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American Morning

Closer Look at Presidential Balancing Act in Middle East

Aired April 17, 2002 - 08:21   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: We're going to take a closer look now at the presidential balancing act with regard to the Middle East with CNN senior analyst Jeff Greenfield, who joins us now.

Good morning.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

ZAHN: So we've heard about how the Christian right is beating up the president right now. That's not the only place criticism is coming from, is it?

GREENFIELD: No. It's important to recognize that it's broader than the so-called Christian right, which sees Israel, in part, as a fulfillment of a biblical prophecy. You're looking at a broader conservative discontent among secular conservatives, neo- conservatives, the kind of people who rallied around Reagan, some of whom left the Democratic Party because he was more hawkish and more muscular on foreign and defense policy.

And you listen to what Gary Bauer said, though, and you hear an unwillingness to go after the president directly. So what you do is you go after the State Department and Colin Powell, who, remember, the conservatives have never been fond of. He's a Rockefeller Republican. He's pro-choice. He's pro-affirmative action. So he's a handy target for conservatives.

But what we heard in that Paul Wolfowitz bite that you played a minute ago was how the Bush administration is trying to respond. He, Paul Wolfowitz is the most hawkish member of the top ranks.

ZAHN: Sure.

GREENFIELD: Known to want to go after Iraq, totally pro-Israel and they figured all right, let's send him out to this rally because clearly the conservatives will see that he's one of us. And as you heard...

ZAHN: Well, he got stung and got stung badly. Come back to this biblical prophecy. Are you referring to the fact that many of these Christian conservatives believe that the prophecy won't be fulfilled...

GREENFIELD: Until... ZAHN: ... until, the second coming of Christ won't come until Jerusalem is within the full control of Israelis?

GREENFIELD: Yes, it's interesting, many years ago, I mean decades ago, there was a kind of tension between Jews and conservative Christians. There was kind of a -- I'm talking about decades ago, kind of an old anti-terrorism worry. When Israel took over in 1967 in Jerusalem, a lot of Christian conservatives said oh, that's a step toward the second coming.

And it's one of the reasons, but not the only reason -- I mean the reason why this is broader is that conservatives, Christian, secular, whatever, do see Israel as an ally during the cold war and a democracy in standing up against Arab terrorism. So it's not just religious.

ZAHN: Here, the second act here on this screen here, on the spoilt screen, the president heading off to Virginia, where at 10:30 he will be doing a speech where he is expected not only to talk about Secretary Powell's mission, but the war on terrorism, as well. We're going to stay with this picture as we go back to discussing the Middle East.

Now, we've heard, as you said, Gary Bauer not directly attack the president and his policy. He sort of skirted around it. So what is the other criticism? Does it go beyond the substance? Is it the style? Is it the tenor of what he's saying?

GREENFIELD: Yes, and I think the tenor of the Bush administration's approach, what has got some conservatives worried is that it's beginning to look to them a little bit like Bill Clinton, then whom there is no less admired figure, right, among conservatives?

I want to play you a little bite from Senator John McCain, a bit he used all during his 2000 campaign in criticizing Clinton's foreign policy. If we can hear that now, folks?

ZAHN: We'll let you do it now that he's in, safely inside...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Too often the administration has pursued a feckless photo-op foreign policy with little or no effort to define a coherent plan for U.S. engagement in the world or to establish a set of strategic priorities to guide us in a post-cold war era.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREENFIELD: Now, that notion that the Clinton administration kind of was too involved, too willing to stand up in front of the cameras when there was nothing of substance going on, the more we hear from Colin Powell that well, you know, we don't have a whole lot here, we don't have a cease-fire, we don't have a political solution, the more some conservatives are saying that's what we didn't like about Bill Clinton. So... ZAHN: Is the secretary of state coming home with thin gruel, as Martin Indyk described earlier this morning?

GREENFIELD: I'm not sure about your food analyst, but it isn't a banquet, let's put it that way.

ZAHN: We're looking for a breakfast analogy here.

GREENFIELD: OK.

ZAHN: All right, thanks, Jeff.

Always great to have you on the air with us on A.M.

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