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President Bush Bowing to Political Pressure in Iraq
Aired February 02, 2004 - 05:01 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: President Bush is bowing to political pressure in Iraq. As early as today, he is expected to name a commission to review U.S. intelligence about Iraq's weapons programs. That intelligence was used to justify going to war in Iraq.
CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has details for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Administration sources say President Bush will name a bipartisan, independent commission to investigate intelligence that was used to justify the Iraq war. Sources say Mr. Bush will sign an executive order this week to create the new commission, which will likely include nine members, made up of law makers, intelligence experts and other panelists the president will appoint.
DAVID KAY, FORMER U.S. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: There were no large stockpiles of weaponized WMD at the time Operation Iraqi Freedom began.
MALVEAUX: The White House's reversal comes after damaging testimony from former U.S. weapons inspector David Kay and growing pressure from law makers and other top officials, who are trying to restore the administration's credibility.
SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D-DW), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Everything is at stake here, whether you're talking about Iran, whether you're talking about North Korea in the future.
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R-NB), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: It is just as Senator Biden said, it's not just the intelligence capability of this country, but it is far beyond that in some ways, and that is the credibility of who we are around the world and the trust of our government and our leaders.
RICHARD HOLBROOKE, FORMER U.N. AMBASSADOR: The whole premise of preemptive war has been shattered because it must be based on ironclad empirical data.
MALVEAUX: Administration sources say the priorities now for the White House are to figure out the commission's makeup, the precise scope of its mission, whether it will deal with how the prewar intelligence was treated and the timeline for the investigation. Some want the commission to be set up after the six panels already investigating prewar intelligence submit their findings, which would likely mean after the presidential election. Others say it shouldn't wait.
SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-WV), VICE CHAIRMAN, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: It ought to be done right away and, you know, it may be used by the president in terms of getting by the election. But I can accept that because national security trumps a presidential election every time.
MALVEAUX (on camera): Sources say Mr. Bush will set a 2005 deadline for the commission to complete its review to prevent the commission's work from becoming a political football during the campaign season.
Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, the White House.
(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
Aired February 2, 2004 - 05:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is bowing to political pressure in Iraq. As early as today, he is expected to name a commission to review U.S. intelligence about Iraq's weapons programs. That intelligence was used to justify going to war in Iraq.
CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has details for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Administration sources say President Bush will name a bipartisan, independent commission to investigate intelligence that was used to justify the Iraq war. Sources say Mr. Bush will sign an executive order this week to create the new commission, which will likely include nine members, made up of law makers, intelligence experts and other panelists the president will appoint.
DAVID KAY, FORMER U.S. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: There were no large stockpiles of weaponized WMD at the time Operation Iraqi Freedom began.
MALVEAUX: The White House's reversal comes after damaging testimony from former U.S. weapons inspector David Kay and growing pressure from law makers and other top officials, who are trying to restore the administration's credibility.
SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D-DW), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Everything is at stake here, whether you're talking about Iran, whether you're talking about North Korea in the future.
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R-NB), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: It is just as Senator Biden said, it's not just the intelligence capability of this country, but it is far beyond that in some ways, and that is the credibility of who we are around the world and the trust of our government and our leaders.
RICHARD HOLBROOKE, FORMER U.N. AMBASSADOR: The whole premise of preemptive war has been shattered because it must be based on ironclad empirical data.
MALVEAUX: Administration sources say the priorities now for the White House are to figure out the commission's makeup, the precise scope of its mission, whether it will deal with how the prewar intelligence was treated and the timeline for the investigation. Some want the commission to be set up after the six panels already investigating prewar intelligence submit their findings, which would likely mean after the presidential election. Others say it shouldn't wait.
SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-WV), VICE CHAIRMAN, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: It ought to be done right away and, you know, it may be used by the president in terms of getting by the election. But I can accept that because national security trumps a presidential election every time.
MALVEAUX (on camera): Sources say Mr. Bush will set a 2005 deadline for the commission to complete its review to prevent the commission's work from becoming a political football during the campaign season.
Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, the White House.
(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
