Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Sunday Morning
Team of U.N. Inspectors Gathers in Cyprus
Aired November 17, 2002 - 08:02 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.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN ANCHOR: Today in Cyprus, an advance team of U.N. inspectors will gather to make final preparation for their journey to Iraq. The team, led by chief weapons inspector Hans Blix, touches down tomorrow in Baghdad. And Blix expects the first inspections to begin about a week later, on November 27.
December 8 is a key date for Iraq. That is when it must fully disclose its weapons arsenal to inspectors. And chief weapons inspector Hans Blix is scheduled to meet up with his advance team in Cyprus this hour, and CNN's Sheila MacVicar joins us now live from Larnaca, Cyprus. And Sheila, I would imagine this would be a day of strategic planning.
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's a lot of planning going on here, Arthel. As you said, obviously, Dr. Blix is due to arrive here. He's coming from Vienna, where he's met up with Dr. Mohammed El-Baradei, who is the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Now, those two, they're both senior members of the U.S. weapons inspectors teams, obviously, flying here to Cyprus, which the U.N. teams have used to set up what they call a forward planning base.
So the first group of about 25 people have been gathering here. Now, in addition to Dr. Blix and Dr. El-Baradei, who will be going to Baghdad to re-begin and rebuild basically the political and diplomatic contact with Iraqi officials, there are people going in there to do a lot of the logistics work that has to be done in order for the inspectors to carry out their tasks. That's everything from making sure that their vehicles are working, that they don't have any flat tires.
And as we know, there have been no U.N. weapons inspectors in Iraq in four years. That means their laboratories have been shut up, their offices have been shut up. There's a lot of dust to clear away, there is a little repainting to be done. And those laboratories have got to get back in working order before inspections can really begin.
So this is a final preparation. Obviously in four years, with the new U.N. security mandate that set out or established UNMOVIC, as it's now called, they've had a lot of time for planning. And Dr. Blix has said that, in fact, in Iraq, there's something like 700 sites that they want to get a chance to take a look at over the coming weeks -- Arthel.
NEVILLE: A lot of sites for a short amount of time, relatively short amount of time. We were talking about the strategic planning and the advanced planning. Will the advanced team look for any decoys that might be placed by the Iraqis?
MACVICAR: Well, there's a couple of things. As I said, these are not weapons inspectors per se. These are people who are going to be involved in re-establishing the rather sophisticated monitoring system that was in place until four years ago. There were a number of locations that had been examined over time by UNSCOM, the predecessor of UNMOVIC, and in many of those places, they had established cameras that were hooked up on a kind of closed circuit system. There were sniffing devices that could detect the presence of any banned systems or banned weapons.
All of those things have been shut down over the course of the last four years. One task will be to revisit those places and re- establish those systems, in some cases much more sophisticated systems that were available four years ago. Then they'll begin to move on with not only looking at the new sites, looking at whatever new information, new intelligence they have. And we know that clearly they do have a lot of new information, a lot of places that they want to go to.
In addition to that, carrying on discussions with Iraq's government. Iraq's government is on the record yesterday -- Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz saying, we welcome the weapons inspectors. We're prepared to coordinate and cooperate with them. And of course, the test of that will come when actual weapons inspections begin -- Arthel.
NEVILLE: Now, Sheila, I understand that the advance team, they're not U.N. weapons inspectors. But I asked the question about decoys, because I would imagine the game of cat-and-mouse will start -- it is already there and it will continue, so that's why I was asking if, even in their preparations to make way for the weapons inspectors, if they were looking for any sort of landmines, if you will.
MACVICAR: Well, that's indeed the question. What will Iraq do? How does Iraq plan to deal with these weapons inspectors? How does Iraq plan to deal with Dr. Blix and Dr. El-Baradei?
Iraq is on the record as saying it has no weapons of mass destruction. We know quite clearly that the government of the United States, the Bush administration, the government of Great Britain and other governments do not believe that to be true. And it will be up to Dr. Blix and Dr. El-Baradei and their teams to basically go forward and see what there is to find.
You mentioned the date of December the 8th. December the 8th being that key date where Iraq is due to present its dossier, if you will, make full disclosure on the weapons of mass destruction that it has. So while Iraq is currently saying it has nothing, Dr. Blix and Dr. El-Baradei are going to go in there and say, well, in fact, we know this based on this intelligence. And so we will have to see what Iraq does.
