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Bush to UN: Action on Iraq

Aired September 12, 2002 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Will he disarm or be taken down? Today, President Bush told the UN he wants a new resolution and a deadline. Otherwise, he's taking action. Mr. Bush said the Iraqi leader cannot be trusted and has ignored or violated every UN resolution his government has pledged to accept.
Our John King is live from New York with more on the president's address -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, in making the case today that this is a challenge for the world, President Bush said it was a direct challenge to the very credibility of the United Nations, the president saying the United Nations was formed just for this very reason, so the world could come together, collectively deal with threats to security, President Bush saying Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has defied the United Nations for more than a decade now, breaking every promise, promises to disarm, promises to allow world to verify that he has no chemical, nuclear or biological weapons, the president answering some of his critics today by standing right there in well of the United Nations General Assembly and saying wanted very much to work with the United Nations in confronting this problem.

But as the Iraqi delegation looked on, the president also called Saddam Hussein an outlaw regime, and he said that he was posed a great threat especially if he struck alliance with terrorists, the president saying he wanted to work through the United Nations, the administration already pressing for a new resolution from the Security Council.

Mr. Bush also then making clear his patience is limited.

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GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... one year, if Iraq's regime defies us again, the world must move deliberately, decisively, to hold Iraq to account.

We will work with UN Security Council for the necessary resolutions, but the purposes of the United States should not be doubted. The Security Council resolutions will be enforced. The just demands of peace and security will be met. Our action will be unavoidable. And a regime that has lost its legitimacy will also lose its power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Mr. Bush continued his lobbying later in day at a United Nations luncheon. You see him here raising a glass in toast with the secretary-general, Kofi Annan. Mr. Bush lobbying world leaders one on one.

Secretary of State Colin Powell also, will stay to lobby the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. U.S. officials seeking a new resolution that would spend inspectors back into Iraq, weapons inspectors, within the next three to four weeks.

But they also want that resolution to include clear language making the case that if those inspectors are interfered with, Iraq would face severe consequence. No doubt, from the president's speech earlier today, those consequences in his view could be military strikes -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: John King, thank you.

Before Mr. Bush took the stage today, the UN secretary-general plainly warned Iraq to respect the world body's resolutions. But Kofi Annan also pointed out -- quote -- "Even the most powerful countries need to work with others to achieve their aims."

CNN's Richard Roth is live from UN headquarters with the fallout from all of this -- Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR UN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, first official reaction from the nation of Iraq to President Bush's remarks, it comes from Mohammed al-Douri, the Iraqi ambassador to the UN, who sat and listened to all of President Bush's speech, which was a hard-hitting attack on his country. The Iraqi ambassador said it was longest series of fabrications that has ever been told by a leader of a nation.

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MOHAMMED AL-DOURI, IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO UN: This is position of the United States, and this is our position. So we don't care about the position of the United States, if they would. If they are threatening, if they would attack, certainly we will be there for defending ourselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: Mohammed al-Douri, the Iraqi ambassador, responding to a question there on what would happen should the U.S. decide to take action against Iraq militarily.

As for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, he would like to do anything possible to avoid use of force by one UN member country against another. Secretary-General Annan says it is the United Nations that has should have final say on anything that might involve the U.S. and Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOFI ANNAN, UN SECRETARY-GENERAL: Any state if attacked retains an inherent rate of self defense under Article 51 of the charter. But beyond that, when states decide to use force to deal with broader threats to international peace and security, there is no substitute for the unique legitimacy provided by the United Nations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: Some reaction coming in here at the United Nations. The Germans still opposed to a U.S. military strike. The Arab League appreciating Bush's open remarks, but not necessarily sanctioning any type of attack. And the British strongly behind the United States -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Richard, is there anyone in the UN General Assembly that 100 percent is the behind the ouster of Saddam Hussein?

ROTH: Well, privately, many people will say they don't like him, they hate him and they don't trust him. Right now, you would have to say Britain is a strong ally. Spain looks like it's coming on to the side of the U.S., at least on the political level; the people in Spain may not be in favor of it. You may see more support, though, as the weeks go on as the U.S. makes its case behind closed doors at the Security Council.

PHILLIPS: Richard Roth, thank you so much.

And how was the Bush speech received on the streets of Baghdad?

CNN's Rula Amin is live from the Iraqi capital with more from there -- Rula.

RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, just now, minutes before I was I'm talking to you, cars announcing the arrival of a bride were honking throughout streets here. We hear at the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) ministry next to a hotel. Weddings going on as usual, but there is a lot of concern among Iraqis what are going to be the consequences of President's Bush speech, what kind of resolutions is the UN going to draft, what is going to be the Iraqi government response to it.

Officially, all what we have heard from Baghdad was that -- from an Iraqi political commentator before the news started saying that President Bush has failed to deliver on his promise, which is to deliver concrete evidence that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. On Iraq's main evening news, on Iraqi government -- on television, there was no mention of the speech whatsoever. Total -- they ignored it totally; they mentioned Kofi Annan's remarks, spoke about some European comments regarding a possible U.S. attack against Iraq, but no mention of speech -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Rula, have you received word that we will indeed hear from Saddam Hussein and get his reaction from the speech today?

AMIN: It doesn't seem that we are going to hear from the president of Iraq today. It seems that the line they have taken officially is just to ignore it, although we have heard from Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations, who said that President Bush's speech was a bunch of fabrications. He accused the president of trying to launch an attack against Iraq for domestic political ambitions and personal revenge, is the way he phrased it. But apart from that, no official reaction whatsoever -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Rula Amin, live from Baghdad. Thank you, Rula.

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