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CNN Live Sunday
Early Tests on Suspicious Chemicals in Iraq Turn Up Traces of Nerve Agent
Aired April 27, 2003 - 16:06 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: U.S. soldiers are carefully testing suspicious chemicals found in barrels in northern Iraq today. Early tests do show a presence, just a presence, we mind you, of two banned weapons. One is a nerve agent, the other is a blister agent. For more on what this could mean, CNN's Nic Robertson is near Tikrit with the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): There is a team from the United States military sensitive site exploitation unit that are currently here just east of the town of Baija. This town is about 30 miles, 50 kilometers north of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's home town, and 130 miles, or just over 200 kilometers north of Baghdad.
The sensitive site exploitation team arrived here at about 1:00 today. That's 10 hours ago, and they had been looking at 10 to 14 55- gallon drums of liquid that the first squadron of the 10th Calvary discovered here two nights ago. The members of the 10th Calvary were directed here by intelligence gathered by Special Forces. Those Special Forces directed the 10th Calvary to come here.
The 10th Cavalry arrived overnight Friday night. They discovered at the site early the next day, 10 to 14 drums of liquid. They investigated the contents of one of those drums. They performed three different tests. They performed a paper test, a sniff -- essentially a chemical sniff test, and a mass spectrometry test. The results they came up with show positive findings for a blister agent, they call it blister agent H, that can be something like mustered gas.
However, they're not saying what sort of blister agent it could be. They also got positive test of cyclosarin, a nerve agent. These tests, however, are being followed up by the sensitive site exploitation unit. Samples have been taken away, will be sent to the United States for further testing, and it is not clear yet whether -- what the outcome of these further tests have been.
Simply, the previous discovery of suspected chemical weapons in Iraq just outside of Karbala a little over two weeks ago, the tests that were performed on the chemicals at that time came back with similar results to these tests that was for a positive reaction to a blister agent, a positive reaction for cyclosarin nerve agent. So it is still too early to say. The 10th Cavalry is saying is, still too early to say what further results will yield. But there is something is interesting about this site is that it is a field site, it is out in the open. It is not like the other sites that were industrial sites that they've already done research on and concluded negatively on the suspected chemical weapons. This site also, they say, very close to the barrels of suspected nerve and blister agent were discovered missiles -- surface-to-air missiles and ground-to-ground missiles.
They also discovered two mobile chemical laboratories they say could have been used for mixing agents. They also discovered 150 high-grade gas masks. They say these were far better quality then the quality of gas masks belonging to the Iraqi army that have discovered already. And they also discovered here some chemical charged dosages for chemical agents.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: That was Nic Robertson reporting outside Tikrit. So the headline is, possible findings for blister agent. Possible findings for cyclosarin. But more testing needs to be done.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
of Nerve Agent>
Aired April 27, 2003 - 16:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. soldiers are carefully testing suspicious chemicals found in barrels in northern Iraq today. Early tests do show a presence, just a presence, we mind you, of two banned weapons. One is a nerve agent, the other is a blister agent. For more on what this could mean, CNN's Nic Robertson is near Tikrit with the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): There is a team from the United States military sensitive site exploitation unit that are currently here just east of the town of Baija. This town is about 30 miles, 50 kilometers north of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's home town, and 130 miles, or just over 200 kilometers north of Baghdad.
The sensitive site exploitation team arrived here at about 1:00 today. That's 10 hours ago, and they had been looking at 10 to 14 55- gallon drums of liquid that the first squadron of the 10th Calvary discovered here two nights ago. The members of the 10th Calvary were directed here by intelligence gathered by Special Forces. Those Special Forces directed the 10th Calvary to come here.
The 10th Cavalry arrived overnight Friday night. They discovered at the site early the next day, 10 to 14 drums of liquid. They investigated the contents of one of those drums. They performed three different tests. They performed a paper test, a sniff -- essentially a chemical sniff test, and a mass spectrometry test. The results they came up with show positive findings for a blister agent, they call it blister agent H, that can be something like mustered gas.
However, they're not saying what sort of blister agent it could be. They also got positive test of cyclosarin, a nerve agent. These tests, however, are being followed up by the sensitive site exploitation unit. Samples have been taken away, will be sent to the United States for further testing, and it is not clear yet whether -- what the outcome of these further tests have been.
Simply, the previous discovery of suspected chemical weapons in Iraq just outside of Karbala a little over two weeks ago, the tests that were performed on the chemicals at that time came back with similar results to these tests that was for a positive reaction to a blister agent, a positive reaction for cyclosarin nerve agent. So it is still too early to say. The 10th Cavalry is saying is, still too early to say what further results will yield. But there is something is interesting about this site is that it is a field site, it is out in the open. It is not like the other sites that were industrial sites that they've already done research on and concluded negatively on the suspected chemical weapons. This site also, they say, very close to the barrels of suspected nerve and blister agent were discovered missiles -- surface-to-air missiles and ground-to-ground missiles.
They also discovered two mobile chemical laboratories they say could have been used for mixing agents. They also discovered 150 high-grade gas masks. They say these were far better quality then the quality of gas masks belonging to the Iraqi army that have discovered already. And they also discovered here some chemical charged dosages for chemical agents.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: That was Nic Robertson reporting outside Tikrit. So the headline is, possible findings for blister agent. Possible findings for cyclosarin. But more testing needs to be done.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
of Nerve Agent>
