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Tests to Be Added to Resolution as Side Letter
Aired March 12, 2003 - 14:21 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: Let's get back to the United Nations and Iraq. Will there or will there not be a vote this week? A person with some more insight on that, Richard Roth, our senior CNN correspondent -- Richard, what is going on now?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: As we've been discussing throughout the day, the United States and especially Britain looking for ways to get support for the proposed resolution with the March 17 deadline, and and one of the ways they're going to be doing that, the so-called test disarmament issues for Iraq, so- called benchmarks, in some circles.
CNN here has obtained a copy of a working draft side statement. These are principles and orders for Iraq that will not be included officially in the actual resolution text, but these will be circulated among the Security Council members as a way to show that Britain and the U.S. are giving Iraq one more chance, and you can gauge Iraq's cooperation based upon these test cases.
The letter, what's most important in this draft side statement, is that so far, working document -- nowhere near approval -- still says March 17 is the deadline for Iraq to cooperate. And the No. 1 item, as reported earlier, a statement by President Saddam Hussein -- quote -- "must make a public statement in Arabic broadcast on television and radio in Iraq and in the government-controlled media" that Iraq has in the past -- quote -- "sought to control its weapons of mass destruction and other proscribed activities, but has now taken a strategic decision not to produce or retain weapons of mass destruction or other proscribed items."
Of course, Iraq insists today that it does not possess any weapons of mass destruction. It has said this even inside the General Assembly to the entire United Nations membership.
The other benchmarks, briefly, that Iraq will without delay yield to the weapons inspectors all remaining prohibited weapons. Iraq will fully cooperate with the weapons inspectors. It is the duty of all Iraqi government personnel to cooperate. Scientists, 30 of them, must go out of the country at the whim of the U.N. weapons inspectors, their choice, to a -- quote -- "secure environment" outside Iraq along with their families. They must cooperate fully with their interviewers.
Again this is a draft working side statement that will be circulated if it still stays on course for council consideration, and it may get the necessary nine votes for the Security Council. However, Russia and France still remain very opposed to anything with a trigger date such as March 17, as the Russian ambassador says, anything with a hint of automaticity -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. Quickly, Richard, we are pretty much out of time, but what are the chances there will be a vote on this with this side letter?
ROTH: Well, the U.S. says it wants a vote anyway, so everyone will have this letter. It may encourage them to get at least nine, the super majority Ari Fleischer says, but at the moment it still faces a veto.
O'BRIEN: Richard Roth at the United Nations. 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 12, 2003 - 14:21 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get back to the United Nations and Iraq. Will there or will there not be a vote this week? A person with some more insight on that, Richard Roth, our senior CNN correspondent -- Richard, what is going on now?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: As we've been discussing throughout the day, the United States and especially Britain looking for ways to get support for the proposed resolution with the March 17 deadline, and and one of the ways they're going to be doing that, the so-called test disarmament issues for Iraq, so- called benchmarks, in some circles.
CNN here has obtained a copy of a working draft side statement. These are principles and orders for Iraq that will not be included officially in the actual resolution text, but these will be circulated among the Security Council members as a way to show that Britain and the U.S. are giving Iraq one more chance, and you can gauge Iraq's cooperation based upon these test cases.
The letter, what's most important in this draft side statement, is that so far, working document -- nowhere near approval -- still says March 17 is the deadline for Iraq to cooperate. And the No. 1 item, as reported earlier, a statement by President Saddam Hussein -- quote -- "must make a public statement in Arabic broadcast on television and radio in Iraq and in the government-controlled media" that Iraq has in the past -- quote -- "sought to control its weapons of mass destruction and other proscribed activities, but has now taken a strategic decision not to produce or retain weapons of mass destruction or other proscribed items."
Of course, Iraq insists today that it does not possess any weapons of mass destruction. It has said this even inside the General Assembly to the entire United Nations membership.
The other benchmarks, briefly, that Iraq will without delay yield to the weapons inspectors all remaining prohibited weapons. Iraq will fully cooperate with the weapons inspectors. It is the duty of all Iraqi government personnel to cooperate. Scientists, 30 of them, must go out of the country at the whim of the U.N. weapons inspectors, their choice, to a -- quote -- "secure environment" outside Iraq along with their families. They must cooperate fully with their interviewers.
Again this is a draft working side statement that will be circulated if it still stays on course for council consideration, and it may get the necessary nine votes for the Security Council. However, Russia and France still remain very opposed to anything with a trigger date such as March 17, as the Russian ambassador says, anything with a hint of automaticity -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. Quickly, Richard, we are pretty much out of time, but what are the chances there will be a vote on this with this side letter?
ROTH: Well, the U.S. says it wants a vote anyway, so everyone will have this letter. It may encourage them to get at least nine, the super majority Ari Fleischer says, but at the moment it still faces a veto.
O'BRIEN: Richard Roth at the United Nations. 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
