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CNN Live Saturday
President Bush Focuses Attention On Iraq
Aired August 09, 2003 - 12:17 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.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is focusing his attention on the war in Iraq and other pressing matters concerning U.S. military. CNN's Dana Bash is live at the western White House with more.
Hi, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Well, you heard from Harris Whitbeck's report there -- and from many reports that we hear from Iraq, of course, the bombing of the Jordanian Embassy and the killing of U.S. soldiers and attacks on them almost daily. And this is the news that the White House recognizes is out there and it is why they have been trying in the past couple of days to highlight what the president called "successes" that have gone on in Iraq. Successes may not have been getting as much attention as the Bush administration would have liked. Yesterday, the president appeared at his ranch inviting reporters to talk about a progress that he sees in Iraq. Talked about the banks being reopened, a democracy starting to take hold and today, again, the president was talking about it in the weekly radio address.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 100 days is not enough time to undo the terrible legacy of Saddam Hussein. There is difficult and dangerous work ahead that requires time and patience. Yet, all Americans can be proud of what our military and provisional authorities have achieved in Iraq.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BASH: And you heard the president talking about 100 days. This is the anniversary that the White House is pegging this discussion to. 100 days since the president landed on the aircraft carrier, declared major combat over in Iraq, but the president, when asked yesterday, about how long the troops will be there, how long will it take to secure Iraq he said, "It's just not knowable and it's also not knowable exactly how much it will all cost."
But, a new poll shows while Americans, the vast majority of Americans do support the effort in Iraq, they also see the issue of the economy as much more important than terrorism. It is terrorism that the White House says is the reason why it's important to be in Iraq. The president calls Iraq the "central point of the war on terrorism," right now. But today, democrats talked about the economy and they had one of the most conservative Texans giving their response, attacking the president on his economic policies. (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
REP. CHARLIE STENHOLM (D), TEXAS: As the results are coming in on the third year of the republican economic agenda, it has become clear that they have produced large deficits and a growing debt burden, but have not deliver jobs or economic growth.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BASH: The president, of course, defends the economic agenda, particularly the tax cuts. He also defends the pre-war intelligence that led him to going into Iraq, that's a point of attack for the democrats. The president addressed that yesterday saying that all of these attacks on him are just pure politics -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Dana, thanks very much from Crawford, Texas.
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 August 9, 2003 - 12:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is focusing his attention on the war in Iraq and other pressing matters concerning U.S. military. CNN's Dana Bash is live at the western White House with more.
Hi, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Well, you heard from Harris Whitbeck's report there -- and from many reports that we hear from Iraq, of course, the bombing of the Jordanian Embassy and the killing of U.S. soldiers and attacks on them almost daily. And this is the news that the White House recognizes is out there and it is why they have been trying in the past couple of days to highlight what the president called "successes" that have gone on in Iraq. Successes may not have been getting as much attention as the Bush administration would have liked. Yesterday, the president appeared at his ranch inviting reporters to talk about a progress that he sees in Iraq. Talked about the banks being reopened, a democracy starting to take hold and today, again, the president was talking about it in the weekly radio address.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 100 days is not enough time to undo the terrible legacy of Saddam Hussein. There is difficult and dangerous work ahead that requires time and patience. Yet, all Americans can be proud of what our military and provisional authorities have achieved in Iraq.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BASH: And you heard the president talking about 100 days. This is the anniversary that the White House is pegging this discussion to. 100 days since the president landed on the aircraft carrier, declared major combat over in Iraq, but the president, when asked yesterday, about how long the troops will be there, how long will it take to secure Iraq he said, "It's just not knowable and it's also not knowable exactly how much it will all cost."
But, a new poll shows while Americans, the vast majority of Americans do support the effort in Iraq, they also see the issue of the economy as much more important than terrorism. It is terrorism that the White House says is the reason why it's important to be in Iraq. The president calls Iraq the "central point of the war on terrorism," right now. But today, democrats talked about the economy and they had one of the most conservative Texans giving their response, attacking the president on his economic policies. (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
REP. CHARLIE STENHOLM (D), TEXAS: As the results are coming in on the third year of the republican economic agenda, it has become clear that they have produced large deficits and a growing debt burden, but have not deliver jobs or economic growth.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BASH: The president, of course, defends the economic agenda, particularly the tax cuts. He also defends the pre-war intelligence that led him to going into Iraq, that's a point of attack for the democrats. The president addressed that yesterday saying that all of these attacks on him are just pure politics -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Dana, thanks very much from Crawford, Texas.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
