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American Morning

Bush Will Ask NATO Allies for Iraq Support

Aired November 20, 2002 - 07:17   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Earlier today, President Bush said he'll ask NATO allies for help to disarm Iraq if Saddam Hussein's regime refuses to give up the deadly weapons Washington thinks he now occupies. The president's call came today as the NATO summit in Prague, in the Czech Republic, is getting set to open tomorrow.
What role might NATO play if there is a war against Iraq? And the continued war on terror, where do they fit in on that?

General Wesley Clark, former NATO supreme commander, our military analyst knows this topic all too well.

Good to see you, General -- good morning.

GEN. WESLEY CLARK, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Nice to see you, Bill.

HEMMER: First things first. Where does NATO right now fit into the White House definition of the war on terror?

CLARK: Well, NATO declared an Article V -- that is, "An attack on the United States was an attack on NATO." But the administration chose mostly not to use the NATO machinery. They've used the weapons, the systems, some soldiers, some ships, some aircraft from NATO countries, but not the NATO policy-making machinery. And I think this is the big issue that's on the table or under the table at Prague, is: How much will the United States actually work through the NATO machinery?

HEMMER: Very interesting. The president yesterday from a comment about what he sees right now within the organization. Listen to this, and we'll talk about the PR pitch now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We face new threats, and the new threats are global terror. And so, one way to make sure NATO is relevant is to focus on the true threats to freedom, address those threats and figure out ways that we can work together to accomplish what we want, which is a peaceful world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: So then, if both sides want cooperation then, General, how easy or difficult is something like that to obtain right now?

CLARK: Well, the NATO treaty, of course, was set up to guard against the Soviet Union. Terrorism is a different problem. It requires a much broader array of cooperation and trust, because now you're talking about law enforcement, intelligence, the harmonization of laws and a lot of other things. I believe NATO could evolve in this direction. To do so, it will take American leadership.

If it doesn't move in that way, if the United States chooses not to move in that way, then it will be able to provide bases, its member countries will provide forces, and to some extent, it may participate peripherally with organizations and operations like Iraq.

HEMMER: General, what do you think about this? What's your perspective on how Europe right now and the NATO members view the war on terror from this perspective? The World Trade Center disaster and what happened on 9/11 in this country clearly is indelible in the minds of every American. And it's quite clear in the opinions of a lot of leaders in this country of which way they need to go. Does NATO feel the same threat? Do they feel the same way on that front?

CLARK: Well, their opinions are mixed in Europe. As I've talked to European leaders and the publics over there, the impression you get is there was an enormous outpouring of sympathy right after 9/11 for the United States, but then, for whatever reason, it dissolved. Some people say the administration squandered it. Other people say the Europeans really didn't come on board and understand.

But there was an impression that the United States was go-it- alone, and by being go-it-alone, it lost some of the sympathy of its allies. Now, it seems that the administration is going to use the opportunity of this NATO summit to try to recapture that support, and I think that's extremely important.

HEMMER: Now on the topic of Iraq. What comes out of Prague relative to the U.S. efforts to get European countries behind the potential for military action against Baghdad?

CLARK: Probably a strong statement arguing that the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction are not in the global interests or in the interests of peace, and lots of behind-the-scene discussions about contributions, and maybe perhaps an agreement that there might be some NATO participation in northern Iraq were there to be an operation.

HEMMER: Do you think there is resistance right now, and how strong is it?

CLARK: I think that there are countries who -- like, for example, Germany, where Chancellor Schroeder has pledged that he won't participate in Iraq. It will be difficult to work with. But I think U.S. leadership in NATO in bringing these new countries on board will be extremely powerful, and I think that if we stay with this, we'll get enormous support from our allies.

HEMMER: Yes. Another topic here quickly. Are you running for office?

CLARK: No, I'm not. I haven't made any plans. I haven't accepted any political money. There's a lot of talk, and that's very flattering, but no.

HEMMER: Just talk then...

CLARK: It's just talk.

HEMMER: ... despite the fact that "Time" magazine says you're meeting with (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and Democrats in Washington, D.C.

CLARK: Well, I meet with people all over the country. I speak all over the country. I've been very concerned to help people try to understand where we are in terms of the United States and its role in international affairs and what kind of vision we have to have for America to succeed and protect ourselves.

HEMMER: Fair enough. General Wesley Clark, we'll talk again, OK?

CLARK: Thank you.

