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Iraq Accepts U-2 Overflights
Aired February 10, 2003 - 14:01 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And now we want to go to Jason Carroll at the United Nations -- Michael Okwu, I am sorry, at the United Nations. Good morning, Jason (sic). A lot of action happening there for hours today.
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of action. It was really a very slow day here at the United Nations, but just moments ago, the Iraqi ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammed Aldouri, stopped in front of a couple reporters and told us that he had handed in a letter to the offices of chief weapons inspector Hans Blix. He indicated that a second letter was on its way to the IAEA headquarters in Vienna.
Here is the Iraqi ambassador.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED ALDOURI, IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: When you start discussion issues in a good way, technically, and if you have time to do that, to think about that, that's always reached to a conclusion, mostly positive. And we have the discussion with UNMOVIC late yesterday, and the yesterday before in Baghdad, and the Iraqi government reached to that conclusion that they have to accept -- to accept the surveillance of this U-2 in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OKWU: Iraq was reluctant to allow the planes to fly over because they said they had to protect the skies from U.S. and British planes patrolling the no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq, zones that Baghdad has argued for years are unauthorized.
In the meantime, the concession came after very high level talks with chief weapons inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei. The two men had also asked Iraq to pass legislation banning weapons of mass destruction.
Ambassador Aldouri somewhat vaguely said, We would have something on that shortly. In the meantime, Hans Blix has convened a team of international rocket scientists and experts to take a look at two missile programs that the Iraqis have been manufacturing for years now, the Al Samud II (ph) and the Al Fatah missiles, to try to determine whether these missiles actually go beyond the U.N. mandate of 150 kilometers -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Michael Okwu reporting from the United Nations this afternoon. 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 February 10, 2003 - 14:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And now we want to go to Jason Carroll at the United Nations -- Michael Okwu, I am sorry, at the United Nations. Good morning, Jason (sic). A lot of action happening there for hours today.
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of action. It was really a very slow day here at the United Nations, but just moments ago, the Iraqi ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammed Aldouri, stopped in front of a couple reporters and told us that he had handed in a letter to the offices of chief weapons inspector Hans Blix. He indicated that a second letter was on its way to the IAEA headquarters in Vienna.
Here is the Iraqi ambassador.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED ALDOURI, IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: When you start discussion issues in a good way, technically, and if you have time to do that, to think about that, that's always reached to a conclusion, mostly positive. And we have the discussion with UNMOVIC late yesterday, and the yesterday before in Baghdad, and the Iraqi government reached to that conclusion that they have to accept -- to accept the surveillance of this U-2 in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OKWU: Iraq was reluctant to allow the planes to fly over because they said they had to protect the skies from U.S. and British planes patrolling the no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq, zones that Baghdad has argued for years are unauthorized.
In the meantime, the concession came after very high level talks with chief weapons inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei. The two men had also asked Iraq to pass legislation banning weapons of mass destruction.
Ambassador Aldouri somewhat vaguely said, We would have something on that shortly. In the meantime, Hans Blix has convened a team of international rocket scientists and experts to take a look at two missile programs that the Iraqis have been manufacturing for years now, the Al Samud II (ph) and the Al Fatah missiles, to try to determine whether these missiles actually go beyond the U.N. mandate of 150 kilometers -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Michael Okwu reporting from the United Nations this afternoon. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
