Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Army Makes Discovery of Mobile, Chemical, Biological Labs
Aired April 14, 2003 - 15:06 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.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Well, now we have more on the Army's big discovery in Iraq of what it believes are mobile, chemical, and biological labs.
The vehicles were found outside of Karbala. Seeing as Ryan Chilcote is with the Army's 101st Airborne Division, he joins us now.
Ryan, what is the latest?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The 101st Airborne Division has been inspecting several sites where they believe elements of an Iraqi chemical and biological weapons program may have been hidden.
Last week, near the central rocky city of Karbala, they found one such site that they say is very suspicious. A short while ago, I spoke with Brigadier General Benjamin Freakly about what they found at that site.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. BENJAMIN FREAKLY, U.S. ARMY: In Karbala, when we were fighting there with the 2nd Brigade, the 2nd Brigade found about 11 buried CONEXs -- large metal 20 by, probably, 20 foot vans -- buried in the ground. They are dual-use chemical labs, biological and chemical. About a thousand pounds of documentation were found in that, and they were close to a artillery ammunition plant.
So this is consistent with the Iraqi denial -- former Iraqi leadership denial -- of doing anything, any wrongdoing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHILCOTE: The general went on to say that the equipment inside of those laboratories -- what he is describing as mobile, chemical, and biological laboratories -- that they found hidden under the ground there is worth about $1 million and appears to have been purchased subsequent to the year 2000. Basically, he is implying that the Iraqis did not supply this information in the Iraqi declaration to the United Nations on their biological and chemical weapons program.
Now it is important to note that we don't want to sensationalize these findings. It is important to note that this is not the first site that the 101st has inspected. There have been false alarms. A week ago, the 101st found a site where they believe they had either found nerve agent or high-grade pesticide. Today, the general told me that turned out to be high-grade pesticide.
These inspections really require slow and tedious work. And they need to be treated both by the inspectors and the media as such. It is inappropriate to expect quick results, but the 101st believes that they have enough hard and interesting information findings at this site to continue their investigation.
Ryan Chilcote, CNN, with 101st Airborne in southern 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
Aired April 14, 2003 - 15:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Well, now we have more on the Army's big discovery in Iraq of what it believes are mobile, chemical, and biological labs.
The vehicles were found outside of Karbala. Seeing as Ryan Chilcote is with the Army's 101st Airborne Division, he joins us now.
Ryan, what is the latest?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The 101st Airborne Division has been inspecting several sites where they believe elements of an Iraqi chemical and biological weapons program may have been hidden.
Last week, near the central rocky city of Karbala, they found one such site that they say is very suspicious. A short while ago, I spoke with Brigadier General Benjamin Freakly about what they found at that site.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. BENJAMIN FREAKLY, U.S. ARMY: In Karbala, when we were fighting there with the 2nd Brigade, the 2nd Brigade found about 11 buried CONEXs -- large metal 20 by, probably, 20 foot vans -- buried in the ground. They are dual-use chemical labs, biological and chemical. About a thousand pounds of documentation were found in that, and they were close to a artillery ammunition plant.
So this is consistent with the Iraqi denial -- former Iraqi leadership denial -- of doing anything, any wrongdoing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHILCOTE: The general went on to say that the equipment inside of those laboratories -- what he is describing as mobile, chemical, and biological laboratories -- that they found hidden under the ground there is worth about $1 million and appears to have been purchased subsequent to the year 2000. Basically, he is implying that the Iraqis did not supply this information in the Iraqi declaration to the United Nations on their biological and chemical weapons program.
Now it is important to note that we don't want to sensationalize these findings. It is important to note that this is not the first site that the 101st has inspected. There have been false alarms. A week ago, the 101st found a site where they believe they had either found nerve agent or high-grade pesticide. Today, the general told me that turned out to be high-grade pesticide.
These inspections really require slow and tedious work. And they need to be treated both by the inspectors and the media as such. It is inappropriate to expect quick results, but the 101st believes that they have enough hard and interesting information findings at this site to continue their investigation.
Ryan Chilcote, CNN, with 101st Airborne in southern 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
