Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Bush Administration Turning Up Heat on Two Nations That Make Up 'Axis of Evil'

Aired April 03, 2002 - 08:02   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Up front this morning, the Bush administration is turning up the heat on two of the nations that make up their axis of evil and even added a new nation to keep an eye on. Just this week Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld singled out Iran, Iraq and Syria as inspiring and financing a culture of political murder and suicide bombing.

Joining us now with the very latest from the Pentagon is CNN's Barbara Starr -- good morning, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.

Well, you know, while many people around Washington have been criticizing the Bush administration for being too quiet about the situation in Israel, one man who hasn't been very quiet or very diplomatic is the very plain spoken Don Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense.

Rumsfeld has repeatedly pointed out this week that there are, indeed, three countries now that he believes are not only deeply involved in terrorism networks, but are deeply involved in providing financial and military assistance to the unrest in the Palestinian territories.

Here is some of what Don Rumsfeld has been saying this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: States like Iran, Iraq and Syria are inspiring and financing a culture of political murder and suicide bombing.

There is no question but that al Qaeda have moved in and found sanctuary in Iran. I think that Iran is a country where ultimately the people are going to change their circumstance. I think that there is a -- it's a country with an important history. It's got a well educated population. The people are being repressed. They are being denied rights that most of the people around the world seem to find a way to get for themselves. And I suspect that the leadership in Iran will find itself with difficulties over time.

I think that the world ought to know that Saddam Hussein's idea of having a nice day is offering $10,000, $20,000, $30,000, whatever it is, to families of people who tuck their children in to going out and blowing up a restaurant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Now, the Secretary is quite adamant that there is no role for U.S. peacekepers in Israel for the forseeable future. But with these three countries -- Iran, Iraq and Syria -- backing terrorist networks and the unrest in the Middle East at the moment, the Secretary of Defense is said to be increasingly concerned that the U.S. is now facing a much broader, much deeper regional crisis -- Paula.

ZAHN: Barbara, before we let you go, any reaction at the Pentagon this morning from the Israelis' discovery of what are, they say, documents showing that Arafat funded terrorist activities? The Palestinians, of course, saying that these were forged wholesale, made out of cloth.

STARR: Well, no one at the Pentagon here has commented on that yet. They are very aware of it. They do understand there are both sides claiming differences in those documents. That's the kind of thing that the military is just not wanting to get involved in. It's the reason that Rumsfeld says there's no role for U.S. peacekeepers. It underscores his view that there's simply no peace to keep right now.

ZAHN: All right, Barbara Starr, thanks so much for that update.

You asked a couple of really good questions of the Secretary yesterday. I watched that whole news conference. 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