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CNN Live At Daybreak
Wake-Up Call: White House Reaction
Aired February 13, 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: On to Iraq now and what may be that smoking gun. Independent arms experts say Iraq has violated U.N. resolutions with a missile that can reach farther than allowed. The experts delivered their findings ahead of chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix's report to the Security Council tomorrow.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair says he finds the new information on the missile troubling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: If these reports are correct, and obviously the inspectors should give evidence of what they know about that and I'm sure they will tomorrow, if these reports are correct, it is very serious, because it would be not just the failure to declare and disclose information, but a breach of Resolution 1441.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And we want to get some reaction now from Washington. We've made a "Wake-Up Call" to our senior White House correspondent, John King.
Good morning -- John.
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Talk about pressure, the president is dealing with the triple threat of Saddam Hussein, North Korea's Kim Jong Il and Osama bin Laden. How is he dealing with this?
KING: Well, he's keeping busy, different strategies on the many fronts, and he's also dealing with a struggling U.S. economy. We'll see that highlighted today in the president's travels. He heads to Florida today. He'll do one event on the economy, but then he'll also meet with some of the U.S. military forces at a naval station near Jacksonville, Florida to thank them for their work and to wish them well in what could be the challenges just around the corner.
Obviously -- you just heard Prime Minister Blair -- Iraq is the most immediate focus, and the Bush administration will cite this new report about the missiles in making the case after Dr. Blix's report to the council tomorrow that Iraq is in material breach, total breach the White House views, of its commitment to disarm. COSTELLO: Well, John, we're getting conflicting reports about the situation in North Korea, too. Yesterday, George Tenet said that North Korea does have a missile capable of reaching the West Coast of the United States. But now the White House is coming out saying, oh, that's based on old intelligence. Which is it, and will the president address that today?
KING: The president is unlikely to address that in any detail, unless he -- and reporters get a chance to ask about him. Both are true. It is a fact that the CIA in December, 2001, put out a public document that said North Korea had a missile that most likely was capable of reaching the United States. This is the first time you've heard George Tenet talk about it publicly with a camera aimed at him in congressional testimony, but it was previously released by the CIA.
Obviously, it gets more attention and it has new urgency when you talk about that fact that North Korea might be able to launch a missile at the United States in the context of what is going on now, this standoff, this possibility they are making new nuclear weapons. George Tenet said they also probably have one or two.
So, it gets more attention now, but it's not new information. It has been known for some time. The CIA has had that determination for some time.
COSTELLO: Well, it's still unsettling to many Americans out there. John King, 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.
Aired February 13, 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: On to Iraq now and what may be that smoking gun. Independent arms experts say Iraq has violated U.N. resolutions with a missile that can reach farther than allowed. The experts delivered their findings ahead of chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix's report to the Security Council tomorrow.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair says he finds the new information on the missile troubling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: If these reports are correct, and obviously the inspectors should give evidence of what they know about that and I'm sure they will tomorrow, if these reports are correct, it is very serious, because it would be not just the failure to declare and disclose information, but a breach of Resolution 1441.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And we want to get some reaction now from Washington. We've made a "Wake-Up Call" to our senior White House correspondent, John King.
Good morning -- John.
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Talk about pressure, the president is dealing with the triple threat of Saddam Hussein, North Korea's Kim Jong Il and Osama bin Laden. How is he dealing with this?
KING: Well, he's keeping busy, different strategies on the many fronts, and he's also dealing with a struggling U.S. economy. We'll see that highlighted today in the president's travels. He heads to Florida today. He'll do one event on the economy, but then he'll also meet with some of the U.S. military forces at a naval station near Jacksonville, Florida to thank them for their work and to wish them well in what could be the challenges just around the corner.
Obviously -- you just heard Prime Minister Blair -- Iraq is the most immediate focus, and the Bush administration will cite this new report about the missiles in making the case after Dr. Blix's report to the council tomorrow that Iraq is in material breach, total breach the White House views, of its commitment to disarm. COSTELLO: Well, John, we're getting conflicting reports about the situation in North Korea, too. Yesterday, George Tenet said that North Korea does have a missile capable of reaching the West Coast of the United States. But now the White House is coming out saying, oh, that's based on old intelligence. Which is it, and will the president address that today?
KING: The president is unlikely to address that in any detail, unless he -- and reporters get a chance to ask about him. Both are true. It is a fact that the CIA in December, 2001, put out a public document that said North Korea had a missile that most likely was capable of reaching the United States. This is the first time you've heard George Tenet talk about it publicly with a camera aimed at him in congressional testimony, but it was previously released by the CIA.
Obviously, it gets more attention and it has new urgency when you talk about that fact that North Korea might be able to launch a missile at the United States in the context of what is going on now, this standoff, this possibility they are making new nuclear weapons. George Tenet said they also probably have one or two.
So, it gets more attention now, but it's not new information. It has been known for some time. The CIA has had that determination for some time.
COSTELLO: Well, it's still unsettling to many Americans out there. John King, 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.
