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Bush Works Phones to Build Support

Aired March 10, 2003 - 13:02   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.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is working the phones today in an urgent effort to build support for his case against Iraq. The United Nations Security Council appears to be nearing a vote that could determine whether a war earns international backing, or international scorn. The stakes are immense, to say the least. CNN's Richard Roth is at the United Nations to bring us the latest -- hello, Richard.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. In about three hours, the U.N. Security Council goes behind closed doors again to discuss the proposed resolution by the United States, United Kingdom and Spain, one which would give Iraq a March 17 deadline to turn over and disclose all of its weapons of mass destruction, if it exists, or completely reveal everything about any kind of weapons program. Many diplomats here do not believe Iraq will be able to do that, or want to do that by that date.

The quest for votes for this resolution continues. French foreign minister Dominique de Villepin is in Africa today. He was in Angola, which is one of the three uncommitted African countries among the undecided six on the Security Council. It's a nonpermanent member. Angola has valuable oil reserves, but also has had a 25-year civil war and desperately needs more humanitarian assistance. It received $128 million from the United States last year, France also a potential valuable trading partner.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw today in London speaking out about the options on the Iraq crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK STRAW, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: The choice before us is whether we stand firm in pursuing our objective of disarmament, or settle for a policy which, in truth, allows Saddam to rebuild his arsenal under cover of just enough cooperation to keep the inspectors tied down for years to come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: British Foreign Secretary Straw said his country would be looking closely at so-called benchmarks, undecided issues, key significant issues that the inspectors want cleared up by Iraq. If there's any type of compromise on the language in this resolution, it may come with the inclusion of some directives to Iraq. U.S. officials, though, say they're standing firm on that March 17 deadline. So this vote, which could come as early tomorrow -- as of tomorrow, doesn't give Iraq much time. The Chinese ambassador to the U.N. telling CNN today that the U.S. has indicated they will say today whether they will call for a vote. He says the U.S. is implying that they have the nine votes needed, the minimum required for passage without vetoes, but he said among the so-called swinging six members he's been talking to, the resolution does not have the votes.

Meanwhile, the nonaligned members, dozens of countries in the United Nations membership roster, wants to have an open meeting with more speeches tomorrow about the Iraq crisis. The Pakistani ambassador, representing a country that is undecided, at least publicly, talked about just what's happening in the vote game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUNIR AKRAM, PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: We have not as yet come to a decision on the vote. I think there's -- there's still diplomacy in play, what I have called the end game is now in play. There will be last-minute attempts to try and get a peaceful solution. We still hope that we can get a peaceful solution. We have not given up hope. So I think we will have to decide at the end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: Meanwhile, certain leaders of government may be interested in coming to the Security Council. French President Chirac for an emergency heads of state meeting not called for yet, even maybe German Chancellor Schroeder. All this as the Security Council intensifies, and becomes the real center, right now, of this Iraq crisis -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Richard, the level of lobbying, to many of us, seems rather extraordinary. Can you recall a vote that has had this level of jockeying behind the scenes?

ROTH: Not recently. Perhaps the last Iraq resolution, which took seven and a half weeks. Many have vowed it won't go that long, but it does match the craziness. And, of course, in 1990, President Bush at that time built up a coalition, and the votes were much more lopsided, at one point 15-2 -- excuse me -- 13-2, 15-0. It wasn't anything near this.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. Richard Roth at the United Nations. Thanks very much. We'll be checking in with you as events unfold, of course.

As we said, the president working the phones very hard as he said to the nation not long ago, don't worry about the whip count, it's the final votes that count. CNN's Chris Burns is at the White House monitoring the progress there on the part of the administration -- Chris, the president busy doing a lot of dialing, isn't he?

CHRIS BURNS: Absolutely, Miles. The phone lines here burning up, the president having spoken already this morning to the presidents, the leaders of China and of Taiwan. A long list of other leaders that Ari Fleischer in the coming news conference here, midday is going to be reading off, ticking off. At the same time, also meetings at the State Department. The State Department meeting between Secretary Powell and the leader -- the foreign minister of the country of Guinea. Guinea is very important because it is one of the undecided six on the U.N. Security Council, and at the same time, the French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, is meeting in Guinea and other African countries, former French colonies, trying to push its case, that saying this is not the time for war, this is not the time to vote for this U.N. resolution.

