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CNN Live Today

Discussion of Bush Administration's Potential War Plans Against Iraq

Aired July 29, 2002 - 11:36   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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The Bush administration's potential war plans against Iraq are splashed across the front page of "The New York Times" again today.

Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins with us that story.

Barbara, good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

Well, during this summertime period, it seems the number one topic in the Pentagon and some national security is, will we or won't be invade Iraq? Will there or won't there be military action, and so that's a good chunk of the reason why you are seeing so many newspaper headlines these days. An awful lot of trial balloons being floated. For some period of time now, people talked about one option, one idea, 250,000 troops fighting their way all the way to Baghdad, a replay, essentially, of Desert Storm.

And what surfaced in the newspaper now is what appears to be another trial balloon, a very different option, long-range bomber and missile strikes against Iraqi air defense sites and key chemical and biological weapons sites, something that would take underpinnings out from Saddam Hussein's regime, the U.S. hopes, and lead to regime change in Iraq.

But the fact is, everyone says the president has not made a decision, there are no specific war plans on his desk. What would have to happen to move any of this forward, is General Tommy Franks, the head of the U.S. Central Command, the man running the war in Afghanistan, would have to make a proposal to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. That would then have to go to the president's desk, and President Bush would have to decide.

But by all accounts, this is some time away. There are no decisions, lots of rumors though -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And that might come as a relief to countries in that area, in that region of the world. When this goes back to the vice president, Dick Cheney's visit there some months ago, those powers making it very clear, they are not interested in the U.S. coming in and throwing out Saddam Hussein. STARR: Well, what they always say is they are a little skeptical that the United States is willing to go all the way on that. They remember Desert Storm. The U.S. made a strategic decision not to go all the way to Baghdad. And the Arabs allies said, look, if you want it get rid of Saddam Hussein, OK, fine, but we're a little skeptical that you really mean it this time, and they are not willing to just have another major U.S. military operation.

Also, of course, in the back of their minds, the Israeli- Palestinian issue. They have a lot of concerns about that, and those Arab states want to see the Bush administration deal with that issue in the region as well.

KAGAN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Barbara, thank you so much.

STARR: Sure.

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