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CNN Sunday Morning

Insight & Input

Aired March 09, 2003 - 09:31   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.


ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for "Insight & Input," where you get to ask questions of CNN correspondents around the world. And we're still taking your phone calls, 1-800-807-2620. Reporters here, as we said, to answer phone calls.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right.

COOPER: Who do we have?

COLLINS: We'll tell you who we have. Dana Bash is standing by at the White House, Michael Okwu at the United Nations and our Nic Robertson in Baghdad for us this morning.

COOPER: And Nic, the first question is for you. We have got an e-mail from Peter in Providence, Rhode Island. He writes: "Is there a sense in Iraq that war is imminent? Have people changed their daily routines in preparation for war?"

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are beginning to see that, Anderson. We've seen today girls at a school not far from here going through training, what to do if there's a bombing. The teachers are showing them how to lay on the ground and cover their heads in the classrooms, giving them first aid lessons. People have been digging trenches at home to seek cover in their homes. We see around the city in places where there used not to be small sandbagged areas, some traffic into sections in such places.

So there is an indication that certainly the landscape is changing a little bit at this time. People are concerned. They have been making preparations for some time. Many people, of course, cannot afford to do very much, but some that can have already left the city, Anderson.

COLLINS: All right, Nic, thank you. We have Tom in Pittsburgh standing by on the line with a question. I think this one will go out to Dana Bash. Tom, what's your question? I'm sorry, that is not Tom on the line. I think that we have an e-mail instead. Let's go ahead and look at this one. "The U.N. inspection teams reported that the documentation that President Bush cited in his State of the Union and in numerous other times as evidence that the aluminum rods imported from Niger for the Iraq nuclear weapons program were forgeries. What are the implications of our apparent use of fake evidence in our case against Iraq" -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, this morning, actually, Colin Powell, the secretary of state, was asked about that. He maintained that the evidence that they have on those aluminum tubes is solid, and he also kind of talked about the fact that nuclear power in Iraq and also Iran, which is a report that came out this morning, is -- it's really clear that if a country like Iran can have nuclear weapons, then a country like Iraq can have it.

But on the forgery, he kind of danced around the question, but he and the White House is standing by their claim that Iraq does have nuclear power -- or, excuse me, was planning on trying to start up their nuclear program with those aluminum tubes.

COOPER: All right, well, we've got another e-mail for Michael Okwu standing by at the United Nations. Not really sure it's a question you can answer this morning, Michael. I'm sorry to toss you kind of a tough one, but this is from Mike in Annapolis, Maryland. He writes in: "Are France, Germany and Russia maintaining their positions due to their current and respective financial interest in Iraq? Saddam's potential threat to the world and his obvious noncompliance be damned." Thank you.

Michael, take it away.

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is certainly an argument that some people have made, that this is really about money. That's the bottom line, that France and Russia have a much tighter trading relationship with Iraq than the United States or Great Britain does.

It's certainly a legitimate question. But what those diplomats from those countries will tell you is that they're just a little bit more sensitive about issues in war and peace. The argument is that they have lived through these kinds of wars, that they are closer to the region that -- the collective psychology is one in which people in Europe are just much more sensitive about war.

And the other thing here is that France, in particular, diplomats here are quite cognizant of the fact that there has to be a balance. Now that there's only one superpower, that being the United States, that if the European leaders acting coalition, they can sort of be a counter balance to with might be runaway power in terms of the United States -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Michael, thanks. Heidi, you got one?

COLLINS: I do, for Nic Robertson, I believe. Marcel in Rural Retreat, Virginia would like to know: "Are the inspectors permitted to inspect military installations? If not, why not?"

ROBERTSON: They are permitted to inspect military installations. A lot of the sites that they go to for their day-to-day inspections, some of them airfields, some of them military companies that are producing the missiles or other components for missiles. So absolutely. They do get access to that. And what the U.N. has said so far, they haven't been turned away from any of these sites. Even they went -- in the early days, they went to a chemical defense, so- called chemical defensive facility. They got straight in there. So the U.N. is not reporting any problems on that so far. COLLINS: All right. Nic, I think we also have a caller on the line for you in particular. Susan, you have a question for Nic Robertson. What is your question?

SUSAN: I'd like to know what has happened to all the people that has come over to Iraq as human shields? Have they discovered what's really going on over there, as far as where they are going to be, where they're being put, or have they got like on a bus or planes and went back home?

COLLINS: Nic.

ROBERTSON: Susan, I'm having a little difficulty hearing you there on that phone line, but if I understand you, the human shields, some of them are here, some of them left. Some of them left because they thought they were being used, they thought they were given a list of sites that they had to go to. They didn't like that, they've gone. Some human shields say they're staying here.

What they say is they've been given a list of sites by the Iraqi government. They can choose which of those sites they'll go to. Some have gone to a power station, others have gone to a water treatment facility. And many of them are still living in a government-paid hotel here in Baghdad, waiting to go to those sites.

