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CNN Live At Daybreak
Target: Saddam Hussein: International Support
Aired January 23, 2003 - 06:02 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: Moving quickly now to the latest talk of war over Iraq. President Bush in St. Louis for an economic event issues a warning for Iraq's military leadership.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There will be serious consequences for the dictator in Iraq. And there will be serious consequences for any Iraqi general or soldier who were to use weapons of mass destruction on our troops or on innocent lives within Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Tough talk, but Germany and France are not falling in behind the American president. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder wants to give U.N. weapons inspectors more time and French President Jacques Chirac says war is not inevitable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACQUES CHIRAC, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): As far as we are concerned, war always means failure and therefore everything must be done to avoid war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And the anti-war rhetoric isn't just coming from overseas.
Our political producer Ted Barrett is on the phone from Washington for this morning's "Wake-Up Call."
So, Ted, will the Democrats step up their own rhetoric on Capitol Hill?
TED BARRETT, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Well, good morning, Carol.
There has been a fair amount of hand wringing over this issue on Capitol Hill for the last couple of days. Many Democrats are seizing on the actions of the French and Germans and urging President Bush to back off for now and let the inspectors finish their work. They've also been somewhat critical of the administration for not doing a better job of keeping the international coalition together.
Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, Wednesday, said the U.S. should not go it alone. Now this is what he had to say. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MINORITY LEADER: The more we fail to achieve a broad coalition, like we did in 1991, the more difficult it's going to be for us to be successful in this effort.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARRETT: Daschle said in fact that it would be -- quote -- "a huge mistake to move without coalition support" -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Let's talk a little bit about the Republicans now, because I know Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said France and Germany represent old Europe and that did not make them very happy. So what are other Republicans on Capitol Hill saying privately about all of this?
BARRETT: Well Republicans also say they are concerned. Senator Dick Lugar, who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, argued Wednesday that the French and German leaders are responding more to domestic political pressures than their belief that Saddam Hussein should not be forcefully disarmed. In fact, Lugar made the point that if hostilities were to break out, the French and Germans would probably stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States. Lugar and other Republicans insist that there has not been an erosion of support for the president. He was -- you recall that Congress, both sides, the House and Senate, passed a resolution supporting war against Iraq by wide margins.
Now, that said, it doesn't mean that the president has full support from his party. Senator Chuck Hagel, who is a key moderate, said the U.S. would be better off working through the United Nations. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R), NEBRASKA: If we would unilaterally decide to get out of the United Nations framework and attack Iraq, the consequences for that could be very destabilizing, very serious, not just for Iraq and the Middle East, but for all our relationships around the world. We need to think long term as well as short term.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARRETT: Now, by and large, most Republicans are supporting the president -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And thank you very much, Ted, for waking up early with DAYBREAK.
Let's examine this issue a little more, shall we? France and Germany are pushing for a peaceful solution to the showdown with Iraq. French President Jacques Chirac says any decision to go to battle lies with the United Nations, while Germany urged inspectors to be given more time. But Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld downplayed their comments saying most other European countries supported the United States. This is what he had to say earlier this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Let there be no doubt there are large numbers of countries that are signed up to be helpful in the event that force is needed in dealing with Iraq. This business about going it alone or unilateral is nonsense. There are a substantial number of countries that are ready to help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The showdown with Iraq takes center stage in Turkey today. The foreign ministers from six Muslim nations will meet to discuss ways to avoid a U.S. war with Iraq.
CNN Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf joins us live from Istanbul with more on this.
Has the meeting started yet?
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Carol, it started in the sense in that the real work that gets done is being done right now by foreign ministry officials.
We've just learned some of the details in the declaration that they're working on, and basically it calls on Iraq to fulfill quite a few requirements. The main one is related to weapons inspections. It calls on the Iraqi government to cooperate proactively with inspections, to refrain from making inflammatory statements about the inspections or the inspectors themselves, to agree to long-term monitoring after this is over and other things, to work towards national reconciliation. Now that is a reference to reconciling with the minority populations of the Kurds and the Iraqi Shi'a populations as well. And primarily for the countries that are gathered here it calls on Iraq to assure its neighbors that it will not be a threat.
