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American Morning
Returning with Promises
Aired November 20, 2002 - 07:04 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The two top weapons inspectors say Baghdad is promising to cooperate fully. Hans Blix and Mohamed el- Baradei returned to Cyprus this morning, after two days of what they called "constructive meetings" with Iraqi officials.
Cyprus is serving as the operational base for the inspection team, and our own Sheila MacVicar is there, and she joins us now live with more.
Good morning -- Sheila.
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
Well, early days and perhaps some room for a little early optimism, calling their talks with the Iraqis over the course of the last two days, "professional and business-like," and saying they had received repeated verbal assurances of full cooperation from the Iraqis.
This morning, Hans Blix and Mohamed el-Baradei said what they want to see is not just verbal assurance, but real cooperation on the ground.
Now, the next most important date on the calendar for Iraq really is December the 8th. That's the date by which Iraq must present its full disclosure of its weapons of mass destruction.
And here's what Mohamed el-Baradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, had to say about that just a few hours ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMED EL-BARADEI, INTL. ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY: We impressed on them the importance, of course, that the declaration, which is due on December 8, should be accurate and complete. That's the basic baseline with which we are going to operate. And they assured us that they'll do everything possible to make sure that the declaration will cover all activities, both nuclear weapons as well as even activities in the civil sector as required by the declaration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACVICAR: Now, what Mr. el-Baradei is talking about there, of course, is that very important declaration. If Iraq chooses to stick to its line, Paula, that in fact it has no nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, then they are saying they must produce evidence, they must prove that they have gotten rid of those things and do that in a credible fashion, something that Hans Blix says that Iraq has not done to date -- Paula.
ZAHN: Sheila MacVicar, thanks so much for that live update.
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 November 20, 2002 - 07:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The two top weapons inspectors say Baghdad is promising to cooperate fully. Hans Blix and Mohamed el- Baradei returned to Cyprus this morning, after two days of what they called "constructive meetings" with Iraqi officials.
Cyprus is serving as the operational base for the inspection team, and our own Sheila MacVicar is there, and she joins us now live with more.
Good morning -- Sheila.
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
Well, early days and perhaps some room for a little early optimism, calling their talks with the Iraqis over the course of the last two days, "professional and business-like," and saying they had received repeated verbal assurances of full cooperation from the Iraqis.
This morning, Hans Blix and Mohamed el-Baradei said what they want to see is not just verbal assurance, but real cooperation on the ground.
Now, the next most important date on the calendar for Iraq really is December the 8th. That's the date by which Iraq must present its full disclosure of its weapons of mass destruction.
And here's what Mohamed el-Baradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, had to say about that just a few hours ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMED EL-BARADEI, INTL. ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY: We impressed on them the importance, of course, that the declaration, which is due on December 8, should be accurate and complete. That's the basic baseline with which we are going to operate. And they assured us that they'll do everything possible to make sure that the declaration will cover all activities, both nuclear weapons as well as even activities in the civil sector as required by the declaration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACVICAR: Now, what Mr. el-Baradei is talking about there, of course, is that very important declaration. If Iraq chooses to stick to its line, Paula, that in fact it has no nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, then they are saying they must produce evidence, they must prove that they have gotten rid of those things and do that in a credible fashion, something that Hans Blix says that Iraq has not done to date -- Paula.
ZAHN: Sheila MacVicar, thanks so much for that live update.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
