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American Morning
Closer Look at America's Relationship with Turkey
Aired December 19, 2002 - 07:32 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Major developments expected at the U.N. this morning when Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix briefs the Security Council on his initial analysis of Iraq's weapons declaration.
Let's turn to Richard Roth at the United Nations for a preview -- good morning, Richard.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
This will be the first assessment by Hans Blix, the United Nations chief weapons inspector for Iraq, since his inspectors got back on the ground in Iraq several weeks ago. Blix, along with the leader of the International Atomic Energy Agency, expected to tell the Security Council that there are unanswered questions based on Iraq's declaration, delivered several days ago, 12,000 pages worth.
It'll be a closed door briefing. Of course, the term material breach, whether the U.S. will declare Iraq in material breach, a sensitive point here. Washington not expected to go that far. And for many Council members, using the term material breach would be wrong at this point, because based on the important Security Council resolution on Iraq, it says that if there were any omissions or statements by Iraq, that, based on this declaration, submitted pursuant to the resolution, that, yes, it would be a failure by Iraq at any time to comply with this resolution, but that Iraq, as you see later in this text, Iraq still has to cooperate fully in the implementation of this resolution to constitute a further material breach.
And many would say that Iraq has been cooperating with the inspectors.
So it's a two pronged approach, Paula, and so far maybe Iraq is batting .500 -- Paula.
ZAHN: Let's talk a little bit more about what appear to be the glaring omissions. A lot of attention being paid to stuff that the Iraqis admitted to in 1995 but apparently are not admitting to in this declaration.
ROTH: Yes. Hundreds of aerial bombs, hundreds of mustard gas shells, precursor chemical agents for V.X., powerful agent. The thing is Iraq has again, according to diplomats, not said what's happened to this material that it once said it did possess.
ZAHN: And then isn't there also a story that one leading Iraqi official said that they had destroyed this stuff long ago and it was a mistake to obliterate the records proving that?
ROTH: Yes. That was at a press conference several weeks ago in Baghdad and that's why the United States, the United Kingdom still say this declaration doesn't really amount to much. The real thing is what is going to happen next with Iraq and the level of cooperation. The Blix team wants more inspections. There's even a chance they're going to push to go back to Baghdad to finally fill in the gaps, though Washington may not look too kindly on that.
ZAHN: Is the expectation, though, the tone that Hans Blix will strike will be similar to what Secretary Powell is supposed to say today?
ROTH: The U.N....
ZAHN: That they're not necessarily on separate tracks right now.
ROTH: The U.S. may feel confident in what Blix says. They've been meeting, senior diplomats have been meeting with Blix all week and they may have backed off yesterday in Washington, saying let's get a time, because they may expect Blix to come out a little tougher than he has, saying that Iraq has not cooperated and that there are still gaps.
ZAHN: You will be our eyes and ears there today.
We'll come back to you often as those meetings get under way.
Richard Roth, thanks so much.
Appreciate your time this morning.
Now, as the U.S. gets ready for a potential war with Iraq, it is working hard to shore up the support of key allies in the region. It has been the focus of our week long series "Friend Or Foe." And today we take a closer look at America's relationship with Turkey.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN (voice-over): Why is the United States working so hard courting a long time NATO ally for support?
PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY: The more closely that Turkey works with the United States, the better our chances are of avoiding a war. Saddam Hussein must see that we're serious. He has to see that he's surrounded by the international community.
ZAHN: During the 1991 Gulf War, Turkey allowed Americans to use its air space and bases, but the drew the line over sending its own troops into the conflict. And now with the new Islamic government in power, Turkey's continued support for the U.S. in a war effort can't be taken for granted.
WALTER RUSSELL MEAD, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: There's every sign that the new government plans to continue the pro-European, pro- Western policies of the old government. But you still want to talk to them and understand their point of view. They, they're, they may have special political sensitivities. You need to understand this.
