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CNN Live Saturday

Bush Has More Harsh Words for Hussein

Aired August 10, 2002 - 12:01   ET

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

KRIS OSBORN, CNN ANCHOR: Now onto the latest on the stepped up pressure on Iraq from the Bush administration. A short time ago at his home in Wyoming, Vice President Dick Cheney was scheduled to address Iraqi opposition leaders in a video conference call. In Crawford, Texas where he's working on a working vacation, President Bush had more harsh words for Saddam Hussein. Let's check in now with CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. She is live in Crawford, Texas.
Somewhat familiar remarks this morning from the president?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. I mean, the president already talking about Iraq this morning. He left his Crawford ranch about 6:30 to play golf. He teed off about 7:30, jumped out of the golf cart to answer some questions from the pool reporter, reiterated the U.S. position that there's no timetable to make a decision on military action against Saddam Hussein. He also said that Iraq is an enemy until proven otherwise, and then he wanted to go ahead and emphasize that the United States will not take any action until it consults with members of Congress as well as U.S. allies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have no timetable, but I do believe the American people understand is that weapons of mass destruction in the hands of leaders such as Saddam Hussein are very dangerous for ourselves, our allies. They understand the concept of blackmail. They know that when we speak of making the world more safe, we do so not only in the context of al Qaeda and other terrorist groups but nations that have proven themselves to be bad neighbors and bad actors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, this morning, also, six leaders from Iraqi opposition groups are speaking with Vice President Dick Cheney via a video link to his home in Wyoming. We understand that it was just yesterday when they actually spoke to Pentagon officials and State Department officials, emerging from that meeting saying that everyone is on board, that they are united. These opposition leaders saying that they are willing to work together. That has not always been the case. But in exchange, they say that they are stressing the need for aid from the United States as well as the international community, support they say in case Saddam Hussein's forces expect some sort of retribution. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BHARIF ALI BIN AL HUSSEIN, IRAQI NATIONAL CONGRESS: We're very optimistic about this weekend, and we think it is a good sign of U.S. commitment to helping the Iraqi people overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein and his rule of tyranny and his threat to the international community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: That message of hope before they went into the meeting, the video link with Vice President Dick Cheney. I have to tell you, however, that they did not discuss, or they have not discussed so far just how the United States would work with these opposition groups. That means funding or whether or not its weapons or training. They say that these series of meetings are really just about agreements and principles for now -- Kris.

OSBORN: Well, Suzanne, there seems to be what could be a signal of some kind of change, or there could be a different equation now with these Iraqi opposition groups. You mentioned that they hadn't always been willing to work together. We had been hearing a lot about that, that it was really difficult to create any kind of a cohesive opposition to Saddam Hussein. Has that been changing? Certainly the State Department has suggested that it could be.

MALVEAUX: You know, what the State Department is hearing is there is words of solidarity. What they're waiting for is actions, however, and really, this is the challenge. There are a number of different groups, as you mentioned before, making an excellent point that they all have competing interests.

For instance, the Kurds are absolutely against any type of attack by the United States. They're really worried about losing their autonomy. You have another group that wants to see a return to the monarchy, and yet there are even other groups who aren't exactly excited about getting rid of these weapons of mass destruction. It will be very interesting to see how these groups end up working together, whether or not they can come up with some sort of a unified plan, and whether or not that plan is acceptable to the United States.

OSBORN: Suzanne Malveaux live in Crawford, Texas, thank you very much.

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