Secretary Powell coming out of the meeting with the Guinea foreign minister. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: I am in no competition with Dominique de Villepin. He does what he has to do, and I do what I have to do. We are both working for our causes we believe in. We're both trying to consult with all the members of the council. And as you see, I have been in touch today, at some length, with the foreign minister of Guinea, and I have been on the phone most of the morning with nations around the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNS: Now, talk about this discovery in the U.N. weapons inspectors' documents given over the last week of these two drones that could carry -- that could carry chemical or biological weapons, a senior administration official saying this is very new, this is a new item. Could it be the smoking gun that could be lobbied about during this U.N. Security Council meeting expected at 4:00 P.M. this afternoon, a closed door meeting? Will the U.S. be pushing very hard on that? Quite to be expected.

Also the United States, of course, disappointed that the Russians are still threatening to block this U.N. resolution. The statement given by Ari Fleischer earlier today saying the president would, indeed, be disappointed if Russia were to veto that resolution.

The president would look at this as a missed opportunity for Russia to make an important moral stand to defend freedom and to prevent the risk of a massive catastrophe taking place as a result of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.

The White House also arguing on this moral angle, saying that there are other cases where the U.N. sat by, like Rwanda, Kosovo, that this is the time for the international community to act, even if there isn't direct U.N. action -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Chris, let's be clear on this. What's the goal there? To avoid a veto vote from either Russia or France, or more importantly, perhaps, to get some sort of majority there on the Security Council?

BURNS: The priority is to get as many votes as possible, even if there is a veto, as the president has been saying last week, that he's going to push this vote, no matter what, and this week sometime. And if there is a veto vote against by one of the permanent members, so what? The important thing is for everybody to stand up and be counted, to try to get to that nine, at least the number nine of votes out of the 15 that would pass that U.N. resolution would be a victory for the White House -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. Chris Burns at the White House, 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 March 10, 2003 - 13:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is working the phones today in an urgent effort to build support for his case against Iraq. The United Nations Security Council appears to be nearing a vote that could determine whether a war earns international backing, or international scorn. The stakes are immense, to say the least. CNN's Richard Roth is at the United Nations to bring us the latest -- hello, Richard.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. In about three hours, the U.N. Security Council goes behind closed doors again to discuss the proposed resolution by the United States, United Kingdom and Spain, one which would give Iraq a March 17 deadline to turn over and disclose all of its weapons of mass destruction, if it exists, or completely reveal everything about any kind of weapons program. Many diplomats here do not believe Iraq will be able to do that, or want to do that by that date.

The quest for votes for this resolution continues. French foreign minister Dominique de Villepin is in Africa today. He was in Angola, which is one of the three uncommitted African countries among the undecided six on the Security Council. It's a nonpermanent member. Angola has valuable oil reserves, but also has had a 25-year civil war and desperately needs more humanitarian assistance. It received $128 million from the United States last year, France also a potential valuable trading partner.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw today in London speaking out about the options on the Iraq crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK STRAW, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: The choice before us is whether we stand firm in pursuing our objective of disarmament, or settle for a policy which, in truth, allows Saddam to rebuild his arsenal under cover of just enough cooperation to keep the inspectors tied down for years to come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: British Foreign Secretary Straw said his country would be looking closely at so-called benchmarks, undecided issues, key significant issues that the inspectors want cleared up by Iraq. If there's any type of compromise on the language in this resolution, it may come with the inclusion of some directives to Iraq. U.S. officials, though, say they're standing firm on that March 17 deadline. So this vote, which could come as early tomorrow -- as of tomorrow, doesn't give Iraq much time. The Chinese ambassador to the U.N. telling CNN today that the U.S. has indicated they will say today whether they will call for a vote. He says the U.S. is implying that they have the nine votes needed, the minimum required for passage without vetoes, but he said among the so-called swinging six members he's been talking to, the resolution does not have the votes.

