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CNN Live Saturday
U.N. Weapons Inspectors Resume Work Inside Iraq
Aired November 30, 2002 - 17:10 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 LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Inside Iraq today, U.N. weapons inspectors resumed work after Friday's Muslim holy day, looking for evidence of weapons of mass destruction. Sites checked by the inspectors included locations suspected of use in building chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. CNN's Nic Robertson is in Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At a military chemical defensive facility 70 kilometers north of Baghdad, U.N. inspectors break new ground entering what the Iraqis call a sensitive site. In the past, that would have limited the U.N. to a maximum of four experts. Now, backed by the new and tough U.N. Resolution 1441, almost a dozen inspectors viewed the site and saw everything they wanted.
To the south, nuclear experts spent three hours inspecting a light engineering factory. Immediately following their visit, Iraqi technicians were back at their precision engineering equipment. The computer-controlled machines documented and tagged by the U.N. experts in the 1990s, on this day of interest to the new U.N. inspectors.
HUSSEIN HAMOUDI, DIRECTOR, UM AL MAARIK PLANT: They want to see all the activities and we are ready, no problem for us.
ROBERTSON: The same inspection team moved on to the former nuclear research site Al Furat for another two hours of work, and then in keeping with the last few days of inspections, journalists invited in by Iraqi officials, this site claimed by President Bush to have shown new construction.
SAMIR IBRAHIM ABBAS, IRAQI ARMY BRIGADIER: Well, what happened to the site is a reconstruct of one of the buildings and we submit all our declarations and we told them what is actually going in this building.
ROBERTSON: Like all officials we meet after inspections, Abbas appears to be on a charm offensive with journalists.
ABBAS: We don't have anything as far as this site is concerned, you know. We don't have anything to hide.
ROBERTSON: Even ready to respond to suggestions in British newspapers Iraq may be setting out to mislead the U.N.
ROBERTSON (on camera): The president has told people the very (UNINTELLIGIBLE). What do you make of all that?
ABBAS: Well, they say what they want.
ROBERTSON: The reason Iraqi officials say the international media is getting access to cover the inspections is because they have nothing to hide; however, in Iraq inspections appear to be getting little coverage.
(voice over): Despite fielding their own camera crews to cover the U.N. inspectors, Iraqi TV plays the story low in broadcasts, often without pictures. Newspaper headlines have also been short on inspection details just a brief mention. Most here, however, are getting their government's message. "Our leadership says the truth so we're sure the inspectors won't find anything" he says. As for the inspectors, they say they'll keep looking.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 November 30, 2002 - 17:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Inside Iraq today, U.N. weapons inspectors resumed work after Friday's Muslim holy day, looking for evidence of weapons of mass destruction. Sites checked by the inspectors included locations suspected of use in building chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. CNN's Nic Robertson is in Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At a military chemical defensive facility 70 kilometers north of Baghdad, U.N. inspectors break new ground entering what the Iraqis call a sensitive site. In the past, that would have limited the U.N. to a maximum of four experts. Now, backed by the new and tough U.N. Resolution 1441, almost a dozen inspectors viewed the site and saw everything they wanted.
To the south, nuclear experts spent three hours inspecting a light engineering factory. Immediately following their visit, Iraqi technicians were back at their precision engineering equipment. The computer-controlled machines documented and tagged by the U.N. experts in the 1990s, on this day of interest to the new U.N. inspectors.
HUSSEIN HAMOUDI, DIRECTOR, UM AL MAARIK PLANT: They want to see all the activities and we are ready, no problem for us.
ROBERTSON: The same inspection team moved on to the former nuclear research site Al Furat for another two hours of work, and then in keeping with the last few days of inspections, journalists invited in by Iraqi officials, this site claimed by President Bush to have shown new construction.
SAMIR IBRAHIM ABBAS, IRAQI ARMY BRIGADIER: Well, what happened to the site is a reconstruct of one of the buildings and we submit all our declarations and we told them what is actually going in this building.
ROBERTSON: Like all officials we meet after inspections, Abbas appears to be on a charm offensive with journalists.
ABBAS: We don't have anything as far as this site is concerned, you know. We don't have anything to hide.
ROBERTSON: Even ready to respond to suggestions in British newspapers Iraq may be setting out to mislead the U.N.
ROBERTSON (on camera): The president has told people the very (UNINTELLIGIBLE). What do you make of all that?
ABBAS: Well, they say what they want.
ROBERTSON: The reason Iraqi officials say the international media is getting access to cover the inspections is because they have nothing to hide; however, in Iraq inspections appear to be getting little coverage.
(voice over): Despite fielding their own camera crews to cover the U.N. inspectors, Iraqi TV plays the story low in broadcasts, often without pictures. Newspaper headlines have also been short on inspection details just a brief mention. Most here, however, are getting their government's message. "Our leadership says the truth so we're sure the inspectors won't find anything" he says. As for the inspectors, they say they'll keep looking.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
