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American Morning
Richard Butler's Perspective on Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction
Aired November 27, 2001 - 07:34 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to turn back now to President Bush's demand that Saddam Hussein show the world he is not developing weapons of mass destruction. And he has a warning for the Iraqi leader.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He ought to let the inspectors back in.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE), sir?
BUSH: Yes.
QUESTION: If he does not do that, sir, what will be the consequences? If he does not do that, what will be the consequences?
BUSH: That's up for him -- he'll find out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Is the president setting the stage for an attack on Iraq? Joining us now is Richard Butler, former Chief U.N. Chief Weapons Inspector in Iraq, now with the Council on Foreign Relations, and our ambassador in residence -- good morning.
RICHARD BUTLER, FORMER U.N. CHIEF WEAPONS INSPECTOR: Good morning, Paula.
ZAHN: So the debate this morning is not what the president said so much, because we heard what he said,...
BUTLER: Right.
ZAHN: ... but what it meant. What do you think he meant?
BUTLER: We don't know. It's a pretty extraordinary way to make United States policy with a one-liner like that. Let's desegregate (ph) this, Paula. He says if we discover Iraq is in possession of weapons of mass destruction. I wan to be very plain with you, that's nonsense. We know very well that Iraq is in possession of weapons of mass destruction. That was the case when they threw inspectors out three years ago. The Security Council verified that subsequently. And in the three years without inspection, there are countless reports that Saddam is back in business making more biological and chemical weapons. The U.S. government knows that, so I don't understand the statement if we discover. We know that he is making weapons of mass destruction right now.
ZAHN: So what's the president saying, this is the precursor to an actual declaration of war against Iraq?
BUTLER: Well it sounds a bit like that. He's saying let the inspectors back in or you'll get it. A bit like when he said wanted dead or alive for Osama bin Laden. That's a little bit too much text and one-liner stuff for me. I don't think that's the way you make policy.
Let me go to the next point. The U.N. today is considering the sanctions regime, extending the oil for food arrangement where Iraq is allowed legally to sell a certain amount of oil and a lot of the money from that goes back to food and medicine for the Iraqi people. By the way, it's a bit of -- it's a bit hollow because Saddam is running a multibillion dollar black market oil industry anyway, but...
ZAHN: Yes, the sanctions are leaking like a sieve.
BUTLER: The sanctions...
ZAHN: There are new cars on the street, right?
BUTLER: Exactly.
ZAHN: Medicine is getting in there.
BUTLER: Exactly.
ZAHN: Food is getting in there. Other consumer products.
BUTLER: Exactly, the sanctions are not working. But we're going through this somewhat fictional process now of extending those sanctions, oil for food, down to March. Now what Secretary of State Colin Powell has said, and I think this is a bit clearer, is that sometime between now and March he will try again to get a new sanctions regime adopted which is called smart sanctions. That is take away all the rules against all consumer goods, everything civilian, but only prevent military goods from getting into the country.
ZAHN: In exchange for...
BUTLER: In return for inspectors.
ZAHN: But is Saddam Hussein going to ever allow that to happen?
BUTLER: No, I don't think he is. I'll tell you the really interesting thing, the world really lit up yesterday afternoon after President Bush made those remarks, which you know a one-liner which was pretty bellicose and not clear enough. ZAHN: And yet Ari Fleischer, his spokesperson, came out later in the afternoon and said this doesn't represent any change in policy at all,...
BUTLER: Well nice try.
ZAHN: ... although you clearly see it as a widened definition of what constitutes a potential terrorist (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
BUTLER: Exactly, someone in possession of weapons of mass destruction. And when James Woolsey, a few moments ago, said there are good weapons of mass destruction and bad weapons of mass destruction, I'm sorry, I disagree. What is good and bad is the people who hold them. And in dealing with Saddam Hussein, we're dealing, you know, with a really bad person.
Colin Powell, by the way, did not say that this represented no change in policy. He actually said it is a warning to Saddam.
So where are we? Sometime between now and March we'll try to introduce smart sanctions. If that doesn't -- if that's not accepted by Saddam, and I would put no money on that whatsoever,...
ZAHN: Right.
BUTLER: ... then I guess what the president was saying we might have to take other steps.
I said the world lit up yesterday, I heard from the Middle East that the editor of an Arab newspaper said what Bush said in the Rose Garden, this one-liner, was a declaration of war against Islam. I said in reply, that is nonsense. He never said any such thing. He was talking about weapons. He was talking about inspections. But, Paula, that illustrates some of the difficulties that we will face if the, he will find out that the president said, becomes a kind of unilateral war on Iraq.
ZAHN: And the foremost concern has to be of course keeping the coalition together if...
BUTLER: That's right.
ZAHN: ... an act of war was...
BUTLER: That's right.
ZAHN: ... contemplated against Iraq.
BUTLER: And that could be difficult. I agree with the president, we need to get inspectors back in there. Weapons of mass destruction are the issue. I'm not sure that this is the way to make policy on the run with a one-liner. I think we can do a bit better than that.
ZAHN: Richard Butler, as always,...
BUTLER: OK.
ZAHN: ... good to have your perspective. See you tomorrow morning, same time, same place.
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