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CNN Live Today

Policy Protest

Aired September 18, 2002 - 11:50   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: What you have been listening to and what you've been watching there is something that happened a bit earlier this morning on Capitol Hill in the House Armed Services meeting today. They were supposed to be hearing from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, laying out the administration's case for actually establishing resolution against Iraq. But then you saw the demonstration that popped up right behind him. Well, those ladies were actually taken out of there. We thought they had been arrested. It turns out they were not. We got a hold of them. They are joining us right now.
As we understand, we have with us now, Medea Benjamin and Diane Wilson.

Medea, I assume that is you with the red letters on your shirt, and, Diane, that is you on the right with the blue and red.

First of all, what is it you were trying to accomplish here?

MEDEA BENJAMIN, PEACE ACTIVIST: Well, we believe that there is a solution to this crisis, and that is the inspections. We are very fearful about the Bush administration pushing us into a war, and we are here to say that we need to stop going from war and go forward with the inspections process.

HARRIS: Well, the whole idea is they were supposed to be hearing some talk about this, and they'll make a decision about it later, so both sides will be coming out.

Why would you want to interrupt what essentially is going to be a debate on all of this.

BENJAMIN: They weren't asking the questions we asked, how many civilians would be killed? How would they protect us against the backlash of anti-Americanism. Why is this all about oil? Why is it coming up now? Can't we wait until after elections? Why is the Bush administration stopping this inspection process? Why don't we put it back in the hand of the Security Council?

HARRIS: you both basically made the news for today. But, Diane, let me ask you this, you heard the secretary's comments about this being a nation where you are allowed to express yourself freely in public, and it appears as though you are asking this administration to back off on a country that would not do that no for its own citizens. What do you make of that comment?

DIANE WILSON, PEACE ACTIVIST: Well, I believe that citizens have a right to speech, and as a matter of fact, we have been told not go back in there and get anywhere near the building, and I still believe it's a matter of free speech and, you know, I think I represent all the ordinary people in this country. I'm just a fisherman, a mother of five children, and I went there to let those people in Congress know that average citizens are out there questioning. And we are just reading average papers. We don't have the scoop on what's going on in the capitol. Quite frankly, I have lost my hope in Congress, listening to the will of the people, and so that's why I was there.

And hopefully with the U.N. inspections, we can be plunged into inspections instead of war.

HARRIS: We saw the two of you getting dragged out of there by Capitol Police there? Why were you not put under arrest?

BENJAMIN: They were very nice us to. I think actually that a lot of the police, just like a lot of the ordinary people, are hoping we don't go to war, and are actually proud of us for getting up and exercising our right to free speech, and I hope that more people around the country will do that, because I don't believe the polls. I really believe the American people don't want go to war. We don't want to kill innocent Iraqi civilians. We don't want our service people to be killed, and we can avert this crisis, go forward with the inspection process. I believe that is the will of the American people.

HARRIS: Medea Benjamin and Diane Wilson, we see you did not get locked up today. We will see whether or not your luck holds out. Thank you very much for talking with us this morning. We will see how this all plays out.

WILSON: Thank you.

BENJAMIN: Thank you, Leon. We appreciate it.

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 18, 2002 - 11:50   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: What you have been listening to and what you've been watching there is something that happened a bit earlier this morning on Capitol Hill in the House Armed Services meeting today. They were supposed to be hearing from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, laying out the administration's case for actually establishing resolution against Iraq. But then you saw the demonstration that popped up right behind him. Well, those ladies were actually taken out of there. We thought they had been arrested. It turns out they were not. We got a hold of them. They are joining us right now.
As we understand, we have with us now, Medea Benjamin and Diane Wilson.

Medea, I assume that is you with the red letters on your shirt, and, Diane, that is you on the right with the blue and red.

First of all, what is it you were trying to accomplish here?

MEDEA BENJAMIN, PEACE ACTIVIST: Well, we believe that there is a solution to this crisis, and that is the inspections. We are very fearful about the Bush administration pushing us into a war, and we are here to say that we need to stop going from war and go forward with the inspections process.

HARRIS: Well, the whole idea is they were supposed to be hearing some talk about this, and they'll make a decision about it later, so both sides will be coming out.

Why would you want to interrupt what essentially is going to be a debate on all of this.

BENJAMIN: They weren't asking the questions we asked, how many civilians would be killed? How would they protect us against the backlash of anti-Americanism. Why is this all about oil? Why is it coming up now? Can't we wait until after elections? Why is the Bush administration stopping this inspection process? Why don't we put it back in the hand of the Security Council?

HARRIS: you both basically made the news for today. But, Diane, let me ask you this, you heard the secretary's comments about this being a nation where you are allowed to express yourself freely in public, and it appears as though you are asking this administration to back off on a country that would not do that no for its own citizens. What do you make of that comment?

DIANE WILSON, PEACE ACTIVIST: Well, I believe that citizens have a right to speech, and as a matter of fact, we have been told not go back in there and get anywhere near the building, and I still believe it's a matter of free speech and, you know, I think I represent all the ordinary people in this country. I'm just a fisherman, a mother of five children, and I went there to let those people in Congress know that average citizens are out there questioning. And we are just reading average papers. We don't have the scoop on what's going on in the capitol. Quite frankly, I have lost my hope in Congress, listening to the will of the people, and so that's why I was there.

And hopefully with the U.N. inspections, we can be plunged into inspections instead of war.

HARRIS: We saw the two of you getting dragged out of there by Capitol Police there? Why were you not put under arrest?

BENJAMIN: They were very nice us to. I think actually that a lot of the police, just like a lot of the ordinary people, are hoping we don't go to war, and are actually proud of us for getting up and exercising our right to free speech, and I hope that more people around the country will do that, because I don't believe the polls. I really believe the American people don't want go to war. We don't want to kill innocent Iraqi civilians. We don't want our service people to be killed, and we can avert this crisis, go forward with the inspection process. I believe that is the will of the American people.

HARRIS: Medea Benjamin and Diane Wilson, we see you did not get locked up today. We will see whether or not your luck holds out. Thank you very much for talking with us this morning. We will see how this all plays out.

WILSON: Thank you.

BENJAMIN: Thank you, Leon. We appreciate it.

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