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Rumsfeld Denies U.S. Interest in Iraqi Bases

Aired April 21, 2003 - 15:06   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.


JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: As you all saw live on CNN just a short while ago, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld denied that Washington is planning for long-term access to military bases in Iraq.
Let's go to our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre. Jamie, the defense secretary was pretty hot about that when you all asked him about it.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: He was pretty animated. Never say never is the credo that some follow here at the Pentagon, and he didn't quite rule it out absolutely, but he came about as close as he could to saying it's not something the U.S. is considering, and he said the likelihood of it was so low, so remote as for him to believe it would not happen.

That is -- the issue is whether the United States, after Iraq establishes a new government, would be interested in maintaining a long-term or semi-permanent presence in four separate bases in Iraq, as outlined in a "New York Times" article over the weekend. And Defense Secretary Rumsfeld took particular exception to how that article portrayed what the U.S. is thinking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The impression that's left around the world is that we plan to occupy the country, we plan to use their bases over the long period of time, and it's flat false. We went in there to change a regime. We went in there to find weapons of mass destruction. We went in there to stop them from threatening their neighbors, and we have said precisely what we're there for, and it is not what that article says.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: Now, Rumsfeld says that the idea of maintaining bases in Iraq after a new government takes over is not something that's ever even come up in any of the conversations that he's been a part of. That said, he did say the U.S. is reevaluating its so-called military footprint in the region, including how it would arrange its forces in the newly configured Middle East region. But he said he suspected the U.S. would have fewer forces than there now, and he said he didn't need bases in Iraq. He said, it's not like we don't have plenty of places to put our forces -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: All right. Jamie, we noted he said to the reporter who wrote that, he said make sure you remember that these sources are not somebody you can rely on in the future. So trying to make it clear that the story was off base. All right, Jamie, thanks very much.

And Miles, now back to you.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, he has got a big job ahead, and General Jay Garner is getting down to business in Baghdad. The man who will oversee Iraq's reconstruction arrived in the capital today, saying he's not there to rule, but to help the Iraqi people get their country up and running again. Big job.

CNN's Jim Clancy is in the Iraqi capital. He joins us with more on General Garner's first day in the capital. First of many days, right, Jim?

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. This was just a visit, but you say a big job, and that's probably an understatement. But I think one of the things that stood out in Garner's visit here was the way he was so plain-speaking. He was tough. And most of all, he was optimistic. He was saying it looks like an impossible job, but we're going to prove that it is possible. We are going to get that job done. He got right down to it, he visited some of the key infrastructure sites around the city. He went to hospitals and talked with doctors and nurses. He went to a sewage treatment plant, and one of the health concerns, that particular one, had been abandoned for a while. He also went to the south Baghdad power station, one of many power -- electricity generating plants around the city, one that is expected to get back online soon, and a big issue here.

But as he talked about all of the things that were going to be done, the focus really was on humanitarian aid and reconstruction. I think the answer that a lot of Iraqis were looking for was one about the political process. They feel a political power vacuum. They realize they have no experience with multi-party democracies. They realize that there are different, various, feuding factions, if you will, vying for power within the religious sects, between them, within ethnic groups, and between those ethnic groups.

There are a lot of problems the country faces that are on the political level, and thus far, Miles, they haven't seen a road map. Now, if General Garner really wanted to get a closer look at some of the problems that are being faced here, he could have been with us today as we drove past the International Committee of the Red Cross's headquarters here in Baghdad, we heard shots ringing out, and we'll pick up the story from here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY (voice-over): Firing their newly issued AK-47s, Iraqi police moved in to thwart the broad daylight bank burglary in the center of the city. It was a vivid example of how officers have returned to the streets and confronted brazen looters. With the chase on in earnest, squad cars and officers on foot chased after suspects desperately trying to flee the scene dressed in athletic outfits.

This man was caught and stuffed in the trunk of a police cruiser as he underwent what might be described as accelerated interrogation, Iraqi style. His pleas that he was also chasing the suspects obviously fell on deaf ears. While it could be argued that Baghdad's finest were being a bit too eager to get back to business as usual, the public seemed fully supportive. They ignored repeated warnings to retreat to safety out of the line of fire.

Apparently, no one wants to miss the latest episode of the return of justice to the streets of the city. This eyewitness said the suspect fired at police, and he yelled a few choice words at him.

"You're a thief, you're not a good citizen. You've sold yourself," he shouted. Meantime, back at the bank, U.S. troops aboard a Bradley Fighting Vehicle obliged the police and pointed their cannon at the bank entrance while officers scoured the scene for other suspects. One other man was picked up nearby and held at the scene.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Seven million stories in the city, Miles. That's one of them in Baghdad tonight.

O'BRIEN: Jim, I don't speak Arabic, so I don't know that they read him the Miranda rights. I kind of doubt it. I'm curious, there is a vacuum, as it relates to the rule of law there. If you can give us a sense of what happens to these people now that they're arrested? Whose laws are they following there?

