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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With Olivia Bosch

Aired January 26, 2003 - 07:16   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.


OLIVIA BOSCH, U.N. FORMER WEAPONS INSPECTOR, U.N.: ... progress report, or interim report. In it, I think we could expect that he'll in effect, restate that he's already said, that the Iraqis have not been cooperating, as everyone knows, the various warheads, the chemical warheads where found, documents were found.
So, he will restate the lack of cooperation that they've seen so far. He -- it would be interesting to know if he has found any more information about the unanswered questions in the 7th December declaration that the Iraqis made. There's very many...

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: What are those questions in particular, Olivia?

BOSCH: Well, this would include unaccounted for chemical munitions, and in fact there are several thousand more of those .122 mm artillery rockets unaccounted for in terms of them being chemical warheads.

Some of the growth media that has been mentioned before that makes biological agents, and several tons of chemical precursors to make the VX nerve agent. Those are among the various questions.

These are not unknown questions too. The Iraqis very much know that these are some of the items that the inspectors would like to learn more about. And perhaps we might also expect Hans Blix to suggest a possible timeframe in terms of how much more time he thinks he might need, various times were put forward, anywhere from two weeks to six weeks -- so, he might suggest that. Again, this is a report that he makes. You know, no decisions will be made tomorrow, but he'll be putting forward his progress report of activities that they have done so far to date.

COLLINS: That's right, and we did just hear from Secretary of State Colin Powell this morning at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland -- he did make mention of those key questions about anthrax, about other weapons of mass destruction that could possibly be used in a situation like this, and he too, wants to know more about that. So, I think you're right there, we're also hearing this morning from, actually yesterday from Prime Minister Tony Blair, saying that the inspectors do need sufficient time, but, he's talking about weeks, not months. We have heard this before.

Do you think it's possible that after tomorrow a decision will be made to give the inspectors more time? BOSCH: It would appear quite likely. If they've a -- if we've already heard a lot made about that. The Security Council meet on Wednesday in a closed session, where they will discuss what the Blix report will have said. So, it may not be until Wednesday or Thursday that we actually hear how much more time that might be.

COLLINS: We also are hearing, Olivia, about the scientists that are not agreeing to talk with inspectors privately -- what do you make of that?

BOSCH: Well, in Resolution 1441 that was passed in November, there was a paragraph there that allowed the option, if the inspectors saw it helpful, to take scientist out to be interviewed, or otherwise to be interviewed without minders. So, that was an option, there was where that they might use if it were helpful, and Hans Blix in the past has always said that the inspectors would be mindful of the security of the scientists and their families, because they are well aware that the scientists' lives and the lives of their families might be in jeopardy.

Paul Wolfowitz was reported here on out British evening program last week, as saying in front of the Council on Foreign Relations that some of the scientists were told, briefed as to what they should be saying to the inspectors, that if they had reported anything that their lives would be in jeopardy, and that even some intelligence officers were posing as scientists.

So I think the role the scientists and others in important jobs, not just scientists, but other military planners that the inspectors might wish to interview, their lives are in great -- are being threatened or intimated in some way. So, that's an unfortunate pressure at this time on the inspections.

COLLINS: Certainly a precarious situation. Olivia Bosch, coming to us from London this morning, former U.N. weapons inspector, again we do appreciate your time, thank you.

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 January 26, 2003 - 07:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
OLIVIA BOSCH, U.N. FORMER WEAPONS INSPECTOR, U.N.: ... progress report, or interim report. In it, I think we could expect that he'll in effect, restate that he's already said, that the Iraqis have not been cooperating, as everyone knows, the various warheads, the chemical warheads where found, documents were found.
So, he will restate the lack of cooperation that they've seen so far. He -- it would be interesting to know if he has found any more information about the unanswered questions in the 7th December declaration that the Iraqis made. There's very many...

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: What are those questions in particular, Olivia?

BOSCH: Well, this would include unaccounted for chemical munitions, and in fact there are several thousand more of those .122 mm artillery rockets unaccounted for in terms of them being chemical warheads.

Some of the growth media that has been mentioned before that makes biological agents, and several tons of chemical precursors to make the VX nerve agent. Those are among the various questions.

These are not unknown questions too. The Iraqis very much know that these are some of the items that the inspectors would like to learn more about. And perhaps we might also expect Hans Blix to suggest a possible timeframe in terms of how much more time he thinks he might need, various times were put forward, anywhere from two weeks to six weeks -- so, he might suggest that. Again, this is a report that he makes. You know, no decisions will be made tomorrow, but he'll be putting forward his progress report of activities that they have done so far to date.

COLLINS: That's right, and we did just hear from Secretary of State Colin Powell this morning at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland -- he did make mention of those key questions about anthrax, about other weapons of mass destruction that could possibly be used in a situation like this, and he too, wants to know more about that. So, I think you're right there, we're also hearing this morning from, actually yesterday from Prime Minister Tony Blair, saying that the inspectors do need sufficient time, but, he's talking about weeks, not months. We have heard this before.

Do you think it's possible that after tomorrow a decision will be made to give the inspectors more time? BOSCH: It would appear quite likely. If they've a -- if we've already heard a lot made about that. The Security Council meet on Wednesday in a closed session, where they will discuss what the Blix report will have said. So, it may not be until Wednesday or Thursday that we actually hear how much more time that might be.

COLLINS: We also are hearing, Olivia, about the scientists that are not agreeing to talk with inspectors privately -- what do you make of that?

BOSCH: Well, in Resolution 1441 that was passed in November, there was a paragraph there that allowed the option, if the inspectors saw it helpful, to take scientist out to be interviewed, or otherwise to be interviewed without minders. So, that was an option, there was where that they might use if it were helpful, and Hans Blix in the past has always said that the inspectors would be mindful of the security of the scientists and their families, because they are well aware that the scientists' lives and the lives of their families might be in jeopardy.

Paul Wolfowitz was reported here on out British evening program last week, as saying in front of the Council on Foreign Relations that some of the scientists were told, briefed as to what they should be saying to the inspectors, that if they had reported anything that their lives would be in jeopardy, and that even some intelligence officers were posing as scientists.

So I think the role the scientists and others in important jobs, not just scientists, but other military planners that the inspectors might wish to interview, their lives are in great -- are being threatened or intimated in some way. So, that's an unfortunate pressure at this time on the inspections.

COLLINS: Certainly a precarious situation. Olivia Bosch, coming to us from London this morning, former U.N. weapons inspector, again we do appreciate your time, thank you.

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