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American Morning

Interview with First Lady Laura Bush

Aired May 21, 2002 - 07:07   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: Now on to our interview with First Lady Laura Bush. She is wrapping up the solo leg of her trip abroad this morning. And in Prague, she gave a radio address that was broadcast to the Afghan people. She is urging them to give women a role in society and embrace democracy when they choose their new government next month.

But the political controversy back home over 9/11 was also on her mind, when we spoke just a short while ago. And I asked her for her reaction to the FBI Director Robert Mueller's comment that a suicide bombing in this country is inevitable.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN (on camera): Thank you very much for joining us on AMERICAN MORNING.

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Thanks, Paula.

ZAHN: We know that you have just finished your address to the people of Afghanistan, and I want to get to that in a moment. But first, I wanted to ask you about some news happening right here at home. We now have the director of the FBI telling us that a suicide bombing attack is all but inevitable. As the first lady, an educator, as a mother, what do you say to America's children this morning about that prospect?

BUSH: Well, I know if children hear that, they will be fearful of course, and I understand that. I think parents need to continue to reassure their children. The more reassuring parents are, I think the more reassured the parents themselves can be.

If we can continue to do all the things we have always done, share meals with our children, read bedtime stories, all of those things are reassuring to children, and I think we should continue to do all of those things. It's really a time for us as Americans to invest in our families by spending time with them. It will help them feel better, and it will help us feel better too.

ZAHN: I know the administration has been very concerned about the impact of these warnings and how it will change the way people live their lives. When you hear that we are under yet a new alert, how do you react on a personal level? BUSH: Well, of course, I am slightly fearful, like everyone. I go through moments of anxiety, but I also know that everyone, all of the hardworking people in our country, the Homeland Security, the CIA, the FBI, the military, all of the local governments everywhere are doing everything they can to make sure we are safe, and to thwart any sort of terrorist attack.

So what I urge the American people to do is just to remain vigilant, to pay attention, to not be embarrassed to report something they think looks strange or, you know, unusual, that that's all we really can do. But just to continue to go about our lives in a normal way. I think that's a very important example to set, for instance, for our children.

ZAHN: Are you concerned that there will come a point in time where Americans will become completely blase about these warnings?

BUSH: Well, no, I mean, I don't think that. I hope there will be a time that we won't have any warnings, and that we'll have the same feelings that we had before September 11. That was feelings of security that all of us had in the United States. That's what we are working toward. That's what we want, and we want that sense of security and that actual security in our country, and we want it around the world. That's part of what the war on terror is.

So I hope we'll get back to that time when we'll be blase.

ZAHN: And while you have been away, of course, a lot of controversy has erupted about what your husband knew, what his administration knew about any of the clues leading to September 11. And there are people who -- even some of the president's supporters who say they are asking legitimate questions. Others say that this is nothing more than the political blame game, a lot of unnecessary finger pointing. Where do you stand on this?

BUSH: Well, I think it's very important right now, because of all of these ongoing threats, because of the war on terror that Americans work together, that both parties work together. I don't think it's a time for politics. I do think it's a time for us to do every single thing we can for the CIA, the FBI, the White House, the Congress to work together to make sure that our country is safe and secure. And I do feel like for certain that our country is safe and secure. We just need to be vigilant, to pay attention, and then to go about our lives as normal.

ZAHN: Do you think your husband has been treated unfairly by those who have asked some very pointed questions about what he knew prior to September 11?

BUSH: I do know for certain that, and I think the American people know this too for certain, that my husband will do every single thing he can in his power to protect the American people. And that he will do that -- he was doing that before September 11. The threats that were related in August were very nonspecific. There was nothing specific about them. And I know that he now meets every single morning with the FBI and the CIA so that all of those -- all of the information, all of the threats that come into both agencies and any other agencies worldwide that we are privy to in the United States so that everyone can hear that information and act on it accordingly.

ZAHN: You have had a very ambitious agenda on this trip, and I know that you are very passionate about the work you are doing in Afghanistan.

BUSH: I have.

ZAHN: You call yourself an advocate for Afghanistan. Help us all understand the level of desperation there, when you have the International Organization of Migration out of cash. That's the group that helps transport refugees, and even the World Food Program is on hold there. How bad is it?

BUSH: Well, I don't know about those two things, but I do know this. I know that Americans want to help, and I think if you and other journalists let Americans know how they can help, for instance, with the Migration fund or the World Food Program, that Americans will. People around the world will.

Today, this round table that I just had was with Czech NGOs, non- government organizations that have been working in Afghanistan. Three of the people that I just talked to had just returned from Afghanistan, and actually they feel very hopeful. They saw little girls go back to school. One man related how one school had 2,000 little girls coming to go to school there. They know that music is back in the life of the Afghan people. All of those things are very hopeful.

But I know, and you do too, Paula, how very helpful the American people want to be and will be if they know they can help. We have sent over with the American Red Cross chests that have a whole classroom's worth of school supplies in it. And one thing I heard from a teacher in Kabul was that his children didn't want to write on their new, clean notebooks, because they were the cleanest things they had.

So I know when Americans hear those stories, they will continue to work very hard to send help to Afghanistan, and it's very important to work with the nongovernmental organizations as well as the government help that we are sending now.

ZAHN: In closing this morning, Mrs. Bush, I know you had a chance to spend a lot of time with Afghan women. There is a lot of concern about what role they might play in this new government that is being cobbled together. What are some of your concerns?

BUSH: Well, one of the things I say in the radio broadcast is that I urge everyone, men and women, to pay attention to the new government that's being formed. I hope that women will be a part of it. I think a society can truly succeed when every member has the opportunity to participate, and I say that in the radio broadcast. But I actually have heard from the ambassador here, the Afghan ambassador to the Czech Republic, that they think more than 1,500 people have reported that they want to be part of the Loya Jirga, as they call it, which is the forming of the new government, and that more than 350 women are part of that. So I expect that women will be a part of the new government.

ZAHN: I know you are winding down your trip. Are you counting the hours -- at least the solo part of your trip. Are you counting down the hours until you are reunited with your husband in Berlin?

BUSH: I really am. I am really looking forward to seeing him. I'll get to see him tomorrow, and I can't wait. It has been a wonderful trip. I've had a great time, but I have missed him, I'll admit it.

ZAHN: That's an OK admission to make right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

BUSH: Thanks, Paula.

ZAHN: Thank you very much for your time and continued good luck on this trip. Tell the president we said hello.

BUSH: Thanks a lot. I sure will. Thank you.

ZAHN: Bye-bye.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: The first lady will in fact be reunited with her husband in Berlin tomorrow. Then she and the president will travel on to Moscow on Thursday, where the president will put some of the finishing touches on an arms control agreement.

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