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CNN Live Saturday

Panel Discusses Bush's Speech to the U.N.

Aired November 10, 2001 - 17:15   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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Taliban's days of harboring terrorists and dealing in heroin and brutalizing women are drawing to a close.

And when that regime is gone, the people of Afghanistan will say, with the rest of the world, good riddance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: A stern and confident president at the podium, George W. Bush in his first address to the United Nations General Assembly.

Joining us now to talk about that speech are Omar Samad, president of Afghanistan Information Center and a producer for Afghan radio; former deputy national security adviser and vice president of the Brookings Institution, James Steinberg; and in New York, Former Assistant Secretary of State Ambassador Richard Murphy.

Gentlemen, it's good have all of you with us.

Let's start with you, Ambassador Murphy. What was president's goal in this speech to the General Assembly, and do you think he succeeded?

AMBASSADOR RICHARD MURPHY, FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY STATE: Well, he succeeded certainly in expressing is total commitment to this war on terror and that governments could not hide behind Islam and that they had to perform -- they couldn't just express condolences.

So I think the message was stark and clear.

MANN: James Steinberg, that message having been sent, was it enough, do you think, to convince governments that are skeptical or apathetic or opposed.

JAMES STEINBERG, FORMER DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well I think he had a second side to what he was saying, which was he was also trying to make clear that this is a threat to all of us.

He talked about how Osama Bin Laden had threatened the United Nations. He talked about how many people from so many different countries had died in the World Trade Center attack. And so, I think his purpose here was both to make a very strong message, as Ambassador Murphy says, to those who harbor terrorists, but also try to rally support among others to see that this is not just the United State's fight.

MANN: Omar Samad, do you think the people of Afghanistan would be impressed by the President's determination, or at this point in this campaign, do they want to see more details about their future?

OMAR SAMAD, AFGHANISTAN INFORMATION CENTER: I think that the people of Afghanistan will be encouraged because the President did talk about the fact the Taliban's days are over and the fact that the United States and the international community is committed to re-build Afghanistan and to work with the United Nations to create a post- Taliban government.

He also empathized with the people with the people of Afghanistan for having gone through all these miseries and this agony over the past five or six years that the Taliban have ruled over them.

MANN: I'm wondering if any of you were listening as well when the Iranian President spoke -- Khatami?

He said two things. He said violence is wrong, even to counter terrorism or, I suppose, in the context of trying to counter terrorism and that terrorism to his mind can't be a complete conversation, unless the United States brings in other issues, which we keep hearing brought up over and over again, the fate of the Palestinians.

Richard Murphy, is that the response everywhere in the Muslim world and is President Bush doing enough to address it?

MURPHY: I don't think it's everywhere in the Muslim world, Jonathan. But it's certainly very much in the minds across the Arab world. And it was, in fact, the only other conflict that the President referred to.

He talked about a campaign on Aids, on education, when the Afghanistan situation had cleared, but the Middle-East Peace Process he gave a brief reference too that he looked for a just solution that he looked for a two-state solution in accordance, basically, with resolution of the U. N. Security Council 242.

MANN: Jim Steinberg, does the administration essentially want to stop people from drawing a link and is it succeeding in that or is the link, do you think, inescapable?

STEINBERG: Well, I think that there's certainly a political (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of the link that's why, as Ambassador Murphy says, the President felt he had to address it.

But I think that what he's trying to do is turn the focus back on Bin Laden. To try to take it away from any justification that he might have by showing that he's an outlaw and try to make clear that whatever the other issues are, that this is something that's a threat to all countries, and, therefore, we all have to join together to deal with it.

MANN: What are the chances that Bin Laden was listening to that speech?

Omar Samad, what can you tell us about how many people in Afghanistan itself heard from President Bush when he was at the podium?

SAMAD: Well, you know that the Afghans right now are about three means to which they can listen to what's happening to the world -- in the outside world. One is the BBC, the DOA and now the U. S. airplanes that are broadcasting over Afghanistan.

So I think that Mr. Bin Laden may have been also listening. Even though that may be a security hazard for him. But, in any case, his reaction obviously is that he is the focus and the people of Afghanistan know that Bin Laden is a focus and that Taliban's days are numbered and that people are starting to look at the post-Taliban era.

And that is where a lot of questions will come up. What kind of post-Taliban situation and environment are we talking about?

MANN: Well, let me ask you or anyone else who has a thought on this subject. We've been talking about what the President did say.

Were there things that you were listening for that he didn't say?

Does that occur to any of you as a problem with that speech?

SAMAD: Well I can say, if I may, that one thing that Afghans were really looking for is to make sure that the United States and international community reiterate and reemphasize the fact that Afghans would like to be somewhat left alone in deciding what to do in the post-Taliban era, that they would not like to see too much foreign interference, especially negative interference on the part of some of our neighbors, especially Pakistan into the affairs of Afghanistan.

And as you know, Mr. Musharraf also spoke about Afghanistan and there's a lot of negotiations going on behind closed doors on that subject.

STEINBERG: Jonathan, I also think it was notable the president didn't say what the United States will do about the Middle East process. He gave some indication about an element of the final resolution would be by talking about two states, but he certainly announced no new initiatives in terms of U.S. deeper engagement to help bring the end to the violence there.

MURPHY: I think, Jonathan, he's trying to keep his hands as untied as possible for the day when he gets the parties back to the negotiating table. Of course, in the Arab world, what they're anxious for is just the opposite of the feeling in Afghanistan. They want the United States as the major outside power to get back into the peace process and start pushing.

MANN: I don't know if you can describe the U.S. relationship with the United Nations as a love-hate relationship. There have been times clearly when hate has been the right word. But do you gentlemen see a new relationship now, the President giving his first speech to the General Assembly. Maybe it's the appropriate time to ask, if the United States is going to look to the United Nations to help sort out this mess in Afghanistan?

STEINBERG: I think the president clearly welcomes the support that the United States got by the Security Council right after the bombings. He went out of his way to talk about the efforts of U.N. in reconstruction.

But I think the president's going to be very careful to make clear that in terms of dealing with the problem of terrorism, that this is something the United States will do. It will welcome allies when it can get them. It will welcome the support of the U.N. in helping to cut off the financing, but it's not going to have its hands tied by the U.N.

MURPHY: But there is a love-hate relationship.

MANN: I'm sorry, Richard Murphy, go ahead.

MURPHY: I'm sorry, just to say there certainly is a love-hate relationship. It depends what we need at any particular time.

SAMAD: Obviously, in order to solve the Afghanistan issue, it's not a bilateral issue. It's a multi-lateral issue. You have too many players in the game. You have the Iranians and then you have the Russians and the Indians and even the Turks involved, and everybody has a stake.

So, the United Nations is a good vehicle to address the Afghanistan issue, and I think everybody is moving toward that and the U.N. envoy has been going around making the rounds and he's come back with some plans that he will be sharing with others.

MANN: Well, Omar Samad, on that note, we're going to thank you all. Omar Samad of the Afghanistan Information Center; Ambassador Richard Murphy, former assistant secretary of state; and James Steinberg of the Brookings Institution. Gentlemen, thanks very much.

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