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CNN Live Sunday

Iraq's Arms Report to Arrive at U.N. Headquarters Today

Aired December 08, 2002 - 15:01   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.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: In five hours, Iraq's weapons of mass destruction report should arrive at the United Nations headquarters in New York. As the documents are transported, weapons inspectors are back at work in Iraq, and we begin with CNN's Rym Brahimi in Baghdad.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka. Well, we had a press conference, a news briefing by President Saddam Hussein's top scientific adviser, and he told us about the declaration. He went into a lot of detail about what was in it. And he said there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Reiterating that this was going to be also in the declaration. Now, he also said that there would be a lot of things about Iraq's past program. When he was asked about claims by the previous U.N. team of unaccounted VX nerve agents, well, he said that Baghdad had nothing to declare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GENERAL AMER AL-SAADI, IRAQI SCIENTIFIC ADVISER: There is an implication in your question that VX still exists. I have said that nothing of the previous program exists. Our problem now is to produce the complete evidence of the picture of the biological program. We have presented documents regarding -- supporting documents. Now, those documents have not been increased since then, not by a single document. Because we have done all the searching we could. And we could not find any more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRAHIMI: Well, then General Amer al-Saadi went on to explain what was in the declaration. All thousands of pages of it. Also responding to the comment made by the White House about this being like a phone book, saying it's not a phone book, despite what we're being told. This has a lot of documentation in it, a lot of it regarding Iraq's past programs, and a lot of it regarding the Iraq's dual-use activities.

Fredricka, you know those are the activities that civilian purpose activities, but that could also be potentially used for military purposes. Now, he was also asked by a reporter whether he was happy that the inspectors were in town to actually clarify and maybe prove Iraq's claim that it has no weapons of mass destruction. Well, General Al-Saadi said, obviously, that it would probably be a good thing if they did. But he said inspections were not welcomed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) AL-SAADI: We hope that it will satisfy, because it is currently accurate, as they have asked for. And comprehensive. Truthful. Everything. And if they have anything to the contrary, let them forthwith come up with it, give it to the IAEA. Give it to UNMOVIC. They are here. They could check it. Why play this game?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRAHIMI: Well, meanwhile today, the inspectors went on their inspections as usual. It's the ninth day of inspections since they've been back, Fredricka. Two teams as always, one to a facility in Baghdad, the nuclear experts went there, and the chemical and biological experts went to a site about a hundred kilometers north of Baghdad, called al Fallujah 3.

This is something -- it was a pesticide factory. We went along with them, and were shown around a little bit. A lot of pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, a lot of things that you probably would use in your garden as well, and in your house to get rid of little insects. So we're there. That's all we saw. As well as some equipment that had been previously tagged by the other inspection teams. Now, these teams have been -- these inspection teams here have been working a lot to be able to carry out those inspections, so they're probably really glad that another team of inspectors has arrived today, about 25 of them, to reinforce the current inspection team -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Beefing up the presence there. Thanks very much. Rym Brahimi from Baghdad.

We turn now to the United Nations where officials are waiting for the arrival of the Iraqi weapons documents. CNN's Michael Okwu is keeping track of the situation there at the U.N. Hi, Michael.

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, hello to you. Again, with 24 hours to spare, the Iraqi government has satisfied the U.N. deadline today to declare all of its weapons of mass destruction. Just to recap again, the document was handed over to a U.N. officials yesterday in Baghdad. A U.N. official said that the report would be flown from there to a U.N. staging post in Larnaca, Cyprus, and then transferred there for a flight here to New York.

Sources telling us now for several days that the cargo of spiral bound documents, CD ROMS and file folders will likely arrive here at 8:00 p.m. at the United Nations, where it will immediately go to the office of U.N. Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix. Then once that document is secured and put away, a note will be issued by the United Nations officials to all of the media here.

