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Libya Operation Continues; Japanese Nuclear Workers Evacuated; President Obama Gives Speech in Chile About U.S. Relations with Latin American Nations; Administration Defends Decision for President to Travel to South America During Crisis in Libya

Aired March 21, 2011 - 15:04   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: So, you have been listening to President Obama and Chilean President Sebastian Pinera. They have been speaking in the Chilean capital of Santiago for the better part of 10, 20 minutes or so.

Bit of a statement from both and then Q&A. And that was the first time we have seen President Obama speaking in front of a camera since the military bombardment has begun in Libya. The picture on the right half of your screen, these are -- are these live pictures, Ange (ph)? These are live pictures of Tripoli. We want to listen?

Let's listen. You can hear the echoing of the anti-aircraft fire there in the capital city of Libya.

I want to bring in Wolf Blitzer.

Wolf, I know you were listening as we watch these pictures, the lights, the skies over Libya illuminated for, what, the third day in a row here.

Wolf, what did you make of what the president said? It seemed to me he was making it very, very clear that the military action we have seen over the last couple of days is very much so in line with the U.N. Security Council resolution that was signed back on Thursday, Resolution 1973, to protect Libyan civilians by all measures necessary.

But, Wolf, it was very clear the president, very clear, to differentiate that it is still U.S. policy they want Gadhafi out.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. He was very clear on that. He was blunt, a lot blunter than I thought he was going to be, given the international sensitivity on a lot of these issues right now.

But he made it clear, yes, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 is strictly designed for humanitarian purposes to protect Libyan civilians, to create an environment for a no-fly zone over Libya. That's the United Nations' policy. That's what the United States supported at the U.N. Security Council. That's what the international community has endorsed. That's the mission of the U.S., the British, the French, the other militaries that are involved.

At the same time, the president was very precise. He said the U.S. policy, U.S. policy remains the same. You have got to get rid of Gadhafi. He says there's no ifs, ands or buts. Gadhafi must go.

The president was very forceful, saying there's a whole range of options that the United States has beyond the U.N. Security Council resolution to make sure that when all the dust settles, there's no Gadhafi ruling Libya. He spoke about some of the international sanctions, the unilateral U.S. sanctions, the freezing of about $30 billion in Libyan assets already in the United States.

He didn't go into other specifics, but there are plenty of other unilateral U.S.-specific operations under way right now designed for what's called regime change, in other words, getting rid of Gadhafi. And that's the -- the president minced no words on that, Brooke. He said that's the U.S. policy. The United Nations policy, the United Nations resolution, stops way short of that.

BALDWIN: You're absolutely right. And in case people missed it, part of this Q&A, when he was asked about what is happening here in Libya, we have quickly turned around some of the sound from that Q&A in Chile. Listen. This is President Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And we had done all the work and it was just a matter of seeing how Gadhafi would react to the warning that I issued on Friday. He, despite words to the contrary, was continuing to act aggressively toward his civilians.

After consultation with our allies, we decided to move forward. And it was a matter of me directing...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, unless you speak Spanish I know it's kind of difficult to be able to hear the president speaking in English. We're going to work on that and get a better translation.

Wolf Blitzer, I know you and I will be speaking a little later this hour. We know the president will actually be giving a speech.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Go ahead. Go ahead.

BLITZER: Brooke, let me just make one other point because I thought it was very significant, what the president said, even as there's obviously fire, anti-aircraft fire, going on over Tripoli right now. We don't know if there's another coalition airstrike that triggered the anti-aircraft fire.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Nic Robertson is on the scene for us. I'm sure we will get more information on that.

But something the president said raised an eyebrow, at least with me, when he said -- he was asked in a follow-up question, how long will the U.S. remain in charge? When will the transition to others to take leadership of this operation take place? He said several days. He says, days, not weeks. And then he emphasized several days.

I don't know what he means by several days. Earlier in the day, I had been hearing that the days, not weeks was already obsolete; given the complexity of this operation, the U.S. was going to remain in charge not just for a few more days, but perhaps for weeks right now.

