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CNN Live At Daybreak
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac Begin Summit
Aired February 04, 2003 - 06:24 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: OK, we want to talk about Iraq now and a high level powwow. Just about an hour ago, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac began a summit. The number one topic, Iraq. The two are meeting in the resort town of Le Touquet. Mr. Bush is trying to persuade President Chirac to consider backing a second U.N. resolution authorizing a military strike on Iraq.
The question now, can he do it? Blair, I mean. He's charming, he knows Jacques Chirac very well.
And right now our Robin Oakley is watching things from that northern French town of Le Touquet -- Robin, can he do it? Can he persuade Jacques Chirac to jump on America's bandwagon, so to speak?
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it's going to take all the charm that Tony Blair can summon on these occasions to bring Jacques Chirac across to soften his stance against a war against Iraq and Saddam Hussein. When Jacques Chirac met Gerhardt Schroeder, the German chancellor, not long ago, a bit of a love-in between the two of them. He said his views were identical with Gerhardt Schroeder's. And Schroeder has been totally against any action against Iraq.
But Tony Blair is hoping that he can persuade Jacques Chirac and he thinks the French might be hedging their bets a little bit. They have sent an aircraft carrier off today to the eastern Mediterranean. Jacques Chirac did say to his troops in a new year message that they must be ready for anything this year. And Tony Blair hopes that he can persuade Jacques Chirac that if there is not action taken now, a second U.N. Security Council resolution, it will mean that Saddam Hussein has been able to defy the authority of the United Nations and that that wouldn't be a good thing.
The danger is, though, that Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac haven't been getting on well. They had a big spat over farm subsides at a recent European Union summit and on that occasion Jacques Chirac said that nobody had ever been so rude to him or spoken to him in such rough terms as Tony Blair did. And this summit that's taking place today was originally scheduled for December and Jacques Chirac called it off on that occasion.
But Tony Blair has been cozying up to him since, sending him a Churchill pen for his birthday and writing in a French paper that Jacques Chirac was a great man in every sense of the word.
So, charm offensive is on the way clearly -- Carol. COSTELLO: Hey, a Churchill pen will do it every time, Robin.
Robin Oakley reporting live from Le Touquet, France this morning.
Let's talk about the United States and what it's doing today. Secretary of State Colin Powell is heading for New York. He'll make the Bush administration's case against Iraq at the United Nations tomorrow.
Our State Department producer Elise Labott joins us on the phone from Washington for this morning's wake up call -- good morning, Elise.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN PRODUCER: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, Mr. Powell has already said there will be no smoking gun revealed tomorrow. But, of course, that's what many are looking for.
LABOTT: Well, that's right, Carol. You know, everyone expecting this kind of Adelaide Stephenson moment everyone's talking about. Remember in 1962 when Stevenson, who was the ambassador to the U.N., slaps these photos down on the table which proved the Russians had these missiles in Cuba, kind of like a got you. You know, it was first advertised as Secretary Powell's presentation is the nail that's going to Iraqi President Saddam's coffin.
But now officials are saying have an open mind. So it sounds like it might be something short of that. We are expecting a high tech presentation with satellite imagery. Perhaps they'll be some communication intercepts and information from interviews with defectors and detainees. But, you know, we can't forget that editorial yesterday by the Secretary, no smoking gun. And so he could be trying to lower expectations now.
COSTELLO: Yes, you're not kidding.
OK, so, after Mr. Powell makes his presentation to the U.N. Security Council, what's next?
LABOTT: Well, I don't think they know yet. I don't think they've charted their next steps yet. Presumably because they don't know how this presentation is going to resonate. If this evidence has struck a nerve, the U.S. could offer up either this week and the coming weeks a second Security Council resolution setting a brief extension for inspections with a firm deadline for Iraq to comply. One official is saying this would be the last, the final, totally, ultimately the end.
And for the second time this week, President Putin of Russia said he might support a second resolution. Russia has been a holdout up till now so as far as the U.S. is concerned, that could be a promising sign. But, again, it's really going to hinge on how convincing this presentation by Secretary Powell is, kind of like a lot of people are comparing it to an oral presentation in college having a lot of weight on your final grade -- Carol. COSTELLO: Boy, you're not kidding, because the world will be listening and watching.
LABOTT: They sure will.
