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Interview With German Ambassador to U.S.

Aired March 13, 2003 - 14:25   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: Germany has joined with France and Russia as perhaps unlikely allies in opposing military action with Iraq. What is Germany's stake in the conflict, and what might come next?
Let's bring in the German ambassador to the U.S., Wolfgang Ischinger. Good to have you with us, Mr. Ambassador. Thanks for being here.

WOLFGANG ISCHINGER, GERMAN AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: Pleasure to be here.

O'BRIEN: Let's get you right on record. If there is a vote in the Security Council, where will Germany come down?

ISCHINGER: Well, let's remember we are with America on the question of does Iraq need to disarm now. We are not with America when it comes to the question, in order to get Iraq disarmed, do we need to use military force now.

That is why we and others believe that we do not need a second resolution. That is why we have not come out in favor of the U.S. proposal. We believe that the inspection process does not work well, but it works at least a little bit, and so long as we don't hear from Hans Blix and Dr. ElBaradei that they think they have to stop this, that it's senseless, so long as they say they can do useful work, we think we should let them do this work.

O'BRIEN: What do you make of the argument, though, that the Iraqis only respond to ultimatums and deadlines, and that the British proposal, maybe there is some wiggle room on dates and times, and exactly what those benchmarks are, but at least it puts in codified form a timetable. What's the matter with that idea?

ISCHINGER: Well, in principle, a timetable is not wrong. In fact, we and the French and others have also been discussing timetables for the inspection process, but I think what is very difficult for us to talk about is an ultimatum-type paper. We cannot have -- coming from where we're coming from, we cannot be interested in a U.N. decision which will be interpreted, at least by some, as authorizing military force. That's simply not our position.

O'BRIEN: Do you think that in and of themselves, these inspections will do the job, though?

ISCHINGER: The question is not does Iraq provide the total transparency that, actually, they should... O'BRIEN: Because they really have not been very cooperative, have they?

ISCHINGER: They have not been very cooperative. The question from my point of view is, can we hope to obtain sufficient insight and sufficient inspection and sufficient control of what's going on in Iraq so that we can say we do not need to apply military force in order to contain this threat. We believe, if you wish, Miles, in containment, and my understanding of the American position is that the Bush administration does not believe that containment can work in this situation. That's the difference.

O'BRIEN: When does containment become appeasement?

ISCHINGER: That's a very strong word, appeasement, especially when you talk to a German. I know exactly what that means in terms of its historic application, but I think so long as we think -- and we're not alone here. Many, many governments, I think, share our view. So long as we believe that there can be credible expectation that this inspection process can provide sufficient control, I think, this is very far from appeasement.

O'BRIEN: All right. So just to button it up, under any circumstances, a no vote from Germany?

ISCHINGER: It depends on what exactly is being proposed to us in terms of language. This is a fluid situation, and I think we'll all have to see what kind of language, at the end, will be the one that will be put to a vote.

O'BRIEN: Spoken like a true diplomat. Wolfgang Ischinger, German ambassador to the United States.

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 13, 2003 - 14:25   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Germany has joined with France and Russia as perhaps unlikely allies in opposing military action with Iraq. What is Germany's stake in the conflict, and what might come next?
Let's bring in the German ambassador to the U.S., Wolfgang Ischinger. Good to have you with us, Mr. Ambassador. Thanks for being here.

WOLFGANG ISCHINGER, GERMAN AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: Pleasure to be here.

O'BRIEN: Let's get you right on record. If there is a vote in the Security Council, where will Germany come down?

ISCHINGER: Well, let's remember we are with America on the question of does Iraq need to disarm now. We are not with America when it comes to the question, in order to get Iraq disarmed, do we need to use military force now.

That is why we and others believe that we do not need a second resolution. That is why we have not come out in favor of the U.S. proposal. We believe that the inspection process does not work well, but it works at least a little bit, and so long as we don't hear from Hans Blix and Dr. ElBaradei that they think they have to stop this, that it's senseless, so long as they say they can do useful work, we think we should let them do this work.

O'BRIEN: What do you make of the argument, though, that the Iraqis only respond to ultimatums and deadlines, and that the British proposal, maybe there is some wiggle room on dates and times, and exactly what those benchmarks are, but at least it puts in codified form a timetable. What's the matter with that idea?

ISCHINGER: Well, in principle, a timetable is not wrong. In fact, we and the French and others have also been discussing timetables for the inspection process, but I think what is very difficult for us to talk about is an ultimatum-type paper. We cannot have -- coming from where we're coming from, we cannot be interested in a U.N. decision which will be interpreted, at least by some, as authorizing military force. That's simply not our position.

O'BRIEN: Do you think that in and of themselves, these inspections will do the job, though?

ISCHINGER: The question is not does Iraq provide the total transparency that, actually, they should... O'BRIEN: Because they really have not been very cooperative, have they?

ISCHINGER: They have not been very cooperative. The question from my point of view is, can we hope to obtain sufficient insight and sufficient inspection and sufficient control of what's going on in Iraq so that we can say we do not need to apply military force in order to contain this threat. We believe, if you wish, Miles, in containment, and my understanding of the American position is that the Bush administration does not believe that containment can work in this situation. That's the difference.

O'BRIEN: When does containment become appeasement?

ISCHINGER: That's a very strong word, appeasement, especially when you talk to a German. I know exactly what that means in terms of its historic application, but I think so long as we think -- and we're not alone here. Many, many governments, I think, share our view. So long as we believe that there can be credible expectation that this inspection process can provide sufficient control, I think, this is very far from appeasement.

O'BRIEN: All right. So just to button it up, under any circumstances, a no vote from Germany?

ISCHINGER: It depends on what exactly is being proposed to us in terms of language. This is a fluid situation, and I think we'll all have to see what kind of language, at the end, will be the one that will be put to a vote.

O'BRIEN: Spoken like a true diplomat. Wolfgang Ischinger, German ambassador to the United States.

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