Now in exchange for this, the bottom line is that these countries say they will try to help Iraq politically and diplomatically, but they say they need Iraq's help first -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Jane Arraf reporting live from Istanbul, Turkey this morning.
So if Saddam does leave his country and go into exile, what would a post-Saddam Iraq look like? Well the Bush administration is reportedly getting ready for an Iraq after a U.S. invasion. Sources say the president's created a new office at the Pentagon to help rebuild schools, roads and hospitals there. Plans to eliminate terror cells and seize weapons of mass destruction also in the works.
Want to get the latest from Iraq. Our Rym Brahimi joins us live from Baghdad. A lot going on there today and it's especially interesting, this newspaper article written by Saddam's son.
RYM BRAHMIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes indeed. Well here in Baghdad it seems that the leadership is focusing on the more immediate or more short-term possibility of maybe having to face a war. President Saddam Hussein has been seen many times now displaying preparedness, meeting with his top army commanders, including both his sons, one of them runs the Republican Guard, talking morale boost, also talking strategy, saying that if the U.S. wants to actually achieve anything in Iraq it would need to send ground troops.
Now that is an option that the newspaper that you mentioned, "Babble (ph)," that is run by the president's eldest son, that option "Babble" says would be extremely costly in U.S. lives. The editorial in that newspaper saying that what happened to U.S. -- to Americans in September 11 would look like a picnic compared to what would happen to Americans if they came in to Iraq -- if they invaded Iraq rather. Now the other option suggested there is that the U.S. lift the sanctions on Iraq and just do business with it. Iraq can sell its oil it says.
Meanwhile, a lot of demonstrations here in Baghdad. It's again the part of a string of demonstrations organized by the government, hundreds of people in the streets of Baghdad chanting praise for President Saddam Hussein and this with the traditional flag burning ceremony of course.
Back to you.
COSTELLO: Of course. Rym Brahimi reporting live from Baghdad this morning.
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 23, 2003 - 06:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Moving quickly now to the latest talk of war over Iraq. President Bush in St. Louis for an economic event issues a warning for Iraq's military leadership.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There will be serious consequences for the dictator in Iraq. And there will be serious consequences for any Iraqi general or soldier who were to use weapons of mass destruction on our troops or on innocent lives within Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Tough talk, but Germany and France are not falling in behind the American president. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder wants to give U.N. weapons inspectors more time and French President Jacques Chirac says war is not inevitable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACQUES CHIRAC, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): As far as we are concerned, war always means failure and therefore everything must be done to avoid war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And the anti-war rhetoric isn't just coming from overseas.
Our political producer Ted Barrett is on the phone from Washington for this morning's "Wake-Up Call."
So, Ted, will the Democrats step up their own rhetoric on Capitol Hill?
TED BARRETT, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Well, good morning, Carol.
There has been a fair amount of hand wringing over this issue on Capitol Hill for the last couple of days. Many Democrats are seizing on the actions of the French and Germans and urging President Bush to back off for now and let the inspectors finish their work. They've also been somewhat critical of the administration for not doing a better job of keeping the international coalition together.
Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, Wednesday, said the U.S. should not go it alone. Now this is what he had to say. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MINORITY LEADER: The more we fail to achieve a broad coalition, like we did in 1991, the more difficult it's going to be for us to be successful in this effort.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARRETT: Daschle said in fact that it would be -- quote -- "a huge mistake to move without coalition support" -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Let's talk a little bit about the Republicans now, because I know Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said France and Germany represent old Europe and that did not make them very happy. So what are other Republicans on Capitol Hill saying privately about all of this?
BARRETT: Well Republicans also say they are concerned. Senator Dick Lugar, who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, argued Wednesday that the French and German leaders are responding more to domestic political pressures than their belief that Saddam Hussein should not be forcefully disarmed. In fact, Lugar made the point that if hostilities were to break out, the French and Germans would probably stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States. Lugar and other Republicans insist that there has not been an erosion of support for the president. He was -- you recall that Congress, both sides, the House and Senate, passed a resolution supporting war against Iraq by wide margins.