And we can report accurately that it is in fact in place. And right away, Fredricka, it should be able to help U.N. inspectors on the ground, because obviously the Iraqi government was requested to essentially put down all of its weapons programs. It will help inspectors right away get to some of the sites. Of course, as we have been reporting now for the past 48 hours, Hans Blix will be keeping a very tight lid on this document. His job at this point is to sift through the thousands of pages, to take out any sensitive information, because the Security Council very concerned that they would be providing essentially, a manual for weapons of mass destruction -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, Michael, how likely is it that past Iraqi weapons declarations will be compared to the present declarations?

OKWU: Well, there's -- absolutely, that is going to happen. That will be one of the first things they have to do. You have to understand that this is going to be a very long process. The first thing they have to do is translate what is mainly an Arabic document, translate it to English and the other languages spoken by those people here at the United Nations. And then start comparing some of the sensitive information.

Once they have actually extracted it for public perusal, -- since about 1991, Fredricka, when the United Nations passed Resolution 687, which one U.N. official called the mother of all Iraqi resolutions, the Iraqis have had to come forward with a detailed list of their biological and chemical weapons programs. They did this back in 1991.

But back in 1995, they were proven to have lied about some of their biological weapons programs. So yes, Fredricka, they will be looking very closely at the information in this document, and comparing it to those past documents.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks very much. Michael Okwu from the U.N. Appreciate it.

The Bush administration remains skeptical about Iraq's weapons declaration. CNN national correspondent Frank Buckley is in Washington and at the White House -- Frank.

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the Bush administration officials obviously have yet to review the declaration, but they are not optimistic. They do not believe that Iraq will come clean and declare fully its weapons programs. President Bush arrived back here at the White House from his weekend trip to Camp David.

He did not address the issue as he came off the helicopter. White house officials say they will take the necessary time to properly review the 12,000 pages. Administration officials have said that if the declaration is false, that will not trigger military action. Once we're saying they're looking for a body of obstructionism. But today at least one prominent U.S. Senator said that if this is a false declaration, these 12,000 pages, the U.S. should be prepared to take the next step.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D) CONNECTICUT: I think rather than get into a cat and mouse game of Saddam and the U.N. inspectors, the president should go right back to the United Nations Security Council, argue that Iraq is in material breach of the United Nations resolution, and that the law-abiding nations of the world should prepare for military action to disarm Saddam. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BUCKLEY: That is one option of the White House. The White House at this point has issued a statement, that is "The U.S. Government will analyze this declaration with respect to its credibility and compliance with U.N. Security Council Resolution 14-41. We will continue to work with other countries to achieve the ultimate goal of protecting the peace by ending Saddam Hussein's pursuit and accumulation of weapons of mass destruction."

But with some 12,000 pages of data to go through, it may be days before we get an official reaction to the actual data in the declaration -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Alright. Frank Buckley from the White House, thank you.

Well, to Kuwait now, where officials are issuing a wholesale rejection of yesterday's apology from the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. CNN senior international correspondent Walter Rodgers joins us live from Kuwait City with reactions from there -- Walter.

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka. The Kuwaitis believe Saddam Hussein when he says he's sorry about as much as George W. Bush believes Iraqis when they say they have no weapons of mass destruction. The Kuwaitis point out that it took the Iraqis 12 years to apologize for their invasion, occupation, and looting of this oil-rich kingdom.

The Kuwaitis say again, the only reason he's apologizing now, because he is cornered. That is to say, the United States, and a large number of troops in this country, those troop numbers are growing, and they will be the launch pad, the springboard, if indeed President Bush gives the order to launch an assault against the Iraqis.

