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CNN Live At Daybreak
Inspections Resume Today in Iraq
Aired February 18, 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: Turning our attention now to Iraq, U.S. officials say coalition aircraft struck an Iraqi radar system this morning. Central Command says the mobile early warning radar system had been moved into the southern no fly zone and could have threatened coalition aircraft. The radar system provided information for Iraq's air defense system.
In another development, the European Union has reached an agreement on its policy towards Iraq. The joint communique called for Iraq's full and effective disarmament. The E.U. said weapons inspections can't go on indefinitely without Iraqi cooperation but war should be a last resort.
And inspections resume today in Iraq following the first spy plane over flight there in years.
We take you live to the center of the controversy and Rym Brahimi reporting live from Baghdad -- good morning.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.
Well, indeed, the Iraqi foreign minister announced that the first U2 surveillance plane, high altitude surveillance plane flight, sorry, took place over Iraqi territory. Now, that flight lasted for about four hours and 20 minutes. And as you mentioned, it was at the center of a controversy. Iraq for a long time said it couldn't accept those high altitude surveillance planes because it couldn't guarantee the safety of those planes while U.S. and British airplanes were patrolling and sometimes bombing the no fly zones in the north and the south.
Well, it happened for the first time on Monday. The U.N. says it notified the Iraqi authorities that this was going to take place. Iraq had finally accepted, under a lot of pressure.
Other inspection activities, Carol, well, at least nine sites are being checked out today. One of them, the team went to a site known as Al Mutanna. Now, that's a place where in recent days they've been working on destroying some artillery shells that were filled with mustard gas. There's 10 of them that needed to be destroyed. The previous team of inspectors were supposed to do that, but they left in '98 without finishing their task -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Understood.
Rym Brahimi reporting live from Baghdad this morning. Stay up with the latest news from Iraq on our Web site. Showdown Iraq also has interactive features, video stills, maps and story archives. Go to cnn.com, 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 February 18, 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: Turning our attention now to Iraq, U.S. officials say coalition aircraft struck an Iraqi radar system this morning. Central Command says the mobile early warning radar system had been moved into the southern no fly zone and could have threatened coalition aircraft. The radar system provided information for Iraq's air defense system.
In another development, the European Union has reached an agreement on its policy towards Iraq. The joint communique called for Iraq's full and effective disarmament. The E.U. said weapons inspections can't go on indefinitely without Iraqi cooperation but war should be a last resort.
And inspections resume today in Iraq following the first spy plane over flight there in years.
We take you live to the center of the controversy and Rym Brahimi reporting live from Baghdad -- good morning.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.
Well, indeed, the Iraqi foreign minister announced that the first U2 surveillance plane, high altitude surveillance plane flight, sorry, took place over Iraqi territory. Now, that flight lasted for about four hours and 20 minutes. And as you mentioned, it was at the center of a controversy. Iraq for a long time said it couldn't accept those high altitude surveillance planes because it couldn't guarantee the safety of those planes while U.S. and British airplanes were patrolling and sometimes bombing the no fly zones in the north and the south.
Well, it happened for the first time on Monday. The U.N. says it notified the Iraqi authorities that this was going to take place. Iraq had finally accepted, under a lot of pressure.
Other inspection activities, Carol, well, at least nine sites are being checked out today. One of them, the team went to a site known as Al Mutanna. Now, that's a place where in recent days they've been working on destroying some artillery shells that were filled with mustard gas. There's 10 of them that needed to be destroyed. The previous team of inspectors were supposed to do that, but they left in '98 without finishing their task -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Understood.
Rym Brahimi reporting live from Baghdad this morning. Stay up with the latest news from Iraq on our Web site. Showdown Iraq also has interactive features, video stills, maps and story archives. Go to cnn.com, 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
