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CNN Live Saturday

Laura Bush Delivers Presidential Radio Address

Aired November 17, 2001 - 15:10   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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Laura Bush made history today. For the first time, the first lady took the microphone and delivered the entire president's weekly radio address.

Major Garrett at the president's ranch near Crawford, Texas, near the ranch anyway -- Major, good afternoon. History was made today?

MAJOR GARRETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Bill. As you mentioned, the first lady has never given the entire radio address before. Why did it happen today? Well, because the Bush administration, and coalition partner -- its No. 1 coalition partner, the British government, decided that it should be the wives of the two leaders of the international coalition, Laura Bush and Cherie Blair, to spread the message throughout the world that not only is the al Qaeda terrorist organization someone -- something deserving of complete military eradication, but the Taliban government, that gave it safe haven, also deserves world condemnation for the way it has treated and mistreated women and children. And that was the main thrust of Mrs. Bush's radio address.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: The plight of women and children in Afghanistan is a matter of deliberate human cruelty, carried out by those who seek to intimidate and control. Civilized people throughout the world are speaking out in horror, not only because our hearts break for the women and children in Afghanistan, but also because, in Afghanistan, we see the world the terrorists would like to impose on the rest of us.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

GARRETT: Well, in addition to the first lady's radio address, the State Department prepared a report, chronicling the fate of women and children under the Taliban rule, and they came up with some of these statistics I'd like to share with you.

In the early 1990s, before the Taliban regime seized power, fully 70 percent of the schoolteachers in Afghanistan were women; 50 percent of the government workers women; 50 percent of the university students, also women; and 40 percent of the nation's doctors were women. Well, after the Taliban took control, all access to work severely denied, access to higher education completely prohibited, and even some of the smaller joys of life were also prohibited. No laughing out loud in public, or you would be beaten.

For these, and so many other reasons, the Bush administration and the United Kingdom believe that the Taliban is a repressive regime that the world must stand against, and also that women's rights should be front and center as the international community debates the future of a new government after the Taliban is rooted -- Bill.

HEMMER: Major, let's talk about that new government. How much control does the administration believe it has right now over what happens in the future there in Kabul?

GARRETT: Well, control is not a word the administration would invoke right now. It is, of course, a very fluid situation. That's almost become a cliche, but it's a cliche with a tremendous of truth to it. As the administration likes to point out, there are really three issues in Afghanistan right now. The continuing military campaign, issue No. 1, getting rid of al Qaeda, and getting rid of the Taliban.

Then comes the question of security in the cities that have already been conquered or, in fact, secured by the Northern Alliance: Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, others.

Third, the issue of trying to create a political settlement for the entire country. That issue is being dealt with by James Dobbin, the president's special envoy to the United Nations and others. They are trying to assemble a broad-based coalition. But that's a little bit difficult, because, of course, there's still a military campaign going on hot and heavy in the southern part of the country, and some of the very members of this new broad-based government are a bit distracted, helping the coalition deal with that military campaign.

So things have not moved along as swiftly as the administration would like creating a new government, but they're working on it day by day, trying to keep all of the various tribal leaders in touch and aware of where they're going, but it is a difficult, difficult process.

One thing they do point out, Bill, though, that there's no real benefit to the Northern Alliance of seizing control of Kabul, because they say, the administration does, if in fact the Northern Alliance resists any effort to create a broad-based government, they will lose not only trade, foreign aid, but the support of the international community.

HEMMER: Indeed. OK, Major -- Major Garrett, down on the farm there in Texas. Thanks, Major.

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