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American Morning
Inspectors Will Attempt Surprise Inspections
Aired November 26, 2002 - 08:32 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: More on the upcoming hunt for weapons in Iraq. The inspection team is ready to begin surprise searches tomorrow. Inspectors have been briefing reporters this morning, and Nic Robertson joins us now from Baghdad with what he's learned.
Good morning, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
That's right, that briefing really giving us our first understanding of how the inspectors will go to work. He says, what they'll do is freeze the sites. They would not allow any people or vehicles on or off the sites when they arrive.
Now in the past, they're previous weapons inspectors believed that Iraqi officials were taking documents out the back door of sites while they were arriving at the front door. So a U.N. weapons inspector saying that is not to happen this time. Also they've been outlining some of the new high-tech equipment they've got. They'll be putting tanks on things, seals, taking samples, detecting for radioactive isotopes to help find nuclear weapons, components.
Perhaps the one thing they'll be able to do the previous inspectors weren't able to do is to send that information immediately from the field back to New York and Vienna for analysis.
What they'll be doing is cross-referencing those photographs there in the field, those samples in the field, with duel-use equipment. They'll also have with them computers, and they'll have big data files on those computers for referencing what they're seeing there to what they have records of, should Iraq have this? Is it an item of civilian equipment that Iraq is putting to use in its weapons of mass destruction program? That will be the type of determination there now. Not only that they'll be able to do in the field, but also with help from New York and Vienna. So that is a breakthrough.
But for these inspectors now saying, this is a real opportunity for them after years, years, they say, of looking at satellite photographs. Now they can finally get under those roofs and into the infrastructure to find out what's been going on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIMITRI PERRICOS, UNSCOM: They will check whether processes are as they should be or they have been changed in order to cover other requirements. They're going to see whether their underground structures in the particular buildings, and they're going to examine the documentation and records and even look for such documentation and records, and these records, of course, include computers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Now those inspections due to begin in less than 24 hours. One item of bad news for us that is, Paula, we won't be able to get in the sites and see what's happening. That is part of the U.N.'s freeze and lockdown on those sites -- Paula.
ZAHN: OK, Nic Robertson, 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 November 26, 2002 - 08:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: More on the upcoming hunt for weapons in Iraq. The inspection team is ready to begin surprise searches tomorrow. Inspectors have been briefing reporters this morning, and Nic Robertson joins us now from Baghdad with what he's learned.
Good morning, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
That's right, that briefing really giving us our first understanding of how the inspectors will go to work. He says, what they'll do is freeze the sites. They would not allow any people or vehicles on or off the sites when they arrive.
Now in the past, they're previous weapons inspectors believed that Iraqi officials were taking documents out the back door of sites while they were arriving at the front door. So a U.N. weapons inspector saying that is not to happen this time. Also they've been outlining some of the new high-tech equipment they've got. They'll be putting tanks on things, seals, taking samples, detecting for radioactive isotopes to help find nuclear weapons, components.
Perhaps the one thing they'll be able to do the previous inspectors weren't able to do is to send that information immediately from the field back to New York and Vienna for analysis.
What they'll be doing is cross-referencing those photographs there in the field, those samples in the field, with duel-use equipment. They'll also have with them computers, and they'll have big data files on those computers for referencing what they're seeing there to what they have records of, should Iraq have this? Is it an item of civilian equipment that Iraq is putting to use in its weapons of mass destruction program? That will be the type of determination there now. Not only that they'll be able to do in the field, but also with help from New York and Vienna. So that is a breakthrough.
But for these inspectors now saying, this is a real opportunity for them after years, years, they say, of looking at satellite photographs. Now they can finally get under those roofs and into the infrastructure to find out what's been going on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIMITRI PERRICOS, UNSCOM: They will check whether processes are as they should be or they have been changed in order to cover other requirements. They're going to see whether their underground structures in the particular buildings, and they're going to examine the documentation and records and even look for such documentation and records, and these records, of course, include computers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Now those inspections due to begin in less than 24 hours. One item of bad news for us that is, Paula, we won't be able to get in the sites and see what's happening. That is part of the U.N.'s freeze and lockdown on those sites -- Paula.
ZAHN: OK, Nic Robertson, 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
