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American Morning

America Under Attack: President Bush Trying to Drum Up International Support

Aired September 13, 2001 - 10:51   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, I am going to check in with Kelly Wallace, who is standing by at the White House.

Kelly, we haven't heard much about what the president has been doing today. Can you fill us in on that?

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Just like yourself, Paula, we are waiting. We know the president expected to make a telephone call to Mayor Giuliani. You adding more information there, that Governor Pataki will be joining that call. The president saying that the full weight of the government is out there to help New York City. Pennsylvania, certainly the Pentagon, deal with search-and-rescue operations.

We know, Paula, the president was in the Oval Office shortly after 7:00 a.m. getting his daily national security and intelligence briefings. He also Paula has been working the phones continuing to build what this White House has been working international coalition against terrorism. He called the prime minister of Japan, the prime minister of Italy, Lord Robertson of NATO, and crowned Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Ari Fleischer, the president's spokesman, saying all four expressing their condolences and sympathies to the American people, and also saying that all four stand united against terrorism.

Paula, you've heard us. We've been reporting that the White House trying to willed this international consensus. Reporters pressing Ari Fleischer to say what is the U.S. government asking of the countries? Is the U.S. asking for military assistance, economic assistance to place sanctions against any country when and if the U.S. retaliates? Fleischer would not respond. But he said it's more than rhetoric that the U.S. is asking for support from these countries.

We also know Paula, the president will be going to a local hospital in the Washington D.C. area later this morning to visit with some of the families of the victims affected by obviously the plane crash at the Pentagon, and to thank the doctors and nurse whose are helping the victims.

And, Paula, as you've been reporting, there was some interesting information coming out from Ari Fleischer concerning Air Force One. We, of course, were told by the White House yesterday that the White House had real and credible -- those are the words in the White House was using -- that the White House and Air Force One were targets of these hijackers. A report in today's "New York Times," Karl Rove, one of the president's top political adviser, telling "The New York" that there was a telephone threat that came into Air Force One as the president leaving Sarasota, Florida, and as that plane was in the air. Karl Rove telling "The New York Times" that that threat was deemed credible, and that's why the president went off to a military base in Louisiana, and then to Nebraska.

Ari Fleischer telling us again that the information is correct. Ari Fleischer saying that the caller told whoever the person talking to that Air Force one is a target. Ari Fleischer asked if the caller used the code name for Air Force One, and he said, yes, the caller did in fact use that code name, and that is why White House officials deemed this a credible threat, and why that plane was rerouted to Louisiana.

And one other -- I know we're throwing a lot at you all -- one other piece of information, Paula, the president will be declaring today that tomorrow should be a national day of prayer and remembrance. The president will go and will be attending a local church service here in Washington. And at that point in time, he will be asking Americans on their lunch hours tomorrow to go to their church, synagogue, a mosque, and pray for victims and families of the tragedy facing the United States.

Paula, back to you.

ZAHN: We want to go back to point you made earlier on. Talking about the efforts under way at the White House and the phone calls being made to establish greater support for the United States. I think Colin Powell made it very clear to me and in interview yesterday, that in order to fight this kind of terrorism that the United States will have to build even stronger bridges with friendly nations.

I don't know whether you got to hear Christiane Amanpour's interview with Jacques Chirac, but she asked him a pointed question about France not necessarily always being in 100 percent agreement with United States policies, and asked him the extent to which France would continue to be involved with fighting terrorism. And he basically said that they are going to will have to see how this proceeds, but obviously offered the backing of the French government.

Can you give us any analysis of the level of support the president expects from western European Nations?

WALLACE: Well, I think Ari Fleischer was sort of asked that. I did not hear Christiane Amanpour's interview. But we were sort of asking Ari Fleischer, exactly why is sort of the U.S. building this international consensus. Does feel it needs that before it takes any military action, if it decides to take such action? And Fleischer said looking at the U.N. Security Council, it passing a resolution condemning this saying that the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon really were attacks against the security of the United States, and that affects the entire world.

So the situation, the magnitude of this situation, you get the sense from White House officials because of the number of victims, because of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, being attacked, that this administration is reaching out, and that getting more support than maybe it has in previous cases because of the magnitude of situation. And you're also getting the sense here Paula that, again, not clear what the U.S. asking for, if it's asking for additional military support, if it's asking for countries like France to join together and slam sanctions against any country deemed responsible to support any terrorism. Not clear what the U.S. is asking for. But it's clear that the administration trying to, a, determine, who is responsible, but it also sort of looking at this opportunity to take a stronger maybe more of long-term battle against terrorism and trying to sort of build that international coalition to make sure those responsible are taken out if you will, but also to make sure something like this never happens again.

So the gravity of the situation seems to be why the U.S. Expecting and counting on the spot of really the entire world -- Paula.

ZAHN: Kelly, any reaction there to the news conference some Pakistani officials held earlier today. Pakistanis, at least the officials at least, showing great regret about what happened in this attack, saying they clearly, in their words, are against terrorism. And, yet, no one should forget that the Pakistan is one of three governments that actually recognizes the Taliban government, the religious group now in charge of Afghanistan. Any reaction to that at all?

WALLACE: Well, that is exactly why it is significant. We don't really have any new reaction to that latest briefing. We do know that the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan met with General Musharraf, the military leader to Pakistan today, coming out of that meeting, saying that the general sort of gave a positive statement, a strong statement that Pakistan stands with the United States, that is significant for justice -- just the reasons you mention -- Pakistan and I believe the United Arab Emirates and one other country, the only three that recognize the Taliban as sort of the ruling government of Afghanistan. And so it's very significant, because if Pakistan, sort of stepping back, means that Afghanistan could be further isolated and obviously if the U.S. government determines that, a, Osama bin Laden or his network were involved in this, and that the Taliban might be providing safe haven for Osama bin Laden, well, then Afghanistan lose support of them there.

Paula, back to you.

ZAHN: All right, Kelly.

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