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CNN Live Today

White House Skeptical of Iraqi Offer

Aired September 17, 2002 - 11:00   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.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Up first this hour on CNN, Iraq's offer, and the White House response.
President Bush may have something to say today about the surprise from Saddam Hussein. U.N. inspectors can return without conditions, he is now saying. But already, the Bush team suggests Baghdad is just trying to buy some time. To quote one official: "We've been down this road before."

White House Correspondent John King checks in now to start us off this hour -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Leon, that White House skepticism abundantly clear again to us this morning. The White House essentially saying the Iraqi offer is not nearly enough, and not believable in any case. The White House saying Secretary of State Colin Powell and the president will continue to push for a concerted effort in the United Nations Security Council for a comprehensive resolution that deals not only with disarmament and weapons inspectors, but a host of other promises that Iraq made to the United Nations at the end of the Persian Gulf War 11 years ago, promises this administration says have been repeatedly broken and ignored.

So as the White House continues that effort in the United Nations, a senior official telling us a short time ago this new overture from Baghdad is proof, however, that Saddam Hussein -- quote -- "reacts to maximum pressure," and it is critical that the U.N. Security Council and the United States Congress move quickly to embrace the president's tough posture when it comes to Iraq.

The question, though, is this. Can the United States hold support in the Security Council? Will France and others suggest let's send inspectors back in, and then see what happens and take this debate up later -- excuse the truck noise behind me.

So the focus now for the administration is keeping the Security Council focused on a comprehensive resolution, and not on simply accepting that invitation and seeing how the debate unfolds. That is where, as you noted, the administration says, -- quote -- "we have been down this road before" and that one lesson learned from the 1990's is, at least as you listen to this White House, Saddam Hussein cannot be trusted -- Leon.

HARRIS: Well, John, let's take it down to Pennsylvania Avenue to Capitol Hill. We understand there will be some closed-door hearings going on there with the CIA director Tenet. What is going on with that? KING: Director Tenet is part of the administration's push on Capitol Hill, not only to convince lawmakers that this confrontation is worth the while, if you will. There might have to be military strikes down the road. Director Tenet is giving classified briefings on what the administration knows about the Iraqi weapons programs, and other activities inside Iraq. There will be public testimony from Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Powell in the coming weeks. We also know the administration is pushing to have Congress move quickly on a resolution and that after some skepticism, some reluctance to move quickly, the Senate majority leader, Tom Daschle, did call the White House chief of staff, Andy Card, yesterday, and said he was prepared to go forward. There are some rumblings this morning, though, some Democrats on Capitol Hill, Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois among them, saying let's wait and see how this debate plays out in the U.N., the United Nations, now that Iraq has made this offer, so a little bit of uncertainty as to the timetable for the Congressional debate as well.

HARRIS: All right. Well, is President Bush going to be coming out to speak on any of this today, or is he going to leave that to Secretary Powell?

KING: For now, we are told look for Secretary Powell to take the lead, although the president will deliver a political speech later today. He is in Nashville, Tennessee, raising money for Senate candidate Lamar Alexander. In those speeches, it has become a staple of the Bush stump speech to at least dedicate a paragraph or two to this conflict, this confrontation with Iraq right now. We will see what the president has to say. Aides say they prefer that Secretary Powell lead the deliberations in part because they say this president is not interested in any negotiations, formal or through the news media with Saddam Hussein.

HARRIS: Very good. Thanks, John. John King reporting live from the White House -- Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, that is the administration's point of view, but Iraq says its offer is genuine, but doubts the return of the U.N. inspectors can stop war with the United States.

CNN's Rula Amin joins us now from Baghdad, where it is early evening -- hello, Rula. What are people telling you there?

RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Carol, they are relieved, they are definitely relieved, but there are no illusions here that this is the end of this crisis. There is concern, skepticism that Washington had voiced over Iraq's commitment is generating also doubts here in Baghdad that their compromise would actually avert war.

Iraq's deputy prime minister, Tariq Aziz, spoke this morning. He told delegates who are here to support Iraq against any U.S. attack, they came from different parts of the world, that the U.S. goal is actually to attack Iraq, to control it, because it wants to control its oil, and he was saying that the U.S. was using the weapons of mass destruction issue as a pretext. Now that Iraq is allowing the inspectors back, he thinks that the U.S. is going to look for more excuses. This is what he told those delegates in the morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TARIQ AZIZ, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER, IRAQ (through translator): Therefore the pretext they were using to launch an aggression on Iraq has been felled, and we are ready to work with the secretary-general of the United Nations to put our decision into effect, and since there has been little time since the announcement last night, and now the reactions from Washington and from London indicate the truth, stressing what we said that this matter was only a pretext, and they thought Iraq would not take a courageous, daring decision like this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMIN: The Iraqis say they are serious. They are going to implement what they have promised, and they will give the inspectors access. The inspectors say they are ready to come whenever the U.N. says they can come, and the Iraqis say they are up to the challenge. They will prove that they have no weapons of mass destruction.

