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CNN Live At Daybreak
White House Briefing: Is the War Over?
Aired May 01, 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.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN ANCHOR: It's going to be big night for President Bush. He is expected to make an announcement this evening that the major fighting in Iraq has wrapped, but he'll stop short of actually declaring the war over.
White House correspondent Dana Bash joins us now to explain the president's language.
Good morning -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Arthel.
And tonight's speech comes just six weeks after the president first declared -- first sent into combat his troops, the military, into Iraq. It's just been six weeks.
And, as you said, he won't formally declare victory, and the reason for that is -- there are a couple of reasons. First, the president believes that there are still skirmishes going on, and we've seen that ourselves for the past couple of days, in Fallujah for example. And there also have not been any weapons of mass destruction found. And that, of course, is one of the top-stated goals of this war in the first place.
But the White House says this speech is important for the president to help Americans turn the corner to focus now on the reconstruction phase, the rehabilitation phase, in Iraq.
And, Arthel, the address tonight will be given in a very dramatic way. It will be given from the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln that will be off the shore of California. He will have more than 5,000 sailors and Marines for his backdrop there.
And, Arthel, the other thing that will be dramatic is the way the president is going to get onto that carrier. Usually, presidents go onto carriers by helicopter. The president will be taken on by a Navy plane. He will, we are told, be sitting in the co-pilot seat.
The president was a member of the Texas Air National Guard. He will, as the White House says, not be flying the plane. They're certainly emphasizing that. But the president was joking around with reporters yesterday that people should stay clear of the landing deck -- Arthel.
NEVILLE: All right, Dana Bash, thank you very much for that report.
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 May 1, 2003 - 06:38 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN ANCHOR: It's going to be big night for President Bush. He is expected to make an announcement this evening that the major fighting in Iraq has wrapped, but he'll stop short of actually declaring the war over.
White House correspondent Dana Bash joins us now to explain the president's language.
Good morning -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Arthel.
And tonight's speech comes just six weeks after the president first declared -- first sent into combat his troops, the military, into Iraq. It's just been six weeks.
And, as you said, he won't formally declare victory, and the reason for that is -- there are a couple of reasons. First, the president believes that there are still skirmishes going on, and we've seen that ourselves for the past couple of days, in Fallujah for example. And there also have not been any weapons of mass destruction found. And that, of course, is one of the top-stated goals of this war in the first place.
But the White House says this speech is important for the president to help Americans turn the corner to focus now on the reconstruction phase, the rehabilitation phase, in Iraq.
And, Arthel, the address tonight will be given in a very dramatic way. It will be given from the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln that will be off the shore of California. He will have more than 5,000 sailors and Marines for his backdrop there.
And, Arthel, the other thing that will be dramatic is the way the president is going to get onto that carrier. Usually, presidents go onto carriers by helicopter. The president will be taken on by a Navy plane. He will, we are told, be sitting in the co-pilot seat.
The president was a member of the Texas Air National Guard. He will, as the White House says, not be flying the plane. They're certainly emphasizing that. But the president was joking around with reporters yesterday that people should stay clear of the landing deck -- Arthel.
NEVILLE: All right, Dana Bash, thank you very much for that report.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