So we need some clarification. Was the president giving the final, definitive word? Had he been formally, finally briefed by his military commanders that there was no way this transition could take place over a few days; it's going to take a few weeks? Those are questions we are going to have to now work on to see if, when the president says it will take days, not weeks, and then he said several days for the transition to take place, whether he was up to speed on what's going on, because earlier in the day we had been getting indications that it was going to be weeks, no longer days, as Admiral Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested yesterday.

BALDWIN: Right. Now, that's a good point. We don't know, days or weeks. Hopefully we can perhaps hear a little bit of clearing up the confusion. Maybe he will address that in his speech. We will hear from the president a little later this hour.

And, Wolf Blitzer, you and I will chat again as well.

And as we continue to hear some of that anti-aircraft, some of the sound there over the skies of Tripoli, I want to bring in Arwa Damon.

And, Arwa, I want you to tell me as best you can where you are, what you're seeing, what you're hearing.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, I'm in Benghazi, which is basically the heart of the opposition-controlled eastern part of Libya.

And it was a very, very dramatic development here when those fighter jets came in overhead on the weekend on Sunday and pounded Gadhafi's military that was massed some 20 miles outside of the city. On Saturday, Gadhafi's forces had in fact launched an attack on the city of Benghazi. At least 95 people were killed in that, according to hospital sources, and residents, eyewitnesses, were telling us horrific stories of how they saw Gadhafi's troops coming in on vehicles, mounted with heavy machine guns, firing indiscriminately into residential areas.

People here are very grateful at -- about this foreign intervention. We went out to the scene of where those airstrikes took place, one eyewitness telling us at least eight bombs were dropped. And we saw a graveyard of Gadhafi's military vehicles. We counted at least 70 vehicles that had been disabled.

So here in this part of the country, those fighter jets overhead very welcome, the population very grateful, because up until this point, they firmly believed that no matter how hard the opposition tried to hold out, a massacre at the hands of Gadhafi's forces was basically imminent -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Brooke, we had spoken -- last time we spoke, Arwa, was Friday where you had said many of these opposition forces were distraught because there had yet to be any kind of intervention on behalf of the international community. And now I know over the weekend there was a bit of celebration. Have you from your vantage in Benghazi, still rebel-controlled Benghazi, have you seen evidence of retreat of Gadhafi's forces?

DAMON: Well, they're no longer outside of Benghazi, as they were over the weekend. Based on what we have heard, no way to independently confirm this, but they retreated all the way to the city of Ajdabiya. It's around 100 miles to the west.

And it's there where they're facing off with opposition fighters, the opposition very much wanting to get that area and other areas back under their control. They say that they're growing increasingly worried about the populations in these areas that the military is controlling, great fears that the military is perhaps using local residents as human shields to protect themselves from these airstrikes.

We're also hearing stories that residents are being intimidated, that Gadhafi's forces have basically hit lists of those who were actively involved in this opposition, going after these individuals in their homes. And so the fight does appear to have very much moved away from Benghazi, thanks to those airstrikes the opposition says, and is now centering once again around the city of Ajdabiya, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Arwa Damon for me live in Benghazi -- Arwa, my thanks so you.

And we want to let you know we're working to try to get Nic Robertson up for us live, because Nic has been reporting out of Tripoli. In fact, Nic was one of the very few journalists given a tour inside of the Gadhafi compound that was bombed yesterday. So he can speak a little bit more about that and what he's seeing and hearing over the skies of Tripoli at this moment, again, live pictures as we have been seeing and hearing some of that anti-aircraft fire.

We're working on getting Nic. Also, we have learned today there is a meeting at the United Nations right now. Apparently, the Libyans would like to meet with the U.N. We will talk to Richard Roth at the U.N. Stay here. A lot of ground to cover. CNN. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: These are live pictures over the Libyan capital of Tripoli, tracer fire there, anti-aircraft fire, taped. Forgive me. I'm being told this is tape from just moments ago over the skies of Tripoli. We're working on getting our Nic Robertson, who has been reporting from Tripoli. We will get Nic here momentarily.

