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CNN Live At Daybreak

International Wrap: Eye on World

Aired March 11, 2003 - 06:38   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: Let's turn to our senior international editor, David Clinch, to talk a little bit more about how we cover, we as an organization of news, and how the American media in general may cover if there is indeed a war, and if it means that the U.S. goes it alone...
DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Right.

WHITFIELD: ... without any kind of U.N. backing whatsoever.

CLINCH: Right. We talked earlier about how the United States is going through, basically in support of Britain and Spain and its allies in this regard, going through the diplomatic realm at the moment. But with there being a considerable likelihood of that failing in the end and there being no new U.N. resolution, we have to consider at CNN and elsewhere, consider how that affects our coverage plan for a war.

There is covering a war and covering a war. If a war happens with the United States and Australia and Britain acting on their own without U.N. sanctions, it affects our coverage plan in many, many ways.

For instance, how does the rest of the world feel about that military action if it happened? How does that military action go? Does it go well for them? If it does not go well, there, of course, will be multiple second-guessing from everyone around the world of whether they should have done it in the first place or not.

There's the moral issue, which is a very difficult one for journalists to cover: Is it the right thing to do? Is it not the right thing to do?

Anti-Americanism, does that spread to terrorism? Does that spread Middle East peace?

All of these things which are related to military action if it happens, those become in some ways much more important for us to cover if it happens without U.N. sanction.

WHITFIELD: And when we talk about the difficulties, too, of placement of a journalist in different regions of the country, if these countries are not embracing...

CLINCH: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: ... this military action then... CLINCH: The neighboring countries, the European countries -- I mean, I would like to think that we're already in place. We have reporters all over Europe, all over the Middle East, all over Asia and everywhere already reporting on how the rest of the world is seeing the preparation for possible military action and the diplomacy as it continues. So we certainly are already reporting on that.

That emphasis is maintained and magnified if military action happens and it's without U.N. sanction, so you know, very much in our minds as we at CNN and elsewhere get ready to cover the military, not just the military aspects...

WHITFIELD: Yes.

CLINCH: ... but the political, and specifically this paradigm shift. If the United States and other countries act preemptively without U.N. sanction against Iraq, that changes the world for a lot of people here in the U.S. and the way they view the U.S. and the rest of the world. That has to be a factor in our coverage, and it will be.

WHITFIELD: All right, David, thank you very much.

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 - 06:38   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Let's turn to our senior international editor, David Clinch, to talk a little bit more about how we cover, we as an organization of news, and how the American media in general may cover if there is indeed a war, and if it means that the U.S. goes it alone...
DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Right.

WHITFIELD: ... without any kind of U.N. backing whatsoever.

CLINCH: Right. We talked earlier about how the United States is going through, basically in support of Britain and Spain and its allies in this regard, going through the diplomatic realm at the moment. But with there being a considerable likelihood of that failing in the end and there being no new U.N. resolution, we have to consider at CNN and elsewhere, consider how that affects our coverage plan for a war.

There is covering a war and covering a war. If a war happens with the United States and Australia and Britain acting on their own without U.N. sanctions, it affects our coverage plan in many, many ways.

For instance, how does the rest of the world feel about that military action if it happened? How does that military action go? Does it go well for them? If it does not go well, there, of course, will be multiple second-guessing from everyone around the world of whether they should have done it in the first place or not.

There's the moral issue, which is a very difficult one for journalists to cover: Is it the right thing to do? Is it not the right thing to do?

Anti-Americanism, does that spread to terrorism? Does that spread Middle East peace?

All of these things which are related to military action if it happens, those become in some ways much more important for us to cover if it happens without U.N. sanction.

WHITFIELD: And when we talk about the difficulties, too, of placement of a journalist in different regions of the country, if these countries are not embracing...

CLINCH: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: ... this military action then... CLINCH: The neighboring countries, the European countries -- I mean, I would like to think that we're already in place. We have reporters all over Europe, all over the Middle East, all over Asia and everywhere already reporting on how the rest of the world is seeing the preparation for possible military action and the diplomacy as it continues. So we certainly are already reporting on that.

That emphasis is maintained and magnified if military action happens and it's without U.N. sanction, so you know, very much in our minds as we at CNN and elsewhere get ready to cover the military, not just the military aspects...

WHITFIELD: Yes.

CLINCH: ... but the political, and specifically this paradigm shift. If the United States and other countries act preemptively without U.N. sanction against Iraq, that changes the world for a lot of people here in the U.S. and the way they view the U.S. and the rest of the world. That has to be a factor in our coverage, and it will be.

WHITFIELD: All right, David, thank you very much.

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