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President Bush Salutes Women in Leadership

Aired November 17, 2003 - 15:02   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: Well, at the White House today, they're spotlighting the women wielding unprecedented power in post- Saddam Iraq. CNN's Dana Bash tells us about that -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi Kyra. Well, President Bush did meet with five Iraqi women in the Oval Office just a short while ago. Two of those women are members of the Iraqi Governing Council. And during a photo opportunity during that meeting, one of the women said to reporters that she told President Bush that they do not want the U.S. to pull out of Iraq because she said the people there need the United States, to which President Bush answered directly and forcefully, that just because the political transition will take place on or around July 1, the U.S. has no intention of leaving.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I assured these five women that America wasn't leaving. When they hear me say we're staying, that means we're staying. And it's precisely what the terrorists want to do is to drive us out of Iraq before these leaders and other leaders are able to put their government together and live in peace. And we will succeed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, this is the third time in about four days that President Bush has made it a point to say that the U.S. is not going to pull out of Iraq. And it is an attempt to combat critics who say the shift in U.S. policy to be supportive of an interim government in Iraq, rather than wait until there's a final and ultimate constitution and government, is because it is the beginning of an exit strategy.

Critics say that they have the political calendar, the election year in mind here at the White House. President Bush and his senior aides are maintaining that they believe that Iraqis are clamoring for freedom and that is why they have changed the policy. President Bush again making it clear the U.S. is not pulling out of Iraq -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, the president getting ready to visit the U.K. (AUDIO GAP).

BASH: A lot of controversy. And this, if you can believe it, Kyra, is, according to the White House, going to be the first official state visit by a U.S. president to Great Britain in some time, perhaps since Woodrow Wilson was in office. That is because it is the queen herself that has to invite the U.S. president, and that invitation was given, Kyra, before the war in Iraq. It was given quite some time ago.

But you're right. Because of the controversy that has surrounded the war in Great Britain and that has surrounded Tony Blair's support of the war and support of President Bush, the president is going to be greeted by tens of thousands of protesters, some of whom have already started demonstrating and saying that they are opposed to President Bush's visit, opposed to the war in general.

But the president in his interviews leading up to this trip has made clear that he supports the whole idea of freedom. He said that the protest comes along with democracy. That has been his mantra.

But certainly, he is going to make clear in a major address on Wednesday that the war in Iraq was justified. And he is likely to say that he and Tony Blair think for the long-term security of the United States and Great Britain, a peaceful and democratic Iraq is what is important. And that is, he will likely say, where they will be focused on in terms of the Iraq strategy from here on out -- Kyra.

PHILLILPS: Dana Bash at the White House, thanks.

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 November 17, 2003 - 15:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, at the White House today, they're spotlighting the women wielding unprecedented power in post- Saddam Iraq. CNN's Dana Bash tells us about that -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi Kyra. Well, President Bush did meet with five Iraqi women in the Oval Office just a short while ago. Two of those women are members of the Iraqi Governing Council. And during a photo opportunity during that meeting, one of the women said to reporters that she told President Bush that they do not want the U.S. to pull out of Iraq because she said the people there need the United States, to which President Bush answered directly and forcefully, that just because the political transition will take place on or around July 1, the U.S. has no intention of leaving.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I assured these five women that America wasn't leaving. When they hear me say we're staying, that means we're staying. And it's precisely what the terrorists want to do is to drive us out of Iraq before these leaders and other leaders are able to put their government together and live in peace. And we will succeed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, this is the third time in about four days that President Bush has made it a point to say that the U.S. is not going to pull out of Iraq. And it is an attempt to combat critics who say the shift in U.S. policy to be supportive of an interim government in Iraq, rather than wait until there's a final and ultimate constitution and government, is because it is the beginning of an exit strategy.

Critics say that they have the political calendar, the election year in mind here at the White House. President Bush and his senior aides are maintaining that they believe that Iraqis are clamoring for freedom and that is why they have changed the policy. President Bush again making it clear the U.S. is not pulling out of Iraq -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, the president getting ready to visit the U.K. (AUDIO GAP).

BASH: A lot of controversy. And this, if you can believe it, Kyra, is, according to the White House, going to be the first official state visit by a U.S. president to Great Britain in some time, perhaps since Woodrow Wilson was in office. That is because it is the queen herself that has to invite the U.S. president, and that invitation was given, Kyra, before the war in Iraq. It was given quite some time ago.

But you're right. Because of the controversy that has surrounded the war in Great Britain and that has surrounded Tony Blair's support of the war and support of President Bush, the president is going to be greeted by tens of thousands of protesters, some of whom have already started demonstrating and saying that they are opposed to President Bush's visit, opposed to the war in general.

But the president in his interviews leading up to this trip has made clear that he supports the whole idea of freedom. He said that the protest comes along with democracy. That has been his mantra.

But certainly, he is going to make clear in a major address on Wednesday that the war in Iraq was justified. And he is likely to say that he and Tony Blair think for the long-term security of the United States and Great Britain, a peaceful and democratic Iraq is what is important. And that is, he will likely say, where they will be focused on in terms of the Iraq strategy from here on out -- Kyra.

PHILLILPS: Dana Bash at the White House, thanks.

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