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CNN Live Saturday
U.N. Expected to Look Over Iraq's Declaration in Coming Weeks
Aired December 07, 2002 - 14:43 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get back to Iraq's declared inventory of its weapons of mass destruction program. The volumes of paperwork. More than 11,000 pages and a dozen CDs have been delivered to U.N. weapons inspectors in Baghdad. CNN's Michael Okwu joins us from the United Nations in New York to talk about what happens next -- Michael.
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, I can tell you the United States and Iraq are either a step closer towards peace today or edging precariously closer towards war. The 11,000-page-plus, 132-pound document, as you mentioned, handed over to U.N. officials in Baghdad and now making its way here to the United Nations, where it is expected to be given over to the chief U.N. weapons inspector, Hans Blix, sometime on Sunday night.
Today the Security Council looks nothing like the focal point of major international news. The halls outside the council normally buzzing with diplomats, today essentially a carpeted ghost town. In missions and diplomatic residences, however, across the city, great anticipation, though Blix has made it very clear he will review the document and excise, essentially, edit out sensitive areas before any member of the Security Council will have a look at it.
The chief weapons inspector and members of the council concerned apparently about providing what they call a manual for weapons of mass destruction.
Now, Blix as part of a regularly scheduled luncheon, will be meeting with Security Council members on Tuesday, this coming week, where they hope that they will have a better sense from him as to when they will actually see the document, although diplomatic sources telling us that he will have nothing of substance to say until the week of the 16th.
In the meantime, absolutely no official remarks here today at the United Nations. We expect something from Secretary General Kofi Annan tomorrow night.
PHILLIPS: Michael Okwu at the U.N. Thanks, Michael.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Weeks>
Aired December 7, 2002 - 14:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get back to Iraq's declared inventory of its weapons of mass destruction program. The volumes of paperwork. More than 11,000 pages and a dozen CDs have been delivered to U.N. weapons inspectors in Baghdad. CNN's Michael Okwu joins us from the United Nations in New York to talk about what happens next -- Michael.
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, I can tell you the United States and Iraq are either a step closer towards peace today or edging precariously closer towards war. The 11,000-page-plus, 132-pound document, as you mentioned, handed over to U.N. officials in Baghdad and now making its way here to the United Nations, where it is expected to be given over to the chief U.N. weapons inspector, Hans Blix, sometime on Sunday night.
Today the Security Council looks nothing like the focal point of major international news. The halls outside the council normally buzzing with diplomats, today essentially a carpeted ghost town. In missions and diplomatic residences, however, across the city, great anticipation, though Blix has made it very clear he will review the document and excise, essentially, edit out sensitive areas before any member of the Security Council will have a look at it.
The chief weapons inspector and members of the council concerned apparently about providing what they call a manual for weapons of mass destruction.
Now, Blix as part of a regularly scheduled luncheon, will be meeting with Security Council members on Tuesday, this coming week, where they hope that they will have a better sense from him as to when they will actually see the document, although diplomatic sources telling us that he will have nothing of substance to say until the week of the 16th.
In the meantime, absolutely no official remarks here today at the United Nations. We expect something from Secretary General Kofi Annan tomorrow night.
PHILLIPS: Michael Okwu at the U.N. Thanks, Michael.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Weeks>
