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CNN Live At Daybreak

International News Desk

Aired August 20, 2003 - 05:38   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.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Of course, CNN has correspondents covering all angles of the suicide bombings in Baghdad and in Israel.
Our senior international editor, David Clinch, is supervising it all. And this has got to be a tough time for correspondents there.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes, Carol, very busy. Very busy. Two huge stories for us in Israel and in Iraq, of course. But really one issue, primarily, especially for the domestic audience that we're looking into today. The issue of whether U.S. policy for the Middle East is right or wrong, basically whether the United States and the U.N. and Israel, for that matter, are paying the price for being wrong, for having something wrong with the policy that they're pursuing, particularly the U.S., obviously, or, on the other hand -- and we're bringing you arguments, really, from both directions, whether the United States, the U.N. and Israel are paying the price for being right in the sense that they are trying their best to bring peace, democracy, Western values to the Middle East, to this part of the world, and whether the price they're paying -- the U.N., unfortunately, paying the price in Iraq; the Israelis, of course, continue to pay the price in Israel -- whether that is, in fact, the price of doing the right thing and whether it's a battle to the end.

I mean in Israel, of course, many in Israel always see this as a battle to the end, that there can be no compromise with terror.

The U.S., of course, may not be able to look at it in the same way. But that's the sort of big issue that we're looking on both of these stories today.

COSTELLO: Well, the other big issue that's hanging out there as far as Iraq is concerned is whether this attack will galvanize the world to help the United States in reconstructing Iraq or will it drive other countries farther away?

CLINCH: Right. Absolutely. Well, it's the other side of the same coin, really. I mean the United States, obviously the U.S. Bush administration sees it now and has seen it from the start as a battle worth fighting in Iraq. Unlikely to change their minds. Kofi Annan, not necessarily a supporter of the war in the first place, but certainly saying that the U.N. is not getting out of Iraq now or ever. They won't be intimidated by terrorism.

COSTELLO: Yes, but what about other countries? What about countries like Britain? I mean they're already angry that they're over there in Britain.

CLINCH: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: British troops are still there and now this has happened.

CLINCH: Well, that's certainly true. There is a big question mark in Britain and, of course, here in the U.S., too, as to whether support for the war in Iraq and the efforts to build Iraq can be sustained long-term if this is the price. Whether the policy is right or wrong doesn't really matter at this point. The price is very heavy and it's certainly going to be an interesting question to see what the political price is for the Bush administration and elsewhere, as you say, in Britain and elsewhere.

And, of course, another aspect of the story in both places, the peace makers and the children, if you want to look at it this way, the victims, it's a very important part of the story. I say this every time, but in Iraq and in Israel, we will not ignore the fact that there are human victims here, Sergio de Mello, the other U.N. peacekeepers in Iraq, the children, at least six out of the 20 killed in Israel were young children, and that's an important part of the story we will not ignore.

COSTELLO: All right, David Clinch, many thanks.

CLINCH: OK.

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 August 20, 2003 - 05:38   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Of course, CNN has correspondents covering all angles of the suicide bombings in Baghdad and in Israel.
Our senior international editor, David Clinch, is supervising it all. And this has got to be a tough time for correspondents there.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes, Carol, very busy. Very busy. Two huge stories for us in Israel and in Iraq, of course. But really one issue, primarily, especially for the domestic audience that we're looking into today. The issue of whether U.S. policy for the Middle East is right or wrong, basically whether the United States and the U.N. and Israel, for that matter, are paying the price for being wrong, for having something wrong with the policy that they're pursuing, particularly the U.S., obviously, or, on the other hand -- and we're bringing you arguments, really, from both directions, whether the United States, the U.N. and Israel are paying the price for being right in the sense that they are trying their best to bring peace, democracy, Western values to the Middle East, to this part of the world, and whether the price they're paying -- the U.N., unfortunately, paying the price in Iraq; the Israelis, of course, continue to pay the price in Israel -- whether that is, in fact, the price of doing the right thing and whether it's a battle to the end.

I mean in Israel, of course, many in Israel always see this as a battle to the end, that there can be no compromise with terror.

The U.S., of course, may not be able to look at it in the same way. But that's the sort of big issue that we're looking on both of these stories today.

COSTELLO: Well, the other big issue that's hanging out there as far as Iraq is concerned is whether this attack will galvanize the world to help the United States in reconstructing Iraq or will it drive other countries farther away?

CLINCH: Right. Absolutely. Well, it's the other side of the same coin, really. I mean the United States, obviously the U.S. Bush administration sees it now and has seen it from the start as a battle worth fighting in Iraq. Unlikely to change their minds. Kofi Annan, not necessarily a supporter of the war in the first place, but certainly saying that the U.N. is not getting out of Iraq now or ever. They won't be intimidated by terrorism.

COSTELLO: Yes, but what about other countries? What about countries like Britain? I mean they're already angry that they're over there in Britain.

CLINCH: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: British troops are still there and now this has happened.

CLINCH: Well, that's certainly true. There is a big question mark in Britain and, of course, here in the U.S., too, as to whether support for the war in Iraq and the efforts to build Iraq can be sustained long-term if this is the price. Whether the policy is right or wrong doesn't really matter at this point. The price is very heavy and it's certainly going to be an interesting question to see what the political price is for the Bush administration and elsewhere, as you say, in Britain and elsewhere.

And, of course, another aspect of the story in both places, the peace makers and the children, if you want to look at it this way, the victims, it's a very important part of the story. I say this every time, but in Iraq and in Israel, we will not ignore the fact that there are human victims here, Sergio de Mello, the other U.N. peacekeepers in Iraq, the children, at least six out of the 20 killed in Israel were young children, and that's an important part of the story we will not ignore.

COSTELLO: All right, David Clinch, many thanks.

CLINCH: OK.

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