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American Morning

Powell Armed With Slides, Audiotapes, Tenet

Aired February 05, 2003 - 09:30   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: Colin Powell's presentation before the United Nations could be Washington's last chance to convince critics that Iraq is harboring weapons of mass destruction. His speech is scheduled to get underway just about an hour from now. Let's turn to Richard Roth, who has been on standby this morning at the United Nations where council members are just beginning to arrive. Any sense of anticipation from whoever you have been able to talk to?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Yes, though the U.N. has seen big days and very significant presentations in the Security Council before, Colin Powell due at any moment here at the United Nations. He's come up from Washington and he's packing a slide show, reconnaissance photographs, taped intercepts, audiotapes, and he's going to weave the audience through this. Several subplots, according to U.S. administration officials. He probably will have a microphone on him. He may move around in the audience, around the horseshoe table. Behind his seat in the U.S. delegation, George Tenet expected, the CIA director. All of this to drive home the point to the other Security Council members that the U.S. has the goods on Saddam Hussein, and that Iraq is not cooperating and in fact is hiding weapons of mass destruction from the inspectors who have been fanning out across Iraq -- Paula.

ZAHN: What else should we know about what the secretary of state might say?

ROTH: Well, he is going to say that Iraq has established a pattern of how to hide weapons of mass destruction, and that Powell is going to indicate how Iraq, despite all of the talk of cooperation and of closing the gaps is just continuing more of the same. And the U.S. doesn't want this whole diplomatic process to drag out. They still haven't ruled out some sort of solution, but they have kind of given up on Iraq now cooperating.

Baghdad, a last chance effort, is going to meet this weekend with Hans Blix and Mohammed ElBaradei, the lead weapons inspectors. And if they don't close all of the questions in a major way, Blix and ElBaradei come back here Valentine's Day, February 14, and if they report failure to cooperate, the U.S. may be able to get more companies on board for a military assault if needed with or without council authorization.

ZAHN: All right. Got you, Richard Roth. We will see you in just about 28 minutes from now, when we come back to our special coverage at the top of the hour. 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 February 5, 2003 - 09:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Colin Powell's presentation before the United Nations could be Washington's last chance to convince critics that Iraq is harboring weapons of mass destruction. His speech is scheduled to get underway just about an hour from now. Let's turn to Richard Roth, who has been on standby this morning at the United Nations where council members are just beginning to arrive. Any sense of anticipation from whoever you have been able to talk to?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Yes, though the U.N. has seen big days and very significant presentations in the Security Council before, Colin Powell due at any moment here at the United Nations. He's come up from Washington and he's packing a slide show, reconnaissance photographs, taped intercepts, audiotapes, and he's going to weave the audience through this. Several subplots, according to U.S. administration officials. He probably will have a microphone on him. He may move around in the audience, around the horseshoe table. Behind his seat in the U.S. delegation, George Tenet expected, the CIA director. All of this to drive home the point to the other Security Council members that the U.S. has the goods on Saddam Hussein, and that Iraq is not cooperating and in fact is hiding weapons of mass destruction from the inspectors who have been fanning out across Iraq -- Paula.

ZAHN: What else should we know about what the secretary of state might say?

ROTH: Well, he is going to say that Iraq has established a pattern of how to hide weapons of mass destruction, and that Powell is going to indicate how Iraq, despite all of the talk of cooperation and of closing the gaps is just continuing more of the same. And the U.S. doesn't want this whole diplomatic process to drag out. They still haven't ruled out some sort of solution, but they have kind of given up on Iraq now cooperating.

Baghdad, a last chance effort, is going to meet this weekend with Hans Blix and Mohammed ElBaradei, the lead weapons inspectors. And if they don't close all of the questions in a major way, Blix and ElBaradei come back here Valentine's Day, February 14, and if they report failure to cooperate, the U.S. may be able to get more companies on board for a military assault if needed with or without council authorization.

ZAHN: All right. Got you, Richard Roth. We will see you in just about 28 minutes from now, when we come back to our special coverage at the top of the hour. 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