They came in, all these different human shields, came in as different groups. They sort of coalesced. They fell out, they got back together. There just seems to be a small hard core that do intend to stay, and they say when we ask them, we say, are you being used by the government here, they say no, we don't support the government, we're only here for the Iraqi people. We only want to help save lives. That's what they tell us.

COOPER: All right. I got a question here for Dana Bash from Bill Parker in Wilmington, Delaware. He writes: "Since U.S. knows that Iraq has only destroyed only -- sorry, typo -- only one-fourth of the missiles, as President Bush states a token gesture, why can't Iraq be approached by the U.N. with a specific number and state that we know you have 120 to 130 missiles. Where are the rest? It seems like a lot of hide and go seek. Why can't the U.S. provide the U.N. with intelligence with some exact numbers?" I guess that's the bottom line question he wants to know.

BASH: Well, that's exactly what you hear the White House and senior Bush administration officials saying. When you see the Al Samoud missiles, for instance, being destroyed, we asked here, OK, Iraq seems to be disarming, look, they're destroying these missiles, what do you think? And their response is, well, they destroyed four or five or six, but we know they have 120. Where are they? So they're saying that they are giving specific information, that there is specific information that Hans Blix, the chief weapons inspector, has, not only about the missiles, but about anthrax and other kinds of chemical and biological weapons, and that is kind of their whole point here, that Saddam Hussein isn't disarming, and they are trying to really put the pressure on, saying that these -- disarmament by destroying one missile here or one missile there, you hear them say all the time, is not total disarmament.

COLLINS: All right, Dana, thanks. And I think we have one more for Michael Okwu standing by at the U.N. "Without the threat of war, what is the likelihood of Saddam Hussein to disarm?" Michael, can you give us a little bit of insight on that for Robert's e-mail?

OKWU: Well, playing a little bit of, you know, pop psychologist here...

COLLINS: Another toughie, huh?

OKWU: ... but no, look, the feeling among a lot of the diplomats here at the United Nations, they'll tell you behind closed doors, even some of those countries who don't appear ready to rush off to sign on with the United States and Great Britain on this, many of them do believe that Saddam Hussein has played a game of deceit in the past. After all, it's been 12 years now that the United Nations has been trying to get him and his country to disarm.

So the belief among Security Council diplomats and other diplomats here at the U.N. is that you have to talk tough with Saddam Hussein, but you have to be fair about it. Without the credible use of force, most people believe he will not do this, which is why we're having this argument in the council.

COLLINS: That's right. We want to say a big thanks to all three of you this morning. Dana Bash at the White House, Michael Okwu at the U.N. and Nic Robertson in Baghdad this morning. Thanks, guys.

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 March 9, 2003 - 09:31   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for "Insight & Input," where you get to ask questions of CNN correspondents around the world. And we're still taking your phone calls, 1-800-807-2620. Reporters here, as we said, to answer phone calls.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right.

COOPER: Who do we have?

COLLINS: We'll tell you who we have. Dana Bash is standing by at the White House, Michael Okwu at the United Nations and our Nic Robertson in Baghdad for us this morning.

COOPER: And Nic, the first question is for you. We have got an e-mail from Peter in Providence, Rhode Island. He writes: "Is there a sense in Iraq that war is imminent? Have people changed their daily routines in preparation for war?"

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are beginning to see that, Anderson. We've seen today girls at a school not far from here going through training, what to do if there's a bombing. The teachers are showing them how to lay on the ground and cover their heads in the classrooms, giving them first aid lessons. People have been digging trenches at home to seek cover in their homes. We see around the city in places where there used not to be small sandbagged areas, some traffic into sections in such places.

So there is an indication that certainly the landscape is changing a little bit at this time. People are concerned. They have been making preparations for some time. Many people, of course, cannot afford to do very much, but some that can have already left the city, Anderson.

COLLINS: All right, Nic, thank you. We have Tom in Pittsburgh standing by on the line with a question. I think this one will go out to Dana Bash. Tom, what's your question? I'm sorry, that is not Tom on the line. I think that we have an e-mail instead. Let's go ahead and look at this one. "The U.N. inspection teams reported that the documentation that President Bush cited in his State of the Union and in numerous other times as evidence that the aluminum rods imported from Niger for the Iraq nuclear weapons program were forgeries. What are the implications of our apparent use of fake evidence in our case against Iraq" -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, this morning, actually, Colin Powell, the secretary of state, was asked about that. He maintained that the evidence that they have on those aluminum tubes is solid, and he also kind of talked about the fact that nuclear power in Iraq and also Iran, which is a report that came out this morning, is -- it's really clear that if a country like Iran can have nuclear weapons, then a country like Iraq can have it.

But on the forgery, he kind of danced around the question, but he and the White House is standing by their claim that Iraq does have nuclear power -- or, excuse me, was planning on trying to start up their nuclear program with those aluminum tubes.

COOPER: All right, well, we've got another e-mail for Michael Okwu standing by at the United Nations. Not really sure it's a question you can answer this morning, Michael. I'm sorry to toss you kind of a tough one, but this is from Mike in Annapolis, Maryland. He writes in: "Are France, Germany and Russia maintaining their positions due to their current and respective financial interest in Iraq? Saddam's potential threat to the world and his obvious noncompliance be damned." Thank you.