One of the reasons here the Kuwaitis say that the Iraqi leader issued the apology was, he was trying to destabilize this country. That is to say, one of the things Saddam Hussein called for in that statement was a jihad, a holy war, in which Saddam called on young Kuwaitis to rise up and reject the foreign powers from Kuwaiti soil. That means throw the Americans out. That's not likely to happen, because the American forces here are all that stand between the Kingdom of Kuwait and the Iraqis -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Walter Rodgers from Kuwait City. 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






Aired December 8, 2002 - 15:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: In five hours, Iraq's weapons of mass destruction report should arrive at the United Nations headquarters in New York. As the documents are transported, weapons inspectors are back at work in Iraq, and we begin with CNN's Rym Brahimi in Baghdad.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka. Well, we had a press conference, a news briefing by President Saddam Hussein's top scientific adviser, and he told us about the declaration. He went into a lot of detail about what was in it. And he said there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Reiterating that this was going to be also in the declaration. Now, he also said that there would be a lot of things about Iraq's past program. When he was asked about claims by the previous U.N. team of unaccounted VX nerve agents, well, he said that Baghdad had nothing to declare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GENERAL AMER AL-SAADI, IRAQI SCIENTIFIC ADVISER: There is an implication in your question that VX still exists. I have said that nothing of the previous program exists. Our problem now is to produce the complete evidence of the picture of the biological program. We have presented documents regarding -- supporting documents. Now, those documents have not been increased since then, not by a single document. Because we have done all the searching we could. And we could not find any more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRAHIMI: Well, then General Amer al-Saadi went on to explain what was in the declaration. All thousands of pages of it. Also responding to the comment made by the White House about this being like a phone book, saying it's not a phone book, despite what we're being told. This has a lot of documentation in it, a lot of it regarding Iraq's past programs, and a lot of it regarding the Iraq's dual-use activities.

Fredricka, you know those are the activities that civilian purpose activities, but that could also be potentially used for military purposes. Now, he was also asked by a reporter whether he was happy that the inspectors were in town to actually clarify and maybe prove Iraq's claim that it has no weapons of mass destruction. Well, General Al-Saadi said, obviously, that it would probably be a good thing if they did. But he said inspections were not welcomed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) AL-SAADI: We hope that it will satisfy, because it is currently accurate, as they have asked for. And comprehensive. Truthful. Everything. And if they have anything to the contrary, let them forthwith come up with it, give it to the IAEA. Give it to UNMOVIC. They are here. They could check it. Why play this game?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRAHIMI: Well, meanwhile today, the inspectors went on their inspections as usual. It's the ninth day of inspections since they've been back, Fredricka. Two teams as always, one to a facility in Baghdad, the nuclear experts went there, and the chemical and biological experts went to a site about a hundred kilometers north of Baghdad, called al Fallujah 3.

This is something -- it was a pesticide factory. We went along with them, and were shown around a little bit. A lot of pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, a lot of things that you probably would use in your garden as well, and in your house to get rid of little insects. So we're there. That's all we saw. As well as some equipment that had been previously tagged by the other inspection teams. Now, these teams have been -- these inspection teams here have been working a lot to be able to carry out those inspections, so they're probably really glad that another team of inspectors has arrived today, about 25 of them, to reinforce the current inspection team -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Beefing up the presence there. Thanks very much. Rym Brahimi from Baghdad.

We turn now to the United Nations where officials are waiting for the arrival of the Iraqi weapons documents. CNN's Michael Okwu is keeping track of the situation there at the U.N. Hi, Michael.

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, hello to you. Again, with 24 hours to spare, the Iraqi government has satisfied the U.N. deadline today to declare all of its weapons of mass destruction. Just to recap again, the document was handed over to a U.N. officials yesterday in Baghdad. A U.N. official said that the report would be flown from there to a U.N. staging post in Larnaca, Cyprus, and then transferred there for a flight here to New York.

Sources telling us now for several days that the cargo of spiral bound documents, CD ROMS and file folders will likely arrive here at 8:00 p.m. at the United Nations, where it will immediately go to the office of U.N. Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix. Then once that document is secured and put away, a note will be issued by the United Nations officials to all of the media here.

