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CNN Live Today

Interview with Howard Chua-Eoan

Aired September 09, 2002 - 10:01   ET

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

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush this hour meets with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, but the main topic will not be the border separating the neighboring countries. Instead, the focus will be on another front, possible U.S. military action against Iraq.
CNN Senior White House Correspondent John King joins from his post at the executive mansion -- good morning, John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Anderson. This meeting between President Bush and Prime Minister Chretien, the beginning of a critical week for the president as he tries to win over skeptics around the world. Mr. Bush will go to the United Nations later this week and deliver a speech in which he essentially says Saddam Hussein has defied the United Nations for more than a decade, and he will say the United States has what the administration views as critical, irrefutable evidence that Saddam Hussein is once again busy building his weapons of mass destruction, chemical, biological, Vice President Cheney saying even Saddam's nuclear program.

So President Bush trying to sway over the Canadian prime minister today. Mr. Chretien has said he sees no evidence to justify a military campaign against Iraq. Mr. Bush also called the secretary general of the United Nations this morning, as well as the head of the European Union. Vice President Cheney, in an interview with CNN, put it this way. He said Mr. Bush is prepared to act alone if necessary, but this week is critical as the president tries to convince the world to stand by him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have to deal with that emerging threat. The question is how best to do it, and we would like to have the support of the international community as we move forward here. We have worked with them in the past on this issue. In a sense, it is the failure of the international effort that puts us in the position we are in today where we are having to even think about the possibility of military action in Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: And again, administration officials saying as they make the case, the skeptics in Congress and skeptics around the world that the administration now says it can show what it says is irrefutable evidence that Saddam Hussein, once again, is trying to make his military programs, his nuclear weapons programs, chemical programs in the vice president's words, "more robust" -- Anderson. COOPER: John, just give us a little bit of an update for those who have missed it over the weekend, how the talks are going so far between Bush and world leaders. We know he talked to Blair on Saturday, talked to a number of world leaders on Friday, how have those discussions been going?

KING: The only leader who has come out and publicly said he is prepared to stand by President Bush, prepared to participate in a military campaign against Iraq if it comes to that is the British prime minister, Tony Blair. White House officials, though, say that Mr. Bush has not made the case in detail to other world leaders yet, in addition to this meeting with Prime Minister Chretien and the phone calls the president is having, he will sit down one-on-one with several world leaders while up at the United Nations this week, also deliver that speech. The test of whether the president is having any success will be by the end of this week, whether any other leaders are willing to step up and say this president is right, there is evidence that justifies military strikes if Saddam Hussein does not disarm, look for the debate about weapons inspections, though, to dominate the discussions at the United Nations as other leaders try to sway the United States away from military action.

COOPER: All right. John King, thanks very much -- Daryn.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: On to Iraq now. The -- an international research group has issued a chilling assessment of Iraq's nuclear capabilities. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Baghdad could assemble a nuclear weapon within months -- excuse me -- if it receives help from abroad. The IISS report also warns Iraq could have made hundreds of tons of mustard and nerve gases since 1998, when U.N. inspectors left the country. The report also says that Saddam Hussein's arsenal could include staggering amounts of anthrax, botulism toxin, and other agents as well.

The Bush White House is also trying to amass its own weapon: that would be congressional approval of military action. It is the cover story of this week's "Time" magazine, entitled, "Making His Case." It looks at President Bush's efforts to win support.

Howard Chua-Eoan -- Howard, how did I do on your last name?

HOWARD CHUA-EOAN, "TIME": Chua-Eoan, that was quite good.

KAGAN: Oh, thank you so much. I was worrying about that most of the morning. But it is a pleasure to have you with us. He is news director at our sister publication, "Time" magazine, in New York -- Howard, good morning. Good to have you with us.

CHUA-EOAN: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: Had a chance to look through the issue that should be on news stands this morning. I was most interested in the piece, "What Does Saddam Have," as you guys go ahead and chronicle what does he have. Bottom line is, we simply really don't know, do we, exactly what he has. CHUA-EOAN: No, we really don't know. In fact, what they seem to be clear about is that has been no great leap forward in terms of weapons development in Iraq. The fear is that there is this huge cache, as the Strategic Institute in London has said, of biological and chemical weapons. As far as nuclear weapons are concerned, as the institute said this morning, and as we said, "Time" magazine this week, it is unlikely that he can deliver a bomb unless he gets the highly enriched uranium he needs...

KAGAN: Which he would probably have to get from another country.

CHUA-EOAN: ... from abroad. He would have to get it from abroad. The former Soviet Union, for example, unless there is some rogue scientist in Pakistan that is willing to give it to him, but that is highly doubtful.

KAGAN: And so, as "Time" magazine goes ahead and looks at President Bush trying to convince Congress to support him in military action, you make the point it is not really about what Saddam has, but about what he wants to have, which is a more difficult argument to make.

CHUA-EOAN: Yes. It is a much more difficult argument because you are talking about someone's intentions. At the moment, he can't quite deliver what he may want to deliver, but then you -- the administration is arguing that we have to get him now before he gets this capability, because he wants to have the capability. But it is a difficult sort of argument to make.

KAGAN: We saw the president bring Congress more into the fold a little bit last week, he had the meeting with the top congressional leaders, said that he will go to Congress to ask their support. Didn't go so far as to say he will ask for a vote. But it has been a very interesting debate. You haven't heard much from the Democrats because Republicans have been doing so much public spatting themselves about what the future should be for the U.S. and Iraq.

CHUA-EOAN: Exactly, and the Democrats, remember the last time they made noises about the war, it cost them, the first Gulf War.

KAGAN: And so it looks like he is definitely going to get his discussion and debate within the Congress, but timing could be of the essence. The president would very much like some kind of vote or measure of support before the November elections. You talked to, especially, Democratic leaders like Tom Daschle. They don't seem to be in that big of a hurry to do that.

CHUA-EOAN: No, they will bide their time. They need to -- that is the strategic thing for them to do at this point.

KAGAN: And finally, in his speech to the United Nations on September 12, coming up this week. The President, perhaps, will do with the international community what we saw him do last week with Congress, take a step back from, Hey we can do what we want, more a step toward, you know what, we need your support, and start doing the diplomatic work of getting more people on the U.S. team. CHUA-EOAN: I think that is the important thing he has to do is to show that he can assemble a coalition of some sort, that includes more than the British. He will probably get some more support from the Security Council, and he'll need that. And he might make some nod towards pushing forward the inspections regime.

KAGAN: We will look for it. Thank you for your insight, looking forward to getting a chance to look even more at this week's edition of "Time" magazine. Howard Chua-Eoan from "Time".

CHUA-EOAN: I hope you do.

KAGAN: Thank you so much.

CHUA-EOAN: Thank you.

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