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CNN Live Saturday
Annan Warns U.S. Not to Go it Alone
Aired February 08, 2003 - 18:36 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 warning today from the U.N. leader to President Bush: Don't go it alone against Iraq. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan says the U.S. will be more successful if it sticks with its allies, but CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash says that the president's patience is wearing thin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With more than 100,000 troops poised to attack Iraq and more on the way, the president is bracing Americans for war, with or without the United Nations.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And the United States, along with a growing coalition of nations, will take whatever action is necessary to defend ourselves and disarm the Iraqi regime.
BASH: As part of an intensive campaign to pressure the U.N., Mr. Bush says it's being mocked by a dictator and should not back down.
The man in charge of the U.N. had a message of his own: Yes, Iraq needs to cooperate or suffer the consequences, but it is not for one state to decide.
KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: When states decide to use force not in self-defense, but to deal with broader threats to international peace and security, there is no substitute for the unique legitimacy provided by the United Nations Security Council.
BASH: Americans tend to agree with Annan. In the latest CNN- "TIME" poll, 42 percent say military action should be approved by the U.N., compared with 36 percent who say go it alone.
So the president's campaign to get that support continues. Mr. Bush, at Camp David for the weekend, called Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, an ally on Iraq, to enlist his help with hesitant nations. And he will host Australia's prime minister, another like- minded leader on Iraq, at the White House on Monday.
HANS BLIX, CHIEF U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: It is a useful discussion that we had.
BASH: But chief U.N. inspectors are in Baghdad, saying they are starting to get answers on unaccounted for weapons. That could make it harder for the U.S. to convince reluctant Security Council members, those with veto power, that inspections aren't working and it's time for war.
KEN POLLACK, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Even minor concessions are likely to feed the cause of the French and the Russians and others who are going to use these and fix on them, as a way of saying, see, Iraq is complying; the concessions are being made; give the inspectors more time, and that is the real danger for the administration.
BASH (on camera): If the weapons inspectors report to the U.N. next Friday that could prove most crucial, not in determining whether the U.S. will go to war, but how many other countries will be on board.
Dana Bash, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 February 8, 2003 - 18:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: A warning today from the U.N. leader to President Bush: Don't go it alone against Iraq. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan says the U.S. will be more successful if it sticks with its allies, but CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash says that the president's patience is wearing thin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With more than 100,000 troops poised to attack Iraq and more on the way, the president is bracing Americans for war, with or without the United Nations.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And the United States, along with a growing coalition of nations, will take whatever action is necessary to defend ourselves and disarm the Iraqi regime.
BASH: As part of an intensive campaign to pressure the U.N., Mr. Bush says it's being mocked by a dictator and should not back down.
The man in charge of the U.N. had a message of his own: Yes, Iraq needs to cooperate or suffer the consequences, but it is not for one state to decide.
KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: When states decide to use force not in self-defense, but to deal with broader threats to international peace and security, there is no substitute for the unique legitimacy provided by the United Nations Security Council.
BASH: Americans tend to agree with Annan. In the latest CNN- "TIME" poll, 42 percent say military action should be approved by the U.N., compared with 36 percent who say go it alone.
So the president's campaign to get that support continues. Mr. Bush, at Camp David for the weekend, called Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, an ally on Iraq, to enlist his help with hesitant nations. And he will host Australia's prime minister, another like- minded leader on Iraq, at the White House on Monday.
HANS BLIX, CHIEF U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: It is a useful discussion that we had.
BASH: But chief U.N. inspectors are in Baghdad, saying they are starting to get answers on unaccounted for weapons. That could make it harder for the U.S. to convince reluctant Security Council members, those with veto power, that inspections aren't working and it's time for war.
KEN POLLACK, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Even minor concessions are likely to feed the cause of the French and the Russians and others who are going to use these and fix on them, as a way of saying, see, Iraq is complying; the concessions are being made; give the inspectors more time, and that is the real danger for the administration.
BASH (on camera): If the weapons inspectors report to the U.N. next Friday that could prove most crucial, not in determining whether the U.S. will go to war, but how many other countries will be on board.
Dana Bash, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
