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CNN Live At Daybreak

War Games: Donald Rumsfeld in Qatar

Aired December 12, 2002 - 06:30   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.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, Donald Rumsfeld is in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar. He's about to start a town hall meeting with hundreds of troops. During his visit, he's getting a closer look at war games and touring a military base that would play a key role if the U.S. does go to war against Iraq.
For more, we want to go live to Camp Al Sayliyah in Qatar and our John Vause.

Has the town meeting begun -- John?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The town meeting has begun. It's actually finished, Carol.

The secretary of defense received an incredible reception here. Hundreds and hundreds of U.S. military personnel, as well as a handful of Royal British Marines, were there, cheering (AUDIO GAP).

He took a lot of questions from the crowd, answering some very mundane things, but he also spoke to them about September 11, and he told them (UNINTELLIGIBLE) September 11, he told them -- quote -- "What we face today is far worse," he said, "the connection between terrorist networks and terrorist states, as well as weapons of mass destruction."

Now, that issue of weapons of mass destruction is something that CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked the secretary of defense earlier today. This is some of what the secretary of defense had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): If you conclude that the Iraqi report doesn't tell the truth, that they do indeed have weapons of mass destruction capabilities, will you, the U.S. government, make that information public to the world?

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: That's a decision, of course, for the president and not for me. It is clear that the Iraqis have weapons of mass destruction. The issue is not, whether or not they have weapons of mass destruction. The issue is whether or not the Iraqi government has made a decision that the game is up, and that it will comply with the United Nations resolutions, and it will disclose what it has and participate in the process with the U.N. monitoring and inspection group to disarm itself of those capabilities.

BLITZER: Is Saddam Hussein capable of making that kind of change?

RUMSFELD: Time will tell. People do unusual things when they feel in duress. Obviously, he wouldn't have inspectors in right now if he didn't feel that he'd been pressured to do so by the threat of the use of force, if there had not been an overwhelming vote in the United States Congress and a unanimous vote in the United Nations. Absent those things, he'd still be just fine, developing his weapons of mass destruction.

BLITZER: So, you're leaving open the possibility he could have a change of heart.

RUMSFELD: Well, I kind of look at all of the options. One option, he could get up tomorrow morning and decide the game is up, I'm going to leave town and I'm going to go live with Edie Amin (ph) or some ex-leader in the world.

A second thing that could happen is, his team could get up tomorrow morning and decide that they're tired of him, and that they'd prefer he not be running their country, because he's not doing a good job for his country. And that's a possibility.

A third possibility is, he could get up in the morning and decide the game is up, I'm going to let the U.N. inspectors come in, I'm going to tell the truth, I'm going to show them everything.

Now, the fourth choice is the one that he's been on for a decade, and that's to string along the U.N. and the rest of the world and lie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Now, Carol, the secretary of defense is now touring this base, this Al Sayliyah military base. It's a top-secret base not far from the capital, Doha, the capital of Qatar. He's taking a firsthand look at that exercise, Internal Look, that big computer simulated war game, which is now into its fourth day. It's been running pretty much 24 hours a day since it began on Monday.

But really, an overwhelming reception for the secretary of defense, proof, if you needed any more, that he is very, very popular with the service men and women here, if not all over the world -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, we saw him in that town meeting, shaking hands, and the troops seemed overjoyed to see him. Where does he go next, John?

VAUSE: Well, from here, he actually heads back. There's a refueling stop, but it's pretty much straight back to Washington -- Carol.

COSTELLO: OK, John Vause reporting live for us from Qatar.

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 December 12, 2002 - 06:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, Donald Rumsfeld is in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar. He's about to start a town hall meeting with hundreds of troops. During his visit, he's getting a closer look at war games and touring a military base that would play a key role if the U.S. does go to war against Iraq.
For more, we want to go live to Camp Al Sayliyah in Qatar and our John Vause.

Has the town meeting begun -- John?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The town meeting has begun. It's actually finished, Carol.

The secretary of defense received an incredible reception here. Hundreds and hundreds of U.S. military personnel, as well as a handful of Royal British Marines, were there, cheering (AUDIO GAP).

He took a lot of questions from the crowd, answering some very mundane things, but he also spoke to them about September 11, and he told them (UNINTELLIGIBLE) September 11, he told them -- quote -- "What we face today is far worse," he said, "the connection between terrorist networks and terrorist states, as well as weapons of mass destruction."

Now, that issue of weapons of mass destruction is something that CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked the secretary of defense earlier today. This is some of what the secretary of defense had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): If you conclude that the Iraqi report doesn't tell the truth, that they do indeed have weapons of mass destruction capabilities, will you, the U.S. government, make that information public to the world?

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: That's a decision, of course, for the president and not for me. It is clear that the Iraqis have weapons of mass destruction. The issue is not, whether or not they have weapons of mass destruction. The issue is whether or not the Iraqi government has made a decision that the game is up, and that it will comply with the United Nations resolutions, and it will disclose what it has and participate in the process with the U.N. monitoring and inspection group to disarm itself of those capabilities.

BLITZER: Is Saddam Hussein capable of making that kind of change?

RUMSFELD: Time will tell. People do unusual things when they feel in duress. Obviously, he wouldn't have inspectors in right now if he didn't feel that he'd been pressured to do so by the threat of the use of force, if there had not been an overwhelming vote in the United States Congress and a unanimous vote in the United Nations. Absent those things, he'd still be just fine, developing his weapons of mass destruction.

BLITZER: So, you're leaving open the possibility he could have a change of heart.

RUMSFELD: Well, I kind of look at all of the options. One option, he could get up tomorrow morning and decide the game is up, I'm going to leave town and I'm going to go live with Edie Amin (ph) or some ex-leader in the world.

A second thing that could happen is, his team could get up tomorrow morning and decide that they're tired of him, and that they'd prefer he not be running their country, because he's not doing a good job for his country. And that's a possibility.

A third possibility is, he could get up in the morning and decide the game is up, I'm going to let the U.N. inspectors come in, I'm going to tell the truth, I'm going to show them everything.

Now, the fourth choice is the one that he's been on for a decade, and that's to string along the U.N. and the rest of the world and lie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Now, Carol, the secretary of defense is now touring this base, this Al Sayliyah military base. It's a top-secret base not far from the capital, Doha, the capital of Qatar. He's taking a firsthand look at that exercise, Internal Look, that big computer simulated war game, which is now into its fourth day. It's been running pretty much 24 hours a day since it began on Monday.

But really, an overwhelming reception for the secretary of defense, proof, if you needed any more, that he is very, very popular with the service men and women here, if not all over the world -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, we saw him in that town meeting, shaking hands, and the troops seemed overjoyed to see him. Where does he go next, John?

VAUSE: Well, from here, he actually heads back. There's a refueling stop, but it's pretty much straight back to Washington -- Carol.

COSTELLO: OK, John Vause reporting live for us from Qatar.

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