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CNN Live At Daybreak

President Bush Pressing Issue with U.N. Security Council

Aired March 11, 2003 - 05:02   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.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, let's quickly check the latest developments in showdown with Iraq. President Bush is pressing the issue with the U.N. Security Council and he spent much of yesterday burning up the phone lines, lobbying members to vote in favor of a resolution authorizing a strike on Iraq. The British, also sponsors of the resolution, are considering changes, possibly adding a list of tests for Iraq and pushing back that March 17th deadline sought by the White House. Still, President Bush wants a decision by the Security Council this week on the volatile resolution.
Well, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan says military action in Iraq without Security Council approval would violate the U.N. charter and right now the vote, which had been scheduled for today, is on hold.

Our senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth has details now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It seemed the only question remaining at the United Nations Security Council, when's the vote?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not tomorrow.

ROTH: The U.S. had threatened to call for a vote as early as Tuesday, but the timetable is slipping, probably to the end of the week. That's because the U.S. is still seeking the required nine votes in favor without a veto from France, Russia or China. The undecided six countries on the Council huddled, hoping to find a compromise between the permanent powers. They feel a rush to vote on war and peace.

ISMAEL GASPAR MARTINS, ANGOLAN AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: We are not yet there. We are not yet there. We are not yet raising hands. We are not sitting in the Council voting.

ROTH: Some of the uncommitted members would like to give Iraq a month to cooperate with specific disarmament orders, way beyond the proposed U.S. resolution deadline of March 17th. The British may not want to extend the deadline that far, but are moving towards a set of tests for Iraq based on the judgment of weapons inspectors. Inside the evening session, the cir, Hans Blix, was questioned by the U.S. about the recent discovery in Iraq of an unmanned aerial vehicle which is capable of spraying biological and chemical weapons. Blix declined to specifically highlight the finding in his public briefing to the Security Council last Friday. U.S. officials were upset that Blix did not mention the discovery and now seek to tell swing voters.

JOHN NEGROPONTE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: It would appear that this unmanned aerial vehicle that was discovered would have the kind of characteristics that would be of great concern.

ROTH: Democrats say the U.S. did not attack Blix behind closed doors, but asked for his strategy for handling the drone issue. Blix assured the Council he would never withhold information. He stated, though, no matter its flying range, the drone is a violation of U.S. resolutions.

HANS BLIX, CHIEF U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: They should have declared it, as I said. Yes. They should have declared it.

ROTH (on camera): Asked about U.S. frustration for downplaying the drone discovery, Blix said everyone is trying to squeeze us to get as much mileage out of us as possible. Until there's a Security Council vote, Dr. Blix may want to look for some lemons.

Richard Roth, CNN, United Nations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, let's see what's being said in Iraq about the diplomatic wrangling and reports about the drone mentioned in Richard's report.

Our Rym Brahimi is in Baghdad and joins us live now -- Rym.

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, well, here in Baghdad efforts to avert a war are coupled with efforts to prepare for the possibility of one. The United Nations Children's Fund is working, we're told, with the Iraqi government to help improve the situation and try and bring more strength to those malnourished children in order to help them survive a war.

Now, what UNICEF has been doing, it's been going to community childcare centers distributing therapeutic milk and high protein biscuits in order to help children. The representative of UNICEF here in Baghdad says 85 percent of Iraqi children are malnourished.

Now, at the same time, Iraqi officials say they believe a war is imminent, but they are still trying to avert one.

The destruction of the Al Samoud 2 missiles continues, we're told by U.N. officials this morning, although we're not sure how many at this stage. We'll bring you more details on that later.

And diplomatic efforts may be on the way. A delegation of the Arab League is expected to arrive in Baghdad. It was initially expected to arrive today. Now it seems that's not a hundred percent sure for now -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, Rym, I imagine the Iraqis are feeling rather emboldened given that there is still this lobby effort under way in order to get the votes needed in order to get the U.S. and British resolution passed.

BRAHIMI: I think on the one hand they are. They do feel heartened or emboldened, if you will, on the one hand, because they do see a lot of countries in the U.N. Security Council basically opposing the U.S. stance, opposing the British stance and that does give them some other measure of legitimacy in a way in that.

But I think many officials seem to believe that war is on the way no matter what. What they're more concerned about at this stage would be to make sure that if there is a war, well, it wouldn't be seen as legitimate and it wouldn't get United Nations backing -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Rym Brahimi, thank you very much, from Baghdad.

Well, let's spin the globe to get an idea about the diplomatic maneuvering France is making to sustain its position against the U.S.- backed resolution.

Our Jim Bittermann is in Paris -- Jim.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, President Jacques Chirac here in France made it pretty clear last night in his address to the nation, no matter what the circumstances, France is going to vote no on the resolution that's currently before the United Nations Security Council. That is, of course, if it has to, because the French do not believe that the United States is going to get the nine votes it needs to pass that resolution.

Now, here's the way one of the newspapers here, the left-leaning "Liberacion," summarized things this morning. "Chirac: No," spelling no in the English fashion, "N-O," rather than the French version, which would have been "N-O-N," to make sure that the United States and Great Britain get the message. And that is basically that the French do not believe that the inspections process has reached a dead end, that inspections should continue, that it's up to the inspectors to determine when things have really come to a dead end.

