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CNN Live At Daybreak
Iraq Returns Fire in Rhetorical War with U.S.
Aired March 12, 2003 - 05:33 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we want to give you an early briefing on the latest developments at the half hour on Iraq. President Bush says he's not waiting any longer. He wants the U.N. Security Council to vote this week on a new resolution giving Iraq a deadline of March 17th to disarm. France has asked for at least a day to consider the resolution before a vote. Still, Paris says it intends to veto the existing proposal. And in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. deployment now tops 225,000 troops.
Perhaps emboldened by a U.N. Security Council split, Iraq today returned fire in the rhetorical war with the U.S.
We take you to CNN's Nic Robertson in Baghdad for the latest developments -- hello, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka.
Well, Iraqi officials coming out very quickly to put down rumors and speculation that a wide wing span drone that the U.N. weapons inspectors here have discovered -- in fact, Iraqi officials call it a remotely piloted vehicle -- they say it doesn't have the range to break U.S. resolutions. They say it doesn't have a payload capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction. They say it was never designed for such use.
This was a drone or a remotely piloted vehicle that U.N. inspectors came across while inspecting Iraq. It didn't appear to be on any declaration that Iraqi officials had given to the U.N. The U.N. still investigating that one.
Also, it does appear that Iraqi officials have accepted the U.N.'s apologies that there was a misunderstanding yesterday over the flight of two U-2 aircraft into Iraqi air space. Iraqi officials saying that they didn't hostilely challenge these U-2s in any way, but they do appear to accept the U.N.'s offer that it was a misunderstanding. The U.N. spokesman here saying that at least that the U.N.'s request to fly these aircraft into Iraq may have been ambiguous. It may have indicated one aircraft, it may have indicated more than one.
Also, we're seeing President Saddam Hussein on Iraqi television meeting with his top commanders. The talk a sort of mixed message, saying that we don't want peace -- that we do want peace, we don't want war, but we don't want peace at any price. We want our sovereignty. He was advising his troops there to conserve their own men, to minimize their losses and to maximize the losses of the enemy.
So a mixed message there to the troops, but one, again, that Iraq will defend itself and will fight off any attack -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, thank you very much, Nic.
See you again soon.
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 March 12, 2003 - 05:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we want to give you an early briefing on the latest developments at the half hour on Iraq. President Bush says he's not waiting any longer. He wants the U.N. Security Council to vote this week on a new resolution giving Iraq a deadline of March 17th to disarm. France has asked for at least a day to consider the resolution before a vote. Still, Paris says it intends to veto the existing proposal. And in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. deployment now tops 225,000 troops.
Perhaps emboldened by a U.N. Security Council split, Iraq today returned fire in the rhetorical war with the U.S.
We take you to CNN's Nic Robertson in Baghdad for the latest developments -- hello, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka.
Well, Iraqi officials coming out very quickly to put down rumors and speculation that a wide wing span drone that the U.N. weapons inspectors here have discovered -- in fact, Iraqi officials call it a remotely piloted vehicle -- they say it doesn't have the range to break U.S. resolutions. They say it doesn't have a payload capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction. They say it was never designed for such use.
This was a drone or a remotely piloted vehicle that U.N. inspectors came across while inspecting Iraq. It didn't appear to be on any declaration that Iraqi officials had given to the U.N. The U.N. still investigating that one.
Also, it does appear that Iraqi officials have accepted the U.N.'s apologies that there was a misunderstanding yesterday over the flight of two U-2 aircraft into Iraqi air space. Iraqi officials saying that they didn't hostilely challenge these U-2s in any way, but they do appear to accept the U.N.'s offer that it was a misunderstanding. The U.N. spokesman here saying that at least that the U.N.'s request to fly these aircraft into Iraq may have been ambiguous. It may have indicated one aircraft, it may have indicated more than one.
Also, we're seeing President Saddam Hussein on Iraqi television meeting with his top commanders. The talk a sort of mixed message, saying that we don't want peace -- that we do want peace, we don't want war, but we don't want peace at any price. We want our sovereignty. He was advising his troops there to conserve their own men, to minimize their losses and to maximize the losses of the enemy.
So a mixed message there to the troops, but one, again, that Iraq will defend itself and will fight off any attack -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, thank you very much, Nic.
See you again soon.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
