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UN Chief Inspector Discusses Ongoing Crisis With Iraq

Aired August 23, 2002 - 14:35   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Limbo is a familiar feeling for chief inspector Dr. Hans Blix, who joins us this hour from headquarters in New York.
Dr. Blix, thanks very much for being with us.

Dr. Hans Blix, what is the major concern for you and the other UN weapons inspectors? Is it chemical, biological or nuclear weapons that Iraq may have?

HANS BLIX, CHIEF WEAPONS INSPECTOR: Here in New York, they are responsible for inspections concerning chemical, bacteriological and missiles. And the Vienna organization, the Atomic Energy Agency, is responsible for inspections on the nuclear. The greatest number of questions are attached to biological dossier, and the fewest attached to the nuclear one.

COOPER: And what about chemical?

BLIX: Yes, there are open questions in all the dossiers, certainly, but the greatest number are on the biological sector.

COOPER: Does Iraq have, in your opinion, any credibility in terms of their public pronouncements on weapons inspectors? At times, they seem to indicate they would allow weapons inspectors back in; at times, they seem to indicate they wouldn't?

BLIX: Well, it is hard to say. They certainly have not made any solid offer to inspection. Then we would have gone in, because we would have been ready for quite some time to go there.

What we are suggesting are some talks at the technical level about the issues which existed at the end of 1998. The secretary- general responded that he would expect an invitation directly to the inspection organization to come there and that we could start by talking about practical arrangements for such inspections.

COOPER: I know you work at the UN and you're used to these kinds of diplomatic maneuverings. But to an outsider, it just seems like a whole lot of talk. Why should anyone believe what Iraq has to say?

BLIX: The inspectors are not supposed to believe what they say. We are supposed to verify. If they declare something and then they tell us this is to be found in a particular place, we can go there and verify whether it is there. We can verify if they have destroyed it. The trouble is that their reports and decorations leave a lot of questions open. And our proceeding organization worked a lot to try to verify what was true and what was not. There are still many questions open.

COOPER: Richard Butler, who led UN weapons inspectors back in '98, withdrew those weapons inspectors over noncompliance issues. Do you want weapons inspectors back in Iraq today, tomorrow? Is that something you are actively seeking?

BLIX: We are ready to do so. But we also would wish to have Iraq's cooperation or respect. The fact the security council resolution stipulates that it is only if they give such cooperation that would be a possibility for the suspension of sanctions.

COOPER: Does it concern you there is now a cooperation agreement I think just done this week between Russia and Iraq. Is that of special concern to you?

BLIX: Well, providing the Russians are abiding by the rules on the sanctions -- and they say they will -- they should not concern us.

COOPER: Would a U.S. invasion of Iraq, which is just, you know, people are talking about it at this stage, would that help or hinder in terms of weapons inspections?

BLIX: Well, if the invasion comes there, there is not much room for inspectors. And if the Iraqis are convinced that the invasion is happening, then I think they will conclude that there will not be much use for inspection.

COOPER: How would this work? Basically, the next step that you need to see is from Iraq. And you need some sort of assurance that they are willing to not only allow you in, but actually give you cooperation. Is that right?

BLIX: Yes. We need a direct invitation that we can come back. We are ready to follow up on that. We also think it would be useful to sit down with them and talk about practical arrangements. Where are we going to land, how we are going to use the helicopters, the jeeps etcetera? We know exactly what our rights are, but we'd like to go through with them to make sure the Iraqis look at it the same way, because we do not want to have clashes once we come in; we want the inspections to run smoothly.

COOPER: You've heard the criticism. Someone might say, Look, the Iraqis simply are using the UN, using your organization to stall for time, that they will go through endless talks about, you know, how we are going to be allowed in and what you can do and when you can do it. But in truth, they are not credible.

BLIX: Well, it is hard to say what they actually want to, and we are not inclined to go into talks which deal with the issues in 1998. We want to talk about practical arrangements for inspection -- that and nothing else.

COOPER: Dr. Blix, thanks very much for joining us today. Thank you very much.

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