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No Sign of Change in Security Council

Aired March 10, 2003 - 15:02   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.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We begin at the United Nations at this hour. "United" sort of a figure of speech right now. The U.S. still wants a vote as soon as tomorrow on a resolution drawing one final line in the Iraqi sand, and there are no indications any of the measures, many opponents are softening.
We get the latest from CNN senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth, who is watching it from there. Hello, Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. It doesn't look like the vote is going to be tomorrow, according to several diplomats. The U.S. could change their mind and call for a vote, or move up their timeline, but it doesn't appear imminent, and I think even the White House spokesman, Ari Fleischer hinted it may come later in the week.

And not much has moved here, if anything. Positions have hardened. Guinea, the ambassador from Guinea -- current president of the Security Council says there can't be a compromise right now because there are two camps that don't want to agree on anything. Many of the nonpermanent members continue to search for any type of solution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are not yet there. We are not yet there. We're not yet raising hands. We're not sitting in the council voting. We are still looking for a position that can be acceptable by all the members of the council. That's what we are.

MUNIR AKRAM, PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: It will be a difficult decision, but mind you, it will be a decision which we will take at the moment of the vote, because it is only at that time we will know what are all the factors in play, what side has made what efforts for peace.

GUNTER PLEUGER, GERMAN AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: It is, of course, our duty to make possible that there is always a possibility for diplomacy to reach our common goal, and that is the disarmament of Iraq by peaceful means.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: The British are interested in getting some of the undefined, unfulfilled tasks, the key significant ones, from Iraq. They want -- Britain is interested in having that maybe put -- put to Iraq as a test to see if they're cooperate as a way to get other countries on the council to vote for the resolution, because it will give them more time. The U.S. has indicated they might be in favor of that, but Washington is very not willing to extend that deadline. That's where -- it's still stuck on a lot of issues here, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk calendar for just a moment. Ari Fleischer today indicated that deadline, that March 17 deadline -- put it this way, he wasn't hard over on it. As we look at that -- that possibility of that deadline sliding back, and then how do you factor in the possibility of this vote happening this week? Could that slide into next week? In other words, how much urgency are you detecting here?

ROTH: Well, it's still that chess game, whatever game you want to call it, where France comes out one day and says we're not going to vote for the resolution, and then you have the U.S. saying we want hands in the air, we want to see a vote, show their cards. But there is still this quest for unity, because each side has a lot at stake.

France for the institution of the United Nations, and also to be a player later on, post-Iraq, if there's a war. So there's urgency, but it could slip. If it slips, and March 17 holds, it doesn't give Iraq much time. Maybe both days will slip. I wouldn't be surprised with that, but the U.S. is still holding firm that it's March 17 for the deadline on its resolution if approved.

O'BRIEN: The president, Ari Fleischer underscoring it today as well, saying that if the U.N. doesn't take some action here, it runs the risk of becoming irrelevant. I'm curious, when the administration says things like that, how does that play in the halls of the United Nations?

ROTH: The attitude is basically Iraq is not the U.N., the U.N. is not Iraq. They believe there are a lot of other issues where the U.N. will still be a key player, and that they need the United States. It's the biggest contributor, it has got the biggest muscle, the biggest force to do things, and they don't want to spurn the United Nations.

They know here the U.S. has to be a significant player, and if the U.S. is going to deal with Iraq post-conflict, they need all of the U.N. and the international community's aid agencies, humanitarian concerns. The vote and the war, it happened in 1999, it didn't get to a vote. It's too soon. People will be wondering what happens on the ground in the battle, maybe, before they say, I told you so, the U.N. now is kaput. Or if it goes quickly and smoothly, people will just paper it over, and say Well, we'll try to heal the wounds.

O'BRIEN: It should be noted this is a prediction that has been made many times before.

ROTH: Yes, but this one, there seems to be a certain edge to it because this one has vast impact in the region, on the Middle East, and no one knows the consequences so far regarding weapons of mass destruction, how anything will be used. In the wake of 9/11, I think it makes those other incidents seem a little bit more minor.

O'BRIEN: Richard Roth at the U.N., thanks very much.

