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CNN Live Sunday

Iraqis Say They Have No Weapons of Mass Destruction

Aired December 08, 2002 - 18:02   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.


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We begin with those thousands of documents which Iraqis say prove they don't have any weapons they're not supposed to have. CNN's Frank Buckley has been monitoring the reaction or perhaps, Frank, we should say skepticism from the Bush administration. They're not ready to buy into this yet, are they?
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, Carol, you're absolutely right. There's skepticism here at the White House about the declaration and about Saddam Hussein. They say he has a history of deception. Administration officials say that Saddam Hussein must provide evidence in this declaration, either of a weapons program or evidence that he has disarmed. They expect to find neither.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BUCKLEY (voice over): Iraqi officials say the nearly 12,000-page declaration should satisfy U.S. officials.

GEN. AMER AL-SAADI, IRAQI SCIENCE ADVISER: 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?

BUCKLEY: Games are exactly what one former U.N. weapons inspector says the inspection process could turn into. David Kay describes it as a dead-end trap.

DAVID KAY, FORMER U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: He could very easily get caught into what I call hide and seek or "Where in the World is Waldo" game trying to find things. They need to make a strong case why in fact they believe this individual, this government, has weapons of mass destruction and then draw the logical conclusion as to whether you want to act against it.

BUCKLEY: President Bush arrived back at the White House from Camp David and didn't address the declaration, officials saying earlier that it would be analyzed for its credibility and compliance with the U.N. Security Council resolution. U.S. officials are skeptical.

SEN. BOB GRAHAM, SENATE INTELLIGENCE CMTE: But if it purports to say that there are no weapons of mass destruction, nor any capability to develop weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, that is not truthful.

BUCKLEY: President Bush has repeatedly said there is a zero tolerance policy with respect to material breaches by Iraq, but administration sources say even if the declaration is false in their view it will not trigger war, one source saying it would take more time and a body of obstructionism from Iraq. Senator Joe Lieberman cautions that taking too long may risk U.S. credibility or worse.

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D) CONNECTICUT: And if we let him go into some kind of rope-a-dope game with the U.N. inspectors, I fear that we will look back as we looked back after September 11th and say to ourselves, why didn't we disarm him and get him out of power while we could.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BUCKLEY (on camera): Now, President Bush has voiced similar sentiments in the past but for now the White House appears content to let the inspectors and the analysts do their work before moving to what could be the next possible step that is military action -- Carol.

LIN: Frank, if there is no smoking gun found in these 12,000 pages going to the U.N., is there any discussion by the Bush administration that they may come forward and actually present some of the evidence they have against Saddam Hussein?

BUCKLEY: Well, it appears as though the White House is willing to present some of that evidence to inspectors. They've said as much but at the moment they're not ready to present that in a public forum to the public. That's one thing that many people are arguing, especially today. We heard it from various lawmakers suggesting that perhaps now is the time for the administration to make some of this intelligence public, but so far administration officials are saying they're not going to go that route. The furthest they're willing to go at the moment anyway is to provide some of that intelligence to inspectors.

LIN: So, what is the Bush administration's sense then of what the public wants or needs to know right now?

BUCKLEY: Well, they're trying to make the case to the public that the burden is not on the administration. They're trying to say look, over the past 11 years, 16 different Security Council resolutions, Saddam Hussein has defied the Security Council, the United Nations.

In 1998, inspectors left. They say the onus is on Saddam Hussein. That's the case that they're trying to make right now. They're trying to make that case with the public and also saying that this is part of the war on terror. That's the case that they're trying to make to the public and to the international community.

LIN: All right, thank you very much Frank Buckley live at the White House tonight. Well, in just a couple of hours the bulk of Iraq's report on weapons will arrive at U.N. headquarters but it's going to be days before any members of the Security Council actually sees what's in it. CNN's Michael Okwu is joining us from the U.N. to explain why -- Michael.

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's exactly how it stands right now, Carol, but you never know here at the United Nations. Some members of the Security Council may want to change that agreement but the agreement as it stands right now is that they will not see the document immediately because they all believe it may very well include sections that are deemed sensitive, having to do with the making of weapons of mass destruction.

This is the timeline now as we know it. At some point tonight, the 12,000-page declaration is expected to arrive at the offices of U.N. Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix. Again, we are hearing that's about at eight o'clock but maybe around 8:30.

At some point after this and it remains unclear translators who have been asked to be on standby tonight will begin deciphering the document, which is mainly in Arabic. In the coming days, Blix will roll up his sleeves and start editing out some of those sensitive portions having to do with the making of weapons of mass destruction.

Now, on Tuesday Blix will meet the Security Council at a regularly scheduled luncheon, diplomatic sources saying that he is expected at this point to give them a better sense of when those Security Council members will receive the documents. Sources also say Blix' first assessment of the declaration is expected the week of December 16th.

The United Nations, of course, here in New York is the last stop for the declaration. It was handed to U.N. officials in Baghdad yesterday, a full 24 hours ahead of the deadline and then flown to a U.N. staging ground in Cyprus. Sections of the declaration having to do with Iraq's nuclear program were then flown over to Vienna where an official officially handed them in at IAEA headquarters.

But the focus right now is firmly here at the United Nations where Hans Blix will begin siphoning through or shifting through, sifting through that document looking for anything that might be sensitive. And again, Carol, we're hearing that this is sort of a wait and watch sort of situation here because this might take quite a few days if not weeks.

LIN: That's right. Yes. Well, with 12,000 pages and two CD- Roms they will be siphoning, shifting, and sifting, Michael.

