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CNN Live Event/Special
Showdown Iraq: U.N. Preparations
Aired November 11, 2002 - 12:14 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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: For more on the United Nations latest efforts and preparations, we're joined by CNN's Richard Roth, who is standing by live at the U.N. headquarters in New York.
Richard -- I'm sure they're watching the debate closely in Baghdad.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they are. One of the first people, who would go into Iraq, if the parliament, and more importantly, President Saddam Hussein said yes, is Mohamed El- Baradei, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
And interesting timing today, he was in front of the United Nations General Assembly, speaking about his organization -- sort of an annual update. It just happens to fall several days before he may get into Iraq for the first time, having IAEA on new inspection efforts since 1998.
And El-Baradei talked about what is needed inside Iraq. He needs cooperation, naturally, from Baghdad; he needs Council unity -- Security Council unity; he needs intelligence information from other countries -- things like that.
But he also issued yet another appeal to the Iraqi authorities to let the inspectors in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMED EL-BARADAI, IAEA DIR. GENERAL: I appeal to the government of Iraq to provide its full cooperation, and to the international community to give an inspection all of the required support. I hope and trust that with such cooperation and support, we should be able to effectively discharge armament.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: An Iraqi representative sat in the audience and did not add anything substantive in his remarks.
Hans Blix, the chief weapons inspector, on missiles, bio and chemical affairs, was also in the audience.
Further uptown in New York, Carol, well, the Iraqi ambassador hosted a brief meeting with religious leaders, including the Reverend Al Sharpton. After the session, Iraq's U.N. ambassador to the United Nations responded to the religious leader's appeal to intervene with President Saddam Hussein to avert war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EL-BARADEI: We need the peace; we don't need war. And in that spirit, we discussed the project of the religious community here to me, the religious community in Iraq, in order to avoid war, in order to continue to live with peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: As for Iraq's response to the Security Council resolution with a Friday-morning deadline looming, the ambassador said some sort of response will be coming in a few days -- Carol.
LIN: All right, thank you very much -- Richard Roth reporting live from the United Nations.
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 11, 2002 - 12:14 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: For more on the United Nations latest efforts and preparations, we're joined by CNN's Richard Roth, who is standing by live at the U.N. headquarters in New York.
Richard -- I'm sure they're watching the debate closely in Baghdad.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they are. One of the first people, who would go into Iraq, if the parliament, and more importantly, President Saddam Hussein said yes, is Mohamed El- Baradei, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
And interesting timing today, he was in front of the United Nations General Assembly, speaking about his organization -- sort of an annual update. It just happens to fall several days before he may get into Iraq for the first time, having IAEA on new inspection efforts since 1998.
And El-Baradei talked about what is needed inside Iraq. He needs cooperation, naturally, from Baghdad; he needs Council unity -- Security Council unity; he needs intelligence information from other countries -- things like that.
But he also issued yet another appeal to the Iraqi authorities to let the inspectors in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMED EL-BARADAI, IAEA DIR. GENERAL: I appeal to the government of Iraq to provide its full cooperation, and to the international community to give an inspection all of the required support. I hope and trust that with such cooperation and support, we should be able to effectively discharge armament.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: An Iraqi representative sat in the audience and did not add anything substantive in his remarks.
Hans Blix, the chief weapons inspector, on missiles, bio and chemical affairs, was also in the audience.
Further uptown in New York, Carol, well, the Iraqi ambassador hosted a brief meeting with religious leaders, including the Reverend Al Sharpton. After the session, Iraq's U.N. ambassador to the United Nations responded to the religious leader's appeal to intervene with President Saddam Hussein to avert war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EL-BARADEI: We need the peace; we don't need war. And in that spirit, we discussed the project of the religious community here to me, the religious community in Iraq, in order to avoid war, in order to continue to live with peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: As for Iraq's response to the Security Council resolution with a Friday-morning deadline looming, the ambassador said some sort of response will be coming in a few days -- Carol.
LIN: All right, thank you very much -- Richard Roth reporting live from the United Nations.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
