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CNN Live At Daybreak
New Iraq: White House View
Aired June 17, 2003 - 06:31 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: Let's head live to Washington, D.C. and the White House, where President Bush says he is secure in the reasons he sent our troops to war.
Let's check in with our senior White House correspondent, John King.
Good morning -- John.
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.
And the president making that case at a time more and more folks on Capitol Hill are demanding an investigation into whether the administration somehow exaggerated or "shaded," as one senator put it, the intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq, some suggesting that Mr. Bush hyped any evidence of Saddam Hussein's weapons programs.
Well, the White House says it will fully cooperate with whatever investigations that Congress decides to launch, but listen closely to the president here. It is clear he doesn't think much of these investigations. It seems the president thinks they're a waste of time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And this nation acted to a threat from the dictator of Iraq. Now, there are some who would like to rewrite history. "Revisionist historians" is what I like to call them. Saddam Hussein was a threat to America and the free world in '91, in '98, in 2003. He continually ignored the demands of the free world, so the United States and friends and allies acted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Still a debate on Capitol Hill as to how much of any investigation should be opened to the public. Of course, it's a sensitive issue because of all of the classified information the administration will be sharing with the Congress. Again, the administration vows to cooperate, but here at the White House they think at least some of this is a political effort to smear the president just a bit heading into the re-election campaign.
And, Carol, for all of the controversy over this issue here in the United States, it still seems to pale when you look at the heat Prime Minister Blair is facing in Great Britain. COSTELLO: Oh, yes, because they are going to have an inquiry there. John King reporting live from the White House this morning.
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 June 17, 2003 - 06:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's head live to Washington, D.C. and the White House, where President Bush says he is secure in the reasons he sent our troops to war.
Let's check in with our senior White House correspondent, John King.
Good morning -- John.
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.
And the president making that case at a time more and more folks on Capitol Hill are demanding an investigation into whether the administration somehow exaggerated or "shaded," as one senator put it, the intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq, some suggesting that Mr. Bush hyped any evidence of Saddam Hussein's weapons programs.
Well, the White House says it will fully cooperate with whatever investigations that Congress decides to launch, but listen closely to the president here. It is clear he doesn't think much of these investigations. It seems the president thinks they're a waste of time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And this nation acted to a threat from the dictator of Iraq. Now, there are some who would like to rewrite history. "Revisionist historians" is what I like to call them. Saddam Hussein was a threat to America and the free world in '91, in '98, in 2003. He continually ignored the demands of the free world, so the United States and friends and allies acted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Still a debate on Capitol Hill as to how much of any investigation should be opened to the public. Of course, it's a sensitive issue because of all of the classified information the administration will be sharing with the Congress. Again, the administration vows to cooperate, but here at the White House they think at least some of this is a political effort to smear the president just a bit heading into the re-election campaign.
And, Carol, for all of the controversy over this issue here in the United States, it still seems to pale when you look at the heat Prime Minister Blair is facing in Great Britain. COSTELLO: Oh, yes, because they are going to have an inquiry there. John King reporting live from the White House this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
