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CNN Live Saturday
Iraq Gives U.N. List of Scientists
Aired December 28, 2002 - 17:06 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the hunt for weapons in Iraq. The U.N. says Baghdad is naming names, coming clean about which scientists worked on weapons programs there. CNN's Rym Brahimi has the latest from Baghdad now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Baghdad has provided a list of its top scientists to be interviewed by the United Nations weapons inspectors. The list is more than 500 names long. It's still in Arabic, being translated both at U.N. headquarters in New York and at the United Nations headquarters here in Baghdad.
Now, so far the U.N. weapons inspectors on the ground have only interviewed formally two scientists. On Christmas Eve, the nuclear experts interviewed a nuclear researcher at the University of Technology in Baghdad. The second interview was on Friday with a metallurgist at the company that actually restores pipes. Now, those pipes it was said by the United Nations to be of particular interest because of allegations that some may have been used for a potential nuclear program.
The scientist in question, Dr. Kathim Mijbil (ph) refuted all that saying that he had absolutely nothing to do with any nuclear program. He was a metallurgist, had no competence even in the nuclear field, and as for today he said there was no nuclear program.
KATHIM MIJBIL, IRAQI METALLURGIST: I have seen some pictures which shows some applications of this allow which is very normal, civilian applications, so this is not a very big deal like what the Americans say.
BRAHIMI: Now, the spokesman of the UNMOVIC and IAEA teams clarified their statements saying that they were fully aware that the scientist they had interviewed had no links to any nuclear programs, that they had just been interested in him to get some information, non-classified information on a military program. They said that the IAEA team was, in fact, just trying to assess whether there was any nuclear program in Iraq since 1998.
Rym Brahimi, 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 December 28, 2002 - 17:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the hunt for weapons in Iraq. The U.N. says Baghdad is naming names, coming clean about which scientists worked on weapons programs there. CNN's Rym Brahimi has the latest from Baghdad now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Baghdad has provided a list of its top scientists to be interviewed by the United Nations weapons inspectors. The list is more than 500 names long. It's still in Arabic, being translated both at U.N. headquarters in New York and at the United Nations headquarters here in Baghdad.
Now, so far the U.N. weapons inspectors on the ground have only interviewed formally two scientists. On Christmas Eve, the nuclear experts interviewed a nuclear researcher at the University of Technology in Baghdad. The second interview was on Friday with a metallurgist at the company that actually restores pipes. Now, those pipes it was said by the United Nations to be of particular interest because of allegations that some may have been used for a potential nuclear program.
The scientist in question, Dr. Kathim Mijbil (ph) refuted all that saying that he had absolutely nothing to do with any nuclear program. He was a metallurgist, had no competence even in the nuclear field, and as for today he said there was no nuclear program.
KATHIM MIJBIL, IRAQI METALLURGIST: I have seen some pictures which shows some applications of this allow which is very normal, civilian applications, so this is not a very big deal like what the Americans say.
BRAHIMI: Now, the spokesman of the UNMOVIC and IAEA teams clarified their statements saying that they were fully aware that the scientist they had interviewed had no links to any nuclear programs, that they had just been interested in him to get some information, non-classified information on a military program. They said that the IAEA team was, in fact, just trying to assess whether there was any nuclear program in Iraq since 1998.
Rym Brahimi, 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