Now, that said, it doesn't mean that the president has full support from his party. Senator Chuck Hagel, who is a key moderate, said the U.S. would be better off working through the United Nations. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R), NEBRASKA: If we would unilaterally decide to get out of the United Nations framework and attack Iraq, the consequences for that could be very destabilizing, very serious, not just for Iraq and the Middle East, but for all our relationships around the world. We need to think long term as well as short term.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARRETT: Now, by and large, most Republicans are supporting the president -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And thank you very much, Ted, for waking up early with DAYBREAK.
Let's examine this issue a little more, shall we? France and Germany are pushing for a peaceful solution to the showdown with Iraq. French President Jacques Chirac says any decision to go to battle lies with the United Nations, while Germany urged inspectors to be given more time. But Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld downplayed their comments saying most other European countries supported the United States. This is what he had to say earlier this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Let there be no doubt there are large numbers of countries that are signed up to be helpful in the event that force is needed in dealing with Iraq. This business about going it alone or unilateral is nonsense. There are a substantial number of countries that are ready to help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The showdown with Iraq takes center stage in Turkey today. The foreign ministers from six Muslim nations will meet to discuss ways to avoid a U.S. war with Iraq.
CNN Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf joins us live from Istanbul with more on this.
Has the meeting started yet?
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Carol, it started in the sense in that the real work that gets done is being done right now by foreign ministry officials.
We've just learned some of the details in the declaration that they're working on, and basically it calls on Iraq to fulfill quite a few requirements. The main one is related to weapons inspections. It calls on the Iraqi government to cooperate proactively with inspections, to refrain from making inflammatory statements about the inspections or the inspectors themselves, to agree to long-term monitoring after this is over and other things, to work towards national reconciliation. Now that is a reference to reconciling with the minority populations of the Kurds and the Iraqi Shi'a populations as well. And primarily for the countries that are gathered here it calls on Iraq to assure its neighbors that it will not be a threat.
Now in exchange for this, the bottom line is that these countries say they will try to help Iraq politically and diplomatically, but they say they need Iraq's help first -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Jane Arraf reporting live from Istanbul, Turkey this morning.
So if Saddam does leave his country and go into exile, what would a post-Saddam Iraq look like? Well the Bush administration is reportedly getting ready for an Iraq after a U.S. invasion. Sources say the president's created a new office at the Pentagon to help rebuild schools, roads and hospitals there. Plans to eliminate terror cells and seize weapons of mass destruction also in the works.
Want to get the latest from Iraq. Our Rym Brahimi joins us live from Baghdad. A lot going on there today and it's especially interesting, this newspaper article written by Saddam's son.
RYM BRAHMIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes indeed. Well here in Baghdad it seems that the leadership is focusing on the more immediate or more short-term possibility of maybe having to face a war. President Saddam Hussein has been seen many times now displaying preparedness, meeting with his top army commanders, including both his sons, one of them runs the Republican Guard, talking morale boost, also talking strategy, saying that if the U.S. wants to actually achieve anything in Iraq it would need to send ground troops.
Now that is an option that the newspaper that you mentioned, "Babble (ph)," that is run by the president's eldest son, that option "Babble" says would be extremely costly in U.S. lives. The editorial in that newspaper saying that what happened to U.S. -- to Americans in September 11 would look like a picnic compared to what would happen to Americans if they came in to Iraq -- if they invaded Iraq rather. Now the other option suggested there is that the U.S. lift the sanctions on Iraq and just do business with it. Iraq can sell its oil it says.
Meanwhile, a lot of demonstrations here in Baghdad. It's again the part of a string of demonstrations organized by the government, hundreds of people in the streets of Baghdad chanting praise for President Saddam Hussein and this with the traditional flag burning ceremony of course.
Back to you.
COSTELLO: Of course. Rym Brahimi reporting live from Baghdad this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
