Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Wake-Up Call: U.S. Looking for Support
Aired January 30, 2003 - 06:06 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: We want to talk more about what Colin Powell may reveal to the world about Iraq and its alleged weapons. We've got a "Wake-Up Call" to CNN's Elise Labott, our producer at the State Department.
Elise, do we know more about what the secretary of state will say next Wednesday, what he'll present to the United Nations Security Council?
ELISE LABOTT, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Well, Carol, you said it, the Bush administration is in that final phase of its push to lobby the U.N. Security Council and other allies to support that military action. And while the Russian ambassador to the U.N., Sergrey Lavrov, is never one to pull punches, the whole world is waiting for that evidence.
We hear it's going to be declassified intelligence, which could include surveillance photos showing Iraqis clearing out sites just prior to the arrival of U.N. inspectors, perhaps it could be these mobile biological weapons labs the U.S. says Iraq is using, some information based on interviews with detainees that make a link to Iraq and terrorist groups.
And the diplomatic window is narrowing here. Over the next few weeks, President Bush and Secretary Powell will be working those phones, meeting with those leaders, continuing to make the case that Saddam Hussein is not disarming. And they'll be taking the temperature of council members, other allies, to see what each one is going to need now to sign onto a military coalition.
COSTELLO: Elise, we're still hearing from so many countries around the globe that they want to give inspectors more time. Is the U.S. willing at all to do that?
LABOTT: Well, despite the argument -- the U.S. argument Iraq will never come clean, officials say yes, the administration perhaps could let inspections briefly continue. One idea floating around is a short extension period for the inspections in exchange for a firm deadline in which Iraq must disarm. And you know, extending the inspections a few more weeks, even a month, could actually help the U.S. here. The administration has to balance its political situation with the needs of allies who need more time, and it fits in pretty well with the military preparations you were just speaking of. We heard the U.S. forces in the Gulf won't reach their peak until early February -- sorry -- late February or early March. So, it's kind of a formula here that the U.S. is trying to work out. But, Carol, one official told us if the administration does go along with a brief extension of inspections, that this would be, and I quote, Carol, "The last, final, total, ultimately the end." And, Carol, you can't misinterpret that message.
COSTELLO: No, you certainly can't. Elise Labott, thanks very much for waking up early with DAYBREAK 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 30, 2003 - 06:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We want to talk more about what Colin Powell may reveal to the world about Iraq and its alleged weapons. We've got a "Wake-Up Call" to CNN's Elise Labott, our producer at the State Department.
Elise, do we know more about what the secretary of state will say next Wednesday, what he'll present to the United Nations Security Council?
ELISE LABOTT, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Well, Carol, you said it, the Bush administration is in that final phase of its push to lobby the U.N. Security Council and other allies to support that military action. And while the Russian ambassador to the U.N., Sergrey Lavrov, is never one to pull punches, the whole world is waiting for that evidence.
We hear it's going to be declassified intelligence, which could include surveillance photos showing Iraqis clearing out sites just prior to the arrival of U.N. inspectors, perhaps it could be these mobile biological weapons labs the U.S. says Iraq is using, some information based on interviews with detainees that make a link to Iraq and terrorist groups.
And the diplomatic window is narrowing here. Over the next few weeks, President Bush and Secretary Powell will be working those phones, meeting with those leaders, continuing to make the case that Saddam Hussein is not disarming. And they'll be taking the temperature of council members, other allies, to see what each one is going to need now to sign onto a military coalition.
COSTELLO: Elise, we're still hearing from so many countries around the globe that they want to give inspectors more time. Is the U.S. willing at all to do that?
LABOTT: Well, despite the argument -- the U.S. argument Iraq will never come clean, officials say yes, the administration perhaps could let inspections briefly continue. One idea floating around is a short extension period for the inspections in exchange for a firm deadline in which Iraq must disarm. And you know, extending the inspections a few more weeks, even a month, could actually help the U.S. here. The administration has to balance its political situation with the needs of allies who need more time, and it fits in pretty well with the military preparations you were just speaking of. We heard the U.S. forces in the Gulf won't reach their peak until early February -- sorry -- late February or early March. So, it's kind of a formula here that the U.S. is trying to work out. But, Carol, one official told us if the administration does go along with a brief extension of inspections, that this would be, and I quote, Carol, "The last, final, total, ultimately the end." And, Carol, you can't misinterpret that message.
COSTELLO: No, you certainly can't. Elise Labott, thanks very much for waking up early with DAYBREAK 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
