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One Member of U.S. House Remains Highly Critical of Iraq War

Aired December 17, 2003 - 05:19   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: While the capture of Saddam Hussein appears to have given the Bush presidency a bounce in the polls, one member of the U.S. House remains highly critical of the Iraq war.
Bruce Morton has more on that for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUCE MORTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Representative Jim McDermott, Democrat of Washington, is famously against the war. He criticized President Bush for ordering air strikes on Afghanistan after 9/11; criticized Bush again while in Baghdad; and told ABC he found Saddam Hussein more credible.

He was one of six Democratic congressmen, including presidential wannabe Dennis Kucinich, who filed an unsuccessful lawsuit to stop the president from attacking Iraq. Then, yesterday, he told radio station KIRO the administration could have captured Hussein long ago if it had wanted to.

REP. JIM MCDERMOTT (D), WASHINGTON: I know that they've been in contact with people all along who knew basically where he was. I'm sure they could have found him a long time ago.

MORTON: Later on KIRO-TV, he explained, sort of.

MCDERMOTT: Well, the president said that, you know, he was told early in the morning and then he went to bed? I can't believe the guy would go to bed when he had just been told that they'd gotten Saddam Hussein. And then he says he was awakened at five in the morning by Condoleezza Rice and he then made his announcement. Well, I don't know what he was doing. I know it didn't make any of the newspapers on Sunday, but it was all over TV.

So I don't know what happened. I know that they manage the news very well.

MORTON: For the record, after the combined reporting of two CNN correspondents in Washington and a producer in Baghdad, CNN went on the air with the capture at 5:00 a.m., before the White House had said anything. The Sunday papers, of course, had all been printed earlier.

Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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




War>


Aired December 17, 2003 - 05:19   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: While the capture of Saddam Hussein appears to have given the Bush presidency a bounce in the polls, one member of the U.S. House remains highly critical of the Iraq war.
Bruce Morton has more on that for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUCE MORTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Representative Jim McDermott, Democrat of Washington, is famously against the war. He criticized President Bush for ordering air strikes on Afghanistan after 9/11; criticized Bush again while in Baghdad; and told ABC he found Saddam Hussein more credible.

He was one of six Democratic congressmen, including presidential wannabe Dennis Kucinich, who filed an unsuccessful lawsuit to stop the president from attacking Iraq. Then, yesterday, he told radio station KIRO the administration could have captured Hussein long ago if it had wanted to.

REP. JIM MCDERMOTT (D), WASHINGTON: I know that they've been in contact with people all along who knew basically where he was. I'm sure they could have found him a long time ago.

MORTON: Later on KIRO-TV, he explained, sort of.

MCDERMOTT: Well, the president said that, you know, he was told early in the morning and then he went to bed? I can't believe the guy would go to bed when he had just been told that they'd gotten Saddam Hussein. And then he says he was awakened at five in the morning by Condoleezza Rice and he then made his announcement. Well, I don't know what he was doing. I know it didn't make any of the newspapers on Sunday, but it was all over TV.

So I don't know what happened. I know that they manage the news very well.

MORTON: For the record, after the combined reporting of two CNN correspondents in Washington and a producer in Baghdad, CNN went on the air with the capture at 5:00 a.m., before the White House had said anything. The Sunday papers, of course, had all been printed earlier.

Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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




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