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CNN Live Saturday
Bush Might Meet With Former POWs
Aired April 19, 2003 - 18:11 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is spending the holiday weekend at his Texas ranch, and he's using the break to reflect on the season and rejoice over the homecoming of those seven former American POWs.
Let's go to CNN's Chris Burns for the very latest. And Chris, while there hasn't been an official commitment from the White House that the president would be meeting with those POWs -- or former POWs -- is there a still good chance that he just might be having some kind of face-to-face confrontations with them -- or meetings with them.
CHRIS BURNS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, no commitment yet from the White House, but we do leave out the possibility, and they do no rule out the possibility that the President will be meeting with those two former POWs, the Apache pilots when he does go to Fort Hood to celebrate Easter with the troops there.
Of course, half the troops of the 40,000 there are right now in the Gulf, and he is going to be paying tribute to them. The president was there back in January, actually, with them, of course, long before the war began and he will be meeting again with them.
If he does meet with the former POWs, it will probably be in private, as he as done with previous cases of former POWs and those who were injured. He does prefer that to be private, perhaps the still pictures from that.
The president busy today, though, clearing brush in his ranch and also having an intelligence briefing with some of his aides. The president, of course, looking ahead to the coming week, which is going to be very tough, both on the domestic and the international agenda. The president did pass through St. Louis to go to the Boeing plant late last week, where he made some comments on both issues, both pushing on Congress to, when they come back from their Easter recess, to pass his tax cut. The president is pushing for $550 billion, although the Senate is saying they will go no more than $350 billion. This is part of the president's offensive. Dozens of officials from the Bush administration fanning out across more than half the states in the country in the coming weeks to try to push that issue.
Also, the president, of course, talking about Iraq, and that is an issue that is also preoccupying the Bush administration. There will be talks at the United Nations on Tuesday about what -- how to go forward, whether to let those sanctions -- let's give you a list of some of those issues that the president is going to be dealing with on Iraq.
First of all, recognizing the new Iraqi government. That is something that's very, very contentious, very spiny. How many -- who should be in the government from the exiles, how many from within Iraq. We've seen the protests in Iraq in the last few days by Muslim Shiites and Sunnis demanding that they have more of a voice in that government. So, it's been very, very contentious.
Second of all, certifying Iraq as being free of weapons of mass destruction. That has been a very spiny debate with the U.N. itself. The Bush administration, so far up to now, bringing in former weapons inspectors to do the job. But will they allow the Hans Blix crew to go in and look? That is remaining to be a question.
Also, lifting economic sanctions also very important. If you lift the sanctions, Iraq can start selling its oil and perhaps raising the money it needs to rebuild Iraq.
And last of all, unfreezing Iraqi assets. Same thing. It's going to cost a lot of money to rebuild Iraq and it's going to take a lot of that money.
Also contentious issues with the United Nations that have to be worked out. The formal meetings beginning on Tuesday. The president looking ahead to that. He comes back on Monday -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Chris, and another hot button issue: North Korea. It had been said, at the latter part of last week, that perhaps Washington would no longer be involved in upcoming talks involving North Korea. And then there was some back pedaling. What's the latest on whether those talks will, indeed take place still?
BURNS: Well, the indications are from here that there will be those talks, that apparently the communications that the North Koreans gave last week, talking about reprocessing a lot of its nuclear fuel that could be made into weapons grade ingredients. And that issue apparently does appear that that message was mistranslated. It does look like they stopped short of reprocessing. And so those talks will go ahead.
Of course, the spiny issue there is the U. S. is pushing for a broader -- sort of multi-lateral -- talks with the North Koreans. The North Koreans wanting just to talk with the Americans on getting a non-aggression pact. Apparently, this will be talked about.