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 March 10, 2003 - 15:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We begin at the United Nations at this hour. "United" sort of a figure of speech right now. The U.S. still wants a vote as soon as tomorrow on a resolution drawing one final line in the Iraqi sand, and there are no indications any of the measures, many opponents are softening.
We get the latest from CNN senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth, who is watching it from there. Hello, Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. It doesn't look like the vote is going to be tomorrow, according to several diplomats. The U.S. could change their mind and call for a vote, or move up their timeline, but it doesn't appear imminent, and I think even the White House spokesman, Ari Fleischer hinted it may come later in the week.

And not much has moved here, if anything. Positions have hardened. Guinea, the ambassador from Guinea -- current president of the Security Council says there can't be a compromise right now because there are two camps that don't want to agree on anything. Many of the nonpermanent members continue to search for any type of solution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are not yet there. We are not yet there. We're not yet raising hands. We're not sitting in the council voting. We are still looking for a position that can be acceptable by all the members of the council. That's what we are.

MUNIR AKRAM, PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: It will be a difficult decision, but mind you, it will be a decision which we will take at the moment of the vote, because it is only at that time we will know what are all the factors in play, what side has made what efforts for peace.

GUNTER PLEUGER, GERMAN AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: It is, of course, our duty to make possible that there is always a possibility for diplomacy to reach our common goal, and that is the disarmament of Iraq by peaceful means.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: The British are interested in getting some of the undefined, unfulfilled tasks, the key significant ones, from Iraq. They want -- Britain is interested in having that maybe put -- put to Iraq as a test to see if they're cooperate as a way to get other countries on the council to vote for the resolution, because it will give them more time. The U.S. has indicated they might be in favor of that, but Washington is very not willing to extend that deadline. That's where -- it's still stuck on a lot of issues here, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk calendar for just a moment. Ari Fleischer today indicated that deadline, that March 17 deadline -- put it this way, he wasn't hard over on it. As we look at that -- that possibility of that deadline sliding back, and then how do you factor in the possibility of this vote happening this week? Could that slide into next week? In other words, how much urgency are you detecting here?

ROTH: Well, it's still that chess game, whatever game you want to call it, where France comes out one day and says we're not going to vote for the resolution, and then you have the U.S. saying we want hands in the air, we want to see a vote, show their cards. But there is still this quest for unity, because each side has a lot at stake.

France for the institution of the United Nations, and also to be a player later on, post-Iraq, if there's a war. So there's urgency, but it could slip. If it slips, and March 17 holds, it doesn't give Iraq much time. Maybe both days will slip. I wouldn't be surprised with that, but the U.S. is still holding firm that it's March 17 for the deadline on its resolution if approved.

O'BRIEN: The president, Ari Fleischer underscoring it today as well, saying that if the U.N. doesn't take some action here, it runs the risk of becoming irrelevant. I'm curious, when the administration says things like that, how does that play in the halls of the United Nations?

ROTH: The attitude is basically Iraq is not the U.N., the U.N. is not Iraq. They believe there are a lot of other issues where the U.N. will still be a key player, and that they need the United States. It's the biggest contributor, it has got the biggest muscle, the biggest force to do things, and they don't want to spurn the United Nations.

They know here the U.S. has to be a significant player, and if the U.S. is going to deal with Iraq post-conflict, they need all of the U.N. and the international community's aid agencies, humanitarian concerns. The vote and the war, it happened in 1999, it didn't get to a vote. It's too soon. People will be wondering what happens on the ground in the battle, maybe, before they say, I told you so, the U.N. now is kaput. Or if it goes quickly and smoothly, people will just paper it over, and say Well, we'll try to heal the wounds.

O'BRIEN: It should be noted this is a prediction that has been made many times before.

ROTH: Yes, but this one, there seems to be a certain edge to it because this one has vast impact in the region, on the Middle East, and no one knows the consequences so far regarding weapons of mass destruction, how anything will be used. In the wake of 9/11, I think it makes those other incidents seem a little bit more minor.

O'BRIEN: Richard Roth at the U.N., thanks very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com