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American Morning

U.S. Dismissing Baghdad's Claim U.N. Weapons Inspectors Finished Work Four Years Ago

Aired August 13, 2002 - 08:03   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. now dismissing Baghdad's claim that U.N. weapons inspectors finished their work in Iraq four years ago. Within the past hour, the former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger talked with Paula about the Iraqis and their position on inspections.
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HENRY KISSINGER, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I don't think they're trying to provoke us but I think they may have concluded that the kind of inspection that would be needed to find biological and chemical weapons and to check on nuclear weapons would be so intrusive as to change the character of the Saddam Hussein regime and they're not prepared to modify that.

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HEMMER: Also, a spokesman for the State Department says the issue with Iraq is not inspections, per se, but verification that Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction.

Meanwhile, there has not been an official response in Iraq yet.

CNN's Jane Arraf in Baghdad joins us live for an update on what's happening and what is being said on the ground there -- Jane, hello.

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Bill.

Well, this morning Iraqis and international observers here are really trying to figure out what it was the information minister meant when he said inspections are over. Now, the Iraqi government has said that before and it hasn't meant that they will never be allowed to come back. It simply meant that Iraq feels that they've done their job.

That, an absolute bar to letting the inspectors back in, as that statement might indicate, isn't really along the lines of the game plan that Iraq has engaged in so far, which is basically buying time. If it closes the door to letting those inspectors back in, that would seem to be inviting an aggression, an American-led attack here, in the minds of many Iraqis, and that certainly doesn't seem to be what the government wants at this time -- Bill.

HEMMER: Jane Arraf, a quick update from Baghdad.

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