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President Assures Iraqis Via Televised Message

Aired April 10, 2003 - 13:15   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.


WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As our viewers heard at the top of this program, President Bush is personally reaching out to Iraqis in the wake of the collapse of the only governmental authority most of them have ever known.
Our White House correspondent Chris Burns is standing by with more on that.

Chris, tell us what's going on.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. The president is about to meet with five Central American presidents. There are limousines all lined up outside here. They're going to be talking about free trade.

Mainly on the president's mind are two issues. At least one issue is about the public relations campaign in Iraq -- this image. Think about the U.S. flag that the U.S. soldier draped across the face of the Saddam statue yesterday -- that being played in the Arab media, by many of the Arab media, as being a symbol of U.S. domination, of conquering Iraq as it were.

This is something that the White House is going to be combatting, and so there is a new video that is out. It is being beamed out. In fact, as we speak, there are broadcasts on Iraqi television stations that include a message by President Bush as well as British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the president's key ally in this U.S. led coalition -- telling the Iraqi people that this invasion, that this liberation, is aimed at bringing freedom and democracy, at rebuilding Iraq. In bringing aid to Iraq, the president telling the people that the troops, when they finish their job, they won't be staying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The goals of our coalition are clear and limited. We will end a brutal regime whose agression and weapons of mass destruction make it a unique threat to the world.

BURNS: Coalition forces will help maintain law and order so that Iraqis can live in security. We will respect your great religious traditions, whose principles of equality and compassion are essential to Iraq's future. We will help you build a peacful and representative government that protects the rights of all citizens. And then, our military forces will leave.

Iraq will go forward as a unified, independent, and sovereign nation that has regained a respected place in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNS: Another very key issue, a very delicate issue right now, is that power vacuum inside Iraq -- how to deal with that. The issue in the north right now, especially in Kirkuk, that oil-rich city where the Kurdish people have gone and taken over that city, Turkey is getting very nervous about that. They have a large Kurdish minority. There had been talk about the Turkish forces moving into northern Iraq to prevent that from happening -- to possibly prevent the Kurds from declaring a separate state, Kurdistan, in northern Iraq.

The White House reassuring, trying to reassure, the Turks that the U.S. will be in control. In the words of Ari Fleischer at the press briefing today, he says Kirkuk will be under American control -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And just to be precise on this point, Chris, the U.S. military now has the frequencies, the channels if you will, of what used to be Iraqi state-run television, and they are now using those channels to broadcast statements from the president, the British prime minister, and other U.S. programming. Is that right?

BURNS: That's absolutely right, and they're doing it in different ways. There is a C-130 that is equipped with broadcast equipment. It's been doing it for weeks now -- called Commander Solo, Commando Solo. And it had been broadcasting radio broadcasts. Now that it's able to broadcast to television stations, or television channels in Iraq, they're doing that. They're also doing that from ground-based communications.

The main issue is to try get into the living rooms across Iraq and try to broadcast directly that message from President Bush and Tony Blair. As Ari Fleischer said today, this is their chance for Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair to speak directly to the Iraqi people -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And they're doing this in Arabic. You can imagine the culture shock for most Iraqis who are used to only seeing news about Saddam Hussein, glorifying news about the Iraqi leader -- every night, every day, almost 24 hours a day -- all of a sudden to be getting different programming, very different programming, from the U.S. government.

Chris Burns at the White House. 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






Aired April 10, 2003 - 13:15   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As our viewers heard at the top of this program, President Bush is personally reaching out to Iraqis in the wake of the collapse of the only governmental authority most of them have ever known.
Our White House correspondent Chris Burns is standing by with more on that.

Chris, tell us what's going on.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. The president is about to meet with five Central American presidents. There are limousines all lined up outside here. They're going to be talking about free trade.

Mainly on the president's mind are two issues. At least one issue is about the public relations campaign in Iraq -- this image. Think about the U.S. flag that the U.S. soldier draped across the face of the Saddam statue yesterday -- that being played in the Arab media, by many of the Arab media, as being a symbol of U.S. domination, of conquering Iraq as it were.

This is something that the White House is going to be combatting, and so there is a new video that is out. It is being beamed out. In fact, as we speak, there are broadcasts on Iraqi television stations that include a message by President Bush as well as British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the president's key ally in this U.S. led coalition -- telling the Iraqi people that this invasion, that this liberation, is aimed at bringing freedom and democracy, at rebuilding Iraq. In bringing aid to Iraq, the president telling the people that the troops, when they finish their job, they won't be staying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The goals of our coalition are clear and limited. We will end a brutal regime whose agression and weapons of mass destruction make it a unique threat to the world.

BURNS: Coalition forces will help maintain law and order so that Iraqis can live in security. We will respect your great religious traditions, whose principles of equality and compassion are essential to Iraq's future. We will help you build a peacful and representative government that protects the rights of all citizens. And then, our military forces will leave.

Iraq will go forward as a unified, independent, and sovereign nation that has regained a respected place in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNS: Another very key issue, a very delicate issue right now, is that power vacuum inside Iraq -- how to deal with that. The issue in the north right now, especially in Kirkuk, that oil-rich city where the Kurdish people have gone and taken over that city, Turkey is getting very nervous about that. They have a large Kurdish minority. There had been talk about the Turkish forces moving into northern Iraq to prevent that from happening -- to possibly prevent the Kurds from declaring a separate state, Kurdistan, in northern Iraq.

The White House reassuring, trying to reassure, the Turks that the U.S. will be in control. In the words of Ari Fleischer at the press briefing today, he says Kirkuk will be under American control -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And just to be precise on this point, Chris, the U.S. military now has the frequencies, the channels if you will, of what used to be Iraqi state-run television, and they are now using those channels to broadcast statements from the president, the British prime minister, and other U.S. programming. Is that right?

BURNS: That's absolutely right, and they're doing it in different ways. There is a C-130 that is equipped with broadcast equipment. It's been doing it for weeks now -- called Commander Solo, Commando Solo. And it had been broadcasting radio broadcasts. Now that it's able to broadcast to television stations, or television channels in Iraq, they're doing that. They're also doing that from ground-based communications.

The main issue is to try get into the living rooms across Iraq and try to broadcast directly that message from President Bush and Tony Blair. As Ari Fleischer said today, this is their chance for Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair to speak directly to the Iraqi people -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And they're doing this in Arabic. You can imagine the culture shock for most Iraqis who are used to only seeing news about Saddam Hussein, glorifying news about the Iraqi leader -- every night, every day, almost 24 hours a day -- all of a sudden to be getting different programming, very different programming, from the U.S. government.

Chris Burns at the White House. 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