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CNN Live At Daybreak
United States Edging Closer to War with Iraq
Aired February 27, 2003 - 05:03 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: So the signs are unmistakable, the United States is edging closer to war with Iraq.
Our Nic Robertson is in Baghdad. We take you live there now -- and, Nic, Saddam had a message for his people, didn't he?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He did, indeed, Carol.
He met with the governors of the 15 provinces around Iraq. They were telling him that they've made all the preparations necessary to be ready if there was war and we heard very much the bluntest message from President Saddam Hussein to the people of Iraq that if they wanted to be safe, the best thing that they should do would be to dig shelters in their gardens.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. SADDAM HUSSEIN, IRAQ: How can people protect themselves from bombing? Even in your back garden, you should dig a shelter. There is no harm in that. If, god forbid, a bomb falls on your house, you will be in your shelter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Now, still no indication from Iraqi officials if they're going to meet the U.N. deadline to destroy the al-Samoud 2 missiles. They need to do that beginning Saturday. However, a senior U.N. official, Dimitri Perricos, that's the U.N. weapons chief's, Hans Blix's top deputy, is arriving in Baghdad today. The U.N. has said no debate over the beginning of the destruction. However, they are willing to talk about how it could be done and also the time frame within which the destruction could take place -- Carol.
COSTELLO: We'll get back to you. Nic Robertson live from Baghdad this morning.
The Iraqi president also says he will not leave his country for asylum in another. During an interview last night with CBS news anchor Dan Rather on "60 Minutes II," Saddam was asked if he expects a war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN RATHER, CBS NEWS ANCHOR: Mr. President, do you expect to be attacked by an American-led invasion?
HUSSEIN: We hope that the attack will not take place, but we are bracing ourselves to meet such an attack, to face it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: You can get some of the behind-the-scenes info on that interview tonight when our Larry King talks with CBS anchor Dan Rather. Don't miss it. It airs at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific Time.
Time to talk Turkey now. Turkey could decide today if it will be one of the avenues to war in Iraq.
CNN's Jane Arraf is on the phone from Incirlik, Turkey with a new development this morning -- Jane, what is it?
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it looks as if the parliament will meet and debate that. No certainty, though, that it will actually take it to a vote. Now, it's still up in the air in terms of political support, but the ruling Justice and Development Party has been meeting all morning to try to get that support for a vote.
And in other developments, as you mentioned, Turkey's foreign ministry appears to have told its citizens in northern Iraq that they should leave. Now, that would be one of several precautions that Turkey has been taking up ahead of an expected vote to allow U.S. combat troops to be in the country.
We're at the Incirlik Air Base, actually, in the middle of the air base, one of the places where there would be more soldiers sent. And they're already making contingency plans to expand the air base. Now, this is the place where U.S. and British planes take off to attack Iraq in the northern no fly zones over northern Iraq and that's what they would do here in a much more, in a much stronger fashion -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Jane Arraf, we'll let you get back to work because I know that you're just setting up there in Incirlik.
Thank you very much.
Jane Arraf reporting live from Turkey this morning.
For the latest on the showdown in Iraq, go to cnn.com/world, the 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 27, 2003 - 05:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: So the signs are unmistakable, the United States is edging closer to war with Iraq.
Our Nic Robertson is in Baghdad. We take you live there now -- and, Nic, Saddam had a message for his people, didn't he?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He did, indeed, Carol.
He met with the governors of the 15 provinces around Iraq. They were telling him that they've made all the preparations necessary to be ready if there was war and we heard very much the bluntest message from President Saddam Hussein to the people of Iraq that if they wanted to be safe, the best thing that they should do would be to dig shelters in their gardens.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. SADDAM HUSSEIN, IRAQ: How can people protect themselves from bombing? Even in your back garden, you should dig a shelter. There is no harm in that. If, god forbid, a bomb falls on your house, you will be in your shelter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Now, still no indication from Iraqi officials if they're going to meet the U.N. deadline to destroy the al-Samoud 2 missiles. They need to do that beginning Saturday. However, a senior U.N. official, Dimitri Perricos, that's the U.N. weapons chief's, Hans Blix's top deputy, is arriving in Baghdad today. The U.N. has said no debate over the beginning of the destruction. However, they are willing to talk about how it could be done and also the time frame within which the destruction could take place -- Carol.
COSTELLO: We'll get back to you. Nic Robertson live from Baghdad this morning.
The Iraqi president also says he will not leave his country for asylum in another. During an interview last night with CBS news anchor Dan Rather on "60 Minutes II," Saddam was asked if he expects a war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN RATHER, CBS NEWS ANCHOR: Mr. President, do you expect to be attacked by an American-led invasion?
HUSSEIN: We hope that the attack will not take place, but we are bracing ourselves to meet such an attack, to face it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: You can get some of the behind-the-scenes info on that interview tonight when our Larry King talks with CBS anchor Dan Rather. Don't miss it. It airs at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific Time.
Time to talk Turkey now. Turkey could decide today if it will be one of the avenues to war in Iraq.
CNN's Jane Arraf is on the phone from Incirlik, Turkey with a new development this morning -- Jane, what is it?
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it looks as if the parliament will meet and debate that. No certainty, though, that it will actually take it to a vote. Now, it's still up in the air in terms of political support, but the ruling Justice and Development Party has been meeting all morning to try to get that support for a vote.
And in other developments, as you mentioned, Turkey's foreign ministry appears to have told its citizens in northern Iraq that they should leave. Now, that would be one of several precautions that Turkey has been taking up ahead of an expected vote to allow U.S. combat troops to be in the country.
We're at the Incirlik Air Base, actually, in the middle of the air base, one of the places where there would be more soldiers sent. And they're already making contingency plans to expand the air base. Now, this is the place where U.S. and British planes take off to attack Iraq in the northern no fly zones over northern Iraq and that's what they would do here in a much more, in a much stronger fashion -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Jane Arraf, we'll let you get back to work because I know that you're just setting up there in Incirlik.
Thank you very much.
Jane Arraf reporting live from Turkey this morning.
For the latest on the showdown in Iraq, go to cnn.com/world, the 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
