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Many Believe Burden of Proof Has Shifted

Aired February 06, 2003 - 11:33   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: On to the world of politics now, and the White House today is busy gauging reaction at home and abroad to Colin Powell's presentation before the Security Council. The president briefly alluded to Iraq this morning in remarks at the national prayer breakfast.
For more, let's go to our White House correspondent, Dana Bash -- Dana, good morning.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Well, the White House is trying to capture any momentum that Secretary Powell's presentation at the U.N. yesterday caused in terms of what's next.

The White House press secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters just a little while ago that they see today and tomorrow, the next few days as a settling-in period. They are hoping that the allies, the key allies who heard the presentation at the United Nations will take the information back to their capitals around the world, will let the information settle in, and they are hoping, of course, that it will change the opinion. World opinion has been very, very mixed on the question of whether or not there needs to be military action in Iraq.

They are hoping that this changes minds, and they say they are willing to give it at least a couple of days to let that happen.

Now, of course, the question comes, what's next at the United Nations? Secretary Powell is speaking on the Hill. He is testifying there at this hour. He alluded to the question of a second resolution. The White House is making it very clear that they don't think it's needed. He said the same thing. It's not needed, that Resolution 1441 makes it clear that military action is an option if the -- if Iraq doesn't comply with weapons inspections and, of course, as you heard from Secretary Powell yesterday, they don't think that happened, but they are leaving the door open for a second U.N. resolution. The intense diplomacy continues. The President will work the phones today and the next few days, and perhaps meet face-to-face with some world leaders to try to figure out what kind of second resolution would be workable for the United States and for the allies -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Dana Bash at the White House. Dana, thank you very much.

Secretary of State Powell has carried the Iraq dossier to Capitol Hill -- to Capitol Hill this morning. For more on that, let's turn it over to our Wolf Blitzer in Washington -- Wolf, I think of just talking to you and I just lose it. There you go. Good morning. WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Daryn. There's no doubt that these are critical moments, indeed days right now for the U.S. as far as the showdown with Iraq is concerned.

Only a few moments ago, the Secretary of State said that it will be critical, the coming days, to determine what the result will be from the chief weapons inspector's visit to Baghdad over the weekend. Dr. Blix and Dr. ElBaradei will be coming back to the United States. I think it will come to a head, he says, immediately thereafter. He says that the end game is now in, it's no longer a matter of months. It's definitely a matter of weeks.

Critical moments, and as Dana Bash just said over at the White House, the secretary of state said there is really no need for a second resolution, although the president would welcome it if all members of the Security Council were on board.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: I sat down with a number of my Security Council colleagues, many of whom were pushing for the opportunity to have a second resolution. I said, OK, it may come to that, and the president said the other day, he welcomes a second resolution.

But I said to them at that time, do not vote for this first resolution, 1441, if you are also saying at this time you will not vote for a second resolution when serious consequences are called for. Don't play that double game.

So everybody knew what we were getting into with 1441, and we all hoped it would work. We all hoped Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi regime, or other leaders within Iraq would recognize that this is the time to stop this kind of behavior, end these kinds of programs.

BLITZER: Joining me now is Bill Schneider, our senior political analyst. Bill, what kind of political response has the secretary's statement before the U.N. Security Council yesterday generated?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, certainly from America's potential allies and from some critics in the United States, the response he has gotten is essentially the burden of proof has shifted.

That's very important, because until yesterday, everyone was saying the burden of proof is on the United States. The United States has to come up with a smoking gun. Colin Powell acknowledged beforehand he wasn't going to come up with a smoking gun, but he marshalled an overwhelming array of evidence to demonstrate that Iraq is not disarming, they are not complying with the U.N. resolution, with audiotapes and satellite photographs and a huge array of evidence. And everyone seems to have accepted that, and now they say the burden of proof lies not with the United States anymore, but with Iraq to prove one last chance that they are willing to disarm.

BLITZER: And the -- we see this parade of senators this morning at the Senate foreign relations committee, not only Republicans, but Democrats lining up and expressing their utmost support for Secretary Powell in a statement. It looks like any notion that Senator Kennedy had to get another resolution before the Senate, that is not going anywhere.

SCHNEIDER: I don't think it is going anywhere. Democrats have been lavish in their praise to Secretary Powell. In a way, the administration was very smart to put him out there to make this case. He's not a partisan figure the way President Bush is. He is widely trusted both in the United States and in the world, and some of the comments from Democrats have been telling. John Kerry, who may run against President Bush, said yesterday the evidence against Saddam Hussein appears real and compelling. Does that mean he's ready to go to war? Well, no, they say there may be other ways to force Iraq to disarm than going to war.

Howard dean, another declared Democratic candidate said, We are pursuing the wrong war. He acknowledged that Saddam is guilty, but that there are other higher priorities, like the war on terrorism and the effort to find Osama bin Laden. So what he's saying is other priorities are more important. But no one disputes the findings Powell presented at the U.N. that Iraq is essentially guilty of failing to disarm.

BLITZER: And just to reiterate what the Secretary of State just told members of the committee only a few moments ago. He said, We will know enough one way or another in the next few days whether or not Dr. Blix and Dr. ElBaradei have achieved enough, if there is a significant change of heart in Baghdad. Otherwise the U.S. looks like that train is about to leave the station.

SCHNEIDER: Right.

BLITZER: Bill Schneider, thanks very much for your analysis, always good to have you.

