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CNN Live Today
Iraqi Debate at United Nations
Aired February 18, 2003 - 10:07 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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: More diplomatic maneuvering over Iraq as well. The White House may wait until next week before pressing its case for a second U.N. Security Council resolution. Another open debate is expected to begin at the U.N. this afternoon.
CNN United Nations correspondent Richard Roth is there with the very latest.
Richard -- we understand the nations are lining up to have their last word on the subject.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It will not be the type of debate as we saw Friday. It will be speeches made by the non-allied members of the Security Council, also developing countries -- people who don't have a seat on the Security Council and any one of the 191 members of the United Nations who wants to speak on Iraq.
This has happened before in the last few months. Many countries watching the big powers duke it out inside the chamber, and they decided, well, we want our say too.
As for the chief U.N. weapons inspector, Hans Blix, he's back in the building. He is from Sweden, a hearty soul. He was one of the few people to get into the U.N. yesterday, besides us. Here he is walking right as he's about to cross First Avenue in front of snowy United Nations headquarters.
Because of the snow, they delayed the start of today's meeting by six hours.
Blix also cheered by the flight of the U 2 reconnaissance plane yesterday over the skies of Iraq for several hours. This plane can hover and is able to gather more intelligence information than some of the other planes that have been used. Iraq had placed conditions on such a plane flying. Here you see it several years ago in flight. That's one concession by Iraq, but there are still several areas that Blix would like more cooperation on, including the destruction perhaps of missiles, which is what the U.S. is going to be pushing for, those Al Samoud 2 missiles that are flying in their testing beyond the allowed 93-mile range.
Here at the United Nations, people are still talking about Friday's intense session, where France went at it with the United States, and Germany and China and Russia supported France. It was France who got applause. Colin Powell there did not. Colin Powell very frustrated at one point, saying it's not brain surgery, Iraq is playing tricks on us.
The U.S. and U.K. will now push for a second resolution sometime over the next two weeks, but if they think it will get vetoed or if they think they don't have the votes, they'll withdraw it, and they still maintain the option of going to war without council approval. They say they have it in that unanimously passed resolution last year -- Carol.
LIN: Well, certainly all of that snow behind you, Richard, is going to invite even more debate, I bet.
ROTH: Maybe snowballs.
LIN: Yes, there you go. Let's hope it's not a snowball fight.
Thank you very much, Richard Roth.
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 - 10:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: More diplomatic maneuvering over Iraq as well. The White House may wait until next week before pressing its case for a second U.N. Security Council resolution. Another open debate is expected to begin at the U.N. this afternoon.
CNN United Nations correspondent Richard Roth is there with the very latest.
Richard -- we understand the nations are lining up to have their last word on the subject.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It will not be the type of debate as we saw Friday. It will be speeches made by the non-allied members of the Security Council, also developing countries -- people who don't have a seat on the Security Council and any one of the 191 members of the United Nations who wants to speak on Iraq.
This has happened before in the last few months. Many countries watching the big powers duke it out inside the chamber, and they decided, well, we want our say too.
As for the chief U.N. weapons inspector, Hans Blix, he's back in the building. He is from Sweden, a hearty soul. He was one of the few people to get into the U.N. yesterday, besides us. Here he is walking right as he's about to cross First Avenue in front of snowy United Nations headquarters.
Because of the snow, they delayed the start of today's meeting by six hours.
Blix also cheered by the flight of the U 2 reconnaissance plane yesterday over the skies of Iraq for several hours. This plane can hover and is able to gather more intelligence information than some of the other planes that have been used. Iraq had placed conditions on such a plane flying. Here you see it several years ago in flight. That's one concession by Iraq, but there are still several areas that Blix would like more cooperation on, including the destruction perhaps of missiles, which is what the U.S. is going to be pushing for, those Al Samoud 2 missiles that are flying in their testing beyond the allowed 93-mile range.
Here at the United Nations, people are still talking about Friday's intense session, where France went at it with the United States, and Germany and China and Russia supported France. It was France who got applause. Colin Powell there did not. Colin Powell very frustrated at one point, saying it's not brain surgery, Iraq is playing tricks on us.
The U.S. and U.K. will now push for a second resolution sometime over the next two weeks, but if they think it will get vetoed or if they think they don't have the votes, they'll withdraw it, and they still maintain the option of going to war without council approval. They say they have it in that unanimously passed resolution last year -- Carol.
LIN: Well, certainly all of that snow behind you, Richard, is going to invite even more debate, I bet.
ROTH: Maybe snowballs.
LIN: Yes, there you go. Let's hope it's not a snowball fight.
Thank you very much, Richard Roth.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
