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CNN Live Saturday

President Bush's Trip Wasn't First Covert Operation By A U.S. President

Aired November 29, 2003 - 18:13   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.


MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: It was a Thanksgiving Day surprise with all the trimmings. We're talking about President Bush and his visit to Baghdad. The top secret flight into Baghdad made history, because of the visitor and the destination, but it was certainly not the first time a U.S. president has slipped out of the country on a covert mission.
Joining us with some context and some insight is one of our favorites, presidential historians Douglas Brinkley of the Eisenhower Center at the University of New Orleans. Good to have you with us again.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Oh, thanks for having me.

SAVIDGE: Well, let's talk about this. Historically, what are some other great hoodwink jobs that have been done by presidents on the move?

BRINKLEY: Well, Norman Maller, the novelist, once had line that said, "in movement, man has a chance." And sometimes, when presidents are under fire they take to the road. Think of Richard Nixon, with the heat of Watergate looming on him and the Vietnam War, the antiwar protest, he made his famous journey to China which was brought on television.

Bill Clinton, after his impeachment woes, travelled all over the world, constantly looking for photo-ops in places ranging from Ireland to the Middle East to South Africa.

But in this past few days, ever since the Thanksgiving surprise, most people are talking about Abraham Lincoln when he went and snuck off to see General McClellan at Antietam, or when he went down to Richmond. And also, people are talking about the rouse of Franklin Roosevelt on a fishing expedition in August of 1941 when he really went to meet Winston Churchill, the British prime minister off the coast of New Foundland.

SAVIDGE: Well, should we be bothered? Obviously it was a big success. Went over tremendously well with the troops. But should Americans be bothered by the fact that they were basically lied to about the whereabouts of the president?

BRINKLEY: I would look at it as the opposite. I think it's kind of refreshing to realise that there's still such as secrecy. In the modern information age, a billion emails bouncing over around the world every hour, the thought that there's nothing could be kept secret in Washington, and the fact that we were able to -- or the president, since October, with a small group men, was able to keep this as a Thanksgiving surprise. I think it's quite heartening.

As been reported, in the last minute, if anything would have gone wrong, it would have been an aborted mission. And the fact that people were able to keep their mouth shut and have their -- no loose lips in the White House is actually probably a good thing.

SAVIDGE: What if something had gone wrong thought, once he was on the ground? What would history say to that?

BRINKLEY: That's a very important point, because victory and success has a lot of friends and everybody is now saying, good job. If it would have gone sideways. If, for example, that British Airliner, who came so close to Air Force One would have reported it as Air Force One, he would have had to turn back. If there would have been a mine on the road to meet the troops, or if there would have been a mortar rocket attack, the mission had to be aborted, President Bush would be laughed at right now. Another failed attempt at a president under siege with a failed policy in Iraq.

Instead, he's able to make the history books. Even if it's only for a day, for a very historic secret mission. And certainly for those troops who are stationed, the men and women in Iraq, it had to wonderful to be able email home and get on the telephone and say, hey mom, hey dad, guess who I got to meet today? George Bush.

SAVIDGE: Absolutely. But will this be remembered as one of the great hijinks of history? At least for a president?

BRINKLEY: I don't know if it would be one of the great hijinks. It's certainly an interesting moment. And it's going to be a colorful anecdote in Bush's presidential biography some day. The verdict is out on what's happening in post-war Iraq.

You began this boardcast with Spanish intelligence agents -- civil servants -- being killed in Iraq everyday. As you mentioned, the death toll of American soldiers is going up in November. How this will look in history is going to depend on how the civil society, whether we really can build a democracy in Iraq takes root or not. So the verdict is still out.

But from a Thanksgiving Day surprise point of view, from a point of morale for our troops, for a bit of a boost in the arm over this Thanksgiving holiday, certainly you'd have to be pretty cold hearted to criticize President Bush for what he did and pulling it off as successful as it was.

SAVIDGE: David Brinkley, as always, we appreciate your eyes through history. Thank you very much.