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 February 6, 2003 - 11:33   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: On to the world of politics now, and the White House today is busy gauging reaction at home and abroad to Colin Powell's presentation before the Security Council. The president briefly alluded to Iraq this morning in remarks at the national prayer breakfast.
For more, let's go to our White House correspondent, Dana Bash -- Dana, good morning.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Well, the White House is trying to capture any momentum that Secretary Powell's presentation at the U.N. yesterday caused in terms of what's next.

The White House press secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters just a little while ago that they see today and tomorrow, the next few days as a settling-in period. They are hoping that the allies, the key allies who heard the presentation at the United Nations will take the information back to their capitals around the world, will let the information settle in, and they are hoping, of course, that it will change the opinion. World opinion has been very, very mixed on the question of whether or not there needs to be military action in Iraq.

They are hoping that this changes minds, and they say they are willing to give it at least a couple of days to let that happen.

Now, of course, the question comes, what's next at the United Nations? Secretary Powell is speaking on the Hill. He is testifying there at this hour. He alluded to the question of a second resolution. The White House is making it very clear that they don't think it's needed. He said the same thing. It's not needed, that Resolution 1441 makes it clear that military action is an option if the -- if Iraq doesn't comply with weapons inspections and, of course, as you heard from Secretary Powell yesterday, they don't think that happened, but they are leaving the door open for a second U.N. resolution. The intense diplomacy continues. The President will work the phones today and the next few days, and perhaps meet face-to-face with some world leaders to try to figure out what kind of second resolution would be workable for the United States and for the allies -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Dana Bash at the White House. Dana, thank you very much.

Secretary of State Powell has carried the Iraq dossier to Capitol Hill -- to Capitol Hill this morning. For more on that, let's turn it over to our Wolf Blitzer in Washington -- Wolf, I think of just talking to you and I just lose it. There you go. Good morning. WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Daryn. There's no doubt that these are critical moments, indeed days right now for the U.S. as far as the showdown with Iraq is concerned.

Only a few moments ago, the Secretary of State said that it will be critical, the coming days, to determine what the result will be from the chief weapons inspector's visit to Baghdad over the weekend. Dr. Blix and Dr. ElBaradei will be coming back to the United States. I think it will come to a head, he says, immediately thereafter. He says that the end game is now in, it's no longer a matter of months. It's definitely a matter of weeks.

Critical moments, and as Dana Bash just said over at the White House, the secretary of state said there is really no need for a second resolution, although the president would welcome it if all members of the Security Council were on board.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: I sat down with a number of my Security Council colleagues, many of whom were pushing for the opportunity to have a second resolution. I said, OK, it may come to that, and the president said the other day, he welcomes a second resolution.

But I said to them at that time, do not vote for this first resolution, 1441, if you are also saying at this time you will not vote for a second resolution when serious consequences are called for. Don't play that double game.

So everybody knew what we were getting into with 1441, and we all hoped it would work. We all hoped Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi regime, or other leaders within Iraq would recognize that this is the time to stop this kind of behavior, end these kinds of programs.

BLITZER: Joining me now is Bill Schneider, our senior political analyst. Bill, what kind of political response has the secretary's statement before the U.N. Security Council yesterday generated?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, certainly from America's potential allies and from some critics in the United States, the response he has gotten is essentially the burden of proof has shifted.

That's very important, because until yesterday, everyone was saying the burden of proof is on the United States. The United States has to come up with a smoking gun. Colin Powell acknowledged beforehand he wasn't going to come up with a smoking gun, but he marshalled an overwhelming array of evidence to demonstrate that Iraq is not disarming, they are not complying with the U.N. resolution, with audiotapes and satellite photographs and a huge array of evidence. And everyone seems to have accepted that, and now they say the burden of proof lies not with the United States anymore, but with Iraq to prove one last chance that they are willing to disarm.

BLITZER: And the -- we see this parade of senators this morning at the Senate foreign relations committee, not only Republicans, but Democrats lining up and expressing their utmost support for Secretary Powell in a statement. It looks like any notion that Senator Kennedy had to get another resolution before the Senate, that is not going anywhere.

SCHNEIDER: I don't think it is going anywhere. Democrats have been lavish in their praise to Secretary Powell. In a way, the administration was very smart to put him out there to make this case. He's not a partisan figure the way President Bush is. He is widely trusted both in the United States and in the world, and some of the comments from Democrats have been telling. John Kerry, who may run against President Bush, said yesterday the evidence against Saddam Hussein appears real and compelling. Does that mean he's ready to go to war? Well, no, they say there may be other ways to force Iraq to disarm than going to war.

Howard dean, another declared Democratic candidate said, We are pursuing the wrong war. He acknowledged that Saddam is guilty, but that there are other higher priorities, like the war on terrorism and the effort to find Osama bin Laden. So what he's saying is other priorities are more important. But no one disputes the findings Powell presented at the U.N. that Iraq is essentially guilty of failing to disarm.

BLITZER: And just to reiterate what the Secretary of State just told members of the committee only a few moments ago. He said, We will know enough one way or another in the next few days whether or not Dr. Blix and Dr. ElBaradei have achieved enough, if there is a significant change of heart in Baghdad. Otherwise the U.S. looks like that train is about to leave the station.

SCHNEIDER: Right.

BLITZER: Bill Schneider, thanks very much for your analysis, always good to have you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com