So in terms of what kind of games Iraq might indulge in, whether it thinks that it can basically stall, or, if you will, not cooperate -- well, we've heard very clearly what the warnings are from the Bush administration, from the U.N. Security Council, what happens if Iraq is found to be in what's called material breach of the U.N. security resolution, which obliges it to disarm.
NEVILLE: Sheila MacVicar, thank you so much for that report from Cyprus.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, as we just told you, Cyprus is the staging point for U.N. weapons inspectors heading toward Iraq. What is the draw to this Mediterranean island? Well, location, location, location, for one thing. CNN's Kevin Sites explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEVIN SITES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This sunny Mediterranean island, with its miles of coastlines and busy cafes, does serve as a portal between Europe and the Middle East, but ironically it's because of Cyprus' own internal conflict that it has become the jumping-off point for weapons inspectors heading to Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's close. There's obviously, as I mentioned before, a big U.N. presence here, which is helpful for us for getting established that we can, you know, use some of the services of our colleagues here, and that has been very good. We are very appreciate of them for doing so.
SITES: Inspectors need a safe and secure environment where they can get logistical and technical support fast. And since U.N. peacekeepers have been stationed here for decades, Cyprus fits the bill.
BRIAN KELLY, U.N. CYPRUS POLICE: You've got skilled professionals who have full awareness of what is needed to get things up and running fast. So there's a certain logic to going where the guys with knowledge are.
SITES: After Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974, the country was split in half. North Cyprus, which is mostly Turkish, and South Cyprus, which is mostly Greek. Twelve hundred U.N. peacekeepers now patrol a 60-mile-long demilitarized zone between the two.
(on camera): The divisions between north and south here are almost surreal. The green line actually divides the capital city of Nicosia, in some places block by block.
But life goes on here. Outside a Greek Orthodox church, a couple gets married, while only 100 yards away a soldier stands with an automatic weapon.
(voice-over): On the Greek side, a victims wall showing the faces of those still missing after the invasion. And the once bustling Nicosia International Airport is now like an empty parking lot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I suppose if this is a ghost town, this is a ghost aircraft. It was abandoned as a result of the events of 1974. It's been standing here ever since, outside the airport, a symbol of a divided island.
SITES (on camera): A place frozen in time?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly.
SITES (voice-over): But while the evidence of Cyprus' own troubles are everywhere, it's depended on the U.N. in the past, and now it's willing to return the favor.
Kevin Sites, CNN, Cyprus.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 17, 2002 - 08:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN ANCHOR: Today in Cyprus, an advance team of U.N. inspectors will gather to make final preparation for their journey to Iraq. The team, led by chief weapons inspector Hans Blix, touches down tomorrow in Baghdad. And Blix expects the first inspections to begin about a week later, on November 27.
December 8 is a key date for Iraq. That is when it must fully disclose its weapons arsenal to inspectors. And chief weapons inspector Hans Blix is scheduled to meet up with his advance team in Cyprus this hour, and CNN's Sheila MacVicar joins us now live from Larnaca, Cyprus. And Sheila, I would imagine this would be a day of strategic planning.
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's a lot of planning going on here, Arthel. As you said, obviously, Dr. Blix is due to arrive here. He's coming from Vienna, where he's met up with Dr. Mohammed El-Baradei, who is the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Now, those two, they're both senior members of the U.S. weapons inspectors teams, obviously, flying here to Cyprus, which the U.N. teams have used to set up what they call a forward planning base.
So the first group of about 25 people have been gathering here. Now, in addition to Dr. Blix and Dr. El-Baradei, who will be going to Baghdad to re-begin and rebuild basically the political and diplomatic contact with Iraqi officials, there are people going in there to do a lot of the logistics work that has to be done in order for the inspectors to carry out their tasks. That's everything from making sure that their vehicles are working, that they don't have any flat tires.
And as we know, there have been no U.N. weapons inspectors in Iraq in four years. That means their laboratories have been shut up, their offices have been shut up. There's a lot of dust to clear away, there is a little repainting to be done. And those laboratories have got to get back in working order before inspections can really begin.
So this is a final preparation. Obviously in four years, with the new U.N. security mandate that set out or established UNMOVIC, as it's now called, they've had a lot of time for planning. And Dr. Blix has said that, in fact, in Iraq, there's something like 700 sites that they want to get a chance to take a look at over the coming weeks -- Arthel.
NEVILLE: A lot of sites for a short amount of time, relatively short amount of time. We were talking about the strategic planning and the advanced planning. Will the advanced team look for any decoys that might be placed by the Iraqis?
