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Plame Warns About Spread And Threat Of Nuclear Weapons; Live Coverage And Analysis Of Jodi Arias Trial; Michelle Obama Discusses Health Of The Nation In Google-Plus Hangout Today
Aired March 04, 2013 - 15:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: A former spy who worked to uncover the most tightly held secrets of Iran and Pakistan has a warning about the spread of nuclear weapons and the threat it poses to all of us. I know you remember Valerie Plame Wilson as the CIA officer working under deep cover, was outed early in the Iraq war. She wrote about all of this in her memoir, which was the basis for the movie "Fair Game."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Wilson never worked for the CIA, but his wife --
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: There's an agency operative on weapons of mass destruction. He just went ahead and did it.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Does this run overseas?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: It's in the newspaper, Valerie.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: No, that column, is it syndicated overseas?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: It is everywhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Clip from "Fair Game."
Now she's no longer a spy. Valerie Plame Wilson is still very much so a global player. As a member of Global Zero, she's working to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
Valerie Plame Wilson, welcome to you. It is a pleasure to have you on here.
VALERIE PLAME WILSON, FORMER CIA OPERATIVE: Thanks for having me.
BALDWIN: Let's begin with this. I know you're calling on President Obama to take this big step toward wiping out nuclear weapons. That's basically what Global Zero means. What specifically are you asking of him to do?
PLAME: That's right. I'm delighted to be representing Global Zero, which I s an international movement for a world without nuclear weapons.
And this week we are launching an international campaign to call on President Obama to set the world's course to zero nuclear weapons by further -- by negotiating further cuts in the U.S./Russia arsenals and to take the next, really big, historic step, which is to bring all of the nuclear powers to the table for international nuclear arms talks.
It's exciting.
BALDWIN: I want to play this little clip. This is from Global Zero's new video. This is narrated by actor Michael Douglas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL DOUGLAS, ACTOR: Did you see the world differently? Did you celebrate the victory?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Want to ask you a question, a similar question I asked when we had Queen Noor of Jordan on. I know she works with this initiative as well.
Do you see the world, do you really see the world reaching zero nukes in our lifetime?
PLAME WILSON: This isn't something that's going to happen next week or next month, maybe not in our lifetime, but we have a tremendous opportunity right now.
President Obama is obviously in his second term, and no doubt, thinking about legacy issues. And this is something where he believes in personally and we have an opportunity to really make some -- cover some ground.
He's picking up the mantle that President Reagan started. He was the first one who envisioned a world without nuclear weapons.
And, if you remember, during the Reykjavik summit with Gorbachev in 1986, they came very, very close, but then for a variety of reasons were not able to come to an agreement.
And now we have an opportunity because the world is a so much more dangerous and volatile place with the proliferation of nuclear technology, as well as the terrorist threat.
We have nine, declared-nuclear nations, and it's absolutely critical that we move ahead, and I do think this is something we can do.
BALDWIN: We have 50 percent more nuclear weapons since the end of the Cold War. I know a lot of this, too, is just raising awareness, not necessarily to the duck-and-cover generation, but for younger people, as well.
But let me, if I may, switch gears because the big story, also, as we talk North Korea, we talk Dennis Rodman, right? So, you're seeing Dennis Rodman, along with some Harlem Globetrotters, heads over to Pyongyang, hangs out with apparently his new friend, his words, "his new friend," Kim Jong-un, the son of this mad man.
I mean, this guy is just 28. Apparently, he's a basketball fan. What do you think of this, Valerie? Basketball diplomacy? Could this lead to something?
PLAME WILSON: Perhaps.
BALDWIN: You laugh?
PLAME WILSON: You don't want to close any doors, but I'm not sure Dennis Rodman is going to be the standard bearer for the United States.
