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Wake-Up Call: Reaction from Capitol Hill to President Bush's Speech
Aired January 29, 2003 - 06:36 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: As Bill said, you heard a lot of tough talk on Iraq in last night's State of the Union. With more on that, our State Department producer, Elise Labott, joins us on the phone from D.C. for our "Wake-Up Call."
Good morning.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, so President Bush didn't give any hard-core evidence about Iraq and its weapons of mass destruction. Instead, he left it for Colin Powell to talk about on February 5. A surprise?
LABOTT: Well, not really, Carol. You know, he wasn't just talking -- President Bush wasn't just talking to the U.S. public, he was talking to those reluctant governments and public abroad saying the U.S. hasn't made enough case. So the president set the stage here. What he did is he said Iraq's President Saddam Hussein hasn't accounted for large quantities of chemical and biological weapons -- anthrax, botulism, mustard gas, nuclear weapons. And as you and Bill mentioned, he tied Iraq to terrorist groups like al Qaeda.
And so, diplomats we spoke to last night said it's a very scary picture, but where is the proof?
COSTELLO: Gotcha.
LABOTT: The president now sends Secretary Powell to the U.N. to present the information, declassified intelligence about Iraq's weapons and links to terrorism.
COSTELLO: You heard Senator Kennedy say he wants to introduce a new resolution in Congress that would force the president to get authorization before any military action in Iraq. Is that scaring anyone on Capitol Hill?
LABOTT: Well, I don't really think so, Carol. I mean, certainly there are people that would like to have the president get that extra backing from Congress, but as you know, there is already a resolution on the books authorizing the president to go to force. And the administration has said all along that it thinks that's all it needs. Certainly there are some members of Congress, especially some of the leaders, that, you know, really want to have the Congress authorize the president, because that's how our government works. But certainly the administration thinks it has all it needs here. COSTELLO: Elise Labott, thanks for waking up early on DAYBREAK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Bush's Speech>
Aired January 29, 2003 - 06:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: As Bill said, you heard a lot of tough talk on Iraq in last night's State of the Union. With more on that, our State Department producer, Elise Labott, joins us on the phone from D.C. for our "Wake-Up Call."
Good morning.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, so President Bush didn't give any hard-core evidence about Iraq and its weapons of mass destruction. Instead, he left it for Colin Powell to talk about on February 5. A surprise?
LABOTT: Well, not really, Carol. You know, he wasn't just talking -- President Bush wasn't just talking to the U.S. public, he was talking to those reluctant governments and public abroad saying the U.S. hasn't made enough case. So the president set the stage here. What he did is he said Iraq's President Saddam Hussein hasn't accounted for large quantities of chemical and biological weapons -- anthrax, botulism, mustard gas, nuclear weapons. And as you and Bill mentioned, he tied Iraq to terrorist groups like al Qaeda.
And so, diplomats we spoke to last night said it's a very scary picture, but where is the proof?
COSTELLO: Gotcha.
LABOTT: The president now sends Secretary Powell to the U.N. to present the information, declassified intelligence about Iraq's weapons and links to terrorism.
COSTELLO: You heard Senator Kennedy say he wants to introduce a new resolution in Congress that would force the president to get authorization before any military action in Iraq. Is that scaring anyone on Capitol Hill?
LABOTT: Well, I don't really think so, Carol. I mean, certainly there are people that would like to have the president get that extra backing from Congress, but as you know, there is already a resolution on the books authorizing the president to go to force. And the administration has said all along that it thinks that's all it needs. Certainly there are some members of Congress, especially some of the leaders, that, you know, really want to have the Congress authorize the president, because that's how our government works. But certainly the administration thinks it has all it needs here. COSTELLO: Elise Labott, thanks for waking up early on DAYBREAK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Bush's Speech>
