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CNN Live At Daybreak
Reaction in Washington to Saddam's Capture
Aired December 15, 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: We want to head live to Washington to see how it is reacting to Saddam's capture. There are so many questions to be answered, like what will happen to Saddam? Will he spill some information on weapons of mass destruction?
Let's head live to the White House now and our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux.
What will Washington say today -- Suzanne?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Bush is going to be meeting actually with the minister of health from Iraq. He's also going to be meeting with some Iraqi doctors. So, we expect that he will go ahead and make further comments.
I was at this concert last night in Washington where the president and the first lady attended, the president getting a standing ovation. He was thanking the troops. The president, of course, said it was a big day for the Iraqi people, but also monumental for the White House.
But as you bring up, there's really a lot of significant unanswered questions in the afterglow of Saddam Hussein's capture. First and foremost, will Saddam Hussein provide any information about a weapons of mass destruction program, the justification for the administration going to war in the first place? So far, senior administration officials are saying in his initial interview he says that he had no such program.
Also, of course, whether or not this symbolic victory will translate into more international help, particularly from those -- France, Germany and Russia -- leaders who are still quite angry about being left out of lucrative Iraqi contracts?
And finally, the last question here is: Is this going to make any difference on the ground inside of Iraq? President Bush yesterday warning Americans, saying that he does not believe that these attacks against U.S. troops and Iraqis are going to let up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, on behalf of the nation, I thank the members of our armed forces, and I congratulate them.
I also have a message for all Americans: The capture of Saddam Hussein does not mean the end of violence in Iraq. We still face terrorists who would rather go on killing the innocent than accept the rise of liberty in the heart of the Middle East. Such men are a direct threat to the American people, and they will be defeated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Well, Carol, in a clear sign the administration has learned some lessons from the time that Bush declared that major combat was over underneath a banner that said, "Mission accomplished." The White House being cautious about what all of this means, and as you bring up, many different questions about just how this will be handled, the trial of Saddam Hussein, and what kind of information this administration will get to back up the justification for going to war -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Suzanne, you know, you said that everybody is being cautious about this. This comes from the British foreign secretary, Jack Straw. This is from Reuters. He said: "Frankly, I'm not holding my breath for any confessional statement from Saddam Hussein. He wouldn't understand the truth if he fell over it." And he was speaking about possibly Saddam giving some information about weapons of mass destruction.
Is Washington -- is anyone in Washington really hopeful that that will come from Saddam?
MALVEAUX: Well, so far, senior administration officials have told us they really don't know what to expect from Saddam, but they also don't really have very much stock in what he says. They say that this has been years that he has been deceiving the international community, that at best he may come up with some stories, but they don't necessarily believe that he is going to really bolster their case. What they have to do is work on the intelligence that actually led to his capture to see if, in fact, they can find any evidence of weapons of mass destruction.
COSTELLO: Suzanne Malveaux 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 December 15, 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: We want to head live to Washington to see how it is reacting to Saddam's capture. There are so many questions to be answered, like what will happen to Saddam? Will he spill some information on weapons of mass destruction?
Let's head live to the White House now and our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux.
What will Washington say today -- Suzanne?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Bush is going to be meeting actually with the minister of health from Iraq. He's also going to be meeting with some Iraqi doctors. So, we expect that he will go ahead and make further comments.
I was at this concert last night in Washington where the president and the first lady attended, the president getting a standing ovation. He was thanking the troops. The president, of course, said it was a big day for the Iraqi people, but also monumental for the White House.
But as you bring up, there's really a lot of significant unanswered questions in the afterglow of Saddam Hussein's capture. First and foremost, will Saddam Hussein provide any information about a weapons of mass destruction program, the justification for the administration going to war in the first place? So far, senior administration officials are saying in his initial interview he says that he had no such program.
Also, of course, whether or not this symbolic victory will translate into more international help, particularly from those -- France, Germany and Russia -- leaders who are still quite angry about being left out of lucrative Iraqi contracts?
And finally, the last question here is: Is this going to make any difference on the ground inside of Iraq? President Bush yesterday warning Americans, saying that he does not believe that these attacks against U.S. troops and Iraqis are going to let up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, on behalf of the nation, I thank the members of our armed forces, and I congratulate them.
I also have a message for all Americans: The capture of Saddam Hussein does not mean the end of violence in Iraq. We still face terrorists who would rather go on killing the innocent than accept the rise of liberty in the heart of the Middle East. Such men are a direct threat to the American people, and they will be defeated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Well, Carol, in a clear sign the administration has learned some lessons from the time that Bush declared that major combat was over underneath a banner that said, "Mission accomplished." The White House being cautious about what all of this means, and as you bring up, many different questions about just how this will be handled, the trial of Saddam Hussein, and what kind of information this administration will get to back up the justification for going to war -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Suzanne, you know, you said that everybody is being cautious about this. This comes from the British foreign secretary, Jack Straw. This is from Reuters. He said: "Frankly, I'm not holding my breath for any confessional statement from Saddam Hussein. He wouldn't understand the truth if he fell over it." And he was speaking about possibly Saddam giving some information about weapons of mass destruction.
Is Washington -- is anyone in Washington really hopeful that that will come from Saddam?
MALVEAUX: Well, so far, senior administration officials have told us they really don't know what to expect from Saddam, but they also don't really have very much stock in what he says. They say that this has been years that he has been deceiving the international community, that at best he may come up with some stories, but they don't necessarily believe that he is going to really bolster their case. What they have to do is work on the intelligence that actually led to his capture to see if, in fact, they can find any evidence of weapons of mass destruction.
COSTELLO: Suzanne Malveaux 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.
