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Will Blix Head Back In?

Aired April 17, 2003 - 15:08   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: CNN's senior United Nations correspondent, Richard Roth, is with us now to talk more about the tensions between Washington and Damascus, and also some word that the U.N.'s chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix, ready to get a team of inspectors back in Iraq. How are you, Richard?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: A little cold, Miles. But inside the United Nations, some simmering tensions. We'll see how it plays out, perhaps from the Powell visit, and it reverberates here, because Syria yesterday formally introducing a resolution, calling for a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction.

Previous Security Council resolutions have mentioned this. All countries are, at least nominally, in favor of such an idea, but the U.S. and others feel now may not be the right time, considering the Middle East peace talks, and some other issues that Washington presses, such as keeping the heat on Syria, raising the possibility that Damascus is hoarding fugitives from Iraq, and also possessing, maybe, chemical weapons.

Syria says this is all a plot from Israel, and it does not have any weapons of mass destruction. Here inside and outside at the U.N., regarding -- you mentioned weapons inspections, that is going to be an issue to be discussed next Tuesday by the Security Council. Hans Blix will pay another visit.

Yes, he's still working, but his inspectors are not working at the U.N. -- inside Iraq. Instead it's U.S. troops who are looking for weapons of mass destruction, and they continue to look for it, whether it's in Karbala recently and other cities. And the Pentagon is sending a 1,000-man survey force.

Civilian engineers, intelligence experts, scientists, to continue and step up the hunt beginning next week, according to CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. All of this Blix watches. He would like to go in with his teams, but he's kind of resigned to the fact that for now, U.S. forces are really the ones on the ground calling the shots.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANS BLIX, CHIEF U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: If they feel that they can wage the war without any authorization of the Security Council, why couldn't they wage inspections without authorization? I can (ph) see the logic of that. One is certainly bigger than the other, but it has to do somewhat with the credibility in the world. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: Blix says, Let's see what Washington and London find there. Of course, many countries on the Security Council wanted Blix to continue his work, Washington and London decided, in the end, to go for military force, feeling Baghdad was never really going to cooperate and was, indeed, possessing weapons of mass destruction that have yet to turn up so far -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Richard, I suppose this credibility issue has something to do with timing, talking about sort of the chain of evidence here. The longer the U.S. waits to allow a team from the U.N. to go in, the more likely it will be that critics would say that they cooked the books, if you will.

ROTH: And that's why Blix thinks any type of U.N. international legitimacy could only help, but of course, I think the U.S. was saying -- or some critics were saying that looting may have taken away evidence. So people are probably lining up their ammunition for the fight ahead.

But the weapons inspections is a key issue on lifting sanctions, which President Bush wanted, because under resolutions, the council must decide, based on reports from the U.N. inspectors as to whether Iraq has complied. But one diplomat said circumstances have changed. All of these resolutions, Miles, we have been talking about for years dealt with a government that no longer is around.

O'BRIEN: And is Dr. Blix going to be still in the fray? I had the sense that he was heading off into the sunset a little while ago.

ROTH: And at times in Sweden it's a short sunset. He's heading out June 30. There may be some work for his inspectors. Russia, China, and France would certainly like to get them involved, because everybody is saying on the Security Council other than Washington and London, the U.N. has to play some type of central, vital role. Some of the former U.N. inspectors, though, are on the ground in Iraq, helping the U.S., especially if they're Americans.

O'BRIEN: Interesting point. Richard Roth at the United Nations. Thanks.

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 17, 2003 - 15:08   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's senior United Nations correspondent, Richard Roth, is with us now to talk more about the tensions between Washington and Damascus, and also some word that the U.N.'s chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix, ready to get a team of inspectors back in Iraq. How are you, Richard?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: A little cold, Miles. But inside the United Nations, some simmering tensions. We'll see how it plays out, perhaps from the Powell visit, and it reverberates here, because Syria yesterday formally introducing a resolution, calling for a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction.

Previous Security Council resolutions have mentioned this. All countries are, at least nominally, in favor of such an idea, but the U.S. and others feel now may not be the right time, considering the Middle East peace talks, and some other issues that Washington presses, such as keeping the heat on Syria, raising the possibility that Damascus is hoarding fugitives from Iraq, and also possessing, maybe, chemical weapons.

Syria says this is all a plot from Israel, and it does not have any weapons of mass destruction. Here inside and outside at the U.N., regarding -- you mentioned weapons inspections, that is going to be an issue to be discussed next Tuesday by the Security Council. Hans Blix will pay another visit.

Yes, he's still working, but his inspectors are not working at the U.N. -- inside Iraq. Instead it's U.S. troops who are looking for weapons of mass destruction, and they continue to look for it, whether it's in Karbala recently and other cities. And the Pentagon is sending a 1,000-man survey force.

Civilian engineers, intelligence experts, scientists, to continue and step up the hunt beginning next week, according to CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. All of this Blix watches. He would like to go in with his teams, but he's kind of resigned to the fact that for now, U.S. forces are really the ones on the ground calling the shots.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANS BLIX, CHIEF U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: If they feel that they can wage the war without any authorization of the Security Council, why couldn't they wage inspections without authorization? I can (ph) see the logic of that. One is certainly bigger than the other, but it has to do somewhat with the credibility in the world. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: Blix says, Let's see what Washington and London find there. Of course, many countries on the Security Council wanted Blix to continue his work, Washington and London decided, in the end, to go for military force, feeling Baghdad was never really going to cooperate and was, indeed, possessing weapons of mass destruction that have yet to turn up so far -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Richard, I suppose this credibility issue has something to do with timing, talking about sort of the chain of evidence here. The longer the U.S. waits to allow a team from the U.N. to go in, the more likely it will be that critics would say that they cooked the books, if you will.

ROTH: And that's why Blix thinks any type of U.N. international legitimacy could only help, but of course, I think the U.S. was saying -- or some critics were saying that looting may have taken away evidence. So people are probably lining up their ammunition for the fight ahead.

But the weapons inspections is a key issue on lifting sanctions, which President Bush wanted, because under resolutions, the council must decide, based on reports from the U.N. inspectors as to whether Iraq has complied. But one diplomat said circumstances have changed. All of these resolutions, Miles, we have been talking about for years dealt with a government that no longer is around.

O'BRIEN: And is Dr. Blix going to be still in the fray? I had the sense that he was heading off into the sunset a little while ago.

ROTH: And at times in Sweden it's a short sunset. He's heading out June 30. There may be some work for his inspectors. Russia, China, and France would certainly like to get them involved, because everybody is saying on the Security Council other than Washington and London, the U.N. has to play some type of central, vital role. Some of the former U.N. inspectors, though, are on the ground in Iraq, helping the U.S., especially if they're Americans.

O'BRIEN: Interesting point. Richard Roth at the United Nations. Thanks.

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