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CNN Live Saturday
Is War With Iraq Unavoidable?
Aired December 07, 2002 - 15:28 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Is there still a diplomatic solution to the crisis with Iraq? Or is the Bush administration about to stop rattling sabers and start thrusting them? Let's check with State Department correspondent, Andrea Koppel. Andrea, what's your take?
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, as President Bush himself said this week, the choice between war and peace lies in Iraq's hands, and he said for the sake of peace that Iraq must disarm.
Now, the U.S. diplomatic strategy is the following -- it has to try to keep as much of a consensus as possible. If possible, they'd love to have an unanimous support, as they did with the passing of the U.N. resolution last month.
Now, in order to keep unanimity, what they need to do, Kyra, is not to push things. That's at least the view of some here at the State Department, not to push things too much with the inspections process. To let it go on and not be seen as jumping the gun, having an itchy trigger finger, trying to push Saddam Hussein or Hans Blix, for that matter, too far.
Now, as things stand at the moment, we know that Saddam Hussein today really did complicate matters for the Bush administration's diplomatic strategy. He released those documents that he was supposed to, according to U.N. Resolution 1441. He met the deadline.
He also had a spokesman for his government read a statement on television, in which Saddam Hussein apologized to the Kuwaiti people for, quote, "any deed which may have been committed by us."
Now, that's a reference to the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. This is the first time that Saddam Hussein has apologized to the Kuwaiti people for that.
Now, why does that complicate matters? Well, because Saddam Hussein is reaching out to the Kuwaiti people, going over the heads of the Kuwaiti leadership, hoping to galvanize public support against any kind of U.S. military-led action against his regime.
Now, in addition, what you have as far as the U.S. is concerned, in order for Saddam Hussein to avoid any kind of military action, he has to come clean on his weapons program. So in the days to come, Kyra, as soon as the U.S. gets its hands on the declaration, it will have an opportunity, then, to match that up against its intelligence to prove what it says is the case. And that is, that Saddam hasn't abandoned that program.
PHILLIPS: Now, Andrea, let's make the point. You are definitely the State Department correspondent, but you also cover American foreign policy. So you talk with all different types of leaders when it comes to a showdown with Iraq. And you've made the point that the inspections and the declaration, it's all a part -- it's not about providing a trigger for war, like you've made the point, but more just to illustrate a non-compliance. Correct? And so, then, where do we go from here?
KOPPEL: Well, we don't know just yet. We'll have to see how things play out. I should mention that not everybody in the Bush administration agrees with this strategy. There are some over in the Pentagon, even in the vice president's office, who have a much lower threshold for what they would like to see happen in terms of the inspections and, in fact, have an idea, Kyra, that, perhaps letting things go on too long is the wrong approach.
PHILLIPS: Andrea Koppel, thanks so much.
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 December 7, 2002 - 15:28 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Is there still a diplomatic solution to the crisis with Iraq? Or is the Bush administration about to stop rattling sabers and start thrusting them? Let's check with State Department correspondent, Andrea Koppel. Andrea, what's your take?
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, as President Bush himself said this week, the choice between war and peace lies in Iraq's hands, and he said for the sake of peace that Iraq must disarm.
Now, the U.S. diplomatic strategy is the following -- it has to try to keep as much of a consensus as possible. If possible, they'd love to have an unanimous support, as they did with the passing of the U.N. resolution last month.
Now, in order to keep unanimity, what they need to do, Kyra, is not to push things. That's at least the view of some here at the State Department, not to push things too much with the inspections process. To let it go on and not be seen as jumping the gun, having an itchy trigger finger, trying to push Saddam Hussein or Hans Blix, for that matter, too far.
Now, as things stand at the moment, we know that Saddam Hussein today really did complicate matters for the Bush administration's diplomatic strategy. He released those documents that he was supposed to, according to U.N. Resolution 1441. He met the deadline.
He also had a spokesman for his government read a statement on television, in which Saddam Hussein apologized to the Kuwaiti people for, quote, "any deed which may have been committed by us."
Now, that's a reference to the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. This is the first time that Saddam Hussein has apologized to the Kuwaiti people for that.
Now, why does that complicate matters? Well, because Saddam Hussein is reaching out to the Kuwaiti people, going over the heads of the Kuwaiti leadership, hoping to galvanize public support against any kind of U.S. military-led action against his regime.
Now, in addition, what you have as far as the U.S. is concerned, in order for Saddam Hussein to avoid any kind of military action, he has to come clean on his weapons program. So in the days to come, Kyra, as soon as the U.S. gets its hands on the declaration, it will have an opportunity, then, to match that up against its intelligence to prove what it says is the case. And that is, that Saddam hasn't abandoned that program.
PHILLIPS: Now, Andrea, let's make the point. You are definitely the State Department correspondent, but you also cover American foreign policy. So you talk with all different types of leaders when it comes to a showdown with Iraq. And you've made the point that the inspections and the declaration, it's all a part -- it's not about providing a trigger for war, like you've made the point, but more just to illustrate a non-compliance. Correct? And so, then, where do we go from here?
KOPPEL: Well, we don't know just yet. We'll have to see how things play out. I should mention that not everybody in the Bush administration agrees with this strategy. There are some over in the Pentagon, even in the vice president's office, who have a much lower threshold for what they would like to see happen in terms of the inspections and, in fact, have an idea, Kyra, that, perhaps letting things go on too long is the wrong approach.
PHILLIPS: Andrea Koppel, thanks so much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