BRINKLEY: Thanks

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




U.S. President>


Aired November 29, 2003 - 18:13   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: It was a Thanksgiving Day surprise with all the trimmings. We're talking about President Bush and his visit to Baghdad. The top secret flight into Baghdad made history, because of the visitor and the destination, but it was certainly not the first time a U.S. president has slipped out of the country on a covert mission.
Joining us with some context and some insight is one of our favorites, presidential historians Douglas Brinkley of the Eisenhower Center at the University of New Orleans. Good to have you with us again.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Oh, thanks for having me.

SAVIDGE: Well, let's talk about this. Historically, what are some other great hoodwink jobs that have been done by presidents on the move?

BRINKLEY: Well, Norman Maller, the novelist, once had line that said, "in movement, man has a chance." And sometimes, when presidents are under fire they take to the road. Think of Richard Nixon, with the heat of Watergate looming on him and the Vietnam War, the antiwar protest, he made his famous journey to China which was brought on television.

Bill Clinton, after his impeachment woes, travelled all over the world, constantly looking for photo-ops in places ranging from Ireland to the Middle East to South Africa.

But in this past few days, ever since the Thanksgiving surprise, most people are talking about Abraham Lincoln when he went and snuck off to see General McClellan at Antietam, or when he went down to Richmond. And also, people are talking about the rouse of Franklin Roosevelt on a fishing expedition in August of 1941 when he really went to meet Winston Churchill, the British prime minister off the coast of New Foundland.

SAVIDGE: Well, should we be bothered? Obviously it was a big success. Went over tremendously well with the troops. But should Americans be bothered by the fact that they were basically lied to about the whereabouts of the president?

BRINKLEY: I would look at it as the opposite. I think it's kind of refreshing to realise that there's still such as secrecy. In the modern information age, a billion emails bouncing over around the world every hour, the thought that there's nothing could be kept secret in Washington, and the fact that we were able to -- or the president, since October, with a small group men, was able to keep this as a Thanksgiving surprise. I think it's quite heartening.

As been reported, in the last minute, if anything would have gone wrong, it would have been an aborted mission. And the fact that people were able to keep their mouth shut and have their -- no loose lips in the White House is actually probably a good thing.

SAVIDGE: What if something had gone wrong thought, once he was on the ground? What would history say to that?

BRINKLEY: That's a very important point, because victory and success has a lot of friends and everybody is now saying, good job. If it would have gone sideways. If, for example, that British Airliner, who came so close to Air Force One would have reported it as Air Force One, he would have had to turn back. If there would have been a mine on the road to meet the troops, or if there would have been a mortar rocket attack, the mission had to be aborted, President Bush would be laughed at right now. Another failed attempt at a president under siege with a failed policy in Iraq.

Instead, he's able to make the history books. Even if it's only for a day, for a very historic secret mission. And certainly for those troops who are stationed, the men and women in Iraq, it had to wonderful to be able email home and get on the telephone and say, hey mom, hey dad, guess who I got to meet today? George Bush.

SAVIDGE: Absolutely. But will this be remembered as one of the great hijinks of history? At least for a president?

BRINKLEY: I don't know if it would be one of the great hijinks. It's certainly an interesting moment. And it's going to be a colorful anecdote in Bush's presidential biography some day. The verdict is out on what's happening in post-war Iraq.

You began this boardcast with Spanish intelligence agents -- civil servants -- being killed in Iraq everyday. As you mentioned, the death toll of American soldiers is going up in November. How this will look in history is going to depend on how the civil society, whether we really can build a democracy in Iraq takes root or not. So the verdict is still out.

But from a Thanksgiving Day surprise point of view, from a point of morale for our troops, for a bit of a boost in the arm over this Thanksgiving holiday, certainly you'd have to be pretty cold hearted to criticize President Bush for what he did and pulling it off as successful as it was.

SAVIDGE: David Brinkley, as always, we appreciate your eyes through history. Thank you very much.

BRINKLEY: Thanks

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




U.S. President>