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Blix Returns Fire on the Way Out
Aired June 11, 2003 - 13:56 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: The man they call the "Volvo" is running a little hot. Sweden's Hans Blix has some parting shots for the Bush administration in his final days as chief U.N. weapons inspector. CNN's Richard Roth spoke with Dr. Blix today. He joins us now from New York -- hello, Richard.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. As the clock winds down on Dr. Blix's term here -- he has got until the end of the month, he increasingly seems to be making more barbed comments regarding his critics or detractors in Washington and even Iraq. In an interview with the British newspaper "The Guardian," Blix is quoted as saying "I have my detractors in Washington. There are bastards who spread things around, of course, who planted nasty things in the media. Not that I cared very much."
I asked Dr. Blix about this and other allegations made against him in an interview just a short while ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: Do you feel that you were the victim of a smear campaign?
DR. HANS BLIX, CHIEF U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: Well, it's somewhat, I think, irrelevant in a way. But clearly, when a former Swedish deputy prime minister writes in "Washington Times" -- or in the "Wall Street Journal" and I haven't met the guy since the '70s, and evidently some of the information must have come from private sources in the U.S., there was something wrong. But there is not anything that I lost my sleep about. The relations I have had officially with the United States have been good, having had (ph) help from them. I think it's more the substance of the matter that I attest (ph) importance to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: Blix says, in effect, that it's all irrelevant now, but he is still concerned about the U.S. power to be able to determine the use of force, he says, without in some cases, justification. He says they still don't know whether Iraq did have weapons of mass destruction. He would have liked to have more time there -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Richard, is he trying to sort of help write a chapter of history here by saying these comments on the way out? Or, as it turns out, is Dr. Blix a little bit thin-skinned?
ROTH: He's not thin-skinned, but when you mention another chapter, he might be writing more chapters. Plans are, probably, for a book. One council diplomat was disturbed about that, questioning how much Dr. Blix indeed focused on the issue at hand. Blix kind of laughed that off. He doesn't let any of this get to him. He's been in remarkable good humor throughout. But it clearly stings him, some of the criticism. He also revealed that he heard that in Iraq, he was branded, besides a spy, as being gay, which he said was news to his wife and family.
O'BRIEN: Richard Roth. All right. Thank you 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 June 11, 2003 - 13:56 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The man they call the "Volvo" is running a little hot. Sweden's Hans Blix has some parting shots for the Bush administration in his final days as chief U.N. weapons inspector. CNN's Richard Roth spoke with Dr. Blix today. He joins us now from New York -- hello, Richard.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. As the clock winds down on Dr. Blix's term here -- he has got until the end of the month, he increasingly seems to be making more barbed comments regarding his critics or detractors in Washington and even Iraq. In an interview with the British newspaper "The Guardian," Blix is quoted as saying "I have my detractors in Washington. There are bastards who spread things around, of course, who planted nasty things in the media. Not that I cared very much."
I asked Dr. Blix about this and other allegations made against him in an interview just a short while ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: Do you feel that you were the victim of a smear campaign?
DR. HANS BLIX, CHIEF U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: Well, it's somewhat, I think, irrelevant in a way. But clearly, when a former Swedish deputy prime minister writes in "Washington Times" -- or in the "Wall Street Journal" and I haven't met the guy since the '70s, and evidently some of the information must have come from private sources in the U.S., there was something wrong. But there is not anything that I lost my sleep about. The relations I have had officially with the United States have been good, having had (ph) help from them. I think it's more the substance of the matter that I attest (ph) importance to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: Blix says, in effect, that it's all irrelevant now, but he is still concerned about the U.S. power to be able to determine the use of force, he says, without in some cases, justification. He says they still don't know whether Iraq did have weapons of mass destruction. He would have liked to have more time there -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Richard, is he trying to sort of help write a chapter of history here by saying these comments on the way out? Or, as it turns out, is Dr. Blix a little bit thin-skinned?
ROTH: He's not thin-skinned, but when you mention another chapter, he might be writing more chapters. Plans are, probably, for a book. One council diplomat was disturbed about that, questioning how much Dr. Blix indeed focused on the issue at hand. Blix kind of laughed that off. He doesn't let any of this get to him. He's been in remarkable good humor throughout. But it clearly stings him, some of the criticism. He also revealed that he heard that in Iraq, he was branded, besides a spy, as being gay, which he said was news to his wife and family.
O'BRIEN: Richard Roth. All right. Thank you 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