ZAHN: In fact, the White House knows the Turks will not tolerate a large American presence in their country. In a recent survey, 83 percent of Turks polled opposed allowing the U.S. to use Turkish bases to wage war against Iraq.
LAWRENCE KORB, FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: It is a Muslim country. This is an attack against another Muslim country and the Turks are not sure that the United States is going to work fully through the United Nations.
ZAHN: Turkish officials say war should be a last resort, but if a case can be made against Saddam Hussein, they might allow American war planes to bomb Iraq from their military bases.
GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST, FORMER NATO SUPREME COMMANDER: We need Turkey's support very much. We don't want to give Saddam Hussein the impression that there's a vacuum of power in the north that would enable him to distract our efforts to go after weapons of mass destruction by igniting a ferocious ethnic war against the Kurds in northern Iraq.
ZAHN: And the Kurds are an enormous concern to Turkey. Before it commits to helping the United States, it wants assurances from Washington that the fall of Saddam Hussein will not allow Kurdish factions in northern Iraq to form a separate state.
CLARK: The dream of Kurdish independence is not dead. Even provincial self-government will give rise to concerns in Turkey. And this is why U.S. leadership in this part of Iraq is going to be so important. We're going to have to persuade the Kurds that they don't need their independence. We're going to have to persuade the Turks that the limited self-government that the Kurds have is no threat to Turkey.
ZAHN: And then there's cold economic reality. The Turks want guarantees that they will be compensated for the cost of another war.
KORB: It not only lost a lot of money during the first Gulf War, it's continued to lose money since the end of the Gulf War because you can't send the oil from Iraq out through Turkey and into Turkish ports.
ZAHN: So is Turkey a friend or foe? While Turkey is now opposed to supporting a war with Iraq, it is likely that it will ultimately consent, at least, to the use of Turkish air space and bases.
CLARK: It would be deeply surprising for Turkey not to support U.S. efforts in Iraq. It's very much in Turkey's interests to do so.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And tomorrow we wrap up our series "Friend Or Foe" with a look at Kuwait.
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 19, 2002 - 07:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Major developments expected at the U.N. this morning when Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix briefs the Security Council on his initial analysis of Iraq's weapons declaration.
Let's turn to Richard Roth at the United Nations for a preview -- good morning, Richard.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
This will be the first assessment by Hans Blix, the United Nations chief weapons inspector for Iraq, since his inspectors got back on the ground in Iraq several weeks ago. Blix, along with the leader of the International Atomic Energy Agency, expected to tell the Security Council that there are unanswered questions based on Iraq's declaration, delivered several days ago, 12,000 pages worth.
It'll be a closed door briefing. Of course, the term material breach, whether the U.S. will declare Iraq in material breach, a sensitive point here. Washington not expected to go that far. And for many Council members, using the term material breach would be wrong at this point, because based on the important Security Council resolution on Iraq, it says that if there were any omissions or statements by Iraq, that, based on this declaration, submitted pursuant to the resolution, that, yes, it would be a failure by Iraq at any time to comply with this resolution, but that Iraq, as you see later in this text, Iraq still has to cooperate fully in the implementation of this resolution to constitute a further material breach.
And many would say that Iraq has been cooperating with the inspectors.
So it's a two pronged approach, Paula, and so far maybe Iraq is batting .500 -- Paula.
ZAHN: Let's talk a little bit more about what appear to be the glaring omissions. A lot of attention being paid to stuff that the Iraqis admitted to in 1995 but apparently are not admitting to in this declaration.
ROTH: Yes. Hundreds of aerial bombs, hundreds of mustard gas shells, precursor chemical agents for V.X., powerful agent. The thing is Iraq has again, according to diplomats, not said what's happened to this material that it once said it did possess.
ZAHN: And then isn't there also a story that one leading Iraqi official said that they had destroyed this stuff long ago and it was a mistake to obliterate the records proving that?
