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Chief Inspector Leaves Iraq, Goes to Cyprus
Aired November 20, 2002 - 13:08 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.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Returning to Cyprus after two days of meetings with Iraqi officials, chief weapons inspector Hans Blix says he feels hopeful that there are signs, even the Iraqi agreement that he's seen to surprise inspections of Saddam Hussein's special sites, his network of palaces. Blix says that agreement came without discussion.
CNN's Nic Robertson is live in Baghdad, and it appears so far, Iraq is cooperating -- Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Marty, since Hans Blix left, a senior Iraqi official, Vice President Taha Yassin (ph) Ramadan, in an interview on one of Iraq's TV channels here said that he thought if the U.N. inspectors UNMOVAC went about their job professionally -- and this is exactly the way that Hans Blix has said they will go about their work -- if they do it professionally, he said, then they should encounter no problems and they should be able to do their work quickly.
He also said, interestingly, that Iraqi people an scientists should feel free in their dealings with the U.N. Inspectors.
Now, this is significant, because in the run-up in the development to resolution 1441 that Iraq has signed on to here has been the issue that U.N. inspectors can interview Iraqi scientists without the presence of Iraqi government officials, as it has been in the past.
Now the U.N. inspectors believe that is interviewing the Iraqi scientists by themselves that is going to lead them to some of the most important discoveries. They feel that the scientists have the most information about what's been going on in the chemical and biological field in Iraq, and that they have the biggest secrets, if you will, to tell. Their concern has always been, if the scientists are with government officials, they'll not be able to say everything, perhaps, they'd like to say.
Of course, this is just words from a government official at this time, and it will be the inspectors in the coming months who will perhaps discover whether or not the Iraqi scientists really are free to talk with them.
But in another part of that same interview, the vice president also, despite agreeing to U.N. resolutions, still very skeptical about the United States at this time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TAHA RAMADAN, IRAQI VICE PRESIDENT (through translator): I expect this evil action from the U.S. administration at any moment, even after this decision and after the inspectors' arrival. I say this because of our previous dealings with the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Now, the Iraqi news agency here late this afternoon, perhaps in a reference to these evil actions, claims that coalition aircraft flying in the southern no-fly zone had attacked civilian and other installations around the city of Bazera (ph) in the south. Of course, coalition aircraft, we know, have hit a number of targets, defense and communications targets, in the last few days in both the northern and southern no-fly zones -- Marty.
SAVIDGE: Nic, we talk about the good words being spoken there, but when is the true test going to put them and the credibility to the test?
ROBERTSON: Tests really begin the 27th of November, when those first inspectors get to work. Very revealing will be the 8th of December, when we see Iraq's declaration, or at least when the United Nations inspectors see Iraq's declaration. And perhaps it will become more and more telling over the weeks after that as the inspectors begin to ramp up the mission. In Cyprus, they'll begin to gather together the inspection teams. Perhaps by the end of the year, we're told as many as 100 inspectors could be working here.
And something new about these inspectors as well, unlike the previous U.N. inspection missions there, there will always be inspectors here. In fact, they're going to have so many people, greater numbers than they had before, a greater presence, that they're actually going to have to expand their facilities here in Baghdad -- Marty.
SAVIDGE: Nic Robertson live from Baghdad.
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 20, 2002 - 13:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Returning to Cyprus after two days of meetings with Iraqi officials, chief weapons inspector Hans Blix says he feels hopeful that there are signs, even the Iraqi agreement that he's seen to surprise inspections of Saddam Hussein's special sites, his network of palaces. Blix says that agreement came without discussion.
CNN's Nic Robertson is live in Baghdad, and it appears so far, Iraq is cooperating -- Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Marty, since Hans Blix left, a senior Iraqi official, Vice President Taha Yassin (ph) Ramadan, in an interview on one of Iraq's TV channels here said that he thought if the U.N. inspectors UNMOVAC went about their job professionally -- and this is exactly the way that Hans Blix has said they will go about their work -- if they do it professionally, he said, then they should encounter no problems and they should be able to do their work quickly.
He also said, interestingly, that Iraqi people an scientists should feel free in their dealings with the U.N. Inspectors.
Now, this is significant, because in the run-up in the development to resolution 1441 that Iraq has signed on to here has been the issue that U.N. inspectors can interview Iraqi scientists without the presence of Iraqi government officials, as it has been in the past.
Now the U.N. inspectors believe that is interviewing the Iraqi scientists by themselves that is going to lead them to some of the most important discoveries. They feel that the scientists have the most information about what's been going on in the chemical and biological field in Iraq, and that they have the biggest secrets, if you will, to tell. Their concern has always been, if the scientists are with government officials, they'll not be able to say everything, perhaps, they'd like to say.
Of course, this is just words from a government official at this time, and it will be the inspectors in the coming months who will perhaps discover whether or not the Iraqi scientists really are free to talk with them.
But in another part of that same interview, the vice president also, despite agreeing to U.N. resolutions, still very skeptical about the United States at this time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TAHA RAMADAN, IRAQI VICE PRESIDENT (through translator): I expect this evil action from the U.S. administration at any moment, even after this decision and after the inspectors' arrival. I say this because of our previous dealings with the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Now, the Iraqi news agency here late this afternoon, perhaps in a reference to these evil actions, claims that coalition aircraft flying in the southern no-fly zone had attacked civilian and other installations around the city of Bazera (ph) in the south. Of course, coalition aircraft, we know, have hit a number of targets, defense and communications targets, in the last few days in both the northern and southern no-fly zones -- Marty.
SAVIDGE: Nic, we talk about the good words being spoken there, but when is the true test going to put them and the credibility to the test?
ROBERTSON: Tests really begin the 27th of November, when those first inspectors get to work. Very revealing will be the 8th of December, when we see Iraq's declaration, or at least when the United Nations inspectors see Iraq's declaration. And perhaps it will become more and more telling over the weeks after that as the inspectors begin to ramp up the mission. In Cyprus, they'll begin to gather together the inspection teams. Perhaps by the end of the year, we're told as many as 100 inspectors could be working here.
And something new about these inspectors as well, unlike the previous U.N. inspection missions there, there will always be inspectors here. In fact, they're going to have so many people, greater numbers than they had before, a greater presence, that they're actually going to have to expand their facilities here in Baghdad -- Marty.
SAVIDGE: Nic Robertson live from Baghdad.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
