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American Morning

Interview With Judith Miller

Aired April 04, 2003 - 08:22   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: They are known as MET Bravo (ph), it is the mobile exploitation team. They are largely responsible for going through Iraq and looking at suspicious sites that may hold the key to weapons of mass destruction.
Judith Miller is a well-known correspondent for the "New York Times," she is our guest now, here in Kuwait City after her recent embedded experience and you are still embedded. Don't know when you are going to go back in but at this point right now, let us talk about the news of the day, a couple of sites that have been located. Apparently, one just south of Baghdad, perhaps another we are hearing up right now. Based on the information that we are getting, can you offer anything as to what it might be?

JUDITH MILLER, NEW YORK TIMES CORRESPONDENT: I think what I could offer is initial caution about first report. You know, right now, we are getting into the zone, red zone, that is the area of course, where Saddam is most likely to use chemical or biological weapons, but in addition to that, that is the place where we are also most likely to find where he has hidden chemical or biological weapons.

So, the problem we had in the past at the camp in Northern Kuwait, where I have been based is that, these first reports are almost always kind of titillating and everybody is very curious and wants to rush out to a site, but often times, at least until now, it has not produced the smoking gun that the administration has been looking for.

HEMMER: The team you have been with has there been any frustration expressed. I know it is only 15 days?

MILLER: Right.

HEMMER: But the fact that they have not uncovered this, their reaction to this is what then?

MILLER: Well, I think it is just normal frustration because there are by the way several teams that have been put together to go out and find this stuff. But I think everybody knows that we were never going to find anything in southern Iraq. But that it is a sheer stronghold, that it is not a place where Saddam Hussein is likely to put such sensitive material.

HEMMER: Why is there such strong feeling on that 25-mile radius around Baghdad? MILLER: Because Saddam Hussein always wanted the very sensitive facilities near him, near his capital and because Iraqi scientists wanted to work near the capital. They wanted to live in Baghdad and commute to their facilities. They didn't want to be way out in the middle of the country some place and isolated and the scientists usually got pretty much what they wanted.

HEMMER: Have they ever expressed the possibility that they will not find weapons of mass destruction?

MILLER: The people that I have been embedded with have never expressed that.

HEMMER: So they are absolutely convinced.

MILLER: They are absolutely convinced that they are going to find what they are looking for.

HEMMER: Then, what about these mobile units? Have they ever expressed the possibility they have been driven out of Baghdad, driven out of Iraq completely?

MILLER: Everyone is very concerned about these reports that things have been sent to Syria and elsewhere, but I think I tend to discount those reports because I think that what we know about Saddam Hussein is that, with this kind of material, he does not share.

HEMMER: OK, now what does this team do? They are based out at Northern Kuwait. Do they drive? Do they fly? Do they wait on a call, and if the call comes who does it come from?

MILLER: They wait on a call from the -- basically the forwardly deployed troops and then they listen to a description of what has been found and they make a decision about whether or not they are going to go out and pursue it. How they get there depends on where the facility is and what is the safest way of getting there and I have been on at least one expedition with them now.

It is always very interesting, but so far, no smoking guns.

HEMMER: What also about the U.N. team of inspectors that have been going through the country since late November of last year? There has to be an awful lot of information out there about what these inspectors have already done or are about to do? How was that information now incorporated into what perhaps the CIA has been looking into, and what the CIA perhaps has given the team of inspectors prior to the war beginning?

MILLER: Well the United States gave UNMOVIC, that was called the international inspectors a lot of the information that really drove their visits to various sites, but UNMOVIC has found nothing and UNMOVIC's experience and the visits that they made have now fed back into the CIA's calculation about where it should go and where it should start looking for this. You know, the key to this whole venture is, really Iraqi scientists. When they know that this regime is going down, when they know that it is safe to talk, I think at that point most people think that they will begin talking to the Americans, about where they have been working.

HEMMER: Which raises a very interesting point. Do you have any evidence that suggest right now that some of these scientists are coming forward, going public, and working with the Americans to date?

MILLER: Some of them already have, but I think that if that were so, if we knew that in fact they were important people in the program who would come forth, it would have spread to the group of people with whom I have been living and embedded.

HEMMER: You enjoy that, I can tell.

MILLER: Well I enjoy them. I can't say that I have enjoyed the camp in the North.

HEMMER: You will go back to them then? (ph)

MILLER: Very soon I think.

HEMMER: Thanks Judith, come back and tell us your story.

MILLER: Thank you very much, bye.

HEMMER: Good to see you on this side of the world.

