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CNN Live At Daybreak

Iraq Reacts to Cheney's War Talk

Aired August 27, 2002 - 06:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to U.S. war plans against Iraq. Vice President Dick Cheney makes the Bush administration's strongest case yet for war to oust President Saddam Hussein.
Cheney told a group of veterans at Nashville, a delay in getting rid of the Iraqi leader could have devastating consequences.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Should all of his ambitions be realized, the implications would be enormous for the Middle East, for the United States and for the peace of the world. The whole range of weapons of mass destruction, then, would rest in the hands of a dictator, who has already shown his willingness to use such weapons, and has done so, both in his war with Iran and against his own people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, how is Cheney's tough talk being received in Iraq?

CNN's James Martone has reaction from the capital of Baghdad.

James -- take it away.

JAMES MARTONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good afternoon from Baghdad.

Newspapers here today don't directly address the Cheney -- the U.S. Vice President, Cheney's, statements about bombing, pre-emptive strikes against Iraq. What they do say is a continuation of what they have been saying for the last two weeks is that the U.S. policy towards Iraq is aggressive, they say, is cowboyish.

About the time that the U.S. vice president was making those remarks, on Iraqi TV last night, we saw the deputy vice -- deputy prime minister -- sorry -- Tariq Aziz, who was meeting with a U.S. former secretary -- former attorney general of the United States, Ramsey Clark.

During those meeting, according to Iraqi TV, Tariq Aziz, the deputy prime minister, said that any attack on the United States, any strikes would be foiled. He said that Iraqis would stand behind their president, namely Saddam Hussein.

Now, Saddam Hussein, the president, we have seen on TV this week in different meetings with different ministers. He has not recently directly responded to U.S. -- what appear to be mounting U.S. threats to have some sort of campaign against Iraq.

Now, interesting in Iraq, there has been the recent visit here of the foreign minister of Qatar. He just left Iraq. He was in town, saying -- representing Arabs, saying that there could not be another strike, that Arab countries would definitely condemn such a strike for the chaos, as he put it, that it would create in the region and create in Arab nations.

The president of the country, Saddam Hussein, has also sent -- mandated his foreign minister, Naji Sabril, the foreign minister is presently in China. He is expected to go after that to Moscow, both Russia and China, permanent members of the Security Council, and Iraq trying to gain time, trying to avert any sort of military strike.

Now, recently, also today in fact, in press reports, the vice -- and I should say the state newspapers, state-run newspapers here, the vice president of Iraq, Taha Yassin Ramadan, was saying that any strike also would be foiled -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, James Martone, live from Baghdad with reaction this morning to Vice President Dick Cheney's comments about going to war with Iraq.

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