And it seems that they have been able to buy some time. Countries like Russia, France, and China, who are members of the Security Council, have been voicing some kind of welcoming indications to Iraq's moves, saying that Iraq should be tested, and Iraq says it is ready to take that test.

LIN: Rula, for ordinary folks there, are they preparing for war, do you, as you travel around the city, see any indication that people are genuinely worried about a U.S. strike?

AMIN: Well, people are genuinely worried. The people we talked to here say they are really tired. They have been through the Iran- Iraq War, then they had the Gulf War, then they went into about 12 years of U.N. sanctions, and they just don't have any more energy to take another war.

There are things that we can report and things we cannot report, and what do we see in terms of preparations, but Iraqi officials had made it clear that they will do everything to avert this war. They say they don't want this confrontation, but they are preparing for the worst. They know the crisis is not over, and they made it clear that they are preparing for war to defend their people, they say -- Carol.

LIN: Rula, and is it true the people there -- again, I am just speaking about ordinary people there -- they don't have access to independent news sources, they only get the information that the government -- that the government approves of for release. Is that right?

AMIN: Well, it is not completely right, but to a certain extent, yes. Here, the Iraqis are not allowed to have satellite dishes which allow them to see foreign networks, news networks like CNN or Al- Jazeera. If they have a dish, it is usually illegal. However, they can listen to the radio. They listen to different radio broadcasts from different countries, neighboring countries, like Jordan, like Syria, Saudi Arabia, the BBC, Voice of America, and so they have that kind of access.

In terms of magazines and newspapers, all the newspapers and the magazines here in this country are government-owned or government controlled, or controlled by the ruling Ba'ath party, and it is very hard to get anything in, because according to U.N. sanctions, Iraq is not allowed to import such material because it is under sanctions. So people here are pretty isolated, and they feel it. This is a country that people used to read a lot, they used to travel a lot, and they are looking forward to that day where they can resume those kind of activities -- Carol.

LIN: That is interesting. Thank you very much, Rula. I am just wondering how many independent sources of information the Iraqi people actually do have -- thank you. Rula Amin, live in Baghdad.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired September 17, 2002 - 11:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Up first this hour on CNN, Iraq's offer, and the White House response.
President Bush may have something to say today about the surprise from Saddam Hussein. U.N. inspectors can return without conditions, he is now saying. But already, the Bush team suggests Baghdad is just trying to buy some time. To quote one official: "We've been down this road before."

White House Correspondent John King checks in now to start us off this hour -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Leon, that White House skepticism abundantly clear again to us this morning. The White House essentially saying the Iraqi offer is not nearly enough, and not believable in any case. The White House saying Secretary of State Colin Powell and the president will continue to push for a concerted effort in the United Nations Security Council for a comprehensive resolution that deals not only with disarmament and weapons inspectors, but a host of other promises that Iraq made to the United Nations at the end of the Persian Gulf War 11 years ago, promises this administration says have been repeatedly broken and ignored.

So as the White House continues that effort in the United Nations, a senior official telling us a short time ago this new overture from Baghdad is proof, however, that Saddam Hussein -- quote -- "reacts to maximum pressure," and it is critical that the U.N. Security Council and the United States Congress move quickly to embrace the president's tough posture when it comes to Iraq.

The question, though, is this. Can the United States hold support in the Security Council? Will France and others suggest let's send inspectors back in, and then see what happens and take this debate up later -- excuse the truck noise behind me.

So the focus now for the administration is keeping the Security Council focused on a comprehensive resolution, and not on simply accepting that invitation and seeing how the debate unfolds. That is where, as you noted, the administration says, -- quote -- "we have been down this road before" and that one lesson learned from the 1990's is, at least as you listen to this White House, Saddam Hussein cannot be trusted -- Leon.

HARRIS: Well, John, let's take it down to Pennsylvania Avenue to Capitol Hill. We understand there will be some closed-door hearings going on there with the CIA director Tenet. What is going on with that? KING: Director Tenet is part of the administration's push on Capitol Hill, not only to convince lawmakers that this confrontation is worth the while, if you will. There might have to be military strikes down the road. Director Tenet is giving classified briefings on what the administration knows about the Iraqi weapons programs, and other activities inside Iraq. There will be public testimony from Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Powell in the coming weeks. We also know the administration is pushing to have Congress move quickly on a resolution and that after some skepticism, some reluctance to move quickly, the Senate majority leader, Tom Daschle, did call the White House chief of staff, Andy Card, yesterday, and said he was prepared to go forward. There are some rumblings this morning, though, some Democrats on Capitol Hill, Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois among them, saying let's wait and see how this debate plays out in the U.N., the United Nations, now that Iraq has made this offer, so a little bit of uncertainty as to the timetable for the Congressional debate as well.

