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CNN Live At Daybreak

International News Desk

Aired November 12, 2003 - 05:37   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: This has certainly been a violent day in Iraq and we want to talk about that and Paul Bremer's sudden visit to Washington.
Our senior international editor, David Clinch, is with us now.

I want to get back to my original question, this targeting, this supposed targeting of the Italian police headquarters in Nasiriyah. I know that many in Italy are not in favor of having any sort of troops over there in Iraq.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: That is correct. As in many cases, even in Britain, which has the most troops other than the United States, and certainly here in the United States, where many people oppose the American forces being there, there is opposition in Italy, a large amount of opposition in Italy to Italian forces being there. A direct attack, the killing of Italian soldiers in Iraq, will only add to the problems of the Italian prime minister as he supports President Bush and the coalition in Iraq.

The death toll could go higher. We haven't been able to get to Nasiriyah. Communications are very difficult. We have heard that the building has been destroyed.

COSTELLO: And I'm asking this because, you know, the United States is trying to get more international help and this could complicate things further.

CLINCH: Correct. We've reported a couple of times recently that the prospect of getting troops, Muslim troops from Pakistan, from any of the other, from Turkey, from any of the other Muslim countries, is disappearing rapidly. It's not impossible, but it's unlikely.

The other countries that they're looking to, Japan, Korea. Donald Rumsfeld is going out there next week. It's possible. It won't be very many troops. Some of them, in Japan's case, will not take part in any offensive action of any kind. They're purely a peacekeeping type role.

It's a problem, a major problem. All of that, added together with the overall security situation and the political situation, is exactly why Paul Bremer is back in Washington.

Let's go through the sequence here. A CIA report turns up in Washington at the White House late Monday saying the situation is getting worse. Well, it doesn't take the CIA to tell us that. General Sanchez said that yesterday in his press conference. Attacks on Italians. Another U.S. soldier killed today. The situation is getting worse.

But part of the problem is that the U.S. sees itself in the position of being a target because it's not moving rapidly enough to hand over power to the Iraqis. Bremer is back in D.C. today, we are told, to look specifically at how that process can be quickened...

COSTELLO: Accelerated.

CLINCH: Accelerated, exactly. One of the problems is there's major disagreement, we are told, within the U.S. administration itself. A lot of emphasis in our reporting and in the reports coming out of why Bremer is back on the problems with the Iraqi Governing Council. The Iraqi Governing Council says it may not be perfect, but part of the problem is, according to one, to the acting foreign minister today, says don't blame us, blame the infighting in the U.S. administration.

Now, I can't say whether there is infighting, but we're told in Washington that one of the reasons Bremer is there is there is a major disagreement about how to go forward, how to accelerate that process. And it'll be very interesting to see what Bremer, President Bush and the others come up with in the next two days.

COSTELLO: Hopefully a lot more information will be coming out later today.

David Clinch, many thanks.

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 November 12, 2003 - 05:37   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: This has certainly been a violent day in Iraq and we want to talk about that and Paul Bremer's sudden visit to Washington.
Our senior international editor, David Clinch, is with us now.

I want to get back to my original question, this targeting, this supposed targeting of the Italian police headquarters in Nasiriyah. I know that many in Italy are not in favor of having any sort of troops over there in Iraq.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: That is correct. As in many cases, even in Britain, which has the most troops other than the United States, and certainly here in the United States, where many people oppose the American forces being there, there is opposition in Italy, a large amount of opposition in Italy to Italian forces being there. A direct attack, the killing of Italian soldiers in Iraq, will only add to the problems of the Italian prime minister as he supports President Bush and the coalition in Iraq.

The death toll could go higher. We haven't been able to get to Nasiriyah. Communications are very difficult. We have heard that the building has been destroyed.

COSTELLO: And I'm asking this because, you know, the United States is trying to get more international help and this could complicate things further.

CLINCH: Correct. We've reported a couple of times recently that the prospect of getting troops, Muslim troops from Pakistan, from any of the other, from Turkey, from any of the other Muslim countries, is disappearing rapidly. It's not impossible, but it's unlikely.

The other countries that they're looking to, Japan, Korea. Donald Rumsfeld is going out there next week. It's possible. It won't be very many troops. Some of them, in Japan's case, will not take part in any offensive action of any kind. They're purely a peacekeeping type role.

It's a problem, a major problem. All of that, added together with the overall security situation and the political situation, is exactly why Paul Bremer is back in Washington.

Let's go through the sequence here. A CIA report turns up in Washington at the White House late Monday saying the situation is getting worse. Well, it doesn't take the CIA to tell us that. General Sanchez said that yesterday in his press conference. Attacks on Italians. Another U.S. soldier killed today. The situation is getting worse.

But part of the problem is that the U.S. sees itself in the position of being a target because it's not moving rapidly enough to hand over power to the Iraqis. Bremer is back in D.C. today, we are told, to look specifically at how that process can be quickened...

COSTELLO: Accelerated.

CLINCH: Accelerated, exactly. One of the problems is there's major disagreement, we are told, within the U.S. administration itself. A lot of emphasis in our reporting and in the reports coming out of why Bremer is back on the problems with the Iraqi Governing Council. The Iraqi Governing Council says it may not be perfect, but part of the problem is, according to one, to the acting foreign minister today, says don't blame us, blame the infighting in the U.S. administration.

Now, I can't say whether there is infighting, but we're told in Washington that one of the reasons Bremer is there is there is a major disagreement about how to go forward, how to accelerate that process. And it'll be very interesting to see what Bremer, President Bush and the others come up with in the next two days.

COSTELLO: Hopefully a lot more information will be coming out later today.

David Clinch, many thanks.

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