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Coalition's Role Must Change as Iraq Situation Changes
Aired April 21, 2003 - 13:20 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: Now that Saddam Hussein's regime is no more, the focus in Iraq is turning from military action to rebuilding, which means the coalition's role in the country will have to change. CNN military analyst and retired Army General Claudia Kennedy joins me now with a look at some of the possibilities. General Kennedy, good to have you with us.
GEN. CLAUDIA KENNEDY (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It is good to see you again.
O'BRIEN: General Garner, as he arrived in Baghdad, could not have been more upbeat, and being upbeat is an important thing in this job, but does he have rose-colored glasses on, maybe?
KENNEDY: Well, I know Jay Garner from our days in uniform, and he is a realist, he is pragmatic, and he understands people very well.
O'BRIEN: OK. Is that enough to get the lights on and the power going, and the people happy in Baghdad, though?
KENNEDY: Well, one of the most important things he's going to do is to try to establish the leadership needed to bring back civil order, to re-establish some urban administration, and to give the Iraqi people a framework upon which they can rebuild their country.
O'BRIEN: All right. Of course, that is easier said than done. What would you do if you were there? What would be job one for you?
KENNEDY: Well, I think his -- probably his first task will be to deal with meeting all of the various leaders that are in various parts and have various different opinions about how Iraq should be led in the future. So he's going to get to know those people very well. And I think he'll also be coordinating a great deal with General Abizaid to work on changing rules of engagement that the military will need to adapt to.
O'BRIEN: Does General Garner have a honeymoon, and if so, how long is it?
KENNEDY: I would be surprised to be thinking about this in terms of any honeymoon period. In fact, I think he'll start off with a period in which there will be so much uncertainty that it's his hardest moment, these first few, and then it'll get more and more stabilized as he's been in place longer.
O'BRIEN: All right. Let's talk about another subject for just a moment. There's a lot of talk now about long-range plans for the U.S. military in that region, and the possibility of an ongoing military- to-military relationship between whatever government is running Iraq and the United States. On the face of it, does that sound like a good idea, General Kennedy?
KENNEDY: Well, it sounds like we need to have a good military- to-military relationship with Iraq, just as we have with some of the other countries. What that does is, it lends a stabilizing leg to a two or three-legged table, in which you have the political, the economic and the military.
O'BRIEN: Do you think it's appropriate, and as a matter of fact perhaps a good idea in concert with that, to remove U.S. troops from Saudi Arabia?
KENNEDY: It's hard to say what our relationship with Saudi Arabia ought to be. It probably will depend upon how this business with Iraq plays out, and where we find the most extreme elements of terrorism.
O'BRIEN: Of course, you mentioned terrorism. Many al Qaeda operatives have said in their communiques over the years, the big concern, from their view, is U.S. troops on Arab soil. If, in fact, the U.S. were to set up shop in Iraq, would that just compound matters, and would that just stir up a bigger hornet's nest?
KENNEDY: It would if we were passive in our way of dealing of dealing with it. But if we take an active approach, making sure we're very good at our public information effort, build those relationships, I think trust and credibility will come our way.
O'BRIEN: General Claudia Kennedy, thanks very much. We have got a Pentagon briefing coming up in about 40 minutes. I'm sure those two subjects will come up, and maybe we can check in with you later. We appreciate it.
KENNEDY: Thank you, Miles.
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 21, 2003 - 13:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now that Saddam Hussein's regime is no more, the focus in Iraq is turning from military action to rebuilding, which means the coalition's role in the country will have to change. CNN military analyst and retired Army General Claudia Kennedy joins me now with a look at some of the possibilities. General Kennedy, good to have you with us.
GEN. CLAUDIA KENNEDY (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It is good to see you again.
O'BRIEN: General Garner, as he arrived in Baghdad, could not have been more upbeat, and being upbeat is an important thing in this job, but does he have rose-colored glasses on, maybe?
KENNEDY: Well, I know Jay Garner from our days in uniform, and he is a realist, he is pragmatic, and he understands people very well.
O'BRIEN: OK. Is that enough to get the lights on and the power going, and the people happy in Baghdad, though?
KENNEDY: Well, one of the most important things he's going to do is to try to establish the leadership needed to bring back civil order, to re-establish some urban administration, and to give the Iraqi people a framework upon which they can rebuild their country.
O'BRIEN: All right. Of course, that is easier said than done. What would you do if you were there? What would be job one for you?
KENNEDY: Well, I think his -- probably his first task will be to deal with meeting all of the various leaders that are in various parts and have various different opinions about how Iraq should be led in the future. So he's going to get to know those people very well. And I think he'll also be coordinating a great deal with General Abizaid to work on changing rules of engagement that the military will need to adapt to.
O'BRIEN: Does General Garner have a honeymoon, and if so, how long is it?
KENNEDY: I would be surprised to be thinking about this in terms of any honeymoon period. In fact, I think he'll start off with a period in which there will be so much uncertainty that it's his hardest moment, these first few, and then it'll get more and more stabilized as he's been in place longer.
O'BRIEN: All right. Let's talk about another subject for just a moment. There's a lot of talk now about long-range plans for the U.S. military in that region, and the possibility of an ongoing military- to-military relationship between whatever government is running Iraq and the United States. On the face of it, does that sound like a good idea, General Kennedy?
KENNEDY: Well, it sounds like we need to have a good military- to-military relationship with Iraq, just as we have with some of the other countries. What that does is, it lends a stabilizing leg to a two or three-legged table, in which you have the political, the economic and the military.
O'BRIEN: Do you think it's appropriate, and as a matter of fact perhaps a good idea in concert with that, to remove U.S. troops from Saudi Arabia?
KENNEDY: It's hard to say what our relationship with Saudi Arabia ought to be. It probably will depend upon how this business with Iraq plays out, and where we find the most extreme elements of terrorism.
O'BRIEN: Of course, you mentioned terrorism. Many al Qaeda operatives have said in their communiques over the years, the big concern, from their view, is U.S. troops on Arab soil. If, in fact, the U.S. were to set up shop in Iraq, would that just compound matters, and would that just stir up a bigger hornet's nest?
KENNEDY: It would if we were passive in our way of dealing of dealing with it. But if we take an active approach, making sure we're very good at our public information effort, build those relationships, I think trust and credibility will come our way.
O'BRIEN: General Claudia Kennedy, thanks very much. We have got a Pentagon briefing coming up in about 40 minutes. I'm sure those two subjects will come up, and maybe we can check in with you later. We appreciate it.
KENNEDY: Thank you, Miles.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