HARRIS: All right. Well, is President Bush going to be coming out to speak on any of this today, or is he going to leave that to Secretary Powell?

KING: For now, we are told look for Secretary Powell to take the lead, although the president will deliver a political speech later today. He is in Nashville, Tennessee, raising money for Senate candidate Lamar Alexander. In those speeches, it has become a staple of the Bush stump speech to at least dedicate a paragraph or two to this conflict, this confrontation with Iraq right now. We will see what the president has to say. Aides say they prefer that Secretary Powell lead the deliberations in part because they say this president is not interested in any negotiations, formal or through the news media with Saddam Hussein.

HARRIS: Very good. Thanks, John. John King reporting live from the White House -- Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, that is the administration's point of view, but Iraq says its offer is genuine, but doubts the return of the U.N. inspectors can stop war with the United States.

CNN's Rula Amin joins us now from Baghdad, where it is early evening -- hello, Rula. What are people telling you there?

RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Carol, they are relieved, they are definitely relieved, but there are no illusions here that this is the end of this crisis. There is concern, skepticism that Washington had voiced over Iraq's commitment is generating also doubts here in Baghdad that their compromise would actually avert war.

Iraq's deputy prime minister, Tariq Aziz, spoke this morning. He told delegates who are here to support Iraq against any U.S. attack, they came from different parts of the world, that the U.S. goal is actually to attack Iraq, to control it, because it wants to control its oil, and he was saying that the U.S. was using the weapons of mass destruction issue as a pretext. Now that Iraq is allowing the inspectors back, he thinks that the U.S. is going to look for more excuses. This is what he told those delegates in the morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TARIQ AZIZ, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER, IRAQ (through translator): Therefore the pretext they were using to launch an aggression on Iraq has been felled, and we are ready to work with the secretary-general of the United Nations to put our decision into effect, and since there has been little time since the announcement last night, and now the reactions from Washington and from London indicate the truth, stressing what we said that this matter was only a pretext, and they thought Iraq would not take a courageous, daring decision like this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMIN: The Iraqis say they are serious. They are going to implement what they have promised, and they will give the inspectors access. The inspectors say they are ready to come whenever the U.N. says they can come, and the Iraqis say they are up to the challenge. They will prove that they have no weapons of mass destruction.

And it seems that they have been able to buy some time. Countries like Russia, France, and China, who are members of the Security Council, have been voicing some kind of welcoming indications to Iraq's moves, saying that Iraq should be tested, and Iraq says it is ready to take that test.

LIN: Rula, for ordinary folks there, are they preparing for war, do you, as you travel around the city, see any indication that people are genuinely worried about a U.S. strike?

AMIN: Well, people are genuinely worried. The people we talked to here say they are really tired. They have been through the Iran- Iraq War, then they had the Gulf War, then they went into about 12 years of U.N. sanctions, and they just don't have any more energy to take another war.

There are things that we can report and things we cannot report, and what do we see in terms of preparations, but Iraqi officials had made it clear that they will do everything to avert this war. They say they don't want this confrontation, but they are preparing for the worst. They know the crisis is not over, and they made it clear that they are preparing for war to defend their people, they say -- Carol.

LIN: Rula, and is it true the people there -- again, I am just speaking about ordinary people there -- they don't have access to independent news sources, they only get the information that the government -- that the government approves of for release. Is that right?

AMIN: Well, it is not completely right, but to a certain extent, yes. Here, the Iraqis are not allowed to have satellite dishes which allow them to see foreign networks, news networks like CNN or Al- Jazeera. If they have a dish, it is usually illegal. However, they can listen to the radio. They listen to different radio broadcasts from different countries, neighboring countries, like Jordan, like Syria, Saudi Arabia, the BBC, Voice of America, and so they have that kind of access.

In terms of magazines and newspapers, all the newspapers and the magazines here in this country are government-owned or government controlled, or controlled by the ruling Ba'ath party, and it is very hard to get anything in, because according to U.N. sanctions, Iraq is not allowed to import such material because it is under sanctions. So people here are pretty isolated, and they feel it. This is a country that people used to read a lot, they used to travel a lot, and they are looking forward to that day where they can resume those kind of activities -- Carol.

LIN: That is interesting. Thank you very much, Rula. I am just wondering how many independent sources of information the Iraqi people actually do have -- thank you. Rula Amin, live in Baghdad.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com