But I want to move on and talk about the U.N. here, because Libyan officials, they want this emergency meeting with the U.N. Security Council. They didn't get one yet, but something is going on right now behind closed doors at the United Nations.

And for that, I want to bring in Richard Roth, our senior U.N. correspondent.

And, Richard, I just want to make sure I'm hearing and understanding this right. The U.N. right now is holding a meeting to consider holding a meeting with Libya. Is that right?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: That's pretty close there.

The U.N. has its rules and regulations, and certainly when there's this major Security Council resolution passed last Thursday night and then you have all of this action going on in the arena of North Africa, somebody is going to ask to discuss something.

Now, it's Libya that is asking for a Security Council meeting, but you have to have a meeting really to talk about it. But the council was going to meet anyway about Sudan at this hour. So, right now, delegates are behind closed doors discussing Libya's request for a Security Council meeting.

Western powers are not going to be looking favorably on this request, we're told. They think the council has spoken and the resolution passed strongly last Thursday night, five abstentions, but it did pass. And we will find out -- the Chinese ambassador, the current president of the Security Council, says he is going to tells reporters what's going on. Russia denies calling for the meeting.

It's interesting, Brooke, because Libya doesn't really have any main official who are representing the Gadhafi government here. They politically defected weeks ago.

BALDWIN: Right. Right.

ROTH: Usually, you would have some lone figure standing up for a country under attack here. But that person does not exist at the moment publicly.

BALDWIN: Right. I remember it was some weeks ago, wasn't it? It was Libya's deputy ambassador, he essentially defected. He was once a confidant, defected. So who -- is there no one now, Richard, speaking on behalf of Libya at the U.N.?

ROTH: There really isn't anybody attending these meetings speaking up for Libya.

Lebanon, which voted for this resolution, as the lone Arab country on the Security Council, could always pass notes. But things get through the system. The Libyan government, Colonel Gadhafi wants his former ambassador to come back here, former president of the General Assembly, but he has to present his credentials here in New York to Ban Ki-Moon as part of the procedure.

They may meet privately in North Africa in the next few days, but today the spokesman at the U.N. says, no, for Libya to get its man here, the person has to fly here. Whether he would be allowed in or whether he wants to come here to represent Gadhafi, that is a whole other issue.

So, the Security Council -- certainly, will this coalition hold at the council? Certainly, it has so far, despite comments by Prime Minister Putin of Russia, who said what's happening in the skies over Libya is a medieval crusade. President Medvedev didn't agree.

So it's an interesting first test if anybody wants to come out and speak publicly saying, hey, listen, this has gone too far. We didn't vote for cruise missiles to be raining down on the Gadhafi compound.

BALDWIN: I know this meeting happening right now, the meeting to possibly hold a meeting, very much so behind closed doors. Richard, are you privy at all to knowing what it is specifically that Libya is seeking from the U.N. Security Council?

ROTH: Well, we have two letters sent from Libya. Libya wants to have an emergency meeting held in order to halt the aggression, which Libya says is not aimed at protecting civilians, but it's rather to strike civilian areas, economic facilities and armed forces, and also Libya insisting in another letter it's adhering to a cease-fire, though there's some widespread dispute of whether that is true on the ground.

BALDWIN: There were also, Richard, reports today -- you mentioned U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon -- that he was accosted by anti- American demonstrators in Cairo today. What do you know about that?

ROTH: Well, I wasn't there. I'm really not too sure on that. He was meeting with Arab League leaders, Amr Moussa. And Secretary Ban has been one of those in front you might call leading the call for this democracy movement in North Africa and the Middle East.

And he accepts what happened in Libya and what's going on. And he's not coming out and saying Gadhafi has to go, but he's certainly saying that democracy must occur. Secretary Ban is up for reelection this year and is certainly not going to be going against the U.S., China or other leaders on this issue.

BALDWIN: Well, obviously, if you hear that the U.N. Security Council is willing to meet with Libya, let us know. We will get you back on TV. Richard Roth live for us at the U.N. -- Richard, thank you.

