Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Wake-Up Call: Newt's Knock
Aired April 23, 2003 - 06:03 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: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is blasting the State Department. In a speech to a Washington think tank, the former Republican House leader described diplomatic failures leading to the Iraq war and the probability of more mistakes now. In fact, Newt Gingrich took some shots at Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Let's get more on this and wake up our State Department producer, Elise Labott.
Good morning -- Elise.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: What exactly did Newt Gingrich say?
LABOTT: Well, he has never been one to mince words, and he certainly didn't pull any punches yesterday, pointing to what he called six months of diplomatic failure by the State Department. And he said that leading up to the war in Iraq, six months of diplomatic failure; one month of military success. And he warned that without a bold, dramatic change at the department, the U.S. will continue to find itself on the defensive diplomatically.
Now, he didn't criticize Colin Powell by name. In fact, he praised him. But he said that Colin Powell was presiding over an institution that is broken, taking pot shots at the State Department's Mideast bureau, accusing it of coddling dictators, and calling the idea of Powell traveling to Syria ludicrous, something that he said he would do in coming weeks.
And a top U.S. agency for international development, saying it's done an awful job in Afghanistan and shouldn't be trusted in Iraq.
So, Carol, plenty of criticism for everyone at the State Department.
COSTELLO: Yes, you know, and I wonder if he wasn't criticizing Colin Powell directly, who was he criticizing? Was it President Bush, who is giving the orders to Colin Powell to do what he is doing diplomatically?
LABOTT: Well, spokesman Richard Boucher said in all instances the State Department is really carrying out the policies of the president. And Mr. Gingrich is a member of the Defense Advisory Board, and given the way he's contrasted the experience of the State Department with the Pentagon, many Powell supporters see this as another attempt by conservatives in Washington to play up a rivalry between Powell and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, whose views they are more sympathetic to.
But some people think the way he was talking about some of the policies that the State Department is implementing on behalf of President Bush that it could be an attack on Bush himself. President Bush, yes.
COSTELLO: Understand. Elise Labott, many thanks to you 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 April 23, 2003 - 06:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is blasting the State Department. In a speech to a Washington think tank, the former Republican House leader described diplomatic failures leading to the Iraq war and the probability of more mistakes now. In fact, Newt Gingrich took some shots at Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Let's get more on this and wake up our State Department producer, Elise Labott.
Good morning -- Elise.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: What exactly did Newt Gingrich say?
LABOTT: Well, he has never been one to mince words, and he certainly didn't pull any punches yesterday, pointing to what he called six months of diplomatic failure by the State Department. And he said that leading up to the war in Iraq, six months of diplomatic failure; one month of military success. And he warned that without a bold, dramatic change at the department, the U.S. will continue to find itself on the defensive diplomatically.
Now, he didn't criticize Colin Powell by name. In fact, he praised him. But he said that Colin Powell was presiding over an institution that is broken, taking pot shots at the State Department's Mideast bureau, accusing it of coddling dictators, and calling the idea of Powell traveling to Syria ludicrous, something that he said he would do in coming weeks.
And a top U.S. agency for international development, saying it's done an awful job in Afghanistan and shouldn't be trusted in Iraq.
So, Carol, plenty of criticism for everyone at the State Department.
COSTELLO: Yes, you know, and I wonder if he wasn't criticizing Colin Powell directly, who was he criticizing? Was it President Bush, who is giving the orders to Colin Powell to do what he is doing diplomatically?
LABOTT: Well, spokesman Richard Boucher said in all instances the State Department is really carrying out the policies of the president. And Mr. Gingrich is a member of the Defense Advisory Board, and given the way he's contrasted the experience of the State Department with the Pentagon, many Powell supporters see this as another attempt by conservatives in Washington to play up a rivalry between Powell and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, whose views they are more sympathetic to.
But some people think the way he was talking about some of the policies that the State Department is implementing on behalf of President Bush that it could be an attack on Bush himself. President Bush, yes.
COSTELLO: Understand. Elise Labott, many thanks to you 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.
