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CNN Live Today

Will White House Middle East Plan Work?

Aired April 18, 2003 - 12:16   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.


ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, this war, of course, not over yet. That is the opinion of 67 percent of people surveyed in a new CNN/USA Today Gallup poll. Still, that number dropped nearly 20 points from last week when 84 percent believed the fall of Baghdad did not mean the war had ended.
When asked how they think the war is going so far, 60 percent said very well, 33 percent say moderately well, and 6 percent say badly.

Well, the White House is hoping the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime will spark a democratic fire throughout the Middle East, but will the region be fertile territory for democracy?

Bill Schneider reports it may be an uphill battle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: The Bush administration's ambition is to reshape the Middle East. That involves big challenges. First and foremost: root out the terrorists. There's more than one strain of terrorism in the Middle East. Many target Israel. Some, like al Qaeda, threaten the U.S. directly, people like Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, believed to be the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks.

Middle East terrorism thrives in the rich soil of religious fanaticism, nourished by oil money, a lot of it from Saudi Arabia. The U.S. has pressured the Saudis to stop.

ADEL AL-JUBEIR, SAUDI FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER: After September 11, whenever we hear, we track and see where funding may have come.

SCHNEIDER: But is that enough, or will the Saudi regime have to become more democratic, in line with what President Bush said about the Iraqi people on March 17?

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When the dictator has departed, they can set an example to all the Middle East of a vital and peaceful and self-governing nation.

SCHNEIDER: It's an enormous challenge to promote democracy in a region where it has never flourished, but there could be a domino effect. First Afghanistan, then Iraq, then the Palestinian Authority, which is in the process of choosing new leadership. Arabs and Europeans see the Israel/Palestinian conflict as the No. 1 priority. Solve that problem, they say, and the region will be transformed overnight.

The Bush administration put Iraq first, then the Israel/Palestine problem. Then is now.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: This is going to be a very difficult process, but I believe progress can be made if both sides enter this road map process with an understanding of the needs of the other side.

SCHNEIDER: The rest of the world assumes this is all about oil.

AYATOLLAH SEYED ALI KHAMENEI, IRANIAN RELIGIOUS LEADER (through translator): The claim of the American and English to present freedom for the Iraqi people is one of the biggest jokes there is. They are, in fact, working to control Iraq, and to control the oil.

SCHNEIDER: But the U.S. says the oil belongs to Iraq, and the money will benefit the Iraqi people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: Terrorism, fanaticism, democracy, Israel, oil. That's quite a daunting list of challenges. The hardest problem may be to figure out which one of them comes first -- Anderson.

COOPER: Well, also now you have got Syria and Iran both on the table, both within the gunsights if you will, or at least the political gunsights of the U.S.

SCHNEIDER: Well, that's right. Syria, of course, is a very serious challenge, because the United States is charging that they are harboring Iraqi fugitives. A lot of people in the administration claim that both Syria and North Korea can be handled with diplomacy, particularly now that the United States has shown its willingness to use force in Iraq. We've seen the North Koreans become more cooperative, suddenly, saying they'll talk to the United States in a multinational forum. So our show of force in Iraq is already beginning to pay some dividends.

COOPER: I'm sure the North Koreans would say that's just coincidence, but I am going to leave it up to the viewer to decide -- Bill Schneider, thanks 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 April 18, 2003 - 12:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, this war, of course, not over yet. That is the opinion of 67 percent of people surveyed in a new CNN/USA Today Gallup poll. Still, that number dropped nearly 20 points from last week when 84 percent believed the fall of Baghdad did not mean the war had ended.
When asked how they think the war is going so far, 60 percent said very well, 33 percent say moderately well, and 6 percent say badly.

Well, the White House is hoping the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime will spark a democratic fire throughout the Middle East, but will the region be fertile territory for democracy?

Bill Schneider reports it may be an uphill battle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: The Bush administration's ambition is to reshape the Middle East. That involves big challenges. First and foremost: root out the terrorists. There's more than one strain of terrorism in the Middle East. Many target Israel. Some, like al Qaeda, threaten the U.S. directly, people like Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, believed to be the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks.

Middle East terrorism thrives in the rich soil of religious fanaticism, nourished by oil money, a lot of it from Saudi Arabia. The U.S. has pressured the Saudis to stop.

ADEL AL-JUBEIR, SAUDI FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER: After September 11, whenever we hear, we track and see where funding may have come.

SCHNEIDER: But is that enough, or will the Saudi regime have to become more democratic, in line with what President Bush said about the Iraqi people on March 17?

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When the dictator has departed, they can set an example to all the Middle East of a vital and peaceful and self-governing nation.

SCHNEIDER: It's an enormous challenge to promote democracy in a region where it has never flourished, but there could be a domino effect. First Afghanistan, then Iraq, then the Palestinian Authority, which is in the process of choosing new leadership. Arabs and Europeans see the Israel/Palestinian conflict as the No. 1 priority. Solve that problem, they say, and the region will be transformed overnight.

The Bush administration put Iraq first, then the Israel/Palestine problem. Then is now.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: This is going to be a very difficult process, but I believe progress can be made if both sides enter this road map process with an understanding of the needs of the other side.

SCHNEIDER: The rest of the world assumes this is all about oil.

AYATOLLAH SEYED ALI KHAMENEI, IRANIAN RELIGIOUS LEADER (through translator): The claim of the American and English to present freedom for the Iraqi people is one of the biggest jokes there is. They are, in fact, working to control Iraq, and to control the oil.

SCHNEIDER: But the U.S. says the oil belongs to Iraq, and the money will benefit the Iraqi people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: Terrorism, fanaticism, democracy, Israel, oil. That's quite a daunting list of challenges. The hardest problem may be to figure out which one of them comes first -- Anderson.

COOPER: Well, also now you have got Syria and Iran both on the table, both within the gunsights if you will, or at least the political gunsights of the U.S.

SCHNEIDER: Well, that's right. Syria, of course, is a very serious challenge, because the United States is charging that they are harboring Iraqi fugitives. A lot of people in the administration claim that both Syria and North Korea can be handled with diplomacy, particularly now that the United States has shown its willingness to use force in Iraq. We've seen the North Koreans become more cooperative, suddenly, saying they'll talk to the United States in a multinational forum. So our show of force in Iraq is already beginning to pay some dividends.

COOPER: I'm sure the North Koreans would say that's just coincidence, but I am going to leave it up to the viewer to decide -- Bill Schneider, thanks 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