Meanwhile, the nonaligned members, dozens of countries in the United Nations membership roster, wants to have an open meeting with more speeches tomorrow about the Iraq crisis. The Pakistani ambassador, representing a country that is undecided, at least publicly, talked about just what's happening in the vote game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUNIR AKRAM, PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: We have not as yet come to a decision on the vote. I think there's -- there's still diplomacy in play, what I have called the end game is now in play. There will be last-minute attempts to try and get a peaceful solution. We still hope that we can get a peaceful solution. We have not given up hope. So I think we will have to decide at the end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: Meanwhile, certain leaders of government may be interested in coming to the Security Council. French President Chirac for an emergency heads of state meeting not called for yet, even maybe German Chancellor Schroeder. All this as the Security Council intensifies, and becomes the real center, right now, of this Iraq crisis -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Richard, the level of lobbying, to many of us, seems rather extraordinary. Can you recall a vote that has had this level of jockeying behind the scenes?

ROTH: Not recently. Perhaps the last Iraq resolution, which took seven and a half weeks. Many have vowed it won't go that long, but it does match the craziness. And, of course, in 1990, President Bush at that time built up a coalition, and the votes were much more lopsided, at one point 15-2 -- excuse me -- 13-2, 15-0. It wasn't anything near this.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. Richard Roth at the United Nations. Thanks very much. We'll be checking in with you as events unfold, of course.

As we said, the president working the phones very hard as he said to the nation not long ago, don't worry about the whip count, it's the final votes that count. CNN's Chris Burns is at the White House monitoring the progress there on the part of the administration -- Chris, the president busy doing a lot of dialing, isn't he?

CHRIS BURNS: Absolutely, Miles. The phone lines here burning up, the president having spoken already this morning to the presidents, the leaders of China and of Taiwan. A long list of other leaders that Ari Fleischer in the coming news conference here, midday is going to be reading off, ticking off. At the same time, also meetings at the State Department. The State Department meeting between Secretary Powell and the leader -- the foreign minister of the country of Guinea. Guinea is very important because it is one of the undecided six on the U.N. Security Council, and at the same time, the French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, is meeting in Guinea and other African countries, former French colonies, trying to push its case, that saying this is not the time for war, this is not the time to vote for this U.N. resolution.

Secretary Powell coming out of the meeting with the Guinea foreign minister. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: I am in no competition with Dominique de Villepin. He does what he has to do, and I do what I have to do. We are both working for our causes we believe in. We're both trying to consult with all the members of the council. And as you see, I have been in touch today, at some length, with the foreign minister of Guinea, and I have been on the phone most of the morning with nations around the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNS: Now, talk about this discovery in the U.N. weapons inspectors' documents given over the last week of these two drones that could carry -- that could carry chemical or biological weapons, a senior administration official saying this is very new, this is a new item. Could it be the smoking gun that could be lobbied about during this U.N. Security Council meeting expected at 4:00 P.M. this afternoon, a closed door meeting? Will the U.S. be pushing very hard on that? Quite to be expected.

Also the United States, of course, disappointed that the Russians are still threatening to block this U.N. resolution. The statement given by Ari Fleischer earlier today saying the president would, indeed, be disappointed if Russia were to veto that resolution.

The president would look at this as a missed opportunity for Russia to make an important moral stand to defend freedom and to prevent the risk of a massive catastrophe taking place as a result of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.

The White House also arguing on this moral angle, saying that there are other cases where the U.N. sat by, like Rwanda, Kosovo, that this is the time for the international community to act, even if there isn't direct U.N. action -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Chris, let's be clear on this. What's the goal there? To avoid a veto vote from either Russia or France, or more importantly, perhaps, to get some sort of majority there on the Security Council?

BURNS: The priority is to get as many votes as possible, even if there is a veto, as the president has been saying last week, that he's going to push this vote, no matter what, and this week sometime. And if there is a veto vote against by one of the permanent members, so what? The important thing is for everybody to stand up and be counted, to try to get to that nine, at least the number nine of votes out of the 15 that would pass that U.N. resolution would be a victory for the White House -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. Chris Burns at the White House, 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