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Democrats Accuse Bush Administration of Finger-Pointing on Iraq; President Bush Visits Nigeria

Aired July 11, 2003 - 15:01   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: Democrats who want President Bush's job are accusing him today of finger-pointing and passing the buck. At issue: the administration's latest line of defense about its prewar claims about the Iraqi threat.
Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is with the president in Africa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush insisted he did not intentionally mislead the American people in making his case for going to war.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I gave a speech to the nation that was cleared by the intelligence services. And it was a speech that detailed to the American people the dangers posed by the Saddam Hussein regime. And my government took the appropriate response to those dangers.

MALVEAUX: Throughout his Africa trip, the president has been dogged by claims he made in his State of the Union address that Iraq tried to get uranium from Africa, an argument used to support the case that Saddam Hussein was trying to develop a nuclear weapons program, justifying the U.S. going to war.

Intelligence officials have since admitted that at least one report that Iraq was trying to get uranium from Niger was false. But Mr. Bush stands by his speech. Earlier, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, traveling with the president, said the CIA cleared the address and that the administration followed the CIA's recommendations to take out the specific reference to Niger.

The administration replaced with the broader claim that Iraq was seeking uranium from Africa. Dr. Rice said that line was approved. And she added, "The CIA cleared the speech in its entirety. If the director of Central Intelligence had said, 'Take this out of the speech,' then it would have been done." But Secretary of State Colin Powell, seven days after the president's address, did not include the Iraq uranium claim in his presentation before the United Nations because the State Department's own intelligence arm found it dubious.

But Thursday, Powell played down the difference.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: You have to make judgments. And at the time of the president's State of the Union address, a judgment was made that that was an appropriate statement for the president to make. There was no effort or attempt on the part of the president or anyone else in the administration to mislead or to deceive the American people.

MALVEAUX (on camera): The Bush administration insists that it's confident in the intelligence it receives, but a senior administration official did acknowledge that the vetting process, determining what gets in the State of the Union, has to be tightened.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Entebbe, Uganda.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: And just a short while ago, the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee offered some harsh words about the CIA's handling of intelligence on Iraq, calling it extremely sloppy. And Senator Pat Roberts points a finger straight at the director of Central Intelligence, George Tenet. More on the political fallout in the next hour on INSIDE POLITICS.

Well, the Bush administration also has been taking flak for continued attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq. A new Gallup poll asks Americans about the status of the troops; 16 percent say they support sending more troops to Iraq; 40 percent say they want to bring some service men and women home; 41 percent say they believe no change is needed. And the poll shows a majority of Americans favor sending U.S. troops to Liberia as part of an international peacekeeping force. President Bush is expected to make a decision on that within days.

Well, President Bush now is in Nigeria, the final stop of his tour of Africa.

Let's go live now to the Nigerian capital, Abuja, and to CNN's Jeff Koinange.

Jeff, what do we expect to see there with the president in Lagos?

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you, Judy, there's a lot on his agenda right now. The president and Mrs. Bush landed here in the capital about an hour and 15 minutes ago. He was met on the tarmac by President and Mrs. Obasanjo and a whole host of officials.

After the formalities, they quickly got into their vehicles, headed straight down what is known as Bill Clinton Drive for the 24- mile trip into the city. He has a very early evening today, Judy. He has no plans tonight. He's going to turn in early because tomorrow is a busy day, starting with a visit to an AIDS clinic. As you know, Judy, AIDS is high on his agenda throughout his African trip. In fact, on Friday, he got a chance to address some folks in Uganda, a country that's managed to reverse the spread of this deadly disease.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: President Museveni in Uganda pursued a direct and comprehensive anti-AIDS strategy. He emphasized abstinence in marital fidelity, as well as condoms, to prevent HIV transmissions. They developed a strategy. They're implementing the strategy for the whole world to see. And the results have been magnificent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOINANGE: Judy, I can tell you, AIDS is not the only problem affecting Nigeria. This country has quite an external debt of some $24 billion. And President Obasanjo is going to be looking for some debt relief from President Bush.

Also, this country is the sixth largest producer of crude oil in the world. Even though this country relies so much on this product, they're going to have to look to diversify the economy, maybe go into agriculture, mechanized farming, textiles. This is what Nigeria is going to be looking to President Bush and the West to help this country get the economy back on track, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Jeff, obviously, there are some questions, some critics of President Obasanjo there in Nigeria, people questioning the legitimacy of the balloting in the last election that put him back in office. Is the feeling that President Bush's visit, in many ways, strengthens his hand as the president of that country?

KOINANGE: Absolutely, Judy.

And that election was about three months ago. And there was a big hoopla after that. But now things have basically quieted down. I think the world is viewing Nigeria now as politically mature. Yes, they've accepted that election. They know President Obasanjo is on his second and final term of office. He cannot run again. So they want to give him that four years to see what he could prove.

And, yes, this visit by President Bush is definitely going to legitimize that. And, hopefully, Nigeria can get something out of it. This country desperately needs the economy to be boosted. Unemployment is high. Inflation is skyrocketing. They have major, major problems. And don't forget the religious and ethnic clashes which erupt every now and then. Hopefully, all that can be solved in the near future, Judy.

