend in Iraq.
Our Rym Brahimi is in Baghdad with that -- Rym.

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed, well Vice President Taha Yasin Ramadan, who was the highest-level official that the two chief U.N. weapons inspectors saw when they were in Baghdad, says that he's prepared to provide more cooperation, he's prepared to answer whatever requests the two chief U.N. weapons inspectors have put forward. But he's also calling on them to be fair and truthful in their account to the U.N. Security Council on Friday.

The top scientific advisor to President Saddam Hussein, General Amer al-Sa'adi, was leading the delegation on the Iraqi side when the two groups of U.N. inspectors and Iraqi officials met. Now, he said that Iraq had been truthful, was willing to cooperate, but also seemed to say that having done all it can, there's very little more that Iraq can actually do, and that the rest would really not be in its hands.

That said, General Amer al-Sa'adi did say that before Friday, there would be a reply regarding the high-altitude U2 surveillance planes. Now, that's been a very big issue in the past weeks of discussions, indicating -- suggesting maybe that this could be met with a positive response on the part of the Iraqis.

And of course, Blix and ElBaradei departing this morning, said that they were leaving on a note of cautious optimism. Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the IAEA, in particular making the point that it's important not to bomb Iraq, at least not now, because it would send the wrong message to the rest of the world, as inspections are progressing no matter how -- what the rhythm of that progress is. Well, the message to be sent is that inspections can work rather than for a country to be attacked.

Back to you.

COSTELLO: Well, you know, Rym, Hans Blix just told our Richard Roth that he's sort of disappointed in those documents that Iraq has provided. What better spirit of cooperation is Iraq now willing to provide?

BRAHIMI: Well, from what we understand, Iraq has suggested several means of verifying what it's been saying, of also finding out more documents. First of all, one of those means, they've established a committee that's going to be led by a very high-level official, a former minister of oil here, and he's going to be in charge of trying to find out all of the documents they can and bring them out, go to various scientists, to just gather all of those documents and bring forward what they can.

The other issue that they put forward, or another suggestion that they put forward, is to try and verify what they've been saying about the fact that some of the biological weapons from the past had been destroyed. They've asked the U.N. to provide certain equipment, certain pieces of material, in order to be able to verify that.

Of course, then there's the question of time, and that's what has to be seen next.

Back to you.

COSTELLO: Exactly. Rym Brahimi reporting live from Baghdad this morning.

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 February 10, 2003 - 05:09   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It's time to see how Iraq is feeling about all of the breaking developments today, and also about the Blix- ElBaradei meeting over the weekend in Iraq.
Our Rym Brahimi is in Baghdad with that -- Rym.

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed, well Vice President Taha Yasin Ramadan, who was the highest-level official that the two chief U.N. weapons inspectors saw when they were in Baghdad, says that he's prepared to provide more cooperation, he's prepared to answer whatever requests the two chief U.N. weapons inspectors have put forward. But he's also calling on them to be fair and truthful in their account to the U.N. Security Council on Friday.

The top scientific advisor to President Saddam Hussein, General Amer al-Sa'adi, was leading the delegation on the Iraqi side when the two groups of U.N. inspectors and Iraqi officials met. Now, he said that Iraq had been truthful, was willing to cooperate, but also seemed to say that having done all it can, there's very little more that Iraq can actually do, and that the rest would really not be in its hands.

That said, General Amer al-Sa'adi did say that before Friday, there would be a reply regarding the high-altitude U2 surveillance planes. Now, that's been a very big issue in the past weeks of discussions, indicating -- suggesting maybe that this could be met with a positive response on the part of the Iraqis.

And of course, Blix and ElBaradei departing this morning, said that they were leaving on a note of cautious optimism. Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the IAEA, in particular making the point that it's important not to bomb Iraq, at least not now, because it would send the wrong message to the rest of the world, as inspections are progressing no matter how -- what the rhythm of that progress is. Well, the message to be sent is that inspections can work rather than for a country to be attacked.

Back to you.

COSTELLO: Well, you know, Rym, Hans Blix just told our Richard Roth that he's sort of disappointed in those documents that Iraq has provided. What better spirit of cooperation is Iraq now willing to provide?

BRAHIMI: Well, from what we understand, Iraq has suggested several means of verifying what it's been saying, of also finding out more documents. First of all, one of those means, they've established a committee that's going to be led by a very high-level official, a former minister of oil here, and he's going to be in charge of trying to find out all of the documents they can and bring them out, go to various scientists, to just gather all of those documents and bring forward what they can.

The other issue that they put forward, or another suggestion that they put forward, is to try and verify what they've been saying about the fact that some of the biological weapons from the past had been destroyed. They've asked the U.N. to provide certain equipment, certain pieces of material, in order to be able to verify that.

Of course, then there's the question of time, and that's what has to be seen next.

Back to you.

COSTELLO: Exactly. Rym Brahimi reporting live from Baghdad this morning.

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