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CNN Live At Daybreak

Israel Votes

Aired January 27, 2003 - 06:35   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: Let’s talk Israel now. It is election eve in Israel, and Israeli voters will choose the next parliament and prime minister. But what in the world does President Bush’s State of the Union address have to do with balloting in Israel?
CNN’s senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, is live in Tel Aviv with his take on things.

Good morning.

First of all, answer me this question...

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Answer me this question, Bill: Is the United States going to war?

SCHNEIDER: That’s what everyone in the world wants to know. And people all over the world are going to be watching closely when President Bush speaks Tuesday night to see if he gives any clues about the answer to that question, and nowhere more than here in the Middle East, because several of the major flashpoints in the world are right here.

For instance: Iraq. The world will see President Bush’s speech as the U.S. response to today’s report by U.N. weapons inspectors. The president is under great pressure domestically and internationally to let the inspections process run its course. Otherwise, what’s the point? President Bush is likely to argue the point is not to find a smoking gun. The point is to test Iraq’s attitude. Is Saddam Hussein showing a commitment to disarmament, or is he resisting and stalling?

President Bush has to persuade America and the world to look at the inspections process in a different way, and that is a tough challenge.

COSTELLO: Yes, let’s talk about Afghanistan, because that issue has sort of been pushed to the back burner. Is the president expected to say anything about Afghanistan in his State of the Union?

SCHNEIDER: Well, you know, President Bush famously dislikes nation-building, but that is exactly the role that the United States has assumed in Afghanistan. The president needs to report to the country and to the world what it’s doing to make sure that terrorists never again have a base in Afghanistan or anywhere else. Can the president claim that the United States is winning the war on terrorism? And here’s something: Will he even mention Osama bin Laden?

COSTELLO: And it will be very interesting, won’t it? OK, you’re in Israel. Let’s go back to what we were initially talking about. What are people there waiting to hear from our president?

SCHNEIDER: Well, Israelis and Palestinians both expect the confrontation with Iraq to cause a political earthquake here in the Middle East, and that’s exactly what’s needed to get the peace process started again. The whole Middle East is relying on the United States to provide some kind of a roadmap to peace.

Now, Israelis are particularly concerned about Iran, one of the countries on President Bush’s axis of evil. If Iraq falls, will Iran rise?

COSTELLO: Gotcha. And we should mention North Korea, because it is in the forefront. Will President Bush mention that?

SCHNEIDER: Well, I think he will, because to much of the world, North Korea looks like a bigger threat than Iraq. President Bush needs to explain to Americans, and again to the world, why diplomacy stands a better chance of working with North Korea than with Iraq, and what the consequences for North Korea will be if diplomacy fails.

You know, a year ago in his last State of the Union speech, President Bush famously depicted an axis of evil, and what the world is waiting to hear is what the United States plans to do to break that axis -- Carol.

COSTELLO: It will be an interesting speech, I’m sure. Bill Schneider reporting live from Tel Aviv this morning. Thanks so 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 January 27, 2003 - 06:35   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let’s talk Israel now. It is election eve in Israel, and Israeli voters will choose the next parliament and prime minister. But what in the world does President Bush’s State of the Union address have to do with balloting in Israel?
CNN’s senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, is live in Tel Aviv with his take on things.

Good morning.

First of all, answer me this question...

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Answer me this question, Bill: Is the United States going to war?

SCHNEIDER: That’s what everyone in the world wants to know. And people all over the world are going to be watching closely when President Bush speaks Tuesday night to see if he gives any clues about the answer to that question, and nowhere more than here in the Middle East, because several of the major flashpoints in the world are right here.

For instance: Iraq. The world will see President Bush’s speech as the U.S. response to today’s report by U.N. weapons inspectors. The president is under great pressure domestically and internationally to let the inspections process run its course. Otherwise, what’s the point? President Bush is likely to argue the point is not to find a smoking gun. The point is to test Iraq’s attitude. Is Saddam Hussein showing a commitment to disarmament, or is he resisting and stalling?

President Bush has to persuade America and the world to look at the inspections process in a different way, and that is a tough challenge.

COSTELLO: Yes, let’s talk about Afghanistan, because that issue has sort of been pushed to the back burner. Is the president expected to say anything about Afghanistan in his State of the Union?

SCHNEIDER: Well, you know, President Bush famously dislikes nation-building, but that is exactly the role that the United States has assumed in Afghanistan. The president needs to report to the country and to the world what it’s doing to make sure that terrorists never again have a base in Afghanistan or anywhere else. Can the president claim that the United States is winning the war on terrorism? And here’s something: Will he even mention Osama bin Laden?

COSTELLO: And it will be very interesting, won’t it? OK, you’re in Israel. Let’s go back to what we were initially talking about. What are people there waiting to hear from our president?

SCHNEIDER: Well, Israelis and Palestinians both expect the confrontation with Iraq to cause a political earthquake here in the Middle East, and that’s exactly what’s needed to get the peace process started again. The whole Middle East is relying on the United States to provide some kind of a roadmap to peace.

Now, Israelis are particularly concerned about Iran, one of the countries on President Bush’s axis of evil. If Iraq falls, will Iran rise?

COSTELLO: Gotcha. And we should mention North Korea, because it is in the forefront. Will President Bush mention that?

SCHNEIDER: Well, I think he will, because to much of the world, North Korea looks like a bigger threat than Iraq. President Bush needs to explain to Americans, and again to the world, why diplomacy stands a better chance of working with North Korea than with Iraq, and what the consequences for North Korea will be if diplomacy fails.

You know, a year ago in his last State of the Union speech, President Bush famously depicted an axis of evil, and what the world is waiting to hear is what the United States plans to do to break that axis -- Carol.

COSTELLO: It will be an interesting speech, I’m sure. Bill Schneider reporting live from Tel Aviv this morning. Thanks so 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