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Cheney Rallying Support Against Iraq; Anaconda Enters New Phase

Aired March 11, 2002 - 12:29   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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Vice President Dick Cheney in London on the first stop of a 12-nation trip focusing on the war against terrorism. He will also visit Turkey, Israel, and nine other Arab states.

John King, travelling with the vice president, joins us now with an update from our bureau in London -- John, hello.

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Bill. And these talks obviously come at a critical point in the war on terrorism. Vice President Cheney and the British prime minister, Tony Blair, meeting here today at 10 Downing Street, each pausing in their opening statement to make note of the fact that this is the six- month anniversary of the attacks on the United States, but both also very much looking forward in their public comments, and, we are told, in their private discussions as well.

One key question is, what will be the future fronts in the war on terrorism. Certainly, Washington has made no mistake about it all, that it considers Iraq a future front. The president has said Iraq must end its weapons of mass destruction program. Mr. Cheney here today to compare notes with the British prime minister. Some concerns here and across Europe that the United States would go it alone, would not consult with the allies. Mr. Cheney said at a joint news conference with the British leader, that that would not be the case, that the United States certainly would consult its allies first, Great Britain first among them.

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DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: How far they got, we don't know, but we know they clearly -- given their past track record, would use such weapons were they able to acquire them, and we have to be concerned about the potential marriage, if you will, between a terrorist organization like al Qaeda and those hold or are proliferating knowledge about weapons of mass destruction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now, the British prime minister has faced some heat here at home for siding with the United States in the planning for another confrontation with Saddam Hussein. But the prime minister standing, again, side by side with Mr. Cheney today, said make no mistake about it at all, the world must react to this, and he promised that if it comes to a military confrontation, he would side with the United States once again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: We've said right from the very outset, you have heard me say on many, many occasions, no decisions have been taken on how we deal with this threat. But that there is a threat, from Saddam Hussein, and the weapons of mass destruction that he has acquired, is not in doubt at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: A much tougher sell for the vice president as he moves on. Jordan is his next stop, then he visits 11 nations in all in the Middle East region, nine of them Arab nations. Four of the countries where Mr. Cheney will visit in the week ahead boarder Iraq. A great deal of skepticism in Arab world, they view the Israeli violence against the Palestinians as much more of a threat to the region than Saddam Hussein. Mr. Cheney will make the case for a tough U.S. posture against Saddam Hussein, but he also expects to face considerable pressure, especially from moderate Arab nations like Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, that the United States do more to put pressure on the Israeli government, be more even handed in the view of the Arab world, in how it deals with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- Bill.

HEMMER: John, when you talk about Iraq, there has been a lot of discussions, publicly, that the vice president's trip may be thrown off somewhat because the events in the Middle East. Do you get a sense from the White House they were concerned about that at all?

KING: They are a bit concerned about it. The vice president today tried to insist in public that he sees no link at all between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and this continuing war on terrorism, trying to build support for a tough posture against Iraq, but certainly in the region, there is a connection. The Arab governments view the Bush administration as lopsided in favor of Israel over the past year plus. They want clear indications from the vice president that the United States is prepared to put pressure on the Sharon government to ease the tensions on the Palestinians, not just military tensions, but economic tensions as well.

And the vice president, of course, has a very difficult sell. He wants the Arab nations to support or at least mute their criticism of the tough U.S. stand vis-a-vis Iraq, so certainly the two are connected in the view of the Arab world, whether Washington likes that or not.

HEMMER: And John, quickly, with the number of Arab countries Dick Cheney is visiting, has there been any expressed concern for his safety and security, knowing that there are still hostile elements in a number of these countries who simply do not like the United States?

KING: A great deal of security on this trip, Bill. U.S. officials saying some of the countries he will visit remain to be a terrorist risk. Yemen is among them. Some extraordinary precautions being taken. Obviously, we won't discuss them in public, what we know about them, but yes, there are great concerns, but they view this as a very important trip, so the vice president will press on despite them.

HEMMER: John, thanks. John King live in London where it is evening there now. John, thanks to you.

Also, U.S.-led coalition forces again hitting their targets in Eastern Afghanistan, striking again both from the air and the ground. Martin Savidge has just returned once again from the front with this update. Here's Marty.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After nine days, Operation Anaconda appears to be moving into a new phase. Coalition and U.S. forces began pulling out of their positions in the high ground overlooking the valley in Eastern Afghanistan, and now it appears that Afghan military forces themselves are directly moving in to try clear up the remaining pockets of al Qaeda and Taliban fighters. Still, U.S. officials believe that it has been a victory in the valley, claiming that over 500 Taliban and al Qaeda troops were wiped out in the over week-long operation.

Many of the young soldiers that went into that valley had never been tested by combat. Now, they have emerge nine days later as being veterans, veterans that are now ready to push on to other pockets of resistance, still known to exist in other parts of Afghanistan.

And for many of those soldiers that left the front today, there was a certain significance arriving back, job done, on this, six months since the war on terrorism began.

Martin Savidge, CNN, Bagram, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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