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American Morning

Interview with Paul Bremer

Aired January 20, 2004 - 07:16   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. plan for Iraqi self-rule is on a collision course with a leading Shiite cleric. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani is demanding direct elections in Iraq by the end of June. Thousands of Shiite Muslim Iraqis demonstrated in Baghdad again today in protest of the U.S. plan for elections.
Meanwhile, the top American in Baghdad, Paul Bremer, was in New York yesterday, asking the U.N. for help with the administration's election plan. And Paul Bremer joins us this morning from the White House.

Nice to see you, Ambassador Bremer. Thanks for being with us.

PAUL BREMER, U.S. CIVIL ADMINISTRATOR FOR IRAQ: Good to be with you.

O'BRIEN: I'm curious to know how the secretary-general, Kofi Annan, responded to what I think is fair to call an about-face -- the U.S. going from really not wanting U.N. help at all in any regard to needing help in dealing with what's happening as far as the election process goes in Iraq. What was his attitude like?

BREMER: Well, first of all, let's not get too dramatic here. We had encouraged the U.N. to play a role in Iraq right from the start. I expressed deep regret when they decided to pull out in August. I have publicly and privately -- and so has the other members of the administration -- encouraged them to come back. So, it's not really an about-face.

The secretary-general's response was very constructive. He asked good questions about how the role for the U.N. would work over the next six months and in the year afterwards, as the Iraqis get ready for democracy. He agreed very seriously and with some urgency to consider the request of the Governing Council to send a team there, and I thought it was a very useful and constructive meeting.

O'BRIEN: He said he's considering the request. How likely is it that, in fact, he will send the experts, do you think?

BREMER: I really don't want to speculate. I think that's a matter for the secretary-general and the U.N. to decide on. But he did say would make a decision soon, and we look forward to that.

O'BRIEN: At issue is really the election -- the direct elections as opposed to regional caucuses. The U.S., of course, is supporting the regional caucuses. Ali Sistani, a cleric -- a Muslim cleric, is really calling for direct elections. What's the big difference from the U.S. perspective? Why not just go with the direct elections as, clearly, a lot of the population would like?

BREMER: I think all Americans would prefer direct elections. We've been doing it for 200 years. But it requires a certain degree of technical infrastructure. For example, there is no election law in Iraq. There are no constituency boundaries. There is no census. There is no real way to organize political parties within the law. There is no media law. All of these things have to be put in place if you are going to have credible, direct elections.

So, the plan we've outlined provides for three direct elections next year and for a selection process this year. And it's in the area of the selection process that we think the U.N. can be of some assistance to us as we go forward now.

O'BRIEN: So, then to what degree do you think the U.N. can be used as leverage against the cleric, Ali Sistani, in pulling him toward what you would like to see?

BREMER: You know, I don't think it's so much a question of leverage here. What we're trying to do is find a solution that is going to work for us, for a majority of the Iraqi people, and provide a legitimate way of selecting the transitional legislature in international eyes. I think the U.N. can play a very important role in doing that, because they have a lot of expertise in the area of elections.

O'BRIEN: Do you think that they will find the findings of this expert team, assuming that, in fact, the secretary-general sends them? That they will find those findings to be happy, regardless of what the decision is?

BREMER: I noticed that one of the members of the Governing Council, who is quite close to Ayatollah Sistani, yesterday said that the ayatollah would abide by what the U.N. decided.

O'BRIEN: Ambassador Bremer joining us this morning. Ambassador Bremer, thank you very much.

BREMER: Good to be with you.

O'BRIEN: Thanks for being with us.

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 January 20, 2004 - 07:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. plan for Iraqi self-rule is on a collision course with a leading Shiite cleric. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani is demanding direct elections in Iraq by the end of June. Thousands of Shiite Muslim Iraqis demonstrated in Baghdad again today in protest of the U.S. plan for elections.
Meanwhile, the top American in Baghdad, Paul Bremer, was in New York yesterday, asking the U.N. for help with the administration's election plan. And Paul Bremer joins us this morning from the White House.

Nice to see you, Ambassador Bremer. Thanks for being with us.

PAUL BREMER, U.S. CIVIL ADMINISTRATOR FOR IRAQ: Good to be with you.

O'BRIEN: I'm curious to know how the secretary-general, Kofi Annan, responded to what I think is fair to call an about-face -- the U.S. going from really not wanting U.N. help at all in any regard to needing help in dealing with what's happening as far as the election process goes in Iraq. What was his attitude like?

BREMER: Well, first of all, let's not get too dramatic here. We had encouraged the U.N. to play a role in Iraq right from the start. I expressed deep regret when they decided to pull out in August. I have publicly and privately -- and so has the other members of the administration -- encouraged them to come back. So, it's not really an about-face.

The secretary-general's response was very constructive. He asked good questions about how the role for the U.N. would work over the next six months and in the year afterwards, as the Iraqis get ready for democracy. He agreed very seriously and with some urgency to consider the request of the Governing Council to send a team there, and I thought it was a very useful and constructive meeting.

O'BRIEN: He said he's considering the request. How likely is it that, in fact, he will send the experts, do you think?

BREMER: I really don't want to speculate. I think that's a matter for the secretary-general and the U.N. to decide on. But he did say would make a decision soon, and we look forward to that.

O'BRIEN: At issue is really the election -- the direct elections as opposed to regional caucuses. The U.S., of course, is supporting the regional caucuses. Ali Sistani, a cleric -- a Muslim cleric, is really calling for direct elections. What's the big difference from the U.S. perspective? Why not just go with the direct elections as, clearly, a lot of the population would like?

BREMER: I think all Americans would prefer direct elections. We've been doing it for 200 years. But it requires a certain degree of technical infrastructure. For example, there is no election law in Iraq. There are no constituency boundaries. There is no census. There is no real way to organize political parties within the law. There is no media law. All of these things have to be put in place if you are going to have credible, direct elections.

So, the plan we've outlined provides for three direct elections next year and for a selection process this year. And it's in the area of the selection process that we think the U.N. can be of some assistance to us as we go forward now.

O'BRIEN: So, then to what degree do you think the U.N. can be used as leverage against the cleric, Ali Sistani, in pulling him toward what you would like to see?

BREMER: You know, I don't think it's so much a question of leverage here. What we're trying to do is find a solution that is going to work for us, for a majority of the Iraqi people, and provide a legitimate way of selecting the transitional legislature in international eyes. I think the U.N. can play a very important role in doing that, because they have a lot of expertise in the area of elections.

O'BRIEN: Do you think that they will find the findings of this expert team, assuming that, in fact, the secretary-general sends them? That they will find those findings to be happy, regardless of what the decision is?

BREMER: I noticed that one of the members of the Governing Council, who is quite close to Ayatollah Sistani, yesterday said that the ayatollah would abide by what the U.N. decided.

O'BRIEN: Ambassador Bremer joining us this morning. Ambassador Bremer, thank you very much.

BREMER: Good to be with you.

O'BRIEN: Thanks for being with us.

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