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Iraq Responds to Blair Speech, Dossier
Aired September 24, 2002 - 10:03 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: British Prime Minister Tony Blair issues a call to arms, or, at least, a call for disarmament. Earlier this morning, Mr. Bush (ph) presented a dossier to Parliament that he says shows Baghdad is amassing weapons of mass destruction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: ... Iraq has chemical and biological weapons, that Saddam has continued to produce them, that he has existing and active military plans for the use of chemical and biological weapons, which could be activated within 45 minutes, including against his own Shi'a population.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Let's check in right now at the White House. That is where our senior White House Correspondent John King is standing by with reaction to what Mr. Blair had to say earlier today -- John, good morning.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.
"Frightening," that is the word used just moments ago by the White House press secretary, Ari Fleischer, to describe what he says is the compelling evidence in the British dossier, and in Prime Minister Blair's speech about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
Ari Fleischer reiterating what Prime Minister Blair said, and what President Bush has said consistently in recent days, that there is more than enough evidence before the world for the United Nations to act and act quickly on a tough new resolution that would put Saddam Hussein on notice, comply with all of your commitments to the United Nations or face the prospect of military strikes.
So the White House saying that Prime Minister Blair, joining the president in making what they believe to be a compelling case. The White House also, though, dismissing as a minor difference the fact that Prime Minister Blair put the emphasis on disarmament, and said that while he would like to see Saddam Hussein go, that is not a stated goal of the British government. That certainly is a stated goal of the U.S. government and the Bush administration, but the White House saying overall, they believe the prime minister's speech will help a great deal in focussing world attention on this. The question is, will it help lobby those reluctant members of the Security Council into passing a tough new resolution. KAGAN: Well, John, in terms of reluctance, Tony Blair doesn't have to go any farther than home or his party or his own cabinet to find some dissension, so it is one thing for the president to have the support of the prime minister, but it is not that he necessarily represents all of his country.
KING: He does not represent all of his country. Odd today to see the conservative leader in the British Parliament speaking up and complementing Prime Minister Blair, and many members of his own labor party criticizing -- or at least questioning Prime Minister Blair.
That is one of the reasons the White House is so grateful for the support from the prime minister. They understand it is a difficult case for him to make, politically, back home, and they say Tony Blair has not flinched once in standing by the president's side in making this case to the world, so you can be certain they are quite grateful of his support here because they understand the tough domestic politics, contrast that, if you will, with the great displeasure -- you might say anger, here at the White House with the German chancellor, Gerhardt Schroeder, who just won reelection, in large part a comeback fueled by his constant criticism of the Bush Iraq policy.
KAGAN: John, let's focus on what is happening right here in the states with the terrorism alert. I understand there might be a change announced later today.
KING: Look for a possible change later today. We are told by several senior administration sources that plans are in the works for the Justice Department to issue a statement. We are told most likely today, they are still waiting for the final authority, most likely today the Justice Department will issue a statement saying the country is going back from orange, high risk of a terrorist attack here in the United States to yellow, which is still elevated risk of terrorist attack. We have been at orange since just before September 11.
U.S. officials say in recent days, significant less chatter, they call it, in the intelligence community about the threat of attack here in the United States, the recommendation to the president was to lower the terrorist threat level from orange back to yellow. We are told a few final deliberations underway, but as early as today, as early as late this morning, we could get word that we are going back to the yellow level.
Again, though, still the government says an elevated risk, just not the high-risk of domestic terrorism.
KAGAN: All right. We will look for that. John King at the White House -- John, thank you -- Leon.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, as you might expect, Baghdad was swift and stern in its denial of Prime Minister Blair's dossier.
As a matter of fact, we are expecting some live comments in response to that dossier expose by Prime Minister Blair this morning. We expect a response from Baghdad any moment now. We will have that for you here when it does happen, but for the view from there right now, let's go to CNN's Rula Amin who checks in live. Hello, Rula.
RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon.
As expected, Iraq dismissed this British report, saying it is baseless, lies, and part of a Zionist plot. The Iraqis we spoke to, Iraqi officials say they don't have weapons of mass destruction. Whatever weapons they had have already been destroyed by the Iraqi government and by the U.N. weapons inspectors. Iraq's foreign minister, Naji Sabri, who is in Cairo on his way to Damascus, trying to win support from Arab countries to Iraq's position challenged the British report. He said if there is any treasure of proof in it, he invites British weapons experts to come to Baghdad to verify that.
Iraq says it is welcoming the weapons inspectors, it is allowing the weapons inspectors to come back to verify its claim that it has destroyed these weapons. What the Iraqis are saying is that so far, despite all these charges that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, neither the U.S. nor Britain has actually produced solid evidence that Iraq has such weapons, and apart from that, everything else is pure speculation and allegations -- Leon.
