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Iraqi News Media Coverage of Weapons Inspections Remains Low- Key

Aired November 29, 2002 - 13:32   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: U.N. weapons inspectors in Iraq have the day off today, but yesterday, they visited a plant that makes hoof-and-mouth vaccine for livestock. The inspectors said that they are pleased with Iraqi cooperation thus far. What's curious, though, is the low-key coverage of the inspections by the Iraqi news media.
CNN international correspondent, Nic Robertson, has that story for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It has been a day of rest mostly for the inspectors. They have had some duties to do. They said they'll be fine-tuning their operations and procedures.

They are still waiting for laboratory equipment to test some of the samples they've taken. They're also waiting for some of the first helicopters to arrive. They will have, eventually, a fleet of eight helicopters to help speed them in their inspections around the country.

But on Saturday, they're expected to get to work again, going out in their vehicles as they've done previously.

We are expecting them to visit sites. Of course these sites will be unannounced, the so-called "no-notice" inspections, but these sites are expected to be similar to sites previously visited. That is, sites that were monitored during the 1990s by that weapons inspection program, the inspectors, so far, looking to see what has happened exactly at those sites.

We know, at the Al Dawrah Animal Vaccine plant visited on Thursday, that some of the tagged equipment there had been moved. The inspectors wanted to know where that equipment had gone. The Iraqi officials they were dealing with quickly showed them that it had been moved to another facility. The inspectors went there to the other facility, cross-referenced that data against the tags and the numbers on the equipment. One item was a fermentor (ph), we believe. They were happy with that.

Now, so far, the inspectors have saying good cooperation, good access on the ground so far. They're not saying a lot more beyond that. But as far as we can tell, at this time at least, the inspection operations seem to be - seem to be going fairly well.

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




Low-Key>


Aired November 29, 2002 - 13:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: U.N. weapons inspectors in Iraq have the day off today, but yesterday, they visited a plant that makes hoof-and-mouth vaccine for livestock. The inspectors said that they are pleased with Iraqi cooperation thus far. What's curious, though, is the low-key coverage of the inspections by the Iraqi news media.
CNN international correspondent, Nic Robertson, has that story for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It has been a day of rest mostly for the inspectors. They have had some duties to do. They said they'll be fine-tuning their operations and procedures.

They are still waiting for laboratory equipment to test some of the samples they've taken. They're also waiting for some of the first helicopters to arrive. They will have, eventually, a fleet of eight helicopters to help speed them in their inspections around the country.

But on Saturday, they're expected to get to work again, going out in their vehicles as they've done previously.

We are expecting them to visit sites. Of course these sites will be unannounced, the so-called "no-notice" inspections, but these sites are expected to be similar to sites previously visited. That is, sites that were monitored during the 1990s by that weapons inspection program, the inspectors, so far, looking to see what has happened exactly at those sites.

We know, at the Al Dawrah Animal Vaccine plant visited on Thursday, that some of the tagged equipment there had been moved. The inspectors wanted to know where that equipment had gone. The Iraqi officials they were dealing with quickly showed them that it had been moved to another facility. The inspectors went there to the other facility, cross-referenced that data against the tags and the numbers on the equipment. One item was a fermentor (ph), we believe. They were happy with that.

Now, so far, the inspectors have saying good cooperation, good access on the ground so far. They're not saying a lot more beyond that. But as far as we can tell, at this time at least, the inspection operations seem to be - seem to be going fairly well.

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




Low-Key>