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CNN Live Saturday
Bush Administration Reacts to Iraqi Weapons Declaration
Aired December 07, 2002 - 18:10 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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: A big diplomatic debate about what is happening on the ground in Baghdad when it comes to these inspections. To get an idea about the reaction from the Bush administration to the release of the Iraqi declaration, we are now joined by our State Department Correspondent Andrea Koppel.
Andrea, what are you hearing about what is happening behind the scenes?
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it probably going to be days before the Bush administration gets to see a copy of the entire Iraqi declaration. Publicly, as you might have expected, the reaction from the White House was one of skepticism. A statement saying that the U.S. would analyze the declaration and check out its credibility and it's compliance with the U.N. Security Council resolution.
As you know, today Iraq not only handed over that declaration but it also issued that unprecedented apology to the Kuwaiti people. Together the diplomatic equivalent of a one-two punch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MOHAMMED ALDOURI, IRAQI AMB. TO THE U.N.: We want peace. We want to avoid war by any price. And on the other side, you have the United States and Britain want this war.
KOPPEL (voice over): Saddam Hussein's strategy, experts say, to appeal directly to the Arab people, Iraq's own neighbors, not to support the U.S. in a war against Iraq.
MAMOUN FANDY, MIDDLE EAST SCHOLAR & AUTHOR: He might push our key allies, like Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and paint them in a corner in terms of their relationship with their own populous. So, it will now be difficult for Mubarak to come out and say he supports the U.S. operations in Iraq. It makes it difficult for Crown Prince Abdullah to do so, at least, publicly.
KOPPEL: But privately, administration sources tell CNN the U.S. confident the Saudi Crown Prince will sign on to war, if it is necessary. And to ensure it would also have support from other key countries, Iraq's neighbors like Turkey, the Bush administration has in recent days launched high-level diplomatic missions.
LAWRENCE KORB, FMR. ASST. SEC. OF STATE: Because if you do go to war, you certainly want to have the Gulf states supporting you. You want to be able to use the bases in Saudi Arabia, so we can go in and get those Scud missiles before they can be launched against Israel. And we're going to need the help of the world to rebuild Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: But at the moment the Bush administration is divided as to just how much support it will need even if it is necessary, if it decides to go to war with Iraq, Carol.
LIN: That is always interesting to look at the players and which side they come down on. Andrea, do you have an idea of who is coming down on which side in the administration?
KOPPEL: Well, as you might expect, it is sort of the usual divide that we've seen in this administration. On the one side you have the man who runs this building, Secretary of State Colin Powell, who is urging caution. And sort of, again, the go-it-slow approach, insisting that the U.S. needs to keep as much of a consensus as possible if it decides that it wants to go to war, not only because of the actual military operation, but because of the day after scenario. The U.S. doesn't want to be stuck footing the bill.
And then on the other side, you've got the vice president and you have Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, who believes that time is a- wasting, the sooner the better. And they believe fundamentally, Carol, that Saddam Hussein is never going to comply.
LIN: All right, thank you very much. Andrea Koppel our State Department correspondent, live today.
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 - 18:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: A big diplomatic debate about what is happening on the ground in Baghdad when it comes to these inspections. To get an idea about the reaction from the Bush administration to the release of the Iraqi declaration, we are now joined by our State Department Correspondent Andrea Koppel.
Andrea, what are you hearing about what is happening behind the scenes?
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it probably going to be days before the Bush administration gets to see a copy of the entire Iraqi declaration. Publicly, as you might have expected, the reaction from the White House was one of skepticism. A statement saying that the U.S. would analyze the declaration and check out its credibility and it's compliance with the U.N. Security Council resolution.
As you know, today Iraq not only handed over that declaration but it also issued that unprecedented apology to the Kuwaiti people. Together the diplomatic equivalent of a one-two punch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MOHAMMED ALDOURI, IRAQI AMB. TO THE U.N.: We want peace. We want to avoid war by any price. And on the other side, you have the United States and Britain want this war.
KOPPEL (voice over): Saddam Hussein's strategy, experts say, to appeal directly to the Arab people, Iraq's own neighbors, not to support the U.S. in a war against Iraq.
MAMOUN FANDY, MIDDLE EAST SCHOLAR & AUTHOR: He might push our key allies, like Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and paint them in a corner in terms of their relationship with their own populous. So, it will now be difficult for Mubarak to come out and say he supports the U.S. operations in Iraq. It makes it difficult for Crown Prince Abdullah to do so, at least, publicly.
KOPPEL: But privately, administration sources tell CNN the U.S. confident the Saudi Crown Prince will sign on to war, if it is necessary. And to ensure it would also have support from other key countries, Iraq's neighbors like Turkey, the Bush administration has in recent days launched high-level diplomatic missions.
LAWRENCE KORB, FMR. ASST. SEC. OF STATE: Because if you do go to war, you certainly want to have the Gulf states supporting you. You want to be able to use the bases in Saudi Arabia, so we can go in and get those Scud missiles before they can be launched against Israel. And we're going to need the help of the world to rebuild Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: But at the moment the Bush administration is divided as to just how much support it will need even if it is necessary, if it decides to go to war with Iraq, Carol.
LIN: That is always interesting to look at the players and which side they come down on. Andrea, do you have an idea of who is coming down on which side in the administration?
KOPPEL: Well, as you might expect, it is sort of the usual divide that we've seen in this administration. On the one side you have the man who runs this building, Secretary of State Colin Powell, who is urging caution. And sort of, again, the go-it-slow approach, insisting that the U.S. needs to keep as much of a consensus as possible if it decides that it wants to go to war, not only because of the actual military operation, but because of the day after scenario. The U.S. doesn't want to be stuck footing the bill.
And then on the other side, you've got the vice president and you have Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, who believes that time is a- wasting, the sooner the better. And they believe fundamentally, Carol, that Saddam Hussein is never going to comply.
LIN: All right, thank you very much. Andrea Koppel our State Department correspondent, live today.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