HARRIS: Well, Rula, I would like to ask you more about this expected response statement that we are expected to hear from the Iraqi government. Will that be coming from Saddam Hussein himself, because what we are seeing now, elsewhere around the world is that we are seeing the leaders of countries stepping out and speaking. Prime Minister Blair this morning, President Bush the day before. Will we be seeing and hearing from Saddam Hussein himself?
AMIN: What we are going to hear closest to Saddam Hussein is presidential adviser, General Amir Asadi (ph) is going to speak in about an hour from now in a press conference.
We are told he is going to try to refute whatever charges had come out in this British report, and in any kind of U.S. charges that have been out so far.
What the Iraqis point to is that a number of these charges are very easy to refute. They point to certain claims, for example, certain sites Iraq had built -- had rebuilt after being destroyed and that these sites were initially used for developing weapons of mass destruction. The Iraqis have invited journalists, experts, Scott Ritter, the former weapons inspector, to go to these buildings, to check them out, to show that they are used for civilian purposes, or that they are not equipped enough for such purposes.
However, of course, all these people who go there are not weapons inspectors, and it is hard to verify. But the Iraqis are saying they are going to give the inspectors whatever access -- if they come here, if they get to come here, because the Iraqis now have doubts, and accuse the United States of trying to delay the return of inspectors in order to find some kind of pretext to launch an attack against Iraq -- Leon.
HARRIS: Finally, Rula, let me ask you about a report that I am seeing here, in the press locally here in the States, that there is some evidence of tension growing between Sunni Muslims, which is the party -- the faction that represents Saddam Hussein the most there, and Shi'a Muslims there, mostly there in the south. Have you seen any evidence of any tension building between the two that might actually erupt if there is a strike on Iraq?
AMIN: Well, I have to tell you, it is very hard for us to verify these reports. We have not seen anything so far. We hear different rumors. Sometimes opposition spreads such rumors, sometimes these rumors are fact, but it is very hard for us to verify it.
What we know is that part of the government here, there are Sunnis and there are Shi'ites, and whoever is benefiting from this government in terms of interest is going to hold on to this government and try to defend it, and whoever has been harmed by it, is going to stand against it, whether it is Shi'a or Iraqis. Now, a large part of the Shi'ite population here is assumed to complain that they are not being treated fairly, but it is very hard for us to verify any such claims.
We have not been in the south for a while, where most of the Shi'ite population is. Many of the people in Baghdad are Shi'ites, but we have not seen any signs that there has been any kind of dissent so far -- Leon.
HARRIS: All right. And we have to wonder why that is. Rula Amin, thank you very much, appreciate that.
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 24, 2002 - 10:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: British Prime Minister Tony Blair issues a call to arms, or, at least, a call for disarmament. Earlier this morning, Mr. Bush (ph) presented a dossier to Parliament that he says shows Baghdad is amassing weapons of mass destruction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: ... Iraq has chemical and biological weapons, that Saddam has continued to produce them, that he has existing and active military plans for the use of chemical and biological weapons, which could be activated within 45 minutes, including against his own Shi'a population.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Let's check in right now at the White House. That is where our senior White House Correspondent John King is standing by with reaction to what Mr. Blair had to say earlier today -- John, good morning.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.
"Frightening," that is the word used just moments ago by the White House press secretary, Ari Fleischer, to describe what he says is the compelling evidence in the British dossier, and in Prime Minister Blair's speech about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
Ari Fleischer reiterating what Prime Minister Blair said, and what President Bush has said consistently in recent days, that there is more than enough evidence before the world for the United Nations to act and act quickly on a tough new resolution that would put Saddam Hussein on notice, comply with all of your commitments to the United Nations or face the prospect of military strikes.
So the White House saying that Prime Minister Blair, joining the president in making what they believe to be a compelling case. The White House also, though, dismissing as a minor difference the fact that Prime Minister Blair put the emphasis on disarmament, and said that while he would like to see Saddam Hussein go, that is not a stated goal of the British government. That certainly is a stated goal of the U.S. government and the Bush administration, but the White House saying overall, they believe the prime minister's speech will help a great deal in focussing world attention on this. The question is, will it help lobby those reluctant members of the Security Council into passing a tough new resolution. KAGAN: Well, John, in terms of reluctance, Tony Blair doesn't have to go any farther than home or his party or his own cabinet to find some dissension, so it is one thing for the president to have the support of the prime minister, but it is not that he necessarily represents all of his country.
KING: He does not represent all of his country. Odd today to see the conservative leader in the British Parliament speaking up and complementing Prime Minister Blair, and many members of his own labor party criticizing -- or at least questioning Prime Minister Blair.
That is one of the reasons the White House is so grateful for the support from the prime minister. They understand it is a difficult case for him to make, politically, back home, and they say Tony Blair has not flinched once in standing by the president's side in making this case to the world, so you can be certain they are quite grateful of his support here because they understand the tough domestic politics, contrast that, if you will, with the great displeasure -- you might say anger, here at the White House with the German chancellor, Gerhardt Schroeder, who just won reelection, in large part a comeback fueled by his constant criticism of the Bush Iraq policy.
