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U.S. Stepping Up Search in Iraq for WMDs

Aired April 18, 2003 - 05:02   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: Let's go a little more in depth now on the subject of WMDs, weapons of mass destruction. The U.S. is now stepping up its search in Iraq.
CNN's Chris Plante is live at the Pentagon with details -- Good morning, Chris.

CHRIS PLANTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.

That's right, a team of about 1,000 U.S. experts gathering now on the ground in Iraq. These are people from civilian scientists to government intelligence officials who are going to fan out across the country and work with U.S. special operations forces and hopefully with some former members of the Saddam Hussein regime on finding these locations where weapons of mass destruction have been stored and produced.

Now, Secretary Rumsfeld has said all along that he didn't really expect that U.S. forces would be able to stumble across sites, locations where weapons of mass destruction were as they came in across the country and the former head of the U.N. weapons inspection program, Hans Blix, even said yesterday that he felt that this new group would meet with more success than they were able to because he said that many of the people they spoke to were intimidated by what he called the secret police in Iraq, and he thought that without that threat hanging over their heads that a lot of people there would be willing to cooperate well beyond what they were with the U.N.

So hopefully the U.S. will be able to produce some, something in the way of a smoking gun regarding the weapons of mass destruction and this survey team, as they are calling it, of about 1,000 experts hopefully will help to bring that to fruition.

Also, as you mentioned, the half brother of Saddam Hussein taken into custody over the last day or so by U.S. special operations forces in Baghdad. Barzan Ibrahim Hasan Al-Tikriti, who is a half brother to Saddam Hussein, has held a number of senior positions in the administration, in the regime of Saddam Hussein. It is hoped, at least, that he will be instrumental in bringing U.S. officials to sites where weapons of mass destruction programs were ongoing and also that he may be able to help in locating some members of the regime, many of which, of course, most of which the U.S. are still looking for.

Also, tomorrow now, Saturday, depending on where you are tomorrow, Saturday we're expecting that the seven U.S. Army POWs that were taken by the Iraqis will return to Fort Hood, Texas. This is what CNN is being told, that all of them, even though they're not all from Fort Hood, Texas, will be returned initially to Fort Hood in Texas. That is the five members of the 507th Ordinance Maintenance Company, which was Jessica Lynch's outfit. And that is Shoshana Johnson that we're seeing there coming off, the probably most seriously injured of the seven POWs, shot apparently once in each foot during the combat or perhaps after it, still not entirely clear when those injuries were sustained by Specialist Shoshana Johnson.

But we're expecting the five from the 507th Maintenance Company and the two Apache helicopter pilots that were apparently shot down over Iraq, also recovered recently by U.S. Marines in something of a rescue operation, with a lot of help from some Iraqis on the ground there, expecting them to return Saturday back to the United States -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And we expect them to make an appearance today some time in Germany, and, of course, we'll go live there for that.

Chris Plante, many thanks to you, live from the Pentagon 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 18, 2003 - 05:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go a little more in depth now on the subject of WMDs, weapons of mass destruction. The U.S. is now stepping up its search in Iraq.
CNN's Chris Plante is live at the Pentagon with details -- Good morning, Chris.

CHRIS PLANTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.

That's right, a team of about 1,000 U.S. experts gathering now on the ground in Iraq. These are people from civilian scientists to government intelligence officials who are going to fan out across the country and work with U.S. special operations forces and hopefully with some former members of the Saddam Hussein regime on finding these locations where weapons of mass destruction have been stored and produced.

Now, Secretary Rumsfeld has said all along that he didn't really expect that U.S. forces would be able to stumble across sites, locations where weapons of mass destruction were as they came in across the country and the former head of the U.N. weapons inspection program, Hans Blix, even said yesterday that he felt that this new group would meet with more success than they were able to because he said that many of the people they spoke to were intimidated by what he called the secret police in Iraq, and he thought that without that threat hanging over their heads that a lot of people there would be willing to cooperate well beyond what they were with the U.N.

So hopefully the U.S. will be able to produce some, something in the way of a smoking gun regarding the weapons of mass destruction and this survey team, as they are calling it, of about 1,000 experts hopefully will help to bring that to fruition.

Also, as you mentioned, the half brother of Saddam Hussein taken into custody over the last day or so by U.S. special operations forces in Baghdad. Barzan Ibrahim Hasan Al-Tikriti, who is a half brother to Saddam Hussein, has held a number of senior positions in the administration, in the regime of Saddam Hussein. It is hoped, at least, that he will be instrumental in bringing U.S. officials to sites where weapons of mass destruction programs were ongoing and also that he may be able to help in locating some members of the regime, many of which, of course, most of which the U.S. are still looking for.

Also, tomorrow now, Saturday, depending on where you are tomorrow, Saturday we're expecting that the seven U.S. Army POWs that were taken by the Iraqis will return to Fort Hood, Texas. This is what CNN is being told, that all of them, even though they're not all from Fort Hood, Texas, will be returned initially to Fort Hood in Texas. That is the five members of the 507th Ordinance Maintenance Company, which was Jessica Lynch's outfit. And that is Shoshana Johnson that we're seeing there coming off, the probably most seriously injured of the seven POWs, shot apparently once in each foot during the combat or perhaps after it, still not entirely clear when those injuries were sustained by Specialist Shoshana Johnson.

But we're expecting the five from the 507th Maintenance Company and the two Apache helicopter pilots that were apparently shot down over Iraq, also recovered recently by U.S. Marines in something of a rescue operation, with a lot of help from some Iraqis on the ground there, expecting them to return Saturday back to the United States -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And we expect them to make an appearance today some time in Germany, and, of course, we'll go live there for that.

Chris Plante, many thanks to you, live from the Pentagon 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