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CNN Live At Daybreak

United Nations Team Talking With Iraqi Governing Council

Aired February 09, 2004 - 05:17   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: A United Nations team is talking with the Iraqi Governing Council about the possibility of elections before the U.S. hand over at the end of June.
Live to Baghdad now and our bureau chief there, Jane Arraf -- hello, Jane.

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.

Well, a lot of people are hard at work here trying to figure out exactly how they're going to transfer power from the U.S. back to the Iraqis. Now, as you mentioned, a senior U.N. envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, has arrived here along with members of his team that intend to go throughout Iraq, north and south, to find out what they can do to reach a compromise over this impasse.

Now, one of the most important things they're going to be doing is traveling to the holy Shia city of Najaf to see a reclusive but extremely influential cleric, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who has pressed for elections. They're going to find out whether that would actually be doable or desirable in this kind of security situation.

And as the U.S. transfers troops out of here and rotates them, it's trying to spread the responsibility around. Japanese troops have arrived, the first in a vanguard of mostly engineers, but it's controversial for the Japanese because it is their first mission in a combat zone since WWII.

And going a little further south, Carol, over the weekend a surprise visit by Prince Charles to British troops, meant as a morale booster. It's still considered fairly dangerous in Iraq and his visit certainly was a surprise to those troops -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Jane Arraf reporting live from Baghdad 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 February 9, 2004 - 05:17   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A United Nations team is talking with the Iraqi Governing Council about the possibility of elections before the U.S. hand over at the end of June.
Live to Baghdad now and our bureau chief there, Jane Arraf -- hello, Jane.

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.

Well, a lot of people are hard at work here trying to figure out exactly how they're going to transfer power from the U.S. back to the Iraqis. Now, as you mentioned, a senior U.N. envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, has arrived here along with members of his team that intend to go throughout Iraq, north and south, to find out what they can do to reach a compromise over this impasse.

Now, one of the most important things they're going to be doing is traveling to the holy Shia city of Najaf to see a reclusive but extremely influential cleric, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who has pressed for elections. They're going to find out whether that would actually be doable or desirable in this kind of security situation.

And as the U.S. transfers troops out of here and rotates them, it's trying to spread the responsibility around. Japanese troops have arrived, the first in a vanguard of mostly engineers, but it's controversial for the Japanese because it is their first mission in a combat zone since WWII.

And going a little further south, Carol, over the weekend a surprise visit by Prince Charles to British troops, meant as a morale booster. It's still considered fairly dangerous in Iraq and his visit certainly was a surprise to those troops -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Jane Arraf reporting live from Baghdad 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