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CNN Live At Daybreak

U.S. Troops Find 11 Mobile Chemical, Biological Labs

Aired April 15, 2003 - 06:32   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: We want to get more now on those chemical and biological weapons labs -- or were they -- that U.S. soldiers found in Iraq. Are they the smoking gun?
For the latest, we take you live to Central Command in Doha, Qatar, and Tom Mintier.

Any update for us -- Tom?

TOM MINTIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, I don't think we can provide the answer to your question yet.

What we do know is that 11 of what are termed Conex (ph) containers were found by the 101st Airborne. They dug these containers up, and the word was early this morning they were still digging these 11 Conex (ph) containers out of the ground. They say they found about 1,000 pounds of documents inside. They are going through them. They did say, however, that they did not find any chemical weapons inside, or at least ones that they would confirm.

Here at CENTCOM, they say that they probably won't have the investigation complete for some time, and if there is word on what these containers contain, it may come from somewhere else.

But as of right now, the briefing in a half-hour, I've been told, does not include these 11 containers or any major reference to them.

So what we know about these containers is what we found out from our embedded reporter, Ryan Chilcote, from the scene where they found 11 containers buried in the ground, and they've been dug out and they're examining them.

And I should out that sources tell us that there are 1,500 teams currently spanning out across Iraq, and this falls in line with what military officials here have been saying: that once the military conflict is over, they have the ability to move freely around and talk to people, and people have the ability to talk freely to military investigators and provide them information. They may find something more on weapons of mass destruction.

But so far, early indications are that they found 11 containers. Just what they were being used for, these mobile laboratories, what implications might be attached to that, we simply don't know yet.

COSTELLO: Understand. Tom Mintier live from Qatar 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 April 15, 2003 - 06:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We want to get more now on those chemical and biological weapons labs -- or were they -- that U.S. soldiers found in Iraq. Are they the smoking gun?
For the latest, we take you live to Central Command in Doha, Qatar, and Tom Mintier.

Any update for us -- Tom?

TOM MINTIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, I don't think we can provide the answer to your question yet.

What we do know is that 11 of what are termed Conex (ph) containers were found by the 101st Airborne. They dug these containers up, and the word was early this morning they were still digging these 11 Conex (ph) containers out of the ground. They say they found about 1,000 pounds of documents inside. They are going through them. They did say, however, that they did not find any chemical weapons inside, or at least ones that they would confirm.

Here at CENTCOM, they say that they probably won't have the investigation complete for some time, and if there is word on what these containers contain, it may come from somewhere else.

But as of right now, the briefing in a half-hour, I've been told, does not include these 11 containers or any major reference to them.

So what we know about these containers is what we found out from our embedded reporter, Ryan Chilcote, from the scene where they found 11 containers buried in the ground, and they've been dug out and they're examining them.

And I should out that sources tell us that there are 1,500 teams currently spanning out across Iraq, and this falls in line with what military officials here have been saying: that once the military conflict is over, they have the ability to move freely around and talk to people, and people have the ability to talk freely to military investigators and provide them information. They may find something more on weapons of mass destruction.

But so far, early indications are that they found 11 containers. Just what they were being used for, these mobile laboratories, what implications might be attached to that, we simply don't know yet.

COSTELLO: Understand. Tom Mintier live from Qatar 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.