Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
American Recovers: Discussion with Nobel Peace Prize Winner Elie Wiesel
Aired October 22, 2001 - 09:25 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: It is time to step back from the rush of details in America's battle against terrorism and consider some larger themes about peace and war, and punishment and vengeance, and joining me right now is the distinguished Noble peace prize winner Elie Wiesel, who is now a professor at Boston University.
Thanks for coming in this morning.
ELIE WIESEL, BOSTON UNIVERSITY: Thank you.
ZAHN: We should make it clear that your voice is very low because you are suffering from a cold right now, but we will try to prop up your mike so everybody can hear you this morning.
You are famous for your views about pacifism, and yet you think this war against terrorism is absolutely necessary. Is there a contradiction there?
WIESEL: Well, I am not a pacifist. I'm for peace. A pacifist is against war, against any war. I'm against war, but not against all wars, meaning this war that we are waging now, led by President Bush, is a necessary war. I say with pain, but with conviction, what else could we do? We must stop terrorism, at any cost. And therefore, I (UNINTELLIGIBLE), but with great pain, a supporter of the president's policy.
ZAHN: What is your concern though about the increasing anti- American fervor that you see in parts of the Arab world? You saw the Taliban news conference today basically, accusing the United States of genocide. Are you fearful if that propaganda works?
WIESEL: I'm not fearful of propaganda, because it is solely propaganda, if we know what to say in order to defeat it. After all, who accuses us of genocide, really? They have done so many things against their own people. They are the cause of this war. If the Taliban would be ready to give up and give back to justice, it asks whether (ph) Bin Laden, there would be no war, and whatever we hear now, it pains us of course. It is heartbreaking to hear a hundred people are killed in a hospital.
ZAHN: And we can't confirm that. We are not even sure that is true at this point. WIESEL: I don't even think it's true. No one would ever convince me that an American pilot would intentionally bomb a hospital. I don't believe that. But there are victims. In every war, there are victims, most of them innocent. Children also die, and for every child of course we must weep. However, in this case, if we don't stop terrorism, they will continue. Terrorism is like a cancer. It grows from cell to cell, and if you give it free reign, who knows what else they invent, already using. Perhaps they are using biological warfare, so we must stop it.
ZAHN: Are you confident that this campaign will stop it?
WIESEL: It must stop it, and therefore it will stop it.
ZAHN: Let's talk a little bit about the increased violence in the Middle East. What are your chief concerns against this backdrop of America being at war at a time where we have seen an unprecedented amount of violence in the last several weeks in Israel.
WIESEL: Terrorism is terrorism. There is no good terrorism and bad terrorism. Israel is afraid. Israel is fearful for the same reasons that we are in fact living in fear. The fact for the last week that they assassinated the minister of tourism in the government is unprecedented. Now remember that sect, that little group, founded by George Habash (ph), that group was the first to organize air hijacking. They were the first, the very first to hijack planes, and use it as a terror weapon, and they continue to do so, and therefore, they, too, must be disarmed, at least...
ZAHN: We're trying to hit the opening bell the New York Stock Exchange, so if you in 30 seconds could give me a closing thought on whether you think -- your hopeful that peace can be reached in the Middle East.
WIESEL: I'm sure it will.
ZAHN: But when?
WIESEL: I am not a prophet, but it will, and because we cannot live like that, Israel cannot live like that, in constant war, in constant anticipation of war, but it must stop on both sides, and therefore, it must stop on the side of the terrorists.
ZAHN: Mr. Wiesel, is an honor to have you with us this morning. We hope you feel better. We boosted up your mike so everybody in America could hear you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