And the U.S. thought it could count on their support in Libya, but we're now just getting word here that a key country in the Middle East is saying, not so fast. What that means for the whole mission as we move forward, that's next.

Also, we're going to bring you up to speed as to what's happening right now in Japan, where there is even more smoke, grayish-black smoke now sort of emanating from this nuclear reactor plant. Workers have been evacuated again. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Canada and Belgium now joining the coalition in the skies over Libya. Planes from that group flew their first missions today, but the UAE, the United Arab Emirates, made a point of saying it's only going to be provide humanitarian aid here for the Libyan people.

So who else is in, who else is out, and is it even necessary for Arab nations to take a military role in what's happening now in Libya?

Foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty is live there in Paris.

And, Jill, if I may here, I want to begin with some sound from Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Here's what he told CNN just yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADMIRAL MICHAEL MULLEN, JOINTS CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: I'm fairly confident, actually very confident, that there will be military capabilities from some Arab nations, and that they are actually moving into theater now.

So that's been the commitment on the part of the political leadership in some Arab countries, and I expect it to happen militarily as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, Jill, militarily, Admiral Mullen saying they would be heading into theater, into country. We also heard from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon over the weekend saying support from Arab leaders here is key to this Resolution 1973.

So, going forward here, how important is it that these Arab countries play a military role in Libya?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: It's extremely important, Brooke, because, after all, let's go back a little bit.

You know, it was the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Coalition that asked for this. It was pushing -- the GCC, it was asking for this. And the Western countries do not want it to look as if it's a Western operation. They definitely want Arab and Gulf participation.

In fact, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called it -- she said it changed the political landscape when they came out and asked for that.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Jill Dougherty, forgive me. Forgive me for interrupting you. Got to go live to President Obama speaking in Chile.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Please, please, everyone be seated. Thank you.

Buenas tardes. It is a wonderful honor to be here in Santiago, Chile, and I want to first of all thank your president, President Pinera, for his outstanding leadership and the hospitality that he's extended not only to me, but also to my wife, my daughters, and, most importantly, my mother-in-law.

(LAUGHTER)

To the people of Santiago, to the people of Chile, thank you so much for your wonderful welcome. And on behalf of the people of the United States, let me thank you for your friendship and the strong bonds between our people.

There are several people that I just want to acknowledge very briefly. We have the president of the Inter-American Development Bank, Luis Alberto Moreno, who is here.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

We also have Alicia Barcena, who is the executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

Throughout our history, this land has been called "El Fin de la Tierra," the end of the world. But I have come here today because, in the 21st century, this nation is a vital part of our interconnected world.

In an age when peoples are intertwined like never before, Chile shows that we need not be divided by race or religion or ethnic conflict. You've welcomed immigrants from every corner of the globe, even as you celebrate a proud indigenous heritage.

At a time when people around the world are reaching for their freedoms, Chile shows that, yes, it is possible to transition from dictatorship to democracy and to do so peacefully. Indeed, our marvelous surroundings today, just steps from where Chile lost its democracy decades ago, is a testament to Chile's progress and its undying democratic spirit.

Despite barriers of distance and geography, you've integrated Chile into the global economy, trading with countries all over the world, and in this Internet age, becoming the most digitally connected country in Latin America.

And in a world of sometimes wrenching pain, as we're seeing today in Japan, it is the character of this country that inspires."Our original guiding stars," said Pablo Neruda, "are struggle and hope." But he added "There is no such thing as a lone struggle, no such thing as a lone hope."

The Chilean people have shown this time and again, including your recovery from the terrible earthquake here one year ago. Credit for Chile's success belongs to the Chilean people whose courage, sacrifices, and perseverance built this nation into the leader that it is. And we are very honored to be joined today by four leaders who have guided this nation through years of great progress, presidents Elwin, Fray, Lagos and of course your current president, Pinera. Thank you all to the former presidents for being here, as well as President Pinera.

(APPLAUSE)

So I could not imagine a more fitting place to discuss the new era of partnership that the United States is pursuing, not only with Chile, but across the Americas, and I'm grateful that we're joined by leaders and members of the diplomatic corpses from across the region.