KAGAN: John, let's focus on what is happening right here in the states with the terrorism alert. I understand there might be a change announced later today.
KING: Look for a possible change later today. We are told by several senior administration sources that plans are in the works for the Justice Department to issue a statement. We are told most likely today, they are still waiting for the final authority, most likely today the Justice Department will issue a statement saying the country is going back from orange, high risk of a terrorist attack here in the United States to yellow, which is still elevated risk of terrorist attack. We have been at orange since just before September 11.
U.S. officials say in recent days, significant less chatter, they call it, in the intelligence community about the threat of attack here in the United States, the recommendation to the president was to lower the terrorist threat level from orange back to yellow. We are told a few final deliberations underway, but as early as today, as early as late this morning, we could get word that we are going back to the yellow level.
Again, though, still the government says an elevated risk, just not the high-risk of domestic terrorism.
KAGAN: All right. We will look for that. John King at the White House -- John, thank you -- Leon.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, as you might expect, Baghdad was swift and stern in its denial of Prime Minister Blair's dossier.
As a matter of fact, we are expecting some live comments in response to that dossier expose by Prime Minister Blair this morning. We expect a response from Baghdad any moment now. We will have that for you here when it does happen, but for the view from there right now, let's go to CNN's Rula Amin who checks in live. Hello, Rula.
RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon.
As expected, Iraq dismissed this British report, saying it is baseless, lies, and part of a Zionist plot. The Iraqis we spoke to, Iraqi officials say they don't have weapons of mass destruction. Whatever weapons they had have already been destroyed by the Iraqi government and by the U.N. weapons inspectors. Iraq's foreign minister, Naji Sabri, who is in Cairo on his way to Damascus, trying to win support from Arab countries to Iraq's position challenged the British report. He said if there is any treasure of proof in it, he invites British weapons experts to come to Baghdad to verify that.
Iraq says it is welcoming the weapons inspectors, it is allowing the weapons inspectors to come back to verify its claim that it has destroyed these weapons. What the Iraqis are saying is that so far, despite all these charges that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, neither the U.S. nor Britain has actually produced solid evidence that Iraq has such weapons, and apart from that, everything else is pure speculation and allegations -- Leon.
HARRIS: Well, Rula, I would like to ask you more about this expected response statement that we are expected to hear from the Iraqi government. Will that be coming from Saddam Hussein himself, because what we are seeing now, elsewhere around the world is that we are seeing the leaders of countries stepping out and speaking. Prime Minister Blair this morning, President Bush the day before. Will we be seeing and hearing from Saddam Hussein himself?
AMIN: What we are going to hear closest to Saddam Hussein is presidential adviser, General Amir Asadi (ph) is going to speak in about an hour from now in a press conference.
We are told he is going to try to refute whatever charges had come out in this British report, and in any kind of U.S. charges that have been out so far.
What the Iraqis point to is that a number of these charges are very easy to refute. They point to certain claims, for example, certain sites Iraq had built -- had rebuilt after being destroyed and that these sites were initially used for developing weapons of mass destruction. The Iraqis have invited journalists, experts, Scott Ritter, the former weapons inspector, to go to these buildings, to check them out, to show that they are used for civilian purposes, or that they are not equipped enough for such purposes.
However, of course, all these people who go there are not weapons inspectors, and it is hard to verify. But the Iraqis are saying they are going to give the inspectors whatever access -- if they come here, if they get to come here, because the Iraqis now have doubts, and accuse the United States of trying to delay the return of inspectors in order to find some kind of pretext to launch an attack against Iraq -- Leon.
HARRIS: Finally, Rula, let me ask you about a report that I am seeing here, in the press locally here in the States, that there is some evidence of tension growing between Sunni Muslims, which is the party -- the faction that represents Saddam Hussein the most there, and Shi'a Muslims there, mostly there in the south. Have you seen any evidence of any tension building between the two that might actually erupt if there is a strike on Iraq?
AMIN: Well, I have to tell you, it is very hard for us to verify these reports. We have not seen anything so far. We hear different rumors. Sometimes opposition spreads such rumors, sometimes these rumors are fact, but it is very hard for us to verify it.
What we know is that part of the government here, there are Sunnis and there are Shi'ites, and whoever is benefiting from this government in terms of interest is going to hold on to this government and try to defend it, and whoever has been harmed by it, is going to stand against it, whether it is Shi'a or Iraqis. Now, a large part of the Shi'ite population here is assumed to complain that they are not being treated fairly, but it is very hard for us to verify any such claims.
We have not been in the south for a while, where most of the Shi'ite population is. Many of the people in Baghdad are Shi'ites, but we have not seen any signs that there has been any kind of dissent so far -- Leon.
HARRIS: All right. And we have to wonder why that is. Rula Amin, thank you very much, appreciate that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
