Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Target: WMD
Aired February 12, 2004 - 06:00 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: A dig from the IAEA, at least it sounds that way. Fresh off the heels of President Bush's speech urging a stop to the spread of WMDs, Mohamed ElBaradei writes this in "The New York Times." This is in this morning's issue. He says, "We must abandon the unworkable notion that is morally reprehensible for some countries to pursue weapons of mass destruction yet morally acceptable for others to rely on them for security."
Let's head live to D.C. now and Bill Prasad for more on the president's speech.
Good morning -- Bill.
BILL PRASAD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
President Bush calls it the greatest threat humanity is facing. He's talking about the spread of nuclear and other weapons. He says it's a problem the world must confront.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PRASAD (voice-over): They are nuclear, chemical and biological -- weapons President Bush says must be taken off the black market and out of the hands of dangerous groups.
Example: the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb was able to sell nuclear secrets allegedly to several countries, including North Korea, through a global black market network.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I will continue to call upon the world to confront these dangers and to end them.
PRASAD: Mr. Bush introduced new proposals to stop the spread of weapons, including strengthening laws against proliferation, expanding programs to keep Cold War weapons out of the wrong hands, and giving greater responsibilities to the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog group. He also issued a warning to countries that do not cooperate.
BUSH: Continuing to seek those weapons will not bring security or international prestige, but only political isolation, economic hardship and other unwelcome consequences.
PRASAD: Some critics have accused the Bush administration of exaggerating the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction to further its foreign policy agenda, but some experts say the Bush proposals are solid. DAVID ALBRIGHT, INSTITUTE FOR SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY: We could end up with a much better non-proliferation regime with stronger treaties, stronger agreements, more political commitments by countries.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PRASAD: The White House says it wants to build on cooperation it's getting from other nations. This is also an opportunity for Mr. Bush to show he's a wartime president with vision during an election year.
We're live in Washington this morning. I'm Bill Prasad.
Carol -- back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Bill.
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 12, 2004 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A dig from the IAEA, at least it sounds that way. Fresh off the heels of President Bush's speech urging a stop to the spread of WMDs, Mohamed ElBaradei writes this in "The New York Times." This is in this morning's issue. He says, "We must abandon the unworkable notion that is morally reprehensible for some countries to pursue weapons of mass destruction yet morally acceptable for others to rely on them for security."
Let's head live to D.C. now and Bill Prasad for more on the president's speech.
Good morning -- Bill.
BILL PRASAD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
President Bush calls it the greatest threat humanity is facing. He's talking about the spread of nuclear and other weapons. He says it's a problem the world must confront.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PRASAD (voice-over): They are nuclear, chemical and biological -- weapons President Bush says must be taken off the black market and out of the hands of dangerous groups.
Example: the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb was able to sell nuclear secrets allegedly to several countries, including North Korea, through a global black market network.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I will continue to call upon the world to confront these dangers and to end them.
PRASAD: Mr. Bush introduced new proposals to stop the spread of weapons, including strengthening laws against proliferation, expanding programs to keep Cold War weapons out of the wrong hands, and giving greater responsibilities to the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog group. He also issued a warning to countries that do not cooperate.
BUSH: Continuing to seek those weapons will not bring security or international prestige, but only political isolation, economic hardship and other unwelcome consequences.
PRASAD: Some critics have accused the Bush administration of exaggerating the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction to further its foreign policy agenda, but some experts say the Bush proposals are solid. DAVID ALBRIGHT, INSTITUTE FOR SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY: We could end up with a much better non-proliferation regime with stronger treaties, stronger agreements, more political commitments by countries.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PRASAD: The White House says it wants to build on cooperation it's getting from other nations. This is also an opportunity for Mr. Bush to show he's a wartime president with vision during an election year.
We're live in Washington this morning. I'm Bill Prasad.
Carol -- back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Bill.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