Within my first 100 days in office, one of my first foreign trips as president, I traveled to Trinidad and at Tobago to meet with leaders at the summit of the Americas. And there I pledged to seek partnerships of equality and shared responsibility based on mutual interest and mutual respect, based on shared values.

Now, I know I'm not the first president from the United States to pledge a new spirit of partnership with our Latin American neighbors. Words are easy, and I know that there have been times where perhaps the United States took this region for granted. Even now I know our headlines are often dominated by events in other parts of the world.

But let's never forget every day the future is being forged by the countries and peoples of Latin America. For Latin America is not a region of perpetual conflict or trapped in endless cycles of poverty. The world must now recognize Latin America for the dynamic and growing region that it truly is.

Latin America is at peace. Civil wars have ended. Insurgencies have been pushed back. Old border disputes have been resolved. In Colombia, great sacrifices by citizens and security forces have restored a level of security not seen in decades. And just as old conflicts have receded, so, too, have the ideological battles that often fueled them. The old, stale debates between state-run economies and unbridled capitalism, between the abuses of right wing paramilitaries and left wing insurgents, between those who believe the United States causes all the region's problems and those who believe the United States ignores all the region's problems, those are false choices, and they don't reflect today's realities.

Today Latin America is democratic. Virtually all the people of Latin America have gone from living under dictatorships to living in democracies. Across the region, we see vibrant democracies from Mexico to Chile to Costa Rica. We've seen historic, peaceful transfers of power from El Salvador to Uruguay to Paraguay. Today Latin America is growing. Having made tough but necessary reforms, nations like Peru and Brazil are seeing impressive growth.

As a result, Latin America weathered the global economic downturn better than other regions. Across the region tens of millions of people have been lifted from extreme poverty. From Guadalajara to Santiago to Sao Paulo, a new middle class is demanding more of themselves and more of their governments.

Latin America is coming together to address shared challenges. Chile, Colombia and Mexico are sharing their expertise in security with nations in Central America. When a coup in Honduras threatened democratic progress, the nations of the hemisphere unanimously invoked the Inter-American charter laying down the foundation to the return of the rule of law.

The contributions of Latin American countries have been critical in Haiti, as has Latin American diplomacy in the lead-up to yesterday's election in Haiti.

And increasingly, Latin America is contributing to global prosperity and security. As longtime contributors to United Nations peacekeeping missions, Latin America has helped from Africa to Asia. At the G-20, nations like Mexico, Brazil, Argentina now have a greater voice in economic decision making.

Under Mexican leadership, the world made progress at Cancun in our efforts to combat climate change. Nations like Chile have played a role in strengthening civil society groups around the world. So this is the Latin America that I see today, a region on the move, proud of its progress, and ready to assume a greater role in world affairs.

And for all of these reasons I believe that Latin America is more important to the prosperity and security of the United States than ever before. With no other region does the United States have so many connections, and nowhere do we see that more than in the tens of millions of Hispanic-Americans across the United States who enrich our society, grow our economy, and strengthen our nation every single day.

And I believe Latin America is only going to become more important to the United States, especially to our economy. Trade between the United States and Latin America has surged. We buy more of your products, more of your goods, than any other country, and we invest more in this region than any other country.

For instance, we export more than three times as much to Latin America as we do to China. Our exports to this region, which are growing faster than our exports to the rest of the world, will soon support more than two million U.S. jobs. In other words, when Latin America is more prosperous, the United States is more prosperous.

But even more than interests, we're bound by shared values. In each other's journey, we see reflections of our own -- colonists who broke free from empires, pioneers who opened new frontiers, citizens who have struggled to expand our nation's promise to all people, men and women, white, black, and brown.

We're people of faith who must remember that all of us, especially the most fortunate among us, must do our part, especially for the least among us. We're citizens who know that ensuring that democracies deliver for our people must be the work of all.

