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CNN Saturday Morning News
United Nations Inspectors to Urge Iraq to Cooperate or Face Consquences
Aired February 08, 2003 - 09:04 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei are back in Baghdad for weekend talks with Iraqi officials. They'll urge Iraq to cooperate quickly and fully with U.N. weapons inspectors or face consequences.
President Bush says Saddam Hussein has a long record of not cooperating with the United Nations, and the world's body's credibility is at stake.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The record's poor at best. The man has been told to disarm for 12 long years. He's ignored the demands of the free world, and we've passed another resolution, and for 90 days he's -- best way I can describe it is played a game with the inspectors. And so the U.N. Security Council has got to make up its mind soon as to whether or not its word mean anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: For more on this, we're joined by our Nic Robertson, who's joining us live from Baghdad.
Nic, the president calls it a game. What do the inspectors think?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The inspectors believe, and their position is, that they're working here for the U.N. Security Council. And they say while other governments and world leaders will put forward their position, they're working for the U.N. Security Council. Their mandate comes from U.N. Resolution 1441, and that's what they're here to carry out.
Now, we understand the first meeting is already under way. Now, uncharacteristically, this first meeting, just between the two U.N. weapons chiefs, Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei, and General Amiral Saadi (ph), who is President Saddam Hussein's top scientific adviser.
Normally the initial meetings involving technical teams. We understand those technical teams haven't arrived yet but are due to enter that meeting a little later. We're told the first meeting should last about three hours.
Now, the key issues, the private interviews with scientists, the use of U-2 surveillance aircraft, the passage of legislation in Iraq to outlaw weapons of mass destruction, all things the weapons chiefs have come here expecting Iraq already to have resolved.
The bigger, broader issues that they want to see progress on and more transparency, the issues of -- outstanding issues, like VX nerve agent, like biological growth media, like chemical warheads, these are all things they say that they need to come away with some more transparency, with some more evidence to resolve these outstanding issues if they're going to be able to make a more positive report to the U.N. Security Council in about six days' time, Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right, we'll be looking forward to that report. Nic Robertson in Baghdad, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Face Consquences>
Aired February 8, 2003 - 09:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei are back in Baghdad for weekend talks with Iraqi officials. They'll urge Iraq to cooperate quickly and fully with U.N. weapons inspectors or face consequences.
President Bush says Saddam Hussein has a long record of not cooperating with the United Nations, and the world's body's credibility is at stake.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The record's poor at best. The man has been told to disarm for 12 long years. He's ignored the demands of the free world, and we've passed another resolution, and for 90 days he's -- best way I can describe it is played a game with the inspectors. And so the U.N. Security Council has got to make up its mind soon as to whether or not its word mean anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: For more on this, we're joined by our Nic Robertson, who's joining us live from Baghdad.
Nic, the president calls it a game. What do the inspectors think?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The inspectors believe, and their position is, that they're working here for the U.N. Security Council. And they say while other governments and world leaders will put forward their position, they're working for the U.N. Security Council. Their mandate comes from U.N. Resolution 1441, and that's what they're here to carry out.
Now, we understand the first meeting is already under way. Now, uncharacteristically, this first meeting, just between the two U.N. weapons chiefs, Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei, and General Amiral Saadi (ph), who is President Saddam Hussein's top scientific adviser.
Normally the initial meetings involving technical teams. We understand those technical teams haven't arrived yet but are due to enter that meeting a little later. We're told the first meeting should last about three hours.
Now, the key issues, the private interviews with scientists, the use of U-2 surveillance aircraft, the passage of legislation in Iraq to outlaw weapons of mass destruction, all things the weapons chiefs have come here expecting Iraq already to have resolved.
The bigger, broader issues that they want to see progress on and more transparency, the issues of -- outstanding issues, like VX nerve agent, like biological growth media, like chemical warheads, these are all things they say that they need to come away with some more transparency, with some more evidence to resolve these outstanding issues if they're going to be able to make a more positive report to the U.N. Security Council in about six days' time, Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right, we'll be looking forward to that report. Nic Robertson in Baghdad, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Face Consquences>