And Chirac said last night it would be a very dangerous precedent for the United States to continue onward without United Nations backing and to start a war in the Middle East. He said that, in fact, that it would also increase terrorism and perhaps even break up the anti-terrorism coalition. And perhaps his greatest worry, he said it would almost certainly heighten tensions between Jews and Muslims right here in France. He said the first victors of any war would be those who favor a clash of civilizations and religions and cultures.

Now, on another front, Dominique de Villepin, the French foreign minister, has finished his lightning tour of Angola, Cameroon and Guinea. He's back in France. It's unclear whether he had any success twisting the arms of those members of the Security Council, trying to get them alongside France in the Security Council. But he'll have a report this afternoon in the parliament. Perhaps we'll find out then -- Frederick.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll be watching. Thanks very much, Jim, from Paris.

Well, much of the diplomatic tug of war over Iraq is between Washington and Paris.

Our State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel brings out the details of the diplomatic divide.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Secretary of State Colin Powell and French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, battling across a diplomatic divide. On one side is Villepin, strongly opposed to war. On the other, Powell, equally convinced military force is the only option left.

With a U.N. Security Council vote only days away, time for diplomacy is fast running out. Villepin this week traveling to Angola, Cameroon and Guinea in a single day, personally lobbying the leaders of three of the six undecided members of the Security Council.

DOMINIQUE DE VILLEPIN, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER: I think we share the same concern to put the United Nations at the heart of any solution.

KOPPEL: Powell hosting Guinea's foreign minister in a private State Department lunch, adamantly denying the diplomacy had become personal.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm in no competition with Dominique de Villepin. He does what he has to do and I do what I have to do. We are both working for causes we believe in.

KOPPEL: Villepin, who is fluent in English and a former spokesman at the French embassy in Washington, was expected by many to be pro-American, while Powell, known for his moderate views, was Europe's hope the U.S. would work in a multilateral framework.

PHILIP GORDON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Well, one of the striking things as we watch Villepin and Powell go head to head on this issue is how far we've come from two years ago, when they were both appointed, and everyone was assuming and believing that these were the two who were going to repair the French-American relationship.

KOPPEL: Both men are described as incredibly charismatic and loyal to their presidents.

(on camera): And Powell, a retired four star general, will fight for his commander-in-chief because he's loyal to the system, while Villepin, because of a close personal relationship with French President Jacques Chirac, which dates back years.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, at the State Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: And we'll delve further into this when we give our State Department producer Elise Labott a wake up call in the next hour of 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 March 11, 2003 - 05:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, let's quickly check the latest developments in showdown with Iraq. President Bush is pressing the issue with the U.N. Security Council and he spent much of yesterday burning up the phone lines, lobbying members to vote in favor of a resolution authorizing a strike on Iraq. The British, also sponsors of the resolution, are considering changes, possibly adding a list of tests for Iraq and pushing back that March 17th deadline sought by the White House. Still, President Bush wants a decision by the Security Council this week on the volatile resolution.
Well, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan says military action in Iraq without Security Council approval would violate the U.N. charter and right now the vote, which had been scheduled for today, is on hold.

Our senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth has details now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It seemed the only question remaining at the United Nations Security Council, when's the vote?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not tomorrow.

ROTH: The U.S. had threatened to call for a vote as early as Tuesday, but the timetable is slipping, probably to the end of the week. That's because the U.S. is still seeking the required nine votes in favor without a veto from France, Russia or China. The undecided six countries on the Council huddled, hoping to find a compromise between the permanent powers. They feel a rush to vote on war and peace.

ISMAEL GASPAR MARTINS, ANGOLAN AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: We are not yet there. We are not yet there. We are not yet raising hands. We are not sitting in the Council voting.

ROTH: Some of the uncommitted members would like to give Iraq a month to cooperate with specific disarmament orders, way beyond the proposed U.S. resolution deadline of March 17th. The British may not want to extend the deadline that far, but are moving towards a set of tests for Iraq based on the judgment of weapons inspectors. Inside the evening session, the cir, Hans Blix, was questioned by the U.S. about the recent discovery in Iraq of an unmanned aerial vehicle which is capable of spraying biological and chemical weapons. Blix declined to specifically highlight the finding in his public briefing to the Security Council last Friday. U.S. officials were upset that Blix did not mention the discovery and now seek to tell swing voters.

JOHN NEGROPONTE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: It would appear that this unmanned aerial vehicle that was discovered would have the kind of characteristics that would be of great concern.

ROTH: Democrats say the U.S. did not attack Blix behind closed doors, but asked for his strategy for handling the drone issue. Blix assured the Council he would never withhold information. He stated, though, no matter its flying range, the drone is a violation of U.S. resolutions.

HANS BLIX, CHIEF U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: They should have declared it, as I said. Yes. They should have declared it.

ROTH (on camera): Asked about U.S. frustration for downplaying the drone discovery, Blix said everyone is trying to squeeze us to get as much mileage out of us as possible. Until there's a Security Council vote, Dr. Blix may want to look for some lemons.