CLANCY: Well, they have -- they know what the law is, and everybody knows you can't rob banks. Let's be clear about that first. Most of the looters that they catch that are inside buildings, trying to haul away furniture, they take them to the police academy, put them in a cell and hold them for 48 hours. I don't know what they're going to do with these suspects, because these suspects are felony cases. They're not misdemeanor cases. I understand that two other suspects, as many as three others were still holed up in the bank for hours, refusing to come out -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. That will take a while to sort out, I'm sure. Jim Clancy in Baghdad, 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 April 21, 2003 - 15:06   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: As you all saw live on CNN just a short while ago, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld denied that Washington is planning for long-term access to military bases in Iraq.
Let's go to our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre. Jamie, the defense secretary was pretty hot about that when you all asked him about it.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: He was pretty animated. Never say never is the credo that some follow here at the Pentagon, and he didn't quite rule it out absolutely, but he came about as close as he could to saying it's not something the U.S. is considering, and he said the likelihood of it was so low, so remote as for him to believe it would not happen.

That is -- the issue is whether the United States, after Iraq establishes a new government, would be interested in maintaining a long-term or semi-permanent presence in four separate bases in Iraq, as outlined in a "New York Times" article over the weekend. And Defense Secretary Rumsfeld took particular exception to how that article portrayed what the U.S. is thinking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The impression that's left around the world is that we plan to occupy the country, we plan to use their bases over the long period of time, and it's flat false. We went in there to change a regime. We went in there to find weapons of mass destruction. We went in there to stop them from threatening their neighbors, and we have said precisely what we're there for, and it is not what that article says.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: Now, Rumsfeld says that the idea of maintaining bases in Iraq after a new government takes over is not something that's ever even come up in any of the conversations that he's been a part of. That said, he did say the U.S. is reevaluating its so-called military footprint in the region, including how it would arrange its forces in the newly configured Middle East region. But he said he suspected the U.S. would have fewer forces than there now, and he said he didn't need bases in Iraq. He said, it's not like we don't have plenty of places to put our forces -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: All right. Jamie, we noted he said to the reporter who wrote that, he said make sure you remember that these sources are not somebody you can rely on in the future. So trying to make it clear that the story was off base. All right, Jamie, thanks very much.

And Miles, now back to you.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, he has got a big job ahead, and General Jay Garner is getting down to business in Baghdad. The man who will oversee Iraq's reconstruction arrived in the capital today, saying he's not there to rule, but to help the Iraqi people get their country up and running again. Big job.

CNN's Jim Clancy is in the Iraqi capital. He joins us with more on General Garner's first day in the capital. First of many days, right, Jim?

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. This was just a visit, but you say a big job, and that's probably an understatement. But I think one of the things that stood out in Garner's visit here was the way he was so plain-speaking. He was tough. And most of all, he was optimistic. He was saying it looks like an impossible job, but we're going to prove that it is possible. We are going to get that job done. He got right down to it, he visited some of the key infrastructure sites around the city. He went to hospitals and talked with doctors and nurses. He went to a sewage treatment plant, and one of the health concerns, that particular one, had been abandoned for a while. He also went to the south Baghdad power station, one of many power -- electricity generating plants around the city, one that is expected to get back online soon, and a big issue here.

But as he talked about all of the things that were going to be done, the focus really was on humanitarian aid and reconstruction. I think the answer that a lot of Iraqis were looking for was one about the political process. They feel a political power vacuum. They realize they have no experience with multi-party democracies. They realize that there are different, various, feuding factions, if you will, vying for power within the religious sects, between them, within ethnic groups, and between those ethnic groups.

There are a lot of problems the country faces that are on the political level, and thus far, Miles, they haven't seen a road map. Now, if General Garner really wanted to get a closer look at some of the problems that are being faced here, he could have been with us today as we drove past the International Committee of the Red Cross's headquarters here in Baghdad, we heard shots ringing out, and we'll pick up the story from here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY (voice-over): Firing their newly issued AK-47s, Iraqi police moved in to thwart the broad daylight bank burglary in the center of the city. It was a vivid example of how officers have returned to the streets and confronted brazen looters. With the chase on in earnest, squad cars and officers on foot chased after suspects desperately trying to flee the scene dressed in athletic outfits.

This man was caught and stuffed in the trunk of a police cruiser as he underwent what might be described as accelerated interrogation, Iraqi style. His pleas that he was also chasing the suspects obviously fell on deaf ears. While it could be argued that Baghdad's finest were being a bit too eager to get back to business as usual, the public seemed fully supportive. They ignored repeated warnings to retreat to safety out of the line of fire.

Apparently, no one wants to miss the latest episode of the return of justice to the streets of the city. This eyewitness said the suspect fired at police, and he yelled a few choice words at him.

"You're a thief, you're not a good citizen. You've sold yourself," he shouted. Meantime, back at the bank, U.S. troops aboard a Bradley Fighting Vehicle obliged the police and pointed their cannon at the bank entrance while officers scoured the scene for other suspects. One other man was picked up nearby and held at the scene.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Seven million stories in the city, Miles. That's one of them in Baghdad tonight.

O'BRIEN: Jim, I don't speak Arabic, so I don't know that they read him the Miranda rights. I kind of doubt it. I'm curious, there is a vacuum, as it relates to the rule of law there. If you can give us a sense of what happens to these people now that they're arrested? Whose laws are they following there?

CLANCY: Well, they have -- they know what the law is, and everybody knows you can't rob banks. Let's be clear about that first. Most of the looters that they catch that are inside buildings, trying to haul away furniture, they take them to the police academy, put them in a cell and hold them for 48 hours. I don't know what they're going to do with these suspects, because these suspects are felony cases. They're not misdemeanor cases. I understand that two other suspects, as many as three others were still holed up in the bank for hours, refusing to come out -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. That will take a while to sort out, I'm sure. Jim Clancy in Baghdad, 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