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CNN Live At Daybreak
Wake-Up Call: Rallying Support on Iraq
Aired January 30, 2003 - 06:33 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: With more on the president's diplomatic push to force Iraq to disarm, CNN's senior White House correspondent John King is on the phone with a "Wake-Up Call" from Washington.
Good morning -- John.
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: Does the president plan to go to other places to push his agenda?
KING: Well, he'll definitely have more meetings and more phone conversations with world leaders. Whenever he travels the country, he will push it. The question is: Who else will they bring in for face- to-face meetings with the president? Some talk of trying to arrange a meeting with President Jacques Chirac of France if the president thinks if he can get a breakthrough and get France to come around to share his position.
Today, I think the most interesting meeting is the Saudi foreign minister. This meeting was requested just yesterday. Hard to get on the president's schedule. Prince Saud al-Faisal said he wanted to talk to the president, because he thought the State of the Union message was too tough, that the White House needs to give diplomacy more time. Saudi Arabia is trying to convince Saddam Hussein to step down and go into exile. The Saudis want more time. No one at the White House thinks that will work, no one thinks Saddam Hussein is going to step aside voluntarily, but Saudi Arabia is a critical ally, so the prince will get that meeting today with the president.
COSTELLO: Yes, absolutely. And it's safe to say that the president will not be meeting with the German chancellor anytime soon.
KING: No, no such meeting, but don't rule out a conversation down the road. Germany is the chair now of the United Nations Security Council. And if the president needs some help, even just getting the Germans to change the tone of what they say -- the Germans will not participate if there is a war. There is no question about that. But they could help with the diplomacy and the movement in the Security Council.
So, don't expect such a call, but I wouldn't rule it out. If the president thought he needed to do it to get to the finish line here, he would pick up the phone.
COSTELLO: Good enough. John King, waking up early with DAYBREAK. We appreciate it.
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 - 06:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: With more on the president's diplomatic push to force Iraq to disarm, CNN's senior White House correspondent John King is on the phone with a "Wake-Up Call" from Washington.
Good morning -- John.
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: Does the president plan to go to other places to push his agenda?
KING: Well, he'll definitely have more meetings and more phone conversations with world leaders. Whenever he travels the country, he will push it. The question is: Who else will they bring in for face- to-face meetings with the president? Some talk of trying to arrange a meeting with President Jacques Chirac of France if the president thinks if he can get a breakthrough and get France to come around to share his position.
Today, I think the most interesting meeting is the Saudi foreign minister. This meeting was requested just yesterday. Hard to get on the president's schedule. Prince Saud al-Faisal said he wanted to talk to the president, because he thought the State of the Union message was too tough, that the White House needs to give diplomacy more time. Saudi Arabia is trying to convince Saddam Hussein to step down and go into exile. The Saudis want more time. No one at the White House thinks that will work, no one thinks Saddam Hussein is going to step aside voluntarily, but Saudi Arabia is a critical ally, so the prince will get that meeting today with the president.
COSTELLO: Yes, absolutely. And it's safe to say that the president will not be meeting with the German chancellor anytime soon.
KING: No, no such meeting, but don't rule out a conversation down the road. Germany is the chair now of the United Nations Security Council. And if the president needs some help, even just getting the Germans to change the tone of what they say -- the Germans will not participate if there is a war. There is no question about that. But they could help with the diplomacy and the movement in the Security Council.
So, don't expect such a call, but I wouldn't rule it out. If the president thought he needed to do it to get to the finish line here, he would pick up the phone.
COSTELLO: Good enough. John King, waking up early with DAYBREAK. We appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