OKWU: OK.

LIN: Thank you very much live in New York.

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 - 18:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We begin with those thousands of documents which Iraqis say prove they don't have any weapons they're not supposed to have. CNN's Frank Buckley has been monitoring the reaction or perhaps, Frank, we should say skepticism from the Bush administration. They're not ready to buy into this yet, are they?
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, Carol, you're absolutely right. There's skepticism here at the White House about the declaration and about Saddam Hussein. They say he has a history of deception. Administration officials say that Saddam Hussein must provide evidence in this declaration, either of a weapons program or evidence that he has disarmed. They expect to find neither.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BUCKLEY (voice over): Iraqi officials say the nearly 12,000-page declaration should satisfy U.S. officials.

GEN. AMER AL-SAADI, IRAQI SCIENCE ADVISER: 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?

BUCKLEY: Games are exactly what one former U.N. weapons inspector says the inspection process could turn into. David Kay describes it as a dead-end trap.

DAVID KAY, FORMER U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: He could very easily get caught into what I call hide and seek or "Where in the World is Waldo" game trying to find things. They need to make a strong case why in fact they believe this individual, this government, has weapons of mass destruction and then draw the logical conclusion as to whether you want to act against it.

BUCKLEY: President Bush arrived back at the White House from Camp David and didn't address the declaration, officials saying earlier that it would be analyzed for its credibility and compliance with the U.N. Security Council resolution. U.S. officials are skeptical.

SEN. BOB GRAHAM, SENATE INTELLIGENCE CMTE: But if it purports to say that there are no weapons of mass destruction, nor any capability to develop weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, that is not truthful.

BUCKLEY: President Bush has repeatedly said there is a zero tolerance policy with respect to material breaches by Iraq, but administration sources say even if the declaration is false in their view it will not trigger war, one source saying it would take more time and a body of obstructionism from Iraq. Senator Joe Lieberman cautions that taking too long may risk U.S. credibility or worse.

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D) CONNECTICUT: And if we let him go into some kind of rope-a-dope game with the U.N. inspectors, I fear that we will look back as we looked back after September 11th and say to ourselves, why didn't we disarm him and get him out of power while we could.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BUCKLEY (on camera): Now, President Bush has voiced similar sentiments in the past but for now the White House appears content to let the inspectors and the analysts do their work before moving to what could be the next possible step that is military action -- Carol.

LIN: Frank, if there is no smoking gun found in these 12,000 pages going to the U.N., is there any discussion by the Bush administration that they may come forward and actually present some of the evidence they have against Saddam Hussein?

BUCKLEY: Well, it appears as though the White House is willing to present some of that evidence to inspectors. They've said as much but at the moment they're not ready to present that in a public forum to the public. That's one thing that many people are arguing, especially today. We heard it from various lawmakers suggesting that perhaps now is the time for the administration to make some of this intelligence public, but so far administration officials are saying they're not going to go that route. The furthest they're willing to go at the moment anyway is to provide some of that intelligence to inspectors.

LIN: So, what is the Bush administration's sense then of what the public wants or needs to know right now?

BUCKLEY: Well, they're trying to make the case to the public that the burden is not on the administration. They're trying to say look, over the past 11 years, 16 different Security Council resolutions, Saddam Hussein has defied the Security Council, the United Nations.

In 1998, inspectors left. They say the onus is on Saddam Hussein. That's the case that they're trying to make right now. They're trying to make that case with the public and also saying that this is part of the war on terror. That's the case that they're trying to make to the public and to the international community.

LIN: All right, thank you very much Frank Buckley live at the White House tonight. Well, in just a couple of hours the bulk of Iraq's report on weapons will arrive at U.N. headquarters but it's going to be days before any members of the Security Council actually sees what's in it. CNN's Michael Okwu is joining us from the U.N. to explain why -- Michael.

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's exactly how it stands right now, Carol, but you never know here at the United Nations. Some members of the Security Council may want to change that agreement but the agreement as it stands right now is that they will not see the document immediately because they all believe it may very well include sections that are deemed sensitive, having to do with the making of weapons of mass destruction.

This is the timeline now as we know it. At some point tonight, the 12,000-page declaration is expected to arrive at the offices of U.N. Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix. Again, we are hearing that's about at eight o'clock but maybe around 8:30.

At some point after this and it remains unclear translators who have been asked to be on standby tonight will begin deciphering the document, which is mainly in Arabic. In the coming days, Blix will roll up his sleeves and start editing out some of those sensitive portions having to do with the making of weapons of mass destruction.

Now, on Tuesday Blix will meet the Security Council at a regularly scheduled luncheon, diplomatic sources saying that he is expected at this point to give them a better sense of when those Security Council members will receive the documents. Sources also say Blix' first assessment of the declaration is expected the week of December 16th.

The United Nations, of course, here in New York is the last stop for the declaration. It was handed to U.N. officials in Baghdad yesterday, a full 24 hours ahead of the deadline and then flown to a U.N. staging ground in Cyprus. Sections of the declaration having to do with Iraq's nuclear program were then flown over to Vienna where an official officially handed them in at IAEA headquarters.

But the focus right now is firmly here at the United Nations where Hans Blix will begin siphoning through or shifting through, sifting through that document looking for anything that might be sensitive. And again, Carol, we're hearing that this is sort of a wait and watch sort of situation here because this might take quite a few days if not weeks.

LIN: That's right. Yes. Well, with 12,000 pages and two CD- Roms they will be siphoning, shifting, and sifting, Michael.

OKWU: OK.

LIN: Thank you very much live in New York.

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