Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Chemical Weapons Possibly Found in Northern Iraq

Aired April 28, 2003 - 15:39   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: Meanwhile, the world community is awaiting the outcome of tests in substances found in northern Iraq. Two field tests determined they were chemical weapons while a third was negative. Additional testing is underway. Results could be in by late today.
CNN's Nic Robertson is in Baji, where the suspicious guns were found.

It is already late today there, Nic. Do we have some sort of final determination?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No word here yet tonight, Miles. Maybe, we're told, tomorrow morning, likely the word would come from Central Command. The troops here now are guarding this site. They're not involved in the testing. They're done their job.

They're the first troops who did the testing. They came away with the conclusion that there was the nerve agent cyclo-serin, that there was the blister agent mustard gas, and that there was another unknown agent here.

The second team came away with pretty much the same conclusion. The third team came away believing that was not the case, saying that maybe the chemical agents or what the other teams think were chemical agents were, in fact, rocket fuel. Perhaps the reason for that -- this site here just where the drums of potential agents were discovered -- there were also some missiles discovered, surface-to-air missiles, ground-to-ground missiles, as well as mobile chemical laboratories where, perhaps, chemicals were being mixed together or planned to be mixed together.

Still, waiting for that result to come out. It could be tomorrow morning. It might even take a little bit longer -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Nic, why does it take so long to get these things finalized? Why so many false positives and negatives? It's kind of dicey, isn't it?

ROBERTON: It's a good question. And I think a lot of people are beginning to ask that same question. We've seen it twice already. The first teams go in. They get positive readings. Even the same readings as they've had here -- a blister agent, a serin nerve agent.

But the soldiers we talked to here, they went in with their fox units, these units that are designed to do chemical tests to protect the soldiers in the field. And they say they're 100% confident in their equipment, 100% confident in their training, 100% confident of their results.

Their job, they say, is to protect the soldiers in the field. They believe that in this instance, they did it. They can't answer why the other groups are coming in and coming away with different results. But they're confident in what they're doing.

But it's certainly their thinking about it, and certainly it's a bigger question raised by many other people. Why if three different teams come in, do they get different results? -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Nic Robertson, we'll say good-bye to you on this video shot because I think you're losing your camera there. Thank you for being with us.

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 28, 2003 - 15:39   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile, the world community is awaiting the outcome of tests in substances found in northern Iraq. Two field tests determined they were chemical weapons while a third was negative. Additional testing is underway. Results could be in by late today.
CNN's Nic Robertson is in Baji, where the suspicious guns were found.

It is already late today there, Nic. Do we have some sort of final determination?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No word here yet tonight, Miles. Maybe, we're told, tomorrow morning, likely the word would come from Central Command. The troops here now are guarding this site. They're not involved in the testing. They're done their job.

They're the first troops who did the testing. They came away with the conclusion that there was the nerve agent cyclo-serin, that there was the blister agent mustard gas, and that there was another unknown agent here.

The second team came away with pretty much the same conclusion. The third team came away believing that was not the case, saying that maybe the chemical agents or what the other teams think were chemical agents were, in fact, rocket fuel. Perhaps the reason for that -- this site here just where the drums of potential agents were discovered -- there were also some missiles discovered, surface-to-air missiles, ground-to-ground missiles, as well as mobile chemical laboratories where, perhaps, chemicals were being mixed together or planned to be mixed together.

Still, waiting for that result to come out. It could be tomorrow morning. It might even take a little bit longer -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Nic, why does it take so long to get these things finalized? Why so many false positives and negatives? It's kind of dicey, isn't it?

ROBERTON: It's a good question. And I think a lot of people are beginning to ask that same question. We've seen it twice already. The first teams go in. They get positive readings. Even the same readings as they've had here -- a blister agent, a serin nerve agent.

But the soldiers we talked to here, they went in with their fox units, these units that are designed to do chemical tests to protect the soldiers in the field. And they say they're 100% confident in their equipment, 100% confident in their training, 100% confident of their results.

Their job, they say, is to protect the soldiers in the field. They believe that in this instance, they did it. They can't answer why the other groups are coming in and coming away with different results. But they're confident in what they're doing.

But it's certainly their thinking about it, and certainly it's a bigger question raised by many other people. Why if three different teams come in, do they get different results? -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Nic Robertson, we'll say good-bye to you on this video shot because I think you're losing your camera there. Thank you for being with us.

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