MILLER: Me too.

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 April 4, 2003 - 08:22   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: They are known as MET Bravo (ph), it is the mobile exploitation team. They are largely responsible for going through Iraq and looking at suspicious sites that may hold the key to weapons of mass destruction.
Judith Miller is a well-known correspondent for the "New York Times," she is our guest now, here in Kuwait City after her recent embedded experience and you are still embedded. Don't know when you are going to go back in but at this point right now, let us talk about the news of the day, a couple of sites that have been located. Apparently, one just south of Baghdad, perhaps another we are hearing up right now. Based on the information that we are getting, can you offer anything as to what it might be?

JUDITH MILLER, NEW YORK TIMES CORRESPONDENT: I think what I could offer is initial caution about first report. You know, right now, we are getting into the zone, red zone, that is the area of course, where Saddam is most likely to use chemical or biological weapons, but in addition to that, that is the place where we are also most likely to find where he has hidden chemical or biological weapons.

So, the problem we had in the past at the camp in Northern Kuwait, where I have been based is that, these first reports are almost always kind of titillating and everybody is very curious and wants to rush out to a site, but often times, at least until now, it has not produced the smoking gun that the administration has been looking for.

HEMMER: The team you have been with has there been any frustration expressed. I know it is only 15 days?

MILLER: Right.

HEMMER: But the fact that they have not uncovered this, their reaction to this is what then?

MILLER: Well, I think it is just normal frustration because there are by the way several teams that have been put together to go out and find this stuff. But I think everybody knows that we were never going to find anything in southern Iraq. But that it is a sheer stronghold, that it is not a place where Saddam Hussein is likely to put such sensitive material.

HEMMER: Why is there such strong feeling on that 25-mile radius around Baghdad? MILLER: Because Saddam Hussein always wanted the very sensitive facilities near him, near his capital and because Iraqi scientists wanted to work near the capital. They wanted to live in Baghdad and commute to their facilities. They didn't want to be way out in the middle of the country some place and isolated and the scientists usually got pretty much what they wanted.

HEMMER: Have they ever expressed the possibility that they will not find weapons of mass destruction?

MILLER: The people that I have been embedded with have never expressed that.

HEMMER: So they are absolutely convinced.

MILLER: They are absolutely convinced that they are going to find what they are looking for.

HEMMER: Then, what about these mobile units? Have they ever expressed the possibility they have been driven out of Baghdad, driven out of Iraq completely?

MILLER: Everyone is very concerned about these reports that things have been sent to Syria and elsewhere, but I think I tend to discount those reports because I think that what we know about Saddam Hussein is that, with this kind of material, he does not share.

HEMMER: OK, now what does this team do? They are based out at Northern Kuwait. Do they drive? Do they fly? Do they wait on a call, and if the call comes who does it come from?

MILLER: They wait on a call from the -- basically the forwardly deployed troops and then they listen to a description of what has been found and they make a decision about whether or not they are going to go out and pursue it. How they get there depends on where the facility is and what is the safest way of getting there and I have been on at least one expedition with them now.

It is always very interesting, but so far, no smoking guns.

HEMMER: What also about the U.N. team of inspectors that have been going through the country since late November of last year? There has to be an awful lot of information out there about what these inspectors have already done or are about to do? How was that information now incorporated into what perhaps the CIA has been looking into, and what the CIA perhaps has given the team of inspectors prior to the war beginning?

MILLER: Well the United States gave UNMOVIC, that was called the international inspectors a lot of the information that really drove their visits to various sites, but UNMOVIC has found nothing and UNMOVIC's experience and the visits that they made have now fed back into the CIA's calculation about where it should go and where it should start looking for this. You know, the key to this whole venture is, really Iraqi scientists. When they know that this regime is going down, when they know that it is safe to talk, I think at that point most people think that they will begin talking to the Americans, about where they have been working.

HEMMER: Which raises a very interesting point. Do you have any evidence that suggest right now that some of these scientists are coming forward, going public, and working with the Americans to date?

MILLER: Some of them already have, but I think that if that were so, if we knew that in fact they were important people in the program who would come forth, it would have spread to the group of people with whom I have been living and embedded.

HEMMER: You enjoy that, I can tell.

MILLER: Well I enjoy them. I can't say that I have enjoyed the camp in the North.

HEMMER: You will go back to them then? (ph)

MILLER: Very soon I think.

HEMMER: Thanks Judith, come back and tell us your story.

MILLER: Thank you very much, bye.

HEMMER: Good to see you on this side of the world.

MILLER: Me too.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com