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CNN Live At Daybreak

International News Desk

Aired August 25, 2003 - 05:39   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: Well, let's go back to Iraq and talk about peace there and if it will really ever come.
Our senior international editor, David Clinch, is here to fill us in on some of the new developments this morning.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Carol, yes, good morning.

I'm depressed.

COSTELLO: Oh, no.

CLINCH: Yes. I mean we're, you know, our job here in the international desk and at CNN in general covering these international stories is always to sort of read the there leaves, look behind the headlines at what's really going on, predict the future, try to plan for the future. Well, it's pretty depressing looking at what's going on in Iraq. Hundreds, you know, thousands of U.S. troops there already, the question of whether there should be more U.S. troops there or not, security and violence issues now all over the country. We're covering shootings in Basra, in Najaf, in Kirkuk in northern Iraq. It's all over the place.

It's not all bad news, but it's certainly depressing when you start to think about the idea that we're already looking at billions of dollars of U.S. investment, thousands of troops there and really it's not a question of no end in sight, but there's no clear next step.

Even just in terms of our coverage, you know, will there be elections, you know, will they capture Saddam Hussein, will this violence end? None of those things are clear. It just sort of seems to be turning into this day by day rolling violence, which, of course, again, slightly depressing to cover.

On a cheerier note, in Israel, not, unfortunately...

COSTELLO: There's something -- no. I was going to say, are you kidding?

CLINCH: You know, again, usually we're in a position to sort of say, you know, violence is continuing in advance of a U.S. official coming to the region or in advance of Israeli elections or in advance of something. In advance of what? I mean it's just not clear right now. We've got reporters in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Jerusalem, covering all aspects of this story, and they're all telling me today no end in sight.

Again, I mean bloodletting on both sides. We're searching again. You know, we're not giving up on being depressed on all aspects. We're trying to find the doves, the people who want peace, on the Israeli side, and, believe it or not, on the Palestinian side, as well. There are people there who are talking about peace, thinking about peace. It's just very difficult...

COSTELLO: But are they in a position to do anything about peace?

CLINCH: That exactly is the point. That's the point. They really aren't. I mean while this cycle continues, while nobody has a clear guideline of when it ends, those voices are basically silent. And even if they're not, nobody is listening to them.

So rather depressing. But, you know, we don't give up. There are always stories to be told of people who are optimistic and we're looking for those, too.

And also building up later this week to some key talks on the North Korea nuclear issue. You know, you remember we've been busy covering Iraq and Israel. North Korea has been busy building nuclear weapons. A major issue for the U.S., which will culminate in some talks in Beijing later this week.

We've got our reporters in Seoul, Beijing, Tokyo, everywhere, all the regional. The U.S. will be there at those talks, North Koreans sitting right across the table from them, probably not a very friendly atmosphere, but it's a very, very important issue for the United States. It could also end up being a very expensive issue for the United States.

The best scenario is if the talks succeed, it's going to cost a fortunate in terms of paying for whatever it is that North Korea wants in order to stop building nuclear weapons.

COSTELLO: Right. Right.

CLINCH: And all of that is unclear. If the talks are unsuccessful, another crisis, another big problem in another region for the United States to deal with. But, you know, there are reasons -- some reasons to be optimistic there. And maybe it'll only be money there, as opposed to troops and...

COSTELLO: I don't think you've given us much food for optimism there, but thank you very much.

CLINCH: Oh, well, I'll try. I'll come back the next hour and try and find something cheery.

COSTELLO: We hope so.

CLINCH: OK.

COSTELLO: And you still have to get out of bed 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 August 25, 2003 - 05:39   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, let's go back to Iraq and talk about peace there and if it will really ever come.
Our senior international editor, David Clinch, is here to fill us in on some of the new developments this morning.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Carol, yes, good morning.

I'm depressed.

COSTELLO: Oh, no.

CLINCH: Yes. I mean we're, you know, our job here in the international desk and at CNN in general covering these international stories is always to sort of read the there leaves, look behind the headlines at what's really going on, predict the future, try to plan for the future. Well, it's pretty depressing looking at what's going on in Iraq. Hundreds, you know, thousands of U.S. troops there already, the question of whether there should be more U.S. troops there or not, security and violence issues now all over the country. We're covering shootings in Basra, in Najaf, in Kirkuk in northern Iraq. It's all over the place.

It's not all bad news, but it's certainly depressing when you start to think about the idea that we're already looking at billions of dollars of U.S. investment, thousands of troops there and really it's not a question of no end in sight, but there's no clear next step.

Even just in terms of our coverage, you know, will there be elections, you know, will they capture Saddam Hussein, will this violence end? None of those things are clear. It just sort of seems to be turning into this day by day rolling violence, which, of course, again, slightly depressing to cover.

On a cheerier note, in Israel, not, unfortunately...

COSTELLO: There's something -- no. I was going to say, are you kidding?

CLINCH: You know, again, usually we're in a position to sort of say, you know, violence is continuing in advance of a U.S. official coming to the region or in advance of Israeli elections or in advance of something. In advance of what? I mean it's just not clear right now. We've got reporters in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Jerusalem, covering all aspects of this story, and they're all telling me today no end in sight.

Again, I mean bloodletting on both sides. We're searching again. You know, we're not giving up on being depressed on all aspects. We're trying to find the doves, the people who want peace, on the Israeli side, and, believe it or not, on the Palestinian side, as well. There are people there who are talking about peace, thinking about peace. It's just very difficult...

COSTELLO: But are they in a position to do anything about peace?

CLINCH: That exactly is the point. That's the point. They really aren't. I mean while this cycle continues, while nobody has a clear guideline of when it ends, those voices are basically silent. And even if they're not, nobody is listening to them.

So rather depressing. But, you know, we don't give up. There are always stories to be told of people who are optimistic and we're looking for those, too.

And also building up later this week to some key talks on the North Korea nuclear issue. You know, you remember we've been busy covering Iraq and Israel. North Korea has been busy building nuclear weapons. A major issue for the U.S., which will culminate in some talks in Beijing later this week.

We've got our reporters in Seoul, Beijing, Tokyo, everywhere, all the regional. The U.S. will be there at those talks, North Koreans sitting right across the table from them, probably not a very friendly atmosphere, but it's a very, very important issue for the United States. It could also end up being a very expensive issue for the United States.

The best scenario is if the talks succeed, it's going to cost a fortunate in terms of paying for whatever it is that North Korea wants in order to stop building nuclear weapons.

COSTELLO: Right. Right.

CLINCH: And all of that is unclear. If the talks are unsuccessful, another crisis, another big problem in another region for the United States to deal with. But, you know, there are reasons -- some reasons to be optimistic there. And maybe it'll only be money there, as opposed to troops and...

COSTELLO: I don't think you've given us much food for optimism there, but thank you very much.

CLINCH: Oh, well, I'll try. I'll come back the next hour and try and find something cheery.

COSTELLO: We hope so.

CLINCH: OK.

COSTELLO: And you still have to get out of bed 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