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CNN Live Saturday
White House Says Troops Will Remain In Iraq Until Iraq Is Free, Peaceful
Aired November 15, 2003 - 12:07 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.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: With the shift of provisional power in Iraq, it is still unclear where that will leave U.S. forces. The White House said just yesterday, that U.S. troops would remain in Iraq until Saddam Hussein is captured or killed. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux has more on the changes coming.
So Suzanne, how long does the Bush administration believe it's going to have to stay in Iraq?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I just spoke with a senior administration official who gave us a background briefing on a lot of the details, here. First of all, they say that they believe this really will, in a sense, give more legitimacy to the provisional government, here, that the Iraqi people will really be in charge and responsible for bringing about democracy in their country, and part of that, of course -- you ask about U.S. troops and their presence there, the senior administration official is saying that they believe there will be a partnership and that this does not change the security administration, necessarily. They believe U.S. forces are still going to be necessary on the ground. But, also that senior administration official asked whether or not ambassador Bremer would have veto power if this transitional government said, "Look, we don't want you in the country." That official saying, "Look, what Iraqi sovereignty is, Iraqi sovereignty." And, that that means that certainly what the Iraqi government decides will go. But, they don't anticipate that it's going to be the Iraqi people asking, or even demanding for U.S. forces to get in -- get out any time soon. And, as you know, of course, President Bush -- it was just yesterday, that he made it very clear, part of staying in Iraq and completing the mission is either killing or capturing Saddam Hussein.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A free and peaceful Iraq will have a historic consequences. And, we'll find Saddam Hussein.
The goal is for a free and peaceful Iraq. And by being strong and determined, we will achieve that objective.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Of course, one of the questions is why now? Why all these changes? And, the senior administration official saying there is a lot that happened within the last ten days, a lot of discussions that actually took place between ambassador Bremer and Iraqi governing council, and one of the things that came to light, the obvious conclusion was that this body was not going to be able to come up with any type of constitution and elections afterwards, said it was going to be a very long, long process for that to happen. What they wanted to see is the Iraqi people, really to have some teeth in that body to gain some power before the writing of this formal constitution. They also said, of course, one of the other reasons was that you have that December 15 deadline that was looming. They just did not think that was going to be possible -- Andrea.
KOPPEL: OK. Suzanne Malveaux, thanks 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
Free, Peaceful>
Aired November 15, 2003 - 12:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: With the shift of provisional power in Iraq, it is still unclear where that will leave U.S. forces. The White House said just yesterday, that U.S. troops would remain in Iraq until Saddam Hussein is captured or killed. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux has more on the changes coming.
So Suzanne, how long does the Bush administration believe it's going to have to stay in Iraq?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I just spoke with a senior administration official who gave us a background briefing on a lot of the details, here. First of all, they say that they believe this really will, in a sense, give more legitimacy to the provisional government, here, that the Iraqi people will really be in charge and responsible for bringing about democracy in their country, and part of that, of course -- you ask about U.S. troops and their presence there, the senior administration official is saying that they believe there will be a partnership and that this does not change the security administration, necessarily. They believe U.S. forces are still going to be necessary on the ground. But, also that senior administration official asked whether or not ambassador Bremer would have veto power if this transitional government said, "Look, we don't want you in the country." That official saying, "Look, what Iraqi sovereignty is, Iraqi sovereignty." And, that that means that certainly what the Iraqi government decides will go. But, they don't anticipate that it's going to be the Iraqi people asking, or even demanding for U.S. forces to get in -- get out any time soon. And, as you know, of course, President Bush -- it was just yesterday, that he made it very clear, part of staying in Iraq and completing the mission is either killing or capturing Saddam Hussein.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A free and peaceful Iraq will have a historic consequences. And, we'll find Saddam Hussein.
The goal is for a free and peaceful Iraq. And by being strong and determined, we will achieve that objective.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Of course, one of the questions is why now? Why all these changes? And, the senior administration official saying there is a lot that happened within the last ten days, a lot of discussions that actually took place between ambassador Bremer and Iraqi governing council, and one of the things that came to light, the obvious conclusion was that this body was not going to be able to come up with any type of constitution and elections afterwards, said it was going to be a very long, long process for that to happen. What they wanted to see is the Iraqi people, really to have some teeth in that body to gain some power before the writing of this formal constitution. They also said, of course, one of the other reasons was that you have that December 15 deadline that was looming. They just did not think that was going to be possible -- Andrea.
KOPPEL: OK. Suzanne Malveaux, thanks 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
Free, Peaceful>