Michael, take it away.

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is certainly an argument that some people have made, that this is really about money. That's the bottom line, that France and Russia have a much tighter trading relationship with Iraq than the United States or Great Britain does.

It's certainly a legitimate question. But what those diplomats from those countries will tell you is that they're just a little bit more sensitive about issues in war and peace. The argument is that they have lived through these kinds of wars, that they are closer to the region that -- the collective psychology is one in which people in Europe are just much more sensitive about war.

And the other thing here is that France, in particular, diplomats here are quite cognizant of the fact that there has to be a balance. Now that there's only one superpower, that being the United States, that if the European leaders acting coalition, they can sort of be a counter balance to with might be runaway power in terms of the United States -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Michael, thanks. Heidi, you got one?

COLLINS: I do, for Nic Robertson, I believe. Marcel in Rural Retreat, Virginia would like to know: "Are the inspectors permitted to inspect military installations? If not, why not?"

ROBERTSON: They are permitted to inspect military installations. A lot of the sites that they go to for their day-to-day inspections, some of them airfields, some of them military companies that are producing the missiles or other components for missiles. So absolutely. They do get access to that. And what the U.N. has said so far, they haven't been turned away from any of these sites. Even they went -- in the early days, they went to a chemical defense, so- called chemical defensive facility. They got straight in there. So the U.N. is not reporting any problems on that so far. COLLINS: All right. Nic, I think we also have a caller on the line for you in particular. Susan, you have a question for Nic Robertson. What is your question?

SUSAN: I'd like to know what has happened to all the people that has come over to Iraq as human shields? Have they discovered what's really going on over there, as far as where they are going to be, where they're being put, or have they got like on a bus or planes and went back home?

COLLINS: Nic.

ROBERTSON: Susan, I'm having a little difficulty hearing you there on that phone line, but if I understand you, the human shields, some of them are here, some of them left. Some of them left because they thought they were being used, they thought they were given a list of sites that they had to go to. They didn't like that, they've gone. Some human shields say they're staying here.

What they say is they've been given a list of sites by the Iraqi government. They can choose which of those sites they'll go to. Some have gone to a power station, others have gone to a water treatment facility. And many of them are still living in a government-paid hotel here in Baghdad, waiting to go to those sites.

They came in, all these different human shields, came in as different groups. They sort of coalesced. They fell out, they got back together. There just seems to be a small hard core that do intend to stay, and they say when we ask them, we say, are you being used by the government here, they say no, we don't support the government, we're only here for the Iraqi people. We only want to help save lives. That's what they tell us.

COOPER: All right. I got a question here for Dana Bash from Bill Parker in Wilmington, Delaware. He writes: "Since U.S. knows that Iraq has only destroyed only -- sorry, typo -- only one-fourth of the missiles, as President Bush states a token gesture, why can't Iraq be approached by the U.N. with a specific number and state that we know you have 120 to 130 missiles. Where are the rest? It seems like a lot of hide and go seek. Why can't the U.S. provide the U.N. with intelligence with some exact numbers?" I guess that's the bottom line question he wants to know.

BASH: Well, that's exactly what you hear the White House and senior Bush administration officials saying. When you see the Al Samoud missiles, for instance, being destroyed, we asked here, OK, Iraq seems to be disarming, look, they're destroying these missiles, what do you think? And their response is, well, they destroyed four or five or six, but we know they have 120. Where are they? So they're saying that they are giving specific information, that there is specific information that Hans Blix, the chief weapons inspector, has, not only about the missiles, but about anthrax and other kinds of chemical and biological weapons, and that is kind of their whole point here, that Saddam Hussein isn't disarming, and they are trying to really put the pressure on, saying that these -- disarmament by destroying one missile here or one missile there, you hear them say all the time, is not total disarmament.

COLLINS: All right, Dana, thanks. And I think we have one more for Michael Okwu standing by at the U.N. "Without the threat of war, what is the likelihood of Saddam Hussein to disarm?" Michael, can you give us a little bit of insight on that for Robert's e-mail?

OKWU: Well, playing a little bit of, you know, pop psychologist here...

COLLINS: Another toughie, huh?

OKWU: ... but no, look, the feeling among a lot of the diplomats here at the United Nations, they'll tell you behind closed doors, even some of those countries who don't appear ready to rush off to sign on with the United States and Great Britain on this, many of them do believe that Saddam Hussein has played a game of deceit in the past. After all, it's been 12 years now that the United Nations has been trying to get him and his country to disarm.

So the belief among Security Council diplomats and other diplomats here at the U.N. is that you have to talk tough with Saddam Hussein, but you have to be fair about it. Without the credible use of force, most people believe he will not do this, which is why we're having this argument in the council.

COLLINS: That's right. We want to say a big thanks to all three of you this morning. Dana Bash at the White House, Michael Okwu at the U.N. and Nic Robertson in Baghdad this morning. Thanks, guys.

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