This is our common history. This is our common heritage. We are all Americans. Across the Americas, parents want their children to be able to run and play and know that they'll come home safely. Young people all desperately want an education. Fathers want the dignity that comes from work, and women want the same opportunities as their husbands. Entrepreneurs want the chance to start that new business. And people everywhere want to be treated with the respect to which every human being is entitled.

These are the hopes, simple yet profound, that beat in the hearts of millions across the Americas. But, if we're honest, we'll also admit that these dreams are still beyond the reach of to many. The progress in the Americas has not come fast enough, not for the millions who endure the injustice of extreme poverty, not for the children in shantytowns who just want the same chance as everybody else, not for the communities caught in the brutal grips of cartels and gangs where the police are outgunned and too many people live in fear.

And despite this region's democratic progress, stark inequalities endure and political and economic power that is too often concentrated in the hands of the few instead of serving the many, and the corruption that too often still stifles economic growth and development, innovation and entrepreneurship. And in some leaders who cling to bankrupt ideologies to justify their own power and who seek to silence their opponents because those opponents have the audacity to demand their universal rights.

These two are realities that we must face. Of course, we are not the first generation to face these challenges. Fifty years ago this month president John F. Kennedy proposed an ambitious alliance for progress. It was, even by today's standards, a massive investment, billions of U.S. dollars, to meet the basic needs of people across the region.

Such a program was right, it was appropriate for that era. But the realities of our time and the new capabilities of Latin America demand something different. President Kennedy's challenge endures, to build a hemisphere where all people can hope for a sustainable, suitable standard of living and all can live out their lives in dignity and freedom.

But half a century later, we must give meaning to this work in our own way, in a new way. I believe that in the Americas today there are no senior partners and there are no junior partners. There are only equal partners.

Of course, equal partnership in turn demands a sense of shared responsibility. We have obligations to each other. And today the United States is working with the nations of this hemisphere to meet our responsibilities in several key areas.

First, we're partnering to address the concerns that people across the Americas say they worry about the most, and that's the security of their families and communities. Criminal gangs and narco-traffickers are not only a threat to the security of our citizens. They're a threat to development because they scare away investment that economies need to prosper. And they are a direct threat to democracy because they fuel the corruption that rots institutions from within.

So, with our partners from Colombia to Mexico and new regional initiatives in Central America and the Caribbean, we're confronting this challenge together from every direction together. We've increased the support, equipment, training, and technologies that security forces, border security and police need to keep communities safe.

We're improving coordination and sharing more information so that those who traffic in drugs and in human beings have fewer places to hide. And we're putting unprecedented pressure on cartel finances, including in the United States.

But we'll never break the grip of the cartels and the gangs unless we also address the social and economic forces that fuel criminality. We need to reach at-risk youth before they turn to drugs and crime. So we're joining with partners across the Americas to expand community- based policing, strengthen juvenile justice systems, and invest in crime and drug prevention programs.

As the nations of Central America develop, a new regional security strategy, the United States stands ready to do our part through a new partnership that puts the focus where it should be, on the security of citizens. And with regional and international partners, we'll make sure our support is not just well-intentioned but is well-coordinated and well-spent.

As I've said before and I will repeat, as president I've made it clear that the United States shares and accepts our share of responsibility for drug violence. After all, the demand for drug, including in the United States, drives this crisis. And that's why we've developed a new drug control strategy that focused on reducing the demand for drugs through education and prevention and treatment.

And I would point out that even during difficult fiscal times in the United States we've proposed increasing our commitment to these efforts by some $10 billion this year alone.

We're also doing more to stem the southbound flow of guns into the region. We're screening all southbound rail cargo. We're seizing many more guns bound for Mexico and we're putting more gun runners behind bars. And every gun or gun runner that we take off the streets is one less threat to the families and communities of the Americas.

As we work to ensure the security of our citizens, we're partnering in a second area, and that's promoting prosperity and opportunity. I've been so impressed with President Pinera's pledge to lift everyone out of extreme poverty by 2020. That's an ambitious goal and an appropriate goal. And with this trip I'm working to expand some of the trade and investment that might help achieve this goal.