Talks in the coming week in Beijing. Those talks appear to be going ahead. And then the next question is whether South Korea and Japan can join in as Washington is pushing. We will have to see how those talks pan out -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks, Chris. Thank you very 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 April 19, 2003 - 18:11 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is spending the holiday weekend at his Texas ranch, and he's using the break to reflect on the season and rejoice over the homecoming of those seven former American POWs.
Let's go to CNN's Chris Burns for the very latest. And Chris, while there hasn't been an official commitment from the White House that the president would be meeting with those POWs -- or former POWs -- is there a still good chance that he just might be having some kind of face-to-face confrontations with them -- or meetings with them.
CHRIS BURNS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, no commitment yet from the White House, but we do leave out the possibility, and they do no rule out the possibility that the President will be meeting with those two former POWs, the Apache pilots when he does go to Fort Hood to celebrate Easter with the troops there.
Of course, half the troops of the 40,000 there are right now in the Gulf, and he is going to be paying tribute to them. The president was there back in January, actually, with them, of course, long before the war began and he will be meeting again with them.
If he does meet with the former POWs, it will probably be in private, as he as done with previous cases of former POWs and those who were injured. He does prefer that to be private, perhaps the still pictures from that.
The president busy today, though, clearing brush in his ranch and also having an intelligence briefing with some of his aides. The president, of course, looking ahead to the coming week, which is going to be very tough, both on the domestic and the international agenda. The president did pass through St. Louis to go to the Boeing plant late last week, where he made some comments on both issues, both pushing on Congress to, when they come back from their Easter recess, to pass his tax cut. The president is pushing for $550 billion, although the Senate is saying they will go no more than $350 billion. This is part of the president's offensive. Dozens of officials from the Bush administration fanning out across more than half the states in the country in the coming weeks to try to push that issue.
Also, the president, of course, talking about Iraq, and that is an issue that is also preoccupying the Bush administration. There will be talks at the United Nations on Tuesday about what -- how to go forward, whether to let those sanctions -- let's give you a list of some of those issues that the president is going to be dealing with on Iraq.
First of all, recognizing the new Iraqi government. That is something that's very, very contentious, very spiny. How many -- who should be in the government from the exiles, how many from within Iraq. We've seen the protests in Iraq in the last few days by Muslim Shiites and Sunnis demanding that they have more of a voice in that government. So, it's been very, very contentious.
Second of all, certifying Iraq as being free of weapons of mass destruction. That has been a very spiny debate with the U.N. itself. The Bush administration, so far up to now, bringing in former weapons inspectors to do the job. But will they allow the Hans Blix crew to go in and look? That is remaining to be a question.
Also, lifting economic sanctions also very important. If you lift the sanctions, Iraq can start selling its oil and perhaps raising the money it needs to rebuild Iraq.
And last of all, unfreezing Iraqi assets. Same thing. It's going to cost a lot of money to rebuild Iraq and it's going to take a lot of that money.
Also contentious issues with the United Nations that have to be worked out. The formal meetings beginning on Tuesday. The president looking ahead to that. He comes back on Monday -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Chris, and another hot button issue: North Korea. It had been said, at the latter part of last week, that perhaps Washington would no longer be involved in upcoming talks involving North Korea. And then there was some back pedaling. What's the latest on whether those talks will, indeed take place still?
BURNS: Well, the indications are from here that there will be those talks, that apparently the communications that the North Koreans gave last week, talking about reprocessing a lot of its nuclear fuel that could be made into weapons grade ingredients. And that issue apparently does appear that that message was mistranslated. It does look like they stopped short of reprocessing. And so those talks will go ahead.
Of course, the spiny issue there is the U. S. is pushing for a broader -- sort of multi-lateral -- talks with the North Koreans. The North Koreans wanting just to talk with the Americans on getting a non-aggression pact. Apparently, this will be talked about.
Talks in the coming week in Beijing. Those talks appear to be going ahead. And then the next question is whether South Korea and Japan can join in as Washington is pushing. We will have to see how those talks pan out -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks, Chris. Thank you very 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