And we can report accurately that it is in fact in place. And right away, Fredricka, it should be able to help U.N. inspectors on the ground, because obviously the Iraqi government was requested to essentially put down all of its weapons programs. It will help inspectors right away get to some of the sites. Of course, as we have been reporting now for the past 48 hours, Hans Blix will be keeping a very tight lid on this document. His job at this point is to sift through the thousands of pages, to take out any sensitive information, because the Security Council very concerned that they would be providing essentially, a manual for weapons of mass destruction -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, Michael, how likely is it that past Iraqi weapons declarations will be compared to the present declarations?

OKWU: Well, there's -- absolutely, that is going to happen. That will be one of the first things they have to do. You have to understand that this is going to be a very long process. The first thing they have to do is translate what is mainly an Arabic document, translate it to English and the other languages spoken by those people here at the United Nations. And then start comparing some of the sensitive information.

Once they have actually extracted it for public perusal, -- since about 1991, Fredricka, when the United Nations passed Resolution 687, which one U.N. official called the mother of all Iraqi resolutions, the Iraqis have had to come forward with a detailed list of their biological and chemical weapons programs. They did this back in 1991.

But back in 1995, they were proven to have lied about some of their biological weapons programs. So yes, Fredricka, they will be looking very closely at the information in this document, and comparing it to those past documents.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks very much. Michael Okwu from the U.N. Appreciate it.

The Bush administration remains skeptical about Iraq's weapons declaration. CNN national correspondent Frank Buckley is in Washington and at the White House -- Frank.

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the Bush administration officials obviously have yet to review the declaration, but they are not optimistic. They do not believe that Iraq will come clean and declare fully its weapons programs. President Bush arrived back here at the White House from his weekend trip to Camp David.

He did not address the issue as he came off the helicopter. White house officials say they will take the necessary time to properly review the 12,000 pages. Administration officials have said that if the declaration is false, that will not trigger military action. Once we're saying they're looking for a body of obstructionism. But today at least one prominent U.S. Senator said that if this is a false declaration, these 12,000 pages, the U.S. should be prepared to take the next step.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D) CONNECTICUT: I think rather than get into a cat and mouse game of Saddam and the U.N. inspectors, the president should go right back to the United Nations Security Council, argue that Iraq is in material breach of the United Nations resolution, and that the law-abiding nations of the world should prepare for military action to disarm Saddam. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BUCKLEY: That is one option of the White House. The White House at this point has issued a statement, that is "The U.S. Government will analyze this declaration with respect to its credibility and compliance with U.N. Security Council Resolution 14-41. We will continue to work with other countries to achieve the ultimate goal of protecting the peace by ending Saddam Hussein's pursuit and accumulation of weapons of mass destruction."

But with some 12,000 pages of data to go through, it may be days before we get an official reaction to the actual data in the declaration -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Alright. Frank Buckley from the White House, thank you.

Well, to Kuwait now, where officials are issuing a wholesale rejection of yesterday's apology from the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. CNN senior international correspondent Walter Rodgers joins us live from Kuwait City with reactions from there -- Walter.

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka. The Kuwaitis believe Saddam Hussein when he says he's sorry about as much as George W. Bush believes Iraqis when they say they have no weapons of mass destruction. The Kuwaitis point out that it took the Iraqis 12 years to apologize for their invasion, occupation, and looting of this oil-rich kingdom.

The Kuwaitis say again, the only reason he's apologizing now, because he is cornered. That is to say, the United States, and a large number of troops in this country, those troop numbers are growing, and they will be the launch pad, the springboard, if indeed President Bush gives the order to launch an assault against the Iraqis.

One of the reasons here the Kuwaitis say that the Iraqi leader issued the apology was, he was trying to destabilize this country. That is to say, one of the things Saddam Hussein called for in that statement was a jihad, a holy war, in which Saddam called on young Kuwaitis to rise up and reject the foreign powers from Kuwaiti soil. That means throw the Americans out. That's not likely to happen, because the American forces here are all that stand between the Kingdom of Kuwait and the Iraqis -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Walter Rodgers from Kuwait City. 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