Across the region, we're moving ahead with open skies agreements to bring our people and businesses closer together. We're moving forward with our trans-Pacific partnership which includes Chile and Peru, to create new trade opportunities in the fast-growing markets of the Asia-Pacific. And as I've directed my administration has intensified our efforts to move forward on trade agreements with panama and Colombia, consistent with our values and with our interests.

We're also encouraging the next generation of businesses and entrepreneurs so we'll work with the inter-American development bank to increase lending. We've expanded credit under a new microfinance growth fund for the Americas. We're supporting reforms to tax systems, which are critical for economic growth and public investment. We're creating new pathways to prosperity -- microcredit, entrepreneurship training -- for those who must share in economic growth, including women and members of indigenous communities. And we're coming together as a hemisphere to create clean energy jobs and pursue more secure and sustainable energy futures.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: You have been listening to the president speaking from Santiago, Chile. He mentioned -- he called it the "end of the earth" there in Chile. This is just part of his South American tour. He left Friday for Brazil. We saw him in Rio. Now here he is speaking in Santiago. He's been speaking about economic growth and interconnectedness, issues with narco-trafficking, human rights, clean energy. He will continue to speak for some time here. And of course, we'll be monitoring the speech through that point in time.

But I do want to bring in both Gloria Borger and Wolf Blitzer, both of whom I know have been watching this speech and are quite familiar with the fact that, in addition to the fact the president is in South America, he's caught a bit of heat for leaving the Oval Office at a time where the U.S. and other coalition forces are exercising their military might in Libya. We'll get to that in just a moment.

But Ms. Borger, I want to begin with you. You've been listening to the first bit of the speech. What has stood out for you?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, I think this is something we've heard the president talk about before. I think he clearly is making an overture to this part of the world, saying that, you know, in the past some presidents may not have paid as much attention to you as I am paying to you, because I think if you do well, America does well.

So he was emphasizing all the things that you spoke about, Brooke, shared goals in the world. And so, you know, in a sense it was kind of a predictable sort of speech that we all knew he was going to give.

I think what's interesting, as you point out, is that he is there right now when we have American military action in Libya. And in talking to people in the administration, when they made this decision about whether to go or whether to stay here, they decided in fact that they need to go because they weren't leading the military intervention in the Arab world, and they wanted to make a point of that by going on with this trip.

BALDWIN: Gloria, stand by. Wolf, I'd like to go to you. What do you think about the fact that the White House decided to continue with this trip?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": I think, Gloria is 100 percent right. If the president had at the last minute canceled the visit to Brazil, to Chile, to some of the other countries he's visiting at this sensitive moment and stayed in Washington, hunkered down in the White House Situation Room dealing with a war in effect in Libya, it would have certainly given the impression that the United States was in charge, that this was a U.S. operation, and that the United States was at war.

That's not the impression White House officials want to give. They want to give the impression that, Italy and Spain and Qatar, maybe some other countries from the area itself, Denmark. There's a whole coalition that David Cameron, the British prime minister now calls the willing from the phrase from the war in Iraq eight years ago.

So it would, I think guess they think as awkward as the symbolism now, even while U.S. troops are involved in trying to establish the groundwork for a no fly zone over Libya, they feel it would have been worse if the president had cancelled the support and visit to South America.

BALDWIN: Wolf, Gloria, please stand by for me. We know the president took a couple questions, and one of them did have to do with Libya, just a short time ago. In case you missed it, we're going to replay. This is the president explaining his decision to go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: We had done all the work, and it was just a matter of seeing how Gadhafi would react to the warning that I issued on Friday. He, despite words to the contrary, was continuing to act aggressively toward his civilians. After a consultation with our allies, we decided to move forward. And it was a matter of me directing the Secretary of Defense Gates and Admiral Mullen that the plan that had been developed in great detail extensively prior to my departure was put into place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So Wolf, we know as per the Security Council resolution, it was voted upon 10 to zero last Thursday, to protect Libyan civilians, all necessary measures must be taken. He was specific to delineate the U.S. policy, is the fact that they want Gadhafi to go. Wolf?

