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CNN Live Today
President Bush Meets With Saudi Prince
Aired August 27, 2002 - 11:27 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is going to have lunch with the Saudi ambassador at his Texas ranch today, and there's a lot for the two of them to chew on.
CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us now, and she's going to give us an update of what's going to be on the menu there.
Hello -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon.
Well, President Bush as well as the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar, will be having lunch together at the Crawford Ranch just in the next couple of hours. We are told the White House says that the president is looking forward to Bandar's visit, that they will discuss, among other things, Iraq, the war on terror, as well as Middle East peace process.
Sources close to the talks also tell us that Bandar comes with an agenda that he will be discussing that the Saudi leadership does not support or sponsor terrorism, also that Saudi officials are concerned with the negative, what they call a negative American press and what they see as anti-Saudi sentiment in the United States. And also, finally, to make the point that Saudi Arabia cannot and will not support a military strike against Iraq.
Now earlier on CNN we heard from foreign policy adviser to Saudi's Crown Prince.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADEL AL-JUBEIR, FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER: We're saying what is -- what is going to happen? What are the steps? For example, there are a number of countries in the world that are threats or could be threats that are acquiring nuclear or trying to acquire nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction. Are we going to go and attack every single one of them?
What we're saying is while we can agree that Saddam is a threat, what exactly will it take to deal with it? How many troops? Who's going to pay for it? Where are they going to land? How many years will they have to occupy Iraq? How do you stabilize the country? Are the Kurds going to seek their own state? Is this going to make the Turks nervous? Is this going to destabilize Iran? Are the Shiites going to seek their own state? What happens in terms of the reaction of public opinion in the broader Arab and Muslim world towards the United States? Can America sustain a five-year campaign in Iraq?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now, Leon, these are precisely the questions that some Republican lawmakers, as well as most of U.S. allies, are asking, cautioning President Bush against military action in Iraq. The administration still saying they have not decided on military action. But it was just yesterday that Vice President Dick Cheney made the strongest case to date about using armed forces to oust Saddam Hussein. He made this speech before a group of war veterans saying that he does not think the United States should actually wait until Saddam Hussein actually obtains these nuclear weapons but should act in a preemptive manner -- Leon.
HARRIS: Well, Suzanne, the Saudis may be sensitive of the Iraq issue, but they may even be more sensitive to this issue of this, what, 600 families here in the U.S. who have gotten together to file suit against some Saudi officials saying that they may have been paying al Qaeda for some protection that may have led to what happened on September 11. What are you hearing about the conversations about that lawsuit?
MALVEAUX: Well that's absolutely right, it's a very delicate situation for the Saudis. And sources who are close to the talks today say that they are not necessarily going to bring that up, that it would be an embarrassment to the Saudi royal family. But they are also saying that of course they have feelings about this, that Saudi officials are calling it what they say is ridiculous, this claim that they -- the Saudi royal family paid off members of al Qaeda some $200 million to protect certain Saudi sites from being blown up by terrorists.
There's also another component to this as well, that component also being that they allege that the terrorists -- the victims of September 11 against those terrorists attacks are claiming that somehow Saudi interests were involved. Again, sources close to the talks are saying that this is undignified and that this is culturally offensive, that they will not discuss it. But if it is brought up, that Saudi officials will defend themselves -- Leon.
HARRIS: All right, Suzanne Malveaux, thank you very much. Appreciate that report. Have a good one.
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