MACVICAR: Well, there's a couple of things. As I said, these are not weapons inspectors per se. These are people who are going to be involved in re-establishing the rather sophisticated monitoring system that was in place until four years ago. There were a number of locations that had been examined over time by UNSCOM, the predecessor of UNMOVIC, and in many of those places, they had established cameras that were hooked up on a kind of closed circuit system. There were sniffing devices that could detect the presence of any banned systems or banned weapons.
All of those things have been shut down over the course of the last four years. One task will be to revisit those places and re- establish those systems, in some cases much more sophisticated systems that were available four years ago. Then they'll begin to move on with not only looking at the new sites, looking at whatever new information, new intelligence they have. And we know that clearly they do have a lot of new information, a lot of places that they want to go to.
In addition to that, carrying on discussions with Iraq's government. Iraq's government is on the record yesterday -- Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz saying, we welcome the weapons inspectors. We're prepared to coordinate and cooperate with them. And of course, the test of that will come when actual weapons inspections begin -- Arthel.
NEVILLE: Now, Sheila, I understand that the advance team, they're not U.N. weapons inspectors. But I asked the question about decoys, because I would imagine the game of cat-and-mouse will start -- it is already there and it will continue, so that's why I was asking if, even in their preparations to make way for the weapons inspectors, if they were looking for any sort of landmines, if you will.
MACVICAR: Well, that's indeed the question. What will Iraq do? How does Iraq plan to deal with these weapons inspectors? How does Iraq plan to deal with Dr. Blix and Dr. El-Baradei?
Iraq is on the record as saying it has no weapons of mass destruction. We know quite clearly that the government of the United States, the Bush administration, the government of Great Britain and other governments do not believe that to be true. And it will be up to Dr. Blix and Dr. El-Baradei and their teams to basically go forward and see what there is to find.
You mentioned the date of December the 8th. December the 8th being that key date where Iraq is due to present its dossier, if you will, make full disclosure on the weapons of mass destruction that it has. So while Iraq is currently saying it has nothing, Dr. Blix and Dr. El-Baradei are going to go in there and say, well, in fact, we know this based on this intelligence. And so we will have to see what Iraq does.
So in terms of what kind of games Iraq might indulge in, whether it thinks that it can basically stall, or, if you will, not cooperate -- well, we've heard very clearly what the warnings are from the Bush administration, from the U.N. Security Council, what happens if Iraq is found to be in what's called material breach of the U.N. security resolution, which obliges it to disarm.
NEVILLE: Sheila MacVicar, thank you so much for that report from Cyprus.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, as we just told you, Cyprus is the staging point for U.N. weapons inspectors heading toward Iraq. What is the draw to this Mediterranean island? Well, location, location, location, for one thing. CNN's Kevin Sites explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEVIN SITES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This sunny Mediterranean island, with its miles of coastlines and busy cafes, does serve as a portal between Europe and the Middle East, but ironically it's because of Cyprus' own internal conflict that it has become the jumping-off point for weapons inspectors heading to Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's close. There's obviously, as I mentioned before, a big U.N. presence here, which is helpful for us for getting established that we can, you know, use some of the services of our colleagues here, and that has been very good. We are very appreciate of them for doing so.
SITES: Inspectors need a safe and secure environment where they can get logistical and technical support fast. And since U.N. peacekeepers have been stationed here for decades, Cyprus fits the bill.
BRIAN KELLY, U.N. CYPRUS POLICE: You've got skilled professionals who have full awareness of what is needed to get things up and running fast. So there's a certain logic to going where the guys with knowledge are.
SITES: After Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974, the country was split in half. North Cyprus, which is mostly Turkish, and South Cyprus, which is mostly Greek. Twelve hundred U.N. peacekeepers now patrol a 60-mile-long demilitarized zone between the two.
(on camera): The divisions between north and south here are almost surreal. The green line actually divides the capital city of Nicosia, in some places block by block.
But life goes on here. Outside a Greek Orthodox church, a couple gets married, while only 100 yards away a soldier stands with an automatic weapon.
(voice-over): On the Greek side, a victims wall showing the faces of those still missing after the invasion. And the once bustling Nicosia International Airport is now like an empty parking lot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I suppose if this is a ghost town, this is a ghost aircraft. It was abandoned as a result of the events of 1974. It's been standing here ever since, outside the airport, a symbol of a divided island.
SITES (on camera): A place frozen in time?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly.
SITES (voice-over): But while the evidence of Cyprus' own troubles are everywhere, it's depended on the U.N. in the past, and now it's willing to return the favor.
Kevin Sites, CNN, Cyprus.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