ROTH: Yes. That was at a press conference several weeks ago in Baghdad and that's why the United States, the United Kingdom still say this declaration doesn't really amount to much. The real thing is what is going to happen next with Iraq and the level of cooperation. The Blix team wants more inspections. There's even a chance they're going to push to go back to Baghdad to finally fill in the gaps, though Washington may not look too kindly on that.
ZAHN: Is the expectation, though, the tone that Hans Blix will strike will be similar to what Secretary Powell is supposed to say today?
ROTH: The U.N....
ZAHN: That they're not necessarily on separate tracks right now.
ROTH: The U.S. may feel confident in what Blix says. They've been meeting, senior diplomats have been meeting with Blix all week and they may have backed off yesterday in Washington, saying let's get a time, because they may expect Blix to come out a little tougher than he has, saying that Iraq has not cooperated and that there are still gaps.
ZAHN: You will be our eyes and ears there today.
We'll come back to you often as those meetings get under way.
Richard Roth, thanks so much.
Appreciate your time this morning.
Now, as the U.S. gets ready for a potential war with Iraq, it is working hard to shore up the support of key allies in the region. It has been the focus of our week long series "Friend Or Foe." And today we take a closer look at America's relationship with Turkey.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN (voice-over): Why is the United States working so hard courting a long time NATO ally for support?
PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY: The more closely that Turkey works with the United States, the better our chances are of avoiding a war. Saddam Hussein must see that we're serious. He has to see that he's surrounded by the international community.
ZAHN: During the 1991 Gulf War, Turkey allowed Americans to use its air space and bases, but the drew the line over sending its own troops into the conflict. And now with the new Islamic government in power, Turkey's continued support for the U.S. in a war effort can't be taken for granted.
WALTER RUSSELL MEAD, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: There's every sign that the new government plans to continue the pro-European, pro- Western policies of the old government. But you still want to talk to them and understand their point of view. They, they're, they may have special political sensitivities. You need to understand this.
ZAHN: In fact, the White House knows the Turks will not tolerate a large American presence in their country. In a recent survey, 83 percent of Turks polled opposed allowing the U.S. to use Turkish bases to wage war against Iraq.
LAWRENCE KORB, FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: It is a Muslim country. This is an attack against another Muslim country and the Turks are not sure that the United States is going to work fully through the United Nations.
ZAHN: Turkish officials say war should be a last resort, but if a case can be made against Saddam Hussein, they might allow American war planes to bomb Iraq from their military bases.
GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST, FORMER NATO SUPREME COMMANDER: We need Turkey's support very much. We don't want to give Saddam Hussein the impression that there's a vacuum of power in the north that would enable him to distract our efforts to go after weapons of mass destruction by igniting a ferocious ethnic war against the Kurds in northern Iraq.
ZAHN: And the Kurds are an enormous concern to Turkey. Before it commits to helping the United States, it wants assurances from Washington that the fall of Saddam Hussein will not allow Kurdish factions in northern Iraq to form a separate state.
CLARK: The dream of Kurdish independence is not dead. Even provincial self-government will give rise to concerns in Turkey. And this is why U.S. leadership in this part of Iraq is going to be so important. We're going to have to persuade the Kurds that they don't need their independence. We're going to have to persuade the Turks that the limited self-government that the Kurds have is no threat to Turkey.
ZAHN: And then there's cold economic reality. The Turks want guarantees that they will be compensated for the cost of another war.
KORB: It not only lost a lot of money during the first Gulf War, it's continued to lose money since the end of the Gulf War because you can't send the oil from Iraq out through Turkey and into Turkish ports.
ZAHN: So is Turkey a friend or foe? While Turkey is now opposed to supporting a war with Iraq, it is likely that it will ultimately consent, at least, to the use of Turkish air space and bases.
CLARK: It would be deeply surprising for Turkey not to support U.S. efforts in Iraq. It's very much in Turkey's interests to do so.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And tomorrow we wrap up our series "Friend Or Foe" with a look at Kuwait.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