Richard Roth, CNN, United Nations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, let's see what's being said in Iraq about the diplomatic wrangling and reports about the drone mentioned in Richard's report.

Our Rym Brahimi is in Baghdad and joins us live now -- Rym.

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, well, here in Baghdad efforts to avert a war are coupled with efforts to prepare for the possibility of one. The United Nations Children's Fund is working, we're told, with the Iraqi government to help improve the situation and try and bring more strength to those malnourished children in order to help them survive a war.

Now, what UNICEF has been doing, it's been going to community childcare centers distributing therapeutic milk and high protein biscuits in order to help children. The representative of UNICEF here in Baghdad says 85 percent of Iraqi children are malnourished.

Now, at the same time, Iraqi officials say they believe a war is imminent, but they are still trying to avert one.

The destruction of the Al Samoud 2 missiles continues, we're told by U.N. officials this morning, although we're not sure how many at this stage. We'll bring you more details on that later.

And diplomatic efforts may be on the way. A delegation of the Arab League is expected to arrive in Baghdad. It was initially expected to arrive today. Now it seems that's not a hundred percent sure for now -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, Rym, I imagine the Iraqis are feeling rather emboldened given that there is still this lobby effort under way in order to get the votes needed in order to get the U.S. and British resolution passed.

BRAHIMI: I think on the one hand they are. They do feel heartened or emboldened, if you will, on the one hand, because they do see a lot of countries in the U.N. Security Council basically opposing the U.S. stance, opposing the British stance and that does give them some other measure of legitimacy in a way in that.

But I think many officials seem to believe that war is on the way no matter what. What they're more concerned about at this stage would be to make sure that if there is a war, well, it wouldn't be seen as legitimate and it wouldn't get United Nations backing -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Rym Brahimi, thank you very much, from Baghdad.

Well, let's spin the globe to get an idea about the diplomatic maneuvering France is making to sustain its position against the U.S.- backed resolution.

Our Jim Bittermann is in Paris -- Jim.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, President Jacques Chirac here in France made it pretty clear last night in his address to the nation, no matter what the circumstances, France is going to vote no on the resolution that's currently before the United Nations Security Council. That is, of course, if it has to, because the French do not believe that the United States is going to get the nine votes it needs to pass that resolution.

Now, here's the way one of the newspapers here, the left-leaning "Liberacion," summarized things this morning. "Chirac: No," spelling no in the English fashion, "N-O," rather than the French version, which would have been "N-O-N," to make sure that the United States and Great Britain get the message. And that is basically that the French do not believe that the inspections process has reached a dead end, that inspections should continue, that it's up to the inspectors to determine when things have really come to a dead end.

And Chirac said last night it would be a very dangerous precedent for the United States to continue onward without United Nations backing and to start a war in the Middle East. He said that, in fact, that it would also increase terrorism and perhaps even break up the anti-terrorism coalition. And perhaps his greatest worry, he said it would almost certainly heighten tensions between Jews and Muslims right here in France. He said the first victors of any war would be those who favor a clash of civilizations and religions and cultures.

Now, on another front, Dominique de Villepin, the French foreign minister, has finished his lightning tour of Angola, Cameroon and Guinea. He's back in France. It's unclear whether he had any success twisting the arms of those members of the Security Council, trying to get them alongside France in the Security Council. But he'll have a report this afternoon in the parliament. Perhaps we'll find out then -- Frederick.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll be watching. Thanks very much, Jim, from Paris.

Well, much of the diplomatic tug of war over Iraq is between Washington and Paris.

Our State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel brings out the details of the diplomatic divide.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Secretary of State Colin Powell and French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, battling across a diplomatic divide. On one side is Villepin, strongly opposed to war. On the other, Powell, equally convinced military force is the only option left.

With a U.N. Security Council vote only days away, time for diplomacy is fast running out. Villepin this week traveling to Angola, Cameroon and Guinea in a single day, personally lobbying the leaders of three of the six undecided members of the Security Council.

DOMINIQUE DE VILLEPIN, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER: I think we share the same concern to put the United Nations at the heart of any solution.

KOPPEL: Powell hosting Guinea's foreign minister in a private State Department lunch, adamantly denying the diplomacy had become personal.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm in no competition with Dominique de Villepin. He does what he has to do and I do what I have to do. We are both working for causes we believe in.

KOPPEL: Villepin, who is fluent in English and a former spokesman at the French embassy in Washington, was expected by many to be pro-American, while Powell, known for his moderate views, was Europe's hope the U.S. would work in a multilateral framework.

PHILIP GORDON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Well, one of the striking things as we watch Villepin and Powell go head to head on this issue is how far we've come from two years ago, when they were both appointed, and everyone was assuming and believing that these were the two who were going to repair the French-American relationship.

KOPPEL: Both men are described as incredibly charismatic and loyal to their presidents.

(on camera): And Powell, a retired four star general, will fight for his commander-in-chief because he's loyal to the system, while Villepin, because of a close personal relationship with French President Jacques Chirac, which dates back years.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, at the State Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: And we'll delve further into this when we give our State Department producer Elise Labott a wake up call in the next hour of 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