BLITZER: Right, there are two different policies. There's a specific united nation's Security Council resolution that was passed as you say last Thursday, resolution 1973, that had limited goals to protect civilians and create a no fly zone over Libya.

The president was very blunt. He said, that's the U.N. policy, the U.S. has a different policy. It supports the U.N. Security Council resolution, but the U.S. policy is also that Gadhafi must go. In effect there must be regime change in Libya.

And the U.S. has a whole network of options before it including sanctions, unilateral U.S. sanctions, freezing of some $30 billion in assets. There are other options before the U.S. right now, so the American policy is clear, no Gadhafi ruling Libya anymore and U.S. policy will turn to pursue that objective, even though at least for now, the U.S. has not done what the president of France has done, formally recognize the opposition as the legitimate government of Libya. The U.S. has stopped short of doing that, even though the U.S. has officials who are in direct contact with the opposition. BALDWIN: OK, Wolf, Gloria, stand by, because I still have some more questions for you. We have to sneak a quick break in. We'll talk on the other side.

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BALDWIN: Back here live, talking about the president speaking now in Chile, Santiago. He took a couple questions earlier, specifically on Libya. I have Wolf Blitzer standing by, Gloria Borger, and Ed Henry.

Wolf, I want to ask you about the Arab nations' role in this whole mission in Libya. We heard from the UAE today now coming out and saying we're going to give them humanitarian aid. How risky is it for some of these Arab nations to go forward with this military mission in Libya?

BLITZER: It's very risky, and it's almost unprecedented they would join the United States, Britain, and France in this kind of coalition. We remember the first gulf war in '91, when the first President Bush put together a coalition.

He had support from Egypt, certainly Saudi Arabia. That was a mission designed to liberate Kuwait from Saddam Hussein's occupation. The Saudis provided a base from which the U.S. could deploy half a million troops to go ahead with the liberation of Kuwait.

But Arab forces were not all that much involved in the '91 war, and it was almost symbolic. In this particular case, it would be symbolic if Qatar sends a plane or two. I don't know if the Saudis are going to do much. Jordan probably won't do much. And Egypt has already said it won't get involved.

They'll support it, the Arab League was in support of a no-fly zone, but it's very awkward for an Arab country to join the U.S. and the Europeans in fighting the Arabs. That's always been a difficult situation.

BALDWIN: Wolf Blitzer, I know you have a busy day. I'll let you go. But Gloria Borger, I got a sneak peak at your column for today. And I know some of what you talk about is this specific goal in Libya on behalf of the U.S. And I guess my question. To you is should President Obama had said explicitly here we just have to get Gadhafi out?

BORGER: There are a lot of people I talked today, foreign policy experts, who say no, he actually should not have said that. You saw in his press conference today, he had to separate U.S. policy from U.N. policy.

And the point is that if Gadhafi is the one murdering his own people, how can the U.N. policy be deemed a success unless Gadhafi goes, if he's the one doing the murdering? So there's a problem here, which is, how do you judge a humanitarian mission a success? In the end who are these rebels and what can we do to help them? And are we sure they're all good guys? These are all problems. And one more point to what Wolf was talking about, the Arab League. It's my bet, I would be interested to hear what Ed Henry has to say, but it's my bet that President Obama, the Arab league was the key factor in making him go along with this mission.

I talked to Richard Haas, the head of the Council of Foreign Relations. He said simply getting a coalition doesn't mean it's a good idea. Obama really thought more about process than policy and the endgame. How do we get out if Gadhafi's still there?

BALDWIN: It's a good question and good column too, Gloria Borger. Thank you.

You mentioned Ed Henry, who is traveling with the president here, he's been in Brazil, now he's in Chile. And Ed, I know that right now the president's involved in a bit of a juggling act, talking about the importance of South America and interconnectedness and clean energy. But at the same time, he has to be close in contact with what's happening in Libya?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And once you commit U.S. forces to a military mission in Libya, that is what is foremost on the minds of the American people. As much as he wants to talk about the economy and trade, it's certainly growing to take a back seat to what's happening in Libya.