COSTELLO: Elise Labott, thanks for waking up early with 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
Jacques Chirac Begin Summit>
Aired February 4, 2003 - 06:24 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: OK, we want to talk about Iraq now and a high level powwow. Just about an hour ago, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac began a summit. The number one topic, Iraq. The two are meeting in the resort town of Le Touquet. Mr. Bush is trying to persuade President Chirac to consider backing a second U.N. resolution authorizing a military strike on Iraq.
The question now, can he do it? Blair, I mean. He's charming, he knows Jacques Chirac very well.
And right now our Robin Oakley is watching things from that northern French town of Le Touquet -- Robin, can he do it? Can he persuade Jacques Chirac to jump on America's bandwagon, so to speak?
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it's going to take all the charm that Tony Blair can summon on these occasions to bring Jacques Chirac across to soften his stance against a war against Iraq and Saddam Hussein. When Jacques Chirac met Gerhardt Schroeder, the German chancellor, not long ago, a bit of a love-in between the two of them. He said his views were identical with Gerhardt Schroeder's. And Schroeder has been totally against any action against Iraq.
But Tony Blair is hoping that he can persuade Jacques Chirac and he thinks the French might be hedging their bets a little bit. They have sent an aircraft carrier off today to the eastern Mediterranean. Jacques Chirac did say to his troops in a new year message that they must be ready for anything this year. And Tony Blair hopes that he can persuade Jacques Chirac that if there is not action taken now, a second U.N. Security Council resolution, it will mean that Saddam Hussein has been able to defy the authority of the United Nations and that that wouldn't be a good thing.
The danger is, though, that Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac haven't been getting on well. They had a big spat over farm subsides at a recent European Union summit and on that occasion Jacques Chirac said that nobody had ever been so rude to him or spoken to him in such rough terms as Tony Blair did. And this summit that's taking place today was originally scheduled for December and Jacques Chirac called it off on that occasion.
But Tony Blair has been cozying up to him since, sending him a Churchill pen for his birthday and writing in a French paper that Jacques Chirac was a great man in every sense of the word.
So, charm offensive is on the way clearly -- Carol. COSTELLO: Hey, a Churchill pen will do it every time, Robin.
Robin Oakley reporting live from Le Touquet, France this morning.
Let's talk about the United States and what it's doing today. Secretary of State Colin Powell is heading for New York. He'll make the Bush administration's case against Iraq at the United Nations tomorrow.
Our State Department producer Elise Labott joins us on the phone from Washington for this morning's wake up call -- good morning, Elise.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN PRODUCER: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, Mr. Powell has already said there will be no smoking gun revealed tomorrow. But, of course, that's what many are looking for.
LABOTT: Well, that's right, Carol. You know, everyone expecting this kind of Adelaide Stephenson moment everyone's talking about. Remember in 1962 when Stevenson, who was the ambassador to the U.N., slaps these photos down on the table which proved the Russians had these missiles in Cuba, kind of like a got you. You know, it was first advertised as Secretary Powell's presentation is the nail that's going to Iraqi President Saddam's coffin.
But now officials are saying have an open mind. So it sounds like it might be something short of that. We are expecting a high tech presentation with satellite imagery. Perhaps they'll be some communication intercepts and information from interviews with defectors and detainees. But, you know, we can't forget that editorial yesterday by the Secretary, no smoking gun. And so he could be trying to lower expectations now.
COSTELLO: Yes, you're not kidding.
OK, so, after Mr. Powell makes his presentation to the U.N. Security Council, what's next?
LABOTT: Well, I don't think they know yet. I don't think they've charted their next steps yet. Presumably because they don't know how this presentation is going to resonate. If this evidence has struck a nerve, the U.S. could offer up either this week and the coming weeks a second Security Council resolution setting a brief extension for inspections with a firm deadline for Iraq to comply. One official is saying this would be the last, the final, totally, ultimately the end.
And for the second time this week, President Putin of Russia said he might support a second resolution. Russia has been a holdout up till now so as far as the U.S. is concerned, that could be a promising sign. But, again, it's really going to hinge on how convincing this presentation by Secretary Powell is, kind of like a lot of people are comparing it to an oral presentation in college having a lot of weight on your final grade -- Carol. COSTELLO: Boy, you're not kidding, because the world will be listening and watching.
LABOTT: They sure will.
COSTELLO: Elise Labott, thanks for waking up early with 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
Jacques Chirac Begin Summit>
