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CNN SHOWDOWN: IRAQ
Pressing the Point
Aired March 10, 2003 - 12:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Though ready, willing and able to use its veto, France has sent its foreign minister on a diplomatic journey through Africa. France's president, Jacques Chirac, meanwhile, is said to be considering a trip right here to the United States, to U.N. headquarters in New York, perhaps to kill personally any resolution that may come forward.
CNN's Jim Bittermann is standing by. He is following all of these developments. He's in Paris with the latest -- Jim.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the president of France is going to be addressing the nation about 2 1/2 hours from now. We're going to learn a lot more, I think, about what he has to say. At the same time, a lot of close coordination going on between France, and Germany and Russia on this issue. Gerhard Schroeder also saying today that he is prepared to travel to New York to cast his vote personally at the Security Council if and when that vote takes place. If it happens this week, for instance. And also, he will be appearing on French television in about an hour from now, being interviewed by LCI, the French 24 hour news channel.
As you mentioned, the French foreign minister making a lightning swing through Angola, Cameroon and Guinea today. He's been to Angola and Cameroon so far. He's on his way to Guinea. We're not getting any read that would indicate he's having much success. After leaving both Angola and Cameroon, there were still a lot of ambiguity about what the national leaders are exactly thinking. They're basically noncommittal, whether they're leaning toward one side or the other.
One interesting thing about Guinea, he's on his way there. Normally he'd meets with the Guinean foreign minister, but in fact, the foreign minister is in Washington, where he's going to meet with State Department officials later today -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jim, is it strictly a matter of the French thinking that the Iraqis are, in fact, cooperating, or are they willing, as far as you can tell, to entertain a new date, a new deadline beyond March 17th that might be more acceptable to them? As you know the Canadians were supporting something late into the month, at the end of March.
BITTERMANN: Well, it looks like there could be that kind of compromise worked out, I don't know. It's just too early to tell. But De Villepen said on Friday -- it was missed his remarks before the United Nations, but at the news conference afterwards, he did say that they would come off this position that they originally had of 120 days. The French basically said that they thought that the inspectors needed about four months in order to complete their mission. Now, he said in a news conference after the meetings at the U.N. on Friday that in fact that the French were not bound to that 120-day position. So it is conceivable here that there might be something worked out.
Obviously, they're a long way away from next Monday, which is what the U.S. is saying, to 120 days, which is what the French have been saying. It's still hard to see where the compromise would come, but there does seem to be a little tiny bit of wiggle room.
BLITZER: All right, Jim Bittermann, we'll be standing by later today to hear directly from the French President Jacques Chirac to hear an important news conference, question-and-answer session he's going to be having later today.
Jim, thank you very much for that report.
In Moscow earlier today, the foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, said the U.S., Britain and Spain are making what he called unfulfillable demands on Iraq, and Russia won't be part of any of it.
Our Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty is standing by to bring us up to date.
Jill, strong words from the foreign minister once again.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: They really are, Wolf.
And this is the first time we've heard from him Ivanov this direct a threat to really use the veto. Again, he didn't use the veto word, but he really made it clear that in the form that this resolution is right now, that Russia will vote against it. He said that categorically.
So, you've got high-stakes poker here, because the U.S., in all of its talks with Russian diplomats and Russian officials, has made it very clear that if Russia were to use a veto, that there would be a political and economic price to be paid for it.
So obviously, either Russia would hope that all of this would go away and there wouldn't have to be a vote, and that was one theory, that maybe they just wanted to scare the U.S. and Britain into not bringing it up for a vote. That's not going to happen. Or maybe they want to change it. So we'll have to see.
But at this point, they're making it quite clear they're headed for a veto -- Wolf.
BLITZER: And another high-level visit to Baghdad from a Russian parliament member that's under way now. Jill, what's that about?
DOUGHERTY: Well, the speaker of the parliament went to Baghdad, and he actually went at the request of President Putin to deliver what they called an oral message. And he just -- he's on his way back. He apparently there said that he had met with Saddam Hussein, Saddam Hussein looked very much in command, was in a very good mood. But also had a warning that, as he put it, this will be a war to the last infant, and that he was ready to repel any type of aggression from the United States or Great Britain.
It's the second visit to Baghdad, and a meeting with Saddam Hussein in just a few weeks. As you remember, Yevgeny Primakov, the prime minister, the former prime minister, went, met with Saddam Hussein, delivered another message from President Putin, but to no avail. So, hard to say what this will yield, but he was there.
BLITZER: Jill Dougherty in Moscow with the latest. Jill, thanks very much. The Russians obviously very busy behind the scenes trying to come up with something.
Meanwhile, over at the White House, President Bush is not giving up on seeking support, pressing his point that Iraq is not disarming, despite some of the evidence that's unfolding right now.
Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is joining us live from the North Lawn.
