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CNN LIVE AT DAYBREAK

International Wrap: Eye on World

Aired May 8, 2003 - 06:36   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We want to better understand why those sanctions are still in place, even though Saddam Hussein is no longer in power.
We want to bring in our senior international editor, David Clinch.

So, as Karl said, is it a case of who benefits financially? Is that why it's being held up in the United Nations?

DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Well, yes. I mean, it seems sort of fairly straightforward, I suppose you would say. The regime is gone, so why have the sanctions anymore? But, of course, it's not that simple.

The regime has been removed, but the regime has not been changed yet. And from a point of view of, for instance, France or Russia or somebody else, removing the sanctions, first of all, there's the question of have the weapons of mass destruction, if they exist at all, been removed? And they, the French and the Russians, have always said sanctions can be lifted as soon as the U.N. inspectors go back in and say they've been removed.

Well, that's becoming a little bit of a rhetorical point at this point. I don't think we're going to see them arguing too much about that. But on the other hand, as Karl pointed out, if they were to lift sanctions, and nobody, Russia or France, wants to be in the position of saying we want to keep sanctions on Iraq, now obviously it's so easy to accuse them then of harming the Iraqi people. Nobody wants to be in that position.

But on the other hands, it's all about money. Again, removing the sanctions now, moving aside the question of inspections, moving aside the question of whether there's a legitimate Iraqi government, is fine. But France and Russia have no hope of gaining from the lifting of those sanctions. The U.S. and its allies in the war are the ones that will gain.

COSTELLO: So, will it matter that the United States is willing to give the United Nations some kind of role over Iraq's oil industry?

CLINCH: Well, that's the diplomatic game that will play out over the next few days. The one thing that everybody wants to avoid is a repeat of the diplomatic clash that happened before the war.

COSTELLO: OK, so we'll see what happens on Friday...

CLINCH: Exactly.

COSTELLO: ... or later if the vote comes later. David Clinch, many thanks.

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