WOODRUFF: All right, Jeff Koinange, reporting for us from Nigeria, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

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




Iraq; President Bush Visits Nigeria>


Aired July 11, 2003 - 15:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Democrats who want President Bush's job are accusing him today of finger-pointing and passing the buck. At issue: the administration's latest line of defense about its prewar claims about the Iraqi threat.
Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is with the president in Africa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush insisted he did not intentionally mislead the American people in making his case for going to war.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I gave a speech to the nation that was cleared by the intelligence services. And it was a speech that detailed to the American people the dangers posed by the Saddam Hussein regime. And my government took the appropriate response to those dangers.

MALVEAUX: Throughout his Africa trip, the president has been dogged by claims he made in his State of the Union address that Iraq tried to get uranium from Africa, an argument used to support the case that Saddam Hussein was trying to develop a nuclear weapons program, justifying the U.S. going to war.

Intelligence officials have since admitted that at least one report that Iraq was trying to get uranium from Niger was false. But Mr. Bush stands by his speech. Earlier, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, traveling with the president, said the CIA cleared the address and that the administration followed the CIA's recommendations to take out the specific reference to Niger.

The administration replaced with the broader claim that Iraq was seeking uranium from Africa. Dr. Rice said that line was approved. And she added, "The CIA cleared the speech in its entirety. If the director of Central Intelligence had said, 'Take this out of the speech,' then it would have been done." But Secretary of State Colin Powell, seven days after the president's address, did not include the Iraq uranium claim in his presentation before the United Nations because the State Department's own intelligence arm found it dubious.

But Thursday, Powell played down the difference.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: You have to make judgments. And at the time of the president's State of the Union address, a judgment was made that that was an appropriate statement for the president to make. There was no effort or attempt on the part of the president or anyone else in the administration to mislead or to deceive the American people.

MALVEAUX (on camera): The Bush administration insists that it's confident in the intelligence it receives, but a senior administration official did acknowledge that the vetting process, determining what gets in the State of the Union, has to be tightened.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Entebbe, Uganda.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: And just a short while ago, the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee offered some harsh words about the CIA's handling of intelligence on Iraq, calling it extremely sloppy. And Senator Pat Roberts points a finger straight at the director of Central Intelligence, George Tenet. More on the political fallout in the next hour on INSIDE POLITICS.

Well, the Bush administration also has been taking flak for continued attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq. A new Gallup poll asks Americans about the status of the troops; 16 percent say they support sending more troops to Iraq; 40 percent say they want to bring some service men and women home; 41 percent say they believe no change is needed. And the poll shows a majority of Americans favor sending U.S. troops to Liberia as part of an international peacekeeping force. President Bush is expected to make a decision on that within days.

Well, President Bush now is in Nigeria, the final stop of his tour of Africa.

Let's go live now to the Nigerian capital, Abuja, and to CNN's Jeff Koinange.

Jeff, what do we expect to see there with the president in Lagos?

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you, Judy, there's a lot on his agenda right now. The president and Mrs. Bush landed here in the capital about an hour and 15 minutes ago. He was met on the tarmac by President and Mrs. Obasanjo and a whole host of officials.

After the formalities, they quickly got into their vehicles, headed straight down what is known as Bill Clinton Drive for the 24- mile trip into the city. He has a very early evening today, Judy. He has no plans tonight. He's going to turn in early because tomorrow is a busy day, starting with a visit to an AIDS clinic. As you know, Judy, AIDS is high on his agenda throughout his African trip. In fact, on Friday, he got a chance to address some folks in Uganda, a country that's managed to reverse the spread of this deadly disease.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: President Museveni in Uganda pursued a direct and comprehensive anti-AIDS strategy. He emphasized abstinence in marital fidelity, as well as condoms, to prevent HIV transmissions. They developed a strategy. They're implementing the strategy for the whole world to see. And the results have been magnificent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOINANGE: Judy, I can tell you, AIDS is not the only problem affecting Nigeria. This country has quite an external debt of some $24 billion. And President Obasanjo is going to be looking for some debt relief from President Bush.

Also, this country is the sixth largest producer of crude oil in the world. Even though this country relies so much on this product, they're going to have to look to diversify the economy, maybe go into agriculture, mechanized farming, textiles. This is what Nigeria is going to be looking to President Bush and the West to help this country get the economy back on track, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Jeff, obviously, there are some questions, some critics of President Obasanjo there in Nigeria, people questioning the legitimacy of the balloting in the last election that put him back in office. Is the feeling that President Bush's visit, in many ways, strengthens his hand as the president of that country?

KOINANGE: Absolutely, Judy.

And that election was about three months ago. And there was a big hoopla after that. But now things have basically quieted down. I think the world is viewing Nigeria now as politically mature. Yes, they've accepted that election. They know President Obasanjo is on his second and final term of office. He cannot run again. So they want to give him that four years to see what he could prove.

And, yes, this visit by President Bush is definitely going to legitimize that. And, hopefully, Nigeria can get something out of it. This country desperately needs the economy to be boosted. Unemployment is high. Inflation is skyrocketing. They have major, major problems. And don't forget the religious and ethnic clashes which erupt every now and then. Hopefully, all that can be solved in the near future, Judy.

WOODRUFF: All right, Jeff Koinange, reporting for us from Nigeria, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

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




Iraq; President Bush Visits Nigeria>