HEMMER: Thank you much.

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 November 20, 2002 - 07:17   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Earlier today, President Bush said he'll ask NATO allies for help to disarm Iraq if Saddam Hussein's regime refuses to give up the deadly weapons Washington thinks he now occupies. The president's call came today as the NATO summit in Prague, in the Czech Republic, is getting set to open tomorrow.
What role might NATO play if there is a war against Iraq? And the continued war on terror, where do they fit in on that?

General Wesley Clark, former NATO supreme commander, our military analyst knows this topic all too well.

Good to see you, General -- good morning.

GEN. WESLEY CLARK, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Nice to see you, Bill.

HEMMER: First things first. Where does NATO right now fit into the White House definition of the war on terror?

CLARK: Well, NATO declared an Article V -- that is, "An attack on the United States was an attack on NATO." But the administration chose mostly not to use the NATO machinery. They've used the weapons, the systems, some soldiers, some ships, some aircraft from NATO countries, but not the NATO policy-making machinery. And I think this is the big issue that's on the table or under the table at Prague, is: How much will the United States actually work through the NATO machinery?

HEMMER: Very interesting. The president yesterday from a comment about what he sees right now within the organization. Listen to this, and we'll talk about the PR pitch now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We face new threats, and the new threats are global terror. And so, one way to make sure NATO is relevant is to focus on the true threats to freedom, address those threats and figure out ways that we can work together to accomplish what we want, which is a peaceful world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: So then, if both sides want cooperation then, General, how easy or difficult is something like that to obtain right now?

CLARK: Well, the NATO treaty, of course, was set up to guard against the Soviet Union. Terrorism is a different problem. It requires a much broader array of cooperation and trust, because now you're talking about law enforcement, intelligence, the harmonization of laws and a lot of other things. I believe NATO could evolve in this direction. To do so, it will take American leadership.

If it doesn't move in that way, if the United States chooses not to move in that way, then it will be able to provide bases, its member countries will provide forces, and to some extent, it may participate peripherally with organizations and operations like Iraq.

HEMMER: General, what do you think about this? What's your perspective on how Europe right now and the NATO members view the war on terror from this perspective? The World Trade Center disaster and what happened on 9/11 in this country clearly is indelible in the minds of every American. And it's quite clear in the opinions of a lot of leaders in this country of which way they need to go. Does NATO feel the same threat? Do they feel the same way on that front?

CLARK: Well, their opinions are mixed in Europe. As I've talked to European leaders and the publics over there, the impression you get is there was an enormous outpouring of sympathy right after 9/11 for the United States, but then, for whatever reason, it dissolved. Some people say the administration squandered it. Other people say the Europeans really didn't come on board and understand.

But there was an impression that the United States was go-it- alone, and by being go-it-alone, it lost some of the sympathy of its allies. Now, it seems that the administration is going to use the opportunity of this NATO summit to try to recapture that support, and I think that's extremely important.

HEMMER: Now on the topic of Iraq. What comes out of Prague relative to the U.S. efforts to get European countries behind the potential for military action against Baghdad?

CLARK: Probably a strong statement arguing that the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction are not in the global interests or in the interests of peace, and lots of behind-the-scene discussions about contributions, and maybe perhaps an agreement that there might be some NATO participation in northern Iraq were there to be an operation.

HEMMER: Do you think there is resistance right now, and how strong is it?

CLARK: I think that there are countries who -- like, for example, Germany, where Chancellor Schroeder has pledged that he won't participate in Iraq. It will be difficult to work with. But I think U.S. leadership in NATO in bringing these new countries on board will be extremely powerful, and I think that if we stay with this, we'll get enormous support from our allies.

HEMMER: Yes. Another topic here quickly. Are you running for office?

CLARK: No, I'm not. I haven't made any plans. I haven't accepted any political money. There's a lot of talk, and that's very flattering, but no.

HEMMER: Just talk then...

CLARK: It's just talk.

HEMMER: ... despite the fact that "Time" magazine says you're meeting with (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and Democrats in Washington, D.C.

CLARK: Well, I meet with people all over the country. I speak all over the country. I've been very concerned to help people try to understand where we are in terms of the United States and its role in international affairs and what kind of vision we have to have for America to succeed and protect ourselves.

HEMMER: Fair enough. General Wesley Clark, we'll talk again, OK?

CLARK: Thank you.

HEMMER: Thank you much.

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