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CNN Sunday Morning
Interview With Kathleen Timley
Aired January 05, 2003 - 07:38 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Family members of the September 11 victims will travel to Iraq today. They're members of a group called September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrow. And the group advocates a non violent response to the terror attacks. Among those making the trip is Kathleen Timley, whose uncle was killed during the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
She joins us now from New York.
Kathleen, thanks so much for being here.
KATHLEEN TIMLEY, SEPTEMBER 11 FAMILIES FOR PEACEFUL TOMORROW: Thank you.
COLLINS: Are you excited? What do you think that you're going to find when you go to Iraq?
TIMLEY: At this point, I don't know what to expect. I'm excited, I'm nervous. There's just a lot going through my head.
COLLINS: Well you've taken on a pretty big task here. And I've read some of the things that you said about what you're trying to do with this organization. Tell me why it's important for you to visit Baghdad at this point?
TIMLEY: When I hear reports about September 11 now, everything that I hear on the news, echoed behind that is my uncle's story and the story of all the people in Peaceful Tomorrows who lost somebody that they loved. And when I hear reports about Iraq, there's just silence. I need to go there and I need to fill the silence. And I need to meet the people who would be affected by this war who like my family could lose somebody that they cared about.
COLLINS: That's right. And you say we don't want anyone else dying like our family members did to solve the problems of the world. Tell me what you mean by that?
TIMLEY: Violence isn't going to give us long term solutions. And it's just -- it's a tragic waste. It's been horrible the past year and a half, what my family's gone through, what other families have gone through. And nobody else needs to do that. It's time to start thinking creatively, to asking the questions, and to fixing our problems through diplomacy.
COLLINS: What sort of alternatives have you and your group come up with? What do you see happening now that we've gone through 11 years of containment in Iraq? And we're finding that at least at this point, some people would argue diplomacy is not going to work. What does your group say about that?
TIMLEY: Well, now we have the inspections happening right now. And from what I'm hearing, they're working. I just worry about things like the sanctions that are affecting the people of Iraq, and not the government, not the ones who are actually in charge of making the decisions.
COLLINS: Are you all afraid of the human lives that could be lost if we wait to go into Iraq, and there may in fact be weapons of mass destruction that are used later by Saddam Hussein?
TIMLEY: Of course, I'd worry about that. It terrifies me. I don't want anybody else to die because of this. But it seems that we can continue with the inspections that those are working well enough, and that if those continue for years, that we can resolve some problems.
COLLINS: So one on one, I see you in Iraq visiting with maybe another young woman your age. What would you tell her?
TIMLEY: Right now, I don't want to tell her anything. I just want to listen. That's my purpose is going, just to listen to their stories.
COLLINS: And what about the justice that you're looking for in doing all of this? Is it more of a personal justice, or are you trying to take a bigger stand, a more global stand?
TIMLEY: It's definitely about the global stand. I'm not going to find justice by going to Iraq. It's not going to bring my uncle back. It's not going to change that. But maybe it could prevent some more people from dying.
COLLINS: All right, Kathleen Timley, we do offer our condolences for your uncle, Michael. And we certainly do appreciate you being with us today. We'll look forward to hearing from you when you come back.
TIMLEY: Thank you.
COLLINS: Thanks a lot.
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 January 5, 2003 - 07:38 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Family members of the September 11 victims will travel to Iraq today. They're members of a group called September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrow. And the group advocates a non violent response to the terror attacks. Among those making the trip is Kathleen Timley, whose uncle was killed during the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
She joins us now from New York.
Kathleen, thanks so much for being here.
KATHLEEN TIMLEY, SEPTEMBER 11 FAMILIES FOR PEACEFUL TOMORROW: Thank you.
COLLINS: Are you excited? What do you think that you're going to find when you go to Iraq?
TIMLEY: At this point, I don't know what to expect. I'm excited, I'm nervous. There's just a lot going through my head.
COLLINS: Well you've taken on a pretty big task here. And I've read some of the things that you said about what you're trying to do with this organization. Tell me why it's important for you to visit Baghdad at this point?
TIMLEY: When I hear reports about September 11 now, everything that I hear on the news, echoed behind that is my uncle's story and the story of all the people in Peaceful Tomorrows who lost somebody that they loved. And when I hear reports about Iraq, there's just silence. I need to go there and I need to fill the silence. And I need to meet the people who would be affected by this war who like my family could lose somebody that they cared about.
COLLINS: That's right. And you say we don't want anyone else dying like our family members did to solve the problems of the world. Tell me what you mean by that?
TIMLEY: Violence isn't going to give us long term solutions. And it's just -- it's a tragic waste. It's been horrible the past year and a half, what my family's gone through, what other families have gone through. And nobody else needs to do that. It's time to start thinking creatively, to asking the questions, and to fixing our problems through diplomacy.
COLLINS: What sort of alternatives have you and your group come up with? What do you see happening now that we've gone through 11 years of containment in Iraq? And we're finding that at least at this point, some people would argue diplomacy is not going to work. What does your group say about that?
TIMLEY: Well, now we have the inspections happening right now. And from what I'm hearing, they're working. I just worry about things like the sanctions that are affecting the people of Iraq, and not the government, not the ones who are actually in charge of making the decisions.
COLLINS: Are you all afraid of the human lives that could be lost if we wait to go into Iraq, and there may in fact be weapons of mass destruction that are used later by Saddam Hussein?
TIMLEY: Of course, I'd worry about that. It terrifies me. I don't want anybody else to die because of this. But it seems that we can continue with the inspections that those are working well enough, and that if those continue for years, that we can resolve some problems.
COLLINS: So one on one, I see you in Iraq visiting with maybe another young woman your age. What would you tell her?
TIMLEY: Right now, I don't want to tell her anything. I just want to listen. That's my purpose is going, just to listen to their stories.
COLLINS: And what about the justice that you're looking for in doing all of this? Is it more of a personal justice, or are you trying to take a bigger stand, a more global stand?
TIMLEY: It's definitely about the global stand. I'm not going to find justice by going to Iraq. It's not going to bring my uncle back. It's not going to change that. But maybe it could prevent some more people from dying.
COLLINS: All right, Kathleen Timley, we do offer our condolences for your uncle, Michael. And we certainly do appreciate you being with us today. We'll look forward to hearing from you when you come back.
TIMLEY: Thank you.
COLLINS: Thanks a lot.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
