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President Bush Hails "Henchmen's" Deaths
Aired July 24, 2003 - 14:05 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to CNN White House correspondent Chris Burns with more on what the president is doing today -- Chris.
CHRIS BURNS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello, Kyra.
The president has been to Pennsylvania. He's going on to Michigan to talk up his tax cut and the tax relief that is going to be in checks in the mail beginning tomorrow, to 25 million Americans.
Also, though, they are watching very, very closely the release of these two pictures. According to a senior administration official I just spoke with moments ago, he says that one of the bottom lines in this is that they hope that this will encourage Iraqis to come forward and cooperate tracking down former members of the Ba'athist regime, including., perhaps Saddam Hussein himself.
Also trying to track down some of those elusive alleged weapons of mass destruction. President Bush, according to the officials here, as they say, he hasn't seen the pictures yet but he was informed of the decision to release those photos, a decision made by the Pentagon and by Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator on the ground in Iraq. They did decide that it was worth releasing even though they don't want to look like they are gloating that they did kill Saddam's two sons.
According to Scott McClellan he says that there is a difference between putting out photos for propaganda and putting and providing assurances to the Iraqi people as a security matter. He goes on to say it is important to address the fear of the Iraqi people. This provides further assurances to the Iraqi people. Hopefully, according to the White House, that they hope to see Iraqis coming forward.
On the weapons of mass destruction issue, on the pre-war intelligence that's very much at the point of controversy right now, the point man for the White House today, Vice President Dick Cheney speaking before the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute defending the decision to go to war against Iraq and defending the intelligence that was used for it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now the regime of Saddam Hussein is gone forever. And at a safe removed from the danger some are now trying to cast doubt upon the decision to liberate Iraq. The ability to criticize is one of the great strengths of our democracy, but those who do so have an obligation to answer this question: How could any responsible leader have ignored the Iraqi threat?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNS: Among those critics, Democrats demanding a wide public investigation. They claim that the information that was used before the war was hyped in order to go to war against Iraq.
Back to you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Chris Burns, live from the White House, thanks Chris.
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 July 24, 2003 - 14:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to CNN White House correspondent Chris Burns with more on what the president is doing today -- Chris.
CHRIS BURNS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello, Kyra.
The president has been to Pennsylvania. He's going on to Michigan to talk up his tax cut and the tax relief that is going to be in checks in the mail beginning tomorrow, to 25 million Americans.
Also, though, they are watching very, very closely the release of these two pictures. According to a senior administration official I just spoke with moments ago, he says that one of the bottom lines in this is that they hope that this will encourage Iraqis to come forward and cooperate tracking down former members of the Ba'athist regime, including., perhaps Saddam Hussein himself.
Also trying to track down some of those elusive alleged weapons of mass destruction. President Bush, according to the officials here, as they say, he hasn't seen the pictures yet but he was informed of the decision to release those photos, a decision made by the Pentagon and by Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator on the ground in Iraq. They did decide that it was worth releasing even though they don't want to look like they are gloating that they did kill Saddam's two sons.
According to Scott McClellan he says that there is a difference between putting out photos for propaganda and putting and providing assurances to the Iraqi people as a security matter. He goes on to say it is important to address the fear of the Iraqi people. This provides further assurances to the Iraqi people. Hopefully, according to the White House, that they hope to see Iraqis coming forward.
On the weapons of mass destruction issue, on the pre-war intelligence that's very much at the point of controversy right now, the point man for the White House today, Vice President Dick Cheney speaking before the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute defending the decision to go to war against Iraq and defending the intelligence that was used for it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now the regime of Saddam Hussein is gone forever. And at a safe removed from the danger some are now trying to cast doubt upon the decision to liberate Iraq. The ability to criticize is one of the great strengths of our democracy, but those who do so have an obligation to answer this question: How could any responsible leader have ignored the Iraqi threat?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNS: Among those critics, Democrats demanding a wide public investigation. They claim that the information that was used before the war was hyped in order to go to war against Iraq.
Back to you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Chris Burns, live from the White House, thanks Chris.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