Suzanne, what's the latest as far as the Bush administration's strategy is concerned to try to get those nine affirmative votes and not have a veto?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the president has cleared his calendar for the next three days. It is really a blitz, making phone calls, a number of phone calls, to world leaders, not only U.N. Security Council members, but also those who could influence those members. The president already putting many calls to the leaders of China and Japan. We expect a readout from Ari Fleischer within the hour to talk about other calls the president has made. Should also note, Jill said there were harsh words from Russia. There are harsh words on Russia being against the U.N. resolution. Ari Fleischer saying he hopes that's not the case, that you don't know the final vote until hands are raised and the votes are taken.
But Fleischer saying early this morning, and I'm quoting here, "The president would indeed be disappointed if Russia were to veto. The president would look at this as a missed opportunity for Russia to take an important moral stand to defend freedom, and to prevent the risk of a massive catastrophe taking as a result of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.
Wolf, very interesting, the administration making a moral case now, saying, look, the U.N. Security Council missed the boat, that they failed when it came to saving hundreds of thousands of lives with Rwanda and Kosovo, that now is the time to act -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Suzanne, how angry are administration officials at Hans Blix? In his oral presentation to the U.N. Security Council, he seemed to gloss over what they considered very significant details that they say were almost buried in that long, nearly 200-page single- spaced report he eventually circulated later on Friday.
MALVEAUX: Absolutely, Wolf. The administration is very frustrated by that. At 4:00, they're going to have a closed door meeting in New York with the U.N. Security Council. But they believe Hans Blix did not include very important information that really could bolster the U.S. case, proving that Saddam Hussein has not disarmed. They talk about this document that came out after Blix's presentation with what they call new details, not necessarily evidence of a new drone, an unmanned drone, but they're saying new details, a new type of drone that the U.N. Security Council, the inspectors, never talked about before, never even included in the Blix report, the presentation.
They also talk about these warheads that can disperse these bomblets with chemical and biological agents, that all of this is critical to their case. They feel that, of course, it would have strengthened their case at that very moment had Hans Blix taken advantage of that very dramatic moment before the Security Council to include this.
BLITZER: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House.
Ari Fleischer, the White House press secretary, will be holding his daily briefing later.
CNN, of course, will have live coverage.
Suzanne, thanks very much.
Iraqi leaders say they are ready for war, but inside Iraq, efforts continue in hopes of avoiding it. Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is keeping watch. He's in Baghdad, of course, and he's joining us live -- Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a new development today, the U.N. reporting an interview with an Iraqi individual, a private interview, the 12th such private interview they've had. What they say is different about this interview, this particular individual was involved in Iraq's unilateral destruction of precursor chemical weapons agents back in 1991.
Now, the U.N. has been pushing Iraq very hard to interview such people. About three weeks ago, Iraqi officials gave the U.N. a list of scientists they said were involved in just this destruction. The U.N. pushed Iraq not only for these names of scientists, but documents associated with this destruction. So this the first time the U.N. has said they have now found such an individual, and that they have held a private interview with somebody involved in Iraq's destruction and eradication of what Iraq says were its past weapons of mass destruction, precursor chemicals for a chemical weapon.
Also the U.N. today saying that six more Al Samoud II missiles were destroyed, and three warheads, also heard criticism from Iraq's foreign ministry, criticizing the United States for having some of its diplomats expelled from different countries around the world. Foreign ministry confirming today that one of their diplomats will have to leave Australia. The foreign ministry said they understood the governments of Belgium, Romania and Austria were also under pressure to have certain Iraqi diplomats expelled from those countries. They have said this effort from the United States is a hysterical act by the CIA to try and get Iraqi diplomats to defect. Iraq's foreign ministry warned countries against succumbing to such pressure -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Nic, you remember last week, you were reporting, other journalists in Baghdad reporting, other Iraqi government officials were saying they were going to release more documentation on what they say was the destroyed anthrax, VX, mustard gas, documentation proving that it was destroyed a dozen years ago or 10 years ago. Any word on if that documentation has been made available to the U.N. weapons inspectors?
ROBERTSON: The U.N. says it still expecting that document. What this document is going to be is a rewrite of a document Iraq already gave to the U.N. It's Iraq's proposal about how the U.N. can quantify the amounts of VX and anthrax, another chemical and biological agents that Iraq says it's disposed of.
Now what the U.N. has said up to now, Iraq's proposal calls for DNA sampling of soil samples taken at the locations Iraq says it disposed of these chemical and biological agents. The U.N. has said it doesn't think that the sophisticated equipment necessary to carry out this DNA sampling will give results that can truly give an accurate account of the quantity of these agents disposed of.
Now Iraq's re-report, if you will, will give further credence, Iraqi officials believe, to their analysis of how it can be done. But certainly that's the position at this time -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Nic Robertson in Baghdad. Thanks, Nic, very much.
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